The Translation of the Precious Skull of the First-Called Apostle Andrew

The Translation of the Precious Skull of the First-Called Apostle Andrew (Feast Day - September 26)

The Apostle Andrew was martyred in the city of Patras by being crucified upside down on an X-shaped crucifix. His holy relics were brought to Constantinople during the reign of Constantius, son of Constantine the Great. They were brought there from Patras by the general St. Artemios and arrived in Constantinople on 3 May 357. However, the skull of St. Andrew either remained in Patras or was returned there in the 9th century by Emperor Basil I the Macedonian.

The larger part of St. Andrew's remains were apparently stolen from Constantinople in 1210 and these were transported to Amalfi in Southern Italy where they still lie. In 1879 the Archbishop of Amalfi sent a small piece of the Saint's shoulder blade from the Amalfi relics to the re-established Roman Catholic community in Scotland.

On 11 April 1462 the governor of the city of Patras Thomas Palaiologos, the last ruler of Morea and brother of the last Roman Emperor Constantine Palaiologos, left Patras and went to the West, due to the fact that the Turks took over Peloponnesos in 1460. Thomas Palaiologos took with him the Precious Skull of the First-Called Apostle in order to protect it from not falling into the hands of the Turks, and there he handed it over to the Latins to ensure its safety. In return, Thomas was given the Golden Rose, a palace in Rome and an annual allowance of 6,000 ducats. Pope Pius II promised to keep the skull and Thomas safely "as long as danger threatened".

The relic was received with ostentatious signs of devotion. Cardinal Bessarion and two other members of the sacred college received it at Narni and conveyed it to Rome. The pope, accompanied by the remaining cardinals and the Latin clergy, went out to the Ponte Molle to give it welcome. After falling prostrate before the Apostle's skull, Pius delivered an appropriate address in which he congratulated the fragment upon coming safely out of the hands of the Turks to find at last, as a fugitive, a place beside the remains of its brother Apostles. The address being concluded, the procession reformed and, with Pius borne in the Golden Chair, conducted the skull to its last resting-place. The streets were decked in holiday attire, and no one showed greater zeal in draping his palace than Rodrigo Borgia. The skull was deposited in St. Peter's, after, as Platina says, "the sepulchres of some of the popes and cardinals, which took up too much room, had been removed."

Tomb of Pius II 1465-70 Marble, Sant'Andrea della Valle, Rome. The central relief depicts the presentation of the relic of St Andrew's skull.

The ceremonies were closed by Bessarion in an address in which he expressed the conviction that St. Andrew would join with the other Apostles as a protector of Rome and in inducing the princes to combine for the expulsion of the Turks. In 1462 Pius erected a monument on the site of the Milvian Bridge where the initial ceremonies had taken place: the Tempietto di Sant'Andrea a Ponte Milvio.

While Thomas lived in Rome, he was recognized throughout Christian Europe as the rightful Emperor of the East.* After all, he was the youngest surviving son of the Eastern Roman Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos and his wife Helena Dragaš. After the desertion of his older brother to the Turks in 1460, Thomas Palaiologos became the legitimate claimant to the Roman throne in Byzantium. To create greater support for his situation Thomas changed his religion to Catholicism in his last years of life. The skull of St. Andrew became enshrined in one of the four central piers of Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.

Five hundred years passed. In 1962 the Metropolitan of Patras and the Mayor of Patras made a request to the Pope to have the "treasure of the people of Patras" returned back to them and the place of his martyrdom. Pope Paul VI, in a gesture of good-will, decided to fulfill their request. Removing the skull and a finger of the Apostle Andrew from Saint Peter's Basilica, they were brought to Patras and given over to Metropolitan Constantine of Patras at Trion Symmachon Square (Three Allies) on September 26, 1964. This was a huge celebration for Patras, where thousands attended, including 20 archbishops and President George Papandreas of Greece. A procession brought the Precious Skull to the Church of Saint Andrew where a Doxology was chanted.

Metropolitan Nikodemos of Patras later wrote the history of this event together with the Service of Praise in its honor. This was included in the periodical Ekklesia (15 October 1964, no. 20). In attendance also was the then Archimandrite, later Archbishop of the Greek Archdiocese of America, Demetrios Trakatellis, who translated the sermon for the occasion by Metropolitan Constantine of Patras from Greek to French.

A portion of the encyclical of Metropolitan Constantine reads: "Συγκίνησις δυσπερίγραπτος πληροί τας ψυχάς. Παλμοί ιεροί διατρέχουν την πόλιν. Δάκρυα κυλούν εις τους οφθαλμούς. Επανέρχεται μετά 500 έτη από την Βασιλικήν του Αγίου Πέτρου Ρώμης εις την Βασιλικήν του Αγίου Ανδρέου Πατρών η Τιμία Κεφαλή του Πολιούχου ημών. Ουδέποτε άλλο άγγελμα συνήγειρε βαθύτερον την πόλιν ημών. Εις το βάθος του ορίζοντος εμφανίζονται τα οράματα των Παλαιολόγων, διαγράφει κύκλους ο Βυζαντινός δικέφαλος αετός. Κυματίζει εις την αύραν του Πατραϊκού η σημαία της πόλεως με τον χιαστόν Σταυρόν. Νεανίσκοι και παρθένοι, πρεσβύτεροι μετά νεωτέρων, άρχοντες και πάντες λαοί αινέσωμεν το όνομα Κυρίου. Άσωμεν αυτώ άσμα καινόν."

* In ORTHODOXY ON SALE: THE LAST BYZANTINE, AND THE LOST CRUSADE by Silvia Ronchey of the University of Siena, Italy. Ronchey provides evidence to support a theory that Pius and the Greek leaning cardinals had decided that after a successful Crusade against the Turks, Thomas Palaiologos was to be placed as the legitimate ruler of the re-conquered New Byzantium which was to be under the control of the West. Excerpts can be read here.

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The Basilika of the Apostle John in Ephesus

The following was taken from a longer account regarding my pilgrimage to the tomb of the Apostle John in 2001, which can be read here.

Originally the Basilika of the Apostle John in Ephesus had been in a cruciform shape with six massive domes. More recently they have uncovered a baptistry and and a small chapel to the side. The tomb of the Apostle is today exposed to the elements, but originally it was located under the main central dome of the church [a model replica of the church can be seen below]. Unfortunately three relics which were still in the church during Ottoman times are now lost to us - a piece of the True Cross worn by the Apostle John around his neck, a garment of the Apostle made by the Theotokos, and most significantly for biblical scholarship today was the original manuscript of the Apocalypse which was authored by this apostle.

When the Apostle John was over one hundred years old, he took seven of his disciples, went outside the town of Ephesus and ordered them to dig a grave in the form of a Cross. After that, John went down into this grave and was buried. Later on, when the faithful opened John's grave, they did not find his body. Tradition holds that he, like the Virgin Mary, was among the first to be raised from the dead.


Each year for about a thousand years from the grave of the holy Apostle John on May 8th there came forth a fine ash-dust, which believers called "manna", and gathered it up after an all-night vigil and were healed of sicknesses by it. Therefore the Church celebrates the memory of the Apostle John the Theologian still on May 8 to commemorate this miracle, even though his main feast is on September 26.

Many pilgrims of medieval times make note of this extraordinary miracle. Both Augustine and Gregory of Tours make reference to this annual miracle. Anglo-Saxon Willibald, later a bishop and a Saint, visited Ephesus in 724 and marvelled at the miracle of the manna that bubbled from the tomb of the Apostle. Symeon Metaphrastes in the tenth century writes of the festival on May 8th being of such great magnitude that it seemed there were more people in attendance to take part in the miracle and receive a portion of its distribution than there were stars in the sky.


According to one author, the most elaborate description of the miracle dates to 1304 by Catalan Muntaner who arrived in a mercenary force:

"On Saint Stephen’s day, every year, at the hour of Vespers, there comes out of the tomb (which is four-cornered and stands at the foot of the altar and has a beautiful marble slab on the top, full twelve palms long and five broad) and in the middle of the slab there are nine very small holes, and out of these holes, as vespers are being sung on St. Stephen’s day (on which day the Vespers are of St. John), manna like sand comes out of each hole and rises a full palm high from the slab, as a jet of water rises up. And this manna issues out . . . and it lasts all night and then all Saint John’s day until sunset. There is so much of this manna, by the time the sun has set and it has ceased to issue out, that, altogether, there are of it full three cuarteras of Barcelona [about 120 quarts]. And this manna is marvelously good for many things; for instance he who drinks it when he feels fever coming on will never have fever again. Also, if a lady is in travail and cannot bring forth, if she drinks it with water or with wine, she will be delivered at once. And again, if there is a storm at sea and some of the manna is thrown in the sea three times in the name of the Holy Trinity and Our Lady Saint Mary and the Blessed Saint John the Evangelist, at once the storm ceases. And again, he who suffers from gall stones, and drinks it in the said names, recovers at once. And some of this manna is given to all pilgrims who come there; but it only appears once a year."

