MYSTAGOGY: November 2010

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

A Homily on the Meekness of Moses

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

"Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth" (Numbers 12:3).

A chosen man, a great wonderworker, a type of the Lord Jesus Christ in his miracles, a victor in Egypt, a victor in the wilderness, the leader of a people - how could he not be proud? But if he had become proud, Moses would not have been all that he was.

They become proud who think that they do their own works and not God's in this world, and who think that they work by their own power and not by God's power. But the great Moses knew that he was the doer of God's works, and that the power with which He did them was God's power and not his. That is why he did not become proud because of the awesome miracles he performed, or the great victories he obtained, or the wise laws that he gave to the people.

"The Lord is my strength and my song" (Exodus 15:2), said Moses. Of the entire assembly of the Israelites in the wilderness, no one felt his own particular weakness as much as he, the greatest one of that assembly. In every task, in every place and in every moment, he expected help only from God. "What shall I do?" he cried to God, and he ceaselessly listened for God's reply and sought God's power.

"Meek above all men on earth." For all the others considered themselves as being something, trusted themselves as being something, but he - nothing. He was completely absorbed in God, completely humbled before God. If the people needed to be fed and given drink, he turned to God; if it was necessary to do battle with his enemies, he raised his hands to heaven; if it was necessary to calm an uprising among the people, he cried to God. The meek, the all-meek Moses! And God rewarded his faithful servant with great glory and made him worthy to appear on Mount Tabor with Elias alongside the Lord Savior.

O Lord, the God of the meek, the Good Shepherd, make us also meek like Moses and the apostles. To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.

The Patristic Understanding of the Virgin Birth of Christ

Where God Wills The Order Of Nature Is Overruled

"And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered" (Lk. 2:6).

Concerning the birth of Christ, the Prophet Isaiah spoke thus:

"Behold she that travailed brought forth, before the travail-pain came on, she escaped it and brought forth a male" (Is. 66:7).

Saint John of Damascus adds to this saying that:

"After the normal nine-month gestational period, Christ was born at the beginning of the tenth, in accordance with the law of gestation. It was the birth that surpassed the established order of birthgiving, as it was without pain; for, where pleasure had not preceded, pain did not follow. And just as at His conception He had kept her who conceived Him virgin, so also at His birth did He maintain her virginity intact, because He alone passed through her and kept her shut.

While the conception was by 'hearing', the birth was by the usual orifice through which children are born, even though there are some who concoct an idle tale of His being born from the side of the Mother of God. For it was not impossible for Him to pass through the gate without breaking its seals. Hence, the Ever-Virgin remained virgin even after giving birth and never had converse with a husband as long as she lived."1

Saint Ambrose in his Synodal Letter 44 writes:

"Why is it hard to believe that Mary gave birth in a way contrary to the law of natural birth and remained a virgin, when contrary to the law of nature the sea looked at Him and fled, and the waters of the Jordan returned to their source (Ps. 113:3). Is it past belief that a virgin gave birth when we read that a rock issued water (Ex. 17:6), and the waves of the sea were made solid as a wall (Ex. 14:22)? Is it past belief that a Man came from a virgin when a rock bubbled forth a flowing stream (Ex. 20:11), iron floated on water (4 Kings 6:6), a Man walked upon the waters (Mt. 14:26)? If the waters bore a Man, could not a virgin give birth to a man? What Man? Him of Whom we read: '...the Lord shall be known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day; and they shall offer sacrifices, and shall vow vows to the Lord, and pay them' (Is. 19:20).

In the Old Testament a Hebrew virgin (Miriam) led an army through the sea (Ex. 15:21); in the New testament a king's daughter (the Virgin Mary) was chosen to be the heavenly entrance to salvation."

In the Resurrection Theotokion of Saturday Vespers (Plagal of the First Mode), we chant:

"Then, the deep was trodden dry-shod by Israel, now, Christ is born seedlessly of the Virgin. The sea, after the passage of Israel, remained untrodden: the blameless one, after the birth of Emmanuel, remained undefiled."

Saint Ambrose also writes in another letter that:

"A virgin carried Him Whom this world cannot contain or support. And when He was born of Mary's womb, He yet preserved the enclosure of her modesty, and the inviolate seal of her virginity."2

Where God so wills the order of nature is overcome. Is anything too hard for Him Who called heaven, earth and the sea into being by His word alone? Nature and the elements are creations of the Creator. Their laws and properties are immediately subject to their Lord Fashioner. Adam and Eve were given dominion over the fish of the sea, the flying creatures of heaven, and over the reptiles and cattle and all the earth (Gen. 1:26); all were subject to them before the fall. Saint Gregory Palamas comments that when the Logos of God took on human nature, He bestowed on it the fullness of grace and delivered it from the bonds of corruption and death. The consequence of hypostatic union in Christ of the two natures was the deification of the human nature He assumed.3 The regeneration of man in Christ was the restoration of Adam and Eve.

The saints, having put on Christ, have often resumed the authority and dominion that our first parents had. Thus, the Prophet Habakkum instantly traversed vast expanses of land, with no effort, and brought food to Daniel in the lion's den. The Holy Apostles, too, were transported on clouds to be at the Theotokos' repose in Jerusalem, and their bodily weight proved not to hamper their flight, in defiance to gravity. Our Savior and the saints performed those things outside the created laws of physics and medicine. By a word, straightway, long and terminal illnesses vanished, limbs that were palsied became sound, those without orbs received the power of vision, and many were raised from the dead. Some of the saints could go long periods without food, water or changes of clothing as St. Paisios the Great of Egypt or St. Mary Golinduc the Persian. Others, by their mere grace0filled presence, tamed wild and ferocious animals. Thus, why should it be difficult to imagine that the Christ infant could not pass through that virginal orifice through which children are delivered without incurring damage or the slightest discomfort to His Mother, despite His newborn height and weight? Later, in life, He would pass through the midst of the mob unscathed as though bodiless and, after His Resurrection, His body would pass through solid and shut doors to meet and greet His anxious disciples (Jn. 20:19).

Concerning the mystery of the incarnation, St. Gregory of Nyssa wrote the following:

"When God became known to us in the flesh, He neither received the passions of human nature, nor did the Virgin Mary suffer pain, nor was the Holy Spirit diminished in any way, nor was the power of the Most High set aside in any manner, and all this was because all was accomplished by the Holy Spirit. thus the power of the Most High was not abased, and the child was born with no damage whatsoever to the mother's virginity."4

Saint Hesychios (c. 451), a learned priest-monk of Jerusalem, expressed the same truth, writing that:

"The Theotokos was a woman, yet she did not suffer the pangs of childbirth because the field of marriage had not experienced the plow; the virginal vineyard was not tilled."5

Notes:

1. Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Bk. 4, Ch. 14.

2. Letter 59, To the Church at Vercelli.

3. Georgios L. Mantzarides, The Deification of Man: St. Gregory Palamas and the Orthodox Tradition, p. 29.

4. "Against Eunomius, Hom. II", PG 45, 492.

5. "Sermon On the Presentation", PG 93, 1469.

Source: The Life of the Virgin Mary, the Theotokos by Holy Apostles Convent, pp. 176-179.

The "Little" Metropolitan Church of St. Eleutherios in Athens

The Church of Saint Eleutherios, also known as Mikri Mitropoli (Little Cathedral) or Panagia Gorgoepikoos (Our Lady Who Swiftly Hears), is located at Metropolis Square in Plaka, next to the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens (Megali Mitropoli). This tiny beautiful 12th century church stands in the shadow of the much larger and more recent Cathedral which dates from 1842. At the time, Athens was only a small town and a church as small as this was sufficient to serve the local neighborhood.

The church was built in the 12th century by Michael Choniates (1180-1204), the bishop of Athens, over the ruins of a temple dedicated to the goddess Eleithya, patron of childbirth. The Virgin Mary took over the same role in Christian beliefs, so the church was re-dedicated to her. It was common for Christian women of the time to pray at Panagia Gorgoepikoos Church if they were expecting a child. The hope was that the Virgin Mary, who is "quick to hear", would help the soon-to-be-mother experience a quick and painless childbirth.

There is a tradition that the church was built by Empress Irene of Athens in 787. During the Ottoman period after the 15th century the church was part of the Episcopal mansion and was called "Katholikon" (main church). St. Dionysios of Zakynthos was ordained a bishop in this church. In 1841, after the foundation of the Greek State, the church was used as the National Library, housing the first collection of books donated to the Orphanage of Aegina. The church underwent repairs in 1863 and was re-dedicated to St. Eleutherios, the Saint of Freedom, after the removal of King Otto.

