Ark of the Covenant to be Unveiled In Ethiopia

[This is amazing news in light of the fact that the Ethiopian Orthodox Church has always insisted they would never unveil the Ark of the Covenant. Only one monk at a time was ever allowed to see the Ark at the St. Mary's Church in Axum and remained there for life, and the military protected it with guns from outside the locked gates. Many of these monks have reported losing their vision from looking at the Ark too long, so I wonder how it will keep up in a museum. More about the Ark in Ethiopia can be seen here. - J.S.]


'Ark of the Covenant' about to be unveiled?
Ethiopian patriarch tells pope he will show artifact to world

June 24, 2009
WorldNetDaily

The Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia says he will announce to the world Friday the unveiling of the Ark of the Covenant, perhaps the world's most prized archaeological and spiritual artifact, which he says has been hidden away in a church in his country for millennia, according to the Italian news agency Adnkronos.

Abuna Pauolos, in Italy for a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI this week, told the news agency, "Soon the world will be able to admire the Ark of the Covenant described in the Bible as the container of the tablets of the law that God delivered to Moses and the center of searches and studies for centuries."

The announcement is expected to be made at 2 p.m. Italian time from the Hotel Aldrovandi in Rome. Pauolos will reportedly be accompanied by Prince Aklile Berhan Makonnen Haile Sellassie and Duke Amedeo D'Acosta.

Abuna Pauolos, patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia

"The Ark of the Covenant is in Ethiopia for many centuries," said Pauolos. "As a patriarch I have seen it with my own eyes and only few highly qualified persons could do the same, until now."

According to Pauolos, the actual Ark has been kept in one church, but to defend the treasure, a copy was placed in every single church in Ethiopia.

He said a museum is being built in Axum, Ethiopia, where the Ark will be displayed. A foundation of D'Acosta will fund the project.

The Ark of the Covenant is the sacred container of the Ten Commandments as well as Aaron's rod and a sample of manna, the mysterious food that kept the Israelites alive while wandering in the wilderness during their journey to the promised land.

The Bible says the Ark was built to the specifications of God as He spoke to Moses. It was carried in advance of the people and their army by priests. It was also carried in a seven-day procession around the walled city of Jericho.

The idea that the Ark is presently in Ethiopia is a well-documented, albeit disputed, tradition dating back to at least 642 B.C. The tradition says it was moved to Elephantine Island in Egypt, then to Tana Kirkos Island in Ethiopia and finally to its present site at St. Mary's of Zion Church in Axum.

Ethiopians believe it is destined to be delivered to the Messiah when He reigns on Mount Zion – the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

Axum Zion Church/ St. Mary Church of Zion which has housed the Ark of the Covenant for centuries

Jeremiah 3:16 points to a time when the Ark will vanish not only physically, but from the minds of the people: "And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more."

The Book of Revelation says the Ark is in the temple of God in heaven (Rev. 11:19). Muslim scholars say it will be found near the end of times by the Mahdi – a messianic figure in Islam.

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Hindu Absurdity of the Week: Marry Frogs, Get Rain

Frog Marriage Solemnised For Rain Showers in Nagpur

By Sunil Kumar
New Kerala
June 20, 2009
Nagpur, India

A number of farmers seeking rainfall in Nagpur city organised the wedding of two frogs on Saturday to please the Rain Gods and hoped their region would soon receive monsoon showers.

People blew trumpets and sang songs, as the priest solemnized the marriage to the chanting of Hindu hymns by putting streaks of vermilion on the female toad's head.

The toads were picked up from different ponds, following the local belief among the farmers in this part of India that a frog marriage pleases the Rain Gods and ensure a good harvest with rains.

Locals hoped the marriage would help them to end the dry spell that the region is experiencing.

'Our forefathers believed that marriage of male and female frogs makes Lord Indra (Rain God) happy and that leads to rains. You can see that it is not raining in the entire Vidarbha, eastern region of Maharashtra state made up of Nagpur divison and Amravati division that has caused a drought like division. We are following this belief of our forefathers so that Lord Indra is pleased and it rains,' said Shailendra Awasthi, a participant in the marriage.

With temperatures soaring high and monsoons playing truant in northern and western parts of the country, people are praying hard for showers.

'It was sunny when we came in the morning for performing marriage. But now you can see the weather has changed. It means it will rain. We hope so,' said Ankita Bhatia, a participant in the frog marriage.

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Excerpts From Saint Athanasios Parios Concerning Philosophy

Saint Athanasios Parios (Feast Day - June 24)

Saint Athanasios Parios (b. Paros, 1722 - d. Chios, 1813) was one of the most significant ecclesiastical figures of the 18th and 19th century and is listed with Saints Nikodemos the Hagiorite and Makarios Notaras as the three most significant Kollyvades Fathers and defenders of traditional Orthodoxy. Saint Athanasios was especially influential in his confrontation with western models of doing philosophy and theology as a director of the Mount Athos Academy. More can be read about St. Athanasios here.


Theoretical and Practical Philosophy

- A great and wonderful gift has been given by God to man: the faculty of reason. This invents various sciences. Employing this faculty, man digs up from the earth various kinds of metals and precious stones. Then he examines the different species of animals: the quadrupeds, the bipeds; those that crawl on the earth, the birds, the terrestrial animals, the aquatic, and the amphibious; the wild and the tame, the viviparous and the oviparous. He examines the various kinds of trees: the evergreen and those that shed their leaves, those that are fruitless and the fruitbearing. He seeks to find out which trees are suitable for the needs of the various arts, and which are useful only as firewood.

Reason does not stop here. It leaves the globe and ascends to the atmosphere. And it rises much higher than the atmosphere, and investigates the heavenly bodies: which are immobile and which are mobile and are called planets. It investigates and observes the eclipses of the sun and of the moon, as well as of the other planets.

And since all these things which the rational faculty investigates are creatures of God, the philosophy which is knowledge of all these things is called by the ancients "knowledge of things divine". And this knowledge is called "the theoretical part of philosophy".

Distinct from the "theoretical part of philosophy" is the "practical part". The latter is concerned with the examination of human actions. For this reason it is called "knowledge of things human", such as the virtues and the vices. This part of philosophy shows man what are the things which he ought to do as a rational being, and what are the things he ought not to do, because he is a rational being.

Practical philosophy institutes laws in the cities, good order in things. It teaches how cities, homes and individuals can be saved.

It is the chief part of philosophy, for it promises to render men happy, insofar as this is possible to man. And indeed, the ultimate good of the human virtues, and briefly, the goal of man as man, is none other than happiness, that is, a blessed life.

However, we must confess that happiness, metaphysically understood - that is, in its full perfection - cannot be attained in the present life, as the facts themselves prove. But a moderate happiness is possible, analogous to man's nature, which is subject to various passions and changes. A life is possible which partakes more of ethical goods and less of ethical evils. The latter consist of bodily sufferings, misfortunes, and deaths. These are improperly called evils, because they cannot harm the rational soul, which chiefly constitutes a human being.


Divine Philosophy (Internal)

- Philosophy is distinguishable into the secular or "external" and the divine or "internal". The latter is also called philosophy "from God", "heavenly", and "true". Examples of secular philosophy are the writings of the ancient Greek philosophers and those of European philosophers.

Divine philosophy is contained in the Holy Scriptures, particularly in the New Testament - in the four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, and the Epistles of the Apostles - and in the writings of the holy Church Fathers, the early as well as the later ones.

- Only divine or internal philosophy has rendered men happy, in the present life, as far as this is possible, and in the afterlife most completely. And this, because the teaching of Christ makes virtue something dear, freely espoused, not a product of constraint. This is the really true philosophy: to render free from passions those who are slaves of passions, to render heavenly those who are earthly, to render the vainglorious as godly-minded, to render the mortal immortal, sons of the heavenly Father according to grace.


Secular Philosophy (External)

- Secular or "external" philosophy is in its nature neither good nor bad. It becomes good or bad according to the use to which it is put by those who possess it. Logic, metaphysics, theology, and rhetoric, can be put to good use. I cannot understand why rhetoric is neglected. For the Church it is not simply useful, it is necessary. These subjects are both useful and valuable; and it is not necessary to go to Europe to receive instruction in them.