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The Apostle John and the Convert Who Returned To His Former Way Of Life

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

Thus writes the Apostle James: "Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins" (James 5:20).

The apostles of Christ did not simply speak thus, but confirmed it by their work.

Clement of Alexandria relates that, somewhere in Asia Minor, St. John the Apostle had baptized a pagan youth and entrusted him to the care of the local bishop, while he went on further to preach the Gospel. In John's absence, this young man became corrupt, and began to drink and steal, and finally joined a band of thieves in the forest, who attacked men and robbed them. After a while John returned, and heard from the bishop what had happened to this young man. Then Apostle John, not wasting a moment, found a horse and a guide and rushed to the forest where the robbers were to be found. Searching through the forest the saint found them, and confronted their leader. When the young man recognized John, he began to flee. Though aged, John chased him and, despite his old age, caught him. The young man fell at the feet of the apostle and, in shame, could not look him in the eye. John embraced and kissed him, as a shepherd does upon finding his lost sheep. The saint brought him back to town and confirmed him anew in the Faith and in virtuous life. Thereafter pleasing God, this young man entered into rest in due time.

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Patriarch Kyrill Encourages Child-Like Faith

September 24, 2010
Interfax

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia during his trip to the Far East pointed out to the particular purity of local peoples.

"When I met with local residents and looked them in the eyes I saw this childishness. Some may say: 'they're naive people', others may say: 'their life will change, they will become richer and it won't be this way anymore'. And I'd like to wish all of you, all who live in these severe lands to keep this childishness in your hearts," the Patriarch said on Friday after the Divine Liturgy in the Transfiguration Cathedral of Yakutsk.

According to him, a child's soul has something that should never leave a person - "purity of heart."

"We can become very strong, rich, influential, clever, educated, learned, politicians or ordinary workers who enjoy everyone's respect, but in our heart we should keep this childishness, this ability to adore God's world, to feel the world beauty, to feel the truth like children do, to have pure soul like children. Only those with pure heart will see God," the Primate said.

"It's impossible to build a paradise on Earth. Human task is not to build paradise on Earth, but not to turn human life into hell," the Patriarch stressed.

According to him, a person by his or her own efforts cannot stay away from the influence of sin, "he or she will lose sanctity given to him in the early years," but "we will keep the best we have and obtain the best the world can give us when God is in the center of our life."

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Orthodox and Catholics Debate Papal Primacy in Vienna

The 12th Session of the Joint Theological Commission for Dialogue Between the Roman Catholic Church and Orthodox Churches began its work on 22 September 2010 in Vienna.

Primacy Debated In Vienna

Dr. Robert Moynihan
September 25, 2010
Catholic Exchange

For several days, leading Catholic and Orthodox theologians have been meeting in Vienna to discuss the issues which divide the two Churches. The meeting is focusing on the question of papal primacy. The ultimate goal: to end the “Great Schism” of 1054. But, is it possible?

Participants at the meeting say some progress has been made during the talks.

They say a possible model for the future is that of “sister churches” with separate hierarchies and liturgies, with the Orthodox accepting the Pope as their “titular” head.

The meeting ends on Sunday, September 26.

Dangers for the Faith?

Many traditional Catholics and Orthodox have a certain fear of talks such as these.

Some, in both Churches, are concerned that theological discussions like this may lead one or the other Church to “water down” essential doctrinal teachings for the sake of an external form of union.

In this specific case, some Orthodox may fear they will be asked to accept a type of “papal primacy” they do not in conscience believe in.

Likewise, some Catholics may feel that the Orthodox may be invited into a union with Rome without giving their assent to essential Catholic doctrines on the office of the Pope.

So there are fears on both sides.

And the fears have a certain basis.

For there is always a danger that some aspect or tenet of the deposit of the faith may be placed at risk in the process of such a theological dialogue.

On the Other Hand…

But there is another concern that must also be kept in mind.

Today, in our actual historical context, there is a danger that the enemies of the Church — and the chief enemy behind them — can exploit such fears to keep Christians divided against the wishes and the prayer of Christ himself.

Christ prayed on the night of the Last Supper that all of his followers would always remain “one” — united, not divided.

But divisions between Christians came.

Some argue that divisions are necessary to clarify truth.

Assertions of heretical doctrine do call forth from the defenders of orthodoxy a clear statement of doctrinal truth.

Pope Benedict once said precisely this, when he was Cardinal Ratzinger, and the chief defender of doctrinal orthdoxy in the Church, as the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome.

So, though the way is treacherous, it would seem a mistake to not at least try to set out upon this path, despite the dangers.

The Purpose of the Meeting

The purpose of this meeting is to examine key doctrinal questions dividing the Churches carefully, and calmly, and to see where the limits lie, from the perspective of each side.

And in this sense, it is a very positive sign that the meeting has been held at all, and that it hasn’t broken up in acrimony, but is continuing toward its conclusion.

For, in the end, the present state of the world counsels openness to such discussions.

In the West, a certain “post-Christian” secular vision is dominant.

At the same time, Islam is undoubtedly spreading its influence widely.

These developments seem to counsel those who profess belief in Christ as the Savior of man and the Son of God — Christians, that is — make every possible effort, short of compromising the deposit of the faith, to draw closer together, first in common work and charity efforts, then, eventually, in some form of public Church unity.

Without this, not single tenets of the faith, but the faith itself, whole and entire, may find itself in danger in this world.

The Ultimate Victory

The Christian message offers an entirely new type of existence to men and women.

Preserving and defending the Church is to preserve and defend the vehicle, the means, of this message.

The theology of one of the participants at the Vienna meeting, Metropolitan John Zizioulas, has expressed this in a striking and powerful way.

Zizioulas, who studied under the Russian Orthodox theologian Georges Florovsky, received his doctorate in 1965 from the University of Athens and has taught theology at the University of Edinburgh and then the University of Glasgow, Scotland.

Zizioulas has argued that full humanity is achieved only as “person” so that one may participate (koinonia) in the personal Trinitarian life of God — participate in the life of the divinity.

He argues that man initially exists as a biological hypostasis (person), constrained as to the types of relationships such a being can have (biological) and doomed to the eventual end of this type of being — death.

He argues that Baptism constitutes an ontological change in the human, creating an ecclesial hypostasis, or person.

This rebirth “from above” gives new ontological freedom as it is not constrained by the limits of biological existence.

Such an ecclesial being is eschatological, meaning it lives in a paradoxical “now,” but “not yet.”

The completion of this rebirth from above is the day of resurrection when the body will no longer be subject to death.

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The Proceedings

The 12th Session of the Joint Theological Commission for Dialogue Between the Roman Catholic Church and Orthodox Churches began its work on 22 September 2010 in Vienna.

The commission is co-chaired by Metropolitan John of Pergamon, Patriarchate of Constantinople, and Archbishop Kurt Koch, president of Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

Each Local Orthodox Church is represented by two delegates. Representing the Moscow Patriarchate are Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, DECR chairman, and Prof. Archpriest Valentin Asmus, St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Humanitarian University. Archimandrite Kirill Govorun, chairman of the Russian Orthodox Church’s education committee, participates in the meeting as consultant.

Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, Archbishop of Vienna, and Metropolitan Michael of Vienna, Patriarchate of Constantinople, welcomed the participants.

The first day was mainly devoted to the methods of further work on the theme “The Primacy of the Bishop of Rome in the First Millennium.” Participants exchanged views on the status to be given to the document on this theme, which was partly considered by the previous meeting of the Commission.

In the evening, Vienna Burgomaster Michael Haupl gave dinner in honour of the participants in the session.

The 12th session of the commission will work till September 26.

On September 22, 2010, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, DECR chairman, met with the head of the Vienna archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church, Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn.

Metropolitan Hilarion told the cardinal about today’s life of the Russian Orthodox Church, the trips made by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia in Russia and far- and near-abroad countries, the Church’s missionary and educational work as well as the work of the Department for External Church Relations and some other Synodal institutions of the Moscow Patriarchate.

They discussed prospects for Orthodox-Catholic cooperation in Europe in general and a possibility for carrying out joint educational activities and youth events, in particular.

In conclusion of the talk, which was held in a warm and friendly atmosphere, Metropolitan Hilarion presented Cardinal Schoenborn with an icon of the Most Holy Mother of God.

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Catholic, Orthodox Report Promising Progress on Unity

Boris Groendahl
September 24, 2010
Reuters

Roman Catholic and Orthodox theologians reported promising progress Friday in talks on overcoming their Great Schism of 1054 and bringing the two largest denominations in Christianity back to full communion.

Experts meeting in Vienna this week agreed the two could eventually become "sister churches" that recognize the Roman pope as their titular head but retain many church structures, liturgy and customs that developed over the past millennium.

