My Grandfather and Saint Anastasia Pharmakolitria

St. Anastasia the Great Martyr and Deliverer from Potions (Feast Day - December 22)

Originally my grandfather, John, was from Smyrna in Asia Minor. As a child in the early 20th century he was responsible for going daily to the nearby church of St. Anastasia the Great Martyr and Deliverer from Potions in order to light the oil lamps before the holy icons.

At some point he became deathly ill. His parents called for the doctor to come by the house to see what they could do, but all hope for his healing vanished. The doctor informed John's parents one evening that his condition was so bad that he would not see the sun rise the next morning.

As John was laying in bed that evening trying to rest, suddenly he heard a knock on the door.

"Come in" he said.

The door then opened and inside his bedroom walked a woman whom he did not recognize. Seeing John laying on his bed deathly ill, she said to him: "John, why are you lying down? Get up and go to my church to light the oil lamps." She then turned around and walked away.

Immediately John recognized this woman from the icon of St. Anastasia in the church, and that it was she who was asking him to go to her church. He got out of bed, not without difficulty, and secretly made his way to the church. After lighting all the oil lamps he returned home. The next morning, when he awoke, he was completely healed, to the relief and joy of his family.

When the population exchange took place between Turkey and Greece in 1922, my grandfather John settled in Patras, Greece where he met and married my grandmother who happened to be named Anastasia (because she was born on Pascha and ironically died on Holy Thursday in 1997). There he became a successful Master Electrician, from whom my father learned the trade and followed in his footsteps of being a Master Electrician till this day.

Because he was one of few Master Electricians in 1940's Greece, during World War 2 he was taken prisoner by the German Nazi's as a hired prisoner to help them with their electrical work at Dachau Concentration Camp in Germany. Of course at that time he didn't know what was really going on at Dachau, but he was there for two years working as an Electrician. Because he was a hired prisoner, he lived away from the rest of the prisoners of the camp and enjoyed a bit more freedom than most and better food (similar to St. Nikolai Velimirovich when he was there, though I don't know if they knew each other). Slowly however he would notice prisoners disappearing and soon understood they were being executed. He would help his fellow, less fortunate, prisoners often by stealing potatoes from the kitchen and bringing it to them. On one occasion he also saved the lives of two Jews by helping them escape under a fence.

Though my grandfather was very successful in his business, he was not very rich. His family lived in a bad part of town (Agio Ioanni Bratsika area) because he would spend his money on food and drink with his friends. He had a reputation of being very generous among his friends, yet with his family he was often cruel. As an alcoholic he was abusive, especially to his wife and two sons. Despite this he was extremely reverential when it came to St. Anastasia. My grandmother told me that despite his alcoholism and blasphemous remarks, whenever he would look at the icon of St. Anastasia, even in his older age, he would take it in his arms and kiss it with tears.

He died Christmas day in 1974 because of complications with diabetes (one of his legs was amputated), after he received Holy Communion. He always wanted a grandson named after him, but I was not born until 1976.

Read also: The Great Martyr Anastasia the Pharmakolitria

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Muhammad's Charter of Privileges to Christians

MUHAMMAD'S CHARTER OF PRIVILEGES TO CHRISTIANS:
LETTER TO THE MONKS OF ST. CATHERINE MONASTERY

Dr. A. Zahoor and Dr. Z. Haq

In 628 C.E. Prophet Muhammad (s) granted a Charter of Privileges to the monks of St. Catherine Monastery in Mt. Sinai. It consisted of several clauses covering all aspects of human rights including such topics as the protection of Christians, freedom of worship and movement, freedom to appoint their own judges and to own and maintain their property, exemption from military service, and the right to protection in war.

An English translation of that document is presented below.

This is a message from Muhammad ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far, we are with them.

Verily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and by Allah! I hold out against anything that displeases them.

No compulsion is to be on them.

Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries.

No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims' houses.

Should anyone take any of these, he would spoil God's covenant and disobey His Prophet. Verily, they are my allies and have my secure charter against all that they hate.

No one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to fight.
The Muslims are to fight for them.

