Sermon for the First Wednesday of Great Lent

Catechesis 54: On Fasting and Dispassion

Given on Wednesday of the First Week of Great Lent.

by Saint Theodore the Studite

Brethren and fathers, the season of Lent, when compared to the whole year, may be likened to a storm-free harbour, in which all who are sailing together enjoy a spiritual calm. For the present season is one of salvation not for monks and nuns only, but also for lay people, for great and small, for rulers and ruled, for emperors and priests, for every race and for every age. For cities and villages reduce their hubbub and bustle, while psalmody and hymns, prayers and entreaties take their place, by which our good God is propitiated and so guides our spirits to peace and pardons our offences, if, with a sincere heart, we will only fall down before him with fear and trembling and weep before him, promising improvement for the future. But let the leaders of the churches speak of what is suitable to lay people, for just as those who run in the stadium need the vocal support of their fellow contestants, so fasters need the encouragement of their teachers. But I, since I have been placed at your head, honoured brethren, will also talk to you briefly. Fasting then is a renewal of the soul, for the holy Apostle says, "Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward is being renewed day by day". And if it is being renewed, clearly it is being made beautiful according to its original beauty; made beautiful in itself it is being drawn lovingly to the one who said, "I and the Father will come and make our dwelling with him".

If then such is the grace of fasting, that it makes us into a dwelling place of God, we must welcome it, brethren, gladly, not grieving at the plainness of the diet, for we know that the Lord, though he is able to nourish lavishly, made a banquet for thousands in the wilderness from bread and water. Also because what is unusual, with enthusiasm becomes acceptable and painless. Fasting is not defined by foods alone, but by every abstinence from evil, as our godly fathers have explained. And so, I beg you, let us abstain from despondency, idleness, sluggishness, jealousy, strife, maliciousness, self-indulgence, self-reliance; let us abstain from destructive desire which the many-shaped serpent lays before us when we are fasting. Let us listen to the one who says, "The fruit which slew me was beautiful to behold and fair to eat". And observe: he says beautiful to behold, not beautiful by nature. For just as if someone taking a pomegranate decked out with a scarlet rind should find it rotten, in the same way pleasure feigns untold sweetness, but when it is plucked it is found more bitter than gall, or rather, than a sharpened two-edged sword which devours the soul it has captured. This is what our forefather Adam suffered when he was tricked by the serpent; for when he touched the forbidden food, he found death instead of life. This too is what all they have suffered who from then until now have been similarly deceived by the dragon. For just as he, who is darkness, transforms himself into an angel of light, so he knows how to transform bad into good, bitter into sweet, dark into light, ugly into beautiful, deadly into life-giving; and so the all-evil one does not cease to lead the world astray at every opportunity.

But let us at least, brethren, not be led astray by his manifold deceptions, nor suffer the fate of the birds who greedily approach what seems to be food and fall into the hunter’s trap. Let us rather look on the outer coverings of evil as dung and when with the mind we have looked on evil in its nakedness we shall flee from it at once. In addition let us welcome the times of psalmody, be enthusiastic for hymnody, attentive to the readings, making prostrations according to the given measure at each hour; working with our own hands, because working is good and because one who does not work is not judged worthy of eating. Let us bear one another’s burdens, for one is weak and another strong, making use of food and drink and the other necessities with moderation, so that there is no provoking to jealousy among evil people, but zeal in goodness. In everything be good to one another, compassionate, reasonable, obedient, full of mercy and good fruits, and the peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and thoughts.

And now, may you be found worthy without condemnation to reach the supreme day of the Resurrection, but in the age to come at the resurrection of the dead to gain the kingdom of heaven in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be the glory and the might, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

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The Wood Carved Statue of St. George in Kastoria

One of the most unique churches in Greece dating to Roman times is the Church of St. George in the village of Omorfokklissia, 20 km from Kastoria. The name of the village means "beautiful church".

The church was established after 1292 during the reign of Emperor Andronikos II. The iconography dates to either 1296 or 1297. Some say the church building itself or an earlier one existed from the 11th century. The rocks from which the church is built are not local. It is traditionally held that this church was the katholikon of an old monastery.

The unique feature of this church is a large wood carved statue of St. George, 2.86m in height, that is of unknown origin. Some say the statue was the gift of the Emperor from Constantinople and either brought to Omorfokklissia or carved in the village from local trees. The most popular tradition says that two nuns brought the statue here from Ioannina in the 13th century in a carriage.

During the Turkish occupation the church was heavily damaged. Yet it is said that when the Ottomans went to burn the church, they allowed the locals to remove the wooden statue of St. George, ensuring its preservation.


The faithful claim the statue of St. George is miraculous. A Greek news report was done about the miraculous nature of this statue with many testimonies (see report here). These miracles especially are reported on the feast of the church, which is April 23. Along with miracles, visions of St. George are also said to have occurred in the church. At one point the faithful covered the statue with a glass casing to protect it from humidity and dust, but St. George appeared in the dreams of the faithful in the village to remove it.

An interesting folk belief, not associated with Orthodox belief, has arisen associated with this statue. Upon observation, one will see the statue covered with coins. The locals believe that if you approach the statue with firm faith in St. George, then your coin will stick as if magnets were holding it (this can be observed in the video linked above). Studies have shown however that there is nothing measurably magnetic about this wood carved statue. No one really knows why this occurs, but it is looked upon as something miraculous. And visitors are discouraged from believing that if their coin does not stick, as it often happens, that their faith is not strong enough. They say that St. George has his reasons for it to stick and for it to not stick.


For a picture gallery of the church, see here.

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The Health Benefits of Fasting

Running On Empty: The Pros and Cons of Fasting

Fasting restricts calories and may benefit your body. Is it a safe way to lose weight?

February 02, 2009
Shari Roan
Los Angeles Times

Something about the way Americans eat isn't working -- and hasn't been for a long time.

The number of obese Americans is now greater than the number who are merely overweight, according to government figures released last month. It's as if once we taste food, we can't stop until we've gorged ourselves.

Taking that inclination into account, some people are adopting an unusual solution to overeating. Rather than battling temptation in grocery stores, restaurants and their own kitchens, they simply don't eat. At least not at certain times of the day or specific days of the week.

Called intermittent fasting, this rather stark approach to weight control appears to be supported by science, not to mention various religious and cultural practices around the globe. The practice is a way to become more circumspect about food, its adherents say. But it also seems to yield the benefits of calorie restriction, which may ultimately reduce the risk of some diseases and even extend life. Some fasters, in fact, ultimately switch from regular, if comparatively rare, periods of hunger to permanent deprivation. They limit calories all the time.

"There is something kind of magical about starvation," says Dr. Marc Hellerstein, a professor of endocrinology, metabolism and nutrition at UC Berkeley, who studies fasting.

Adds Mark P. Mattson, chief of the laboratory of neurosciences at the National Institute on Aging: "In normal health subjects, moderate fasting -- maybe one day a week or cutting back on calories a couple of days a week -- will have health benefits for most anybody." Mattson is among the leading researchers on the effects of calorie restriction and the brain.

Not all nutrition professionals see the merits of fasting. Some think of it as a recipe for disaster, setting up a person for binge eating and metabolic confusion.

Ruth Frechman, a registered dietitian in Burbank and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Assn., says she frequently sees such extreme strategies backfire. "You're hungry, fatigued, irritable. Fasting is not very comfortable. People try to cut back one day and the next day they're starving and they overeat."

Researchers who study fasting and caloric restriction, however, say the body's hunger cycle ultimately adjusts.

And from a biological standpoint, they say, fasting can be helpful whether someone is overweight or normal weight.