- Many, indeed, possessing "external wisdom", greatly benefited the Church; others, on the contrary, harmed and disturbed it.

- In his youth, St. Gregory Palamas devoted himself to the study and acquisition of external (secular) philosophy. For it was proper for his noble nature to be equipped with the instruments provided by philosophy. It did not take him long to become very proficient in Grammar and Rhetoric, to such a degree that he was greatly praised for his speeches and his writings by all the teachers of that time who were outstanding in these subjects. Then he became proficient in Physics and in Logic, and in other subjects on which Aristotle had written.

- In Western Europe exaggerated importance is ascribed to secular philosophy. There philosophers occupy themselves unceasingly with useless and completely vain subjects. They do this for the sake of praise for their genius. Among them many clergymen put aside their religious vocation, desert it, in order to learn teachings alien to their religious vocation. And worst of all, philosophy is used to judge and criticize the Holy Scriptures.


Ancient Greek Philosophy

- Regarding Pythagoras and Plato, they and their followers rightly held that the soul is immortal. However, lacking the divinely revealed teaching, they mythologized about the nature of the afterlife.

- Cebes, and before him Socrates, called true education that which effects a purification of the soul from the irrational passions, and the achievement of all the virtues: courage, justice, temperance, clemency, gentleness, compassion, and all the rest, which constitute the subject-matter of Ethical Philosophy. These virtues lead man to happiness.

- Plato the philosopher and after him all the later philosophers distinguish human goods into three kinds: (1) goods of the body, (2) goods outside the body, and (3) goods of the soul. The goods of the body are health, beauty, and strength. The goods outside the body are wealth, offices, and friends. The goods of the soul are the virtues and all kinds of learning, which taken together constitute the system of philosophy. Viewed in the hierarchy of goods, philosophy is given the first place, far surpassing in value the goods of the body and the goods outside the body.

- The chief and special good of Constantinople, which was "the queen of all cities", was that from the beginning she was the mother of discourses and wisdom, and the dwelling-place of the Hellenes, by having brought together the three famous schools of the Athenians, namely, the Stoic, the Aristotelian, and the Platonic into relation with the piety of Christianity. She adorned that secular wisdom with the true faith of the God of three hypostases, the Almighty and Ruler of All, with the preaching of the Cross and with the simplicity of the Gospel. And briefly, she rendered that secular wisdom a humble and grateful servant of the true and first philosophy.


Western Philosophy

- Thomas Aquinas and Bonaventure are two very great enemies of our Church.

- The doctrines of the new European philosophers are not necessary for man's true happiness. They are either simply useless or pernicious.

- What lead the French to end up in a state of de-Christianization? It was the madness, the rage, the enthusiasm for freedom. This led to a rebellion against every principle and authority, not only earthly, but also heavenly. Scripture, God, Christ, the Apostles, the rulers, and the laws were banished. In their place were put Voltaire, Rousseau, La Mettrie, and others like them.

- All the teachers of the academies are atheists. They regard it as a big disgrace to appear as Christians. They want to be known as philosophers. This is their boast, their glory. Therefore, be careful with regard to those who come from France pretending to be brothers and friends, for the opposite is true. From cunning teachers come cunning lessons.

- Do not listen to these philosophers, or rather to these lovers of darkness. They are fools. Scripture says: "A fool said in his heart, 'There is no God'"; and "Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom."

- Voltaire is the most foolish of all men, having gone beyond all other atheists in impiety, striven to destroy all religion.

- Spinoza was most godless in that he held that the matter of the universe constitutes the essence of God.

(Taken from: Cavarnos, Constantine; Modern Orthodox Saints 15 - Saint Athanasios Parios; Institute For Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, Belmont, MA, 2006)

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Jesus Christ Walks By, And The Dog Does Not Bark

The Nativity of St. John the Baptist (Feast Day - June 24)

The Feast of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist always reminds me of an incident that happened to me while on vacation in Greece when I was fifteen years old back in the summer of 1991. I had traveled to many places throughout Greece that summer with my mother and two grandmothers, but for one month I was alone with my grandmother Anastasia mainly spending our time in the city of Patras. During my travels that summer in many places the Greeks would keep unleashed wild dogs to protect their property. A few times these dogs came very close to attacking me if I overstepped near a property by mistake, and as an American where we have laws against this stuff it frightened me to travel through certain areas - especially in the villages.

One day I told my grandmother that I considered walking with a large stick in case I was attacked by dogs. My grandmother, being a pious and saintly woman, said it was unnecessary. She taught me instead to just pray the following prayer: "Ιησους Χριστος περναη και σκηλος δεν γαβ-γαη" or "Jesus Christ walks by, and the dog does not bark". In Greek the prayer sounds a bit poetic so I thought it was kind of funny, but I took her advice.

My grandmother lived in Agiou Ioanni Bratsika (Saint John District) and a block away from her apartment was a church dedicated to St. John the Baptist that celebrated its feast day on June 24th every year. In fact, the only time this church ever opened was on June 24th in order to celebrate its feast, remaining closed the rest of the year. I had always wanted to see what this church looked like inside, but when the feast day arrived there were so many people that I ended up listening to the service being blasted over an outdoor speaker from my grandmother's balcony.

This church was a special place to my grandmother. One day we went for a walk and as we passed the church she stopped and showed me a memorial stand* that she had placed at the front entrance of the church. She had placed it there as a memorial for my deceased grandfather whose patron Saint was St. John the Baptist, after whom I was named also. I never met my grandfather since he passed away about a year before I was born, so this was a special moment for me that I got to share with my grandmother.

Unfortunately I never found out the details behind the history of this church, but it is considered by locals to be a special shrine that contains a miraculous icon of St. John the Baptist. This icon was discovered in some miraculous manner in a cave that the present church was built over upon its discovery. After my grandmother and I lit the oil lamp in my grandfather's memory, since the church remained locked, we walked around to the side of the church where there were steps that descended into the cave under the church in which the miraculous icon was discovered. Today the cave has been transformed into a chapel and always remains open for the faithful to pray. The side of the chapel is on a private road and at the far end of this road were a pack of wild dogs barking like mad. Thank God they were leashed.

My grandmother lighting my grandfather's memorial box

In the chapel my grandmother told me about a local priest who served at the Church of St. Paul. She knew him as a young boy growing up in the area, and he was respected by all including my father with whom he grew up. Often at night this boy would come to this chapel and pray, sometimes keeping vigil all night. No doubt he was inspired by Elder Gervasios Paraskevopoulos who inspired a revival in the city of Patras back in the 1960's. When he got older he became a monk then was ordained a priest and became a fiery preacher very much loved and respected in the area and known for keeping strict order in his church during the divine services. This priest would never sleep the night before serving a Divine Liturgy, but instead kept vigil. I was told that in his zeal he was skeptical when the Pope returned the relics of the Apostle Andrew to the city of Patras after many centuries in 1966. After the procession with the relics through the streets of Patras lead by the King of Greece, they were interred in a very large cathedral built specifically to house these relics. That night this priest (he may have been a monk at the time) with others attempted to break into the church and verify if the Pope gave the real relics of the Apostle Andrew. Before he could do so he was apprehended by police and censured by the local bishop. I had a chance one Sunday to attend a Divine Liturgy served by this priest with my grandmother. He kept the church in traditional order with the men seated on the right and the women on the left. During the Axion Estin hymn he swung a very large chandelier with icons in the middle of the church to express the joy of the Saints in the Theotokos. And during communion he made sure the unruly Greeks were in proper order and that no woman was wearing lipstick as she partook of the Holy Gifts.

Since the Church of St. John the Baptist was only a block away from my grandmother's house, one late night I decided to go there by myself to pray. As I turned the corner towards the private road to get to the cave, the quiet night was suddenly interrupted with loud barks - but the dogs were not leashed and the barks were getting louder and louder. Panicked I ran towards the chapel, but the door was wired shut and it was too dark for me to untangle it. As the dogs got closer, I had no choice but to pray the prayer my grandmother taught me in Greek: "Ιησους Χριστος περναη και σκηλος δεν γαβ-γαη". As I was stuck in a corner I was easy prey for the dogs, but immediately after I said the prayer the dogs stopped barking, turned back and walked away. I was a bit amazed and thanked God when I fnally entered the chapel to pray.