If a female Christian is married to a Muslim, it is not to take place without her approval. She is not to be prevented from visiting her church to pray.

Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants.

No one of the nation (Muslims) is to disobey the covenant till the Last Day (end of the world).

Source

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Greece Lashes Out at Turkey's Criticism

Greece Lashes Out at Turkey's Criticism of Orthodox Leader

Monday, December 21, 2009
ATHENS – Agence France-Presse

Greece hit back Sunday at Turkey's criticism of the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians for saying that minority Greeks in Turkey are treated like second-class citizens and feel "crucified sometimes."

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, also leader of some 2,000 Orthodox Greeks in largely Muslim Turkey, made the remarks in an interview with U.S. television station CBS to be aired Sunday.

Greece's foreign ministry responded that among Turkey's obligations for joining the European Union is "that respect for the freedom of religion and the rights of minorities takes first place."

Bartholomew "is known for his wisdom and moderation, and for his unwavering support for Turkey's membership of the EU," foreign ministry spokesman Grigoris Delavekouras said in a statement.

"It is the duty of all, and mainly those who carry responsibility for the situation of the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Greek minority, to pay attention," the spokesman added.

In excerpts of the interview released ahead of its full broadcast, Bartholomew said: "We are treated … like second-class citizens. We do not feel like we can enjoy our full rights as Turkish citizens."

But he ruled out the option of leaving Turkey, saying, "We prefer to stay here, even crucified sometimes."

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu rejected accusations of religious discrimination by his government.

"We regard the use of the crucifixion simile as extremely unfortunate. … I would like to see this as an undesired slip of the tongue," Davutoğlu told reporters Saturday.

"We cannot accept comparisons that we do not deserve," the minister said.

The Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul dates from the Greek Orthodox Byzantine Empire, which collapsed in 1453 when the city fell to the Ottoman Turks, and Bartholomew represents the world's 250 million Orthodox Christians.

Ankara does not interfere with the patriarchate's religious functions, though it withholds recognition of his ecumenical title, treating him only as the spiritual leader of the Orthodox Greeks still living in the country.

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"60 Minutes" Interview With Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew

Or see it in one stream here.

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1st Century Nazareth House Uncovered

House Uncovered in Nazareth Dating to the Time of Jesus

December 21, 2009

Jerusalem (CNN) -- Archaeologists in Israel say they have discovered the remains of a home from the time of Jesus in the heart of Nazareth.

The Israeli Antiquities Authority said the find "sheds light on the way of life at the time of Jesus" in the Jewish settlement of Nazareth, where Christians believe Jesus grew up.

The find marks the first time researchers have uncovered the remains of a home in Nazareth from that time period, the Israeli Antiquities Authority said in a statement.

"The building that we found is small and modest and it is most likely typical of the dwellings in Nazareth in that period," Yardenna Alexandre, excavation director for the authority, said in the statement.

"Until now a number of tombs from the time of Jesus were found in Nazareth; however, no settlement remains have been discovered that are attributed to this period."

Christians believe that Mary, the mother of Jesus, lived in Nazareth with her husband, Joseph. They believe Mary was in Nazareth when the angel Gabriel revealed that Mary would give birth to the son of God, a baby to be named Jesus.

A number of burial caves that date to the early Roman period also were discovered close to the inhabited area during the excavations, the authority said.

The discovery was made in the West Bank city of Nazareth during an excavation in advance of construction of the International Marian Center of Nazareth, which will illustrate the life of Mary.

An association in Nazareth plans to conserve and display the home's remains in the center. It will be built next to the Church of the Annunciation, which stands on the spot where Catholics believe Mary once lived.

The Church of the Annunciation is in the heart of Nazareth, above an older church and atop the ruins of a church from the Byzantine period.

In the middle of these churches is a cave that was believed in antiquity to be the home of Jesus' family. Researchers found storage pits and cisterns in the compound of the Church of the Annunciation, many of which date to the time of Jesus, Israeli archaeologists said.

In the excavation, a large, broad wall that dates to the 15th century was exposed. It was constructed on top of and used the walls of an ancient building, the statement said.

