Saint Panteleimon: Illnesses Are Gifts of God

In the Kalyva of St. John Chrysostom, which belongs to the Koutloumousiou Monastery’s Skete of St. Panteleimon, Monk Daniel is still alive and struggling in asceticism. As he himself assures us, and as we have also learned from other fathers, he has been sick for over twenty years: his head, back, kidneys, heart, feet, and sometimes his whole body, hurt. He has been to many doctors and has undergone many examinations, X-rays, and radiography, all with the same outcome.

The doctors cannot find any bodily disorder; nevertheless, the brother continues to suffer from an inexplicable illness, with which doctors and science are unable to help him.

A few years ago, on July 27, during the Vigil for the Feast of St. Panteleimon, Brother Daniel, with great faith and tears in his eyes, besought St. Panteleimon with these words:

“O Saint of God and Patron of our Skete, you who are a doctor and who, for the love of Christ, were martyred and shed your blood, beseech Christ our Master to grant me my health, so that I, too, will be able to glorify His Name and chant during Vigils in good health.”

Having said this, from his pain and exhaustion, Monk Daniel fell into a light sleep and saw St. Panteleimon in a vision kneeling before the throne of God and asking for the brother’s health to be restored.

Monk Daniel heard Christ the Master say to St. Panteleimon:

“My brother, Great Martyr Panteleimon, are you perhaps more compassionate than I? Or do you have greater love for the people than I do? I know that you shed your blood for My sake, but did I not also shed My Blood, and continue to shed it every day, for the salvation of men’s souls? Know that it is My will, and it is often to one’s advantage, that one’s body be sick, that his soul might be saved. This is how I desire many people to be saved.”

When Brother Daniel heard these words, he woke up and glorified the Name of God, also thanking St. Panteleimon for his efforts and intercession. And immediately, as he himself told us, a burden was lifted from him and he was inwardly assured that he must bear his cross and his illness with patience and thanksgiving.

Source: Monk Andrew the Hagiorite, Gerontikon of the Holy Mountain [in Greek] (Athens: 1979), pp. 287-288.

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The Craziest Religions

by Benyamin Cohen
July 27, 2010
The Daily Beast

One man has made it his mission to document the bizarre, unusual ways people practice religion. Benyamin Cohen talks to Michael Largo about the strangest stories he’s uncovered and why he’s obsessed.

Mrs. Marion Keech of Missouri used to get collect calls from aliens. At least, that’s what she told people. It was the 1950s and the public believed lots of things. Mrs. Keech took careful notes of her extraterrestrial communications and informed America that a flood would destroy the world on December 21, 1954. But those who joined Keech’s cult could board a spaceship leaving her front yard at the stroke of midnight just barely avoiding the Apocalypse.

And one man has made it his mission to document and collect stories of religious fanatics, freaks, believers of all sorts just like this woman. That man, Michael Largo, noted author of half a dozen books on death, has just published: God’s Lunatics: Lost Souls, False Prophets, Martyred Saints, Murderous Cults, Demonic Nuns, and Other Victims of Man’s Eternal Search for the Divine. I recently saw him speak in Atlanta and then later interviewed him by phone.

Largo speaks of saints and sinners, of aliens and apostles. He regales the reader with tales of religion gone awry.

"He did mushrooms with a Druid woman, practiced a number of Eastern theologies, went on Christian spiritual weekend retreats, attended New Age lectures, ate matzoh ball soup in a Jewish sukkah, and met a medicine man in the mountains of Baja, California."

He tells the story of John Frum, a navy vet who washed ashore on an island in the South Pacific. The natives, who had little contact with the outside world, immediately hailed Frum as the messiah. Frum taught them that Uncle Sam and Santa Claus were revered gods and got them to believe that passing candy bars to each other was religious ritual. Frum died by falling (some say he was pushed) into an active volcano. His followers believe he’ll be resurrected in the year 2015.

Then there's the Patron Saint of Ice Skaters. The flying nuns (yes, there were many). There's heretic hunter Conrad of Marburg. There's Paschal T. Randolph, a nineteenth-century barber-turned-sex magician who allegedly coined the term "soul mate."

And then there’s the charismatic Pentecostal preacher known as Sister Aimee. In the early 1900s, her tent revivals often had standing-room-only crowds of thirty thousand. She built America’s first megachurch with a sanctuary could seat more than five thousand and reportedly had packed services three times a day, seven days a week. As if that wasn’t enough, she also created her own denomination, the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel.

She is perhaps most widely known for allegedly being abducted near Venice Beach in the spring of 1926. Most people assumed she had drowned, others thought she was kidnapped, and some believed she had orchestrated the perfect disappearing act. About a month after she disappeared, Sister Aimee miraculously emerged from a Mexican desert claiming she had been kidnapped and brutally tortured. But not many people believed her. Indeed, a male colleague who was reportedly romantically involved with Sister Aimee coincidentally also vanished around the same time, and the two were seen at a number of hotels during her disappearance.

It’s stories like these—hundreds of them—that fill the pages of Largo’s encyclopedic new work. To compile it, he kept an almost monastic writing regime, often researching for 18 hours at a stretch, and working on just four hours of sleep a night. God’s Lunatics sources more than 300 books, which Largo is still clearing out of his lakefront house. “I was getting kind of crazy at the end of the book,” he tells me by phone. “With all the different gods, it got hard to sleep. The blessing is I have insomnia.”

It seems whatever topic Largo tackles, he becomes a man obsessed. He has spent the better part of two decades laser-focused on death. Not his own mortality per se, but that of others.

In The Portable Obituary, he reveals how the rich and famous really died. In Final Exits, the book that brought him national acclaim, he painfully detailed the myriad ways humans can kick the bucket. In Genius and Heroin, he offered an illustrated catalog of how artists like Jackson Pollack and rock stars like Kurt Cobain have literally poisoned themselves for their work. No wonder he’s been dubbed the “Capote of kaput.”

He peppers everyday discussion with arcane and morose tidbits of deathophelia. He’s memorized famous people’s obituaries, he knows if more people die from toothpicks or lightning each year, and can cite trends of mortality from Roman times to last week. I ask him a question and somehow the answer includes the obit of atheist poet Percy Shelley. At the book talk he gave for God’s Lunatics, the audience was dotted with tattooed Goth groupies. Death has become him.

But Largo sees his new book on religion as a natural extension of his previous work. “Death and religion are good bedfellows,” he says.

A self-described “recovering Catholic,” (he vividly remembers the corporeal punishment he received from the nuns growing up), he doesn’t argue for or against God in his book. Instead, he opts for religious tolerance. “I try to present this as a consumer’s guide to religion,” he says.

God’s Lunatics is written in handy encyclopedic form. The first entry is “Abracadabra,” which at one time was an ancient code used by Egyptian priests, and ends with “Zoroastrianism.” In between, paired with rare photos from the Library of Congress, are hundreds of what he refers to as short stories on the banal and the bizarre. Everything from how to tastefully slit the neck of a kosher chicken to biblical masturbators. A section on divine hair reveals why Amish men don’t have mustaches and Orthodox Jews grow side locks. There’s even information on how to start your own cult. “A surefire way to get followers to your cult is to talk about the apocalypse,” he explains nonchalantly.

One of Largo’s favorite sections explores the “Ancient Astronaut Theory,” which hypothesizes that intelligent alien life forms landed on Earth thousands of years ago. Cro-Magnons were their failed genetic experiments and manna fell from their spaceships. “I think the early writers would make good sci-fi writers these days,” says Largo, who’s also written three novels.

While he enjoys writing about these religious quirks from a distance, Largo has experienced more than enough himself to fill a spiritual memoir. He was a Catholic altar boy who’s visited many of Rome’s holy shrines. He’s attended churches of every flavor—Baptist, Episcopalians, Methodists, and Calvinists just to name a few. He did mushrooms with a Druid woman, practiced a number of Eastern theologies, went on Christian spiritual weekend retreats, attended New Age lectures, ate matzoh ball soup in a Jewish sukkah, and met a medicine man in the mountains of Baja, California.

But he’s not yet ready to pen the stories of those personal journeys. At 56-years-old, Largo is waiting until he gets older when he sees death’s shadow on the horizon. Which isn’t surprising. With Largo, all roads are paved by mortality’s lining.

“It’s all part of the cycle,” he explains. “Focusing on death, I think makes the smaller B.S. stuff less important.”

Largo is now taking a few months off to figure out his next move. “My head got a little fried on this book,” he admits. But the grips of the Grim Reaper have already started to reel him back in. He says he’s tinkering with a book tracing dead people’s inheritances. “There’s that famous quote,” he says, “Nothing starts a good fight more than the death of a rich man.” And that’s in addition to the illustrated graphic take on burial customs he’s shopping around to publishers.

Michael Largo, it seems, can’t escape death for long.

