Empress Theodora's Codex - Minuscule 565

Empress Theodora's Codex, or Minuscule 565, is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the Four Gospels (Tetraevangelion), on purple parchment, dated palaeographically to the 9th century. According to tradition, the manuscript was written by the hand of the 9th century pious Roman empress Theodora herself (read here).

The codex is one of only two known purple minuscules (Minuscule 1143 is the other) written with gold ink. It contains the text of the four Gospels on 392 purple parchment leaves. The text is written in one column per page, 17 lines per page.

The manuscript comes from the area of the Black Sea. In 1829 it was brought to Petersburg. The codex now is located at the Russian National Library (Gr. 53) at Saint Petersburg.

For more details, read here and here.

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Saint Haralambos, Patron Saint of Pyrgos in Ilia

Saint Haralambos is the protector of Pyrgos and of its Metropolis of Ilia and Oleni. On the feast of the saint on February 10th the people honor their patron not only through the church services, but also through organized cultural and folk events which create a festive atmosphere. The main event is the procession with the miraculous icon of the saint through the streets of Pyrgos after the celebratory Divine Liturgy in the Church of Saint Kyriaki. St. Haralambos officially became the patron saint of Pyrgos in 1946.

The small church dedicated to St. Haralambos is just down the street from St. Kyriaki Church and was built during Ottoman times by the Vilayet family, on the spot where the plague had ceased through the saints' intercessions. The icon of St. Haralambos inside this church was donated by the same family in 1687 which they had brought with them from Vela.

Currently a much larger church is being built to honor St. Haralambos in Pyrgos (see here).


The reason Pyrgos has St. Haralambos as its patron saint is because of the many miracles he has worked for the faithful in the area. Below is a list of the more famous ones.

1. In 1687 the Turks with their terrible leader, Ahmet Efendi, besieged Pyrgos. After supplications of the inhabitants to St. Haralambos, a pestiferous sickness struck the army of the Efendi and many of his soldiers died, with the result being their withdrawal from the siege and the city being saved.

2. In 1821 the Turks entered the port and besieged Pyrgos in an attempt to head towards Tripolitsa and wipe out the revolutionary soldiers from the area. After they burned part of the city, they tried to head towards the center road with carriages and their weapons. However, outside of the small Church of St. Haralambos, a small number of committed Greek soldiers were camped, who, with the help of the Saint, drove away the large number of Turks. Because of this the Turks would have to take other paths which would take weeks to reach Tripolitsa. The only pass that remained was the heroic Pousi, where the Greeks had organized, and as a result of the delay of the Turks at Pyrgou, the Greeks gave a fatal blow to the enemy.

3. In 1860 St. Haralambos saved the inhabitants of Pyrgou from the terrible threat of plague. This sickness was disbanded by St. Haralambos after fervent prayer and supplication towards him. In fact the people of Pyrgos saw an astounding sight. The Saint with a staff drove away a white cloud like cotton into the sky until he threw it into the sea; this was the sickness which the Saint banished. And in other places also St. Haralambos appeared driving away the plague, such as in Thessaly, in Savalia, and Demetsana, where they renamed the Church of the Entrance of the Theotokos after St. Haralambos because of the wonderworking intervention of the Saint.

4. To St. Haralambos is attributed the deliverance from the deadly threat of influenza in 1918, from Ilia and in all Greece, from which thousands of people were dying for months in Greece.

5. In the Italian bombing of 1941, a few hours before it occurred, a dense fog covered Pyrgos which resulted in the delay and eventually cancellation of the mission, and hence the salvation of the city. Before the Germans understood this, Pyrgos had prepared for the bombing. However, none of inhabitants suffered anything, because the bombs fell in uninhabited places and many didn't go off. This miracle was attributed to St. Haralambos.

6. On March 26th 1993, a great earthquake hit Pyrgou at 2:10 p.m., divided into two quakes of 5.5 and 5.8 on the Richter scale, separated by a three minute gap, so the damage was not terrible. This dividing of the quake was a noteworthy scientific phenomenon. For a while before there were small vibrations at night, as a forewarning to the inhabitants to prepare for the time of the earthquake. At the hour of the quake, many small children with innocent eyes saw the “Pappou” ["Grandpa"], as they called St. Haralambos, holding the homes of Pyrgos with extended hands so that they wouldn't fall. After the earthquake many inhabitants saw St. Haralambos in their sleep relating that with his intervention the great earthquake was separated into two smaller ones, and because of this there was a procession of the icon of the Saint in the city.

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Elder Porphyrios' Esteem For Elders Iakovos of Evia and Paisios the Athonite

In an excerpt from a lecture delivered at this link concerning the Blessed Elder Iakovos of Evia, Bishop Neophytos of Morfou speaks of a meeting he had with Elder Porphyrios in Athens before he had met Elder Iakovos in Evia.

Bishop Neophytos, when he was younger and a student, had just finished his first year of law school, yet was unsatisfied with it. He decided to visit the famed Elder Porphyrios in Athens to get his advice. Elder Porphyrios however encouraged him to go see Elder Iakovos, with whom he would have more in common. The bishop had heard of Elder Iakovos as the man who would communicate with the saint of his monastery (Righteous David). Then Elder Porphyrios told him that Elder Iakovos is the humblest man in all of Greece. He then spoke of how he and Elder Paisios the Athonite share similar fame among the people, whom he called a man of God on Mount Athos. However, he said that Elder Iakovos was very private and very humble. Elder Porphyrios went on to tell him how his special gift is to heal people and drive demons out of the possessed. The reason Elder Porphyrios wanted the young student to see Elder Iakovos is because the young student wanted people to understand him, and since he was orphaned as a child Elder Iakovos would be able to be more paternal to his situation since he also was orphaned.

What amazed Bishop Neophytos was how Elder Porphyrios looked deeply inside his soul to see what he truly needed. This is the great value of our contemporary spiritual guides - their sensitivity not only to our spiritual needs, but also psychological.

To listen to the entire lecture of the bishop's experiences with Elder Iakovos (in Greek), visit here.

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‘New Yorker’ Exposé of Scientology Summarized

By Adam Wilson
February 09, 2011
BlackBook

There's a really fascinating and incredibly long article in this weeks New Yorker about the cult of Scientology, and writer/director Paul Haggis's brave escape back into the world of secular sanity. In the piece, Haggis and other defectors speak with shocking candor on an institution whose inner workings have always been shrouded in secrecy. Before reading it, I'd considered Scientology stupid, creepy, amusing, and mostly harmless. After reading the piece, I now understand that this institution is all those things, but also evil, violent, and incredibly powerful. Read the piece for free in its entirety on The New Yorker website. But for those of you who don't have the time or energy to devote a couple hours to Scientology, I've provided a synopsis after the jump.

-Paul Haggis — writer of Million Dollar Baby and Director of Crash —recently quit Scientology after thirty-five years of involvement.

-Haggis quit because he was upset about the church’s support of California Proposition 8. Two of Haggis’s daughters are lesbians, and he believes strongly in gay rights.

-Scientology is anti-gay, although they deny this. A lot of people think Scientologists like Tom Cruise and John Travolta are gay. They also deny this. They deny pretty much all accusations about anything.

-Haggis’s frustration over Prop 8 led him to do some outside research on Scientology, something he’d mysteriously never thought to do once during the thirty-five preceding years.

-His research showed that Scientology was totally whack.

-Haggis had gotten into Scientology because a big part of the religion involves special forms of therapy and marriage counseling. Also, Scientology connections did wonders for his career.

-Nonetheless, he never knew Tom Cruise. Apparently Scientology celebs aren’t all buds with each other. The one time Haggis met Cruise, Cruise was a total humorless dick. Even though Haggis estimates he donated over $500,000 to the church over the years, they were still constantly asking him for money, and pretty much treated him like crap.

-Josh Brolin once saw Tom Cruise try to heal a wound in Marlon Brando’s leg with is bare hands.

-Haggis got to level VII on the spirituality ladder in the church. This is some hardcore shit. Haggis doesn’t think any of it worked. At level three you have to read this totally wild sci-fish thing about the beginning of humanity occurring 75 million years ago, and how dead souls are deposited in alcohol and then seep into your bodies. You must accept this document as truth. Haggis never fully bought it in his heart, but he’d spent so much time and money that he become afraid of asking himself honestly about his belief system.

