Metropolitan Kallistos Ware: On Traditional Orthodox Clerical Attire In the West

By Kyriacos C. Markides

I had already made arrangements to interview Kallistos Ware, bishop of the Greek Orthodox Church and leading scholar of Eastern Orthodoxy at Oxford University. An Anglican convert, Bishop Kallistos did more than anyone I knew to create bridges and understanding between Eastern Christianity and the West, making the spiritual wisdom of Eastern Christianity accessible to readers and spiritual seekers throughout the world....

After checking in at the Galaxy Hotel, a homey English inn, I walked the distance to our appointment on Canterbury Road. Conscious of British punctuality, I rang the bell of the Saint Theosevia Centre for Christian Spirituality at exactly one o'clock. Bishop Kallistos opened the door and welcomed me warmly. It was the second time I had met with him, the first being four years earlier. Tall and gentle looking, the sixty-six year old bishop wore the black robes of an Orthodox monk, his face hidden behind a white, robust beard. As with my earlier visit I felt as if I were meeting a resurrected stately prince of Byzantium, right in the heart of Oxford.

"How do they relate to you in this town, seeing you dressed in your black cassock?" I asked as we walked to an Italian restaurant nearby.

"They are accustomed to seeing me around by now," Bishop Kallistos replied in jest. "Most people, of course, don't understand what I represent but they are used to my strange appearance. When I was ordained a priest, my elder on the island of Patmos, Father Amphilochios, told me that I should always wear the black cassock and let my beard grow. He said that in this way I would constantly be acting as a witness of Orthodoxy in the West."

From Gifts of the Desert: The Forgotten Path of Christian Spirituality, pp. 148-151.

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Saint Gregory the Decapolite and His Relics in Bistritsa Monastery

Saint Gregory Decapolites (Feast Day - November 20)

Saint Gregory the Decapolite was born in the Isaurian city of Decapolis (ten cities) in the eighth century. From his childhood he loved the temple of God and church services. He read the Holy Scripture constantly and with reverence.

In order to avoid the marriage which his parents had intended for him, he secretly left home. He spent all his life wandering: he was in Constantinople, Rome, Corinth, and he lived as an ascetic on Olympus for a while. St Gregory preached the Word of God everywhere, denouncing the Iconoclast heresy, strengthening the faith and fortitude of the Orthodox, whom the heretics in those times oppressed, tortured and imprisoned.

Through his ascetic effort and prayer, St Gregory attained the gifts of prophecy and wonderworking. After overcoming the passions and reaching the height of virtue, he was permitted to hear angelic singing in praise of the Holy Trinity. St Gregory left the monastery of St Menas near Thessalonica, where he had labored for a long time, and he went again to Constantinople in order to combat the Iconoclast heresy. At the capital, a grievous illness undermined his strength, and he departed to the Lord in the year 816.

St Gregory was buried at a monastery in Constantinople, and many miracles took place at his tomb. As a result, the monks removed the holy relics of St Gregory and enshrined them in the church where people could venerate them.

When Constantinople fell to the Turks in 1453, the relics of St Gregory were carried to the region of the Danube by a Turkish official. In 1498 Barbu Craiovescu, the Ban of the Romanian Land (Wallachia) heard of the miracles performed by the holy relics and bought them for a considerable sum of money. Barbu Craiovescu placed the relics in the main church of Bistritsa Monastery which he founded in Rimnicu Vilcea, where they remain to the present day.

A small book describing the miracles and healings performed by St Gregory the Decapolite in Romania has been written by Abbess Olga Gologan, who reposed in 1972.

Source

Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
The twofold lamps of divine gifts, Proclus, shepherd of New Rome, and Gregory, scion of Decapolis, guide us by the light of grace as divinely-inspired fathers. Let us draw near and eagerly beseech them, that we may receive forgiveness and salvation of our souls.

Kontakion in the Third Tone
The Church knoweth thee to be a shining sun that enlight'neth all men with the rays of cures and with the beauty of virtue. Hence, O truly blessed Father, Christ's faithful servant, we all celebrate thy venerable memorial, O wise Gregory most righteous; and we now honour thy valiant struggles for Christ.

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Patriarch Irinej: "God Willing, Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia Will Be One"

November 15, 2010
B92

SPC Patriarch Irinej says the Drina River - which runs between Serbia and Bosnia - is "no border" for the Serb nation.

The leader of the Serbian Orthodox Church said that the river is rather "a bridge" between Serbia and Serbs in Bosnia, uniting them on their "path of St. Sava".

"The Drina River is not a border but a bridge that connects us. Although, in a way, we are one even today, God willing, we will soon really be one," Irinej told Banja Luka's Fokus magazine.

For now, continued the patriarch, "it is enough that we are one as a nation, as the Orthodox Church, and that we are on the same path of St. Sava and Christ".

He saluted the Serb people of Banja Luka - the Bosnian Serb entity (RS) largest town - and said they were fighting to preserve their faith and name.

"(They fight) to preserve the Serb name. Although this is not at all an easy task, they are succeeding."

Irinej praised his predecessor, His Holiness Patriarch Pavle, on the anniversary of his death, and described as being "in many ways unique", both as patriarch and monk.