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Study: Few Americans Say Faith is Top Priority

By Jennifer Riley
July 26 2010
Christian Post

Although the United States is known worldwide to be a religious nation, few Americans say that faith is a top priority in their life.

Nearly 90 percent of Americans, according to the CIA World Factbook, identify themselves with a religion. But only 12 percent of American adults say faith is a top priority in their life, according to a new study released Monday by the Barna Group.

About three-quarters of the U.S. population is Christian.

“The gap is vast between self-described affiliation with Christianity and ascribing highest priority to that faith,” commented David Kinnaman, president of the Barna Group, in a statement. “When it comes to why so much of American religion seems merely skin-deep, this gap between what people call themselves and what they prioritize is perhaps most telling.”

The 12 percent who say faith is the highest priority in their life is up from nine percent in 2008, but down from 16 percent in 2006.

Looking at the Christian faith demographic, evangelicals are the most likely to say faith is the highest priority in life (39 percent), while Catholics are the least likely (4 percent), according to the Barna study.

Notably, the study highlights that the percentage of Catholics who say faith is the top priority in their life is only slightly above that of unchurched adults (2 percent).

About one in five Protestants (18 percent) and churchgoers (18 percent) – whose frequency of church attendance was not defined – say faith is the highest priority in their life.

The Barna study, conducted Jan. 27-Feb. 2 using a random sample of 1,006 American adults, sought to identify how the troubled economy has impacted the priorities of Americans.

By far, the highest priority for Americans is family. Forty-five percent of Americans say their family is the most important aspect in their life.

The second most important priority is health/leisure/balanced lifestyle (20 percent), followed by wealth/profession/making money/success/finances (17 percent), and faith (12 percent).

In terms of priority change – a possible effect of the economy – the Barna study found that over the past two years the percentage of Americans who say finance is their top priority increased from 12 percent in 2008 to 17 percent in 2010.

Also, more Americans now say health and a balanced lifestyle (20 percent versus 15 percent) or faith (12 percent versus 9 percent) is their top priority compared to two years ago.

Interestingly, there is a drop in the number of Americans who say family is their top priority (45 percent versus 52 percent). However, family continues to be the most important priority overall to Americans.

“The conventional wisdom says that when the economy turns bad people focus on ‘basics,’ like family and faith,” commented Kinnaman, who directed the study. “This research either calls that thinking into question or it tells us that the economy has not been bad enough to cause a significant reprioritization of family and faith.”

He also noted that faith is “the most volatile” of the top priorities in the Barna study. Faith is the only priority that went down from 2006, then up, “suggesting uncertainty about the interaction between faith and finances.”

“People are not turning to others – like family members or God – in the face of economic trials,” Kinnaman said. “Instead, they are focusing increasingly on themselves, trying to solve their problems by being more ‘balanced’ or by simply working harder.”

“[T]he economy has revealed Americans’ fixation with individualism and their illusions of being self-made,” he added.

The Barna group, a polling and research group that focuses on cultural trends and religion, plans to release a more in-depth report on the economy’s impact on religious belief and behavior.

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Sociologist Debunks Myths on U.S. Christianity

By Lillian Kwon
July 26 2010
Christian Post

Things aren't as bad in American Christianity as many say it is, according to one sociologist.

Christianity isn't on the brink of extinction, divorce rates of Christians aren't equal to that of non-Christians and churches are not losing young people – at least not to the extent that some fear.

That isn't to say there aren't any problems in the church. But Bradley R. E. Wright wants all the facts to be laid out before any judgment calls are made.

In his newly released book Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites ... and Other Lies You've Been Told, Wright reveals that many of the commonly cited statistics regarding the state of U.S. Christianity or the behaviors of Christians are incomplete and inaccurate.

A lot of the data – especially the kind that get media coverage – are negatively slanted and paint a bleak picture of Christians and the church. Wright is concerned that the onslaught of inaccurate bad news could distract from what really is bad news and could demotivate Christians from being active Christ followers and from inviting others to join.

Wright, 47, is associate professor of sociology at the University of Connecticut. He formerly studied crime and homelessness but switched his focus to American Christianity after receiving tenure.

"I wanted to work more merging my faith and my profession," he said in an interview with The Christian Post.

Raised in the Catholic Church, he became a born-again Christian in high school and is now part of an evangelical community.

His journey of discovering the real state of U.S. Christianity began when he had doubts about the popularly cited divorce statistic.

"We're all familiar with the idea that Christians have divorce rates as high, if not higher, than non-Christians," he explained in the interview. "I heard that for years but as I thought about it, it just didn't make sense."

He and his wife had received so much support from pastors, small group members, and the church as a whole that he could not understand how that couldn't make a difference on marriages.

After analyzing five different sets of data, he found that Christians actually have lower divorce rates. His analysis can be found on his blog, brewright.com.

"[People] found that gratifying to sort of bust that myth as it were," he commented.

In his book, he presents data from the General Social Survey, which he describes as "the Cadillac of national studies" that has collected data since 1972. The divorce rate among the religiously unaffiliated is 50 percent while that of mainline Protestants, evangelicals and Catholics is 41 percent, 46 percent and 35 percent, respectively.

The statistics are more positive when it comes to active churchgoers. Only 38 percent of evangelicals who attend church weekly have been divorced, compared to 60 percent of evangelicals who never attend.

Extinction?

Perhaps the most unhelpful perception Christians have about Christianity is that it's on the brink of extinction or that in a decade or two "we'll all be huddled in basements or something," Wright said.

"That's a problem because basically if we’re in the Titanic and we've already hit an iceberg, why would we want to invite anyone to join us? Why would we want to devote ourselves to it?" he posed. "Basically, if you have a sinking ship, you don’t invite people to it, you jump off and get away. And so I would say it’s perhaps the most harmful myth that Christians believe about ourselves."

Mainline Protestantism has indeed decreased dramatically from over 30 percent of the population in 1970 to less than 15 percent and the number of Americans not affiliated with a religion has doubled within that same time frame. But the percentage of evangelical Christians has grown to 25 percent and Catholics and black Protestants have remained stable in their representation.

The United States "is still very much a country of Christians" with three out of four Americans affiliating themselves with Christianity, Wright wrote.

Even among the unaffiliated, it turns out many of them are religious.

Thought they rarely attend religious services, more than half (56 percent) of them believe in God and another 22 percent believe in a higher power. Fifty-five percent believe that the Bible is either the literal or inspired Word of God and 49 percent pray daily or weekly.

Overall, over 90 percent of Americans have believed and continue to believe in some form of God.

Young people leaving?

The exodus of young people from the church has been a major concern. Popular speakers, including apologist Josh McDowell, have frequently stated that some two-thirds of the younger generation was leaving the Christian faith and that unless something was done now Christianity wouldn't survive another decade.

The popularly cited statistic is that only four percent of young Americans will be Bible-believing Christians as adults.

Wright found that the four percent figure came from an informal survey a seminary professor did 10 years ago. He interviewed 211 young people in three states.

"In terms of quality, this statistic is about as valid as someone putting a survey question on their Facebook page and then having their friends and acquaintances answer it," Wright wrote in his book. "There's nothing wrong with doing it, it's just not very trustworthy."

Yet Christian speakers and youth leaders have organized conferences and developed resources around such statistics.

"My sense is that they're using these statistics with the best intentions, that their goal is to try to save the church from what they perceive to be a terrible problem and imminent disaster," Wright noted. "The expression I use is 'scary statistics are useful,' that it helps us to create audiences and create a need for our message."

Wright went further to compare today's generation of young people to previous generations.

He pointed out that since the 1970s, between 20 and 25 percent of young people have been affiliated with evangelical Christianity. Currently, 22 percent of young adults affiliate with evangelical churches, down from 25 percent in the 1990s, but up from 21 percent in the 1970s.

Though the percentage of young people who are religiously unaffiliated increased to 25 percent over the past couple of decades, the increase in the unaffiliated is seen across all age groups. In fact, the percentage of the religiously unaffiliated almost tripled among people in their thirties to sixties.

Today's evangelical youth were also found to be more committed and more active than young Christians of previous generations.

In the 1970s, only about one-third of young evangelicals viewed themselves as "strong evangelicals" compared to 50 percent today. About half prayed daily in the 1980s but over two-thirds do so today. Church attendance also increased from about 35 percent in the 1970s and 1980s to over 40 percent now among young evangelicals.

Also, young people who leave organized religion often rejoin when they grow older and start families of their own, Wright noted. Citing the General Social Survey, the sociologist revealed that with previous generations – those born in the 1910s up until the 1980s – evangelical involvement increased with age. Only 19 percent of those born in the 1930s and 1940s identified as evangelicals when they were in their twenties. By the time they were in their seventies, 30 percent were evangelicals.

Though he can't make any predictions, Wright says he doesn't see evidence in the data "of a cataclysmic loss of young people."