-There is something called Sea Org that is kind of like a traveling monastery/jail where people as young as twelve are forced to sign contracts offering their dedication to Scientology for “billions” of years. They then are treated like slaves, paid $50 a week, and forced to do all kinds of manual labor like building airports for Tom Cruise.

-Sometimes these people are beaten and tortured and locked up for extended periods of time. Scientology denies this.

-Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard supposedly healed his own war injuries — lameness and blindness among them — by using Scientology methods. There is evidence supporting the fact that Hubbard was never lame or blind in the first place.

-There is this guy called David Miscavige, who runs Scientology, is totally evil, and allegedly beats the crap out of people on a regular basis. He’s also BFF’s with Tom Cruise. They have matching motorcycles.

-The piece ends with Haggis saying, “My bet is that, within two years, you’re going to read something about me in a scandal that looks like it has nothing to do with the church.” He thought for a moment, then said, “I was in a cult for thirty-four years. Everyone else could see it. I don’t know why I couldn’t.”

Read the whole article here.

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The Exact Meaning of Matthew 10:32, 33

"Whosoever therefore shall confess in Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father Who is in the heavens. But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father Who is in the heavens." - Matthew 10:32, 33

St. John Chrysostom commenting on this passage writes:

"Mark Christ's exact care; He did not say that before men whosoever shall 'confess Me', but 'confess in Me' (εν Eμοι), showing how the confessor, not by a power of his own but by the help of grace from above, makes his confession. But of him who denies Christ before men, Christ said not 'whosoever shall deny in Me', but, 'deny Me'; for having become destitute of the gift, his denial ensues." ("Homily 34 On Matthew", PG 57:392)

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A Poem On the Orthodox Veneration of Icons

HYMN OF PRAISE: THE VENERATION OF ICONS

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

To what, in such a manner, do you my Christian bow,
When you, O my Christian, venerate the icons?
Before the Living God the Creator, I am bowing down,
With all my soul, heart and mind, I bow down to Him.
Mortal am I and, am unable upon Him to gaze,
Therefore, before His image I bow;
What, my Christian, do you so fervently reverence,
When, the icon O my Christian, you kiss?
Christ the God and Savior, I am kissing,
The choirs of angels, the saints and the Mother of God.
Mortal am I and, therefore am unable them to touch,
But when their images I kiss, my heart is at ease.

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8 Modern Miracles Of Saint Haralambos

Saint Haralambos was a priest of the Christians in Magnesia, the foremost city of Thessaly, in the diocese having the same name. He contested during the reign of Alexander Severus (222-235), when Lucian was Proconsul of Magnesia. At the time of his martyrdom the Saint was 103 years of age.

The following miracles are told by the nuns of St. Stephen's Monastery at Meteora of Thessaly, which houses the holy skull of St. Haralambos.

1. Epidemic On Mount Athos

Saint Haralambos has a special gift of healing pestilential diseases, and has often halted epidemics of typhus, cholera and the plague. In 1908 a deadly epidemic reached Mt. Athos, and the holy skull of the saint was taken from St. Stephen's on Meteora to the Protaton on Mt. Athos, where an all-night vigil was served. The epidemic halted immediately, and since then, each year, the monasteries celebrate an all-night vigil honoring St. Haralambos - the only saint besides the Mother of God to be so honored by the entire population of the Holy Mountain.

2. Maria's Child

In 1950, Maria Nairi's four-year-old daughter became paralyzed. Unable to help her, the doctors could do nothing for the child and sent her home to die. After many nights of prayer, Maria saw St. Haralambos in a dream, and borrowing an icon of him from her church, kept it in her home for forty days with a lamp lit before it. On the eve of the Feast of the Holy Apostles (June 30), the saint appeared to the child and healed her. The room was filled with an indescribable fragrance and sweet-smelling myrrh flowed from the icon.

3. A Year Without Speech

On the west coast of Greece there is a church dedicated to the saint in thanksgiving for saving the town from a typhoid epidemic. One year St. Haralambos' feast fell in the week before Great Lent. In Greece, as in other parts of the world, this week is often celebrated with a secular carnival. A couple, who were passing by the church on the eve of the saint's feast, heard the singing for the vigil. The wife wanted to go in for the service, but the husband blasphemed the saint and said that he would go to the carnival instead. He was immediately stricken dumb. His wife took him into the church where he knelt and repented, and he regained his speech exactly a year later, on the feast of St. Haralambos.

4. Life Savings

In 1966, a Mr. Nikolaou was returning to his native village where he planned to retire, carrying with him his life savings. Reaching his village, he was horrified to discover he had lost the money. The next morning he set off again for Piraeus, hoping somehow to trace it. When he reached the village of Paligoyrgos, he saw a small chapel dedicated to St. Haralambos and went in to beseech his aid. Immediately he heard a voice telling him to look under the seat of the car in which he had ridden part way home the day before. He traced the car and found that the money had indeed fallen under the seat.

5. Endurance For Christ

A man with an incurable and extremely painful disease prayed to St. Haralambos frequently and fervently to heal him. Finally one night the saint appeared and told him that his sufferings were much less than those endured by Christ and that it would be better for him to bear his illness patiently than to have it cured, because it had been sent by God to help him work out his salvation.

6. The Novice's Sister

In 1978, a young woman came to St. Stephen's Monastery to be a monastic. She was clothed as a novice, but suffered terribly during her first few months because she was torn by her separation from her family. Her older sister came to visit, but only made the novice's sorrow greater by begging her to leave the monastery. In vivid colors she painted a picture of their parents sitting, night after night, heavy-hearted with grief at the absence of their youngest daughter. That night the elder sister slept in the monastery, and towards dawn she had a dream of St. Haralambos, who sternly reprimanded her for trying to make her sister leave, saying that it would greatly harm the young girl if she gave up the monastic path. As he scolded her, he slapped her hard across the cheek and she woke up feeling the sting of his hand. Needless to say, she obeyed, and one of the sisters who knows her says that, to this day, her cheek tingles from the sting of the slap.

7. The Twins

In January 1995, a woman came to visit the monastery from the town of Trikala and told the sisters that she had been childless for the first nineteen years of her marriage, and that doctors had told her she would never conceive. At the beginning of 1994, she began praying to St. Haralambos, who appeared to her one night in a dream and said not "You will have a child," but "You will have children." Two months later the woman conceived and at the end of the year gave birth to twin boys. She comes often now to visit the monastery with her little sons.

8. The "Monastery Priest"

In the early 1990's, a young man from the village in the area came to St. Stephen's Monastery with the intent to commit suicide by throwing himself off the bridge that connects the pinnacle of the rock to the road. He was standing on the bridge looking down into the chasm and preparing to jump, when an old priest came up and introduced himself as the spiritual father of the monastery. Although they had never met before, he began speaking to the young man about his life and trials, and encouraged him not to despair, promising him that God would help him. The young man felt an inner joy and peace. Going back to his home he began to attend Divine Liturgy regularly. A few weeks later he went to the monastery again and asked to speak to the old priest. The sister whom he met at the door told him there was no priest living there, that priests only came occasionally from the outside to serve Divine Liturgy, nor had there been any priest there on the day he mentioned. She asked him what the old priest had looked like, and he described in detail - St. Haralambos.


Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
O wise Haralambos, you were proven an unshakable pillar of the Church of Christ; an ever-shining lamp of the universe. You shone in the world by your martyrdom. You delivered us from the moonless night of idolatry O blessed one. Wherefore, boldly intercede to Christ that we may be saved.

Kontakion in the Fourth Tone
O Priest-martyr, athlete, champion Haralambos, your relics are a priceless treasure of the Church. Wherefore she rejoices, glorifying the Creator.

From Evlogeite! A Pilgrim's Guide To Greece by Mother Nectaria McLees, pp. 438-441.

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Miracle of St. Haralambos At the Polyclinic of Athens

The following miracle occurred to Constantine Livadan, an official of the Election Council, when he was young. He himself relates:

January 1931 I was hospitalized in the Polyclinic of Athens with a liver abscess. For four weeks I was tortured by a fever. Day and night I had a 38-40 degree (celsius) fever and terrible pains. It was decided that I should have surgery.

