Patriarch's 'Crucified' Remarks Echo in Turkey

Patriarch's 'Crucified' Remarks Echo in Turkey: Unjust or Mistranslated?

Sunday, December 20, 2009
DÖNDÜ SARIIŞIK
ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

As the government plans to re-open the Halki seminary in early 2010, Ankara has been shaken by remarks from Patriarch Bartholomew, who says he feels 'crucified' and 'second class' living in Turkey. One Greek-Turk says it is 'a misunderstanding due to a lack of translation' while the foreign minister says 'the crucifixion simile is extremely unfortunate'.


As the government plans to re-open the Halki seminary in early 2010, Ankara has been shaken by remarks from Patriarch Bartholomew, who said he feels "crucified" and "second class" in Turkey.

The patriarch, who is based in Istanbul’s Fener neighborhood, complained about "discrimination" in Turkey in an interview he gave to U.S. television network CBS in May.

The excerpts from the interview were enough to irritate the Turkish government before the full-version airs Sunday.

“I would like to see this as an undesired slip of the tongue. We cannot accept comparisons that we do not deserve," Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said in a press conference Saturday.

State Minister Hayati Yazıcı also reacted, saying: “It is quite unjust to comment like that. I don’t deny the difficulties we’re trying to solve, but it is not a way out to aggravate what actually happens.”

According to an excerpt, Patriarch Bartholomew said, "We are treated as second-class citizens. We don't feel that we enjoy our full rights as Turkish citizens."

Manolis Kostidis, a Greek-Turkish citizen from Istanbul now living in Athens and working as a journalist for the daily Elefteros Tipos, agreed with Patriarch Bartholomew’s evaluation.

“The government is aware that the Greek community has suffered from a violation of their rights. The patriarch has devoted his life to gaining these rights, such as reopening the Halki seminary,” Kostidis told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review in a phone interview Sunday.

“I doubt whether the seminary will really be opened in 2010. Many politicians earlier promised [Patriarch Bartholomew] to open the seminary, but no progress has been made since the 1990s. I assume he meant to say how he was frustrated by unkept promises,” Kostidis said.

The Education Ministry has recently wrapped up a report on Halki seminary, leading the government to focus on alternative ways of re-open it as part of the democratic initiative.

“My personal opinion is that it is an unfortunate remark, especially in terms of timing,” a source close to the patriarch said on condition of anonymity.

CBS quotes Patriarch Bartholomew as saying the government "would be happy to see the patriarchate extinguished or move abroad. We prefer to stay here, even [if] we are crucified sometimes."

The biggest handicap is translation and the reports have twisted what Patriarch Bartholomew actually meant, the same source close to the religious leader said.

“‘Me stavronis’ [you’re crucifying me] is a daily expression that even Greek mothers use when they suffer and are tired because of their children.”

Patriarch Bartholomew was exhausted at the time of the interview following a religious service, the source said. “When asked if he feels crucified, he only said, ‘Yes, I do,’ but meant his frustration due to deadlock.”

Davutoğlu criticized the remarks of Orthodox Christianity’s spiritual leader as unacceptable. "We regard the use of the crucifixion simile as extremely unfortunate,” he said.

Denying that the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, discriminates among its citizens on religious grounds, Davutoğlu said, “If Patriarch Bartholomew I has complaints on this issue, he can convey them to the relevant authorities who will do whatever is necessary."

Kezban Hatemi, Patriarch Bartholomew’s lawyer, said there may have been ulterior motives to misreport what the spiritual head said. “It is interesting that an interview made by a U.S. network was reported to Turkish audiences before it was even aired in the United States. Pay attention to the timing.”

Motivated by the EU bid, the government has repeatedly promised to increase the rights of minorities in the country.

The Istanbul Patriarchate dates from the Greek Orthodox Byzantine Empire, which collapsed in 1453 when the city fell to the Ottoman Turks.

Ankara does not interfere with the patriarchate's religious functions but withholds recognition of Patriarch Bartholomew's ecumenical title by treating him only as the spiritual leader of the approximately 2,000 Orthodox Greeks still living in the country.

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St John of Kronstadt on the Nativity of Christ

THE WORD BECAME FLESH

A Sermon by St John of Kronstadt on the Nativity of Christ

The Word became flesh; that is, the Son of God, co-eternal with God the Father and with the Holy Spirit, became human – having become incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary. O, wondrous, awesome and salvific mystery! The One Who had no beginning took on a beginning according to humanity; the One without flesh assumed flesh. God became man – without ceasing to be God. The Unapproachable One became approachable to all, in the aspect of a humble servant. Why, and for what reason, was there such condescension [shown] on the part of the Creator toward His transgressing creatures – toward humanity which, through an act of its own will had fallen away from God, its Creator?

It was by reason of a supreme, inexpressible mercy toward His creation on the part of the Master, Who could not bear to see the entire race of mankind – which, He, in creating, had endowed with wondrous gifts – enslaved by the devil and thus destined for eternal suffering and torment.

And the Word became flesh!...in order to make us earthly beings into heavenly ones, in order to make sinners into saints; in order to raise us up from corruption into incorruption, from earth to heaven; from enslavement to sin and the devil – into the glorious freedom of children of God; from death – into immortality, in order to make us sons of God and to seat us together with Him upon the Throne as His royal children.

O, boundless compassion of God! O, inexpressible wisdom of God! O, great wonder, astounding not only the human mind, but the angelic [mind] as well!

Let us glorify God! With the coming of the Son of God in the flesh upon the earth, with His offering Himself up as a sacrifice for the sinful human race, there is given to those who believe the blessing of the Heavenly Father, replacing that curse which had been uttered by God in the beginning; they are adopted and receive the promise of an eternal inheritance of life. To a humanity orphaned by reason of sin, the Heavenly Father returns anew through the mystery of re-birth, that is, through baptism and repentance. People are freed of the tormenting, death-bearing authority of the devil, of the afflictions of sin and of various passions.

Human nature is deified for the sake of the boundless compassion of the Son of God; and its sins are purified; the defiled are sanctified. The ailing are healed. Upon those in dishonour are boundless honour and glory bestowed.

Those in darkness are enlightened by the Divine light of grace and reason.

The human mind is given the rational power of God – we have the mind of Christ (Cor. 2, 16), says the Holy apostle Paul. To the human heart, the heart of Christ is given. The perishable is made immortal. Those naked and wounded by sin and by passions are adorned in Divine glory. Those who hunger and thirst are sated and assuaged by the nourishing and soul-strengthening Word of God and by the most pure Body and Divine Blood of Christ. The inconsolable are consoled. Those ravaged by the devil have been – and continue to be – delivered.

What, then, O, brethren, is required of us in order that we might avail ourselves of all the grace brought unto us from on high by the coming to earth of the Son of God? What is necessary, first of all, is faith in the Son of God, in the Gospel as the salvation-bestowing heavenly teaching; a true repentance of sins and the correction of life and of heart; communion in prayer and in the Mysteries [sacraments]; the knowledge and fulfillment of Christ’s commandments. Also necessary are the virtues: Christian humility, almsgiving, continence, purity and chastity, simplicity and goodness of heart.

Let us, then, O brothers and sisters, bring these virtues as a gift to the One Who was born for the sake of our salvation – let us bring them in place of the gold, frankincense and myrrh which the Magi brought Him, as to One Who is King, God, and Man, come to die for us. This, from us, shall be the most-pleasing form of sacrifice to God and to the Infant Jesus Christ.

Amen.


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Documentary on Saint John of Kronstadt

With today being the feast of St. John of Kronstadt, I thought I would offer this documentary on his life. For the time being, this documentary is, I believe, only available in Greek and Russian.









The entire video can also be seen here.

Troparion in Tone One
As a zealous advocate of the Orthodox faith, As a caring Solicitor for the land of Russia, Faithful to the rules and image of a pastor, Preaching repentance and life in Christ, An awesome servant and administer of God's sacraments, A daring intercessor for people's sake, O Good and righteous Father John, Healer and wonderful miracle-worker, The praise of the town of Kronstadt And decoration of our Church, Beseech the All-Merciful God To reconcile the world and to save our souls!

