The Spiritual Father of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow

January 20, 2010
Romfea.gr

In a few days Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia will celebrate his one year anniversary at the helm of the Russian Orthodox Church.

From the first day of his election Patriarch Kirill has next to him at the Patriarchal residence in Peredelkino of Moscow his spiritual father.

Romfea.gr is distributing today exclusive pictures of the priest-monk Starets Ilia of Optina, who according to sources is the spiritual father of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow.

According to sources, one day Starets Ilia, though he was in his monastery at Optina, was informed that a Russian officer was wounded in Chechnya and that for five months was in a coma.

The doctors could not do anything because the bullet with which he was hit was only five millimeters from his heart.

Elder Ilia then went to the hospital where the officer was and, having read over him a prayer, he lifted his eyes to heaven and said: "That which is impossible with men is possible with God."

Not two minutes passed and the officer awoke from his coma, which he was in for a few months prior.

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Serbian Church Divided Over Next Patriarch

Serbian Church Divided Over Next Patriarch and Its Future

EarthTimes
January 20, 2010

Belgrade, Serbia - Bishops in the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) are meeting Friday to vote for their new patriarch amid feuding and jostling among reformists and dogmatists. Though the church head, Patriarch Pavle, died in November after being incapacitated for two full years, the Holy Synod - the SPC's highest council - failed to agree on a profile for his successor.

The conservative SPC has been blocked by infighting of even more conservative bishops, who oppose openness to other churches and fight Western influences in Serbian society, while the more relaxed wing wants the church to be more open and modern.

Upon Pavle's request to be relieved of duties in November 2008, the Synod once debated a successor, but the bishops could not agree.

Now once more a fight is at hand, but not through a simple debate and election leading to a new patriarch and the triumph of one option over the other.

For one, the patriarch will have to be elected in a lottery draw, one of the three bishops who receive the most support in probably many rounds of voting, including the haggling of interest groups between each round.

That was also how the soft-spoken Pavle, an underdog, was elected patriarch in 1990, on the eve of wars in the former Yugoslavia.

In addition, there are not just two or three clearly-drawn groups in the SPC, but many amorphous unions over various issues, ranging from relations with the Catholic Church to the form of the liturgy.

"There are many more than two wings," one of the younger bishops, Fotije, said in a recent interview with the daily Blic.

"We have bishops 80 years old, educated before World War II and with huge experience. Then there are bishops under 40, also well- educated in the era of digital communication," he said.

With so many interests at stake, the decision of the throne caretaker, Bishop Amfilohije, to schedule the promotion of the new patriarch as early as Sunday was seen as a signal.

"If the patriarch cannot be elected in one day, he will not be elected in more than that," said SPC sources quoted by Blic in its Tuesday edition.

If the Synod remains blocked, unable to find three candidates capable of garnering more than 50 per cent of the vote in one of the rounds of voting, the bishops may chose to vote on a new statute and change the election mechanism.

So, though only days remain until the council meeting, it is still anyone's guess who the main contenders will be.

The bishops cannot even agree on which monk will have the honour of drawing the ballots, the daily Politika said Tuesday, presuming three candidates advance to that stage.

"In the end ... God shall decide who is to lead the Church," Fotije said.

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The Muslim Plan for World Dominion

Islam is not a religion, nor is it a cult. In its fullest form, it is a complete, total, 100% system of life.

Islam has religious, legal, political, economic, social, and military components. The religious component is a beard for all of the other components.

Islamization begins when there are sufficient Muslims in a country to agitate for their religious privileges.

When politically correct, tolerant, and culturally diverse societies agree to Muslim demands for their religious privileges, some of the other components tend to creep in as well.

Here's how it works:

As long as the Muslim population remains around or under 2% in any given country, they will be for the most part be regarded as a peace-loving minority, and not as a threat to other citizens. This is the case in:

United States -- Muslim 0.6%
Australia -- Muslim 1..5%
Canada -- Muslim 1.9%
China -- Muslim 1.8%
Italy -- Muslim 1.5%
Norway -- Muslim 1.8%

At 2% to 5%, they begin to proselytize from other ethnic minorities and disaffected groups, often with major recruiting from the jails and among street gangs. This is happening in:

Denmark -- Muslim 2%
Germany -- Muslim 3.7%
United Kingdom -- Muslim 2.7%
Spain -- Muslim 4%
Thailand -- Muslim 4.6%

From 5% on, they exercise an inordinate influence in proportion to their percentage of the population. For example, they will push for the introduction of halal (clean by Islamic standards) food, thereby securing food preparation jobs for Muslims. They will increase pressure on supermarket chains to feature halal on their shelves -- along with threats for failure to comply. This is occurring in:

France -- Muslim 8%
Philippines -- 5%
Sweden -- Muslim 5%
Switzerland -- Muslim 4.3%
The Netherlands -- Muslim 5.5%
Trinidad & Tobago -- Muslim 5.8%

At this point, they will work to get the ruling government to allow them to rule themselves (within their ghettos) under Sharia, the Islamic Law. The ultimate goal of Islamists is to establish Sharia law over the entire world.

When Muslims approach 10% of the population, they tend to increase lawlessness as a means of complaint about their conditions. In Paris , we are already seeing car-burnings. Any non-Muslim action offends Islam and results in uprisings and threats, such as in Amsterdam , with opposition to Mohammed cartoons and films about Islam. Such tensions are seen daily, particularly in Muslim sections in:

Guyana -- Muslim 10%
India -- Muslim 13.4%
Israel -- Muslim 16%
Kenya -- Muslim 10%
Russia -- Muslim 15%

After reaching 20%, nations can expect hair-trigger rioting, jihad militia formations, sporadic killings, and the burnings of Christian churches and Jewish synagogues, as in:

Ethiopia -- Muslim 32.8%

At 40%, nations experience widespread massacres, chronic terror attacks, and ongoing militia warfare, such as in:

Bosnia -- Muslim 40%
Chad -- Muslim 53.1%
Lebanon -- Muslim 59.7%

From 60%, nations experience unfettered persecution of non-believers of all other religions (including non-conforming Muslims), sporadic ethnic cleansing (genocide), use of Sharia Law as a weapon, and Jizya, the tax placed on infidels, such as in:

Albania -- Muslim 70%
Malaysia -- Muslim 60.4%
Qatar -- Muslim 77..5%
Sudan -- Muslim 70%

After 80%, expect daily intimidation and violent jihad, some State-run ethnic cleansing, and even some genocide, as these nations drive out the infidels, and move toward 100% Muslim, such as has been experienced and in some ways is on-going in:

Bangladesh -- Muslim 83%
Egypt -- Muslim 90%
Gaza -- Muslim 98.7%
Indonesia -- Muslim 86.1%
Iran -- Muslim 98%
Iraq -- Muslim 97%
Jordan -- Muslim 92%
Morocco-- Muslim 98.7%
Pakistan -- Muslim 97%
Palestine -- Muslim 99%
Syria -- Muslim 90%
Tajikistan -- Muslim 90%
Turkey -- Muslim 99.8%
United Arab Emirates -- Muslim 96%

100% will usher in the peace of 'Dar-es-Salaam' -- the Islamic House of Peace. Here there's supposed to be peace, because everybody is a Muslim, the Madrasses are the only schools, and the Koran is the only word, such as in:

Afghanistan -- Muslim 100%
Saudi Arabia -- Muslim 100%
Somalia -- Muslim 100%
Yemen -- Muslim 100%

Unfortunately, peace is never achieved, as in these 100% states the most radical Muslims intimidate and spew hatred, and satisfy their blood lust by killing less radical Muslims, for a variety of reasons.

"Before I was nine I had learned the basic canon of Arab life. It was me against my brother; me and my brother against our father; my family against my cousins and the clan; the clan against the tribe; the tribe against the world, and all of us against the infidel." -- Leon Uris, 'The Haj'

It is important to understand that in some countries, with well under 100% Muslim populations, such as France, the minority Muslim populations live in ghettos, within which they are 100% Muslim, and within which they live by Sharia Law. The national police do not even enter these ghettos. There are no national courts, nor schools, nor non-Muslim religious facilities. In such situations, Muslims do not integrate into the community at large. The children attend madrasses. They learn only the Koran. To even associate with an infidel is a crime punishable with death. Therefore, in some areas of certain nations, Muslim Imams and extremists exercise more power than the national average would indicate.

Today's 1.5 billion Muslims make up 22% of the world's population. But their birth rates dwarf the birth rates of Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, and all other believers. Muslims will exceed 50% of the world's population by the end of this century.


Adapted from Dr. Peter Hammond's book: Slavery, Terrorism and Islam: The Historical Roots and Contemporary Threat.

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Christians Massacred, President Mubarak Silent

Christians of Egypt are Massacred, and President Mubarak is Still Silent

WASHINGTON, Jan. 19, 2010 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Copts, Egypt's Christian minority, number approximately 12 million, about 15% of Egypt's population. Under the rule of President Mubarak, violent attacks against them run rampant. These attacks were once carried out mainly by organized Islamic terrorist groups. The climate of hatred in Egypt has worsened to the point that attacks against Christians are now carried out by their Muslim neighbors.

The latest attack took place in Naga Hamady, Upper Egypt, during the late hours of Wednesday, January 6, 2010. Drive-by gunmen opened fire from machineguns at worshippers coming out of church after celebrating Coptic Christmas mass. Seven people were instantly killed, and many others were seriously wounded.

President Mubarak, now in power for almost 3 decades, during which 7 American presidents took office, turns a blind eye to what happens to the Coptic citizens of his country.

Egypt, the recipient of 2 billion dollars yearly of American foreign aid since the signing of the Camp David peace treaty in1978, can not continue abusing the human rights of its Coptic Christian citizens, a basic perquisite for receiving American foreign aid.

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Saint Zacharias the New Martyr of Patras

St. Zacharias the New Martyr of Arta (Feast Day - January 20)

The Holy New Martyr Zacharias was from the Peloponnesos in Greece in the region of Arta. He renounced Christ to become a Muslim, then went to old Patras and worked there as a furrier. He had a book, THE SALVATION OF SINNERS,[1] which he often read in secret. The book moved him to repentence, and he wept bitterly for the great evil he had done.

St Zacharias, unable any longer to bear the pangs of conscience, met a certain Elder and told him of his sin. Having confessed his apostasy to a priest renowned for his virtue, he revealed his desire to confess Christ before the Turks. The Elder advised prudence and told him to spend forty days alone in fasting and prayer in order to put his resolution to the test.

After praying and fasting for twenty days, Zacharias no longer was able to restrain the flame of divine love which burnt in his heart, and resolved to return early to the Elder to receive the blessing to go forward in martyrdom. Having returned to the Elder and confessed all the sins he had committed during his life, he asked the Elder's blessing to seek martyrdom. The holy man tried to discourage him. He warned that he might not be killed swiftly, but only after much torture.[2] He also pointed out the danger that Zacharias would betray Christ a second time under the torments he would endure. The saint, aflame with zeal for martyrdom, said he was prepared to suffer myriad punishments for the sake of Christ.

