The History of the Great Paraklesis (Supplication) Canon to the Theotokos

There are two forms of the Paraklesis Canon to the Theotokos: the Small Paraklesis which was composed by Theosteriktos the Monk in the 9th century (or some say Theophanes), and the Great Paraklesis. During the majority of the year, only the Small Paraklesis to the Theotokos is chanted. However, during the Dormition Fast (August 1—14), the Typikon prescribes that the Small and Great Paraklesis be chanted on alternate evenings, according to the following regulations:

- If August 1st falls on a Monday through Friday, the cycle begins with the Small Paraklesis. If August 1st falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the cycle begins with the Great Paraklesis.

- On the eves of Sundays (i.e., Saturday nights) and on the eve of the Transfiguration (the night of August 5) the Paraklesis is omitted.

- On Sunday nights, the Great Paraklesis is always used unless it is the eve of Transfiguration.

In the Russian Orthodox Church, the equivalent of a Paraklesis is the Moleben, which is similar in structure, except that the canon is omitted, retaining only the refrains and Irmoi of the third, sixth and ninth odes. When the full service itself is performed, it is called the "Supplicatory Canon" (Molebnyj Kanon).

The reason these services are called "Paraklesis" (Supplication) is because the faithful gather to supplicate the Theotokos to intercede on their behalf to her Son and our God for our salvation and for the relief of anything that burdens and ails us. They are the prayers of suffering and hurting children addressed to their compassionate Mother, who is their only hope, protectress, and surety in time of need.

According to liturgical Professor John Fountoulis, even though the two Canons to the Theotokos are differentiated with the title "Small" and "Great", in fact they have the same number of Troparia, both having thirty-two with four in each Ode. However the Great Canon is more extensive, though this does not justify the epithet. The real reason seems to be that the Great Canon is chanted in a more festive tone during the Dormition Fast than the Small Canon, as shown in the Dismissal Hymns which begin: "O you Apostles from afar, being now gathered together here in the village of Gethsemane, lay my body in burial; and You, my Son and my God, receive my spirit."

Little research has been done on the historical circumstances that led to the poetry of the two Canons and the final morphology of the two Supplications.

The Small Supplication Service is older than the Great Supplication Service and its authorship is attributed by some to Theosteriktos the Monk, who lived in the ninth century. Others speculate it to be the work of Metropolitan Theophanes the Confessor of Nicaea who lived in the same century. Some even put forward St. John the Damascene as the composer. Regarding this history, see The History of the Small Paraklesis (Supplication) Canon to the Theotokos.


The Authorship and Origins of the Great Paraklesis Canon

Regarding the Great Supplication Service, we have sufficient testimony to its authorship. The poet was Theodore II Doukas Laskaris, Emperor of Nicaea. He was an emperor in exile who reigned from 1254 to 1258 AD following the fall of Constantinople to the Frankish Crusaders in 1204.

Theodore II received a scholarly education by Nicephorus Blemmydes and remained devoted to science and art throughout his life, and he was also very pious who had as his special patron St. Tryphon. He was also a suffering man, suffering from a severe form of paternal epilepsy and having to find the will as a scholar to defend his empire while in exile against such foes as the Bulgarians. It was another suffering soul in the person of Empress Theodora of Arta in Epiros who would eventually teach him an important lesson.

George Akropolites mentions how in 1249 Theodora travelled to Anatolia with her son Nikephoros for his betrothal ceremony to Maria, the daughter of Theodore II Laskaris. The marriage was delayed by the war between Nicaea and Epirus in 1251-52. The time finally came for the marriage to take place in 1256 when Theodora accompanied her son to Thessaloniki and Theodore accompanied his daughter Maria. Theodore and Theodora met and Theodore explained the price of union with the imperial family, which was the cessation to the Nicaean Empire of Dyrrachion and Servia (Theodora's hometown). Though Theodora had hoped for peace with this union, eventually it was to result in another war between the Romans of Nicaea (East) and the Romans of Epirus (West).

Theodora was a godly and pious woman who had made an impression on Theodore. She also had a great devotion to the Theotokos. He learned that in moments of suffering, pain and deep anguish and confusion, that the Mother of God was a reliable helper and healer for those who call upon her with deep faith and compunction.

It was this lesson by Theodora, who eventually became one of the great Saints of the Orthodox Church whose incorrupt relics work many miracles till this day in Corfu and is celebrated on March 11, that inspired Emperor Theodore to compose with his great learning and piety the Great Paraklesis to the Theotokos.

It is recorded how soon before the death of Theodore he became a monk at Sosandron Monastery and took on the name Theodosios. He also requested to confess his sins. During his confession, he fell at the feet of Patriarch Arsenios and with abundant tears he repeated the words: "Christ I have forsaken you".

This same spirit of anguish is reflected in the masterful poetry of the Great Paraklesis Canon. It is within this same spirit that the Church calls all the faithful to approach this service during the first fifteen days of August.

In 1258 Theodore II's epileptic condition worsened, and the emperor died on August 18, three days after the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos.

It is said that even during Theodore II's lifetime, the Service he composed in honor of the Theotokos was chanted at Sosandron Monastery and the surrounding monasteries of the Empire of Nicaea. And as he lay sick dying during the Dormition Fast, the monks of Sosandron Monastery chanted the Service for the alleviation of his suffering. It was chanted every day until his death, and thus was established the tradition of chanting not only the Great but also the Small Paraklesis during the first fifteen days of August.

On 25 July 1261 General Alexios Strategopoulos recaptured the City of Constantinople from the Latins for Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos of Nicaea. This recapture was ascribed to the aid and intercessions of the Theotokos, the patroness of the City. From July 25 through August 15 many thanks were given to the Theotokos, including the chanting of the Great Supplication Service authored by Emperor Theodore II. On August 15, the day of the Dormition of the Theotokos, Emperor Michael entered the city in triumph and was crowned at the Hagia Sophia. This event also helped establish the Great Paraklesis to be chanted during the first fifteen days of August during the Dormition Fast.

However, there was a dilemma. There was a deep feud between Emperor Michael VIII and the dynasty of Theodore II as to who should have been the successor. For this reason Emperor Michael did not want to honor so much Emperor Theodore by having his Service chanted every day for the first fifteen days of August, so it was alternately replaced with the older Small Paraklesis to the Theotokos authored by Saint Theosteriktos. It was this latter Supplication Service that was more often used throughout the year "in every circumstance", while the Great Supplication Canon of Theodore II was relegated only to the first fifteen days of August. We do not know exactly when or how this took place, but it probably was firmly established after the death of Emperor Michael to unite the dynasties of Doukas Laskaris and Palaiologos.

Characteristics of the Great Paraklesis

According to liturgical scholars Nicholas Tomadakis and John Fountoulis, the Great Canon has a more personal touch from the author and "specifically refers to the passions and the adverse circumstances of his life which tortured him as king, having suffered from incurable mental illness." They are an expression of pain, sorrow and anguish towards the Theotokos, and reveals a great poet. It does not leave the reader with despair and hopelessness, but elevates faith and hope to embrace the Theotokos and seek her intercessions and the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ as the only sure hope, refuge and salvation. It acknowledges that only through them can we find the relief and help we need with whatever burdens us.

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St. Maximus the Confessor: 18 Spiritual Interpretations of the Transfiguration (3)

Continued from Part Two

7. Or they learnt, too, through these that everyone lives to God and no one at all is dead with Him, but that one kills oneself through sin and, through the willing turning towards the passions, cuts oneself off from the Word.

8. Or again they received illumination that the types of the mysteries exist in relation to and are referred to the Word, which is the truth, and are brought into agreement with It, as the beginning and end of the legal and prophetic work.

