Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol Responds To Accusations That Monastics Are "Recruited" By Clergymen Behind Parents Backs

A Cypriot TV station "Sigma" interviewed Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol regarding the issue over why clergymen go behind parents backs to persuade their children to become monastics. The Metropolitan clearly responded to this harsh criticism by saying that all such accusations are "fantasies". He further pointed out that "94% of monastics, before they went to a monastery, had the consent of their parents, and often the same parents accompany their children."

Other cases involve such issues as when a 36 year old educated man desires the monastic life and parents oppose it, accusing their highly educated child of being weak-minded and being "recruited" by clergymen as if into some cult. The Metropolitan goes on to explain that it often happens parents come to see him to try to get him to even prevent marriages, such as when a parent disapproves of a spouse for their child. The Metropolitan sympathizes with parents who had other dreams for their children, whether in cases of marriage or monasticism, but also explains that sometimes things don't end up according to one's dreams. Furthermore, he emphasizes that the monastic life is very difficult and disciplined, and that if a weak-minded person were to come to the monastery and attempt to live its lifestyle, they would quickly fail and abandon it altogether. The monastic life requires a strong attitude and mindset and will, and this is based on one's changed disposition how they view the world and their desire to seek something greater than themselves and what the world has to offer.

The Metropolitan added that it does not benefit him to "recruit" monks or nuns. As a Metropolitan, he is too busy to deal with the affairs of monasteries and is not affiliated with any particular monastery. The accusation of "recruitment" into some sort of cult he finds extremely "fantastical" and beyond any type of logical thinking. He points out that 99% of the young people he sees that come to him for advice do so regarding their marriage, which he encourages and helps them to live godly family lives. The 1% who come to him expressing their desire regarding monasticism he also encourages, but does not recruit the 99% to join the 1%. As a Metropolitan of a large city, almost all his efforts go to helping families and marriages rather than monasteries. In the three monasteries of his Metropolis, maybe one or two people become monastics a year; Machaira has only 26 monks and the Precious Forerunner and Symvoulou Christou have only 7 monastics each.

When asked why monks are prohibited from seeing their parents, the Metropolitan emphasized the fact that parents are indeed allowed to visit their children, and even the child is allowed to visit the parent for as long as they would like. However, sometimes parents refuse to allow their children to live in monasteries (this is a percentage of the 6% or so that disapprove of their children becoming monastics) and refuse to accept the decision of their children. These will come to the monasteries screaming, issuing threats, and even hitting is involved. In this case, the Metropolitan says, parents would naturally be prohibited from entering the monastery. It is the children themselves who do not want to see these parents, because they are putting them in a difficult position.

The Metropolitan further brought up two examples where the bad behavior of relatives did not end there. At Machairas Monastery an intervention was devised by certain parents to abduct their child against their will out of the monastery, and to thwart this required police intervention. The second case involved a monk being kidnapped from his monastery.

The Metropolitan of Limassol further explained how in the last two decades there has been a greater interest in young people becoming monastics which "is not due to me, but people seek an authentic relationship with God." He quoted statistics, saying that one or two people become monastics every year in the monasteries. For example, when he took over the Convent of Saint Herakleidos there were 27 nuns, and now 17 years later there are 40 nuns. "So," he added, "in 17 years there have entered the monastery 20 nuns (given that some of them slept)."

The interview can be seen below (in Greek):

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Vatopaidi Monk Responds to "Vanity Fair"

How Involved Was the Vatopaidi Monastery?

In October’s Vanity Fair, Michael Lewis tackled the wobbly Greek economy and the Holy Monastery of Vatopaidi, the center of a parliamentary inquiry into its massive real-estate empire. The monastery itself now disputes some aspects of Lewis’s account; here, the author and Father Matthew, a Vatopaidi monk, debate the details of the monastery’s portrayal.

November 23, 2010
Vanity Fair

Fr. Matthew of Vatopaidi wrote:

My first read of Michael Lewis’s article on the Greek economic crisis and the role of the Vatopaidi Monastery was devastating—particularly after reading what is essentially his final remark about the monastery. There he states that, as he was on the road leaving Mount Athos, a monk of the monastery called him on his cell phone saying that Father Arsenios had asked him to call to find out what he thought about Bob Chapman, the monastery’s adviser for the American stock market. Unfortunately I was that monk, but what was printed in that paragraph had almost nothing to do with what was really said, yet this is the final image of the monastery that will be imprinted on the mind of the reader.

My heart dropped when I read that one paragraph. I couldn’t imagine how he could do this to us, especially as we had spoken several times afterward, and each time he assured me that the article was going to present us in a positive light. Our rapport had always been friendly—it still is. Yet every time someone brings it up, or anytime I imagine someone I know reading it, I feel ashamed, and I just want that paragraph not to be. Whatever positive thing may have been said before fades before this final image: Vatopaidi Monastery is all about money.

I did indeed make that phone call; I did ask about Bob Chapman; but the rest is a myth. Father Arsenios did not ask me to call him; no one in our monastery has ever even spoken to Bob Chapman; and we have never had anything to do with the U.S. stock market. But who is going to know this now? Though Mr. Lewis has agreed to a retraction—I called him a few days later and convinced him that I couldn’t have said this—the damage is done and the image set.

To be fair to Mr. Lewis, he seemed sure that I had said this, and I believe him. But for some reason he remained blind to the reality, even though in our initial phone conversation after his visit I had explained to him clearly about our interest in Bob Chapman, which had nothing to do with money, but about predictions he was making based on financial and political factors regarding Europe’s future on a tape that one of the monks had heard.

In re-reading the article, excepting that paragraph, the article is more balanced than initially perceived, particularly in comparison with what the Greek media has done with the monastery over the past two years. Still it contains many unverified and incorrect “fact,s” distortions, and, in a couple of places, a complete disregard of the truth, which present the abbot, Father Arsenios, and the monastery as something they are not. Monks tend not to defend themselves when personally affronted or slandered, following the example of Christ before the Sanhedrin and Pilate; but when it affects others, and especially the church itself (which it has), then sometimes the silence must be broken. The monastery has therefore asked me to set some of these things straight.

Though he sees them as sincere monks, Michael tries to paint an image of Abbot Ephraim and Father Arsenios as a dynamic duo of shrewd and forceful businessmen (which he himself does not see as incompatible with being a monk) trying to take advantage of a dysfunctional political system in order to build a powerful monastery with a “real-estate empire.” Unfortunately, he frequently uses half-truths and unverified facts to build this image. As one example, he says that a group of young Cypriot monks led by Father Ephraim saw a rebuilding opportunity and came here to take over the monastery, even though I explained, in a fact check that V.F. had sent me, that many of the monks were not Cypriots (7 of the 17, to be exact, including Father Arsenios) and that they were led not by Father Ephraim (who was just another one of the monks right up to the day three years later when the brotherhood elected him abbot) but by our Elder Joseph. In fact, they had been asked to come to the monastery to try to help it out of its derelict condition; nobody had their sights set on anything except trying to be good monks and, having been called upon to do so, helping the monastery get back on its feet. But these facts were ignored in favor of the “preferred” ones.

