Pagan Russians Ring In the Summer Solstice With a "Bang"

The supreme priest of Russian neo-pagans beats his tambourine celebrating the summer solstice in Volokalamsk, some 200 kilometers north-west from Moscow, Russia, early Sunday, June 28, 2009. The festivities of Ivan Kupala - or John the Baptist - is similar to Mardi Gras and reflects pre-Christian Slavic traditions and practices. After the 1991 Soviet collapse Russia has seen a revival of the Russian Orthodox Church along with a surge of peripheral movements and creeds. (Sergey Ponomarev/AP Photo)

[I couldn't resist making this post. Yesterday and today media around the world are reporting two stories related to paganism, but I think I'm the first to report the connection between the two. The first has to do with the Summer Solstice and speaks of the bizarre rituals neo-pagans are performing around the world especially in Russia, while the second concerns a Ukrainian politician who was struck by lightning while on a fishing trip. The connection between the two is that in Russia the neo-pagans are heavily opposed by the Russian Orthodox faithful, while the Ukrainian politician, Vasily Chervoni, is also opposed by the Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox faithful and has even been excommunicated by the Russian Orthodox Church for trying to revive the worship of the sun god Dazhbog. I hate to make humorous such a tragedy, but it does leave one wondering how timely the two fit in - especially when the media most focused on the Russian pagans this year instead of the more popular rituals going on in England as well as at Stonehenge. The two stories are below. - J.S.]

Russian Pagans From Ancient Cult Greet Solstice
Russian Pagans Celebrate Summer Solstice Despite Opposition From Orthodox Church

By Sergei Ponomarev (AP, July 5, 2009)

Maloyaroslavets, Russia - Tambourine throbbing in hand, Velislav chants to gods whose cult has almost been obliterated by a millennium of Christianity in Russia.

Several hundred followers wearing linen, ancient Slavic ornaments and flower garlands circle around the high priest to celebrate the summer solstice, in an all-night festivity fought by the Russian Orthodox Church for centuries. The rugged faces of bearded gods and stern goddesses top a temple of upright logs.

These are Russia's neo-pagans, whose ranks are estimated in the low thousands. Only a handful of pagan groups are officially registered in this predominantly Orthodox Christian country with sizable Muslim, Buddhist and Jewish minorities. The fractured pagan groups constantly argue about the authenticity of rituals, the hierarchy of priests or the pantheon of gods.

The Orthodox Church claims neo-pagans are mostly interested in the entertainment of the rituals, and only some are pagans of principle. They are also controversial because right-wing nationalists who oppose the immigration of non-Slavs have said some of their members are neo-pagan. In late February, four pagans were arrested in Moscow and charged with organizing a series of explosions and the brutal killing of 11 dark-skinned non-Slavs.

On this night of the summer solstice, the pagans gather on a fragrant meadow near the city of Maloyaroslavets, some 200 kilometers west of Moscow. They go through a fertility rite known as Ivan Kupala - derived from the Slavic word "to bathe" - whose purpose is self-purification, unity with forces of nature and the honoring of the Sun god, Velislav says.

Priests pelt grain on the crowd, and young women with braided hair serve loaves of unleavened bread and kvas, a nonalcoholic drink made of rye. As darkness falls, they jump over bonfires, roll burning wooden wheels symbolizing the Sun chariot and float burning candles in a nearby river to attract good luck.

Dmitri Pankratov, who goes by Ragnar among his friends, says Slavic paganism is the only true religion for Russians. Other religious "are branches grafted to a tree," Pankratov says on the morning after the festivity. "None of them are a root of the people."

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Lightning Kills Ukrainian Politician Who Tried to Revive Pagan Cult

Moscow News, July 6, 2009

Derazhnoye, Ukraine - A Ukrainian politician who had been excommunicated by the Russian Orthodox Church for his attempts to revive ancient pagan cult was killed by lightning on Saturday while on a fishing trip, Russian daily Komsomolskaya Pravda reported on Monday.

According to the report, Vasily Chervoni was at a fishing trip near the village of Derazhnoye and suffered a direct lightning hit during a thunderstorm. He in hospital died shortly afterwards.

The newspaper reported that the late politician was a close friend of Ukrainian President Yushchenko and had at one time occupied the governor’s post in Rovno Region. A former activist in the Soviet youth movement Comsomol, Chervoni started an independent political career in early 1990s with radical Ukrainian nationalists. At some point, the politician joined the religious movement Runvera – a Ukrainian sect that seeks revival of obscure ancient cults, in particular, the worship of the sun god Dazhbog.

In 1992, Chervoni was excommunicated from the Russian Orthodox Church. When he was retired from the governor’s post in 2006, all Orthodox churches in Rovno Region had a special prayer thanking the Lord for deliverance.

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One of the Main Activists of the Kiev Patriarchate Struck Dead by Lightning

Kiev, July 6, Interfax - Former head of the Rovno Region of Ukraine and member of the so-called "supreme church council" of the self-proclaimed "Kiev Patriarchate" Vasily Chervony died last Saturday from a stroke of lightning.

The mortal stroke found him when he was fishing in the Kostopol District of the Rovno Region. Chervony was taken to the hospital where he soon died.

According to numerous evidence, this man was a chief organizer and direct participant in the violent seizures of dozens of churches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the Rovno and Volyn Regions, these seizures were accompanied with brutal beatings and tortures of priests and believers.

After the victory of the Orange Revolution, Viktor Yuschenko appointed Chervony a governor of the Rovno Region.

The day before his death, Chervony convoked several dozens of "priests" and "deans" of the schismatic "Kiev Patriarchate" and gave them a task to call off their adherents to the route from Rovno to Vladimir-Volynsky where Patriarch Kirill's cortege is to go in a month. According to Chervony's instructions, these people should hold a series of provocations against the Primate of the Russian Church. According to some information, Chervony also planned provocations in the Borispol airport on the day of the Patriarch's arrival to Kiev.

