Saint Euphemia's Conversation With Elder Paisios

Saint Euphemia the Great Martyr (Feast Day - September 16 and July 11). Elder Paisios directed the nuns of Saint John the Theologian Monastery in Souroti to depict St. Euphemia in this way (see icon above) as he saw her in his vision.

[Note: I was notified today (09/16/09) from a friend that in Constantinople, during today's Divine Liturgy for the Feast of St Euphemia at the Patriarchal Cathedral of St George at the Phanar, "the fragrance from her holy relics filled the Church." - J.S.]

Saint Euphemia was from Chalcedon and lived a life of virginity for the sake of Christ. According to some, she suffered martyrdom during the reign of Diocletian, in 303; according to others, in 307. July 11th we commemorate the great miracle of St. Euphemia which she performed during the Fourth Ecumenical Synod when she confirmed the Orthodox Faith for the Fathers through her sacred relics. Her sacred relics are preserved today in the Patriarchate in Constantinople.

One day Father Paisios was going through a very difficult phase. A problem was created in the Church at that time and many bishops had gone to him to ask for his help. However, it was a very complicated problem and even if he wanted to, he was unable to assist; as he said, no matter from which side you look at the problem, you come face to face with a spiritual impasse. So, he decided to turn his efforts to solve the problem with prayer. During that time, Father Paisios constantly prayed for God to give solution to the Church’s problem; he prayed especially to St. Ephemia:

"St. Euphemia, you who miraculously solved the serious problem the Church was facing then, take the Church out of the present impasse!"

One morning, at nine o’ clock, when Father Paisios was reading the service of the third hour, he suddenly heard someone discreetly knocking on his door. The Elder asked from inside:

"Who is it?" Then, he heard a woman’s voice answering:

"It is me, Euphemia, Father."

"Which Euphemia?" He asked again. There was no answer. There was another knock on the door and he asked again. "Who is it?" The same voice was heard saying:

"It is Euphemia, Father."

There was a third knock and the Elder felt someone coming inside his cell and walking through the corridor. He went to the door and there he saw St. Euphemia, who had miraculously entered his cell through the locked door and was venerating the icon of the Holy Trinity, which the Elder had placed on the wall of his corridor, on the right hand side of the church’s door. Then the Elder told the Saint: "Say: Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." St. Euphemia clearly repeated those words and immediately Father Paisios knelt and venerated the Saint. Afterwards, they sat and talked for quite a while; he could not specify for how long, as he had lost all sense of time while being with St. Euphemia. She gave the solution for all three matters he had been praying for and in the end he said to her: "I would like you to tell me how you endured your martyrdom."

The Saint replied: "Father, if I knew back then how eternal life would be and the heavenly beauty the souls enjoy by being next to God, I honestly would have asked for my martyrdom to last for ever, as it was absolutely nothing compared to the gifts of grace of God!"

Towards the end of June, the doctors informed [Elder Paisios] that he had about 2-3 weeks left. On Monday, July 11, on St. Euphemia’s day, Father Paisios received Holy Communion for the last time, kneeling in front of his bed. During the last 24 hours, he was very serene, and even though he suffered, he did not complain at all. He did not wish to take any more medication. The only medicine he accepted was cortisone, because, according to the doctors, it would not prolong his life span, but it would only give him some strength. On Tuesday, July 12, Elder Paisios humbly and peacefully rendered his soul to God, whom he had deeply loved and served since his early childhood.

Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
O Lord Jesus, unto Thee Thy lamb doth cry with a great voice: O my Bridegroom, Thee I love; and seeking Thee, I now contest, and with Thy baptism am crucified and buried. I suffer for Thy sake, that I may reign with Thee; for Thy sake I die, that I may live in Thee: accept me offered out of longing to Thee as a spotless sacrifice. Lord, save our souls through her intercessions, since Thou art great in mercy.

Kontakion in the Fourth Tone
Thou strovest valiantly in thy sacred contest; and even after death, thou makest us holy with streams of healings, O all-famed Euphemia. For this cause we venerate thy most holy dormition and with faith we stand before thine all-venerable relics, that we be freed from illness of the soul and also draw forth the grace of thy miracles.

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Elder Arsenios the Cave-Dweller (1886-1983) with Photographic Tribute

"I must confess that for Elder Arsenios, the Gospel words, 'Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no guile!' are relevant. He was naturally straight-forward, simple, without offence, meek, obedient; a rare struggler who possessed nothing. For Elder Arsenios, his yes was always yes, and his no, no. He never harbored resentment, no matter how he was wronged. He never got angry; he never hurt anyone. He lived obedience with precision. That is why, through obedience and his unwavering faith in his Elder, he lived in a way that surpassed the laws of nature. During vigils, he began the night labouring excessively by kneeling thousands of times and then remained standing until morning." - Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi

The ever-memorable Elder Arsenios was born in 1886 in Pontus. At a young age he became enflamed with divine zeal and walked from Russia to the Queen of Cities (Constantinople) and from there boarded a ship for the Holy Land. For about a decade he served in the Holy Sepulchre as well as other shrines there.

While there, by divine providence, Arsenios became acquainted with the well-known ascetic of Aegina, the blessed Elder Ieronymos, from whom he learned his first lessons in the ascetical life.

Enflamed with divine love, his soul began to thirst for a life away from the troubles of this world and he fled to Mount Athos, the Garden of the Panagia. His first few years he spent at the Holy Monastery of Stavronikita, where he also received his Great Schema and was named Arsenios. He had been named Anatolios when he received his rason in Jerusalem.

Since Stavronikita at that time operated under an idiorhythmic system, Arsenios desired greater ascetic feats and thus abandoned the monastic life and went into the "wilderness" of Mount Athos in search of great ascetics from whom he could learn and imitate by example to reach perfection.

The Lord, knowing his desire, did not take long to grant Arsenios that which he desired. In his search he found another young man with the same desire as himself. They met for the first time on the very peak of Mount Athos. The power of the Holy Spirit brought these two together as if by a magnetic force. And from that moment the two would not leave each other's side. This other young man was the blessed neptic ascetic famously known as Joseph the Hesychast, one of the greatest Saints of the 20th century. At the time he was just a simple layman named Francisco Kottis.

The two young men then became like bees gathering whatever good and beneficial thing they could from throughout the wilderness of the Holy Mountain, in order to bear the most abundant fruits of the Holy Spirit. They first met the famous Elder Daniel Katounakioti, then Kallinikon the Hesychast, as well as Gerasimos and Ignatios, and whatever other beautiful flowers had sprouted in the wilderness.

In one epistle, Elder Joseph the Hesychast writes: "All the caves of Athos received me as a visitor, step by step...in order to find a spiritual father to teach me heavenly contemplation and works (θεωρίαν και πράξιν)". High in the caves of Saint Peter they found their hearts desire, the rose of the desert, Papa-Daniel the Hesychast. This great ascetic Liturgized every night at midnight between 3-4 hours. This was because it was filled with many interruptions due to the Elder's compunction and emotion during the Liturgy, and it is said that the dirt on the ground would turn to mud from his many tears. He had many spiritual gifts bestowed on him by the grace of God, including that of clairvoyance. All his life he only ate dry foods (ξηροφαγία) once a day at most. It is from this great ascetic that the young Joseph and Arsenios learned the discipline of eating only dry things once a day and the importance of being vigilant.

Elder Arsenios once confessed that for many years he would do 3,000 prostrations every night, and the rest of the vigil he would do standing. For many years, the two spiritual brothers had no bed on which to rest from their very difficult labors. After a vigil that would last throughout the night they would only rest their weary flesh on a small bench while seated.

As for food, the two spiritual brothers would only eat once a day dry foods, primarily dried bread which often was even spoiled or infested with worms. On weekends, if they were able to find it, they would eat whatever they could except meat, but still only once a day.

Besides these labors, Elder Arsenios worked with his hands as well. In those initial years he lived high at Saint Basil's, and it would take him everyday 1-2 hours to walk up and down the hill to provide support not only for themselves, but for all the ascetics of the area. Like Sysiphus, he would carry stones and whatever necessities for preservation and the building of stone shelter and walls.

Because these feats were beyond human strength, Elder Arsenios was once asked how he did all these things. The Elder responded that he would always say the Prayer of the Heart and this would lighten the burden and a higher power would come to his aid. With the Prayer on his lips, the Elder confessed, the necessities he carried up the hill were a light burden, even in the peak days of summer heat.

