Saint Theodosios the New and the Healer of Argos

St. Theodosios the New of Argos (Feast Day - August 7)

St. Theodosios the New, the healer, was born in Athens in 862 to pious Christian parents. From an early age he showed fervent faith and was characterized by great love for his fellow men. When he decided to withdraw to the monastic life, he divided his property to those in need and went a short distance outside Athens. But many were those who went to see him and seek his council, which hindered his contemplation. For this reason and to live alone, he fled to Argos in 880.

The cell of St. Theodosios

There he founded a church in the name of St. John the Forerunner after St. John appeared to him, where many went to seek his council. This angered certain priests however, who denounced him to the Archbishop of Argos, St. Peter. St. Theodosios, the patron of Theodosios the New, appeared in a dream of St. Peter, who was at that time in Constantinople in order to see the Ecumenical Patriarch. St. Theodosios asked him to end these conflicts. The Patriarch also asked St. Peter if he had a monk named Theodosios in his region, and after recalling his dream St. Peter was asked by the Patrairch to extend his blessing and reverence to him.

St. Peter went to visit St. Theodosios the New to assess the accusations against him. While he stopped to rest, St. Theodosios, who forsaw that he was coming to visit him, went out ahead to greet St. Peter, offering him burning incense on charcoal which he held in his monastic hat. St. Peter, amazed that St. Theodosios was miraculously not burnt nor was his manastic hat burned, and impressed by his virtue, greeted him with love, and ordained him a deacon and a priest. Eventually a monastery was built around this church and many monks became his disciples.

The fame of St. Theodosios spread throughout the region, and before his death he was granted the gift of foreknowing his death three days before. This allowed him final preparations and gave his final counsels to his spiritual children. St. Theodosios died peacefully in old age around 922 A.D. and St. Peter officiated at his funeral amidst a multitude of clergy and faithful.

His monastery, one of the oldest in Peloponnesos, today has become a famous shrine and his relics work many miracles till this day. Paralytics have been healed, the blind have received their sight, the barren have been granted children, and the sick have had their health restored. His feast day on August 7th is celebrated with great joy in Argos, and he is one of the three great protectors of Argos together with St. Peter mentioned above and St. Anastasios of Nauplios the Neomartyr. Today the Monastery, since 1942, functions as a female convent and as of 2011 has 13 nuns and the abbess. The relics of the Saint were taken by the Latins, but a small portion still resides in the Monastery.

Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
Your clean life, as a God-given gift, you presented to God, and your tomb was showed to be a fount of healings, by abstinence you purified your soul, shining in the world through ascetical pains, therefore O Theodosios, we praise you with hymns.

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Questions About the Transfiguration Answered

by St. Nikolai Velimirovich

In the third year of His preaching, the Lord Jesus often spoke to His disciples of His approaching passion but at the same time of His glory following His suffering on the Cross. So that His impending passion would not totally weaken His disciples and that no one would fall away from Him, He, the All-wise, wanted to partially show them His divine glory before His passion. For that reason, He took Peter, James and John with Him and, with them, went out at night to Mt. Tabor and there was transfigured before them: "And His face shone as the sun and His garments became white as snow" (Matthew 17:2). There appeared along side Him, Moses and Elijah, the great Old Testament prophets. And, seeing this, His disciples were amazed. Peter said: "Lord, it is good for us to be here: if You will, let us make here three tabernacles; one for You, one for Moses and one for Elijah" (Matthew 17:4). While Peter still spoke, Moses and Elijah departed and a bright cloud overshadowed the Lord and His disciples and there came a voice from the cloud saying: "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased; hear Him" (Matthew 17:5). Hearing the voice, the disciples fell to the ground on their faces as though dead and remained that way, lying in fear, until the Lord came near to them and said: "Arise and be not afraid" (Matthew 17:7).

Why did the Lord take only three disciples on Tabor and not all? Because Judas was not worthy to behold the divine glory of the Teacher, Whom he will betray and the Lord did not want to leave him [Judas] alone at the foot of the mountain so that the betrayer would not, by that, justify his betrayal.

Why was our Lord transfigured on a mountain and not in a valley? So as to teach us two virtues: love of labor and godly-thoughts. For, climbing to the heights required labor and height represents the heights of our thoughts, i.e., godly-thoughts.

Why was our Lord transfigured at night? Because, the night rather than the day is more suitable for prayer and godly-thoughts and because the night, by its darkness, conceals all the beauty of the earth and reveals the beauty of the starry heavens.

Why did Moses and Elijah appear? In order to destroy the error of the Jews, as though Christ is one of the prophets; Elijah or Jeremiah or some other that is why He appears as a King above the prophets and that is why Moses and Elijah appear as His servants. Until then, our Lord manifested His divine power many times to the disciples but, on Mt. Tabor, He manifested His divine nature. This vision of His Divinity and the hearing of the heavenly witness about Him as the Son of God, should serve the disciples in the days of the Lord's passion, in strengthening of an unwavering faith in Him and His final victory.

Why did our Lord not manifest His divine glory on Tabor before all the disciples instead of before three of them? First, because He Himself gave the Law through the mouth of Moses: "At the mouth of two witnesses or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established" (Deuteronomy 19:15). Therefore, three witnesses are sufficient. These three witnesses represent three main virtues: Peter Faith, for he was the first to confess his faith in Christ as the Son of God; James Hope, for, with faith in the promise of Christ, he was the first who laid down his life for the Lord, being the first to be slain by the Jews; John Love, for he reclined on the bosom of the Lord and remained beneath the Cross of the Lord until the end. God is not called the God of many but rather the God of the chosen. "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob" (Exodus 3:6). God often valued a faithful man more than an entire nation. Thus, on many occasions, He wanted to destroy the entire Jewish nation, but because of the prayers of righteous Moses, spared that nation to live. God listened more to the faithful Prophet Elijah than to the entire unbelieving kingdom of Ahab. Because of the prayers of one man, God towns and people. Thus, the sinful town of Ustiug was to be destroyed by fire and hail had it not been saved by the prayers of the one and only righteous man in it, St. Procopius, the "fool for Christ" (July 8).

