Is the Virgin Mary Appearing in Egypt?

Here is the link to the full coverage from this past month: http://zeitun-eg.org/warraq.htm

If I were to rely on my own sensibilities, I would say this is not the Theotokos and is more likely a deceiving spirit or something else that an investigation could probably uncover. Purposeless visions of the Holy Virgin are against Holy Tradition and according to the Saints of Orthodoxy are rare and solely reserved for those who can accept such visions in the utmost humility. Why would Christians undermine the unique nature of such true visions by claiming that so many thousands of people can have visions of the uncreated glory of the Virgin? Plus, why would the Virgin want to become a Youtube celebrity anyway?

I personally lean towards this supposed "vision" as being a hoax, mainly by observing the video posted above which allows for it to be recreated. Towards the end of the video the light dissolves into a singular point as if it has its origins in that point which seems to be attached to the top of part of the church through a rod (view this at the 4:32 mark). I think this just may be an interesting case of laser or some other light technology.

Also, if this "vision" were authentic, why then doesn't the Holy Virgin walk around the roof and bless people from all four corners or something. She just stagnantly remains in that single space and dissolves into a point that is attached to the building by a rod.

Such things make Christians lose their credibility, and I have to side with the Muslim and skeptic opinion here, unfortunately, that it is a hoax.

Tweet

Share on Tumblr

Turkey Wants Relics of Saint Nicholas Back

Turkish Archaeologist Makes Seasonal Plea for Santa Claus

December 28, 2009
Novinite

Archaeologist Nevzat Cevik, head of archaeologicial research in the Turkish town of Demre, has asked his government to demand the return of the bones of St Nicholas to his home town.

The 3rd century saint, on whom the tradition of Santa Claus was modeled, gained a reputation for performing miracles and for his acts of charity when he was the bishop of the Greek city of Myra.

On his death he was canonized as St Nicholas, and his remains were buried in thee Mediterranean town of Demre. In the 11th century, Italian sailors took the remains to the port town of Bari, where they are still kept.

Professor Cevik maintains that Nicholas had made it clear during his lifetime that he wished to be interred in his home town, and that the Turkish government should negotiate with its Italian counterpart to honor the saint’s wishes.

Relics of St. Nicholas in Italy

‘Santa Claus’s bones must be brought back to Turkey from Italy’

28 December 2009, Monday
TODAY’S ZAMAN

A scholar from Akdeniz University has called for the return of the bones of St. Nicholas, better known as Santa Claus, from the Italian city of Bari, where his bones were taken after being stolen, to Antalya’s Demre district, where the saint died and was buried.

Speaking to the Anatolia news agency, Professor Nevzat Çevik, who leads archeological research in Demre, said St. Nicholas is a well-known Christian saint and that he has become very popular in Europe, adding that many churches have been built in Europe in his honor.

“The saint was born and spent his life in Anatolia,” Çevik said. Historical sources say St. Nicholas were born in Patara, a previous name of Antalya, and died in 343 in Demre. The saint’s bones were stolen by Italian craftsmen in 1087 and brought to Bari, where they were interred in a church dedicated to him.

Çevik reiterated St. Nicholas’s remarks in which he said, “I was born here, raised here and I will be buried here.” The professor added that “we should respect the wish of St. Nicholas. The bones should be brought back to his grave in Demre.”

Çevik has also urged state authorities to take steps to contact their Italian counterparts. “The ministries should work to move the bones back to Turkey.” The scholar also emphasized the significance of St. Nicholas’s grave in terms of tourism and said that the number of tourists visiting the church in Demre will drastically increase when the bones are returned.

Antalya Museum Director Cumali Ayabakan told Anatolia that Christians visiting the church in Demre have complained about the absence of Santa Claus’s bones and said an empty grave means nothing to them. “If the bones can be brought to Turkey, they will be returned to the original grave,” he added.

Tweet

Share on Tumblr

What New Discoveries in Nazareth Tell Us About Jesus

Christmas Decoded? What New Discoveries in Nazareth Tell Us About Jesus

December 22, 2009
Bruce Feiler
Huffington Post

Just in time for holiday deadlines, Israeli archaeologists announced Monday they had uncovered remains of the first dwelling in the city of Nazareth that can be dated back to the time of Jesus.

Digging not far from Basilica of the Annunciation, where tradition says the angel Gabriel visited Mary, archaeologists found remains of a wall, a hideout, and a water system that appeared to collect water from the roof.

Researcher Yardena Alexandre also found clay and chalk vessels used by Galilean Jews of the time -- an indication the home belonged to a simple Jewish family.

The findings suggest Nazareth was probably a small hamlet with about 50 houses populated by poor Jews.

"From the little written evidence available we know that first century Nazareth AD was a small Jewish village located in a valley," Alexandre said, adding that "until now a few Jesus-era graves were revealed, but never have we unearthed the remains of contemporary residences."

So what does this new discovery tell us about Jesus?

The answer is not very much. We still have no evidence that Jesus was ever in Nazareth or in Bethlehem, the two towns featured in the Christmas story. In fact, one of Alexandre's statements is classic archaeological hyperbole fed to a gullible press: "It was likely Jesus and his childhood friends would have known the house." Oh, really? Based on what?

If anything, this new discovery shows how minor a place Nazareth was and draws new light to a central paradox of the Christmas narrative: Why would a pregnant mother from the Galilee travel as far south as Bethlehem to have a child? The given reason of a census is hardly persuasive. (The most logical answer is that King David is from Bethlehem and since the Hebrew Bible states the messiah should come from the line of David, a Bethlehem birth would bring the new baby into David's home region.)

While this week's findings tell us little about Jesus, they do highlight a number of often overlooked features of Jesus' world.

1. Jesus was a Jew, and his life story makes sense only when understood in the context of Jewish ritual. Two of the more striking finds in Nazareth this week were clay and chalk vessels, which were used by Jews at the time to ensure the purity of the food and water kept inside the vessels.

2. The Jesus story was deeply political. The hideout at the Nazareth house, for example, is likely related to the growing tension between Jews and Romans in the late first century B.C.E., a showdown that colors Jesus' birth story -- and especially his death narrative.

3. The Bible is grounded in the history and landscape of the Ancient Near East. The Bible is full of details of time and place that would have resonated deeply to people at the time, but are often lost on us today.

Discoveries like the one in Nazareth titillate the press because they promise something they can't deliver: If one feature of the Bible is true, the entire thing must be true. The real truth is that even if we found a house in Nazareth with the names Mary and Joseph on the mailbox and a birth announcement of a baby Jesus carved into a wall, we'd still never find proof that God spoke to Mary, conceived a child, and sent forth a messiah into the world.

That's not a subject for science. That's a matter of faith.

And that's exactly as it should be.

Tweet

Share on Tumblr

PBS = Pushing Bad Science

As 2009 comes to an end, so does the delirium of “Darwin Year.” From “Darwin Day” on February 12 (Charles Darwin’s 200th birthday) to November 24 (the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Origin of Species), Darwin’s disciples spared no expense (using mostly taxpayers’ money) in their exuberant celebrations, even though most of Darwin’s ideas were mistaken and his contributions to science were insignificant compared to those of hundreds of others—including (to name just a few) Isaac Newton, James Clerk Maxwell, and Albert Einstein in physics; Robert Boyle, Antoine Lavoisier and Willard Gibbs in chemistry; and Carolus Linnaeus, Georges Cuvier and Gregor Mendel in biology.

What Darwin promoted was not empirical science but materialistic philosophy. As historian Neal C. Gillespie wrote in 1979, “It is sometimes said that Darwin converted the scientific world to evolution by showing them the process by which it had occurred,” but “it was more Darwin's insistence on totally natural explanations than on natural selection that won their adherence.” (Charles Darwin and the Problem of Creation, p.147) The Darwinian revolution was primarily philosophical, and Darwin's philosophy limited science to “the discovery of laws which reflected the operation of purely natural or ‘secondary’ causes.” Furthermore, “there could be no out-of-bounds signs... When sufficient natural or physical causes were not known they must nonetheless be assumed to exist to the exclusion of other causes.”

But the assumption that everything can be explained by natural causes is characteristic of materialistic philosophy. This is why atheists want to establish Darwin Day as a secular alternative to Christmas.

The U. S. “Public” Broadcasting System (PBS) has a long history of promoting materialistic philosophy disguised as empirical science. In 1980, PBS brought us Carl Sagan’s thirteen-part Cosmos series, which featured Sagan—in the name of Science—assuring us that “The Cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be.”