Reagrding attire, for many years the two ascetics, whether it was winter or summer, dressed in rags and walked around shoeless, to the point where many regarded them as "fools". But they weren't fools in a worldly sense, but for Christ. For them, the words of the Apostle rang true: "They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented - of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth" (Heb. 11:37, 38).

Because these two great ascetics lived approximately for twenty years high in the Skete of Saint Basil, in 1938 they decided to move to a lower area in the Skete of Saint Anna. They did this with a small brotherhood who had gathered around them during this time. There they stayed until 1953. After 1953 they moved to a still lower area to Nea Sketi. The great ascetic Joseph the Hesychast fell asleep here in 1959.

After a number of years Elder Arsenios moved from Nea Sketi and spent twelve years in a cell at Chilandari Monastery known as Burazeri. The last three years of his life he lived in the Holy Monastery of Dionysiou. Because this monastery is dedicated to the Holy Forerunner John the Baptist, Elder Arsenios had him as his protector untill the end of his life. It is here that he fell asleep in the Lord on September 15, 1983 at the age of 97.

May his memory be eternal and may we have his blessing!

Elder Arsenios with Elder Joseph the Hesychast

Elder Arsenios

Elder Arsenios making a prayer rope

Church of Saint John the Baptist at the Skete of Saint Basil

Church of Saint John the Baptist at the Skete of Saint Basil

Skete of Saint Basil

A Cell in the Skete of Saint Basil

Skete of Saint Anna

The brotherhood of Elder Arsenios at the cell of Burazeri

Dionysiou Monastery

Abbot Haralambos giving farewell kiss at the funeral service of Elder Arsenios

Abbess Eupraxia, sister according to the flesh of Elder Arsenios

Elder Ieronymos of Aegina

Elder Arsenios the Cave-Dweller

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Papoulakis: Saint Joachim of Vatopaidi (12)

Between August 4-11 in 2009 the relics of St. Joachim were brought to the island of Lefkada, which neighbors Ithaki, to be venerated by the faithful. Hundreds took part in the procession and there were celebrations throughout the island.

...continued from Part 11

THE TRANSLATION OF HIS RELICS

As was proper and natural, the place of Saint Joachim’s spiritual birth assumed the duty of bringing to light and honoring its saintly offspring. In 1991, the Abbot of Vatopaidi Monastery, Archimandrite Ephraim, and fathers of the Monastery went to Ithaki and, with the help of the inhabitants of the island, identified the place of the Saint’s grave. They arranged with the Metropolitan Bishop of the diocese for the translation of the Saint’s relics on May 23 of the following year, 1992. News of this forthcoming event soon became known to the people of Ithaki, as well as to the faithful throughout all of Greece.

Abbot Ephraim, with two fathers from the Monastery, went to Ithaki on the appointed date. With the blessings of His All-Holiness Bartholomew, the Ecumenical Patriarch; with the assistance, solidarity and cooperation of Metropolitan Nikiphoros of Levkas and Ithaki; and with the ardent help of the officials and residents of the island, they were able to carry out the translation of the Saint’s relics.

This liturgy was attended by numerous priests and monks and a multitude of people who had thronged together to attend this historic and joyous event.

Following the Divine Liturgy, they began the process of the translation. At the Saint’s grave, which had been transformed into a small chapel, a few of the faithful began breaking up the flooring with sledgehammers, while the rest of the people were exuberantly singing “Christ is Risen.” Indeed the event was Resurrectional and fitted perfectly with the Paschal period of the Pentecostarion, in which it took place. Soon, amid a general atmosphere of pious emotion, monks who were digging at that moment found the first piece of the holy relics and, shortly thereafter, the Saint’s holy skull. Finally, they gathered all of the pieces of the holy relic that they washed and accordance with the usual ordinance, they were washed and arranged.

It is worth pointing out that Saint Joachim had prophesied, “A priest from the Holy Mountain, with a red beard, will take me up [his relics] and be the first to bring me to the people.” This prophecy indeed came true in the person of the Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Vatopaidi!

It is also noteworthy that the Saint had appeared to a priest in his sleep on the eve of the translation. He told him, “During the translation, I will satisfy everyone.” In fact, initially there was a dispute about who had the right to take the Saint’s skull: the Monastery or the Diocese. In the end, however, there was no problem; as soon as they removed the grace-filled skull of the Saint from the grave, it split in two!

That same day, Abbot Ephraim and his company set off for Vatopaidi Monastery, arriving the following day. The brotherhood reserved an especially fervent reception for the Saint, who was returning after nearly 170 years to his beloved monastery, which he had abandoned in order to serve the people of God, particularly in his native homeland of Ithaki.

EPILOGUE

“Who has known the mind of the Lord, and who has been His counselor?” (Isa. 40:13 LXX; Rom. 11:34).

Although we have attempted in these pages to portray a true friend of God, I am afraid that we may have instead slighted him; for if God has judged that someone is righteous, that person “is judged of no man” (1 Cor. 2:15). How are we then in a position to describe him? Nevertheless, we are not able to refrain from admiring the remarkable extent of this holy man’s influence and sway over the entire population of his island — not only then, through his personal presence, but now as well, after more than a century, through his deeply engrained presence in the memory and soul of the Ithacan people. Listening to the Ithacans talking about Papoulakis, one would think that the Saint is living and walking among them today. This is not something coincidental, but yet another witness to his boldness before God and to the twofold love of God and neighbor that this imitator of Christ so thoroughly cultivated. His dedication to God — and his success, by God’s grace, in living in “His likeness” — was followed by an equally fervent love for his “neighbor.” Consequently, he spent the rest of his life instructing the people and became, according to the maxim, “all things to all people” so that, were it possible, he might console and comfort everyone. Having divine illumination and the charisma of clairvoyance to complement his love toward his neighbor, he unerringly guided God’s people in the various circumstances of life. He liberated every inattentive soul held captive by ignorance or indifference and truly became the savior and teacher of the entire island; this is why today (rightly) they revere him and are so attached of him.

Behold, therefore, an image of a true teacher and educator, of a spiritual father and director, who exemplifies the genuine laborer in the spiritual harvest, one whom the Lord indicates that we should seek out. This blessed man “gave no sleep to his eyes, nor rest to his temples” (see Ps. 131:4 LXX), “nor did he desire the day of man” (see Jer. 17:16), but rather took on the pain and the problems of all the people, fulfilling his vocation with prudence, “doing and teaching” (see Matt. 5:19) whatever was of benefit. The words of Paul, “I discipline my body and bring it into subjection” (1 Cor. 9:27), were his constant companion and preoccupation; this is why he was often seen transporting flagstones and other loads on his shoulders, which he would then put to use for the construction of the church that he himself had undertaken to build. His abstinence and self-denial were legendary, as everyone declared; but how could it have been otherwise? According to the testimony of his relatives and friends, when he was still an infant he refused to nurse on Wednesdays and Fridays. What else could this mean but that he was immersed in the grace of the Holy Spirit from the time of his birth?

Our fear is therefore justified that perhaps we have diminished such a hero of the love of God and neighbor, who not only “at that time,” but in recent times as well has proved the power of Christ to perfect and regenerate those who desire to join the ranks moving on this course to heaven. The power of Christ, which gives strength to all things, still today provides the power “to become children of God” (Jn. 1:12) to those who are willing to take up the cross. Never before has there been so urgent a need for this witness as there is today.

One other particular grace and virtue that distinguishes the Athonite fathers and, of course, our blessed father Joachim is their deep humility. Out of this humility, they have always kept hidden the supernatural qualities with which Divine Grace adorned them. Blessed Papoulakis also habitually hid his prophetic gifts. Whether he was healing the sick or whether he was foretelling the future to others, he would hide behind some pretext or point to some natural reason so as not to be discovered.

O Blessed Joachim Papoulakis, our holy father and intercessor before God, having been released from the bonds of this toilsome life and translated into the court of the Kingdom, cease not to plead for us your humble brethren at Vatopaidi, the holy Monastery of your repentance, which makes its boast of you as its child. Though out of obedience you had abandoned her, thus fulfilling the law of love towards our people, today we feel you, together with the rest of your fellow ascetics and the entire choir of your Monastery’s Saints, standing among us lowly ones who desire to be saved.