9. Or everything that is after God and has come into being from God, that is the nature of beings and time, these appear together, so far as is possible, with God who appears as cause and maker. And of these, the type of time is Moses, not only as the teacher of time and of number in accordance with time (for he was the first to count time from the creation of the world), or as one who instituted temporal worship, but also as not entering bodily into rest with those whom he had instructed before the divine promise. For such is time, not overtaking or accompanying in movement those whom it is accustomed to escort to the divine life of the age to come. For it has Jesus as the universal successor of time and eternity. And if otherwise the logoi of time abide in God, then there is manifest in a hidden way the entry of the law given through Moses in the desert to those who receive the land of possession. For time is eternity, when movement is stilled, and eternity is time, when it is measured by movement, since, by definition, eternity is time deprived of movement, and time is eternity measured by movement. Elijah, however, is the type of nature, not only as guarding inviolate the logoi within himself, and keeping the intention according to inclination in them free from any change due to passion, but also as educating in judgment, like the natural law, those who use nature unnaturally. For such is nature, punishing as much those who are set to corrupt it, as those who aim to live contrary to nature, who do not acquire the whole power of nature naturally, and cause its soundness to deteriorate, and are therefore fit to be punished, since they thoughtlessly and mindlessly provide themselves with a deficiency of being through their inclination towards non-being.

10. Equally anyone who says that the intelligible and sensible creation of the fashioner Word is understood through Moses and Elijah does not utterly stray from the truth. Of these Moses offers the meaning [logos] of the sensible, that is subject to change and corruption, as his history of it clearly shows, declaring its origination and death. For the sensible creation is such as to have a beginning known in coming to be, and to look for an end determined by destruction. Elijah [offers the meaning] of the intelligible, neither declaring its coming to be in his account of it, as if it had been generated, nor defining it as looking for corruption through death, as if it were to die. For the intelligible creation is such as to have no beginning of its coming to be that is manifest to human beings, and if it comes to be and commences and passes from non-being to being, it does not await an end of its existence defined by corruption. For it is naturally imperishable, having received this from God who willed to create it such.

Continued Part Four

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St. Laurence the Holy Martyr & Archdeacon of Rome

St. Laurence the Holy Martyr and Archdeacon of Rome (Feast Day - August 10)

by St. Leo the Great

Sermon 85: Delivered On the Feast of St. Laurence the Martyr (Aug. 10).

I. The example of the martyrs is most valuable

Whilst the height of all virtues, dearly-beloved, and the fullness of all righteousness is born of that love, wherewith God and one's neighbour is loved, surely in none is this love found more conspicuous and brighter than in the blessed martyrs; who are as near to our Lord Jesus, Who died for all men, in the imitation of His love, as in the likeness of their suffering. For, although that Love, wherewith the Lord has redeemed us, cannot be equalled by any man's kindness, because it is one thing that a man who is doomed to die one day should die for a righteous man, and another that One Who is free from the debt of sin should lay down His life for the wicked, yet the martyrs also have done great service to all men, in that the Lord Who gave them boldness, has used it to show that the penalty of death and the pain of the cross need not be terrible to any of His followers, but might be imitated by many of them. If therefore no good man is good for himself alone, and no wise man's wisdom befriends himself only, and the nature of true virtue is such that it leads many away from the dark error on which its light is shed, no model is more useful in teaching God's people than that of the martyrs. Eloquence may make intercession easy, reasoning may effectually persuade; but yet examples are stronger than words, and there is more teaching in practice than in precept.

The shrine of San Lorenzo in Lucina, Rome containing the gridiron said to have been used to grill Saint Lawrence to death.

II. The Saint's martyrdom described

And how gloriously strong in this most excellent manner of doctrine the blessed martyr Laurentius (Laurence) is, by whose sufferings today is marked, even his persecutors were able to feel, when they found that his wondrous courage, born principally of love for Christ, not only did not yield itself, but also strengthened others by the example of his endurance. For when the fury of the gentile potentates was raging against Christ's most chosen members, and attacked those especially who were of priestly rank, the wicked persecutor's wrath was vented on Laurentius the deacon, who was pre-eminent not only in the performance of the sacred rites, but also in the management of the church's property, promising himself double spoil from one man's capture: for if he forced him to surrender the sacred treasures, he would also drive him out of the pale of true religion. And so this man, so greedy of money and such a foe to the truth, arms himself with double weapon: with avarice to plunder the gold; with impiety to carry off Christ. He demands of the guileless guardian of the sanctuary that the church wealth on which his greedy mind was set should be brought to him. But the holy deacon showed him where he had them stored, by pointing to the many troops of poor saints, in the feeding and clothing of whom he had a store of riches which he could not lose, and which were the more entirely safe that the money had been spent on so holy a cause.

The stone on which Saint Laurence's body was laid after death, in San Lorenzo fuori le mura.

III. The description of his sufferings continued

The baffled plunderer, therefore, frets, and blazing out into hatred of a religion, which had put riches to such a use, determines to pillage a still greater treasure by carrying off that sacred deposit, wherewith he was enriched, as he could find no solid hoard of money in his possession. He orders Laurentius to renounce Christ, and prepares to ply the deacon's stout courage with frightful tortures: and, when the first elicit nothing, fiercer follow. His limbs, torn and mangled by many cutting blows, are commanded to be broiled upon the fire in an iron framework, which was of itself already hot enough to burn him, and on which his limbs were turned from time to time, to make the torment fiercer, and the death more lingering.

The tomb of St. Laurence in San Lorenzo fuori le mura.

IV. Laurentius has conquered his persecutor

You gain nothing, you prevail nothing, O savage cruelty. His mortal frame is released from your devices, and, when Laurentius departs to heaven, you are vanquished. The flame of Christ's love could not be overcome by your flames, and the fire which burnt outside was less keen than that which blazed within. You but served the martyr in your rage, O persecutor, you but swelled the reward in adding to the pain. For what did your cunning devise, which did not redound to the conqueror's glory, when even the instruments of torture were counted as part of the triumph? Let us rejoice, then, dearly-beloved, with spiritual joy, and make our boast over the happy end of this illustrious man in the Lord, Who is wonderful in His saints , in whom He has given us a support and an example, and has so spread abroad his glory throughout the world, that, from the rising of the sun to its going down, the brightness of his deacon's light does shine, and Rome has become as famous in Laurentius as Jerusalem was ennobled by Stephen. By his prayer and intercession we trust at all times to be assisted; that, because all, as the Apostle says, who wish to live holily in Christ, suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12), we may be strengthened with the spirit of love, and be fortified to overcome all temptations by the perseverance of steadfast faith. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, etc.

Located on the east side of Rome beyond Termini Station, San Lorenzo fuori le Mura (St. Lawrence outside the Walls) is an ancient basilica with a wealth of early Christian artifacts. Built over the grave of St. Lawrence (d. 258), San Lorenzo is one of the five patriarchal basilicas and one of the seven pilgrimage churches of Rome. See more here.

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

Kontakion in the Second Tone
Aflame in thy heart, O Laurence, with the fire divine, thou burntest away the fire of passions utterly, O firm staff of athletes, O thou God-bearing Martyr; and thou in truth while contesting didst cry with faith: Nothing shall separate me from the love of Christ.

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On Making Our Enemies Our Friends

by St. Nikolai Velimirovich

How can we overcome the enmity of our enemies? By renunciation, meekness and prayer. Renunciation in everything, except in faith and purity of life, meekness and prayer, always and always.

St. Ambrose writes: "This is the weapon of the righteous ones that in retreating they conquer, just as the skillful archers have the custom that by fleeing, they shoot those stronger than themselves."