The Elder read the prayers of absolution and chrismated the saint (as is done when apostates from the Faith are received back into the Church), then administered the Holy Mysteries to him. Then he blessed Zacharias to go back to the Muslims and declare his faith in Christ. On his way, the saint asked forgiveness from each Christian he met. He went to his house and shop and gave everything he had to the poor, even the key to his house, and proceeded from there to the house of the judge.

The holy martyr went to the judge's house and said that he had been deceived when he accepted their religion, but now he had come to his senses and returned to Christ. He then returned his white turban and asked him to provide him with Christian clothing. St Zacharias was thrown into prison, where he was beaten three times a day. He was happy to be chastened for the love of Christ, and after every blow he received he repeated: 'Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.' When the pain became too sharp for him to speak, he would raise his eyes to heaven in silence.

One night in order to be finished with him, his tormenter screwed down the stocks until his legs were broken and then calmly went away to finish his supper. Finally, the saint died by being stretched out on a rack and gave his soul to God. The place immediately was filled with perfume, so much so that the guard had to sleep elsewhere because the aroma was so strong.

Christians asked for his body so they might bury it, but the Muslims refused. They said, "He is neither one of you, nor one of us, for he denied both religions. Therefore, he is unworthy of burial." His body was dragged through the streets and thrown into a dry well near the Church of the Holy Trinity, landing on its knees in an upright position. Christians saw a radiant light over the well the next night, and hastened to venerate the saint. The Turks filled the well with dirt and debris to prevent such gatherings in the future.

By shedding his blood, the holy New Martyr Zacharias washed away the sin of his denial of Christ and received an unfading crown of glory in the year 1782.

Reference

1. Αμαρτωλών σωτηρία: A devotional work composed by Agapios Landos (c. 1600-c. 1671?), an Athonite monk from Crete. It was greatly appreciated throughout the dark period of the Turkish occupation, and is still widely read in Greece. See more here.

2. The Elder reportedly told Zacharias how in 1770, when the Albanians descended in Morea, they taught the Turks such violent methods of torture that the tortures of the first centuries of Christianity were light in comparison. He warned that he should not expect a swift beheading, but extreme torture. For this reason the Elder advised him against martyrdom and to rather undertake a strict asceticism to purify his soul.

Ἀπολυτίκιον Ἦχος δ’. Ταχὺ προκατάλαβε.
Τῆς Ἄρτης ἀγλάισμα, καὶ Νεομάρτυς κλεινός, ἐν Πάτραις ὡς ἤθλησας, ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἐδείχθης μακάριε, οὐ γὰρ τὸν τρώσοντα σέ, καθελῶν δι’ ἀγώνων, γέρας ἐδέξω θεῖον, Ἀθλητὰ Ζαχαρία, πρεσβεύων ὑπὲρ πάντων ἠμῶν τῶν εὐφημούντων σε.

Ἕτερον Ἀπολυτίκιον Ήχος πλ. α’. Τον Συνάναρχον Λόγον.
Τον πανεύφημον μάρτυν Χριστού υμνήσωμεν, Ζαχαρίαν τον νέον, Άρτης το βλάστημα, ότι ενήθλησε στερρώς υπέρ της πίστεως Χριστού και ανόμων ταις χερσί, ραβδισθείς και τανυσθείς, μαρτύριον ανεδέχθη. Τελειωθείς δε εν Πάτραις Χριστώ πρεσβεύει του σωθήναι ημάς.

(Ποιηθέν υπό Μητροπολίτου Πατρών Νικοδήμου την 19/01/1992 μ.Χ.)

Μεγαλυνάριον
Χαίροις Νεομάρτυς του Ιησού, Άρτης σεπτός γόνος, και Πατέρων ο στηριγμός΄ χαίροις Ζαχαρία, Αγγέλων συμπολίτα, μεθ' ων ημίν εξαίτει, το θείον έλεος.

Listen to the first hymn chanted here.

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The Teachings of St. Euthymius the Great

St. Euthymius the Great (Feast Day - January 20)

The great Euthymius was a doctor of souls, training and encouraging each one, and none of the brethren drew back from confessing his thoughts to him. He, with his plentiful experience, taught them to resist every single alien thought, saying, "Brethren, strive for what brought you out here, and do not neglect your own salvation. You must at all times stay sober and awake. As Scripture says, 'Keep awake, and pray not to enter into temptation' (Matt. 26:41). Above all recognize this: those who renounce this life must not have a wish of their own but in the first place acquire humility and obedience. They must always await and ponder the hour of death and the dread day of judgment, fear the threat of eternal fire and desire the glory of the kingdom of heaven."

Again he used to say, "In addition to keeping watch on the thoughts within, monks, especially young ones, ought to practice bodily labor, remembering the words of the Apostle, 'We labor day and night so as not to be a burden on anyone' (1 Thess. 2:9), and 'These hands ministered to me and to those with me' (Acts 20:34). While those in the world endure labor and hardship in order to support wives and children from their work, pay the first-fruits to God, do good according to their power and in addition be charged taxes, it is absurd if we are not even to meet the needs of the body from manual labor but to stay idle and immobile, reaping the toil of others, especially when the Apostle orders the idle not even to eat" (2 Thess. 3:10).

This was the teaching which our father Euthymius enlightened the community.

He also gave instructions that no one was to talk in church during the time of office, nor in the refectory while the brethren were eating. He was also displeased whenever he saw a brother in the cenobium, especially a young one, trying to surpass the community in abstinence. "Correct abstinence," he said, "is to take only just enough at meal-times, while guarding the heart and making secret warfare against hidden passions; the weapons of the monk are meditation, discernment, self-control and godly obedience." This and similar teaching inspired and stimulated the brethren to bear fruit worthy of their calling.

- Cyril of Scythopolis, The Lives of the Monks of Palestine. Cistercian Publications, 1991, pp. 12-13.

For the life of St. Euthymius, see here.

See also an article on the monastery of St. Euthymius titled "Euthymius and His Monastery in the Judean Desert".

Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
Be glad, O barren one, that hast not given birth; be of good cheer, thou that hast not travailed; for a man of desires hath multiplied thy children of the Spirit, having planted them in piety and reared them in continence to the perfection of the virtues. By his prayers, O Christ our God, make our life peaceful.

Kontakion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone
Creation found delight and joy in thine august nativity and the good cheer of thy numberless miracles on thy divine memorial. Now bestow thereof richly on our souls and wash clean the stains of our every sin, Euthymius most righteous, that we may chant: Alleluia!

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Unyielding and Unbending Regarding True Dogmas

by St Nikolai Velimirovich

As much as the saints were so compassionate and lenient toward human weakness, so were they terribly unyielding and unbending in regard to the confession of the true dogmas of the Faith. Thus, St. Nicholas of Myra in Lycia struck Arius with his fist at the First Ecumenical Council [Nicaea, 325 A.D.]. St. Anthony left his desert to come to Alexandria to publicly unmask Arius. St. Euthymius, being greatly pressured by the Empress Eudocia and the pseudo-Patriarch Theodosius and being unable to debate rationally with them, left the monastery and hid in the desert. All other distinguished monks followed his example. Euthymius remained in the desert until the pseudo-patriarch was ousted and Orthodoxy strengthened. When, in Jerusalem, the greatest agitation surfaced in the name of the emperor against the Fourth Ecumenical Council [Chalcedon, 451 A.D.] and when the entire population was frightened by the heretics, then St. Theodosius the Great already burdened with old age, as a fearless soldier of Christ, came to Jerusalem, entered the Great Church, ascended the stairs, waved his hands and said to the people, "If anyone does not respect the Fourth Ecumenical Council as he does the four evangelists, let him be anathema." (Until this time, only four Ecumenical Councils had been convened). All of those listeners were frightened by those words and none of the heretics dared to say anything contrary to those words.

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The Frozen Bishop of Vyshhorod

The photo is from yesterday's celebration of Theophany in the provincial city of Kiev Vyshhorod, located on the right bank of the Dnieper, just 18 kilometers from Kiev.

Also note that the 'frozen' priest, Bishop Dimitrios Ntenisenko, celebrated the blessing of the water in a temperature of 20 degrees below zero.

Finally, the cold did not prevent Ukrainians from breaking the ice in a cross formation and dive into icy waters to be blessed.

Source

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Egypt Copt Killings: World Attention Sought

Jan 19, 2010
Art Toalston & Erin Roach
BP News

NEW YORK CITY (BP)--The shooting deaths of six Coptic Christians in Egypt on Coptic Christmas Eve (Jan. 6) is fueling efforts to publicize and protest what Copts describe as persecution and violence typically met by inaction by the Egyptian government.

Rallies were scheduled today, Jan. 19, at the United Nations at noon and at the Egyptian Mission in New York at 2 p.m., according to Coptic advocacy website www.freecopt.net.

A demonstration at the White House is scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday, Jan. 22, followed by one near 10 Downing Street, the office and home of Great Britain's prime minister, on Jan. 23, according to freecopt.net.

To date, rallies have been held in such cities as Los Angeles, Dallas, Tampa and Nashville; Paris, France; and Sydney and Melbourne, Australia.

In Egypt, protests have been waged in Cairo and in the city of Nag Hammadi (also rendered Nagaa Hamady) where the drive-by shootings took place. Gunmen riddled a shopping area with machine gun fire just before midnight, killing two Coptic Christians. They subsequently fired into worshippers emerging from a Coptic church after midnight Mass, killing four. The church's Muslim guard also was slain. Fifteen individuals were wounded, according to various reports.

Three suspects were arrested by security forces two days later near Nag Hammadi, about 40 miles from southern Egypt's largest city, Luxor.

Coptic Christians, whose ancestors embraced Christianity in the first century, comprise the vast majority of Egypt's Christian minority, which often is estimated at 8 million people, though some Coptic sources say their number is 12 million, among Egypt's overall population of 78 million.

Egypt's Copts are the last sizable Christian population in the Middle East. An estimated 2 million Coptic Christians live in other countries.

The U.S. Department of State, in a religious freedom report on Egypt released in October, said the constitution there provides for freedom of belief and the practice of religious rites but, in practice, the government places restrictions on such rights.

State Department officials have raised concerns with the Egyptian government about ongoing discrimination Christians face in building and maintaining church properties as well as the government's harsh treatment of Muslim citizens who convert to other faiths.

"The government continued to sponsor 'reconciliation sessions' following sectarian attacks that generally obviate the prosecution of perpetrators of crimes against Copts and preclude their recourse to the judicial system for restitution," the State Department report said. "In conjunction with reconciliation sessions, the courts sometimes gave lenient sentences to the perpetrators."

Detailed in the report were several cases of persecution of Coptic Christians by the Egyptian government, including "an increasingly prevalent pattern of governmental authorities detaining Copts following sectarian attacks and either holding them without charges or threatening false charges and police records."