Some of the New Miracles of Saint Joachim, Papoulakis

Olga Konstantinou, a resident of Korydallos, Athens, had gone to the translation of Blessed Papoulakis’ holy relics in May of 1992. Searching carefully in the earth that had been dug out during the exhumation, she found a small piece of the Saint’s holy relics, which she kept as a blessing. During her departure from Ithaki on the small ship “Thiaki”, the holy relic of the Saint began giving off a wondrous, otherworldly fragrance, according to the general testimony of many pilgrim passengers, who venerated it with devotion.

Having arrived at her home in Korydollos, a bad thought passed through her mind that now she was going to have to keep a third “perpetual” vigil lamp burning, meaning she would be spending more oil.

To her surprise, however, and with great emotion, she realized that on the fourth day the oil lamp before the Saint’s holy relic had been burning for three full days without the level of the oil going down.

With contrition she asked forgiveness from the Saint. From then on, the oil burned normally.

***

Dorothea Paxinou, having lived for many years in South Africa, knew little about Blessed Papoulakis. In March of 1992, being unaware of the translation of the Saint’s holy relics that was about to take place, she had a vision.

She was in her room when suddenly the door opened and a venerable elderly monk entered wearing an old grey habit and a skoufo [monastic cap] on his head, exactly as the Saint is portrayed in his well-known portrait. He drew near her and said with kindness, “Do you have devotion for St. Barbara? Know that today the village of Stavros has another Saint.

Immediately the Saint vanished from before her. Mrs. Paxinou was very moved, because she indeed did have a special devotion to Saint Barbara. On the day dedicated to Saint Barbara’s memory, she had given birth to her son Gerasimos, the current president of the community of Lefki.

***

At dawn on November 25, 1995, “between sleep and awake”, as she herself describes it, Evstratia Stanitsa-Sykiotis, a resident of Stavros, heard a serious elderly voice tell her: “The time for my glorification as a Saint is approaching. Tell the villagers, however, that I do not want revelry.” Early in the morning, Mrs. Sykiotis went to the local school and revealed this miraculous sign to a teacher who had a special devotion for Papoulakis.

Here, unfortunately, we must point out the two-day revelry that takes place on 5-6 August in Stavros, during the celebration of the Feast of the Savior’s Transfiguration, with the grievous accompaniment of roast meat (it is a lenten season), drunkenness, and such.

***

Maria Kollyvas-Argyris and her son Efthymios Argyris, residents of South Africa from Ithaki, relate that in 1971, while they were living in the district of Agioi Saranta in North Ithaki, little three-year-old Efthymios became sick with a very high fever. The family doctor, along with other specialists, was not able to discover the reason for such a high fever.

The weary parents took turns at night staying up at their sick child’s bedside. One evening, the distressed mother Maria, worn-out from agony and sleeplessness, fell asleep for a little while sitting at the edge of the boy’s bed. In her sleep, she heard the sound of elderly footsteps and the tapping of a walking stick moving from the sitting room towards the bedroom. She opened her eyes and saw live before her an elderly monk entering the room. His face was kind and full of light, and he was wearing a skoufo and holding a staff in his hands.

“Saint Nektarios!” cried Maria with joy. “I’m not Saint Nektarios, Maria,” responded the unknown monk, gazing with sympathy at the sick child. “I am Saint Papoulakis. I’ve come to see how the grandchildren of Diamantia are doing. She continually prays to me for you.” Immediately the Saint disappeared in front of their eyes.

The next day, early in the morning, the family doctor communicated with the Argyris family in order to inform them with joy that they had found the cause of the boy’s feverish condition. An inflammation of the blood had developed from the bite of a parasitic insect. With the proper therapy, the child became completely well in no time.

The same day, the happy parents telephoned their relatives in Ithaki to tell them the joyful news. They asked them to go light oil lamps and candles at the Saint’s tomb.

That summer, having gone to the island for their vacation, they took little Efthymios to venerate at the tomb of Saint Papoulakis, at the church of Saint Barbara in Stavros, glorifying and giving thanks to their holy patron.

***

Several years ago, a pious elderly woman, Niki Patrikios-Tsonos, a resident of Kypseli, Athens and a distant relative of Saint Joachim, had vowed to have the silver reliquary for the Saint constructed at her own expense. Around mid-June, 1998, she had a “live” dream, as she herself describes it.

Saint Joachim appeared to her in her sleep wearing the monastic “koukoulion”, or veil. He told her, “Please, Niki, do not forget that which you promised me.” Niki woke up immediately and made a rough sketch of the Saint’s appearance on a paper napkin, because his head covering had made a particular impression on her. She had known him differently, according to the more well-know portrait that has survived until now.

Here we must point out that at that same time in Cyprus a holy icon of Saint Joachim was being painted — which would then be taken to the Holy Monastery of Vatopaidi by the Bishop of Kyrineia (Kerineia) in Cyprus, Mr. Pavlos - in which he is depicted with a koukoulion!

***

Some years ago, Efthymia Sophianos, who lives in Vathy, Ithaki, used to keep at her home the “Holy Belt”, which Blessed Joachim had given to the grandmother of her mother, Maria Molphesis-Sophianos. This holy relic was a light-brown belt embroidered with gold thread. It was kept at the Sopfianos family’s icon screen and was given to virgin daughters, who would wear it during their marriage service, tied around their head or waist as a virginal symbol.

This was considered a great blessing. Afterwards, the Holy Belt was returned to the Sophianos family.

The last request for the Belt was by a refugee family in 1935. In the Sophianos family they also used to bless the children with the Holy Belt at home when they were sick. Unfortunately, the Holy Belt was lost during the catastrophic earthquakes of 1953.

***

Christina Kallianos-Papadatos from Ithaki, now residing in the district of Harabolta Argostolios on Kefallonia (Cephalonia), had gone to the translation of the holy relics of Blessed Joachim, together with her children Gerasimos and Eirini. They were accompanying the nun Magdalene from the Holy Monastery of the Holy Apostle Andrew on Kefallonia. During the translation, Christina took as a blessing one of the clay tiles used to cover the head of the Blessed Joachim in the tomb.

In the spring of 1993, as Christina was tending the animals in the farmyard she fell and struck a tree hard, resulting in a mild concussion. Because she was feeling strong pains, she went to the Argostolios Hospital, where the doctors recommended that she remain for 24 hours as a precautionary measure.

Having a deep faith in Saint Joachim, Christina chose not to stay and instead returned home. Her son Gerasimos - now studying for the priesthood at the Rizario Ecclesiastical School - chanted the supplicatory canon to the Saint, and they prayed with faith. Christina placed the Saint’s clay tile under her pillow and, in the morning - glory to God - she woke up completely well. She has also given a large monetary sum as a votive offering towards the future church to be dedicated to Saint Joachim.

***

Sophia Vlassopoulos-Grivas, a resident of Lakos, Ithaki, relates that in the nineteenth century Blessed Papoulakis’ cousin, Nikolis Patrikios, and his wife Zacharenia were living in the house she now lives in. Saint Joachim visited them many time, especially during the winter evenings. At night he would repose on a chest in the kitchen of the old house.

One night, Nikolis woke up and discovered that the Saint was no where in the house. He went outside and dumb-founded he saw the Saint praying in the garden, surrounded by light and suspended three feet above the ground! Nikolis was very shook up. The Saint immediately calmed him down, saying, “Don’t be afraid, Nikolis; I was saying my prayers.” He also admonished him to tell no one about what had happened.

Another time, Nikolis was taking the mail on foot to the city before dawn. He encountered Saint Joachim, who went before him holding a branch and switching now and then the air as if he were driving away something. “Don’t be afraid, Nikolis,” he said, “I’m clearing the road for you to pass.”

***

Adamantini Kouvaras-Noutsatos and Evrikleia Koubaras-Sompolas, residents of Stavros, relate that around 1938-39, their grandmother Diamantia, wife of Dimitrios Sykiotis, became sick at the age 48. A fibrous tumor had developed in her female organs, from which she suffered frequent hemorrhaging. Two doctors from North Ithaki, I. Pazis and S. Vrettos, seeing the adverse progression of her health, decided that she must leave urgently for Athens to have an operation. Here we should note that Diamantia, nurturing a special love and devotion for Saint Papoulakis, never ceased to call upon him and to pray about this trial with her health.