The Little Cathedral measures only 25 feet long by 40 feet wide. The domed cruciform church was built entirely from white Pentelic marble, which has weathered to a warm and creamy hue.

The exterior of the Panagia Gorgoepíkoös mixes Romanesque and Byzantine styles. The frieze over the main entrance, depicting the months of the year, dates from the 4th century BC. A Greek cross was added to the center in the 12th century when the church was built.

The small interior features a checkerboard floor about a foot lower than current ground level, four supporting brick pillars (which replaced the original marble ones in 1834), and an iconostasis.

Two Orthodox Deacons Murdered in Sinai Desert

December 13, 2010
CSW

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has received reports that two Orthodox deacons were murdered by people traffickers in the Sinai Desert on 11 December.

The two deacons were singled out for punishment because their captors believed they were instrumental in alerting human rights NGOs of the plight of over 250 refugees and asylum seekers from Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia who have been imprisoned for over a month in degrading conditions by Bedouin people traffickers in the Sinai Desert. The traffickers are demanding payment of up to US$8,000 per person for their release despite charging them US$2,000 for passage to Israel.

The deacons were among 100 Eritrean refugees who had been separated from the group on 10 December. Prior to the move, the traffickers tore up the refugees’ religious materials and assaulted them severely for failing to make the ransom payments. Agenzia Habeshia also reports that others in the group were beaten, tortured and forced to drink their own urine after being denied water. There are also reports of organ harvesting and of some pregnant women being forced to undergo abortions.

The exploitation of asylum seekers from the Horn of Africa by people traffickers in the Sinai Desert is an ongoing problem. Kidnapping, organ trafficking and the trading of groups of asylum seekers between different gangs is common, and there are fears that the 100 Eritreans may have been sold on to other dealers in the area.

On 1 December CSW, Agenzia Habeshia, EveryOne Group and Human Rights Concern Eritrea issued a joint appeal calling for urgent international intervention and highlighting the degrading and inhumane conditions suffered by the refugees, who have suffered extreme methods of torture, including electric shocks, as well as being bound by chains around their ankles and denied adequate food and water. Agenzia Habeshia and the EveryOne group also filed a lawsuit in Cairo against named traffickers, and passed on details of the location of the initial detention facility.

CSW’s National Director Stuart Windsor said, “We are saddened to hear of the deaths of the two deacons. The situation for these refugees is deteriorating daily and despite assurances by the Egyptian government that they are working hard to free these people, scant progress has been made. The people traffickers have little regard for human life and have shown that they will not hesitate to kill, maim and abuse their victims. Time is running out and the international community must urge the Egyptian government to act decisively to prevent further loss of life by freeing these people and granting them unhindered access to the local offices of the UNHCR. Egypt must also become more proactive in bringing its treatment of refugees and asylums seekers in line with international norms, and ending human trafficking within its borders.”

The Real Saint Nicholas In Alaska

December 15, 2010
Catholic San Francisco

St. Nicholas, from whom the character of Santa Claus comes, looms large in Alaska where multiple Catholic and Orthodox churches bear the saint’s name.

His generosity and kindness to children is legendary, and veneration of the fourth-century saint spans 1,700 years. “St. Nicholas is next to the Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist in devotion and veneration,” said Father James Barrand, pastor of St. Nicholas of Myra Byzantine Catholic Church in Anchorage.

Known in the West as the patron of children, St. Nicholas is seen in the East primarily as the patron of sailors, based on accounts of his calming the seas during his return from a pilgrimage in the Holy Land and his appearance to storm-tossed sailors off the coast of Lycia. These miracles were related across the world, especially by missionaries to Russia.

Deacon Charles Rohrbacher, an iconographer at the Catholic Cathedral of the Nativity in downtown Juneau, said there are many icons and images of St. Nicholas on fishing boats and other sailing vessels in Alaska and elsewhere.

According to Father Michael Oleksa, an Orthodox priest who is rector of St. Alexis Church and chancellor of the Orthodox Diocese of Sitka, Anchorage and Alaska, more churches in the Orthodox tradition are named for St. Nicholas than for any other saint.

The oldest of these is St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church in Juneau, established in 1894. According to its pastor, Father Simeon Johnson, the church received its name after a vision experienced by Tlingit tribal elders. The son of a leader in the community had journeyed to San Francisco where he was to be baptized. While he was gone, several people had dreams of a bearded, balding, white-haired man.

When the young man returned, he brought an image of St. Nicholas. After the elders recognized it as the one from the dreams, the church received its name and more than 700 Tlingit people were baptized there.

St. Nicholas Catholic Church in North Pole, Alaska, received its name with help from the Catholic Church Extension Society, which helped build the church. The town attracts tourists, and many photograph the church and its statue of a kneeling Santa praying at the feet of the infant Jesus.

UNESCO Video About St. Katherine's Monastery in Sinai

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

A Homily on Joseph, the Chaste and Innocent

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

"And Joseph left his garment in her hand, and fled outdoors" (Genesis 39:12).

The innocent and chaste Joseph endured two great and difficult temptations and overcame them: the temptation of wicked envy on the part of his blood brothers, and the temptation of adulterous passion from the Egyptian temptress. Jealousy sold him as a slave, and the passion of adultery drove the innocent one to prison.

In both cases he returned good for evil: he gave food to his hungry brothers and preserved the life, throne and people of frightened Pharaoh. His brothers thought to slay him, but God saved him; the adulterous woman thought to destroy him, but God saved him.

Out of slavery and imprisonment, God crowned him with glory and unlimited authority. And him whom his evil brothers could have killed with one stroke and whom Potiphar's powerful wife could have crushed in an instant, God made the unlimited master over the lives of millions of people and the only nourisher of his starving brothers.

Such is the wondrous mercy of God toward the righteous. Thus does the Lord know how to save and glorify the innocent and the chaste. In the greatness of the destiny of Joseph, we see the greatness of God's mercy.

There is one eye that never sleeps, my brethren. Let us cling to God and not fear anyone. Let us be innocent and chaste and not fear evil, or slander, or prison, or ridicule, or misfortune. On the contrary, let us rejoice when all of this befalls us because of our innocence and chastity; let us rejoice and await with faith the revelation of God's wonders toward us. Let us, in every storm, await the thunder of God's justice - and afterward the calm.

O mysterious Lord, Who secretly but vigilantly accompanies the righteous in slavery and in prison, and manifests Thy mercy in Thine own time, help us to be innocent and chaste. To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.

St. Nicholas and the Three Types of Praiseworthy Zeal

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

There are three types of praiseworthy zeal: zeal in cleansing oneself of sinful desires and thoughts, zeal for the truth of the Faith, and zeal for God's justice among men. All three of these filled the soul of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker to perfection.

He showed zeal in purifying himself throughout his life, vigilantly guarding over his heart. He especially showed zeal for the truth of the Faith at the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea [325] when he entered into a fearful confrontation with Arius. His zeal for God's justice among men was seen particularly in two notable events, when on each occasion he saved three innocent men from the punishment of death.

Once, in his absence from the city of Myra, the avaricious commander Eustathius condemned three men to be beheaded, receiving a bribe for this from some of their enemies. Informed of this, St. Nicholas returned to Myra with the greatest haste. The condemned men had already been brought to the place of execution, and the executioner had already raised the sword over the innocent men. At that moment, Nicholas grabbed the sword, pulled it out of the executioner's hand, and freed the condemned men. Afterward, he rebuked the commander Eustathius and brought him to shame and repentance.

In a similar way, three imperial commanders - Nepotian, Ursus and Herpylion - were slandered before Eulavius the Eparch of Constantinople and before the emperor himself. The emperor signed their death sentence. On the eve of their execution, the three commanders prayed to God, saying: "O God of Nicholas, deliver us innocent ones from death!" That night, St. Nicholas appeared to both the emperor and the eparch in a dream, rebuked them for this injustice, and ordered them to free the three commanders from prison immediately. The next day, the emperor and eparch each related to the other the same dream and they immediately freed the commanders, both from the death sentence and from prison.