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Saint Or, the Hermit of Thebaid

Saint Or, the Hermit of Thebaid (Feast Day - August 7)*

St. Or in his youth withdrew into the Thebaid desert and struggled in complete solitude for many years, leading the life of a strict hermit. Having advanced in years, St. Or was granted to see an angel, who announced that the Lord had destined him for the salvation of the many people who would seek his guidance.

After this, the monk began to accept everyone who came to him for advice and help. The Lord granted him a gift of reading the Holy Scriptures, despite the fact that the saint since childhood had not been taught reading and writing.

Or attained great perfection through the greatest mortification. When he firmly established himself and attained holiness in solitude, he then gradually established several monasteries and was a superb spiritual leader and teacher of many monks.

The monk never entered the trapeza for food, nor did he eat on the day of partaking of the Holy Mysteries. He often taught the brethren by means of stories about the temptations which might beset a monk living in solitude. But he always told them in such a way that everyone would know that he was speaking of desert-dwellers personally known to him. The saint concealed his own ascetic exploits.

Rufinus, who visited him describes Or in the following way: "In his dress [habit], he resembled an angel of God; a ninety-year old elder with a long beard, as white as snow; externally was very pleasant. His gaze shone with something super human."

Often times, he saw the angels of God. He especially endeavored never to speak an untruth. He had great temptations from the demons but overpowered them all soberly and courageously. He received Holy Communion daily.

On one occasion, one of his disciples reminded him that the Feast of the Resurrection had come and that it should be celebrated. Hearing this, Or came out, raised his hands to heaven and spent three days in prayer without rest. He explained to his disciple: "For the monk, this is the celebration of the Resurrection of Christ: to elevate his mind and to unite it with God."

All the thoughts and deeds of his disciples was revealed to St. Or, and no one dared to lie to him. Having survived well into old age, St. Or founded several monasteries, comprising altogether as many as 1,000 monastics. He died at age 90 in about the year 390.

HYMN OF PRAISE: SAINT OR, HERMIT OF THEBAID

by St. Nikolai Velimirovich

To the monks, honor; to the monk's glory,
Head of the monks, Or, the all-wise Abba,
With great labor, with many sighs,
Of a true monk, reached perfection.

Teach us a lesson, they once pleaded to him!
"Never tell a lie, speak the truth.
I know a man, who never swore,
Never lied, never wished evil to another."
Then the elder after his reply, remained silent.

Then holy Sisoes asked of Or:
Tell me father some instruction.
"Live," Or said to him, "as you see me!"
Tell me more clearly, how should I see you.
Everyman, a secret within himself conceals?
Again Or said to him: "Behold, to you I am speaking:
Of all God's things, myself I consider the worse."

Paul, the disciple, Or taught thusly:
"For from every sin you will easily flee
But only from evil conversation, if you flee,
For from this evil, every other sin sprouts
To the soul of a man, evil conversation is death,
Every good seed in the heart, it smothers.
One more thing will I say and let it be enough,
The thoughts of vanity, drive away; insane desires, drive away,
From that which is material, distance yourself,
And son, the spiritual you will attain."

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An Account of the Annual Miracle on Mount Tabor on August 6th

by Archbishop Seraphim of Ottawa and Canada (OCA)

Some of you will remember Archbishop Nikolai of the Patriarchal Jurisdiction who was bishop in this area a long time ago. When I was visiting him one time, he told me how it was when he was an archimandrite in the Middle East a very long time ago. In those days, he always had to go to Mount Tabor to serve the Liturgy on this feast-day [Feast of the Holy Transfiguration (Aug. 6/19)].

Always on the feast of the Transfiguration (and I didn’t realize it, but I learned this year that it happens on both Old and New calendars), at night-time, at the time of the vigil (which would have been last night for us), there are clouds already gathering around the top of Mount Tabor. (At this time of year in Palestine there are no clouds at all – just sun, sun, sun.) The people go into the church on the top of Mount Tabor, and they are praying in the middle of the night. During this time, this cloud, which is not exactly like ordinary clouds (they say it has a different quality of some sort), comes down on top of the mountain. Archbishop Nikolai says that instead of bringing all their fruit into the church, the people leave it outside. The cloud comes down, and when they come out of the church in the early morning, everything is all wet. The people understand that God, Himself, has blessed their fruit. This happens every year.

I heard from someone who just came back from there (who was there on August 6th on the New Calendar) and it happened then, too. It is happening on both feasts. The Lord doesn’t care too much about the calendar; He cares about us, and reassuring us with His love. He does things like this. It is the same with the Holy Fire in Jerusalem at Pascha that comes every year. He does these things in order to reassure us, to encourage us, to give us strength, and determination to carry on, knowing that He is with us.

Maybe you, and I will never be on Mount Tabor on this feast. However, we know those who have had the blessing to be there, and we know that the words of today’s Gospel are true. What happened then continues to happen now. The Lord is with us. That’s the point. The Lord loves us. He is ready to renew us, and to transform us. Let us do our best to follow the words of St Herman of Alaska, who says to us: “From this day, from this hour, from this minute, let us love God above all, and do His holy will”, and in so doing, glorify the all-holy Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now, and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Source

[Note: There are three churches of three different denominations on Mount Tabor. It should be noted that this miracle only occurs over the Orthodox church.]

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The Chapel of the Transfiguration on the Peak of Mount Athos

In Greek mythology, Athos was one of the Gigantes. He threw a mountain at Zeus, who knocked it to the ground near Macedonia. The mountain became the holy peak of Mount Athos. On the peak of this mountain was a temple built to Zeus of Athos. Today, near the summit of Mount Athos at around 6,000 feet, there is a chapel dedicated to the Transfiguration of Christ.

Each year, before the feast day on August 6th, a party of monks climbs the mountain laden with tools and materials to repair the damage caused by the storms and lightning strikes of the previous winter. The monks then spend the night in the chapel, keeping the vigil of the feast. The next day they return to their monasteries elated, the words of the night office still ringing in their ears:

Thou wast transfigured upon Mount Tabor, O Jesus, and a shining cloud, spread out like a tent, covered the apostles with Thy glory. Whereupon their gaze fell to the ground, for they could not bear to look upon the brightness of the unapproachable glory of Thy face, O Saviour Christ, our God who art without beginning. Do Thou, who then hast shone upon them with Thy light, give light now to our souls.