Using D. Sikiotis’ flat cart – the means of transportation of that era - she and her husband went down from Stavros to Vathy, intending to depart with the ship going to Peiraia. At the harbor they met with Dr. N. Kolyvas, who also confirmed the precariousness of her condition. Suddenly at that point, Diamantia, feeling a deep faith in Saint Papoulakis, decided to return to the village and make a votive offering to Papoulakis for her health. Her vow was to never again dress in a worldly way. Her husband, her five children, and her grandchildren always remember her dressed for all of forty years without light-colored clothing, with a scarf on her head, and never wearing high-heeled shoes or carrying a handbag, even at very informal family moments. She was always close to the church — as she always had been — maintained a sacramental life, and was a regular pilgrim at the tomb of Saint Joachim, doing countless prostrations before his icon.

The fibrous tumor immediately began to shrink, and the hemorrhages gradually stopped; within a short time she was completely healthy. Diamantia Kouvaras reposed in the depths of old age in 1980 from a stroke. Her grandchildren remember that she never told them fables; always with an abundance of piety she recounted the miracles of Saint Joachim. She always said good night to them by blessing them with the Sign of the Cross, saying, “Christ and the Panagia be near you, and Saint Papoulakis at your right hand.”

To be continued...Part Thirteen

[St. Joachim was officially canonized a Saint of the Orthodox Church in 1998 by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. His official feast day is May 23 (the date of the uncovering of his relics). The hymns for this feast can be found here.

Here ends the translation of the book on Papoulakis written by Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi. In the past couple of days I have acquired another longer text which contains many photographs relating to the life of Papoulakis which was written and compiled by Konstantinou P. Kanellou. With this, I will continue the series on Saint Papoulakis. - J.S.]

Ἀπολυτίκιον. Ἦχος γ´. Θείας πίστεως.
Θεία χάριτι λελαμπρυσμένος κατεφώτισας τοὺς ἐν σκοτείᾳ ἀγνωσίας καὶ δουλώσεως πέλοντας ταῖς διδαχῶν καὶ θαυμάτων ἀκτῖσί σου, Ἰωακείμ, ἀσκητὰ ἐνθεώτατε· γόνε πάντιμε Ἰθάκης, Χριστὸν ἱκέτευε δωρήσασθαι ἡμῖν τὸ μέγα ἔλεος.

Apolytikion of St. Joachim in the Third Tone
Shining with divine grace, you illumined those caught in the darkness of ignorance and apostasy by your teachings and radiant wonders, Joachim, most-divine ascetic, all-precious offspring of Ithaki, entreat Christ to grant us great mercy.

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Saint Niketas the Goth and Great Martyr

Saint Niketas the Great Martyr (Feast Day - September 15)

Saint Niketas (or Nicetas) was a Goth and soldier who lived on the eastern side of the Danube River within the boundaries of present-day Romania. Bishop Theophilus, the well-known enlightener of the Goths and a participant in the First Ecumenical Synod in 325, converted him to Christianity and baptized him. Niketas was not an Arian as many suppose, for Arianism spread among the Goths through the successor of Theophilus, the bishop Urphilus.

At that time, intense warfare arose among the Goths. At the head of one hostile side stood Prince Athanarichus, a vehement pagan and a hater of Christians. At the head of the other - Frigentus who was a Christian. In the bloody clash of the armies, Athanarichus was victorious, and Frigentus was forced to flee to Constantinople. But soon Frigentus returned to his homeland, reinforced by the fresh troops afforded him by the Emperor Valentus (364-378). Frigentus commanded that the image of the Holy Cross be made on the standards of his army, as once did Emperor Constantine the Great. A second bloody battle took place, and this time Frigentus was victorious. But Athanarichus, with a small group of adherents, was saved by flight.


After Frigentus' victory, favorable times ensued for Christianity. Bishop Theophilus' successor, Bishop Urphilus (311-383), created the Gothic alphabet and translated many spiritual books from Greek into Gothic. Saint Niketas, by his preaching and his pious life, greatly assisted the confirmation of the Christian faith among the Goths and converted many. A close friend of St. Paulinus of Nola, St. Niketas became bishop of Remesiana in Dacia (modern Romania and Yugoslavia) and was noted for his successful missionary activities, especially among the Bessi, a race of marauders, which Paulinus commemorates in a poem.

Niketas wrote several dissertations on Faith, the Creed, the Trinity, liturgical singing, and is believed by some scholars to be the author of Te Deum. We know little of Niketas himself beyond the fact that on at least two occasions, he made his way from a country which Paulinus regarded as a wild region of snow and ice to visit his friend at Nola in Campania. St. Jerome also speaks very appreciatively of his work in converting the people of Dacia.


After a few years, Athanarichus returned to his homeland with a numerous army, and intense warfare again started up among the Goths. Having overcome Frigentus, Athanarichus raised up a cruel persecution against the Christians. Niketas, having become a spiritual leader of the Christian Goths, denounced Athanarichus for godlessness and cruelty. He called on the faithful to be firm and not to fear martyrdom. Soon Niketas was seized and given over to cruel tortures. His mind was unceasingly raised up to God, and on his breast under his robe he bore an icon of the all pure Theotokos with the Pre-eternal Christ Child standing and holding the Cross in His hands. St. Niketas carried this icon because the Holy Theotokos had appeared to him and comforted him. They threw him into a fire, and he died on September 15, 372. His body remained unharmed by the fire and was illumined by a miraculous light. By night, a friend of the martyr, a Christian named Marianus, retrieved St Niketas’ body from the land of the Goths (Wallachia and Bessarabia) to the town of Mopsuestia where he buried it. Afterwards, it was transferred to Constantinople. Part of the relics of the Great Martyr Niketas was later transferred to the Monastery of Vysokie Dechani in Serbia where his incorrupt hand works many miracles. We pray to St Niketas for the preservation of children from birth defects.


St. Dimitri of Rostov writes concerning St. Niketas:

"Yesterday we celebrated the Elevation of the Holy Cross, which is the unconquerable emblem of victory; today, we venerate Saint Niketas, whose name means 'one who conquers'. After the token of victory, the precious and life-creating Cross of the Lord, had been exalted over the whole world, the namesake of victory, Saint Niketas, marched beneath the sacred emblem. This good soldier of Jesus Christ took his stand beneath the Cross as if it were a banner, that he might war against the enemies of the holy Cross, glorifying Him Who was crucified upon it. One soldier fights for the sake of an earthly king, another to protect himself to win empty glory, yet another to acquire fleeting riches; but Saint Niketas fought only for his only Lord, Jesus Christ, Who is the King of all creation, our glory and never-failing treasure."


Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
Your Martyr Niketas, O Lord, in his courageous contest for You received the prize of the crowns of incorruption and life from You, our immortal God. For since he possessed Your strength, he cast down the tyrants and wholly destroyed the demons' powerless presumption. O Christ God, by his prayers, save our souls, since You are merciful.

Kontakion in the Second Tone
Destroying the might of error by your firm resolve, and taking the crown of victory through your suffering, O Niketas, namesake of victory, you rejoice with the angels, and with them, O glorious one, you ceaselessly pray to Christ God for us all.


HYMN OF PRAISE: The Holy Martyr Niketas

by St. Nikolai Velimirovich

He is a true patriot who, among his own people,
Erects a true altar to the Living Lord.
Athenarik the Goth ruled by force,
And offered sacrifices to lifeless idols.
But holy Niketas, the soldier of Christ God,
Was a preacher of eternal salvation.
He cast rays of the Eternal Light throughout the night,
Dispersing the idolatrous darkness that shrouded souls.
Holy Niketas opposed the prince,
And his brave endurance amazed his people.
By the power of the Honorable Cross,
he confounded the darkness
And filled all the people with the fear of God.
His blood was the rosy hue of the new dawn,
And his spirit was raised up to the heavenly courts.
In the terrible fire, Nicetas burned,
But, not even today, has he been consumed.
With the truth of Christ the Goths were baptized,
And they glorified Niketas, their wonderful one.
O Saint Niketas, voice of God's trumpet,
Courageous martyr, true patriot;
From the tents of the earth you have departed,
And you stand in the royal courts with the angels.
Pray for us, for the King listens to you,
That He grant our souls mercy.

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Mount Athos to be Featured In Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol"

Dan Brown's new book, The Lost Symbol, is being released tomorrow. And it looks like the Holy Mountain is gonna be in demand to get a bunch of tourism because of it.

