A Statement on Christians Who Practice Yoga

An encyclical issued on June 4, 2013 by Metropolitan Markos of Chios on Christians who practice Yoga and whether or not it is merely a physical exercise. He basically explains that the Hindu religious practice of yoga was established for the sole purpose of entering into a spiritual state, and never had anything to do with exercise until a few decades ago when Hindu yogis explained it this way when they were trying to win converts in the West.

Encyclical 14: Is Yoga Exercise?

To the Sacred Clergy and Pious People of our Sacred Metropolis,

My brethren,

A key feature of our time is the confusion observed in various aspects of human life. A characteristic example of this spiritual and existential confusion is the fact that yoga is fundamentally a religious technique of Hinduism, advertised in our country, in Europe and in the United States as an exercise-fitness solution which is offered to release us from the numerous problems stemming from a stressful lifestyle.

But what is yoga? The word yoga comes from the Sanskrit word yuj which means to "unite", meaning the union of the individual soul with the impersonal Absolute One of Hinduism (see P. Schreiner, Yoga: Wörterbuch des Christen-tums, 1995, p. 1376). This union is considered a liberation and redemption of mankind from karma, that is, from the consequences that result from our choices and actions in supposedly previous lives.

Moreover, concerning the term yoga, we must stress that it is used as a qualifying term of one of the six classical orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy (see H. Baer, ​​"Yoga", in the Lexikon der Sekten, Sohdergruppen und Weltanschauungen, 7th Ed, 2001, pp. 1166-1174).

But is yoga exercise? Can one isolate the practical exercise from its religious content and background? Can one ignore the purpose for which it is used? Unquestionably no.

And what about the claim of various centers, institutes, schools, groups, journals and gyms, that present it as lacking a religious nature, alleging it to be a "scientific" psychosomatic practice, or a practice for a simple existence and spiritual self-knowledge? Without doubt these assertions are inaccurate. They oftentimes misinform and confuse using an extremely attractive vocabulary (see R. Hauth, (Hrsg), Kompaktlexikon Religionen, 1998, p. 366).

On the contrary, yoga is a religious systematic theory, technique and method that evolves in stages and practices, one of which is meditation, which leads those who use it, with the guidance of a teacher (guru), to a singular life joined to the impersonal Absolute of Hinduism. In this way a person is redeemed and atones for the errors and mistakes made during the source of all supposedly previous incarnations.

From the above, therefore, we observe that the view of yoga simply as an exercise is incorrect. And this 1) because it is a fundamental feature of the Hindu system, 2) it cannot be stripped of its religious character according to the conditions of the content and purpose of exercise, 3) it is intrinsically linked to the anti-Christian concept of reincarnation, and 4) because it constitutes a humanistic effort towards redemption through techniques and exercises.

Why are the various techniques of yoga dangerous? The answer is given to us in an article on yoga from an authoritative encyclopedia Δο­μή. It says there: "It is known that the practice of yoga creates for the individual not entirely physiological properties - and parapsychological - because it reverses certain physical and mental functioning" (Δο­μή, vol. 4, p. 199).

To conclude this brief offering of ours on whether or not yoga is exercise, we must again remind all of the obvious. The value of our identity as Orthodox Christians is incompatible with the use of Hindu religious practices in any aspect of our lives.

The salvation of man which is freely housed within the Church, is the work and offering of the love and grace of our Christ. For us does Paul say with all gravity: "So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ" (Gal. 3:26-27), and: "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?" (2 Cor. 6:14-15).

With warm fatherly prayers,

The Metropolitan

of Chios, Psara and Oinouses, Markos

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos

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A Statement on a Buddhist Workshop in Greece

A statement issued in March 2013 by the Holy Metropolis of Glyfada on a Buddhist workshop that took place later that month.

On Saturday 23 March 2013 there will take place in the area around Parliament a "workshop on Natural Farming", which is advertised as a "philosophical-practical workshop". Faithful Christians, as well as every citizen, should be aware that this is a Buddhist workshop based on so-called "Natural Farming".

"Natural Farming", a method developed by the Japanese Masanobu Fukuoka[1], is "a Buddhist way of farming which is derived from the philosophy of 'nothing' and the return to a natural state of 'non-action'."[2] The teachings of Buddhist teacher Fukuoka are characterized as "a spiritual guide that uses farming (or gardening or agriculture) as a path that can lead to enlightenment."[3] Agriculture, therefore, in this system becomes a spiritual path and the farmer is taught that we become "one" with nature, identifying himself with the crops and eliminating the "I".[4]

The invitations sent to faithful Christians speak of an "unmethodical method (as Fukuoka himself calls it) which is based on the holistic view of agriculture, nature and man." It should be noted that the holistic view of man and the world is an anti-Christian doctrine that includes belief in the existence of an impersonal God and universal energy. Therefore, Christians should prevent themselves from attending this workshop.

1. See the magazine 'DIALOGUE' issues 23 and 48.

2. http://fukuokafarmingol.info/fover.html

3. op. cit

4. op. cit

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos

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Dumbarton Oaks’ Films from the Byzantine Institute Now Online

June 11, 2013

Harvard Library

Fourteen 16mm films from Dumbarton Oaks’ Image Collections and Fieldwork Archives published online.