It was the day before the feast of St. Haralambos: February 9th 1931. That night, as I was in a terrible condition with a great fever and lethargy, I saw a magnificent priest come to me with a long beard. He approached me, and not the sick person across from me, who was at death’s door with peritonitis. He touched my head and said:

"Don’t be afraid. Tomorrow you will be completely well. You are a good boy."

I asked my nearby nurse, Nun Evanthia: "Who was that Priest who came?"

"There was no Priest," she responded.

I related to her what occurred. She crossed herself and told me: "Tomorrow is the feast of St. Haralambos; you will be well."

I then fell into a deep sleep. The fever began to decline from that instant. In the morning I was afebrile, totally well and without pains in the liver. In the morning the surgeon-professor N. Alivizatos and his brother Andreas (a pathologist) tested me, to get ready for the surgery. They studied and searched to find the liver abscess, but they couldn’t find it, neither did they find sclerosis or other disease of the liver (eight finger). The liver was normal!

The Nun related to the Professor what happened at night. She also showed me the Icon of St. Haralambos, whom I recognized. It was he that I saw. The professors related in astonishment:

"We raise our hands, and put down our knives. Today a miracle of St. Haralambos occurred at the Polyclinic!"

Later I learned that St. Haralambos is especially a physician of infectious diseases, which is what I had.

Source

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Miracles of the Skull of Saint Haralambos

"If it please Thy goodness to ask a gift of Thee, I beseech Thy majesty and dominon to grant this favor: to whomsoever should find or possess a portion of my relics, and in whichsoever land he may be celebrating the memory of my martyrdom, may he never suffer from hunger or plague or pestilence or an untimely death or destruction from an evil man, or injury to crops. I pray that he may be firm in peace, salvation of soul, and health of body. I entreat that he enjoy plenty of wheat, oil, and wine, together with an abundance of livestock and other good and useful possessions...."

- Final Prayer of St. Haralambos

The most holy relics of Saint Haralambos have been distributed, for the sake of reverence, everywhere to Orthodox Christians. The relics have the grace and power to help, heal and defend believers with countless miracles which prove this to be true. The Saint is particularly acclaimed as the protector and guardian against all types of plagues and virus strains. Those who trust in him neither become carriers nor are infected.

The Holy Skull of St. Haralambos is found today at the Holy Monastery of Saint Stephen the Protomartyr, a convent at Meteora in Thessaly. In it's history, the faithful who have had unhesitating faith in St. Haralambos have brought the Holy Skull into their homes and cities to save them from danger. With reverence and piety, they have performed a service of sanctification for holy water as well. With the help of God, through His great martyr, He has preserved the faithful sound and untroubled during epidemics. Many of these miracles are recorded in publications produced by the Monastery of Saint Stephen.

One such miracle occurred in 1812 when a devastation of dengue plague made many ill throughout Epirus. Then someone named Molossus, the father of Zotou Molossou, who wrote a dictionary of Saints, went to Meteora and brought to Epirus the skull of Saint Haralambos and ended the plague and many deaths.

The Greco-Turkish War took place in 1897. The Turks managed at that time to steal the Holy Skull, yet after hitting the silver reliquary a thousand different ways to bust it open to take only the expensive reliquary, their efforts failed. Instead a great sickness befell the Turks. 35,000 Turks died of typhoid in Thessaly by a miracle of the Saint.

When the Sultan heard how great a number in his army died in Thessaly, he wrote the Commander of the Turkish army in Thessaly, Edem, the following question in a letter:

"How did we lose so many soldiers in Thessaly if we have not yet gone to battle with the Greeks?"

Edem responded: "As many Turks who ruined churches and monasteries died of typhoid. I could not prevent the hand of God. All the evil Turks died horribly!"

Though the largest portion of the Holy Skull of St. Haralambos is at Meteora, a smaller portion (pictured above) rests in New Iraklitsa. It was housed in the Church of St. George in old Iraklitsa in Asia Minor. Then in 1922, together with the Greek refugees, it came to New Iraklitsa in Kavala and is now housed in the Church of Panagia Faneromeni.

Doxastikon of the Praises in the Plagal of the First Tone
Your precious skull, O divine Saint, is like an alabaster box that is full and pouring out cures, like very costly fragrant oil. It wondrously perfumes the faithful, and it delivers from every evil those who approach it with faith. It exterminates foul‐smelling delusion, diseases of every kind, and the pandemic plague, and it grants good health to all, as well as peace and great mercy.

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Saint Haralambos Celebrated In Bulgaria

February 10, 2011
MSNBC

On St. Haralambos' Day, sick or blind people go to church and pray for healing. According to traditional concepts, St. Haralambos is the lord of all illnesses, especially the plague. Doing any housework is strictly forbidden that day, because of the fear of any coming illness. Women are only allowed to bake round bread and decorate it with a cross in the middle and a large wreath at the edge for health. Honey is consecrated in the local church and then all the bread is coated with that honey. The rest of the honey is kept in the house as a remedy. According to the belief, St. Haralambos blesses the land and it gets warmer and ready to be cultivated.


By Rob Sharp
February 12, 2008
The Independent

They've been busy as the proverbial bees in Bulgaria, as this picture of a dimly lit vigil shows. If you look closely at the jars amid the candles at this church 60 miles south of the country's capital, Sofia, you'll see they contain something rather sweet. It's the town's honey harvest, and it is the focus of a religious festival that pays homage to the hardest-working of insects.

The annual event takes place in the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin church in the town of Blagoevgrad (try saying that with a mouth full of toast and honey), and its Orthodox residents are offering praise to Saint Haralambos, a patron saint of apiarists – or beekeepers. Locals say a holy mass for "the sanctification of honey" and cover their bread with the anointed spread. Soon afterwards, all being well, the weather gets warmer and the land is ready to be cultivated. People here also say honey has healing properties.

The Bulgarians' prayers are probably needed because, in global terms, bees are in crisis. Where once the earth was well stocked with the fuzzy little critters, experts now say the insects are being struck down by illness. And there are implications more serious than just a shortage of honey; many crops (such as cotton and oilseed rape) depend on honey bees to pollinate them. Experts claim it is the result of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), a kind of foot-and-mouth-style affliction hitting bee populations.

At the weekend, John Chapple, the chairman of the London Beekeepers Association, said: "Without bees, life as we know it will not exist." Let's hope the Bulgarians' prayers were heard.

Read also: BEEKEEPING IN BULGARIA: TRADITIONS AND HABITS

See photos here.

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The Theotokos Areovindos (Fire-Appearing)

The Theotokos Areovindos icon is of unknown origin. It is unusual in that the Mother of God is depicted alone, without the Christ Child. Her head is slightly inclined to the left, framed by a bright red maphorion, which inspired the name "Areovindos" or "Fire-appearing". The feast is celebrated on February 10th.

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Anastasios "of Constantinople": An Iconoclast Saint?

Ecumenical Patriarch Constantios I

On the 10th of February, the holy Church commemorates Saint Anastasios, Archbishop of Jerusalem.

Anastasios "of Constantinople" (730-754), as given in previous versions of The Great Synaxaristes (in Greek) and in the February Menaia, is an error, according to the Greek compilers, since this patriarch was an iconoclast during the reign of Emperor Leo III the Isaurian (717-741) who inaugurated imperial support for Iconoclasm. This action on the part of Leo had provoked Patriarch Germanos I (715-730, commemorated the 12th of May) whom Leo deposed. Thus, Anastasios of Constantinople, who corrupted the Church for more than twenty years, cannot possibly be the patriarch of today's commemoration.

Since there is no other Patriarch of Constantinople bearing the name of Anastasios, this vexed question was taken up by the most wise Patriarch Constantios I (1830-1834), the author of many writings. He corrected the commemoration from "Anastasios, Patriarch of Constantinople," to "Anastasios, Patriarch of Jerusalem".