In 2001, PBS broadcasted the seven-part series Evolution. The first episode featured atheist philosopher Daniel Dennett praising “Darwin’s dangerous idea,” which according to Dennett “eats through just about every traditional concept”—including the concept of God. (Darwin's Dangerous Idea, p. 63) At the time, the Discovery Institute published a scene-by-scene viewer’s guide that documented the flawed science and anti-religious bias of the series, yet PBS’s Evolution is still being used to indoctrinate students in U. S. public schools. My son’s high school biology teacher used it; her favorite episode was the fifth, “Why Sex?”, in which an evolutionary psychologist confidently claimed that artistic achievements such as Handel’s Messiah are produced by “our sexual instincts for impressing the opposite sex.”

Now PBS is about to jump on the departing Darwin Year bandwagon with another special, “What Darwin Never Knew,” scheduled to air on December 29.

According to PBS, the special will offer “answers to riddles that Darwin couldn't explain. Breakthroughs in a brand-new science—nicknamed ‘evo-devo’—are linking the enigmas of evolution to another of nature's great mysteries, the development of the embryo. NOVA takes viewers on a journey from the Galapagos Islands to the Arctic, and from the explosion of animal forms half a billion years ago to the research labs of today. Scientists are finally beginning to crack nature's biggest secrets at the genetic level. The results are confirming the brilliance of Darwin's insights while revealing clues to life's breathtaking diversity in ways the great naturalist could scarcely have imagined.”

“Confirming the brilliance of Darwin’s insights…” Oh, really? Darwin was completely wrong about the nature of inheritance; it took Gregor Mendel (who was unconvinced by Darwinism) to set things straight. Darwin was also wrong about the origin of variations; he (like Lamarck) thought that they came from use and disuse. When Darwinists finally embraced Mendelian genetics in the 1930s and molecular genetics in the 1950s, they assumed that embryo development is controlled by a genetic program encoded in DNA. Accidental mutations in DNA, they believed, could then alter the program and modify embryo development to produce the raw materials for evolution.

In the 1980s, however, biologists discovered that many of the genes involved in embryo development are similar in many different types of animals—from fruit flies to humans. Since differences in development were supposedly due to differences in genes, the similarities seemed paradoxical, but a new discipline called “evolutionary developmental biology,” or evo-devo (pronounced eevo-deevo) attributed them to inheritance from a common ancestor. Now evo-devo is all the rage among Darwinists.

Yet the paradox remains. If the developmental genes of insects and mammals are similar, then—as Italian geneticist Giuseppe Sermonti puts it—why is a fly not a horse?

The standard Darwinian answer still attributes differences to DNA mutations. But biologists have now generated all possible developmental mutations in fruit flies, and the evidence shows that there are only three possible outcomes: a normal fruit fly, a defective fruit fly, or a dead fruit fly. Not even a new species of fruit fly, much less a horse fly or a horse. Evo-devo has not come close to cracking “nature’s biggest secrets.” In fact, there is growing evidence that DNA contains only a small part of the program for embryo development.

No matter. PBS falls back on what Darwin himself thought was the best embryological evidence for his theory: similarities in the embryos of vertebrates (animals with backbones). “It seems to me,” Darwin wrote in The Origin of Species, “the leading facts in embryology, which are second to none in importance, are explained on the principle of variations in the many descendants from some one ancient progenitor.” And those leading facts, according to him, were that “the embryos of the most distinct species belonging to the same class are closely similar, but become, when fully developed, widely dissimilar.” Darwin even believed that early embryos “show us, more or less completely, the condition of the progenitor of the whole group in its adult state.”

On the website for its December 29 special, PBS offers an interactive “Guess the Embryo” exercise featuring four different vertebrate embryos: an 8 day-old mouse, a 5 day-old quail, a 17 day-old turtle, and a 40 day-old bat. The purpose of the exercise is to convince viewers that “embryos of different species can appear startlingly similar to one another.” A discerning viewer, however, will notice that the turtle embryo already has a rudimentary shell on its back—thus distinguishing it clearly from the others. A discerning viewer might also notice that the bat embryo bears little resemblance to the mouse embryo, even though both are mammals.

What viewers may not know—and PBS does not tell them—is that the interactive exercise shows embryos midway through development. The earliest stages are systematically omitted. Perhaps this is because in their earliest stages vertebrate embryos are striking different from each other. They follow a pattern that embryologists call the “developmental hourglass”—wide at the top, narrow in the middle, and wide at the bottom. In other words, vertebrate embryos start out very different from each other, become superficially similar midway through development, then diverge again as they mature. Like Darwin’s German disciple Ernst Haeckel, PBS distorts vertebrate development to make it seem to provide evidence for Darwin’s theory.

The American people deserve better from their “Public” Broadcasting System.

Source

Tweet

Share on Tumblr

On the Incarnation of the Son of God

By Bishop Theophilos of Campania[1]

Translated and annotated[2] from the original Greek
By Fr GEORGE DION DRAGAS PhD, DD Protopresbyter

1. The Mystery of the Incarnation. God who is All-Powerful could have liberated the human race from the hands of the Devil by a single command. Had he done that, however, we would have known only his All-Powerfulness, which we already knew. We would not have known his Compassion and Love in spite of the fact that we are hostile to him.

The Incarnation (literally Ensarkosis = “En-flesh-ment”) of the Son of God is called such because of his extreme condescension and because it was out of love that He who is not separated from the Father came down to the lowest point, i.e. to the “flesh,” although when we speak about “flesh” here we understand the whole man who is denoted by the partial element of the “flesh.”

The Incarnation of the Son of God is the supreme dogma of the Christian Faith, because it was by these means that we were saved “by grace.” The whole Son of God became Man, personally (literally hypostatically = existentially). In other words, he was perfect God and perfect man, with two natures, Godhead and manhood, and one person (hypostasis), the divine.

This mystery, says Dionysios (the Areopagite) remains ineffable, although we denote it with words. It is also unknowable, although we put it in our mind. God Himself said to Moses: “Go down and solemnly charge the people, lest at any time they draw nigh to God to gaze, and a multitude of them fall” (Ex. 19:21), i.e., those who try to investigate God’s nature and mysteries fall into perplexity. This is why Gregory the Theologian says, “Before you grasp Him run away, and before you put Him in your mind escape”. Indeed he goes on to call those who try to investigate the mysteries babblers, imprudent, uncontrollable and chatterers.

2. Why Did the Incarnation Take Place at That Time? No one should examine why the Incarnation took place then, and not earlier or later, because only he knows it. He was incarnated “from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary” because there was never before, nor will there appear again, such a Virgin in the human race as immaculate as the Virgin Mary, sanctified in the flesh and worthy to be united with the Godhead of the Son of God, the Son of God who assumed the entire man from her pure and immaculate blood.

As she conceived without a sperm, so Christ was born without corruption. In other words, the Holy Mary and Theotokos, who was a Virgin before the birth, remained a Virgin even after the birth. Thus Christ came out of her womb in an ineffable manner, just as he entered into her in a manner, which involved no passion and cannot be explained.

This is exactly what Ezekiel’s prophesy stresses: “Son of Man, This Gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened; and no one shall pass through it, for the Lord God of Israel shall enter by it and come out of it and the Gate shall remain shut” (Ezekiel 44:2).

3. This Mystery of the Incarnation is inconceivable according to the prophet Jeremiah who says: “And he is a man, and who shall know Him?” (Jer. 17:9). The great Paul also declares the same: “And without doubt the Mystery of our piety is Great: God appeared in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16). Through communion with the Godhead the entire man was deified “in Christ.” The humanity of Christ enjoyed all the charismas and benefits of the Godhead, since Christ is perfect God and perfect man after the union. This is similar to the initial light, which God created and which fell on the sun’s disk and the entire disk became full of dazzling light.

This Mystery of the Incarnation is inconceivable both to Angels and human beings. God Himself revealed it to Moses, when he showed him through an opening his back parts, namely His Incarnation. He did not show him his person, i.e. His Godhead, which no man can ever see, not even an angel. At the Incarnation, then, God did not change what he was, since he is unchangeable; rather he assumed what he was not because he is a lover of man.

One may ask, how did the humanity receive the Godhead without being burnt out? But is this not also the case with the burning Bush, which was not burnt out? Where God is at work whatever is impossible becomes possible. The burning iron receives the entire nature of fire, and yet the iron remains iron and the fire, fire. It burns like fire, and like iron it undergoes changes, which an iron undergoes and has a cutting edge when it is used.