One day we had the opportunity to visit the Monastery of St. Gerasimos in Kefalonia. We decided to spend the night in the hospitality rooms of the monastery since early the next morning was the Feast of the Transfiguration (Aug. 6). Because the Divine Liturgy was going to start very early I decided to not sleep that night. The monastery itself was locked so I just walked around the area all night. However the nuns of the monastery kept about 3 or 4 dogs for protection, but they seemed locked away behind the gates. They were barking all night though. At some point during the night as I stood in an open field near the monastery, these dogs were so determined to come after me that they somehow escaped from inside the gates and terrified I saw them running towards me barking at the top of their voice. As they got closer I prayed the prayer my grandmother taught me: "Ιησους Χριστος περναη και σκηλος δεν γαβ-γαη". Again, the dogs just stopped in their tracks right at my feet and stopped barking. One dog became as a puppy and just rolled on its belly pretty much asking me to pet it, while the other dogs just ran away. I petted the dog and it became like a protector to me and would not leave my side the rest of the night. At one point the dogs came back after me, but this dog chased them away. Now if I didn't believe in the power of this prayer before, I certainly believed after this.

And I offer it to those who may find themselves in a similar situation.


* In Greece, pious Orthodox place memorial stands, usually a metallic box with a small glass door sometimes standing on four thin legs, as memorials for loved ones in public places. These memorial stands usually contain an icon of the patron Saint of the deceased along with an oil lamp and maybe incense. Family members usually maintain these memorial stands, and other pious Orthodox make sure to keep the oil lamp lit as they pass by and make a prayer for the deceased as they cross themselves.

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Ultra-Orthodox Jews Throw Stones At Russian Orthodox in Israel

Parishioners of St. Nicolay Church

Tuesday June 23, 2009

ISRAEL: CHURCH SHOWERED WITH STONES IN NORTH
With attacks mounting, parishioners fear hostilities could escalate

MIGDAL HA-EMEQ, Israel, June 22 (Compass Direct News) – When the congregation at St. Nicolay church in this northern Israeli town gathered on that quiet Friday morning of May 29, they never expected to be showered with stones.

The Russian Orthodox worshipers, including many women, children and the elderly, had filled the small building to overflow with several outside when they were stunned by the rain of stones. Some were injured and received medical care.

"The church was crawling with people – the worshipers stood not only inside the church, but also outside, as the building is very small, when suddenly a few young men started throwing stones at the direction of our courtyard," Oleg Usenkov, press secretary of the church told Compass. "Young children were crying, everyone was very frightened."

The church had also been attacked earlier that week, during a wedding ceremony. Stones and rotten eggs were thrown from the street, hitting guests as they arrived.

The same night, the Rev. Roman Radwan, priest of St. Nicolay church, filed a complaint at the police station. An officer issued a document to confirm that he had filed an official complaint and sent him home, promising that measures would be taken. But within 24 hours, the attackers again appeared at the church's doorway and no police were present to deter them – although the police station is located a few dozen meters from the church.

The identity of the assailants is unknown – a police officer said the complaint "lacked the exact description of the attackers" – but eye-witnesses claimed they were ultra-orthodox yeshiva students who frequently cursed the church on their way to the school or synagogue.

"They often assault us verbally, curse and yell at us, although we tried to explain that this is a place of worship, a holy place," said a frustrated Usenkov, adding that the police inaction amounts to nonfeasance.

Another member of the congregation identified only as Nina, born in Moscow and now living in Nazeret Ilit, said that she didn't understand where all the hatred is coming from.

"They are heading to the yeshiva or going back home after praying at the synagogue – are they inspired to attack us during their prayers?" she said. "I hope not. We are all Israeli citizens, we pay taxes, serve in the army and are entitled to freedom of choice when it comes to religion."

She and other members of the congregation fear hostilities could escalate quickly if measures are not taken soon. Already the small building, which barely accommodates the worshipers, is surrounded by a stone fence by order of Migdal ha-Emeq officials following a series of arson attempts and other attacks.

Members of the congregation, a few hundred Christians from Migdal ha-Emeq, Afula, Haifa, Nazareth and other Israeli cities still remember how their building was vandalized in June 2006. Under cover of darkness, unidentified men broke in and broke icons and modest decorations, smashed windows and stole crosses.

The identity of those responsible remains unknown.

Established in 2005, the church building was constructed to meet the needs of Christians who do not belong to the Arab Christian minority, mostly Russians who came to Israel from the former Soviet Union in the 1990s. Besides the Christians, these immigrants included other non-Jews, as well as atheistic Jews and Jewish converts to Christianity.

No official data on religious make-up of the immigrants are available, especially since many fear deportation or persecution for talking openly about their faith, but Usenkov – a Russian Jew who converted to Christianity after immigrating to Israel in the 1990s – said he believes there are at least 300,000 Christians of Russian or Russian-Jewish origin who live in Israel today.

According to Israeli law, non-Jewish relatives of a Jew are also entitled to citizenship, but Jews who have converted to other faiths are denied it.


Most of the Russian and Russian-Jewish Christians in Israel belong to the Russian Orthodox Church and find it difficult to adjust to Greek or Arabic services common in the Greek Orthodox churches of Israel. Since St. Nicolay's church opened its doors, hundreds of worshipers from across Israel have visited it.

"Many people fear they might pass away without seeing a priest, or they dream of a Christian wedding service," said Radwan, an Israeli-Arab whose family once owned the land on which the St. Nicolay church is located. "Here we can answer their needs. We do not want to harm anyone and wish that no one would harm us."

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Proof For the Apollo Moon Landing Missions

JAXA’s Kaguya has 3-D images of the landing sites for Apollo 15 and 17. Without contemporary 3-D technology this picture would be impossible and the landscape would have remained unknown in the early 1970's.

When I was first presented evidence in favor of a moon landing conspiracy, I found it pretty convincing that we may in fact never landed on the moon. I wasn't totally convinced, but it opened me up to the possibility. NASA refused to respond to these doubts which were increasing among the American public. At one point between 40-60% of all Americans expressed doubts the moon landing never occurred. Since NASA refused to respond I looked into independent sources to prove whether or not the Apollo missions were real. It seems we may finally have received definitive proof that the Apollo moon landings were indeed real thanks to photographs from Japan’s Kaguya lunar orbiter.

Despite what PRAVDA says, here is a good video that may put the nail in the coffin of moon landing conspiracies (and the thousands of websites supporting this view):

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"Tsar": A New Russian Film by the Director of "Ostrov"

Peter Mamonov (Tsar Ivan the Terribe) and Oleg Yankovsky (St. Philip of Moscow) take the lead in the film 'Tsar'

This past May another film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival alongside Agora which prominently features an Orthodox Saint - the film is called Tsar. While from early reviews we know that Agora seeks to show the conflicts between Science and Faith through the personages of Hypatia the Philosopher and Patriarch Cyril of Alexandria, Tsar also presents a historical narrative in light of the contemporary conflict between the Church and the State in modern day Russia through the personages of Ivan the Terrible and Metropolitan Philip of Moscow. Both are relatively big budget foreign films (Tsar cost about $15 million to make) that received relatively good reviews and are sure to enjoy at least a limited release in the United States.

Here is the synopsis of the film:

"It is 1565 and Russia is ravaged by famine and war. Ivan Grosny, the first tsar of Russia, invites his childhood friend, Abbot Philip, to become a Metropolitan of Russia. Despite their close friendship, the new Metropolitan rebels against the cruelty and tortures of the tsar's policies."

The director of Tsar is Pavel Lounguine who is well-known in Orthodox circles for making what I consider perhaps the greatest film ever made about a Russian Orthodox monk who becomes a Holy Fool in Ostrov (2006), aka The Island. Peter Mamonov, who starred in Ostrov, this time takes on the role of the ruthless Tsar Ivan the Terrible. Opposite him is one of the great film actors of Russia, Oleg Yankovskiy, who plays St. Philip of Moscow as the man who dared to clash wills with Ivan and payed for it with his life. Unfortunately Yankovskiy passed away the day after the film premiered at Cannes, so Tsar is his final film and will surely raise its appeal in Russia and France where he was well known and loved.