The emphasis of the canon is on theophany, on the revelation of the divinity of Christ on Mount Tabor and our response to it. It picks out just one strand—though the most important one—of an extremely rich patristic tradition on the Transfiguration. It is the revelation of Christ transfigured that inspires all the ascetics and monks of Mount Athos to imitate Christ and pray for their own transfiguration.

The chapel itself was built during the time of Ecumenical Patriarch Joachim III in 1894 and was dedicated in August of 1895. It fits about 20 people with 12 stasidia. On the top of the mountain there is also a big iron cross dated 1897. See also this excerpt from Gerasimos Smyrnakis from p. 408 of his 1902 book ΤΟ ΑΓΙΟΝ ΟΡΟΣ:


Below is the opening sequence of the 1978 movie Escape to Athena with shots of Mount Athos (including the Chapel of the Transfiguration at sunset) and the Island of Rhodes.


Below is a video of pilgrims going to the Great Vespers service on August 14, 2008 on the peak of Mount Athos.


See also a video of the vigil on August 6/18 here.

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Significance of the Lord's Transfiguration

by Fr. Seraphim Rose of Platina

Forty days before He was delivered to an ignominious death for our sins, our Lord revealed to three of His disciples the glory of His Divinity.

“And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart; and was transfigured before them: and His face did shine as the sun, and His raiment was white as the light” (Matt. 17:1-2). This was the event to which our Lord was referring when He said, “There be some standing here which shall not taste of death till they see the Son of man coming in His Kingdom” (Matt. 16:28). By this means the faith of the disciples was strengthened and prepared for the trial of our Lord’s approaching passion and death; and they were able to see in it not mere human suffering, but the entirely voluntary passion of the Son of God.

The disciples saw also Moses and Elijah talking with our Lord, and thereby they understood that He was not Himself Elijah or another of the prophets, as some thought, but someone much greater: He Who could call upon the Law and the Prophets to be His witnesses, since He was the fulfillment of both.

The three parables of the feast concern the appearance of God to Moses and Elijah on Mount Sinai, and it is indeed appropriate that the greatest God-seers of the Old Testament should be present at the glorification of the Lord in His New Testament, seeing for the first time His humanity, even as the disciples were seeing for the first time His Divinity.

The Transfiguration, counted by the Church as one of the “Twelve Great Feasts,” had an important place in the Church calendar already in the fourth century, as the homilies and sermons of such great Fathers as Saint John Chrysostom, Saint Ephraim the Syrian, and Saint Cyril of Alexandria attest; its origins go back to the first Christian centuries. In the fourth century also, Saint Helena erected a church on Mount Tabor, the traditional site of the Transfiguration, dedicated to the Feast. Although the event celebrated in the Feast occurred in the month of February, forty days before the Crucifixion, the Feast was early transferred to August because its full glory and joy could not be fittingly celebrated amid the sorrow and repentance of Great Lent. The sixth day of August was chosen as being forty days before the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross (September 14th), when Christ’s Passion is again remembered.

Orthodox theology sees in the Transfiguration a prefigurement of our Lord’s Resurrection and His Second Coming, and more than this - since every event of the Church calendar has an application to the individual spiritual life - of the transformed state in which Christians shall appear at the end of the world, and in some measure even before then. In the foreshadowing of future glory which is celebrated in this Feast, the Holy Church comforts her children by showing them that after the temporary sorrows and deprivations with which this earthly life is filled, the glory of eternal blessedness will shine forth; and in it even the body of the righteous will participate.

It is a pious Orthodox custom to offer fruits to be blessed at this feast; and this offering of thanksgiving to God contains a spiritual sign, too. Just as fruits ripen and are transformed under the action of the summer sun, so is man called to a spiritual transfiguration through the light of God’s word by means of the Sacraments. Some saints, (for example - Saint Seraphim of Sarov), under the action of this life-giving grace, have shone bodily before men even in life with this same uncreated Light of God’s glory; and that is another sign to us of the heights to which we, as Christians, are called and the state that awaits us - to be transformed in the image of Him Who was transfigured on Mount Tabor.

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Synaxarion for the Feast of the Transfiguration

On the sixth day of this month we commemorate the Divine Transfiguration of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ.

Verses

Tabor was glorified above every region of the earth,
When it beheld the nature of God shining in glory.
Christ changed His human form on the sixth.

On the sixth day of the month of August, the Holy Church celebrates the commemoration of the Divine Transfiguration of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ with exceeding gladness. This is what took place. Since Christ had discoursed much with His Disciples about dangers and death, and His own Suffering, and about the slaughter of His Disciples, and the former were in the present life and at hand, whereas the good things were a matter of hope, wishing to assure their very sight and to show the kind of glory wherewith He was to come, He brought them up into a high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them; and His face shone as the sun, and His raiment was white as the light; and there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with Him.

He took along those three alone, because they were superior to the rest. For Peter showed his superiority by exceedingly loving Him; but John by being exceedingly beloved of Him; and James because he was able to drink the cup of which the Lord spoke. He brought forward Moses and Elias that He might set aright the incorrect conjectures made about Him by the multitudes. For since some were saying that He was Elias, but others that He was Jeremias, He brought the leading Disciples so that they might see the difference between the servants and the Master; and so that they might learn that He was the One Who had all power both of death and life.

To Him be the glory and the dominion unto the ages. Amen.

Apolytikion in the Grave Tone
You were transfigured on the Mount, Christ God revealing Your glory to Your disciples, insofar as they could comprehend. Illuminate us sinners also with Your everlasting light, through the intercessions of the Theotokos. Giver of light, glory to You.

Kontakion in the Grave Tone
You were transfigured upon the mount, O Christ our God, and Your disciples, in so far as they could bear, beheld Your glory. Thus, when they see You crucified, they may understand Your voluntary passion, and proclaim to the world that You are truly the effulgence of the Father.

