Elder Porphyrios: "We Ought Not To Fear the Antichrist Or 666"

One day Elder Porphyrios had told me:

"Father Athanasios (taking me by the hand tightly), I'm blind now, my eyes do not work physically because I have cancer of the pituitary gland, but I have spiritual eyes and see. Before you leave, I want you to tell me, what did Elder Aemilianos say about 666 and the Antichrist?"

This was in the days of Chernobyl. People were upset by this and went by the dozens every day, particularly to Elder Porphyrios near Athens, asking: "What will happen? Will the Antichrist come and stamp us with 666"?

The Elder asked me: "Tell me, my child, what did Elder Aemilianos say about 666 and the Antichrist?"

I told him: "He told us in a gathering a few days ago to not worry. We should be interested in having a vibrant relationship with Christ and not give much attention to the Antichrist, because then he will become the center of our lives and not Christ."

Immediately the Elder hit his hands against his bed and said: "What did you say, my child, what did you say?! Glory to You, O God, that I found a spiritual father who agrees with me! My child, these spiritual fathers here in the world, what have they done?! They have upset souls and created many problems psychologically and with families with the 666. People in the world cannot sleep and are taking psychiatric drugs and sleeping pills in order to sleep. What is this thing? Christ does not want these things, my child. And can I tell you something?"

"What Elder?" I said.

He told me: "For us Christians, when we experience Christ there is no Antichrist. Tell me something, on this bed I sit here, can you also sit on it?"

I said to him: "No, Elder."

He asked: "Why?"

I responded: "Because if I sit on you I will crush you."

He asked again: "Will you never be able to sit here?"

I said to him: "When you leave, Elder, I can sit."

He said to me: "Precisely, my child. The same happens with our souls. When we have Christ inside us, can the Antichrist come? Can anything opposite this enter our souls? For this reason, my child, today we do not have Christ within us and because of this we worry about the Antichrist.

When Christ is within us, everything becomes Paradise. Christ is everything, my child, and the Opposer we should not fear; this you should always tell people. And let me tell you something. If the same Antichrist came now with a device that shot laser beams and sealed me by force with 666, I would not be upset. You will tell me, 'Elder, is this not the seal of the Antichrist?' Yes, but even if he wrote 666 on me a thousand times with laser beams, indelibly, I would not be upset.

Why? Because, my child, the first martyrs they cast to the wild beasts, and when they did their cross the wild beasts became like lambs. They cast them in the sea, but when they did their cross the sea became like dry land and they walked on it. They cast them in the fire, but when they did their cross the fire was cooled. My blessed child, what have we become today? Do we believe in Christ? In our cross? Why did Christ come? Didn't Christ come to strengthen us in our sicknesses?

This is what you should say to the Elder, my child. And you should tell the people to not fear the Antichrist. We are children of Christ, we are children of the Church."

All this made quite an impression on me.

And he added: "Can I tell you something?"

I said: "Please, Elder."

"Patriarch Demetrios, how did he come to Athens?"

"With an aeroplane", I said.

"Well, yes, I know he came with an aeroplane. Did you think the man swam over? With what documents?"

"With a passport, Elder", I said.

"Greek or Turkish?"

"I don't know", I said.

"Well, you play the wise man. He came with a Turkish one. And what is the emblem of Turkey, you know?"

I said: "I don't know, Elder."

"Now you have overdone it, not knowing the emblem of Turkey? It is the crescent. And do you know what the Fathers of the Church called the crescent after the appearance of Muhammad?"

"No, Elder", I said.

Jokingly he said: "Well, I should take your degree and tear it up. What kind of a theologian are you?

The crescent is a symbol of the Antichrist. If the crescent is a symbol of the Antichrist and the passport of the Patriarch has a symbol of the Antichrist (and in their seals, how many seals do they put inside and out?), does this mean our Patriarch is the Antichrist?

No, my child, no! Do not restrict the Gospel message so much! Christ is not as narrow-minded as us people who want to defend our opinions.

This is what you should tell the Elder and this is what you should tell the people: We ought not to fear the Antichrist or 666."

Source: Ανθολόγιο Συμβουλών Γέροντος Πορφυρίου, σελ. 71, 72-75, δ΄ έκδ. 2003.

Translated by John Sanidopoulos

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Saint Thomaïs the Righteous of Lesvos and Patron of Marriage

St. Thomais of Lesvos (Feast Day - January 3)

St. Thomais was from the island of Lesvos and was born between 910-913 AD from pious and rich parents. They were childless, but by the Grace of God and the intercessions of the Panagia, they brought Thomais into the world. The Saint, pressured by her parents, was married to a man named Stephanos. And because she was very pious and virtuous, she endured the barbaric behavior of her husband, who beat her severely every day [for thirteen years]. The Saint countered this temptation with prayer, patience and charity. God made her worthy of the grace of wonder-working.

St. Thomais righteously fell asleep in peace at the age of 38 and was buried in the convent named “Mikra Romaiou”, or “Romaiou”, which was between Selyvria and Polyandriou on the seventh hill of Constantinople. Forty days after her burial, her holy relic was uncovered and placed in a luxurious reliquary inside the church of the monastery. [Her body] was incorrupt and on her precious hands bore wounds inflicted from her husband. In older times her memory was celebrated on January 1st, but after the tenth century the celebration of her memory was transferred to January 3rd, as the day of her death was the same as the feasts of Christ's Circumcision and St. Basil the Great. Her precious body was lost, most likely during the sack of Constantinople by the Latins (1204).

Her grave and her sacred relic became a spring of miracles. A demon-possessed man named Konstantinos, who approached her tomb, was healed. A paralytic named Eutychianos, who prayed and embraced her tomb stood on his feet. A nun with terrible pains in the head was healed and another with epilepsy was also healed. A fisherman found his torn nets in the sea filled with fish. A woman with terrible stomach pains was healed and from gratitude built a magnificent arch above her grave. It should also be noted that her husband, who after her death became possessed, was healed. They placed him in chains and lead him to the Saint's tomb and he was healed.

Source

For her complete life and many miracles, read here.

For more details on her life and miracles in Greek, read here.

For a modern miracle of St. Thomais, read here.

Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
The troubles of your life, as a rational offering, you offered to Christ, and the strength of miracles, O Righteous one, shone forth. Therefore as a a divine example of marriage, we praise you O Thomais, and faithfully cry out, 'Hail pure boast of the island of Lesvos!'

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Saint Genevieve, Patron Saint of Paris

St. Genevieve of Paris (Feast Day - January 3)

THE FIFTH CENTURY, during which St. Geneviève graced the city of Paris, was the century par excellence of the radical transformation of Western Europe, and of France in particular.

Although Gaul (present-day France) still constituted a thriving part of the glorious Roman Empire, the continual incursions of barbarian tribes desolated it, and, towards the end of the fifth century, the tribes of the Franks, Visigoths, and Burgundians, among others, having installed themselves in various parts of the country, were at war with each other over the conquest of the entire country. This century, however, though so very turbulent, constitutes one of the most glorious in the history of the Church in France.

Receiving the first seeds of Christianity in the second century, France had been completely Christianized by the end of the fourth century. The newly-enlightened people already honored many Holy Martyrs and wonderworking Bishops. The most renowned among them, St. Martin the Wonderworker, probably founded the first monastic brotherhoods towards the end of the fourth century. Monasticism developed rapidly in the next century throughout the country; and for many centuries after, the monasteries would constitute virtually the sole centers of civilization in France, which was suffering from the barbarity of its new inhabitants.

ONE OF the greatest saintly figures of the fifth century is St. Geneviève. She was born around 422 in the village of Nemetodorum [present-day Nanterre—Trans.], several kilometers west of Paris, to wealthy and pious parents, Severus and Gerontia. In her childhood, she pastured her parents’ flock on the wooded hills on the banks of the Seine.

When she was around eight years old, God summoned her to dedicate her life to Him in the following manner. Responding to Britain’s requests for aid in opposing the Pelagian heresy, a local Synod in France decided to send the most saintly and wonderworking Bishops Germanus and Lupus to that country.

On their journey, the two Bishops passed through Nemetodorum. The pious people greeted them with holy enthusiasm and asked them to celebrate Vespers together.

While blessing the people, the saintly Germanus saw the blessed young girl, and, enlightened by Divine Grace, prophesied to her astonished parents that she would become “great in the eyes of the Lord” and that “many will find salvation through her.” He then asked Geneviève: “My girl, do you wish to dedicate yourself to Christ as an immaculate bride?” The Saint replied: “That, Master, is precisely my heart’s desire. May God fulfill it for me.”

The holy Bishop kept his hand on Geneviève’s head throughout Vespers and told her parents to bring her to the Church very early the next day.
In the morning, the Bishop asked her: “ Geneviève, my child, do you remember the vow you made yesterday?” “Yes, holy Master,” she answered. “I promised to dedicate my soul and body to God to the end of my life.”

Then St. Germanus found a coin on the ground that was marked with the sign of the Precious Cross, and he gave it to her to hang around her neck as a reminder of her vow, instructing her never to wear expensive garments and jewelry.

On a certain Feast Day shortly thereafter, her mother was going to go to Church and told Geneviève to remain at home. Her pious daughter protested, reminding her of her promise. Her mother then slapped her and...was immediately blinded! Later, the Saint brought water to their house, prayed for the healing of her mother, and made the sign of the Cross over the water. When her mother, Gerontia, washed her face with the blessed water, she regained her sight!