This earlier building -- the one that dates to the time of Jesus -- consisted of two rooms and a courtyard in which a rock-hewn cistern collected rainwater. Few artifacts were recovered from inside the building -- mostly fragments of pottery vessels from the first and second centuries.

Also, researchers found several fragments of chalk vessels, which were used by Jews in this period because such vessels were not susceptible to becoming ritually unclean, researchers said.

Another hewn pit, whose entrance was apparently camouflaged, was excavated and a few pottery fragments from the early Roman period were found inside it.

"Based on other excavations that I conducted in other villages in the region, this pit was probably hewn as part of the preparations by the Jews to protect themselves during the great revolt against the Romans in [A.D.] 67," Alexandre said.

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Luttwak's "Grand Strategy of the Byzantine Empire"

by Nicholas D. Rosen

Blame it on reading Gibbon's Decline and Fall back when I was young and impressionable. I did go on to read other books, notably Runciman's Byzantine Civilization, but I nonetheless had a rather soured view of the Byzantines. They squabbled over fine points of theology, while failing to fight with the courage of their Roman predecessors, making their history one long, sad decline; and they lacked a sense of individualism, an idea of the freedom and worth of each human being, unlike the West, flawed though it has been.

It's not that simple, of course, and Edward Luttwak's The Grand Strategy of the Byzantine Empire is a useful corrective. First, there's the rather obvious point that the East Roman Empire could not have lasted a thousand years unless it had had some valiant defenders. It is true that the Byzantines employed mercenaries, and sometimes had occasion to regret it, but they also waged war with their own men, both professionals and part-time farmer-soldiers, and they preserved a higher level of social organization, for good or ill, when Western Europe was largely made up of feudal domains, with little city life.

The Byzantines did not remain feeble and decadent for all the centuries that their empire endured, although they certainly had their reverses, and their wicked or incompetent emperors. There were times, notable in the ninth and tenth centuries, when they succeeded in regaining territory, and in giving their Arab and Balkan foes good reason to fear their discipline and determination.

Their soldiers were well-trained in the use of weapons, and generally in various weapons and tools, so that they could charge with their lances, ply the foe with arrows from a distance, or assist in the engineering work of besieging an enemy fortress. They were further trained and drilled in carrying out military operations as an organized group, able to perform various complicated operations according to circumstances and the orders of their officers. This gave a regiment of Byzantine cataphracts an important advantage over a troop of Frankish knights who only knew how to conduct a furious, if sometimes disorganized, charge.

The Byzantines had tactical manuals and a long military tradition. They generally did not risk the loss of large armies if they could help it, but preferred to outmaneuver their foes, to conduct limited fighting, and to offer gold nomismata, together with religious propaganda and titles of noble esteem, to the neighbors of their enemies. Their armies were strong on scouting, spying, skirmishing, logistics, and camp organization.

This is not the most gloriously impressive way of waging war, but it largely worked. There was no Byzantine Alexander the Great or Napoleon, conquering a vast domain in surprisingly little time, but on the other hand, disasters like Manzikert were rare.

The Byzantines understood, or at least Luttwak credits them with understanding, that it isn't generally a good idea to wipe out your foe at the cost of getting half your own men killed. There would always be another tribe beyond the one you wiped out, another king or emir ready to move into the power vacuum you created. Therefore, the Byzantines generally did not fight wars of attrition to the last drop of blood. they sought to defeat the enemy, and if they could not turn their enemies into good East Roman taxpayers at an acceptable cost in blood, then they would let them remain as a bulwark and potential ally against the wild men across the next river.

One notable point is that the East Romans had no reasonable alternative to paying tribute to Attila's Huns. The Huns had superior composite bows, and men trained to use them from horseback. The Romans did not, and the troops they had were not effective against mounted nomads. Huns with strings of remounts could slaughter the soldiery of settled lands from a distance with their bows, and then either finish the job with lance and swords, or outrun any pursuit.

