Worshipping Among Stylites!

Anyone who truly knows me knows that I have a special admiration for stylite saints, especially St. Symeon the Stylite. I spent many a moment in my younger days contemplating the life of St. Symeon and his astonishing feat of living atop a high pillar decade after decade exposed to all the elements of the air and temptations of the demons. I can't say I ever wanted to emulate him though. Regrettably it is a lifestyle beyond my strength.

I always wondered what reaction people in contemporary Europe or the United States would have if stylites lived among us. I think the closest example of a reaction to something like this was when magician David Blaine did his Vertigo stunt in May 2002 when he stood atop a 100-foot pillar for 35 hours to imitate, as he said, the life of St. Symeon. As with all of his stunts it drew national media attention and large crowds gathered to witness the astonishing event in New York City. But if a man lived atop a pillar for 37 years like St. Symeon they would probably either think he was crazy or was just performing an extreme religious stunt. But if miracles followed, as in the case of St. Symeon, then we may have a different story.

For me, one sign of a healthy church is if it produces stylite-type ascetics. A church that doesn't inspire and produce such asceticism is far from maturity and it would be our biggest folly to think otherwise. Not to sound like an idealist, but how inspiring would it be to walk out of your local parish to see a stylite, or to be able to get into your car and make a pilgrimage to hear the wise counsel of a man or woman suspended between heaven and earth for the glory of God? What an inner conviction this would inspire! What a model of virtue to emulate! What an example to live up to!

These days I am much more of a realist by necessity for sanity's sake. It is a rare feat for anyone to even keep all of the prescribed fasts of the Church in our contemporary ecclesiastical atmosphere, and this in a day and age when it should be much more easier than ever with all that we have available to us. Keeping this in mind, how dare I even entertain the hope of America producing a stylite-type ascetic. In America we are fortunate if we can even get a glimpse of an icon depicting a stylite saint in one of our parishes proudly displayed so as to inspire possible emulation. I'm pretty sure it exists somewhere, but I've never seen one.

Someone may wonder where my thoughts about these things come from. Though it goes back many years to when I first read the life of St. Symeon and was fascinated by it, these specific thoughts stem from a pilgrimage I made to Kalambaka, Greece in the summer of 2001. At the foot of the Meteora monasteries is a medium sized church dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos. This church dates to about the 11th century, though it was built atop a previous church structure dating back to approximately the 5th or 6th century. The iconography dates back to the 12th century many of which were done by Neophytos the Iconographer, the son of the Cretan Theophanis Bathas-Strelitzas who did much of the brilliant iconography in the monasteries of Meteora. The focal point of the church is the very rare solid marble pulpit (I've been told it is the only one in Greece) that stands right in the middle of the church as it was done in earlier centuries. Another focal point (not open for viewing to the public) is a crypt behind the altar which was used as a hiding place during Ottoman times. Though everything about this church was overwhelmingly fascinating to me, what especially struck me was the pillars that held up the entire structure of the church. These pillars were fashioned in the style of the stylite pillars depicted in icons of the stylite saints, and on each of the four sides of each pillar throughout the church was an icon depicting a stylite saint; so that on one side of the pillar you may have St. Symeon the Elder while on the opposite side you have St. Symeon the Younger and next to them on each side would be St. Alypios and St. Daniel the Stylites. The image made me literally drop my jaw with awe and all I could think of was celebrating a Divine Liturgy in this church which gives you the impression that you are worshipping in the midst of a few dozen or so stylite saints. It was an overwhelming experience that I would love to see in a parish near where I live in Boston and it has always been my dream to transplant that experience I had in a church dedicated to the stylite saints in America.

The image of the stylites on the pillars of the Church of the Dormition in Kalambaka helped me to recall a passage I once read in the book The Year of Grace of the Lord by a Monk of the Eastern Church, in a passage where he describes why the Church has appointed the feast of St. Symeon the Stylite to appear on the first day of the liturgical year. He writes:

"The Church seems to throw down a challenge to the world deliberately in inviting us, on the first day of the year, to contemplate a case so extreme that it constitutes a paradox. For the life of a stylite appears to be a negation of all the values honoured by 'reasonable', 'civilized', 'modern' man. The history of Christian sainthood is full of such cases, which are in some way a scandal.... But it is good that, from time to time, a voice cries in the desert and sends out a strong call to renunciation and penitence.... In honouring Symeon the Stylite on the first day of the year, Eastern Christianity takes a clear stand; it shows that it neither disowns nor abandons heroic forms of sainthood. The world does not understand; it either jeers or is indignant. (p. 6)

Thus, just as the pillars in the Church of the Dormition in Kalambaka, the Church year also is held up and made sturdy by the endurance and faith of the stylites who literally became like bodiless angels in their quest for healing and salvation.

Below are some photos I took in the Church of the Dormition of the Theotokos in Kalambaka, Greece.

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Patristic Testimony of the Prophetic Ministry of Joshua the Son of Nun

Righteous Joshua the Prophet (Feast Day - September 1)

What is the special excellence of Joshua? His generalship, and the distribution of the inheritance, and the taking possession of the Holy Land. (Gregory of Nazianzus, Oration on Basil the Great 43.72)

Everywhere, therefore, he alone kept close to holy Moses amid all these wondrous works and dread secrets. In this way it happened that the one who had been Moses' companion in this intercourse with God succeeded to his power. Worthy surely was he to stand forth as a man who might stay the course of the river, and who might say, "Sun, stand still," and delay the night and lengthen the day, as though to witness his victory. Why? - a blessing denied to Moses - he alone was chosen to lead the people into the promised land. A man he was, great in wonders he wrought by faith, great in his triumphs. The works of Moses were of a higher type, his brought greater success. Either of these then aided by divine grace rose above all human standing. The one rules the sea, the other heaven. (Ambrose of Milan, Duties of the Clergy 2.20.99)

The name of Jesus [Joshua] was a type. For this reason then, and because of the very name, the creation reverenced him. What then! Was no other person called Jesus [Joshua]? But this man was on this account so called as a type, for he used to be called Hoshea. Therefore the name was changed: for it was a prediction and a prophecy. He brought in the people into the promised land, as Jesus into heaven, not the law, since neither did Moses [enter the promised land] but remained outside. The law has not power to bring in, but grace. (John Chrysostom, Homilies in Hebrews 27.6)

But Jesus [Joshua], son of Nave [Nun], was a type of him in many things, for when he began to rule the people, he began from the Jordan; thence also did Christ begin to preach the gospel after he was baptized. The son of Nave [Nun] appoints the twelve to divide the inheritance; and Jesus sends forth the twelve apostles, heralds of truth, into the whole world. He who was the type saved Rahab, the harlot, who had believed; the true Jesus...says "the publicans and the harlots are entering the kingdom of God before you." With but a shout, the walls of Jericho collapsed in the time of the type; and because of these words of Jesus, "There will not be left here one stone upon another", the temple of the Jews just opposite us is fallen; not that this sentence was the cause of its ruin, but rather the sin of the transgressors. (Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures 10.11)

The people of the Hebrews, as we learn, after many sufferings, and after accomplishing their weary course in the desert, did not enter the land of promise until it had first been brought, with Joshua for its guide and the pilot of its life, to the passage of the Jordan. But it is clear that Joshua also, who set up the twelve stones in the stream, was anticipating the coming of the twelve disciples, the ministers of baptism. (Gregory of Nyssa, One the Baptism of Christ)


Synaxarion

Jesus (Joshua) of Navi was born of the tribe of Ephraim in Egypt, in the seventeenth century before Christ. When he was eighty-five years of age, he became Moses' successor. He restrained the River Jordan's flow and allowed the Israelites to cross on foot. He caused the sun to stop in its course when he was waging war against the Amorites. He divided the Promised Land among the Twelve Tribes of Israel and governed them for twenty-five years. He wrote the Old Testament book that bears his name, and having lived 110 years in all, he reposed in the sixteenth century before Christ. His name means "God saves."