The Search for Sodom Under the Dead Sea

From Arutz-7:

"Russia and Jordan have signed an agreement to search the bottom of the Dead Sea for the remains of the Biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Arabic news media reported over the weekend. According to the report, a Russian company has agreed to conduct the search in cooperation with Jordanian authorities, picking up all costs – in exchange for exclusive rights to film a documentary of the search. The report quoted one of the Jordanian heads of the project, Zia Madani, as saying that the search would begin in late December.

[...]

According to Madani, further evidence that the cities remains are located on the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea came after recent NASA photographs of the area indicated that the bottom of the sea is littered with debris and objects not found in other bodies of water. According to the Jordanian, Israel recently sent a submarine down into the Dead Sea in an attempt to explore the bottom of the sea, but discovered that the objects in the NASA photos were on the Jordanian side of the sea. Jordan prevented the Israelis from searching over the border, and now Jordan is seeking to discover what it believes are the remains of the cities by itself.

'Israel National News' could not confirm that an Israeli submarine had in fact searched the depths of the Dead Sea on such a mission."

The full story is here. Some archaeologists and biblical scholars have suggested that Bab edh-Dhra on the eastern side of the Dead Sea may be Sodom. A new season is beginning this week at Tall el-Hammam northeast of the Dead Sea, a site the excavator believes is Sodom (but see my objections here).

One problem with the theory that Sodom is under the Dead Sea is Zephaniah 2:9, which suggests that the area of the city was known and visible late in Judah’s history, not hidden under the waters.

"Therefore, as surely as I live,”
declares the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel,
“surely Moab will become like Sodom,
the Ammonites like Gomorrah—
a place of weeds and salt pits,
a wasteland forever.
The remnant of my people will plunder them;
the survivors of my nation will inherit their land.” (Zeph 2:9)

Source

An 800 Kilometer Litany In Honor of St. Nicholas of Velikoretsky

The Velikoretsky crucession (Russian: Великорецкий крестный ход) is a procession which takes place every year in the Vyatka diocese of the Church of Russia from the city of Kirov to the Velikoretskoye settlement and back.

In 1383 on the bank of the Velikaya River a peasant named Semyon Agalakov discovered an icon of Saint Nicholas. When many people were cured from illnesses by praying before the sacred image, the glory of the wonderworking icon spread all over the Vyatka land and beyond its borders. Even before the time when the icon was first taken to Moscow - on the order of Ivan the Terrible in 1555 - the wonderworking image of St. Nicholas was well-known and honored in Russia.

Due to the glory of the wonderworking icon in the fifteenth century, the settlement of Velikoretskoye was founded. The architectural ensemble of the settlement is a unique sightseeing attraction of the Vyatka land.

The town-dwellers of Khlynov (old name of Kirov) - the capital city of the Vyatka country - took the sacred image of St. Nicholas to the town church having made a promise to bring the icon back to the banks of the Velikaya every year. Since those times, for more than 600 years, from June 3 to June 8, the crucession (the litany or procession) to Velikoretskoye has taken place in Vyatka of about 800 km (about 497 miles). Nowadays on the day of celebrating the anniversary of the icon, thousands of pilgrims not only from Russia but also from abroad gather in Velikoretskoye to pray to the wonderworking image at the holy place where the icon first appeared, to drink water from the holy spring, and to bathe in the waters of the Velikaya river.

St. George Monastery in the Judean Desert, Accessible Once Again

December 7, 2010
The Christian Post

The stark beauty of the place is noticeable from the moment you get out of the car or bus. The Wadi Qelt area of the Judean desert forms an oasis of sheer beauty and certainly seems to have been a fitting place for Joachim and Anne to have stood and prayed to God for the Virgin Mary.

But for Manahem and Iguem, two pilgrims from Russia, the beauty of the area is a secondary concern. They made the trip to St. George's Monastery, in a remote part of the West Bank, not because of the scenery but because "we revere the saints," they explain to Travelujah. For them, it's all about visiting the holy places, places where biblical characters walked and lived, where they prayed and where their prayers were answered.

Asked to comment further on what they felt was so special about this place, why this place in particular when other churches or monasteries might be easier to visit, the priest and nun from central Russia simply smiled and said "it's a holy place, of course we want to come."

Their devotion and that of the thousands of other visitors to this remote sanctuary, named for Saint George, a 6th century Cypriot priest who came here around one hundred years after the place was initially built, had been severely tested over the past few years. That's because the ancient road leading to the monastery, dating from the time of the Ottoman Empire, had been severely damaged by an earthquake and winter storms in the area.

The road had provided an all important access point to the ancient monastery, which is carved into the side of a mountain and accessible even now only through a narrow, winding road followed by a long, winding foot path leading down (and up, when you leave) the side of a rather high mountain (at least 700 feet).

The area might have remained largely inaccessible, languishing between the government of Israel, which controls the area and the Palestinian Authority, who sees any encroachment on the West Bank by the Israelis as an affront, given that they want the same land to build their state. However, a special request by His Beatitude, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theopholis III to the Israeli Tourism Ministry spurred efforts along to find funds to rebuild the road.

"We are not in the business of building roads," Mr. Rafi Ben Hur, the Senior Deputy Director-General at the Israeli Tourism Ministry explains. "However, in this case, we felt we had to make an effort [to find the funds]." According to official reports, 1.76 million Israeli Shekels (around $480,000) was invested by the ministry to rebuild the road and to install new retaining walls and culverts to divert future rainstorm waters so that the monastery will continue to be accessible for tourists and pilgrims alike.

"The area has been rebuilt and is open for tourists, pilgrims and Palestinians alike," Mr. Ben Hur was careful to stress. "We want this place to be a bridge for peace and we hope that through this new effort, [the pilgrims who come will be] emissaries of peace."

Seeing the smiling faces of Manahem and Iguem as they soak in the atmosphere while Theopholis III and Archbishop Aristrachos, both of the Greek Orthodox Church, offer benedictions in the sanctuary, it certainly seems like Mr. Ben Hur's wish may come to fruition.

Eric Hammer is an author and journalist living in central Israel. His work has appeared in several regional newspapers. He writes frequently for Travelujah.

Marilyn Manson Warns Against Black Magic

Marilyn Manson was featured on "Celebrity Ghost Stories" a few days prior to Halloween 2010. He tells an interesting story of an occult ritual which he participated in when he was in High School and lived in Canton, Ohio.

Of interest to my Orthodox readers: The house Marilyn Manson (a.k.a. Brian Warner) grew up in in Canton was next door to the home of a Greek Orthodox family whose son later went to Holy Cross Seminary. I went to Seminary with him and asked him what Manson was like growing up. He said that he was very quiet, normal and nice and even was his baby sitter on many occasions since Manson was older.

I have also personally visited Heritage Christian School in Canton, a Fundamentalist school where Manson received his education throughout his elementary years and part of High School. My impression was that it was a very oppressive atmosphere.

6th Century Baptismal Font Discovered In Hagia Sophia

December 14, 2010
Hurriyet Daily News

A baptismal font unearthed during restoration of Hagia Sophia has been revealed to the press. The baptismal font dates back to the sixth century and was used in mass baptism ceremonies. The pool, which shows the cultural and architectural style of the Byzantine period, will open to visitors in the spring.

A large baptismal font unearthed during restoration work in the Hagia Sophia and dating back to the sixth century was shown to press members at a press conference Monday.

Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency head Yılmaz Kurt noted that a Google search of “Hagia Sofia” yielded 800,000 results and said Istanbul was home to popular world cultural heritage sites. “We are proud to take the initiative in the restoration of this heritage site, provide financing and finish such a huge renovation project.”

Outlining the history of Hagia Sophia, Kurt said: “The construction of Hagia Sophia was ordered by Constantius II. The structure opened in 360 A.D. Its roof burned in a fire in 404 and its restoration took 10 years. In 415, Hagia Sophia opened once again. This second structure burned down in 532 and the church was constructed for the third time under Emperor Justinian. The columns of the Artemis Temple in Ephesus were used in its construction; it opened for the third time in 537. The dome was damaged in earthquakes and completely destroyed in 558. It reopened in 562.”

Kurt said the museum had undergone many restorations between 562 and 2010, the most comprehensive of which was during the reign of Sultan Abdulmecit, between 1847 and 1849. “Archaeological work was also carried out during the restoration process after which it became a museum,” he said.

Kurt said the ancient baptismal font, which was unearthed during archaeological work, would be open to the public for viewing. “The baptismal font was positioned in a place in the structure that was closed to visits. It is made of solid marble. The font, which shows the cultural and architectural style of the Byzantium period, is still very strong and clean. It is very important in the history of the museum and everyone will be able to see it.”