"We're brilliant at this," Hellerstein says, referring to humans' physical reaction to not eating. "We're not good at responding to too many calories, but we're very good at responding to fasting. Fasting, in itself, is not an unhealthy process."

Benefits to body

During fasting, almost every system in the body is "turned down," Hellerstein says. The body changes how it uses fuel. Certain hormone levels fall. Growth stops. Reproduction becomes impossible.

"By the end of three weeks of fasting you are a completely different metabolic creature," he says.

"It affects many, many processes -- but in a somewhat predictable way that takes you toward disease prevention."

Put simply, intermittent fasting appears to offer the same advantages as long-term calorie restriction -- defined as eating at regular times but consuming 25% to 30% fewer calories than what is recommended for that person based on age, size and gender (see accompanying article). People who eat this way tend to do so by filling up on nutrient-dense but low-calorie foods. They get all the protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals the body absolutely needs -- and very little else.

With intermittent fasting, "the idea is that maybe you can trick the system to think it's starving, but not make it starve every day," Hellerstein says.

Researchers aren't sure why the body apparently benefits from a state of mini-starvation. One theory is that the process produces just enough stress in cells to be good. "What our evidence suggests is that nerve cells in animals that are on dietary energy restriction are under mild stress," Mattson says. "It's a mild stress that stimulates the production of proteins that protect the neurons against more severe stress."

What they do know is that occasionally going without food or reducing calories daily makes the body more sensitive to insulin, which helps maintain normal blood sugar levels. And animal studies suggest calorie restriction may reduce the risk of cancer by slowing the growth of abnormal cells.

"We've been finding that putting an animal on a reduced-calorie diet for a couple of weeks dramatically slows cell proliferation rates," Hellerstein says. "This is the case in pretty much every tissue you look at: prostate, skin, colon, liver, lymphocytes."

Intermittent fasting and calorie restriction have also been shown in animals to reduce cognitive decline in diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, Mattson says.

Little research yet

Researchers caution that not many studies have examined humans who are practicing intermittent fasting or caloric restriction. But the little evidence that exists is favorable.

A study published last week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that reducing calories 30% per day increased the memory function of elderly men and women. The study was performed at the Salk Institute in La Jolla.

University of Utah scientists looked at health data from members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who have lower rates of heart disease than most Americans. Mormons typically don't smoke or drink alcohol, and some abstain from food on the first Sunday of every month. After controlling for several factors that protect against heart disease, the researchers found that only fasting made a significant difference in lowering the risk of heart disease. Among 448 people surveyed, intermittent fasting was associated with more than a 40% reduction in heart disease risk. Fasting was also linked to a lower incidence of diabetes. The study was published in October in the American Journal of Cardiology.

Another study showed that asthma patients who fasted had fewer symptoms, better airway function and a decrease in the markers of inflammation in the blood than those who didn't fast or restrict calories. The study was conducted because being overweight is known to worsen asthma symptoms. The study was published in 2007 in the journal Free Radical Biology & Medicine.

"They complied with the diet pretty well," Mattson says. "If people know that tomorrow they can eat whatever they want, today they can eat less."

The National Institutes of Health is now supporting calorie-restriction research at three medical centers. At one study site, Washington University in St. Louis, Dr. Luigi Fontana is following the largest group to date of people who practice caloric restriction or intermittent fasting. So far his research shows that such people are not malnourished and have excellent cardiovascular health.

"Eating less is important because 65% of the American population is overweight," Fontana says. "But another question is: If you are already lean, should you change your diet to improve your health and possibly extend your life span?"

That ultimately may be the strongest selling point of a reduced-calorie lifestyle.

"It does demand more than some other diets," says Joseph Cordell, a St. Louis lawyer who limits his intake to 1,800 to 1,900 calories a day.

"But surely the payoff is dramatically better than anything else. I feel so much better and have more energy. And there is this prospect of living so much longer than you otherwise would."

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Historical Inaccuracies of the Movie "AGORA"

[On May 17, 2009 I wrote a short piece on the soon to be released movie Agora, which I had not seen and still have not seen. Back then I anticipated the film would not treat this sensitive historical period fairly, and from the review below it seems I was correct. You can read what I wrote and see a trailer for the movie here. - J.S.]

[On July 23, 2010 I finally saw this movie at a local theatre. Historical inaccuracies aside, of which there are more than historical truths, I thought the movie was nothing more or less than an atheistic propaganda piece that uses a dim historical event to promote an atheistic agenda. I was hoping to like it, but can't say I did. Rachel Weisz was pretty good though. The review below still stands as my favorite, though unfortunately it does not get into the atheistic arguments presented in the movie. For this, see the review here and here. - JS]

The Historical Inaccuracies of the Movie AGORA by Alejandro Amenabar

By Irene A. Artemi
(Athens University Graduate of Theology-Literature, Master in Philosophy-Theology of Athens University, Dr. of Theology of the Athens University)

The movie Agora is a study on the life of the Alexandrine philosopher Hypatia, during the turbulent era from the end of the 4th to the beginning of the 5th century A.D., in Alexandria of Egypt. To begin with, it should be noted that the director of the film, Alejandro Amenabar, is an atheist. By his own admission, he was born and raised in a Christian family, then became an agnostic and later on an atheist. This information is being highlighted, so that it will be comprehended why the movie - albeit seemingly not turning against the Christian religion - is in fact portraying the Christians as fundamentalist, obscurantist, ignorant and fanatic, and ending up with an innuendo that a very important Christian saint, the Patriarch of Alexandria Cyril, was nothing more than a fanatic clergyman and the moral instigator of the assassination of Hypatia.

The main historical source for the refuting of this movie's inaccuracies is the work by the historian Socrates the Scholastic, Ecclesiastic History. He had lived in the same era as Cyril of Alexandria. His writings are especially weighty, given that Socrates belonged to the heresy of Novatianism. This heresy was one that Cyril had fought against passionately[1]. At the beginning of the movie, idolaters appear to be verbally provoking the Christians, and thereafter being attacked by them. According to Socrates the Scholastic, Patriarch Theophilos of Alexandria and Cyril's uncle, had taken strict measures against them and had destroyed the Serapeum and the Mithraeum. The reason for this, was that the idolaters were attacking Christians, which is why the former were afraid of the Emperor Theodosius II's wrath[2].

However, in the movie, Hypatia's father and an important mathematician, Theon, is presented as being wounded during the destruction of the Serapeum sanctuary and eventually dying on account of that wound; in reality, the cause of Theon's death is unknown. His death is thought to have taken place around 405 A.D. According to the movie, the underlying cause for so many idolaters seeking to enter the bosom of Christianity was the harsh stance of Patriarch Theophilos; the truth is, however, that a statue that was inside the Serapeum sanctuary bore the symbol of the Cross on its base, and that this was the cause for so many idolaters to believe and be baptized as Christians[3].

Equally false is also the indication that after the death of Theophilos, Cyril appoints himself as his uncle's successor, by donning the deceased's hierarchic vestments and his ring. In the realm of Orthodoxy, Patriarchs do not wear rings as a sign of their hieratic authority. There is no historical mention anywhere that Cyril wore a ring that would make his authority apparent. He succeeded his uncle Theophilos, following a contest with Archdeacon Timothy for the patriarchal throne. Cyril maintained a harsh stance towards the Gentiles, because he regarded them as being responsible for the tendency of several Christians to be involved in sorcery, astrology and not astronomy, and in general for remaining attached to superstitions, biases and paganism. He himself had studied the classical authors of ancient Greece, but also the major philosophers such as Plato, Plotinus, etc., which is especially evident in his work "Against Julian"[4].