4. The Godhead deified the Human Nature, which is now deified together with its soul, which is endowed with mind, reason, will and energy. As a man, Christ was exposed to the so-called natural but blameless passions. In others words, he felt pain, thirst, weariness, even faintheartedness in a natural way. He did not display, however, any blameworthy passions, i.e. those deriving from evil choice. This was the case because he was united with God, who was the leader of his rational soul and preserved Christ sinless.

Some of the Fathers say that the babe was perfect already inside the belly of his mother. Others, however, say that he grew gradually like all babes. This is a matter of opinion and not a heresy that has an effect on the Mystery. The point is that just as Adam was made from the soil, so Christ was made from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary. The Holy Spirit gave birth to the soul of Christ while his flesh was made from the blood of the Virgin.

5. The Manner of the Incarnation. Saint Maximus says that the Angels knew the impending Incarnation of the Son of God for the salvation of human beings. What however, escaped their perception were the unthinkable Conception and the manner of the Incarnation. How he could be entirely in the Father and entirely inside all things which he fulfilled, and also entirely inside the belly of the Virgin!

Nevertheless, Christ’s becoming man differs from that of all other human beings. He is substantially a perfect man, yet he differs because he is seedless, and because he falls under a different law from that which pertains to the nature of composite beings. The Word of God was conjoined with the flesh by means of assuming it in an ineffable manner.

Thus, only when Christ was born was the message heard, “Peace on earth and good will among men” (Luke 2:14). God had granted his peace many times and had called many human beings his sons. There was only one Person, however, in whom he “was well-pleased” and only one Peace that was perfect and saving for all human beings along with his perfect good-pleasure.

6. The Name “Jesus” and the Greek Alphabet. The Name Jesus, which is “the Name above every other name” (Phil. 2:9), means Savior for the Jews and healer (iomenos) for the Greeks. And indeed, Christ is the Healer of our souls and of the bodies of those who believe in him. The curious point here, however, is that this great and divine Name was indicated before hand through the Greek Alphabet, which consists of 24 letters!

As is known, the first eight letters of this Alphabet from A to Θ specify 8 monads. The following eight letters from I to Π specify 8 decades, and the following eight letters from P to Ω specify 8 hundreds. If we add them all up we form the number 888. The same applies, however, if we add the numbers which are specified by the letters of the Name JESUS: I(=10)+ Η(=8)+ Σ(=200)+ Ο(=70)+ Υ(=400)+ Σ(=200)=888. Τhis is exactly what the following verse stresses: “For if eight monads are to be added to eight decades and these to eight hundreds they will denote to the human unbelievers the Name of their Savior” (Oracula Sibyllina).

7. Witnesses of the Gentiles about the God-Man. Witnesses to Christ being God and Man are also found among many Gentiles:

a) Josephus. The Jewish historian Josephus says this about Christ: “Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works –a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He was the Christ; and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him, for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and other wonderful mysteries concerning him; and the tribe of the Christians, so named from him are not extinct at this day” (Antiquitates Judaicae, Book 18,64.2). In other words, Josephus wonders whether Jesus was only a man, since he did so many incredible things and taught in such a way that he made many Jews and Greeks believe in him. Also, when the leaders of the Jews delivered him to Pilate to be crucified, his disciples did not reject him, for he was resurrected on the third day and appeared to them according to the predictions of the prophets who had spoken about this and many more mysteries concerning his person. Indeed his followers took his name and came to be called Christians and their race has not ceased to exist to this day.

B) The Roman Emperor Augustus. Eusebius of Pamphilos (Metropolitan of Caesarea in Palestine) reports that the Roman Caesar Augustus went to the Oracle of Delphi and offered sacrifice there as a Greek in order to ask Pythia who gave the oracles to tell him who would reign after him. Pythia gave him the following oracle: “A Hebrew child, who will reign over the blessed gods, orders me to leave this altar and return to Hades again. Depart, therefore, silent from my altars” (Oracula, or Suda, Lexicon alpha). When Caesar Augustus heard these things, he returned to Rome and erected an altar on which he inscribed: “An Altar to the firstborn God” (Johannes Malalas, Chronographia or Suda, Lexicon, alpha). It is truly amazing to think that the demon was forced by the divine power to witness to the Gentiles the divine birth of Christ the God-man!

C) Porphyry. The opponent of the Christians Porphyry says the following: “But now [the Gentiles] marvel how the disease has befallen the city for so many years and there has been no intervention either from Asclepius (the god of health) or from any other gods. Because the honor offered to Jesus did not leave room for any common help from the gods” (Porphyrius, Contra Christianos 80.3, or Eusebius, Preparatio Evangelica V.1.10).

Their oracles ceased and their divinations from their false gods, the demons. What else did the thoughtless and blind gentiles wish to see in order to understand that the mighty power of the Lord and God Jesus Christ? But the sages of the Greeks had proclaimed Christ even before his incarnation.

D) Orpheus. Orpheus says: “Voice, I attest you, of the Father, which he uttered first. When he established the world on his own will” (Justin Martyr, Cohortatio ad Gentiles, 16). And the next verse says: “and when you look at the divine word, attach yourself to him” (Ibid. De Monarchia, and Clement Alexandrinus Protrepticus and Stromata).

Just as the birth of Christ was seedless, so also the divine generation was without birth pangs. It is a mistake to speak of the birth pangs of the holy Virgin, i.e. that the feast on the day after Christmas is connected with greeting the mother that recovers from the birth pangs.

8. God Became Man in order to Conquer the Devil as Man. Since he was born in an ineffable manner, and received the homage of the Magi, and that unusual star appeared in the sky, and he was fed with human milk, and grew up, and went to the desert and fasted for forty days, the Devil thought that he was only a man and could fall if tempted with hunger and so he started tempting him hard. But Christ rebutted the enemy, putting forth the light of Scripture, not using the power and authority of his Godhead, but following the natural sequence of humanity. It was as a man, then, and not as God that Christ conquered the Devil, because the Devil had conquered the first man at the beginning not as God but as man. It was necessary, then, that the Devil should be conquered by man. This is why the divine Dionysius the Areopagite and Gregory the Theologian say, that “Christ conquered the Devil not by power but by right judgment and righteousness” (Dionysius, De ecclesiasticae Hierarchia). Luke the Evangelist says that Christ sustained all temptations, because he scored victories over the three capital ones, gluttony, vainglory and avarice, which give birth to all others. Thus He put the Devil to shame.

9. The Public Ministry of the God-Man and its Conclusion in the Resurrection. When Christ came down from the desert and gathered together his disciples, he preached to the world for three years and produced many miracles, having first completed the thirtieth year of his age. After all these things his disciple Judas sold him by treachery, and Christ accepted it, because he wanted to redeem us, human beings, who had been sold to the Devil through sin. He deliberately handed Himself over to those who pursued him, because he wanted to complete the divine economy and redeem the human race. He was crucified, died and buried, and the Third Day he rose and appeared to his disciples and to the women. Then, forty days later he blessed his disciples, and having taught them about peace, he ascended into heaven and sat at the right hand of the Father having fulfilled all things and having deified man.

Before the Resurrection of Christ took place, three human beings appear in the Old Testament to have been risen from the dead. The first one is the son of the widow from Zarephath or Sarepta (cf. Luke 4:26) who was raised by Elijah. The second was the son of the Somanite woman who was raised by Elisha (cf. 4 Kings 4:32ff). And the third is the case of the soldier who was buried near the tomb of Elisha and was raised from the dead (4 Kings 13:21). In the New Testament there are four cases of human beings who were raised from the dead by Christ: the daughter of the leader of the synagogue (Luke 8:49ff), the son of the widow of Nain (Luke 7:11ff), Lazarus who had been buried for four days (John 11:43f) and those who arose at the resurrection of Christ (cf. Matth. 27:52f). All of these died again. Christ, however, who is the eighth case of a man that rose from the dead, is the only one who does not die again because death has no dominion over him. We too will rise again, on that Eighth Day, which has no end, without dying again.

10. Epilogue From the Words of Dionysius the Areopagite. We shall let Dionysius the Areopagite to close this chapter. And first of all we shall recall what he says about the darkness, which occurred when Christ was crucified. There is, he says, the witness of the Greek astronomer Phlegon who said: “In the second year of the 202nd Olympiad a major eclipse of the Sun occurred, the like of which had not been seen earlier,” so that the stars appeared in the sky” (Johannes Malalas, Chronographia). This is one additional witness of the Greeks, which is connected with the Crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is in this way, then, that we should believe in and worship Jesus Christ, as God who became man, because the Son and Word of God remains inseparable from his humanity. As God He is other than the Flesh, but also as Flesh He is other than the Word. Since, however, the Word of the Father, who is from God, Himself became man as well, this is not the case of “an other and an other” because of the indescribable union and summit. Thus, the Son is called: One and Only, both before the summit of the Incarnation and after His union with the Flesh. It is exactly for this reason that he said to the man who had been previously blind and was healed by Him: “Do you believe in the Son of man?” (John 9:35). And he answered, “And who is he Lord, that I might believe in Him” (John 9:36). And then, Christ said to Him, “And you have seen Him and He who is speaking with you, He is the one” (John 9:38). He speaks as man, He appears as man, and He is believed to be a God-Man, God’s Son Himself!