This latter patriarch, Anastasios II (ca. 706), had been a contemporary of Saint Germanos. (He is not to be confused with Patriarch Anastasios I of Jerusalem, whose tenure was from 458 to 478.) Since the Church of Jerusalem, at the time of Anastasios II, suffered under Arab occupation of Palestine, it is suggested that perhaps this patriarch presided over his Church from Constantinople, hence the error in titling him "of Constantinople".

In Patriarch Anastasios II's absence from his See, Patriarch John V was in the holy city from 706-735. In the acts of the Sixth Ecumenical Synod, convoked at Constantinople in 680, the signature of Anastasios II appears. Bartholomew of the Athonite Monastery of Koutloumousiou notes that Saint Anastasios II of Jerusalem is commemorated in Patmos Codex 266. As a result of these proofs, the compilers of The Great Synaxaristes (in Greek) have altered the commemoration to read "Anastasios of Jerusalem," rather than "of Constantinople".

From The Great Synaxarion of the Orthodox Church, translated by Holy Apostles Convent, p. 465.

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The Icon of the Theotokos of Kozeltshan Is Found

A Day of Joy for the Orthodox of Finland!

Nun Christodouli
February 9, 2011
Amen.gr

Last June sad news rocked the Orthodox in Finland: the miraculous icon of the Theotokos of Kozeltshan was stolen at night from the Cathedral of the Dormition of the Theotokos!

The icon is associated with Saint John of Kronstadt. In the early 20th century, in the then Finnish town of Viipuri, the young daughter of a wealthy Russian family, Anna, became seriously ill and doctors could not do anything anymore. Then her mother sent her oldest sister to St. Petersburg to call St. John of Kronstadt to come to their house to pray for the sick girl. She went and met Father John, but he did not have the opportunity to come. However he gave the girl an icon of the Panagia - which is the same we are now speaking of - and told them to say a prayer in front of the icon. They called for the priest and he made his prayer. Soon the little girl began to get better until she was completely well.

The pious mother thought that a miraculous icon must not be stored in a secular home, so she donated the icon to a small church in the city. There others were able to enjoy the miraculous power of the Virgin Mary through her icon. As proof increased of the miracles through the icon, it began to be filled with precious jewels and other offerings.

After World War II, when the city Viipuri remained in the Soviet Union, the icon with its offerings was moved to the big Cathedral Church of Helsinki. The miracles continued there also and the Panagia showed her love through her icon. For this reason the stealing of this icon deeply saddened the faithful. After a short time the perpetrators were found - three foreigners -, when they went to steal something else from the church, and they were sentenced to prison. Nothing was found with them and it was thought that the icon was already somewhere abroad. But on February 8th one of the perpetrators revealed that the icon was hidden in Finland, and he led the police there! Police in communication indicated that he had come to repentance.

The words of the protopriest of Helsinki Fr Mark came true: "The icon will come back. Do not worry!" It should be indicated that the three perpetrators of the theft originated from a country where the prevailing faith is Orthodoxy. I hope the three will repent and from now on may they and we live in the protection of the Panagia!

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos


Thief Tells Police Where Stolen Icon Was Hidden

Priceless work of ecclesiastical art missing from Uspenski Cathedral since June.

February 9, 2011
Helsingen Sanomat

A valuable icon that was stolen from Helsinki’s Uspenski Cathedral, the city's biggest Orthodox church, in June of last year was recovered on Tuesday.

Police got on the trail of the icon when a man who was imprisoned for the theft came forward with information on where it was hidden.

Police say that the man had suffered pangs of conscience. The priceless work of Orthodox ecclesiastical art was found in a forest hideaway in Turku.

Police did not find pieces of jewellery that had been placed around the icon by parishioners.

The metallic cover on the icon had been torn off, and the decorative objects on it were also missing.

The icon will be sent to the Valamo Monastery in Heinävesi for restoration before it is brought back to the cathedral.

The man is serving a two-and-a-half year sentence for the theft.

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Russian Orthodox Clergy May Run for Office

Sophia Kishkovsky
February 8, 2011
ENI News

The Russian Orthodox Church has ruled that hierarchs (church leaders) and clergy can run for office in exceptional cases when their presence is needed to fight "forces striving to use electoral power to fight the Orthodox Church."

A document passed on 2 February by the Bishops' Council, which was meeting in Moscow, describes potential opponents of the church as forces "including schismatics and those of other religions," without naming any specifically, and says the church has the right to pass moral judgment on political programs and statements when they touch on issues including moral relativism, family values, historical monuments and the environment.

The document stresses that each case would be considered individually, that candidates must be chosen by church hierarchs, and that even if they are running for office, candidates cannot violate the Russian Orthodox Church's rule against clergy joining political parties.

It also makes clear that it is referring not just to clergy within Russia’s borders. The jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church extends across the former Soviet Union. Ukraine, which has seen a volatile political situation, also accounts for a significant part of the Russian Orthodox Church.

In another document, passed on 4 February, the Bishops' Council, led by Patriarch Kirill I, said clergy and lay people must use all legal means to fight "blasphemy and slander" against the church in modern society.

The Russian Orthodox Church is playing an increasingly prominent role in Russian society, but is also facing growing criticism. According to the document, "slander should be differentiated from criticism of negative phenomena in the life of the earthly church that need to be corrected and overcome from the point of view of Christian teaching."

Some Russian Orthodox clergy were involved in politics in the late 1980s and 1990s, as the Soviet Union disintegrated, and there were priests in Parliament under the tsar and in politics after the February Revolution of 1917 that brought down the tsar.

President Dmitri Medvedev, whose wife, Svetlana, is a prominent patron of the Russian Orthodox Church, received the Bishops' Council in the Kremlin on 3 February. Medvedev told the bishops that the church is essential to overcoming the ethnic strife that has shaken Russia recently, pitting young Russians against Muslim migrants from the Northern Caucasus. "Today, a great deal depends on your views, your sermons, your teaching, the pastor's word directly addressed to young people," said Medvedev.

Some Muslim leaders in Russia have said Muslim clergy might follow the example of the Russian Orthodox Church and run for office as well.

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Saint Peter of Damascus and His Feast On February 9

Peter, the sacred martyr, is the name of two saints. The first Saint Peter, mentioned by Saint John of Damascus (ca. 675 - ca. 749), lived during the reign of Constantine V Kopronymos (r. 741-775). He was arrested by the Umayyad Caliph al-Walid II (r. 743-744), son of the Arab Caliph Hisham (r. 724-743), when he censured the cacodoxy of the heretics and the error of the Arabs and Manicheans. The saint suffered torture when they plucked out his tongue while he was in exile in South Arabia. Despite the excision of this organ of speech, Saint Peter still spoke clearly and distinctly as he celebrated the divine office of the Liturgy.

The second Saint Peter of Damascus (12th cent.) is identified by others as the author of several treatises in the Philokalia. Book One is titled A Treasury of Divine Knowledge, and Book Two comprises the Twenty-four Discourses. He occupies more space in the Philokalia than any other author, save Saint Maximus the Confessor. He is concerned throughout his writings with the personal ascesis and prayer of the hesychast. His writings are not only for monks, since he insists that spiritual knowledge is within everyone's reach. He advocates continual prayer and believes that it is possible in all situations.

Since The Great Synaxaristes, in Greek, mentions in the verse couplet that today's Saint Peter was a hieromartyr who was slain by the sword, an event which it appears was not endured by either of the saints mentioned above, some have identified the saint of this day as Saint Peter of Maiouma. Both eighth-century saints, Peter of Damascus and Peter of Maiouma, are found in the Chronicle of Saint Theophanes. There are others who believe that today's Saint Peter might be identified with the priest, Saint Peter of Capitolias (d. 715), commemorated by the holy Church on the 4th of October. For his rebuke of Islam, he suffered the rooting out of his tongue, brutal amputations, and finally beheading.

From The Great Synaxarion of the Orthodox Church, translated by Holy Apostles Convent, pp. 440-441.