A brother was offended by his friend but, nevertheless, desiring peace with him, went to him to be reconciled. However, his friend did not even want to open the door for him and scolding him from within, chased him away from his house. The brother then complained to a spiritual father who said to him: "Going to your friend to be reconciled, all along the way, you condemned him in your thoughts and justified yourself. I counsel you, even though your friend sinned against you, establish the thought in yourself that you have sinned against him and, in this manner, go to him and in your thoughts justify him and condemn yourself." Thus, the brother proceeded. And what happened? Just as the brother approached the house of his friend, he opened wide the door, ran up to him and embraced the offended brother and made peace with him.

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An Orthodox Look At Nostradamus

By Hieromonk Job (Gumerov)

The word of God gives us very precise warnings about self-proclaimed prophets and spiritual deceivers. "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves" (Mt. 7:15). We have to follow the Lord’s injunction: "Take heed that no man deceive you" (Mt. 24:4). In order to do this one must be guided closely by Scripture and the teachings of the Holy Fathers. These words of the Apostle Paul are very applicable to our times: "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables" (2 Tim. 4:3–4). That is what the writings of M. Nostradamus and other false prophets are — fables.

True prophets are chosen by the Lord, while false ones are chosen by the devil, who plays upon their pride and unquenchable thirst for self-affirmation. From the time that the Lord God began to call His chosen ones to prophetic service, Satan has not ceased to find false prophets to carry out his dark aims. Biblical prophets were the lips of God. The Hebrew word, nabi and the Greek prophetes mean herald, or messenger, who speaks the word of God and reveals truth inaccessible to natural human reason.

A very important personal quality of a prophet is the holiness of his life. The Holy Spirit, Who reveals the future, fills only pure vessels with Himself. "For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Pet. 1:21). In Holy Scripture, a prophet is often called a “man of God” (1 Kings 2:27; 3 Kings 13:1; 3 Kings 20:28; 2 Kings 25:7).

An unalterable sign of a true prophet is absolute purity of faith and teaching. The heralds of God’s will were those through whom the Lord always enjoined His people to turn away from all false teachings and return to the true path. Prophets were preservers of piety and divinely revealed religion. They were called in Hebrew zophim — guardians (Jer. 6:17; Is. 56:10), who were obligated to warn their people about threatening spiritual and moral danger.

The purpose of prophecies was the people’s spiritual benefit. The prophets taught, instructed, and rebuked: "But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort" (1 Cor. 14:3). The greatest purpose of all biblical prophecy was to announce the coming of the Messiah, and to historically prepare the people for His coming. Therefore, the meaning of this announcement should be understandable even before the event happens.

The Lord revealed to each of the prophets only part of the future awaiting people. The prophets supplement each other. All biblical prophecies taken together make up the great revelation about the Savior’s coming to the world to save it.

Only God knows the future. A vision of the future is not accessible to humans with their limited natural abilities, neither is it accessible to the demons.

What is known about the life, occupations, and writings of Michel Nostradamus (1503–1566) fully fits the image of a false prophet and occultist. He was born to a Jewish family in Provence. Both his grandfathers were doctors, and his father was a notary. In 1488, Provence was joined to France. Because his grandfathers and father were then under threat of losing their professional licenses and being exiled from France, the family was forced to convert to Catholicism in 1502. Christianity remained something external for M. Nostradamus. The essence of his world view was an occultism absolutely incompatible with New Testament religion. He was not only a doctor, but also a professional astrologer. The Lord rebukes astrologers through His prophets as doing works abominable to God: "Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans… Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee. Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame" (Is. 47:1, 13–14). St. Gregory the Theologian writes that astrology is an affront to Divine Providence (Homily 5: On Providence). Astrology is a substitution for true religion. The author of all spiritual substitutions is the devil, who through astrology leads people away from God. Blessed Augustine wrote, “Because it serves to snare people it is the action of corrupting spirits, who are allowed to know some portion of the truth from the realm of temporary things, partly because they have more subtle feelings, or have subtler bodies, or because they are more experienced, due to their longer lives. Therefore, the true Christian should beware of astrologers and of all other soothsayers, especially of those who say the truth in order to catch a man’s soul by the cooperation of demons, and then entangle him in their conspiracy.”

Amongst the writings left by M. Nostrodamus to posterity is “A Letter to the Canons of the Town of Orange” (dated Febuary 4, 1562). The Canons (clergy of the cathedral) turned to him in connection with the theft of sliver sacred objects from the cathedral. Instead of admitting that he did not know anything, M. Nostradamus had recourse to the usual occultist trick — empty complexity of words.

“About your inquiry as to the blasphemous thefts which you named and recounted, with respect to the theft and treasure of the closed, but not hidden (!). According to the astronomical drawing shown above, you can clearly see that the theft of the sacred objects was performed by the allowance of two of your brothers in the church; precisely those who earlier many times expressed the opinion as to what happened to your silver. One of them supposed that it was taken to Avignon, while the other said that it had ended up in some other place. Both considered that it had already been sold, for that was their intention. The booty was to be divided between the canons, who are now like soldiers. This opinion was not good and pious. Some did not agree with him, although others were satisfied, but in the end they were not in agreement with one or another point. However, everything stopped when the silver was taken to the house of one of your people and locked up there. But a certain person did not like this. One of the opinions was that the silver should be melted down into bricks and sold, having stored it in one of their houses for the time being. Then, two or three expressed that this would be impossible over the course of a long time, for the Roman Catholic Church will be drawn into the most awful events. Thus, it (the silver) was locked up, although two of them retained the opinion that it should be melted down into bricks and sold, having been stored temporarily in one of their houses. There were only three, and they are brothers of the Church, and they spirited off, what is faultless, intending to steal it, not without the collusion of its guardian, for you had entrusted the lamb to a wolf… But be aware, worthily respected seigneurs, that those of you who know when the theft of the sacred objects took place, and if they are not returned in their entirety—not into the hands of those to whom they had been entrusted, but directly to the church, upon you will be visited the greatest calamities that have ever happened to men; upon you, and upon your families. Furthermore, a plague will come to your city and spread within its walls, and therefore let them not resist. Commiltones quornodo dii propicii sint sacerdotes (Priests are like the comrades of well-inclined gods), but will see how God will punish those who defiled His holy church and stole what people had sacrificed in ancient times. Therefore, read this letter of mine to the gathering of all your people (but do not open it until all have assembled), and then the faces of those who are mixed up in this work will immediately express great shame and confusion, for they will not be able to hide their feelings. Preserve this my letter as full testimony of the truth (the future will show it), and I assure you, worthily honored seigneurs, that if what was stolen is not returned in one way or another, they will die the most pitiful, torturous, and slow deaths, with such sufferings as none of them has ever had to endure — if the silver is not returned to its former places of storage; and you will see that that is how it will happen. I am angered that the lamb was entrusted to a wolf, and I have written my letter out of that. What I have written to you corresponds to astronomical calculations, but I express, not wishing to insult anyone in the world, that humanus sum possum errare falli et decipi (I am a man and can make mistakes, be wrong, and deceived). Nevertheless, if there is anyone in your city who is acquainted with astronomical teachings, let them look over my drawing. If he understands this business he will see that I am speaking the pure truth. Do not doubt, seigneurs; everything will soon be found. And if this does not happen, be assured that a bitter fate awaits those who committed this monstrous crime. I cannot tell you any more right now.” (This English translation is from the Russian, translated by V. Burbelo and E. Solomarskaya).

I have cited this long text in order to show that this “clairvoyant” demonstrated indubitable mastery in the art of speaking many words without really saying anything. However, one important result can be observed: confusion and mutual suspicion was introduced into the midst of the cathedral clergy. This is just what the devil needed.