When she was around fifteen years old, Geneviève went to the Bishop with two other virgins to receive the monastic tonsure. Despite the fact that she was the youngest, the Bishop, inspired by God, tonsured her first.

At that time, women’s monasteries had not yet been established. Thus, when her pious parents reposed a short while later, she moved to her godmother’s house in Paris, on the top of the hill across from the Seine, which now bears her name.

There, she engaged in very strict asceticism, eating only on Thursdays and Sundays a little barley bread and beans, which she boiled every two or three weeks.

The Lord permitted for a dreadful paralysis to come over her entire body, so that she could not move any of her members, and for three days remained as one dead. When she had recovered somewhat, she recounted that an Angel had taken her and shown her Hell and Paradise. The holy maiden dwelt particularly on the description of the indescribable good things awaiting the righteous.

The blessed Geneviève soon reaped the succulent fruits of such an asceticism, acquiring in abundance the gifts of the Holy Spirit: the gifts of tears, clairvoyance, prophecy, and wonderworking.

AS ALWAYS HAPPENS, when the Evil One saw that it was not possible to vanquish the Saint, he incited people to slander and condemn her.

When, in 445, the most saintly Bishop Germanus was again going to Britain and passed through Paris, the Saint’s enemies criticized her to him. The God-bearing Hierarch took no account of the slander, but prayed with her and showed the Parisians the tears that the Saint had copiously shed as an indication of the gift she had received from the Lord.

From then on the inhabitants of the region began to respect her and to seek her enlightened advice and her wonderworking prayers.

One of the Saint’s prophecies, which was fulfilled, contributed much to establishing firmly in everyone’s conscience that she truly was a Saint. When Attila and his barbarian hordes drew near to Paris, the inhabitants were seized with panic and prepared to abandon the city. The Saint told them that the Lord would free them from danger, that they should not panic, but pray and fast. Not accepting her advice, the Parisians rose up against her and were ready to stone her. In the end, the Lord preserved her from the fury of the crowd, and the barbarian Huns suddenly and without apparent reason changed direction, and shortly afterwards were defeated by the relatively feeble Roman army under General Aetios, two hundred kilometers from Paris on the Champs Catalaniques (451).

The anonymous biographer of the Saint relates multitudes of miracles in her Life, which was written just eighteen years after her holy repose: she expelled demons, healed paralytics, and gave light to the blind.

Once, a sorrowful mother brought her the dead body of her four-year-old son. The Saint covered him with her cloak and prayed for many hours with tears, until the child was resurrected.

Every year, following the Eastern ascetic tradition, she remained in reclusion from Theophany until Great Thursday. One nun attempted to observe what she did in reclusion in her cell, but when she reached the door, she was blinded. After the Great Fast was over, the Saint went to the cell of the blinded nun and, praying, made the sign of the Cross over her and restored her sight.

St. Geneviève especially revered St. Dionysius, the first Bishop of Paris, who had been martyred several kilometers to the north of the city.

She therefore persuaded several Priests to build a Church over the grave of the Holy Martyr. Objections were raised however, because there was no limestone for the construction. The Saint sent them to the city bridge. There, they encountered two shepherds who were discussing the fact that they had found a source of limestone in the forest!

The Church was soon built, and the blessed Geneviève regularly went there to pray, particularly on Sundays, when she would spend the entire night in vigil.

One Saturday evening, she set off for the Church of St. Dionysius with her Sisterhood, even though a violent thunderstorm had erupted. Suddenly, their lantern went out from the strong wind. The nuns were overcome by great fear, finding themselves abandoned to the darkness and mud, without any orientation. The Saint heartened them, then prayed and made the sign of the Cross over the lantern. It miraculously lit up on its own and, guided by the miraculous light, they safely reached the Church for the Vigil.

The Saint, together with the Sisterhood that had gathered around her, made many pilgrimages to the grave of St. Martin the Wonderworker in Tours, approximately two hundred kilometers from Paris, during which she worked many miracles.

Yet another time, the Saint saved her city. When the Franks besieged Paris and the inhabitants were in danger of starvation, the Saint guided a fleet of ships to the regions that had not been destroyed by the Franks and brought them back loaded with wheat to feed the Parisians.

We should mention the very important testimony of the great Saint of Antioch, the heroic St. Symeon the Stylite (†30 April 459), concerning the boldness of St. Geneviève before the Lord.

Some Parisian merchants had gone to the East, and, attracted by the renown of the wondrous St. Symeon, who had been practicing asceticism for nearly forty years on a pillar in Antioch, they visited him in order to receive his blessing. But what was their surprise, when the most admirable ascetic told them to convey his greetings to St. Geneviève, and with great reverence asked for her prayers!

The Saint was also renowned for her compassion, especially for the imprisoned, of whom there were many in that turbulent period.

Many times she successfully interceded with the barbarian King of the Franks, Childeric, to liberate them. The King was unable to refuse her this, overcome by her fervent entreaty.

One day, Childeric wanted to execute numerous prisoners of war. He secretly exited the city and ordered the gates to be locked behind him. The Saint was informed of the plot and ran to the place of execution. When she reached the locked gates, she made the sign of the Precious Cross and they automatically opened. She forestalled
the execution, and yet one more time the idolatrous King, who deeply respected her, spared the prisoners for her.

The God-bearing and wonderworking St. Geneviève reposed in the Lord, in the fullness of years, on 3 January, probably in the year 512. Her Grace-imbued Relics were initially placed in the Church of St. Dionysius, and later in the Church of St. Stephen in Paris, on the hill where she had offered her ascetic labors and her tears of love as a most precious dowry to Christ, her Heavenly Bridegroom.

Through the holy intercessions of St. Geneviève, O Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.

Source

Note: Most of her relics were dumped into the Seine by the radical atheists of the French Revolution, but others were collected from churches around France to which they had already been distributed and placed in the reliquary pictured above.


Apolytikion in Plagal of the Fourth Tone
Through thee the divine likeness was securely preserved, O Mother Genevieve; for thou didst carry the cross and followed Christ. By example and precept thou didst teach us to ignore the body because it is perishable, and to attend to the concerns of the undying soul. Therefore, doth thy soul rejoice with the angels.

Kontakion in the Second Tone
Out of love for the Lord thou didst suppress the desire to rest, O venerable Geneviève, making thy spirit radiant through abstinence. Wherefore, thou didst tame wild beasts by thy power, and by thy supplications thou didst put down the uprisings of the enemy.

More hymns here.

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The Merry Cemetery of Sapanta, Romania

The Merry Cemetery (Romanian: Cimitirul Vesel) is a cemetery in the village of Săpânţa, Maramureş county, Romania. It is famous for its colourful tombstones with naïve paintings describing, in an original and poetic manner, the persons that are buried there as well as scenes from their lives. The Merry Cemetery became an open-air museum and a national tourist attraction. The Merry Cemetery is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The unusual feature of this cemetery is that it diverges from the prevalent belief, culturally shared within European societies – a belief that views death as something indelibly solemn.

The cemetery's origins are linked with the name of Stan Ioan Pătraş, a local artist who sculpted the first tombstone crosses. In 1935, Pătraş carved the first epitaph and, as of 1960s, more than 800 of such oak wood crosses came into sight.

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Saint Ekvtime Taqaishvili of Georgia, the Man of God

St. Euthymius Takaishvili (Feast Day - January 3)

Saint Ekvtime (Euthymius) Taqaishvili (Takaishvili), called the “Man of God,” was born January 3, 1863, in the village of Likhauri, in the Ozurgeti district of Guria, to the noble family of Svimeon Taqaishvili and Gituli Nakashidze. He was orphaned at a young age and raised by his uncle.

From early childhood St. Ekvtime demonstrated a great passion for learning. Having completed his studies at the village grammar school, he enrolled at Kutaisi Classical High School. In 1883 he graduated with a silver medal and moved to St. Petersburg to continue his studies in the department of history-philology at St. Petersburg University. In 1887, having successfully completed his studies and earned a degree in history, St. Ekvtime returned to Georgia and began working in the field of academia. His profound faith and love for God and his motherland determined his every step in this demanding and admirable profession.

In 1895 Ekvtime married Nino Poltoratskaya, daughter of the famous Tbilisi attorney Ivan Poltoratsky, who was himself a brother in-law and close friend of St. Ilia Chavchavadze the Righteous. From the very beginning of his career St. Ekvtime began to collect historical-archaeological and ethnographical materials from all over Georgia. His sphere of scholarly interests was broad, including historiography, archaeology, ethnography, epigraphy, numismatics, philology, folklore, linguistics, and art history. Above all, St. Ekvtime strove to learn more about Georgian history and culture by applying the theories and methodologies of these various disciplines to his work.

In 1889 St. Ekvtime established the Exarchate Museum of Georgia, in which were preserved ancient manuscripts, sacred objects, theological books, and copies of many important frescoes that had been removed from ancient churches. This museum played a major role in rediscovering the history of the Georgian Church.