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The Incorrupt Relics of St. John the Chozebite (+1960)

St. John Jacob of Chozeba (Feast Day - August 5)

Saint John the Chozebite, the son of Maxim and Catherine Jacob, was born July 23, 1913 in the Horodistea district of Moldavia. He was named for the holy prophet Elias (July 20). In 1914, his father died in the war, and his mother succumbed to a disease, leaving Elias as an orphan. His grandmother Maria raised him until he was eleven. She was a nun, so she was able to educate him in spiritual matters. She died in 1924, so young Elias went to live with other relatives. He had a great love for Christ and His Church, and longed for the monastic life.

He entered Neamts Monastery on August 15, 1933 when he was twenty years old. Here his soul was nourished by the beauty of the services, the experienced spiritual instructors, and the silence of the mountains. The young monk loved prayer, vigils, spiritual reading, and solitude, and soon he surpassed many experienced monks in obedience, humility, and patience. Seeing his great love for spiritual books, the igumen made him the monastery's librarian. Elias gave comfort to many of the brethren by recommending specific books for each one to read. Then he would advise them to read the book carefully, make their confession, and not miss the services if they wanted to find peace.

His spiritual efforts attracted the notice of Archimandrite Valerie Moglan, who recommended that Elias be permitted to receive monastic tonsure. He was tonsured on April 8, 1936 and received the name John. From that time, the young monk intensified his spiritual efforts, conquering the temptations of the demons, and progressing on the path of salvation.

St John made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land with two other monks in 1936, and they decided to remain there. The monk Damascene fell ill, however, and had to be taken back to Romania by the monk Claudius after eight months.

At first, St John lived in Bethlehem near St Sava's Monastery. Romanian monks had lived at St Sava's since the sixteenth century, and John struggled there for almost ten years. He was made librarian of the monastery, and he fulfilled this obedience for about seven years.

In 1945 St John longed for the peace and solitude of the desert, and so he went to live as a hermit. He was ordained as a priest in 1947, and became abbot of the Romanian Skete of St John the Baptist by the Jordan. Pilgrims often came to him for Confession, Communion, and consolation. In his free time he composed religious poems and hymns.

After five years, he and his disciple went into the desert of Chozeba near Jericho. Here they lived in asceticism for eight years in the cave where, according to tradition, St Anna had prayed.

St John Jacob died on August 5, 1960 at the age of forty-seven and was buried in his cave. On August 8, 1980 his relics were found incorrupt and fragrant. They now rest in the St George the Chozebite Monastery.

In 1968 and 1970, St John's book SPIRITUAL NOURISHMENT was published in two volumes, with the blessing of Patriarch Benedict of Jerusalem. St John Jacob was glorified by the Romanian Orthodox Church in 1992.

Miracles

1. In 1980 a Greek archimandrite from America, who had visited St. John when he was younger and had not now known he was dead, saw the Saint in his dreams. The Saint said: "If you want to see me, come to the cave of St. Anna in the region of Jordan." After a month he went to the Monastery of Saint George of Chozeba. It was at his insistance that the abbot opened the tomb of St. John at the cave, and his relics were discovered to be incorrupt.

2. A priest who helped in the translation of St. John's relics from the cave to the monastery, was informed by the Saint in a dream that someone who took three hairs from him was to return them. It appears that the priest to whom the Saint appeared was the one who took the three hairs.

3. In 1986 a woman from Crete sent to the abbot of the Monastery of Chozeba a golden spoon as a thank offering for a miracle of St. John. The woman had been sick and was unable to move or speak, and everyone was waiting for her to die. St. John appeared to her dressed as a priest holding the Holy Chalice, and said: "I am Saint John of Chozeba." He put the spoon to her mouth and disappeared. From that moment the woman got better.

St. John is #8.

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Relics of John the Baptist Celebrated In Bulgaria

Sliven Bishop Yoanikiy (center left) and Diaspora Minister Bozhidar Dimitrov (middle right) look at the relics of St. John the Baptist before laying them in state in the St. George Church in Sozopol, after they headed the transfer procession. Prime Minister Boyko Borisov offered a special silver sarcophagus for the relics, for which he payed with money of his own. Photo by Dar

Bulgaria, Sozopol in Euphoria over St. John the Baptist Archaeology Find

August 5, 2010
Novinite

The recently discovered relics of St John the Baptist have been laid in state in Bulgaria’s Sozopol after a transfer processing which brought much excitement and euphoria in the Black Sea town.

The relics, which include part of an arm bone, a skull bone, and a tooth, were found in a sealed marble reliquary in the St. John the Forerunner Church on the St. Ivan Island near Sozopol on July 28, 2010, by the team of archaeologists led by Prof. Kazimir Popkonstantinov.

The procession led by the Bulgarian Orthodox Bishop of Sliven Yoanikiy brought the relics of St. John the Baptist from the St. Ivan Island to the St. George Church in the downtown where they were laid in state.

Thus, the holy relics have been officially transferred from the archaeologists to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.

Thousands of Bulgarians as well as dozens of buses with foreign tourists – Germans, Russians, Poles, Czechs - having their vacations along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast have immediately arrived on a pilgrimage trips to pay their respects to the relics of St. John the Baptist.

The samples from the reliquary and the bones are still to be tested by specialists have expressed their views that there is no doubt whatsoever that absolutely unique archaeological discovery consists of relics of St. John the Baptist.

The wide-ranging arguments for that start with the fact that the small sarcophagus was found in a “natural architectural environment” - hidden under the major slabstone on the floor of the St. John the Forerunner Church – the oldest church on the St. Ivan Island.

(The island off the Sozopol coast itself is named St. John the Baptist – as Ivan is the Bulgarian/Slavic name for John.)

Experts have pointed out that at the time of the building of the St. Ivan the Forerunner Church – 4th century AD – the tradition was to build in relics of saints in the construction instead of to lay them in state for pilgrims, and there was no intentional falsifications of such holy items.

The greatest argument supporting the thesis that the relics belong to St. John the Baptist is the “clue” found at 1.2 m from the reliquary. It consists of a small box bearing inscriptions that make it clear who and when brought the relics of St. John the Baptist to Sozopol.

The inscriptions make it clear that a man name Thomas, “God’s servant brought a particle of St. John on the 24th.” Even though some of the end letters are missing, the inscription in Greek makes it clear that the date refers to the birthday of St. John the Baptist, June 24. The use of genetive case in the inscription leaves no doubt that the relics belonged to one of the founders of Christianity.