M. Nostradamus’ antichristianity is not limited to his practice of “Chaldean science.” He is relying upon a dark, occult source for his divinations. He refers to it in a letter to his son, Cesar: “Human reason cannot see what is secret through man’s own intellect, if he is not touched by a certain voice coming from the abyss, and if a subtle flame does not arise, which illuminates what direction one or another event will take.” He also speaks about the origin of his “gifts” in his “Epistle to Henry II”:

“It is true, at first even I did not believe in my ability to foretell the future, which comes from my natural abilities inherited from my forebears. I continually underestimated this instinct of mine; nevertheless, I then made my spirit and soul receptive, and adjusted and integrated it with long calculations. Making my soul to be at peace before the face of eternity, I freed my soul, mind and heart of all care, solicitude and vexation. I summoned the courage, strength, and patience, which are necessary conditions for prophecy. All structure and harmony of prophecies are achieved in part by a bronze tripod” (see above).

M. Nostradamus is speaking of a ritual tripod which was used in pagan occult practice. A Pythia (priestess) of the Delphi would sit upon a tripod that stood over a chasm out of which arose intoxicating vapors. In a frenzied state, she would become part of the whole mysterious nocturnal ritual, and make prophecies. There were times when the priestess would fall from the tripod and continue prophesying in a state of delirium. Incidents were recorded when the Pythia lost consciousness and died.


In the first two quatrains of his Centuries, M. Nostradamus leads the reader into his occult practice, the fruits of which were his “prophecies” (the following translations of the Centuries were taken from the website http://www.sacred-texts.com/).

Sitting alone at night in secret study;
it is placed on the brass tripod.
A slight flame comes out of the emptiness and
makes successful that which should not be believed in vain.
(Century I.1)
The wand in the hand is placed in the middle of the tripod’s legs.
With water he sprinkles both the hem of his garment and his foot.
A voice, fear: he trembles in his robes…
(Century I.2)

The seer is describing a magic ritual known from the work, De Mysteriis Aeguptorum (“On the Egyptian Mysteries”) by Iamblichus Chalcidensis (c. 245–c. 325; an ancient Neo-Platonist philosopher, astrologist, sorcerer, and soothsayer). It is well known that M. Nostradamus was very interested in the symbolic pagan knowledge of the Egyptians. His manuscript, Explanation of the Hieroglyphs of Horapollo were discovered relatively recently.

It is quite obvious that M. Nostradamus was not a prophet of God, and the Lord did not reveal the future to him, "For what concord hath Christ with Belial?" (2 Cor. 6:15). Demons do not know the future. “Prophecy is for the most part a work of God which demons cannot even imitate, no matter how hard they try. There can also be a certain delusion in miracles, but to accurately foretell the future is something characteristic of the Eternal Being alone. If the demons have ever done this it was only to seduce the foolish, and therefore their predictions can easily be exposed as lies” (St. John Chrysostom, Discussions on the Gospels of the Holy Apostle John the Theologian, 19).

St. Anthony the Great says that the demons give themselves out to be predictors of the future. “They have no fore-vision of what has not yet happened. Only God is the ‘knower of all things before they be’ (cf. Dan. 13:42). The demons, however, are like thieves who run ahead, then report what they saw. Even now, they will go and tell many others about what we are doing — how we have come together and are talking about them — before any of us leave this place and tell someone about it. But the same could be done by some sprightly boy who outruns someone walking slowly. And I tell you exactly. If someone should intend to walk from the Thebaid or from another country, until he sets off, the demons do not know whether he will go or not; but as soon as they seen him walking, they run ahead and tell someone about him before he arrives, and they who are walking really do arrive in a few days. Often it happens that the one who set out to travel goes back, and then the demons turn out to be liars. Thus, sometimes they will pompously announce something about the waters of the Nile because they have seen that there was much rain in the land of the Ethiopians, and knowing that flooding in the river can come from that, they run ahead and foretell it. People would say the same thing if they could travel so swiftly from place to place as the demons. And like David’s guard who went up into the heights before those below and saw what was happening, then going ahead more swiftly than the others, related not something that had not yet happened, but what had already occurred, and the news of which was already approaching (see 2 Kings 18:24–29), the demons also take upon themselves the task of letting others know, only in order to seduce them. If Providence should be pleased to do something else with the waters or the travelers at that time (because this is also possible), then the demons will be shown to be liars, and those who listened to them will have been deceived. That is how the pagan oracles worked; that is how people have been deluded by the demons since long ago” (St. Athanasius the Great, The Life of Our Holy Father Anthony).

Thus, a divine source of knowledge of the future was not accessible to M. Nostradamus; whereas the demons, with which his occult practices connected him, do not know the future. Then just what are his divinations? They were made in verses — four lines each, which he called quatrains. The quatrains are grouped into Centuries (one hundred). Ten centuries are complete and two (XI and XII) are not. There is also what is called the 1001st quatrain. There are in total 968 quatrains. Unlike the biblical prophecies, the quatrains do not have an inner unity. They have a chaotic and arbitrary look to them. In his letter to his son, Cesar, Nostradamus writes, “Sometimes I am overtaken by inspiration and ecstasy several times per week, and then, during nighttime vigils, I compose books of prophecies by way of lengthy calculations. Every such book contains hundreds of astronomical quatrains — predictions which I then collect into one and codify. This is an unending prophecy up to the year 3797.” The use of the word “codify” with regard to the text does not inspire trust. This is a typical occultist trick — to suggest the thought that there is a great “mystery” here. From the point of view of true prophecies, similar codifications look senseless. Why are they done, and for whom? Furthermore, we know that, "There is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad" (Mk. 4:22).

One well-known information specialist, the creator of the science of cybernetics, Norbert Wiener, expresses a similar thought with respect to his own field. “There is no system of code or cipher that cannot be deciphered over a specific period of time, while containing possibly a significant volume of information, and not just a few lines of fragmentary solutions” (N. Wiener, Cybernetics and Society, Moscow, 1958, 129). Even the most fanatical supporters of the famous sorcerer understand that his “prophecies” do not state anything concrete, and therefore, wishing to defend their beloved seer, they have been searching fruitlessly for four and a half centuries for the non-existent “cipher” which could explain Nostradamus’ disjointed words.

One more detail draws attention to itself: M. Nostradamus’ vision reaches to the year 3797. From the point of view of Christian eschatology, this is nonsense. The time of the Second Coming of the Savior of the world and the end of the world is not known to people or angels. It could happen at any time. "Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh" (Mt. 25:13). From this it is clear that the year 3797 is an arbitrary date.

Finally, we must decisively state that there has not been a single prediction of Nostradamus’ that has actually come true. All of his predictions were expressed so vaguely and indefinitely, that they could correspond to an enormous number of the most varied events. Could even one of this famous magician’s most blind followers actually say what is predicted in these lines, and when they came true?

The city is besieged and assaulted by night;
few have escaped; a battle not far from the sea.
A woman faints with joy at the return of her son,
poison in the folds of the hidden letters.
(Century 1.41)
Near the Bear and close to the white wool,
Aries, Taurus, Cancer, Leo, Virgo,
Mars, Jupiter, the Sun will burn a great plain,
Woods and cities letters hidden in the candle.
(Century 6.35)
There will be peace, union and change,
Estates, offices, low high and high very low:
To prepare a trip, the first offspring torment,
War to cease, civil process, debates.
(Century 9:66)
First son, widow, unfortunate marriage,
Without any children two Isles in discord:
Before eighteen, incompetent age,
For the other one the betrothal will take place while younger.
(Century 9:39)

Many more examples could be provided, but the above verses are sufficient to convince us that we have before us an intentional mystification. If those who venerate Nostradamus try to take his centuries seriously and see predictions in them, then the results of such interpretations can be stretched to the point of absurdity. Here is an example in Century II, quatrain 24:

Beasts ferocious from hunger will swim across rivers:
The greater part of the region will be against the Hister,
The great one will cause it to be dragged in an iron cage,
When the German child will observe nothing.