"He pressed forward all the time, never looking back. All that crowned one holy life, a wonderful evangelical example in our time. All that was felt by the nation during his funeral," said Irinej.

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Bishop Artemije Stripped of His Rank For Disobedience

November 19, 2010
Lethbridge Herald

The Serbian Orthodox Church stripped a former Kosovo bishop of his ranks on Friday after he tried to regain control over monasteries and openly challenged the church leadership.

The church said in a statement that it made "this very hard and painful decision" because its former bishop, Artemije, openly broke the church laws.

The dispute between ex-Bishop Artemije and the church leaders is the most serious clash within the Serbian church in years. It reflects the divisions between the moderates and the hardliners in this Balkan nation.

Artemije is staunchly anti-Western and conservative. The church removed him from the post in February amid allegations that millions of dollars in church and state funds had been embezzled under his leadership.

Artemije has denied any wrongdoing and has refused the church's orders to retire. He has gathered his followers and demanded that he be given back his post in Kosovo.

On Friday, Artemije defied the church by breaking into a monastery in northern Kosovo and holding a liturgy there with his followers.

Serbian media reported later Friday that Artemije and his followers also tried to take control of other monasteries in Kosovo.

The church statement said police have detained at least two of Artemije's supporters outside the Crna Reka monastery in southern Serbia, close to Kosovo.

There was no immediate comment from the police.

While serving as the spiritual leader of Serbs in Kosovo, Artemije had ordered his clergy to cease contact with Kosovo's ethnic Albanian authorities and the EU mission there after Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008.

The decision to demote Artemije to the position of a monk was brought during the ongoing gathering of the church elders Friday. The church also said it would file criminal charges against Artemije over the attempted takeover of the church property.

The current Serbian Patriarch, Irinej, is considered to be a moderate. He took over the church's helm after the death last year of his predecessor, Patriarch Pavle.

Related articles:

Disgraced Serbian Bishop Artemije Threatens To Start "New Church"

Disgraced Kosovo Bishop Launches Mutiny Against Serbian Church

Bishop's Followers in Two Kosovo Monasteries

SPC Synod Defrocks Rebel Bishop

KPS Escort Defrocked Bishop Out of Monastery

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Moderate Chosen as Serbian Bishop in Kosovo

November 19, 2010
BalkanInsight

The Synod of the Orthodox Church has appointed a more conciliatory figure to head the Raska-Prizren diocese than his predecessor.

The Synod of Serbia's powerful Orthodox Church has appointed a peace-maker as its new bishop in Kosovo, a religious analyst told Balkan Insight.

"Teodosije's election to head the Raska-Prizren diocese suggested that the Church intended to start adopting "a softer tone towards the international community in Kosovo," Zivica Tucic said.

The Church has been seen as pursuing a more open course since Bishop Irinej of Nis was elected 45th Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church on January 22.

Kosovo's previous bishop, Artemije, was a nationalist hard-liner, fiercely critical of the international community's actions in Kosovo, which most Serbs regard as an integral part of their country and whose independence they do not recognise.

Artemije was forced to retire in May after several close associates were found guilty of embezzlement.

The two bishops had been in conflict over whether the Church should cooperate over the reconstruction of monasteries and churches in Kosovo with the international community. Many were damaged or destroyed when members of Kosovo's Albanian majority staged anti-Serbian riots in 2004.

A Church source told Balkan Insight that Teodosije was viewed as more flexible on the subject of working with the international community. He also enjoys the support of many Kosovo Serbs. "He has been travelling around Kosovo, bringing humanitarian aid to people," the same source said.

The Serbian Orthodox Church has yet to decide on Artemije's ultiumate fate, having suspended him from his duties. Tucic said the Synod would either allow him to remain a retired bishop, or formally defrock him. "No one can tell what the 40 members of the assembly will agree on," he said.

Read also:

The Holy Assembly of Bishops Elected Bishop Teodosije as a New Bishop of Raška-Prizren and Kosovo-Metohija

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Saint Proclus, Patriarch of Constantinople

St. Proklos (Proclus) of Constantinople (Feast Day - November 20)

Saint Proclus lived during the reign of Saint Theodosius the Younger. A disciple and scribe of Saint John Chrysostom, he was ordained Bishop of Cyzicus about the year 426, but because the people there unlawfully elected another bishop before his arrival, he remained in Constantinople. In 429, Nestorius, who had been Archbishop of Constantinople for about a year, and had already begun his blasphemous teaching that it is wrong to call the holy Virgin "Theotokos," invited Bishop Proclus to give a sermon on one of the feasts of our Lady, which he did, openly defending in Nestorius' presence the name "Theotokos," that is, "Mother of God." Saint Proclus was elevated to the throne of Archbishop of Constantinople in 434. It was he who persuaded Emperor Theodosius the Younger and his holy sister Pulcheria to have the most sacred relics of his godly teacher Saint John Chrysostom brought back from Comana, and triumphantly received them upon their return to the imperial city (see Jan. 27 and Nov. 13). He reposed in peace in 447.