Troparion in Tone Four
With the apostles your message has gone out to the ends of the world, And with the confessors you suffered for Christ! You are like the hierarchs through your preaching of the word; With the righteous you are radiant with the grace of God. The Lord has exalted your humility above the heavens And given us your name as a source of miracles. O wonder-worker, living in Christ for ever, Have mercy on those beset by troubles; And hear us when we cry out in faith, O our beloved shepherd John!

Kontakion in Tone Three
This day the pastor of Kronstadt Appears before the throne of God Praying fervently on behalf of the faithful To the chief pastor Christ, who has promised: "I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it!"

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Salvation and Ethics in St. Ignatius of Antioch

St. Ignatius the God-bearer of Antioch (Feast Day - December 20)

Salvation (from corruption)[1] and Ethics

by Fr. John Romanides

St. Ignatius writes that "the virginity of Mary and her offspring, as well as the death of the Lord, seized (elaven) the prince of this world: three thunderous mysteries wrought in the silence of God... Henceforth all things were in a state of tumult because He meditated the abolition of death" (Ign. Eph. 19).

The abolition of death is none other than the seizure of Satan and was accomplished by these three mysteries. Satan here is closely related to death. By means of death and corruption the devil rules a captive humanity (Heb 2:14-15). "The sting of death is sin" (I Cor. 15:56). "Sin reigned in death" (Rom. 5:21). Because of the tyrant Death, man is unable to live according to his original destiny of Selfless Love.[2] He now has the instinct of self-preservation firmly rooted within him from birth. Because he lives constantly under the fear of death he continuously seeks bodily and psychological security, and thus becomes individualistically inclined and utilitarian in attitude. Sin is the failure of man to live according to his original destiny of selfless love which seeks not its own and this failure is rooted in the disease of death. Because death in the hands of Satan is the cause of sin, the kingdom of the devil and sin is destroyed by the "abolition of death" (Ign. Eph. 19).

For Ignatius, death and corruption is an abnormal condition which God came to destroy by the incarnation of His Son. The cosmology of St. Ignatius is neither Monophysite or Monothelite. Besides the will of God and the good, there exist now the temporary kingdom of Satan, who rules by death and corruption, and man oppressed by the devil but at the same time supported by God and free, at least according to will, to follow the one or the other. The world and God has each his own character - the world death, and God life (Ign. Mag. 5). Nevertheless, the material world is neither evil, nor the product of the fall. It exists now under the power of corruption (Rom. 8:20-22), but in Christ is being cleansed. Our Lord was "born and baptized that by His passion He mighty purify the water" (Ign. Eph. 18). Life and immortality are not proper to man, but to God. "For were He to regard us according to our works we should cease to be" (Ign. Mag. 10). God Himself was manifested in the flesh "for the renewal of eternal life" (Ign. Eph. 19). Christ is the source of life (Ign. Eph. 3; Mag. 1; Smyr. 4) and "breathes immortality into the Church" (Ign. Eph. 17) "apart from whom we do not possess the true life" (Ign. Tral. 9).

In the epistles of St. Ignatius the idea of natural immortality as a proper element of man's soul is completely absent. Both those before and after Christ have the death and resurrection of Christ as their source of life. Christ raised the prophets (Ign. Mag. 9) who "were saved through union with Jesus Christ" (Ign. Phil. 5). He "the High Priest ... to whom the Holy of Holies has been committed ... is the door of the Father by which enter in Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the prophets, and the apostles, and the Church" (Ign. Phil. 9). For the athletes of God "the prize is incorruption and eternal life" (Ign. Pol. 2). "The gospel is the ornament of incorruption" (Ign. Phil. 9). The Church has now peace by the flesh and blood and passion of Jesus Christ (Ign. Tral. salutation). The death of Christ "seized" the devil (Ign. Eph. 19) and as such is the source by which life was renewed (Ign. Mag. 9) that "by believing in His death you may escape from death" (Ign. Tral. 2). "The passion of Christ ... is our resurrection" (Ign. Smyr. 5). Those who ignore the death and the fleshly resurrection of Christ "have been denied by Him, being the advocates of death rather than of the truth" (Ign. Smyr. 5). He who does not confess Him a "bearer of flesh ... has in fact altogether denied Him, being a bearer of death" (Ibid). "... if they believe not in the blood of Christ, then to them there is judgment" (Ibid. 6). "Those, therefore, who speak against this gift of God, in the midst of their disputes, incur death" (Ibid. 7).

St. Ignatius emphatically and persistently points out the absolute necessity of faith in the real historical facts of the incarnation of God from the Virgin and of the death and fleshly resurrection of the God-man (Tral. 2,9,10; Phil. 8,9; Smyr. 1,2,3,4,7). "I desire to guard you ... that you fall not upon the hooks of vain doctrine, but that you attain to full assurance in regard to the birth, and passion, and resurrection which took place in the time of the government of Pontius Pilate (Ign. Mag. 11). Faith in the flesh and spirit (Smyr. 3) of Christ is the very basis of the whole structure of New Testament and ancient Christian ethics. The life of selfless love and the successful struggle against the powers of death and the devil are impossible without communion with the real life-giving and resurrected flesh of the Lord. "Consider those who are of a different opinion with respect to the grace of Christ which has come unto us, how opposed they are to the will of God. They have no regard for love,..." (Ibid. 6). Most probably St. Ignatius is here referring to heretics with dualistic doctrines who ignore the true nature of material creation and by consequence the real meaning of death and corruption. It is possible to suppose that Ignatius is here exaggerating the inadequate ethics of the heretics he has in mind. Such a judgment is especially tempting when one realizes the fact that some of the heretics attacked by Ignatius admired and respected the Orthodox, even as happens today. "For what does any one profit me if he commends me but blasphemes my Lord, not confessing that He is possessed of flesh?" (Ibid. 5.) Such a value judgment, however, concerning such possible exaggeration can be made only when one uses as criteria ethical theories foreign to the basis of Ignatius' thought. The ethical criteria of St. Ignatius cannot be judged according to theories of natural moral law which conceive of man's quest for security and happiness as normal. It is quite obvious that Ignatius unites the possibility of a Christian ethic not to natural utilitarian principles of happiness, but solely to the resurrected flesh of Christ. This relationship of Christian ethics to the physical death and resurrection of Christ must be comprehended for an adequate understanding of the presuppositions of Ignatian ecclesiology.

Satan rules parasitically in creation and man by death (Rom. 8:20-22; Heb. 2:14). The children of God "through fear of death were all their lifetime guilty of bondage" (Heb. 2:15). Because the rule of Satan consisted in the physical and material reality of death and corruption, the destruction of Satan could be brought about only by a real resurrection of the flesh - not by the escape of the soul from creation to some other supposed reality. By the indwelling of the life-giving flesh of Christ the faithful are liberated from slavery to the devil and by prayer, fasting, and corporate selfless love are enabled to overcome the consequences of death, viz. sin, by the grace of God in Christ and the Holy Spirit. "...the believing have in love the character of God the Father by Jesus Christ, by whom, if we are not in readiness to die into His passion, His life is not in us" (Ign. Mag. 5). Both the ontological reality and the ethical meaning of the incarnation, death and resurrection of Christ, are necessarily united and inseparable. The denial of the one leads to the rejection of the other. If the ontological and material power of "him that had the power of death, that is, the devil" (Heb. 2:14) has not been destroyed in the death and resurrection of Christ, then sin is still reigning. "If Christ be not raised ... you are yet in your sins" (I Cor. 15:17). The struggle of Christians against sin and for salvation through selfless love would be useless and senseless. "Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die" (Ibid. 15:32). Besides the ethical implications of Christ's not having risen, there would be no hope of life after death. "Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable" (Ibid. 15:18-19). Therefore those who deny the real birth, death and resurrection of the incarnated Word of God are "advocates of death" and "bearers of death" and "their names" are "unbelief" (Ign. Smyr. 5).