Hagia Sophia Museum Director Haluk Dursun said 2009 and 2010 were the best years for the museum in terms of restoration. He said there were two very important events during the restoration process, the removal of the 17-year-old scaffolding and the discovery of a mosaic featuring a six-winged angel figure.

Dursun said they decided to open the baptism pool to visitors as a surprise for 2010. “As of next spring, visitors will be able to see the baptismal font.”

He also noted that the Hagia Sophia was chosen as European Museum of the Year for 2010 thanks to the comprehensive restoration work and had received the Rotandi Award.

Baptistery becomes sultan tomb

Speaking about the features of the baptismal font, Dursun said the Hagia Sophia’s Byzantine (Greek Orthodox) baptistery building had been turned into an Ottoman sultans’ tomb, and the sixth-century baptismal font in it was moved to the baptistery’s courtyard.

He said the sultans who were buried in the tomb were those who had been dethroned. “When Sultan Mustafa I and Sultan İbrahim were buried there, the baptistery turned into a sultans’ tomb and the baptismal font in it was moved to the court without being damaged. It remained under the soil. This court is a very beautiful section showing Byzantine art.”

Dursun said olive oil was used in baptism ceremonies in Byzantine Orthodox culture. Historical olive oil cubes and sarcophaguses were also unearthed in the court.

He said as part of the restoration work in 2010, the baptistery’s courtyard was restored and the baptismal font was unearthed. “This font was used in mass baptism ceremonies. I guess we are the first ones to see it since the conquest of Istanbul, because the baptismal font was never used again once the Hagia Sophia was turned into a mosque.”

Visits in spring

Dursun said the baptismal font was 3.32 meters long, 2.52 meters wide and 1.16 meters deep. He said interest would increase in the Hagia Sophia Museum when the pool opened to visitors in springtime.

“The number of visitors will reach 3 million. I am concerned about this big interest, because the museum is too narrow. It creates problems when these types of work are visited by lots of people.”

On the Passion of Suspicion

By Elder Daniel Katounakiotis

Suspicion in time of peace teaches disturbance and misunderstanding. Suspicion never knows the truth, even if the eyes see the truth and circumstances speak of kindness and love. Suspicion distorts everything and persuades its lover to be convinced of a lie rather than of a truth of what he sees.

Suspicion is a false and grotesque photographer, who in photographing distorts the image of the form before him....

When temptations occur to one who suffers from suspicion, whether from men or from God for his correction, or from natural coincidences, he assumes that such or such a person instigated them, freely censuring the one who is not responsible....

As a vivid depiction of this disastrous madness, I will dispassionately tell you of a reposed monk of Little St. Anne's, Fr. Theophan. He, as we know, being completely conquered by this disease, separated himself from all his brothers and neighbors, declaring that everyone despised him, and that he alone knew what was right, and that the rest were worthy of abhorrence. He suffered this because his suspicions taught such things to him, and he submitted to them and relied on them.

If, my beloved, it happened for the moment that an Ecumenical Council gathered by the Holy Fathers would condemn such as are deceived by their suspicions, they would never yield, maintaining that they are right and the Holy Fathers are wrong.

- Letter to Elder Callinicus the Hesychast (2/1/1896)

Flee, brethren, from monster-breeding suspicion.

As much as this passion appears small and unimportant, so, on the other hand, if it is not checked, it can become great and bring disastrous consequences. This passion of suspicion is usually proposed to foolish and vain souls by the crafty serpent, for the reason that they are occupied by the passion of envy and remembrance of wrongs.

Therefore, when any brother yields to the suggestion of this passion, he will first get as a fellow-worker and advocate evil curiosity, and in consequence, whatever his thoughts suggest he will consider as a completed event....

When this passion becomes chronic, the enemy brings to the brother various fantasies suitable to the aim of leading him astray; and thus it happens that he loses his reason, from which may the All-Good God and Lord save us....

In order to prevent such an abominable passion, the brother must from the first beginning shun it as a deadly poison, exposing it to infamy through pure confession and self-reproach.

From Contemporary Ascetics of Mount Athos (vol. 1), pp. 315-316.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Homily on the Meekness of Jacob the Patriarch

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

"For I have seen God face to face and my life is preserved" (Genesis 32:30).

The God of Abraham and Isaac is also the God of Jacob the faithful, the obedient, the merciful and the meek. The meek beholder of God, Jacob, can be called the "one who saw God". For in truth he was meek, and he saw God and spoke with God, and he saw the angels of God and the ladder from earth to heaven. By his meekness he defeated Laban his father-in-law, and Esau his brother; by his meekness he made peace between his wives, Leah and Rachel; for his meekness he was even dear to pharaoh. Jacob's meekness is a prefiguration of the meekness of Christ.

"Blessed are the meek," said the Lord, "for they shall inherit the earth" (Matthew 5:5). These words were also realized in Jacob. He inherited the land of his fathers; his descendants were delivered from Egypt and inherited the Promised Land; through Christ the Lord, his descendant according to the flesh, he inherited the whole earth, that is, the Church of God which spread over the entire world.

"I have seen God face to face." Jacob saw God in the form of man but not as true man. And even this vision was only a prefiguring of the true Incarnation of God as man. "And my life is preserved." His soul was preserved from fear and from every unrighteousness. If Jacob was preserved by only seeing a vision of God, how much easier is it for us to be preserved who know God as true man and as the God-man.

O meek Lord, the strength and glory of the meek, as Thou didst preserve Jacob by Thy vision, preserve us also by Thy true Body and Blood. To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.

See also: The Ladder, the Wrestling and the Prophecy of Jacob the Patriarch

Police Education Video about the Eastern Orthodox Church

1,905 Page Suicide Note Reveals a Case of Nihilism

On September 18, 2010 a 35-year-old man named Mitchell Heisman from Somerville, Massachusetts shot himself at Harvard Yard in Cambridge. His suicide note was 1,905 pages long and was published at suicidenote.info, a website he created arguing history, politics, religion and death.

A quick look through the contents of the note show that Mitchell was a Nihilist who logically followed through with his philosophy. Since Nihilism reduces everything to absurdity and is by nature self-refuting, it destroys any value in meaning, purpose and even existence itself. When meaning and purpose are destroyed, an honest Nihilist will then have no choice but to destroy himself. Everything ends in nothingness for the Nihilist. Friedrich Nietzsche wrote: "That there is no truth; that there is no absolute state of affairs - no 'thing-in-itself.' This alone is Nihilism, and of the most extreme kind".

Read more here.

The Helsinki Bulletin On the Serbian Church and Schism

The Helsinki Committee For Human Rights In Serbia has produced a succinct report in the November 2010 Helsinki Bulletin on the recent efforts of the Serbian Orthodox Church in preventing schism and removing itself from its nationalistic, ideological and radical right-wing past which has brought much destruction. It has proven to be a controversial and misunderstood undertaking fueling various unfounded conspiracy theories, but necessary for the future life and mission of Serbian Orthodoxy.

Read the entire report here.

The Holy Five Martyrs of Sebaste

Saints Eustratios, Auxentios, Eugenios, Mardarios and Orestes (Feast Day - December 13)

By St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite

Saints Eustratios, Auxentios, Eugenios, Mardarios and Orestes lived at the time of the emperors Diocletian and Maximianus (284-305 AD) who were persecuting the Christians. At that time, Diocletian appointed the duke Lysias as governor of the province of Limitanea and Agricolaus as lord of all the provinces of the East.

These five Martyrs respected and believed in Christ from the time of their ancestors, but hid the fact that they were Christians, out fear of these tyrants and persecutors of Christians. Of these, Saint Eustratios* came from the city of Aravraka, and was an officer of the Royal Army. He had the desire to express his faith in Christ, but feared the outcome of this action. For this reason he gave his officer belt to a servant and commanded him to go to the church of the city of Aravraka and leave it there. The Saint tooks this action having in mind the following: if his belt, which was left at the entrance of the Holy Sanctuary, was found and taken by priest Auxentius, it would have been a divine indication that he could step forth and reveal his faith and suffer a martyr's death for which he desired. But if the belt was found and taken by someone else, it meant that he would keep his faith in secret because it was not time yet to express it.