I have not seen the film and eagerly wait for it. Below are some early reviews:

http://www.screendaily.com/reviews/cannes-reviews/tsar/5001305.article

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i9ffdbbfa915bd89ca7b5dfbe6ac4aa6a

http://insidecatholic.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=Pavel-Lungins-Tsar.html&Itemid=102

Yankovsky in his final screen role, as Metropolitan Philip in 'Tsar', to be released next year

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The Tourbillon As A Supplement to the Teleological Argument

The philosopher William Paley (July 1743 – 25 May 1805) is most famous for what is known as the Watchmaker Analogy which is a teleologial argument for the existence of God. By way of an analogy, the argument states that design implies a designer. He formulated this argument in 1802 and in 1838 Charles Darwin had Paley in mind when he formulated a counter-argument known as Natural Selection.

The Watchmaker Analogy can be simplified into two parts:

1. The complex inner workings of a watch necessitate an intelligent designer.
2. As with a watch, the complexity of X (a particular organ or organism, the structure of the solar system, life, the entire universe) necessitates a designer.

Richard Dawkins also wrote a book attempting to refute this analogy titled The Blind Watchmaker. Dawkins described Paley's argument "as mistaken as it is elegant". Dawkins also gives an explanation for complex artifacts, but one where a designer is not necessary. He demonstrated through computer simulation that "highly complex" systems can be produced by a series of very small randomly-generated yet naturally selected steps, rather than an intelligent designer. He therefore concludes, evolution is a fair contestant to replace God in the role of watchmaker.

Though both Darwin and Dawkins present a plausible refutation of Paley's argument, the truth of the matter is that there is no evidence to back up their claim. Their argument is only convincing to those who follow the presupposition that things evolved gradually over a long period of time, thus making the argument circular by nature.

But what if there was a watch so complex that the Watchmaker Analogy takes on a whole new meaning? That it presents a step in its design where natural randomness in its make-up becomes virtually impossible? Maybe something like the tourbillon.

William Paley published Natural Theology: or, Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity, Collected from the Appearances of Nature in 1802. In 1801, Abraham Louis Breguet, called the “watchmaker of kings and the king of watchmakers,” patented a watch mechanism called the Tourbillon, which is French for “whirlwind,” revolutionizing watchmaking. The tourbillon has approximately 100 parts, and weighs only 0.296 grams.



Among the many Breguet clients have been folks such as Marie Antoinette, Napoleon Bonaparte, Sir Winston Churchill, and George Washington.

William Paley considered the conclusion of Design appropriate if one had stumbled upon a watch in the woods and wondered of its origin:

"In crossing a heath, suppose I pitched my foot against a stone, and were asked how the stone came to be there; I might possibly answer, that, for anything I knew to the contrary, it had lain there forever: nor would it perhaps be very easy to show the absurdity of this answer. But suppose I had found a watch upon the ground, and it should be inquired how the watch happened to be in that place; I should hardly think of the answer I had before given, that for anything I knew, the watch might have always been there…Every indication of contrivance, every manifestation of design, which existed in the watch, exists in the works of nature; with the difference, on the side of nature, of being greater or more, and that in a degree which exceeds all computation."

And of course he was right. Microbiology has confirmed that the cell is much, much more complicated than even the tourbillon, and on a much smaller, nano-technological scale. A modern formulation of the argument, given what we know of microbiology and the complexity of the cell, could be:

"But suppose I had found a cell upon the ground, and it should be inquired how the cell happened to be in that place; I should hardly think of the answer I had before given, that for anything I knew, the cell might have always been there."

Keep in mind also that Charles Darwin considered the cell to be nothing but a glob of jelly, as Michael Behe has pointed out and beautifully refuted in his book Darwin's Black Box.

Paley also claimed that something might come to be known about the intentionality of the Watchmaker by his design:

"...when we come to inspect the watch, we perceive. . . that its several parts are framed and put together for a purpose, e.g. that they are so formed and adjusted as to produce motion, and that motion so regulated as to point out the hour of the day; that if the different parts had been differently shaped from what they are, or placed after any other manner or in any other order than that in which they are placed, either no motion at all would have been carried on in the machine, or none which would have answered the use that is now served by it. . . . the inference we think is inevitable, that the watch must have had a maker — that there must have existed, at some time and at some place or other, an artificer or artificers who formed it for the purpose which we find it actually to answer, who comprehended its construction and designed its use."

Those familiar with the complexity of watches will not believe that they can be brought about blindly and randomly, as, hopefully, this video illustrates. This watch has a tourbillon escapement. Who would like to venture the inference that this watch was constructed through blind randomn processes?

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An Astonishing Correspondence

[A few weeks ago I received an email asking for further information regarding my blog on Saint Xenia the Martyr of Kalamata. The blog is here and the question with my answer can be found in the comments section below. Following my reply this lady was kind enough to respond back giving me background information behind the purpose of her question. I thought it was interesting enough to share in a seperate blog along with my brief reply for edification purposes. - J.S.]

John

Thank you for your prompt response and the information. My family is from Kalamata and I speak the language very well, so will have no trouble in communicating with the nuns…. Yes I am referring to St Xenia Martyr of Kalamata…

I have been dealing with breast “c”(don’t like using that word)… And a chain of circumstances lead me to believe that it had something to do with healing a previous life… I consulted a friend who is a spiritual light worker who does past life work, and asked her to look at what issue from a past life related to this life… since I had also divorced my husband I was curious to know what relevance it had too… That was not a priority, but if it showed up on anything then so be it.

In short…this lady told me that in a past life my name was Xenia and my ex-husband came up and he was Domentianos. He couldn’t have me so he incarcerated and tortured me by burning my breasts etc, and eventually killing me. I was a real believer of the Lord. I died at age 27/28… It was in the 1400's and Argos came up....

Somehow my ex-husband carries Domentianos energy and I Xenia’s.

This was 6 months ago, and felt, that if I ever went to Greece I will look it up… 2 weeks ago out of the blue, in the presence of this lady I felt compelled to google the name Domentianos. A few things came up, but after googling Domentianos & Xenia, to my amazement saw the exact story documented and sent shivers up my spine…. There in writing was the exact description of the torchure she described to me. I feel a strong sense to connect with her and need to track down anything I can....

I will keep you posted, and please should any more information cross your path, please inform me. It will be greatly appreciated.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Vicki:

Thanks for letting me know the circumstances relating to your inquiry and I'm sorry to hear about your illness. May the Lord grant you healing according to His will.

One thing I wanted to point out to you however concerns the information you received from your friend. I don't know what circumstances lead you to believe that your illness had something to do with a previous life, but I can assure you that such thoughts are a temptation to distract you away from the heart of the issue. I assume you are an Orthodox Christian, and if so you need to know that the Church rejects such theories that speak of a pre-existence of the soul and reincarnation. By consulting a New Age psychic or medium you are only doing yourself a disservice and inviting greater harm into your life, which I'm sure is something you don't want on top of everything you are dealing with. Obviously she told you things that seem to fit nicely into a tight package that can be confirmed through a google search, but for someone trained to spot such hoaxes like I am they are very unimpressive. I'm not necessarily saying she is purposely deceiving you, but I truly believe that there is a demonic element in her advice to you that is in essence very deceptive.

From an Orthodox Christian perspective, the New Age uses occultic elements to tap into a world of demonic illusions. By telling you that you were Saint Xenia in a previous life she is feeding you with the greatest harm possible to live a proper spiritual life in Christ. A proper spiritual life in Christ requires humility and love, not the arrogance and hate she is trying to feed you. First, there is no pre-existence of souls and no reincarnation as I said, both of which are doctrines that have been condemned not only in Scripture but in all the writings of the Saints throughout the centuries. I know for a fact that the priest to whom Saint Xenia appeared in New York, Fr. George Nassis, would have rejected this doctrine as well. Secondly, for her to tell you that you were a Saint in a previous life tempted by a ruthless tyrant that supposedly was your husband is probably the most cruel and ruthless thing I have ever heard. I don't know your husband, but do you seriously believe that in a previous life he was a ruthless murderer of thousands of Christians and that this explains your divorce and your illness? Listen, I'm a divorced man myself, but not even I would believe such things about my ex-wife to justify my divorce. The truth of the matter is that people get divorced for either justifiable or non-justifiable reasons that have everything to do with our decisions in this life. By making you a victim of a previous life, your friend is imprisoning you to a fate that you did not choose thus eliminating your free-will which is a gift of God to humanity. Obviously demons would rather you were a victim of fate than free-will, but no clear thinking christian would find this acceptable.