Source

Proclus was renowned for the sanctity of his life and for his modesty, with which he succeeded to calm down the Church and to make many Nestorians return to her. Before ascending the throne of Constantinople, he was ordained Bishop of Kyzikos (426-434) by Patriarch Sisinios of Constantinople.

After the death of Patriarch Maximian, he was consecrated Patriarch of Constantinople, serving from this role for 12 years and 3 months "in a good way" according to the sources. Proclus returned the relics of his teacher St John Chrysostom to Constantinople in 438. He was reknowned for his preaching, for which the Roman officer Valusian (before being baptised a Christian) declared that "if Rome had three men like Sir Proclus, ther would not be there a single pagan."

With the Tomus to the Armenians, he proves that the basis for the Nestorian heresy are the christological opinons of Theodore of Mopsouestia without, however, mentioning him explicitly (435). Speeches and letters of Proclus are saved, and have been published by K. J. P. Migne, F. Schwartz, F. J. Lorey.

To Proclus has wrongly been attributed the Speech regarding the tradition of Divine Liturgy, which was composed in the 16th century due to the disputes between the Latins and the Protestants regarding the origin of the Divine Liturgy.

Being declared a Saint of the Orthodox Church, his holy memory is honoured on the 20th of November.

Source

HYMN OF PRAISE: Saint Proclus, Patriarch of Constantinople

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

Glorious disciple of a glorious teacher,
O most-wise Proclus, servant of the Savior,
You strengthened the Faith and destroyed heresy,
For which the Holy Church praises you,
And the Church magnifies its giant,
Who, by glorifying God, glorified himself.
As a skilled helmsman, you guided the Church,
Beheld miracles and glorified God.
Clairvoyant of spirit, with a mind filled with grace,
You resonated with the Spirit like a finely tuned string.
Taught by the Spirit, you instructed the emperor
To transport the relics of the golden-mouthed Patriarch,
And with the emperor and the people you openly beheld
Glorious miracles manifest from the relics.
Now, in Paradise eternal, pray for us,
That the faithful endure in the Faith to the end!

Kontakion in the Fourth Tone
On this day, thy ven'rable departure from us, O wise Proclus blest of God, is celebrated fittingly with joy by her that in very truth is the most honoured of cities in all the world.

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Grave of St. Maximus the Confessor Discovered in Tsageri, Georgia

The name of Maximus the Confessor is closely linked with Georgia: after the Church Father was exiled from Byzantium in 662 with two of his disciples, he spent his last days in Lazica, Western Georgia, and was cast in the fortress of Schemarum, perhaps Muris-Tsikhe near the modern town of Tsageri. He died there on 13 August 662. It is interesting that the monastery where his grave was discovered is named after Saint Maximus.

October 26, 2010
Rustavi 2

French anthropologists have confirmed that the grave of Saint Maximus the Confessor is in Tsageri, Svaneti Region, Georgia. A special conference dedicated to the discovery was held in the Youth Centre of the Saint Trinity Cathedral yesterday. The participants have discussing the details of the discovery and history of Saint Maximus. They said the only holy part of Saint Maximus` body has been so far held in Israel.

French scientists presume that after popularizing the discovery, the Tsageri monastery will become a place of pilgrimage for many worshippers due to the grave of the Saint Maximus.

For the video news report, see here.

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The Patriarchate is Ecumenical

Mustafa Akyol
November 19, 2010
Hurriyet Daily News

What brought me to the European capital this time is an international conference organized by the Archons.

Never heard of the Archons before? I, at least, had not heard about them until a few months ago, when they invited me to speak at the “Religious Freedom: Turkey’s Bridge to the European Union” conference, which was held this week right at the European Parliament.

In the time between, I learned that the term “archon,” which originated in Byzantium and stands for pious Orthodox Christian believers who dedicate themselves to the service, and the defense, of their “mother church” – the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Most contemporary Archons are members of the American Greek community who support the Patriarchate by diplomacy and dialogue, besides donations and prayers.

Toying with treason

Besides the Archons themselves, the conference was joined by prominent Orthodox clerics, including Archbishop Demetrios and dozens of Western experts who focus on issues of religious freedom in Turkey. On the Turkish side, there was EU minister Egemen Bağış, who represented the Turkish government, members of various minority groups in Turkey and several Turkish lawyers and journalists.

The take-away message was that religious freedom needs to be enhanced in Turkey for all minority groups – and also for the Muslim majority, as several speakers, including myself, have underlined. As for the specific case of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, two crucial steps are urgently needed: the Halki Seminary, which was tyrannically closed down in 1971 during one of Turkey’s customary military coups, needs to be reopened. And the Turkish authorities simply need to respect the name of the institution.

I am sure some of my fellow Turks will denounce me as a “traitor” for saying that. So be it. But let me at least explain why.

First, I believe that no state, including mine, should have the power to decide how individuals and civil institutions should define themselves. States should exist to respect and protect our freedoms – not to violate them. Therefore it is utterly unacceptable to me that any state can dare to define the name of a religious institution – especially one that has existed for almost two millennia.