The delegation heads stressed unity was still far off, but their upbeat report reflected growing cooperation between Rome and the Orthodox churches traditionally centered in Russia, Greece, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

"There are no clouds of mistrust between our two churches," Orthodox Metropolitan John Zizioulas of Pergamon told a news conference. "If we continue like that, God will find a way to overcome all the difficulties that remain."

Archbishop Kurt Koch, the top Vatican official for Christian unity, said the joint dialogue must continue "intensively" so that "we see each other fully as sister churches."

The churches split in 1054 over the primacy of the Roman pope, the most senior bishop in early Christianity. The Orthodox in Constantinople, now Istanbul, rejected Roman primacy and developed national churches headed by their own patriarchs.

ADAPTATION NEEDED

The Vatican has sought closer ties for years but the Russian Orthodox Church -- whose 165 million followers are the largest branch of the world's 250 million Orthodox -- responded slowly as it emerged from over seven decades of Communist rule.

Roman Catholicism is Christianity's largest church, with 1.1 billion of the estimated 2 billion Christians worldwide.

Pope Benedict has close ties to the spiritual leader of the Orthodox, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Istanbul, and hopes to meet Russian Patriarch Kirill, who has shown great interest in better ties since taking office in February 2009.

Benedict and Kirill are both conservative theologians who say Europe should return to its Christian roots. The Orthodox are closer to Catholicism in their theology and liturgy than the Protestant churches that broke from Rome in the 16th century.

Unity will require change on both sides, the delegation heads stressed. "I won't call it a reformation -- that is too strong -- but an adaptation from both sides," John said.

For the Orthodox, he said, that means recognizing there is a universal Christian church at a level higher than their national churches and the bishop of Rome is its traditional head.

The Catholics would have to strengthen the principle of synodality, by which a church leader consults bishops before making important decisions, he added.

THE FIRST MILLENNIUM

Both those points are sensitive. The Orthodox traditionally prize their decentralized structures and reject the idea of a pope while the Catholic hierarchy is a pyramid with clear lines of authority from local churches up to the powerful pontiff.

To work this out, they are studying Christianity's early history to see how the Latin-speaking West and Greek-speaking East worked together for 1,000 years before the Great Schism.

"The basic discussion is about how these churches lived in the first millennium and how we can find a new (common) path today," Koch explained.

Koch said Pope Benedict recently showed his readiness to accept diversity in the church by inviting disaffected Anglicans to become Catholics while keeping some of their traditions.

John said a next step along the way to unity will be a pan-Orthodox council to work out relations between national churches and the Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarchate, which has spiritual leadership but no practical authority over them.

"We hope that very soon we will be able to invoke such a council," John said. He said the joint theological commission could probably meet again in 2012 to discuss the theological aspects of closer unity.

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Archbishop of Canterbury: No Problem with Celibate Gay Bishops

Jenna Lyle
September 25, 2010
Christian Post

The Archbishop of Canterbury has given his strongest endorsement of gay bishops yet in an interview with The Times Magazine.

Dr. Rowan Williams spoke of his personal support for bishops who are gay but said they must remain celibate.

“There’s no problem about a gay person who’s a bishop. It’s about the fact that there are traditionally, historically, standards that the clergy are expected to observe,” he said.

When asked what was wrong with a gay bishop having a partner, the Anglican spiritual leader said the scriptural and traditional approach “doesn’t give much ground for being positive about it.”

He admitted that there was still no agreement on the issue, saying that the Church “doesn’t quite know what to make of it,” and acknowledged that discussing it can lead to difficulties for homosexuals living in countries where opposition to homosexuality is strong.

In spite of the disagreements over homosexuality, which have threatened to tear the worldwide Anglican Communion apart, Williams insisted that traditional and liberal Anglicans should still stick together.

“We actually need each other, however much we dislike each other,” he said.

Canon Vinay Samuel, founder of the Oxford Center of Mission Studies, responded to the archbishop’s comments by criticizing the Western church’s “obsession” with the issue of sexuality and urging the Church to uphold biblical teaching on homosexuality.

“There is still no incontrovertible evidence to suggest that orientation is not a choice but an inherited characteristic,” he said in a response posted on Anglican Mainstream.

“More than two decades of research in many fields has failed to confirm that gays are born that way," he pointed out. “So if someone believes strongly that they are gay ... in such a situation the Church necessarily, clearly, firmly and consistently has to witness to the teaching on sexuality which it has received and which it is called to uphold.

“Also it must require that its clergy uphold that teaching whatever their self understanding.”

He pointed to figures released by the Office for National Statistics this week showing that homosexuals make up just 1.5 percent of the British population and are mainly from the professional classes.

“The need of these classes for acceptance by the Church pushes these issues to the center," Vinay added. "The vast majority of the Church does not wish to do that and yet it appears that the Church in the West is obsessed by it.

“The Church’s mission in God’s world cannot be handicapped by the need to keep responding to the incessant demands of this particular segment of the professional class whose long-term commitment to the church has never been demonstrated.”

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Social Factors, Not Political Ideology, Lead To Extremism

Extremists of all political persuasions - from the Molotov cocktail-throwing anarchist to the neo-Nazi skinhead - have a lot in common according to a new study by Germany's criminal police agency.

Sarah Harman
September 26, 2010
DW-WORLD.DE

Social factors are more important than political persuasions for young people who turn to radicalism, according to a new study by the Federal Criminal Police Agency (BKA).

Researchers interviewed 39 political extremists - most of whom are now in jail - and found many similarities in their life stories.

On the surface, their ideologies couldn't be more different - from skinheads to would-be jihadists. Both the report found that political conviction took a backseat to social motivations in the process of radicalization.

Desire to fit in

Young people are attracted to the feeling of belonging that a group gives them, rather than to the political viewpoints of the group, according to Thomas Kliche, a political psychology researcher at the University of Hamburg.

"The ideology is a very second rate ideology in their biography," he said. "At that age they don't even comprehend the reach of these ideas, they just comprehend, 'The group tells me I'm fine, the group tells me I'm strong.'"

But not all young people are equally susceptible to the allure of group identity. Nearly all the extremists interviewed came from dysfunctional families. Poor family relations can heighten appeal of the group, Kliche said.

"Most offenders do come from broken homes ... or their family is not able to provide them a feeling of security, of warmth, of being welcome," he told Deutsche Welle. "This is where the group steps in."

Something to prove

The report also found that many of those interviewed, in addition to having emotionally or structurally disturbed families, had failed to fit in with society in other ways. Their education or career training had been interrupted or unsuccessful, and they felt they needed to compensate for their shortcomings.

According the report, a person's identification with a particular extremist ideology depended more on coincidence and availability than true political conviction.

Often, the need to fit in led to violence or drug use. Most of the participants had been involved in delinquent behavior before joining a radical scene, leading the author of the report to conclude that so-called "politically motivated crime" often had no real ideological motivation.

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Losing Your Faith Is Bad For Your Health

Losing your faith is bad for your health, a new study suggests.

September 24, 2010
Telegraph.co.uk

Leaving a strict religion makes people more likely to live unhealthily, with an increase in drinking and smoking, as well as becoming more susceptible to negativity and stress.

It can also lead to losing friends and acquaintances who remain devout, said Christopher Scheitle, of Penn State university.

He said: "Strict groups typically require members to abstain from unhealthy behaviours, such as alcohol and tobacco use.

"These groups also create both formal and informal support structures to promote positive health.

"The social bonds of belonging to the group might be another factor for better health."

The study, published in the Journal of Health and Social Behaviour, defines strict religions, such as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Jehovah's Witnesses, as those with strict social, moral and physical guidelines for members.

Mr Scheitle examined a total of 423 cases of people associated with religions from 1972 to 2006 and compared the self-reported health of 96 people who switched to another religion and 54 people who left religion altogether with those who stayed.

It found about 40 per cent of members of strict religious groups reported they were in excellent health but only 25 percent of members in those groups who switched to another religion reported they were in excellent health.

Findings also showed that people who were raised and remained in strict religious groups were more likely to report they were in better health than people in other religions.

Mr Scheitle said positive thinking and the stress of leaving strict groups were other possible factors.

He said: "You could lose your friends or your family becomes upset when you leave, leading to psychological stress and negative health outcomes."

But he said the study did not necessarily mean that leaving a religion caused poor health because in some cases poor health could prompt a person to leave, given the demands placed on them.

A belief that an "all-powerful being who failed to heal their condition" also left them feeling despondent, he adds.

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Archimandrite Angelos Lyssaris, A Descendent of Kolokotronis, Reposes

September 25, 2010
Romfea

Today, Saturday 25 September 2010, Archimandrite Angelos Lyssaris, Abbot of the Holy Monastery of the Annunciation in Skiathos, an important center of the Kollyvades Fathers, has reposed.

It is worth noting that the Blessed Abbot Angelos Lyssaris was a third generation descendent of the Arch-General of the Revolution of 1821, Theodoros Kolokotronis.