Furthermore, people get sick, sometimes for reasons we cannot know. If you choose to be a victim of fate, then I would suggest you do nothing about it and let fate decide what happens to you. If you choose to be liberated and implement your free-will however, then I would advise you to get a more reasonable explanation from your physician. And if you're physician can't help you, then accept it as God's will and seek healing from him through the prayers of Saint Xenia (with the understanding of course that you are not Saint Xenia).

I can go on and on about the bad advice you received from your friend that I truly believe with all my heart was inspired by demons. If you don't believe me, then evaluate the fruit of her advice. She is teaching you to believe in phony doctrines (reincarnation and fate), telling you that you were someone you never were (a Saint well known for her miracles to this day that was martyred in the 4th century for Christ), which in turn elevates your arrogance in a subtle way to the point that you were a persecuted victim and above all a Saint, and falsely justifying your divorce (whether it is justified or not) by inciting you towards greater anger and a sense of cruel victimization on the part of your husband. Let alone the fact that she got her facts wrong, since Saint Xenia lived in the 4th century not in the 15th century as you were told and she has nothing to do with Argos which is further north of Kalamata. Furthermore, its easy to advise someone who is divorced and has breast issues to compare them with a person they can google on the internet that has similar issues (though not the same by any means).

Forgive me for being so brutally honest as I know you are desperate for answers. I've dealt with many issues like yours in the past and I see the greater harm such advice brings people and I don't want you to be a victim as well. During trying times we all want and seek answers, but there are some places we don't go for answers, among which are psychics and mediums who will always give you answers that are very deceptive and thus distracting. My advice for you is to go to Kalamata and visit the monastery I wrote to you about. Tell the nuns there your story and see what they have to say about it. Don't leave out the details. And the most important thing for you to do meanwhile is, instead of believing that you carry the energy of Saint Xenia, seek her prayers for you and request God's will for your healing from her. Go to your local Orthodox Church also and seek out a priest to confess your sins to as well and seek his advice. I hope you will consider my advice, as it comes from years of experience and much love.

Be well and you are in my prayers. If you have any further questions let me know.

John

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A History of the Apostle's Fast

The Apostles Peter and Paul

"The Apostles almost always fasted."
Saint John Chrysostom (Sermon 57 on the Gospel of Matthew)

Patristic Testimony Concerning the Fast

The fast of the holy Apostles is very ancient, dating back to the first centuries of Christianity. We have the testimony of St. Athanasius the Great, St. Ambrose of Milan, St. Leo the Great and Theodoret of Cyrrhus regarding it. The oldest testimony regarding the Apostles Fast is given to us by St. Athanasius the Great (†373). In his letter to Emperor Constance, in speaking of the persecution by the Arians, he writes: "During the week following Pentecost, the people who observed the fast went out to the cemetery to pray." "The Lord so ordained it," says St. Ambrose (†397), "that as we have participated in his sufferings during the Forty Days, so we should also rejoice in his Resurrection during the season of Pentecost. We do not fast during the season of Pentecost, since our Lord Himself was present amongst us during those days … Christ’s presence was like nourishing food for the Christians. So too, during Pentecost, we feed on the Lord who is present among us. On the days following his ascension into heaven, however, we again fast" (Sermon 61). St. Ambrose basis this practice on the words of Jesus concerning his disciples in the Gospel of Matthew 9:14, 15: "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridgeroom is with them? The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

St. Leo the Great (†461) says: "After the long feast of Pentecost, fasting is especially necessary to purify our thoughts and render us worthy to receive the Gifts of the Holy Spirit ... Therefore, the salutary custom was established of fasting after the joyful days during which we celebrated the resurrection and ascension of our Lord, and the coming of the Holy Spirit.''

The pilgrim Egeria in her Diary (fourth century) records that on the day following the feast of Pentecost, a period of fasting began. The Apostolic Constitutions, a work no later than the fourth century, prescribes: "After the feast of Pentecost, celebrate one week, then observe a fast, for justice demands rejoicing after the reception of the gifts of God and lasting after the body has been refreshed."

From the testimonies of the fourth century we ascertain that in Alexandria, Jerusalem and Antioch the fast of the holy Apostles was connected with Pentecost and not with the feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul on June 29. In the first centuries, after Pentecost there was one week of rejoicing, that is Privileged Days, followed by about one week of fasting.

The canons of Nicephoros, Patriarch of Constantinople (806-816), mention the Apostle's Fast. The Typicon of St. Theodore the Studite for the Monastery of Studios in Constantinople speaks of the Forty Days Fast of the holy Apostles. St. Symeon of Thessalonica (†1429) explains the purpose of this fast in this manner: "The Fast of the Apostles is justly established in their honor, for through them we have received numerous benefits and for us they are exemplars and teachers of the fast ... For one week after the descent of the Holy Spirit, in accordance with the Apostolic Constitution composed by Clement, we celebrate, and then during the following week, we fast in honor of the Apostles."

Duration of the Fast

The Fast of the Apostles came into practice in the Church through custom rather than law. For this reason there was no uniformity for a long time, either in its observance or its duration. Some fasted twelve days, others six, still others four, and others only one day. Theodore Balsamon, Patriarch of Antioch (†1204), regarding the Apostle's Fast, said: "All the faithful, that is the laity and the monks, are obliged to fast seven days and more, and whoever refuses to do so, let him be excommunicated from the Christian community."

From the work On Three Forty Days Fasts, which is credited to a monk of the monastic community of St. Anastasios the Sinaite (6th or 7th century), we learn that the Fast of the holy Apostles lasted from the first Sunday after Pentecost to the feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God on August 15. Later, however, the Fast of the Dormition was separated from it and the month of July was excluded from the Fast of the Apostles. St. Symeon of Thessalonica speaks of the Apostle's Fast as of one week's duration.

In the Orthodox Church the Fast of the holy Apostles lasts from the day after the Sunday of All Saints to the 29th of June, the feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul. This fast may be of longer or shorter duration depending upon which day Pascha is celebrated. According to the Old Calendar it could last from as little as 8 days to as many as 42 days depending on the date of Pascha, but this is shortened by the New Calendar which sometimes obliterates the Fast altogether. If the feast of Pascha occurs sooner, then the Apostle's Fast is longer; if Pascha comes later, then the Apostle's Fast is shorter.

Prescription For the Fast

The Fast of the Apostles is somewhat more lenient than the Great Fast before Holy Week and Pascha. The Kievan Metropolitan George (1069-1072) approved the Rule for the Kiev Caves Monastery which does not allow meat or dairy products to be eaten during the Apostle's Fast. On Wednesday and Friday, they prescribed dry food, that is, bread and water or dry fruits. On Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday they permited fish, wine and oil. In addition to this, they directed that one hundred prostrations (profound bows to the ground) be made daily, excepting Saturdays, Sundays and holy days (the Feast of the Birth of John the Baptist falls on June 23rd and fish, oil and wine is permitted no matter the day). This rule was transferred to Russia via the Kiev Caves Monastery who based their rule on that of the Monastery of Studios in Constantinople. We can thus assume this was the rule for the Fast practiced by both the Roman Empire and the Russian Empire. This is the rule still practiced today with possible minor variations among jurisdictions.

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The Life of St. John Maximovich of Shanghai and San Francisco DVD

[I'm excited about this new DVD release about one of our own Saints here in North America that has become available on his feast day today. The trailer below looks really interesting. Unfortunately the first release was sold out in one day, but more will be available June 25th. It can be purchased here and more about Saint John can be read here.- J.S]

The Life of St. John Maximovich DVD
$30.00
This professionally made biopic chronicles the life of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco, a modern saint on the 20th century. Includes personal accounts and archival footage. Made with the blessing of Bp. KYRILL of San Francisco and Western America. 60 min. Works in All Region DVD Players.