According to Telegraph.co.uk:

"Fans worldwide have been speculating on Facebook and Twitter while Brown has also been dropping hints through strategic “tweets” including a photograph of a Mount Athos monastery in Greece, the American presidential seal and a bar of music marked 'allegretto'."

The mysterious monastery is none other than Simonopetra which is situated on Mount Athos. Here is a photo of the tweet:


But why?

This is pretty easy to figure out for those familiar with Brown's The Davinci Code, and if one keeps in mind that this latest release is a sequel to The Davinci Code. I won't rehash the entire story which everyone knows, but Mary Magdalene plays an important role. In fact, in the book she is the wife of Jesus who gives him a bloodline that runs throughout the generations to our very day, and is regarded as the guarded holy grail.

So what is the connection between Simonopetra and Mary Magdalene?

Simonopetra contains one of the most treasured relics in Orthodoxy and one of its most miraculous as well - the incorrupt left hand of Mary Magdalene, who is considered the co-founder of Simonopetra.

I personally don't foresee anything Orthodox have to worry about. It was bound to happen. I wondered when reading his first book why he did not go to Athos, so now with a little internet research he found another location to use to justify his lies.

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The Miraculous Prozimi

OrthodoxHistory.org discovered an interesting news article a few weeks ago, which was circulated in newspapers around America in 1927, about an Orthodox priest named Fr. John Gerotheou who used a "religious ceremony of the Church" to make bread "rise without yeast through the use of holy water". Details are described below:

WATERBURY, Conn., Nov. 15, 1927 — (By The Associated Press) – Asserting that the church already has been held up to enough public ridicule through the “absurd challenge” of George Invalis of New Britain, George Pistolas, president of the Hellenic Orthodox congregation here, announced Monday night that the Rev. John Gerotheou would ignore all challenges directed at his claimed powers of causing bread to rise without yeast through the use of holy water. Mr. Gerotheou’s powers were disputed also by the American Association for the Advancement of Atheism.

Invalis, a soda clerk, announced that he would post $200 in a Waterbury bank today to back up his challenge, but the posting of the money will go unheeded as the challenge has, according to Pistolas.

The church official said the congregation would continue to worship as it saw fit regardless of challenges launched at it. On days when the ritual of the Orthodox Greek church permits it, however Mr. Gerotheou would continue to raise bread without yeast, Pistolas said, but only as part of the religious ceremonies of the church.

Those at OrthodoxHistory.org were unaware however that this was indeed a ceremony performed, especially among the pious laity and in some monasteries, within the Greek Orthodox Church. I made them aware of it and they expressed that they never heard of this tradition before and posted some information I gave them, but since some important information is in Greek I decided to make my own posting and hopefully spread this pious tradition among the faithful who speak English.

This pious tradition is usually looked upon as a manifestation of the grace within the holy water and blessed basil which is blessed within the Orthodox Church. It can be done any time with blessed basil and holy water either blessed within one's local parish or acquired at some holy shrine that has holy water. Among the Greek pious, this is done usually twice a year and is associated with feasts of the Holy Cross, which is what sanctifies the holy water with the blessed basil. The two feasts are September 14 for the Feast of the Elevation of the Precious Cross and the Third Sunday of Great Lent which is dedicated to the Veneration of the Holy Cross.

There are apparently a few ways to do this. According to the website for Vatopaidi Monastery of Mount Athos, the following is done according to this Athonite style:

First acquire some basil leaves from the priest. Put some lukewarm water in a pot. In the water only put some flour and mix it until it becomes a thick paste. When this is done take the blessed basil leaves and form a Cross on top of it. You place a clean towel over the pot, and wait a few hours until its ready.


(Note: Some boil the basil leaves and with this lukewarm water they prepare the paste.)

One witness happened to be at the Monastery of Vatopaidi for this miracle on the Third Sunday of Great Lent, and this is what he saw:

"Behind the icon of the Annunciation which was on display for veneration in the katholikon (central church) of the Monastery are found two shelves. The fathers who serve to bake the prosphora and the breads brought a pot with the paste and placed it on the bottom shelf. On the top shelf they place the basil leaves with the Precious Cross. They put nothing on top of the paste itself. By the Power of the Precious Cross it becomes prozimi. Great and wondrous are your ways O Lord!"

According to another Greek website who quotes Archimandrite Dositheos, it is important that the basil leaves come directly from the priest and that it should not be taken from an altar boy or grabbed from a tray. He recommends that after the lukewarm water is placed in an unused pot, to take the basil leaves and make a sign of the Cross three times with it in the water. He recommends this be done with basil leaves that have not dried. When blessing the water with the blessed leaves, chant or say the hymns of the Holy Cross such as "Save O Lord Your people" and "You Who were lifted up on the Cross" ("Σώσον Κύριε, τον λαόν Σου" και το "Ο υψωθείς εν τω Σταυρώ"). The basil leaves are taken away and a little flour is put in. After mixing it to make a thick paste and placing a towel over it, he recommends you put it in a warm area of the home. If you do it before bed, when you wake up add a little more water and flour and let it sit till night. At night do the same. After the third time its ready. He recommends three days for it be ready. Though not difficult, it may take a few trials before you get it right.

Over at the Adventures of an Orthodox Mom site, there are instructions on how to do it another way that you may find useful as well.

Is this a miracle? Not necessarily in the traditional sense of what a miracle is according to modern day rationalists. It is looked upon as miraculous in the sense that it is blessed bread made with ingredients that is blessed by the Church; the manner of the bread rising by a method that is unusual; and the fact that it is done on a holy feast. Though it is all a natural process which can be explained scientifically, still because of it unusualness and its association with blessed ingredients and ecclesiastical feast days, the pious call it a miracle to preserve its sacred nature transformed through everything that has become associated with it. Rationalists, as in the article above from 1927, will probably find this answer unsatisfying and contradictory to call something natural "miraculous", but this can only be understood by those pious who sanctify on these feast days the natural world and make it sacred through an invisible transformation, much like the waters of baptism were sanctified at the baptism of Jesus on Epiphany. Perhaps this is why Fr. Gerotheou remained silent in the face of opposition; it is not meant to be rationally explained.

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The Cross – The Preserver of the Universe

A Homily by Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco

In the prophet Ezekiel (9:6) it is said that when the Angel of the Lord was sent to punish and destroy the sinning people, it was told him not to strike those on whom the “mark” had been made. In the original text this mark is called “tau,” the Hebrew letter corresponding to the letter “T.”, which is how in ancient times the Cross was made, which then was an instrument of punishment.

And so, even then was foretold the power of the Cross, which preserves those who venerate it. Likewise by many other events in the Old Testament the power of the Cross was indicated. Moses, who held his arms raised in the form of a Cross during the battle, gave victory to the Israelites over the Amalekites. He also, dividing the Red Sea by a blow of his rod and by a transverse blow uniting the waters again, saved Israel from Pharaoh, who drowned in the water, while Israel crossed over on the dry bottom (Exodus chs. 14, 17).

Through the laying on of his hands in the form of a Cross on his grandsons, Jacob gave a blessing to his descendants, foretelling at the same time their future until the coming of the “expectation of the nations” (Gen. 48).

By the Cross, the Son of God having become man, accomplished our salvation. He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross (Phil. 2:8). Having stretched out His hands upon the Cross, the Saviour with them, as it were, embraced the world, and by His blood shed on it, like a king with red ink, He signed the forgiveness of the human race.

The Cross of the Lord was the instrument by which He saved the world after the fall into sin. Through the Cross, He descended with His soul into hades so as to raise up from it the souls who were awaiting Him. By the Cross, Christ opened the doors of paradise which had been closed after our first ancestors had been banished from it. The Cross was sanctified by the Body of Christ which was nailed to it when He gave Himself over to torments and death for the salvation of the world, and it itself was then filled with life-giving power. By the Cross on Golgotha, the prince of this world was cast out (John 12:31) and an end was put to his authority. The weapon by which he was crushed became the sign of Christ’s victory.

The demonic hosts tremble when they see the Cross, for by the Cross the kingdom of hell was destroyed. They do not dare to draw near to anyone who is guarded by the Cross.

The whole human race, by the death of Christ on the Cross, received deliverance from the authority of the devil, and everyone who makes use of this saving weapon is inaccessible to the demons.