Here he is supposedly speaking of Hitler. This opinion is based upon the association of the word “Hister” with “Hitler.” First of all, these are two different words. Secondly, “Hister” in the text is a place, and not a person. The iron cage is understood to be a bunker, in which Hitler lived during his last days. The arbitrariness is obvious. A bunker is not an iron cage. They did not imprison him there. He himself went there to hide. Who are the “ferocious beasts?”

As we can see, any one of the assertions made in the quatrains could be interpreted in any number of different ways. Therefore, it is not difficult to apply the prediction to any event. Not one follower of Nostradamus has ever made a single real prediction using his “prophecies.” The king of soothsayers and seers is completely naked. People who get caught up in M. Nostradamus’ prophecies unavoidably partake of the same dark, demonic source that provided inspiration to the author of the Centuries.

"Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!" (Ezek. 13:3).

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St. Maximus the Confessor: 18 Spiritual Interpretations of the Transfiguration (2)

Continued from Part One

3. Or Knowledge and Education. Knowledge is the source in human beings of the understanding of good and evil. "For I have set before your face", he says, "life and death" (Deut. 30:19), the one you are to elect, the other to flee, and lest through ignorance you disguise the worse with the good, Moses proclaims what is to be done, prefiguring in himself the symbols of the truth. Education is needed for those who without restraint do what is contrary and indiscriminately mix what should not be mixed. In Israel the great Elijah was their teacher, the scourge of indifference, who, like reason, led to understanding and sense the mindlessness and hardness of those who were utterly addicted to evil.

4. Or Ascetic Struggle and Contemplation. Ascetic struggle destroys evil and through the demonstration of the virtues cuts off from the world those who are completely led through it in their disposition, just as Moses led Israel out of Egypt and educated her persuasively through the divine laws of the Spirit. Contemplation seizes them as it were from matter and form, like Elijah on his chariot of fire, leading them to God through knowledge and uniting them with Him, so that they are no longer weighed down by the flesh because of the setting aside of its law, nor burning with zeal for the fulfillment of the commandments, because of the grace of poverty of spirit mixed with all real virtues.

5. Or again they learnt from the Word the mysteries of marriage and celibacy: through Moses, how one is not prevented by marriage from being a lover of divine glory; and through Elijah, how he remained completely pure from any marital intercourse, and how the Word and God proclaims that those who direct themselves in these things by reason according to the laws that are divinely laid down concerning them are made to enter into Himself in a hidden way.

6. Or Life and Death: through them they are faithfully assurred the Word is Lord.

Continued Part Three

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The Grave of the Apostle Matthias in Georgia

The Holy Apostle Matthias (Feast Day - August 9)

According to the Synaxarion, we are told briefly of the Apostle Matthias:

After Judas by transgression fell from his apostleship (Acts 1: 25), and hanging himself out of despair ended his life with a wretched and shameful death (Matt. 27: 5), then, that the number of the Twelve not be lacking, all the disciples gathered in one place after the Ascension of the Savior (the number of men and women being 120), and they chose two men from among them, Joseph, called Barsabas, who was also surnamed Justus, and Matthias, and they set them in the midst. Then they prayed to God and cast lots, "and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven Apostles" (Acts 1: 15-26). And thus, having taken the place of Judas, Matthias fulfilled the work of apostleship and the prophecy concerning Judas, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David: "And his bishopric let another take" (Ps. 108:7). After this, it is said, Matthias preached the Gospel in Ethiopia, and completed his life there in martyrdom.

According to Nicephorus (Historia eccl., 2, 40), Matthias first preached the Gospel in Judaea, then in Ethiopia (made out to be a synonym for the region of Colchis, now in modern-day Georgia) and was crucified in Colchis. A marker placed in the ruins of the Roman fortress at Gonio known as Apsaros in the modern Georgian region of Adjara claims that Matthias is buried at that site. However, this is unverifiable as the Georgian government currently prohibits digging near the traditional gravesite.

Read more about Apsaros Fortress in Gonio here and see the video below.

Apolytikion in the Third Tone
O Holy Apostle Matthias, intercede with the merciful God that He grant unto our souls forgiveness of offences.

Kontakion in the Fourth Tone
Truly, into all the world thy sound hath gone forth as a brightly-beaming sun; and it enlighteneth by grace the Church of all nations on the earth, O wonderworking Matthias, Apostle of Christ.

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40th Anniversary of Glorification of St. Herman of Alaska

This year (2010) marks the 40th anniversary of the glorification of St Herman of Alaska jointly by the OCA and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) in 1970.

When the OCA announced it was going to officially enter Blessed Fr Herman into the List of Saints on August 9, 1970 (new calendar) in Kodiak, Alaska, the ROCOR Synod agreed to offer its "Amen" to this event by simultaneously canonizing St Herman in the Joy of All Who Sorrow Russian Cathedral in San Francisco on July 27 (old calendar). The OCA (formerly known as the "Metropolia") and ROCOR had worked together towards the glorification of St Herman as early as 1939 before the unfortunate split of the two Russian Churches in America. The decision by ROCOR to perform a joint canonization was hailed as "far-sighted" by one pious churchman closely involved who himself had labored for many years towards having Fr Herman declared a saint.

In honor of this festal and historic occasion, a new webpage was launched to collect in one place as many significant resources as possible regarding our beloved patron saint of Orthodoxy in North America. Scroll down for audio, videos, books (including children's titles), excerpts from St Herman's teachings on the Orthodox Way, online articles, icons and much more, all related not only to St Herman, but to his message for us today, which can be summed up in his rightly famous word:

"From this day, from this hour, from this minute, let us strive to love God above all, and to fulfill His holy will!"

See the webpage here.

Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
O blessed Father Herman of Alaska, North Star of Christ's Holy Church! The light of your holy life and great deeds guides those who follow the Orthodox Way. Together we lift high the Holy Cross you planted firmly in America. Let all behold and glorify Jesus Christ, singing His Holy Resurrection!

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Astrology Is Astrolatry

Father Alexander Karloutsos

"When our soul departs from life, we shall not be accused because we have not worked miracles, or have not been theologians, or have not seen visions, but we shall all certainly have to give account before God, because we have not wept unceasingly for our sins."

-St. John Climacus, Author of the Divine Ladder

Christian man does not have to be a miracle-worker, brilliant theologian or heavenly vision soothsayer or maker, but he does have to account for not being aware of his sins. A sin in the Orthodox Church is understood in the spirit of the Greek word "amartia." In Ancient Greece, when a person aimed to hit the bull's eye and failed, they called it "amartia," "he missed." Falling short of the mark, not reaching your goal, not attaining your purpose is sin. When a Christian does things that keep him away from Christ, he sins because he does not live up to his purpose, and that is to live in Christ. When we do not live up to our goal, being the image and becoming the likeness of God, then we sin. When we allow the stars of heaven to guide our actions and not God, who created the stars, then we are sinning. When we run to the newspapers to look up our horoscopes and our futures, and do not seek wisdom and learning from the Bible, then we are sinning. When we do, or don't do, this and that because astrologers say so, and close our ears to God's Commandments, then we are sinning. We are sinning when we pray to our Christian God and, simultaneously, take somewhat seriously the zodiac. We are not Aquarians, Pisceans or Librans, sons and daughters of stars; we are men and women, sons and daughters of God.

People are now being introduced as Aries' and Leo's, no longer as Christians. Isn't it strange that people would rather be named after stars and their constellations, than after God, the Creator and Source of Life? It is rare today to hear people say, "No, I'm not of Zodiac. I am of God, a Christian; a small Christ." The Church has always preached against astrology.