Fr. Angelos Lyssaris was originally from Limbovisi in the mountains of Arcadia (where also Kolokotronis was from), and according to tradition, at the Monastery of the Annunciation the first Greek flag with the white cross in the middle was stitched, blessed and raised in 1807.

Lastly, the Blessed Abbot was the priest chosen by Free Agia Sofia of Greek-American Chris Spyrou to liturgize in Hagia Sophia.

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The Miracle of the Trisagion ("Thrice-Holy Hymn")

Commemoration of the Great Earthquake at Constantinople (447) and the Miracle of the Trisagion (Feast Day - September 25)

"Above, the hosts of angels sing praise; below, men form choirs in the churches and imitate them by singing the same doxology. Above the Seraphim cry out the Trisagion Hymn; below, the human throng sends up the same cry. The inhabitants of heaven and earth are brought together in a common assembly; there is one thanksgiving, one shout of delight, one joyful chorus." - St. John Chrysostom

"The unceasing and sanctifying doxology by the holy angels in the Trisagion signifies, in general, the equality in the way of life and conduct and the harmony in the divine praising which will take place in the age to come by both heavenly and earthly powers, when the human body now rendered immortal by the resurrection will no longer weigh down the soul by corruption and will not itself be weighed down but will take on, by the change into incorruption, potency and aptitude to receive God’s coming. In particular it signifies, for the faithful, the theological rivalry with the angels in faith; for the active ones, it symbolizes the splendor of life equal to the angels, so far as this is possible for men, and the persistence in the theological hymnology; for those who have knowledge, endless thoughts, hymns, and movements concerning the Godhead which are equal to the angels, so far as humanly possible." - St. Maximus the Confessor

On the 25th of September, each year the Orthodox Church commemorates the miracle of the taking up into heaven by the angels of a child when Proklos was Patriarch of Constantinople (434-446) and Theodosios II was emperor.

"During Proklos’ reign great earthquakes were occurring in Constantinople for four months continuously. Being struck with fear, the Romans went out of the city to the so-called Kampos, and were supplicating God and processing with the bishop night and day. One day, when the earth was shaking and all the people were continuously crying out the 'Kyrie eleison' (Lord have mercy), at about the third hour, suddenly and in sight of all a young child was taken up into the air, and a divine voice was heard around it announcing to the bishop and the people to process and to say thus: 'Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us', nothing else being added. Our father among the Saints, Proklos, accepting the decision, processed the people chanting thusly and the earthquake immediately ceased. The blessed Pulcheria and her brother, supporting the miracle, established that this divine hymn be chanted throughout the entire ecumene; and from that day all the churches sing to God each day." [PG 108.244B-248A]

In his treatise The Orthodox Faith, Saint John of Damascus (8th c.) adds that “it is traditional that the Thrice-Holy Hymn was also sung in this manner at the holy and great Fourth Ecumenical Council — that which was held in Chalcedon, I mean — for so it is reported in the acts of this same holy council” . The Council of Chalcedon was held in 451, but it is clearly accepted that the hymn was inserted into the liturgy between the years 430 and 450. Since then, of course, its use spread throughout almost every service of the Orthodox Church. Today, it is intricately combined even with the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer, both in the Church and in private devotion in what are known as the “Introductory Trisagion Prayers” that begin the majority of divine services.

The hymn was probably so completely embraced by the Church due to the fact that the Monophysite Antiochian Patriarch Peter the Fuller (circa 470) interpolated into the hymn the phrase “who was crucified for us,” attempting to align his position with the Theopaschites (a particular group of Monophysites). In any event, Orthodoxy would not accept the change and it was eventually rejected by the 81st Canon of the Council in Trullo, in 692. It’s popularity also seems to be attested to by the early date of its appearance in the West, also, as we shall see below.

The mystagogical-anagogical interpretation of the Trisagion hymn by the Fathers of the Church is connected with the context of the Thrice-Holy, Angelic Triumphal Hymn we just examined [see source below]: the three holies of the Seraphic Hymn is expanded in the Trisagion as a hymn specifically to the three persons of the Holy Trinity. In discussing the hymn’s place in the Divine Liturgy, Saint Nicholas Cabasilas comments establish us in the choir of the angels (Cabasilas; 2002, 59ff. Cf. Symeon; 1984, 34ff.):

"Next [after the raising of the Book of the Gospels] we praise God himself, the Triune God, as the coming of the Saviour revealed him to us. The hymns which we sing comes to us from the angels, and is taken in part from the book of the sacred psalms of the prophet. It was gathered together by Christ’s Church and dedicated to the Trinity. For the Hagios [the Holy], which is repeated thrice, is the angelic acclamation [Is. 6. 3. Rev. 4. 8]; the words 'Strong and Immortal God' are those of the blessed David, who exclaims: 'My soul thirsts for the strong and living God' [Ps. 42. 2]. The Church which is the assembly of those who believe and profess the Trinity and Unity of God, played its part in gathering together these two acclamations, joining them, and adding the phrase, 'Have mercy on us'; she wished to show, on the one hand, the harmony of the Old and New Testaments, and on the other, that angels and men form one Church, a single choir, because of the coming of Christ who was of both heaven and earth. That is why we sing this hymns after the bringing in and showing of the Book of the Gospels; it is as if we proclaim that he, by coming among us, has given us a place amid the angels, and established us in the heavenly choir."

A number of structural liturgical factors, as well as the manuscript tradition for the Trisagion point to an origin outside the context of the Divine Liturgy. First, its structural hymnographic form—εὐφήμιον (refrain), glorification (Glory; both now.), ἀκροτελεύτιον (repeated last line), and περισσὴ (embellished, appendix repeat)—indicate its use as an antiphonal kanon, which would align itself well with its origin as a Constantinopolitan processional, as modern liturgiology has recently observed (Taft; 1977, 214ff.). Its use at the end of the Great Doxology and the witness of usage in the asmatic vespers of the cathedral rite in the Athos, Great Lavra MS Λ.165 shortly before the dismissal (Conomos; 1974, p. 70ff.) point to an origin in the Divine Liturgy as an entrance processional (introit) carried over from a wider processional, “stational” liturgical tradition (cf. Baldovin; 1987 and Mateos; 1971). Tradition has also preserved a special tidbit of information pointing to this processional origin. It is recorded that the point of the perisse (the appendix troparion at the end of an antiphonal psalmody) was when the Emperor and his court arrived in the Church (Conomos; 1974, 27 and Wellesz; 1961, 107). The highly formalized court rituals spilled over into the public worship life and we know that on great feasts the Patriarch and Emperor entered the Great Church together. The purpose of the highly melismatic perisse had the practical application of covering a multitude of liturgical actions, prayers and petitions establishing the Patriarch on the synthronon before the scripture readings, which in Byzantine times was the actual beginning of the Divine Liturgy (Taft; 1977, 214ff., and 1979, 287. Moran; 1979, 178ff. Baldovin; 1987, 218ff.).

Anyone familiar with the Divine Liturgies of the Orthodox Church knows that the Trisagion is still chanted today (without the antiphonal psalmic verses, which disappeared without a trace) and its psaltic tradition is still quite vibrant. The only time when it is not chanted is on the feasts of the Cross, 14 September and the Third Sunday of the Great Fast, and the Great Feasts of the Master (Despotikai heortai), when two special alternative hymns take its place—on the Great Feasts the baptismal hymn All those who have been baptized in Christ… (Ὅσοι εἰς Χριστόν) and on the feasts of the Cross the We venerate Thy Cross, O Master… (Τὸν Σταυρόν Σου), possibly originating in Jerusalem. The daily form is as follows: It is chanted three times followed by a glorification (Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit; both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.). The last phrase (ἀκροτελεύτιον) and then repeated a final time as a perisse, announced with the word δύναμις from the deacon. The word means “power” or “strength,” an obvious command to chant in a more intense fashion. All of this takes place just prior to the appointed scriptural readings for the day:

Right choir: Ἅγιος ὁ Θεός, ἅγιος ἰσχυρός, ἅγιος ἀθάνατος, ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς.
Left choir: Ἅγιος ὁ Θεός, ἅγιος ἰσχυρός, ἅγιος ἀθάνατος, ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς.
Right choir: Ἅγιος ὁ Θεός, ἅγιος ἰσχυρός, ἅγιος ἀθάνατος, ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς.,
Left choir: Δόξα Πατρὶ καὶ Υἱῷ καὶ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι.
Right choir: Καὶ νῦν καὶ ἀεί, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.
Left choir: Ἅγιος ἀθάνατος, ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς.
Deacon: Δύναμις.
Right choir: Ἅγιος ὁ Θεός.
Left choir: Ἅγιος ἰσχυρός.
Right choir: Ἅγιος ἀθάνατος, ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς.

On Sundays and great feast days when there are many clergy serving the typika, euchologia and music manuscripts preserve a repeating of the hymn even more than three times, with the antiphonal chanting including the choir of clergy from within the holy altar (bema), something still practiced even today....