Things are going well

When Wright set out to analyze data for a more accurate look at Christianity, he was expecting at least half of the data – on church growth, beliefs, participation, morals, how Christians treat others and how others view Christians – to be negative. But surprisingly, much of it was positive.

"I think it’s more accurate to have a more positive perception of Christians. In many ways, things are going well," he said.

But Wright doesn't want to ignore the bad news.

Even though the divorce rate among evangelicals is lower than reported, it has still doubled over the last three to four decades. Sexual promiscuity and porn viewing may be lowest among regular evangelical church attenders compared to other groups, but still many are struggling. And though evangelical Christians score high when it comes to selfless caring for others and accepting others even when others do things they think are wrong, their attitudes toward minorities and gays are dismaying, Wright said.

Wright has gained a much more positive outlook on U.S. Christianity after finishing his book, but he acknowledged that there are things Christians need to work on.

"But that’s part of the value of data is that it tells us where the real problems are," he said. "If we think everything’s a problem, then in a sense nothing’s a problem because it almost becomes white noise."

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The Prophecied Scoffers of Holy Things (2 Peter 3:3-4)

"Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts" (2 Peter 3:3).

Does the mirror change and bend when the scoffer stands before it laughing and scoffing at it? No, the mirror does not change and bend but remains the same as it was. Brethren, neither does God change or bend when scoffers laugh and scoff at Him. The unchanging and All-pure God knows that the scoffer scoffs at himself. By his scoffing at the holy things of God, the scoffer bends himself and makes himself hideous and the holy things of God remain intact.

O, how already in our times, in our days, many scoffers are already here! Many, too many, but their multitudes are weaker than the One and Only One. What is a lot of dust before a strong wind? You have only to wait, to wait armed with patience until a strong wind blows.

Many and too many scoffers are already here, who scoff at God's word. They offer their own words in place of God's word; they offer the unholy in place of the holy, the putrid in place of the healthy, death dealing in place of life creating. The word of God is like a strong wind and their words are as dust.

The scoffers are already here, many and too many that scoff at God's works and still many more will arrive. They praise their works above God's works and say that the works of their hands are better and more comprehensible that the works of God. Their works are thievery; for all the good that they built, they built from God's materials and according to the likeness of God's buildings; and all the evil that they have built, they built from the devil's materials, and according to the likeness of the devil's buildings. Therefore, of what will the dust boast? With what will the scoffers praise today or tomorrow, when wild asses trample over their graves with their hooves?

All-pure Lord, Holy and Powerful are Your words, as a strong wind and holy are Your works, and there is no number or measure of them. All-pure Lord, save our tongues from scoffing and save our lives from the scoffers.

To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.

"Where is the promise of his coming?" (2 Peter 3:4).

Thus ask the scoffers of the holy things of God. They who scoff at the words and works of God scoff at the promises of God. We the faithful say that the Lord will come and they scoff and say when will He come since He has not yet come? We say that the Lord promised to come and they scoff and say: "Where is the promise of His coming?" They say our fathers lived and died waiting for His coming and He did not come. Will we then still wait for Him, they say? Yes brethren, we wait for Him and we will wait for Him. He promised to come and He will come. The Holy apostle confirms the promise of the Lord; behold, he heard it from the lips of the Lord Himself, from the lips from which only truth proceeds. "With the Lord, a thousand years is as one day" (2 Peter 3:8). With these words the apostle seals the mouths of the scoffers and teaches us patience. Soon it will be two thousand years since the Son of God gave His promise that He will return again "in Power and in Glory" to save the faithful and to punish the unfaithful but He still has not yet come, so speak the scoffers. O ignorant scoffers, is two thousand years as long for God as it is for you? For do you not think that for Him two thousand years are as two days? Does He have to fulfill all of His promises in the course of two days? He, the Immortal One, is not in a hurry as you mortal ones are in a hurry. You are in a hurry for you will shortly die but He is Immortal and is not afraid of death. When He comes, He will find you in your graves. The trump of the angels will awaken you and you will rise, only to see that He is truthful and you will then be lowered into the dark kingdom of the slanderers, for you slander the Lord of Truth and drove Him into a lie. Brethren, the Lord does not want that we be inquisitive with regard to the day and the hour when He will come; He only wants that we believe that He will come. When He comes, be we dead or alive, we will see His coming. Is this not enough?

O Lord God, Our Savior, teach us patience and strengthen us in the Faith. You will come, we know.

To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.

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Moscow Patriarchate: "Schism Is Outmoded"

July 27, 2010
Interfax

A growing number of schismatic communities in Ukraine see the need to come back to the canonical Church, one of the reasons being that the schism is becoming "outmoded", the Moscow Patriarchate believes.

"Schism is no longer stylish. It was fashionable in the 1990s to promote separatism and disintegration; there was resentment in the air. Now people are tired of that, they come to realize that they have to live in this country together with their children and grandchildren," the head of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk said Monday in an interview to Inter, a Ukrainian TV channel.

According to him, a growing number of people in Ukraine start thinking, "whether they should continue to live in the atmosphere of hostility and accusations, or whether they would feel much better in peace and benevolence."

Metropolitan Hilarion noted that many schismatics living in various regions of Ukraine were increasingly inclined to come back to the canonical Church, and this was a "continuous process, though it not a widespread one so far."

"People don't feel good when they are unable to communicate with ecumenical Orthodoxy. Schismatics have an acute sense of inferiority," Metropolitan Hilarion said.

Besides, the Metropolitan believes that "the schism loses its weight immediately when the authorities cease to support it." According to him, today the opportunity for blowing up the schism in Ukraine is long gone.

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Russia’s Parliament Takes On The Occult

27 July, 2010
RT

People are always fascinated by the possibility of catching a glimpse of the future. And psychics are always ready to turn people's curiosity into cash. But now the Russian parliament has taken the future into its hands.

The allure of the unknown and the showcasing of psychic abilities have become big business in Russia. While simple entertainment for some, others turn to these self-proclaimed mystics for healing and the promise of answers to the problems of everyday life.

“Six years ago trouble came to our family: my son was lured into a relationship by a woman who used some witchcraft,” said Larisa Kazakova, a victim of psychic fraud. “As a mother, I couldn't help seeing that his health was impaired and was getting worse. His mind was suppressed; he changed completely.”

Larisa put her trust in a psychic, who claimed to have special insight into the situation, but as time passed it became clear that all the psychic was after was more of Larisa’s money.

“I paid her about 600,000 rubles [$20,000] a year for three years. That’s not because we are rich, but for the sake of your child’s health you’d do anything – sell possessions, take loans, anything!” Larisa said.

Experts say the nature of this industry provides a prime opportunity for people to take advantage of those desperate for something to believe in.

“Some quasi-shamanic things in the worst meaning of this word are all too close to a hoax – but people want to keep believing, so they trust them,” said psychiatrist Sergey Enikolopov. “And when they finally turn for help to real doctors, they find out it's too late, too hard, and that a patient is in need of critical measures.”

Now there is a movement in the State Duma to protect people like Larisa from being conned.

“We’re prohibiting advertisement of services which are not backed by professional or commercial experience,” said Victor Zvagelsky, a State Duma deputy from the Economic Policy Committee. “We believe these people practice tax evasion and swindling. Moreover, they’re deceiving potential consumers with these occult services.”

The new law is aimed at articles and advertisements offering services of people who claim they can heal or tell the future using mystic abilities. But those who make a living at this say that a ban on such ads won’t really make a dent in their business at all.

“I’d say that today, the internet brings the most clients into this business, rather than printed resources or TV,” said fortuneteller and parapsychologist Darya Mironova. “The only ad that really works is the grapevine; you help someone, and they in turn bring their family and friends.”

And while it may seem counter-intuitive, some who claim to have such powers say they provide a valuable service and that a ban on advertising could actually be helpful.

“I help people in their family relationships, and I do fortunetelling, depending on their needs,” she said. “Most psychics do the same thing; however those who don’t know what they’re doing are trying to gain notoriety through ads and other means. I believe there should be a set of documents to prove their abilities.”

The Duma is trying to make the same point.

“They could get a diploma or a medical certificate, or undergo a medical commission,” Zvagelsky said. “Each region of Russia issues their particular diplomas, which makes each healer work in that region only. The same way, one can be deprived of their diploma if their healing doesn’t work, just like any other doctor.”

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7 Astonishing Miracles of Saint Paraskevi

St. Paraskevi the Virgin-Martyr (Feast Day - July 26)

"Today Is My Feast"

This event occurred on a recent 26th of July in Koropi, Athens. The family described this event as follows:

In Koropi, there was a married couple where the husband was very religious and the wife was a non-believer and mocker of the faith.

The husband had great respect and devoutness for St Paraskevi. And always, on the day before we celebrate her memory, he lit a candle at his house. His wife would never light it herself.