Apolytikion in the Second Tone
As we celebrate the memory of Thy Prophet Joshua, O Lord, through him we beseech Thee to save our souls.

Kontakion in the Fourth Tone
At thy prayer, the sun stood still, O righteous Jesus; for thou rightly wast adorned both with the likeness and the name of Him at Whose death the sun grew dark. Ever entreat Him to save us who honour thee.

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Three Tips For Students Studying Evolution

[Since today marks the beginning of the Ecclesiastical year, we also recall its origins as not only the beginning of the Indiction in the Roman Empire but also the date on which it was reckoned that the creation of the world took place. In America at this time September also traditionally marks the beginning of the school year. Since in our schools the youth are bombarded with questions about the creation of the world in their science and history classes, I thought it appropriate to include the following guide which presents Three Tips for Students Going Back to School to Study Evolution. Inevitably every student will be forced to study their origins from a secularist perspective, so I believe this is a helpful guide for Christian students who are about to be taught a Darwinian interpretation of their origins. - J.S.]

Three Tips for Students Going Back to School to Study Evolution

by Casey Luskin

After attending public schools from kindergarten through my masters degree, I learned a few lessons about staying informed while studying a biased and one-sided origins curriculum. My large, inner-city public high school was rich in diversity, and I learned to appreciate a multiplicity of viewpoints and backgrounds. Unfortunately, this diversity did not extend into the biology classroom. There I was told there was one, and only one, acceptable perspective regarding origins: neo-Darwinian theory. As students head back to school this year, I want to share some tips I’ve learned to help students stay informed on this topic:

Tip #1: Never opt out of learning evolution. In fact, learn about evolution every chance you get.

Evolutionary biologist Patrick J. Keeling claims in a recent letter to the editor in the journal Science that, after “a creationist visited my biology class,” his class was promised a lecture in evolution, which “never materialized.” He writes, “I wanted to know what we were missing, and why.”

I can empathize with Keeling. I had an analogous but opposite experience studying evolution in high school. At the end of our stridenly pro-Darwin unit on evolution, my public high school biology teacher promised us a debate, which like Keeling’s evolution lecture, never materialized. Then in college, I took many courses covering evolution at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. But just like my experience in high school, there was virtually no meaningful debate or dialogue over the fundamental questions. Neo-Darwinian evolution was always taken as a given. Exactly like Keeling, I wanted to know what I was missing.

Despite the one-sided nature of my education, I’m glad I studied evolution. In fact, the more evolutionary biology I took, the more I became convinced that the theory was based upon unproven assumptions, contradictory methodologies, and supported weakly by the data.

So my first tip is to never be afraid to study evolution. But when you do study evolution, always think critically and keep yourself proactively informed about a diversity of viewpoints (see tips 2 and 3 below).

Tip #2: Think for yourself, think critically, and question assumptions.

Though my professors rarely (if ever) would acknowledge it, I quickly discovered in college that nearly all evolutionary claims are based mostly upon assumptions. Modern evolutionary theory is assumed to be true, and then the data is interpreted based upon Darwinian assumptions. The challenge for you, the truth-seeking student, is to always try to separate out the raw data from the assumptions that guide interpretation of the data.

Keep your eyes out for circular reasoning. You’ll see that very quickly, evolutionary assumptions become “facts,” and future data must be assembled in order to be consistent with those “facts.”

Realize that evolutionary thinking often employs contradictory logic and inconsistent methodologies. The logic employed to infer evolution in situation A may be precisely the exact opposite of the logic used to infer evolution in situation B. Here are a couple examples:

• Biological similarity between two species implies inheritance from a common ancestor (i.e. vertical common descent) except for when it doesn’t (and then they appeal to processes like "convergent evolution" or "horizontal gene transfer").

• Neo-Darwinism predicts transitional forms may be found, but when they’re not found, that just shows that the transitions took place too rapidly and in populations too small to (statistically speaking) become fossilized.

• Evolutionary genetics predicts the genome will be full of useless junk DNA, except for when we discover function for such “junk” DNA. Then evolution predicts that cells would never retain useless junk DNA in the first place.

When both A and (not) A imply evolution, you know a theory is based upon an inconsistent scientific methodology. Keep an eye out for assumptions and contradictory methodologies, for they abound in evolutionary reasoning.

Finally, you must be careful to always think for yourself. Everyone wants to be "scientifically literate," but the Darwin lobby pressures people by redefining “scientific literacy” to mean “acceptance of evolution” rather than “an independent mind who understands science and forms its own informed opinions.” Evolutionary thinking banks on you letting down your guard and letting its assumptions slip into your thought processes. This is why it’s vital that you think for yourself and question assumptions.

Critical thinking showed me what neo-Darwinian evolution was really all about: a set of questionable assumptions, not a compelling conclusion. Self-initiated critical thinking can be a tall task, but seeking the truth is worth every mental calorie expended.

Tip #3: Proactively learn about credible scientific viewpoints that dissent from Darwinism on your own time, even if your classes censor those non-evolutionary viewpoints.

Patrick Keeling’s letter goes on to say what he had to do to learn about evolution: “For the first time in my life, I willingly (eagerly even) picked up my textbook and studiously read it. With growing interest, I realized that evolution made an awful lot of sense, and that I was being hoodwinked by my biology class.”

Keeling’s story sounds sympathetic, but the reality is that it is unrepresentative of the typical experience. The overwhelming majority of students in public high schools, colleges, and universities are not “hoodwinked” into ignorance about evolution, but rather are forced to study pro-Darwin-only curricula that misrepresent, disparage, or simply censor non-evolutionary viewpoints.

In fact, Keeling’s words describe exactly how I felt after studying only the pro-evolution viewpoint in high school and college but then finally discovered that there are credible scientific views that dissent from neo-Darwinism that were never disclosed to us. I was a victim of censorship. I have a strong suspicion that it is my story, not Keeling's, that is much closer to what most people experience.

The Darwinian educational establishment doesn’t make it easy for you to become objectively informed on the topic of evolution, but with a little work on your own, it can be done. The way around the typical one-sided evolution curriculum is to investigate the issue for yourself. Yes, take courses advocating evolution. But also read material from credible Darwin skeptics to learn about other viewpoints. Only then can you truly make up your mind in an informed fashion.

To help you find resources that dissent from Darwinism, in a couple weeks we’ll be releasing a Back to School Guide to Studying Evolution. Stay tuned for more information. In the meantime, check out some of the websites below for updates and resources on evolution:

• IntelligentDesign.org [intelligent design gateway portal]
• EvolutionNews.org Blog
• ID the Future Podcast
• ID-Related books
• Free online pro-ID articles
• UncommonDescent.com weblog
• Creation-Evolution Headlines
• Other web resources

Whatever conclusion you come to, study evolution, think for yourself, think critically, question assumptions, and investigate dissenting viewpoints on your own time!

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Historical Comparisons and Fulfilled Prophecies According to Gennadios Scholarios

St. Gennadios Scholarios (Feast Day - August 31)

Following the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans, Gennadios Scholarios was chosen to be Ecumenical Patriarch by Sultan Mehmet in January of 1453 (pictured above) since he was respected by both Orthodox and Muslims alike and was very vocal in his opposition to western innovations.

Gennadios left no detailed account of the Ottoman conquest of Constanintople. However he did compile a series of chronological observations on the ways in which the hand of providence could be seen to have influenced the dreadful events of his lifetime. He noted the following:

1. The Christian Empire of the Romans and New Rome originated with Emperor Constantine I and his mother Helen and had come to an end when another Constantine, son of Helen, was Emperor and killed in the conquest of New Rome in 1453. Between the first and last Constantine there had been no other Emperor of the same name whose mother was Helen.

2. The first Patriarch of Constantinople under Emperor Constantine I was Metrophanes and the last Patriarch was also called Metrophanes, who died in 1443; Gennadios never recognized Metrophanes' successor Gregory III because he fled to Rome and died there. There was no other Patriarch with the name Metrophanes between the first and the last.