His insistence that the abbot had used the singer and the past crimes of the Catalan mercenaries to manipulate the Catalan officials into restoring a building flies in the face of reality. Here too, in the fact check, I had given him an Internet link that presents the entire story in relative detail. Sadly again, it was completely ignored.

Neither the abbot nor Father Arsenios would ever just show up unannounced at a minister’s office, especially one they had never met, and “accost” him, as claimed about their first meeting with Mr. Doukas. They had made an appointment ahead of time, as they always do. If the Ministry Office keeps records of appointments, this can be verified. Besides, for such savvy businessmen, it would hardly be good business practice to just go barging in on government officials.

The list goes on. The “two bosses” are not as linked as the article would like us to believe. Father Arsenios does not sit “next to the abbot” in the refectory, but at a completely different table. He is by no means a second-in-command figure for the brotherhood. Neither is Father Arsenios the worldly businessman Michael tries to portray, in spite of his capabilities. His desk did not have “two computers,” but only a miniature laptop—unless the monitor somehow counts as a separate computer (Father Arsenios is barely above computer illiterate). The “brand-new fax cum printer” is four or five years old. A perceptive eye would have discovered that beyond the “single icon” distinguishing his 16-by-18-foot office from a modern business office, there are at least seven other icons in plain view, three portraits of monastic elders, a bookcase filled with spiritual texts, and a host of other small items scattered about that belie the religious inclinations of the person who sits at that desk.

There is so much to be said about the lake and the exchanged properties, but time and space must limit this. The “worthless” lake owned by the monastery basically since the 11th century (the 14th-century imperial document mentioned simply verifies the monastery’s rights to the lake) is valued at €55-67 million and provides €500,000 to €1,500,000 income for the monastery per year from the fisheries. The lake has been confiscated and the monastery’s rights to it challenged numerous times during the past 900 years, but each time it has eventually been returned to the monastery and its rights ratified. It is still an internationally protected wetlands under the Ramsar Convention, but approved interventions and uses of the land are possible. This status was not “allowed … to lapse” so the monastery could get full deed. Only the wildest estimates of the properties received have reached the billion or more euros of the article. Throughout most of the proceeding, a figure of between 100 and 150 million has been most common. The monastery still maintains that it is less than that, and that independent assessors will eventually verify this, as they did with the value of the lake.

The article does not touch on (the Greek media has avoided it as well) the Gregorian Foundation set up by Vatopaidi, before the land exchange, that had earmarked a major portion of the projected income for a rehab center for the disabled in Athens, a nursing care home in Cyprus, and a drug-detox and treatment center in Mesogeia, to mention a few, which were to be available for those unable to pay. The proposal for this foundation was first presented to a parliamentary committee in 2007. Needless to say, it will now be nearly impossible for the monastery to provide these things.

Finally, we find appalling the implication that we would use something as sacred as confession—which for Orthodox Christianity is an integral part of our journey toward God and spiritual healing—as a tool to gain control over influential figures. It is a much underused sacrament—or mystery, as we call it here—of the church, and we encourage all of our guests here and others to take advantage of it, regardless of their station in life. Since there are so many Orthodox who misunderstand and don’t appreciate the sacredness and importance of confession, I would hardly expect that Mr. Lewis, an atheist, would. I believe much of the problem with his article stems from this. I had several phone conversations with Michael, and in spite of everything, I like him as a person, and I know he has kind feelings toward the monks. In his own way, he was trying to do right by us—half-truths, botched facts, and artistic “liberties” notwithstanding. He was really quite shocked when I expressed our displeasure with the article and that we had had negative feedback about it. He truly believes he has shed a positive light on us (in some ways he has), and I believe this is because he, as a man of modern humanistic values, regardless of religious orientation, really can’t understand us because of his spiritual orientation—or disorientation, as we would see it. Unless that should change, he may like us, he may be fascinated by us, he may respect us—but he will never get us. Consequently, whatever he writes, no matter his intention, is somehow going to miss the mark. He should also know that we would never have turned him away from our gates because of his atheism, as he assumed we would—an assumption that prompted him to use deceit in order to get his story. Today he would still be welcome here, and we have not ceased praying for him and his family.

Is it too much to ask of journalists, and consequently the periodicals and newspapers they write for, to be conscientious about facts? We had asked to review Mr. Lewis’s material about the monastery to make sure he got it right. He told us that it was unethical in journalism to do so and that it might, understandably, make it look like a collaboration. Then we read in the article that he was surprised that, unlike Mr. Doukas, we had not wanted to check our quotes! How much trouble it would have saved us, and him, if he had allowed us to check the quotes and all the facts, rather than just the few they sent to us, whose corrections were more or less disregarded anyway. What more can we say? Take whatever you read, not only in this periodical, with a grain of salt—and make that a big grain.

For another view of the monastery, or of the land exchange, try vatopaidi.wordpress.com and hit the “English” button. In particular, see the PDF pamphlet. —Father Matthew

Michael Lewis response:

I’m in no position to dispute Father Matthew’s account of the history and decoration of Vatopaidi’s buildings, as what little I know about them I know from him and his fellow monks. We differ, however, on just about everything else in his letter. Bob Chapman, for instance. Father Matthew recalls asking about Chapman in relation to his knowledge about “financial and political factors regarding Europe’s future,” but in his phone call to me he expressed an interest in hearing my views on Chapman’s market judgment. Mr. Chapman is neither a historian nor a political analyst; he is a former stockbroker, who for 28 years specialized in the analysis of gold and silver prices. His financial newsletter, International Forecaster Weekly, is directed mainly at investors. I do not know whether the Vatopaidi monks have financial accounts in the United States, but I take Father Matthew’s word that they do not.

I also like Father Matthew, at least as much as he likes me. I would like also to take him at his word, and am fairly sure he believes what he writes. If so, he has no idea about what the monks who run Vatopaidi’s commercial affairs get up to when they are away from their monastery. I didn’t accuse the monks of bullying an official inside Greece’s Ministry of Finance: the official himself did, on the record. I have no reason to doubt his account, as it was buttressed by the accounts of several others, including a former finance minister, who told me that the two monks had threatened him when he refused to give them what they wanted. There was a great deal more of this sort of thing that never found its way into the article as it seemed superfluous, and it seemed plain to everyone who dealt with them that these monks were also shrewd businessmen. A prominent Greek real-estate agent told me of sitting through a meeting with Father Arsenios, for instance, in which Arsenios went on at length about how he had found a bank to offer him no-money-down loans to finance a spending spree in downtown-Athens commercial real estate.

I’m not sure what a “miniature laptop” is. The computer on Father Arsenios’s desk appeared to my eyes to be an ordinary machine, as did the fax machine behind it. Nothing about the office appeared old and worn: it gleamed. I am sure that Father Arsenios has religious texts on his shelves, but those texts aren’t the featured attraction. That would be the many rows of binders that contain—by his own account—his business transactions. When I told Father Arsenios that his office struck me as far more like the office of Greece’s Minister of Finance than the office of the actual Minister of Finance did, he laughed and said he wasn’t surprised, and so I’m not sure why this judgment of mine has so gotten under the skin of Father Matthew. I stand by my account of the interaction between the monks and the Catalan government. And I never wrote that all the monks were Cypriots. Many of Father Matthew’s suggested corrections during the fact-checking process were, in fact, made.