The detentions, the State Department said, "serve as a tool to blackmail Coptic authorities to desist from calling for official action to prosecute the perpetrators, and to dissuade the victims and/or their families from seeking recourse in the judicial system for restitution of damages."

In Nag Hammadi, "instead of the usual joyous Christmas festivities, mourners filled the streets in a heartbreaking funeral procession for the victims on Christmas day, the youngest being only 19," Caroline L. Doss, a New York-based attorney and Coptic advocate, said in a Jan. 11 news release announcing the protests in New York City.

Doss stated that the Nag Hammadi attack was "in retaliation to the churches' refusal to participate in government-sponsored forced reconciliation sessions after a November 2009 attack by Muslims on Coptic properties." A regional government official, however, said the attack was "a crime committed by a thug and does not have anything to do with Islam." The New York Times, meanwhile, reported that Egypt's Interior Ministry said in a statement that the killings may have been an act of revenge following accusations last November that a man identified as a Christian had raped a 12-year-old Muslim girl.

"People deal with each other now as Muslims or Christians, not as Egyptians," Gamal Asaad, a Coptic intellectual and former member of Parliament, lamented to The Times. "There is a prevailing atmosphere of sectarianism and religious incitement which has led to this behavior."

"Attacks against Copts in Egypt have increased in recent years due to the government's lack of prosecution of crimes against Copts by Muslims," Poss asserted. "We demand the Egyptian government start prosecuting Muslim perpetrators of crimes against Copts, so we may begin to see a flicker of justice for Copts in Egypt."

Magdi Khalil, a Coptic writer living in America, noted in a Jan. 19 news release, "The climate of hatred is deeply entrenched in Egypt's mosques, the Egyptian media and the Egyptian educational system. Very seldom are killers of Copts apprehended, and when arrested, they are often released for lack of evidence, or given a very light sentence."

Khalil said Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who has held office since 1981, "turns a blind eye to what happens to the Coptic citizens of his country. This seems to be an attempt at appeasing the Islamists to strengthen his hold on power and pass it on to his son."

One Coptic advocacy organization, the Coptic Assembly of America, has launched an online campaign enlisting people to sign a letter to President Obama "reminding him that religious freedoms is a cornerstone of American foreign policy and should be protected around the world."

Recounting the Christmas Eve shootings, the online letter to Obama states, "This was not a solitary event -- in the last 9 months alone, other sectarian attacks in Dmas Meet Ghamr, Dayrout, Al-Tayeba, Hawasliya, Farshout, and Dier Mawas resulted in more murders, Coptic businesses and homes being burned, and the forced migration of Copts from their homes. In all these cases the Egyptian government has continued its pattern of denial and refusal to prosecute the perpetrators.

"Your administration has been completely silent on this massacre, despite the over 1,000 newspaper articles written in English and the protests of thousands of Copts all around the world. Pope Benedict and the Italian Foreign Minister have both spoken out, yet America -- supposedly the leader of the free world, and the premier advocate for human rights -- stays quiet."

Referencing the president's speech at Cairo University in June 2009, the letter continues, "... you said that 'People in every country should be free to choose and live their faith based upon the persuasion of the mind, heart, and soul. This tolerance is essential for religion to thrive, but it is being challenged in many different ways. Among some Muslims, there is a disturbing tendency to measure one's own faith by the rejection of another's. The richness of religious diversity must be upheld -- whether it is for Maronites in Lebanon or the Copts in Egypt…. Freedom of religion is central to the ability of peoples to live together. We must always examine the ways in which we protect it.' ... President Obama, please lead by example and show the world that your actions will and do follow your rhetoric."

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Miracle of St. Basil the Great Against the Arians

Commemoration of the Miracle Wrought by Saint Basil the Great at Nicaea, when by his prayer he opened the gates of the church of the Orthodox (Feast Day - January 19)

While the wicked Emperor Valens was in Nicaea, prominent Arians approached him requesting that he drive the Orthodox from the cathedral and give it to them. The ruler, himself a heretic, forcibly removed the faithful and allowed the dissenters to occupy the building, after which he left for the Imperial City. The entire community of the Orthodox, which was of considerable size, was griefstricken. While matters were in this state, the great helper and protector of all the churches, Saint Basil, arrived in Nicaea. Weeping and lamenting, the flock of true believers informed him of what the Emperor had done. The blessed one comforted them and hurried to Constantinople, where he presented himself to Valens and said, "It is written, 'The King's honour loveth judgment', and Wisdom tells us that 'the King's judgment is righteous'. Why, then, 0 Emperor, have you pronounced an unjust sentence, expelling the Orthodox from their holy church and giving it to misbelievers?"

The Emperor replied, "Have you come to insult me, Basil? It does not behoove you to speak thus."

"It would certainly behoove me to die for the truth," retorted Basil.

The chief cook of the palace, whose name was Demosthenes, was standing nearby, and wishing to abet the Arian cause, interjected and crudely reviled the saint. "Behold," laughed Basil, "a new Demosthenes, this one an illiterate!" The humiliated cook muttered something, to which the blessed one responded, "Your business is pots and pans, not the dogmas of the Church."

Furious with Basil, but knowing that he had acted wrongly, the Emperor commanded, "Return to Nicaea and judge between the factions, but do not show favoritism to your party."

"If I judge wrongly, send me to prison, expel my co-believers, and give the church to the Arians," said the man of God.

Basil went back to Nicaea with an imperial decree, assembled the Arians, and announced, "The Emperor has given me authority to decide whether you or the Orthodox should have the church you took by force."

The Arians replied, "Judge, then, but as the Emperor would."

"Come, Arians and Orthodox," exclaimed Basil; "we will lock the church! Both sides will affix their seals and set strong guards of men they trust. Then pray for three days and nights, you Arians, and return. If you can open the doors by your supplications, the church will be yours in perpetuity. If you cannot, we shall pray for a single night and go to the church, chanting a Litia. We shall have permanent control of the building if the doors open for us; otherwise, it will be yours again."

This proposal pleased the Arians, but the Orthodox were vexed with the saint, protesting that he gave the heretics an unfair advantage out of fear of the Emperor. Nevertheless, both sides agreed, locked the church, sealed it, and set guards. The Arians prayed for three days and nights, but their prayers achieved nothing; so they continued to entreat God's mercy until noon of the fourth day, crying, "Lord have mercy!" When the doors failed to open, they dispersed, hanging their heads in shame. Meanwhile, the great Basil assembled the Orthodox men, women, and children, and led them to the Church of the Holy Martyr Diomedes, outside the city. He celebrated an All-Night Vigil there, then proceeded with the crowd to the cathedral, chanting, "Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us." Halting before the portals, he commanded the people, "Raise your hands to heaven and cry with heartfelt ardor, 'Lord have mercy!'" After they had prayed, the saint ordered that there be silence. He made the sign of the Cross over the doors thrice and shouted, "Blessed is the God of the Christians, always, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages." The people answered, "Amen." Suddenly the earth quaked, the locks broke apart, the bars fell to the floor, the seals split, and the doors flew open, slamming against the wall as though a mighty wind were blowing or a fierce tempest raging. Chanting, "Lift up your gates, 0 ye princes; and be lifted up, ye everlasting gates, and the King of Glory shall enter", Basil hurried into the building with the whole congregation of the Orthodox. After celebrating the divine service, he joyfully dismissed the faithful. Many Arians (who had returned in great numbers to see how matters would end) renounced impiety and joined themselves to the true believers. When the Emperor learned of Basil's judicious handling of affairs and the glorious miracle, he marveled greatly and denounced vile Arianism; nevertheless, blinded by malice, he did not turn to Orthodoxy. Later, he perished miserably. Defeated and wounded in a battle in Thrace, he fled and cowered in a barn full of straw. His pursuers surrounded the building and set it on fire. The Emperor was burned alive, and his soul departed to everlasting flames. The tyrant's demise took place after the death of our holy father Basil, but in the same year.

The subject of the altarpiece is St. Basil Celebrating Liturgy in the presence of the Arian Emperor Valens. St. Basil is so involved in his devotion at Liturgy during the Feast of the Epiphany in 372 that he does not notice Emperor Valens enter with his retinue.

The Great Collection of the Lives of the Saints by St. Dimitry Rostov. January 1st, pp. 36-38

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A Miracle of Saint Nektarios in Jordan

Romfea.gr has reported news from Metropolitan Benedict of Philadelphia that a three month old boy was healed by St. Nektarios in Jordan.

The three month old boy was very sick with a collapsed lung and had entered into intensive care to be supported with oxygen. The parents were informed by doctors that there was no hope for their son.

When the Metropolitan heard of this, he sent a priest named Fr. Nektarios to visit the boy, as well as all the sick of the hospital, every Saturday. To every sick person he would give the Holy Gospel, the life of St. Nektarios and oil from the vigil lamp of the Saint.

The Metropolitan had asked that the boy with the collapsed lung be specifically anointed with the oil from St. Nektarios, and the miracle was almost immediate! He was completely healed that day and the next day returned home with his parents in perfect health.

The boys parents, in gratitude to St. Nektarios, decided to name their child after his healer - St. Nektarios the Wonderworker.

Later the Metropolitan himself visited the family and gave them his blessing. Metropolitan Benedict has made the name of St. Nektarios famous in Jordan with the church built dedicated to him. Another recorded seven miracles attributed to St. Nektarios have also been performed in Jordan.

St. Nektarios Church in Jordan

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The Miraculous Story of the Jews of Zakynthos

LEORA GOLDBERG
The Jerusalem Post
Dec. 13, 2009

ZAKYNTHOS, Greece - I needed a break at the end of a long and exhausting semester. My family was off to the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula, to an unknown island in Greece . I decided to join them. We flew from Tel Aviv to Athens . From Athens , towards the famous sunrise of the eastern isles, we landed on the island of Zakynthos - "Fiore di Levante" (Flower of the East) - which is also known by its Italian name - Zante. During the ride, I read the travel guide, and learned a little about the history, the agriculture, the weather and finally about the poetic origins of the national anthem. I did not read one word about what I was really about to discover on the island. The drive from the airport to our villa lasted a few minutes. From the coastal plateau, we drove up through twisted village bends to our destination. An old lady, a typical Greek villager dressed all in black, welcomed us with a warm smile into her home. She asked to show us around her beloved mansion. It was obvious that this place was the source of her pride. The landlady gave us a short tour of the old-style bedrooms, bathrooms and salon. In the kitchen, we noticed the beautiful authentic Greek dishes that were hanging over her antique-looking stove. All these were for our use. We explained to her that for religious reasons, unfortunately, we would not be able to enjoy using her kitchenware and that we had brought our own. This is when it all began.