When legions of demons appeared to St. Anthony the Great and other desert-dwellers, they guarded themselves with the Sign of the Cross, and the demons vanished.

When they appeared to St. Symeon the Stylite, who was standing on his pillar, what seemed to be a chariot to carry him to heaven, the Saint, before mounting it, crossed himself; it disappeared and the enemy, who had hoped to cast down the ascetic from the height of his pillar, was put to shame.

One cannot enumerate all the separate examples of the manifestation of the power of the Cross in various incidents. Invisibly and unceasingly there gushes from it the Divine grace that saves the world.

The Sign of the Cross is made at all the Mysteries and prayers of the Church. With the making of the Sign of the Cross over the bread and wine, they become the Body and Blood of Christ. With the immersion of the Cross, the waters are sanctified. The Sign of the Cross looses us from sins. “When we are guarded by the Cross, we oppose the enemy, not fearing his nets and barking.” Just as the flaming sword in the hands of the Cherubim barred the entrance into paradise of old, so the Cross now acts invisibly in the world, guarding it from perdition.

The Cross is the unconquerable weapon of pious kings in the battle with enemies. Through the apparition of the Cross in the sky, the dominion of Emperor Constantine was confirmed and an end was put to the persecution against the Church. The apparition of the Cross in the sky in Jerusalem in the days of Constantius the Arian proclaimed the victory of Orthodoxy. By the power of the Cross of the Lord, Christian kings reign and will reign until Antichrist, barring his path to power and restraining lawlessness (St. John Chrysostom, Commentary on 11 Thes. 2:6-7).

The “sign of the Son of Man” (Matt. 24:30), that is, the Cross, will appear in the sky in order to proclaim the end of the present world and the coming of the eternal Kingdom of the Son of God. Then all the tribes of the earth shall weep, because they loved the present age and its lusts, but all who have endured persecution for righteousness and called on the name of the Lord shall rejoice and be glad. The Cross then will save from eternal perdition all who conquered temptations by the Cross, who crucified their flesh with its passions and lusts, and took up their cross and followed their Christ.

But those who hated the Cross of the Lord and did not engrave the Cross in their soul will perish forever. For “the Cross is the preserver of the whole universe, the Cross is the beauty of the Church, the Cross is the might of kings, the Cross is the confirmation of the faithful, the Cross is the glory of angels and the scourge of demons” (Octoechos: Exapostilarion, Monday Matins).

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The Orthodox Celebration of the Power of the Cross

The Exaltation of the Cross celebrated on September 14 is one of the twelve great feasts in the yearly Church cycle. It commemorates two historical events: first, the finding of the Life-giving Cross in the year 326, and second, its recovery from Persia in 628.

History of the Feast

In the first centuries of Christianity, during the years of persecution, the pagans wished to destroy all evidence of the life of Jesus Christ, and the Cross on which He was crucified disappeared. With the conversion of Emperor Constantine the Great, Christians were at liberty to worship openly and build churches. The emperor’s mother, St. Helen, longed to find the True Cross of Christ. She traveled to Jerusalem and was told by a very old Jew that the Cross was buried beneath the temple of the pagan goddess Venus, built in 119 AD by the Roman Emperor Hadrian.

The temple was torn down, and digging in the earth below uncovered three wooden crosses. The small board which had hung over Christ with the inscription "Jesus King of the Jews," had long since fallen off, and there was no way of telling which was the True Cross and which were the crosses of the two thieves crucified on either side of Christ. A sick woman was brought and likewise a dead man who was being carried to burial. The three crosses were laid in turn one by one upon the sick woman and upon the dead man. Two of the crosses had no effect, but through contact with the third cross, the sick woman was healed of her infirmity and the dead man came to life. These miracles clearly indicated which of the three was Christ’s Cross.

Hearing of this discovery, all the faithful desired to see the Cross of the Lord and to venerate it. The Patriarch of Jerusalem, Makarios, took the Cross onto a raised platform and lifted it on high, "exalting" it, for all to see. The people fell to their knees, bowing down before the Cross and crying out repeatedly: “Lord, have mercy!”

To house the relic of the True Cross, St. Helen had s church built over the Holy Sepulchre. The church was consecrated on Sept. 13, 335, an event also commemorated in the service hymns of the Feast. The finding and exaltation of the Cross was appointed to be celebrated annually on the following day.

The Life-giving Cross was kept in Jerusalem until the year 614 when the Holy City fell to the Persians who looted the Church of the Resurrection and took the True Cross back with them to Persia. Fourteen years later Emperor Heraclius concluded a peace with the Persians, and the Holy Cross was brought to the imperial capital of Constantinople. The Emperor, taking off his shoes and his imperial robes, carried the Cross into the Church of Holy Wisdom (Agia Sophia) where it was once again triumphantly exalted. It was then resolved that the Feast be celebrated by the Church in all parts of the world, for which reason it is called the Universal Exaltation.

The Service

The Vigil for the Feast, one of the most moving and impressive services of the year, contains several distinguishing features. After Vespers the Cross, decorated with flowers and sweet-smelling herbs, is placed upon the altar. Following the Gospel reading in Matins, the faithful sing “Having beheld the Resurrection of Christ…” usually sung only during Saturday night vigils. At the end of the Great Doxology, to the slow singing of the Trisagion –”Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us”– the priest, carrying the Cross on his head, brings it out from the altar and places it on an analogion in the center of the church. He censes the Cross on all four sides, and everyone prostrates before it to the singing of the hymn: “Before Thy Cross, we bow down, O Master, and Thy holy Resurrection we glorify.” Then the faithful, following the celebrants, venerate the Cross in turn, making three full prostrations, and receive anointing. The Cross remains in the center of the church until the Apodosis or “leave-taking” of the Feast on September 21.

In cathedrals and monasteries the adoration is preceded by the ceremony of exalting the Cross. After the Cross is brought out from the altar, the bishop or archimandrite takes it up in his hands and raises it on high. Then, as the people chant “Lord have mercy” a hundred times, he slowly lowers the Cross nearly to the ground and just as slowly raises it. This is done five times as the celebrant faces first east, then west, south, north and east again, signifying that “the Cross is the guardian of the whole world” and through it “the world is sanctified.” In some churches the Cross has rose water poured over it during these exaltations. The rose water is caught in a basin of flowers held by the acolytes, and the flowers are distributed to the faithful at the end of the service.

Although it is one of the major Church Feasts, the Exaltation is always kept as a fast day, because together with the joy of the finding of the Cross, this great “weapon of peace and sign of victory,” we are also reminded of the sufferings which our Lord endured in being crucified.

On the Sign of the Cross

The Orthodox Christian ends his evening prayers with a prayer to the Venerable Cross:

"As wax melts from the presence of fire, so let the demons perish from the presence of those who love God and who sign themselves with the Sign of the Cross….”

When properly applied, the sign of the Cross is a most formidable weapon in a Christian’s armor.

The power of the Cross in the unseen warfare with the demons is illustrated in countless lives of Saints. One of the most strtking examples is found in the life of the holy martyrs, Sts. Cyprian and Justina (Oct. 2). An expert sorcerer before his conversion, St. Cyprian was asked by a pagan youth to use his magic in order to seduce the Christian maid Justina. But even with the help of the prince of demons, the sorcerer was powerless before the maiden who “fled to the defense of the Cross of the Lord and placed its honorable sign on her forehead,” causing the demons to depart in shame. This brought Cyprian to his senses, and he railed at the evil one whom he had served for so long: “O destroyer and deceiver of all…. Now I have discovered your infirmity. For if you fear even the shadow of the Cross and tremble at the name of Christ, then what will you do when Christ Himself comes to you?” Furious at Cyprian’s rebuke, the devil began to beat and strangle him. Already scarcely alive, Cyprian “remembered the sign of the Cross, by the power of which Justina had opposed all the demons’ power, and he cried out: "O God of Justina, help me!" Then, raising his hand, he made the sign of the Cross, and the devil immediately leaped away from him like an arrow shot from a bow.

The power of the Cross is given to each and every Christian. But just as a soldier must learn to properly wield his weapons in battle, so a warrior of Christ must learn how correctly to make the sign of the Cross. A shield has no effect if carelessly waved about in the air. Likewise, there are many who receive no benefit from the sign of the Cross because they make it mechanically or haphazardly.