Estimates of the value of the disputed real estate vary wildly, as the piece clearly stated. I did not speculate what the monks intended to do with their real-estate revenues beyond restoring their historic monastery, and indeed gave them the benefit of a great deal of Greek doubt on this score. Just a week ago, three former government ministers were indicted for their dealings with Fathers Ephraim and Arsenios.

At any rate, it remains clear that the monks once possessed a real talent for getting their way with Greek government officials—a fact that I do not begrudge them one bit. For that matter, I see nothing reprehensible in their commercial and financial acumen. How on earth is a monk to live, much less generate tens of millions of dollars to restore his plant and equipment, if not shrewdly? I only wish they themselves did not feel ashamed and conflicted about their own gifts.

I certainly did not intend to imply that the monks would consciously or crudely violate a holy sacrament. I’m not sure they would ever need to. —Michael Lewis

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Saint Alypios the Stylite of Adrianople

St. Alypios the Stylite (Feast Day - November 26)

Our holy Father Alypios was born in the city of Adrianople in the province of Paphlagonia during the reign of Heraclius (610-41). When he was only three his father died, and his mother placed him in the care of Bishop Theodore to study sacred literature and to be brought up for the service of the Church. The child’s remarkable ability as well as his great piety commended him to the Bishop’s successor, who made him steward of the church and ordained him deacon when he reached the canonical age. He fulfilled this double office admirably, but he longed to follow the eremitic life. As a result, he gave away his goods to the poor and told his pious mother of his intention to leave for the Holy Land and to embrace the monastic life.

Taking to the road in secret lest the Bishop and people of the city hold him back, he went as far as Euchaita, when the Bishop caught up with and insisted on his returning home. Forced back to the world, Alypios was consoled by a vision of the holy places of Bethlehem, Nazareth, Jerusalem and Golgotha where God would have him engage in the blessed contests of ascetic life. He began looking for a remote spot to live in, and he was brought by a vision to a place with a spring of water, on an arid mountain. Here he dedicated a chapel and built a cell. But the Bishop wanted Alypios to serve in the world to which he was a stranger, so he blocked up the spring to oblige him to come down to the plain where he would be more accessible.

Undaunted, the Saint fixed on a demon-haunted spot, full of old tombs and pagan sanctuaries that everyone kept well away from. His relatives tried in vain to dissuade him from climbing up one of the derelict monuments on which was a pillar surmounted by the statue of a fabulous animal, half bull, half lion. ‘Here is my resting place!’ he exclaimed, and went back to the town to fetch a Cross and a crowbar. He dislodged the statue and threw it to the ground, setting up the life-giving Cross in its place, determined henceforth to rout the demons in their own lair.

Having business that required his attending on the Emperor, the Bishop constrained Alypios to accompany him to court. When they reached Chalcedon, the Saint hid in the oratory of St. Bassa by the sea, and was asleep when the Bishop embarked for Constantinople. Saint Euphemia, the patroness of Chalcedon, appeared to him as he slept and she told him to go home, assuring him of her protection. On returning to his hermitage, Alypios built a chapel dedicated the Saint Euphemia at a place miraculously pointed out to him in a vision. As he possessed nothing himself, some of his friends provided everything necessary for building the chapel, and they all set about the work of construction. Despite his desire to settle on the pillar, Alypios followed the advice of the Elders with due regard for their discernment, and he withdrew to a narrow cell not far from the chapel in order to give himself ardently to the purification of his soul by fasting, vigil and prayer. He was thirty years old at the time, and spent two years in this cell waging relentless war against the demons. Their evil suggestions could not shake him, and he drove them off by the sign of the Cross and the fire-bearing words of Holy Scripture.


So fast did word spread of the servant of God that, much as he wished to persist in his holy work without distraction, he was under the necessity of welcoming many of the faithful who came to receive his blessing. Gentle, easy to speak to, attentive to all alike, young and old, rich and poor, he would have no one leave him except filled with spiritual joy. But becoming aware that such involvement was harmful to his soul, and having by then sufficient skill in the ascetic art, he decided to make his abode on top of the pillar, protected from the weather by a small, rough, wooden roof. Since there was not room enough on the pillar to lie down or to sit, Alypios was always on his feet, like a living column, year in year out exposed to the elements, struggling against heat and cold, wind and rain. Whereas the sufferings of the Martyrs lasted for a little while, Saint Alypios offered himself to this daily martyrdom for fifty-three years, doing violence to nature each day in order to gain everlasting life.

He was ferociously attacked by demons jealous of his progress. When they began hurling stones at him, he asked his mother, who lived at the foot of the pillar, for an axe, intending to show them that soldiers of Christ rate their attacks no more than juvenile insults. Throwing the roof that sheltered him to the ground, he faced without protection the hail of stones, prepared to die like Stephen the first Martyr, if that were the will of God. Alarmed by his boldness and unshakeable faith in God, the demons took flight from the place, bewailing their discomfiture.

Set in the sight of all like a lamp on its stand, the Saint gave light to all by his virtues (Matt. 5:14-16). He had overcome self-love and self conceit and offered himself like the Apostles as a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men for love of Christ (1 Cor. 4:9). Crowds of people made haste to the pillar, asking for the Stylite’s intercession. The first of these was Euphemia, who was soon joined by another women Eubula, who became abbess of the convent, which was established at one side of the pillar. Some time later, Alypios founded a monastery on the other side of the pillar for the men who wanted to stay by him. It was wonderful to hear the choir of virgins and that of the monks chanting the praises of God responsively seven times a day, and to behold the Saint, that earthly angel and heavenly man standing between the two, joining his voice to theirs and raising his hands to the Triune God in intercession for the salvation of the world.

The Saint received the gift of prophecy; he healed the sick, reconciled enemies, gave instruction in the mysteries of divine wisdom, either directly or in letters; he became all things to all men that he might by all means save some for Christ (1 Cor. 9:22). One day, having thrown down his tunic to a poor man in need, he remained shivering on the pillar until a recluse of the men’s monastery saw his state and came to his assistance.

After fifty-three years of such ascetic contest, paralysis seized half his body, and his feet gave out. He could now only lie on one side, all but immobile, for the remaining fourteen years of his earthly life. Afflicted at the same time with a painful ulcer, he blessed the name of the Lord like righteous Job (Job 1:21). When he gave us his soul to God at last, aged ninety-nine, the people hastened to venerate his body and a possessed man was healed in its presence. St. Alypios reposed in the year 640, at age 118. The body of the venerable stylite was buried in the church he founded in honor of the holy Martyr Euphemia. His head is preserved in the Monastery of Koutloumousiou on the Mount Athos. The feast day of Saint Alypios is celebrated on November 26.


Apolytikion in the First Tone
Thou becamest a pillar of patience and didst emulate the Forefathers, O righteous one: Job in his sufferings, Joseph in temptations, and the life of the bodiless while in the body, O Alypius, our righteous Father, intercede with Christ God that our souls be saved.

Kontakion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone
Today the Church doth glorify and hymn thee, O Alypius, as a foundation of virtues and comeliness of the ascetics and the monks. By thy prayers, as the namesake of true freedom from sorrow, free from their grievous sins all them that praise and honour thy struggles and deeds of excellence.