She seemed confused. She looked at my dad and suddenly her eyes lit up. She noticed his kippa (yarmulke). We were asked to follow her out to the garden. From the high point where we were standing, we saw a fantastic view of the ocean and the ships. But she pointed the other way completely. "Look over there!" she said. She wanted to know what we saw. "Trees, vegetation," we said. "Look again and focus!" she demanded. "Something unidentified that looks like teeth, white dots," my dad said. She stared at us for a long moment and said: "That is the Jewish cemetery." I was shocked. We were all astounded. Here were on an isolated island in Greece . Who ever heard of Jews here? I tried reminiscing about stories and experiences I had heard from friends who had visited here. Nothing came to mind.

From this moment on until I left Greece , the relaxing summer holiday drinking ouzo on the beach became a fascinating journey. By the end of it, I uncovered an unforgettable story.

The next morning, I got on my rented moped and drove to the cemetery. The shudder that went through me started when I first saw the Star of David on the little black gate. The trembling grew as I walked in. It was a huge cemetery containing hundreds of graves from the 16th century up until 1955. The grounds were well-kept and little stones were set on many graves, as if they had had visitors recently. 1955. I thought for a moment. Whoever knows the history of Greece and its islands even faintly knows that there was no place struck harder by the Nazis. Rhodes, Corfu, Salonika, Athens . The loss of Jewish life in Greece was devastating. From 1944, there were almost no Jews left even in the bigger communities. I did not, however, understand the meaning of the "1955" grave, and decided to investigate. In a small house that stood in the heart of the property, I found the cemetery keeper, a third generation of custodians of the Jewish graveyard in Zakynthos. My inability to speak the language prevented me from having a deep conversation with him. I sought to continue my search for the Jewish history of this town, and within five minutes I was at City Hall.

When I told the clerk at the front desk what I was after, he asked if I had already been to the synagogue. The question was posed casually, as though it's asked on a daily basis. "Excuse me?" I thought I hadn't heard right. "A synagogue on this island?" He gave me directions. The synagogue was located on a busy road in the center of the island. Off the main street, in a space between two buildings, was a black iron gate, just like the one I had seen not long ago at the cemetery. Above it was a stone arc with an open book. It read, in a loose translation from the original Hebrew, "At this holy place stood the Shalom Synagogue. Here, at the time of the earthquake in 1953, old Torah scrolls, bought before the community was established, were burned." Through the locked gate I saw two statues. Judging by their long beards, they looked to me like rabbis. The writing on the wall proved me wrong: "This plaque commemorates the gratitude of the Jews of Zakynthos to Mayor Karrer and Bishop Chrysostomos." What was the acknowledgment about? Who were these people? Why the statues?

What happened here? I had lots of questions. I had to find a lead, if not an answer. I returned to City Hall, excited and trembling. I approached the clerk, who already recognized me, and started questioning him about what had happened here. He referred me to the mayor's deputy on the third floor. I found his room, knocked at his door and asked him if he would spare me a few minutes. He willingly accepted. Half an hour later I came out with this: On September 9 1943, the governor of the German occupation named Berenz had asked the mayor, Loukas Karrer, for a list of all Jews on the island. Rejecting the demand after consulting with Bishop Chrysostomos, they decided to go together to the governor's office the next day. When Berenz insisted once again for the list, the bishop explained that these Jews weren't Christians but had lived here in peace and quiet for hundreds of years. They had never bothered anyone, he said. They were Greeks just like all other Greeks, and it would offend all the residents of Zakynthos if they were to leave. But the governor persisted that they give him the names. The bishop then handed him a piece of paper containing only two names: Bishop Chrysostomos and Mayor Karrer. In addition, the bishop wrote a letter to Hitler himself, declaring that the Jews in Zakynthos were under his authority. The speechless governor took both documents and sent them to the Nazi military commander in Berlin . In the meantime, not knowing what would happen, the local Jews were sent by the leaders of the island to hide inside Christian homes in the hills. However, a Nazi order to round up the Jews was soon revoked - thanks to the devoted leaders who risked their lives to save them. In October 1944, the Germans withdrew from the island, leaving behind 275 Jews. The entire Jewish population had survived, while in many other regions Jewish communities were eliminated. This unique history is described in the book of Dionysios Stravolemos, An Act of Heroism - A Justification, and also in the short film of Tony Lykouressis, The Song of Life. According to tour guide Haim Ischakis (see box), in 1947, a large number of Zakynthinote Jews made aliya while others moved to Athens. In 1948, in recognition of the heroism of the Zakynthians during the Holocaust, the Jewish community donated stained glass for the windows of the Church of Saint Dionysios . In August 1953, the island was struck by a severe earthquake and the entire Jewish quarter, including its two synagogues, was destroyed. Not long afterwards, the remaining 38 Jews moved to Athens ... In 1978, Yad Vashem honored Bishop Chrysostomos and Mayor Loukas Karrer with the title of "Righteous among the Nations."

In March 1982, the last remaining Jew in Zakynthos, Ermandos Mordos, died on the island and was buried in Athens ... Thus the circle of Jewish presence came to its close after five centuries.

In 1992, on the site where the Sephardic synagogue stood before the earthquake, the Board of Jewish Communities in Greece erected two marble memorial monuments as a tribute to the bishop and mayor.

A few days before I had planned to leave the island and return home, I went into a bank to convert some dollars into euros. But even in a simple place like a bank, I managed to add another piece to this Jewish puzzle. A clerk who had been on the phone and eating a sandwich, called on me when my turn came. When I gave her my dollars to be changed, she handed me the converted money in an envelope without asking for any identification. Later on, when I opened it, I was surprised to see so much money. The money that had been put into the envelope had not been counted properly, and instead of changing $1,000, she had given me the equivalent of $10,000! This was really no surprise to me, because the clerk hadn't paid me any attention. Ultimately, however, once the bank realized that the money was missing, it would have no way of reaching me since no contact information was requested. The following morning, I called the bank and asked to speak to the manager. I inquired to know if there was a problem with the previous night's accounts. "You must be the woman with the dollars," he said, immediately inviting me to his office. An hour later, I was at the bank. When I walked into the office, the man sitting across from the manager moved to another chair and gave me his seat. I shared my bank experience with him, saying how easy it would have been for me to disappear with the money. The manager himself was profusely apologetic about the unprofessional way I was treated and thanked me repeatedly for returning the money. To express his gratitude, he invited me and my family to dinner at an exclusive restaurant. I explained that eating out was too complicated for us due to the fact that we were observant Jews. He asked for my address so he could send us a crate of wine. "That is a problem too," I said.

I told him I had come from Israel a week ago for a holiday, but had gotten sidetracked. "A few days after I landed, I was surprised to discover the Jewish community that was here up to 25 years ago," I said. "You don't owe me anything. Indeed, you have given me and my people a lot. The least I can do as a Jew to show my appreciation for what you have done for the Jews of Zakynthos is to return this money that doesn't belong to me and say, 'Thank you!'" There was silence for what appeared to be a long minute. The man who had given me his seat when I walked in and hadn't said a word during the conversation, stood up with tears in his eyes, turned to me and said: "As the grandson of Mayor Karrer, I am extremely overwhelmed and want to thank you!"

For more, see here.

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Russian Pilgrims Flock to Jordan River

A Century on, Russian Pilgrims Flock to Jordan River

19 January 2010
Reuters

QASR AL-YAHUD, West Bank — It took Andrei Borisovich a lifetime to follow in the footsteps of his forebears and make the pilgrimage from Russia to the Holy Land.

On Monday, the St. Petersburg pensioner reached his goal, amid throngs of Orthodox faithful on the muddy banks of the Jordan to mark Epiphany, the feast of Jesus' baptism and for eastern Christians the traditional high point of pilgrimages from Russia that are now enjoying a post-Communist revival.

"I wanted to come for so long," the 73-year-old said, beaming despite the unusually rain-laden skies over the desert dunes as he recounted how one of his forebears — he can't quite recall how many "greats" to put before "grandfather" — walked for seven months from Russia to this spot in the 19th century.

"He was an industrialist, in Perm in the Urals. His journey to the Holy Land changed his life. When he returned home he founded schools, an orphanage," said Andrei Borisovich, who only gave his first name and patronymic. "Of course, it all turned to dust with the Revolution."

Unlike the devout Russians of his ancestor's day, who risked death and disease to stream in their multitudes by land and sea to Jerusalem as the Ottoman imperial lock on the Middle East faltered, Andrei Borisovich and his fellow pilgrims made few sacrifices: They were on a weeklong package tour by air.

But for those seeking confirmation that the long hiatus in Russians' spiritual life after the Bolshevik triumph of 1917 is over, then the eve of Epiphany — Jan. 6 on the old church calendar — on the Jordan River is a place to see it.

"For every Christian, it is important to come here," said Abbess Nikodima, superior of a convent in the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odessa, who has brought groups of pilgrims annually for the Epiphany rite on the Jordan since 1994.

It is also a trend that Israel, whose army very visibly controls the West Bank of the river, is keen to encourage as it looks to capitalize on religion to bolster tourism numbers.

"We are fewer this year, because of the recession," Nikodima said, as her 30-member flock of Russians and Ukrainians jostled with visiting Greeks and Romanians, as well as local Palestinian Christians, for a better view of the rush-bounded pool where they believe that John the Baptist plunged Jesus under the waters.

"But," Nikodima added, "pilgrimage remains very important to us. It is here that we see the mystery of repentance."

Accounts from tsarist times speak of fervent peasants and devout Russian nobles flocking to Jerusalem, especially between Christmas and Easter. The nobles left their mark in the holy city with cupolas and icons that have been burnished of late as the Kremlin leadership has rediscovered the Russian Orthodox Church.

On Epiphany, aged peasants, some half dead from the rigors of the months-long journey, wrapped themselves in the shrouds that they hoped to be buried in before wading into the Jordan, seeking reassurance for the afterlife.

On Monday, dozens made it into the river from the Jordanian bank. But Israeli police made sure that the faithful on their side had to content themselves with immersing shrouds in basins marked "Jordan Water: Not Drinking."

As well as the translation into Russian of the "Danger, Mines!" signs that line the razor wire along the route through the dunes to the sluggish, 5-meter-wide stream that marks the frontier with Jordan, there are other indications that Israel, now home to a 15 percent, mainly Jewish, Russian-speaking minority, is putting out the welcome mat for Russian Christians.

The Moscow-born Israeli tourism minister is targeting a new surge in visitor numbers from the former Soviet Union, on top of a boom in the past few years that has made Russia second only to the United States as a source of tourists for Israel, which makes 6 percent of its national income from the sector.

On the far bank, Jordan is also developing its promotion of Christian tourism, as the cranes and construction sites rising out of the desert just north of the Dead Sea attest.

Easier Israeli visa rules for Russians have helped triplle visits from there in the past three years. The government aims to do the same for Ukrainians, despite critics who fear helping crime gangs that have flourished among former Soviet immigrants.

For the Christians on the Jordan on Monday, the important thing was just to be there. Many could not even see the Greek Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem release a dove of peace or plunge a cross into the sacred water in celebration of Epiphany.