Some time ago we were justly taken to task by one of our readers for an all too common inaccuracy in describing the making of the sign of the Cross: “We touch the forehead, the breast…” Our reader pointed out that the first edition of the widely used Orthodox catechism, Archpriest Seraphim Slobodskoy’s Law of God, contained the same error which was corrected in the second edition with the following explanation: in making the sign of the Cross from forehead to breast and then shoulder to shoulder, “the lower end of the Cross turns out to be shorter than the upper one; i.e., the Cross comes out upside-down.” Man thereby inverts the Cross of Christ “to which only the demons rejoice.” The Holy Fathers taught that the sign of the Cross should be made by touching first the brow (the forehead), marking the upper part of the cross, secondly the womb (the stomach), marking the lower part of the cross, thirdly the right frame (shoulder) and fourthly the left frame, representing from end to end the horizontal bar of the cross.

This is not to say that the correct external formation of the sign of the Cross of itself carries the power to wound demons, it must be made with faith. St. John of Kronstadt cautions: “In order that the unbelieving heart should not think that the sign of the Cross and the name of Christ act miraculously by themselves, apart from, and independently of Christ Himself, this same Cross and name perform no miracles until I see Jesus Christ with the eyes of my heart…and believe with my whole heart all that it has has accomplished for our salvation.”

The Cross, once a tool of death, has become a means to life, an instrument of our salvation; it gives strength to resist temptation, to refrain from gossip or harsh words; it dispels fear. If we learn to use the Cross effectively, we shall come through experience to understand the Apostle’s words:

"But God forbid that I should glory save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Source

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On the Two Accounts of the Discovery of the True Cross

Regarding the two accounts handed down to us describing the discovery of the Holy Cross by St. Helen, St. Dimitri of Rostov writes:

The various authorities do not agree concerning the details of the miracle whereby the true Cross of Christ was discovered. Some say that it was a dead maiden being brought to burial who was raised by the power of the Cross; others claim that a widow lay ill in her house and was close to death and that the Patriarch [Macarius] and the Empress [Helen] came to her bearing the [three] crosses [to see which was the true Cross]. They laid them on the ailing woman and when the Cross of the Lord was placed upon her, she immediately arose whole. Others say that a dead man was being carried to the grave and was resurrected at the touch of the Cross of the Lord. Nicephorus Callistus, surnamed Xanthopoulos, in the twenty-ninth chapter of his eighth book, says that both those marvels were worked at that time and that the widow who lay ill and dying in her home was delivered from the gates of death and granted life and health and that the dead man who was being carried to the grave was resurrected.

Reading from the Synaxarion:

Saint Helen, the mother of Saint Constantine the Great, when she was already advanced in years, undertook, in her great piety, the hardships of a journey to Jerusalem in search of the cross, about the year 325. A temple to Aphrodite had been raised up by the Emperor Hadrian upon Golgotha, to defile and cover with oblivion the place where the saving Passion had been suffered. The venerable Helen had the statue of Aphrodite destroyed, and the earth removed, revealing the Tomb of our Lord, and three crosses. Of these, it was believed that one must be that of our Lord, the other two of the thieves crucified with Him; but Saint Helen was at a loss which one might be the Wood of our salvation. At the inspiration of Saint Macarius, Archbishop of Jerusalem, a lady of Jerusalem, who was already at the point of death from a certain disease, was brought to touch the crosses, and as soon as she came near to the Cross of our Lord, she was made perfectly whole. Consequently, the precious Cross was lifted on high by Archbishop Macarius of Jerusalem; as he stood on the ambo, and when the people beheld it, they cried out, "Lord have mercy." It should be noted that after its discovery, a portion of the venerable Cross was taken to Constantinople as a blessing. The rest was left in Jerusalem in the magnificent church built by Saint Helen, until the year 614. At that time, the Persians plundered Palestine and took the Cross to their own country (see Jan. 22, Saint Anastasius the Persian). Late, in the year 628, Emperor Heraclius set out on a military campaign, retrieved the Cross, and after bringing it to Constantinople, himself escorted it back to Jerusalem, where he restored it to its place.

Rest from labour. A strict Fast is observed today, whatever day of the week it may be.

Apolytikion in the First Tone
Lord, save Your people and bless Your inheritance, granting our rulers to prevail over adversaries, and protecting Your commonwealth by Your Cross.

Kontakion in the Fourth Tone
Lifted up on the Cross by Your free will, Christ God, grant mercies to the new commonwealth that bears Your name. Gladden our faithful rulers by Your power, giving them victories over their adversaries. May Your alliance be for them a weapon for peace, an invincible standard.

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The Missionary Efforts of Metropolitan Nektarios of Hong Kong

Interview by http://www.anaplastiki.gr/

1. What do missions mean for the Orthodox Church?

Our Lord after his Resurrection gave to his disciples the command, “As you go, teach all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep everything which I commanded you.”

This command of the Master constituted for the Church a continuous obligation. The Church must give its own witness here in this world and it should proclaim with words and deeds the saving message of the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. The goal of the Church is that it should bring the world into the Church and make Christians of all mankind. The Church, and I am speaking for the Orthodox Church, never made use of worldly methods in the application of its teachings and in the formation of converts. We do not try to use force or psychologically compulsory methods to spread the Gospel of Christ.

Certainly it is true, unfortunately, that the Orthodox Church does not have an organized mission. Every local Orthodox Chruch is making an effort with their own criteria and with their own power to do a missions. If we should take into account the contemptable phenomenon of paralleled Orthodox jurisdictions which is observed in recent decades in America, Europe, Australia and recently Southeast Asia, then we are able to understand why non-christians see us as something similar to Protestants, divided into many groups, who competitively try to prove their missionary effort by their "successes". The things of which I speak are not an exaggeration and do not misunderstand my words. In the area of missions it is necessary to see things from the perspective of others. For they who are not Christians naturally have a different view and opinion about Christianity from us, who have had the blessing of being born and raised in a christian environment and a christian land. If we do not do this, then we will not be able to give others understanding of our missionary message and naturally our missionary labour, despite the hard work, will turn out fruitless.

2. How were you lead into missions, and at such a far away place?

It is necessary to point out that when we talk about missions we do not understand it as being sent to those who are non-christian only, but also to those who have already been baptized as Christians. God lead the first young steps of my life to a monastic vocation and more generally to the service of the Gospel. When you live daily at a monastery the ascetic tradition of the Church and you live the Christian way of life found in the daily Services and in the contemplation of the Holy Scriptures and Holy Fathers, then you desire to preach the same realities of life to the armchair Christians and those Christians who are indifferent. The idea of what is known as foreign missions never had crossed my mind. Then I was seeing how many of our brothers and sisters in Greece who have been baptized Orthodox are completely uncatechized. And even today this is a reality. We boast that Greece is a Christian nation and that the Christians are 95% Orthodox. We rejoice during Holy Week when the sacred churches are full. Forgive me, but the rest of the year where are all those people? Are we not living in an imaginary world of our fantasies? Look around you and search to see how many there are who live the Christian life? Our Greece needs much work in the area of Orthodox catechism for adults. Also they need workers devoted with zeal. In Southeast Asia many times indigenous Christians ask me: “Why don't the Greeks not come every Sunday to Church”? They consider Greece a model and they are sorry when they see Greek Christians that are completely uncatechized.

That I am found far away from Greece, I attribute it to the will of God. I did not flee from it. God called me and established me at this new bastion. Humbly I received this new calling and so I am found in far away Hong Kong.

3. How difficult is the work of a missionary in Asia?

Orthodoxy in Asia is completely unknown. The people here know the Christian traditions which the Roman Catholics and Protestants carried here. These christian confessions also have organized missions. Of course these older missionary attempts combined their actions with the political colonization of the Great Powers and this combinination made the indigenous peoples to become very cautious with everything that is christian. The Orthodox missionary is coming to work within lands which have a different outlook and a different culture from which he is accustomed. There are no infrastructures to possibly support the work and there is certainly not the economic support. I say this because some who have created a dream-like image of missionaries. But the reality is different. How will a missionary in Southeast Asia live? Does they not have necessities like shelter and food? How will they conduct their mission? A mission also has practical necessities. How will they build a church? Who will pay for the translations, the publication of tracts and books, and thousands of other things?

Also some think that the missionary is able to live like a beggar. Let them visit Hong Kong, Singapore or Taiwan and after they can review their same theories concerning missionaries.