Christian ethics, therefore, for St. Ignatius is not a mere matter of preserving imagined innate moral laws of a supposed natural world for the attainment of personal happiness, whether immanent or transcedental. What is considered a natural quest for security and happiness is really a life according to the dictates of death, or the flesh dominated by death, constantly seeking bodily and psychological security of existence and worth. "... let no one look upon his neighbor after the flesh, but do you continually love each other in Jesus Christ" (Ign. Mag. 6). Love in Christ differs sharply from the "kata sarka" eudaimonistic and utilitarian love of so-called natural humanity. Christian love "seeks not its own" (Rom. 14,7:15, 1-3; I Cor. 13,5:5, 15:10, 24, 29-11, 1:12, 25-26:13; II Cor. 5,14-15; Gal. 5, 13:6, 1; Eph. 4,2; I Thes. 5,11). "...exhort my brethren, in the name of Jesus Christ, that they love their wives, even as the Lord the Church" (Ign. Pol. 5). This love is such that Christ "pleased not himself" (Rom. 15:3) but "He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves" (II Cor. 5:15). For this reason a Christian wedding which has as its motive selfless love in Christ "is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the Church" (Eph. 5:32). That is, it is a great mystery for Christians only, not because those outside the Church are not married, but because a Christian wedding takes place in another dimension. Therefore, "it becomes both men and women who marry, to form their union with the approval of the bishop, that their marriage be according to God, and not after their own lust" (Ign. Pol. 5).

Because of the character of the principle of sin, perfection in this age is attained to not fully but in part according to the quality of the war carried against the powers of the devil. Good works are not part of a business agreement between God and man whereby God is obligated to reward external and utilitarian acts of charity. Rather good works are the product of the double struggle waged against the devil and for non-utilitarian selfless love for God and the neighbor.[3] Therefore communion of divine life through the human nature of Christ is not enough for salvation. The mystical (sacramental) life is not a magical guarantee of eternal life. Christians must also wage an intense war against Satan. " ... if we endure all the assaults of the prince of this world and escape them we shall attain to ( or enjoy) God" (Ign. Mag. 1).

It is only when one perceives the inseparable bond which exists in the Bible and the ancient Church between the destructive powers of death, corruption and disease, and the person of Satan that he can comprehend the attitude of the first Christians toward death and martyrdom. "... they touched Him and believed, being supported by both His flesh and spirit. For this cause also they despised death, for they were found above death" (Ign. Smyr. 3). He who fears death and is thereby a slave to its consequences is incapable of living according to Christ "by whom, if we are not in readiness to die into His passion, His life is not in us" (Ign. Mag. 5). The canons of the Church are quite severe for those who would reject Christ because of fear.[4] The rejection of Christ for fear of death was considered as a fall into the hands of the devil.[5] Thus the persistent desire of St. Ignatius not to be hindered in his impending martyrdom was not the product of eschatological enthusiasm or psychopathic disturbances, but clearly the consequence of the realization of the inseparable relationship existing between death and Satan, who, with man as his co-worker, is himself the cause of ethical and physical evil. Condemned to death according to law already dead, it was impossible for St. Ignatius to seek to avoid martyrdom. This would have meant slavery to Satan. "The prince of this world would fain carry me away (or capture me), and corrupt my disposition (or opinion ) toward God. Let none of you, therefore, who are in Rome help him" (Ign. Rom. 7). St. Ignatius was not a psychopath. On the contrary he had a keen understanding of biblical demonology (II Cor. 2:11) which not only dominated his own approach to faith and practice, but also regulated the whole theology of the ancient Church concerning martyrdom. "Pray for me that I may attain ... If I shall suffer you have wished well to me; but if I am rejected you have hated me" ( Ign. Rom. 8). "... let cutting off of members; let shatterings of the whole body; and let all the evil torments of the devil come upon me: only let me attain to Jesus Christ" (Ibid. 5).

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

[1] The so-called physical or psychosomatic magical doctrine of salvation misunderstood by Western theology in general.

[2] See my article "Original Sin According to St. Paul" St. Vladimir's Quarterly, New York 1955, Vol. IV, No. 1-2.

[3] Augustine's acceptance of a utilitarian interpretation of love for neighbor is forced upon him because of his acceptance of the pagan principle of happiness as man's goal. Love of neighbor is a means to attaining happiness, not part of a struggle for selfless love. De Doctrina Christiana, I, 20. The acceptance of such an interpretation of human destiny underlies Harnack's silly observations of the fact that in spite of baptism and participation in salvation in this life the Augustinian Christians experienced not happiness in this life, as if this were what they striving for, because they had not that feeling of being the object of irresistible grace. Their frominigkelt war ein Schwanken swischen Furcht und Hoffnung. Dogmengeschichte, Tuebingen, 1931, p. 293ff.

[4] Canons 10, 11, 12 of First Ecumenical Council; 62 of the H. Apostles; Can. 1, 2, 3, etc., of Angyra; Canons 1, etc., of Peter of Alexandria. Enumeration system followed in this paper are those of H. Alibizatos, The Holy Canons, Athens, 1949.

[5] Canon 11, Peter of Alexandria.


From "The Ecclesiology of Saint Ignatius"

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In Defense of the Christmas Tree

By Father Daniel Daly

Several years ago during the Christmas season, a religious program on television caught my attention. The program featured a discussion on the dangers of cults, especially to young people. I found myself agreeing with the panelists as they warned young people about the hazards of involvement in occult or “new age” spirituality.

During the interview, however, one participant made a statement that shocked me. “…and the Christmas tree is pagan too…,” he asserted. The Christmas Tree? Pagan? Could it be that something most of us enjoy so much might be actually pagan in origin? Despite its growing commercialization, the Christmas tree is still associated with the fondest memories of our early childhood. Who does not remember approaching the tree on Christmas morning? Today people are so captivated by it that some even put it up in November! It finds a place in the homes of believers and unbelievers alike.

Most people are aware that the Christmas tree came to America with immigrants from Germany, but just where did the Christmas tree originate? Are its origins to be found in paganism, as the speaker suggested?

The Christmas tree does not date from early Germanic times. Its origins are to be found in a tradition that has virtually disappeared from Christianity, the Liturgical Drama. In the Middle Ages liturgical plays or dramas were presented during or sometimes immediately after the services in the churches of Western Europe. The earliest of these plays were associated with the Mysteries of Holy Week and Easter. Initially they were dramatizations of the liturgical texts. The earliest recorded is the Quem quaeritis (“Whom do you seek?”) play of the Easter season. These plays later developed into the Miracle and Morality plays. Some were associated with events in the lives of well-known saints. The plays were presented on the porches of large churches. Although these liturgical dramas have now virtually disappeared, the Passion Play of Oberammergau, Germany is a recent revival of this dramatic form.

One mystery play was presented on Christmas Eve, the day which also commemorated the feast of Adam and Eve in the Western Church. The “Paradise Play” told the well-known story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Paradise. The central “prop” in the play was the Paradise Tree, or Tree of Knowledge. During the play this tree was brought in laden with apples.

The Paradise Tree became very popular with the German people. They soon began the practice of setting up a fir tree in their homes. Originally, the trees were decorated with bread wafers commemorating the Eucharist. Later, these were replaced with various kinds of sweets. Our Christmas tree is derived, not from the pagan yule tree, but from the paradise tree adorned with apples on December 24 in honor of Adam and Eve. The Christmas tree is completely biblical in origin.

The first Christmas tree dates from 1605 in Strasbourg. By the 1700s the custom of the Christmas tree was widespread among the German people. It was brought to America by early German immigrants, and it became popular in England through the influence of Prince Albert, the German husband of Queen Victoria.

The use of evergreens at Christmas may date from St. Boniface of the eighth century, who dedicated the fir tree to the Holy Child in order to replace the sacred oak tree of Odin; but the Christmas tree as we know it today does not appear to be so ancient a custom. It appears first in the Christian Mystery play commemorating the biblical story of Adam and Eve.

How legitimate is it to use a fir tree in the celebration of Christmas? From the very earliest days of the Church, Christians brought many things of God’s material creation into their life of faith and worship, e.g., water, bread, wine, oil, candles and incense. All these things are part of God’s creation. They are part of the world that Christ came to save. Man cannot reject the material creation without rejecting his own humanity. In Genesis man was given dominion over the material world.

Christmas celebrates the great mystery of the Incarnation. In that mystery God the Word became man. In order to redeem us, God became one of us. He became part of His own creation. The Incarnation affirms the importance of both man and the whole of creation. “For God so loved the world…”

A faith which would seek to divorce itself from all elements of the material world in search for an absolutely spiritual religion overlooks this most central mystery of Christmas, the mystery of God becoming man, the Incarnation. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Enjoy your Christmas tree.


Originally published in “The Word” magazine, December 2002. The Very Rev. Daniel Daly is pastor of St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, Grand Rapids, MI.