To summarize regarding the Trisagion, its divinely revealed origin attests to its popularity, as does its use throughout the Church’s daily worship cycle. It looks to be an expansion on the Angelic, triumphal thrice-holy hymn, developing its Trinitarian character to address each person of the Godhead individually. The Trisagion prayers, the introductory prayers used to begin almost every service, just before the Lord’s Prayer, are among the first prayers learned by an Orthodox believer. The term Trisagion service has come to refer to the memorial service for those who have fallen asleep in the Lord. For our purposes here, though, we emphasize the use of the Trisagion as a vehicle of anagogy.

Source

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The Testimony of St. Sergius of Radonezh at the Council of Florence

By St. Dimitri of Rostov

The Life of our holy monastic father Sergius and accounts of his numerous miracles are to be found in a separate book printed in the royal city of Moscow. In this book the following miracle is recounted.

After the ungodly Council of Florence a multitude of pious hierarchs and priests did not wish to submit to the errors of the Latins and were put to death by the Romans by means of various tortures. Now there was a certain priest from the land of Great Russia who went to the council with Isidore, the Metropolitan of Kiev, who later fell from Orthodoxy. The presbyter’s name was Symeon, and he endured many afflictions and torments for piety’s sake at the hands of the apostate Metropolitan Isidore. When he was released from his bonds, he took counsel with Thomas, the envoy from Tver, and fled from the Latin city of Florence to his own land. Because of the hardships of the journey, he was troubled and cast into great sorrow. Once, when he laid down to rest, he fell into a dream and beheld a venerable elder standing above him. The elder took him by the right hand and said, "Did you receive the blessing of Mark, the Bishop of Ephesus, who follows in the footsteps of the apostles?"

Symeon replied, "Sir, I have indeed seen the wondrous and resolute Mark and received his blessing."

The elder said, "God’s blessing is upon that man, for the vain assembly of the Latins has utterly failed to prevail over him either by offers of wealth or flattery or threats of torture. As you have heard the blessed Mark’s teaching and instruction, proclaim to all the Orthodox wherever you go that, possessing the traditions of the holy apostles and the ordinances of the holy fathers of the Seven Councils and knowing the truth, they should be not deceived by the Latins. Moreover, do not be troubled by the journey’s difficulties, for I will remain with you and shall keep you from harm."

After the venerable elder had said this and much else, the presbyter asked him, "Sir, tell me, who are you, for it seems to me that it was God that sent you to lead us who are in despair out of this strange land."

"I am Sergius, to whom you once prayed and to whose monastery you vowed to come," replied the elder.

After seeing this vision the presbyter took heart and arose, and he told his companion Thomas that which he had seen and heard. Rejoicing, they continued along their way; and soon, by God’s providence and through the prayers of their intercessor, the godly Sergius, they reached the land of Russia unharmed. They told the people of the vision and the help they had received from the saint, proclaiming that which the presbyter had heard, and they related all that had occurred at the Council of Florence.

It is fitting that this account be retold at the present time when sacred piety is mocked and suffers persecution at the hands of the Romans. Seeing our venerable father Sergius standing unshaken like a pillar, even after his repose denouncing the Council of Florence as most iniquitous, the children of the Eastern Church should not be deceived by the vain arguments of the Romans concerning the faith. For our faith, according to the Apostle, is not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power; not in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

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A Demonic Attack On Elder Ambrose of Dadiou

By Kostas S.

In February 0f 2004 I visited the Elder [Ambrose] at the house of the monastery which is in Athens, the abbess welcomed me, and I asked how the Elder was doing. The abbess however told me that the Elder was not well...at that moment I heard the Elder in pain...I went to the room and I saw him lying down in bed covered in a heavy hair-filled bed spread. I received his blessing and asked him:

"Elder, what happened to you, where do you hurt?"

"Lift the bed spread up till the knees and you will see."

I did as he told me and that which I witnesses was traumatizing! I saw both his legs from the knee down to be bruised and blackened. I confess that I have never seen anything like it.

"Elder," I asked, "how did this happen to you?"

"Last night a leader with a fearsome plank of wood came in and began to beat me hard on my legs. When I said 'My Panagia' it disappeared out the window."

The previous day I had returned from Mount Athos, specifically from Vatopaidi Monastery, and I had brought with me a few cords from the Holy Zoni (Belt) of our Panagia given to me by the fathers. I told the Elder that I would bring him a cord and tie it on his leg. It so happened that after a few days I returned to see him and he told me that every Christian must have a piece of the chord of the Holy Zoni on him.

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St. Dositheos, The Hermit of Kiev (+1776)

St. Dositheos of Kiev (Feast Day - September 25)

Chronology

1672 - 1725 Peter the Great, Emperor of Russia
1709 - 1761 Elizabeth Petrova, Empress of Russia beginning 1741
1721 Birth of St. Dositheos
1722 Birth of Staretz Paissy (Velichkovsky)
1723 - 1730 Dositheos at the Monastery of the Ascension in Moscow
1730 - 1736 Dositheos at his family home
1736 - 1739 Dositheos a novice at the Lavra of St. Sergey of Radonezh
1739 Beginning of his life as a recluse in the Kitaev Caves, Kiev
1744 The Empress Elizabeth visits Kitaev; Dositheos becomes a monk
1759 Birth of St. Seraphim of Sarov
1770 - 1775 St. Dositheos at the Lavra’s Far Caves
1775 St. Seraphim (as a layman) visits Kitaev
1776 25 September: repose of St. Dositheos

Read the life of St. Dositheos here.

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The Origins of 13 Weird Superstitions

Monica Garske
September 23, 2010
AOL News

We're surrounded by superstitions every day -- don't walk under a ladder, don't step on a crack, avoid black cats -- but where do these beliefs come from and why do we follow them?

More importantly, are superstitions the real deal or just real silly?

British author Harry Oliver has just released in the U.S. "Black Cats & Four-Leaf Clovers" (Perigee), a book that explores the origins of superstitions and old wives' tales from around the world.

Today, AOL News delves into 13 of Oliver's weirdest and wackiest superstitions and how they came to be ...

1. Don't Walk Under a Ladder: After researching this superstition for a year at the British Library in London, Oliver says the belief's most-cited origin points to "a ladder forming a triangle with the wall and the ground, suggesting the Holy Trinity." Apparently, walking through that triangle would show disrespect to the Trinity and therefore bring bad luck. Another possible (and much simpler) origin: Where there's a ladder, there's usually someone working on top and walking underneath could lead to all sorts of cartoonish accidents, like a hammer falling on someone's head.

2. Black Cats Bring Bad Luck: Oliver says black cats are notoriously linked to witchcraft, which is why some people think they're unlucky. However, there are two sides to this one. Allegedly, if a cat crosses your path it's considered unlucky, but if a cat walks toward you, it's a good omen. Should the first scenario happen, though, Oliver says the "only way to avert the bad luck is to spit."

3. Never Light Three Cigarettes With the Same Match: This superstition originated in military circles and dates back to those long nights in the trenches during World War I. "If three soldiers smoked at once, enemy snipers would easily detect them," says Oliver. "If they used the same match to light all three cigarettes, snipers would notice the match burning after the first one and would have enough time to load guns, aim and fire at the unlucky third smoker."

4. Carrots Are Good for Your Eyesight: Though some studies have shown that the vitamin A in carrots is good for the eyes, the vegetable alone isn't enough to spark 20/20 vision. Oliver says this old wives' tale -- or smart attempt by parents to get their children to eat their veggies -- originated as a myth during World War II. "That's when British pilots where rumored to be eating enormous amounts of carrots to see from high altitudes and in the dark. The rumor was widely spread to throw the public off from the fact that radar had been invented and was being used against the enemy," he says.

5. Cross Your Fingers: If you look hard enough, you can see this superstition has religious roots. Oliver says that crossing your fingers is a type of holy protection because the two overlapping fingers form a "slanted cross." This "good luck" ritual varies around the globe -- in Switzerland, people fold their thumbs in and wrap their other fingers around them instead of the standard index-and-middle-finger combination.

6. Don't Open an Umbrella in The House: The origins of this belief are simple -- what's designed for the outdoors should remain outside. While today's version of the old umbrella superstition is said to simply bring "bad luck," Oliver says there used to be a much darker cloud hanging over the belief in ancient times. "In earlier versions, opening an umbrella inside was an omen of death," he explains.

7. Always Have Something in the Oven: This old Jewish superstition could be considered "family friendly." Supposedly, leaving an oven empty will cause one's family to go hungry in the future. To avoid famine, it's enough to leave a baking sheet or a pan in the oven at all times as a precaution. "This belief is linked to ancient rituals in which food was left for household gods in order to ensure protection of the family," Oliver explains.

8. Wear Underwear Inside Out: When having a bad day, superstition suggests that turning your underwear inside out can make it all better. Oliver isn't quite sure where this odd belief came from, but we wouldn't be surprised if originated on a wild college campus somewhere, perhaps during a post-party "walk of shame."