3. The city of Constantinople had been founded on May 11 (330), finished on May 3 and captured on May 29 (1453), so that all the events of its birth and death occurred in the month of May.

4. Gennadios recorded the prophecy that when an Emperor and a Patriarch whose names began with the letter "Jo-" reigned at the same time, then the end of the Empire and its church would be at hand. So it had come about. For the men who had brought ruin on the church at the Council of Ferrara-Florence in Italy were Joannes the Emperor and Joseph the Patriarch.

Coincidence? Maybe. But worth noting anyway.

It was to Gennadios that the angry people went after seeing the Uniate services in the Great Church of Hagia Sophia. It is said that he hid himself in the cell of his monastery, but left a notice on the door of his cell: "O unhappy Romans, why have you forsaken the truth? Why do you not trust in God, instead of in the Italians? In losing your faith you will lose your city!"

Prophecy fulfilled!

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An Orthodox Christian Method of Ending Abortion

Holy Trinity Church in Perm

Half of Pregnant Women in a Town Near Perm Refuse to Make Abortion After Priest's Sermon

Perm, Russia
August 28, 2009
Interfax

In Chaykovsky, the Perm Region, 40 percent of women visiting the women's health clinic refused to terminate their pregnancy after talking to an Orthodox priest.

Women in Chaykovsky are issued an abortion appointment only after a mandatory sermon of Father Igor, a priest in Holy Trinity Church, a Perm issue of Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper reports Friday.

During such meetings, women are asked to fill in questionnaires which include such questions as "If you have a child already, and you learn that he/she has drowned a kitten, will you punish your child for that?", "Are you ready to meet the soul of your child after death?", "If a criminal states in court that he murdered someone because his apartment was too small, will he be acquitted?", "Could you ever have a look after abortion on what has been taken out of you?"

Father Igor talks to Muslim women, too.

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Albanians Protest Serbs at Church Consecration

Provocations in Djakovica

August 28, 2009
Serbian Orthodox Church Official Site
Milena Bajovic

Several hundreds Albanians protested against Serbs who were coming to a consecration of a church in Djakovica. Thanks to the heavy forces of the Kosovo police and special units, Serbs managed to leave Djakovica after the liturgy. The Ministry for Kosovo and Metohija condemned the today's incident.

On the occasion of the Assumption of Virgin Mary couple of tens of Serbs participated in Djakovica during the Holy Liturgy and the consecration of the church of Assumption of the Mother of God. They came for the first time after 1999 in their home town.

Though, several hundreds of Albanians gathered in front of the church and they prevented by shouting "Chetniks" and "criminals" and swearing, Serbs to leave the church courtyard in three vans and go to the monastery of Visoki Dechani.

After the police reinforcements to displaced Serbs had arrived, eyewitnesses said that they managed to set off with the police escort through other streets on the way to Visoki Dechani where are about 200 displaced Serbs from Djakovica, who had not come to Djakovica because of the security reasons.

On the Feast day of Assumption of Virgin Mary many faithful gathered, displaced people form Kosovo and Metohija and Serbs who live in enclaves.

Vicar Bishop Teodosije of Lipljan with the concelebration of monastery brotherhood served the Liturgy in a presence of great number of the faithful.

Vicar Bishop Teodosije of Lipljan gave a statement to the Internet portal of the RTS that today's great number of the faithful gathered in the monastery of Visoki Dechani means that people really care for sanctuaries even though they had been living very far from them for many years.

Vicar Bishop Teodosije of Lipljan also sent a word that Kosovo and Metohija were not lost forever and that he hoped that Serbs would start to come back to Kosovo and Metohija.


Condemnation of the incident in Djakovica

Ministry for Kosovo and Metohija has condemned the incident in Djakovica and stated that those kind of acts are not in favor of pacification of the situation but they are provoking further conflicts and instabilities.

On the occasion of gathering the Albanians who were in front of the Orthodox church and who called visiting Serbs "chetnicks" and "criminals" and cursing them is just a quasi evaluation and calling anyone a criminal without any evidence is completely unacceptable.

In communiqué it has been said that the Ministry regrets for all innocent victims in Kosovo and Metohija and supports actions in finding the missing of any nation and faith, as well as arresting those responsible for crimes.

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Turkish Prime Minister Visits Orthodox Monastery

Erdoğan Open on Minorities, Makes First Visit to Disputed Patriarchate Buildings

Asia News
Istanbul, Turkey
August 20, 2009

Prime Minister makes surprise visit to Bartholomew I and Büyükada Island, home to buildings owned by the Patriarchate, seized by the Turkish government, but recognised as Orthodox Church property by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. The Turkish prime minister continues on his path as a Janus-faced leader, in favour of democracy and minority rights on the one hand and playing the Turkish nationalist card on the other.

An important event took place on 15 August, feast day of the Dormition (Assumption) of Mary. For the first time a Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, visited the orphanage and monastery of Ayia Yorgi (Saint George) of Kudunas on Büyükada (Prince or Foremost) Island in the Sea of Marmara.

Although each April Muslims come on pilgrimage to the reputedly ‘miraculous’ monastery, the importance of Erdoğan’s visit lies in a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg which in June 2008 attributed ownership of the disputed property to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

On his arrival Erdoğan and four of his cabinet ministers was met by Patriarch Bartholomew I who welcomed them. The prime minister’s visit, the first one ever by a Turkish head of government to either building, is seen by many as an implicit recognition of the status of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

Just before the meeting with Bartholomew, Erdoğan had lunch with representatives of Turkey’s religious minorities (Greek, Armenian, Jewish, Assyrian Orthodox and Catholic), invited by the administration that run the Princes’ Islands, a group of islands inhabited in the past by non-Muslims.

The prime minister told the minority leaders that he hoped that his presence “could help find a solution to the difficult issues that minorities face in the country since the principles of our party, the AKP, are against every form of discrimination, be it regional, religious or ethnic.”

“In our country there should be no differences between the various ethnic groups like the Kurds, Laz, Circassians, or Georgians,” he said, adding that “as a secular state Turkey does have some shortcomings but it also has the capacity to overcome these shortcomings. And we shall do all we can to fulfill the tasks we have undertaken.”

In an ecumenical spirit, Erdoğan cited what could be considered the essence of the Mevlevi Order1 namely that “my neighbour must be met with love because he too was created by God.”

In ending his address Erdoğan cited a Persian saying: “They gathered, talked and dispersed.’ We should not be of those who gather, talk and disperse. A result should come out of this.”

“He gave us a lot of hope and so we are optimistic,” Patriarch Bartholomew I told AsiaNews when asked to comment Erdoğan’s visit and words. “Let us hope that with the help of Our Lady everything works out in the end. His [Erdoğan’s] presence honoured us and gave us an opportunity to directly voice our concerns even if he already knows them.”

Lastly, “We invited the prime minister to come to the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and to Halki,” the patriarch said. “He thanked us for that.”

In covering the visit Turkish newspapers described the prime minister’s move as the second initiative taken by his party to further democratisation.

In Istanbul’s diplomatic circles the gesture is seen as important, as something of great significance, but it must be viewed in light of Erdoğan’s Janus-faced reputation2.

For instance, by December of this year, the prime minister must report on Turkey’s progress in meeting demands for European Union membership. He will have very little to show though, for little has been achieved since the 2007 parliamentary elections, which is a great disappointment since his party successfully used the EU membership in its campaign against Turkey’s Kemalist establishment, centred on the military, currently paralysed by the Ergenekon affair3.

This said, diplomatic sources have also noted Erdoğan’s other face, one, which “with ill-concealed nostalgia, hints at the rebirth of the Ottoman Empire thanks to the new trans-Caucasian pipelines backed by Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin, with Turkey as hub, now even willing to acknowledge (on its own terms) the Armenian genocide.

The election of a nationalist AKP leader, Mehmet Ali Şahin, as speaker of the Turkish parliament in replacement of the more progressive Köksal Toptan is another sign of this two-faced policy.

Minority leaders have reacted to Ergogan’s visit to Büyükada Island with cautious optimism. “Time will tell,” said Father Dositheos, an Orthodox priest.