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A Miracle of St. Nicholas In My Family

Since it is the feast of St. Nicholas today for the majority of Orthodox Christians around the world who follow the Julian Calendar, I thought I would give a brief account of a miracle attributed to St. Nicholas that occurred in my family many years ago.

In 1922, during the massacre of Greeks by the Turks in Asia Minor, my great grandparents on my father's side suffered much. His mother, my grandmother, was from Nicomedia. My grandmother's family in Nicomedia was considered very wealthy, owning a large piece of land with many sheep and cattle. During the Asia Minor catastrophe however they lost it all. My great grandfather along with all but one of his sons were taken prisoner by the Turks and shot to death inside a church. The only survivors were my great grandmother Zoe, my young grandmother Anastasia and her brother. During the population exchange they were exiled to the island of Chios, leaving all else behind.

At around this time my great grandfather, who had been killed, had a brother named Kosta Karnalides (my father called him abja, which means "uncle" in Turkish) that was also taken prisoner. He was bound in chains and he was attached to another prisoner, forcing them to march side by side in a line of many other prisoners. This was done in order to prevent them from running away and escaping.

Knowing that his death was imminent, Kosta prayed to St. Nicholas: "St. Nicholas, please release me from these chains." Very soon thereafter his chains loosened and he was free. However, because he was surrounded by Turkish guards, he pretended he was still chained and continued to march.

As the sun set it became very dark. Kosta had told his fellow prisoner with whom he was chained that he was loose and that they should escape together into the darkness. As they continued to march and darkness set in, they came upon a small lake. When it seemed to be the right time, they let go of their chains and escaped into the lake. Apparently it was eventually noticed they were missing because Turkish officers at some point were searching for them. At this point Kosta and his companion took some reeds and went underwater, breathing through the reeds. This is how they lived for four days, breathing through a tube underwater and eating seaweed.

When things finally seemed clear and the Turks gave up their search, Kosta and his companion parted ways. Upon learning the rest of the survivors of his family were in Chios, he jumped on a boat and joined them, to the surprise of all, for they thought he had been killed like all the rest. It was then that he told them of his prayer to St. Nicholas and his amazing escape into the lake. He died many years later in his old age in Athens.

When my father told me this story as a young child, I remember one interesting footnote he would add to it: "The Greeks before the population exchanged in Asia Minor were people of deep faith. These things were everyday occurrences to them. They walked among the Saints and the Saints walked among them."

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Saint Dionysios of Zakynthos (3)

Part Two - The Miracles of Saint Dionysios of Zakynthos (1)

The Miracles of Saint Dionysios of Zakynthos (2)

by Theoharis Provatakis

The Saint and the Heterodox

On 17 December 1820, as in every year, the procession with the sacred relics of the Saint took place on the island of Zakynthos. The next day the non-Orthodox of the island had planned the unveiling of a statue of the hated British Commissioner Thomas Maitland in All Saints Square. In the morning it started to snow and hail heavily. The event was called off, the non-Orthodox failed to congregate, and the Orthodox returned thanks to the Saint for saving the island once more.

The sacred relics were transferred to the Church of the Vision of the Virgin and the Orthodox hastened there to offer thanks and prayers to their patron. Among those who attended were the representative of Britain, Colonel Ross, and a British admiral. On their arrival, they gave orders that the church should be emptied and that only the church wardens should remain inside with the two of them. A little later, the church wardens saw the Colonel kneeling at the feet of the Saint, making him an offering, in deep devotion, of the gold medallion which the inhabitants of Lefkada had presented to him for the benefits which they had received from him and for the sound administration of their island. The medallion may still be seen.

Silver encased icon of St. Dionysios with scenes of his various miracles

The Blind Cobbler Recovers His Sight

The Zakynthos cobbler Panagiotis Kalantzopoulos, a good but poor father of a family, went completely blind. He appealed to the Saint from the depths of his heart and the Saint heard his prayer and appeared to him in a dream on December 14.

"Be of good heart, my child", St. Dionysios said to him, " in three days you will be cured."

On December 17, the Saint's feast day, and at the very moment when the sacred relics were being carried past his house and he was kneeling in prayer, the blind man recovered his sight and gave glory to God and thanks to St. Dionysios, who had made him well.

The cave in which St. Dionysios lived as a monk near Strofades Monastery

The Miracle of the Three Shipwrecked Sailors

Three of the sailors from a ship which had sunk called upon the Saint to save them. Whereupon the Saint appeared to them, walking on the raging waves and calming them. He lead them safely to the shore and they, soaked to the skin as they were, went straight to the church to thank him. Unfortunately, the parish priest was absent and they were not able to enter to pay their devotions to the remains of the Saint. Then a creak was heard and the coffin opened of its own accord. The sailors knelt and paid their devotions to the sacred relics. Immediately afterwards the coffin closed again. The three sailors and those who had witnessed this event were untiring in proclaiming the miracle which they had seen.

St. Dionysios forgives and helps his brother's murderer

The Blind and Sick Katerina Recovers

In the year 1841, Eustratios Iatrides, from Sparta, saw no hope for his daughter, who was blind as the result of a serious illness. Every day her condition grew worse and death seemed that it would not be long delayed. On December 17 the father wrapped his sick and blind daughter in a sheet and took her to the path which the procession of the Saint would follow. He then knelt and prayed fervently to the Saint for the recovery of his child. After the procession, he picked her up again and took her back home, where she remained bedridden. It was when he placed her on the bed and unwrapped her from the sheet that the miracle occurred. The blind and hunchbacked little girl recovered her sight and rapidly recovered her health.

Ioannis Bophardios is Cured

For years Ioannis Bophardios had not been able to move. Occasionally, so that he could take a step or two, he would be supported by others and had to make use of crutches. On one occasion he managed with the help of his crutches, to go from the suburb of Pochali, where he lived, to church on the Saint's feast day. Unfortunately, in the evening he found himself unable to return and had to ask the monks if he could stay there for the night. Throughout the night he prayed to the Saint for a cure, until morning came and he heard the monks knocking at the door, to be admitted to celebrate the Divine Liturgy. He could not get up to open the door, but he heard a strange voice coming from the coffin saying to him:

"Rise and open."

Ioannis made an effort and, little by little, reached the door and opened it. That morning, after the end of the Liturgy, he decided to return to Pochali. He set out and, as he went along, he increasingly found that he could walk unaided. In a few days he made a complete recovery.

The dormition of St. Dionysios

The Epileptic Sea Captain Recovers

The sea captain Nicholas Dirlis was on his way to Zakynthos in a small boat when he was seized with a fit of epilepsy. As soon as he caught sight of the church where the relics of the Saint are preserved, he called upon him to make him well. He was indeed cured and from that day forward never suffered from epilepsy again.

The soul of St. Dionysios presented to Christ by the angels

The English Sea Captain

An English vessel had anchored in the Bay of Keri, off the coast of Zakynthos, since there was a very high sea and it was not able to leave. The captain left the ship and saw the quarantine officer Nicholas Koutsoukalis kneeling in prayer. He questioned him and discovered that he was praying to the Saint.

"Can I too pray to him for our safety?" asked the English captain.

"Certainly", replied Koutsoukalis.

The English captain then knelt, took off his cap and called upon St. Dionysios to calm the sea. His prayer was answered and the ship was able to reach Zakynthos safely. Once there the captain went to the church and dedicated a silver lamp to St. Dionysios.

The relics of St. Dionysios being transferred from Strofades to Zakynthos

The Sacristan and the Fire

In the year 1849 the sacristan Hilarion Garpasis dreamt of the Saint three times in the same night. Then the fourth time, since he did not wake up, the Saint pulled at him and said "Get up".

The sacristan awoke, got dressed quickly, and went down to the church. As soon as he entered he saw that the poor box had caught fire from a lamp which he had left lit. He put out the fire, gave thanks to the Saint, and returned home.

A litany with the relics of St. Dionysios painted in 1766

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5,000 Indians Baptized Orthodox in Mexico

The conversation published below took place in early December 2009, during the visit of Metropolitan Jonah (OCA) to Russia to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Moscow representation of the Orthodox Church in America, and is devoted to the activities of the Church in Latin America.

- Your Beatitude, in which Latin American countries is the Orthodox Church in America represented?