In the movie, Ammonius is portrayed as a fanatic "Bath Fraternity" individual (παραβαλανεύς)[5], who, for the sake of impressing the idolaters walked barefoot through fire. However the Christians of that era - and in general - never indulged in miracles for the sake of impressing others, nor to convince those who were negatively disposed towards them. The truth is that Ammonius was a monk from Nitria. In the region of Nitria there were about five hundred monks, who fervently upheld the Christian teaching. Cyril had lived monastically with them for quite a number of years. Perhaps it is to them that the Alexandrian Patriarch's passion to defend the Christian teaching can be attributed. On account of Ammonius' verbal attack on the Eparch Orestes and the stone that he threw at him, he was arrested, tortured, and put to death. Cyril called him a martyr and buried him with honors, but in the movie, Cyril is presented as proclaiming him a saint. In Orthodoxy, saints are proclaimed by God as saints, and not by people.

In the movie, the Eparch Orestes is presented as a Christian striving to maintain delicate balances between the Judean, Gentile and Christian inhabitants of Alexandria. Orestes had most probably acceded to Christianity out of political interest, which is made evident in the movie also, when a question was posed by Synesius, the Bishop of Cyrene. The latter asked Orestes if he truly believed in the God of the Christians, or if he became a Christian out of interest. Socrates the Scholastic mentions that by many Christians of Alexandria, Orestes was referred to as "Sacrificer and Hellene", implying that he was an idolater on account of his unjust behaviour towards Christians. The same historian further mentions the hatred that Orestes felt towards Christian bishops[6]. There is also no mention anywhere in the movie of the tortures that Orestes had imposed on Hierax, a confidant of Cyril[7].

As for the episode with the Judeans at the theatre, according to historical sources the Christians had not stoned the Judeans in the theatre on the Sabbath. On the contrary, they were accused publicly that instead of listening (as their religion demands) to the word of God in their Synagogues, they were at the theatre[8]. The Hebrews point out to the Christians that Christ was also a Hebrew and that without them, the latter would not have existed. This argument cannot hold water, simply because the Judeans had not acknowledged Christ as the Messiah and the Son of God, but only as a false prophet.

Ηypatia is portrayed in the movie as a young and beautiful woman, and a friend of Orestes. We have no indications from historical sources if she was a beautiful woman; but she was certainly an extremely well educated one. She could not have been at a young age, given that if she was born in 365 A.D., at the time that Cyril became Patriarch, she would have been nearing the age of fifty. This was quite an advanced age, both for men and women during that time; subsequently, the myth of a young and appealing woman, which had acquired flesh and blood thanks to certain pseudo-historians of Mediaeval times, is debunked. Furthermore, it was a well known fact to all the inhabitants of Alexandria during that time that she was the main reason that Orestes could not achieve excellent relations with Cyril[9].

Nowhere is it mentioned historically that Cyril regarded women as being inferior, the way it is presented in the movie. In the specific scene, as Cyril was reciting Paul's second Epistle to Timothy, he is shown as preaching that the woman is inferior to a man. Cyril could never preach anything like this, because in his works, he had stressed that a woman's place was elevated, in the person of the Theotokos, the Mother of Christ, the new Eve. Besides, this would have gone contrary to the teaching of Christ Himself, Who had elevated woman and made her equal in honour with the man.

The same is also stressed by Paul, in his Epistle to Ephesians, and chiefly in the excerpt that is recited during the Marriage Sacrament. According to Socrates' reference, Cyril had judged Orestes for his various incongruities, based on the Holy Bible. To refute Cyril's accusations as well as the other Christians', the Eparch stressed that he himself was also a Christian, who had been baptized by Atticus of Constantinople.

There is no mention whatsoever in historical sources of that time that Cyril had ever referred to Hypatia as a sorceress; on the contrary, he appeared to have had a great respect for her scientific knowledge.

Historically the Patriarch of Alexandria was not an obscurantist. In fact, he had studied the works of Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, Origen, etc. He had read or had been taught ancient philosophy and had espoused the scientific theories of their era. It is natural, that all of them would be examining the various scientific views through the prism of Christian teaching. It is worth noting that many Christians were also students of Hypatia - for example Synesios, Bishop of Cyrene[10], his brother Euoptius of Ptolemais, perhaps Isidore of Pelusium, and others.

The movie presents the Christians - chiefly the "Bath Fraternity" members (παραβαλανείς) - not only as obscurantists, but also ignorant. In one of their conversations among themselves they are shown as saying that the earth and the sky resemble a chest and also as rejecting theories pertaining to astronomy. Naturally Christians did not reject the theories of astronomy, nor was punishment on the pyre prevalent for those who espoused them. Besides, major ecclesiastical fathers such as Basil the Great had studied astronomy, mathematics, etc, which they make reference to in their works.

Finally the movie regards Cyril as being the moral perpetrator of Hypatia's death; however, neither Socrates the Scholastic nor any other historical source of that era ascribes such an act to the Patriarch of Alexandria. If there had been even the slightest suspicion that Cyril had indeed participated in the assassination of the philosopher, it would have been exploited by Nestorius of Constantinople in the theological dispute that he had with Cyril. Furthermore, his assorted enemies would have also made references to it. The Patriarch of Alexandria was proclaimed a saint by the Triune God, not only for his life but also for his theology on the incarnation of the second Person of the Holy Trinity, as well as for his defense of the term "Theotokos" for the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In conclusion, the movie may have beautiful scenery, however the subject that it is dealing with - Hypatia and her death - and the way it is being dealt with, has given rise to neopagans and the adversaries of Orthodoxy to believe that they have found footholds against Christianity. But unfortunately for them, their arguments are spurious once again.

Notes:

[1] Socrates, Ecclesiastic History 7,7 PG 67, 752A.

[2]. Ibid, 5,16-17.

[3]. Ibid, 5,17.26.}

[4]. Cyril of Alexandria, Against Julian: In favour of the benevolent religion of the Christians, to Julian of the atheists, Ι - ΧΙΧ, P. Evieux, SC 322 (t. I-II), Paris 1985, pg. 100-318 (PG 76, 504A-1064B).

[5]. The παραβαλανείς (Bath Fraternity members), who comprised a special organization and were involved in works of philanthropy - something that is made evident in the movie - remained close to the church baths, from whence they got their name. And according to Socrates, they were given over to social uprisings. Quite often however, they acted unbeknownst to the Patriarch at the time, and for that reason, they were placed under the jurisdiction of the Eparch, by a law that was issued by the Emperor Theodosius II on September 28, 416.

[6]. Socrates, Ecclesiastic History 7,7 PG 67, 764A.

[7]. Ibid, 7, 13-34. PG 67, 761C-764C.

[8]. Ibid, 7, 13.1. PG 67, 761CD.

[9]. Ibid, 7, 15. PG 67, 768Β. cmp. Nicephoros Kallistus, Ecclesiastic History 14,16, PG 146, 1105C-1108B.

[10].C. Lacombrade, Synesios de Cyrene, hellene et chretien, Paris 1951, p.54-55.

Source: "ORTHODOX PRESS" newspaper (February 12, 2010)

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Poll Results for Most Blasphemous Movie

For about a month or so I posted a poll to see what movie in theatres now is the most blasphemous. See post here. Though some were better than others, I thought they all had some sort of blasphemy in them, which is why I was interested in hearing from my readers. That is not to say I didn't like any of these movies either. In fact, I liked all of them, except not so much Legion and Creation.

The results are here:

- 71 people voted.