Second, Turks actually had no problem with the title “ecumenical” for centuries. Under the Ottoman Empire, the Patriarchate was given full amnesty and autonomy, and no Ottoman authority ever thought of interfering with its name. Even under the Turkish Republic, which has been less liberal than the Ottoman Empire in many aspects, the title of the Patriarchate did not become an issue for a long time.

It was only in the 1990s that some ultra-nationalist ideologues noticed that “ecumenical” means “universal.” This, they furiously noted, implies an authority that surpasses that of the Turkish state. And since worshipping the Turkish state is their raison d’être, they saw a big insult here. Soon, they even manufactured conspiracy theories about the “hidden agenda” of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which is, supposedly, to build a “new Byzantium” in Istanbul.

My response to this is that the real insult to Turkey is to make it look so paranoid and senseless. The Ecumenical Patriarchate claims a spiritual authority, not a political one. (As Jesus said to Pilate: “my Kingdom is not of this world.”) We Turks should have nothing to say in this spiritual realm, which is simply none of our business.

Bad reciprocity

The third issue at stake is the age-old principle of “reciprocity” between Turkey and Greece in regards to their respective Greek and Turkish minorities. I don’t like that principle, for it regards human rights as a bargaining chip. But even when we take that as a given, why are we following it on a lose-lose basis, by which both the Greek Orthodox in Turkey and the Muslim Turks in Greece get deprived of their freedoms?

Why don’t we rather use Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s famous win-win formula, by setting our Christians free and then asking the Greeks to do the same for their Muslims?

Perhaps, then, Greece can retreat from some of its shameful policies, too – such as not allowing even a single mosque in Athens.

This last point brings me to what I also said at the Archons Conference on Religious Freedom: Turkey, despite all the positive developments in the past decade, still has lots of shortcomings with regards to religious freedom. But this is not an exclusively Turkish problem. The neighboring Greece is hardly any better when it comes to the rights of the Turks in Western Thrace. Bulgaria is fine now, but it carried out a horrible policy of forced assimilation on its Turks in the 1980s. For all these countries, and others in this part of the world, have been haunted by similar fears and poisoned by similarly nationalistic ideologies.

But now is the time to move on, and let freedom reign in the whole region. On the Turkish side, I suggest we start by simply acknowledging that His All Holiness Bartholomew I is the ecumenical patriarch. That will affirm a much-needed respect not just to him and his church – but also to our very selves.

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St. John Chrysostom: The Greatest Interpreter of the Apostle Paul

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

No mortal has interpreted the Epistles of the Apostle Paul with greater love and depth than St. John Chrysostom. Had St. Paul himself interpreted them, he could not have interpreted them better. Behold, history tells us that it was Paul himself who interpreted them through the mind and the pen of Chrysostom.

When St. Proclus was a novice under Chrysostom, during the time that he was patriarch, it was his duty to announce visitors. A certain nobleman was slandered before Emperor Arcadius and the emperor had expelled him from the court. This nobleman came to implore Chrysostom to intercede with the emperor on his behalf.

Proclus went to announce him to the patriarch but, looking through the partly opened door, saw a man bent over the patriarch, whispering something in his ear while the patriarch wrote. This continued until dawn. Meanwhile, Proclus told the nobleman to come back the next evening, while he himself remained in amazement, wondering who the man with the patriarch was, and how he managed to enter the patriarch's chamber unannounced. The second night the same thing happened again, and Proclus was in still greater amazement. The third night the same thing happened again, and Proclus was in the greatest amazement.

When Chrysostom asked him if the nobleman had come by, he replied that he had already been waiting for three nights, but that he couldn't announce him because of the elderly, balding stranger who had been whispering in the patriarch's ear for three nights. The astonished Chrysostom said that he did not remember anyone entering to see him during the previous three nights. He asked his novice what the stranger looked like, and Proclus pointed to the icon of the Holy Apostle Paul, saying that the man was like him.

Therefore, it was the Apostle Paul himself who was directing the mind and pen of his greatest interpreter.

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Two Links Most Orthodox May Find Disturbing

Here are two links I came across today that I think most Orthodox will find disturbing, yet should probably be aware of:

1,000 Year Old Monk’s Quarters Restored as Luxurious Cave Hotel

Johnny Cash Trampling Down Hades, Among Other Images

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On the Topic of Christian Homophobia and Bigotry

Hank Hanegraaff Interviews Joe Dallas, Part 1. from Christian Research Institute on Vimeo.

Hank Hanegraaff and Joe Dallas, part 2. from Christian Research Institute on Vimeo.

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A Note Concerning Saints Barlaam and Joasaph

In various Slavic calendars of feasts today, November 19th is listed as the feast of Sts. Barlaam and Joasaph. A few notes are listed below just for consideration and to clear up some possible misconceptions.

1. In the Greek listing of Saints, Barlaam is not mentioned, though Joasaph is honored on August 26th. His title is "Saint Joasaph, Son of Abener, King of India."

2. Icons of the two Saints are rare, but where they are both depicted they both have halos.

3. According to Prof. Rhys Davids: "When and where they were first canonized, I have been unable, in spite of much investigation, to ascertain." The oldest list of Saints in which he finds the name is that of Petrus de Natalibus, Bishop of Equilium (1370-1400).