- The jurisdiction of our Church extends to Mexico. Previously, we also had some parishes in Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Venezuela. But some of them left for the Russian Church Abroad, the others were closed.

Several communities in Latin America want to join the Orthodox Church in America. We would be happy to take these believers, but there is no one to care for them, because we have very few priests who speak Spanish or Portuguese.

A priest - I hope he will soon become a bishop - began a mission in Ecuador in Guayaquil, where there settled a major Palestinian colony. Unfortunately, in recent years, his good initiative was dampened. I heard that in Central American countries, particularly in El Salvador, there are many Palestinians. Curiously, they do not go to the parishes of the Antiochian Church, and have been asking to be accepted under our omophorion.

The Ecumenical and Antiochian Patriarchates prefer to care for the Greek and Arab diaspora. We do not understand this. The Church must give pastoral care, first of all to local spiritual children. This is the principled position of the Orthodox Church in America.

- When was the Mexican Exarchate established?

- The Mexican Exarchate exists since the early 1970's. At that time, the bishop of the Mexican National Old Catholic Jose Church, Jose (Cortes and Olmos), got in touch with our Church, and together with his community came to Orthodoxy. Because of his work, hundreds of Mexicans penetrated the Orthodox faith.

Recently, 5,000 Indians from 23 localities in the State of Veracruz were baptized Orthodox. However, such a huge mass of parishioners have only one priest. In the Mexican Exarchate there are in general very few clerics. All of them Mexicans, including the ruling bishop - Bishop Alejo (Pacheco-Vera).

- Have you ever been in Latin America?

- I just visited Mexico. I'm now planning to go to Guatemala. My friend, Abbess Ines (Aiai), lives there; she is Abbess of Holy Trinity Monastery which is in the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Antioch.

In Guatemala, my attention is drawn to a group of thousands of people wishing to convert to Orthodoxy. Most of them are Mayan people. If we accept these, my Guatemalans, as well as representatives of indigenous peoples of other countries in Latin America, the Indians, could become the main ethnic group in the American Orthodox Church. Personally, I would be glad.

- It is clear that you are sympathetic to the original inhabitants of the Americas ...

- I feel very warm feelings for the Indians. At university I studied anthropology, was fond of the Mayan and Aztec cultures. They are great and wonderful civilizations.

I like Latin America as a whole - its art, music, literature, cuisine. Latinos love life, they are open and hospitable people. I grew up in California - one of the most Hispanicized states in the US. From my Mexican friends I learned a little Spanish (although I speak it badly). The priest, having united me to the Orthodox Church, was a Mexican. His name was Father Ramon Merlos.

- What are the similarities and differences in the missionary work with the Indians of the United States and Latin America?

- Frankly, I do not know ... Our church has a missionary experience in Alaska, where a wonderful priest, Archpriest Michael Oleksa, serves; he's an anthropologist by profession. He is Carpatho-Russian, and his wife comes from an indigenous Yupik community. Father Michael wants to hold in Alaska a conference of Orthodox American Indians. It will be an extremely interesting event.

While serving as rector of the seminary, Father Michael invited the community from Guatemala, which is hungering for Orthodoxy, to send two of its members to obtain theological education. The idea is certainly good, but people accustomed to a tropical climate, are unlikely to bear Alaskan cold.

- Are there Hispanics among your parishioners in the U.S.?

- Of course. In California, 35% of the population is Hispanic; in Texas it's even greater. Latins are present in both the flock and clergy of our Church. St. Tikhon Seminary has a Mexican student with Indian roots; he's named Abraham. He is a subdeacon. One subdeacon in San Francisco is of Colombian origin. At the end of November of this year, I consecrated a new convent in honor of the Nativity of Our Lord in Dallas -- where the abbess is Brazilian.

- What, in your opinion, attracts Hispanics to Orthodoxy?

- Latins love our liturgy and icons; they are captivated by a deep reverence for the Mother of God, inherent in the Orthodox Church.

I must say that the Catholic Church is rapidly losing influence in Latin America, because of her close ties with the upper classes of society. Many of the poor who are the majority of the population of the region are disappointed in the Catholic pastors and joined the Protestants, Mormons and other sectarians.

Metropolitan Andres (Giron), the head of the Order of white clergy of St. Basil the Great in Guatemala, was formerly a Catholic priest. He saw that his leaders were focused on the rich, and in the early 1990's left the Catholic Church, because he wanted to work for the people. Recently, Metropolitan Andres told me: "I'm already old and sick. Please, take my people to your church for their salvation." His community can hardly be called Orthodox, but gradually it will learn the faith and will be united to the traditions of the Orthodox Church. In addition to Guatemala, Bishop Andres opened parishes in Los Angeles, San Francisco and other cities in the United States where his countrymen settled.

- You are not afraid of a conflict with the Catholic Church? Despite everything, Latin America is still considered the "principal diocese of the Vatican."

- There will be no conflict. The Catholic Church is loyal to Orthodoxy. Moreover, I see great potential for co-work with the Catholic Church, particularly in opposing sectarianism.

Miguel Palacio spoke with Metropolitan Jonah.

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Woman Says Demons Chased Her From Home

Stephanie Stone
12/09
KRGV

MCALLEN - One woman says her family lived in fear. She claims they heard voices and saw shadows in their home.

They family was so scared they called a ghost hunter to find out what was going on.

"My little girl would see a little girl with dark hair. She said she looked sad. Those were her words," the woman explains.

She didn't want her identity revealed. But she tells CHANNEL 5 NEWS she moved from San Antonio after finding the home on craigslist. She rented it without ever seeing it.

The family claims after a few months in the home, they started seeing things. At one point, the woman and her four children were sleeping in one room.

She says she paid for a cleansing on the home, but it didn't help. That's when she called local ghost hunters. Those ghost hunters say a little girl who said the name Beth talked to them. The little girl said she was demonic.

The family eventually moved out of the home, breaking the lease.

Kay Kerr who manages the property for a woman in California says a lease is a lease.

"We respected her attitude, thoughts, and I had done a cleansing on homes with difficulties before," says Kerr.

CHANNEL 5 NEWS contacted the home's owner, Diana Johnson. She told us over the phone nothing bad has ever happened inside the house.

She suspects the woman made the whole story up to break her lease.

CHANNEL 5 NEWS contacted McAllen Police Records Department. We've asked for every single call made since the home was built 11 years ago.

We'll let you know what we turn up.

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The Debate on Yoga

Yoga Practitioners Should Get Out Their Hymnals and Vedas

12-15-2009
By Jessica Peck Corry
Colorodo Springs Gazette

Yoga, marketed as a way to find personal peace through perplexing poses, is now at the center of a growing debate over whether that sweaty Saturday morning of downward-facing dogs should be federally recognized as a religious service.

Owners of yoga studios in at least one state might be chanting a few prayers these days in response to a November decision by the state to collect a 4 percent tax on yoga and Pilates, with the studios classified as commercial in nature and places of “amusement, entertainment, or recreation.”

The move has prompted talk about whether yoga should be classified as a religion, and similar to more conventional sanctuaries, would be exempted from paying federal taxes. While the change could mean substantial cost savings for the industry, yoga’s biggest voices remain opposed or conflicted.

The American Yoga Association insists on its Web site that “yoga is not a religion. It has no creed or fixed set of beliefs. The practice of yoga will not interfere with any religion.” The organization maintains that yoga’s rituals predate Hinduism by centuries, and argues yoga shouldn’t be classified as a religion simply because multiple religions, including Hinduism, have adopted many of its positive teachings.

According to Bresee Sullivan, the analysis is more complicated, with yoga’s teachings allowing for either secular or religious observances. As Sullivan, a 24-year-old married Denver mother, celebrates two milestones this month — finishing law school and becoming certified as a yoga instructor — she believes classifying yoga as a religion would lead to massive confusion, even among its most devout participants, and especially in the law. As she explains, the physical practice of yoga is called Asana, an element that “is just one small subset of a larger philosophy also called yoga. This philosophy also includes a religious component.”

While Sullivan has taken yoga classes for six years, she has “only recently begun exploring the spiritual practice,” and believes that “if you are just seeking to make the physical practice of yoga a religion, you are either discrediting the true meaning of the spiritual study of yoga or you’re granting a workout religious status.”