The servant complied with the mandate of the Saint, and upon returing, informed him that his belt was found and taken by the priest Auxentius. Thus the Saint took the view that his testimony for the sake of Christ will have a good outcome. Indeed, he then presented himself to Lysias and told him with frankness that he believed in Christ. In addition, the Saint came forth before Lysias as the leader among other saints who came from the military class, and was the first to declare himself a Christian and harshly scrutinized Lysias. After this, Lysias, became furious and immediately deposed him from his office. Then, he commanded the executioners to make him go through a terrible torture. Firstly they removed his clothes and left him naked, and after streaching his body on the ground with a special machine, they started beating him mercilessly with whips. Then, he was tied with a rope and lifted up. They lit a big fire under his body and burnt him. They then mixed salt and vinegar and poured the mixture over his burned body parts. After all these, they destroyed his sides with stones. The Saint and Martyr, however, after the miraculous intervention of God, was perfectly healthy. This led Saint Eugenios to join the faith of Christ.

Then the executioners put iron shoes on the feet of Saint Eustratios which had spikes inside them, and led him to Sebaste of Nicopolis in Armenia along with Eugenios. On the way to Nicopolis, Saint Mardarios saw him driven this way and started blessing him much for his endurance and patience. Then, he consulted his wife, who encouraged him to also become a martyr for the love of Christ. Then Mardarios came running to Saint Eustratios who was walking, tied himself on the shackles, and told the soldiers that he was a Christian.

As soon as Lysias sat in his judging room, he commanded his soldiers to bring Saint Auxentios before him. There, the tyrant attempted to persuade him to return to paganism, but the Saint refused categorically by stating that he remains steadfast in the faith of Christ. Lysias then became incensed and commanded his executioners and they beheaded Auxentios.

Then Saint Mardarios was led to trial. But despite the efforts of the tyrant to dissuade him, he stayed committed to Christ. Lysias resented this fact and made the Saint go through torture. Therefore, they firstly pierced his ankles with a iron, and after passing through the holes ropes, they hung him facing down. Then, they burnt his kidneys and back with hot rods. So, in this way, Saint Mardarios became a Martyr and delivered his spirit to the Lord.

Then the judges led Saint Eugenios in. But he also remained steadfast to his faith in Christ. That is why the executioners cut off his tongue from the root and crushed his legs with clubs. From this suffering the Martyr, Saint Eugenios surrendered his soul into the hands of the Lord.

After this, Lysias went to the exercise field in order to exercise his soldiers. Among them, there was a soldier named Orestes. This soldier was a Christian, but until that time, he hid his faith. At some point during his throwing of the javelin, the Cross that he was wearing came out of his clothes and appeared in the open. So after this incident, he had to confess his faith. Lysias was left dumbfounded by this revelation and with his dictates, the other soldiers tied Orestes with iron chains together with Saint Eustratios. But he did not keep them in Nicopolis to judge them himself, but sent them to Sebaste to be judged by Agricolaus. Lysias, perhaps feared, that by making miracles the Saint would attract many others to the faith of Christ.

In front of Agricolaus, Saint Eustratios who was very well educated and had excellent theological and philosophical training, analyzed throughout Christ's teachings for the salvation of man. With his words, the Saint caused a big surprise but also an unspeakable anger to the tyrant. After this, the Saint was imprisoned. There, in prison, during the night, he was visited by the Bishop of Sebaste, Saint Vlassios (Blaise), and was given Communion. Then, Saint Eustratios give him the text of his will and asked him for its faithful execution. After some time the tyrant commanded his executioners and they first layed Saint Orestes over a burning iron bed. There, the Saint finished his life and delivered his spirit to the Lord. Then, the executioners lit a furnace and threw Saint Eustratios inside it. This is how his life was finished and how he received from the Lord, the wreath of martyrdom.

The memory of the Five Saint Martyrs, Eustratios, Auxentios, Eugenios, Mardarios and Orestes** is celebrated by the Orthodox Church on December 13.

* In the Synaxarion Eustratios is given the Latin title of scriniarius, that is, "keeper of the archives". The prayer, "Magnifying I magnify Thee, O Lord," which is read in the Saturday Midnight Service, is ascribed to him. In the Third Hour and elsewhere there is another prayer, "O Sovereign Master, God the Father Almighty," which is ascribed to Saint Mardarius.

** Their relics were later taken to Constantinople, and are preserved in the church dedicated to them - The Holy Five Companions. They were seen alive in that church.

Read also: Two Miracles of the Holy Five Martyrs of Sebaste

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

Kontakion in the Second Tone
Thou shonest as a most brilliant light for them that sat in the darkness of ignorance, O prizewinner. And armed with faith as with a spear, thou wast not frightened by the audacity of thine adversaries, O Eustratius, most eloquent of orators.

Early 7th Century Monastery In Abu Dhabi Opens To Public

December 13, 2010
Daily Mail

A 1,400-year-old monastery in the United Arab Emirates that is the only pre-Islamic Christian site in the region has opened to the public.

The site at Sir Bani Yas island in Abu Dhabi dates back to around 600AD. It was built by a community of 30 to 40 monks and is understood to have been established by pilgrims travelling from India.

The remains, which also include a church, chapel and tower, were unearthed in 1992 during an archaeological study. Excavations will continue as visitors come to the site with the first being allowed access on Saturday.

Project director Dr Joseph Elders told UAE-based newspaper The National: 'Opening the site to visitors marks an exciting tourism development for the island as we seek to discover and share more about the past lives and human stories that have played their part in creating its fascinating history.'

'Twenty years ago, we had no idea that Christians came this far south and east in the Arabian Gulf.

'This shows that Christianity had penetrated far further than we thought before... We don't have many monasteries from this period.'

Christianity spread through the Gulf between the years 50 and 350, with the monastery's inhabitants probably being members of the Nestorian Church.

Dr Elders added that the site may have been significant because of who founded it.

He said his team had only unearthed one skeleton during their dig; however it appeared that the whole church may have been built around the body.

It is thought that the man, possibly a holy man or local saint, may also have been the reason why pilgrims visited the island - with a separate room for visitors to leave gifts.

They have also found rooms within the monastery decorated with plaster crosses which led into a chapel, while a main settlement room housed the monks and also had a niche for holy water and a brazier for cooking.

Archaeologists also found evidence of pottery that would have been used to prepare food with artefacts include bowls, jars and glass vessels discovered across the area.

Despite the site being more than 1,000 years old, the earliest evidence of humans on Sir Bani Yas dates to around 7,500 years ago, with locations from both the Stone and Bronze ages found.

The settlement that has opened is thought to have remained occupied until around 750 - even though by that stage Islam had begun to spread through the Gulf states.

Dr Elders continued: 'The small Sir Bani Yas Island settlement continued to operate even after the spread of Islam throughout the Gulf. That is a testament to the open-mindedness of the time.

'That the monastery continued for at least a century after the arrival of Islam shows that tolerance of the Muslims quite close to their heartland.'

'We know that there are stories of everyone living in harmony.'

A Homily on Isaac, Who Was Blessed By God

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

"And the Lord appeared unto him the same night, and said, 'I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee'" (Genesis 26:24).

Brethren, from time immemorial, the path upon which the righteous walk has always been difficult. From time immemorial, they have been hard pressed either by those who do not believe in God or by those who maintain an incorrect belief. Abel was hard pressed by his brother Cain; Noah and Lot, by a completely corrupt generation; and Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, by the pagans. However, God does not forsake the righteous to walk the difficult path alone.

This we also see with Isaac: "I am the God of Abraham thy father; fear not." Isaac understood these very meaningful words. By these words, God encouraged and reminded him. He was saying: "Because of Abraham, I will bless thee also; and, as I protected Abraham among the pagans, so in a like manner will I protect thee." And further: "Be faithful to Me as was Abraham thy father." Isaac followed the example of his father and did not turn away from God at any time in his life.

Isaac was a farmer and a cattle-breeder as was his father; he was righteous and meek, avoiding strife with men and doing good for people. "We saw certainly that the Lord was with thee" (Genesis 26:28), as his haters and persecutors finally had to admit. And Isaac was made worthy that God be called His God: just as God was called the God of Abraham, so later He was called the God of Isaac.

O Lord, wondrous in Thy saints, remember our names also along with the names of Thy righteous ones and saints in Thy Kingdom. To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Saint Spyridon the Wonderworker of Trymithous

St. Spyridon the Wonderworker (Feast Day - December 12)

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

The island of Cyprus was both the birthplace and the place where this glorious saint served the Church. Spyridon was born of simple parents, farmers, and he remained simple and humble until his death. He married in his youth and had children, but when his wife died he devoted himself completely to the service of God.