Truly, how incomprehensible and lofty is this Mystery of the Incarnation of Christ! Yet it is an absolute confirmation and revelation of God’s infinite love for us human beings.

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

[1] Bishop Theophilos of Campania (1749-1795) was one of the brightest figures of the Church in the 18th century; distinguished for his theological and canonical expertise. He was born in Ioannina and became a Bishop in Campania, the area to the west of Thessaloniki and opposite Chalkidiki. He was probably a sytudent of the famous teacher Eugenios Voulgaris and is particularly known for his book Tameion Orthodoxias, which run through eight editions from 1780 to 1939.

[2] References to the texts cited by the author were not included in the original edition and were provided by the translator.

Tweet

Share on Tumblr

The Sunday After Christmas - Jesus Christ: The Eternal Victor

The Gospel Reading is from Matthew 2:13-23

When the wise men departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him." And he rose and took the child and his mother by night, and departed to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, "Out of Egypt have I called my son."

Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was in a furious rage, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: "A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they were no more." But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, "Rise, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead." And he rose and took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaos reigned over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. And he went and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, "He shall be called a Nazarene."

JESUS CHRIST: THE ETERNAL VICTOR

The Gospel reading of this Sunday describes the flight of the infant Jesus to Egypt, the slaughtering of the infants by Herod and the return of Jesus to the city of Nazareth. This briefly says that the story of the God-man is tragic from His first days. What is more tragic, however, is the condition of the chosen people who give chase to their Savior. Nevertheless, God interferes and directs the steps of Joseph. Does this alleviate human responsibility? Of course it doesn’t.

The position of Joseph is that of every spiritual person

The beginning of the life of the Lord on the earth teaches us many things. It teaches us that we must expect temptations and plotting from the beginning. What does this mean? It simply means that when someone is deemed worthy of undertaking a spiritual ministry, he should expect tragedies and perils. He should not, however, be upset. He must accept everything courageously, knowing that this is exactly the course of the spiritual life. It has temptations conjoined to it, because these “good” temptations weave the life of the righteous.

St. John Chrysostom says that the temptations are not met with the strength of the body, but with the disposition of the soul. This is why the sky is not as bright with its captivating reflections and colors, as the souls of those persons who endure their temptations by the grace of their Lord and transform them into joy and spiritual life experiences. The road towards sanctity is not inhibited by any temptation or human obstacle. This is because we are not alone, but have God inside us and around us, who opens the way of Divine knowledge. This is the road that leads to the beautiful Gate of Paradise.

The position of Herod is that of every unjust person

St. John Chrysostom, interpreting the rage of Herod on account of the mockery of the Magi, says that when a soul is ungrateful and incurable, she does not retreat before anything and especially does not accept that she seeks after unfeasible things. Human beings, when they reject the faith and remove from their souls the fear of God, not only dare, but put to practice everything. An ungodly human being becomes a wild beast, and for this reason, woe to them who may fall into the hands of ungodly persons.

Since Herod acted unjustly, why did God allow this? In the Old Testament, Israel is the son of God, whose position has now been taken by Jesus Christ. In the last analysis the chosen people of God is now restricted to the one and unique Person, Jesus Christ. It is from Jesus Christ that a new people will be born, whom God will lead out of Egypt, according to the prophesy of Hosea, which now finds its full meaning. God, then, allowed this because the plan of the Divine Economy is never aborted.

When the righteous is treated unjustly, then, we ask, why does God allow this? The answer is given by St. John Chrysostom: “Whatever we may suffer unjustly in the hands of another, God will count this injustice either to cover some of our sins or to give us a reward.” In other words for all the injustices which we endure, we either wipe out sins, or earn brighter rewards if we have no sins. This is why we never put such questions to God, especially if we want our faith to be like that of Abraham, and to have the privilege to serve actively the will of God.

In the Person of Christ there is everyone who is treated unjustly

Jesus Christ was pursued from the very beginning and he had to flee from his place because of the murderous fury of Herod. The one who left was He who would save His people according to the order that Joseph received from the Angel. What does this mean for us? It means that we must never be anxious, when what is done to us is contrary to what we expect. God often fulfils His plans by contradictory events, giving us in this way the greatest proof of His power. Let us never forget the saying, “Mine is the retribution. I will recompense, says the Lord.” In other words, to God belongs both the retribution and the recompense (Heb. 10:30).

Our Lord Jesus Christ, by becoming man and going through all the events of the Divine Economy “came out as a victor to accomplish victory.” In other words, He was given the crown of victory, and departed as a victor in order to accomplish new victories. One of these, which is the most substantial, will be the one in which God will come to dwell among the people for ever, and will wipe out every tear from their eyes (Rev. 21:3-4). “O Lord may Your kingdom come.” AMEN!

[Translated from the “Voice of the Lord” of the Apostolic Ministry of the Church of Greece, by Fr. George Dion. Dragas]

Tweet

Share on Tumblr

What Shall We Offer Thee, O Lord

What shall we offer Thee, O Christ,
Who for our sakes hast appeared on the earth as a man?
Every creature which Thou hast made offers Thee thanks.
The angels offer Thee a song;
The heavens, their star;
The wise men, their gifts;
The shepherds, their wonder;
The earth, its cave;
The wilderness; the manger;
And we offer Thee a virgin mother.
O Pre-eternal God, have mercy on us!

Τί σοι προσενέγκωμεν Χριστέ, ότι ώφθης επί γης ως άνθρωπος δι’ ημάς; έκαστον γαρ των υπό σού γενομένων κτισμάτων, την ευχαριστίαν σοι προσάγει· οι άγγελοι τον ύμνον, οι ουρανοί τον αστέρα, οι μάγοι τα δώρα, οι ποιμένες το θαύμα, η γη το σπήλαιον, η έρημος την φάτνην· ημείς δε μητέρα Παρθένον· ο προ αιώνων Θεός ελέησον ημάς.

Tweet

Share on Tumblr

St. Fulgentius of Ruspe Homily On St. Stephen the Protomartyr

This sermon by Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe for the feast of St. Stephen (Sermo 3, 1-3, 5-6: CCL 91A, 905-909) dates from around the year 500 AD and demonstrates the ancient tradition in the West of remembering the first martyr on the day immediately following the solemn celebration of the nativity of Christ. This ancient tradition is still practiced in the West, though in the East the feast of St. Stephen is celebrated on December 27th.

Yesterday we celebrated the birth in time of our eternal King. Today we celebrate the triumphant suffering of his soldier.

Yesterday our king, clothed in his robe of flesh, left his place in the Virgin’s womb and graciously visited the world. Today his soldier leaves the tabernacle of his body and goes triumphantly to heaven.

Our king, despite his exalted majesty, came in humility for our sake; yet he did not come empty-handed. He brought his soldiers a great gift that not only enriched them but also made them unconquerable in battle, for it was the gift of love, which was to bring men to share in his divinity. He gave of his bounty, yet without any loss to himself. In a marvellous way he changed into wealth the poverty of his faithful followers while remaining in full possession of his own inexhaustible riches.

And so the love that brought Christ from heaven to earth raised Stephen from earth to heaven; shown first in the king, it later shone forth in his soldier. Love was Stephen’s weapon by which he gained every battle, and so won the crown signified by his name. His love of God kept him from yielding to the ferocious mob; his love for his neighbor made him pray for those who were stoning him. Love inspired him to reprove those who erred, to make them amend; love led him to pray for those who stoned him, to save them from punishment. Strengthened by the power of his love, he overcame the raging cruelty of Saul and won his persecutor on earth as his companion in heaven. In his holy and tireless love he longed to gain by prayer those whom he could not convert by admonition.

Now at last, Paul rejoices with Stephen, with Stephen he delights in the glory of Christ, with Stephen he exalts, with Stephen he reigns. Stephen went first, slain by the stones thrown by Paul, but Paul followed after, helped by the prayer of Stephen. This, surely, is the true life, my brothers, a life in which Paul feels no shame because of Stephen’s death, and Stephen delights in Paul’s companionship, for love fills them both with joy. It was Stephen’s love that prevailed over the cruelty of the mob, and it was Paul’s love that covered the multitude of his sins; it was love that won for both of them the kingdom of heaven.