4. The Ethiopian Church has canonized both Barlaam and his ass.

5. Despite contrary scholarly opinion, there is actually a good case the story of Barlaam and Joasaph was authored by the highly educated St. John the Damascene. For example, we know he did not object to writing about foreign extraordinary tales, such as we see in his studies on dragons and evil fairies or ghosts. He also defined man as "a rational animal, liable to death, and capable of intelligence and knowledge," whose bodily nature consists of "four elements: blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile". In the story of the Unicorn found in the tale of Barlaam and Joasaph, we find mention of dragons and these same four elements represented as serpents.

6. The tale of Barlaam and Joasaph takes place in "the interior regions of the Ethiopians called India." Homer speaks of two Ethiopias, one towards the rising sun and one towards the setting of the sun. At the time of John of Damascus, it had this same extensive meaning, where Ethiopia could mean the majority of North Africa or even parts of Asia - it was designated by their darker skin. K.S. Macdonald writes about this and the historicity of the tale in her study The Story of Barlaam and Joasaph: Buddhism and Christianity:

"Alexander the Great expected to discover the source of the Nile in India. Shinar or Sennar figures largely in the story, as the place in whose desert Barlaam lived. Accepting Sennar as a country of which the writer had some correct idea as being around the upper reaches of the Nile and Blue Nile, we must conclude that the writer of Barlaam considered India not very far from the confines of Abyssinia which was regarded as part of Ethiopia. To this day the Abyssinians call themselves Ethiopians, thus connecting our Joasaph, prince of India, with Dr. Johnson's story of "Rasselas, or the Prince of Abyssinia". And it is here likely that we will find the truth in the story. When the Thebaid was crowded with hermits or monks, very likely a prince of Ethiopia was converted and betook himself to the desert after much persecution from his father, as described in the Barlaam story."

7. Though there are similarities between the tale of Joasaph with that of Buddha, this does not negate the historicity of either figure, but only shows a similarity in the origin of the tales. Though it is true the early story of Joasaph is colored with imagery from the life of Buddha, the latter part of the story is similarly colored by the life of St. Anthony the Great. The lives of Barlaam and Joasaph are primarily told as a literary tale with the seeming purpose of catechising those of the Far East with a familiar tale. This was often done by ancient writers to steer a story of what may have elements of truth towards a higher didactical purpose.

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Athonite Fathers Send Letter to the Phanar Regarding Esphigmenou Monastery

Romfea.gr has reported on November 19th, 2010 that the Holy Community of Mount Athos is troubled by the Ecumenical Patriarchate sending hierarchical representatives to the schismatics of old Esphigmenou Monastery, and they have expressed their concerns in a letter sent to the Phanar.

Presently there are 45 or more dissenter monks at old Esphigmenou who are occupying the monastery.

In the letter, the Athonite fathers are asking the Ecumenical Patriarchate to notify them before sending hierarchical representatives to old Esphigmenou. Archimandrite Chrysostomos, abbot of new Esphigmenou Monastery, met this past week with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew (pictured above) and expressed to him personally the same problem, which he agrees with.

Archimandrite Chrysostomos discussed with the Ecumenical Patriarch what exactly is the position of the Patriarchate regarding the visits of well-known Orthodox Metropolitans to old Esphigmenou, such as Theodoroupoleos of Germany, Michael of Austria and Chrysostomos of Myra.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew reiterated that the Ecumenical Patriarchate has a firm position regarding old Esphigmenou, but it is trying to find ways of resolving the issue.

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Tolstoy's Excommunication Will Not Be Reversed

November 18, 2010
Interfax

Despite high praise of Leo Tolstoy's works, it is impossible to remove his excommunication from the Orthodox Church today, a hundred years after his death, as it was Tolstoy who excommunicated himself, executive secretary of the Patriarchal Council for Culture Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov) believes.

Responding with Patriarch Kirill's blessing to the Russian Book Union president Sergey Stepashin, Father Tikhon reminded everyone that the Holy Synod, by its decision of February 20, 1901, to excommunicate Tolstoy "only confirmed the already accomplished fact - Count Tolstoy excommunicated himself from the Church, fully broke with it and he didn't deny it, but even stressed when he had a good opportunity to do it."

When Tolstoy was 27 he had an idea of creating a new faith and his diaries of that period prove it, the priest reminds us. When he grew old the writer felt he was close to his aim, created a small sect of his followers, and wrote The Gospel of Tolstoy with the Russian Orthodox Church becoming the main object of his attacks.

"His words and his deeds directed against it were truly out there from an Orthodox mindset. Moreover, Tolstoy's work in the last decades of his life was unfortunately destructive for Russia - the country he loved so much. It is not by chance that the Bolshevist leader (Lenin - IF) highly approved of this branch in Tolstoy's work and called the novelist "a mirror of Russian revolution," Father Tikhon noted in his letter published by the Rossijskaya Gazeta on Thursday.

Fr. Tikhon stresses that several generations of Orthodox readers in Russia and abroad highly praise Tolstoy's writings, "however as the writer did not reconcile with the Church, (Tolstoy did not publicly deny his tragic spiritual delusions) excommunication, by which he excommunicated himself from the Church, cannot be removed" and it means that "canonically it is impossible for the Church to pray for him."