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Codex Sinaiticus Now Available For All To See

[Hopefully this is a sign of the future - that all ancient manuscripts can be accessed online for all to study and see. The website is well made and easy to navigate and hopefully will present a positive step in the right direction for biblical studies. - J.S.]

Oldest Bible Made Whole Again Online

By Stefano Ambrogi
Mon July 6, 2009
LONDON (Reuters)

The surviving parts of the world's oldest Bible will be reunited online on Monday, generating excitement among biblical scholars still striving to unlock its mysteries.

The Codex Sinaiticus was hand written by four scribes in Greek on animal hide, known as vellum, in the mid-fourth century around the time of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great who embraced Christianity.

Not all of it has withstood the ravages of time, but the pages that have include the whole of the New Testament and the earliest surviving copy of the Gospels written at different times after Christ's death by the four Evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

The Bible's remaining 800 pages and fragments -- it was originally some 1400 pages long -- also contain half of a copy of the Old Testament. The other half has been lost.

"The Codex Sinaiticus is one of the world's greatest written treasures," said Scot McKendrick, head of Western manuscripts at the British Library.

"This 1600-year-old manuscript offers a window into the development of early Christianity and first-hand evidence of how the text of the Bible was transmitted from generation to generation," he said.

The texts include numerous revisions, additions and corrections made during its evolution down through the ages.

"The Codex ...is arguably the oldest large bound book to have survived," said McKendrick, pointing out that each page is 16 inches tall by 14 inches wide.

"Critically, it marks the definite triumph of bound codices over (papyrus) scrolls - a key watershed in how the Christian Bible was regarded as a sacred text," he said.

FOUR-YEAR PROJECT

The ancient parchments, which appear almost translucent, are a collection of sections held by the British Library in London, the Monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai, Egypt, the National Library of Russia and Leipzig University Library in Germany.

Each institution owns different amounts of the manuscript, but the British Library, which digitized the delicate pages of the entire book in London, holds by far the most.

The four-year joint project, which began in 2005 with the aim of "virtually reunifying" and preserving the Bible, as well as undertaking new research into its history, has shed new light on who made it and how it was produced.

Importantly, experts at the British Library say, the project has uncovered evidence that a fourth scribe - along with the three already recognized -- worked on the texts.

The assembly and transcription of the book includes previously unpublished pages of the Codex found in a blocked-off room at St. Catherine's Monastery, at the foot of Mount Moses, Sinai, in 1975, some of which are in a poor condition and have been difficult to study.

But there are still many unanswered questions about how the book came to be, said the British Library's Juan Garces, project manager of Greek manuscripts, who worked on the digitization.

For instance, where was it made? which religious order commissioned it? And how long did it take to produce?

"The limits on access to this manuscript previously have meant that people (academics) have tended to dip, so that they have seized on particular things" to advance theories, McKendrick told Reuters in an interview.

He said the website will enable research to be carried out in a holistic way for the first time, forcing top scholars to view their theories in context.

A good example, he said, was evidence advanced by some academics pointing to the theory that it could have been made in the ancient city of Cesarea in Israel.

"It is our hope this will provide the catalyst for new research and it is already creating great interest," Garces told Reuters.

The Bible, which can be viewed online free from Monday, includes modern Greek translations and some sections translated into English.

The British Library is expecting massive interest from believers around the world as well as the academic community.

"When 25 percent of the images were made available online last July we had 3.5 million hits in the first day (a record), and it crashed the site," a spokesman said.

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Sisoes the Great and the Contemplation of Death as a Means to True Life in Christ

Saint Sisoes the Great (Feast Day - July 6)

“A tomb now suffices him for whom the whole world was not sufficient.”
-- Unknown quote about Alexander the Great

The famous icon of St. Sisoes looking over the tomb of Alexander the Great reminds me of certain sayings from Plato's dialogue Phaedo regarding the mystery of death and how a true philosopher and lover of wisdom approaches it:

"The true philosophers are ever studying death, to them, of all men, death is the least terrible. Look at the matter in this way: how inconsistent of them to have been always enemies of the body, and wanting to have the soul alone, and when this is granted to them, to be trembling and repining; instead of rejoicing at their departing to that place where, when they arrive, they hope to gain that which in life they loved (and this was wisdom), and at the same time to be rid of the company of their enemy. Many a man has been willing to go to the world below in the hope of seeing there an earthly love, or wife, or son, and conversing with them. And will he who is a true lover of wisdom, and is persuaded in like manner that only in the world below he can worthily enjoy her, still repine at death? Will he not depart with joy? Surely he will, my friend, if he be a true philosopher. For he will have a firm conviction that there only, and nowhere else, he can find wisdom in her purity. And if this be true, he would be very absurd, as I was saying, if he were to fear death."

Of course in the Orthodox tradition, as opposed to Platonic philosophy, the body itself is good as a creation of God. Man is not whole unless he possesses both body and soul, hence the great horror of the Fall which made us slaves to the passions which bring death and the separation of soul and body. Hence also the great significance of Christ's resurrection from the dead, who conquered death by his death in order to liberate us from the fear of death which made us slaves to the passions and the desires of the flesh, uniting the dichotomy of body and soul through our own resurrection from the dead.

Plato goes on to explain the vanity of a life that lives for pleasing the body and explains how the true philosopher, disciplined through asceticism, attains through death that which he desires - wisdom and truth and the liberation of the passions which only drive us nearer and nearer to death:

"For the body is a source of endless trouble to us by reason of the mere requirement of food; and also is liable to diseases which overtake and impede us in the search after truth: and by filling us so full of loves, and lusts, and fears, and fancies, and idols, and every sort of folly, prevents our ever having, as people say, so much as a thought. For whence come wars, and fightings, and factions? whence but from the body and the lusts of the body? For wars are occasioned by the love of money, and money has to be acquired for the sake and in the service of the body; and in consequence of all these things the time which ought to be given to philosophy is lost. Moreover, if there is time and an inclination toward philosophy, yet the body introduces a turmoil and confusion and fear into the course of speculation, and hinders us from seeing the truth: and all experience shows that if we would have pure knowledge of anything we must be quit of the body, and the soul in herself must behold all things in themselves: then I suppose that we shall attain that which we desire, and of which we say that we are lovers, and that is wisdom, not while we live, but after death, as the argument shows; for if while in company with the body the soul cannot have pure knowledge, one of two things seems to follow-either knowledge is not to be attained at all, or, if at all, after death. For then, and not till then, the soul will be in herself alone and without the body. In this present life, I reckon that we make the nearest approach to knowledge when we have the least possible concern or interest in the body, and are not saturated with the bodily nature, but remain pure until the hour when God himself is pleased to release us. And then the foolishness of the body will be cleared away and we shall be pure and hold converse with other pure souls, and know of ourselves the clear light everywhere; and this is surely the light of truth."