Jeremiah in Chapter 10 verse 2 writes: "Learn not the way of the unbelievers, nor be dismayed at the signs of the stars because the nations are dismayed at them, for the beliefs of these people are false."

When Daniel was confronted by the astrologers of the Assyrians, or Babylonians, from whom we have inherited astrology, Daniel answered: "No wise men, enchanters, magicians or astrologers can show to the King Nebuchadnezzer the mystery which he has asked, but only God in Heaven, Who reveals all mysteries..."

Our Canon Law prohibits people from believing in astrology. In fact, Canon 36 of Laodecia in 369 casts out of the Church people who make, sell, buy or wear the zodiac signs.

The Church Fathers, like the Ancient Greeks, felt that there were "many wonders in the universe, but none more wonderful than man." Man is God's personal image according to Psalm 8, "man was made a little less than God and crowned with glory" in order to have complete dominion over the whole world-stars included. St. Gregory the Great writes: "Man was not made for the stars, but rather the stars for man; and if a star can be called the ruler of man, then man must be considered the slave of his own servants."

God did not create the planets and stars with the intention that they would dominate man, but that they, like other creatures, should obey and serve him.

Augustine considers astrology a religion of fate which is vehemently condemned by the Church. He feels that anyone who believes that our loving God would give power to stars in order to direct and govern our lives offends God's justice and love. St. John Chrysostom sees this belief in stars as a foolish disbelief against God's omnipotence and creativity. God is subjected to the star's power. He also points out that if we are directed by starpower, then there is no such thing as good or evil because we do what we do under the stars' direction. "This means that God's commandments, that man shall not sin or that man shall do good, come down to nothing but foolishness."

The Church Fathers bring up the idea of twins, especially Jacob and Esau. They ask, "Why is there such a diversity in the life of twins, in their actions, fortunes, deeds, callings, honours, and all such things pertaining to human life; is this a result of a tiny interval of time, even though they were conceived in the same moment?" St. Gregory the Great understands astrology as superstition and foolishness-astrologers told him that a person born under the Aquarius sign was a fisherman, yet in the desert, he has met Aquarians but never fishermen. In Persia, where a child is born to a king and becomes a prince, they say his star caused it so; but then he asks, who can estimate how many slaves were born at the same time and moment as the king's son? "And yet the sons of kings, born in the same hour as the slaves, go on to a kingdom, while slaves born together with them die in slavery."

Astrology came from Babylonia over 4,000 years ago. It was based on the astronomical system-that the sun revolves around the earth, not the earth revolves around the sun. The year was divided into 12 months, 6 having 30 days, 6 twenty nine, thus making 354 days. So once in a while, they would add a 13th month. What I'm leading to is this: a person born in April, called Aries in our Gregorian calendar, in their calendar should be a Pisces, and an Aquarian. You see, we are a month ahead. So all of that which you have been reading about yourself is wrong because you were in the wrong month. The Babylonian Astrological Calendar is a month behind ours.

Will Durant in his History of Civilization calls astrology one of the many superstitions of ancient days which still flourish in our own day. But the stupidity of it all is best summed up by the immortal Shakespeare: "This is the excellent foppery of the world, that when we are sick in fortune we make guilty of our disaster the sun, the moon, and the stars; as if we were villains by necessity; fools by heavenly compulsion; knaves, thieves and teachers by spherical predominance; drunkards, liars, and adulterers by an enforced obedience of planetary influence." St. Gregory of Nyssa, summing up the essential aspect of human dignity, rightly says if we are but instruments of heavenly rotation, then we do not have free will. "And if man loses freedom, he loses everything." If man is not free, man is not man.

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The Martyrdom and Love of Taking Upon Us Other's Sins

by St. Nikolai Velimirovich

To take another's sin upon one's self, that is one form of martyrdom and the sign of one's overwhelming love for one's fellow man.

As death is the consequence of sin, to take another's sin on one's self means to add to your own death still another death, "And sin, when it is finished, brings forth death" (James 1:15). However, God rewards with resurrection those who, out of love, take another's death upon themselves.

There are many examples how the saints took upon themselves the sins of their fellow men. Thus, it is said of St. Ammon: a brother fell into sin and came to Ammon and said to him that because of the sin he committed, he must leave the monastery and return to the world. Ammon said to the brother that he will take his sin upon himself and counseled the brother to remain in the monastery. The brother remained in the monastery and the elder Ammon proceeded to offer repentance and prayers to God. After a short time, the elder Ammon received a revelation from God that that sin is forgiven because of his love for the brother.

When St. Macarius, St. Symeon the "fool for Christ", St. Theodora and others were accused of promiscuity, they did not defend themselves but, taking upon themselves the sin of others, received the weighty punishment for sin and patiently endured all until God revealed their innocence to men.

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St. Maximus the Confessor: 18 Spiritual Interpretations of the Transfiguration (1)

That The Saints Are Not Introduced into The Mysteries Like Us

But going back to what has already been contemplated, let us turn our attention according to our means to the rest of the meaning of the Transfiguration, so that the excellence of the Saints in everything and their genuine separation from the flesh and matter may be seen. And let us note that they do not contemplate either creation or Scripture like us in a material or lowly way. They do not acquire the blessed knowledge of God only by sense and appearances and forms, using letters and syllables, which lead to mistakes and bafflement over the judgment of the truth, but solely by the mind [nous], rendered most pure and released from all material mists. Since therefore we want to judge reverently and see clearly and intelligibly the meanings of those things perceived by the senses, we must look carefully to the inerrant knowledge concerning God and divine things and rightly proceed along the straight path.

Further Contemplation of the Transfiguration Containing Eighteen Spiritual Interpretations

A. Therefore it was said above that through the luminous brightness that shone from the face of the Lord on the mount, the thrice-blessed apostles were secretly led in an ineffable and unknowable manner to the power and glory of God which is completely incomprehensible to every being, for they learnt that the light that appeared to their senses is a symbol of what is hidden and beyond any manifestation. For as the ray of the light that came to pass here overwhelmed the strength of the eyes and remained beyond their grasp, so also their God transcends all the power and strength of the mind and leaves no kind of trace for the mind to experience. The white garments teach, in a divinely fitting way, at one and the same time both the magnificence that lies in creatures proportionately to the logoi according to which they have come into being and the mysterious revelation found in the understanding of the words of Holy Scripture, so that the written power in the Spirit and the wisdom and knowledge manifested together in creatures are displayed together for the knowledge of God, and through them again he is proportionately manifested. Through Moses and Elijah, who were with Him on either side, they are taught many various conceptions which are put forward as figures of mysteries: through true contemplation of them they found ways of knowing. It is this that must now be examined.

1. And first they received through Moses and Elijah the most reverent notion about how the legal and the prophetic word had always to be present with God the Word, as they are and proclaim from Him and concerning Him and they are established around Him.

2. Then they are taught through them about wisdom and kindness dwelling with Him. It is in accordance with wisdom that the word is declaratory of things made and prohibitory of things not made, and of this Moses is the type, for we believe the grace of law-giving to belong to wisdom. And it is in accordance with kindness that the word invites and causes to return to the divine life those who have slipped away from it, and of this Elijah is the type, through himself manifesting the complete prophetic gift. For the conversion through love for humankind of those who have erred is a characteristic of divine kindness, and the heralds of this we know as the prophets.

Continued Part Two

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Saint Eustathios Plakidas: Movie

The movie is in Greek, but if you read the life of St. Eustathios and his family, it can be better understood. Read here: Great Martyr Eustathios Plakidas With His Wife and Children

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An Exchange of Insults Over Relics of John the Baptist

Bulgaria’s Diaspora Minister and renowned historian Bozhidar Dimitrov has entered into an exchange of insults with perhaps the most famous Bulgarian archaeologist Nikolay Ovcharov over the recent discovery of the relics of St. John the Baptist in Sozopol.