Devlet Bahçeli, head of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), instead reacted angrily to the visit, telling the prime minister that the European Union really wants to destroy Turkish identity and undermine the integrity of the Turkish state.

The opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) also said that by seeking international legitimacy Erdoğan is trying to shield himself from problems within his party.

------------------------------

1 A Shia fraternity founded in the 13th century in ancient Iconium, where the Christian presence was strong, and influenced the Mevlevi Order and the Alevi.

2 The god Janus is known for his two faces, hence terms like two-faced, Janus, Janus-faced. Erdoğan has been dubbed Janus-faced because of contradictions in his politics.

3 Ergenekon is the name of an underground nationalist organisation accused of terrorism with close ties to the Turkish military. Last year some prominent individuals were charged with encouraging attacks and stirring up popular unrest in order to promote a coup.

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HOUSES OF CHRISTIANS IN ISTANBUL MARKED WITH RED AND GREEN LABELS

Pogrom. Painting of Manuil Shechtman (1927)

Jürgen Gottschlich
Istanbul, Turkey
DER STANDARD
August 26, 2009

Christian houses in the Ferikoy und Kurtulus, areas in Istanbul, where many Armenians and Greeks live, were marked with red or green labels in the past weeks.

Kurdish representatives in the Turkish Parliament requested clarification after Agos, Istanbul based Armenian newspaper, had reported about the incident. It is still unclear who was behind the action.

Agos editor Aris Nalci confirmed to the Austrian news-source, Der Standard, worried and mainly older members of the Armenian community called the newspaper and reported about the fact of small red or green papers hung on their houses. After Agos investigated, they noted that about 100 houses in which, not always but very often, Armenians still live were plastered with these labels.

“We do not know what all this means,” Nalci said, but some people are worried. Demands at the city administration and the police brought no results until now. “Nobody knows about it,” says Nalci. “It can be a bad joke; it can however also have a serious background,” said Nalci.

The indictment against the nationalist Ergenekon group is accused of having planned a coup against the government of Prime Minister Erdogan, including planned attacks on Armenians as a tool for targeted destabilization.

Agos newpaper and Sebahat Tuncel are now demanding that the police carry out an official investigation to reassure the people concerned. “They should publicly take a position,” said Nalci, “so we know what’s going on.”

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A look Back At Bauhaus

Out of a school called Bauhaus, founded in 1919 in Weimar, Germany, rose one of the most important artistic movements of the 20th century. A retrospective exhibition, "Bauhaus: A Conceptual Model" at the Martin Gropius Bau in Berlin, explores the interdisciplinary workshop for modernity in art, architecture and design that was Bauhaus.

For the complete article, see here. For a slideshow, see here.

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Kosovo and Ongoing De-Christianization

August 27, 2009
Tokyo News
By Lee Jay Walker

The ongoing de-Christianization of Kosovo continues and unlike the past frenzy of the anti-Serbian mass media in the West, we mainly have a deadly silence about the reality of Kosovo and the continuing Albanianization of this land. However, how is it “just” and “moral” to persecute minorities and to alienate them from mainstream society; and then to illegally recognize this land without the full consensus of the international community?

How ironic it is that the same United States of America and the United Kingdom, two nations who were in the forefront of covertly manipulating the mass media; remain mainly silent about the destruction of Orthodox Christian churches, Serbian architecture, and of course the past killings of Serbians and other minorities in Kosovo.

After all, according to America and the United Kingdom the initial conflict was about human rights, democracy, and liberty. However, what about the liberty and freedom of Orthodox Christian Serbs, Gypsies, and other minorities in Kosovo? Are these minorities free in modern day Kosovo and can they move around without the fear of discrimination, persecution or death?

Obviously, vast parts of Kosovo are out of bounds for the majority of minorities in Kosovo, therefore, the answer is no and many areas which were cleansed of Serbians and other minorities remain cleansed.

According to Minority Rights Group International (MRG) which is based in the United Kingdom, it is apparent that exclusion and discrimination is rife. Therefore, minorities face a bleak future and Serbians, Bosniaks, Roma, Croats, Turks, Gorani and Ashkali Egyptians are either being forced out because of alienation or because of limited economic opportunities.

The MRG is not alone in thinking that minorities have been badly betrayed because it is clear that Kosovo remains in limbo and minorities will continue to leave because of the ongoing situation.

Patriarch Pavle　(His Holiness the Archbishop of Pec, Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovci, Patriarch of Serbs) is highly respected and a man of reason. He stated the following many years ago ( http://kosovo.net ):

“This humble publication is our cry and appeal to the Christian and civilized world. It is distressing to learn that in the year of the greatest Christian Jubilee, at the end of two millenniums of Christianity, Christian churches are still being destroyed, not in a war but in the time of peace guaranteed by the international community. We hope that these photos of the destroyed and desecrated Orthodox shrines will awaken the conscience of those who are able to stop the crimes and believe that they who already stood up against one evil will not remain just passive witnesses of another evil happening now in their presence.”

“We also make our appeal to all Kosovo Albanians, who reasonably see their future in their joint life with Serbs, to resist and prevent the acts of insanity.”

“In Kosovo and Metohija there will be no victory of humanity and justice while revenge and disorder prevail. No one has the moral right to celebrate the victory complacently, as long as one evil is being replaced with another and the freedom of one people is becoming the slavery of another.”

Patriarch Pavle stated this many years ago and sadly his words of wisdom have been ignored and instead America and the United Kingdom decided to create a new world order; this new world order was to carve up Serbia and to break international law. This breach of ignoring international law ultimately had greater repercussions because the Russian Federation would support Abkhazia and South Ossetia after conflict erupted in Georgia.

Therefore, a “new can of worms was opened” and the “Kosovo model” could inspire future mayhem because it is clear that international law was rendered to be unimportant.

Like I stressed in my last article about Kosovo (Kosovo and Systematic Persecution by KLA) it is clear that all sides committed atrocities, just like what happens in all wars. Pain can be felt on all sides and sadly many innocents were killed during the various civil wars which engulfed the former Yugoslavia.

However, the Serbian story war largely untold and the same can be said about the persecution of other minorities in Kosovo. Yet what is clear is that the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) was involved in running brutal death camps and this even applies to the killing of people for organs.

At the same time the KLA supported the ethnic cleansing of Serbians and other minorities, and the same applies to the destruction of Christian churches, monasteries, and other historical architecture which was a clear reminder of the roots of Kosovo.

Also, the hard sell by America, the United Kingdom, and other nations who support independence, is that independence was justified on the grounds of Serbian atrocities. Yet if the KLA was found to be involved in killing civilians for organs then “the spin machine” collapses and “democracy” rings hollow.

Therefore, in one part of Europe we are a seeing the silent destruction of Serbian Orthodox Christianity and the ongoing persecution and alienation of minorities in Kosovo.

It would appear that the violation of international law is deemed to be a viable policy for both America and the United Kingdom. Therefore, important questions, for example the role of the KLA in killing innocents for organs, the rise of the KLA in such a short space of time and a host of other vital questions remain unanswered.

However, it is vital to counter this cover-up and blatant violation of international law because it is clear that murky covert acts have been implemented by higher powers. Also, the world is still divided about the future of Kosovo but why did some nations behave so hastily without the full facts, and without taking into consideration the ongoing persecution and alienation of minorities in Kosovo?

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Turkish Renovation Work Turns Church Into Mosque

Ortakoy Mosque

Protests Rise as Turkish Renovation Work Turns Church Into Mosque

Earth Times
August 25, 2009
Istanbul, Turkey

Restoration work that would result in an historic Greek Orthodox Church being recognized as a mosque has caused uproar in Turkey, reported the daily Milliyet newspaper on Tuesday. At issue is the 178-year-old St Dimitrios Church in the northern Turkish village of Silivri.

The village was once a Greek settlement but, after the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, ethnic Greek residents had to leave in a forced resettlement that swapped 1.5 million ethnic Greeks from Turkey for 600,000 ethnic Turks living in northern Greece.