Portions of the preceding text are from “The Synaxarion: The Lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church” by Hieromonk Makarios of Simonos Petra, and translated from the French by Christopher Hookway.

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Saint Nikon "Metanoeite" (Preacher of Repentance)

St. Nikon the Metanoeite (Feast Day - November 26)

Saint Nikon Metanoeite ("the Preacher of Repentance") was born at Pontus Polemoniacus at the beginning of the tenth century. He was the son of a wealthy landowner, and he was given the name Nicetas in Baptism.

Since he had no desire to take over the management of his family's wealth and estates, Nicetas entered the monastery of Chrysopetro, where he shone forth in prayer and asceticism. When he received the monastic tonsure, he was given the new name Nikon. The new name symbolizes a new life in the Spirit (Romans 7:6), and the birth of the new man (Ephesians 4:24). A monk is expected to stop associating himself with the old personality connected to his former life in the world, and to devote himself entirely to God.

St Nikon had a remarkable gift for preaching. When he spoke of virtue and spiritual matters, his listeners were filled with heartfelt compunction and love for God. His words produced such spiritual fruit in those who heard him that he was asked to travel through the eastern regions to preach. He visited Armenia, Crete, Euboea, Aegina, and the Peloponnesus, proclaiming the Gospel of Christ.

"Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." This was the message of St John the Baptist (Matthew 3:2), and of Christ Himself (Matthew 4:17). This was also the message of St Nikon. Wherever he went, he would begin his sermons with "Repent," hence he was called "Nikon Metanoeite," or "Nikon, the Preacher of Repentance."

At first, people paid little heed to his message. Then gradually he won their hearts through his preaching, his miracles, and his gentle, loving nature. He stressed the necessity for everyone to repent, warning that those who utter a few sighs and groans and think that they have achieved true repentance have deluded themselves. St Nikon told the people that true sorrow for one's sins is cultivated by prayer, self-denial, almsgiving, ascetical efforts, and by confession to one's spiritual Father.

After sowing the seeds of piety, St Nikon began to see them bear fruit. People started to change their lives, but he urged them to strengthen their souls in virtue and good works so that they would not be overwhelmed by the cares of this world.

Eventually, St Nikon settled in a cave outside Sparta. Soon he moved into the city, because so many people were coming to hear him. In the center of Sparta, he built a church dedicated to Christ the Savior. In time a monastery grew up around the church.

St Nikon never ceased to preach the Word of God, and to lead people back to the spiritual life of the Church. He also healed the sick, and performed many other miracles.

St Nikon fell asleep in the Lord in 998, and his memory was honored by the people around Sparta. During the Turkish occupation of Greece, however, he was all but forgotten, except in Sparta. After the Greek Revolution in 1821, a service to St Nikon was composed by Father Daniel Georgopoulos, and was based on the saint's Life, which had been written by Igumen Gregory of St Nikon's Monastery in 1142.

St Nikon was recognized as the patron saint of the diocese of Monemvasia and Lakedaimonia in 1893 when the cathedral church in Sparta was dedicated to St Nikon, the Preacher of Repentance.

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Testament of Nikon the Metanoeite for the Church and Monastery of the Savior, the Mother of God, and St. Kyriake in Lakedaimon

Φώτης Κόντογλου - Ἅγιος Νίκων ὁ «Μετανοεῖτε»

Apolytikion in the Third Tone
Lacedaemon doth rejoice with gladness in the godly shrine of thy blest relics, which doth make streams of healings to overflow and doth preserve from affliction and sore distresss all them that hasten, O Father, to thee with faith. Righteous Nicon, intercede with Christ God in our behalf that His great mercy may be granted unto us.

Kontakion in the Second Tone
Emulating the life of the Angels, thou didst esteem the world's delights as dross, while showing us the paths of repentance, O righteous and God-bearing Nicon. Wherefore, as we now celebrate thy memorial, we honour thee; for thou in truth art a fountain of healings.

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Saint Katherine of the Sinai Monastery in Heraklion, Crete

The Monastery of Saint Katherine of Sinai, to the northeast of Saint Minas, was formerly a dependency of the Monastery of Mount Sinai, which bestowed the church to the Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Minas in 1924.

The Monastery of Saint Katherine was founded around the 10th century and the building preserved today was its main church (katholikon). The church was built in the 16th century and is obviously influenced by Venetian architecture.

The Monastery of St Katherine had an income sufficient to support a large monastic community. In the period between 1550 and 1640, the School of St Katherine of Sinai became a school of university learning, teaching Ancient Greek authors, Philosophy, Theology, Rhetoric and Art. Many graduates of the school distinguished themselves in Greek literature.

After the fall of Heraklion to the Turks in 1669, the church was converted into the Zulfikar Ali Pasha Mosque. It remained a mosque until the last Muslims left Heraklion in 1922, at the exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey.

From 1967 to the present, the church of Saint Katherine has housed an important exhibition of Byzantine icons and religious objects including manuscripts, vestments, and wall paintings, representing six centuries of Orthodox history (14th-19th century).

The atmospheric church is also home to six unique works by the famous icon-painter Michael Damaskinos, a major exponent of the Cretan School.

A service is held in the church every year on 25 November, the feast of St Katherine. The exhibition is open daily from 9.30 to 15.30, with an entry ticket.

Read more here.


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Panagia Odigitria of Kimolos

The magnificent and imposing Metropolitan Church of Panagia Odigitria was erected between 1867 and 1874 through the personal work of the people of the island of Kimolos who, without pay, worked zealously for seven years.

Among the numerous old and beautiful icons, the most cherished is the icon of Panagia Odigitria which dates to the Paleologan era (15th century) and possibly came from either Constantinople or Thessaloniki.

The artistic wealth of Panagia Odigitria Church is impressive and in order for a visitor to really appreciate it, one must devote ample time.

Panagia Odigitria is celebrated annually on November 21st for the feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos Into the Temple.


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Saint Katherine the Great Martyr and All-Wise

St. Katherine of Alexandria [Feast Day - November 24 (Slavic) or November 25 (Greek)]

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

Katherine was the daughter of King Constus. After the death of her father, she lived with her mother in Alexandria. Her mother was secretly a Christian who, through her spiritual father, brought Katherine to the Christian Faith.

In a vision, St. Katherine received a ring from the Lord Jesus Himself as a sign of her betrothal to Him. This ring remains on her finger even today.

Katherine was greatly gifted by God and was well educated in Greek philosophy, medicine, rhetoric and logic. In addition to that, she was of unusual physical beauty.

When the iniquitous Emperor Maxentius offered sacrifices to the idols and ordered others to do the same, Katherine boldly confronted the emperor and denounced his idolatrous errors. The emperor, seeing that she was greater than he in wisdom and knowledge, summoned fifty of his wisest men to debate with her on matters of faith and to put her to shame. Catherine outwitted and shamed them. In a rage, the emperor ordered all fifty of those men burned. By St. Katherine's prayers, all fifty confessed the name of Christ and declared themselves Christians before their execution.

After Katherine had been put in prison, she converted the emperor's commander, Porphyrius, and two hundred soldiers to the true Faith, as well as Empress Augusta-Vasilissa herself. They all suffered for Christ.