“It is important to understand one thing – this is the first time ever in the world archaeological practice that relics of St. John are found together with an inscription which just literally nails the conclusion and leaves no doubts. There are no speculations here,” said the man who made the unique discovery, archaeologist Prof. Kazimir Popkonstantinov.

“I think that this is the discovery of the year, not just in the Bulgarian archaeology but also in the European archaeology. It is hard to speak of the symbols of early Christianity but Apolonia (i.e. the Greek name of Sozopol) and the St. Ivan Island were one of the earliest places where Christians settled as they were persecuted by the Roman authorities. Their heritage is connected with the entire Christian history,” explained the Director of the Burgas Regional History Museum Tsonya Drazheva who is also part of the archaeological team that found the relics of St. John.

The relics of St. John the Baptist will lay in state in the St. George Church in Sozopol until the completion of the repairs of the larger St. Cyril and St. Methodius Church nearby.

Once the larger church is completed, the relics of St. John will be transferred there, together with two other holy items already kept in Sozopol – the a piece of the Holy Cross of Jesus Christ donated to the town by the Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and the National History Museum, and relics of St. Andrew, which were donated to the town by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I during his visit to Sozopol last month.

On Wednesday, the Bulgarian government allocated additional BGN 420 000 for completing the renovation of the St. Cyril and St. Methodius Church which will be the home of the holy relics. Prime Minister Boyko Borisov

“As soon as this amazing archaeological discovery was made, I made some research, and found that such finds generate great returns from tourism and pilgrimage. Bulgaria and this region will now enter the world tourism maps as a pilgrimage site. The fact that this is a sea resort provides for an unique combination between cultural and sea tourism,” declared Bulgaria’s Finance Minister Simeon Djankov who participated in the procession carrying the relics together with Diaspora Minister Bozhidar Dimitrov, a Sozopol native.

The procession that transferred the relics of St. John the Baptist to the St. George Church in Sozopol was led by Sliven Bishop Yoanikiy, who carried the small sarcophagus with relics above his head. Bulgaria's Finance Minister Simeon Djankov is in the middle, while the man who discovered the relics, Prof. Kazimir Popkonstantinov is on the far left. Photo by Finance Ministry

Professor Kazimir Popkonstantinov (left), who found the relics of St. John, together with Finance Minister Simeon Djankov (right), explaining why the origin of the relics is absolutely certain. Photo by BNT

The uninhabited St. Ivan Island (upper left corner) in the Black Sea off the coast of the resort town of Sozopol is the place where the relics of St. John the Baptist were discovered by a team of archaeologists led by Prof. Kazimir Popkonstantinov. Photo by 4coolpics.com

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The Vow of Jephthah and Human Sacrifice

by Archbishop Lazar Puholo

QUESTION: There is an incident in the Old Testament that bothers me and I actually get upset whenever it comes to mind. In Judges, chapter 11, we read about Jephthah who vowed that if he won a certain battle, he would make a burnt offering to God of whatever he met first as he approached the door of his house. His only daughter came rushing out to meet him when he came home and, according to Scripture, he offered her as a sacrifice. How could that be? God did not allow human sacrifices. Surely, Jephthah would have been stoned by other Jews if he had tried to offer his daughter as a sacrifice. This seems so horrible, yet from the Scripture, it almost seems as if God accepted a human burnt offering. Please answer this, as it is causing me a great deal of confusion.

ANSWER: Perhaps the first thing to do in order to understand this story better is to read Romans 12:1: "...offer yourselves as living sacrifices, holy and well-pleasing, to God; this is your reasonable offering".

There are some very definite and clear statements in the narrative about Jephthah's daughter that let us know what actually happened. First of all, when the daughter heard of her father's vow, and realized that it was her who must be offered, she asked to be allowed to lament for two months because she would never be married: not because she would be killed, but that she would never marry. Secondly, in Judges 11:39, we read, "And he did to her as he had vowed. AND SHE REMAINED A VIRGIN". It is quite clear then, that she was not literally offered as a burnt sacrifice, but was offered to the temple as a consecrated virgin (what we now call "nuns") to serve in the House of God. We know from many references that virgins served in the temple. It is not at all possible that Jephthah offered his daughter as a slain sacrifice, because God had already absolutely forbidden such a thing and established the strictest punishment for anyone who should attempt to offer a human sacrifice (see, for example, Lev.18:21; 20:2-5; Deut.12:31; 18:10) - especially one of his sons or daughters (Deut.l8:10-12) - but to have offered her to the service of God in the temple was not an uncommon practice. However, in this case, since she was his only child, it was a great sacrifice, for it meant that his family line would die with him, since she would have to remain ever-virgin.

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Should We Always Confess Before Communion?

by Archbishop Lazar Puhalo

QUESTION: Must Confession and Communion always be tied together?

AMSWER: No. There is no canonical or patristic justification for tying the two together. Some people believe that you can only have Confession if you are preparing for Holy Communion. Sadly, this attitude tends to make Confession a mechanical act, often void of any deep, heartfelt repentance. One should have Confession regularly, whether or not you are going to receive Holy Communion. Confession is a medicine for the soul and mind, a cleansing and healing process which must be accompanied by contemplation and heartfelt repentance. We do not Confess "as part of preparation for Holy Communion," but to unburden our souls and spirits and seek prayerful help in resolving of spiritual problems. Many priests will confirm that such a Confession made as a required act before Communion is often mechanical and meaningless. Frequently, such a mechanically required Confession might consist in a rote, "I don't really have any sins to confess" or "Just all my daily sins."

Confession is not prescribed in preparation for Holy Communion by any canon of the Church, and I am not personally aware of any patristic injunction making it so. Requiring Confession before every Holy Communion presupposes that you will be communing infrequently -- perhaps no more than four times a year. It must be seen as a custom where it is locally required. Fasting, on the other hand, is clearly required before Holy Communion, and this is something deeply ingrained in the conscience and Tradition of the Church.

Ultimately, though, you will have to observe the requirements set by your own local bishops.