In December 2010, the Dumbarton Oaks Image Collections and Fieldwork Archives (ICFA) team rediscovered films documenting some of the Byzantine Institute’s most important fieldwork—in a freezer. After more than two years of restoration and digitzation, the 14 films were recently published online.

“We recognized that these were really unique materials. The films are a treasure trove for the study of Byzantine art, particularly since they relate directly to other archival materials and photographic documentation in our holdings,” said Shalimar Fojas White, manager of the ICFA. She added, “We had to act quickly if we wanted to preserve them because we detected vinegar syndrome—or acetate decay.”

The films, made between 1930 and 1950, focus on the Byzantine Institute’s field work at the Red Sea Monastery of St. Anthony in Egypt, Hagia Sophia and Kariye Camii in Istanbul, Turkey and also document the conservation and restoration techniques employed by the Byzantine Institute’s staff. The Hagia Sophia films, for example, feature fieldworkers restoring the North Tympanum Mosaics, which had been covered in plaster in the 19th century when the building served as a mosque.

Following consultation with colleagues at the Library of Congress’s Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation and the Smithsonian Institution’s Human Studies Film Archives and support from Jan Ziolkowski, director of Dumbarton Oaks, and Arthur Kingsley Porter, professor of Medieval Latin, ICFA had the films reformatted and digitized. Fani Gargova, Byzantine research associate, hopes to publish an online exhibit relating the films to fieldwork notebooks and other documents in the collection.

Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection is an institute in Washington, DC administered by the Trustees for Harvard University. It supports research and learning internationally in Byzantine, garden and landscape and pre-Columbian studies through fellowships and internships, meetings and exhibitions.

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A Statement on Gideons International in Greece

A Statement from the Metropolis of Larissa from April 2013:

For many years we have observed the appearance of people who are deceived among us, namely the so-called "Gideons" or "Gideons International" (Φίλοι της Αγίας Γραφής), who belong to a non-denominational Christian organization that distributes free copies of the New Testament and of the Bible in general. In our country they even distribute Greek copies of the New Testament, which is a version by the Greek Bible Society, and approved by the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Church of Greece; a well-known text with the translation by the four Professors. They distribute these to Hotels, Motels, Hospitals, Nursing Homes, Penal Institutions, Army Camps, Prisons, Schools and Universities. We want to clarify that the distribution of this text does not hurt, but because in one of the first pages of the text there is the name of the Association which donates it, with their address and the tantalizing proposition that they can be sent as many copies as they want, we want our flock to know, and of course all the Institutions of our region, that these offerings are proselytizing actions and hide the catalytic purpose of this non-denominational organization. This organization in our country is a known offshoot of Protestantism and of the "Greek Evangelical" so-called "Church". It is clear that through this characteristic method they are trying to attract members to their heretical group.

Therefore, please avoid obtaining this text, and especially those who have taken it be careful and do not come into contact with them, do not call them, and do not ask from them for copies of the New Testament. This movement, which at first glance seems commendable, has many negative qualities. Unfortunately they have many blamable points. They try to connect faithful Orthodox Christians with the Protestantism they belong to. The "Gideons" or "Gideons International" have a network all around the world, giving their "gift" to the Institutions mentioned, and above all for young people they set their traps with periodicals and websites, and together with the New Testament they distribute cards which have their web address, with the title: "The site that can change your life!" One is surprised above all by the opportunities they give young people, trying to reach them through "events", parties, trips to their farms, and soccer tournaments, and these follow with attempts to capture the Orthodox Youth in the nets of heresy.

Recently, last Christmas, there was a campaign by the "Gideons" at the University of Thessaloniki, and a group of Orthodox Christian students, to their credit, responded strongly, in order to inform the student community who these people were that so willingly offered the New Testament for free and so many other opportunities for students.

Therefore, in addressing our flock, please be careful, because there is a hidden danger of proselytism from this heretical Protestant sect. We also ask hospitality personnel in Hotels, Directors of Schools, Commanders in the Army, Prison Wardens, Hospital and Nursing Home Directors, as well as other Institutions, especially colleges, sports clubs, etc. where young people go, to not allow the distribution of the New Testament in their form, nor a presentation by representatives from the "Gideons". There is a danger of someone becoming a proselyte to their heresy which exaggerates the Word of God without any reference to our Holy Tradition, our Holy Fathers, who alone are the sole and infallible interpreters of the Word of our Lord and the Holy Mysteries of our Church, which are the basic requirements for the salvation of every faithful member of the Church.

Because our country is currently going through all kinds of crises, which are a sign of the times, let us preserve our youth from the dangers of heresy. Our Church is the soul of our Nation, and our Holy Faith is our connecting link and the security of our Nation through time.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos

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Divine Liturgy in the Catacomb of St. Sebastian in Rome (video)

On May 22, 2013 His Eminence Metropolitan Panteleimon of Berea, Naousa and Kampania celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Catacomb of Saint Sebastian in Rome while on pilgrimage.

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