Here Plato encourages a life of purity giving the most minimal concern for the body in order to subject the body to the soul. He continues that by doing this the philosopher and lover of wisdom will attain a state of illumination. This falls in line with christian teaching that a soul and body that has not been purified cannot become a temple of the Holy Spirit. Purification comes through asceticism and prayer while living a life united to the Church. Just as our Lord warned his disciples to "watch and pray lest you enter into temptation, for the flesh is weak but the spirit is willing", so also Christians are called to make sure they do not fall into temptation by giving power to the spirit over the flesh through asceticism. This brings illumination which does not come from ourselves, but is a gift of the Holy Spirit for whom a temple we are called to be.

Plato goes on to ask:

"For I deem that the true disciple of philosophy is likely to be misunderstood by other men; they do not perceive that he is ever pursuing death and dying; and if this is true, why, having had the desire of death all his life long, should he repine at the arrival of that which he has been always pursuing and desiring?"

"And when you see a man who is repining at the approach of death, is not his reluctance a sufficient proof that he is not a lover of wisdom, but a lover of the body, and probably at the same time a lover of either money or power, or both?"

It is only in light of these things that the great ascetic feats of the Desert Fathers make sense, as well as that of contemporary monks and ascetics (and even the ascetic practices of Christians living in the world).

Many incidents from the life of St. Sisoes can be found in the Sayings of the Desert Fathers (Apophthegmata to Pateron). This Saint, great and renowned among the ascetics of Egypt, lived in the fourth century in Scete of Nitria. After the death of Saint Anthony the Great, he left Scete to live in Saint Anthony's cave which was abandoned; he said of this: "Thus in the cave of a lion, a fox makes his dwelling." St. Nikolai Velimirovich writes of him in his Prologue: "Imposing difficult labors on himself, he humbled himself so much that he became meek and guileless as a lamb. For this God endowed Sisoes with abundant grace so that he was able to heal the sick, drive out unclean spirits and resurrect the dead. Sisoes lived a life of austere mortification in the wilderness for sixty years and was a source of living wisdom for all monks and laymen who came to him for counsel and advice."


Here are some of the wise sayings and illustrious deeds of this great Father of the desert:

St. Sisoes taught the monks: "Regardless in what way temptation comes to man, a man should give himself to the will of God and to recognize that temptation occurred because of his sins. If something good happens, it should be said that it happened according to God's Providence."

One monk asked Sisoes: "How can I please God and be saved?" The Saint answered: "If you wish to please God, withdraw from the world, separate yourself from the earth, put aside creation, draw near to the Creator, unite yourself to God with prayers and tears and then you will find rest in this time and in the future."

Another monk asked Sisoes: "How can I attain humility?" The saint replied: "When a person learns to recognize every man as being better than himself, with that he attains humility."

Ammon complained to Sisoes that he could not memorize the wise sayings that he read in order to repeat them in conversation with men. The Saint replied to him: "That is not necessary. It is necessary to attain purity of mind and speak from that purity placing your hope in God."

Another brother asked Abba Sisoes, "I have fallen, Abba; what shall I do?" The elder said to him, "Get up again." The brother said, "I have gotten up again, but again have I fallen." The elder said, "Get up again and again." So the brother asked, "How many times?" The elder replied, "Until you are taken up either in virtue or in sin. For a man presents himself to judgment in that state in which he is found."

One day a man came wanting to be a monk and he had a son. Sisoes commanded him to throw the son into the river, which he was only just stopped from doing by the brothers who brought the Elder's counter-command. He went on to become a proficient monk having learned the value of obedience as a means to attaining humility.

Another man from the world came to Sisoes with his son, who died on the way. The father prostrated himself before the Abba, leaving the boy's corpse there. Thinking the child had merely failed to get up again after the prostration, Sisoes commanded him to arise; which he did, and went out, whole. Sisoes was distressed for he did not intend to raise the dead; he charged everybody to keep silent concerning this matter for as long as he lived.

A brother who had been wronged by another brother came to see Abba Sisoes. He said to him, "My brother has hurt me and I want to avenge myself." The old man begged him, saying, "No, my child, leave vengeance to God." The brother said, "I shall not rest until I have avenged myself." The Elder said, "Brother, let us pray." Then he stood up and said, "God, we no longer need You to care for us, since we do justice for ourselves." When he heard these words, the brother prostrated himself before the Elder's feet and said, "I will no longer seek justice from my brother. Forgive me, Abba."


Sisoes died in extreme old age in the year 429 A.D. It is the details of his death that he is most famous for. In light of Plato's Phaedo, St. Sisoes died as a true philosopher and lover of wisdom after having purified himself to become an illumined temple of the Holy Spirit.

When Sisoes was at the end of his long life of labours, as the fathers were gathered about him, his face began to shine, and he said, "Behold, Abba Anthony is come"; then, "Behold, the choir of the Prophets is come"; his face shone yet more bright, and he said, "Behold, the choir of the Apostles is come." The light of his countenance increased, and he seemed to be talking with someone. The fathers asked him of this; in his humility, he said he was asking the Angels for time to repent. Finally his face became as bright as the sun, so that the fathers were filled with fear. He said, "Behold, the Lord is come, and He says, 'Bring Me the vessel of the desert,'" and as he gave up his soul into the hands of God, there was as it were a flash of lightning, and the whole dwelling was filled with a sweet fragrance.