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On Prayer For Those Who Commit Suicide and For the Departed Non-Orthodox

The Optina Elder Leonid told of one of his disciples whose father committed suicide. In his overwhelming grief the son turned to the Elder for consolation. The Elder replied, "Entrust both yourself and the lot of your father to the all-wise, omnipotent will of the Lord. Do not seek miracles of the Most High. Strive by humble-mindedness to strengthen yourself within the bounds of tempered sorrow. Pray to the Most-good Creator, thus fulfilling the duty of love and the obligation of a son. You ought not to sorrow beyond measure. God loved and loves him incomparably more than you. And so it remains for you to entrust the eternal lot of your father to the goodness and compassion of God, Who if He is well-pleased to show mercy, then who can oppose Him?"

The following is a model of a private prayer which might be said for a non-Orthodox person as suggested by the Elder Leonid, one who was experienced in the spiritual life:

Have mercy, O Lord, if it is possible, on the soul of Thy servant (name), departed to eternal life in separation from Thy Holy Orthodox Church! Unsearchable are Thy judgments. Account not this my prayer as sin. But may Thy holy will be done!

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Inexplicable Stillness In Vinnitsa

Many remarkable miracles occurred within the Russian Orthodox Church during Soviet times. Fr. Haralambos D. Vasilopoulos describes a series of such incidents in his book Contemporary Miracles of Russia (Sinhrona Thaumata Sti Rossia). Below is an example:

On the 14th of August 1925, the inhabitants of the city of Vinnitsa, Ukraine collected all the icons they had in their homes and then went out to form an improvised religious procession through the streets. Thousands of the faithful walked quietly with their icons in their hands.

Then something inexplicable happened. The noise of the city suddenly ceased for some unknown reason. Trolley cars stopped. No chatter of birds in the sky. Even the animals in the zoo became mute and stood motionless. Children did not yell or cry. In factories and workshops the machines were silent. This went on until nine o' clock in the evening.

Everyone came to the conclusion that this was happening because Christ and His saints were passing through the city and the neighboring villages. The next day also was the feast day in honor of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary.

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The Seven Holy Youths of Ephesus

The Seven Holy Youths of Ephesus (Feast Day - August 4 and October 22); icon from the Monastery of St. Nicholas Philanthropinon in Ioannina (16th cent.)

The Seven Youths hid themselves in a certain cave near Ephesus in the year 250, to escape the persecution of Decius. By divine grace, a sleep came upon them and they slept for 184 years, until the reign of Saint Theodosius the Younger, when the doctrine of the resurrection was being assailed by heretics. They then awoke, that is, were resurrected, confirming in the sight of all the bodily resurrection; and again after a short time, by divine command, they reposed in the Lord in the year 434.

For a historical account of these Saints, read: The Historicity of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus


Contemporary Veneration of the Seven Holy Sleepers Among Orthodox

Pious devotion to the Seven Holy Sleepers of Ephesus is more common in the private devotions of Orthodox Christians than in public. Though one finds remnants of churches and monasteries dedicated to them in the first thousand years of Christianity, it is not popular these days. One would be hard-pressed to find a church dedicated to them today or even find an icon of them in churches. Typically icons of the Holy Seven Youths are found in homes, and in Greece especially, they are placed in homes when one suffers from sleeplessness. In fact, in the Euchologion (Book of Needs) there is a prayer for those suffering from insomnia titled "Prayer For the Sick and Those Who Cannot Sleep, Known As That of the Seven Holy Youths". This prayer is not very old, as it mentions St. Athanasios of Athos (c. 950).


The Cave of the Seven Sleepers In Paphos, Cyprus?

In Cyprus the location of the cave of the Seven Sleepers remains doubtful even if it is often reported that it is found in Kato Paphos. Many mistakenly suppose that it is the catacomb of Saint Solomoni, confusing the Seven Sleepers with also the Seven Maccabee children who were martyred together with their mother, Solomoni. The cave of the Seven Sleepers is obviously an ancient cave found near this area but is not the catacomb of Saint Solomoni.

In 1590, the French traveler Andre Thevet, impressed by the religious retrospections that the ground of Paphos offered, also reported about the story of the Seven Sleepers. He writes the following about the grave of the Bishop of Paphos Sarprikios: "His grave was shown to me and is close to the castle of Kato Paphos, inside a deep cave at the place of worship which the people of Cyprus call the cave of the Seven Sleepers."

The English traveler F. Moryson who visited Cyprus one year later, in 1591, also writes about the same topic: "One mile from the city of Paphos, towards the seashore, a very deep cave is situated where it is said that Seven saints slept for over 300 years without waking up. The Cypriot people believe that they are still alive".

The Cypriot intellectual Neophytos Rhodinos (1580-1659) writes that in this cave there are many Saint relics, but these relics belong to the Seven New Martyrs who are local Saints and not those of Ephesus.

The legend of the Seven Sleepers was very widespread in Cyprus in older times. Today it is not well known by the Cypriots. Badly damaged wall paintings in the right part of the cave date from the 9th-12th. The attention of visitors is also attracted by kerchiefs and pieces of cloth tied to the tree at the entrance to the catacombs. It is said that anyone who fastens a piece of his or her clothing to the branches of the tree is cured of chronic illness. See more here.

Saint Edward the Confessor and the Seven Holy Youths

The account can be read here.


HYMN OF PRAISE: THE SEVEN HOLY YOUTHS OF EPHESUS

by St. Nikolai Velimirovich

When the last rays of the sun turned the west bloody red,
Seven Youths, to God prayed,
That, on the morrow again find themselves alive and healthy,
Before Emperor Decius, brought forth to torture.
And lay down to sleep a long dream, a deep dream,
Time walked by a wide step.

One morning, from the east, the sun dawned
And the Seven from their deep sleep awakened.
And Jamblichus the youngest, to Ephesus hurried
To see, to hear, about everything he inquired,
Does Decius, even them, seek to slaughter,
And bread to buy for the Seven of them.

But behold, what kind of miracle: this is not the gate!
And even the town is totally different!
Everywhere, beautiful churches, domes, crosses,
Jamblichus asks himself: are those not dreams?
Nowhere a familiar face, nowhere kinsmen,
There are no persecutions; there are no martyrs.