Paying tribute was the only short-term solution, and the long-term solution was to learn to make nomad bows, and train men to use them. It wasn't obvious how to make good composite bows, and it took long training to make a man into a good mounted archer, or a good mounted archer cum lancer. The Byzantines nonetheless adapted, and developed cavalry forces which could oppose steppe nomads effectively, and could also be used in the reconquest of Roman territories from the Vandals and Ostrogoths.

We would do well to remember that all the Byzantines' cleverness, sophistication, and gold would still not have preserved their empire for long if they had not also had courageous fighting men, as they did. Byzantine soldiers were not normally berserkers, not possessed of the "French fury" of Western European knights, and not mujahideen "who love death more than you you love life." Nonetheless, many thousands of them, Emperors and generals and rankers whose names are lost to history, charged the foe or stood their ground, for the defense of their homes, for loyalty to their sovereign and state, for the defense of Orthodox Christendom.

If it had not been for their valor, as well as for the strategic wisdom of the generals and logothetes, the ancient manuscripts that the East Romans preserved might have been lost to the world, and Western Christendom would have faced an Islamic or nomad threat from the southeast, as well as from the south, and sometimes the east, centuries before it actually did.

So let us give due honor to Byzantium's fighting men, and appreciation to Mr. Luttwak's scholarship.

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Where Piety Meets Power

How the Russian church and with it the Russian state are gaining ground, in several senses, in the Holy Land.

Dec 17th 2009
The Economist

AT THE foot of the Mount of Olives, by the garden of Gethsemane where Jesus of Nazareth contemplated his death, there is a compact but magnificent church, surrounded by blazing flowers and well-pruned shrubs. For many Christian visitors to Jerusalem it is the loveliest spot in the entire city.

The area around Gethsemane, where Jesus is said to have remonstrated with his faint-hearted disciples, is a place where countless pilgrims have reflected on betrayal and loneliness. But the Mary Magdalene convent has a beauty that speaks both of heavenly kingdoms and of the power of an earthly realm, tsarist Russia. Its golden onion domes and a bronze and marble interior reflect the largesse of the Romanovs.

Its consecration in 1888 was a high point in a link between Russia and Jerusalem whose importance surged in the twilight of the tsarist era: a link based on political calculation and diplomacy, plus the piety of thousands of Russian travellers. Most were peasants; some had walked across Russia to Odessa, where they boarded ships that they shared with livestock and other goods.

But Jerusalem also drew grand visitors from Russia—such as Elizabeth Feodorovna, a German-born granddaughter of Queen Victoria. She was thrilled by the holy city when she went there as the 24-year-old consort of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, brother of Tsar Alexander III.

The grand duchess accompanied her husband at the consecration of the Gethsemane church, and she oversaw its decoration by leading Russian artists. But she was destined for harder things than adorning churches. In 1905 her husband, a harsh governor of Moscow, was assassinated. She then sold most of her goods and set up a religious community, devoted to caring for Moscow’s poor. After the revolution, she was thrown down a mine; at around the same time her sister, Empress Alexandra, and her brother-in-law, Tsar Nicholas, were shot along with their children.

The grand duchess’s earthly remains, and those of a fellow nun, now lie on either side of the altar in the Gethsemane convent. One need not be Russian, or very religious, to be moved by Elizabeth the New Martyr, to use her church title. Born into a world where she was shielded from the travails of the poor, she became a wiser figure than most of the Romanovs. (Unlike her sister, she disliked the philandering faith-healer, Grigory Rasputin.)

Until recently, the Gethsemane convent was a time warp where the ethos of the tsarist era was preserved, even by Palestinian nuns who joined after the 1917 revolution. More recently, the atmosphere has changed: it feels closer to contemporary Russia.

That partly reflects a change in the make-up of the multinational community. More nuns have come from Russia, while several have left; they were uneasy over the reunion, two years ago, between the “White Russian” church, of which the Gethsemane convent is a stronghold, and the Patriarchate of Moscow.

Then there are the visitors. In many cases, their modern slang, sunburned skins and holiday clothes give them away as Russians: some devout, some just escaping from grey skies at home. And some of the Russian-speakers who swarm round the holy places of Jerusalem are residents of Israel. Of the 1m or so recent migrants from the Soviet lands to Israel, perhaps 10% were Christians, accompanying Jewish kin.