- Avatar had 21 votes (29%)
- The Lovely Bones had 7 votes (9%)
- Legion had 37 votes (52%)
- The Book of Eli had 13 votes (18%)
- Sherlock Holmes had 5 votes (7%)
- The White Ribbon had 1 vote (1%)
- Creation had 5 votes (7%)

- The most blasphemous movie award thus go to: Legion

So it appears a bit more than half of the voters agreed with me that Legion is the most blasphemous movie out there. If you havn't seen it, don't waste your time. And I'm not necessarily saying this for its blasphemous content, but it is just a bad movie and horrible story line. But if you want to see the Archangel Michael take the form of an assassin who rebels against God because God is too cruel, and who fights people possessed by angels (not demons) that act like demons, and who has a fight scene against the Archangel Gabriel, and then convinces God that He was wrong about destroying the world, and then has to convince Gabriel that God changed His mind,...well its up to you.

Thanks for voting.

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St. Nikolai Velimirovich on Fasting

With fasting I gladden my hope in You, my Lord, Who are to come again.

Fasting hastens my preparations for Your coming, the sole expectation of my days and nights.

Fasting makes my body thinner, so that what remains can more easily shine with the spirit.

While waiting for You, I wish neither to nourish myself with blood nor to take life--so that the animals may sense the joy of my expectation.

But truly, abstaining from food will not save me. Even if I were to eat only the sand from the lake, You would not come to me, unless the fasting penetrated deeper into my soul.

I have come to know through my prayer, that bodily fasting is more a symbol of true fasting, very beneficial for someone who has only just begun to hope in You, and nevertheless very difficult for someone who merely practices it.

Therefore I have brought fasting into my soul to purge her of many impudent fiances and to prepare her for You like a virgin.

And I have brought fasting into my mind, to expel from it all daydreams about worldly matters and to demolish all the air castles, fabricated from these daydreams.

I have brought fasting into my heart, so that by means of it my heart might quell all passions and worldly selfishness.

I have brought fasting into my heart, so that heavenly peace might ineffably reign over my heart, when Your stormy Spirit encounters it.

I prescribe fasting for my tongue, to break itself of the habit of idle chatter and to speak reservedly only those words that clear the way for You to come.

And I have imposed fasting on my worries so that it may blow them all away before itself like the wind that blows away the mist, lest they stand like dense fog between me and You, and lest they turn my gaze back to the world.

And fasting has brought into my soul tranquility in the face of uncreated and created realms, and humility toward men and creatures. And it has instilled in me courage, the likes of which I never knew when I was armed with every sort of worldly weapon.

What was my hope before I began to fast except merely another story told by others, which passed from mouth to mouth?

The story told by others about salvation through prayer and fasting became my own.

False fasting accompanies false hope, just as no fasting accompanies hopelessness.

But just as a wheel follows behind a wheel, so true fasting follows true hope.

Help me to fast joyfully and to hope joyously, for You, my Most Joyful Feast, are drawing near to me with Your radiant smile.

(From Prayers by The Lake)

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Saint Anthimos of Chios (+1960)

St. Anthimos of Chios (Feast Day - February 15)

St. Anthimos, who in the world was known as Argyrios K. Vagianos, was born on July 1, 1869 to devout peasants, Konstantinos and Argyra, in Chios in the region of St. Luke Leivadion. He left elementary school early to become a shoe mender. At the age of nineteen he visited the Skete of the Holy Fathers founded by the monk Pachomios, who had been the spiritual counselor of St Nektarios. With the blessing of the elder, Anthimos returned home and built himself a small hut and dwelt in it. His only help in his spiritual contests was an icon of the Mother of God given to him by his mother later known as Panagia Voithia (the Helper), which soon began to work miracles, drawing many to his hermitage. He had returned home to relieve the suffering of his parents and help the poor of his village as well. After a time he retired to the Skete, and it was here that he became a monk and took the name Anthimos given by Elder Pachomios. He fell ill there and his abbot sent him home to his parents for the sake of his health. At home, despite the fact that he was caring for his aged parents and practicing his shoe mender's trade, he continued to live as a monk, spending nights on end in prayer and sometimes living only on bread and water for extended periods. He took his inspiration reading about the lives of the great ascetics, and in this way he was able to conquer every assault of the devil.

Increasing numbers of visitors came to his hermitage and wonder-working icon of the Theotokos, and in 1909, at the age of forty, he received the Great Schema by the successor of Pachomios, Hieromonk Andronikos. The people of Chios wanted him to be ordained to the priesthood, but his bishop refused due to the Saint's lack of education. At the prompting of Anthimos' godfather, the Bishop of Smyrna ordained him instead in 1910. After a pilgrimage to Mt Athos in 1911, he returned to Chios, where he became chaplain to a leper hospital. Soon the hospital, which had fallen into corruption, became a spiritual center, as much like a monastery as a hospital. Saint Anthimos tended many of the sickest with his own hands, working many miracles of healing; some of his recovered patients became monks or nuns (such as Venerable Nikephoros the Blind).

With the notorious 'Exchange of Populations' of 1922-1924, refugees poured into Chios, many of them destitute nuns and girls. In response to a vision of the Mother of God, St Anthimos built a monastery in 1930, which opened with thirty nuns and grew rapidly, despite the opposition of many who said that setting up such a community was out of date. The Monastery of Panagia Voithia, as it came to be known, soon housed eighty nuns and was known throughout Greece as a model of monastic life. Father Anthimos served as priest to the nuns, and continued to receive the many faithful — often sixty or seventy per day — who came to him for prayer or counsel. He carried on this ministry for more than thirty years, working many miracles of healing. When he was too old to work with his hands, he retired to his cell and prayed that he be enabled to serve his neighbor until his last breath.

On January 27, 1960 St. Anthimos celebrated his final Divine Liturgy. He reposed in peace at the age of ninety-one on February 15th, mourned and revered by the whole island of Chios. The remains of St. Anthimos are in the church inside of the monastery he founded and still work miracles along with the holy icon of Panagia Voithia. He was canonized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate on August 13, 1992.

The following account is taken from an interview with Protopresbyter Andrea Dafnou who knew St. Anthimos:

"I have been found worthy to receive the blessing of two sacred personalities, while still alive, that were canonized. One of these is St. Anthimos of Chios. When I was a child, I injured my eye. I was afraid that, if my father found out, that he would beat me. I remember it had become bruised as well. What would I do? I thought that I should go to the holy man up at Panagia Voithia Monastery. I told him my problem. He read a prayer over me, crossed me, and healed me! Receiving his blessing, I left.

The other holy personality that I had the blessing to meet was another Saint of Chios, Saint Symeon, the abbot of Psaron. From the age of 8 I would go to the Monastery and learn letters studying the Psalms of David! I remember he was a strogly built man and upkept the monastery buildings with much love. At night they would hear him go to a gorge next to the Monastery and break stones, in order to, as he would say, tame himself through work and for the devil to not battle against him. In the morning he would be prompt for Services. I was blessed, from the age of five, to be near him" (ΑΠΟΣΤΟΛΗ, num. 55, Winter 2003-04).

A Miracle of St. Anthimos is related here.

Sayings

- “Humble-mindedness will bring all the virtues.”

- “What do people do when their hands and faces are dirty? They turn on a tap and allow the water to clean away the stains. We should imitate them. Only, we should open two taps – our eyes, so that an abundance of tears of repentance pour out, which will wash out all the poisons of this futile world which have infected and dirtied our wretched souls."

- "The Panagia is the only mother of all Christians. And who does not call upon her? Because the sufferings of mankind are many in this vain world, nowhere else can we all find relief, except in the Panagia. When you are sitting there quietly, a thought suddenly comes to you and brings darkness. Where will you go to be loosed from this darkness? To the Panagia. All the Saints are our helpers, but above all is the Panagia.

She has the riches of great compassion. She has great love for mankind, especially for sinners. For this reason she never ceases to mediate to her Son, and the Son takes great joy when His mother intercedes on behalf of mankind. For this reason she brought us His mother and granted her to us that we may have her as a source of salvation."