During the torture of St. Katherine, an angel of God came to her and destroyed the wheel on which the holy virgin was being tortured. Afterward, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself appeared to her and comforted her.

After many tortures, Katherine was beheaded at the age of eighteen, on November 24, 310. Milk, instead of blood, flowed from her body. Her miracle-working relics repose on Mount Sinai.


HYMN OF PRAISE: The Holy Great-Martyr Katherine

The wise Katherine, an earthly princess,
Became a martyr for Christ the Savior.
Foolish Maxentius offered her life:
If she would consent to become his wife!
The holy Katherine, pure as gold,
Replied to the emperor thus:
"My betrothed is the Risen Christ,
And I desire not the love of a corrupt man.
You seek my body: the rotten seeks corruption,
Even as the incorrupt spirit seeks immortality.
The physical covering must wither away,
The true man takes care for his immortal soul.
Do what you wish, and torture me -
Burn me in the fire, turn me on a wheel;
I cannot renounce my own soul,
Nor worship any but Christ as God.
Remember, O Emperor, soon you will die,
And worms will erupt from your corpse -
Worms will glorify you, worms will eat you,
A curse will accompany you, and a curse will meet you:
For you dare wage war against Christ, Who is mightier than death.
You stand under the Rock, and He will crush you."
Holy Katherine, Christ's virgin,
You despised the throne for eternal truth's sake;
And thus now reign in the Kingdom without end,
And sing with the angels, in the midst of sweet Paradise.

Apolytikion in the Plagal of the First Tone
Let us praise the most auspicious bride of Christ, the divine Katherine, protectress of Sinai, our aid and our help. For, she brilliantly silenced the eloquence of the impious by the sword of the spirit, and now, crowned as a martyr, she asks great mercy for all.

Kontakion in the Second Tone
O friends of martyrs, now divinely raise up a renewed chorus, praising the all-wise Katherine. For, she proclaimed Christ in the arena, trampled on the serpent, and spat upon the knowledge of the orators.

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St. Peter of Alexandria Never Sat On His Patriarchal Throne

It is said of St. Peter of Alexandria (Nov. 24) that he never climbed the steps and sat on the patriarchal throne in church, but rather stood or sat before the steps of the throne. When the faithful complained that their hierarch did not sit in his place, he replied: "Whenever I approach the throne, I see a heavenly light and power upon it, and that is why I do not dare climb and sit on it."

- St. Nikolai Velimirovich

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PJ Harvey and St. Catherine Chapel In Abbotsbury

One of my favorite female musical artists, PJ Harvey, visited St Catherine's Chapel in Abbotsbury, England (she grew up and lived nearby) which has a wonderful acoustic quality and sang there. The chapel is situated on a hill, as are most chapels to St. Catherine (Katherine) in the West, probably in reference to her shrine on Mount Sinai. It dates to the 13th or 14th century, but it is probably built on an earlier Christian church, which was probably built over pagan ruins. Her album Is This Desire? (EMI 1998) has a track "The Wind", inspired by her thoughts about the lonely, forgotten Saint - the chapel no longer functions and St. Catherine was abandoned and removed by the Catholic Church from its list of Saints in the 1960's. The song ends in a prayer for a husband for St Catherine to appease her loneliness, a touching reversal of the usual invocation of unmarried girls praying there for a husband. Read about the chapel here and see the video below, which transposes the ancient city of Alexandria with modern New York City.



The lyrics are:

Catherine liked high places,
High up on the hills
A place for making noises
Like whales
Noises like the whales
Here she built a chapel
Her image on the wall
A place where she could rest
A place where she could wash
and listen to the wind blow

She dreamt of childrens' voices
And torture on the wheel
Patron saint of nothing
A woman of the hills
She once was a lady
Of pleasure and high-born
A lady of the city
But now she sits and moans
And listens to the wind blow
I see her in her chapel
High up on the hill
She must be so lonely
Oh Mother, can't we give
A husband to our Catherine
A handsome one, a dear
A rich one for the lady
Someone to listen with

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Thank God or Science?

Americans are celebrating Thanksgiving today, a long-standing tradition going back to the earliest European settlers in North America, the Pilgrims. Up until recently, the tradition included giving thanks to God. Now, the trend is to thank one another. The NASA Director put out a thanksgiving message Wednesday basically thanking all the NASA employees for their hard work over the past year. Are we supposed to thank ourselves on Thanksgiving? Live Science put together a list of “10 Science Discoveries to be Thankful for.” Should you be thanking God, or your local scientist?

There is no question that science has brought us many blessings, as their list shows: vaccines, understanding of the causes of disease, the Hubble Space Telescope, and more (although their inclusion of SETI at #9 is bizarre, since there have been no results). We can certainly thank scientists for these and many other discoveries. But do scientists work in a vacuum, issuing their good things out of themselves? Or are they dependent on other sources? If you thank a scientist, who is he or she to thank?

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Orthodox Christians and Thanksgiving

The Pilgrims who came to America in 1620, brave as they were, were religious sectarians who wanted nothing to do with the Papal Church or Church of England. They arrived in what they considered the "Promised Land" for the sake of their free religious expression where they could live the Gospel in what they considered its purest form. Stripped from all the traditions of Christian Europe, they abandoned even celebrations such as Christmas, since the date of Christ's birth was not in the Bible. Unbeknown to them however, a feast between them and Native American tribes, whom they relied on for survival, has come down as probably America's most popular tradition.

Of course, Thanksgiving as we know it today did not originate with the Pilgrims, though their feast is the model for it. This is one of the mythologies surrounding Thanksgiving. Another myth of Thanksgiving is that it is traditional for Americans to have a feast on days proclaimed by U.S. Presidents as days of Thanksgiving. In fact, Thanksgiving in early America called for a day of prayer and fasting, not family gathering, football watching and feasting on turkey and all the other good stuff. Read more here, here and here.

Orthodox Christians in America are in a unique position regarding the celebration of Thanksgiving, which is our patriotic duty. Thanksgiving is no longer a time of fasting, but of feasting with family and friends (something which began to take shape after the Civil War in the 19th century and the Lincoln proclamation). For those who follow the New Calendar especially, the giant feast associated with Thanksgiving coincides with a period of 40-day fasting prior to Christmas, though it sometimes falls within the Old Calendar fasting period as well (when fasting begins on November 28th). Generally, however, a dispensation is granted by local bishops and priests to allow the Orthodox faithful to participate in this traditional American holiday as a harvest festival, a time for families to come together and celebrate, and to offer thanks to God for all He grants to us both individually, as a family and as a country. The Advent season is usually a lenient fasting time also, so such "economia" should not be looked upon as a big deal (see here). Ideally it is recommended for Orthodox to celebrate the Divine Liturgy on Thanksgiving morning prior to feasting, since the Eucharist is the ultimate offering of thanksgiving to God.

Below are a few helpful articles written by Orthodox Christians regarding the holiday of Thanksgiving:

Dispelling Confusion About Fasting During Thanksgiving

What is So Orthodox at Thanksgiving?

A Meal of Unity: Christian Reflections on Thanksgiving Dinner

Encyclical of Archbishop Demetrios For Thanksgiving Day 2010

The Final Divine Liturgy of Fr. Alexander Schmemann

Akathist of Thanksgiving

A Happy Thanksgiving to all!