So the next day, he got up very early in the morning, washed and dressed up as quietly as he could so he wouldn't disturb his sleeping wife and mother in law, locked the door (twice) and left to go to church.

When he got back from church he found the two women very scared and in great panic.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

They told him: "As you left this morning, a little later we heard someone unlocking our door. Two times we heard the sound of the door unlocking..klak..klak... We froze!!! Then a woman entered our house with black clothes, tall, very beautiful, and appeared in front of us, looking at us without saying a word. She then went into the room where the candle was. She goes there, takes the candle and goes into the kitchen, adds oil, and lit it. Then she takes the candle and puts it back into the room. She comes back to us, she looks at us and says, 'Today is my feast', and she left the house!!"

The women were in shock, but the man was touched by this miracle of St. Paraskevi to his wife, who was a non-believer and mocker of the faith.

The Holy Monastery of Saint Paraskevi in Milochori

Mouriki (Μουρίκι) is a municipality in the Kozani Prefecture, Greece. Milochori, or Milochorion (Μηλοχωρίου), is a mountain village (alt. c. 680 m) of Mouriki. In the past it was known as Lygka. Milochorion according to one source is named after the watermills (Milos) in the region, or the apples (gr. Milo) which are produced in the region. In this mountain village stands a monastery dedicated to Saint Paraskevi which was built in 1967 at the initiative of Metropolitan Augoustinos Kantiotis of Florina and dedicated in 1969. This monastery was built over a former dilapidated ancient church. There are presently three monks there.

In 1932 a pious woman from Foufas named Chrysa Kypti had a son named Tryphon who was blind. She was told that there was a spring of Holy Water nearby, though did not know its origins or the saint associated with it. Upon receiving some Holy Water from the friend who told her about it, she had her son wash his face with it. When he did, the son received his sight back. That night Chrysa saw St. Paraskevi in her sleep, who pointed out to her where she was buried and asked her to dig her out. After telling the villagers, they did not believe her. St. Paraskevi appeared again in her sleep and told her to seek the help of the residents of Milochori. The president of the village responded and helped her dig at the place indicated with other villagers: "Among the brambles where a rose bush is." There they discovered the foundations of an old church, a roofing tile, the icon of St. Paraskevi and some Roman coins. The findings confirmed the word of St. Paraskevi that this was an ancient church. Under the order of the bishop of Ptolemaida, a small church had been built. Chrysa Kypti stayed next to the church in cells that had been constructed until April of 1959, when she died on Good Friday.

Below is a video in Greek about the history of this monastery and the miracle of its founding, together with video of the monastery itself.




A Contemporary Miracle of Saint Paraskevi Healing An Eye Ailment

The following account comes from a woman named Georgia from Corinth:

From the age of two I suffered from a severe form of being cross-eyed, and according to the doctors who examined me in Athens and Corinth, I had to wear glasses for the rest of my life. It became customary for my parents to bring me every year, on the eve of the feast of St. Paraskevi, to a small chapel of St. Paraskevi which is found in Ancient Corinth. It was there, from the age of three, that I would make this small but serious prayer: "My St. Paraskevi, make my eyes well." I would light my candle and I had much hope in her.

At the age of eight, St. Paraskevi eventually worked her miracle outside her small chapel. A thought came into my head, like lightning, that urged me to remove my glasses and I was assured that I would not need them again. I removed my glasses and believed that I truly did not have the slightest problem. I could see very well, and I didn't have the slightest problem of being cross-eyed. I gave the glasses to my mother and told her I will never wear them again. Initially my parents believed I was displaying child-like enthusiasm, but over the next few days they believed in the truth of the miracle.

Today I am a mature woman with excellent vision. I never ceased to visit that chapel every year to thank St. Paraskevi for her miraculous intervention, and for hearing my humble child-like prayer. The Saints are always near us. It is enough to invoke them with faith, and they are ready to rush to our aid.

The Chapel of Saint Paraskevi in Nafplion

In Karathona of Nafplion there is a small chapel dedicated to St. Paraskevi. This chapel was built in 1693 by Hieromonk Gerasimos Rethymnioti above the ruins of an older chapel. In the 1920's there were Greek soldiers in the area. One of the soldiers became extremely ill from an infection. Being faithful, he prayed to God to make him well. In a vision he saw a female Saint who told him that he will get well. Indeed, what he was told came true.

When his sickness passed the soldier got up and went to the small chapel of St. Paraskevi and recognized the saint he saw was her. Upon his return to Athens, where he was from, he had an icon painted of St. Paraskevi, but withheld bringing it back to her chapel.

While in Athens the soldier had another visit from St. Paraskevi who told him to take his icon that he had painted and bring it to her chapel. He did this immediately.

Today this chapel is owned by the Argyropoulou family and on the feast of St. Paraskevi hundreds come from all over to celebrate.

Going To Greet Saint Paraskevi At Petraki Monastery

Petraki Monastery in Athens has the great blessing to treasure the holy myrrh-gushing skull of St. Paraskevi. Every Friday a Supplication Service is done to St. Paraskevi and her relics are displayed for veneration, and from 1962 an All-Night Vigil is conducted on the feast day of St. Paraskevi. It was on that night that a pious wife of a professor of the University of Athens saw in her sleep St. Paraskevi, who said: "Come tomorrow behind the Evangelismos Hospital to greet me."

Because the dream made quite an impression on her, she told her husband the next day the following: "I'm going by Evangelismo to St. Paraskevi, to venerate her, because I saw her last night in my dream."

"Are you crazy?" responded her husband. "I don't know of any St. Paraskevi there. You aren't going anywhere. We are going to the beach, for a swim."

They both got in their car and headed for the beach, first picking up a friend of theirs who was a journalist. As they were going down Siggrou Street, they passed the Church of St. Haralambos. The woman did her cross and asked the journalist if he knew of a church of St. Paraskevi nearby to go and light a candle.

"Oh brother", said her husband, "this woman is driving me crazy with her religiosity. From this morning she has been telling me she wants to go behind Evangelismo to St. Paraskevi, but I know there is no St. Paraskevi there."

"Ah, stop here", said the journalist. "The lady has a point, for behind Evangelismo is the Monastery of Petraki in which is kept the skull of St. Paraskevi. Furthermore, tonight is her All-Night Vigil. I read it in the newspaper."

Upon hearing this, they forsook going to the beach and all returned to go to the Monastery of Petraki to venerate St. Paraskevi's holy skull.

Elder Ephraim Katounakiotis Relates A Miracle of Saint Paraskevi

In 1979 Elder Ephraim Katounakiotis related the following miracle of St. Paraskevi:

Five years ago a blind man went to Koutloumousiou Monastery to venerate the skull of St. Paraskevi [part of her skull is at this monastery, and part of it is at Petraki Monastery in Athens]. She gave off an aroma and the blind man immediately could see and he hung up his glasses there.

Petraki Monastery

A Roman Catholic Receives Her Sight From Saint Paraskevi

The following is written by the abbot of the Holy Monastery of Petraki:

In 1946 I wrote a piece for the newspaper "Orthodoxos Typos" regarding St. Paraskevi. A subscriber in Piraeus read the piece, and as soon as he finished he received a letter from Germany. It was from a German-American, a Papist and not Orthodox. She was very fond of Orthodoxy however. She would even help them out financially for various projects. This woman had lost her sight and travelled to Germany, either because her daughter lived there or because there they had better doctors. But there was no healing and she totally lost her sight.

In her letter she wrote the following: "I learned that there in Greece there is a Saint who heals eyes. Write to me a little about her." He responded: "Truly she does exist. It is St. Paraskevi. In fact, I was reading about her in a newspaper, and as soon as I finished the piece I received your letter... This St. Paraskevi's holy head is kept at the Holy Monastery of Petraki. I am friends with the abbot there. His address is the following...."

A few days later I received a letter from her asking that I pray before the holy skull on her behalf, that St. Paraskevi give her back her sight. Indeed, the prayer was done. I sent her also a small icon of St. Paraskevi which we later learned she placed above her bed.

It took a while to receive a response from her however. And when she did after two months, she wrote the following: "Your Holiness, I received the small icon of St. Paraskevi successfully. Words cannot describe my gratitude, not only for your kindness in sending me the icon, but also for your prayers to receive my sight. My status is much better, though I still cannot see perfectly well. Since I am unworthy of such a precious gift, I ask you to continue praying for me... Your sister, Edith H. Moore."

This woman received her sight. She returned to the USA and we write each other, and she is able to write with her own hand. She is thinking of coming to Athens to be baptized Orthodox.

Read also:

Lives of Saint Paraskevi the Virgin Martyr

The Grotto-Shrine of Saint Paraskevi in Woodlawn, New York

Apolytikion in the First Tone
Appropriate to your calling, O Champion Paraskevi, you worshipped with the readiness your name bears. For an abode you obtained faith, which is your namesake. Wherefore, you pour forth healing and intercede for our souls.