Video on the Life of St. Anthimos of Chios




See also links here.

Apolytikion in the Third Tone

O new boast of Orthodoxy, and newly-adorned flower of purity, you shared the name of Anthimos of Nikomedia, and shared his virtues and way of life, O new seal and adornment of the venerable ones. O Father Anthimos, the boast of all Chios, entreat Christ God to grant us great mercy.

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Clean Monday and It's Traditional Observance

By John Sanidopoulos

Clean Monday (Greek: Καθαρή Δευτέρα) refers to the leaving behind of sinful attitudes and non-fasting foods. The entire first week of Great Lent is often referred to as "Clean Week," and it is customary to go to Confession during this week, and to clean the house thoroughly.

Strictly observant Orthodox hold this day (and also Clean Tuesday and Wednesday) as a strict fast day, on which no solid food at all is eaten. Others will eat only in the evening, and then only xerophagy (lit. "dry eating"; i.e. eating uncooked foodstuffs such as fruit, nuts, halva, bread and honey, etc).

The theme of Clean Monday is set by the Old Testament readings appointed to be read at the Sixth Hour on this day. Isaiah 1:1-20 says in part:

"Wash yourselves and ye shall be clean; put away the wicked ways from your souls before Mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do good. Seek righteousness, relieve the oppressed, consider the fatherless, and plead for the widow. Come then, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: Though your sins be as scarlet, I will make them white as snow; and though they be red like crimson, I will make them white as wool. If then ye be willing, and obedient unto Me, ye shall eat the good of the land. But if ye desire not, nor will obey Me, the sword shall devour you, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken" (v. 16-20).

Genesis 1:1-13 is also read to imply that this is a time of renewal and new beginnings.

The reading from Proverbs 1:1-20 instructs us towards clean and sober living through the use of wisdom, the beginning of which is "the fear of the Lord." The clearest piece of advice given says: "My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent."



The Three Day Fast (Ιερὸ Τριήμερο)

For those who are able and willing, it is encouraged by the Church to keep a three day strict fast where neither food or water (if possible) is consumed until Clean Wednesday when one partakes of Holy Communion at the Pre-Sanctified Liturgy. Some of the strictest monastics even go so far as to do this for the entire Clean Week, accepting only Holy Communion during the week. This is an excellent way to mark the beginning of a holy struggle against one's passions and weaknesses.

Abstaining from all food and drink for three days will help us approach the Lord on a deeper level than ever before. It will also help us to see and know ourselves on a deeper level. During these three days one will observe that they will be able to more clearly see their weaknesses, their passions, their spiritual poverty, and their nakedness of all the virtues, the dark abyss within, and the inner ugliness. Physically one will recognize how truly weak the flesh is even when the spirit is willing. This humbling attitude is a prerequisite to a successful fast. It is also a motivating factor for the rest of Great Lent as well as the entire spiritual life in general. And when one partakes of the Holy Mysteries after three days of such fasting, there is instilled in the individual a deeper appreciation for the Lord's presence within the Mysteries.

Such a fast should not be imposed, but only encouraged and accepted willingly. It is only in this way that it can be of benefit. If one has a spiritual father, his blessing should be given for this to be done. There is no danger to this fast, as it is a long-held tradition, but if one is on medication or has an illness or is pregnant or any other medical condition, such a fast is discouraged. But for healthy people, it has been known that even doctors have encouraged such a fast, at least for purposes of cleansing the body, which has great health benefits. It should also be mentioned that the fast is alleviated the more one is able to attend the Divine Services and keep a prayer rule.

There is an old Greek saying or joke which says: "Σάν συλλογιέται ὁ παπᾶς τό Τριήμερο, μαύρη Τουρνή (Τυρινή) τοῦ πάει." In other words, a few days before the fast, that is during Cheesefare Week, when the priest is contemplating the three day fast he is about to undertake, it is a Black Cheesefare - he is sad and mournful.

Overall, the joy of the three day fast will last the entire journey one undertakes throughout Great Lent and Holy Week. And it will help to bring us more joy on the holy day of Pascha. This is the spiritual fruit of the three day fast. An abundance of grace flows when the paschal mystery shines within the heart of an Orthodox believer.



Great Lent in Cappadocia

From the first day of the Great Fast the pious Orthodox of Cappadocia would enter a period where the soul was given priority over the body. Clean Monday for them was the first day for the cleansing of the soul.

Preparations for Clean Monday started from the day before. After Forgiveness Vespers all would go home and any celebrations of the past two weeks would cease. They would prepare for the long fast by eating a boiled egg. This was done so that they would eat the same thing last as they do the first time when the fast ends on Pascha and they eat the paschal egg. On Clean Monday the women of Cappadocia would boil hot water with ashes and thoroughly clean all their dishes, silverware, and cooking pots. This was done so that there would be no trace of previous foods on them lest they break the fast unknowingly, which they still considered a sin. The fasting during Great Lent was very strict and only those who fasted strictly approached Holy Communion. Engaged men would send their fiances a cake of halva decorated with pomegranates and nuts. Early on Clean Wednesday they would go to Pre-Sanctified Liturgy, receive Holy Communion after an especially strict fast, then proceed to their normal work. On the Feast of the Annunciation (March 25) they would have a little relief from their fast, but continue through until Pascha.



Kyra Sarakosti (Η "Kυρά Σαρακοστή")

An old Greek tradition which would be incorporated to help devout Orthodox Christians keep the strict three day fast has to do with a woman named Kyra Sarakosti (Lady Lent). The women especially back then would keep the three day fast like nuns, eating and drinking absolutely nothing during that time. When the three days were up they would only eat dry foods for the rest of Clean Week.

Kyra Sarakosti was their calendar for Great Lent. On Clean Monday they would draw a woman on a piece of paper. They would not draw a mouth because the woman was fasting, and the hands were crossed as in prayer. She also had seven legs for the seven Sundays of Great Lent and Holy Week. Every Saturday a leg was cut off till she had no more legs after Holy Saturday. In Chios they would put these legs in a dried up fig or walnut tree and whoever found it would be considered blessed.

In other places Kyra Sarakosti was made out of fabric and they would fill it with feathers.

In Pontus they would boil a potato or onion, stick seven feathers from a chicken on it, and tie it to the ceiling in the house. There it would stay the entire time of Great Lent. Every week a feather would be plucked. It was known as the "rooster" (κουκουράς).

This is a tradition that is increasingly being revived today.



Modern Day Greece and Cyprus

Clean Monday is a public holiday in Greece and Cyprus, where it is celebrated with outdoor excursions, the consumption of shellfish, octopus, taramosalata (for the more lenient), and other fasting food, including a special kind of azyme bread, baked only on that day, named "lagana" (Greek: λαγάνα). This feast would be accompanied with the widespread custom of flying kites. Eating meat, eggs and dairy products is traditionally forbidden to Christians throughout Great Lent, with fish being eaten only on major feast days, but shellfish is permitted. This has created the tradition of eating elaborate dishes based on seafood (shellfish, molluscs, fish roe, etc). Traditionally, it is considered to mark the beginning of the spring season, a notion which was used symbolically in Ivan Bunin's critically acclaimed story, Pure Monday.

The happy, springtime atmosphere of Clean Monday may seem at odds with the Lenten spirit of repentance and self-control, but this seeming contradiction is a marked aspect of the Orthodox approach to fasting, in accordance with the Gospel lesson (Matthew 6:14-21) read on the morning before, which admonishes:

"When ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face, that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret..." (v. 16-18).

In this manner, the Orthodox celebrate the fact that: "The springtime of the Fast has dawned, the flower of repentance has begun to open..." (Aposticha, Vespers on Wednesday of Cheesefare Week).