9. Kiss a Mustachioed Man, End Up a Spinster: There are more superstitions revolving around marriage than we can count, and that includes "kissing a dark-skinned man at a wedding." If a woman does this, she'll supposedly get a marriage proposal shortly thereafter. But watch who you're smooching, ladies. If a woman kisses a man with a mustache and finds a stray hair on her lip after, she's destined to be a spinster.

10. Don't Praise Babies in China: If you're in China and you come across an adorable newborn baby, do not under any circumstances compliment the little one. In China, it's considered "unlucky" to praise babies because it "attracts the attention of ghosts and demons." Instead, Oliver says it's customary to "talk badly about babies" to keep evil entities away. Rather than getting upset, parents are told to convert those insults into praise quietly in their heads.

11. Don't Chew Gum at Night in Turkey: Even if your breath stinks, popping in a stick of gum after dinner in Turkey is a bad idea. "It's thought that if you're chewing gum at night in Turkey, you're actually chewing the flesh of the dead," says Oliver. Gross.

12. Lucky Four-Leaf Clovers: Because of how scarce four-leaf clovers really are, just finding one in a field is lucky in and of itself. Oliver says the rare leaf represents everything one could possibly desire in life: "wealth, fame, love and health."

Unlucky 13. The number 13 -- and Friday the 13th -- are considered unfortunate in many places, and the reasons go back to the Bible. Remember, Jesus had 13 disciples until one of them -- Judas -- betrayed him.

Although some superstitions have ancient roots, skeptic Joe Nickell thinks it's all a bunch of baloney.

Nickell, senior researcher at the Center for Inquiry in Amherst, N.Y., says superstitions aren't the least bit grounded in scientific evidence, so therefore, they can't be taken seriously.

"Superstitions work backwards from the way science works. People start out with a belief and then look for any little bit of evidence that may support it. In science, we start with evidence first and then draw a belief," he explains.

Because superstitious folks "select" their own evidence -- like when you see a black cat and then choose to harp on the worst part of your day -- Nickell believes superstitions are nothing but "a perversion of evidence."

In all his time as a skeptic, he's never once found a superstition grounded in "cause and effect" -- nothing that proves that certain actions cause "good" or "bad" luck.

And boy, has he tried.

From time to time, Nickell and his staff at the Center for Inquiry hold "Superstition Bashes" on Friday the 13th where they test out every common superstition to prove or disprove them.

They run through a "Superstition Obstacle Course" where they walk under ladders, open an umbrella indoors and even break a mirror into tiny pieces.

"We've never found any correlation between those events and alleged 'bad' luck afterward," Nickell says. "Superstitions are bad thinking. There's nothing rational about them, no matter where they come from. They're just a belief for which no scientific proof exists."

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On Purity and Chastity

Every man who loves purity and chastity becomes the temple of God.

- St. Ephrem the Syrian

It is just as shameful for lovers of the flesh and the belly to search out spiritual things as it is for a harlot to discourse on chastity.

- St. Isaac the Syrian

Offer to the Lord the weakness of your nature, fully acknowledging your own powerlessness, and imperceptibly you will receive the gift of chastity.

- St. John of the Ladder

The good Lord shows His great care for us in that the shamelessness of the feminine sex is checked by shyness as with a sort of bit. For if the woman were to run after the man, no flesh would be saved.

- St. John of the Ladder

Those who are inclined to sensuality often seem sympathetic, merciful, and prone to compunction; while those who care for chastity do not seem to have these qualities to the same extent.

- St. John of the Ladder

Indeed, who was ever able to grasp Christ or His Spirit perfectly without first purifying himself? Chastity is the exercise which from childhood prepares the soul for glory by making it attractive and lovable, and with ease brings this adornment for her to the next world untried. It holds up great expectations as the reward for small toil and renders our bodies immortal. It is only fitting then that all should gladly praise and esteem chastity above all other things; some, because by practicing virginity they have been espoused to the Word: others, because by chastity they have been emancipated from that condemnation, "Earth thou art, and unto earth thou shalt return".

- St. Methodius of Olympus

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Panagia Myrtidiotissa ("Of the Myrtle Tree") of Kythera

The Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos "Of the Myrtle Tree" (Myrtidiotissa) is in the monastery church of Myrtides on the Greek island of Kythera. It derives its name from the fact that it was found in a myrtle bush in the fourteenth century.

At that time, a shepherd was tending his sheep in a deserted valley which was filled with myrtle bushes. On September 24, forty days after the Dormition, the Mother of God appeared to him and told him to seek her icon which had been brought to that place many years before.

The shepherd fell to the ground in amazement, praying to the Theotokos. As soon as he got up and turned around, he saw the icon in the branches of a myrtle bush. Weeping for joy, he brought the icon home and told his friends and relatives about how he had found it.

When he awoke the next morning, the shepherd found the icon missing, and thought that perhaps someone had stolen it during the night. With a heavy heart, he led his sheep back to the spot where he had found the icon. To his amazement, he saw the icon once again in the branches of the myrtle bush. Glorifying God, the man took the icon home with him once more. The next morning, it had disappeared just as it had before. When this happened a third time, the shepherd realized that the Mother of God wanted her icon to remain where it had first appeared.

A small church was built to house the icon, and was called "Of the Myrtle Tree," after the icon. The building was replaced and enlarged over the years, and many miracles took place there.

At the end of the sixteenth century Theodore Koumprianos, a descendant of the shepherd who found the icon, lived in the village of Kousoumari. He was a paralytic, and had an unshakeable faith that the Mother of God would heal him. Each year on September 24 he sent a family member to the church to light candles for him. One year he asked to be carried there by his family so that he might venerate the icon himself. During the Vigil, a great noise was heard coming from the direction of the sea. People fled the church, thinking that pirates were attacking. The paralytic remained in the church by himself, entreating the Mother of God for protection. Suddenly, he heard a voice from the icon telling him to get up and flee. He stood up, and then walked out of the church. Soon he was able to run and catch up with his relatives, who rejoiced upon seeing this miracle. As it turned out, there was no pirate attack, and the noise was regarded as a sign of God's Providence so that the paralytic could remain alone in church with the icon. Since that time the Koumprianos family has celebrated the icon's Feast Day with a special reverence, since Theodore had been healed on that day.

Some of the other miracles associated with the Most Holy Theotokos and her icon "Of the Myrtle Tree" include protection of the island from the plague, ending the barrenness of a Jewish woman from Alexandria, saving people from death, and many other great wonders.

Pilgrims come to venerate the icon on the Feast of the Dormition (August 15), and also on the day of its discovery (September 24).

Source



About the Monastery

Panagia Myrtidiotissa is the protectress of the Kythirians. Though there are differences in the sources as to when the miraculous icon was discovered, the chronicle of the priest Daniel Varypatis states that the icon was found on the 24th of September, 1446. Today, the original chapel which housed the miraculous icon of the Panagia remains as it was, however, a larger church has been built above the chapel. This was built by Abbot Agathangelos in 1857. Surrounding this church are monastic cells which were quickly built soon after the discovery of the icon by Monk Leontios. The church features an impressive 26m bell tower, located at the northeastern part of the Katholikon (main church), a work of Kythirian Nikolaos Fatseas-Fouriaris (1888). There is also a small chapel dedicated to the Holy Trinity. This monastery is today the largest in the Metropolis.


A Miracle of Panagia Myrtioditissa

A ship was traveling at sea, when there began a terrible storm. Frigid fear seized the captain and crew. It was not like today. Then the boats were wooden. And they had sails! And the old boat started leaking. The pump worked continuously, but it didn’t do any good, and the boat started to sink. If the ship was lost what good were lifeboats and life jackets? All felt that every hope was lost. And then their minds turned to the Virgin Mary, who is the "hope of the hopeless”.

"Come, Panagia Myrtidiotissa, patroness and protector of our island. Save us. Pity our children and our elderly parents, who are waiting for us!"

Just before the boat sank, suddenly there appeared among them an all-illumined woman who said:

"I’ve come! Don’t be afraid! Your ship will be saved!"

And she plunged into the sea with a sponge in hand and closed the hole that had opened on board! In a few minutes, the boat went quietly on its way. They arrived at the first port they reached for repair. And what a miracle they saw! They saw the hole, which was opened on board, blocked by the sponge that was held in the hands of the Panagia when she appeared in the boat! Everyone saw this miracle. Full of emotion, the captain bought clean wax and made a candle like the mast of the boat. He also brought the sponge that the Panagia had in a box. He also made a small silver boat. He returned to his homeland, the island of Chios. All went to the Monastery of Panagia Myrtidiotissa. And when he went to venerate the miraculous icon, filled with emotion he cried out:

"That's her! We saw her! My Panagia! My Panagia!"

All of them knelt in front of the Panagia. They did their cross in reverence. They thanked her from the depth of their souls, and offered their small gifts, which are kept up till the present day.