Kontakion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone
O most majestic One, we have discovered your temple to be a spiritual clinic wherein all the faithful resoundingly honor you, O famed and venerable martyr Paraskevi.

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The Curious Crucifix of Rila Monastery

One of the curious attractions of the Rila Monastery is the wooden crucifix, which took the Monk Rafail 12 years to carve during the eighteenth century. The relic has a place of honour among the artefacts displayed in the smallish museum.

Engraved on the half-a-metre tall cross, there are 140 Biblical scenes with over 1,500 participants, some of which are the size of a rice grain. The microscopic figures cover both sides of the entire cross. The monk, in an inhuman display of patience, carved out the relic with a needle and, as a result, lost his sight.

The monastery’s museum also contains interesting church plate samples, documents certifying donations from Tsarist Russia and personally from Ivan the Terrible, as well as a fingerprint machine imported from Vienna. The images of devils trying to spoil people’s good deeds may not have great artistic value, but they are quite fun to look at.

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The Hand of Saint John of Rila

Rila Monastery’s most important relics are usually well hidden from visitors. They include an icon of the Virgin Mary, which is considered to work miracles, and the relics of the monastery’s founder, Saint John of Rila. A century ago, the saint’s hand used to be on display, popped out of a decorated coffin and worshippers would come to kiss it. After an overzealous follower of the saint tried to bite off a piece of the relics, however, the monks were forced to put them under glass for protection.

One story about the remains is that the atheistically inclined communist leaders, troubled by the flow of worshippers they attracted, tried to take the saint’s body away. As a result of the monks’ prayers, the truck transporting them caught on fire and they were forced to bring them back.

Now, the hand of John of Rila is not only kept under a glass cover, but it is only taken out and displayed during big celebrations. His bones are placed among silver and stay hidden in a drawer, which the monks unlock under a tight schedule, not yielding to any of the tourists’ begging.

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Adulterous Passion Is Death

by St. Nikolai Velimirovich

Not one passion is conquered without a great struggle. The Holy Fathers have referred to adulterous passion as death. When the adulterer is saved from an adulterous passion it is as though he resurrected from the dead. For those who live in the world the passion of adultery is inflamed principally by seeing and for those who live a life of asceticism in the wilderness that passion is inflamed by thoughts and by imagination.

Saint Sarah, a great female ascetic, was tortured by the insane passion of adultery for thirty years. She always defeated it by prayer and drove it away from her. At one time, the foul insanity of adultery came to her in bodily form and said to her: "Sarah, you have defeated me!" Sarah humbly answered: "I have not defeated you but the Lord Christ has defeated you." From that time on, the thought of adultery left her forever.

When Saint Pimen was asked how can a man struggle against the adulterous insanity, he replied: "If man surpresses his stomach and tongue then he will be able to rule over himself."

St. Anthony said that there exists three kinds of movements in the body: "First, the natural movement, second, unrestrained in food, and third, from the demons."

Again, others have said that the vice of adultery is strengthened by anger and pride. However, all agree that along with man's sobriety and effort the help of God is necessary in order that this repulsive passion be uprooted completely. And that it is possible for man to preserve himself in purity, witness, among many others, St. Moses of Urgin, who lived fifty years in the world and ten years in the monastery, altogether a total of sixty years in completely virginal purity.

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St. Cyril's Commentary on the Book of Genesis

Lecture delivered at St. Athanasius and St. Cyril Theological Library in July 2007 by the Rev. Fr. George Dion Dragas of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Seminary in Brookline, MA.

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Letters From A Lonely Exile: John Chrysostom to Olympias the Deaconess

October 1, 1994
by Christopher A. Hall
Christian History

On June 20, 404, Archbishop John Chrysostom left Constantinople under military escort, never to return.

He was exiled to the backwater town of Cucusus, in the mountains of Armenia. Separation from friends and raids from Isaurians (tribes from mountainous southern Turkey) continually plagued his last years—as did the climate and his poor health: “During the last two months I have been no better than one dead… In spite of endless contrivances, I could not shake off the pernicious effects of the cold… I underwent extreme sufferings, perpetual vomiting … loss of appetite, and constant sleeplessness.”

Three years of these severe hardships would end with death, yet Chrysostom remained faithful to Christ. He also remained a source of encouragement to friends and followers. To paraphrase Chrysostom himself, the gold of his life undergirded the currency of his words.

What spiritual principles supported him during these last, brutal years in exile? Some answers can be gleaned from correspondence with his friend Olympias, a deaconess of the church in Constantinople who was exiled for her friendship with John. John also wrote and sent to Olympias a short book on the subject of God’s providence. This book and these letters show us how spiritual theory and practice intersected in Chrysostom’s life.

Strength from Disciplines

One scholar has noted that we learn much from the simple formula at the beginning of his letters: “To my Lady, the most reverend and divinely favored deaconess Olympias, I John, bishop, send greeting in the Lord.” Even in exile, with their ecclesiastical connection formally broken, they continued to exchange greetings using their ranks within the church.

Within the church, they had celebrated the Eucharist, prayed and fasted, heard the Scripture preached and applied, and given alms. This disciplined and celebrative life prepared them for the present testing, for they were part of something larger than themselves:

“Amid alternate trials, and respites from trial, the fabric of the Church was wrought… If then even now you will reckon up the good things with the painful, you will see that many events have occurred which … are unspeakable proofs of the great providence and succor of God.”

Dejection and Sickness

In her exile, Olympias soon became despondent over her drastic change in circumstances. She also wondered why God would allow the faithful to suffer.

Chrysostom first reminds her of the close connection between emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being: “For dejection causes sickness; when the body is exhausted and enfeebled, and remains in a neglected condition, deprived of the assistance of physicians, and of a wholesome climate, and an abundant supply of the necessaries of life, consider how great an aggravation of distress is occasioned thereby.”

So he beseeches Olympias, who suffers from some malady, “to pay great attention to the restoration of your bodily health.” He relates some practical measures he has taken: “For a few days ago when I suffered from a tendency to vomiting, owing to the state of the atmosphere, I had recourse to the drug which was sent me … and I found that no more than three days’ application of it cured my infirmity.” John even rebukes her gently: “If you also would take the requisite care of yourself, you would be in a far more satisfactory condition.”

Think Like a Christian!

Chrysostom also reminds Olympias of the spiritual principles he had consistently preached in Antioch and Constantinople.

“The present life,” he says in one forceful passage, “is a wrestling school, a gymnasium, a battle, a smelting furnace, and a dyer’s house of virtue. Therefore, just as tanners grasp the hides and first work them vigorously, stretching, striking, and dashing them against walls and rocks, and by countless other treatments render them fit for the reception of the dye—in this way they bring out the prized color; just as goldsmiths throw the gold into the fire to purify it, delivering it over to the testing of the furnace; just as coaches train the athletes in the wrestling schools with much hard work, attacking them more viciously than their opponents, so that every part of their bodies might be adequately prepared by exercise for the grasps of their enemies and for an easy escape; so in the same way God acts in the present life… Desiring to create steadfast and patiently enduring people, God allows the coin to be tried by every means.”

Thus, he exhorts his friend: “Nothing, Olympias, redounds so much to the credit of anyone as patient endurance in suffering. For this is indeed the queen of virtues, and the perfection of crowns; and as it excels all other forms of righteousness.”

At the same time, Chrysostom skillfully weaves in the theme of the Christian’s final hope: “For in proportion as the strain of the affliction is increased are the garlands of victory multiplied; in proportion as the gold is heated does it become purified; the longer the merchant makes his voyage on the sea, the larger is the freight he collects.”

Elsewhere he adds, “For the circumstances and events of the present life have the character of a journey, but the realities of the future await us in our true homeland.”

Responding to Olympias’s concern about why the righteous suffer, Chrysostom reminds her about John the Baptist:

“Do not say: ‘Why was John allowed to die?’ for what occurred was not a death, but a crown; not an end, but the beginning of a greater life. Learn to think and live like a Christian, and you will not only not be harmed by any of these events, but will reap the greatest benefits.”

The Greatest Harm

Paul himself fervently requested that God deliver him from his “thorn in the flesh,” a thorn Chrysostom interprets as “the blow, the bonds, the chains, the imprisonments, the being dragged about, and maltreated, and tortured by the scourges of public executioners.” When Paul realized that his petition was not to be granted, “having learned the benefit of the trial, he held his peace, and rejoiced at the things that happened to him.”

Paul had peace in the midst of physical suffering because he knew that genuine harm had another source. “I at least have not ceased, and will not cease saying,” wrote Chrysostom, “that sin is the only thing which is really distressing.”

“In what way were the apostles harmed, some of whom were beheaded and others handed over to even worst punishment? In what way were the martyrs harmed, whose souls were broken by the most severe tortures? Didn’t they all shine brightly at the very moment they were being abused, at the time others set traps for them, when they nobly stood firm while suffering the worst agonies?”