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The Monastery of Panagia Hozoviotissa in Amorgos

It is the most bright ornament and the patron of Amorgos. This monastery, which is dedicated to the Panagia, is built on the steepest rock of the Prophet Elias mountain, 300 metres above sea level, south of Chora (the capital). It brings feelings of awe when one beholds it and one wonders how these people using primitive tools managed to build this architectural masterpiece that decorates the beautiful island of Amorgos.

According to tradition, this monastery dates from the 9th century and was built by Palestinian monks from Chozeba Monastery (hence the name Hozoviotissa, or "of Chozeba"). These monks had brought the icon to preserve it against the invasions of foreign enemies. In 1088 the emperor Alexios Komninos enlarged the monastery considerably.

Crowds of people from all over the world visit the island to marvel at the Monastery's unparalelled beauty. Every year at the celebration of the Entrance of the Theotokos Into the Temple on the 21st of November, there is a big festival and food and sweets are offered to visitors made by both the men and women of the island.

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Communique From the Assembly of Serbian Bishops (November 17-20, 2010)

The second regular meeting of the Holy Assembly of Bishops was held between November 17-20, 2010 at the Patriarchate in Belgrade under the presidency of His Holiness Patriarch Irinej. All diocesan bishops took part in the work of the Assembly, with the exception of the head of the autonomous Archbishopric of Ohrid, His Beatitude Jovan and Bishop Konstantin of Central Europe.

The work of the Holy Assembly of Bishops began with the conciliar serving of the Holy Hierarchical Liturgy at the Monastery of the Holy Archangels in Rakovica near Belgrade, at which Patriarch Irinej officiated, A parastos was served afterward for the repose of the soul of Patriarch Pavle of blessed memory on the occasion of the one year anniversary since his falling asleep, the cross was blessed at his grave site and the invocation of the Holy Spirit for a blessed and God-pleasing Assembly session took place. Afterward, in his introductory comments His Holiness, as the president of the Assembly, evoked memories once again of the person and spiritual merits of his predecessor Patriarch Pavle of blessed memory as well as the newly departed Metropolitan Christopher of Libertyville-Chicago, and indicated the need of a dignified and responsible approach to the issues on the agenda of the Assembly through brotherly dialogue in the spirit of the spiritual maxims of Patriarch Pavle that our words be mild and our proofs strong.

Before beginning with its work, the Assembly reacted to the news of the capture of the Archbishop of Ohrid and Metropolitan of Skoplje Jovan at the border in Kalotin between Bulgaria and Serbia by Bulgarian border police, and his detention on the basis of a warrant for his arrest issued by Macedonian police. The Assembly reacted first through their prayer to God for their brother in distress, then with a public protest for the unjust persecution of Archbishop Jovan following the legal farce against him in the Republic of Macedonia, and finally an Assembly appeal for his release to both the head of Serbia as well as the president of the Republic of Bulgaria, Mr. Georgi Parvanov.

On the agenda at this Assembly were two major issues and a few smaller ones. The two major issues were regarding the restructuring and filling of vacancies in some of the dioceses of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and solving the situation in the Diocese of Ras and Prizren which is burdened with many troubles. Added to these are the uncanonical actions of the former Bishop of Ras and Prizren Artemije and of his sect made up of his followers and supporters, which culminated during the meeting of the Assembly when he arbitrarily left Monastery Sisatovac in Srem, resolutely refusing obedience to the Assembly, explicitly not accepting the decisions of the Assembly and attempting to forcefully take over monasteries and other property of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo and Metohija, as well as the usurpation of hierarchical authority in the Diocese of Ras and Prizren.

The vacant diocese of Ras and Prizren was filled with the election of the current Vicar Bishop Teodosije of Lipljana as the new Bishop of Ras and Prizren.

The plan for restructuring the dioceses was completed as much as was possible during this session: parts of the Diocese of Nis, Zica, Sumadija and Branicevo will form a new diocese, of Krusevac headquartered in Krusevac, and it was accepted that the largest diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Archdiocese of Belgrade-Karlovci, be broken up into two more dioceses. Also, the bishops active in America were entrusted with the task of examining the possibilities of restructuring the dioceses there, and the issue was raised of forming a separate diocese for Austria, with headquarters in Vienna, taking into consideration the realistic needs and the magnitude and large number of faithful of the current Diocese of Central Europe.

The Assembly received with joy the news of the unanimous decision of the Diocesan council of the Diocese of Australia and New Zealand and the Church-laity assembly of the New Gracanica Metropolitanate of Australia and New Zealand at their recent extraordinary meeting regarding the establishing of full church-administrative unity.

After learning all the relevant facts and exhaustive discussions, the Holy Hierarchical Assembly, with much sadness, but decisively standing in defense of the holy and salvific unity of the Church, in light of evidence of the most serious canonical transgressions which he himself has confirmed – serving while under suspension, refusing obedience to the Assembly, creating a schism and forcefully occupying some monasteries of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Dicoese of Ras and Prizren, even with the participation of armed individuals and physically endangering the monastics in those monasteries – the Assembly has stripped the retired Bishop Artemije of Ras and Prizren of the episcopal dignity and returned him to the status of monk.

The Assembly, among other things, made decisions with regards to the upcoming commemoration of the 1700 Anniversary of the Edict of Milan (313-2013), by which Emperor Constantine the Great granted freedom to the Christians of the Roman Empire and established the foundations of Christian Europe, as well as decisions regarding the establishment of military chaplains in the Serbian Army.

The Assembly appeals to all faithful of the Serbian Orthodox Church that, in spite of the difficult economic crisis which is affecting us, we continue to help the renovation of the monastic dwelling of Monastery Hilandar on Mount Athos, destroyed in a fire a few years ago, as well as the renovation of homes and other buildings in Kraljevo and the surrounding areas, destroyed or damaged during the recent earthquake.

Related article:

The Serbian Orthodox Church has preserved unity - Television of Serbia

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8th Century Church In Turkey Put Up For Sale

The church is dedicated to the Archangels and is one of the three oldest churches in the area. It was built some time between 780 and 797 during the reign of Constantine Porphyrogennetos.

November 23, 2010
PanARMENIAN.Net

One of the most ancient Christian churches in the world is offered for sale in Turkey.

The Turkish authorities have not allowed businessman Meta Yalcin from Istanbul to renovate the church constructed in 780-797. Thus, the businessman, who had bought the church 10 years ago, decided to sell it, CNN-Turk reported.

The head of Kumkoy rural administration, where the church is located, expressed desire to buy the church, saying, however, that the price asked for it is too high.

“The church is offered for sale for 400,000 Turkish liras (around $285,000), what is too much. If the church is sold for 200,000 Turkish liras (around $142,000), we will buy it,” said head of Kumkoy rural administration Razim Batmaz.

Hundreds of tourists annually visit Kumkoy village of Bursa province to see the church, which has been transferred into ruins.

Hürriyet Video'larını izlemek için Flash 7 veya daha yüksek eklenti yüklenmeniz gerekmektedir. Yüklemek için tıklayınız!!!