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Climategate U-Turn's

"I am compelled to fear that science will be used to promote the power of dominant groups rather than to make men happy." ~ Bertrand Russell, Icarus, or the Future of Science, 1925

What the world is witnessing in the IPCC case is astonishing – perhaps unprecedented. Within a few months, a solid international consensus has unraveled. It began days before a huge international conference in Copenhagen that was to impose draconian measures on world governments to curb carbon emissions. Emails leaked or stolen revealed something rotten at the IPCC, the international clearinghouse for climate science. Climate skeptics immediately smelled blood; their criticisms went viral on the internet. It didn’t help that Copenhagen suffered one of its coldest winters as politicians traipsed through the snow and cold to figure out how to fight global warming. Relevant or not, the irony was not lost on the public.

At first, the response of the scientific community to the Climategate email scandal was to circle the wagons, underestimate the scandal’s impact, and blame the naysayers for their ignorance of the scientific facts. But then, additional scandals came to light, exposing failures in peer review, lapses in scholarship, and evident conflicts of interest. The disconnect between Big Science’s overconfidence and public skepticism has been growing steadily to the point where even staunch supporters of anthropogenic global warming (AGW) are calling for deep reforms. Here are a few recent data points in the ongoing saga.

1. American opinion about global warming is cooling, reported Science Daily.

2. The BBC News, originally in the wagon circle, has lately been more open about reporting breaches of ethics that have eroded public confidence in climate science.

3. The journal Nature, originally in a huff over climate skeptics, has started printing some papers that are not as confident about AGW, such as this paper Jan 28 that considered degrees of climate feedback throughout the medieval period.

4. On Feb 2, Nature acknowledged that the IPCC has been “flooded with criticism” and took note that some of the criticisms, including data flaws and conflicts of interest, are not easily dismissable.

5. BBC commentator Malini Mehra said that “The Copenhagen Climate Accord was a failure of historic proportions that is hardly worth the paper it is printed on.” The meetings led to a chaos of competing national self-interests.

6. BBC commentator Roger Harrabin has been growing more vocal about reform. On Feb 1 he called for embracing uncertainty rather than pretending that the consensus science is settled. On Feb 3 he discussed problems at the IPCC and entertained reasons why its leader should resign.

7. Richard Black’s commentaries for the BBC News have been evolving. From initial overconfidence, he has been having to admit the scientific consensus is taking a beating. He acknowledged on Feb 5 that skepticism is rising in the UK, noting several prominent British commentators speaking out and polls showing public discontent with the IPCC.

8. Science Magazine reported on the latest scandal, the misinformation about melting glaciers. The magazine also printed an Editorial preaching about the need for integrity in science.

9. News outlets that a month ago seemed sold out to the AGW consensus are now showing some courage to give skeptical stories favorable press. Today, Science Daily printed a story that estimates of melt from Alaskan glaciers were largely overestimated, and another Science Daily article questioned scientists’ knowledge about orbital forcing: “The notion that scientists understand how changes in Earth’s orbit affect climate well enough for estimating long-term natural climate trends that underlie any anthropogenic climate change is challenged by findings just published.”

10. Another day, another embarrassment: PhysOrg reported that the Dutch found an inaccurate statement in the IPCC's 2007 report, claiming that half of the Netherlands is below sea level. “No evidence could be found to show the claim had been published in a peer-reviewed journal and reports in Britain have said the reference came from green group the WWF [World Wildlife Federation], who in turn sourced it to the New Scientist magazine.” Normally, scientific findings flow the other direction.

11. New Scientist, a cheerleader for the IPCC, nevertheless called to “Let the sunshine in” and embrace open debate, including dialogue with bloggers and skeptics. Notice how the editorial even suggested the possibility a naked emperor on the loose.

12. AfricaGate: Now another widely-quoted factoid about global warming has come under attack: that North Africa’s crop production would drop by 50% by 2020. The Times Online reported Feb 7 there was no basis in the IPCC report for such a claim, but it had been quoted by the IPCC chairman and by the UN Secretary-General. “A leading British government scientist has warned the United Nations’ climate panel to tackle its blunders or lose all credibility,” the article began.

13. The UN climate change panel admitted Sunday to having imprecisely stated in a key report that 55 percent of The Netherlands is under sea level, saying that is only the area at risk of flooding.

14. Daily Mail reported yesterday that the academic at the centre of the ‘Climategate’ affair, whose raw data is crucial to the theory of climate change, has admitted that he has trouble ‘keeping track’ of the information.

These are just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. Time and space do not allow coverage of the torrent of articles dealing with the question: how reliable is the consensus about global warming? What does this tell us about scientific practice? It goes without saying that the skeptics are having a field day: sites like Climate Depot and SEPP are rushing to put out all the hot news with unmasked glee. But when even the ardent supporters of the consensus are calling for reforms and resignations, and are starting to print scientific papers challenging the consensus, it’s a hint that this is big. It may just turn out to put the Revolution back in Thomas Kuhn’s Structure of Scientific Revolutions, the 1962 book that launched whole disciplines devoted to critically analyzing knowledge generation in science.

Kuhn’s book in particular launched or re-invigorated several disciplines that began to analyze scientific practice more critically:

A. History of Science changed from describing science’s march of progress to a different realization: that scientific knowledge itself is historical in character – i.e., it changes over time. Ideas claimed to be scientific facts in one generation can be fundamentally modified or overturned in the next.

B. Sociology of Science: Kuhn’s description of science as a guild locked in a paradigm led to renewed attempts to examine the human element of knowledge generation: the cliques, reinforcements, shared beliefs, taboos and other non-empirical aspects that influence conclusions in scientific institutions. Some took on the project of analyzing science scientifically, going into labs to describe the way scientists work in the way they would investigate a tribal culture. Postmodernism overlapped with these efforts.

C. Rhetoric of Science sprang up as a discipline after Kuhn to tackle the rhetorical character of scientific claims. How do scientists frame their theories? How do they communicate them to the public? To what extent do analogies, projection themes and shared language modes influence not only what scientists believe, but what direction science should go? In addition, how is rhetoric employed in scientific controversies?

The current hubbub over climate science could calm down, with the consensus stabilizing itself again, or we could witness its collapse. If the latter, the public image of science as objective and reliable could be severely damaged. To be true, the IPCC is a somewhat unique case. It is a centralized body invested with a special role for a single research domain. Nevertheless, all the major scientific organizations and nations placed unquestioned trust in its reports, because they assumed its methods guaranteed objectivity. Look at their initial knee-jerk reaction to skeptics. It was not just the IPCC, but Nature, Science, PNAS, the media, and a host of non-governmental organization that treated the AGW consensus as truth and the IPCC reports as revelation from heaven (the atmosphere, that is). Skeptics were treated as outsiders and pariahs. The resemblance to the Darwin consensus is apt.

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Greece Shows Euro Isn’t Working

Harvard’s Feldstein Says Greece Shows Euro ‘Isn’t Working’

February 12, 2010
Business Week
By Simon Kennedy and Thomas R. Keene

Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Harvard University Professor Martin Feldstein, who warned in 1997 that European monetary union would spark greater political conflict, said Greece’s fiscal woes expose the fault lines of the single currency project.

A day after EU leaders promised “determined and coordinated action” to help Greece control its budget deficit, Feldstein said the weakness of having a single monetary policy and different fiscal policies is being revealed.

“It isn’t working,” Feldstein, 70, said today in an interview on Bloomberg Radio. “In Europe, they have a single monetary policy and yet every country can set its own fiscal and tax policy.”

Feldstein said European governments will have to find a new way to ensure budget deficits don’t get out of control.

“There’s too much incentive for countries to run up big deficits as there’s no feedback until a crisis,” he said.