Source


The Importance of This Feast

September 24th is forty days following the Dormition of the Theotokos. There is a tradition in which prior to this feast of Panagia Myrtioditissa a forty-day Memorial was served in honor of the Theotokos, but the revelation of her icon on this day replaced the older feast with this one.


Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
O people now let us clap our hands in faith and sing songs to the Mother of God crying out with fervor: Rejoice, the protection of all those in danger, Rejoice, the salvation of those who honor you with longing, Rejoice, you who granted healing to the paralytic.

Megalynarion
Sprinkle your people with divine myrrh, who in the myrtles shown forth wondrously, Holy Icon, wondrous and divine, and grant your grace, Myrtidiotissa.

The complete service and story of Panagia Myrtidiotissa written by Bishop Sophronios of Kythera in 1640 can be read here.



Ὕμνοι Δοξολογικοί καί Παρακλητικοί
εἰς τήν Μυρτιδιώτισσαν, εἰς τύπον τῶν μεγαλυναρίων,*
ὧν ἡ ἀκροστιχίς˙ Μητρόθεε διάσωσον

Μητρόθεε Ἄνασσα Οὐρανοῦ,
ὄντως Πλατυτέρα, καί Ἀγγέλων
φωτοειδῶν, τῶν ἀκαταπαύστως,
ὑμνούντων τήν σήν δόξαν, Δέ-
σποινα καί Κυρία, Θεομακάριστε.

Ηλίου τῆς δόξης τοῦ νοητοῦ, τῆς
Δικαιοσύνης ἀπαστράψαντος τοῖς
ἐν γῇ, τοῦ πάντων Δεσπότου, Κυρίου
καί Σωτῆρος, Μήτηρ ὑπάρχεις ὄντως,
ἡ Παμμακάριστος.

Τεκοῦσα ἀφράστως τόν σόν
Υἱόν, τόν Παντευεργέτην καί Σωτῆρα
καί Λυτρωτήν τόν κόσμον λυτροῦσαι,
παθῶν καί καχεξίας, ὡς πάντων
ὑπερτέρα, Μυρτιδιώτισσα.

Ρᾶνον θείοις μύροις τόν
σόν λαόν, ἡ ἐν μυρτιδίοις ἀνα-
τείλασα θαυμαστῶς, ἁγίᾳ Εἰκό-
νι, θαυματουργῷ καί θείᾳ, καί
δίδου τήν σήν χάριν, Μυρτιδιώτισσα.

Οἱ ἔχοντες σκέπην σήν κραταιάν,
σεμνύνονται πάντες καί καυχῶνται
κατά Θεόν, σέ ἔχοντες τεῖχος, καί
θείαν προστασίαν, σεισμῶν πυρός
καί βλάβης, διαφυλάττουσαν.

Θεράπευσον Κόρη σούς ὑμνητάς,
ψυχῶν τε τάς νόσους, καί σωμάτων
τάς χαλεπάς, καί ἴασαι Μῆτερ, κακῶν
καί ἀσθενείας, δεινῶν ἀρρωστημάτων,
Μυρτιδιώτισσα.

Εκ πάσης ἀνάγκης καί πειρα-
σμῶν, χαλεπῶν κινδύνων ἐπῃ-
ρείας τοῦ πονηροῦ, ρῦσαι νεο-
λαίαν δεινῶς κλονιζομένην, καί
δοκιμαζομένην, Μυρτιδιώτισσα.

Εξελε τούς νέους Μῆτερ Θεοῦ,
παθῶν καί κινδύνων πολυτρόπων
παντοδαπῶν, κράτυνον τήν πίστιν
τά ἤθη καί τό σέβας, θείᾳ κληρο-
νομίᾳ, Μυρτιδιώτισσα.

Δεσμῶν ἁμαρτίας φθοροποιῶν,
καί πάσης κακίας καταχρήσεων
συμφορῶν, καί λευκοῦ θανάτου,
ἐκλύτρωσαι Παρθένε, φιλτάτην
νεολαίαν, Μυρτιδιώτισσα.

Ιλέῳ σου ὄμματι στοργικῷ,
καί σῇ εὐσπλαγχνίᾳ διαφύλαττε
μητρικῇ, τάς νήσους Κυθήρων
καί τῶν Ἀντικυθήρων, σεισμῶν
πυρός μαχαίρας, Μυρτιδιώτισσα.

Αγάπην ὁμόνοιαν καί στοργήν,
παράσχου συζύγοις καί γονεῦσι
Μῆτερ Θεοῦ, καί δίδου πλουσίως,
χαράν καί εὐφροσύνην, πιστότη-
τα εἰρήνην, Μυρτιδιώτισσα.

Σεισμοῦ διασῴζουσα φυσικοῦ,
σεισμικάς δονήσεις σύ ἀπότρεψον
ἠθικάς, καί ἐκ ναυαγίων, οἰκογε-
νείας σῷζε, φρίκης διαζυγίων,
Μυρτιδιώτισσα.

Ω Μῆτερ τοῦ Λόγου καί Λυ-
τρωτοῦ, σήν χάριν αἰτοῦμεν
ἐκκαρδίας τε καί ψυχῆς, μετάνοιαν
δοῦναι, σοῖς δούλοις ἀναξίοις,
οἰνοποσίας πάθους, σύ ἀπαλλάτ-
τουσα.

Σωτῆρα ἡ τέξασα καί Θεόν,
παντοίων κινδύνων διασῴζεις
καί συμφορῶν, αἱρέσεως πλά-
νης, σχίσματος τῆς μανίας,
ἐν τάχει ἀπαλλάττεις,
Μυρτιδιώτισσα.

Ο πάντων ἁγίων τάς ἀρετάς,
ἀεί ὑπερβαίνων ὡς ὁ Κύριος καί
Θεός, Μητέρα σου θείαν, σεμνήν
Ὑπεραγίαν, πρόσδεξαι δυσωποῦ-
σαν, Μυρτιδιώτισσαν.

Νεότητα σῴζουσα ὦ Ἁγνή,
ἀνθρώπους ὡρίμους, οἴκους
νέους θεοσεβεῖς, καί τίμιον
γῆρας, διαφυλάττειν σπεύδεις,
Κυρία τῶν Ἀγγέλων,
Μυρτιδιώτισσα.

* This hymn was written by Metropolitan Seraphim of Kythera in June 2006 and is to be chanted following the Megalynaria of the Supplication Service during the litany of the icon of Panagia Myrtidiotissa. The primary aim of this hymn is to protect God's people from earthquakes and other terrible disasters.

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A Hymn to Panagia Pantanassa

The "Hymn To The Queen of All" is chanted by the monks of Vatopaidi Monastery on Mount Athos. The Hymn was written by Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi (+2009). It was written on May 26, 2004.

ΥΜΝΟΣ ΠΑΝΤΑΝΑΣΣΗΣ

1. Ως Παντάνασσα φωνούμε ότι τούτο σου ταιριάζει,
κι όποιος θα σε αντικρύσει την αγάπη σου θαυμάζει.

2. Μόνη σου κατονομάσθης ως Παντάνασσα δικαίως,
αφού κάθεσαι σε θρόνο, κι είναι τούτο μάλλον χρέος.

3. Έστησες στο Βατοπαίδι της εικόνος σου την βάσι,
καί σκορπάς την ευλογία στους πιστούς όποιος προφθάσει.

4. Στην μορφή σου όπως είσαι στην θεόγραφον εικόνα,
ως Παντάνασσα ανήκει, ως αρμόδιον κανόνα.

5. Χαίρε έμβλημα και στέφος των πιστών Αθωνιτών,
χαίρε, μόνη απαλλάττεις καταδίκης το θνητόν.

6. Ως Παντάνασσα αφανίζεις του καρκίνου την πληγήν,
πού από την ενοχή μας ταλαιπώρησε την γήν.

7. Ως Παντάνασσα φωτίζεις ασυγκρίτως κάθε νούν,
καί στην δόξα υπερβαίνεις και αυτού του ουρανού.

8. Χαίρε μόνη πρόξενε σωτηρίας τοίς πιστοίς,
κι ως Παντάνασσα ανοίγεις είσοδον εν Ουρανοίς.

9. Ως Παντάνασσα στηρίζεις των παρθένων τους χορούς,
καί γλυκαίνεις τη στοργή σου τους δυστήνους μας καιρούς.

10. Χαίρε ότι ήστραψας τώ προσώπω σου Αγνή,
κι ως Παντάνασσαν φωνούσαν τους αφείται η ποινή.

11. Της Τριάδος επαξίως κέρδισες τα δευτερεία,
ως εσάρκωσες τον Λόγον κι έγινες παντός Κυρία.

12. Χαίρε μόνιμος Παντάνασσα της αχράντου παρθενίας,
καί των μοναζόντων στήριγμα της βεβαίας σωτηρίας.

13. Των παρθένων είσαι πάντα η ελπίς και προστασία,
καί στηρίζεται μονίμως η σεπτή μας Εκκλησία.