While political correctness often blurs the line between spirituality and religion, Trisha Feuerstein of the California-based Yoga Research and Education Center argues that yoga is not a religion, telling reporters that “really, it’s a spiritual practice, and we don’t equate spirituality with religion.”

Some of yoga’s most devout former supporters allege that at least one yoga sect is a cult. In an ongoing lawsuit, 26 former followers of Dahn Yoga, allege that Dahn requires “absolute devotion to Defendant Ilchi Lee and his ‘vision’ (requiring) that members dedicate all of their available cash and credit to the Dahn organization... and disconnect from their previous life, including friends and family and any personal interests outside of Dahn.”

Dahn, which was imported from Korea and is practiced at more than 130 centers across the United States, is promoted as a mix of healthy physical and mental exercises blending yoga with tai chi and martial arts. Still, cult experts, including Steve Hassan, aren’t persuaded with Hassan classifying Dahn as a “destructive, deceptive, mind control cult.”

With yoga’s popularity soaring across Colorado, some school districts are getting in on the action, not always greeted with the most favorable response. I

n Aspen, public school parents objected when yoga instruction was introduced to the classroom, saying the move violated federal limits on religious activities in public schools. “You can’t separate the religious from the spiritual,” Aspen pastor Steve Woodrow told reporters, advocating a position in stark contrast to Feuerstein’s. “Why not teach Pilates or aerobics if it’s just stretching?”

Aspen schools now offer a watered down version of the real deal. Instead of closing each session with “Namaste,” a Sanskrit term meaning “the light in you is the light in me,” students close with “peace.” More than 100 schools across the nation offer yoga programs. At New York’s Massena High, parents alleged the school’s yoga program indoctrinated students with Hindu rights. As a result, yoga is out at Massena and a more secular “Raider Relaxation” is in.

On that note, Namaste, peace, or as we say in the non-yoga world, until next time.


Jessica Peck Corry is area lawyer and mother who appears on Fox News. Visit her website at www.JessicaCorry.com

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Man Builds Replica of Noah's Ark

Man Builds Replica Noah's Ark From Biblical Scale

December 15, 2009
NewsOk

SCHAGEN, Netherlands — Visitors can see a working replica of Noah's Ark built by Dutch creationist Johan Huibers.

Huibers says the massive structure is a testament to his faith in the literal truth of the Bible. The art was opened to visitors through a large central door in its side.

The ark is 150 cubits long, 30 cubits high and 20 cubits wide. That's two-thirds the length of a football field and as high as a three-story house.

Life-size models of giraffes, elephants, lions, crocodiles, zebras, bison and other animals greet visitors as they arrive in the main hold.

A contractor by trade, Huibers built the ark of cedar and pine. Biblical Scholars debate exactly what the wood used by Noah would have been.

Huibers did the work mostly with his own hands, using modern tools and with occasional help from his son Roy. Construction began in May 2005. On the uncovered top - deck not quite ready in time for the opening - will come a petting zoo, with baby lambs and chickens, and goats, and one camel.

Visitors on the first day were stunned. "It's past comprehension", said Mary Louise Starosciak, who happened to be bicycling by with her husband while on vacation when they saw the ark looming over the local landscape. "I knew the story of Noah, but I had no idea the boat would have been so big."

There is enough space near the keel for a 50-seat film theater where kids can watch a video that tells the story of Noah and his ark.

Huibers said he hopes the project will renew interest in Christianity in the Netherlands, where church going has fallen dramatically in the past 50 years.

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Monument to Patriarch Pavle Unveiled in Serbia

17 December 2009
Voices From Russia

Bishop Irinej Gavrilović of Niš (1931- ) unveiled a monument to the late Patriarch Pavle Stojčević (1914-2009) of Serbia. He is one of the three top contenders for the post of Serbian Patriarch. The other two are Metropolitan Amfilohije Radović of Montenegro and Primorsky (1938- ) and Metropolitan Nikolaj Mrda of Dabar-Bosnia (1929- ).

On 15 December, in the Serbian town of Niš, Bishop Irinej Gavrilović unveiled a monument-bust of the late Patriarch Pavle Stojčević on the square in front of Ss Cyril and Methodius Seminary. The future Serbian Patriarch was a professor here in 1950-51. According to the website Srpska.ru, the faculty and students of the seminary came up with the idea of this monument. The renowned sculptress Drinka Radovanović created the bust. At the unveiling, Bishop Irinej said, “If anyone asks why this bust is in Niš, it is because whilst Patriarch Pavle was Bishop of Raška and Prizren, this seminary was in Prizren, and he taught there and was a great help to many [of the students]”. Since 1999, Ss Cyril and Methodius Seminary has been in Niš.

Patriarch Pavle died in the 96th year of his life in the morning of 15 November in a Belgrade hospital. Two years ago, he entered the hospital of the Military Medical Academy in Belgrade in connection with a number of heart and lung problems. A Local Council of the Serbian Orthodox Church shall open on 22 January 2010 to elect a new patriarch.

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Psychic Uri Geller in Greece

17 December, 2009
Peter Fotis Kapnistos
Unexplained Mysteries

The award-winning musician Sting once said that he could bend a spoon with the power of his thoughts, according to Uri Geller’s website. I had spoken with Sting during a press conference years ago and asked him what he thought of the "Macedonia issue." He told me that the English are not taught very much about Alexander the Great. So I wrote a brief outline of my lost tribe folklore discoveries and asked Uri to forward it to Sting.

At around 700 BC, Babylon invaded Israel and supposedly carried off the so-called "lost tribes," including the tribe of Mahaneh-DAN, together with the Ark of the Covenant. Not much later, a Pelasgian refugee tribe appeared in the Balkans, calling itself Mahe-DAN (Mahke-don, or Macedonian).

Uri Geller's latest TV show, The Successor (The Next Uri Geller) originated from Israel and swept throughout the world. The ANT1 premiere of the Greek version (Ο διάδοχος του Uri Geller) hosted by Christos Feredinos was the prime-time winner in its launch on October 24.

After watching the first show, in which Uri asked his viewers to put spoons and old clocks near their TV sets, I went through a strange happening on October 25. A few days earlier I had written to Uri about Sting's psi-ability. Sting’s birth name is Gordon Sumner. On Sunday evening I had the notion that I could hear Sting say: "I'll give you an hour!" An hour to do what? I thought to myself and quickly forgot about it. Meanwhile, on the previous night, my sister had taken out a broken alarm clock and placed it near a TV set.

About an hour later there was a sudden power failure on my entire street and all the lights went out. As my sister tried to light a candle, she was startled to hear the ringing of an alarm from another room. She thought about Uri’s show, and said, "I can't believe this."

By now, pandemonium had broken out in my apartment building. People came out of their flats in their pajamas with flashlights. The shrill ringing sound was coming from a burglar alarm on the sixth floor and the woman who lived there didn't know how to turn it off. The hectic incident lasted about an hour before the lights came on again. An hour to do what? To complicate matters, that same evening at my place of work (on another street of Athens) the outside telephone lines suddenly sparked a short circuit and our cabling needed to be replaced by the phone company.

On November 22, Uri Geller and master painter Andreas Charalambides exhibited their joint lithograph book “Symbols” with 11 lithographs at the Argo Gallery in central Athens. I went to the gallery and spent about five hours there, talking with Uri Geller and his guests. On that occasion I also observed Uri bend three spoons.

Most of Uri Geller’s critics claim that he bends spoons by one of the following trick methods:

1. The spoon is pre-bent or fractured beforehand and is ready to break when Uri touches it.
2. Uri secretly applies a chemical powder or substance that softens the metal and makes it bend.
3. Uri uses a secret electro-magnetic device that charges the metal and makes it bend.

Yet none of the above explanations correspond to the details of what I closely observed.

As Uri chatted with an elderly gentleman from a humanitarian group, someone brought a spoon from the café next door. Uri held the spoon’s bowl with his left hand and lightly rubbed the handle with two fingers of his right hand. The handle then started to slowly bend upward. Uri said if the spoon is placed on a metal surface, it bends faster. He then balanced the spoon on the metal armrest of a lounge chair. But because the spoon was still bending, it fell to the floor. The spoon continued to bend by itself as it lay on the floor. The curious part is that the spoon’s handle bent up, not down, as one might expect if gravity were pulling on the weight of a pre-softened metal rod.