So in different ways, a religious axis between Russia and Jerusalem, severed by communism, is being reforged. In late tsarist times, the Russia-Jerusalem connection was both elitist and popular; it was fostered by Russia’s leading people, especially the royal family, who (partly for strategic reasons) sponsored pilgrimages and built up a portfolio of religious property in the Holy Land. But it depended on the passionate faith of simple Russians.

History is repeating itself. At many of the Christian sites of the Middle East, Russians—not usually very poor, but mostly far from rich—form the largest group of visitors. And in the Kremlin, and among people close to it, there is keen concern to regain access to, or control of, properties in the Holy Land that were once Russian.

A big step in that process was the 2007 union between the Moscow Patriarchate and the New York-based Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, ROCOR (or most of it; about a quarter of the diaspora church dissented). For much of the 20th century, Russian sacred property in the Holy Land had been subject to a Berlin-like division. Sites on the West Bank and East Jerusalem, such as Gethsemane, belonged to the White Russians, while those in Israel were under the Moscow Patriarchate—although Nikita Khrushchev returned to the Israelis the greater part of a magnificent West Jerusalem site known as the “Russian compound” for a shipment of oranges. Thanks to the 2007 reunion, Muscovite clergy can now serve in all the area’s Russian churches.

Vladimir Putin keenly fostered the reunion, especially after a meeting in New York in 2003 with a ROCOR bishop who presented him with an icon of Grand Duchess Elizabeth. And it was at Mr Putin’s personal request that a part of the Russian compound, an area called the Sergei courtyard where Jerusalemites enjoy jazz concerts, was returned to Russia a year ago. (Tenants of the yard saw tears running down the Russian leader’s cheek when he first saw it in April 2005.)

A long fascination

The fascination of Russian Christians with Jerusalem dates at least from the 17th century, when Patriarch Nikon built a replica of the Old City in a quiet birch forest outside Moscow, with a Baroque church containing a passable copy of Jerusalem’s Holy Sepulchre. The place now has an air of pleasant dilapidation; it has not yet attracted interest from rich sponsors.

In an age of instant communications, replicas may not be needed. Today’s Moscow-Jerusalem tie-ups are more spectacular. For example, a light kindled from the “holy fire”—the flame that emerges from the Tomb of Christ in an ancient Easter rite—is now flown to Moscow in a chartered plane. This is done with efficiency, fanfare and much coverage from the media. In charge of it is one of Russia’s inner circle: Vladimir Yakunin, head of Russia’s railways and pal of Mr Putin, whose security-police background he shares.

Tsarist Russia had its secret police, too, and some of its bosses transferred their allegiance to the Bolshevik regime after the 1917 revolution. But the external face, at least, of state power in tsarist times was more glamorous. And that is one reason, possibly, why today’s Russian rulers are keen to wrap themselves in the royal past. They have been melding Soviet and tsarist symbols in a way that presents Russian history as a single, glorious pageant.

The wish of Russia’s post-communist masters to don both Soviet and tsarist colours has been clear at least since 1997, when Moscow marked its 850th anniversary with a celebration that lauded both Hitler’s defeat and the exploits of medieval knights. Recently, ex-President Putin (now prime minister) has honoured leaders of the white, anticommunist side in the 1918-21 civil war, especially those who believed in Russia’s imperial destiny.

In any effort to fuse all phases of Russia’s past, Jerusalem and its environs play a vital part. That is not just because of their general sanctity, but because they are part of Russia’s history: a place where the Russians have both prayed and advanced their geopolitical interests. As an Orthodox Christian power, tsarist Russia saw itself as protector both of local Christians (especially Orthodox Arabs) and of Christian sites in the Ottoman empire; but France, Britain and other Western powers also sought a stake in Jerusalem’s Christian past. All was set for a strategic game which Russia played with relish, despite (or because of) its defeat in the Crimean war, sparked by a Franco-Russian row in Bethlehem.