Because of his exceptional piety, he was chosen as bishop of the city of Tremithus (Trymithous). Yet even as a bishop he did not change his simple way of living, handling his livestock and cultivating his land himself. He used very little of the fruits of his labor for himself; instead, he distributed a greater share to the needy.

He manifested great miracles by God's power: he brought down rain in time of drought, stopped the flow of a river, raised several people from the dead, healed Emperor Constantius of a grave illness, saw and heard angels of God, foresaw future events, discerned the secrets of men's hearts, converted many to the true Faith, and did much else.

He took part in the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea [325], and he brought many heretics back to Orthodoxy by his simple and clear expositions of the Faith as well as by his mighty miracles.

He was so simply dressed that once, when he wanted to enter the imperial court at the invitation of the emperor, a soldier, thinking that he was a beggar, struck him on the face. Meek and guileless, Spyridon turned the other cheek to him.

He glorified God through many miracles, and was of benefit, not only to many individuals but also to the whole Church of God. He entered into rest in the Lord in the year 348. His miracle-working relics rest on the island of Corfu, and even today they glorify God with many miracles.

Reflection From His Life

Absolutely nothing will help us if we are not lenient toward the weaknesses of men and forgive them. For how can we hope that God will forgive us if we do not forgive others?

St. Spyridon once sold a hundred goats to a merchant at an agreed price, and the saint told the buyer to lay down the money. The buyer, knowing that Spyridon himself never counted money, handed over enough money for ninety-nine goats and hid the money for one. Spyridon then counted out a hundred goats for him. But when the merchant and his servants drove off the goats, one of them returned bleating. He drove it off, but it returned again. And so the goat continually returned to the enclosure, not wanting to go with the other goats. The saint then whispered into the merchant's ear: "Observe, my son: this animal is not doing this in vain. Did you perhaps withhold her price?" The merchant became ashamed and acknowledged his sin. As soon as he paid the amount he had concealed, the goat immediately joined the other goats.

On another occasion, some thieves entered Spyridon's sheepfold. When they had seized as many sheep as they wanted, they tried to leave the sheepfold, but an invisible force nailed them to the ground, and they were unable to move. At dawn, the bishop came to his sheepfold. Seeing the thieves, he reproached them mildly and instructed them to strive in the future to live by their own labors and not by thievery. He then took a sheep and gave it to them, saying, "Take this for your trouble, so that your all-night vigil not be in vain," and he dismissed them in peace.

Read also:

Saint Spyridon: Protector of the Poor, Father of Orphans, Teacher of Sinners

Saint Triphyllios, Bishop of Nicosia and Disciple of Saint Spyridon

The Great Miracle of St. Spyridon on August 11, 1716

Remembering the Miracle of Saint Spyridon in 1718

A Recent Vision of Saint Spyridon To A Child

The Right Hand of Saint Spyridon

Photographs of the Right Hand of St. Spyridon in Russia

HYMN OF PRAISE: Saint Spyridon the Wonderworker, Bishop of Tremithus

Star of Cyprus and luminary of the Church,
Holy Spyridon, defender of the Faith,
Simple as a child, innocent as a child -
By his simplicity, he shines on the world.
What need is there for many words when speaking the truth?
Utterly simple is God's truth:
The Creator is One, in the Holy Trinity,
In the Trinity, Father, Son and Spirit.
The Son descended to the sinful earth
And received flesh from the Pure Virgin
In order to save men, because He is the Lover of Mankind.
He performed many miracles
By divine power, for He is Almighty.
To mankind He gave a new rule,
The rule of love and the rule of faith.
Glorified, He now sits in heaven,
And gathers the fruit of His labor.
The sweet fruits of His labor
Are holy men and holy women.
He is the Rock of mankind's salvation;
Outside this Rock there is no salvation.
O Spyridon, O illuminator,
O soldier of Christ, pray for us.

Apolytikion in the First Tone
O Father, God-bearer, Spyridon, you were proven a champion and Wonder Worker of the First Ecumenical Council. You spoke to the girl in the grave and turned the serpent to gold. And, when chanting your prayers, most sacred One, angels ministered with you. Glory to Him who glorified you; glory to Him who crowned you; glory to Him who, through you, works healing for all.

Kontakion in the Second Tone
Wounded by your love for Christ, O holy One, your mind given wings by the radiance of the Spirit, you put the practice of theory into deeds, becoming a sacred altar, O Chosen by God, and praying for the divine illumination of all.

Holy New Martyr Peter the Aleut

St. Peter the Aleut (Feast Day - December 12 and September 24)

Saint Peter the Aleut is mentioned in the Life of St Herman of Alaska (December 13). Simeon Yanovsky (who ended his life as the schemamonk Sergius in the St Tikhon of Kaluga Monastery), has left the following account:

"On another occasion I was relating to him how the Spanish in California had imprisoned fourteen Aleuts, and how the Jesuits (actually Franciscans) were forcing all of them to accept the Catholic Faith. But the Aleuts would not agree under any circumstances, saying, 'We are Christians.' The Jesuits argued, 'That's not true, you are heretics and schismatics. If you do not agree to accept our faith then we will torture all of you to death.' Then the Aleuts were placed in prisons two to a cell. That evening, the Jesuits came to the prison with lanterns and lighted candles. Again they tried to persuade two Aleuts in the cell to accept the Catholic Faith. 'We are Christians,' the Aleuts replied, 'and we will not change our Faith.' Then the Jesuits began to torture them, at first the one while his companion was a witness. They cut off one of the joints of his feet, and then the other joint. Then they cut the first joint on the fingers of his hands, and then the other joint. Then they cut off his feet, and his hands. The blood flowed, but the martyr endured all and firmly repeated one thing: "I am a Christian.' He died in such suffering, due to a loss of blood. The Jesuit also promised to torture his comrade to death the next day.

But that night an order was received from Monterey stating that the imprisoned Aleuts were to be released immediately, and sent there under escort. Therefore, in the morning all were sent to Monterey with the exception of the dead Aleut. This was related to me by a witness, the same Aleut who had escaped torture, and who was the friend of the martyred Aleut. I reported this incident to the authorities in St Petersburg. When I finished my story, Father Herman asked, 'What was the name of the martyred Aleut?' I answered, 'Peter. I do not remember his family name.' The Elder stood reverently before an icon, made the Sign of the Cross and said, "Holy New Martyr Peter, pray to God for us."

We know very little about St Peter, except that he was from Kodiak, and was arrested and put to death by the Spaniards in California because he refused to convert to Catholicism. The circumstances of his martyrdom recall the torture of St James the Persian (November 27).

Both in his sufferings and in his steadfast confession of the Faith, St Peter is the equal of the martyrs of old, and also of the New Martyrs who have shone forth in more recent times. Now he rejoices with them in the heavenly Kingdom, glorifying God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, throughout all ages.

Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
Today Alaska rejoices and America celebrates for the New World has been sanctified by martyrdom. Kodiak echoes with songs of thanksgiving, Iliámna and Kenái observe the Festival of Faith. The apostle and martyr Juvenaly is glorified and Peter the Aleut is exalted by his voluntary sacrifice. In their devotion and love for the Lord they willingly endured persecution and death for the Truth. Now in the Kingdom of Heaven they intercede for our souls.

Kontakion in the Fourth Tone
Today Valaam joins Alaska in celebrating this joyous feast, as her spiritual son Juvenaly embraces the New Martyr Peter with love. Together they suffered for the Lord in America and united the Old World with the New by their voluntary sacrifice. Now forever they stand before the King of Glory and intercede for our souls.

Apolytikion in the First Tone
O Peter, upon the rock of thy faith hath Christ built His Church, and in the streams of thy blood hath He hallowed our land. In thee thy people hath been sanctified, O Aleut; from the farthest islands of the west hath He raised thee, a light unto all. Glory to Him that hath glorified thee. Glory to Him that worketh healings for all through thee.

Kontakion in the Fourth Tone
As a skilful fisherman, the Martyr Peter was not harmed when he was caught by adversaries of the Faith; but in a sea of martyric blood, he gained the Kingdom and drowned bitter heresy.