Love, indeed, is the source of all good things; it is an impregnable defense,- and the way that leads to heaven. He who walks in love can neither go astray nor be afraid: love guides him, protects him, and brings him to his journey’s end.

My brothers, Christ made love the stairway that would enable all Christians to climb to heaven. Hold fast to it, therefore, in all sincerity, give one another practical proof of it, and by your progress in it, make your ascent together.

Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
For the struggles you endured for Christ God, a royal diadem crowns your head, O First Champion of Martyrs. For you refuted the folly of the Jews and beheld your Savior on the right of the Father. Ever beseech Him, therefore, for our souls.

Kontakion in the Third Tone
Yesterday the Master arrived in the flesh, today the servant departs from the flesh. Yesterday He who reigns was born. Today the servant dies for Him by stoning, the Protomartyr, the divine Stephen.

Source

Tweet

Share on Tumblr

St. Proclus' Homily For December 26th

On the Incarnation of the Lord

by St. Proclus of Constantinople

Many different festivals brighten our manner of living, transforming by festive cycles the pain of the hardships of life. For just as those who come from stormy seas rejoice in harbors as if in the arms of life, so too do we, distressed by many circumstances, rejoice in a festival as if it were a mother who frees us from care.

For a feast is the forgetfulness of sorrow, the sleep of cares, the cultivation of joy, the cause of delight, the season of prayer, a harvest for the poor, the adornment of the Church, the festival of cities, the shipwreck of hatred, the dawn of friendship, and heaven upon earth. And why say all this? A feast is the fruit of the resurrection, according to the prophet who says: "O Judah, celebrate thy feasts, for the One who breathes upon your face has risen from the earth" (Nah. 1:15, 2:1).

Although there are, as I have said, many different festivals, not every feast is of equal value. For while some have been established by God, others were concocted by the devil. Some festivals threaten the soul with calamity, while others celebrate satiety in the stomach. But there are others which traffic in the salvation of human nature. The Greeks keep festivals, but having disgracefully deified their lusts they defiled themselves with the filth of shame. The Jews also keep festivals. However, they confuse God with their stomach and so turn their feasts into gluttonous occasions for sin. While they were keeping festival in the wilderness they worshipped the golden calf. During times of "quarrels and strifes" they kept a fast (Is. 58:4). Keeping festival in Jerusalem, they set up a cross for the Lord. O Jewish feast days, whose merriment is but a deception, and whose delight ends in death!

The festivals of the Christians, on the other hand, are divine and wondrous, truly fountainheads and treasuries of salvation. For the first of our feasts proclaims the advent of God among men. The second represents the sanctification of the waters and the womb of baptism. The third joyfully announces the destruction of death, the trophy of the Cross, the gift of the resurrection, and the liberation of our fathers. The fourth proclaims both the ascension and the first fruit of humanity into the heavens and its seat at the right hand (of the Father). The fifth heralds the descent of the Holy Spirit and the thunderous rain of a thousand graces. These are the feasts "which the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in them" (Ps. 117:24).

Among the things celebrated at yesterday's feast, was there anything which was not miraculous and wondrous, or awesome and glorious? What was the marvel of yesterday's feast day? But first, I beg you, listen with forbearance, for a tongue of clay is trying to convey the mysteries of God. What, then, was the marvel of yesterday's feast? The inexplicable mystery of divinity and humanity; a birth pang without pain; an enfleshment giving form to the one without shape; an inconceivable birth; a beginning, but not the beginning of the One who was born. For even though it was the beginning of His humanity, His divinity remained beginningless; one form assumed another form, but the Trinity did not increase to a quaternity, for (this was) a union of two natures, the birth of one Son, and the unconfused union of the Word with the flesh. He who was born according to the flesh is God from the Father, and man from me. O awesome and wondrous mystery! Who ever saw a king take on the appearance of a condemned man? Or when did the eye ever take in the sight of the entire sun? And when was human flesh ever essentially united without change to God, if not yesterday? When the Virgin was heavy with child, (when) the Word entered in through her sense of hearing, (when) the Holy Spirit fashioned the living temple of the body, (when) the Most High emptied Himself into the form of a servant (Phil. 2:7), (when) the womb of a virgin contained within herself the mystery of the divine dispensation. O womb wider than the heavens! O birth that bears salvation! O womb of clay and bridal chamber of the Creator! O birth, a ransom for the sin of the world! O mystery, the manner of which I am unable to explain! O birth, not the beginning of God's existence, not a change of nature, nor a diminishing of power, neither a separation from the beginningless progenitor, but the essential union of God and flesh; the blessing of birth; the advent of God; the wonder hidden by God from the ages; the indivisible mystery of (divine and human) natures; the abolition of the curse; the overturning of the sentence which stood against us; (the birth) of the one and only Son, (His) beginningless existence, (His) birth in the flesh from the Virgin and veneration by all creation, joyfully announced and freely given to all! To Him be glory and dominion, unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Tweet

Share on Tumblr

The Panagia's Judgment On My Great-Grandmother

The earliest member of my family to emigrate to America was my great-grandfather Haralambos Boustris, who arrived in the first decade of the twentieth century when he was only fourteen years old. It was in America that he met and married my great-grandmother Christoula, and they settled initially in Connecticut. While in Connecticut they had three children who survived - Penelope the oldest, followed by Fotoula (who told me this story) then Andoni. They also had about ten other children, but they all died as infants from polio. Unable to bear the grief of losing so many children any further, they moved back to Greece to the village of Vryna near Olympia when Andoni was seven months old.

When in Greece my great-grandmother Christoula prayed to the Panagia in her grief to bless her with another child that would survive. The Panagia then appeared to her in a vision and told her that her request would be granted, on the condition that the child be dedicated to her from birth, wear only black clothing, become a monk, and be named Panagioti. Christoula was granted a child and was obedient to the request of the Panagia for a couple of years, however it came to the point where she got tired of dressing the child in black everyday. One day she dressed Panagioti in other colors, breaking the covenant she had with the Panagia, and within 24-hours the child was dead.

Soon thereafter my great-grandparents were granted another child. He survived and his name was Vasilios, my grandfather. He emigrated with my mother to America in 1970 to cure his tuberculosis.

Tweet

Share on Tumblr

The Twelve Days of Christmas in the Orthodox Church

By John Sanidopoulos

The Twelve Days of Christmas are a festive period linking together two Great Feasts of the Lord: Nativity and Theophany. During this period one celebration leads into another. The Nativity of Christ is a three day celebration: the formal title of the first day is "The Nativity According to the Flesh of our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ", and celebrates not only the Nativity of Jesus, but also the Adoration of the Shepherds of Bethlehem and the arrival of the Magi; the second day is referred to as the "Synaxis of the Theotokos", and commemorates the role of the Virgin Mary in the Incarnation; the third day is known as the "Third Day of the Nativity", and is also the feast day of the Protodeacon and Protomartyr Saint Stephen.

The 29th of December is the Orthodox Feast of the Holy Innocents.

The Afterfeast of the Nativity (similar to the Western octave) continues until 31 December (that day is known as the Apodosis or "Leave-taking" of the Nativity).

The Saturday following the Nativity is commemorated by special readings from the Epistle (1 Tim 6:11-16) and Gospel (Matt 12:15-21) during the Divine Liturgy. The Sunday after Nativity has its own liturgical commemoration in honor of "The Righteous Ones: Joseph the Betrothed, David the King and James the Brother of the Lord".

The 1st of January, at the center of the festal period, is another feast of the Lord (though not ranked as a Great Feast): the Feast of the Circumcision of the Lord. On this same day is the feast day of Saint Basil the Great, and so the service celebrated on that day is the Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil.

The 2nd of January begins the Forefeast of the Theophany.

The Eve of the Theophany (5th of January) is a day of strict fasting, on which the devout will not eat anything until the first star is seen at night. This day is known as Paramoni ("Preparation"), and follows the same general outline as Christmas Eve. That morning is the celebration of the Royal Hours and then the Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil combined with Vespers, at the conclusion of which is celebrated the Great Blessing of Waters, in commemoration of the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River. There are certain parallels between the hymns chanted on Paramoni and those of Good Friday, to show that, according to Orthodox theology, the steps that Jesus took into the Jordan River were the first steps on the way to the Cross. That night the All-Night Vigil is served for the Feast of the Theophany.