The fight broke out over Dimitrov’s statement from Tuesday published in a Sofia daily newspaper in which he slammed certain archaeologists for being envious of Prof. Kazimir Popkonstantinov, the man who found the relics of St. John the Baptist, and for criticizing Popkonstantinov and Dimitrov himself for celebrating the discovery before carrying out the proper tests.

“Why, damn it, why, where is all this envy coming from?! This is what I cannot find an explanation with this fucking people, with these fucking colleagues,” the Diaspora Minister and a former Director of the Bulgarian National History Museum, said when expressing his indignation that some of the Bulgarian archaeologists had declared the triumph over the relics of St. John the Baptist premature.

Read the rest below:

August 6, 2010 - Bulgarian Minister Exchanges Insults with Top Archaeologist over St. John the Baptist Relics

August 8, 2010 - Bulgarian Archaeologists Dumbfounded by Minister's Statement over St. John Relics

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Archaeologists Find Evidence of St. Peter's Prison

June, 25 2010
Telegraph

Archaeologists have discovered evidence to support the theory that St Peter was imprisoned in an underground dungeon by the Emperor Nero before being crucified.

The Mamertine Prison, a dingy complex of cells which now lies beneath a Renaissance church, has long been venerated as the place where the apostle was shackled before he was killed on the spot on which the Vatican now stands.

It been a place of Christian worship since medieval times, but after months of excavations, Italian archaeologists have found frescoes and other evidence which indicate that it was associated with St Peter as early as the 7th century.

Dr Patrizia Fortini, of Rome's department of archaeology for Rome, said: "It was converted from being a prison into a focus of cult-like worship of St Peter by the 7th century at the latest, maybe earlier.

"It was a very rapid transformation. We think that by the 8th century, it was being used as a church. It would have been wonderful to find a document with his [St Peter's] name on it, but of course that was always going to be extremely unlikely."

St Peter and St Paul are said to have been incarcerated in the jail by the Emperor Nero.

The two apostles are said to have caused an underground spring to miraculously rise up from the ground so that they could baptise their guards and their fellow prisoners.

Peter was then crucified, upside down, in AD64. He was buried on a low hill on which, 250 years later, the Emperor Constantine built the first Basilica of St Peter.

The hellish prison in which the founder of the Roman Church supposedly spent his final days consisted of two levels of cells, one on top of each other.

The lower cell could only be reached through a hole in its roof and was purportedly where the Romans imprisoned their most formidable enemies, including a Gaulish chieftain, Vercingetorix, who had fought against Caesar in 52BC.

Some prisoners starved to death and their bodies were tossed into the Cloaca Maxima, the city's main sewer.

In the 17th century a church St Joseph of the Carpenters was built over the Mamertine Prison and it still stands today, overlooking the ruins of the Roman Forum.

Its exterior bears the words "The Prison of the Apostolic Saints Peter and Paul" and a marble carving of the two bearded martyrs peering glumly through prison bars.

When Charles Dickens visited the site in the 19th century he described "the dread and gloom of the ponderous, obdurate old prison".

Hanging on the walls he found "rusty daggers, knives, pistols, clubs, divers instruments of violence and murder brought here fresh from use".

Historians have long believed the dungeon was built in the 5th century BC, under Servius Tullius, one of the kings of Rome before it became a republic.


Conversion: Ancient Prison Went From Pagan To Sacred Christian Site

July, 31 2010
Catholic News Service

Tradition holds that St. Peter was jailed in Rome's maximum security Mamertine Prison before he was crucified upside down and buried on the hill where St. Peter's Basilica was later built.

And now after recent excavations in Rome's oldest prison, archaeologists say they have uncovered evidence that, while not providing direct proof, does support that belief.

The prison, which lies beneath the Church of St. Joseph of the Carpenters facing the Roman Forum, was closed for the past year as experts dug up old floors and picked away plaster.

They found and restored a 14th-century fresco of Jesus with his arm around a smiling St. Peter and an 11th-century fresco of Jesus with the oldest known image of the Campidoglio, Rome's city hall, behind him.

Patrizia Fortini from the city of Rome's department of archaeological heritage led the excavation and restoration project. She told journalists July 27 they found proof that the site had been a place for venerating St. Peter by the seventh century, lending support to historical accounts that he had been incarcerated there.

The prison has two levels: the upper chamber called the "Carcer" and the lower chamber called the "Tullianum," which was built in the sixth century B.C.

In the Tullianum, Fortini said, they found "traces of a basin that must have been where water was collected -- water which, according to tradition, sprang forth after St. Peter pounded on the stone floor."

Tradition holds that after he miraculously made the water gush forth, he converted and baptized his two prison guards as well as 47 others while he was imprisoned there.

Near the basin, archaeologists found a trough which, centuries later, the faithful may have used to sprinkle themselves with water, she said.

The stone walls had been painted, she said, but time and humidity took their toll.

There is only one small fresco left in a dark corner under the stairs. The ninth-century image, discovered in 2000, shows the outline of the hand of God emerging from a white cloud as he points down toward Earth.

A portion of the marble column, which tradition says Sts. Peter and Paul were chained to, stands next to a simple altar.

One of the most interesting finds, Fortini said, was discovering what the Tullianum had been used for in pre-Christian, pagan Rome.

Experts removed old brick and wooden floors, digging down to the original stone floor.

Scholars had believed the domed prison was a cistern or a monumentalized fountain of sorts. Instead, Fortini said it had been "an ancient place of worship" specifically devoted to a water divinity such as "a nymph of underground water."

They found ancient remnants of votive offerings to the deity, things such as small burned animal bones and floral or vegetable matter dating from between the fifth and third centuries B.C.

From the ancient pagan Romans to early Christians, "this place was always venerated. It never lost its sacredness," Fortini said.

It may seem odd, however, that the ancient Romans took a sacred pagan spot for venerating the life-giving and healing powers of water and turned it into a dungeon.

Fortini said the underground water spring also conjured up many negative and dangerous scenarios. For example, in pagan Rome it was thought the spring provided a direct channel to the netherworld, she said.

Archaeologists found an ancient borehole going 5 feet into the ground. The borehole "put the inhabited world into contact with the underworld and, therefore, there was the possibility of having contact with the beyond somehow," she said.

Enemies of the Roman Empire were thrown into the watery pit of the Tullianium through a hole in the upper chamber of the Carcer. Romans believed the prisoners would then be carried away or just disappear into the netherworld -- a fate worse than death, she said.

The structure was used a prison until the fourth century, when Pope Sylvester I officially made it place of worship and named it "San Pietro in Carcere" (St. Peter in Prison) in 314.

The Church of St. Joseph was built atop the former prison complex in 1598.

The project to study and restore the Mamertine Prison was a cooperative effort of Rome's department of archaeological heritage, the Rome diocesan Committee for Sacred Art and Cultural Heritage and the diocesan-related travel agency, Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi.

After the Mamertine Prison reopened to the public at the end of June, the Opera Romana incorporated it into a new tour called "Roma Cristiana Experience," which was presented to journalists July 27.

Pilgrims hop on a methane gas-powered minibus leaving St. Peter's Square every 20 minutes and take a scenic route through Rome to the Mamertine Prison for a tour.

The tour is meant to help people deepen their faith and recognize the site's spiritual heritage: its successive conversion from being a sacred pagan spring, to being a dank place of suffering and death, and finally, after St. Peter made the waters pour forth, to becoming a place of renewal and rebirth.


More On Ancient Prison Went From Pagan To Sacred Christian Site

August, 06 2010
The Pilot

Tradition holds that St. Peter was jailed in Rome's maximum security Mamertine Prison before he was crucified upside down and buried on the hill where St. Peter's Basilica was later built.