Concerning the icon of St. Sisoes staring over the dead bones of Alexander the Great, we do not know for sure if this depicts a historical event. We do not have a historical account of what the icon describes until its depiction first starts appearing in monasteries in Greece following the Fall of Constantinople in 1453.

The inscription on the icon reads:

Sisoes, the great ascetic, before the tomb of Alexander, King of the Greeks, who was once covered in glory. Astonished, he mourns for the vicissitudes of time and the transience of glory, and tearfully declaims thus:

'The mere sight of you, tomb, dismays me and causes my heart to shed tears, as I contemplate the debt we, all men, owe. How can I possibly stand it? Oh, death! Who can evade you?'

The astonishment of Sisoes has been an icon of contemplation for all Christians, especially for monastics, since the 15th century and has spread so much in popularity that it appears throughout hundreds of Greek churches and monasteries. Among the most famous come from Holy Trinity Monastery and Varlaam Monastery at Meteora, and Hosios Loukas. The site of the church where this icon usually appears is on the opposite side of the altar area as people exit the church, where also the Dormition icon of the Theotokos also appears. It is wisely placed here so Christians can contemplate death as they leave the church.

It is no coincidence that this icon became so popular after the Fall of Constantinople. Constantinople, once the seat of the Roman Emperor from the time of Constantine the Great, always looked to Alexander as one of the most exemplary of rulers. In fact, this was a tradition of all the Roman Emperors. The historian Dion Cassius (155-235 AD) reports that after Augustus had visited the body of Alexander in Alexandria, he was asked if he also wanted to visit the tombs of the Ptolemies, the sovereigns of Hellenistic Egypt. He refused, saying: "I came to see a king and not dead men". Roman universal rule was considered an inheritance of the Roman Emperors received through Alexander.


Andrew Michael Chugg writes in his book The Quest for the Tomb of Alexander the Great:

"It was the most renowned and respected shrine in the Roman Empire, the object of veneration by Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, Octavian, Caligula, Hadrian, Severus, Caracalla and a host of other luminaries. It stood for centuries within a sacred precinct the size of a large town at the heart of the greatest Greek city in the world. Yet at the end of the 4th century AD, when the Christian emperor Theodosius outlawed paganism, it disappeared without trace, creating the greatest archaeological enigma of the ancient world. What became of the tomb of Alexander the Great? Does any part of it still survive?"

"Ammianus Marcellinus relates an incident which took place in about AD 361. The Patriarch (Christian Archbishop) Georgius is said to have posed a rhetorical question to the Alexandrian mob concerning a tall and splendid temple of the Genius of Alexandria: 'How long shall this tomb stand?' he enquired. By 'Genius' Ammianus meant the tutelary deity of the city and this could well mean Alexander. Certainly, Alexander is the only figure to whom this expression might apply whose tomb also lay within the city. A few years later in AD 365, Alexandria was struck by a phenomenal earthquake followed by a gigantic tsunami, which is reported to have wrought havoc in coastal regions and port cities throughout the eastern Mediterranean. Alexandria is reported to have been particularly hard hit with ships being lifted onto the roofs of surviving buildings. This is the most probable occasion of the destruction of the Soma Mausoleum.

"A quarter of a century later, in a newly recognised reference, Libanius of Antioch mentioned in an oration addressed to the emperor Theodosius that Alexander's corpse was on display in Alexandria. This would fit with the tomb chamber having eventually been excavated from beneath the rubble of the ruins. It also provides an occasion upon which the corpse might have been removed and separated from the sarcophagus, which would explain why the latter was found in a vacant state by Napoleon's expedition. A year or so later, Theodosius issued a series of decrees outlawing the worship of pagan gods, among whom Alexander was to the fore. In Alexandria, the Christians rioted and destroyed the Serapeum, the leading pagan temple. This is the point where the continued worship of the founder's corpse would have become unconscionable to the Alexandrian authorities. This is the time that Alexander's remains finally disappear from history. At the very end of the 4th century or early in the 5th, John Chrysostom was able to assert in a sermon that Alexander's tomb was then 'unknown to his own people', that is to say, to the pagans of Alexandria. A few decades later Theodoret listed Alexander among famous men whose tombs were unknown."

In light of this information, it is not implausible that the depiction of Sisoes lamenting over the tomb of Alexander is a historical event lost to us in document form but survives only in iconography. In many ways, the iconographic tradition is just as reliable historically as is a written document. Since Sisoes was a contemporary of the events described above regarding the destruction of Alexander's tomb, I would find it difficult to believe that such a wise disciple of Anthony the Great living outside Alexandria would not at least make some comment in this regard.

Sisoes lamenting over Alexander is also a lament over an ideology. It is not by coincidence that both men are known by the epithet "Great". At one time, during Roman rule that lasted over a millennium and a half, Alexander was an icon of the Empire, but now that the Empire was gone the Romans looked to monastics as the only hope for suffering Orthodoxy under the Ottoman Muslims. It is this outlook which formed the Orthodox mentality during this period. That is not to say that it did not exist before, since this was always a part of christian and monastic tradition, but now Sisoes stands over Alexander's dead bones alive and learning the great lesson of the vanity of worldly glory. Roman glory may have vanished, but the Kingdom of Heaven reigns forever.

It would be good for Orthodox Christians today to learn from this icon, and keep focus on who is truly "great" in this icon. There seems to be so much reverence for Alexander the Great, that we tend to forget that he is a dead hero no longer worthy of emulation. Our true role models ought to be the wise Saints, like Sisoes.

Apolytikion in the First Tone
Thou didst prove to be a citizen of the desert, an angel in the flesh, and a wonderworker, O Sisoes, our God-bearing Father. By fasting, vigil, and prayer thou didst obtain heavenly gifts, and thou healest the sick and the souls of them that have recourse to thee with faith. Glory to Him that hath given thee strength. Glory to Him that hath crowned thee. Glory to Him that worketh healings for all through thee.