"Philokalia" Introduction To Saint Peter of Damascus

By St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite*

Our holy Father Peter, who was bishop of Damascus, lived under Constantine Kopronymos, in the year 775. He, at first, followed the solitary and anchoritic life in the greatest poverty, not even owning a book, as he himself says. That is, he only borrowed from others the Old and New Testaments, and the books of the great masters of the Church, and, in a word, of all the other awakened and God-bearing fathers, and became so industrious that — meditating night and day on the law of the Lord and watering his life by the flowing streams that gush from there — he was thought of as a twin tree to that of the Psalm, with its high and heavenly foliage, planted next to the spring itself of the waters of the Spirit. Except, while that tree is said to give its fruit only in one season, it was not so for him: on the contrary, staying green in every season, non-stop and without letting up, he brought forth spiritual fruits, pleasing to the sight, sweet to the taste, perfumed to the scent, and that with the undying and fragrant delicacies that flow from them, offer a banquet to every sense of the body and of the soul.

He did, in fact, bring forth, while alive, many great fruits through his ascetic efforts, and many much greater with his death, grasping the crown with his martyrdom: indeed, having proved the unorthodox heresy of the Arabs and the Manichees false, he had his tongue cut out by al-Walid, son of the leader of the Arabs, Hishim, and was exiled to Arabia Felice; there he died, still speaking and exercising the priesthood faultlessly. After his death he brought forth an over flowing abundance of most numerous and great fruits, leaving us a paternal and inalienable inheritance, this truly most beautiful book, adorned with every virtue, in which he labored with so much eloquence and grace that I would not even know how to express it: it is the pride of all and most useful to the soul in all the virtues, a treasury of contemplations, a list of spiritual charisms, a Halcyon of divine beatitudes, a sanctuary of bodily practice, a most meticulous analysis of the passions one by one, a horn of the ascetic Amalthea, a storehouse of divine knowledge and wisdom: in short, it is the summation of sacred wakefulness.

Knowing then how this summation is naturally linked to the present book, and how it adds an enormous contribution towards the goal which we have in mind, we thought it extremely important to keep it. This puts it nicely: as a circle is to a circle, so a philokalia to a Philokalia - the great to the greater and the more vast to the more restricted. It did not, in fact, seem right to us to separate this work which is loaded with spiritual fruits — as we said above — from the choir of holy and sober fathers: this book itself would have accused us of the inability to recognize the beautiful, not allowing its friends and family members to become separated from the fathers; nor under any circumstance, did it appear to us permissible to mutilate our work in this way — which also needs the collaboration of this book — and to deprive the brothers of so great a profit: for the increase of good always makes for an increase benefit.

If then someone wants to take up the double wings of the spiritual dove, which one time David was also looking for but did not find, strip the leaves of this book with laborious care, and in it marvelously find them: here, the all silver wing of praxis, and there, that pure gold wing of theoria. Raising himself with both wings above all the things of earth, he will fly towards the eternal heights and, after having nested that dove in the nests on high, he will find rest in heavenly beatitude.

* Although Nikodemos the Hagiorite identifies the Hieromartyr Peter with this author, the saint whose works have been incorporated into the Philokalia must have lived several centuries later, since the holy Peter of the Philokalia mentions the name of Saint Symeon Metaphrastes (d. ca. 1000). He also makes many references to the holy fathers in his writings. Since none of his spiritual treatises makes mention of the great luminary Saint Symeon the New Theologian (d. 1022) or his disciple, the theologian and hegoumen of Stoudios, Niketas Stethatos (d. ca. 1090), there exists a 13th-14th century manuscript which places the work at 1156-7. He certainly lived before the hesychast controversy, so it is more than likely that he belongs to the 11th or 12th century. (See "Introductory Note to Saint Peter of Damaskos", in The Philokalia - vol. 3.)

Read also:

St. Peter of Damascus: Eight Types of Knowledge

298 Passions Mentioned In Holy Scripture

That There Are No Contradictions in Holy Scripture

We Should Not Despair Even If We Sin Many Times

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We Should Not Despair Even If We Sin Many Times

By St. Peter of Damascus

Even if you are not what you should be, you should not despair. It is bad enough that you have sinned; why in addition do you wrong God by regarding Him in your ignorance as powerless? Is He, who for your sake created the great universe that you behold, incapable of saving your soul? And if you say that this fact, as well as His incarnation, only makes your condemnation worse, then repent; and He will receive your repentance, as He accepted that of the prodigal son (cf. Luke 15:20) and the prostitute (cf. Luke 7:37-50). But if repentance is too much for you, and you sin out of habit even when you do not want to, show humility like the publican (cf. Luke 18:13): this is enough to ensure your salvation. For he who sins without repenting, yet does not despair, must of necessity regard himself as the lowest of creatures, and will not dare to judge or censure anyone. Rather, he will marvel at God's compassion, and will be full of gratitude towards his Benefactor, and so receive many other blessings as well. Even if he is subject to the devil in that he sins, yet from fear of God he disobeys the enemy when the latter tries to make him despair. Because of this he has his portion with God; for he is grateful, gives thanks, is patient, fears God, does not judge so that he may not be judged. All these are crucial qualities. It is as St. John Chrysostom says about Gehenna: it is almost of greater benefit to us than the kingdom of heaven, since because of it many enter into the kingdom of heaven, while few enter for the sake of the kingdom itself; and if they do enter it, it is by virtue of God's compassion. Gehenna pursues us with fear, the kingdom embraces us with love, and through them both we are saved by God's grace (Homily On 1 Timothy 15:3).

If those attacked by many passions of soul and body endure patiently, do not out of negligence surrender their free will, and do not despair, they are saved. Similarly, he who has attained the state of dispassion, freedom from fear and lightness of heart, quickly falls if he does not confess God's grace continually by not judging anyone. Indeed, should he dare to judge someone, he makes it evident that in acquiring his wealth he has relied on his own strength, as St. Maximus states. St. John of Damascus says that if someone still subject to the passions, and still bereft of the light of spiritual knowledge, is put in charge of anyone, he is in great danger; and so is the person who has received dispassion and spiritual knowledge from God but does not help other people.

Nothing so benefits the weak as withdrawal into stillness, or the man subject to the passions and without spiritual knowledge as obedience combined with stillness. Nor is there anything better than to know one's own weakness and ignorance, nor anything worse than not to recognize them. No passion is so hateful as pride, or as ridiculous as avarice, "the root of all evils" (1 Tim. 6:10): for those who with great labor mine silver, and then hide it in the earth again, remain without any profit. That is why the Lord says, "Do not store up treasures on earth" (Matt. 6:19); and again: "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matt. 6:21). For the intellect of man is drawn by longing towards those things with which it habitually occupies itself, whether these be earthly things, or the passions, or heavenly and eternal blessings. As St. Basil the Great says, a persistent habit acquires all the strength of nature (Long Rules 6).

A weak person especially ought to pay attention to the promptings of his conscience, so that he may free his soul from all condemnation. Otherwise at the end of his life he may repent in vain and mourn eternally. The person who cannot endure for Christ's sake a physical death as Christ did, should at least be willing to endure death spiritually. Then he will be a martyr with respect to his conscience, in that he does not submit to the demons that assail him, or to their purposes, but conquers them, as did the holy martyrs and the holy fathers. The first were bodily martyrs, the latter spiritual martyrs. By forcing oneself slightly, one defeats the enemy; through slight negligence one is filled with darkness and destroyed.

From A Treasure of Divine Knowledge in The Philokalia (vol. 3).

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Hieromartyr Pankratios, Bishop of Taormina

St. Pankratios the Hieromartyr of Taormina (Feast Day - February 9)

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agios Vlasios

Among the saints that the Church celebrates today, dear brethren, is the Holy Hieromartyr Pankratios, Bishop of Taormina. St. Pankratios lived during the years of Christ and the Holy Apostles. He came from Antioch, and when he went to Jerusalem with his parents, received Holy Baptism. Then, after the death of his parents, Saint Pankratios went to the area of the Black Sea, entered a cave and "lived alone in silence". There he met the Apostle Peter in his travels, who took him with him to parts of Cilicia, where he introduced Pankratios to the Apostle Paul, who made him bishop of Taormina, Sicily. There Saint Pankratios did many miracles, cured many diseases, and demolished the idols the people venerated. Many believed in Christ, even prince Boniface himself. But followers of the heretic Montanus killed him.