On the Saints of the Old Testament

by St. Gregory Palamas

David indicates that our Lord Jesus Christ has no genealogy with regard to His divinity (Ps. 110:4), Isaiah says the same (Isa. 53:8), and later so does the apostle (Heb. 7:3). How can the descent be traced of Him “who is in the beginning, and is with God, and is God, and is the Word and Son of God” (cf. Jn. 1:1-2, 18)?

He does not have a Father who was before Him, and shares with His Father “a name which is above every name” and all speech (Phil. 2:9).

For the most part, genealogies are traced back through different surnames; but there is no surname for God (cf. Gen. 32:29), and whatever may be said of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, they are one and do not differ in any respect.

Impossible to recount is Christ’s descent according to His divinity, but His ancestry according to His human nature can be traced, since He who deigned to become Son of Man in order to save mankind was the offspring of men. And it is this genealogy of His that two of the evangelists, Matthew and Luke, recorded. But although Matthew, in the passage from his Gospel read today, begins with those born first, he makes no mention of anyone born before Abraham He traces the line down from Abraham until he reaches Joseph to whom, by divine dispensation, the Virgin Mother of God was betrothed (Matt. 1:1-16), being of the same tribe and homeland as him, that her own stock may be shown from this to be in no way inferior.

Luke, by contrast, begins not with the earliest forebears but the most recent, and working his way back from Joseph the Betrothed, does not stop at Abraham, nor, having included Abraham’s predecessors, does he end with Adam, but lists God among Christ’s human forebears (Lk. 3:23-38); wishing to show, in my opinion, that from the beginning man was not just a creation of God, but also a son in the Spirit, which was given to him at the same time as his soul, through God’s quickening breath (Gen. 2:7). It was granted to him as a pledge that, if, waiting patiently for it, he kept the commandment, he would be able to share through the same Spirit in a more perfect union with God, by which he would live forever with Him and obtain immortality.

By heeding the evil counsel of the pernicious angel, man transgressed the divine commandments, was shown to be unworthy, forfeited the pledge, and interrupted God’s plan. God’s grace, however, is unalterable and His purpose cannot prove false, so some of man’s offspring were chosen, that, from among many, a suitable receptacle for this divine adoption and grace might be found, who would serve God’s will perfectly, and would be revealed as a vessel worthy to unite divine and human nature in one person, not just exalting our nature, but restoring the human race.

The holy Maid and Virgin Mother of God was this vessel, so she was proclaimed by the Archangel Gabriel as full of grace (Lk. 1:28), being the chosen one among the chosen, blameless, undefiled and worthy to contain the person of the God-Man and to collaborate with Him. Therefore God pre-ordained her before all ages, chose her from among all that had ever lived, and deemed her worthy of more grace than anyone else, making her the holiest of saints, even before her mysterious childbearing. For that reason, He graciously willed that she should make her home in the Holy of Holies, and accepted her as His companion to share His dwelling from her childhood. He did not simply choose her from the masses, but from the elect of all time, who were admired and renowned for their piety and wisdom, and for their character, words and deeds, which pleased God and brought benefit to all.

Note where this choice began. The excellent Seth was chosen from among Adam’s children, because by his well-ordered conduct, his control over his senses and his glorious virtues he showed himself to be a living heaven and so came to be one of the elect, from whom the Virgin would spring forth, that truly heavenly and divinely appropriate chariot of the supercelestial God, and through whom He would call men back to eternal sonship. Therefore all Seth’s stock were called “sons of God” (Gen 6:2), because it was from the race that the Son of God was to become the Son of Man. That is why the name Seth can be interpreted to mean “resurrection“, or rather “a raising up from“, which really refers to the Lord, who promises and gives eternal life to those who believe in Him.

And how worthy a type of Christ is Seth? “Seth was born to Eve”, as she herself says, “instead of Abel” (Gen. 4:25), whom Cain envied and murdered, whereas the Virgin’s son, Christ, was born to the human race instead of Adam, whom the prince and father of evil killed out of envy. Seth, however, did not raise up Abel, as he was merely a prefiguration of the resurrection, whereas our Lord Jesus Christ resurrected Adam, for He is the true life and resurrection of mankind (cf. Jn. 11:25), through whom Seth’s descendants were deemed worthy, in hope, of divine adoption, being called sons of God. That they were referred to as God’s sons on account of this hope, is demonstrated by the first person to be so called and to inherit God’s election. This was Seth’s son Enos who, as Moses wrote, “was the first to hope to be called by the Lord’s name” (Gen. 4:26 LXX).

Do you see clearly that it was through hope that he came to be called? If the Seventy [translators of the Septuagint] say, “He was the first to hope to be called by the Lord’s name”, they are not at all in disagreement with the others; because Enos lived in a way that pleased God more than anyone else in his day, and was the first to receive this hope from God. He called upon this hope and was called after it. Seth was chosen from God from among Adam’s sons, and so Luke, in preparing his genealogy, traces back to him the whole race from which Christ was born according to the flesh. Then Enos was chosen in preference to Seth’s other children, as we have said. From his descendants Enoch was chosen, who proved through what happened to him that virtue does not go unrewarded, and that this fleeting world is not worthy of those who are well-pleasing to God, for he was translated because he pleased God (Gen. 5:24; Heb. 11:5).

Lamech was chosen and preferred to Enoch’s other descendants, and after him his son, Noah, attained to God’s election and became the only father of everyone in the world after the flood. Only he and his entire family were found to live chastely at that time when the sons of God took wives from among the daughters of men, as Moses tells us (Gen. 6:1-2). This means that among the offspring of Seth, the forefather of the Mother of God, those who were rejected as unworthy were swept out of the Virgin Mother’s family and completely deprived of the divine Spirit. Later this Spirit came upon the Virgin, according to the angel’s words to her: “The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you” (Lk. 1:35).

The Spirit also arranged beforehand for the Virgin to come into being, choosing from the beginning, and cleansing, the line of her descent, accepting those who were worthy, or were to become fathers of eminent men, but utterly casting out the unworthy.

This is why the Lord God said on that occasion of those rejected ones, “My Spirit shall not abide with these men, for they are flesh” (Gen. 6:3 LXX).

Although the Virgin, of whom Christ was born according to the flesh, came from Adam’s flesh and seed, yet, because this flesh had been cleansed in many different ways by the Holy Spirit from the start, she was descended from those who had been chosen from every generation for their excellence. Noah, too, “a just man and perfect in his generation”, as the Scriptures say of him (Gen. 6:9), was found worthy of this election.

Observe also that the Holy Spirit makes it clear to such as have understanding that the whole of divinely inspired Scripture was written because of the Virgin Mother of God. It relates in detail the entire line of her ancestry, which begins with Adam, then passes through Seth, Noah and Abraham, as well as David and Zerubbabel, those in between them and their successors, and goes up to the time of the Virgin Mother of God. By contrast, Scripture does not touch upon some races at all, and in the case of others, it makes a start at tracing their descent, then soon abandons them, leaving them in the depths of oblivion. Above all, it commemorates those of the Mother of God’s forebears who, in their own lives and the deeds wrought by them, prefigured Christ, who was to be born of the Virgin.

See how Noah clearly foreshadows Him who was later to be born of the Virgin, for whose sake the election was made. For Noah was shown to be the savior, not of all the race of men in general, but of his own household, all of whom were saved through him. In the same way Christ, too, is the Savior of the race of men, not of all men in general, but of all His own household, that is of His Church; not, however, of the disobedient. Furthermore, the name Noah can be translated to mean “rest” (Gen. 5:29). But who is true “rest” except the Virgin’s Son, who says,

“Come unto me through repentance, all you that labor and are heavy laden with sin, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28), bestowing freedom, ease and eternal life upon you.

Lamech, who gave Noah this name, because he saw in him Christ, who was later to come from their stock, and would be the comfort of all God-fearing people down through the ages, clearly prophesied through this name concerning Christ.

“He called his name Noah”, says the Scripture, “saying, ‘This name shall bring us rest from our works, and from the toils of our hands, and from the earth, which the Lord our God has cursed’” (Gen. 5:29 LXX).

These words are not about the flood which came to pass, for Lamech’s death preceded the flood, yet he says that Noah will “bring us rest”, including himself as a partaker in the comfort he foretold. In those days it had not yet come about that in each man “every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5) throughout his life, which was why universal destruction of everyone on earth came upon the earth from God. So to whom do his words refer when he says, “He will bring us rest”? He also says, “He shall bring us rest from the earth except Him who opened heaven, raised our nature thither and taught us, through words and deeds, the way up to heaven, calling us towards it? But if the flood too prefigured this rest, it did so by cutting off sins and laying them to rest, not by bringing comfort and ease to sinners.