Kontakion in the Fourth Tone
In thy struggles, thou wast as an earthly Angel, shining light upon the minds of all the faithful ceaselessly with thy divine signs; and for this cause, righteous Sisoes, we honour thee faithfully.

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Metropolitan Philip and the Future of Monasticism in the Antiochian Archdiocese

Metropolitan Philip of New York

The Antiochian Archdiocese of North America has for a long time been controversial regarding its liberal attitude in discarding what many Orthodox consider to be precious and sacred traditions. This attitude has most often been traced to its current Metropolitan, Philip. The fact that he wrote the foreword to the misleading book Orthodox Fundamentalism published by Conciliar Press should give the more traditionally minded Orthodox an idea of what he stands for.

Metropolitan Philip prides himself in trying to be a "progressivist" by relating to the common American in his attempt to win people to Orthodoxy. Of course, he is most famous for bringing into the Orthodox fold the "Evangelical Orthodox" en mass, and even this move is looked upon as controversial the way he went about it. And his attempt to fit in with the common man has gone so far as to even appear shamelessly in a cowboy suit, complete with a bandana and a six-shooter (his episcopal panagia was tucked in his shirt pocket) at the Archdiocesan convention that was held in Dallas, Texas in 1982 (there is a picture of this in the Word magazine in 1982 with the Metropolitan pointing the six-shooter at a Reader, with the inscription "Pay your diocesan assessment, or else," or something similar).

Besides the ludicrousness of the above, however, his extremes have reportedly even gone over canonical boundries. One issue has been that he has allowed clergy to be remarried while continuing to serve as priests. Another concerns the abolishment of all fasting from the feasts of Pascha until the Ascension, though this is more of a modern innovation of the entire Antiochian Patriarchate than of the Metropolitan himself.

Perhaps the most controversial innovation of Metropolitan Philip is his complete prohibition for Antiochian clergy in America to walk around outside of church property wearing the rasson (cassock) with an untrimmed beard and hair in a pony-tail. He considers this unbecoming for clergy in America and insists on clergy adopting his style of wearing a suit with a collar, being completely shaven or with a very trimmed beard, and short hair. The controversy over this decision in the 1990's caused many traditional Orthodox clergy in the Antiochian Archdiocese to leave and enter more traditional jurisdictions like ROCOR. His justification for this, besides his "common man" argument, has been the example of St. Tikhon, Enlightener of America. He claims to possess a photograph of this Saint from 1905 walking around in a suit with a collar in San Francisco and argues that St. Tikhon encouraged this look for all his clergy in America. However, besides the fact that there is absolutely no evidence to suggest that St. Tikhon sought to impose Papist or Episcopal attire on his clergy (Fr. George Florovsky evidently disputed the authenticity that St. Tikhon made such a directive), it is almost certain that this photo is taken out of context and used as a means to justify his innovation. We know that for St. Tikhon it was the norm for him to walk around in a blue cassock while in America. Fr. Feofan Buketov recorded the travels of St. Tikhon in 1906 (a year after the photo) and describes Archbishop Tikhon with a blue cassock and hat from which flowed long hair. He says that he would travel like this on public trains throughout America and it would not only catch peoples attention, but they would stand up in his presence out of reverence and would go up to him to shake his hand (so much for Metr. Philips comment that Americans would never approach a traditional looking clergyman to say hello) . For all we know, the picture of St. Tikhon from 1905 could have been a one-time incident and it may have something to do with the vast amount of Uniates who were converting to Orthodoxy at the time, for whom St. Tikhon went to great lengths to win them over to Orthodoxy. Whatever the case may be, the early mission to America allowed certain practical accomodations as Orthodox were in the process of forming their identity in the New World. The facts are that we are no longer a new mission, nor are we living in a country where everybody dresses the same as they did in the beginning of the twentieth century. Contemporary diversity in America allows for the acceptance and educational value of traditional Orthodox clerical attire.

Currently there are over 70 Orthodox monasteries in America among all the canonical jurisdictions, and it should be of little surprise that until now there has only been one monastery under the jurisdiction of the Antiochian Archdiocese. The Skete of Saint Paul in Memphis, Tennessee is under the omophorion of Metropolitan Philip and it is administered by Bishop Basil of Wichita (this same Bishop Basil is considered the only monk in the entire Antiochian Archdiocese by Metropolitan Philips own admission a few years ago), though it is considered a dependent of the Holy Dormition Monastery in Rives Junction which is under the OCA. Apparently there is only one monastic in the monastery, Mother Nektaria, and it has failed to attract others. Recently news has come out (see below) that Metropoitan Philip has established another monastery known as the Convent of Saint Thekla in Antiochian Village in Pennsylvania with one schema-nun named Mother Alexandra.

Many have claimed that the reason the Antiochian Archdiocese lacks a monastic presence in America is because Metropolitan Philip is anti-monastic. I don't think this is entirely true. I believe that Metropolitan Philip comes from the old school of Orthodoxy in the 1950's and 1960's America where the priority of the Church in America was to establish missions and parishes and ordain as many clergy as possible, leaving monasteries to be established in the future. This was the same attitude of Archbishop Iakovos of the Greek Archdiocese. The two also had a fear of extremist attitudes arising within their jurisdiction with the presence of monastics. This fear, however, has always proved to be an unhealthy symptom of being an over-controlling hierarch. This same attitude can also be seen in Metropolitan Methodius of Boston today who is the only hierarch in the GOA that opposes the establishment of an Orthodox monastery in New England unless it is under his direct control. This unhealthy attitude however is one of the greatest threats to the spiritual development of Orthodox christians in America, as all the Holy Fathers can attest to.