Watch the Trailer:

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The Ascetic of Boston

Our cities too now have beheld some images of Orthodox witness, at times concealed from the crudeness of worldliness, but strong enough to act as the Gospel leaven.

There lived in Boston in the second decade of the twentieth century a young man by the name of Nikolai Panteleimonov. He was an emigrant from Imperial Russia and possessed the treasure, as he regarded it, of all five volumes of the Philokalia, and many other spiritual books. And he occupied himself in living what these books taught, leading a life of great asceticism as directed by the Orthodox Church. But one day he fell into some grave sin, and upon hearing his confession, the priest put upon him a very severe penance of several hundred, if not thousand, prostrations a day for at least a year. Before this period was over the priest died - and the conscientious young man accepted the uncomplete penance for life.

He worked nights in a factory, and his days he spent locked in his dark attic room in extensive spiritual exercises and long fervent prayer with tears. He would go out for a breath of fresh air only after dusk, roaming the foggy streets. His whole life long he ate nothing but unpeeled boiled potatoes, and salted herring, and he drank nothing but weak tea. Even though his later years were somewhat lax, his whole life was a podvig. In his later years he was made a deacon, but for some reason, despite his absolute devotion to the Church and its every service, he was not in favor. He died a poor man in a city hospital, having himself made all the arrangement for his burial years before.

Saint Seraphim of Sarov

In his earlier years, as he later confessed, when he daily made thousands of prostrations, weeping in repentance and experiencing the power of unseen spirits, he was granted visions of St. Seraphim of Sarov. The first time he saw St. Seraphim was at Harvard Square in Cambridge, when he was coming up from the subway, not knowing which way to go find Russian people. He had taken it upon himself to help the poor monks on Mt. Athos by selling their icons to Orthodox Bostonians. In despair he hesitated, not knowing which street to take, when all of a sudden at some distance from him he saw an old man in full monastic habit, in whom he immediately recognized the dearly-beloved image of St. Seraphim. The Saint was looking at him in a friendly manner and was indicating with his hand the direction to take, even going a little way himself. He followed the Saint along Massachusetts Avenue towards Boston. But soon the figure of the Saint, who several times turned back to see if Fr. Nikolai was following, disappeared. In this miraculous way Fr. Nikolai came to very good and pious people who bought the icons he was carrying to sell. The second time the Saint appeared to him was under circumstances unknown to us. The Saint appeared in an area of crowded Tremont Street downtown, motioning for Fr. Nikolai to follow him. The Saint looked very tall and moved swiftly, walking so fast on the other side of the street that Fr. Nikolai could hardly keep up with him; finally, absolutely exhausted, he lost sight of him.

All his life Fr. Nikolai was preparing himself for a monastic life, but never actually entered a monastery, in obedience to the misleading advice of his lay-priest "staretz" who told him the monastic life was too lax.

(Excerpted from: “A Pilgrimage to the Orthodox Holy Places of America: The Fifth Pilgrimage” Orthodox Word, Apr-June, 1967, p. 31-32.)

Exit of Harvard Square subway today

Tremont Street, Boston, 1910-1920

[Any further information on Nikolai Panteleimonov would be appreciated. Unfortunately he seems to be lost to history as I contacted Saint Herman Monastery in Platina, California who publishes Orthodox Word and no one knew anything about him, including Abbot Herman. The article went on to speak of Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Brookline, Massachusetts, so I contacted them as well and they had never heard of him before either. As the article was written 42 years ago, this does not surprise me. - J.S.]

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Saint Botolph, Patron Saint of Two Boston's

Saint Botolph (Feast Day - June 17th)

Having been born and raised in Boston, there was once a time when I was about twenty years old that I lost my appreciation for this great city. In hindsight I look at that feeling as just an inner need to escape the enclosed environment I was living in and take in a new experience, both physically and intellectually. I was in college at the time and had no chance of physical escape, so I realized I had to make an intellectual transformation of how I perceived Boston. My solution in accomplishing this was to devour Boston that entire summer like a tourist and take in its amazing history through things like books, tours, and excursions. That experience and intellectual broadening has transformed my thinking and to this day I sincerely love Boston and after all my travels think it is the best city of the United States.

Among my many discoveries at that time, and one of the most interesting, happened at Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Brookline when I came across an icon of Saint Botolph for sale that was painted by the monks of the same monastery. I had never heard of Saint Botolph before so it struck my curiosity as to who this was and noticed they also distributed small icon prints with the image of Saint Botolph in front and on the back was his life story. This is what it said:

"Saint Botolph was born in England around 610. In his youth he became a monk in Gaul. By 654 he had returned to England and founded the Monastery of Ikanhoe in East Anglia. Thereafter, the place came to be called "Botolphston" (from either "Botolph's stone" or "Botolph's town"), which was later contracted to "Boston". Having led many in the way of salvation, and renowned for his sanctity and miracles, Saint Botolph reposed around the year 680. He was greatly revered by his Christian countrymen in antiquity, and is commemorated to this day in the name of two cities, both the original Boston in the Lincolnshire fens (about 100 miles north of London), and likewise its namesake in the New World, in Massachusetts. The feast of St. Botolph is celebrated June 17."

I was just about drop-jawed when I found out that the city I was born and raised in was named after an Orthodox Saint, and even more pleased the monks had written hymns for Saint Botolph as well (link below). This was information they certainly did not teach me in school. This was a discovery that literally transformed how I viewed Boston and prompted me to do further research.

One day soon after this discovery while driving through Boston along Massachusetts Avenue I noticed that the street running parallel to Huntington Avenue was named St. Botolph Street. Though there is no church dedicated to Saint Botolph on this street, I did discover later on, besides the fact there is an apartment complex named after Saint Botolph, that on Huntington Avenue itself there is a YMCA with an Anglican chapel inside dedicated to Saint Botolph. Besides this there are few other mentions of Saint Botolph in the city of Boston (there is a club named after him and the house of the president of the Jesuit Boston College is also named after the Saint). Noteworthy is the fact that pieces of the Gothic window tracery of Lincolnshire’s Church of St. Botolph are incorporated into the structure of Trinity Church in Boston’s Copley Square.

One thing I was pleased to discover however was that the Orthodox are slowly laying claim to their Saint in the hopes of sanctifying their city in the New World, as is traditionally done in the more Orthodox countries of the East. Besides the awareness Holy Transfiguration Monastery is promoting through their icon of Saint Botolph, there is also a Russian Orthodox Church Abroad parish in Roslindale named after Holy Epiphany that depicts an icon of Saint Botolph (painted by parishioner Zoya Shcheglov) on its south wall facing towards the city in full stature and giving blessing to the city that bears his name. Unfortunately there is no Orthodox church or chapel dedicated to Saint Botolph in Boston as of yet, but there is an Antiochian Orthodox Church dedicated to Saint Botolph in London.

The meeting between Winthrop and Blackstone and the naming of Boston

In my research regarding the figure of Saint Boltoph and the relationship between the two Boston's, this is what I discovered.

The Rev. William Blackstone was the first settler of the area that would come to be known as Boston. He was an Anglican priest who fled England due to his disagreements with the Church of England and joined the Gorges expedition to the New World in 1623. After most from the expedition returned home, Blackstone decided to live as a recluse in the heavily forested area of what we know today as Boston Common and Beacon Hill in 1625. He is said to have had the largest library in the colonies at that time and just wanted to live alone with his books, his cattle, and his gardens.