For a moment it reminded me of a scorpion lifting its tail. In a dreamlike way, the spoon seemed to have a life of its own. It wiggled around on the floor! Uri then picked up the spoon and handed it to the elderly man. It continued to slowly bend in the gentleman’s hand until it reached a ninety-degree angle. I then touched the spoon at the crease where it had bent. I realized that I would not be able to straighten it back into shape unless I used both hands with the spoon handle leveraged on my knee. The spoon ridge was hard and firm, not soft or malleable. It was not warm. And there was no feel of powder or emulsion on it.

I watched Uri do the same thing with two other spoons that were given to him by other guests of the gallery. Uri Geller’s critics should recall that he has been bending spoons since the age of five, and that there are witnesses to that reality. If a new-fangled substance or tiny electro-magnetic gadget that could rapidly twist metal existed in the early 1950s, it would have been sold to major industry, not as the plaything of a child. My own observation is that the Geller Effect is very real, although still unexplainable.

Part Two, Part Three

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Christmas Carols of Byzantium

Below is a traditional Christmas Carol from Northern Epirus sung by Dimitris Yfantis from the CD “Σας τα ‘παν άλλο” Κάλαντα Δωδεκαημέρου.
http://vatopaidi.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/03-cebacebfcebccebcceaccf84ceb9-3.mp3

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Saint Dionysios of Zakynthos (2)

Church of St. Dionysios on Zakynthos

Part One - The Life of Saint Dionysios of Zakynthos

The Miracles of Saint Dionysios of Zakynthos (1)

by Theoharis Provatakis

The Excommunicated Woman

Once, when St. Dionysios was serving in the Cathedral of St. Nicholas in Zakynthos, they were about to bury a corpse. The woman had died excommunicated and her body, in spite of the fact she had been dead a considerable number of years, had not decomposed. The relatives of the dead woman, with tears in their eyes, begged the Saint to say the prayer of forgiveness over her, so that the body could decompose. St. Dionysios took pity on them and determined to help them. He donned his stole and pallium and asked them to place the incorrupt body on a seat in the church. He then prayed fervently to God for the dead woman, beseeching God that she be released from the excommunication which held her in this state.

Before long the miracle took place. At the moment when he was reading the prayer of forgiveness the body fell into a heap onto the floor of the church and dissolved into what it had been composed of - into dust and bones. The parish priest and the deacon swore to the Saint not to talk about this happening.

A similar miracle was performed by the Saint at the village of Katastario. A few days later the Saint returned to the Monastery of the Aanaphonitria, where, apart from his other duties, he was occupied in providing for the poor children of the area, so that they could acquire an education and have a Christian upbringing.

St. Dionysios' relics transferring to Zakynthos

The Saint Becomes Patron of Zakynthos

In the war of 1716 between the Turks and the Venetians, the Turkish admiral Hotza Pasha threatened to destroy Zakynthos if it did not submit to the Sultan. The Turks, however, suffered a defeat and began to withdraw. In the course of their retreat, a squadron of a hundred ships came to the Strofades Monastery [where the relics of St. Dionysios were kept prior to their transfer to Zakynthos] to rob it of the treasures which the monks, meanwhile, had hidden in a cave, together with the body of the Saint. The treasures were stolen, but the body of the Saint was left alone - with the exception of his hands, which were divided up into four parts by four Christian members of the crew. Their leader, who had witnessed the scene, took the pieces of the hands from the Christians, since he thought that they might have some value. In fact, he sold them to the Bishop of Chios, Agathangelos, and the monk Akakios. The left his is preserved today in the Panachrantos Monastery of Andros. The monks who tried to resist the pillaging of the treasures were put to death by the Turks and their bodies burned.

After the looting, five monks took the body of the Saint and brought it to Zakynthos on 22 August 1717. Subsequently, the Community of Zakynthos proclaimed St. Dionysios patron of the island, in the place of St. John the Baptist. It also designated August 22 as the anniversary of the translation of the relics of the Saint. The procession which takes place today was established as a custom later, in 1901, when Dionysios Plessas was Archbishop of Zakynthos.

The larnax of St. Dionysios

The Possessed

Once a person possessed by a devil, who was greatly tormented by it, was brought to the Monastery of St. Dionysios. The fathers, seeing the pitiful condition he was in, took him to the tomb of the Saint. The read over him the exorcism prayers of St. Basil the Great and anointed him with oil from the sanctuary lamp. The possessed person was restored to health and gave glory to God and thanks to the Saint.

Monastery of Panagia Anaphonitria

The Saint Appears to the Abbot

At one period the monk Daniel was Abbot of the Monastery of St. Dionysios. He was a good and devout man, conscientious in the execution of his duties. He was, however, troubled by doubts about the sanctity of St. Dionysios.

"Is Dionysios, to whom so much honor is paid," he asked himself, "really in the company of the saints in heaven or not?"

One night he had a dream in which he saw the sacristan seeking his blessing to ring the bell for Matins. In a little while he awoke and believed that he really had given his permission for the monks to be summoned to Matins. He got up quickly, dressed, and went down to the church. Entering, he saw the Saint standing between two white-clad priests and two deacons. The Saint was resting his hands on their shoulders while they were robing him in his episcopal vestments. Then one of the priests addressed the Abbot, saying:

"Are you convinced now, or do you still doubt?"

The Abbot was deeply troubled by the vision and left the church in fear. Immediately afterwards, however, he repented of his hasty action and wished to look again to see if what he had seen was real. This time, going in through the door, he saw the Saint moving unaided and climbing back into his coffin.

Filled with awe, the Abbot returned to his cell, summoned the fathers of the Monastery and narrated these events to them. They all with one accord glorified God. From that day on the Abbot became a fervent preacher of the sanctity and miracles of St. Dionysios.

Procession on December 17, 2009 with the relics of the Saint

The Resurrection of the Child

For ten whole years a family in the Peloponnese were unable to have children. They begged the Saint, with tears, to grant them the blessing of a child, promising him that the child would be baptized in his church on Zakynthos. Thus it came about that the wife, after the Saint had appeared to her in a dream, gave birth to a delightful baby boy. Five months later, the happy relatives and their relatives took the child to Zakynthos, to be baptized in fulfillment of their promise. Alas, on the way the child fell sick and, three miles from Zakynthos, died. The parents, inconsolable, after the ship had ancored, took the child, weeping, to the church, to offer him to the Saint, even though dead. When they arrived at the church, they put the body down near the shrine and prayed to the Saint, dedicating the child to him, even though dead. Then it was that the miracle occurred. The child started to cry. In their delight, the parents and relatives took their child, glorifying God and giving thanks to the Saint. A little later, in an atmosphere of intense devotion, the baptism took place. The child was baptized Dionysios and throughout his life he would annually attend the festival of the Saint, in thanksgiving for the great benefit accorded to him.



Part Three - The Miracles of Saint Dionysios of Zakynthos (3)

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Its Official! Autonomy and Autocephaly Through Constantinople and Pan-Orthodox Consensus

Inter-Orthodox Preparatory Commission Completes Its Work

December 17, 2009

The Inter-Orthodox Preparatory Commission, meeting in Chambesy, Switzerland, closed its work on December 16 with a thanksgiving.

The Commission, whose task is to elaborate the agenda of a Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church, continued to consider the problem of autocephaly and ways of declaring it – the discussion which began in 1993, and prepared proposals on autonomy and ways of declaring it.

The documents prepared by the Commission will be submitted to a Pan-Orthodox Pre-Council Conference. They stipulate in particular that the ecclesiological, canonical and pastoral prerequisites for granting autocephaly to a particular church region, if requested, are to be assessed by the Mother Church at her Local Council. If the Council’s decision is favourable, the Mother Church is to notify it to the Ecumenical Patriarchate which is in its turn to inform other Local Autocephalous Churches in order to find out whether there is a pan-Orthodox consensus expressed in the unanimity of Councils or Synods of the autocephalous Churches. Expressing the consent of the Mother Church and the pan-Orthodox consensus, the Ecumenical Patriarch is to declare the autocephaly of a petitioning Church by issuing a Tomos of Autocephaly to be signed by the Ecumenical Patriarch and verified by the signatures of the Primates of Orthodox Churches invited for it by the Ecumenical Patriarch.