Tweet

Share on Tumblr

26 Russian Priests Murdered Since 1990

Twenty-six Orthodox Priests Murdered Since 1990, Including 39-year-old Alexander Filippov on Tuesday

Peter Fedynsky
Moscow
23 December 2009
VOA News

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill (center) conducts the funeral service for slain priest Daniil Sysoyev in a Moscow church, 23 November 2009

The second murder of a Russian priest in as many months has prompted a call by the Orthodox Church for Russians to think about their country's spiritual and moral condition. The killings follow more violence this year directed against Muslim clerics in Russia's troubled Caucasus region.

Tuesday's shooting death of 39-year-old priest Alexander Filippov is alleged to be the act of two intoxicated men in the village of Satino-Russkoye near Moscow. His widow is quoted as saying Filippov had reproached the suspects for relieving themselves at the entrance of their apartment building.

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, called Filippov a bright and clean-living individual who leaves behind three daughters.

Kirill says the priest was killed because he was not indifferent to disgusting human behavior and took a principled stand against it in accordance with his calling.

The Interfax News Agency says a total of 26 Orthodox priests have been murdered in Russia since 1990. Many others have been assaulted. They include Vitaly Zubkov, who was kicked and beaten last month, just days after the murder of his friend, Father Daniil Sysoyev in Moscow. Sysoyev had received death threats for his outspoken criticism of Islam and attempts to convert Muslims to Christianity.

News reports quote Orthodox Church Spokesman Vladimir Legoida as saying that recent events show Russians must think of the spiritual and moral situation they live in.

The head of the Religion and Law Institute at the Russian Academy of Sciences, Roman Lunkin, told VOA many Russians call themselves Orthodox Christians but have no idea about the obligations required by organized religion. He says Russian spiritual leaders themselves often set the wrong example by mixing church-state relations.

Lunkin says church leaders send a signal that to call oneself an Orthodox, it is enough to maintain close ties with the state or government officials and to participate in official ceremonies. He says this reveals an absence of true faith, adding that priests often begin with the construction of a church building, instead of first organizing a community of believers.

Lunkin says communism stripped many Russians of religious faith, and with it any respect for priests and churches.

Lunkin recalls an incident several years ago when a priest began building a church in the Ivanovo region north of Moscow and arrived one morning to find that local residents had dismantled the structure for its bricks because there was no organized community in that village and no one knew what Orthodoxy was. He adds that local hooligans who killed the priest considered themselves to be Orthodox.

Russia's Islamic community has also been rocked this year by several high-profile killings of Muslim clerics in the Caucasus. They include Akhmed Tagayev, deputy mufti of Dagestan, and Ismail Bostanov, rector of the Islamic Institute in the southern Karachai-Cherkessia region.

Some observers link those murders to Islamic militants who are fighting pro-Kremlin authorities. The deputy head of Russia's Mufti Council, Damir Khazrat Gizatullin rejects any connection. He told VOA he attributes the violence to incivility throughout Russia stemming from 70 years of communist rule.

Gizatullin says people in Russia do not know how to listen to one another, to give others the right away on the road, or to understand the foundations of spirituality and religion. This, he concludes, leads to current situation, which follows 70 years of alienation from the spiritual roots and traditions of Russia. He says people now fail to realize that members of the clergy and all others are protected by the Almighty and by the law.

He says Communists also made the mistake of focusing on the construction of buildings at the expense of community.

Gizatullin says Soviet authorities wanted to construct more living space for people, but toilets and other communal structures were forgotten. He says there was no time, no energy, and no resources for such things, and now Russia is reaping those elements of Soviet life.

Murders of prominent Russians are not limited to the clergy. Investigative journalists and political activists have also been victims. Most of the killers remain at large.

Tweet

Share on Tumblr

Bulgaria Joins Christian World in Celebrating Christmas

December 25, 2009
Nivinite

Bulgaria joins Friday Christians around the world in commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ.

According to the Gospel of Luke, Mary learns from the angel Gabriel that she will conceive and bear a child called Jesus. When she asks how this can be, since she is a virgin, he tells her that the Holy Spirit would "come upon her" and that "nothing will be impossible with God".

At the time that Mary is due to give birth, she and her husband Joseph travel from their home in Nazareth to Joseph's ancestral home in Bethlehem to register in the census of Quirinius. Because they were not able to find a room in the inn, when Mary gives birth to Jesus she places the newborn in a manger.

An angel of the Lord visits the shepherds guarding their flocks in nearby fields and brings them "good news of great joy". The angel tells them they will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger. The shepherds hurry to the manger in Bethlehem where they find Jesus with Mary and Joseph. They repeat what they have been told by the angel, and then return to their flocks.

In Bulgaria, the celebration begins in the evening of December the 24th – Christmas Eve, known as "Badni Vecher." It is one of the most honored family holidays when relatives gather together in expecting the birth of Jesus.

The symbolic Christmas Eve meal is the last vegan meal of the fasting during the 40 days of Advent. Regional Christmas traditions in Bulgaria vary slightly, but in many parts of Bulgaria, a piece of silver is inserted into a loaf of bread. This may also be done with a kolak, or ring-shaped cake, that is an almost essential part of the Christmas season. Good fortune is said to come to the person who finds the piece of silver.

The meal includes an odd number of dishes – 7, 9 or 11. The tradition says that the greater the number the better and fertile the next year will be. Traditional food includes peppers stuffed with rice, lentil, beans, baked pumpkin.

In addition, a common belief in Bulgaria is that Mary bore Christ on Christmas Eve, but only announced the birth the following day, on Christmas (which is celebrated December 25th). Folk tradition follows this belief – new mothers announce the birth of a new child to the world the day following the birth.

Christmas in Bulgaria, called Koleda begins at midnight on the 24th with Koleduvane. This an annual ritual koledar where young men go door to door to spread Christmas cheer around the village by dressing in costumes and singing songs. People give them gifts such as food and money.

Bulgarians named Hristo, Hristina, Radomir, Radoslav, Radostin, Mladen celebrate their name day on Christmas.

The Christmas holidays end on the Day of St. Stephan, on December 27.

Tweet

Share on Tumblr

December 1989 Massacre in Romania Remembered

As Romania’s Dictator Fell, I Saw the Bullet Holes Everywhere

Russell Leadbetter
24 Dec 2009
Evening Times

Twenty years to the month after it happened, Maria Skinner can still remember seeing innocent people gunned down in the streets in Romania.

More than 1,100 people died in December 1989 as the hated dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, pictured, and his wife Elena were overthrown. He was confident he could cling to power.

His countrymen were aware that the Berlin Wall had come down and that other Communist regimes in eastern Europe had collapsed – but Ceausescu, who was backed by the feared Securitate, his secret police, believed he had no reason to worry.

The revolution in Maria’s country began on December 17, in the Transylvanian city of Timisoara, where 60 people were shot dead amid protests over the government’s treatment of a local priest.

On Thursday, December 21, in the capital, Bucharest, Ceausescu stage-managed a nationally televised public meeting. But he faltered badly when parts of the crowd began chanting “Timisoara” – and his reaction encouraged the crowd.

Within hours, riots broke out in the city. About 35 people were killed by police and the Securitate. The following day, the army turned against the dictator, who fled in a helicopter. Romania suddenly had to create an interim “government”, the National Salvation Front – but first it had to contend with a bloody fight-back by diehard members of the Securitate.

Ceausescu and Elena were captured and briefly put on trial, where they faced charges including genocide. They were found guilty and executed by firing squad on Christmas Day.

It’s a long way from Romania to Glasgow’s Old Shettleston Parish Church. But it’s here, where the Romanian Orthodox Church holds its services, that Maria and other expats are happy to talk.

Maria, 41, who is from Bucharest, has been in Scotland for more than two years, and said: “At the time, I was 21, and married to a Romanian. We had a small business selling handcrafted goods. My husband came in and said there was something in the air. He felt it was dangerous, because we had heard what had happened in Timisoara a few days earlier. After a while I saw people running, screaming, ‘Go, go, Ceausescu!’. I couldn’t sleep all night because my house was just a few yards from the unrest. We stayed up until midnight when they started to shoot. We saw people dying around us.”

In the morning, Maria and a colleague went to the TV station, where they heard something had happened. “We stood from midday until the next morning and it was an amazing feeling. There was so much energy in the air. But then trouble broke out, and I saw people dying. It was like a movie ... it was so bad. Then we heard Ceausescu had left in his helicopter.

“I remember going home. It was six in the morning, as daylight was breaking. We could see bullet-holes in the walls everywhere.”