In 1629 Puritans arrived in Salem but then travelled to nearby Charlestown from a place in England called Boston in Lincolnshire. The area that Blackstone lived in was originally called Shawmut by the local Indians and Trimountaine by the colonists due to the fact that the area consisted of three hills (this is how Tremont Street got its name). In 1630 Blackstone invited the Puritans to make their settlement across the Charles River on the Shawmut Peninsula with him since they had problems with clean water in Charlestown. On September 17, 1630 their new settlement was renamed Boston with the proclamation of John Winthrop, "that Trimountaine shall be called Boston", after their hometown in England and was designated the capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

John Winthrop

These Puritans were an intolerant group in their zeal to have a pure church in the New World. When they settled in Boston they granted Blackstone 50 acres of his own land. However they looked upon him with suspicion since he was an ordained minister of the Church of England and the Puritans feared he would try to establish the Church of England in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The Puritan court thus ordered his house be burned. This display of intolerance forced Blackstone to move 35 miles south and settle in Cumberland, Rhode Island. They also had Anne Hutchinson exiled to Rhode Island in 1638 as well for similar intolerance.

John Winthrop was the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and he is famous for delivering his famous sermon titled "A Model of Christian Charity" in 1630 while still aboard the ship Arbella. This sermon contained the famous phrase "city upon a hill" when Winthrop warned the settlers that they were being watched by the world and needed to be an example of pure Christian conduct. It was his hope to build a model Christian community in the Massachusettss Bay Colony free from the corruption of the Church of England and thus be an example to the Protestants in Europe and reform the Church of England which had corrupted itself with Catholic practices.

Soon after the Puritan settlement in Boston, it became the largest and most influential city in the New World till the mid-18th century. America's first public school, Boston Latin, was founded in 1635 and its first college, Harvard, was established a year later. Boston Latin was modeled after Boston Grammar School in Lincolnshire.

Rev. John Cotton eventually came to Boston with his family in 1633 to serve as the "Teacher" in what is now the old First Church in Boston’s Back Bay. During the remaining 19 years of his life, Cotton was the “senior statesman” of the church as it quickly spread with the Massachusetts colony along the shores of northern New England. He served as an arbiter of theologi­cal controversy and largely defined the characteristics of what became New England Congregationalism. He was also the grandfather of Cotton Mather who would play an important role in the Salem Witch Trials. John Cotton is an under-recognized figure in history. It was he who lit the flame that motivated the colony of Massachusetts Bay, and more than any other single individual defined the society that became New England.

Rev. John Cotton

Back in England John Cotton had served in Boston as the vicar of Saint Botolph's Church from which many of the Puritan settlers had also come and knew of this charismatic minister. He had served at Saint Botolph's from 1612 and was widely regarded as the preeminent Puritan theologian in all of England. Cotton would draw large crowds to Saint Botolph's from throughout all of England to hear him deliver one of his legendary three-hour sermons. In fact, the pulpit raised in the church for John Cotton in 1612 is still in use today. When Archbishop Laud chastised Cotton for serving the sacrament to people standing instead of kneeling, Cotton replied there was no room for people to kneel. He was so popular that people from throughout England moved to Saint Botolph's town just to hear him preach. Soon the influence of the Puritans and Seperatists reached the ear of the King and an effort was made to silence them.

It was during this time that the Puritans decided to move to the Massachusetts Bay Colony to practice their faith freely. With the financial backing of the Earl of Lincoln and the wealthy families of Saint Botolph's parish, in the spring of 1630 a flotilla of seven ships was ready to take the first wave of 1,000 emi­grants to a new colony in the New World. Members of Saint Botolph’s church were prominent among those who set sail for Massachusetts Bay in April 1630, under their chosen leader John Winthrop on the Arbella, named for the daughter of the Earl of Lincoln, who was aboard with her husband. Their pastor, John Cotton, preached a farewell sermon just a few days before the small convoy sailed from Yarmouth. It is said that about 10% of the first settlers in Boston, Massachusetts came from Boston, England.

Saint Botolph's Church in Lincolnshire along with the Boston Stump

Over the years, the old and new Bostons have kept in touch. St. Botolph’s Church was restored in the mid-1800's and again between 1929-33, both times with significant help from the people of Boston, Massachusetts. As it happens, the town offers unique hospitality for Americans as a result. In 1999 the Partnership of the Historic Bostons was formed to re-establish the relationship between Boston, Massachusetts, and its mother town in England, with committees on both sides of the Atlantic working to keep the connections alive. Every year in Boston, Massachusetts, Boston Charter Day celebrates the anniversary of Boston’s naming and creation as a political entity on September 7, 1630. Events are coordinated by the Partnership (www.historicbostons.com).

Saint Botolph's Church began its construction in 1309 and completed in 1390. The church tower, famously known as Boston's Stump or The Stump, was erected in 1425 and took another 90 years to complete. It is the highest tower of any parish church in England at 272 feet built to navigate ships six miles away. It is of this tower with its beacon and its bells that we hear in Jean Ingelow's touching poem, "High Tide On the Coast of Lincoln­shire." Its construction was based on the calendar: 365 steps up the tower for days of the year, 12 stained glass windows for months of the year, 4 large main doors for the seasons, and 7 columns on the chancel roof for days of the week. Today, Boston in Lincolnshire is a bustling market town of 36,000 and throughout the year of 2009 it is celebrating the 700th anniversary of Saint Botolph's Church with many festivities throughout the year.

The people of Lincolnshire modeled many things in new Boston based on old Boston. On March 4, 1634 the Court of Assistants in new Boston, remembering the Stump of Saint Botolph's Church, passed the following resolution: "It is ordered that there shall be forth with a beacon set on the Centry hill at Boston to give notice to the Country of any danger, and that there shall be a ward of one person kept there from the first of April to the last of September; and that upon the discovery of any danger the beacon shall be fired, an alarm given, as also messengers presently sent by that town where the danger is discovered to all other towns within this jurisdiction." This helps us to understand the significance of the light at Boston's Old North Church in today's North End that sparked the Revolutionary War and signaled the famous ride of Paul Revere.

Nathaniel Hawthorne travelled to old Boston in Lincolnshire. He hints that the winding streets of new Boston can be attributed to old St. Botolph's town: "Its crooked streets and narrow lanes reminded me much of Hanover Street, Ann Street, and other portions of our American Boston. It is not unreasonable to suppose that the local habits and recollections of the first settlers may have had some influence on the physical character of the streets and houses in the New England metropolis; at any rate here is a similar intricacy of bewildering lanes and a number of old peaked and projecting storied dwellings, such as I used to see there in my boyish days. It is singular what a home feeling and sense of kindred I derived from this hereditary connection and fancied physiognomical resemblance between the old town and its well-grown daughter."

The relationship between old Boston and new Boston is beautifully expressed by New England poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem, “Boston”:

St. Botolph’s Town! Hither across the plains
And fens of Lincolnshire, in garb austere,
There came a Saxon monk, and founded here
A Priory, pillaged by marauding Danes,
So that thereof no vestige now remains;
Only a name, that, spoken loud and clear,
And echoed in another hemisphere,
Survives the sculptured walls and painted panes.

St. Botolph’s Town! Far over leagues of land
And leagues of sea looks forth its noble tower,
And far around the chiming bells are heard;
So may that sacred name forever stand
A landmark, and a symbol of the power,
That lies concentred in a single word.

The Puritans who named their “city on a hill” Boston likely had no intention of naming the city after a canonized saint, merely naming it after where many of them came from. And while June 17th is a holiday in new Boston, it is not for Saint Botolph but for the battle fought on Bunker Hill on that day in 1775. Coincidentally, the feast day of Saint Patrick, Boston’s other patron saint due to its many Irish immigrants, is also a public holiday but that is due to Evacuation Day and not the saint's day.

Besides the information about Saint Botolph provided by Holy Transfirguration Monastery above, little is known about Saint Botolph. Here are some other facts that we do know:

- He was born into a Christian Saxon family in the early seventh century. Botolph and his brother Adolph were educated by Saint Fursey in Cnobersburg Monastery, located at Burgh Castle near Great Yarmouth.

- When Mercian forces invaded the region, Botolph and Adolph went to Europe and became Benedictine monks in Belgian Gaul. Botolph returned to England in 647 to found a monastery in East Anglia based on the Benedictine Rule. He is credited for first bringing Benedictine monasticim to England. His brother Adolph, also commemorated on June 17th, remained in Germany or Holland and became a bishop.