In 1907 St. Ekvtime founded the Society for Georgian History and Ethnography. Of the many expeditions organized by this society, the journey through Muslim (southwestern) Georgia was one of the most meaningful. Having witnessed firsthand the aftermath of the forced isolation and Islamization of this region, St. Ekvtime and his fellow pilgrims acquired a greater love for the Faith of their forefathers and became more firmly established in their national identity. Though they no longer spoke the Georgian language, the residents of this region received the venerable Ekvtime with great respect, having sensed from his greeting and kindness that he had come fromtheir far-off motherland.

There was not a single patriotic, social or cultural movement in Georgia during the first quarter of the 20th century in which St. Ekvtime did not actively take part. Among his other important achievements, he was one of the nine professors who founded Tbilisi University in 1918. St. Ekvtime also vigorously advocated the restoration of the autocephaly of the Georgian Orthodox Church.

On March 11, 1921, the Georgian government went into exile in France. The government archives and the nation’s spiritual and cultural treasures were also flown to France for protection from the Bolshevik danger. St. Ekvtime was personally entrusted to keep the treasures safe, and he and his wife accompanied them on their flight to France. St. Ekvtime bore the hardships of an emigrant’s life and the horrors of World War II with heroism, while boldly resisting the onslaught of European and American scholars and collectors and the claims of other Georgian emigrants to their “family relics.”

In 1931 St. Ekvtime’s wife, Nino, his faithful friend and companion, died of starvation. The elderly widower himself often drew near to the brink of death from hunger, cold, and stress, but he never faltered in his duty before God and his motherland—he faithfully protected his nation’s treasures.

The perils were great for St. Ekvtime and the treasures he protected: British and American museums sought to purchase the Georgian national artifacts; a certain Salome Dadiani, the widow of Count Okholevsky, declared herself the sole heir of the Georgian national treasure; during World War II the Nazis searched St. Ekvtime’s apartment; even the French government claimed ownership of the Georgian treasures.

Finally, the Soviet victory over fascist Germany created conditions favorable for the return of the national treasures to Georgia. According to an agreement between Stalin and De Gaulle, the treasures and their faithful protector were loaded onto an American warplane and flown back to their motherland on April 11, 1945. When he finally stepped off the plane and set foot on Georgian soil, St. Ekvtime bowed deeply and kissed the earth where he stood. Georgia greeted its long-lost son with great honor. The people overwhelmed St. Ekvtime with attention and care, restored his university professorship, and recognized him as an active member of the Academy of Sciences. They healed the wounds that had been inflicted on his heart.

Exhausted by the separation from his motherland and the woes of emigration, St. Ekvtime rejoined society with the last of his strength. But mankind’s enemy became envious of the victory of good over evil and rose up against St. Ekvtime’s unshakable spirit. In 1951 the Chekists arrested his stepdaughter, Lydia Poltoratskaya. St. Ekvtime, who by that time was seriously ill, was now left without his caregiver. In 1952, without any reasonable explanation, St. Ekvtime was forbidden to lecture at the university he himself had helped to found, and he was secretly placed under house arrest. The people who had reverently greeted him upon his return now trembled in fear of his persecution and imminent death. Many tried to visit and support St. Ekvtime, but they were forbidden. On February 21, 1953, St. Ekvtime died of a heart attack, and three days later a group of approximately forty mourners accompanied the virtuous prince to his eternal resting place.

On February 10, 1963, the centennial of St. Ekvtime’s birth, his body was reburied at the Didube Pantheon in Tbilisi. When his grave was uncovered, it was revealed that not only his body, but even his clothing and footwear had remained incorrupt. St. Ekvtime’s relics were moved once again, to the Pantheon at the Church of St. Davit of Gareji on Mtatsminda, where they remain today.

The body of Nino Poltoratskaya-Taqaishvili was brought from Leville (France) and buried next to St. Ekvtime on February 22, 1987.

The Holy Synod of the Georgian Apostolic Orthodox Church canonized St. Ekvtime on October 17, 2002, and joyously proclaimed him a “Man of God.”

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Iconographic Depictions of the Life of St. Seraphim of Sarov

The following images at the Holy Monastery of Saint Augustine of Hippo and Saint Seraphim of Sarov in the village of Trikorfo of Central Greece depict the life of St. Seraphim of Sarov from his youth till his old age.

St. Seraphim was one of the greatest Russian ascetics, discerners and miracle-workers. He was born in 1759 A.D and died on 2 January 1833. Seraphim was distinguished by great humility. When the entire world praised him, he referred to himself as "the wretched Seraphim."

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The Donation of Constantine

By Fr. John Romanides

The Pseudo-Isidorean Decretals

The sixth and seventh centuries witnessed a continuing controversy in Francia over the place of the Frankish king in the election of bishops. One party insisted that the king had no part in the elections. A second group would allow that the king simply approve the elections. A third group would give the king veto power over elections. A fourth group supported the right of the kings to appoint the bishops. Gregory of Tours and most members of the senatorial class belonged to this fourth group. However, while supporting the king's right to appoint bishops, Gregory of Tours protested against the royal practice of selling bishoprics to the highest bidder.

From the time of St. Gregory the Great, the popes of Old Rome tried to convince the Frankish kings to allow the election of bishops according to canon law by the clergy and people. Of course, the Frankish kings knew very well that what the popes wanted was the election of bishops by the overwhelming Roman majority. However, once the Franks replaced the Roman bishops and reduced the populus Romanorum to serfdom as villeins, there was no longer any reason why the canons should not apply. Thus Charlemagne issued his capitulary of 803, which restored the free election of bishops by the clergy and people secunda statuta canonum. Charlemagne restored the letter of the law, but both its purpose and that of the popes were frustrated. The church in Francia remained in the grip of a tyrannical Teutonic minority.

It is within such a context that one can appreciate the appearance of the Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals, a large collection of forged documents, mixed with and fused into authentic ones compiled and in use by 850.

Incorporated into this collection was the forgery known as the Donation of Constantine whose purpose was to prevent the Franks from establishing their capital in Rome. This is strongly indicated by the fact that Otto III (983-1002), whose mother was an East Roman, declared this document a forgery as part of his reason for establishing Old Rome as his capital. Constantine the Great allegedly gave his imperial throne to the pope and his successors because "it is not right that an earthly emperor would have power in a place where the government of priests and the head of the Christian religion has been established by the heavenly Emperor." For this reason he moved his "empire and power" to Constantinople. And it was hoped that the Franks would fall for the ruse and leave Rome to the Romans.

Translated into feudal context, the Decretals supported the idea that bishops, metropolitans or archbishops, patriarchs and popes are related to each other as vassals and lords in a series of pyramidal relations, similar to Frankish feudalism, except that the pope is not bound by the hierarchical stages and procedures and can intervene directly at any point in the pyramid. He is at the same time the pinnacle, and directly involved by special juridical procedure in all levels. Clergy are subject only to the church tribunals. All bishops have the right of appeal directly to the pope who alone is the final judge. All appeals to lower level church courts are to be reported to the pope. Even when no appeal is made, the pope has the right to bring cases before his tribunal.

The throne of Saint Peter was transferred to Rome from Antioch. Constantine the Great gave his throne to Pope Silvester I and his successors in Rome. Thus the pope sat simultaneously on the thrones of Saints Peter and Constantine. What more powerful rallying point could there be for that part of the Roman nation subjugated to Teutonic oppression?

The Decretals were strongly resisted by powerful members of the Frankish hierarchy. However, they very quickly had wide distribution and became popular with the oppressed. At times the Frankish kings supported the Decretals against their own bishops as their interests dictated. They were also supported by pious Frankish clergy and laymen, and even by Frankish bishops who appealed to the pope in order to nullify decisions taken against them by their metropolitans.

The forged parts of these Decretals were written in Frankish Latin, an indication that the actual work was done in Francia by local Romans. The fact that the Franks accepted the Decretals as authentic, although not in the interests of their feudal establishment, means clearly that they were not a party to the forgery. The Franks never suspected the forgery until centuries later.

Both Old and New Rome knew that these Decretals were forgeries.[20] Roman procedure for verification of official texts can leave no doubt about this. Therefore, it is very possible that agents of Constantinople, and certainly, agents of Old Rome, had a hand in the compilation.

The strongest argument that Hincmar, archbishop of Rheims (845-882) could conjure up against the application of these Decretals in Francia was that they applied only to Papal Romania. He made a sharp distinction between canons of Ecumenical Synods, which are immutable and applicable to the whole Church because they were inspired by the Holy Spirit, and laws which are limited in their application to a certain era and to only a part of the Church.[21] One can see why Hincmar's contemporary, Pope John VIII (872-882), expressed to Patriarch Photios his hope, that he, John, might be able to persuade the Franks to omit the Filioque from the Creed. What Pope John did not fully grasp was the determination with which the Franks decided that the East Romans be only 'Greeks' and heretics, as is clear from the Frankish tradition now inaugurated to write works against the errors of the 'Greeks'.[22]

The Decretals were an attack on the very heart of the Frankish feudal system, since they uprooted its most important administrative officials, i.e., the bishops, and put them directly under the control, of all things, of a Roman head of state.

The astute Franks understood the danger very well. Behind their arguments against the application of the Decretals in Francia, one finds lurking two Frankish concerns. On the one hand, they contended with a Roman pope, but on the other hand, they had to take this pope very seriously because the villeins could become dangerous to the feudal establishment if incited by their ethnarch in Rome.