And now after recent excavations in Rome's oldest prison, archaeologists say they have uncovered evidence that, while not providing direct proof, does support that belief.

The prison, which lies beneath the Church of St. Joseph of the Carpenters facing the Roman Forum, was closed for the past year as experts dug up old floors and picked away plaster.

They found and restored a 14th-century fresco of Jesus with his arm around a smiling St. Peter and an 11th-century fresco of Jesus with the oldest known image of the Campidoglio, Rome's city hall, behind him.

Patrizia Fortini from the city of Rome's department of archaeological heritage led the excavation and restoration project. She told journalists July 27 they found proof that the site had been a place for venerating St. Peter by the seventh century, lending support to historical accounts that he had been incarcerated there.

The prison has two levels: the upper chamber called the "Carcer" and the lower chamber called the "Tullianum," which was built in the sixth century B.C.

In the Tullianum, Fortini said, they found "traces of a basin that must have been where water was collected -- water which, according to tradition, sprang forth after St. Peter pounded on the stone floor."

Tradition holds that after he miraculously made the water gush forth, he converted and baptized his two prison guards as well as 47 others while he was imprisoned there.

Near the basin, archaeologists found a trough which, centuries later, the faithful may have used to sprinkle themselves with water, she said.

The stone walls had been painted, she said, but time and humidity took their toll.

There is only one small fresco left in a dark corner under the stairs. The ninth-century image, discovered in 2000, shows the outline of the hand of God emerging from a white cloud as he points down toward Earth.

A portion of the marble column, which tradition says Sts. Peter and Paul were chained to, stands next to a simple altar.

One of the most interesting finds, Fortini said, was discovering what the Tullianum had been used for in pre-Christian, pagan Rome.

Experts removed old brick and wooden floors, digging down to the original stone floor.

Scholars had believed the domed prison was a cistern or a monumentalized fountain of sorts. Instead, Fortini said it had been "an ancient place of worship" specifically devoted to a water divinity such as "a nymph of underground water."

They found ancient remnants of votive offerings to the deity, things such as small burned animal bones and floral or vegetable matter dating from between the fifth and third centuries B.C.

From the ancient pagan Romans to early Christians, "this place was always venerated. It never lost its sacredness," Fortini said.

It may seem odd, however, that the ancient Romans took a sacred pagan spot for venerating the life-giving and healing powers of water and turned it into a dungeon.

Fortini said the underground water spring also conjured up many negative and dangerous scenarios. For example, in pagan Rome it was thought the spring provided a direct channel to the netherworld, she said.

Archaeologists found an ancient borehole going 5 feet into the ground. The borehole "put the inhabited world into contact with the underworld and, therefore, there was the possibility of having contact with the beyond somehow," she said.

Enemies of the Roman Empire were thrown into the watery pit of the Tullianium through a hole in the upper chamber of the Carcer. Romans believed the prisoners would then be carried away or just disappear into the netherworld -- a fate worse than death, she said.

The structure was used a prison until the fourth century, when Pope Sylvester I officially made it place of worship and named it "San Pietro in Carcere" (St. Peter in Prison) in 314.

The Church of St. Joseph was built atop the former prison complex in 1598.

The project to study and restore the Mamertine Prison was a cooperative effort of Rome's department of archaeological heritage, the Rome diocesan Committee for Sacred Art and Cultural Heritage and the diocesan-related travel agency, Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi.

After the Mamertine Prison reopened to the public at the end of June, the Opera Romana incorporated it into a new tour called "Roma Cristiana Experience," which was presented to journalists July 27.

Pilgrims hop on a methane gas-powered minibus leaving St. Peter's Square every 20 minutes and take a scenic route through Rome to the Mamertine Prison for a tour.

The tour is meant to help people deepen their faith and recognize the site's spiritual heritage: its successive conversion from being a sacred pagan spring, to being a dank place of suffering and death, and finally, after St. Peter made the waters pour forth, to becoming a place of renewal and rebirth.

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Serbian Church Condemns NATO Shrine Transfer

06 August 2010
Balkan Insight

The Serbian Orthodox Church has said its shrines will be endangered by NATO’s decision to transfer protection of them to Kosovo Police.

The Church said on Friday the decision to entrust the mostly ethnic Albanian police force with the protection of its most sacred sites was a political decision by KFOR, the Alliance’s force in Kosovo, to portray Kosovo internationally as "safe".

In a statement the church said: “The decision by the KFOR command, the German general Markus Bentler, to surrender the protection of the Gracanica monastery to Kosovo police and thus start the process to transfer responsibility for the protection of the most sacred sanctuaries of the SOC to Kosovo Police, will endanger the orthodox sanctuaries in Kosovo and Metohija.”

KFOR announced yesterday that the first site to be transferred to Kosovo Police would be Gracanica monastery, located in a Serb enclave on the outskirts of Pristina.

In a press release, KFOR said that the decision reflected its ‘growing confidence in the capability of the Kosovo Police to perform this important task’.

“More transfers will occur over a period of time, but the timelines for each of the following sites are yet to be determined,” it added.

But the Church, which is among the most hardline actors in the dispute over Kosovo, said that the Serb community did not trust Kosovo Police because of its ‘behaviour so far when it comes to the destruction of Serbian sanctuaries, especially during the March pogrom of 2004’.

The church added: “This shows that the high-level decision of NATO is clearly politically motivated so that the message to the world from the province shows progress of the security situation and hides the bitter truth about the serious violations of human rights and religious freedoms.”

The statement also warned that the Church will be forced to secure its holy places by introducing a stricter regime towards visitors and by putting in place "new walls and barbed wire".

Kosovo is home to a number of significant Serbian Orthodox churches and monasteries built during the medieval Kingdom of Serbia, including the Decani monastery and the Patriarchy of Pec, which are among the country’s most popular tourist attractions.

Goran Bogdanovic, the Minister for Kosovo and Metohija in the Serbian government, said the decision encouraged unilateral decisons by Pristina.

He said: "[The decision] encourages Pristina to keep making unilateral moves and is an attempt to paint the poor security situation in the southern Serbian province in a much better light before the world."

Protection of churches and shrines was stepped up after the March 2004 riots, which swept Kosovo, leaving many religious buildings torched and vandalised.

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Saint Gregory of Sinai on Intelligence and Knowledge

- Only those who through their purity have become saints are spiritually intelligent in the way that is natural to man in his pre-fallen state. Mere skill in reasoning does not make a person’s intelligence pure, for since the fall our intelligence has been corrupted by evil thoughts. The materialistic and wordy spirit of the wisdom of this world may lead us to speak about ever wider spheres of knowledge, but it renders our thoughts increasingly curde and uncouth. This combination of well-informed talk and crude thought falls far short of real wisdom and contemplation, as well as of undivided and unified knowledge.

- By knowledge of truth understand above all apprehension of truth through grace. Other kinds of knowledge should be regarded as images of intellections or the rationals demonstration of facts.

From The Philokalia, "On Commandments and Doctrines, Warnings and Promises; on Thoughts, Passions and Virtues, and also on Stillness and Prayer: One Hundred and Thirty-Seven Texts"

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Saint Gregory of Sinai on Humility

Those who seek humility should bear in mind the three following things:

1. That they are the worst of sinners,

2. That they are the most despicable of all creatures since their state is an unnatural one,

3. That they are even more pitiable than the demons, since they are slaves to the demons.

You will also profit if you say this to yourself:

"How do I know what or how many other people’s sins are, or whether they are greater than or equal to my own? In our ignorance you and I, my soul, are worse than all men, we are dust and ashes under their feet."

From The Philokalia

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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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