Metropolitan Philip has described his vision for the future of monasticism in the Antiochian Archdiocese in his official biography. In it he basically describes the good memories of his youth being around monastics and he wants to transfer this same feeling he had to America by establishing a monastery at Antiochian Village where monastics could interact with the youth. Interestingly this is the same attitude of Metropolitan Methodius who plans to build a monastery on the campgrounds of the Boston Metropolis Camp. Just like Our Lady of Balamond in Lebanon has youth programs, Metropolitan Philip envisions the same for this monastery. He also says that once this monastery is established other monasteries will be established under his omophorion. Time will only tell if this truly comes about, but it seems to be slowly coming along. The Antiochian Archdiocese is strongly in need of a monastic ethos that in more recent years has been a very positive influence in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese through its monasteries established by Elder Ephraim.

Mother Alexandra

His Eminence Metropolitan PHILIP Announces the Establishment of the Convent of St. Thekla at Antiochian Village

It is with great joy that His Eminence Metropolitan PHILIP announces the establishment of the Convent of St. Thekla at the Antiochian Village. The Acting Superior of the convent will be Mother Alexandra (Magan), and we welcome her with joy to the Antiochian Archdiocese of North America.

Mother Alexandra will take up residency at the Antiochian Village during the first week of July, and will live in temporary housing until such time as the residence building is constructed on the proposed site for the convent, which is on the main property at the Antiochian Village. This will allow her to experience a good part of the camping season, and to interact with our children.

She also has plans to attend the Archdiocese Convention in late July, and to have a presence at the St. Thekla Pilgrimage which will be held at the Antiochian Village in September.

There will soon be a website established for the convent, where all important news and information will be posted.

A brief biography of Mother Alexandra follows below.

Biography of Mother Alexandra

Mother Alexandra was born on October 11, 1965 in New Bedford, MA and is oldest of two surviving children. She was baptized in Saint James Roman Catholic Church and confirmed at the age of 13 at Our Lady of Fatima Parish. She attended public schools in her home town, graduating from New Bedford High School in 1983. After a short attendance at the University of Massachusetts in South Dartmouth, Massachusetts, she left the world and entered a Cistercian or Trappistine Convent where her introduction to Orthodoxy occurred. In 1990, she left primarily to pursue her education, working at several jobs to finance her education and attending Orthodox parishes. In 1994, she was granted a Bachelor of Arts equivalency from Saint Thomas Seminary in Denver, Colorado. When that school closed, she moved and restarted her theological education at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota. In 1997, she was awarded Masters of Arts Degrees in Systematic Theology and Church History. While in graduate school, she served as the Assistant Director at the Episcopal House of Prayer in Collegeville. After graduating, she accepted a position at Montini Catholic High School in Lombard, Illinois, where she served as Campus Minister, retreat director, instructor of Theology and Chairperson of the Theology Department for eight of her nine years at the school. After her move to Illinois, she attended Holy Transfiguration Antiochian Church in Wheaton, Illinois where she was formally received into the Orthodox faith and chrismated on Theophany 1998. When the parish moved, she attended Saint Joseph Church in Wheaton, Illinois. Having paid her school loans, she resigned her position at the high school in 2006 to return to a normative monastic life at Holy Myrrhbearers Monastery in Otego, New York. In May of 2008 Bishop Tikhon of the Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania received Mother Alexandra as a schemanun.

Mother Alexandra is named after Alexander, one of the Holy 40 Martyrs of Sebaste and her name’s day is March 9.

She can also be reached by email at motheralexandra@gmail.com.

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Blessed Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi: His 63 Year Monastic Life on Mount Athos in Pictures (1946-2009)

From the Cave of Saint Anne to the Monastery of Vatopaidi

These pictures are from the photographic archives of the Monastery of Vatopaidi which they have offered now to those who honor the Elder.

The Elder came to Mount Athos in 1946 from Cyprus to the Skete of Saint Anne to be with Elder Joseph the Hesychast. This photo was found in his passport.

This is the Church of the Sacred Forerunner John the Baptist belonging to the Brotherhood of the Elder Joseph the Hesychast and where Elder Joseph lived.

The Brotherhood of Elder Joseph the Hesychast. Behind the Elder Joseph the Hesychast's right shoulder is Elder Joseph. Noteworthy also is Elder Ephraim of Philotheou (now America) who is second from the far right of the seated Elder.

The cell of the Annunciation at New Skete where the Brotherhood lived until the death of Elder Joseph the Hesychast.

Elder Joseph at New Skete a few years after the passing of Elder Joseph the Hesychast.

This was taken in 1982 at the Sacred Monastery of Koutloumousiou where the Elder lived for a short time with his own Brotherhood. Depicted is Elder Paisios, Hieromonk Athanasios (now Metropolitan of Limassol) and he who is now Monk Niphon before entering the monastic life.

The cell of the Annunciation at New Skete as it was built for the needs of Elder Joseph's Brotherhood, until the year they left for the Sacred Monastery of Vatopaidi.

Below are a few photos from the Elders daily life at New Skete.

The donkeys of the Elder, whom he named Kitsos and Kastanis.

Fishing

In the Kitchen

Though he was the Elder of his Brotherhood, the Elder did not consider himself above everyone and worked just as hard as they did. Here he is shown resting from work.

With Papa-Haralambos at New Skete, who was then (1986) Abbot of the Monastery of Dionysiou.

The Elder in prayer on the grounds of the cell at New Skete.

The inside of Elder Joseph's cell at New Skete.

The Elder at his desk where he spent much time responding to letters and writing his books.

The Elder with the two hieromonks of his Brotherhood (in 1985) Athanasios (Metropolitan of Limassol) and Ephraim (Abbot of the Sacred Monastery of Vatopaidi).

The last photograph at New Skete on Pascha of 1987 before his departure for the Monastery of Vatopaidi.

The Elder deep in thought in the first years at Vatopaidi Monastery, wich were difficult years.

May of 1988. In front of the gate of Vatopaidi Monastery with Elder Ephraim Katounakioti and Elder Ephraim who was then Abbot of Philotheou (now in Arizona).

The first Pascha at Vatopaidi Monastery in 1989. The Elder looks astonished from when the visitors lit loud fireworks during the "Christ is Risen".

Cheesefare Sunday - March 1990. The installation of Elder Ephraim as Abbot of the Monastery of Vatopaidi.