"Tell me brethren, the name of this town,
And tell me the name of the emperor, who now reigns?"
Thus Jamblichus inquires. The people, at him, look,
And about him, everyone judges differently.

"This town is Ephesus, now and before,
In Christ, reigns Emperor Theodosius."
This Antipater [The Consul] heard and [Martin] the graying bishop,
The entire town was perplexed,
Everyone, to the cave hurries.
And saw the miracle, glorified God,
And the resurrected servants of Christ the Resurrected One.

Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
Thy Martyrs, O Lord, in their courageous contest for Thee received as the prize the crowns of incorruption and life from Thee, our immortal God. For since they possessed Thy strength, they cast down the tyrants and wholly destroyed the demons' strengthless presumption. O Christ God, by their prayers, save our souls, since Thou art merciful.

Kontakion in the Fourth Tone
They that scorned all things in the world as corrupted and found the gifts that nothing ever corrupteth, behold, they died, and yet corruption touched them not. Wherefore after many years once again they all rose up, burying all unbelief of malicious revilers. Ye faithful, let us laud the seven youths with hymns of praise on this day, while extolling Christ.

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The New Spirituality

by Vic Stenger
August 3, 2010
Huffington Post

A Pew Forum survey from December, 2009 reports that many Americans are mixing their traditional Christian beliefs with some more closely associated with Eastern religions. They seem to be attracted to the holistic spiritualism that was first championed by physicist Fritjof Capra in his 1975 bestseller The Tao of Physics and dubbed the "New Age."

Capra claimed to see a close connection between Eastern mysticism and modern physics, especially quantum mechanics, the revolutionary theory of atomic and subatomic phenomena that was developed in the early twentieth century. He declared that the reductionism of classical physics was passé and the world was approaching a holistic utopia in which everything was one, as taught by Buddha, Lao Tzu, and other ancient sages.

In the mid-1970s, the Indian guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who had a physics background, introduced the idea of a "grand unified field" of cosmic consciousness into which our minds can tune (for a price) by Transcendental Meditation. Separating from the TM movement in the 1980s, physician Deepak Chopra began promoting a mixture of Eastern and Western self-help healing philosophies that has come to be called "quantum healing." The notion is that we can make our own reality, solve all our problems, and heal all our ills by just thinking about them. In recent years, this idea was picked up (and treated as newly discovered) in two highly successful films, What the Bleep Do We Know? and The Secret. In all cases, the proponents claim quantum mechanics shows that human thought can change reality by an act of will.

We can trace this new spirituality back to the early days of quantum mechanics when it seemed that fundamental phenomena such as light and electricity had two independent natures: wave and particle. In the eighteenth century light had been successfully described as an electromagnetic wave. But then in the early twentieth century light was also found to be composed of particles called photons. In the meantime, objects such as electrons that were generally particle-like were seen to also behave as waves. This became known as the wave-particle duality.

Furthermore, it seemed that whether an object is a particle or a wave depends on what you consciously decide to measure. If you try to measure a particle property, such as its position at a given time, then the object is a particle. If, on the other hand, you try to measure a wave property such as frequency or wavelength, then the object is a wave. The implication, then, is that your conscious mind is controlling the very nature of reality. As Chopra has put it, "The physical world is a creation of the observer."

Do you really believe that? Don't. Your mind can't control anything but your own body, here and now. The situation with respect to waves and particles is no different from one familiar to any engineer. Suppose an engineer is studying an electromagnetic signal from some distant source. She might move detectors around to determine its path. Then she is measuring the particle-like properties of the signal. Or she can send it into a spectrum analyzer and measure the signal's wave-like properties. In either case she is not deciding the nature of the signal, just using one of two complementary ways for analyzing it. In the university she learned how to mathematically move from one description to the other by means of what is called a Fourier transform. Quantum theory used Fourier transforms to move between the wave and particle pictures.

In short, a physical object isn't either a particle or a wave. These are just two alternative descriptions of the same object. You do not have to measure one property or the other exclusively. Observing a beam of light with appropriate apparatus, you find that localized photons are always present. The wave-like property of the light beam is found only in the statistical distribution the large number of photons it contains.

In the meantime, reductionism in physics has never been more firmly established. By the time The Tao of Physics was published in 1975, the standard model of elementary particles and forces had reduced all of familiar matter to three types of particles: the electron and two types of quarks. That model has agreed with all observations for over three decades.

However, you need not be a quantum physicist or an engineer to convince yourself that we cannot control reality just by thinking we can. We can see that with our own two eyes. It simply doesn't work. No one has ever become beautiful or rich just by visualizing it.

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Tensions Over Relics of Saint John the Baptist

Recent Archaeology Find of Alleged Remains of Saint John the Baptist Causes Controversy

4 August 2010
BalkanTravellers.com

The recent find near Sozopol is very nice and pleasant, but the results from the examination should be seen first, Bulgaria’s Minister of Culture Vezhdi Rashidov said yesterday, regarding the recent archaeological discovery of remains that were almost immediately announced to have belonged to Saint John the Baptist.

In addition, the hurried announcement has caused tension in Bulgaria’s archaeological circles.

The relics, consisting of parts of bones from the arm and leg, as well as a tooth and a facial bone, were discovered last week in a sealed relic urn by the archaeological team of Professor Kazimir Popkonstantinov. As BalkanTravellers.com reported recently, the relics were found by a team of archaeologists during excavations on the St. Ivan (St. John) island off the coast of the town of Sozopol on Bulgaria’s southern Black Sea coast.

On the day of their discovery, before having seen them, the Bulgarian minister without portfolio, former head of the National History Museum and Sozopol-native, Bozhidar Dimitrov, declared publicly that the remains are authentic and that they belonged to Saint John the Baptist, the Dnevnik newspaper reported.

On Sunday, Dimitrov was present at the ceremonial opening of the urn, when he also confirmed that it contained the saint’s authentic bones.

According to Rashidov, cited by Dnevnik, emotional statements are nice, but one should be careful. “For example, when I found out that we have 25,000 square metres available for a museum, I said – here we go, we will have a Bulgarian Louvre.