Besides these practical things there are also other difficulties for anyone who desires to engage in missionary work in Asia. There is the issue of language, the different mentality and culture, and the reality of religious fanaticism. And certainly the mistrust which stems from what these people suffered from the colonialists.

I think that the presence of the Orthodox Church in Southeast Asia despite these weaknesses is a great miracle.

4. How do you begin a mission and in what sectors do you move around in?

The same phenomena they saw in the initial apostolic years we are encountering today. I am referring to the work of the mission. In a certain regions of Southeast Asia, Orthodoxy reached people by those who went there to work. In another region some Orthodox clergyman determined to initiate a missionary effort. There is also the matter of those locals who learned of Orthodoxy via the Internet who then inquired for Orthodox clergy to visit them and catechize them.

At this point in time, by God’s grace, we have in the Holy Metropolis of Hong Kong and the Far East 47 operating Orthodox communities of which 25 have a church building. The communities are worshiping in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Pakistan and Malaysia. In Thailand, Shanghai, Peking and others there are not regular places of worship but we are making an effort to serve the Orthodox there on the Great Feasts.

In the Metropolis there serves 32 clergy: 4 Greek, 1 British, 11 Indian, 9 Indonesian, 6 Philippino and 1 Pakastani. In the are of Masbate in the Philippines there is a female holy monastery with four nuns, and we plan to establish a new female holy monastery in Medan of Indonesia.

The Orthodox believers in Southeast Asia are about 17,000 and we are not including the Catechumens who daily seek us in order to become Orthodox, and those who are Orthodox Christians yet conceal their religious faith because of their local [religious and/or political] situations.

The Metropolis of Hong Kong and the Far East is coordinating, overseeing and supporting the following philanthropic programs which serves the regions in its jurisdiction:

- 8 medical clinics in West Bengal in India (each clinic is staffed by a doctor, a nurse, a janitor and allotted supplies so as to have a pharmacy).

- 2 medical clinics in Indonesia (staffed by two doctors and four nurses).

- 1 dentist in Calcutta, India.

- 1 dentist in Indonesia.

- 1 orphanage in Calcutta with 180 girls.

- 1 orphanage for destitute children in Medan, Indonesia.

- 1 orphanage for destitute children in Singaraja, Indonesia.

- 4 nursery schools (India, Indonesia, and the Philippines).

- 10 elementary schools (India and Indonesia).

- 1 high school (Indonesia).

- 2 technical schools (India, Indonesia).
- 1 advanced polytechnic academy with two departments in computer science and a business administration (Indonesia).
- 1 theological seminary is found in Medan, Indonesia (the Greek language is also taught).

Also the Sacred Metropolis is developing programs:

- economic aid for the destitute.

- weekly distribution of food, clothing and all manner of personal hygene products and medicine.

- distribution of all manner of scholastic books to destitute children (for in the region of Southeast Asia there is no free education. The students even in public schools are indebted to withhold a small amount for tuition fees and the purchase of books).

- visitations to hospitals and prisons.

- daily meals

- the manufacture of small homes for homeless families.

- psychological and physical support for abused women and stray children.

- the protection of refugees.

- humanitarian aide to regions where they are hurt by natural disasters.

- scholarships for destitute students.

- we provide educational support for illiterates (mainly in Pakistan).

- drilling for water in underdeveloped areas in order to provide them with drinkable water.

The Metropolis is responsible for the preservation, the equipment and the service of the institutions and programs as well as the wages for staff. The annual costs of all of the missionary and philanthropic programs comes near to 750,00 euros. So the Metropolis needs roughly 70,000 euros each month.

5. What difficulties and obstacles by any chance are you confronting?

The difficulties are many. First of all we need trained clergy who will decide to dedicate themselves to give some time to missions. The indigenous priests need guidance and education. Also another big problem is finding financial means. The Orthodox parishes have either few numbers or are comprised of mainly poor people, and they consequently are not able to cover the costs of building churches or running missions and philanthropic programs. At this moment all the revenues of the Holy Metropolis are derived from gifts of friends of the mission. Do you understand, therefore, the stress and also the anguish each month when we make an effort to obtain the wages for the priests and the personnel of the philanthropic institutions, as well as the essential money for its preservation of the missionary work. The financial problem has an impact also on other activities. For example, on many occasions we are cancelling our missionary visits to scale back because we do not have the money to pay for airfare, or we halt the philanthropic programs by reason of lack of financial support. At the office of the Metropolis of Hong Kong we do not have necessary personnel because we are not able to pay wages, so we pay a bookkeeper from a large accounting firm to come two days a week. The rest that needs to be done we try to cover it ourselves, myself and Fr Constantinos, Chancellor of the Holy Metropolis.

In these places it is not easy to find chanters. And certainly it is not easy to train someone. It will be necessary to send them to either America or to Australia where the English language is mainly used to perform the Services. But the cost is prohibitive for the Metropolis. I speak about these difficulties, but there is also the shortage of clergy, for most of the Sundays or Feasts I serve as the only priest.

Other significant difficulties are the religious fanaticism and antagonistic behavior of the various appointed regimes. Imagine that in various power countries if they see religious objects or vestments in your suitcase then they stop you, in which case they have the choice to either confiscate them or prohibit your entrance into the country. Certainly in these countries you are not able to disclose the that you are a clergyman because they simply they do not grant you licence for entry.

We also confront difficulties due to the different languages and culture. Imagine that the Holy Metropolis is called to missions in the 23 countries of Southeast Asia. And some of these countries like China and India have very ancient cultures and very ancient religious traditions. All these things mean that it is necessary to find the right manner to reach all the peoples and certainly to translate the liturgy and catechetical texts into the countless dialects.

6. The people that you have received to serve, what are their cultures, religion and traditions?

As I have mentioned the Holy Metropolis of Hong Kong and the Far East has brought into action missions in 23 countries, from Pakistan to the Philippines. This means many different nationalities, cultures and religions. In many of these countries the dominant religions are Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism and Islam. Christians of all confessions are a minority. And certainly Orthodoxy is unknown everywhere.

In countries such as China the greater percentage of people declare themselves without a religion. And it is a fact that for many of them money is their god.

I think however it is significant that they keep alive ancient traditions, customs and habits which resemble ours, such as the respect for those who have fallen asleep.

7. What is your vision for the Orthodox mission to Asia in the 21st century?

The Orthodox Church has much to offer Southeast Asia. When the indigenous people become acquainted with Orthodoxy they feel a familiarity. They are aware that they have found the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. But it is still necessary to know much more. The Orthodox mission is still in its infancy and unfortunately unorganized. I emphasize this, for it is from these wounds where it is necessary that the Orthodox Church in its entirety become healed. The Ecumenical Patriarch is making an effort, attempting with much energy to support the mission in different parts of the planet. It is a pity other Orthodox Churches think along ethnic lines and so the Orthodox do not appear united in the sphere of the mission.

So if we desire a living mission then it is necessary to inspire and to prepare new clergy so they will offer their lives to this very intention and naturally to support financially these efforts which are taking place.

I will mention one example. The Roman Catholics in Hong Kong have 180 priests! One hundred of them are missionaries, that is, they are from other countries and came to Hong Kong where they will work for a two year period. What are we Orthodox doing?

8. What are some ways to help the mission?

There are many ways to help. First and foremost is prayer. To pray for those engaged in missionary work. Prayer is a necessity for the whole Church.

Clergy are able to help by offering themselves to serve for three months as missionaries. Especially the unmarried clergy in Greece, are they not able to come for three months, not more, to visit some mission and offer their valuable help?

We need people to do translations into English, as there is shortage of suitable helpers.

Also we have need more practical items such as candles, charcoal, incense, water and wine for the Eucharist.

Finally, a significant way for anyone to help the mission is with a financial offering. Hearing something so prosaic may cause some to be scandalized, but it is necessary to be realistic. The mission has need of financial support.

I am heartily thank you for the zeal which made possible this opportunity to speak about the mission to Southeast Asia. May God bless you. May you remember us in your prayers.

Please send your financial support to the following address:

Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and South East Asia
#704 Universal Trade Center
3 Arbuthnot Road
Central, Hong Kong
Phone: + (852) 2573-8328
Fax: + (852) 2573-8379
E-mail: office@antispam.omhksea.org

For the official website of the Metropolis of Hong Kong and South East Asia, see here.

For more updated information, see here.

For this interview in Greek, see here and here.

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