Sunday of the Myrrhbearers - April 1990. Day of the enthronement of Abbot Ephraim. Visible in this photo also is Blessed Theoklitos Dionysatis.

After the enthronement refreshments were served in the synodikon of the Monastery. Visible also is the Governor of Mount Athos Mr. Loulis, the Archbishop of Athens Christodoulos (then Metropolitan of Dimitriados), the Abbot of Stavrovouniou Monastery in Cyprus, Abbot Ephraim and Elder Joseph.

September 1991. The visit to the Vatopaidi Monastery of Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios.

The cell in which the Elder lived at Vatopaidi and died.

One of the last photos of the Elder during Pascha 2009, his last Pascha.

"We believe in the resurrection of the dead."

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The Relationship Between Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi and the Theotokos

This icon depicts Elder Joseph offering a small church to the Panagia Pantanassa


In this video Elder Joseph describes with emotion how he received the keys to Vatopaidi Monastery from Christ Himself and the Theotokos. Below is an English translation of this lecture.

"And if I do not manage, don't misunderstand me, because my memory is weak. It doesn't keep much. However, I don't stop praying.

"This, I promise to you. Due to the fact that I can't offer you anything else, and you do good to me, I pray whenever I'm free and all by myself. I'm not bragging. I'm not boasting. But, I confess to you. I insist, though many times with laudable audacity:

"All-Good One, I beg you! You attracted me, you made me wear these rassa. I beg you All-Good God! Don't abandon me! Help! You called me and you brought me here and you gave me the keys of the Vatopaidi Monastery. You, Yourself! The Son of the Living God! When I was begging Him to show me His will through Elder Porfyrios, He talked to me. Himself! God the Logos!

"He gave me the keys of Vatopaidi. And, I used these keys to open Vatopaidi and what you see now took place. God the Logos Himself came, His affectionate Mother came, His Mother, our Mother, our consolation, and She spiritually renewed Vatopaidi. And She put us on the path of the terminοlogy of the Holy Fathers. I'm not denying anything.

"She gave us the ability to write, to write with details the whole terminology of the Holy Fathers. Have consolation in the continuous future. All these, and I kindly invoke your love, your kindness, to accept them with humility and obedience, to continue your path with self-denial and the love of persistent effort.

"The first beginning is obedience; after obedience is the Prayer, unceasing prayer, that should never stop; after the unceasing prayer, humility and obedience come. After humility and obedience, love of persistent effort comes. And then, the person learns how to resist the various excuses of the false needs: to succumb to selfishness and egoism. We stand by the meaning of the love of persistent effort. We will not succumb to anything that's prohibited in our life."

Panagia Pantanassa (Most Holy Queen of All)

This holy and miracle-working icon of the All-Holy Virgin was brought to the Vatopaidi Monastery by the Blessed Elder Joseph from New Skete. The first record of the icon's miraculous powers is from the witness of Elder Joseph.

One day a young man from Cyprus went to visit and entered into the church. At that point, the Elder witnessed a glowing light radiating from the face of the Theotokos and an invisible power pushed the young man down to the ground. When the young man had recovered from his fall, he began to repent and weep and confessed that he did not believe and was a participant in the black arts (the occult). He changed his life and became an Orthodox Christian.

This icon is also known for working many miracles, especially healing people with cancer. There are many recent records of people who have been healed from cancer after participating in the Supplicatory Canon to the Pantanassa at the monastery.

Below is a poem written by Elder Joseph to the Panagia Pantanassa:

Εις τα άγια ανετράφης των Αγγέλων τη προνοία,
πού προώρισεν ο πλάστης για την θεοκοινωνία.
Έπεσε το πρώτο πλάσμα στην φθοράν και συνετρίβη,
μά η θεία παναγάπη ουδαμώς δεν απεκρύβη.
Εις το πλήρωμα του χρόνου η Παρθένος των αγίων,
ανεδείχθη η διόπτρα των αρρήτων μυστηρίων.
Ο παρθενικός της βίος κι η τέλεια αγωγή,
έπεισαν τον Κυβερνήτην προς ημάς να κατεβή.
Ο υπέραγνός της τρόπος, εκ των κόλπων του Πατρός,
είλκυσε τον Θείον ΛΟΓΟΝ με αξίαν της Μητρός.
Στής παρακοής το σφάλμα, όπου ο νόμος της φθοράς,
η Υπέραγνος Παρθένος έγινε διά της αγάπης η αιτία της χαράς.
Το απόρρητον εν πάσι των αρρήτων μυστηρίων,
έλυσεν η θεία ΚΟΡΗ με τον ΤΟΚΟΝ της κυρίως.
Σύμπαντος του κόσμου άρχει, και διέπει η Τριάδα,
αλλά στην Παρθένον ΚΟΡΗ εσαρκώθη η Μονάδα.
Το αχώριστον στην φύσιν της Τριάδος μένει πάντα,
καί τον Λόγον η Παρθένος απεγέννησεν εις άνδρα.
Ακατάληπτον θα μείνη το μυστήριον του Τόκου·
πώς Παρθένος και Μητέρα; ανερμήνευτου του τρόπου.
Της Τριάδος δευτερεία επροικίσθης Παναγία,
καί το πώς δεν ερμηνεύει πάσα η Θεολογία.
Μυριώνυμος η κλήσις και αρμόδιος ο τρόπος,
κι ό,τι κι αν σε προσφωνήσουν είναι χρέος, κι όχι κόπος.
Ως Παντάνασσα, σοί πρέπει ότι πάντων κυριεύεις·
παντός πόνου και ανάγκης εις την ίασιν πρωτεύεις.
Στών παρθένων ταίς χορείαις, και γυναίων και ανδρών,
μετατρέπεις τη στοργή σου πάντα κόπον εις φαιδρόν.
Έστησας του ήθους μόνη, την ανάπλασιν κυρίως,
κι ο παρθενικός σου βίος εφαρμόζεται οσίως.
Ικετεύω χάρισαί μου, ό,τι είχα και μου κλάπη,
καί αυτό δεν είναι άλλο, παρά μόνο η αγάπη.
Έν σου βλέμμα μόνον στρέψε, ικετεύω σε, Κυρία,
καί βεβαίως θα μου έλθη διά σου η σωτηρία.