After the resettlement, the church was briefly used for prayers while work was underway to build a mosque for the new Muslim residents. A minaret was attached to the building, but its cross was never removed.

Later, the church was used for storage and as a stall.

However, current work on the church is being billed as "restoration of the Ortakoy Mosque," causing an uproar.

"There is no doubt that this structure is a church. It's a church even if it was briefly used as a mosque," said Turkish architect and college instructor Oktay Ekinci.

Adding to the grievances is the fact that the renovation work was approved by local leaders of the AKP Justice and Development Party, which runs the government at the national level. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said in the past that protecting minority rights is a priority in Turkey.

Representatives of the Greek Orthodox Church in Turkey have not commented on the issue.

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The Genocide of Iraqi Christians

Letter to President Barack Obama

The oppression of the Iraqi Christians started when Arabs occupied the land in the seventh century. Their method of wiping out Christianity from the region involved the implementation of a simple rule; either convert and follow the Islamic banner, or pay heavy taxes (which many Christians could not afford) or war.

Looking at more modern history, the first genocide of the 20th century began on April 24, 1915. By 1918, 2.65 million Christians including 750,000 Assyrians, 1.5 million Armenians, and 400,000 Greeks were killed by the Ottoman Empire and the Kurds. The Assyrians called this genocide “seyfo” which means sword. In 1933, the massacre of Semel, in Northern Iraq resulted in the death of 3000 Christians at the hands of Kurds and the Iraqi Army. This was the first atrocity committed by the new Iraqi state under Prime Minister Bakir Sidqi, after gaining independence from the British in 1932. My village Tin, in Northern Iraq, shared a similar fate in 1961.

The American occupation in Iraq did not end the struggles of the native Christians. Under the watch of our Democratic government and the newly established Iraqi government, Christians continue to face persecution. Here is a list of some of the acts f violence committed as reported by the Assyrian News Agency:

-A two month infant was kidnapped, beheaded, roasted, and returned to his parents.

-14 year old Ayad Tariq was considered a “dirty Christian sinner” and decapitated.

-Fr. Paulos Iskander (Paul Alexander) was kidnapped, beheaded and dismembered.

-Five priests were kidnapped and released after ransom was paid. Five other priests and three deacons were murdered.

-59 churches were attacked or bombed since June 2004: 40 in Baghdad, 13 in Mosul, 5 in Kirkuk and 1 in Ramadi.

-At least 13 young women were abducted and raped, causing some of them to commit suicide.

-Female students were targeted in Basra and Mosul for not wearing veils; some had nitric acid squirted onto their faces. Elders of a village in Mosul were warned not to send females to universities.

-Mahdi Army circulated a letter warning all Christian women to veil themselves.
-Christian businesses were targeted. 95% of liquor stores were attacked, defaced or bombed. 500 Assyrian shops in a Dora market were burned in one night

-Children were kidnapped and forcibly transferred to Arabs and Kurdish families.

Property was confiscated by Kurds in the North and in the south by Shiites and Sunnis.

-Kurdish authorities forced public works projects to divert water and other vital resources from Assyrian Villages to Kurdish villages.

-While the Arabs protest for one Muslim killed in Europe, they are silent for what happen to the Christians of Iraq, the people of Darfur, or the Coptic in Egypt.

Yes Mr. President, I did like your message to the Arab world in Cairo. I am not against your action of praising Islam or the Quran, but you failed to address their oppression against non-Arabs or non-Muslims who live in the Middle East. We build 12,000 Mosques in the United States, and many thousands more in Europe, yet not one church is allowed in Saudi Arabia. Mr. President , you failed to ask why. I know the answer, because we are infidels and forbidden in their land.

I know we are a democratic and civilized nation and they are not. I know we are strong and forgiving while they are weak and loud. We should not have to improve our image to the Middle East, for we have freedom that millions of Arabs and Muslims enjoy and take advantage of. I have lived in Iraq for 33 years; I know how they treat their people in the streets and in the prisons. Their prisons are many times worse than what occurred in Abu Ghraib. In your message you try to build a bridge to the Islamic world, but you left the non-Muslims in the middle easy angry and alone. They deserve your support, they love freedom as much as we do, and now they face extinction. Fifty percent of the Christian population has left Iraq with the other half face the continuation of a long bitter genocide and it will be under our watch. An Islamic nation without Christians, a Middle East without diversity will only become more radical.

www.paulbatou.com.

www.mylastthoughtsaboutiraq.com.

Painting by Paul Batou

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Turkish Government Uses Bribery and Blackmail To Hide Armenian Genocide

FBI Insider Links Turkish Lobby to Bribery and Blackmail

The Armenian Weekly
By Paul Chaderjian
August 10, 2009
Washington

Sibel Edmonds talks under oath about Turks buying votes against Genocide Resolution.

Less than 72 hours ago, former FBI translator Sibel Edmonds testified under oath about shocking details connecting the Turkish government to an intricate network of individuals and organization that bribed, persuaded, and—at least in one case—blackmailed U.S. lawmakers and government officials. Corruption. Espionage. Bribery. All to ensure that the U.S. does not recognize the Armenian Genocide ever again.

For years, the Turkish government and its representatives here in the United States have stopped at nothing to fight the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. This far-reaching campaign of denial and cover-up stretches from well-funded efforts to block education about the Armenian Genocide to ensuring that the American media does not address or acknowledge the genocide as a historic fact.

The Turkish government and Turkish lobby have for years pressured the local, state, and federal governments, and the American and global media to rewrite American, Ottoman, Turkish, and world histories so that they exclude the Armenian Genocide.

But only now are we beginning to understand exactly how far the government of Turkey, and its agents and proxies, were willing to go to undermine the Armenian case

Sibel Edmonds

The FBI hired linguist Sibel Edmonds as a translator after 9-11. But she was fired less than a year later after reporting the illegal activities of Turkish citizens being covered up by her bosses. Edmonds has been bravely battling the legal system for years for the opportunity to tell her story. On Sat., Aug. 8, Edmonds was able to speak freely thanks to David Krikorian, an Armenian American who is running for a Congressional seat in Ohio.

“Ms. Edmonds is a very credible witness,” said Krikorian, “and she has direct information pertaining to how, when she was a member of the Department of Justice, she uncovered relationships between the government of Turkey and U.S. officials…where the government of Turkey was pushing its agenda on U.S. officials…in what people many people believe to be an illegal way.”

David Krikorian is the Democratic candidate in the 2010 elections for Ohio’s 2nd Congressional district. The seat is now held by Republican Jean Schmidt, who was the largest recipient of money from the Turkish lobby in the 2008 elections. Schmidt also fought the Armenian Genocide Resolution.

When Schmidt’s challenger, David Krikorian, pointed out that she was receiving blood money from Turks for helping deny the Armenian Genocide, Schmidt complained to the Ohio Elections Commission. Representing Schmidt and the Turkish American Defense Fund at the deposition on Aug. 8 was none other than Bruce Fein, the attorney and longtime voice of the Turkish lobby.

Sibel Edmonds

Bruce Fein

According to Krikorian, the Turkish lobby was interested in Sibel Edmonds’ testimony on Aug. 8 because she’d be linking bribes accepted by U.S. lawmakers to the Turkish campaign of denial.

“I think they’re concerned because this exposes their campaign of denial regarding the Armenian Genocide,” said Krikorian, “and how they’ve been able to buy off certain members of the U.S. Congress in support of the Turkish government’s position on this issue. So they have an interest.”

Bruce Fein claims that Edmond’s testimony has no relevance in Schmidt’s case against David Krikorian.

We asked Fein about Krikorian’s First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and the right to talk openly about his opponent’s opposition to the Armenian Genocide Resolution.