Pope Hadrian II (867-872), John VIII's predecessor, threatened personally to restore Emperor Louis II (855-875) to his rightful possession in Lotharingia, taken by Charles the Bald (840-875), who had been crowned by Hincmar of Rheims (845-882).[23] Hincmar answered this threat in a letter to the pope. He warned Hadrian not to try "to make slaves of us Franks", since the pope's "predecessors laid no such yoke on our predecessors, and we could not bear it...so we must fight to the death for our freedom and birthright."[24]

Hincmar was not so much concerned with bishops becoming slaves of the pope, but that a Roman should "make slaves of us Franks."[25]

In 990, King Hugh Capet (987-996) of West Francia (Gaul or Gallia) and his bishops applied to Pope John XV (985-996) for the suspension of Archbishop Arnulf of Rheims as required by the Decretals. Arnulf had been appointed by Hugh Capet, but subsequently betrayed his benefactor, in favor of the Carolingian Duke Charles of Lotharingia who was his uncle.

Impatient with the pope's eighteen month delay in making a decision, Hugh Capet convened a council at Verzy near Rheims in 990. Arnulf pleaded guilty and begged for mercy. Nonetheless, a group of abbots challenged the proceedings as illegal because they were not consistent with the Decretals.[26] The Council deposed Arnulf. Hugh Capet caused Gerbert de Aurillac, the future Pope Silvester II, to be appointed in his place.[27]

Pope John, however, rejected this council as illegal and unauthorized. He sent a Roman abbot named Leo to depose Gerbert, restore Arnulf, and pronounce suspension on all the bishops who had taken part in the council. The pope's legate announced the pope's decision at the Council of Mouson in 995.[28]

Gerbert vigorously defended himself.[29] He rejected the papal decision in the presence of the papal legate Leo and refused the advice of colleagues to desist from his duties until the matter could be brought before the next Council of Rheims. The bishop of Triers finally persuaded him not to celebrate mass until the final decision on his case was reached.[30]

Thus Gerbert was completely abandoned by both the ecclesiastical and lay Frankish nobles who felt obliged to display, at least publicly, their support for the pope's decision. They even avoided every kind of contact with Gerbert. But Abbot Leo had aroused the faithful in support of the pope who sat on the thrones of Saints Peter and Constantine the Great. Out of prudence, Gerbert went into seclusion.

At the next Council of Rheims in 996, Gerbert was deposed and Arnulf was restored.[31]The Frankish ecclesiastical nobility could not afford to oppose popular support for the pope.

It seems that it was not popular superstition and piety alone that was the foundation of the people's fervor for the pope, but also the common Romanism the majority shared with the pope. It is this Romanism which constituted the power basis for the papal thrones of Saints Peter and Constantine the Great.

That the underlying problem was a clash between Romans and Franks is clearly stated by Gerbert in a letter to Wilderod, bishop of Strassburg. He writes: "The whole Church of the West Franks lies under the oppression of tyranny. Yet remedy is not sought from the West Franks, but from these (Romans)."[32] It is easy to understand the enthusiasm with which the subject populus Romanorum welcomed the Roman pope's interventions, punishing and humiliating Frankish nobles guilty of injustice. That the legate Leo could reverse the decisions of Hugh Capet and his bishops, and drive the nobility into conformity and Gerbert into seclusion by means of the faithful indicates that the makings of a revolution were present.

The Frankish Counterattack

The Frankish establishment, however, had the power to react, and it did so on two fronts. It stepped up its propaganda against alleged papal "corruption" and, of all things, "illiteracy," and made the decisive move to replace Roman popes with alleged "pious" and "literate" Germanic popes.

The alleged corrupt Roman popes could have been replaced by pious Roman popes. At the time there were at least some 200 monasteries and 50,000 Roman monks south of Rome.[33] But this was exactly the danger that had to be avoided. The Decretals in the hands of the pious Roman popes were even more dangerous than when in the hands of corrupt ones. The purpose of this smear campaign was to shatter the people's confidence in the Roman Papacy and justify the need to cleanse it with "virtuous" and "literate" Lombards, and East and West Franks.

Otto II (973-983) had appointed a Lombard, Peter of Pavia to the papacy in 983. He became the first non-Roman pope as John XIV (983-984), and thus provoked a revolution of the Roman populace aided by Constantinople. However, it took another forty years for the noble vassals of King Robert the Pious (996-1031) to get up enough Christian courage to take an oath that they would no longer violate "noble women." They were careful not to include villeins and serf women in the oath.

The concern of the Frankish bishops for the morality of Roman popes is quite interesting, as they did not seem concerned with their own morality when passing the death sentence in their episcopal courts. Charlemagne's many wives and fifteen illegitimate children were taken in stride, together with the fact that he forbade the marriage of his daughters. But Charlemagne did not mind their having children, although he castigated such practices in his capitularies.

At the Council of Rheims in 991, already mentioned, Arnuld, the bishop of Orleans, lists and violently attacks the alleged "corrupt" popes and, of course, praises Peter of Pavia, i.e., Pope John XIV, the Lombard already mentioned. It is, perhaps, not by accident that the allegedly corrupt popes were attached to Constantinople and the pious one was a Lombard.

In this same speech, Arnulf remarks: "But as at this time in Rome (as is publicly known) there is hardly anyone acquainted with letters - without (as it is written) one may hardly be a doorkeeper in the house of God-with what face may he who has himself learnt nothing set himself up as a teacher of others? Of course, in comparison with the Roman pontiff, ignorance is tolerable in other priests, but in the Roman (pope), in him to whom it is given to pass in review the faith, the morals, the discipline of the priesthood, indeed, of the universal church, ignorance is in no way to be tolerated." [34]

This deliberate fabrication should raise the question of the veracity of such Frankish sources concerning the corruption and illiteracy of Roman popes. Certainly many of them were neither saints nor scholars, but it is likely that Frankish propaganda exaggerates their weaknesses and it is certain that it does not stop short of fabrication.

In this same speech Arnulf lists among the papal "monsters" Pope John XII (955-964), who was put on trial in 963 by Otto I (936-973) and condemned in absentia. The report of Liutprand, the Lombard bishop of Cremona, that no proof was necessary at the trial because the pope's alleged crimes were publicly known may be indicative of the need to reexamine such cases.

Perhaps the most important incentive for replacing Roman popes with Franks and Lombards is that revealed by this same Liutprand, a chief adviser to Otto I. He writes: "We...Lombards, Saxons, Franks, Lotharingians, Bajoarians, Sueni, Burgundians, have so much contempt [for Romans and their emperors] that when we become enraged with our enemies, we pronounce no other insult except Roman (nisi Romane), this alone, i.e., the name of the Romans (hoc solo, id est Romanorum nomine) meaning: whatever is ignoble, avaricious, licentious, deceitful, and, indeed whatever is evil."[35]

Perhaps the real reason that Pope John XII became the monster of Frankish propaganda was that he dared restore the older tradition of dating papal documents by the years of the reign of the Roman emperor in Constantinople. In any case, Liutprand's tirade against the Romans, just quoted, reveals the fact that he knew very well that East and West Romans were one nation, and that the emperor in Constantinople was the real emperor of the Romans.

This tirade also reveals the fact that Liutprand was not aware of the prevailing theory among modern European historians that the Germanic nations became one nation with the Romans in Western Europe. As is clear from Liutprand, the Germanic peoples of his time would have been insulted by such claims.

Otto III (983-1002) solved the main problem of Frankdom in 996 by appointing to the papacy Bruno of Carinthia, an East Frank, who, as Gregory V (996-999), demanded the reinstatement of Arnulf as archbishop of Rheims. Thus Gerbert de Aurillac gave up trying to be restored to Rheims. He was compensated, however, by his fellow Frank, now on the papal throne, with confirmation of his appointment as archbishop of Ravenna (998-999).

Upon the death of Bruno, Gerbert was appointed to the papacy by Otto III and ruled Papal Romania as Silvester II (993-1003). For European and American historians, this Silvester II is one of the great popes in the history of the papacy. But for Romans, he was the head of the Frankish army of occupation, and the pope who introduced the feudal system of suppression into Papal Romania and enslaved the Romans to the Frankish nobility. There was no other way the people of Old Rome would accept Germanic popes.

In defending himself against the decision of the Roman pope, John XV, the future Frankish Pope Gerbert d'Aurillac, staunchly and eloquently supported the positions of Hincmar against the universal application of the Decretals. When d'Aurillic became Pope Silvester II, he found their universal application useful. The Decretals in the hands of the Frankish Papacy, sealed the tomb of the West Romans very firmly for many centuries.

Between the years 973-1003, and especially between 1003-1009, the Romans of Papal Romania made valiant efforts to preserve their freedom and independence from Frankish feudalism by having or attempting to have their own popes; once, at least, with the assistance of the East Roman army which had reached Rome and entered the city. The German emperors, however, devised an interim method of keeping the Romans somewhat pacified, by confirming the election of Roman popes from the Roman Tusculan family, which secured the papacy for itself, in exchange for the betrayal of Constantinople and her Orthodoxy represented by the Crescenti family. However, this temporary facade was abolished at the Council of Sutri in 1046. Thenceforth, Germanic popes were once again appointed by the German emperors, until the Normans became the deciding factor in allowing the reformer Franks to wrest the papacy from the imperial Germans. Even Italian popes like Gregory VII are descended from the Frankish army of occupation, established in Italy since the time of Charlemagne. It is no wonder that Beatrice and Matilda, wife and daughter of Boniface II, marquess of Tuscany, should become the great supporters of the reformed Papacy, since this is also a Frankish family established there since the ninth century.