"It is just good to be in the Holy Land," said one Moscow pensioner who did not want to give her name.

"Now, no one forbids us to pray," she said, gesturing as if firing a rifle to depict the fate that some Christians feared under communism.

"Now the pilgrim's way is open again."

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Russian Orthodox Icy Plunge

Monday, January 18, 2010
AP

A man emerges from cold water after plunging into an icy pond to mark the upcoming Epiphany in Kuzminki park in southeastern Moscow, Monday. Thousands of Russian Orthodox Church followers plunged Monday into icy rivers and ponds across the country to mark the upcoming Epiphany, cleansing themselves with water deemed holy for the day. Water that is blessed by a cleric on Epiphany is considered holy and pure until next year's celebration, and is believed to have special powers of protection and healing. The Russian Orthodox Church follows the old Julian calendar, according to which Epiphany falls on Jan. 19. Moscow temperatures on Monday morning dropped to -20 C (-4 F).

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Self-Control, and Lack of Self-Control, Is Contagious

ScienceDaily (Jan. 18, 2010) — Before patting yourself on the back for resisting that cookie or kicking yourself for giving in to temptation, look around. A new University of Georgia study has revealed that self-control -- or the lack thereof -- is contagious.

In a just-published series of studies involving hundreds of volunteers, researchers have found that watching or even thinking about someone with good self-control makes others more likely exert self-control. The researchers found that the opposite holds, too, so that people with bad self-control influence others negatively. The effect is so powerful, in fact, that seeing the name of someone with good or bad self-control flashing on a screen for just 10 milliseconds changed the behavior of volunteers.

"The take home message of this study is that picking social influences that are positive can improve your self-control," said lead author Michelle vanDellen, a visiting assistant professor in the UGA department of psychology. "And by exhibiting self-control, you're helping others around you do the same."

People tend to mimic the behavior of those around them, and characteristics such as smoking, drug use and obesity tend to spread through social networks. But vanDellen's study is thought to be the first to show that self-control is contagious across behaviors. That means that thinking about someone who exercises self-control by regularly exercising, for example, can make your more likely to stick with your financial goals, career goals or anything else that takes self-control on your part.

VanDellen's findings, which are published in the early online edition of the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, are the result of five separate studies conducted over two years with study co-author Rick Hoyle at Duke University.

In the first study, the researchers randomly assigned 36 volunteers to think about a friend with either good or bad self-control. Those that thought about a friend with good self-control persisted longer on a handgrip task commonly used to measure self-control, while the opposite held true for those who were asked to think about a friend with bad self-control.

In the second study, 71 volunteers watched others exert self-control by choosing a carrot from a plate in front of them instead of a cookie from a nearby plate, while others watched people eat the cookies instead of the carrots. The volunteers had no interaction with the tasters other than watching them, yet their performance was altered on a later test of self-control depending on who they were randomly assigned to watch.

In the third study, 42 volunteers were randomly assigned to list friends with both good and bad self-control. As they were completing a computerized test designed to measure self-control, the computer screen would flash the names for 10 milliseconds -- too fast to be read but enough to subliminally bring the names to mind. Those who were primed with the name of a friend with good self-control did better, while those primed with friends with bad self-control did worse.

In a fourth study, vanDellen randomly assigned 112 volunteers to write about a friend with good self-control, bad self-control or -- for a control group -- a friend who is moderately extroverted. On a later test of self-control, those who wrote about friends with good self-control did the best, while those who wrote about friends with bad self-control did the worst. The control group, those who wrote about a moderately extroverted friend, scored between the other two groups.

In the fifth study of 117 volunteers, the researchers found that those who were randomly assigned to write about friends with good self-control were faster than the other groups at identifying words related to self-control, such as achieve, discipline and effort. VanDellen said this finding suggests that self-control is contagious because being exposed to people with either good or bad self-control influences how accessible thoughts about self-control are.

VanDellen said the magnitude of the influence might be significant enough to be the difference between eating an extra cookie at a party or not, or deciding to go to the gym despite a long day at work. The effect isn't so strong that it absolves people of accountability for their actions, she explained, but it is a nudge toward or away from temptation.

"This isn't an excuse for blaming other people for our failures," vanDellen said. "Yes, I'm getting nudged, but it's not like my friend is taking the cookie and feeding it to me; the decision is ultimately mine."

The research was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

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Is Russia More Christian Than the United States?

Is Russia More Christian Than the United States? Medvedev Might Just Say Yes!

Friday, 15 January 2010
By Stephen K. Ryan
Ministry Values

Is Russian leadership more Christian than the United States? Is the Russian Government more Christian than George Bush ever hoped the United States to be? The answer is yes, and not only is it true, but thanks to born again Christians, Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin, Christian influence in matters of State is rapidly on the rise. Let's look at the facts.

A couple of weeks ago Barack Obama skipped Church on Christmas Day while the President of Russia, Dimitry Medvedev, on January 6, 2010, attended mid-night mass services celebrating the Russian Orthodox Christmas in grand splendor in the traditional Vigil liturgy in Saint Christ the Saviour Cathedral in the presence of 4,000 people, including Patriarch Kirill. The Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas following the old Julian calendar, which is 13 days "behind" the Gregorian calendar.

While Russian leaders were attending Church services, half way around the world in America, Chicago Tribune, writing about Obama's troubles finding a Church for his family, said "But as his (Obama) fellow Christians around the world attended Christmas services on Wednesday and Thursday, the president-elect and his family remained sequestered at their vacation compound on the windward coast of Oahu. His lack of attendance at formal religious services showcased a dilemma faced by Obama, who is between churches and often expresses concern about bringing the disruption of his security detail into the lives of others." According to the same report President Barack Obama has not attended a public church service since before being elected.

So what you say? Well, today Russia is investing $100 million to rebuild Christian churches throughout the country. Money to rebuild theses churches is coming from Russian tax payers. This would be impossible in the US of course. Imagine the US Media's reaction if President Obama decided to invest $100 million dollars of US tax payer dollars to rebuild Catholic Churches. In the US there would be outrage yet Russia citizens are supportive of the investment.

Russia's turn to Christianity is a virtually unknown phenomenon in the United States. Most Christian leaders are oblivious to what is happening in Russia. Pastor Robertson or Pastor Hagee still believe Russia is an atheist and communist country and these prominent End-Times Christian pastors are rasing money and rattling their sabers to go to war against the Godless state.

But the reality is Russia is indeed rebuilding Churches with tax payer funds. MinistryValues.com, in another piece, wrote "In addition to the formal exchange of wishes and thanks with the Patriarchate of Moscow, the Russian government gave the Christian Church a dramatic Christmas gift. Meeting with the patriarch at the Danilov Monastery, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced that the government would provide almost $100 million US dollars (RUB 2 billion) to restore holy sites, monasteries and churches destroyed during last century's atheist drive by the Soviet Union against religion. He also said that the Novodevichy Convent, one of most beautiful and important in the country, would be given back to the Patriarchate.

Putin Emphasizes "Love for Spiritual Values" Kisses religious Icons, Keeps Miracle Cross with him.

Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedeve go to Church frequently, kiss precious icons of the Virgin Mary and seek political and moral counsel from the Russian Orthodox Clergy. Furthermore, to the surprise of many Americans, particularly Evangelical Christians, Vladimir Putin wears a Christian cross with him at all times.

From a Larry King Live interview Putin told Larry King: "I was surprised completely when one of the workers, just muddling through those ashes of the remnants, found that cross intact. And the house fell, that was a surprise, a revelation, and therefore I always now keep it with me. "

Vladimir Putin has frequently praised the Christian Russian Orthodox Church for "educating citizens in a spirit of patriotism and love of country, passing on love for spiritual values and history." For his part, Kirill said that he hoped that the Lord would help Putin "in performing the high task God gave him." The patriarch also praised the prime minister for the way he managed the economic crisis, which has had a greater impact in Russia than elsewhere in the world.

Christian influence penetrates the Russian Military

Interfax of Moscow reported Patriarch Kirill head of Moscow and All Russia Orthodox Church in a speech to Strategic Missile Forces Academy in Moscow said "that in last ten years many garrison churches and Sunday schools have opened in secret military towns of Russia"

Patriarch Kirill Patriarch at a special ceremony awarded the Special Strategic Missile Forces (RVSN) a pennant with the image of the Holy Great Martyr Barbara, the heavenly protector of the branch. The Patriarch conveyed the award to Lieutenant General Andrey Shvaichenko, RVSN Commander, at the Peter the Great Strategic Missile Forces Academy in Moscow on Tuesday when opening the conference dedicated the Academy’s jubilee.

Infax reported also that the Patriarch, speaking of Russia's nuclear asresanl "is convinced “such dangerous weapon can be given only to clean hands –hands of people with clear mind, ardent love to Motherland, responsibility for their work before God and people.”

He believes it is not by chance that systematic cooperation of the Russian Church with the Russian Armed Forces started with the Strategic Missile Forces in early 1990s.

Not a big tent in Russia - Restrictions on Evangelical Christians

Funding to restore Christian sites and the return of properties seized from the Church in Soviet times are but the latest gift of the Kremlin to the Patriarchate. This year, the Russia Justice Ministry will present plans to amend the laws on "Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organisations", which, if approved, would severely restrict the activities of certain religious communities, like Evangelical Christians. In addition, the authorities plan to add religious education in public schools as well as chaplains paid by the state to the armed forces. It also appears possible that the Orthodox Patriarchate of Moscow will be granted the right to vet parliamentary bills before they go to the
Duma.

Is the Russian Government building a more Christian society? Perhaps. But try telling that to your buddies at Church this Sunday.

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New Martyrs Museum in Donskoy Monastery

Museum of People Hurt by Bolsheviks For Their Faith to Open in Donskoy Monastery

Moscow, 14 January 2010, Interfax - The new governor of the Moscow Donskoy Monastery plans to open a new martyrs museum in the monastery and make it a place for pilgrimage of schoolchildren, students and intelligentsia.

"It's a national holy place. Firstly, it's a historical center of resistance to militant atheism and political anti-Christianity. The headquarters of holy Patriarch Tikhon was located here, and the patriarch fought for the future of the Church here," Bishop Kirill of Pavlovo-Posad said in an interview with Interfax-Religion.

The Donskoy Monastery is also a burial site for many Russian historical and public figures, including writers Ivan Shmelyov, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, philosopher Ivan Ilyin, and Write Movement leaders Anton Denikin and Vladimir Kappel, Bishop Kirill said.

"It's a memorial of Russian national glory, culture, historical memory! For this reason, it is logical to create in the Donskoy Monastery a general church missionary and educational center for missionary excursions," Bishop Kirill said.

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Parachute Failure Origin of Antarctica Church

After Surviving Parachute Failure, Test Pilot Builds Church in Antarctica

Moscow, 19 January 2010, Interfax – Test pilot Pyotr Zadirov thanked God for his successful flight without parachute by building the Holy Trinity Church in Antarctica.