“We totally support his right to state anything he wants about the Armenian Genocide,” said Fein. “What you’re not entitled to do under the first amendment as interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court, who we think is the authoritative interpreter, is knowing state lies, and what we have alleged, and what we have to prove, and we understand and accept it, is that Mr. Krikorian knowingly and intentionally told lies about Jean Schmidt including she received money from the Turkish government, and we fully expect we will discharge that burden and we agree that we ought to be able to. We must be shouldered with that burden in order to protect free speech. We don’t want close anybody’s mouth when it comes to arguing one way or another about the Armenian Genocide.”

Fein and the Turkish Defense Fund are, however, trying to stop Krikorian from speaking the truth. Schmidt did receive huge sums of contributions from the Turkish lobby. And Sibel Edmonds says that the same lobby bribed public officials to enforce the Turkish agenda in the United States.

Gag Orders

The government has tried to gag Edmonds and has sent threatening letters to stop this type of talk about corruption inside the FBI, the State Department, the Department of Justice, and in the halls of Congress.

“I am able to talk about the kind of information they used to retaliate against whistle blowers, to gag people, to issue states secrets privilege, or to use the excuse of classification,” said Edmonds. “Nothing that has to do with national security but to cover up criminal activities, embarrassing information. And today that is happening, and this is the biggest significance. It’s very significant. I believe Mr. Krikorian is a very brave and courageous person to push this and bring it to this point. He’s actually serving the interest of United States citizens, and not only those in Cincinnati, Ohio, but everyone here in this country. So, we should be all thankful to him for providing us with this opportunity.”

During the deposition on Aug. 8, Edmonds talked in detail about the scandalous bribes accepted by then-Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert and former lawmakers Dick Gephardt and Stephen Solarz. She also spoke about the blackmailing of another un-named member of Congress—a married woman with children, who was lured into a homosexual affair by a female prostitute sent by the Turkish lobby. This Congresswoman was then blackmailed to abandon her support for the Armenian Genocide Resolution.

“It’s the Turkish government,” said Edmonds, “but also other entities and layers of these operations and some of these covert operations and the way they are done is completely illegal. I was able to discuss those in detail, and that information within the next couple of hours I hope will be available to the public, and the public will get a chance to decide for themselves and see what the government does to gag and quash necessary information like this and stamp it as classified. I think this may end up inflicting the best and the worst damage to arbitrarily, criminally done classifications, and let’s hope that it does.”

Vanity Fair

Sibel Edmonds says the allegations she made in an August 2005 Vanity Fair article were confirmed by several FBI agents and Department of Justice officials. The piece by Vanity Fair reporter David Rose said that Hastert was the recipient of various bribes. Edmonds says it is amazing that neither Hastert nor his attorneys reacted to the article. Hastert did not issue a denial to the allegations, but he resigned a year later. Now he is part of the Turkish government-orchestrated network that Vanity Fair says paid him the big bribes when he was the most powerful member of the House of Representatives. The most recent federal filings show that Hastert, one of several registered foreign agents for Turkey, now receives $35,000 a month to push the Turkish government’s agenda on Capitol Hill.

How deep do these corrupt Turkish operations go? Vanity Fair reported that the FBI began investigating Turkish citizens living in the U.S. in the late 1990’s, and they found evidence of attempts to bribe U.S. officials. However, as Edmonds says, the government has used the phrase “state secrets” and security reasons to keep this information from the public and media.

The Ohio Election Commission’s Probable Cause hearing is scheduled for Aug. 13, and the final hearing in the case against David Krikorian, where all the evidence will be heard, is scheduled for Sept. 3.

***

Q&A with Bruce Fein

Q: Is this part of the series of cases you’re opening up, whether it’s in Massachusetts or suing the Southern Poverty Law Center, to try to quash speech with regard to the Armenian Genocide?

BF: No, what we are trying to do is promote freedom of speech because what’s been done is that other organizations have accused various members who dispute their version of history of criminal activity of compromising scholarly integrity. It is they who are trying to suppress freedom of speech by intimidating, harassing, and calling criminal those individuals who happen to dispute their version of history.

Q: Would you then also support Holocaust denial entrance into the Massachusetts school system or pushing other publications like the Southern Poverty Center’s publication to talk about denial as well?

BF: What the Southern Poverty Law Center alleged is that various academics are receiving money from the government of Turkey to compromise their scholarship and we will not accept accusations that are knowingly false of that sort, period.

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Turkish War Crimes Uncovered in Mass Graves in Cyprus

August 11, 2009
The London Daily News

The Turkish army has been accused of war crimes during its illegal invasion in 1974 of Cyprus, which has provoked Greek Cypriots to prepare law suits to prosecute Turkey for war crimes. Following the discovery of human remains in a mass grave confirmed using DNA evidence to be the bodies of five Greek-Cypriot soldiers who appeared in an "iconic" photograph depicting the ferocious military attack instigated by Turkish troops on the Mediterranean island.

The families of the Greek Cypriots have said that the evidence found in the mass graves of the bodies to be that of the men presumed missing for 35 years, were in fact murdered in the custody of Turkish troops.

"It's a cold-blooded execution," Andreas Hadjikyriakos, a brother of one of the soldiers told Cyprus state TV. "I can never accept this." (Associated Press)

The Associated Press in a report said:

"The remains of the soldiers and 14 other people were exhumed from an abandoned well in late 2006 near the northern village of Tziaos, Elias Georgiades, an official with the United Nations-led Committee on Missing Persons, said. He said the soldiers' families were informed Friday that the remains had been identified."

Greece's Foreign Ministry on Monday also said the latest discovery "confirms ... crimes committed during the invasion."

The Turkish government have made no comment on the reports and the Turkish army did not according to UNFICYP (the UN force in Cyprus) provide any sort of credible co-operation in the process of recognition of the remains.

The revelations of the mass graves comes on the day when the vice chairman of the parliamentary group for the "Friend of Cyprus" Andrew Dismore Labour MP for Hendon, and chairman of parliament's human rights committee outlined how he was determined to pursue anyone who has committed war criminals and said in The Guardian:

"The UK must not be a safe haven for evil. The message to those who have perpetrated the most heinous crime imaginable must be clear: they are not welcome here, not to visit, not to live, not to holiday, shop or get medical treatment. The UK should close these loopholes in the law. We also need to establish a specialist war crime unit".

The London Daily News has been made aware of London based Cypriot organisations preparing law suits against the Turkish government for war crimes that may implicate London based Turkish diplomats and citizens who have been accused of complicity in war crimes during the 1974 invasion of Cyprus. There are around 3,000 Greek-Cypriots living in the Hendon constituency of Andrew Dismore; which may according to senior sources in the Greek-Cypriot community provide enough justification to pressure the British parliamentary human rights committee to pursue Turks in the UK involved in war crimes in Cyprus in 1974.

A dossier of the information will be submitted, according to a senior Greek-Cypriot source, to the parliamentary human’s right committee for review on UK based Turks who were involved in war crimes in 1974.

The five men whose remains have been discovered are:

Korellis Antonakis Michael, age 30, from Kythrea
Nicolaou Panicos Chrisostomos, age 26, from Ekso Metoxi
Hadjykyriakos Philippos Stephanos, age 19, from Ammochostos
Papayiannis Ioannis Charalambos, age 24, from Aglangia
Skordis Christoforos Georghios, age 25, from Dhali

In January this year a leading Turkish actor confessed to murdering 10 Greek-Cypriots live on a Turkish talk show. Atilla Olgaç confessed that he executed in cold-blood ten Greek Cypriot prisoners of war during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974.

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Indian Orthodox Church to Build the Largest Cancer Care Centre in Asia

Indian Orthodox Herald
August 18, 2009
Written By: Binu Thomas
Parumala, India

The foundation stone laying ceremony of the dream project St. Gregorios International Cancer Centre (Research and Training) under St. Gregorios Medical Mission Hospital, Parumala will be held on August 24, 2009 by the Supreme head His Holiness Baselios Marthoma Didymos I at Parumala Hospital at 3pm.