The question of the contents of the Tomos and the signing procedure will be considered additionally by the next meeting of the Inter-Orthodox Preparatory Commission.

The Commission has also prepared a document expressing a common position of Orthodox Churches on autonomy and the ways of declaring it, describing the notion of autonomy, the procedure to be observed in declaring autonomy and its consequences.

It was agreed that the initiation and completion of the procedure for granting autonomy to a certain part of its canonical jurisdiction is exclusively under the competence of the respective autocephalous Church. It is noted that in church practice there are different degrees in which an autonomous Church depends on the autocephalous Church that has granted autonomy to it. A petition for autonomy is considered by the autocephalous Church which, having assessed the prerequisites and reasons for this petition and taken a favourable decision, issues an appropriate Tomos defining the territorial boundaries of the autonomous Church and its relationships with the autocephalous Church to which it belongs in accordance with the established criteria of church Tradition. Then the primate of the autocephalous Church notifies the Ecumenical Patriarchate and other autocephalous Orthodox Churches on the declaration of an autonomous Church.

The draft document also provides for measures to find a canonical settlement of an issue in case of differences arising from two autocephalous Churches’ granting the autonomous status to church communities in the same geographical church region.

The question of Diptychs of the Primates of the Local Churches will be considered by the Inter-Orthodox Preparatory Commission at its next meeting.

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Different Perspectives on Communion

The Role of Communion: Denominations Wrestle With Who Should Receive Bread and Wine

Dec 17, 2009
NewsObserver

KANSAS CITY, Mo. Marialice Searcy, 83, of Kansas City, Mo., has attended Mass all her life and couldn't imagine not receiving Holy Communion.

"I can go to Mass and pray, but the Eucharist (Communion) is the focal point of my spiritual life," she said. "Without the Eucharist, I feel I would be missing an important nourishment for my soul."

But some Catholics are sometimes asked to forgo this expression of faith.

Most recently, U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy said his Rhode Island bishop asked him to abstain from receiving Holy Communion.

Other bishops have made similar requests to other Catholic politicians such as Vice President Joseph Biden and then-Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, and a few have said they would deny Communion to Catholic politicians whose positions, especially on abortion, go against church teachings.

How serious is such a stance for Catholics? And how do other churches view Communion?

"Of all the symbols of our faith, none invites more intimacy with God and identification with other baptized Catholics than the act of receiving consecrated bread and wine," said Edward Foley, professor of liturgy and music at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.

"Conversely, preventing someone from receiving Communion is a very serious act, for it announces a rupture in their communion with the church, which is also thought of as Christ's body," he said. "Furthermore, it withholds what the church believes to be a most intimate and gracious encounter with the God of Jesus Christ."

In the final meal with his disciples, Jesus invited them to eat of his body and drink of his blood. Therefore, Roman Catholics believe that Jesus Christ is actually present in the bread and wine, and the practice is to receive Communion at each Mass.

"The Orthodox and Catholic churches understand Communion as a means of grace, a way by which God's grace comes to us," said James Brandt, associate professor of historical theology at St. Paul School of Theology in Kansas City.

"That is also the view of the Anglican tradition and the Lutheran tradition. The Baptist and Disciples traditions would tend to see Holy Communion more as the expression of the faith of the people than as a means of grace. Typically for them, they do Communion because Jesus said to, and it is more of a memorial."

The Methodists, Presbyterians and United Church of Christ are more in the middle, he said.

"They tend to be sacramental but not as much as the Lutherans, Catholics and Orthodox. For example, John Calvin, founder of the Presbyterian tradition, said Communion is a means of grace and a testimony of our faith, so he combined the two."

Brandt said that from the Middle Ages to the 1960s, Communion was seen as a somber penitential rite because it was a way of asking forgiveness for sins.

"With the liturgical renewal movement from the 1970s, Communion for a lot of people came to be seen as a celebration of Christ's resurrection and took on a tone of celebration and joy," he said. "A lot of time, the language is that it is a foretaste of the feast to come in heaven."

The Rev. Nicholas Papedo of St. Dionysios Greek Orthodox Church in Overland Park said he applauds the Catholic bishops who are saying, "If you are not going to support the teachings of the church, you should not take Communion."

The Eastern Orthodox tradition views the wine and bread as mystically changed into the body and blood of Christ, he said.

"Orthodox Christians are coming forward asking for the forgiveness of God and the mercy of God," he said. "They are standing before the altar of God asking for their sins to be cleansed.

"If they separate themselves, there is not mercy at this time, so there needs to be repentance so they can be in communion with God. If they are not repentant, instead of receiving the mercy of God, they are receiving God's judgment. Therefore, asking them not to receive Communion is for their own protection."

As with Roman Catholics, Holy Communion is closed, only for members of that denomination. And it is received at every divine liturgy and the major observances of saints.

Anglicans observe Communion as the "real presence of the Lord, but this can look a little different from parish to parish," said the Rev. Andrew Grosso, canon theologian for the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas. "They would say this is the real body and real blood of Christ.

"But it is not the same as Roman Catholics. We say the Lord is present in the Eucharist. When we participate in Communion we are joined to God through Christ and through the Holy Spirit."

Another difference from the Roman Catholics is that Anglicans celebrate an open communion, said Grosso, rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Atchison, Kan.

"Anyone who is baptized is welcome to participate with us in the celebration of the Eucharist," he said. "But we do recommend, practiced to varying degrees, that persons be living an active life of faith before participating."

The African Methodist Episcopal Church observes two sacraments, baptism and Communion, said the Rev. Stacy Evans, pastor of Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church in Kansas City, Kan. If a person is holding a grievance against anyone or doing unholy things without repenting, that person should not take Communion, she said.

"But if you have truly repented of your sins and intend to go forward with that, you could come for Communion," she said. "Most of us do it every first Sunday. The meaning to eating the bread and drinking the juice is symbolic. Christ said to, 'Do this in remembrance of me.'"

Baptist practice can vary, but the emphasis for all is the biblical command to examine oneself before taking Communion, said Jerry A. Johnson, professor of ethics and theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City. Some individual Baptist churches historically have practiced "church discipline" toward church members who sin in a public way, he said.

"One mode of church discipline has been to bar the erring member from the Lord's Table until there is repentance and restoration," he said. "For Baptists, this would be a matter for the entire congregation to decide, but the recommendation of the leadership would be important."

Baptist churches practice both open and closed Communion, depending on the heritage and conviction of each local congregation, Johnson said.

The significance of Communion for Baptists is to remember "that Jesus offered his blood and body as a sacrificial substitute to atone for our sins," he said. "By taking the elements we also show that we have received Jesus as Savior and Lord by believing personally in this atoning sacrifice."

For Pentecostals, Communion is a memorial service, said Elder Judson Davis, assistant pastor at Greater Pentecostal Temple in Kansas City, Kan.

"Only members of the individual church who are saved according to the Word of God can take Communion," he said.

It is up to each person to examine himself or herself before taking Communion, or as the Bible says, that person would be eating and drinking unworthily, Davis said.

The church leadership would not tell a politician or any other member not to take Communion, Davis said. "That is up to the individual."

ALL FAITHS SHARE A SENSE OF COMMUNION

Every religion includes sacramental acts like Communion that convey transcendent meaning through tangible forms. Here are three examples.

American Indians practice a kind of communion by sharing a calumet, a smoking pipe. The intentions of the community are carried by the smoke to the sacred powers. The sanctified unity of the Indian participants is solemnized through the shared pipe, just as for some Christians the church is the body of Christ realized through the Eucharist. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art has several examples of the pipe.

Hindu worship includes prasad, food offered to a deity, then returned, blessed and empowered, and then consumed by the worshipper. Eating someone's leftovers is ordinarily offensive, but accepting the leftovers from a god expresses the worshipper's veneration. Commonly the food is a fruit, a sweet or a dollop of milk, sugar, flour and butter mixed together. Anyone may partake.

A Sikh building for worship includes a langar, a kitchen-dining hall where a communal meal is offered without charge by volunteers, not clergy. Often, those who are able sit on the floor to emphasize the equality of all people under God, regardless of earthly status or faith, important in the historical context of the caste system and the different religions of India. The langar thus expresses sharing with a sense of the unity of all humanity in contrast to other faiths whose sacramental practices are restricted to their members.

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