While the European Central Bank sets interest rates for the region’s 16 economies, the practice until now has been that each country has to steer its economy and can set its own tax and spending policies.

In his 1997 article, Feldstein wrote that while it’s impossible to predict whether political clashes will lead to war, “it is too real a possibility to ignore in weighing the potential effects” of monetary and political union.

See also: Wall St. Helped to Mask Debt Fueling Europe’s Crisis

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Study Shows Abstinence Education Works

No To Sex

The best way to keep kids from having sex may be (surprise): just tell them not to do it.

By Stephen Smith
Boston Globe
February 15, 2010

To a street-savvy 17-year-old, there isn’t much mystery when it comes to what will work - and what won’t - in a sex education class.

“When you preach abstinence, you sound like a parent,’’ said Hillary Little, who grew up in Boston and attends Worcester Academy. “I feel like my mom’s talking to me when adults come to me and say, ‘Abstinence is the only way. You shouldn’t have sex.’ That’s so unrealistic.

“People are going to do it.’’

Or maybe not.

Earlier this month, shockwaves rattled partisans of the long-flaring feud that has ensnarled sex education in the United States. A study by University of Pennsylvania researchers offered perhaps the most convincing evidence ever that young adolescents might actually heed messages to delay their first sexual encounters - especially if those messages aren’t preachy.

The study, appearing in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, showed that sixth- and seventh-graders in Philadelphia who attended abstinence-only classes were less likely to become sexually active than their peers who went to sessions emphasizing condom use exclusively or classes combining lessons on abstinence and condoms. Previous studies of abstinence education, sometimes lambasted for scientific shoddiness, had largely failed to show the strategy altered teens’ behavior.

The new research was robust. The scientists were fastidious. The findings were statistically significant.

And yet, the question is scarcely settled. Proponents of abstinence education hailed the study as proof they were right all along. Inveterate opponents of abstinence-only education said the Penn approach was different than its forerunners: less judgmental, never depicting sex outside of marriage as something inherently wrong.

The tinderbox that is sex education, it turns out, is as combustible as ever.

“It is a mini culture war, no doubt about it,’’ said Bill Albert, chief program officer for the nonpartisan National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. “The reason why this is so fraught with controversy and elicits such passion is because it touches on some primal issues that people care deeply about - education of our children, when and under what circumstances to start a family, sex.’’

Teen pregnancy rates climbed steadily through the 1970s before leveling off and, then, starting to decline in the early 1990s. It was the age of AIDS, when the viral disease was viewed as a near-certain death sentence, sparking a profound change in sexual behaviors.

Starting with the Clinton administration and accelerating during the presidency of George W. Bush, federal health agencies favored sex education programs that championed abstinence until marriage. And it wasn’t just in the United States: Abstinence figured prominently in the Bush administration’s campaign to treat and prevent AIDS in Africa and Asia.

Critics charged the abstinence campaigns were thinly veiled morality lessons that misled teenagers about other methods of protection, spreading false notions, for example, about the reliability of condoms.

“They just didn’t get their scientific facts right,’’ said Dr. John Santelli, of Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. “Or they had a very strong moral tone that the world of ‘Ozzie and Harriet’ from the ’50s was right for everybody.’’

Advocates of abstinence education argue it’s people like Santelli who have it wrong.

The executive director of the National Abstinence Education Association, Valerie Huber, acknowledged in an interview that the Penn study released this month was more rigorous than earlier research. Still, she said that Santelli and other foes had been too harsh in their blanket denunciations of earlier studies.

“When opponents just repeat the same sound bites without a real understanding of what the broad abstinence field looks like, it can cast a much different view of what these programs really are,’’ Huber said. “That’s another reason I’m actually happy the conversation has been reopened as a result of this study.’’

That research was led by a husband-and-wife team, John and Loretta Jemmott. He’s a social psychologist at Penn, and she’s a nursing professor. A third researcher, Geoffrey Fong of the University of Waterloo in Canada, collaborated with the couple.

Long interested in sex education, the scientists decided to conduct a study modeled on the gold-standard principles of drug trials. They recruited 662 African-American adolescents whose average age was 12. The researchers decided to focus on black youths, John Jemmott said, because they tend to become sexually active at a younger age than other adolescents.

“We wanted to focus on a younger group that didn’t have a lot of sexual experience because we figured an abstinence intervention would have the best chance of being effective with them,’’ Jemmott said. “We also know that when people are older when they have sex for the first time, they are more mature, they are more responsible, and they are more likely to use a condom.’’

The students were assigned randomly to four kinds of sex education classes and a fifth class that addressed health issues more broadly and did not specifically cover sex education. Abstinence class instructors were told to eliminate any overtones of morality and to correct any false impressions students might voice about condoms.

Nearly 33 percent of the adolescents who had abstinence-only education said, when asked by researchers, that they had become sexually active during the two years following the classes. By comparison, about 42 percent of students whose classes emphasized a more comprehensive approach including abstinence and condom use responded they had engaged in sex. The students who reported the highest rate of sexual initiation - 52 percent - were those who attended lessons focused solely on safe condom use.

In their research paper, the study authors speculated that their abstinence-only class would not have met criteria the federal government used during the Clinton and Bush administrations to award grants because it did not emphasize remaining chaste until marriage. Their class did not deal in such absolutes; instead, through role playing and other well-tested techniques used to influence behavior, students explored how becoming pregnant or contracting a sexually transmitted disease could dash dreams for the future.

The research emerges at a pivotal moment: For the first time since the early 1990s, teen pregnancy rates rose in 2006. At the same time, the Obama administration has shifted away from a singular emphasis on abstinence-only education. For the upcoming budget period, the administration has proposed spending $205 million on teen pregnancy prevention “through science-based prevention approaches,’’ according to a federal official.

Albert, of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, said he believes the Penn abstinence program would meet that standard, while cautioning there’s no guarantee that what worked in Philadelphia will translate to other neighborhoods or to older adolescents.

“But I don’t think we can let the perfect be the enemy of the good,’’ Albert said. “We now have a good program that’s been well-evaluated and well-tested. Let’s go try it elsewhere.’’

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Elder Ephraim of Katounakia

Elder Ephraim of Katounakia (Fell asleep in the Lord on February 14, 1998)

At the end of the month of February 1998, the tall cedar of the desert of Katounakia fell. He was the modern hesychast of Mt Athos, the embodiment of Orthodox Athonite Hesychasm, the embodiment of renunciation and departure, and of great obedience and ceaseless prayer.

The late spiritual father was one who approached the divine through the experience of personal struggle. He was a great teacher of our times and a faithful guide. He was the one who taught and practised Hesychasm, departure, obedience, prayer.

He came from the region of Thebes, but he never visited his relatives, as far as I recall, after being tonsured a monk. He was a disciple of true departure.

He placed himself under the guidance of the elder Joseph, from whom he learnt the mysteries and spiritual ascent of inner labour and prayer, the monk who became his father and whom he served as a son.

He was always eager to fulfil the rigorous discipline which harsh and strict elders required.

Father Ephraim's specialty was to speak, teach and advise others about such obedience. This was his beloved topic. On an almost daily basis, he would refer one thing to all and relate to all - obedience. And with that expressive tone of his strong voice, with the persuasion and experience of an old Biblical figure, he would often come back to the topic so dear to him with a new surge of refreshing ascetic demeanour, to the sweetest lesson and the unique matter - obedience. This is the requirement of sacred humility and the coming of the Grace of the Holy Spirit, the cause of all fruitfulness, the pretext of pure prayer. "Do you have obedience? You have prayer. If you don't have obedience, you do not have prayer", he would say, without his words receiving any objection (and Father Ephraim insisted correctly). For, according to St John of Sinai, "obedience means that we place our own discernment into the care of the rich discernment of the spiritual father".