One might have expected that exile would have disillusioned Chrysostom since his suffering was in many ways a direct result of his faithfulness. One can imagine him on a frigid winter’s night in Cucusus, asking himself if this indeed was how God should treat those who diligently sought his will and attempted to live it out.

Instead, he looks not at his suffering but at the example of previous Christian heroes like Paul. Perhaps during bouts of nausea, while shut up in a smoky room, wrapped in blankets to ward off the cold, Chrysostom pondered the examples of Job and Abraham, Joseph and John the Baptist. In one passage, Chrysostom tells Olympias, “May the endurance of these spiritual athletes become a teacher of patient endurance for you. Seeing that the entire life of these noble and lofty men is woven through with these kinds of sufferings, don’t be disturbed or alarmed—neither by your own particular trials, nor those trials common to all. For the Church has been nourished from the very beginning in this fashion, and in this way has grown.”

This is one reason he continues to revel in the love of God. I have been unable to find a single instance in Chrysostom’s correspondence or discourses from his last months where he questions the goodness and love of God for him. Instead, he concludes that God “does not simply watch over us, but also loves us; he ardently loves us with an inexplicable love, with an impassable yet fervent, vigorous, genuine, indissoluble love, a love that is impossible to extinguish.”

And thus he encourages Olympias, “If you experience deliverance from your sufferings in this present life, glorify God. If your life ends in severe difficulties, even then offer thanks.”

Mystery Is the Answer

Finally, even in the midst of adversity, Chrysostom is keenly aware of the mystery and providence of God: “He granted existence itself to us out of his goodness and has no need of our service. It is fit to regard him with wonder and worship him, not only because he created us, nor because he gave us a spiritual and rational soul, nor because he made us better than all other creatures, nor because he entrusted to us the dominion over all visible things … but rather because he has no need of us.…

“Indeed, before we or angels or the powers above were created, he was already existing, possessing his own glory and blessedness. It is only through love that he created us. He did all these things for our sake and many more other things in addition.”

He concludes, “For the providence of God is beyond understanding, his care is incomprehensible, his goodness is indescribable, and his love for humanity is unsearchable.”

The advice and model Chrysostom presents, then, is two-sided: Do what you can to avoid suffering; if it cannot be avoided, if your prayers do not bring your deliverance, know that God will remove any lasting harm from what you are enduring.

Chrysostom offers Olympias a spirituality for the long haul, a manner of thinking and living that is broad enough to encompass all of life’s struggles and tragedies: “Therefore, my friend, wait for the final outcome. For all things will certainly turn out, whether in this life or the life to come. In every circumstance, yield to the incomprehensibility of God’s providence.”

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5th Century Monastery Unearthed in Syria

By R. Raslan
22 July 2010
Global Arab Network

Syria (Idleb) – A 5th century Monastery covering an area of 300 m2 was unearthed at Tela'ar site, Khan Shaykhoun area in Idleb Province of Syria, Archaeologists have announced.

Director of Ma'arrat al-Numan Archaeological Directorate Ghazi Allulo told Syrian Media that the site includes a monastery with a courtyard paved with mosaic and surrounded by halls on the four sides.

Adjacent to the monastery, a small church lies. The church includes a mosaic central square and a niche. The mosaic portrays a scene of a predator chasing a deer and a beast chasing a female donkey (jenny). A fruitful pomegranate separates the two scenes.

The niche contains a vessel lying in between two birds, shedding light on the construction stage of the church. The surrounding halls are paved with ornamental mosaic of different geometric designs.

Allulo said "in 1998, an 800-m2 church floor was unearthed discovered and moved to be showcased at the city museum in al-Ma'arrat.(SANA)

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The Relics of Saint Anna, Grandmother of our Lord

According to tradition, Anna, the ancestor of God, lived for sixty-nine years, and her spouse Joachim, for eighty; according to one account, Saint Joachim died two years before Saint Anna. The Theotokos had been orphaned of both her parents already when she was eleven years of age, when she was living in the Temple (see Sept. 8 and Nov. 21). Saint Anna is invoked for conceiving children, and for help in difficult childbirth.

According to Procopius, during the reign of Justinian the Emperor (527-565), a church was built to honor Saint Anna in Constantinople. Emperor Justinian II (685-695; 705-711) restored her church, since St. Anna had appeared to his pregnant wife. It was at this time that her body and maphorion (veil) were transferred to Constantinople. The canon of the Greek Office of St. Anna was composed by St. Theophanes (d. 817), but older parts of the Office are ascribed to Anatolius of Byzantium (d. 458). Her Dormition is celebrated in the East on the 25th day of July, which may be also the day of the dedication of her first church at Constantinople or the anniversary of the arrival of her relics in Constantinople. The relics of St. Anna were brought from the Holy Land to Constantinople in 710 and were still kept there in the Church of Hagia Sophia in 1333. Her primary feast day in the Orthodox Church is on September 9th.


The oldest and most revered Skete on Mount Athos is dedicated to "Yiayia" (grandmother), as the monks at the Skete of St. Anna affectionately refer to her. Inside the main church of the Skete is treasured the left foot of St. Anna. The left foot of St. Anna was brought to the Skete of St. Anna by Symeon the Righteous on 26 October 1666, according to a codex of the Skete. The relic is incorrupt and works many miracles, especially helping childless mothers with pregnancy issues. Also on Mount Athos, at the Holy Monastery of Koutloumousiou, is treasured the entire right leg of Saint Anna. The Holy Monastery of Stavronikita treasures her hand. The Patriarchates of Jerusalem and Antioch also have a portion of her relics, as well as Kykkos Monastery on the island of Cyprus and various Catholic and Orthodox parishes throughout the world.

Below is a video of the incorrupt holy relics of St. Anna at the Skete of St. Anna on Mount Athos. The blessed Elder Anthimos introduces the relics and speaks of the miraculous nature of her relics which are incorrupt now for over 2,000 years. Elder Anthimos lived at the Skete of St. Anna for around 70 years and passed away in 1996. His remains are still treasured there and his skull gives off a beautiful fragrance of divine grace.




Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
O Godly-minded Anna, thou didst give birth unto God's pure Mother who conceived Him Who is our Life. Wherefore, thou hast now passed with joy to thy heavenly rest, wherein is the abode of them that rejoice in glory; and thou askest forgiveness of sins for them that honour thee with love, O ever-blessed one.

Kontakion in the Second Tone
We celebrate now the mem'ry of Christ's ancestors, while asking their help with faith, that we may all be saved from all manner of tribulation as we fervently cry aloud: Be thou with us, O Lord our God, Whose pleasure it was to glorify them both.

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The Role of the Priest in the Parish and in a Secularized Society

by V. Rev. Petar Jovanovich

The service of the priest is compared to a shepherd in the Holy Bible. In the story of the good shepherd, our Lord Jesus Christ teaches what is the nature of the pastor's service and what is the mission of the flock which the pastor serves. The shepherd who is concerned with and takes care of his flock is extolled. A good shepherd watches over his flock, he worries about finding grazing areas, he is not as an employee, he is also worried about the sheep from another flock, and he is ready to give his life for his flock. The shepherd's life belongs totally to his flock, he knows his sheep by name, and they recognize him. Because of a close relationship between the shepherd and his flock, the shepherd doesn't utilize force to drive his flock in front of him rather they follow him. When he releases his sheep, he goes before them and the sheep follow, because they recognize his voice. (John 10:10-18)

To be able to carry out his mission, the priest is called, as the shepherd is concerned with his flock, to be concerned with the spiritual needs of his parishioners. He is called to be concerned with bringing every soul to God, that should be brought to God. That which brings harmony in a parish is love which should reign among the spiritual pastor and his flock, as exemplified by the love and sacrifice described in Christ's story of the good shepherd. Of that love as a unifying tie, for harmony in a parish community, St. Paul the Apostle writes to the Thessalonians, "We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each". (I Thessalonians 1:3)

With respect to the evangelical story, the ideal role of the priest would consist of love, sacrifice, caring and concern for the salvation of all people, because it is necessary according to the words of St. Paul the Apostle, " who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (I Tim 2:4)

The secularization of the world and life presents the greatest obstacle to the priest's service and work for people's salvation. The Holy Gospel mentions in many places selected from the holy apostles that the world exists as two extremes. In His forgiveness sermon, before His crucifixion, the Savior promised His disciples that He will send to help them " the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him." (John 14:17)

The spirit of God's truth is contrary to the spirit of man's truth. The beginning of fleeing from God and His truth began at the time of the first ancestral sin. Because of moral decline, God's likeness in mankind became obscured and the conscience lost of his original and true identity. Life again received fullness of mind when through the Holy Incarnation, God became man so that man could become godlike and take on his likeness.