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The Awesomeness of the Human Brain

Elizabeth Armstrong Moore
November 17, 2010
CNET

The human brain is truly awesome.

A typical, healthy one houses some 200 billion nerve cells, which are connected to one another via hundreds of trillions of synapses. Each synapse functions like a microprocessor, and tens of thousands of them can connect a single neuron to other nerve cells. In the cerebral cortex alone, there are roughly 125 trillion synapses, which is about how many stars fill 1,500 Milky Way galaxies.

These synapses are, of course, so tiny (less than a thousandth of a millimeter in diameter) that humans haven't been able to see with great clarity what exactly they do and how, beyond knowing that their numbers vary over time. That is until now.

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have spent the past few years engineering a new imaging model, which they call array tomography, in conjunction with novel computational software, to stitch together image slices into a three-dimensional image that can be rotated, penetrated and navigated. Their work appears in the journal Neuron this week.

To test their model, the team took tissue samples from a mouse whose brain had been bioengineered to make larger neurons in the cerebral cortex express a fluorescent protein (found in jellyfish), making them glow yellow-green. Because of this glow, the researchers were able to see synapses against the background of neurons.

They found that the brain's complexity is beyond anything they'd imagined, almost to the point of being beyond belief, says Stephen Smith, a professor of molecular and cellular physiology and senior author of the paper describing the study:

"One synapse, by itself, is more like a microprocessor--with both memory-storage and information-processing elements--than a mere on/off switch. In fact, one synapse may contain on the order of 1,000 molecular-scale switches. A single human brain has more switches than all the computers and routers and Internet connections on Earth."

Smith adds that this gives us a glimpse into brain tissue at a level of detail never before attained: "The entire anatomical context of the synapses is preserved. You know right where each one is, and what kind it is."

While the study was set up to demonstrate array tomography's potential in neuroscience (which is starting to resemble astronomy), the team was surprised to find that a class of synapses that have been considered identical to one another actually contain certain distinctions. They hope to use their imaging model to learn more about those distinctions, identifying which are gained or lost during learning, after experiences such as trauma, or in neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's.

In the meantime, Smith and Micheva are starting a company that is gathering funding for future work, and Stanford's Office of Technology Licensing has obtained a U.S. patent on array tomography and filed for a second.

This four-minute video explores the pial (outer) surface of a mouse's cortex through all six layers and subcortical white matter to the adjoining striatum:

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Christ In An American Prison

This icon of Saint Anthony is the work of an American monastic named Anthony. The unique situation of Anthony is that he does not live in a monastery, but in a Maximum Security Prison in Colorado.

Anthony has never entered an Orthodox church, nor has he attended "live" a liturgy or any other service; he has only seen a liturgy that was video recorded. The same situation exists for the other Orthodox Christians held in Maximum Security, such as the monk Matthew, and the majority of lay people like Loukas and George. This is because they became Orthodox after a personal search while in prison. The Orthodox in the Penitentiary do not recognize each other, since in this prison the detainees go into the courtyard individually, and do not meet each other as they are completely isolated. But they can mail letters to the "outside world", in compliance to certain conditions of course, such as the contents of the letters being checked. Our brothers understand Orthodoxy much more than one would expect. Another detainee, David, makes beautiful woolen prayer ropes, and has sent them to many Christians in various parts of the world.

The Orthodox of this Maximum Security Prison are the fruit of the grace of God through the missionary activity of a remarkable priest, Fr. Stephan Powley, who for years served there (he is now Chaplain of the prison).

Fr. Stephan, a former Evangelical Protestant, was ordained in the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese in the USA (under the Patriarchate of Antioch). He has been a prison Chaplain since January 1985 and has served in every security level from minimum to maximum. He is a priest in the Antiochian Archdiocese and serves the Orthodox Churches of Southern Colorado as needed. He is married to Ashley and they have four children who are all attending different universities.

Fr. Stephan offers weekly stories to "uplift and provoke thought" which can be read at this website: http://www.ocpm-scoba.org/upwardglance.html


Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos

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Patriarch Theophilus Disputes U.S. Report On Religious Freedom In Jordan

November 23, 2010
Jordan Times

Religious freedom and coexistence in Jordan set an example of tolerance in the region and the world, Muslim and Christian leaders said on Monday in response to a US State Department report on religious freedoms issued last week.

The report claimed that "while relations between Muslims and Christians generally were good, adherents of unrecognised religions and Muslims who converted to other religions faced societal discrimination and the threat of mental and physical abuse".

"The government continued to harass some citizens and resident foreign groups suspected of proselytising Muslims and a few Muslim converts to Christianity, including by attempting to induce them to revert to Islam," the document added, "but the intensity of the harassment declined during the reporting period".

Father Nabil Haddad, head of the Jordanian Interfaith Coexistence Research Centre, said in remarks to The Jordan Times yesterday that although the report highlighted efforts made by the government to establish coexistence and tolerance in the country and encourage dialogue between different religious groups at the international level, it cited individual cases that should not have been used to build a judgement concerning coexistence between Muslims and Christians in the Kingdom.

According to the report’s authors, Jordan’s application of Sharia (Islamic law) “infringes upon the religious rights and freedoms laid out in the Constitution by prohibiting conversion from Islam and discriminating against religious minorities in some matters relating to family law”.

In response, Father Haddad argued that discrimination on religious grounds does not exist in the country, where both Muslims and Christians share the same rights and responsibilities under the Constitution.

“We have never had any difficulties in setting up churches or religious schools to teach our congregation the rituals of Christianity,” the Christian leader said.

An Islamic cleric and politician agreed.

“Muslims and Christians constitute an integral component of the Jordanian fabric. We are one people and we have never had any problems with coexistence,” said Hamzah Mansour, secretary general of the Islamic Action Front (IAF), the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan.

“We in the IAF and the Muslim Brotherhood have strong ties with our Christian brothers. We see ourselves as representatives and defenders of the interests of all Jordanians regardless of their religious affiliations,” Mansour told The Jordan Times yesterday.

The report acknowledged that neither the Constitution, the Penal Code, nor civil law bans conversion from Islam or efforts to proselytise Muslims, but said the government prohibits conversion from Islam in that it accords primacy to Islamic law, which governs Muslims’ personal status and prohibits them from converting.

Religious leaders argued, however, that resistance to foreign missionary activity in the Kingdom is in fact something on which Jordanian Muslims and Christians agree.

“Any group who comes from outside the country to tamper with the country’s faith will be resisted by Christians even before Muslims. Such acts have been rejected by Christian denominations in Jordan in the past,” Mansour noted.

Father Haddad agreed, adding: “There is a unified stance by all leaders of recognised churches in Jordan regarding missionary groups. We reject any missionary activity by foreign groups.”

See also: Patriarch: Jordan, Model For Religious Coexistence

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The 11th Century Church of Panagia Kapnikarea in Athens

The Church of Kapnikarea is a small Roman church in the heart of Athens, on Ermou Street. It is dedicated to the Entrance of the Theotokos Into the Temple and is celebrated annually on November 21st. It belongs to the University of Athens, for which it is sometimes called the "Holy University Church".

The Panagia Church is built on the ruins of an ancient temple, dedicated to a female goddess, possibly Athena or Demeter. It was founded at the beginning of the 11th century (around 1050 A.D.) and was probably named after its donor.