Conclusions

The conclusions, I believe, seem clear. The underlying forces which clashed on the battlefield were not the Decretals, canon law, and the Filioque, but Romans and Franks. The Franks used church structure and dogma in order to maintain their birthright, to hold the Roman nation in "just subjection." The Romans also used church structure and dogma to fight back for their own freedom from oppression and for their independence.

Both sides used the most convenient weapons at hand. Thus, the same canonical and decretal arguments are to be found now on one side, now on the other, according to the current offensive and defensive needs of each nation. The Filioque, however, became a permanent feature of conflict between East Romans and Franks with the West Romans attempting to side with the East Romans.

From all that has been pointed out, it should be evident that there are strong indication that Roman historical terms are much closer to the reality of the schism than is Frankish terminology. The first is consistent with its own past, whereas the second is a deliberate provocation of a break with the past.

To speak of the schism as a conflict between Franks and Romans, to which theology was subjected as an offensive weapon on the Frankish side, and as a defensive and counter-offensive weapon on the Roman side, would seem close to taking a picture of history with a movie camera. On the other hand, to speak of a conflict between so-called "Latin" and "Greek" Christianities is tantamount to commissioning Charlemagne and his descendants to prophesy the future, and see to it that the prophecy is fulfilled.

There is strong evidence that the higher and lower nobility of European feudalism were mostly descendants of Germanic and Norman conquerors, and that the serfs were mostly descendants of the conquered Romans and Romanized Celts and Saxons. This explains why the name Frank meant both noble and free in contrast to the serfs. This usage was strong enough to get into the English language by way of the Normans. Thus, even the African-American was described as receiving his franchise when set free.

The implications are quite tantalizing when applied to the task of understanding the framework of Frankish or Latin Christianity and theology in relation to Roman Christianity and theology. Feudalism, the Inquisition, and Scholastic theology were clearly the work of the Franks, Germans, Lombards, Normans, and Goths, who took over the Church and her property, and used the religion of the Romans to keep the conquered Romans in a servile state. In contrast to this, the Romans who were conquered by Arab and Turkish Muslims, had their own Roman bishops. Thus in the one case, the institutional aspects of Christianity became a tool of suppression, and in the other, the means of national survival.

Because it is impossible to believe that four Roman Patriarchates broke away from a Frankish Papacy, the Franks were forced to forge the somewhat more believable myth that four "Greek" Patriarchates broke away from a so-called Roman but, in reality, Frankish Papacy. European and American historians continue to teach and support this.

The schism began when Charlemagne ignored both Popes Hadrian I and Leo III on doctrinal questions and decided that the East Romans were neither Orthodox nor Roman. Officially, this Frankish challenge was answered at the Eighth Ecumenical Synod in 879 by all five Roman Patriarchates, including that of Old Rome.

There was no schism between the Romans of Old and New Rome during the two and a half centuries of Frankish and German control over Papal Romania.[36]

The so-called split between East and West was, in reality, the importation into Old Rome of the schism provoked by Charlemagne and carried there by the Franks and Germans who took over the papacy.

The atmosphere for dialogue between Old and New Rome may be cleared by the realization that the so-called "French" Revolution was essentially not much different from the so-called "Greek' Revolution. One was a revolt of Romans against their Frankish conquerors, and the other, a revolt of Romans against their Turkish conquerors.

It would seem that there is a much stronger unity among the Romans extending from the Atlantic to the Middle East than there can ever exist among those working for a union based on only a Charlemagnian Europe.

Perhaps the best path to the political reunion of Europe is to first realize that the already existing Roman Republics should, and can, unite into a Federation of Roman Republics. In other words, the so-called "French" and "Greek" Revolutions must be completed by becoming a Roman Revolution.

However, the path to the reunion of Christianity is not at all political or ethnic in nature. The Church's involvement in politics, and state structures for the preservation or the suppression of Roman society produced an interplay between church and society, but not necessarily between dogma and society.

The Medieval papacy incorporated the feudal structure into her fabric of administration and elevated it to the level of dogma.

The Orthodox Churches have also been adapting themselves to changing circumstances which affect their administrative fabric also, but have left this at the level of canon law.

The Protestant churches have rejected not only the dogmatic aspects of the Medieval papal administrative structure, but, on the whole, they have rejected the Orthodox development also, and have attempted to go back to what they understand to be Biblical or Apostolic Christianity.

Thus, Roman Orthodox and so-called "Roman Catholics" find themselves heirs to differences due to historical circumstances, and Protestants see themselves as a series of third alternatives.

Notes:

[20] It is no accident that Otto III declared the Donation of Constantine to be a forgery, as already mentioned, a fact he probably learned from his East Roman mother and tutors. However, he evidently never suspected that the rest of the decretals had been tampered with.

[21] Hincmar's copious arguments are contained in his writings about his nephew's illegal appeal to the pope, Opuscula et Epistolae quae spectant ad causam Hincmari Laudunensis, Migne, PL 126:279-648.

[22] Of these, the following three survive: 1) Responsio De Fide S. Trinitatis Contra Graecorum Haeresim, Migne, PL 110:111-112; 2) Ratramnus of Corbie, Contra Graecorum Opposita, Migne, PL 121:225-346; 3) Aeneas of Paris, Liber Adversus Graecos, Migne, PL 121:685-762.

[23] Mansi 16.555-60.

[24] "...nos Francos non jubeat servire, quia istud jugam sui antecessores nostris antecessoribus non imposuerunt, et nos illud portare non possumus, qui scriptum esse in sanctis libris audimus, ut pro libertate et haereditate nostra usque ad mortem certare debeamus." Migne, PL 126:181.

[25] Mansi 19.97-100.

[26] It is interesting to carefully note that Richerus (Historiae 68), a student of Gerbert, reports that the abbotts were answered by the claim that it was impossible to notify the Roman pontiff about the matter because of obstacles caused by enemies and the bad conditions of the roads.

[27] Mansi 19.103-08. For Gerbert's own spontaneous version of the proceedings, see his report to Wilderod, bishop of Strassbourg. Mansi 19.107-68. It is clear that Richerus s attempting to cast the factual material in such a way as to cover up the clash that was in process between the West Frankish establishment and the Roman papacy. This is nowhere so much in evidence as in the fact that he carefully avoids mentioning that Gerbert and the bishops who ordained him were deposed by Pope John XV, a fact which Gerbert himself complains about in his letter to Empress Adelaide. Mansi 19.176-78.

[28] Mansi 19.193-96. This evidence should be used in the light of Gerbert's letter to Empress Adelaide, already mentioned in the previous footnote. Richerus makes a feeble attempt to present pope John as having sent Leo to simply investigate the matter at the Council of Mouzon (Historiae 4.95) and for this reason the text of the Papal decision had to be omitted from his acts of the Council. One can understand why this text has also disappeared from the Papal archives most probably when Bruno of Carinthia or Gerbert himself took over the Papacy.

[29] Richerus, Historiae 4.101-05. Mansi 19.193-96.

[30] Mansi 19.196. Richerus gives us an important key to these deliberations. Gerbert finally promised to abstain from the celebration of mass in order to avoid the appearance of an open revolt against the pope. Historiae 4.106. In other words, there was a general agreement among the lay and church nobles (i.e., the Franks) that the pope and the Gallo-Roman (Walloon) multitude are to be out-flanked, and for this reason, a final decision was at all costs avoided. That a Frankish candidate for the Papacy was being prepared for the succession of John XV was perhaps already decided upon and known by key Frankish leaders. In order to govern the predominantly Roman multitude effectively, the Franks had to always give the impression that they were faithful and obedient to the Roman pope.

[31] Mansi 19.197-200. Richerus mentions this council, but is silent about its decisions. Historiae 4.108. As already mentioned, he carefully avoids giving out the information that Gerbert was suspended by John XV. By not mentioning the death of this pope, Richerus gives us the impression that Gerbert twice visited the same papacy, which also recognized his appointment to the Archbishopric of Ravenna.

[32] "Pressa jacet tyrannide omnis Ecclesia Gallorum; atqui non a Gallis, sed ab his sperabatur salus," Mansi 19.166. Gallia, Germania, and Italia were parts of the Frankish Empire ruled in the past by members of the Carolingian families. Within this context, Ecclesia Gallorum signifies the Church of the West Franks and certainly not the French, who at this time were predominantly the Gallo-Roman serfs and villeins under Frankish rule. This is clear from the use of the title Rex Francorum by the Capetian Kings. See, e.g., Mansi, 19.93-94, 97, 105, 107-08, 113, 129, 171-72, 173-74.

[33] F. Mourret, A History of the Catholic Church, 3 (London, 1936), p. 439; J. Gay, L'Italie Meridionale et L'Empire Byzantine (867-1071) (Paris, 1904), p. 285.

[34] Mansi 19.132-33.