Mihai Motoiu, 41, also from Bucharest, has been in Scotland for seven years and has four daughters. He said the events of late December 1989 “showed something about our Romanian mentality, culture, attitude ... it didn’t happen in the Czech Republic or Poland, or in any other countries. It happened just in Romania.

“One thousand one hundred people died on the street ... and for what? Ion Iliescu, who came after Ceausescu, tried to create another world based on the previous one, to create a democracy on a Communist platform. He didn’t change anything. He was forced by the people, but his mentality, his attitude, is still the same today. He still talks and thinks as a Communist.”

Maria, who is now married to Kenneth, a 52-year-old Glaswegian, is studying English at Cardonald College.

Mihai, like Maria, is happy to be in Scotland, but insists he is still drawn to his homeland. “I may have left Romania but it will be my country forever,” he says. “It is important to remain

connected: even if I am not there, I want to do something for it.”

Maria and Mihai both recall the food shortages under Ceausescu that often made life difficult for ordinary people.

“We had just one kilo of sugar per family per month, one litre of oil, something like that,” says Mihai. “I remember seeing oranges in the shops only a few times in my childhood, and we were so happy to be able to buy them.”

Mihai describes communism as a “poison in the world” but says it made him stronger: “No-one around the world, with some exceptions, is happy with life in the Communist period. But I am very happy to have had this experience. From that period of history, you learn to live life. You learn to love your children more than just putting them in front of the television or computer.”

Corruption, Mihai says, remains a big problem in Romania, and was the reason he and his family decided to move.

“You can’t be happy, be professional, be what you wish to be, in a country where every day, if you want to buy something, you have to give money under the table – paying the police to sort out a case, paying money to a doctor in a hospital.”

Maria Skinner, here with her Glaswegian husband Kenneth

Priest who ended up moving to city

Father Marcel Oprisan, 31, who lives in Bishopbriggs with his wife and two young children, is a priest with the Romanian Orthodox Church.

One of a family of six, he is from Maramures, a mountainous region on the border between Ukraine and northern Romania. Two of his brothers and one of his sisters are now monks.

Fr Marcel was 11 at the time of the revolution. Two of his older brothers had been in Ceausescu’s army.

“When we heard on the television there had been a revolution, everybody just came on the streets,” he said.

“A lot of people were standing talking, but they were so afraid - people were always afraid to say anything. If they said something bad about Communists, they would end up in prison.

“My grandfather had been in prison for a time, though not for any crime. My godfather, who had baptised me and who had been a teacher in my primary school, had also been in prison, but no-one ever talked about it.

“I remember how we used to go to primary even on Saturdays, and the children all protested that they wanted the day off.”

Fr Marcel said the Communists’ biggest mistake lay “in wanting all the power and wanting to control everything ... anything that once had a share of power in Romania was destroyed, stripped of that power and sent into prison.

“There was a best-selling book in Romania last year about people who had been in prison for 30 years, half of their life, under the Communists. There were doctors, teachers, priests, bishops, poets, politicians, all intellectuals. They were beaten and tortured – unbelieveable. Most died in jail.

“I have given copies of that book to lots of people here. They may not have been particularly religious before but they are a lot more religious now they have read the book – they have read that all the prisoners became religious when they were in jail.

“This book shows what happens to some people who did not have freedom – freedom is something we have today.”

Millions of ordinary Romanians were glad to see the back of Ceausescu and Elena 20 years ago, and many celebrated their executions – but Fr Marcel was not among them.

“I was not happy about that, either at the time or even now, because a human died,” he said. “This is not something that you can be happy about, ever. They did not have to be killed, even for what they did.”

Fr Marcel was almost 25 when he finally left Romania.

He ended up in Cambridge in 2002, where he took orthodox Christian studies, and was eventually ordained as a priest in London. He came to Glasgow a year ago.

“Our Archbishop, who is based in Paris, had a meeting in London and asked me if I wanted to go to Scotland, once or twice a month. I did that for a while, and I moved here at the end of December 2008 to be here permanently.”

The result was that Shettleston Old was consecrated in January this year as the first place of worship for the Romanian Orthodox Church.

“The Church of Scotland has been really helpful towards us,” he said.

“I like the city and the people are very friendly. The Rev Adah Younger is amazing – she is just one of the greatest people I have met.”


See also: Trial and Execution: The Dramatic Deaths of Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu

Tweet

Share on Tumblr

Father Christmas and the Christmas Spirit

The Face of Christmas Past

Unlike our modern Santa Claus, Father Christmas was traditionally a personification of the holiday who emphasized generosity to others, thanksgiving to God, and celebration of the Savior.

Anthony McRoy
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Christianity Today

While the modern "Santa Claus" is essentially American, one U.S. tradition never took off in Britain—designating him "Kriss Kringle." Instead, Britons call him "Father Christmas." Father Christmas did not merge with Santa until around the 1870s. He was not a jolly, rotund elf, nor was he associated with presents or even children. People viewed him not as actually existing (like St. Nicholas) but rather as the personification of the season (like "Father Time"). That did not spare him the wrath of the Puritans.

"Santa" in a doublet and garters?

The earliest reference to a personified Christmas figure was the 15th-century carol "I Am Here, Sir Christëmas" (accessible here). The carol's theme is not the figure himself (who is merely "welcomed"), but rather the carolers' joy that a "maid" (i.e. virgin) has borne the Christ-child. It climaxes by urging all to "Make good cheer and be right merry/And sing with us now joyfully, Nowell."

He reappeared in 1616 when the play Christmas, His Masque by Benjamin Jonson was performed at the Royal Court. In this play, the figure is called "Old Christmas" and "Captaine Christmas" and is not dressed in red or green fur and hood: "He is attir'd in round Hose, long Stockings, a close Doublet, a high crownd Hat with a Broach, a long thin beard, a Truncheon, little Ruffes, white Shoes, his Scarffes, and Garters tyed crosse." He emphasizes that he is a good Protestant, decrying claims of "Popery"!

Another masque, The springs glorie (written by Thomas Nabbes in 1638), set in "the Mansion of Christmasse" during snow-covered winter, presents "Christmasse" and "Shrovetide" entering. "Christmasse" is described as "an old reverend Gentleman in a furr'd gowne and cappe." He is attired this way simply because of the weather. The presentation of "Shrovetide" alongside "Christmasse" shows that the Christmas figure was not seen as objectively existing but was merely a personification.

Christmas on trial

In 1645, during the Civil War, most of England was under Puritan rule. The Puritans vehemently opposed anything that was "heathenish" or smacked of "Popery." They banned the celebration of Christmas on these grounds (although the charges are questionable). Indeed, the Puritan-dominated Parliament delighted in sitting on Christmas Day. Parliamentary troops picketed churches on Christmas to prevent anyone from commemorating it as a religious day. They also objected to the frequently drunken and anti-social revelry sometimes accompanying its celebration (much like New Year's Day in our time).

An anonymous tract entitled An Hue and Cry after Christmas was issued in 1645 protesting the ban on Christmas. It continued the practice of personifying the season for the purpose of vindication, referring to "old Father Christmas" as a "very old, grey-bearded Gentleman, called Christmas" whose hair was "as white as snow" and who was "full and fat." He apparently wore Episcopal robes—"consecrated Laune sleeves"—with "a pack on his back, in which is good store of all sorts." According to this particular work, his visit actually caused husbands to buy new clothes for their wives! His presence caused not children, but rather apprentices, servants, and students to be merry.

Another protest against the Puritan ban on Christmas emerged in 1653. Called The Vindication of Christmas, it referred to the personified figure as "Old Christmas" or "father Christmas," presenting him as slim and tall, with a long (though not bushy) beard, and wearing a robe (though not fur). The work climaxed with "Christmas" pleading: "Love one another, as my Master loved you: relieve the oppressed: call home exiles: help the Fatherless: cherish the Widow, and restore to every man his due." A Christmas sermon indeed!

After the restoration of the monarchy, The Examination and Tryal of old Father Christmas (written by Josiah King in 1686) depicted "Christmas" on trial for superstition and idolatry. He is an elderly, white-haired/bearded, dignified, serious figure dressed in a gown. "Christmas" asserts his biblical Protestantism: "I am corruptly called Christmas, my name is Christ-tide, or time. And though I generally come at a set time, yet I am with him every day that knows how to use me." A precursor of Dickens's Ghost of Christmas Present? Or perhaps a message to our own age about how "Christmas spirit" should be present throughout the year!