Catholicos Elect Paulose Mar Milithios and Metropolitans -Dr. Geevarghese Mar Osthatheos (Sr. Metropolitan), Thomas Mar Athanasios (Chengannur), Dr. Thomas Mar Athanasios (Kandanad East),Yuhanon Mar Milithios (Thrissur),Kuriakose Mar Clemis (Thumpamon), Zachariah Mar Anthonios (Kollam), Dr. Mathews Mar Severios (Kandanad West), Job Mar Philoxenos (Delhi), Geevarghese Mar Coorilos (Mumbai), Paulose Mar Pachomios (Mavelikara), Dr. Yakoob Mar Irenius (Kochi), Zachariah Mar Nicholovos (Asst. North East America), Dr. Gabriel Mar Gregorios (Thriruvanathapuram), Dr. Zachariah Mar Theophilus (Malabar), Dr. Yuhanon Mar Chrisostomos (Niranam), Yuhanon Mar Polycarpos (Ankamali), Mathews Mar Theodosius (Idukki), Joseph Mar Dionysius (Calcutta), Abraham Mar Epiphanios (Sulthan Bathery), Dr. Mathews Mar Timotheos (U.K.- Europe – Africa), Dr. Yuhanon Mar Dioscorus (Chennai) will grace this occasion with their presence.

St. Gregorios International Cancer Care Centre is mainly aimed at providing treatment for cancer patients at an affordable cost. The St. Gregorios Medical Mission already possesses all the clinical facilities, except the radiotherapy facility to start a cancer centre. A full fledged cancer centre with an eight storied building will be opened hopefully in next 3 years with exclusive cancer wards, qualified and experienced personnel and radiotherapy treatment facilities. 100 crore rupees is estimated to complete the hospital building. The new facility will have 17 different departments including palliative care, hospice, nuclear medicine, radio therapy, etc.

Fr. Alexander Koodarathil is the Chief Executive Officer coordinating the new project to complete it in a timely fashion

The readers can also be a part of this great endeavour with their contribution and support to make the dream of rendering help to the needy patients into a reality.

Donations made to St.Gregorios Medical Mission Hospital, Parumala, Mannar, Thiruvalla will be eligible to the benefit of deduction u/s80G Approval from Govt: of India.

For more information, contact:

Executive Officer
St. Gregorios International Cancer Care (Research and Training),
C/o St.Gregorios Medical Mission Hospital,
Parumala P.O. Pathananthitta (Dist), Kerala, Pin-689 626
Tel: +91 479 2312266, 2312465, Fax.: +91 479 2312866
Email: sgmhospital@sify.com, fr.alexanderkoodarathil@gmail.com
Website: www.sghospital.org

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Teachings of Elder Paisios on the Purification of the Heart

- You must look after the purification of your soul on a daily basis. Do your spiritual work and say the Jesus Prayer. Your thoughts, will and desires are where your mind is. The submission of our spirit is the most important thing. In order to acquire a virtue, we must be humble and careful, so we can detect its opposite evil, and then pray to Christ to help us get rid of it. We don’t need to try too hard or be concerned how, when and in what way our heart will be able to acquire this virtue.

- A man once asked the Elder: "Father, when we read the writings of the Fathers of the Church, we notice the following phenomenon: some saints say that praying is of utmost importance and others talk about obedience or voluntary poverty. It is hard for someone to understand exactly what Christ is asking from us. When we think we must apply all these virtues at the same time, then we despair, as it is impossible to struggle for all of them at once. Our endeavor becomes a lot easier, when we realise that the acquisition of these virtues is the result of a single struggle. Could you please help me understand what exactly I should do in order to find the way leading to Christ?"

Elder Paisios responded: "Purification, divine justice, humility, love, obedience, voluntary poverty, and all virtues are one and the same. Christ wants us to eliminate our will to zero. If you obtain a single one of these virtues, bear in mind, that the rest are found in the one you just acquired; the same thing applies to our passions; one passion includes all others. Purification requires the soul to be pure and clean from our own will; divine justice is the abandonment of our own will to the will of God; humility is to humble our will and elevate God’s will; obedience means not to have a will and thus obey other people; prayer means to take our mind off our wishes and desires and concentrate on God. So, you see whichever virtue you apply, you are led to the same result, that is, to the elimination and purification of your own will. Man will spiritually progress and be benefited only when he manages to eliminate his will to zero. When the Americans want to send a missile to space, they do the same thing; they count from ten to zero. When they reach zero, then the missile is fired. The same applies to our soul; when our wills are eliminated to zero and our soul is cleansed, then it is elevated towards God!"

- The grace of God entered our soul through Holy Baptism; it is a gift granted to all of us. Sometimes, we think that God gave to a saint more gifts than others; this is wrong. Christ loves all of His children the same; it is we, however, who do not value and appreciate God’s gift to the same degree. When someone is grateful and believes that the grace of Christ, which he received through Holy Baptism, is inside his soul, he humbles his own will and purifies himself in order to allow divine grace to function. When divine grace functions inside a soul, it makes us think that God favored this person with more gifts. However, the truth is that this person loves Christ more, and through his humility, permits God to act on his behalf.

- We are in no way inferior to the Apostles. The Apostles were physically close to Christ, who helped them; however, we, too, have Him inside our soul since a very young age, through the grace of Holy Baptism. We should unload our soul from our passions and let divine grace dwell inside us. The more we purify ourselves, the more we allow for divine grace to function. When a soul is completely clean from its will and is totally humbled, then it can experience the grace of Christ and the fulfillment of all His promises.

- Since the term 'purification of the soul' was in a way unknown to me, I frequently asked the Elder to analyse it in detail. He suggested reading some sections of the Holy Bible, which would make it possible for me to turn inwards and face the ugliness of my soul, and thus gradually begin its purification.

Following are some of these texts:

2 Cor 6:16-18, 7:1 - "For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, 'I will live in them and move among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore touching nothing unclean; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters,' says the Lord Almighty."

2 Tim 2:20-21 - “In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and earthenware, and some for noble use, some for ignoble. If anyone purifies himself from what is ignoble, then he will be a vessel for noble use, consecrated and useful to the master of the house, ready for any good work."

2 Cor 7:1 - “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, and perfect holiness in the fear of God.”

2 Cor 10:3-5 - “For though we live in the world we are not carrying on a worldly war, for the weapons of our warfare are not worldly but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every proud obstacle to the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”

Phil 2:5-9 - “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name.”

Mt 5:8 - “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.”

Mt 23:26 - “You blind Pharisee! First cleanse the inside of the cup and of the plate, and then the outside also will be clean.”

Lk 11:39 - "Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of extortion and wickedness.”

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Recommended Patristic Studies on Saint John the Baptist

Below I am posting links to two texts from Google Books that will hopefully spark some interest in Patristic studies relating to Saint John the Baptist that I recently came across. Both are limited previews on their sites, so if the books interest you enough you may want to purchase them.

Since today we celebrate the Apodosis of the Feast of the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist, this first text is significantly appropriate. It is titled Homilies of Leo VI in which the profound and theologically astute homilies of Emperor Leo VI are analyzed. I am posting specifically pages 143-151 which deal with "Homily 13 on the Beheading of John the Baptist" and "Homily 42 on the Birth of John the Baptist". What I like about the information in these 8 pages is that author, Theodora Antonopoulou, reflects on the history of patristic homilies on these subjects that I find useful for further study.

The second text is a book titled The Diet of John the Baptist by James A. Kelhoffer. The author goes into quite a bit of detail concerning the interpretation of "locusts and wild honey" described in the Synoptic Gospels as the diet of St. John and asks whether or not this was in fact a vegetarian diet but misunderstood due to a faulty translation. What I especially found interesting was chapter 5 which goes into the patristic interpretation. I found the whole thing fascinating.