Countless souls travelled the pathway to the ascetic dwelling of the Holy Father Ephraim of Katounakia - laity, monks, priests and bishops - visitors and beggars of spiritual mercy. The sick came and left healed. The burdened came and left feeling lighter. They came weak and left strong.

I remember the late spiritual father even before his fine monastic community was formed, when he was alone. When he made the seals for the prosphora loaves in his humble hut. With a cassock that was mended a thousand times. With spiritual vision and practical virtues, precisely as developed by St Isaac the Syrian in his ascetical works.

May we have your blessing, Holy Father, and may your worthy community follow your hesychastic "model". Amen!

From Voice of Orthodoxy, 1998, v. 19/4,
the official publication of the Greek Orthodox Archbiocese of Australia


On Suffering

Everyone has a cross to carry. Why? Since the leader of our faith endured the cross, we will also endure it. On one hand, the cross is sweet and light, but, on the other, it can also be bitter and heavy. It depends on our will. If you bear Christ’s cross with love then it will be very light; like a sponge or a cork. But if you have a negative attitude, it becomes heavy; too heavy to lift.

On Prayer

The best prayer is the one you say with your own words. Reading a prayer is not enough. For example, before receiving Holy Communion we read the Service of Preparation for Holy Communion: ‘From lips tainted and defiled, from heart unclean and loathsome…’, sometimes without even understanding the words. You yourself should pray with your own words. Then you will understand what you are saying to God. This prayer has great power; great power indeed!

[To see pictures of his cell and listen to audio lecture about Elder Ephraim (in Greek), see here and here.]

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"Forgiveness": A Poem by St. Nikolai Velimirovich

That God may forgive us, let us forgive men.

We are all on this earth as temporary guests.

Prolonged fasting and prayer is in vain

Without forgiveness and true mercy.

God is the true Physician; sins are leprosy.

Whomever God cleanses, God also glorifies.

Every merciful act of men, God rewards with mercy.

He who returns sin with sin perishes without mercy.

Pus is not cleansed by pus from infected wounds,

Neither is the darkness of the dungeon dispelled by darkness,

But pure balm heals the festering wound,

And light disperses the darkness of the dungeon.

To the seriously wounded, mercy is like a balm;

As if seeing a torch dispersing the darkness, everyone rejoices in mercy.

The madman says, "I have no need of mercy!"

But when he is overcome by misery, he cries out for mercy!

Men bathe in the mercy of God,

And that mercy of God wakens us to life!

That God may forgive us, let us forgive men,

We are all on this earth as temporary guests.


See also: Resentment and Forgiveness

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On Adam's Lament

INTRODUCTION

The anonymous Kontakion on Adam’s Lament is one of the earliest we possess and is probably of the fifth century and pre-dates those of St Romanos. It is still used in the office of Matins for the Sunday before Lent, where the Proemium is followed not, as is usual, by the first stanza of the hymn only, but by four, numbers 1 to 3 and 7. The text in the Triodion differs in places from that of the critical edition, notably in the refrain, which is in the first person, ’Have mercy on me who have fallen’. In the third line of stanza 7 the Triodion has, ’Implore God for the one who has fallen’, which does not scan.

The last four stanzas, which correspond to the word ADAM in the acrostic, are almost certainly spurious, though they occur in all but one of the MSS. Stanza 18, which begins, ’Now therefore, Saviour’ forms a concluding prayer, which is feature of the classic kontakion and the following stanzas are not really about Adam at all, but are simply a series of commonplaces of inferior quality.

ON ADAM’S LAMENT

Acrostic: On The First-Formed, [Adam]

Proemium

Guide of wisdom, Giver of prudence,
Teacher of the foolish and Defender of the poor,
Establish, give understanding to my heart, Master;
Give me a word, Word of the Father;
For see, my lips I shall not restrain from crying to you:
O Merciful, have mercy on the fallen.

1

Then Adam sat and wept opposite[1]
The delight of Paradise beating his eyes with his hands
And he said:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.

2

As Adam saw the Angel pushing and shutting
The door of God’s garden he groaned aloud
And said:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.

3

Share in the pain, O Paradise, of your beggared master
And with the sound of your leaves implore the Creator
Not to shut you:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.

4

Bend down your trees like living beings and fall before
Him who holds the key, that thus you may remain open
For one who cries:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.

5

I breathe the fragrance of your beauty and I melt as I recall
How I delighted there from the sweet scent
Of the flowers:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.

6

Now I have learnt what I suffered, now I have understood what God
Said to me in Paradise, ‘In taking Eve
You steal away from Me’:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.

7

Paradise, all virtue, all holiness, all happiness,
Planted because of Adam, shut because of Eve,
How shall I lament for you?
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.

8

I am polluted, I am ruined, I am enslaved to my slaves;
For reptiles and wild beasts, whom I subjected by fear,
Now make me tremble;
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.

9

No longer do the flowers offer me pleasure,
But thorns and thistles[2] the earth raises for me,
Not produce:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.

10

The table without toil I overthrew by my own will;
And now in the sweat of my brow I eat
My bread:[3]
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.

11

My throat, which holy waters had made sweet,
Has become bitter from the multitude of my groans,
As I cry out:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.

12

How have I fallen? Where have I arrived? From a pedestal to the ground;
From a divine admonition to a wretched existence
I have been reduced:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.

13

Now Satan rejoices having stripped me of my glory;
But this gives him no joy; for see, my God
clothes me:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.

14

God himself pitied me, clothes my nakedness;
By this He shows me that He too cares
For me, the transgressor:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.

15

The clothing signifies for me the state that is to come,
For the One who has now clothed me in a little while wears me
And saves me:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.

16

Swiftly Adam you have understood the wish of My compassion;
Therefore I do not deprive you of this your hope
As you cry:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.

17

I do not wish nor do I will the death of the one I fashioned;
But having chastened him enough I will glorify eternally
The one who cries:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.’

18

Now therefore, Saviour, save me also who seek for you with longing;
I do not wish to take you in, but I wish to be taken in by you
And to cry to you:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.[4]

[19][5]

O incomparable, all-holy, all-immaculate, look down
From heaven as compassionate and save me as unworthily
I shout:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.

[20]

Rouse my mind to praise, raise up
The one who lies sick in bed, who unworthily, Saviour,
Cries to you:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.

[21]

Raise up, make firm, O Lover of mankind, the one who has now
Stumbled as a profligate in life; draw near me, Saviour,
As I cry:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.

[22]

Unity, Trinity undivided unseparated, at the prayers
Of the Mother of God take pity on me and overlook the sins
Of those who cry:
O Merciful, have mercy on the one who has fallen.]

Notes

[1] Cf. Gen. 3:25 (LXX). The first line of Stanza 1 echoes the LXX text of Genesis 3:24, which reads ’And [God] settled Adam opposite the Paradise of pleasure and set in place the Cherubim’. This rendering has influenced both the liturgical and the iconographic traditions. The Hebrew has only one verb, 'And [God] settled east of the garden of Eden the Cherubim’. The Catholic New American Bible has adopted the LXX reading as the correct one.

[2] Cf. Gen. 3:18.

[3] Cf. Gen. 3:20.

[4] The trope in the second line of Stanza 18 is almost impossible to translate. The verb I have translated ’take in’ in both clauses is the same, and means both ’cheat’ and ’steal’.

[5] These stanzas, 19-22, are considered spurious by the editor, though they are present in all but one ms. 18 forms a final prayer, which is feature of the classic kontakion, and the final stanzas, which form the word ADAM in the acrostic seem to be an unnecessary addition. They are not really about Adam at all and greatly inferior in quality, being simply a collection of commonplaces.

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