"Nevertheless the compassionate heart of any Christian who reads the great writer's fiction can't be closed to sincere humble prayer for his soul," the priest sums up.

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Moscow Patriarchate and Vatican Wage Common Fight Against Secular Liberalism

November 19, 2010
Interfax

Despite a difficult relationship between the Russian Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Churches, they have been effectively cooperating along many avenues, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia told students and diplomats at the Russian Foreign Ministry Diplomatic Academy in Moscow.

"Together with the Roman Catholic Church we have been defending the traditional Christian concept of family and human values from aggressive secular liberalism. Our Churches are waging a common fight against medico-biological experiments incompatible with respect for human dignity," His Holiness said.

Cooperation with the Roman Catholic Church has become possible thanks to Pope Benedict XVI and is proceeding simultaneously along several avenues.

"Starting from 1980, we have been conducting a theological dialogue in the course of which and together with other Orthodox churches we were discussing problems that separate us such as the role of the Roman bishop, the Unia issue and others," the Patriarch said.

This has not been an easy dialogue as it is "impossible to find quick solutions to problems that have separated the Christian East and West for a whole millennium".

Nevertheless, "thorough theological analysis of all that has happened is being carried out, in particular, our understanding of history because many differences stem from the way we understand it", Patriarch Kirill said.

The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church expressed concern over trends in some Protestant communities towards liberalizing theology and Christian morals. Thus, some Protestant communities have sanctioned homosexual marriages and the ordaining of homosexuals.

At the same time, he pointed out that in the majority of Churches in the CIS and Eastern Europe - the Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant Churches - adhere to the traditional understanding of Christian values.

For example, Protestants in Russia and the Baltic countries are closer to Orthodoxy than to their Western fellow Christians because "they are not striving to liberalize their doctrine", the Patriarch said.

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Russian Church Seeks Memorial For Victims of Prison Camp In Sviyazhsk

Novmber 19, 2010
Interfax

The Kazan Diocese has called on the regional Tatarstan government to set up a memorial commemorating victims of Stalin purges following the discovery of human remains at a former NKVD prison camp in Sviyazhsk.

"Archaeologists have discovered that at least 5,000 people were buried along the walls of the Dormition Monastery executed predominantly in the 1920-1940s," a monastery monk said at a Friday press conference in Kazan.

He claimed the last execution at the site took place in 1943.

He said that during the Soviet era, the monastery's grounds housed a Communist secret police camp and a colony for juvenile delinquents and later a mental institution and a corrective boarding school. The monastery was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church in 1997.

The priest said several dozen skulls with bullet holes were found since the beginning of large-scale restoration work.

"It is difficult to tell the exact number of people whose remains have been found. There are at least dozens of them and more will definitely be found as excavations continue," he said.

Read also: Holy Dormition Monastery of Sviyazhsk

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Russian Sectarian Priest "Mesmerises" Followers Into Seclusion

November 17, 2010
Telegraph.co.uk

"On Tuesday, a helicopter of the emergency situations ministry evacuated six Orthodox (believers), five nuns and one priest," a spokeswoman for the ministry in Russia's Tuva region, Lidia Selivanova, told AFP.

The nuns – two of them disabled – lived since June 2006 in the Sayan Mountains, where they had retreated with their spiritual leader, Father Konstantin, 67, Ms Selivanova said.

The operation was decided by the authorities after a nun, who had fled the group, claimed in a letter to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, that Father Konstantin controlled his disciples "by mesmerising them."

"These people want to return but they are not allowed to ... and five are already dead", the letter sent to Mr Putin in September read, as cited by Ms Selivanova.

The group, consisting originally of 30 Orthodox believers, including five children, had occasional contacts with residents of the closest villages, situated some 100 kilometres (65 miles) away and geologists working in the region.

Local officials visited the group in February 2008 and "established that all members of the group ... were in the forest of their own free will," Ms Selivanova said.

Most group members, including a family with five children, have previously left the forest and returned home.

Officials also found the graves of five people who died – according to the group members – of natural causes, Ms Selivanova added.

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Elder Ieronymos of Aegina and the Good Turkish Judge

Father Ieronymos the Cappadocian, the renowned Elder of the isle of Aegina in Greece, was an exceedingly compassionate healer of souls, a clairvoyant Spiritual Father who saw the secret thoughts hidden in the heart, and a man of unceasing prayer who attained to the heights of the vision of God. Those who knew him exclaimed that they had met another Saint Isaac the Syrian. He reposed in 1966.

Shortly before World War I, a Turk visited Fr. Ieronymos' humble hermitage. The Turk told the elder that his master, a judge, had sent him to invite the elder to his house.

The elder became a little worried. He was not accustomed to receiving invitations to "social receptions" and his mind began to suspect that he might experience some evil or temptation. However, he prayed to God and followed the Turkish servant.