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Saint Daniel the Stylite Counsels on Vain Disputations and Questionings in the Church

Through the Devil's working a tumult once arose in the most holy churches, for tares had sprung up from vain disputations and questionings, so that some monks, who were renowned for good living, through their simple-mindedness and through their failure to consider the matter with precision, left the most Holy Church and seperated themselves from the holy fellowship and liturgy. These mischief-makers came to the holy man (Daniel) and tried to confound him with similar arguments, but he who kept the foundation of the holy faith unmovable and unshakable answered them saying:

"If the question which you raise is concerning God, your inquiry is no simple or ordinary matter, for the Divinity is incomprehensible; and it will be sufficient for you to study the traditions of the holy Apostles about Him and the teaching of the divine Fathers who followed in their steps and not trouble yourselves any further. But if the matter in dispute is about human affairs, as, for instance, if one priest has removed another, or has accepted one to whom the others object, all such things must be submitted to the judgement of God and to the rulers themselves to judge according to the divine canons; for we are sheep and they are shepherds, and they will give account to God for the flocks entrusted to them; let us abstain from vain and dangerous questionings and let us each consider that which concerns ourselves knowing that is not without danger that we seperate ourselves from our holy mother, the Church. For her bridegroom is the true Shepherd who is able to recall to His fold the sheep that have strayed and to lead those who have not strayed to better pasture. Therefore it suffices us to believe unquestioningly in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and to receive the incarnate dispensation of our Lord Jesus Christ and His birth from the Virgin in the same way as He Himself was pleased to do in His own lovingkindness, for it is written: 'Seek not out the things that are too high for thee'" (Ecclesiasticus 3:21).

With this and similar counsel and warning he led their hearts away from the soul-destroying questionings and kept them unshaken in the faith.

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Marital Advice from Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi

Do Not Complain About Your Spouse

Now then, today I am forced to speak about this matter also; it is a somewhat daring endeavour, but necessity has caused me to bring up the subject, when every day I hear men say "my wife is like this, my wife is like that, all women are devils...".

So, I ask: "Excuse me dear fellow, but this woman you are referring to - weren't you the one that married her?"

"Yes."

"Well then, when you married her, didn't you find every love, tenderness and happiness in her person?"

"Yes."

"So, why have you changed now? She is the same person. Both when you married her, and now. Can you see that you are to blame?"

Looking at Marriage From an Eternal Perspective

I met an elderly couple some years ago, approximately in their eighties, who had so much bitterness between them that, if it were possible, they would kill each other. I felt sorry for them; I sat down next to them and began to search deeper and discovered that they had reached that point out of ignorance. They had no idea what Christianity was, or anything about ethics - nothing whatsoever. When I sat down to talk to them, I saw that they were quite receptive and they would pay attention to whatever I told them. Well, after trying to briefly show them that mankind has origins from God and has eternity, and that we will not be in this world forever, and that the conjugal relationship is not dissolved here but continues into eternity, they were both moved and they accepted all that they heard. I left them, and after some time, they sent me a letter in which they said: "Elder, it is as though we are reliving the first month of our marriage." This from those who were ready to kill and to slaughter each other. Can you see the evidence now?

The Faithful Husband That Did Not Abandon His Adulteress Wife

I will tell you of another characteristic of a proper spouse, which is extremely difficult to find in our day. But we did encounter one such person. He was in every way a perfect character, a Christian, and completely social. He married late, around thirty years old, not because he was averse to marriage, but because he thought that was how it should be. So he said his prayers with faith, and found himself a young girl and married her. The girl was young, ten years younger than him. Soon after he married her, she began her mischief. He pretended not to notice; he regarded her as his daughter and himself as her father. However, they had important business interests overseas and they had to go there, even if only temporarily. So he took her and they went abroad. When they arrived, she became very obstinate, and would say to herself: "He did this on purpose, to estrange me from my environment. I will desert him." So she abandoned and left him. She came back to Greece, and where do you think she went? To one of those "casino" places, and began to live the life of a free woman - one who is paid.

The husband however, from the day that she left him, never stopped praying with tears and insisting - in fact exhorting God: "All Good One, I will not retreat, I will not leave you alone; You were the One who gave me my wife. 'By the Lord is a man and woman harmonized' (according to the Bible). I want my wife. If the young girl has been deceived, must she be lost? Why did You come down to earth? Didn't You come to find the lost ones, to heal the sick, to resurrect the dead? I will not retreat. I will not let You rest. I want my wife; bring her back to me." He wept for two whole years.

His prayer was eventually heard and the young woman came to her senses. "Oh my," she confessed, "God will have to create another Hell, because this one is too small for me!"

So she sat down and wrote him a letter, saying: "I dare not address your name; I have no such right. If I return, will you accept me as your servant?"

He replied: "My love, why did you mention that word and hurt my feelings? Wasn't it me who sent you on a vacation and I was longing for my love to return to my open arms?"

So, he went and waited for her at the airport, as they had arranged. When she arrived, she fell down and began to beat herself and cry. He took her in his arms.

"My love, why are you like this and hurt my feelings? I was longing to see you again. Let's go home now; we never parted - I was always with you."

And this young girl proved herself to be a faithful wife from then on.

And that is the stance that a man - a husband - should take. If spouses are like these, then show me what woman is bad?

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Documentary on Constantinople (Video)

Konstantinoupoli (ZDF)
This is a German documentary on Constantinople subtitled in Greek. I'm not sure if its available in English however.

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The Holy Synod of Bulgaria Objects, But the Madonna Show Will Go On

The Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church this past Tuesday officially issued a statement aimed at preventing Madonna's much anticipated Sticky and Sweet tour from taking place in Sophia on August 29, saying that it collides with the strict day of fasting in honor of the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist.

The purpose of the Holy Synod is to present the ideal response to matters like these from an ecclesiastical perspective, and in this regards they did what they were supposed to do. However, is this a case of being better off late than never? I don't think so.

What comes off with bad taste is that the statement comes out a bit late and seems very detached. 50,000 people are expected to attend tomorrows much anticipated concert, but the Holy Synod decided to give their counsel just four days prior to the event after the tickets had been sold for weeks and the city made its very expensive arrangements. And in a country where over 65% of the population lives in poverty, it seems unfair that the attendees would have to give up their expensive seats to this event just because of a fasting day in which they would probably stay home and watch TV anyway.

I believe the Holy Synod made a serious error here that could tarnish their reputation. I respect the fact that they stand for their Orthodox Christian values, but such a detached papal-inspired statement (which has become all too common in the Orthodox world these days) will probably do little more than make a few people guilty for attending an event they planned on attending anyway. To be honest, if I were put in the same situation as the Bulgarians planning to attend the concert, I would probably proceed in attending the concert while keeping the strict fast according to my own pious conscience.

It would have served the interest of the Holy Synod much better if they made their proclamation when it was officially announced months ago that Madonna was going to be coming to Sophia and prior to ticket sales officially opening. Also, since the Holy Synod has close ties with the government, they could have quite easily arranged for Madonna to show up on a different date than August 29. But they failed to notice these things until a few priests started making their protests. Now in less than a week before the concert and after all the preparations have been made the Holy Synod makes an unwise decision that only makes them look foolish in the eyes of the people for not taking notice any sooner. Now the only thing the Holy Synod has done is put a burden on the conscience of the faithful who may be attending this event.

It would have been wiser if the Holy Synod, even though it was made aware of this concert late in the game, to express their error in not addressing this issue sooner. Acknowledging their error they should have allowed the show to go on with their and maybe just offered some advice regarding the spectacle they were about to witness. Having done this, they should have ended their statement with the encouragement to keep the strict fast nonetheless and to make sure to be in their respective local churches the following morning for the Divine Liturgy. As an added bonus, if they really wanted the concert goers to give up their seats, they could have offered a reimbursement for what they paid for their tickets. In this way they would have showed their humble error and in return made right something that is wrong.

Ideals aside, now the show will go on and the people are left without shepherds and to the voice of their own conscience. What's worse is that Madonna comes off as the winner in this match and the media has a heyday with the controversy. They would have been better off leaving the matter alone and allowing Madonna to disappoint the overly-eager crowd like she did in Romania or allowing fate to take its course.

But at the end of the day, I think we can all agree that it is a shame a concert of this magnitude will be occuring in an Orthodox country on a day in which all celebrations ought to be avoided in memorial of that vile feast that brought about the death of the Holy Forerunner.

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