"Christmas" maintains that his presence summons people to godly charity and thanksgiving to their Lord: "We are commanded to be given to Hospitality, & this hath been my practice from my youth upward: I come to put men in mind of their redemption, to have them love the other, to impart with something here below, that they have receive more & better things above; the wise man saith, There is a time for all things, & why not for thankfulness?" A defense witness proclaims, "For Christmas I have thus much to say for antiquity, he hath been well received by the best reformed Churches above nine hundred years, and was highly reverenced in the primitive purity many hundreds years before Popery was hatched; nor can this Festival be a suggestion of Antichrist (as some object) for what advantage can it be to Antichrist that our Saviour should have his birthday celebrated …?" Old Christmas leaves the trial exonerated.

Gratitude, not greed

Works presenting "Old Christmas" asserted that his presence brought good cheer, but they frequently cautioned against stressing the material aspects of his season. One example is John Taylor's The Complaint of Christmas (1631): "Therefore England, beautifull, fruitfull, and yet blessed Land, take heed lest thy Gluttony, Pride, and Excesse, Covetousnesse, Bribery, and Extortion, have that Adamantine force to pull downe Heaven's Judgements on thee as they did on Sodome." Christmas pleads with England to be devout: "Heaven is bountifull and patient, bee thou penitent and thankfull."

In 1652, attacking Puritan opposition, Taylor issued Christmas in & out, or, Our Lord & Saviour Christ's birth-day. "Father Christmas" resists accusations of "Popery" by revealing his true name: Christ sent or Christ's Day. "Christmas" insists his day "is kept in a thankfull remembrance" of Christ's "blessed incarnation," and that Christ "is the Prince of Peace, and his peace you will never have that do unthankfully dispise & neglect to solemnize the day of his most blessed Nativity."

It is not historically accurate, therefore, to associate "Father Christmas" purely with material concerns. Father Christmas was essentially a spiritual figure who emphasized the saving import of Christ's birth. He called people not simply to mutual "goodwill" but to the thankful worship of God. Perhaps Christians in English-speaking countries should revive this personified Christmas figure, distinguishing him from Santa, since he is not as theologically questionable and reminds people of the reason for the season—Jesus!

Anthony McRoy is a Fellow of the British Society for Middle East Studies and lecturer in Islamic studies at Wales Evangelical School of Theology, U.K.

Tweet

Share on Tumblr

"Prologue" Reading For Christmas

by St. Nikolai Velimirovich

Prologue From Ochrid, December 25

The Nativity of Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ

"But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son" (Galatians 4:4) to save the human race. And when nine months were fulfilled from the Annunciation, when the Archangel Gabriel had appeared to the Most-holy Virgin in Nazareth, saying, "Rejoice, thou that art highly favored … behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a Son" (Luke 1:28, 31), at that time there went forth a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the people of the Roman Empire should be taxed. In accordance with this decree, everyone had to go to his own town and be registered. That is why the righteous Joseph came with the Most-holy Virgin to Bethlehem, the city of David, for they were both of the royal lineage of David. Since many people descended on this small town for the census, Joseph and Mary were unable to find lodging in any house, and they sought shelter in a cave which shepherds used as a sheepfold. In this cave-on the night between Saturday and Sunday, on the 25th of December-the Most-holy Virgin gave birth to the Savior of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ. Giving birth to Him without pain just as He was conceived without sin by the Holy Spirit and not by man, she herself wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, worshiped Him as God, and laid Him in a manger. Then the righteous Joseph drew near and worshiped Him as the Divine Fruit of the Virgin's womb. Then the shepherds came in from the fields, directed by an angel of God, and worshiped Him as the Messiah and Savior. The shepherds heard a multitude of God's angels singing: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men" (Luke 2:14). "At that time three wise men arrived from the east, led by a wondrous star, bearing their gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. They worshiped Him as the King of kings, and offered Him their gifts" (Matthew 2). Thus entered the world He Whose coming was foretold by the prophets, and Who was born in the same manner in which it had been prophesied: of a Most-holy Virgin, in the town of Bethlehem, of the lineage of David according to the flesh, at the time when there was no king in Jerusalem of the lineage of Judah, but rather when Herod, a foreigner, was reigning. After many types and prefigurings, messengers and heralds, prophets and righteous men, wise men and kings, finally He appeared, the Lord of the world and King of kings, to perform the work of the salvation of mankind, which could not be performed by His servants. To Him be eternal glory and praise! Amen.


HYMN OF PRAISE:
The Nativity of Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ

Out of burning love, Thou didst come down from heaven;
From eternal beauty, Thou didst descend into monstrous pain;
From eternal light, Thou didst descend into the thick darkness of evil.
Thou didst extend Thy holy hand to those choked in sin.
Heaven was amazed, the earth quaked.
Welcome, O Christ! O ye peoples, rejoice!

Out of burning love, by which Thou didst create the world,
As a slave Thou didst debase Thyself to loose the enslaved,
To restore the house that Adam destroyed,
To enlighten the darkened, to unloose sinners.
Love that knows not fear or humiliation-
Welcome, O Christ! The Master of Salvation!

Out of burning love, O King of all beauty,
Thou didst leave the radiance of the beautiful Cherubim,
Thou didst descend into the cave of human life,
To despairing men, with a torch and peace.
How to contain Thee?-The earth became frightened.
Welcome, O Christ! Heaven bears Thee up!

The most beautiful Virgin for a long time hoped in Thee.
The earth raises her to Thee, that through her Thou wilt descend
From the lofty throne, from the heavenly city,
To bring health, to release man from sin.
O Holy Virgin, Golden Censer-
To thee be glory and praise, O Mother full of grace!


REFLECTION

The Lord Jesus, born in Bethlehem, was first worshiped by shepherds and wise men (astrologers) from the east - the simplest and the wisest of this world. Even today, those who most sincerely worship the Lord Jesus as God and Savior are the simplest and the wisest of this world. Perverted simplicity and half-learned wisdom were always the enemies of Christ's divinity and His Gospel. But who were these wise men from the east? This question was especially studied by St. Dimitri of Rostov. He claims that they were kings of certain smaller regions or individual towns in Persia, Arabia and Egypt. At the same time, they were erudite in the knowledge of astronomy. This wondrous star appeared to them, which announced the birth of the New King. According to St. Dimitri, this star appeared to them nine months before the birth of the Lord Jesus, i.e., at the time of His conception by the Most-holy Theotokos. They spent nine months in studying this star, in preparing for the journey and in traveling. They arrived in Bethlehem shortly after the birth of the Savior of the world. One of them was called Melchior. He was old, with long white hair and beard. He offered the Lord the gift of gold. The second was called Caspar, of ruddy face, young and beardless. He offered the Lord the gift of frankincense. The third was called Balthasar, of dark complexion and a very heavy beard. He offered the Lord the gift of myrrh. After their deaths, their bodies were taken to Constantinople, from Constantinople to Milan, and from Milan to Cologne. It can be added that these three wise men were representatives of the three main races of men that descended from Noah's three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth. The Persian represented the Japhethites, the Arabian represented the Semites, and the Egyptian represented the Hamites. Thus it can be said that, through these three, the whole human race worshiped the Incarnate Lord and God.


CONTEMPLATION

Contemplate the beauty of the soul of the Most-holy Theotokos:
1. How her soul was radiant and immaculate;
2. How her soul was filled with peace from faith and hope in God;
3. How her soul was filled with the sweet-smelling fragrance of prayer.


HOMILY: On the Birth of the Lord, the Son of God

"I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world" (John 16:28).

The only-begotten Son of God, brethren, begotten in eternity of the Father without a mother, was born in time of a mother without a father. That first begetting is an unfathomable mystery of the Holy Trinity in eternity, and the second is the unfathomable mystery of God's power and love for mankind in time. The greatest mystery in time corresponds to the greatest mystery in eternity. Without entering into this greatest mystery with the small taper of our understanding, let us be content, brethren, with the knowledge that our salvation had its origin not from man or from earth, but from the greatest heights of the divine invisible world. So great is God's mercy, and so great is the dignity of man, that the Son of God Himself came down from eternity into time, from heaven to earth, from the throne of glory to the shepherd's cave, solely to save mankind, to cleanse men from sin and to return them to Paradise. I came forth from the Father, where I had everything, and am come into the world, which cannot give Me anything. The Lord was born in a cave to show that the whole world is one dark cave, which He alone can illumine. The Lord was born in Bethlehem - and Bethlehem means "the House of Bread" - to show that He is the only Bread of Life worthy of true men.

O Lord Jesus, the Pre-eternal Son of the Living God and the Son of the Virgin Mary, enlighten us and nourish us with Thyself.

To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.

Tweet

Share on Tumblr