Dimitrov explained his claim that they did indeed belong to the saint with the fact that the monastery was one of the largest medieval monasteries and, depending on Sozopol’s belonging to Bulgaria or Byzantium, it had either royal or imperial status. “It is likely that in antiquity someone from the Patriarchate of Constantinople donated part of the holy relics, which were kept in Constantinople, to the Saint John monastery," Dimitrov explained.

According to him, Sozopol is now becoming a second Jerusalem. The Saint George church in the town, which will receive the remains, currently owns parts of the Holy Cross, donated by Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, and remains of Saint Andrew.

Meanwhile, anonymous Bulgarian archaeologists, cited by Dnevnik, have said that the conclusions around the find were hurried in search of sensational news.

While the experts aren’t questioning Popkonstantinov’s professionalism, they say conclusions should only be made after all the necessary examinations have been carried out. Even after further analysis, the find could be dated, but there would be no proof that the remains did in fact belong to one of the founders of Christianity, they added.

The archaeologists explain this, as well as other announcements of sensational finds from recent years, with the fact that it is much easier to find additional finances if you discover something unique and big. As the debates were going on, Dnevnik reported that Popkonstantinov’s team announced that a part of the saint’s heel was discovered in the remains.

Meanwhile, the Bulgarian government announced today that it has decided to allocate additional funds for the renovation of the St. George Church will host the recently discovered relics. To the already allocated 150,000 leva (around 75,000 euro), it will add another 420,000 leva (around 210,000 euro) for repairs and additional infrastructure.

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ICA Reveals A PASOK Plot Against Vatopaidi

A Document By the Institute of Chartered Accountants Reveals the Plot Set Up By PASOK Around the So-called “Vatopaidi Scandal”

They will be getting rid of one, fifty will come after him.

The PASOK government is in power for almost ten months and no one is yet able to tell us objectively how the state was hurt by the land exchanges with the Great and Holy Monastery of Vatopaidi. Is this a coincidence? I do not think so, since the only body accredited worldwide for its objective property valuations is the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICA). That is the reason why in cases of discrepancy between the valuations of a citizen and the state, the law gives the former the right to apply to the ICA, because its valuation is binding on the Inland Revenue!

Yesterday, it was revealed that not one, not two, but four valuations have been carried out by the ICA which indicate the same thing: The state did not undervalue the land to be exchanged so that the monastery would benefit! The only case where excessive value may have been achieved concerns the few pieces of exchanged land which underwent a change of use from forest land to a building plot. But this is another matter.

Since PASOK did not like the ICA valuations, the Ministry of Finance, under the instructions of Papakonstantinou, sent a letter to the ICA trying to negate their conclusions because they show nothing reprehensible. The ICA’s reply was a catapult!

The state instructed ICA to carry out two valuations before March 2009. They showed nothing inappropriate. As soon as the ‘scandal’ was in full swing, the ICA at its own initiative requested a foreign, rival Institution to carry out its own valuation: The result was the same. Nothing reprehensible.

At the same time the monastery instructed the biggest foreign institution worldwide to value the land. The result was exactly the same: Nothing inappropriate!

Therefore, even though four objective valuations exist from the proper authorities, PASOK continues to ignore them. In order to blow up the value of the exchanged pieces, it takes into account the valuations of DOY (Deparment of Financial Services), which according to the ICA only take into account the ‘objective’ as opposed to the ‘real value’ of the land. It is well known that the two values are not comparable especially in relation to forest land, whose ‘objective’ value is up to six times the ‘real’!

Here is the reply given by ICA to the last PASOK attempt to nullify its conclusions:

Notice that in the correspondence between the Ministry of Finance and the ICA, the Ministry talks about the Vatopedi scandal, while the ICA, which is not ‘everyone’s coffee shop’, uses inverted commas around the word ‘scandal’!

One wonders what is the real purpose behind the investigation when the Ministry ( i.e. the state) agrees with PASOK and calls the case a ‘scandal’? Whom are they kidding?

Source: DEXI EXTREM/ OLYMPIA

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Mysterious Events In Kiev in August of 1923

Many remarkable miracles occurred within the Russian Orthodox Church during Soviet times. Fr. Haralambos D. Vasilopoulos describes a series of such incidents in his book Contemporary Miracles of Russia (Sinhrona Thaumata Sti Rossia). Below are a few examples:

The Light of the Provider of Consolation

On the great street, Zhitomirskaya, in Kiev, adjacent to the office of a charitable organization, there is a small chapel. It is dedicated to the honor and glory of the "Provider of Consolation", the Virgin Mary.

One night, at two o' clock, a man from the neighborhood went out in his garden after having seen a strong light, like the glow from a fire, coming from the chapel. The man, who owned a bakery nearby, became frightened and notified the authorities that the chapel was on fire. Gradually, a crowd of terrified people gathered there. There was no smoke, just a blinding, fluttering light.

After a while someone ran and got the keys to the chapel and called the commissars. They opened the door, but recoiled in fear and terror: the blinding light was coming from the icon of the Virgin Mary. The commissar had the little chapel's priests placed under arrest and checked to ascertain whether there might be a hidden electrical wire. They removed the icon and placed it on a small table, where it continued to glow. The entire population of Kiev gathered there, and many fell to their knees and prayed.

This happened on August 15, 1923 - the Feast of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary.


Mysterious Restoration of Icons and Cupolas in Kiev

A few days later a new miracle took place in Kiev, this time in Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) Cathedral. The icons of Saint Nicholas of Myra and Saint George the Trophybearer, which were walled in above the entrance to the church, suddenly appeared to be completely new - newly painted! On the following days similar incidents occurred in almost every church in Kiev.

On the same street, Zhitomirskaya, there is a large church with five cupolas. One day the middle cupola, whose color was completely faded, began to shine in a curious way. People gathered around the church. When the glow eventually subsided, everybody could see that the cupola had been completely restored and gilded.

The Soviet authorities ordered two technicians to take samples of the metal covering the cupolas. The samples were given to two chemists for analysis. The result came in a message from the executive committee of the district, and read as follows: "There appears to be a new, unknown element in the composition of the sunlight, which causes a reaction in metals when they are heated."

In other words: "You won't convince me, even if you succeed in doing so!"

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