The hymns of the Church written to honor Saint Pankratios refer to this personality. One of these call him the "honorable stone" that was the foundation of the Church. Another hymn speaks of the fact that Saint Pankratios, by the grace of the All-Holy Spirit, opened ditches in the hearts of people and there sowed the seed and inserted the farmer in heaven, Christ. Another hymn speaks of his establishing in the West, to which he was sent as a bishop to shepherd, the East, having brought with him the sunrise of divine knowledge of Him Who is beyond human thought, Christ, and there tied them with his athleticism and raised it to the everlasting light, where is seen the desired beauty of Christ the Judge.

In the life of Saint Pankratios we see the close relationship between faith, baptism, asceticism, the hierarchy and martyrdom. This means that the Christian life is united and does not divide the Mysteries (Sacraments) from faith, asceticism from the priesthood, and martyrdom.

The apolytikion (troparion) of the saint, which was established to be chanted for many hieromartyrs, reveals that all hieromartyrs share a new tradition and life, and mentions that Saint Pankratios was not merely a successor of the Apostles, but was a shareholder of the life of the Apostles. It also emphasizes that he was divinely inspired, because he lived the praxis, namely the purification of the heart from passions, upon which he established theoria, namely the existential experience of God. And because he lived this spiritual life, for this reason he was found worthy of martyrdom, since martyrdom is not a human act and energy, but the fruit and effect of the union of man with God through the Mysteries and asceticism.

We honor the saints and martyrs, but we should see what it was that made them confessors, martyrs and saints. The primary factor is the grace of God, which is received through the Mysteries and flourishes with asceticism. The sanctification of man is the result of synergy, that is, the energies of God and the human reaction to it. God plays a primary role in the salvation of man, but in response to the freedom on the part of man in receiving God's love. If we remove the freedom of man, we fall into Monophysitism; and if we do not see the energies of God, we fall into Nestorianism and Humanism.

Saint Pankratios can be a model for us all, clergy and laity, men and women. He shows what is asceticism in Christ, what is the priesthood, and what is martyrdom. May we have his intercessions.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos

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Elder Isaac of Dionysiou: The Perfect Orthodox Monk

By Archimandrite Cherubim Karambelas

According to the Holy Fathers, all ascetic labors, whether bodily or spiritual, have one lofty and holy end: purity of heart. Fasting, all-night vigils, mourning, suffering, rules of prayer, the services, the reading of spiritual books, prayer, and other ascetic struggles help the monastic to rise high and live a pure and holy life. This end was attained in the life of the praiseworthy monk of Dionysiou - Isaac.

Climbing the ladder of the virtues, he perfected himself in meekness, innocence, and simplicity. This last virtue, according to St. John Climacus, "leads to the highest humility," and: "You will never see simplicity bereft of humility."

Deep humility opens the path to another summit of virtue: dispassion. Our good mountaineer and soldier of Christ conquered this peak also. Dispassion is a very lofty summit, and there are few who reach it. "This requires time and much longing for God.... When you see or hear that someone has in a few years acquired the most sublime dispassion, then conclude that he travelled by no other way than by this blessed shortcut - of humility" (St. John Climacus).

The fathers who knew him well, like Fr. Leontius who lived with him in several metochia, have told us of the high level of dispassion that adorned the life of the Elder.

"For Elder Isaac," Fr. Leontius said, "there was no difference or change of feelings when he conversed or associated with lay people."

"What do you mean by that, Father?" Fr. Lazarus asked him.

"I mean that Elder Isaac spoke with women just like he spoke with men."

When the need arose, therefore, he would associate and converse with everyone, but always on a higher level. This is called in Patristic language dispassion. Truly Elder Isaac, although living at the Monastery's Metochia in the midst of the world, was always a dispassionate monk, "an iron-clad warrior," "warring, but not warred against." He was dead to the world; only Christ lived within him. "He who is perfect in love and has reached the summit of passionlessness knows no difference between his own people and strangers, or between believer and infidel, between bond and free, or even between male and female...." (St. Maximus the Confessor).

As long as the mailman of Dionysiou,* this excellent courier of God, continued to follow this path, he would finish his course on the pinnacle of virtue, which is perfect love.

He reached the point where he sympathized with all manner of people, with the whole world, with all of creation, animate and inanimate, as his patron saint wrote somewhere on the nature of perfect love.** He loved and sympathized with all.

Across from the Monastery at the Kathisma of the Holy Apostles lived Elder Isaac together with Fr. Lazarus. The one, being older, looked after the garden with its lemon and orange trees, while the other took care of Elder Modestos who was suffering from hemiplegia. The latter had the cell next to the church, and the former two lived on the upper floor.

"After Compline," Fr. Lazarus remarked as we were parting, "no more that half an hour would pass before Fr. Isaac would be praying with tears and wailing. His face was awash with tears, tears falling from his soul and heart. After hearing him on several occasions, I decided to ask him why he wept every night. Going downstairs, therefore, I drew near and heard him saying: 'Have mercy on the poor people, O Lord. Have mercy on the unfortunate ones. Have mercy on the hungry. Give them Thy blessing, O Lord, have mercy....'

Not understanding for whom he was imploring, however, I asked him: 'Fr. Isaac, for whom are you crying and pleading to Christ for so long? Who are those poor and unfortunate ones?'

He replied: 'My child, don't you remember the tenant-farmers we had at the Metochia who worked all day long. Such hard work, yet they barely managed to live. How could they meet their families' expenses? How could they marry off their daughters? How could they teach their children to read? Where would they find clothes to wear? How can I not pity them when I think of them, especially when they loved and respected us so much? They were obedient to us like bought slaves. Why should I not weep and entreat Christ for them?'

Silently I left him to weep and supplicate Christ, marvelling at his great compassion."

In this picture of his life at the Kathisma of the Holy Apostles, we can perceive the attitude of a true Athonite monk towards his fellow men. It is revealed in two ways: Love towards a bed-ridden invalid, manifested by sacrifice, patience, night watches, labor, and self-denial; and love towards the tenant-farmers, manifested by warm tears and disturbance of soul. We see this attitude revealed all over the Holy Mountain.

Our minds wonder at these images of Elder Isaac's life at the Kathisma of the Holy Apostles - whether we see him on the ground floor, praying fervently; or on the upper floor, nursing the invalid. In these two scenes we see realized the Master's words in that historic upper room in Jerusalem: "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."

Here is the genuine social work of monastic: prayer for their fellow men and for all the world; self-sacrificing care for the sick, unceasing hospitality, true teaching by example. A work which is not blazed abroad has for this reason its own measureless worth.

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The grace of God found firm abode in the soul of Elder Isaac. His prayers were compunctionate; he had received the God-given grace of tears, as we saw above in the example of his sympathy and love for those in want and sorrow.

"You cannot show," says St. Symeon the New Theologian, "that without tears and continual contrition anyone has been purified, or become holy, or received the Holy Spirit, or seen God, or completely received Him as a dweller in his heart."

Especially towards the end of his life, his eyes squinted from his perpetual tears. Many times the fathers noticed that his eyes were swollen and red from weeping; passing by his cell, they would hear him say the Jesus Prayer from the depths of his heart.

All day long, and especially at night, he communicated with Heaven. He tried to find as much time as possible to devote to prayer. During the silence of the nights, wakeful, beyond the world and everything earthly, he would pray for hours, pouring forth rivers of tears in his great compunction and divine love.

***************************

Fr. Lazarus once asked him: "How many hours should I sleep, Fr. Isaac?"

"For one as young as you, five hours are sufficient - three at night and two in the daytime. For older monks, however, three to four hours in the whole day are enough."

Indeed, Fr. Isaac slept for one hour during the day and two hours at night. The rest of the time was spent with Him for Whom his soul insatiably thirsted.

"When we were at the Kathisma of the Holy Apostles," Fr. Lazarus related, "the two of us would do the service with our prayer ropes for two-and-a-half hours.*** Fr. Isaac would do the first and second prayer ropes in a quiet voice: 'Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us.' On the third, his heart would grow warmer; he could not restrain himself to speak softly, but would cry each word with flaming zeal ... I would hear him and marvel at his heart's love for Christ."