[35] Relatio de Legatione Constantinopolitana 12. Migne, PL 136. 815

[36] In his letter to Emperor Michael I (811-813), Charlemagne refers to the restoration of the unity of the Churches within the context of the establishment of peace between the Western and Eastern Empires, Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Epistolae 4, p. 556ff. Charlemagne is here thinking in terms of the Frankish West and the Roman or Greek East and not of Old and New Rome. Pope Leo III had never accepted Charlemagne's doctrinal adventures about icons and the Filioque, and the East Roman Patriarchs desisted from reacting against them, evidently in support of the delicate and dangerous position of the West Romans under Frankish occupation. In any event, Charlemagne's remarks are his own admission that he himself had provoked a schism which existed only in his own mind, since all five Roman Patriarchs avoided being provoked, and seemed not to take the Franks doctrinally serious at that time. For an English translation of this letter, see Robert Folz, The Coronation of Charlemagne (London, 1974), pp. 242-43.


Source: FRANKS, ROMANS, FEUDALISM, AND DOCTRINE

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Saint Sylvester, Pope of Rome

St. Sylvester I, Pope of Rome (Feast Day - January 2)

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

Sylvester was born in Rome and from his early youth was learned in worldly wisdom and in the Faith of Christ. He always conducted his life according to the Gospel commandments. He benefited much from the instruction of Timothy the priest whose death for the Faith Sylvester himself witnessed and, observing the example of the heroic sacrifice of his teacher, was imbued with such a spirit throughout his entire life. At age thirty, he became the Bishop of Rome. He amended the customs of Christians. For example, he dispensed the fast on Saturdays, which was practiced by many Christians up to that time, and ordered that fasting be observed only on Holy and Great Saturday as well as on those Saturdays that fall within the fasting seasons. By his prayers and miracles Sylvester assisted in bringing Emperor Constantine and his mother Helena into the True Faith. They were later baptized. He participated with the Empress Helena in finding the Honorable Cross. He governed the Church of God for twenty years. His earthly life ended honorably and he was translated into the heavenly Kingdom.

A Reflection From His Life

God permits humiliation and ruin to befall a proud man when he thinks that his strength is secured forever. When the pernicious Roman Eparch [Governor] Tarquinius beheaded Blessed Timothy, he summoned St. Sylvester and threatened him with death if he did not reveal Timothy's inheritance and in addition immediately offer sacrifice to the idols. Without fear and trembling, this discerning saint responded to the eparch with the Evangelical words: "You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you" (Luke 12:20), "and that with which you boast that you will bring to me (i.e. death) will occur to you." The proud eparch shackled Sylvester in chains and threw him into a dungeon intending to kill him shortly. Having done this, the eparch sat down to eat lunch, but a fish bone caught in his throat. From noon to midnight, the physicians struggled to save his life but all was in vain. At midnight, Tarquinius gave up his proud soul in greatest torments. And so the prophecy of St. Sylvester was fulfilled, as also were the Biblical words: "Pride goes before disaster" (Proverbs 16:18).

HYMN OF PRAISE: SAINT SYLVESTER

O Lord, most wonderful, wonderful in Your saints, You are,
Mighty and Merciful, through Your saints, You appear.
As the sun through the stars, You shine through Your saints,
To the humble You give strength; To Paradise You raise them.
To the simple You impart wisdom; through them the wise, You shame,
To the unfortunate; you comfort with kindness; with heaven, You nourish the hungry.
Saints of every type, You have,
Among the saints, from every age, You receive
From every age and from every stock,
Without caste, without mark: the last or the first.
Pure from sin and, in good, fruitful,
Noble souls, kindred to Your Christ,
You call them saints. Everyone You call
To be a saint. Those who respond, You cleanse,
Wash them from sins that white as wool they become,
In such as these, all heaven rejoices with You,
Sylvester was such a one; In him You rejoice, and
Because of him, blessing You impart to us.

Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
The truth of things hath revealed thee to thy flock as a rule of faith, an icon of meekness, and a teacher of temperance; for this cause, thou hast achieved the heights by humility, riches by poverty. O Father and Hierarch Sylvester, intercede with Christ God that our souls be saved.

Kontakion in the Fourth Tone
As a companion of the holy ascetics, thou O God-bearer, hast been worthily shown forth as a true priest of priests before our King and God. Wherefore, thou rejoicest now with the choirs of the Angels, filled with gladness and delight in the Heavens, O Father. Renowned Sylvester, famed shepherd of Rome, save them that honour with love thy memorial.

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Doomsday Duds - 8 Armageddon Predictions Proven Wrong

Countless people have predicted countless end-of-the-world scenarios -- and the planet's still here, fortunately. We look back at some of the wackiest forecasts.

January 1, 2011
Fox News

1. God Will Be Televised

Hon-Ming Chen founded this new religious movement -- a mix of Buddhism, Taoism, and UFOlogy -- and brought it to the U.S. in the early 90s, registering the group under the name God's Salvation Church. 160 members strong, the group set up shop in Garland, Texas in 1997, and predicted that at 12:01 a.m. on March 31, 1998, God would show himself on a single TV channel across North America and save his followers from the doomed planet Earth.

When the predicted appearance didn't happen, the group quickly became confused. Chen reportedly offered himself to be stoned or crucified as a concession but no one obliged him. The group fell apart soon afterward with many of the members returning to Taiwan.

2. The World Will Cease to Exist

Known as "The Amazing Criswell," Charles Criswell King was a flamboyant radio and TV broadcaster who decided to become a psychic. In March 1963, he correctly announced that John F Kennedy wouldn't run for re-election in 1964 because "something was going to happen to him."

According to Criswell in 1968, the world would to cease to exist from August 18, 1999. But here we are. Go figure.

3. The Rapture Cometh -- in the 80's

Former NASA engineer and bible student Edgar C. Whisenant predicted that the Rapture, the return of Christ and the end of the world, would occur in 1988. He went on to sell four and a half million copies of his book, "88 Reasons Why The Rapture Could Be In 1988".

Televangelists were so taken by Whisenant that many started airing tips on how to prepare for the Rapture as they neared 1988. After 1988 passed without incident, Whisenant went on to recalculate his prediction to 1989, 1993, and even 1994, writing books for each year. Sales were weak.

4. The UFO Will Save Us

Heaven's Gate was an UFO-centered cult based in San Diego, led by Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles. The group believed that the Earth was about to be "recycled," and the only chance for human survival was to escape on a UFO trailing the Haley-Bopp Comet.

On March 26, 1997, in a period when Hale-Bopp was at its brightest, the bodies of 39 members of the group were discovered by police, after committing suicide. At this point, the Earth has yet to be "recycled."

5. Computer Bugs Will Doom Us

The year 2000 was perfect symbolic fodder for would-be prophets -- but one prediction of millennial disaster was rooted not in mysticism but rather a confounding computer bug.

The Y2K problem resulted from the practice of abbreviating four-digit years to two digits meaning that when the "...97, 98, 99, 00..." ascending numbers suddenly became invalid, worldwide computer failures would ensue. Very little actually happened, but whether this was the result of preparation or because the problem was less severe than predicted may never be known.

6. The End Is Near -- Just Not in 1844

William Miller was a prosperous Baptist farmer who became infatuated with prophetic symbolism eventually leading him to boldly predict the second coming of Christ -- and the beginning of the end. Initially ambiguous over the exact date, he started to focus on 1844 and soon gained a large following of believers known as Millerites.

What occurred instead in 1844 was known as the "Great Disappointment." With no appearance from Christ, Millerites were left disenchanted and confused.

7. The Sun Will Explode -- Not

In 1919, meteorologist Albert Porta predicted that the alignment of six planets would generate such a significant magnetic current that the sun would explode and subsequently engulf the Earth on December 17 of that year. Miraculously, mankind avoided this doomsday destiny.

8. Did He See the End?

Legendary French seer Nostradamus was noted for allegedly predicting such events as the rise of Hitler, the Great Fire of London, the death of Princess Diana and even the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Nostradamus also wrote that in "1999 and seven months . . . from the sky will come the great king of terror."

Perhaps it rained that day. But the end didn't come as predicted.

9. ...But Maybe THIS One Is Right

Adored by conspiracy theorists, the Mayan calendar abruptly ends December 2012, at which point some predict a series of cataclysmic or transformative events will occur, many of these apocalyptic. It's been a popular date in media and entertainment, stories and movies that illustrate massive solar storms, magnetic pole reversals, earthquakes, supervolcanoes and other drastic natural events.

For all we know, this one could be true. But it's probably not .... right?

Related articles:

2012: Six End-of-the-World Myths Debunked

World Won't End in 2012, Mayans Insist

A French Village Invaded By New Age Fanatics

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Greek Seamen Die in the Bermuda Triangle

December 31, 2010
Kathimerini

The Greek captain and first mate of a cargo vessel died yesterday after their ship entered the area of the Atlantic known as the Bermuda Triangle amid high winds.

According to sources, the 47-year-old captain of the Aegean Angel and his 33-year-old first mate had emerged onto the deck of the vessel to see what damage it had incurred during an earlier storm when they were hit by a large wave. A 34-year-old Cypriot navy lieutenant who also had been aboard the vessel suffered serious injuries.

The ship, en route to the port of Houston in Texas from the Estonian capital of Tallinn, had been 800 nautical miles off Bermuda when it was hit by a storm and winds of up to 8 on the Beaufort scale. The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil’s Triangle, is a region in the western part of the North Atlantic where several aircraft and vessels are said to have disappeared mysteriously.