- On his return, Botolph approached the little known King of the southern Angles, Ethelmund, whose sisters he had known in Germany that were also monastics. The King offered Botolph part of the royal estate upon which to build a monastery. Botolph however had specifically asked for land not already in anyone’s possession so that his gain would not be another person’s loss. Instead he settled for a desolate, barren island, reported to be haunted by demons. We are told that he received threats and horrible apparitions by these marsh-demons and overcame them through prayer, fasting and erecting a large Cross. Thus, land haunted by demons became holy ground.

- With the support of Saint Syre, Saint Aubierge, and their brother, King Anna of East Anglia (who may be the same King Ethelmund), Botolph founded the Monastery of Ikanhoe (Ox-island), which according to the Saxon Chronicle, was established in 654 AD as a Benedictine abbey.

- The site was surrounded by water and endless work was needed to make this austere place viable. But Botolph attracted enough brother monks and hermits and soon, through their hard work and faith, the monastery grew. The monks built several structures, turned large areas of marsh and scrub into productive grazing and farm land, and dispelled the local people's fear of demons.

- No one knows for sure today where Ikanhoe was - the two modern contenders are Iken in Suffolk and Boston in Lincolnshire. For many years local historians believed that the developing area around the monastery came to be called Botolph's Town, then Botolphston, with the name finally contracted to Boston. However, more recent research suggests that the actual spot may be the village of Iken, near Snape in east Suffolk which, centuries ago, was almost encircled by the River Alde. The church there is also dedicated to St. Botolph.

Iken, which may be the true site of Ikenhoe

The village of Iken

- During his time at the monastary, Botolph also worked as a travelling missionary through the rough, bandit-plagued areas of East Anglia, Kent and Sussex. He was known for many wonders and healings and displayed a gift of prophecy. His biographer, the English monk and musician, Folcard, writing in the 11th century, describes him as "distinguished for his sweetness of disposition and affability." Even the prominent Anglo-Saxon monastic, St. Ceolfrid, who later brought to Rome the Codex Amiatinus, a manuscript of the oldest Vulgate text of the Bible, came to Ikenhoe to spend time with this man.

- It is believed he died after a long painful illness while being carried to chapel for a compline service on 17 June 680 – the date his feast is commemorated. He was buried there at Ikanhoe. He was known to be "a man of remarkable life and learning, full of the grace of the Holy Spirit." His relics were later found incorrupt, and giving off a sweet fragrance.

- Botolph is supposed to have been buried at his foundation of Ikanhoe. In 970 King Edgar gave permission for his relics to be transferred to Burgh, near Woodbridge where they remained for some 50 years before being transferred, on the instructions of Cnut, to their own tomb at the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds. His relics were later translated (with those of his brother Adolph) to Thorney Abbey, although his head was transferred to Ely and other portions to Westminster Abbey and other houses. December 1 is the Feast of the Translation of his relics.

- Burgh is an ancient site, a hill top iron age settlement with signs of later Roman occupation. We know that in 970 the relics of Saint Botolph were housed in a chapel here and that he had a reputation for casting out demons. Burgh was known at that time as also being haunted by marsh-demons. There seems to be evidence that the hill in Beowulf, which was written in Suffolk in the 7th century, where Grendl was supposed to have lived, was this one. Was the story based on an older folk memory? The neighboring village is called Grundisburgh, consonant with the demon Grendl.

Burgh church from the air looking northeast. The church overlooks the haunted marshes. It is thought that Saint Botolph's relics were brought here so the locals could overcome their fear of the demons inhabited in the marshes.

- Many churches between Yorkshire and Sussex are dedicated to Saint Botolph, with a heavy concentration in East Anglia. It is said there are 71 churches in total. They bear witness to his untiring missionary work which strengthened the Benedictine movement for many centuries after his lifetime.

- Because he is considered the patron saint of travellers, four City of London churches, near gates in the City walls, were dedicated to him - St Botolph Billingsgate (destroyed in the Great Fire and never rebuilt), St Botolph Aldersgate, St Botolph-without-Bishopsgate (where the poet Keats was baptized) and St Botolph's Aldgate. This is attributed to providing places for incoming travellers to give thanks to him for safe arrival and for outgoing travellers to pray to him for a safe journey, and/or to relics of him coming through these four gates when King Edgar moved them from Iken to Westminster Abbey.

- Since old Boston in Lincolnshire had originally been haunted by demons which were exorcised by Saint Botolph, this also became the model for Puritans in new Boston as well that unfortunately went too far in purifying the Massachusetts Bay Colony with their heresy and witch trials that resulted in many executions.

For hymns in English to Saint Botolph written by Holy Transfiguration Monastery, see here.

Apolytikion in the Plagal of the First Tone
Neither the desolation of the fens, nor the depth of thy humility could hide the light of thy virtues, whereby thou becamest a lamp unto the faithful, O Botolph our righteous Father. Wherefore, we entreat thee: do thou also enlighten us who venerate thy blessed memory.

Kontakion in the First Tone
The glory of the just, the protector of Boston, the man of mighty prayer, our belov'd Father Botolph, entreateth the Saviour that He show mercy to all of us. Let us honour him with thankful praise, O ye faithful; let us imitate his conversation and virtues, that God hear his prayers for us.

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More Proof Against the Myth That Hitler Was A Devout Catholic

[Atheists often try to deflect arguments against the fact that atheistic ideologies made it possible for the 20th century to be the bloodiest century in history by citing the myth that Hitler committed all his atrocities as a devout Catholic. Though before 1933 we do hear of Hitler making affirmative Catholic statements hoping to win over the support of German Catholics and their conservative values, after 1933 he seems to grow silent on the subject. In 1999 this became the subject of a popular yet controversial book, Hitler's Pope, in which it was claimed that Pope Pius XII was an anti-Semite and helped to legitimize Hitler's Nazi regime. In 2005 this thesis was refuted by Rabbi David Dalin in his book The Myth of Hitler's Pope. Below is presented another study released today which shows that Hitler was far from a devout Catholic, proved by the fact that he planned an assasination attack against Pope Pius. - J.S.]

More Proof of Hitler's Plan to Kill Pius XII

Son of German Intelligence Officer Comes Forward

ROME, JUNE 16, 2009 (Zenit.org)- New evidence published today by the newspaper of the Italian bishops gives more credence to the belief that Adolf Hitler had planned to either kidnap or kill Pope Pius XII.

It has long been conjectured that Hitler had ordered the SS commander in Italy, General Karl Wolf, to seize the Vatican and take the Pope.

Dan Kurzman wrote about it in his 1997 book A Special Mission: Hitler's Secret Plot to Seize the Vatican and Kidnap Pope Pius the XII, which is based on interviews with Wolf himself. Wolf's accounts, however, could never be verified.

New evidence published today by Avvenire now points to the role of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (the Third Reich's main security office) in devising a plot to take out the Pope.

The newspaper cited the testimony of Niki Freytag Loringhoven, 72, the son of Wessel Freytag von Loringhoven, who during World War II was a colonel in the High Command of the German Armed Forces.

According to the son, days after Hitler's Italian ally, Benito Mussolini, had been arrested at the orders of King Victor Emmanuel III, Hitler ordered the Reichssicherheitshauptamt to devise a plot to punish the Italian people by kidnapping or murdering Pius XII and the king of Italy.

Hearing of the project, Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, head of the German counterintelligence service, informed his Italian counterpart, General Cesare Amè, during a secret meeting in Venice from July 29-30, 1943.

Also present at the meeting were colonels Erwin von Lahousen and Wessel Freytag von Loringhoven, who both worked in Section II of German counterintelligence, which dealt primarily with sabotage.

Canaris, Von Lahousen and Freytag von Loringhoven had all been part of the German resistance against the Nazis.

Amè, upon returning to Rome, spread news of the plans against Hitler in order to block them, which proved successful. The plan was quickly dropped.

According to Avvenire, this testimony coincides with the deposition given by Von Lahousen during the Nuremberg war crimes trials on Feb. 1,1946 (Warnreise Testimony 1330-1430).

Canaris was later dismissed as the head of German intelligence in February 1944, put under house arrest, and then executed in 1945.

The two colonels participated with Claus Graf Schenk von Stauffenberg in the failed July 20 Plot to assassinate Hitler in 1944.

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