One night Fr. Lazarus arose in order to go from the Kathisma of the Holy Apostles to Karyes. (Fr. Modestos, who was sick, needed something.) It was July and very warm: the night was moonlit. When he had left the Kalyva and gone a little way, beside the road he saw a singular sight. Someone was kneeling, praying with uplifted hands amidst the infinite silence of the night and peaceful nature. It was Fr. Isaac.

Fr. Lazarus stopped and changed direction. He thought it a sacrilege to pass him and disrupt that awe-inspiring scene.

Who knows what divine joy, what heavenly grace shone that evening on the Elder's bright face? Who knows what those holy raised hands were seeking from heaven? Who knows how many tears watered the ground of the Kathisma of the Holy Apostles? What tears he shed "from the pouring forth of divine light and heaven opening upon him...."

* Elder Isaac's obedience at Dionysiou was the difficult job of being a mailman, which even in the harsh winters he fulfilled and nearly cost him his life. Read Two Wondrous Miracles of St. John the Forerunner in the Life of Elder Isaac of Dionysiou.

** St. Isaac the Syrian wrote: "And what is the merciful heart? It is the heart’s burning for all of creation, for men, for birds, for animals and even for demons. At the remembrance and at the sight of them, the merciful man’s eyes fill with tears which arise from the great compassion that urges his heart. It grows tender and cannot endure hearing or seeing any injury or slight sorrow to anything in creation. Because of this, such a man continually offers tearful prayer even for irrational animals and for the enemies of truth and for all who harm it, that they may be guarded and forgiven."

*** Monks, ascetics or hesychasts who are away from their monastery, or do not have service books, or are illiterate, or out of obedience to attain a deeper form of prayer, etc., substitute attending services with a corresponding number of Jesus Prayers. For example, a Midnight Service and Matins can be substituted for thirty-three hundred prayers.

From Contemporary Ascetics of Mount Athos (vol. 1) by Archimandrite Cherubim, pp. 344-347 and 359-361.

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What Activates True Love?

When grace is operative in the soul of someone who is praying, then he is flooded with the love of God, so that he can no longer bear what he experiences.

Afterwards, this love turns towards the world and man, whom he comes to love so much that he seeks to take upon himself the whole of human pain and misfortune so that everyone else might be freed from it. In general he suffers with every grief and misery, and even for animals, so that he weeps when he thinks they are suffering.

These are the properties of love, but it is prayer that activates them and calls them forth.

This is why those who are advanced in prayer do not cease to pray for the world. To them belongs even the continuation of life, however audacious and strange this may seem. And you should know that, if such people disappear, then the end of this world will come.

- Elder Joseph the Hesychast

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Discovery of the Relics of Zechariah the Prophet

By Sozomen the Historian

I shall first speak of the relics of the prophet. Caphar-Zechariah is a village of the territory of Eleutheropolis, a city of Palestine. The land of this district was cultivated by Calemerus, a serf; he was well disposed to the owner, but hard, discontented, and unjust towards his neighboring peasants. Although he possessed these defects of character, the prophet stood by him in a dream, and manifested himself; pointing out a particular garden, he said to him, “Go, dig in that garden at the distance of two cubits from the hedge of the garden by the road leading to the city of Bitheribis. You will there find two coffins, the inner one of wood, the other of lead. Beside the coffins you will see a glass vessel full of water, and two serpents of moderate size, but tame, and perfectly innoxious, so that they seem to be used to being handled.” Calemerus followed the directions of the prophet at the designated place and zealously applied himself to the task. When the sacred depository was disclosed by the afore-mentioned signs, the divine prophet appeared to him, clad in a white stole, which makes me think that he was a priest. At his feet outside of the coffin was lying a child which had been honored with a royal burial; for on its head was a golden crown, its feet were encased in golden sandals, and it was arrayed in a costly robe. The wise men and priests of the time were greatly perplexed about this child, who and whence he might be and for what reason he had been so clothed. It is said that Zechariah, the superior of a monastic community at Gerari, found an ancient document written in Hebrew, which had not been received among the canonical books. In this document it was stated that when Zechariah the prophet had been put to death by Joash, king of Judah, the family of the monarch was soon visited by a dire calamity; for on the seventh day after the death of the prophet, one of the sons of Joash, whom he tenderly loved, suddenly expired. Judging that this affliction was a special manifestation of Divine wrath, the king ordered his son to be interred at the feet of the prophet, as a kind of atonement for the crime against him. Such are the particulars which I have ascertained on the subject.

Although the prophet had lain under the earth for so many generations, he appeared sound; his hair was closely shorn, his nose was straight; his beard moderately grown, his head quite short, his eyes rather sunken, and concealed by the eyebrows.

From Ecclesiastical History, Book IX, Chapter 17.

Read also:

Prophet Zechariah the Sickle-Seer

1,500-year-old Church Found In Israel

The Place of Saint Zacharias - Tell Zakariyah

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Saint Parthenios of Lampsakos: Life and Miracles

St. Parthenios the Wonderworker of Lampsakos (Feast Day - February 7)

Saint Parthenios, Bishop of Lampsakos, was a native of the city of Melitoupolis (in northwestern Asia Minor), where his father Christopher served as deacon. The youth did not receive adequate schooling, but he learned the Holy Scripture by attending church services. He had a good heart, and distributed to the poor the money he earned working as a fisherman.

Filled with the grace of God, St Parthenios from age eighteen healed the sick in the name of Christ, cast out demons and worked other miracles. Learning of the young man's virtuous life, Bishop Philetos of Melitoupolis educated him and ordained him presbyter.

In 325, during the reign of Constantine the Great, Archbishop Achilles of Cyzicus made him bishop of the city of Lampsakos (Asia Minor). In the city were many pagans, and the saint fervently began to spread the faith in Christ, confirming it through many miracles and by healing the sick.

The people began to turn from their pagan beliefs, and the saint went to the emperor Constantine the Great seeking permission to tear down the pagan temple and build a Christian church in its place. The emperor received the saint with honor, gave him a decree authorizing the destruction of the pagan temple, and provided him with the means to build a church. Returning to Lampsakos, St Parthenios had the pagan temple torn down, and built a beautiful church of God in the city.

In one of the razed temples, he found a large marble slab which he thought would be very suitable as an altar. The saint ordered work to begin on the stone, and to move it to the church. Through the malice of the devil, who became enraged at the removal of the stone from the pagan temple, the cart overturned and killed the driver Eutychian. St Parthenios restored him to life by his prayer and shamed the devil, who wanted to frustrate the work of God.

The saint was so kind that he refused healing to no one who came to him, or who chanced to meet him by the wayside, whether he suffered from bodily illnesses or was tormented by unclean spirits. People even stopped going to physicians, since St Parthenios healed all the sick for free. With the great power of the name of Christ, the saint banished a host of demons from people, from their homes, and from the waters of the sea.

Once, the saint prepared to cast out a devil from a certain man, who had been possessed by it since childhood. The demon began to implore the saint not to do so. St Parthenios promised to give the evil spirit another man in whom he could dwell. The demon asked, "Who is that man?" The saint replied, "You may dwell in me, if you wish."

The demon fled as if stung by fire, crying out, "If the mere sight of you is a torment to me, how can I dare to enter into you?"

An unclean spirit, cast out of the house where the imperial purple dye was prepared, said that a divine fire was pursuing him with the fire of Gehenna.

Having shown people the great power of faith in Christ, the saint converted a multitude of idol-worshippers to the true God.

St Parthenios died peacefully and was solemnly buried beside the cathedral church of Lampsakos, which he built.

Source

A Contemporary Miracle of the Patron Saint Against Cancer

Stratoula, a 26 year old woman from Halkida, was diagnosed with cancer in September 1996. Below is the story of her healing through St. Parthenios in her own words:

"In my 26th year, a test showed that I had contracted the virus that alters the cells outside the cervix. The doctors made an operation, cutting a piece of the cervix. After three months, the test showed that I had healed. After some time the virus again came knocking on my door. Then I decided to put my life in the hands of Saint Parthenios. I fasted 40 days, Confessed, Communed, and every day I read the Supplicatory Canon of the Saint. From the first day even, I saw him in my sleep appearing and disappearing three times in front of me as a huge icon of Saint Parthenios. It was as big as the size of the room and bright. Then waking up, I realized that the Saint had heard me and was beside me. I have also not ceased to be near him. When I redid the test, the response was negative for the virus and what remained was simply inflammation. With tears I thanked Saint Parthenios and decided to continue with more faith my prayers. The next test was negative for any malignancy, and there was no inflammation. All this without drugs, without doctors, without the painful and torturous treatments for cancer which doctors apply today.