Zadirov, a professional parachutist, made a jump from 800 meters, which became crucial for him. His parachute failed to open for technical reasons. However, Pyotr fell in a snowdrift and miraculously had only slight concussions and bruises. Doctors could not help wondering as he did not have any internal injuries, the Moskovsky Komsomolets daily reported on Tuesday.

Since then Zadirov has erected three churches to thank God for his miraculous salvation including the one at the South Pole.

“Though there are organized tours to Antarctica, the church was mainly built for polar explorers. No requiem service was read for all who died at the Pole before, they were just buried in snow in a small local cemetery,” the parachutist said.

Patriarch Alexy II blessed the project of the church in the style of wooden architecture in 2000. The church has become a representation of the Holy Trinity - St. Sergius Laura and rectors serve there in shifts.

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Arthur C. Clarke's ‘2010’ Still Beyond Reality

Only a handful of author's predicted breakthroughs have been reached.

By Charles Q. Choi
Jan. 8, 2010
MSNBC

The year 2010 has arrived, but humans have yet to travel out to the gas giants of our solar system as portrayed by Arthur C. Clarke in his book "2010: Odyssey Two" — much less unearth alien artifacts on the moon.

Clarke was more than just a science fiction legend — he was a physicist, and in 1945, the same year he sold his first story, he was the first to propose the concept of geostationary telecommunications satellite networks, more than a decade before the first orbital rocket flight. He died in 2008 at age 90.

Clarke's book "2010" made its debut in 1982 as a sequel to his iconic work "2001: A Space Odyssey."

Now, 28 years later, the real 2010 leaves much to be desired. Let's see how far we have to go before reaching Clarke's vision of our present:

The power of the sun

In "2010," the lead characters venture out to Jupiter employing spacecraft equipped with "the Sakharov drive," which uses "a pulsed thermonuclear reaction to heat and expel virtually any propellant material."

In nuclear fusion, atomic nuclei are forced to fuse together, which can generate an extraordinary amount of power when a fraction of the mass of these atoms gets converted into energy, following Einstein's famous equation: E=mc2. The Sakharov drive, named after Russian nuclear physicist and political dissident Andrei Sakharov, uses this energy to heat and expel liquid hydrogen and potentially methane, ammonia and even water.

Scientists have yet to master thermonuclear power. Still, the strategy the Sakharov drive employed — inertial confinement fusion, which uses lasers to heat and compress pellets of fuel — could see a major advance in 2010.

The largest and most energetic inertial confinement fusion system built to date, the National Ignition Facility in California, is set to begin experiments this year to reach the long-sought goal of "ignition," producing more energy than was put in to start the reaction.

Alien life in our backyard

While "2001" suggest that alien life might exist, "2010" portrayed aliens evolving right in our own solar system, both deep in the atmosphere of Jupiter and the underground oceans of Jupiter's moon Europa. Life on alien moons has long been a staple of science fiction, and the recent sci-fi blockbuster "Avatar" is set on a jungle moon of a fictional planet orbiting the real Alpha Centauri A.

Although we have no way of peering into Jupiter to look for life, most planetary scientists do believe oceans exist beneath Europa's surface. These subterranean seas are kept warm by the incredible tidal forces churned up by Jupiter's gravitational pull.

Hibernation

To save on resources during the long voyage to the outer planets, crews relied on hibernation. Although suspended animation remains out of reach, scientists have actually made progress in the field.

Researcher Mark Roth of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle and his colleagues are conducting research to put humans into a hibernation-like state by having people inhale hydrogen sulfide.

Paleontologist Peter Ward at the University of Washington at Seattle even suggested genetic engineering humans for the types of brain or nervous systems that help one to go into hibernation.

"My mind is going. I can feel it."

In the novel, scientists reboot HAL, the psychotic artificial intelligence that killed nearly all the astronauts in "2001." In just a few days, HAL not only regains speech, facial recognition, speech recognition and emotion recognition, but can also once more reason, understand and carry out conversations, and control a spaceship.

We also discover the reason for HAL's killing spree — the contradictory orders the computer was given led to "what would be called, in human terms, a psychosis — specifically, schizophrenia."

When Clarke wrote "2001" in the 1960s, a number of computer scientists were optimistic that machines with HAL's capabilities might soon exist, and Marvin Minsky, co-founder of the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, was an adviser on the film. In 2010, however, only a handful of these breakthroughs have been reached, such as speech and facial recognition. No one has a machine capable of common-sense reasoning, much less capable of then going crazy.

Still, fantastic advances have been made in computing over the years. Last year IBM even claimed it has a computer system that can simulate the thinking power of a cat's brain with 1 billion neurons and 10 trillion individual learning synapses.

Who knows? Maybe humanity could have developed artificial intelligences, nuclear-powered spaceships and moon bases if we had alien monoliths guiding our evolution too.

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"Papoulakos": Righteous Christoforos Panagiotopoulos

PROLOGUE

If someone searches Modern Greek history for a revolutionary figure comparable to that of the world-renowned Che Guevara then they would find such a person in Greece in the Peloponnese and Cyclades. This person was an Orthodox monk who lived there in the nineteenth century.

Of significance is that history is written each time by a few. It is those who take leaps and bounds who are uncompromising, courageous and daring. It is those who prefer motion to immobility and action to passivity, even if this approach leads to traps, danger and persecution. Amongst these few revolutionary figures is the holy monk Christoforos Panagiotopoulos or as he is widely known as Papoulakos. He was from the village of Arbouna located near the town of Klitoria in the Kalavryta district of the Peloponnese. He was a great national and religious figure during the mid-nineteenth century in Greece, existing in a period that echoed a movement started by the ascetics who were known as Kollyvades from Mount Athos.

Papoulakos was active in this period of great historical interest. During this time it was in the process of completing the formation of the New Greek State. In other words, he appeared when the foundation stone of State and Orthodoxy were being set, a period which was very important politically and ecclesiastically. The Greek nation after the triumph of the Revolution of 1821 attempted to take a stand as an independent state.

Furthermore, during this time 500 out of the 600 existing monasteries which collectively made up the citadel of Orthodoxy in Byzantium (324 -1453) and during the Turkish occupation, were closed by Maurer under King Otto’s command.[1] This involved the driving out of the living and the burning of our cultural heritage; such an outrage had not even dared to be undertaken during the period of Turkish rule (1456-1821). The least that one could do was raise his voice in protest, whatever the cost. So this period was of particular interest not only for historical research but also for every thinking citizen who searches for answers on today’s social, political and ecclesiastical problems.

Within a decade Papoulakos managed to shake up the sociological make up of the newborn Greek state. His actions and preaching are a continuation of those carried out by two other brave men in our history, that of St. Cosmas Aitolos (Died, 24th August 1779) and the unknown St. Sofianou, (Died, 26th November 1711) Bishop of Argirokastro, who was active in Epirus 70 years before St. Cosma, thus becoming his antecedent.

Papoulakos was perhaps not as educated as St. Cosma and the Holy Sofianou however; he had the strength and daring to support the same things as them. For the same reasons, St Cosmas sacrificed himself and St Sofianos renounced the throne to guide those back to Christianity who had been converted to Muslims by force. In other words, these men devoted their preaching and work so as their land's Orthodox tradition stayed free from any kind of dangerous internal and external attacks.

As a start we will look at this great personality called ‘Papoulakos’, by referring to his biographical record.

1) Papoulakos’ Name

According to people, Christophoros’ secular name was Christos Panagiotopoulos; however, the people gave him the name Papoulako or Papoulaki. There are many differing opinions as to how he got this nickname. Some support the most convincing story that the people called him Papoulako because of his small stature. It is also said that the people called him Papoulako to his face as he started his preaching at an old age after having a vision he experienced in his abandoned house in Arbouna. Even up until today the elderly monks in Greece are called by the title of ‘Papouli’.

‘Papoulakos’ is the diminutive of ‘Papouli’. As the Spartans held him in high esteem and respected him even more so, they changed Papouli to Papoulakos. He himself signed off as ‘Christoforos the Monk’ or ‘Christoforos the Greek Preacher’. Documents in the public registry and in the circulars issued then by the Holy Synod of Greece, as well as official reports refer to him with the prevailing name given to him by the people, ‘Papoulakos’.

2) Place of Origin

He was born in 1770, in the mountain village of Arbouna. This village is situated northeast of the town with the twofold name of Klitoria / Mazeika and south-east of the historical city of Kalavrita in the Prefecture of Achaia. 900 meters above sea level, Arbouna spreads out amphitheatrically between two angular shaped masses. The houses are divided over these two slopes, the latter of which lie at the foothills of the large Aroanian mountain range. It is here that Greek mythology refers to the hero Achilles and his mother, the sea goddess Thetis, who attempted to make her son immortal by washing his hair in the river Styx.

So it was in Arbouna that Papoulakos quietly spent most of his life following the family profession of a butcher. He lived a tranquil life and as such his character was also calm, just and fair. For this reason he was much loved by the populace of this area.

No one could imagine that this man who was a supplier of meat would after a few years for thousands of people become a supplier of messages for the resistance against the dark powers who had conspired against Orthodoxy and the small newly formed Greek nation.

3) His Transition to a Monastic Life and the Beginning Of His Journey

At approximately 60 years of age, Papoulakos turned to a monastic life. According to some of his biographers this change in his way of life, was attributed to a vision, which he had in his house in Arbouna. It is said that during this event, he lost consciousness for three days, remaining as if he were dead. On seeing his state the parents awaited a miracle. Their prayers were answered after placing his body in the Church of St. Athanasios, found north of his house.

After regaining consciousness this experience for Papoulakos resulted in changing the meaning of his existence. He decided to share his property amongst his three brothers Athanasios, Andreas, Giorgios and one sister. He then vested them with the task of looking after the house in which he saw the holy vision.

After this vision he became a monk in the Monastery of St Athanasios at Filia in the town of Klitoria. He visited the nearby villages collecting different goods and money, which he would share with the poor and orphans. Simultaneously, he spread God’s word. Papoulakos’ charitable nature that was directed to those suffering and those who had been treated unjustly was what made him very well known and loved everywhere. The residents saw, with great surprise, that this previous butcher had renounced the world to wear a monk’s robes and to communicate with God. He asked that his offerings towards the poor remained strictly secret.

For a period he abandoned traveling and returned to his village staying at his house. At this time he built a sacred monastery and dedicated it to the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, as his family possessed a miraculous icon of her. He built a monk’s cell (skete) on the lower floor of the family house, which used to be a place to keep the animals. It was here that Papoulakos started living a monastic life.

In 1847 he left his monk’s cell (skete) travelling again to the villages and preaching the word of God. The studying of ecclesiastical books of the time and his deep religiousness made him very dear to the people. Everyone wanted to meet him and receive a blessing from this respected white-bearded 70-year-old elder with his coarsely woven robes.