These days, Western powers are less concerned by holy sites, but at least one state is watching the new Russian interest in the Holy Land with a mix of curiosity, fear and a dash of diplomatic opportunism: Israel. The transfer of the Sergei courtyard was agreed by the Israeli cabinet last year just before a visit to Moscow by Ehud Olmert, the outgoing prime minister. Israelis were hoping that, in return, Russia would hand over a collection of Jewish books, now in Moscow’s Lenin library. But the timing suggested something more was at stake: the Israeli effort to dissuade the Russians from selling missiles to Syria and anti-aircraft systems to Iran. Israel has urged Russia not to fulfil a longstanding contract to supply Iran with S-300 air-defence systems which would make it harder for anyone to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities. Kremlin officials have said, from time to time, that the deal’s execution has been “frozen”—but this failed to squelch rumours that Russia had made, or was about to make, a secret delivery. The issue must have been on the agenda of an initially secret mission to Moscow made by Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, in September.

The Israelis try to keep a line of communication with Russia’s most powerful men—Mr Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev—that bypasses the pro-Arab ethos of other Muscovite institutions. Mr Putin had warm personal ties with Ariel Sharon, the former Israeli prime minister; both men were terrorist-bashers. And if gestures like the handover of the Sergei courtyard make a big difference in Russia, it is because of the passionate interest that Mr Putin, and those close to him, show in holy real estate.

In the 19th century, too, Russia’s religious presence in the Holy Land had two main features: pilgrimage and property. The more pilgrims came, the more buildings were needed to house them. After the Crimean war, which cost Russia its naval presence in the Black Sea, pilgrim numbers surged, with quiet official encouragement—and a huge effort to build churches and hostels began.

When Sergei Alexandrovich took his wife to Jerusalem in 1888 he already headed a body that became known as the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society. Its aims: to “strengthen Orthodoxy in the Holy Land, to help Russian visitors…and to publish news on the Holy Land [in Russia].” A revived IOPS, which never ceased to exist, is now led by Sergei Stepashin, a former Russian prime minister and security-police general: not as glamorous as a grand duke, but still at the top of the national tree. Mr Stepashin is frank about the geopolitical stakes: “A Russian flag in the centre of Jerusalem, in such close proximity to the Holy Sepulchre, is priceless.”

The stratospheric links of today’s Russian-Jerusalem axis are uncannily reminiscent of the past. Initially (from 1860 onwards), Russia’s Holy Land project was fostered by the church and the imperial foreign ministry. The creation in 1882 of the IOPS marked the full takeover of the enterprise by the royal family, which lent even greater prestige. Russia’s political, religious and cultural elite faced huge moral pressure to participate. On Palm Sunday, churches all over Russia collected money to support Holy Land pilgrimages. Royal largesse was matched by countless widows’ mites.

Today Russian pilgrims mostly go by air to Tel Aviv, Amman or the Red Sea port of Sharm el-Sheikh. Every year a few thousand travel under the direct aegis of the church, some staying in historically Russian property. Tens of thousands more go with travel agencies linked to the church; and an even greater number mix their religious duties with swimming and sunbathing.

In tsarist times, devout travellers had it tougher. Having slogged all the way from the Arctic or Siberia, they would set out on the choppy waters of the Black Sea: terrifying for those who had never been offshore. The legacy of tsarist religious travel is still visible in the churches and public buildings of Odessa. And on the Istanbul quayside, where ships from Odessa, then as now, dock under a glorious skyline, traces of tsarist pilgrimage also remain. Three tiny Russian churches—one still functioning, at the top of a rickety six-storey block—can be spotted nearby.

An English writer, Stephen Graham, mingled with the Russian peasants as they sailed to the Holy Land, around 1910. “In one storm, when the masts were broken, the hold where the peasants rolled over one another like corpses, or grasped at one another like madmen, was worse than any imagined pit, the stench…was worse than any fire,” he observed. But all was forgotten when Graham’s friends came to Jerusalem for an Easter celebration. “What embracing and kissing there were this night; smacking of hearty lips and tangling of beards and whiskers!”