A beautiful hymn sung by the choir of the Monastery of Vatopaidi to the Panagia Pantanassa

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The Relationship Between Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi and the Holy Unmercenary Saints

The Monastery of the Holy Unmercenaries; Gilou, Cyprus

As was told from prior sources, the Blessed Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi was especially devoted to and had as protectors the Holy Unmercenaries Sts. Cosmas and Damian. He was born and fell asleep on their feast day. From his birthday (July 1, 1921) they had him under their protection.

The mother of the Elder when she was seven months pregnant decided to visit a small monastery in the area of Giolou (Cyprus) dedicated to the Holy Unmercenaries, in order to venerate them and request their help. There, on the grounds of the monastery, she began to feel pain before her time and little Socrates was born (the worldly name of the Elder).

And when the Elder was a novice the Holy Unmercenaries continued to come to his aid. One day we asked him why he had a special reverence for St. Panteleimon, of whom he had an icon made. He said that this Saint was the protector of his family. His father who was named Panteleimon fell asleep on the feast of the Saint. He had gone to church that day, received communion and after went for a stroll in his garden, as if he were bidding it farewell. Returning home he sat in a chair and passed away.

Saint Panteleimon (Feast Day - July 27)

When he was a novice under Elder Joseph the Hesychast he lived under difficult and harsh conditions. Here is how he describes his life:

"Neither the austerity of the regime, nor the lack of basic necessities, nor the rugged and forlorn terrain, nor the necessity of carrying loads so as to maintain six or seven people could make our purpose falter, since by the mercy of God grace gave us full assurance through the prayers of the elders. But our nature of clay shrank back, and the Lord's saying was fulfilled, that 'the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak' (Mt. 26:41). I suffered increasingly from coughing up blood and stomach hemorrhages, but my ardent intent and the experience of grace which accompanies the good fight covered all these weaknesses, for we had as our prime model the Elder, who looked at everything through faith and not through reason. In this small experiment of our life under the care of the Elder, the repeated aid from divine goodness, the continuing mysterious protection of grace and the constant sense of security in all directions oblige us to believe and proclaim that success in monastic life depends for the most part on the support of a spiritual guide; and 'he who has ears to hear, let him hear' (Mt. 11:15). Certainly there is nothing novel in this opinion nor is it some new discovery, but simply a confirmation of the patristic tradition, and blessed is the disciple 'who will keep these things, and will discern the mercies of the Lord' (Hosea 14:9)."

Elder Joseph went on to explain that though he was accustomed to living a hard life, he felt much pain from his back, his stomach hemorrhages, and his constantly getting sick. Then the Brotherhood of Elder Joseph the Hesychast moved to New Skete where the climate was more mild and the burdens less. The Elder went to Thessaloniki to get some tests done because he had constant hemorrhages. He returned with the opinion of the doctor that surgery was needed. From then he lived with Elder Theophylactos in the cell of the Holy Unmercenaries. See now how things developed.

Elder Joseph writes: "When my stomach was in pain, Elder Theophylactos would supplicate much for me to St. Panteleimon and he saw him in his church, and he told him I would get well and to not get the surgery which my doctors had ordered. I had an ulcer progressing in its appearance and neither diet or medicine offered me anything. After a period of affliction of more than two years there was no way to get out of the surgery. Then the glorious great martyr of Christ descends, the compassionate Panteleimon, and told Elder Thephylactos to tell me to not get the surgery, but to leave all to the care of our Panagia. Immediately I was totally healed, and to confirm this I visited my doctors who recognized my sickness in all its stages in order to tell me in what state I was in. They gave me an endoscopy and they found absolutely nothing, except a small old scar of a healed wound."

These Holy Unmercenaries decided also his transfer from the transient to eternity, from "earth to the highest".

As we learned from the fathers of the Monastery, when the minister (the monk who took care of the Elder) went in at 10:00 AM on Tuesday (the eve of his falling asleep) to see how the Elder was doing, he said: "I am leaving today, because I feel death". And he said to him: "Good, Elder, whatever is God's will". At night around 8:00 PM the Elder said peacefully: "These demons that have come, what do they want?" At 9:00 PM he said again: " These Saints that have come will stay with us to help us". The brother responded: "Yes, they will stay to help us". Let us emphasize that the day which was breaking was the celebration of the Holy Unmercenaries. Do you think it was them who vistied him? After this incident the Elder was full of peace and tranquility. At 10:00 PM he raised himself on his bed and said: "What is the troparion below called...? Now where do I say the service?" The brother did not recognize what service he spoke of, so he didn't answer at all.

This is very significant because we were told that in the last month he was saying the services even though he was sleeping. And for all he was going through, we are told that in the afternoon (around 12 hours before his falling asleep) he read by himself the Vespers service.

The Elder due to low blood pressure felt a tremendous exhaustion and when his blood pressure totally dropped his liver swelled. The doctors said his death came by cardiac arrest.

The brothers who took care of the Elder until the last moment were by his side and became eye-witnesses of his falling asleep.

At 2:20 AM (the morning of July 1, 2009) he took three long breaths and in this way he quietly departed for eternity.

May we have his blessing.

Alekos Christodoulou, Theologian

(Translated by John Sanidopoulos)

Saints Cosmas and Damian (Feast Day - July 1)

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Video and More Photos From the Funeral of Elder Jospeh of Vatopaidi

"Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi is man of God. His mind is so fortified in God that he does not speak about anything which is of this world. Having enormous love towards God, he longs to die." -- Abbot Ephraim of Vatopaidi

More photographs from Elder Joseph's funeral were published on http://vatopaidi.wordpress.com. These were taken by Demetris Kapogiannis of Athens and George Sarafeidis of Thessaloniki who were present at the funeral. May the blessing of the Elder be with them for sharing these.

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