The world in the form of contemporary society toward the end of the 20th century is no longer opposed in some great and drastic way directly with God as one higher existentialism or power. The time of strict thought of atheistic societies is past. Today's society which offers mankind its secularistic teachings under various names promising people fortunes (such as: humanism, materialism, technology, new world order) is contrary to the God-man Christ who is referred to as "the way, the truth, and the life". (John 14:6)

Within the mind of today's man, it seems there is no room for God in the living Holy Trinity. Usually, people like to say today, there is but one God, meaning some common Supreme Being, but they don't mention one Lord Christ and one Holy Spirit. For Orthodox Christians, only Christ as being true God-man, is a true measure of all things. However, earthly man has his vision of life. This meaning of man's life is in my view, "the existence of one zero". Man mainly leads his life toward food and drink, entertainment, to consume goods, to stay in the race after life's success ... In all this activity, man sets himself as the final value and this is why he acts like the Great Inquisitor from Dostoevski's Brothers Karamazov who forbids the God-man to interfere in his affairs and life.

Today's man spends all his time balancing his "horizontals", without any ascent of the spirit up the steps and ladders of a higher life vertically toward God. For that type of person, Fr. Justin Popovich says that the world and life he "observes from his complaints, his love of sin and lowly perspective," (from the Interpretation of John, p. 115). From the life of today's person, it is seen that he still lives in the domain of the Old Testament, with its lost understanding, of the total awareness, of his two natures, soul and body. Man behaves in his life as though his body existed in parallel with his soul, but often, toward the contemporary philosophy of existentialism and without a soul.

Someone said that in whatever condition the world is, it permeates one's whole life. There is a lot of truth in this. Every person from birth until death lives and is surrounded by constant contact with people about himself. He influences others and they influence him. And an Orthodox believer represents a part of society in which he lives and stands in direct relationship with neighbors and people around him. While for the Orthodox Christian the vision of society represents a community of faithful in Christ as one body, the world has a community in which worth is measured by the interest of people. In relation to the faithful, secular society appears as an Old Testament monster, Leviathan. In the 17th century, Thomas Hobbs wrote a book about political philosophy entitled Leviathan. In it, a picture of society is portrayed which is totally created on the foundation of egotistical interest and struggle for dominance, where every person is an enemy to each other. A question can be asked, but how can man enter into some fortunate and enlightening future in the 21st century driven by the reality of society from Hobb's time.

Orthodox faithful are always tempted to succumb to the influence of the community and society in which they live. Confused with various influences of materialism, to a man of faith it seems that life is somehow divided by his property and, in less of a degree, God's property. For example, one place serves as a place for the life of the soul and the other for the life of the body. Because of diversified religions, quite often with Orthodox people they are confused with the intent and organization of the church hierarchy, from which it first begins: down from the faithful or up from the bishops? The concept of freedom in the Church is mixed up with the concept of certain national or political freedoms. It is very dangerous for the Orthodox youth who succumb to the temptation of imitating the community in which it lives. One could cry watching how in many ways young people harm their bodies. In the name of today's fashion, they rebel against life or of the mentioned freedom, they commit terrible acts on their bodies. For the Orthodox faithful, the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. St. Paul the Apostle wrote to the Corinthians, "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." (I Cor 6:19-20). Although quite often man's life is reflected in his soul which represents God's likeness in mankind, it is of great importance for the Orthodox faith to understand that he is called to live one undivided life everywhere and in every place. The faithful who are united in the Holy Body of Christ represent the living church wherever they may be: at home, at work, in the Holy Temple, and in the Church hall. St. Gregory Palamas says, "Man is not represented by just the soul or the body rather by both together, which God created in His likeness." (Participants in God's Nature, K.C., p.26)

What then is the role of the priest and how can he as good shepherd protect his flock from harm and negative influences of community and society? In the first place, the priest should not be afraid of the place and society in which he lives. He shouldn't say: I have a bad flock, so what can I do to change something? What farmer when he sows the field is afraid that the birds will eat the seed or that each seed won't sprout? Imagine how difficult was the time before the apostles than is our time! When before his death St. Seraphim of Sarov was asking forgiveness from his friend Fr. Timon, he told him, "Sow on good earth, sow on sand, sow on rocks, sow alongside the road, sow among the bushes. Maybe it will happen that the kernel will grow and bear fruit." (St. Seraphim of Sarov, p. 65)

St. Paul the Apostle in addition recommended how a priest can be successful in parish when he said, "... I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some" (I Cor 9:22) The same apostle gave advice to his most dear student and coworker Timothy with these words, "Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering and teaching." (II Tim 4:2) Just as the shepherd opens the gate for the flock to enter, the priest needs to work on the heart of man, so it will open and allow Christ to enter. The Holy Gospel teaches that a good flock is a flock that has a good shepherd who isn't a mercenary. The fruits of one's work are not realized overnight. What is necessary is a lot of patience and work, sometimes as long as 20 years, so that a great harvest is realized in a parish. The parish, as a part of today's society and a concrete reality, presents a challenge to every priest. In our American society, there are two important factors of crucial significance for organizing a parish community. The first factor, parish community. The first factor, is expressed in the material condition and progress of our parish. Prestige in our secular society is expressed by material well-being, which is expensive and large: a large car, a large house, a large parking lot, a large church building, and a large church hall. If in a large church and hall, there is a large faith, then there is nothing wrong with any of this. Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself also had rich friends. Of course, it is easier for a priest to achieve the first factor, even though there are many difficulties, but in that we have all more or less contributed for the good. Paralleling building up the material well-being of the church, the priest is faced with a great many problems in building and elevating the spiritual side of life, that is the "living" Church. In this instance, the good example of the life and work of St. Sava can be of help to the Serbian priest, as can our other great spiritual architects, while erecting our churches and monasteries, at the same time were successful to build within them our greatest centers of Orthodox spirituality and living faith.

In the story of the Good shepherd, the Holy Gospel points out that love is the main strength of the true shepherd. That is the driving force behind every spiritual shepherd. Based on experiences of priestly service the best manner is if he approaches people in a friendly manner. A child is easily led by the hand when trust is established. A man who becomes our friend is easier brought to Christ. Zaccheus felt great joy when the Lord said, "I must stay in your home today." (Luk. 19:5) St. Augustine, who lived a very sinful life until 32 years of age, became a Christian only after he was influenced by his friend Pontitias. Christ approached his first apostles as a friend, when He helped them to catch fish from Lake Galilee.

The priest's role additionally not only brings him to lively preaching during worship services God's word in the Holy Temple, but also on every occasion and gathering of people. Priest must minister his flock in many ways: as a teacher, an educator, family counselor. The task of the pastoral work is actually not a knowledge to be acquired, but a life to be lived according to God's will. Once when a person becomes a participant and member, other Holy Body of Christ and begins a liturgical life, he will be selected from the world by the Holy Spirit to enter the heavenly kingdom. Of that community with the God-man Christ, who is the one true measure in the world for everyone and all, St. John Chrysostom says, "For as the bread consisting of many grains is made one... so are we conjoined both with each other and with Christ" (Homily 24, verse 17, p.140)

Being a part of contemporary and secular society, parish is a challenge to every priest. The priest must be aware of the danger to succumb to the influence of the community. It may happen, instead the priest to lead people in his parish, that they might lead him. The stoics teach that one can achieve the happiness if one flows with the river, or in other words, by identifying one's will with the "world will". Orthodoxy does not follow the will of the world. God's will must be always above man's will. Priest must be like the salt, said Christ. "You are like salt for all mankind. But if salt loses its saltiness, there is no way to make it salty again." (Mat.5:13)

Someone once said in a discussion that Orthodoxy should protect itself from the community of godless people with destructive souls as did the Amish group who by their way of life isolated themselves from every civilization. Orthodoxy's nature is not to run away from the world, rather a way of life, constant and without fear to wrestle with the world. Archbishop Anthony Bloom said, "Neither the desert father nor ascetics, separated themselves from the world with the thought of running away from it, in order for man to find a better place of peace and tranquillity, rather it is just a better strategy among many others in worldly battles." (God and Man A. Bloom, p.73) In closing, let us remember Christ's words to His disciples, "In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

June 18, 1997, day of St. Petar of Korish
San Gabriel, CA

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A Hidden Message In Jesus' Family Tree (Gen. 5)

Genesis 5: The Family of Adam (New King James Version)

1 This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. 2 He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created. 3 And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. 4 After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were eight hundred years; and he had sons and daughters. 5 So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died.

6 Seth lived one hundred and five years, and begot Enosh. 7 After he begot Enosh, Seth lived eight hundred and seven years, and had sons and daughters. 8 So all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years; and he died.

9 Enosh lived ninety years, and begot Cainan. 10 After he begot Cainan, Enosh lived eight hundred and fifteen years, and had sons and daughters. 11 So all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years; and he died.

12 Cainan lived seventy years, and begot Mahalalel. 13 After he begot Mahalalel, Cainan lived eight hundred and forty years, and had sons and daughters. 14 So all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years; and he died.