The church is cross-in-square, of the complex four-column type, with three apses on the east side and a narthex on the west. A domed chapel dedicated to Aghia Varvara was added to the north side and the exonarthex, with three pitched roofs, was built slightly later in front of both churches. It was originally formed as an open portico but a small porch with two columns was constructed at its south end, possibly in the 12th century, along with the mosaics over the entrance. The walls of the church are built in the typical cloisonne masonry and are decorated with very limited brick, Cufic ornaments. Most of the paintings inside the church are the work of the famous modern Greek artist Photis Kontoglou, signed in 1955.

More can be read here, here and in great detail here.

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Saint Gregory, Bishop of Agrigentum

St. Gregory of Agrigentum (Feast Day - November 23)

Saint Gregory, Bishop of Agrigentum, was born on the island of Sicily, in the village of Pretorium, not far from the city of Agrigentum, of the pious parents Chariton and Theodota. The infant Gregory was baptized by the bishop of Agrigentum, Pataimonus. At ten years of age the studious boy mastered writing and was able to read, and to sing church hymns. At twelve years of age St Gregory was given to the clergy, and he was put under the spiritual guidance of the archdeacon Donatus. St Gregory spent the next ten years in the Agrigentum church. Then, however, an angel of the Lord appeared to the holy youth, who had a fervent desire to visit Jerusalem, and said that God had blessed his intention.

At Jerusalem St Gregory was presented to Patriarch Macarius (563-574), who retained the pious youth for service in his own cathedral church, ordaining him deacon. The soul of St Gregory thirsted for monastic labors, and the Patriarch gave his blessing, allowing him go to a monastery on the Mount of Olives. After a year St Gregory departed this monastery for a desert Elder, who for four years taught him spiritual wisdom, humility and the principles of monastic life. The ascetic, foreseeing in St Gregory a future great luminary of the Church, gave him a blessing to forsake the solitary life.

Having left the Elder, St Gregory dwelt for a certain time at Jerusalem, and then went to Constantinople, where he was received with love by the brethren of the monastery of the holy Martyrs Sergius and Bacchus. The ascetic efforts of St Gregory were noticed by Patriarch Eutychius of Constantinople (552-565), at whose insistence the saint participated in the Fifth Ecumenical Council (553). At the completion of the Council St Gregory set off for Rome, to venerate the graves of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul.

During this time the bishop of Agrigentum died. The elder clergy and illustrious citizens of Agrigentum journeyed to Rome with a request for the Pope to determine a successor for their late hierarch from among a list of candidates they were presenting. The Pope, however, declined their proposal through divine inspiration, and instead summoned St Gregory to serve them as bishop.

For a few years St Gregory peacefully guided the flock entrusted to him by God. He was a defender of the down-trodden, a wise preacher, and miraculous healer. As archbishop, St Gregory led the life of an ascetic monk, fervently observing monastic vows. The flock loved their hierarch and trusted in him. But there were also malicious people who had resolved to slander him.

While St Gregory was in church, these vicious people secretly led a bribed harlot into his chambers, and then in front of the crowd which accompanied the bishop to the doors of his house after services, they led her out and accused St Gregory of the deadly sin of fornication. They placed the holy bishop under guard. The people attempted to defend their bishop, but were unsuccessful. At the trial the harlot gave false testimony against St Gregory. Just as she pronounced the words of slander, she went into a fit of frenzied rage. The judges accused the saint of sorcery. St Gregory was sent for judgment to the Roman bishop together with a report about his "crimes."

The Pope, after reading the charges, did not want to see the accused, and gave orders to remand him to prison. The saint endured his humiliation humbly, dwelling in constant prayer. His prayerful effort and wonderworking gifts quickly became known through the city and the surrounding region. Pious Romans began to gather at the prison, whom the imprisoned saint taught about the righteous life, and he implored the Lord to heal the sick.

After two years, a clairvoyant Elder named Mark, who had known St Gregory since youth, came to the Pope. The Elder did not believe the charges and he persuaded the Pope to convene a Council to decide Gregory's case. At the invitation of the Pope, many clergy from the city of Agrigentum came to the Council, together with all those making accusations against the saint, including the harlot. From Constantinople three bishops and the imperial dignitary Marcian came to Rome. Along the way Marcian had fallen grievously ill. On the advice of many people who had received healing through the prayers of St Gregory, servants carried the dying man to the prison where the wonderworking saint languished. Through the prayers of St Gregory the Lord granted healing to Marcian.

At the Council the slanderers attempted to renew their accusations, and as their chief proof they presented the deranged harlot to the judge, declaring that Gregory had bewitched her. But the saint prayed over her and cast out the devil. The woman came to her senses and told the Council the whole truth. The slanderers were brought to shame and judged. Marcian even wanted to execute them, but St Gregory implored forgiveness for them.

St Gregory returned in honor to his own cathedral, and surrounded by the love of his flock, he guided the Church until his own peaceful demise.

Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
O God of our Fathers, always act with kindness towards us; take not Your mercy from us, but guide our lives in peace through the prayers of the hierarchs Gregory and Amphilóchios.

Kontakion in the Fourth Tone
With the Holy Spirit's rays, which shine a great light, doth the Church illuminate the way of them that celebrate thy joyous falling asleep today, O righteous Father, supremely blest Gregory.

Source

From His Commentary on Ecclesiastes:

"Come, eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a glad heart; for what you do, God has approved beforehand" (Ecclesiastes 9:7).

This exhortation of Ecclesiastes is very proper if you take its words in their ordinary everyday sense. If we embrace a simple rule of life and let our beliefs be inspired bu a sincere faith in God, we should eat our bread with joy and drink our wine with a glad heart. We should not fall into slanderous speech or devote ourselves to devious stratagems; rather, we should direct our thoughts on straight paths and (as far as is practicable) help the poor and destitute with compassion and generosity – that is, dedicate ourselves to the activities that please God himself.

But the same text can be given a spiritual meaning that leads us to higher thoughts. It speaks of the heavenly and mystical bread, which has come down from heaven, bringing life to the world, and to drink a spiritual wine with a cheerful heart, that wine which flowed from the side of the True Vine at the moment of his saving passion. Of this, the Gospel of our salvation says: "When Jesus had taken bread and blessed it, he said to his holy disciples and apostles, Take, eat; this is my body which is being broken for you for the forgiveness of sins. In the same way he took the cup and said, Drink from this, all of you: this is my blood, the blood of the new covenant, which will be shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins." For whoever eats this bread and drinks this mystical wine enjoys true blessedness and rejoices, exclaiming: You have put joy into our hearts.

Moreover, I think this is the bread and this is the wine that is referred to in the book of Proverbs by God’s self-subsistent Wisdom (that is, Christ our Savior): "Come, eat my bread and drink the wine I have mixed for you." Thus he refers to our mystical sharing in the Word. For those worthy to receive this are forever clothed in garments (that is, the works of light) shining as bright as light itself. As the Lord says in the Gospel, "Let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven." And, indeed, oil will be seen flowing eternally over their heads – the oil that is the Spirit of truth, guarding and preserving them from all the harm of sin.

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Video: A Conversation With Romanian Elder Petroniu Tanase

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