The people listened very carefully to his teachings of the Gospels on ethics and Christian principles, which he presented in a warm and truthful way. They readily embraced him because in him they saw the word of God and how they could apply it in their daily lives. From the villages of Achaia he moved to the Arcadian mountains where he taught with the same love the word of God. He spoke to the villagers in a simple manner about the Gospels, which taught not to steal, not to tell lies and not to perpetuate family hate but to show good to one another.

With these simple words he suggested to people to literate their children with the ecclesiastical books. The books, which came from the West, needed to be treated cautiously because they doubted ethics, morals and hid atheism. This cautious stance taken towards the West was not because he himself was illiterate, as some had accused him of being; but it was due to the prevalent educational problem of the time.

It is known that the Bavarians wanted to continue to break down Greek society leaving no opposition; their plan was enforced through education. Almost the whole educational program of our small fatherland of that period was in the hands of the Catholics and the Protestants; that is to say in foreign hands. Already from 1821, the West had infiltrated the social life of our country. On the one hand, the Catholics were especially interested in founding schools thereby exploiting in this sector the absence of Greek administration as the independent state had only just been founded. On the other hand, we have the Protestant missionaries who were on different holy missions spreading everywhere and considering themselves as “saviours” of the East. All of this was contradictory to Papoulakos’ teachings that were against both globalization and alienation.

In 1848 Papoulakos went to Athens to ask permission of the Holy Synod of the Greek Church to preach the word of God. The Synod however refused to give him permission. It is possible that the reason for this refusal was owed not so much to the holy monk Christoforos’ lack of formal qualifications as to his connection to the Holy Monastery of Megalo Spilio at Kalavrita. Here many monks belonged to the Society of the Friends of Orthodoxy who were a group of highly educated, philosophical and spiritual monks. Consequently, it was expected from the Church’s administration at that time not to respond in a favorable way to the movements of this spiritual society. In the end in 1851 the permission was granted to Papoulakos to preach in the Peloponnese but within the restricted areas of Arcadia, Lakonia and Messinia.


4) The Nature Of His Journey

Attention to detail was given to Papoulakos’ visits to the villages. His movement from one place to another followed a specific procedure. Before his setting out on a journey, wherever he went he sent out his group of followers to announce his arrival. Then the bells started ringing out merrily. The inhabitants of the village would then come out and welcome him. The welcoming party as such was made up of priests wearing their robes and teachers with their students officially assembled in lines. The women brought their babies and Papoulakos the elder would bless them. After this initial brief welcome they would all celebrate in the village. When Papoulakos had relaxed a little he would go out on the balcony of a house and speak to the people. If there was no balcony they would make a platform for him to stand on or he would even climb up a tree. In front of himself he would place an icon of the Virgin Mary. Upon his the ending of his sermon he would stayovernight at a monastery if there were one close by, or else with a poor and struggling family.

5) His Preaching

With his sincere and meaningful sermons, Papoulakos touched the people and raised their morale. Even if his voice was naturally soft and weak when he preached it acquired an intensity and youthful vigor. His sermon did not have a deep religious meaning but simple religious truths and deeds taken from the law of the Gospels. This resulted in everyone understanding him because he spoke the language of the villagers. Perhaps some words used were beneath those employed by educated people at the time, but one way or another those people had become disconnected resulting in forming a separate class. Nevertheless, those who were eager to understand Papoulakos’ sacred word would comprehend his teachings easily. The others had separated from the orthodox preaching of Christoforos as they were more absorbed by the western spiritual teachings, which they both accepted and supported.

Papoulakos’ words didn’t only have theological content but also a moral and social meaning that was something which very valuable for the period in which he lived. He was strictly against injustice directed towards the weak, and caused by thieves, sorcery and other sinful ways. Additionally, he was against the British, Turks and Jews who secretly were trying to direct the new government that was in the hands of the Great Powers and King Otto. For example, he openly condemned the bad actions of the English referring to the Ionian Islands, which were then ruled by them.

The effort of his labors quickly bore fruit. From wherever he passed the inhabitants from their mountain villages were not only listening to his preaching but inexplicably they responded to the ethical demands by behaving better. Eventually, it arrived at the point where thefts and robberies had almost disappeared. His preaching had so much impact that love grew among people and within families where there existed deep hatred and even murder.

Of significance is the information found about that period, 1845, from a French traveler about the Peloponnese. He was of Greek origin and known as Eugene Yemieniz who refers in his work “Voyage dans le Royaume de Grece”, to Christoforos Papoulakos’ contribution. There is a known vendetta that Papoulakos was able to solve temporarily which rules up until today as an unwritten law in the Mani area. The authorities of the Peloponnese wrote to the central government in Athens that the inhabitants of the Peloponnese became proper citizens due to Papoulakos.

His opponents were forced to acknowledge this who in hundreds of reports would curse and swear at him in the worst language. Of course the people whose criteria was right and fair had formed an opinion about Papoulakos’ character. His life and work was quickly judged as saintly and of pure spirit. From day to day despite the efforts of a few poisoned minds his reputation increased as a saintly man. It reached the point where they were cutting pieces from his hard and coarsely woven robes to have as an amulet to ward away every evil from both body and soul.

The women who made up the largest and most devout group of his followers kept these pieces as icons in their houses treasuring them as something very holy. Others hung them round their children’s necks, as amulets, whilst others still would add pieces in the dough whilst preparing bread. Christoforos’ robe was valued so highly that the fishermen in the Cyclades had pieces woven into their nets. This would ensure them of big catches just as Christ’s blessing had performed miracles for the apostles on the Sea of Galilee. Additionally, from the view point of ecological awareness Papoulakos would encourage the people’s faith in the healing power of plants and herbs of which there was abundance in the areas where he preached.

6) His First Grand Entrance into the City of Kalamata

In September 1851 he was found in the villages around Olympia. Then a little later he was in the Trifillea district and from there Arcadia and Laconia. Everywhere hundreds of inhabitants left their work to follow him. On 10th October 1851 his entrance into Kalamata had many followers and it was triumphant. Almost all the inhabitants of the city came out to welcome him. The then Prefect had written that thousands of people welcomed him wanting to see, hear and to be healed by him.

As soon as the civil authorities were informed about Papoulakos’ triumphant welcome they over-reacted. The local authorities sent a detailed report of his movements to the central administration in Athens but they did not stop there. The Prefect asked him to leave from his district but Papoulakos didn’t obey because he had Christ as his leader, so he went to Kiparissia the capitol of the district of Trifillia. The local Major tried to prevent him from preaching but he didn’t succeed. All the impediments placed by the authorities weren’t able to stop Papoulakos’ word because the word of the Gospel is a strong weapon, which cannot be restricted.

Furthermore, as this era was noted for its lack of spirituality, the people were even thirstier for God’s word. And for this reason the authorities tried to distance him from the cities, which he travelled to. However, when the seeds of his words started to grow in the thirsty hearts of the people and his reputation was expanding even more, especially amongst the simple people, panic broke out in the government and they decided to take effective measures

7) The Measures Taken By the Government and the People’s Reaction

The government asked the Greek Orthodox Church to take action. So they called Papoulakos to Athens to defend himself. Papoulakos didn’t pay any attention to them but continued more intensively with his journeys. From Corinth he went to Kranidhion in Argolis and from here to Spetsai. In Spetsai he found many
followers. The people’s faith in his sainthood reached its zenith. Even the stones on which he walked were considered blessed and the believers took them for amulets to their houses. There was such devotion from the people towards Papoulakos that in some areas such as Kranidhion, the priests during the church services didn’t refer to the King’s name but instead used that of Papoulakos. At night everyone, both young and old, went out on the streets with candles, censers and holding something belonging to him or an icon of Papoulakos’ image to which they prayed for his health and protection.

In April 1852 he passed from Argolis to Laconia. His preaching provoked a genuine spiritual awakening in all Orthodox people. Because the pressure from the authorities continued to increase against the elder the people foresaw the danger of his murder. So they took in their own hands the protection of their spiritual father. His followers carried guns and accompanied him everywhere. Masses had left their houses following him day and night on his holy journeys. With the people there were many priests as well as the Bishop Assinis Makarios who accepted him officially into the Bishop’s residence in Sparta. The government seeing the religious love from the people and unable to control the masses pressurized the church administration even more to take urgent action. The final decision for Papoulakos pursuit happened in the Monastery of Prophet Elias on Santorini.

In areas where the saint had gone they sent preachers to influence the people against him. To Laconia the Archimandrite Kallinikos Kastorhis was sent (later to become Bishop Fthiotidos). Then to Ermioni and Spetsai Archimandrite Neofitos Konstantinides was sent. These dispatches were unsuccessful. And when the latter spoke against Papoulakos they threw stones at him and he quickly left. In May 1852 the Synod sent a letter to the clergy and people of Laconia saying that he had changed God’s Word. But not even this action brought results. On the contrary the people’s love for Papoulakos increased even more.

The Government on seeing that the church couldn’t stop this spiritual revolution decided to take action by itself. It sent to Laconia 2,000 soldiers under the brave Kolokotronis with orders to enlist others from the area including mobilizing warships. On the other side Papoulakos continued to both travel and speak throughout Sparta. However, the people saw the Government’s activities and started becoming anxious. There was an agitated atmosphere in areas from which he had passed where anti-government demonstrations were still taking place.

A typical example, which was characteristic of these demonstrations, is the episode referred to by Major’s Secretary in Spetsai in the report to the Prefect on 22nd May 1852. Amongst other things there was a reference to the local authorities that had forbidden prayers at the Church of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary in Spetsai because apparently they were seen as demonstrations in favour of Papoulakos. However, there was a strong reaction from the people and that same evening 3,000 people met encircling the Town Hall. The authorities immediately backed down and gave permission to carry out services as usual in the church.

On the 26th May 1852 the Holy Synod sent out a circular in which they assured the people that the Orthodox faith wasn’t running into any danger and that the King and the Government were protecting the Orthodox Church.

Whilst this was going on Papoulakos was becoming strongly accepted by everyone in the Sparta area. Several times there were attempts to arrest him, but without any result. As soon as the people understood the movements of the gendarmerie and the army they would gather together and ring the bells alerting a defense while his followers took up fighting positions.

On 23rd May he decided to visit Kalamata for a second time notifying the people to follow him. Two thousand people and 500 more armed people responded immediately to his call. The Prefect of Messinia sent out a circular trying to frighten the inhabitants of Kalamata saying that it was actually the people from Mani who were coming to steal from them. He also urged in the circular to hide their money, take up arms and to march out in order to protect their property. This circular finished with threats saying whoever went to Papoulakos’ sermons would be judged guilty of a major crime and would be dealt with by the army. Naturally, under such conditions Papoulakos couldn’t enter Kalamata for the people to suffer and so he decided that it was better to return to Mani.

During this period the King’s army had arrived in Laconia. The reactions to the army were indifference and maybe, perhaps even opposition. They even refused to give them food so they were forced to bring food from other areas. Teams of soldiers had spread over Sparta to capture Christoforos, the monk of small stature.