Read more here.

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A Big Procession With A BIG Icon

A Procession with the icon of the All Merciful Savior in Tutaev on 1 August 2010. The route of the procession was over 5 kilometres (3 miles).

The Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ (1652-1678) is considered to be one of the finest specimens of old Russian architecture. It is a real gem in the crown of excellent masterpieces of the best Russian architects. The unique miracle-working icon "The Image of the Savior the Merciful" is kept there. According to tradition, the icon was drawn in the beginning of 15th century by Dionisy Glushitsky.

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Clarifications Concerning the Circumcision of Christ

The Great Synaxaristes in Greek contains a note under its January 1st entry concerning some important clarifications regarding the circumcision of Christ. It mentions that Ephraim the Syrian and Meletios of Athens (Ecclesiastical History, vol. 1) say that the Lord was circumcised by Joseph, the putative father of Jesus, in the cave. Epiphanios of Salamis comments concerning this that neither the evangelists have written anything, nor is it necessary that they should, since it has nothing to do with our salvation. Furthermore, Anastasios the Sinaite and other easterners claim that the Theotokos preserved the circumcised foreskin of Christ as a sacred treasure. It remained incorrupt until the Lord's resurrection, when He took it to Himself again. In vain do some westerners claim to possess the circumcised flesh. One account maintained that it was kept at Cavillino, a city of Lower Burgundy (Fr. Bourgogne), in a certain church. The bishop of that place, one named Gaston, opened the reliquary supposedly containing the relic on the 19th day of April, in the year 1707, but he found nothing more than a little grain of sand and a tiny piece of gravel. In addition to this, Rome claimed to have the relic in the Church of Saint John the Lateran, as footnoted by Calmette (Luke, ch. 2).

For more on the superstition of the Holy Perpuce (Foreskin), see here and here.

Source: The Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church (January), translated by Holy Apostles Convent, p. 3.

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The Dual Feast of St. Basil the Great and the Circumcision of Christ

St. Basil the Great and the Circumcision of Christ (Feast Day - January 1)

On the eighth day after His Nativity, our Lord Jesus Christ was circumcised in accordance with the Old Testament Law. All male infants underwent circumcision as a sign of God's Covenant with the holy Forefather Abraham and his descendants (Gen. 17:10-14, Lev. 12:3).

After this ritual the Divine Infant was given the name Jesus, as the Archangel Gabriel declared on the day of the Annunciation to the Most Holy Theotokos (Luke 1:31-33, 2:21). The Fathers of the Church explain that the Lord, the Creator of the Law, underwent circumcision in order to give people an example of how faithfully the divine ordinances ought to be fulfilled. The Lord was circumcised so that later no one would doubt that He had truly assumed human flesh, and that His Incarnation was not merely an illusion, as certain heretics (Docetists) taught.

In the New Testament, the ritual of circumcision gave way to the Mystery of Baptism, which it prefigured (Col. 2:11-12). Accounts of the Feast of the Circumcision of the Lord continue in the Eastern Church right up through the fourth century. The Canon of the Feast was written by St Stephen of the St Sava Monastery (October 28 and July 13).

In addition to circumcision, which the Lord accepted as a sign of God's Covenant with mankind, He also received the Name Jesus (Savior) on the eighth day after His Nativity as an indication of His service, the work of the salvation of the world (Mt.1:21; Mark 9:38-39, 16:17; Luke 10:17; Acts 3:6, 16; Phil 2:9-10). These two events, the Lord's Circumcision and Naming, remind Christians that they have entered into a New Covenant with God and "are circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ" (Col. 2:11). The very name "Christian" is a sign of mankind's entrance into a New Covenant with God.

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Saint Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, "belongs not to the Church of Caesarea alone, nor merely to his own time, nor was he of benefit only to his own kinsmen, but rather to all lands and cities worldwide, and to all people he brought and still brings benefit, and for Christians he always was and will be a most salvific teacher." Thus spoke St Basil's contemporary, St Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium.

St Basil was born in the year 330 at Caesarea, the administrative center of Cappadocia. He was of illustrious lineage, famed for its eminence and wealth, and zealous for the Christian Faith. The saint's grandfather and grandmother on his father's side had to hide in the forests of Pontus for seven years during the persecution under Diocletian.

St Basil's mother St Emilia was the daughter of a martyr. On the Greek calendar, she is commemorated on May 30. St Basil's father was also named Basil. He was a lawyer and renowned rhetorician, and lived at Caesarea.

Ten children were born to the elder Basil and Emilia: five sons and five daughters. Five of them were later numbered among the saints: Basil the Great; Macrina (July 19) was an exemplar of ascetic life, and exerted strong influence on the life and character of St Basil the Great; Gregory, afterwards Bishop of Nyssa (January 10); Peter, Bishop of Sebaste (January 9); and Theosebia, a deaconess (January 10).

St Basil spent the first years of his life on an estate belonging to his parents at the River Iris, where he was raised under the supervision of his mother Emilia and grandmother Macrina. They were women of great refinement, who remembered an earlier bishop of Cappadocia, St Gregory the Wonderworker (November 17). Basil received his initial education under the supervision of his father, and then he studied under the finest teachers in Caesarea of Cappadocia, and it was here that he made the acquaintance of St Gregory the Theologian (January 25 and January 30). Later, Basil transferred to a school at Constantinople, where he listened to eminent orators and philosophers. To complete his education St Basil went to Athens, the center of classical enlightenment.

After a four or five year stay at Athens, Basil had mastered all the available disciplines. "He studied everything thoroughly, more than others are wont to study a single subject. He studied each science in its very totality, as though he would study nothing else." Philosopher, philologist, orator, jurist, naturalist, possessing profound knowledge in astronomy, mathematics and medicine, "he was a ship fully laden with learning, to the extent permitted by human nature."

At Athens a close friendship developed between Basil the Great and Gregory the Theologian (Nazianzus), which continued throughout their life. In fact, they regarded themselves as one soul in two bodies. Later on, in his eulogy for Basil the Great, St Gregory the Theologian speaks with delight about this period: "Various hopes guided us, and indeed inevitably, in learning... Two paths opened up before us: the one to our sacred temples and the teachers therein; the other towards preceptors of disciplines beyond."

About the year 357, St Basil returned to Caesarea, where for a while he devoted himself to rhetoric. But soon, refusing offers from Caesarea's citizens who wanted to entrust him with the education of their offspring, St Basil entered upon the path of ascetic life.

After the death of her husband, Basil's mother, her eldest daughter Macrina, and several female servants withdrew to the family estate at Iris and there began to lead an ascetic life. Basil was baptized by Dianios, the Bishop of Caesarea, and was tonsured a Reader (On the Holy Spirit, 29). He first read the Holy Scriptures to the people, then explained them.

Later on, "wishing to acquire a guide to the knowledge of truth", the saint undertook a journey into Egypt, Syria and Palestine, to meet the great Christian ascetics dwelling there. On returning to Cappadocia, he decided to do as they did. He distributed his wealth to the needy, then settled on the opposite side of the river not far from his mother Emilia and sister Macrina, gathering around him monks living a cenobitic life.

By his letters, Basil drew his good friend Gregory the Theologian to the monastery. Sts Basil and Gregory labored in strict abstinence in their dwelling place, which had no roof or fireplace, and the food was very humble. They themselves cleared away the stones, planted and watered the trees, and carried heavy loads. Their hands were constantly calloused from the hard work. For clothing Basil had only a tunic and monastic mantle. He wore a hairshirt, but only at night, so that it would not be obvious.

In their solitude, Sts Basil and Gregory occupied themselves in an intense study of Holy Scripture. They were guided by the writings of the Fathers and commentators of the past, especially the good writings of Origen. From all these works they compiled an anthology called Philokalia. Also at this time, at the request of the monks, St Basil wrote down a collection of rules for virtuous life. By his preaching and by his example St Basil assisted in the spiritual perfection of Christians in Cappadocia and Pontus; and many indeed turned to him. Monasteries were organized for men and for women, in which places Basil sought to combine the cenobitic (koine bios, or common) lifestyle with that of the solitary hermit.

During the reign of Constantius (337-361) the heretical teachings of Arius were spreading, and the Church summoned both its saints into service. St Basil returned to Caesarea. In the year 362 he was ordained deacon by Bishop Meletius of Antioch. In 364 he was ordained to the holy priesthood by Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea. "But seeing," as Gregory the Theologian relates, "that everyone exceedingly praised and honored Basil for his wisdom and reverence, Eusebius, through human weakness, succumbed to jealousy of him, and began to show dislike for him." The monks rose up in defense of St Basil. To avoid causing Church discord, Basil withdrew to his own monastery and concerned himself with the organization of monasteries.

With the coming to power of the emperor Valens (364-378), who was a resolute adherent of Arianism, a time of troubles began for Orthodoxy, the onset of a great struggle. St Basil hastily returned to Caesarea at the request of Bishop Eusebius. In the words of Gregory the Theologian, he was for Bishop Eusebius "a good advisor, a righteous representative, an expounder of the Word of God, a staff for the aged, a faithful support in internal matters, and an activist in external matters."