14. Στην Μονή Βατοπαιδίου θέλησες να έχεις θρόνον,
καί εις την επίκλησίν σου απαλλάσσονται των πόνων.

15. Στής προνοίας σου πού ήρθες σωτηρία του παιδίου,
τούπες νάρθης να με εύρης στή Μονή Βατοπαιδίου.

16. Στον κλαυθμόν σεπτής κυρίας πού ζητούσε χωρισμόν,
τής εχάρισες παιδίον κι έφυγε τον πειρασμόν.

17. Κατοικώ στο Βατοπαίδι να το μάθ’ η κοινωνία,
καί θα σώζετ’ ο καθένας τη δική μου τη προνοία.

18. Την σεπτή μου την εικόνα πού Παντάνασσαν καλούνε,
αφού κάθομαι στον θρόνο, τί αρμόδιον θα πούνε;

19. Ως Παντάνασσα ενδύεις τους γυμνούς με παρρησίαν,
καί με λειτουργούς στηρίζεις την σεπτή μας Εκκλησία.

20. Σύ γάρ εί η τετοκυία τον σωτήρα τοίς ανθρώποις,
κι έμεινες ελευθερία πανταχού τοίς αιχμαλώτοις.

21. Ποιός Παντάνασσα δεν είπε και εσώθη πειρασμού,
καί σταμάτησε δικαίως του συνέχοντος κλαυθμού;

22. Χαίρε γή και τόπος ούσα της Χριστού μας Βασιλείας,
καί το κέντρον και η βάσις της Χριστού επαγγελίας.

23. Εις το Βατοπαίδι μένει της εικόνος σου η χάρις,
καί καλεί τον δυστυχούντα, δεύρο μόνιμα να πάρης.

24. Χαίρε κτίσεως η έννοια εις του Πλάστου την βουλήν,
Και εφόρεσας Παρθένε Θεού Λόγου την στολήν.

25. Ως Παντάνασσα ακούεις των πενθούντων του κλαυθμού,
καί παρέχεις σωτηρίαν αμετρήτου αριθμού.

26. Χαίρε μόνη ηλιόμορφε λαμπροτέρα του φωτός,
κι εκπληρώθη σή γεννήσει του Γενάρχου ο σκοπός.

27. Χαίρε γέννημα και σφράγισμα των πατέρων της ευχής,
χαίρε της αποκαλύψεως τέλος και ακροστιχίς.

28. Χαίρε της Τριάδος οίκημα ένθα μόνιμον το φώς,
χαίρε μόνη αειπάρθενος ένθα ουχ υπάρχει ΠΩΣ;

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Why NOT Having Sex Might be Good for You

By Steven Crowder
September 22, 2010
Fox News

Sex. Some of us do it, most of us like it and we all think about it…. A lot. I know I do (though I was told that it’s normal). Gettin’ busy really isn’t the taboo subject that it once was.

Whereas once upon a time the conversation was relegated to whispers behind closed doors, nowadays it’s discussed openly and without shame. As a stand-up comedian, I’ve seen hacks openly depict the most depraved, explicit sexual acts they can think of just to get a laugh out of the audience. Clearly, telling wiener jokes is no longer the treading of new territory that it once was.

Funnily enough, today there is one area of sex that when discussed, still makes people’s posteriors pucker with discomfort… abstinence.

The idea of abstinence has become somewhat of a punchline in this country. From the myth of unrealistic “abstinence only” education, to the media’s constant portrayal (and mockery) of young, nerdy, out of touch Christians riddled with chastity pendants, the message on abstinence being pumped through pop-culture is clear; If you’re abstinent it’s either because A) you’re ugly or B) you’re a loser. In my case, it was often both.

Maybe it’s just the lack of fun-factor, or maybe it started with harlotry being misused as a fulcrum for women’s liberation, but if you so much as suggest to someone that abstinence might be beneficial, you’ll often find yourself vilified as a judgmental jackass faster than Bill Maher can throw up his dainty hands.

Sure, Michelle Obama can run around the country and condemn little fatties for inhaling Little Debbies, but if you try and apply that same helpful, healthful concept to sex, it’s seen as pushy and/or prudish.

Listen, one doesn’t need to be religious (nor a rocket scientist) to see the value of abstinence. Let’s disregard the immediately eliminated risk of increasingly popular STD’ and STI’s. Heck, let’s even discount the statistical data showing that sexual exclusivity seems overwhelmingly conducive to a successful marriage. Abstinence also provides an incomparable bond of trust in a relationship.

Yes, I admit it, I’m in a long-term relationship and I’m abstinent. Scandalous, I know. It’s an incredibly difficult thing to do (mostly for me, because she’s way out of my league), and that’s what makes it so important.

I can tell you beyond any doubt, that my lady is able to control herself and stick to her values regardless of circumstance. Just as surely, she can say the same about me (Ben&Jerry’s benders notwithstanding). It is that display of self-control, that tangible example of living your principles through your life’s walk that ensures her that I won’t be jumping on the first well-proportioned opportunity that comes my way.

By the same token, I can rest easy knowing that my dame won’t be trying to bed Jersey Shore’s “The Situation” anytime soon. -- Though he does have great abs.

Strong trust is the result. Constantly we hear cries of women aimed at their supposedly overly jealous boyfriends, “What’s the matter? Don’t you trust me?”

No, he doesn’t. You slept with him on the first date and there is no reason for him to think that you wouldn’t do the same when a better offer comes along.

While we’re on the subject, has the whole floozie shtick really empowered any women out there? I would imagine that immediate sexual gratification being assumed in modern relationships would do more damage to your gatekeeper status than good. I’d also have to imagine that sex with someone whom you share trust, loyalty and open communication would be far more liberating than the thrill of any one-night stand you could enjoy.

Then again, what do I know? I’m just a young, sexless, STD-free-moron in love. You should try it sometime...though I’m not here to judge.

Steven Crowder is a comedian, actor, writer and Fox News contributor.

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Synaxarion For Saint Silouan the Athonite (+1938)

On this day we keep the memorial of our sacred father Silouan whom God inspired, who lived the monastic life upon the Holy Mountain in the Russian Monastery of the Holy and Great Martyr Panteleimon, and who died godly in the Lord on the twenty-fourth day of September in the year of our salvation 1938.

Once, in this life, thou didst see Christ, O Saint;
And now thou beholdest Him face to face,
Not darkly as in a glass.
Thine earthly country delights that thou wast born in her;
Athos rejoices in the Spirit; for in thee she nurtured a saint;
And from that sylvan mountain heaven has now received thee.

Saint Silouan, that citizen of the heavenly Jerusalem, was born of pious parents in the land of Russia in the village of Shovsk in the diocese of the Metropolitan of Tambov. He came into the world in the year of our Lord 1866, and from a young man was called to repentance by the All-Praised Mother of God and ever-Virgin Mary.

When he had reached his twenty-seventh year, he renounced the things of this life, and, with the prayers of Saint John of Kronstadt to speed him on his way, he set forth for Greece and the illustrious Holy Mountain. Here, in the cloister of the Holy Great Martyr and Physician Panteleimon, he took upon him the yoke of the monastic life.

Thus he gave himself to God with all his soul, and in a brief while he not only received the gift of unceasing prayer from the Most Holy Mother of God, but was also granted ineffably to see the living Christ in the chapel of the Holy Prophet Elijah that was next to the monastery’s flour mill.

But this first grace was taken away, and the saint was constrained by anguish and great grief, and with God’s permission for fifteen years he was given over to manifold temptations of spiritual foes, and so he followed in the footsteps of Christ, having offered up prayers and strong supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him that was able to save him from death (Heb. 5:7), being taught by God through a voice from above that gave him this commandment: "Keep thy mind in hell, and despair not." This he observed as an infallible rule, and so ran the way of Anthony, Makarios, Poemen and Sisoes, and the other celebrated preceptors and fathers of the desert, to whose measure and spiritual gifts he also attained, and was manifested an apostolic and inspired teacher both living and after death.

The saint was wondrously meek and lowly in heart, a fervent advocate before God for the salvation of all, and unequaled among teachers: For he says that there is no surer proof that the divine Spirit dwells within us than that we love our enemies.

This blessed Saint Silouan passed over from death to life, full of spiritual days on the twenty-fourth day of September in the year of our Lord Jesus Christ 1938: To Whom be glory and might forever and ever. Amen.

Through his prayers and those of all Thy Saints, O Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.

Apolytikion
By prayer didst thou receive Christ for thy teacher in the way of humility; and the Spirit bare witness to salvation in thy heart; wherefore all peoples called unto hope rejoice this day of thy memorial. O sacred Father Silouan, pray unto Christ our God for the salvation of our souls.

Kontakion
In thine earthly life thou didst serve Christ, following in His steps; and now in heaven thou seest Him Whom thou didst love, and abidest with Him according to the promise. Wherefore, O Father Silouan, teach us the path wherein thou didst walk.

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