15 Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and begot Jared. 16 After he begot Jared, Mahalalel lived eight hundred and thirty years, and had sons and daughters. 17 So all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and ninety-five years; and he died.

18 Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and begot Enoch. 19 After he begot Enoch, Jared lived eight hundred years, and had sons and daughters. 20 So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years; and he died.

21 Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. 22 After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. 23 So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. 24 And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.

25 Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and begot Lamech. 26 After he begot Lamech, Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years, and had sons and daughters. 27 So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years; and he died.

28 Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and had a son. 29 And he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD has cursed.” 30 After he begot Noah, Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years, and had sons and daughters. 31 So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years; and he died.

32 And Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

When translating the names from Hebrew to English, you get the following:

HEBREW / English

Adam / Man
Seth / Appointed
Enosh / Mortal
Kenan / Sorrow
Mahalalel / The blessed God
Jared / Shall come down
Enoch / Teaching
Methuselah / His death shall bring
Lamech / Despairing
Noah / Rest or comfort

Putting these names in translation into a sentence, it reads:

Man (is) appointed (to) mortal sorrow; (but) the blessed God shall come down teaching (that) his death shall bring (the) despairing rest.

Is this not the Gospel of our Lord!

John 3:16 says: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

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The Power and the Efficacy of Good Works

by St. Nikolai Velimirovich

"For such is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish men" (1 Peter 2:15).

Brethren, it is difficult to argue with an atheist; it is difficult to talk with an unreasonable man; it is difficult to convince an embittered man. It is difficult to convince the atheist, the unreasonable man and the embittered man with words. You will convince them easier by deeds. "They may through observing you by reason of your good works glorify God" (1 Peter 2:12). Do good deeds to those who wish to argue with you and you will win the argument. One deed of compassion will bring the unreasonable man to his senses and will pacify the embittered man quicker than many hours of conversation. If atheism, unreasonableness and bitterness stem from ignorance, that ignorance is as a fury, which can quickly be restrained by good works. If you argue with an atheist in his own rabid manner, you strengthen the fury of atheism. If you converse with the unreasonable by derision, the darkness of unreasonableness is increased. If you think you will overcome the embittered man with anger, you will stir up a greater fire of bitterness. A meek and good deed is like water over a fire. Always remember the holy apostles and their successful methods of behavior with men. If an atheist provokes you, the man does not provoke you but the devil provokes you: man by nature is religious. If the unreasonable man scolds you, the man does not scold you but the devil scolds you: man by nature is reasonable. If the embittered one persecutes you, then it is not the man who persecutes you but the devil who persecutes you: for man by nature is good. The devil provokes you to lengthy arguments and unfruitful conversations and flees from good deeds. Do good work in the Name of Christ and the devil will flee and only then will you have dealings with men, with true men; religious, reasonable and good men. Therefore whatever you do, do in the Name of the Lord.

O All-good Lord, help us to do good and by good to conquer in Your Name.

To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.

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On Orthodox Tradition, Liturgical Arts, and Customs

An Interview With Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos of Nafpaktos

The Orthodox Tradition is connected with cure

You have spoken a lot about the Orthodox tradition. I believe that the Orthodox tradition, is, primarily life and not an ideology. It is tradition and not conservatism, as you said. Now that we are almost at the end of these conversations, can you enlarge on this subject? said Fr. Philip.

I think I became clear with what was mentioned previously. The word tradition means that which is handed down. And who hands down? The spiritual father. What does he hand down? Whatever he received and whatever was revealed to him. Thus, tradition is connected with Revelation. God reveals, man receives the Revelation from God and passes it on to his spiritual children. The Saint receives and passes on not an abstract teaching about God - of course, he may do this as well in the beginning - but, first and foremost, he passes on the way-method by which we attain to communion with God. I believe that the basic point which distinguishes Orthodox tradition from any other is the method through which man is cured. The background of the dogmas, of Orthodox arts, of social work, etc. is purification, illumination and theosis. When we reject this background, then we see the dogmas, the liturgical arts and all the external life of the Church, even the life of worship in a conservative way. The Councils which took place at the time of St.Gregory Palamas (1341-1351) demonstrate that hesychasm - which is basically a method of cure - is the foundation of all the dogmas of our faith. For the first time in Church history these Councils studied in depth under what presuppositions the Westerners and in general all the heretics theologize; and the presupposition based on which the Holy Fathers theologize. For this reason, I repeat, they are basic and significant Councils. And it is in these Councils that we see the great value of St.Gregory Palamas, who championed in all of them. He proved that when we do not follow the therapeutic method of the Church, we shall be definitely led to heresy. Whereas when we lead our life according to the Orthodox tradition, we shall remain in the Church and we may attain to the vision of God and to theosis. Hesychasm is the backbone of Orthodox theology. The controversies which then took place were a blessing, because the Orthodox people thrived on them under later grave circumstances. Hesychasm brought forth the Neomartyrs, who revealed the existence of the Church. And it is the revival of the hesychastic spirit experienced by many people nowadays which will protect us from future temptations. It is the hesychastic method which inscribes on our heart the seal of the Lamb of the Revelation.

Liturgical arts and man's cure

Yet, in what way are the therapeutic method and the stages of perfection the background of liturgical arts?

This is a right question, because there is a trend nowadays to chant in a Byzantine way, to make icons in a Byzantine manner, to build churches according to Byzantine architecture, etc. This is good. Yet, it must be done in parallel with the effort to find and use the therapeutic treatment of the Church. For, liturgical arts as well as the entire teaching of the Church are the expression of this inner life. In other words, liturgical art was developed by sanctified people who had personal experience of the stages of spiritual perfection. In their attempt to create art they infused into their art all the experiences they had. The iconographer passed down in the Byzantine icon the therapeutic method and the way in which man reaches to theosis; he even imparted the state of theosis itself. When he paints the Saint in glory, he also renders the transfiguration of the human body. The same thing applies to the sacred hymns, the church building, the chanting. The healed person, he who has acquired the experience of noetic worship, knows how the intellectual worship must be expressed, so that it is attuned, as much as possible, with the inner state of the soul. I think that the revival of the liturgical arts which do not express and do not lead to purification, illumination and theosis is not Orthodox despite its external conformity. It is just a culture of the tradition and of art. The Apostle Paul, for example, lived the whole rabbinical tradition of his age, however he fought Christ. He had zeal for God but his zeal was not according to knowledge. The same thing may happen with us. Also, it is possible that a contemporary deified person may express tradition differently, concerning the liturgical arts, without naturally being estranged from the basic structure of the Byzantine tradition. This occurs because the Saint obtains the tradition, he is a bearer of tradition and, therefore, he creates tradition.

Customs and how they are related with man's cure

There are many people today who pursue the revival of old, traditional customs. How do you see this?

I cannot reject it. Man has realized that the invasion of the western spirit has mortified feelings and has broken off the interpersonal relationships. Thus, he attempts to revive old ways of life, which are more human. Yet, both the ethos and the customs of our people as much as the various objects which they used were not independent of the method of the Church, through which man is led to theosis. Of course, this is said with reservation, because many of these customs are products and remnants of idolatry as well as superstitions of the people. For, unfortunately, in old times just as nowadays, many superstitions prevailed. We feel the Church and God as Him who will help our businesses go well. Thus we do the holy water service so that we shall have a good harvest. And, indeed, we do not reject this too. But when this is detached from the whole method of the Church, from the stages of spiritual perfection - purification, illumination and theosis - they are dead forms incapable of helping man. They give a self-sufficiency and many illusions about therapy. They think that they will find beauty in life in this way and they are frustrated when they do not. On the contrary, I believe that the man who lives the hesychastic tradition of the Church - which, I repeat for another time, is concentrated on purification, illumination and theosis - can live the Orthodox tradition even in a flat, even in contemporary urban cities with the most unfavourable external conditions. Many new martyrs were servants of Turkish commanders. They externally served the Turkish empire, which fought Christianity. Even so they preserved this tradition and reached to the vision of God, martyrdom and theosis. For, many neomartyrs, as we see in their biographies, had theoria of God prior to the martyrdom and this is why their martyrdom was the fruit of theoria.

Conclusion

Thus I can conclude with what I said in the sermon at your Church a few days ago: "What makes man an Orthodox is not only the persistence on the external aspects of tradition, but the experience of its inner life, which is the ascetic method - purification, illumination and theosis. This method, these stages of spiritual life are the foundation of the dogmas, the basis of ecclesiastical art, but also the creative cause of the ethos and customs of our people, because this theology saturated our forefathers prior to our westernization. For this reason we must struggle to keep this inner aspect of tradition, the method of Orthodox piety, through which we are healed. Then we are really zealots of patristic traditions. For, even if we have good intentions, outside this ascetic therapeutic method we run the risk of becoming enemies and adversaries of Orthodoxy".

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