8) His Arrest

His arrest was impossible in Mani because the inhabitants didn’t want to come into any conflict with the soldiers, so instead they offered him protection. Even the local gentry kept him in hiding providing him with the necessary food and house to stay in. The order, however, was clear to arrest him without fail. Unfortunately, the solution to the problem of arresting him had a tragic ending in betrayal. They asked for a traitor and unfortunately one was found. He was one of Papoulakos’ most trusted followers, Vasilios the priest from Langadia in the municipality of Lefktrou. The exchange for the traitor was calculated at 6.000 drachmas.

During this period Papoulakos was hiding in the Voivonitsis Monastery close to Kardamala. When his ‘trusted’ priest was asked to prepare a guard for his safe departure to Crete until things had calmed down, the traitor was eager to do this. However, instead of taking a guard from his followers he took 6 gendarmerie disguised as his Spartan followers. The disguised police had fake letters from Bishop Assinis, which falsely invited the elder to his area to speak. Papoulakos did whatever he heard from Makarios and departed on 23rd June 1852. The following day in the morning they hid in the Tsingos Monastery close to Areopolis because during the day there was the supposed danger that they would be discovered and arrested.

In the meantime someone from the gendarmerie alerted the other soldiers that Papoulakos was in the monastery. Immediately the army arrived and caught the elder easily as he himself had nothing to fear. A true spiritual person is ready to be expelled and sacrificed. The noblemen of this world didn’t frighten him. The continuation of the story was done in great secrecy, he embarked on the boat “Matilda” at Pithio after which they transferred him to another boat “Othon” whose destination was Piraeus.

On hearing the news that they had caught Christoforos, the people were both very sad and frustrated. The Prefect of Laconia wrote that his area was in national mourning. However, the big armed forces in Sparta were sent to restrain these reactions.

It is worth mentioning that the traitor had a bad ending. The people’s hate towards him was great. The Spartans couldn’t believe that a follower was found who could also be bribed and betray their just elder, Papoulakos. So continuously they asked for the traitor to be punished. The traitor saw that Sparta didn’t want him so he went to Athens to ask to become a priest in the army. However, the hate against him didn’t come only from the inhabitants of Sparta but everywhere. And in fact in Spetsai when the boat arrived with the priest Vasilios on board they tried to lynch him. He was saved after much effort by the armed forces.

Finally, after a year passed a youth was found at the right moment that killed him. Moreover, the traitor’s father was not only not sorry for his son’s murder, because he had also raped his sister, but on the contrary he was so happy that he gave a reward to the person who had brought the news about the murder.

9) Papoulakos’ Incarceration in the Patras Prison

The news of Papoulakos’ arrival in Pireaus shook up Athens. Thousands of people went down each day to see him. However, none could get close because he was heavily guarded by hundreds of soldiers and gendarmerie. The adverse conditions in which he was held made him ill. The doctors who examined him said that he must be removed from the boat because he had been adversely affected from the conditions that he was kept in. After a few days he was taken to the damp prison in the fortress at Rio, in Patras. There they locked him up forbidding even the guards to go near him. Regardless of the fact that he was tied up he managed to get out in “a miraculous way” to speak and help the people from his place of birth, in Achaia.

After a year in solitary confinement he was sent for trial on 26th July 1853 to the Criminal Court of Athens where he was accused of being a leader of an organization against the state. Masses of people had gathered in and outside the court. He showed both courage and daring in his trial refusing to appoint a defense saying that he had Christ as his defense. The absence of witnesses resulted in the trial being postponed till 16th September.

The postponement of the trial coincided with events from abroad that had created tension and uneasiness because the Crimea war had already started. In the end his trial never happened. On August 1853 there was a royal decree declaring innocence for Papoulakos and his followers both from within and outside the church.

10) His Imprisonment in Andros and His Sanctified Death

The Government could leave him free but the churchs' administration, pressurized by the government, decided to imprison him in the Panachrantos Monastery in Andros. Many followers visited him there from the length and breadth of the country and from the islands, even Crete and Jerusalem. They heard him speak through the barred windows of his cell. He was truly a free ‘prisoner’. However, this didn’t bother him because even if his body was earthbound his spirit was calmly in Heaven.

His stay in the Panachrantos Monastery didn’t differ very much from his damp cell at the fortress prison at Rio. It had a small window from which a little light entered. It was guarded day and night by the gendarmerie. They had forbidden him to speak with his visitors who had come from afar and in fact they forbade him any communication with the outside world. As such he was found in strict isolation. Certainly, when the Bishop of Andros became Mitrofanis Economides, originally from Kalavrita, the restrictions towards Papoulakos increased. Years later and due to him appearing in a vision to strangers, the cell in which he had been incarcerated was located. In this cell there was found his icon of the Virgin Mary Vrefokratousa. Shortly after this the cell was transformed into a church.

After the feats of such living conditions his spirit was released on the night ofthe 18th going towards the 19th January 1861 on the same day as St Athanasios’ name day. This day is celebrated in the Church of St Athanasios in his village of Arbouna. He was buried in the cemetery at the Panachrantos Monastery. The holy one was mourned by the fathers of the monastery and from the inhabitants of the island and he was honoured as a Saint. His grave up until today is a spiritual source and pride of the Panachrantos Monastery.

11) Papoulakos’ Honoured Memory in our Time

Immediately after Christoforos’ burial in Andros at the cemetery of the Monastery Panochranton there were efforts to officially register him in the Orthodox Church’s catalogue of saints; to exhume his corpse and to recount his life’s story. The latter two things happened, but canonization in Greece has not as yet come about. His revolutionary actions created a widespread problem for official recognition.

Slowly but surely his memory began to be restored not only in the minds of the people who one way or the other always believed in his saintliness, but also in the clergy’s consciousness. There are masses of official accounts from clergymen
supporting not only his work but also his saintliness. The exhumation of his holy bones was done in secret and were to remain in charnel house at the Panachrantos Monastery. After much insistence by the inhabitants of Papoulakos’ village, the Bishop of Kalavrita Georgios on 12th September 1973 arranged for the transfer of Papoulakos’ Skull to the holy cell (skete) in the Church of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, which he had built himself in Arbouna, Klitoria.

After this move, masses of people came to the mountain village to pay homage and kiss his Holy Head, which gives out a fragrance and is also miraculous. The Head is officially encased in a reliquary which was bequeathed by Archbishop Nectarios Moulatsiotis, and it is decorated with valuable jewellery. Wherever else the relics of this holy man are kept they are done so in accordance to Greek Orthodox tradition.

There have been Divine Liturgies dedicated in his honor. Monks during their ordination and people in the Holy Baptism sometimes even accept his modest name for their own. The black and white portrait of Papoulakos, which has been circulating since his time, is placed in many churches and homes up until today. Also, all over Greece contemporary icons have been decorated with the Holy Christoforos, many of which contain pieces of his robes.

Churches have been built in his memory in different areas throughout Greece, especially those places in which he lived and performed miracles. Masses of contemporary evidence have remained. This is either word of mouth or through writings reporting his words and prophecies and miracles as long as he lived, as well as those after his death.

Christoforos the elder had prophesized many of the trials and tribulations that are going on today. In Morea in the Peloponnese it is known and usual to hear “we live in the days of Papoulakos’. It is awaited for Christoforos to be officially canonized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, an event which the GreekOrthodox Church is praying/awaiting for.

It is important to note that he is referred to in the circular Protocol No. 332,which was published during the presence of the local Bishop of Kalavrita, Agelias k. Ambrosios. It goes under the title of “Collected Facts about the Holy Papoulakos”. Additionally, according to the newspaper: “The Voice of Kalavrita” (August 2004) it writes that the late Archbishop of Athens and All of Greece Christodoulos visited the area and promised that when he would go to Klitoria, “and after he reads the appropriate blessing to rid the curse, he would proclaim Papoulakos’ sainthood.’

What is worthy of attention is some further information from the Archimandrite and Superior of the Monastery Panachranton in Andros, k. Evdokimou Frangoulaki. It refers to when they transferred the skull of St. Panteleimon to Russia. In a dialogue between the Patriarch of Moscow Alexios and the monastery it was said that in his monastery there had lived a saintly monk who was loved in Russia. The Patriarch and his bishops had assured him that the elder, Christoforos Papoulakos, had been acknowledged by the Patriarch of Russia who had already canonized him and that he is often commemorated in the Divine Liturgies.

This information gives us hope even if it comes from far away because it finally justifies this important figure of Greek history whose reputation has spread beyond the narrow boundaries of the Balkans.

EPILOGUE

In the end the West’s dispute with the Greek powers managed to succeed in less than two decades in Papoulakos’ time, that which it had been fighting over for centuries to do, regarding the spiritual enslavement of the East, by placing internal forces.

The resistance that a Papoulakos People’s Orthodox Movement projected could not stop the plans of the Bavarians. However, it curtailed them for a while and lit up a ray of light like a spiritual fighting consignment for the next generations. This ray of light is a great inheritance for younger Greeks.

Today, the young ‘Bavarians’ in whatever form have infiltrated Greek society and are trying to cut us off from the Greek Orthodox tradition. We are obliged to keep this ray of light shining, which was handed down to us by the first martyrs of the Greek state, so we can withstand the next invasion.

Yet again there are dark international anti-Greek forces not wanting Greek power that do everything to alienate our national Greek identity, and break down our national, social and religious cohesion. These arduous times require a healthy power of Hellenism and for the Orthodox to oppose with strength.

12) The Christoforos Papoulakos Foundation

Papoulakos’ house still exists today in Arbouna but it is in ruins. It originally belonged to his descendants who live in Australia.

However, Archimandrite Nectarios N. Pettas, PhD Candidate for Archaeology from Patras, has recently bought the house. The plan is to reconstruct and restore it urgently before it is totally destroyed thus losing a vital part of early Greek history.

The aim of Archimandrate Nectarios N. Petta is to create a foundation from the Papoulakos’ house. It will show the work of Christoforos and other important Greek and Orthodox figures. Simultaneously, it will operate as a centre for studies on Greek Cultural Heritage. Recently, it was legally passed at the court of the first instance. Accordingly, it is registered under the General No: 14560 / 2008 as a sacred, apostolic-philanthropic, non-profitable centre, which is denominated as The Christoforos Papoulakos Foundation.

Acknowledgements

My gratitude and sincere thanks is expressed to Elizabeth Tenny-Babouri for her translation, thus, bringing Papoulakos to the English-speaking world.

Copyright © 2008 by Archimandrite Nectarios N. Pettas

Source can be found @ http://www.papoulakos.org/

The holy skull of Papoulakos

Papoulakis prison in Rio

Papoulakis' house in Arbouna

Papoulakis' cell at Panachrantos Monastery

Inside of cell

Papoulakos' grave at Panachrantos Monastery

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