In this way and for these reasons, Noah attained to God’s election. Of his children, Shem was accepted among those chosen to be the blessed family of the Mother of God. That is why, although Japheth also appears to have been well-pleasing to his father, only Shem heard from his father, “Blessed be the Lord God of Shem” (Gen. 9:26), as his progeny was to be divine. For it was from him that Abraham was descended, who was preferred according to God’s election above all Shem’s offspring and was called to be part of the lineage of the Virgin Mother. He was given a new name by God, and received that great promise that all the families of the earth would be blessed in his seed (Gen. 17:5; 12:3). According to Paul, Christ our God, who was born of the Virgin, is his seed according to the flesh (Gal. 3:16).

And who could describe the divine visions that Abraham experienced, or the signs and promises from God which foreshadowed and prophesied concerning the ever-virgin Mother of God and her ineffable childbearing? Let us, however, quickly pass over what happened next, as time does not permit us to speak at length. From among Abraham’s children Isaac was chosen, then Jacob from among his sons, and the tribe of Judah from Jacob’s offspring. From this tribe the root of Jesse was selected, and for those who sprang from this root, David the psalmist and prophet and king, of whom God says, “Thy seed shall endure forever, and His throne as the sun before Me; and as the moon that is established forever, and the witness in heaven is faithful” (Ps. 89:36-37 LXX).

Who is this witness? Obviously He who sits upon the heavenly throne, of whom it says elsewhere: “His name shall be continued as long as the sun: and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in Him” (Ps. 72:17 LXX).

From this the lineage of the Mother of God and Joseph, to whom she was betrothed, seems somehow double, for both were of the same tribe and descent according to the law. Thus the family’s ancestral line is twofold, made up both of natural children and children according to the law, often converging into one, but sometimes divided into two, so that the same child, strange as it may seem, might be the son of two fathers who are brothers, of the one from a legal point of view, as not having been begotten of him physically, and of the other, according to nature, as having been raised up as seed for his brother (Matt. 22:24; Deut. 25:5; Gen. 38:8); inasmuch as the child traces his ancestry back to David through both his fathers. It is possible to see the dual nature of this lineage in another respect, because the royal line was united on many occasions and in numerous ways with the priestly one.

Thus in the holy ancestral line of the Mother of God, Zerubbabel traces his lineage back to David through the descendants of Nathan, who was counted among the priests, as well as through those of Solomon, who inherited the kingdom. For this reason the Lord’s genealogy according to the flesh is drawn up differently by the evangelists Luke and Matthew, because one takes into account natural fathers, the other, fathers according to the law, and one mentions only those of royal descent, whereas Luke brings in those of the Levitical race and those of the royal house, who were bound together by priesthood or marriage.

As for Zerubbabel, because he was also favored among the Mother of God’s forbears, he too prefigured Christ and was honored with great titles and authority. Born in captivity, he was admired by Cyrus, king of the Medes and Persians, for his virtue and misunderstanding. He taught both Hebrews and foreigners the power of the truth, set his race free from servitude, and restored God’s Temple (1 Esd. 4:33-63; Ezra 3:1-13).

Later Christ did something similar, not renewing the inanimate Temple, but that living, rational temple, our nature, and redeeming it, not from perceptible and temporary, but spiritual and primeval captivity. Nor did He move His followers from one country to another, but transferred them from earth to heaven. Zerubbabel was the forefather of both the Virgin and Joseph to whom she was betrothed, but whereas she was the Virgin’s forbear by nature alone, he was Joseph’s according to nature and the law. For Joseph had two fathers, Heli according to Luke (Lk. 3:23), and Jacob according to Matthew (Matt. 1:16). Heli and Jacob were brothers descended from Zerubbabel, and when Heli died without children, Jacob fathered a child, Joseph, by his brother’s wife, who according to the law belongs to Heli.

Now these things are examples and types of greater mysteries, since it was necessary that the royal line be united in many ways, with the priestly race, which would bring forth the family of Christ according to the flesh; because in many ways Christ is truly the eternal King and High Priest. And the fact that adopted sons are counted as sons, that the law approves of adoptive fathers no less and sometimes more than natural fathers, and that the same, appropriately, applies to other kinds of kinship, was a clear example and type of our adoption by Christ, our kinship with Him and our calling according to the Spirit and the law of grace. For the Lord Himself says in the Gospels, “Whosoever shall do the will of My Father which is in heaven, the same is My brother, and sister, and mother” (Matt. 12:50).

Do you see that the family and kin of Christ are not engendered according to nature, but according to grace and the law that comes from grace? This law is so far superior to the law given through Moses that, whereas those called sons according to the law of Moses are neither born of God nor do they transcend human nature, those styled sons by the law of grace are born of God, brought to perfection above nature and made sons of Abraham through Christ, more closely associated with Him than sons according to blood. All who have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ, according to Paul (Gal. 3:27), and although they are other people’s children according to nature, they are born supernaturally of Christ, who in this way conquers nature. For as He became incarnate without seed of the Holy Spirit and the ever-virgin Mary, so He grants potential and power to those that believe in His name to become children of God. For “as many as received Him”, says the evangelist, “to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (Jn. 1:12-13).

Why, when he says, “which were born of God”, does he not say “and became sons of God”, but “received power to become” sons? Because he was looking towards the end and universal restoration, the perfection of the age to come. The same evangelist says in his Epistles, “It does not yet appear what we shall be: but when He shall appear, we shall be like Him” (1 Jn. 3:2).

Then we shall be children of God, seeing and experiencing God’s radiance, with the rays of Christ’s glory shining around us and shining ourselves, as Moses and Elijah proved to us when they appeared with Him in glory on Mount Tabor (Matt. 17:3; Lk. 9:30). ”The righteous”, it says, “shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matt. 13:43).

We receive power for this purpose now through the grace of divine baptism. Just as a newborn infant has received potential from his parents to become a man and heir to their house and fortune, but does not yet possess that inheritance because he is a minor, nor will he receive it if he dies coming of age, so a person born again in the Spirit through Christian baptism has received power to become a son and heir of God, a joint-heir with Christ (Rom. 8:17), and in the age to come he will, with all certainty, receive the divine and immortal adoption as a son, which will not be taken from him, unless he has forfeited this by spiritual death. Sin is spiritual death, and whereas physical death is annulled when the future age arrives, spiritual death is confirmed for those who bring it with them from here.

Everyone who has been baptized, if he is to obtain the eternal blessedness and salvation for which he hopes, should live free from all sin. Peter and Paul, the leaders of the highest company of the holy apostles made this clear. Paul said of Christ, “In that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he lives, he lives unto God”, (Rom. 6:10-11), whereas Peter wrote, “Forasmuch as Christ has died for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: that you no longer should live the rest of your time by the lusts of men, but by the will of God” (1 Pet. 4:1-2).

If it was for our sake that the Lord lived His time on earth, to leave us an example, and He passed His life without sin, we too must live without sin, in imitation of Him. Since He said even to Abraham’s descendants according to the flesh, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham” (Jn. 8:39), how much more will He say to us who have no physical kinship with Him, “If you were My children, you would do My works”? It is therefore consistent and just that anyone who, after divine baptism, after the covenants he made then to God and the grace he received from it, does not follow Christ’s way of life step by step, but transgresses and offends against the benefactor, should be utterly deprived of divine adoption and the eternal inheritance.

But, O Christ our King, who can worthily extol the greatness of Your love for mankind? What was unnecessary for Him and what He did not do, namely, repentance (for He never needed to repent, being sinless, cf. Heb. 4:15), He granted to us a mediator for when we sin even after receiving grace. Repentance means returning once again to Him and to a life according to His will out of remorse. Even if someone commits a deadly sin, if he turns away from it with all his soul, abstains from it and turns back to the Lord in deed and truth, he should take courage and be of good hope, for he shall not lose eternal life and salvation. When a child according to the flesh meets his death, he is not brought back to life by his father, but someone born of Christ, even though he fall into deadly sins, if he turns again and runs to the Father who raises the dead, is made alive once more, obtains divine adoption, and is not cast out from the company of the just.

May we all attain to this, to the glory of Christ and of His Father without beginning and of the life-giving Spirit, now and forever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

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