From this time church governance passed over to Basil, though he was subordinate to the hierarch. He preached daily, and often twice, in the morning and in the evening. During this time St Basil composed his Liturgy. He wrote a work "On the Six Days of Creation" (Hexaemeron) and another on the Prophet Isaiah in sixteen chapters, yet another on the Psalms, and also a second compilation of monastic rules. St Basil wrote also three books "Against Eunomius," an Arian teacher who, with the help of Aristotelian concepts, had presented the Arian dogma in philosophic form, converting Christian teaching into a logical scheme of rational concepts.

St Gregory the Theologian, speaking about the activity of Basil the Great during this period, points to "the caring for the destitute and the taking in of strangers, the supervision of virgins, written and unwritten monastic rules for monks, the arrangement of prayers [Liturgy], the felicitous arrangement of altars and other things." Upon the death of Eusebius, the Bishop of Caesarea, St Basil was chosen to succed him in the year 370. As Bishop of Caesarea, St Basil the Great was the newest of fifty bishops in eleven provinces. St Athanasius the Great (May 2), with joy and with thanks to God welcomed the appointment to Cappadocia of such a bishop as Basil, famed for his reverence, deep knowledge of Holy Scripture, great learning, and his efforts for the welfare of Church peace and unity.

Under Valens, the external government belonged to the Arians, who held various opinions regarding the divinity of the Son of God, and were divided into several factions. These dogmatic disputes were concerned with questions about the Holy Spirit. In his books Against Eunomios, St Basil the Great taught the divinity of the Holy Spirit and His equality with the Father and the Son. Subsequently, in order to provide a full explanation of Orthodox teaching on this question, St Basil wrote his book On the Holy Spirit at the request of St Amphilochius, the Bishop of Iconium.

St Basil's difficulties were made worse by various circumstances: Cappadocia was divided in two under the rearrangement of provincial districts. Then at Antioch a schism occurred, occasioned by the consecration of a second bishop. There was the negative and haughty attitude of Western bishops to the attempts to draw them into the struggle with the Arians. And there was also the departure of Eustathius of Sebaste over to the Arian side. Basil had been connected to him by ties of close friendship. Amidst the constant perils St Basil gave encouragement to the Orthodox, confirmed them in the Faith, summoning them to bravery and endurance. The holy bishop wrote numerous letters to the churches, to bishops, to clergy and to individuals. Overcoming the heretics "by the weapon of his mouth, and by the arrows of his letters," as an untiring champion of Orthodoxy, St Basil challenged the hostility and intrigues of the Arian heretics all his life. He has been compared to a bee, stinging the Church's enemies, yet nourishing his flock with the sweet honey of his teaching.

The emperor Valens, mercilessly sending into exile any bishop who displeased him, and having implanted Arianism into other Asia Minor provinces, suddenly appeared in Cappadocia for this same purpose. He sent the prefect Modestus to St Basil. He began to threaten the saint with the confiscation of his property, banishment, beatings, and even death.

St Basil said, "If you take away my possessions, you will not enrich yourself, nor will you make me a pauper. You have no need of my old worn-out clothing, nor of my few books, of which the entirety of my wealth is comprised. Exile means nothing to me, since I am bound to no particular place. This place in which I now dwell is not mine, and any place you send me shall be mine. Better to say: every place is God's. Where would I be neither a stranger and sojourner (Ps. 38/39:13)? Who can torture me? I am so weak, that the very first blow would render me insensible. Death would be a kindness to me, for it will bring me all the sooner to God, for Whom I live and labor, and to Whom I hasten."

The official was stunned by his answer. "No one has ever spoken so audaciously to me," he said.

"Perhaps," the saint remarked, " that is because you've never spoken to a bishop before. In all else we are meek, the most humble of all. But when it concerns God, and people rise up against Him, then we, counting everything else as naught, look to Him alone. Then fire, sword, wild beasts and iron rods that rend the body, serve to fill us with joy, rather than fear."

Reporting to Valens that St Basil was not to be intimidated, Modestus said, "Emperor, we stand defeated by a leader of the Church." Basil the Great again showed firmness before the emperor and his retinue and made such a strong impression on Valens that the emperor dared not give in to the Arians demanding Basil's exile. "On the day of Theophany, amidst an innumerable multitude of the people, Valens entered the church and mixed in with the throng, in order to give the appearance of being in unity with the Church. When the singing of Psalms began in the church, it was like thunder to his hearing. The emperor beheld a sea of people, and in the altar and all around was splendor; in front of all was Basil, who acknowledged neither by gesture nor by glance, that anything else was going on in church." Everything was focused only on God and the altar-table, and the clergy serving there in awe and reverence.

St Basil celebrated the church services almost every day. He was particularly concerned about the strict fulfilling of the Canons of the Church, and took care that only worthy individuals should enter into the clergy. He incessantly made the rounds of his own church, lest anywhere there be an infraction of Church discipline, and setting aright any unseemliness. At Caesarea, St Basil built two monasteries, a men's and a women's, with a church in honor of the Forty Martyrs (March 9) whose relics were buried there. Following the example of monks, the saint's clergy, even deacons and priests, lived in remarkable poverty, to toil and lead chaste and virtuous lives. For his clergy St Basil obtained an exemption from taxation. He used all his personal wealth and the income from his church for the benefit of the destitute; in every center of his diocese he built a poor-house; and at Caesarea, a home for wanderers and the homeless.

Sickly since youth, the toil of teaching, his life of abstinence, and the concerns and sorrows of pastoral service took their toll on him. St Basil died on January 1, 379 at age 49. Shortly before his death, the saint blessed St Gregory the Theologian to accept the See of Constantinople.

Upon the repose of St Basil, the Church immediately began to celebrate his memory. St Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium (November 23), in his eulogy to St Basil the Great, said: "It is neither without a reason nor by chance that holy Basil has taken leave from the body and had repose from the world unto God on the day of the Circumcision of Jesus, celebrated between the day of the Nativity and the day of the Baptism of Christ. Therefore, this most blessed one, preaching and praising the Nativity and Baptism of Christ, extolling spiritual circumcision, himself forsaking the flesh, now ascends to Christ on the sacred day of remembrance of the Circumcision of Christ. Therefore, let it also be established on this present day annually to honor the memory of Basil the Great festively and with solemnity."

St Basil is also called "the revealer of heavenly mysteries" (Ouranophantor), a "renowned and bright star," and "the glory and beauty of the Church." His honorable head is in the Great Lavra on Mount Athos.

In some countries it is customary to sing special carols today in honor of St Basil. He is believed to visit the homes of the faithful, and a place is set for him at the table. People visit the homes of friends and relatives, and the mistress of the house gives a small gift to the children. A special bread (Vasilopita) is blessed and distributed after the Liturgy. A silver coin is baked into the bread, and whoever receives the slice with the coin is said to receive the blessing of St Basil for the coming year.

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- A New Year's Eve Story by Photios Kontoglou

- Basil the Great and Disfigured Christianity

- On the Circumcision of our Lord Jesus Christ

HYMN OF PRAISE: THE CIRCUMCISION OF OUR LORD AND GOD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST & SAINT BASIL THE GREAT

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

You, Who, gave the Law to the world and to man,
You, the Law-giver, placed Yourself under the Law,
Others, you enjoined by impostition - Yourself, voluntarily.
That is why on the eighth day, in the flesh, You were circumcised.
In fulfilling the Law, with a new one You replaced it:
Circumcision of the flesh, was replaced with a spiritual one.
That impure passions we cut off from ourselves
And with a spirit pure, to gaze upon You.
That, with the spirit, the will of the body to cut and to constrict,
Your will, O Savior, by the spirit we fulfill it -
To this circumcision, the saints learned,
Their fiery example, to us, they left.
Wonderful Basil, to a glowing ray, similar,
To such circumcision, generations, he teaches.
To Basil, be glory, Your servant,
Great, because of You, humble and constrained He became.
That is why he became great,
Great He remained.

Apolytikion in the First Tone
Our human form hast Thou taken on Thyself without change, O greatly-compassionate Master, though being God by nature; fulfilling the Law, Thou willingly receivest circumcision in the flesh, that Thou mightest end the shadow and roll away the veil of our sinful passions. Glory be to Thy goodness unto us. Glory be to Thy compassion. Glory, O Word, to Thine inexpressible condescension.

Apolytikion in the First Tone
Enthroned on high with the Eternal Father and Your divine Spirit, O Jesus, You willed to be born on earth of the unwedded handmaid, your Mother. Therefore You were circumcised as an eight-day old Child. Glory to Your most gracious counsel; glory to Your dispensation; glory to Your condescension, O only Lover of mankind.

Kontakion in the Third Tone
Now the Lord of all that is doth undergo circumcision, in His goodness cutting off the sins and failings of mortals. He this day doth give salvation unto the whole world; and the hierarch and bright daystar of the Creator now rejoiceth in the highest, Basil the wise and divine initiate of Christ.

Apolytikion in the First Tone
Your voice resounded throughout the world that received your word by which, in godly manner, you taught dogma, clarified the nature of beings, and set in order the character of people. Venerable father, Royal Priesthood, intercede to Christ God to grant us great mercy.

Kontakion in the Fourth Tone
For the Church art thou in truth a firm foundation, granting an inviolate lordship unto all mortal men and sealing it with what thou hast taught, O righteous Basil, revealer of heavenly things.

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