On their arrival at the judge's large home, the judge himself welcomed him – with much warmth, as a matter of fact. They sat on a great divan and the judge began the conversation:

"Efendi papa, I am a Turk, a Muslim. From the salary I receive, I keep whatever is necessary for my family's support, and the rest I spend on alms. I help widows, orphans, the poor; I provide dowries for impoverished young women so that they can get married, I help the sick. I keep the fasts with exactness, I pray and, in general, I try to live a life consistent with my faith. Also, when I sit in judgment, I strive to be just, and never take a person's position into account, no matter how great he is. What do you say? Are all these things that I do sufficient for me to gain that Paradise that you Christians talk about?"

The elder was impressed by all that the Turkish judge told him, and he immediately brought to mind the Roman centurion Cornelius mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. In the Turkish judge and the Roman centurion he perceived two similar lives. He understood that the judge was a just man of noble sentiments. "Perhaps," thought the elder, "my mission is like that of the Apostle Peter, who instructed the Roman centurion." The elder determined, therefore, that he would bear witness to his Faith.

"Tell me, efendi cadi,* do you have children?"

"Yes, I do."

"Do you have servants?"

"I have servants also."

"Which of the two carry out your orders better – your children or your servants?"

"Assuredly, my servants, because my children – with the familiarity that they have toward me — often disobey me and do whatever they wish, whereas my servants always do whatever I tell them."

"Tell me, I pray thee, efendi, when you die, who will inherit your wealth – your servants, who executed your wishes faithfully, or your children who disobey you?"

"Well, my children, of course. Only they have rights of inheritance, whereas the servants do not."

"Well then, efendi, what you do is good, but the only thing your good works can do is place you in the category of those that are good servants. If, however, you desire to inherit Paradise, the Kingdom of the Heavens, then you have to become a son. And that can be accomplished only through Baptism."

The Turkish judge was greatly impressed by the elder's parable. They spoke for a long time after this, and at the end he asked the elder to catechize him and baptize him. And thus, after a little while, the good judge was baptized and became a Christian.

* Turkish word for "judge".

Source: "The Elder Hieronymos, the Hesychast of Aegina," by Peter Botsis, Athens, 1991.

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All The Saints Gather To Worship The Incarnate God

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Why Do We Feel So Empty At Times?

The excerpt below is from a homily of Archimandrite Athanasios Mitilinaios which has been translated and narrated in English by Constantine Zalalas.

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To Turn the Cheek Is To Smite the Devil

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

"But whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also" (Matthew 5:39), commanded the Lord. This is the shortest and clearest teaching on humility. The evil demons fear nothing so much as a humble man fulfilling the Lord's commandments.

There was a rich nobleman in Alexandria who had a young daughter into whom an evil spirit had entered, and the daughter had gone insane. Someone told the despairing father that none could heal his daughter except the monks who lived in the wilderness and came to Alexandria from time to time to sell baskets, their handiwork; but none of the monks would enter the rich nobleman's house if he told them why he was inviting them. It would be better for him to purchase baskets from the monks, then ask them to come to his house for payment. Then, when they entered the house, he could implore them to pray to God for all the members of the household, and thus obtain God's help to cure the maiden.

The father obeyed and went to the marketplace on a certain day and met one of St. Makarios's disciples as he was selling baskets. The man agreed to buy the baskets, and invited the monk to his home to pay him. When the monk entered the home, the possessed daughter leaped at the monk and vigorously struck him on one cheek with her hand. The monk silently turned the other cheek. The evil spirit cried out in anguish and departed from the girl, and she became completely calm and rational. When the monk returned to the wilderness, he told the elders what had happened and they all glorified God, that He had given so much power to those who fulfill His commandments.

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The Holy Martyr Romanos With Child-Martyr Barulas

St. Romanos and Barulas (Feast Day - November 18)

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

St. Romanus was a deacon of the church in Caesarea and zealously preached the Gospel in Antioch. One day, there was an idolatrous feast. The Eparch of Antioch, Asclypiades, went to enter a pagan temple to offer sacrifices, but Romanos stood in the way and said: "You sin, O Governor, when you go to the idols. The idols are not gods. Christ is the only true God." The enraged eparch subjected Romanos to tortures and had him flogged and scraped without mercy. During this, St. Romanos saw a child by the name of Barulas, and said to Asclypiades: "Even this small child has more understanding than you, old man, for he knows the true God and you do not." The eparch questioned Barulas about his faith, and he confessed Christ the Lord as the One True God, contrary to false idolatry. Asclypiades commanded that young Barulas be beheaded, and St. Romanus be strangled in prison. Thus, both of these martyrs inherited the Kingdom of Christ in the year 303.

HYMN OF PRAISE: The Holy Martyrs Romanos and Barulas

Barulas beheld the tortures of St. Romanos,
And Romanos beheld Barulas, sad and tear-stained.
Barulas had a child's innocent soul;
Barulas had a heart purer than a lily.
And the wicked eparch asked Barulas:
"Come, my child, without bribery, speak the truth:
Is Christ better, or our gods?"
"Christ is far better than your idols!"
"Had I known, O Child, I would not have asked you!
How is Christ better? Come, tell me."
"Christ is the Creator of the world,
Idols are fancies of the demon's kingdom."
The governor, now furious, beat the child.
But this was pleasant to the child, and he spoke louder:
"O people, abandon the cursed demons,
Christ alone is God; He enlightens men."
Barulas's mother stood by, and encouraged her son:
"Become worthy, O Son, of the rank of martyrdom."
As a lamb beneath the sword, Barulas bent his neck,
And glorified Christ, himself and his mother.