Now I always have him as my protector over my bed and I weekly climb to the monastery to pray and thank him. In my effort I was helped by two elderly nuns of the monastery whose advice and understanding boosted my soul, so I can pray with more power and be armed with patience and perseverance. I thank them."

We are assured by the Abbess Mariam of the Holy Monastery of Panagia Makrymalli in Psachna, where the holy skull of the Saint is kept, that Stratoula is quite well. Now she is married and has never forgotten her vow. Once a week, as a sign of respect, love and gratitude to the Saint, she goes to the monastery, kneels before the holy relic, and thanks him for the great gift he bestowed on her.

Countless are the miracles of St. Parthenios, especially to victims of cancer. More can be read here and here.

Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
O God of our Fathers, ever dealing with us according to Thy gentleness: take not Thy mercy from us, but by their entreaties guide our life in peace.

Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
In truth you were revealed to your flock as a rule of faith, an image of humility and a teacher of abstinence; your humility exalted you; your poverty enriched you. Hierarch Father Parthenius, entreat Christ our God that our souls may be saved.

Kontakion in the Third Tone
Since thou hadst received God's grace to work ineffable marvels, godly-wise Parthenius, thou sacred worker of wonders, thou didst wholly cleanse the faithful of all their passions, casting wicked spirits out, O God-bearing Father; for this cause we sing thy praise as a great initiate of the divine grace of God.

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Video: 72 Year Old Greek Sexton Takes On Thief

February 7, 2011
Romfea.gr

Thieves will think again when they think to put their hands to the candle stand at the Church of Saint Demetrios in Tirnavos, especially after hearing that a 72 year old sexton is the watchdog of the church.

The incredible story took place on Friday (02/04/2011) when an aspiring robber invaded the church and destroyed the candle stand, grabbing all the money inside.

In a moments notice and without hesitation, when the sexton spotted him she grabbed the thief and began calling for help. In an inconclusive battle, the perpetrator bit the woman's hand in a desperate bid to escape. The pain from the bite and the shove was enough for the thief to break free of the grip of the sexton.

Immediately the thief ran to his escape vehicle - a neglected bicycle at the entrance of the church - and frantically pedalled away in an unknown direction.

The sexton was brought to the Tirnavos Health Center where her bite wound was treated.

See the video of the event below:


Νεοκόρος σταματα ληστή
Uploaded by fotnak. - Up-to-the minute news videos.

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Saint George the New Martyr of Alikianos, Crete (+ 1867)

St. George the New Martyr of Crete (Feast Day - February 7)

By Metropolitan Titus (Sylligardakis) of Rethymnon

Crete is well known as an island which gave birth to heroes and martyrs. The Cretan honor roll of saints lists both old and new martyrs whose blood dyed the land of our forefathers. The holocaust of the Arkadi Monastery is a sculptured icon of the Cretan Revolution of 1866. Brave men of Crete are her honored trophies. Victory slipped away from the pashas and aghas. The flag of freedom waved like a symbol of life and death for those about to die. Cretan honor was never defeated in the land which Turks occupied. Honor and victory are the emblems of every Cretan battle. Canons, knives, sticks and stones, fists and shouts, teeth and hatchets are the weapons that the rebels brought to hew down the Muslim hordes.

The Cretan Revolution of 1866-1869 was a continuum with the Revolution of Greece of 1821. The will for freedom of the Cretan populace was irrevocable and was loudly proclaimed by the words "Union or Death". The spirited and easily aroused people of Crete did not ask anything more than what their Holy Creed and Symbol of Faith allowed - the freedom and resurrection of their ancestry, their religion, their ethos and their traditions. Union with Greece - the motherland of motherlands - their own motherland, was their quest. Among the many cities and towns that rushed to attack the enemies of Crete was the village of Alikianos situated in the ecclesiastical district of the Diocese of Kydonia and Apokoronou. Alikianos means "strong" or "paved with gravel", named for its fortified position situated in the middle of a lowland full of orange groves irrigated by the river Kerites, Iordanos, or Platanias as it is known today. It is surrounded by the White Mountains which peak proudly to great heights. Alikianos defended its sacred land with fierce battles and heroic struggles during the years of the Turkish occupation, the Revolution of 1866, and again under German occupation in 1941.

This is where Saint George the New Martyr belongs - the Revolution of 1866 - a symbol of the Church of Crete's new generation of saints. For he fell in battle dying for Christ at the age of only twenty-one. The piety of his good parents nourished him well. His father Nicholas was a priest born on the island of Folegandros in the Cyclades. His mother Katherine Bouzianopoulos was Cretan, born in the historic and heroic village of Therisso of Kydonia, daughter of a noble and honorable family. The Saint's upbringing was uniquely Christian. His farm work did not deprive him of study despite his modest education, for he loved to read the biographical accounts or Synaxarion of the holy martyrs. In these texts he found his soul's burning desire quenched, and this gave peace to his life. "I cannot rest, neither can I sleep contentedly unless I satisfy my hunger for reading."

During the difficult year of 1865, he read the life of a great martyr, and prayed: "My Christ, make me worthy to shed my blood for love of You." Saint George had a brother who was blind, yet he was an "eyewitness" of this confession. The persecution of the Christians was drawing near as the year 1866 marked the beginning of the great Cretan Revolution which left so many sacrificial victims.

The time for his martyrdom soon arrived. For the New Martyr George was a mail carrier and courier who delivered letters and proclamations of the leaders of the revolution. On Sunday, February 5th 1867, George was in the village of Fournes in Kydonia, participating in the struggle as was his duty as courier. A great number of Turkish soldiers then surrounded the village and seized many Cretans, including blessed George. But because he carried revolutionary documents he attracted special attention, and his death by torture was imminent. George was urged to accept Islam and be saved. However, despite advice and concessions, martyrs of the Faith will stand firm. Neither Moustafas Pasha nor Bachris Aghas, nor the Christian officer Hatzimanuel Fouglanakis succeeded in convincing him to avoid martyrdom.

"I am a Christian and I die a Christian." He felt no remorse because he was young, nor did he feel sorrow for his own life, or his elderly parents, his sister or his blind brother. He was not shaken by the ailing and tears of his fellow Christians, their wives, children and relatives. Standing firm in his convictions he declared his martyrdom: "Cut me up into even smaller pieces than you have cut others. Because the more you torture me, so much more will my Christ glorify me."

This was his martyric stand. So the Turks did not kill him quickly, but in measures. First they cut off his ears, then his nose, tongue, hands and feet. They cut off his genital organs, then his eyes and finally his head. His remains were thrown in an unknown place among others killed along with the blessed George. Until today the place of his burial is unknown. But the manner and date of his death have been documented - February 7th 1867.

That is how the New Martyr George died for Christ in the peak of his youth, as told in the proud history of the revolutionary struggles that took place in the year of our Lord 1867. He died in the flowering of his youth as the son of Alikiano, the pride of Kydonia, the Saint of Crete and the athlete of Christ.

Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
You have been perceived, George, as most honored and equal to past spiritual fighters in these latter days. You suffered steadfastly while your body was cut up for love of the Lord. And with the streams of your blood you refresh the faithful who sing hymns to your divine struggle, O New Martyr.

Kontakion in the Third Tone
In the latter days you suffered martyrdom conspicuously, and you were crowned by Christ; and clothed with His divine grace you bravely bore the dismemberment of your body. We honor you for that, New Soldier of Christ, George.

Megalynarion
Rejoice, divine offspring of Kydonia and honorable adornment of Folegandros. Rejoice, you who were dismembered for the sake of Christ, Godly-minded and steadfast believer, George. Rejoice, divine son of Kydonia and honorable adornment of Folegandros.

From Cretan Saints, translated by Rev. Timothy Andrews, pp. 16-20.

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