Modern Russian pilgrims travel more comfortably. But of all the Christian visitors to the holy sites of the Middle East, they are the least troubled by risk. Whenever tension in the region rises, so too does the Russian majority around the Holy Sepulchre.

It was said in the 19th century that if an Arab in the vicinity of Jaffa or Jerusalem knew no Russian, he must be a recent arrival. These days, Palestinian guides who escort perspiring Slavs around the Mount of Olives also need to speak Pushkin’s tongue.

The transfer of the Sergei courtyard, and the rising profile in the region of Russia and its church, have met resistance in several Israeli quarters. Lefty types fear the Society for the Preservation of Nature will be thrown out of its offices in the yard. Right-wing Israelis fear a precedent: will the Greek church reclaim its title to the land on which the Knesset now stands? One writer in the Jerusalem Post wanted reciprocity: Sergei Alexandrovich, who built the yard, had expelled the Jews from Moscow—so why shouldn’t the Jews reclaim part of the Russian capital? Zalmi Unsdorfer, a businessman who heads the Likud party in Britain, urged Prince Philip—as a kinsman of Sergei Alexandrovich—to block the transfer.

Naomi Tsur, the deputy mayor of Jerusalem who is also a conservationist, is among those troubled by the courtyard’s transfer; the only hope, she says, is that the naturalists can gradually establish decent relations with their new neighbours, the revived IOPS, which is, in theory at least, a fellow NGO. But an Israeli court, considering an appeal against the handover, said it had been advised by the foreign and defence ministries that expediencies of state made the deal necessary.

So the Russian church is expanding on several fronts in Jerusalem. No less important, for the guardians of Russia’s heritage, is the fact that holy objects can be brought from places like Gethsemane to Russia. Part of the saintly patron’s remains have been “repatriated” to Moscow to stay at the charitable foundation she created: the Martha and Mary community, which occupies a courtyard, garden and finely frescoed church near the city centre.

The restoration of that premises (now a monument to Romanov piety, with an impressive set of letters, photographs and mementoes), the partial return of Elizabeth’s relics and the broader process of fusing Russia’s “white” and “red” traditions have been overseen by some powerful, interlocking bodies. At their apex is the railway boss, Mr Yakunin. The office of two organisations that he heads—the Apostle Andrew Foundation and the Centre for National Glory—is just opposite the Martha and Mary community.

In search of a usable past

Visitors to that office are greeted by Mr Yakunin’s deputy, Mikhail Yakushev, an Arabist and history buff; his biography, including several postings in the Middle East, is that of a trusted son of the Soviet, and then the Russian, state. Although he exudes the energy of a sportsman, not the pallor of an intellectual, Mr Yakushev likes his delvings into tsarist history: he is fascinated by the row over holy places that started the Crimean war. People of his type do not peruse archives out of idle curiosity; he and his colleagues draw lessons from the past. Mr Yakushev loves the firmness of British policy in the 19th century. “They did everything to limit Russian influence,” he says teasingly. What these new masters of religious diplomacy are now fashioning is a version of the Russian past that takes pride in the geopolitical as well as the spiritual feats of the tsarist realm. In this quest for a “usable past”, many things—from the relics of a royal saint to property deals in Jerusalem—have their place. It may be hard, at times, to see how all this relates to the life of a modest, good-hearted and ultimately heroic noblewoman who built bridges between countries—England, Germany and Russia—and between the rich and the poor. But religion’s uses are often different from religion itself.

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1 CORINTHIANS 13 - A CHRISTMAS VERSION

If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls, but do not show love, I'm just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do not show love, I'm just another cook.

If I work at the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home and give all that I have to charity, but do not show love, it profits me nothing. If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, attend a myriad of holiday parties and sing in the choir's cantata but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child. Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the husband. Love is kind, though harried and tired. Love doesn't envy another's home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens. Love doesn't yell at the kids to get out of the way, but is thankful they are there to be in the way. Love doesn't give only to those who are able to give in return but rejoices in giving to those who can't.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. Video games will break, pearl necklaces will be lost, golf clubs will rust, but giving the gift of love will endure.

- By an unknown author

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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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