Kontakion in the Fourth Tone
O all-lauded Romanos, since the Church hath thee as a bright, majestic star, she is now guided by the light of thy great contests, and she doth praise and glorify thine all-luminous memory.

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Icon of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob With His Twelve Sons

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The Cell "Axion Estin" on Mount Athos

Though the miraculous icon of "Axion Estin" is today housed in the Protaton Church in Karyes of Mount Athos, the Cell in which the revelation of the Archangel Gabriel took place is a shrine of great veneration by both pilgrims and inhabitants of the Holy Mountain. The Cell is in Kapsala, not too far from Karyes. It was here that the Archangel Gabriel appeared to a monk in the 10th century and revealed the beloved hymn of "Axion Estin". Unfortunately in recent decades monks had joined the schismatic Old Calendarists years ago, eventualy leaving the Cell two years ago abandoned after over 1,000 years of continuous habitation. However Hieromonk Diodoros has taken it upon himself to inhabit the Cell recently and return it to the canonical Church and in communion with the rest of Mount Athos.

Read more below:

The Revelation of the Hymn "Axion Estin" by the Archangel Gabriel

Miracles of the Icon of "Axion Estin"

Paschal Litany on Mount Athos for Bright Week

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Elder Daniil Sandu Tudor

Yesterday we commemorated 48 years since the death of Father Daniil Sandu Tudor.

Alexandru Teodorescu was born on December 22, 1896, in a family of lawyers.

After he started working as a journalist he chose the pseudonym Sandu Tudor; afterwards he became monk Agaton and then schema monk Daniil (Daniel).

He participated in WW1 and later studied Theology, Philosophy, and Arts, but without obtaining a degree. He was an airplane test pilot, teacher, poet, journalist. In 1929, after reading an article by a French female journalist who had claimed she visited Mount Athos, he decided to visit it himself and then write a tabloid article about it.

Father Roman Braga later remembers him saying how, on Mount Athos, he started making metanias (prostrations) to pass as a simple pilgrim, but something inside him mysteriously transformed step by step. Instead of a few days, he spent eight months on the Holy Mountain.

He returned to Romania and published his own newspaper. He was imprisoned in 1942 for his left sided political views and set free in 1944. After a plane accident from which he miraculously survived he sold all his possessions and decided to become a monk. He was received as a brother in Antim Monastery in Bucharest in 1945. There he started a group called "Rugul Aprins" (The Burning Bush). It was a study group which held conferences and practiced the Prayer of the Heart. Because of this he was imprisoned by the communists for three years. In 1952 he was released and he became a hieromonk and then hiero-schema monk. He retired to Rarau Skete in the Carpathians.

He was arrested again in 1958 and sentenced to 25 years of jail for "plotting against social order by publicly reading and commenting on writings of the enemy to the regime". Those writings were actually the writings of the Church Fathers.

We don't know how Father Daniil actually died. He was last seen in 1960, seriously ill in Aiud prison. His death certificate says Father Daniil died on November 17, 1962, because of a cerebral hemorrhage.

Father Roman Braga, who was also a member of Rugul Aprins, declared that "Father Daniil died in Zarca (a prison building with extreme conditions) from Aiud after four years of tortures and beatings, being one of the few inmates who wore chains for the whole duration of the sentence."


I also want to post the following story:

Father Augustin from Aiud Monastery gives us an important testimony about the holiness of the one who could be called the Righteous Daniil the Confessor:

"One winter, Father Daniil was put in a cell called The White or The Fridge, as it was also called, at a temperature of -30º Celsius (-22 ºF). It was a windowless cell, with feces and urine everywhere, because there they put those that were meant to die - practically they were sentenced to death because of the cold. They had few clothes and they where kept there with very, very little food before entering the cell, as well as after they where in that cell.

"And the elder was put there together with a medic, a very good friend of his. After they were both put in the cell by three guards, Father Daniil immediately jumped on his belly, with his arms spread in the sign of the Cross, with his face in all those dirty things, and told the doctor: 'Sit on me!' The doctor sat with his back on the back of the Elder in the same position of the Holy Cross. Then the Elder told him: 'Doctor, don't say anything more than: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner.'

"And the doctor later said that when Father Daniil started praying, a blinding light entered the cell and from that moment he lost the notion of time.

"After a while, a few guards entered the cell, picked them up and then they found out they survived in there for 8 days without water, without food, without sleep or anything to wear, at -30° Celsius.

"When the torturers entered the cell and touched Father Daniil, he was hotter than when they had brought him to the cell, and everything around him had melted."

(Fragment from Rafael Udrişte's documentary, TVR, October 11, 2008).

Source: This was translated and abridged from: Razbointrucuvant and Razbointrucuvant by Marius Nitu.

Read also: 3 New Confessors of the Romanian Orthodox Church

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