The Exorcism of a Greek-American Immigrant

Elder Ignatios the Confessor (+ 1927)

By Archimandrite Cherubim Karambelas

It is a sad thing that many Greeks outside their country fall victim through carelessness to anti-Christian ideas and heresies, losing the priceless treasure of the Orthodox faith. This happened to a man named Angelis Kioussis.

He had set out from the Lion of Thebes, his fatherland, for distant America, hoping for a good career. As he was clever and enterprising, he not only managed to succeed professionally but he even became very rich.

At the age of forty he wanted something novel to play with. Blinded by his wealth and darkened by arrogance, he became entangled in the nets of a satanic sect. His soul was so poisoned that he forswore Christianity in a solemn ceremony, and defiled the icons of Christ and the Theotokos. Others had performed this wicked deed, and nothing had happened to them.

But God, Who forbears and is silent, sometimes judges it right to break His silence. This happened in the case of Angelis - the scourge fell as he was leaving the room where the abominable deed was performed. God delivered him to the power of the devil. Outwardly it appeared that he had been stricken with sudden madness.

"Angelis, the wealthy one, is ill!" The rumor spread among the emigrant Greeks. "He doesn't know what he is saying or doing - he has a serious mental illness!"

His brothers now had the thankless responsibility of going around from doctor to doctor and from psychiatrist to psychiatrist. They were fortunate they had so much money to spend. He was examined by the most eminent psychiatrists, given the best medicines, and nursed in the most modern sanatoriums, but there was no result. Several doctors said to themselves: "This is a strange illness! It doesn't seem normal. A peculiar case! What shall we do?"

His relatives began to understand that Angelis' illness lay outside the jurisdiction of medical science. They remembered he despised the Faith and brought him back to their fatherland, having recourse to the Church and the help of priests. Now in place of drugs he received the exorcism of St. Basil the Great. Their new course of action finally led the possessed man to the Holy Mountain.

"Shouldn't you take him to the Holy Mountain, so that some holy hieromonk can pray for him?" several people recommended.

This suggestion was immediately adopted, and Angelis with his brothers came to New Skete, where they had some friends.

Some time ago in New Skete we met the monk who had received them in his Kalyva, Fr. Eustratios the hagiographer. When we questioned him, he told us the story in detail. He also described the madness of the possessed man. He would carry around four or five round balls like oranges and amuse himself by throwing them one by one into the air with great speed. He would catch them and throw them again, without any falling down. The most skillful jugglers would have envied him!

Various kinds of demons torment demoniacs. Some work at midday, others at night, others once a month. Some are deaf or mute, others shameless babblers, etc. Angelis' demon was characterized as "harmful and distorting the mind" and "voluble". Under his influence the unfortunate man ceaselessly chatted and talked to himself, rambling on about all kinds of subjects. His tongue never stopped.

The Fathers of New Skete worked hard to drive it out, but were not successful. This demon was very difficult: "His neck was made of iron nerves". They bethought themselves to find some elder "mighty in battle". Such a one was Fr. Ignatios the Confessor, who had healed many demoniacs.

Thus Angelis was led to Katounakia, where they met Fr. Ignatios and the battle was planned. Fr. Ignatios perceived that much labor would be needed to expel this spirit. His disciple of the same name would assist him in the struggle, in the Liturgies and exorcisms. For forty days they would fast, perform the Divine Liturgy daily, read the exorcisms, and beg God's mercy. Angelis, by Fr. Ignatios' command, had to go to confession every day and tell his most secret thoughts, and everything that the devil said to him.

For thirty-nine days they waged this hard battle, and on the fortieth day the sufferer breathed the air of freedom. The chains which had bound him for so many years were broken. His relief was indescribable. Rejoicing, he returned to his fatherland, and then to America, where, "clothed in his right mind" he continued his life. And never did he forget the Holy Mountain and the venerable Elder Ignatios who had freed him from the devil's tyranny.

From Contemporary Ascetics of Mount Athos (vol. 2), pp. 510-512.

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Saint Demetrios the New Martyr of Peloponnesos (+ 1803)

St. Demetrios of Peloponnesos (Feast Day - April 14)

The Saint was from the town of Ligouditsa of Arkadia. When he was still a child he was orphaned with another brother, and his father, Elias, married a second woman. Their step mother treated the two brothers poorly, and therefore as soon as they were older they left home. The older brother went to Tripolitsa and became a servant in a Turkish house, the younger brother, Demetrios, became affiliated with some builders who took him from place to place to build things.

One time they went to Tripoli and there Demetrios consorted with a Turkish boy. One day, because of a disagreement over money, he left the builders and went to be a servant in a Turkish house. Slowly, however, childhood attachments convinced him to abandon his people and to embrace Islam. When his older brother learned this, he went to meet with him, and tried to convince him of the great evil which he suffered, for he had also converted to Islam.

As soon as their father learned this, he came to Tripoli to find them. What happened to the older brother, we do not know. The younger boy, Demetrios, as soon as he heard that his father was coming, did not dare appear before him, either from shame or fear. Thus the father left without seeing his son. However, his presence had an effect, because Demetrios began to think how he saddened his father and what a great evil he committed, that his father would go to such an effort to come from his town to meet him. He began to regret his decision, and to berate himself, and within him was born words of repentance to return to Christ.

At the first opportunity, he left the Turk's house with the goal of returning to his home. However, he did not know the way, so he managed to reach Stemnitsa. There a Christian woman housed him, who told him that he took the wrong road and that he would have to return and set-off with a guide. He returned and waited for a chance to leave. In the meantime, he tried learning the skill of hair-cutting, as the master of his house was a barber, but he was not content in his efforts.

One day he met some Christians, who were going to Smyrna. Thus he decided to change plans and to follow them. From Smyrna he headed to Magnesia of Asia Minor, where he knew some people. There he confessed to a spiritual father. However, because of the presence of many Turks, his spiritual father wanted to send him to a safer place. There was also a plague in that region, so he decided to leave.

With God's illumination and the help of some Christians, he traveled to the Monastery of the Precious Forerunner, which was on a small island of the gulf between Aivali and Moschonisia. There in the safe environment of the Monastery, he confessed to the Abbot and returned to the Church by ecclesiastical order through the Mystery of Holy Chrismation.

Because his conscience calmed, he left the Monastery and worked in Moschonisia for a year in a coffee shop and then in Kydonies as a barber, and made a lot of money. He also donated a beautiful vigil lamp to the icon of the Precious Forerunner in the Monastery.

With the passage of time, however, the love of Christ and the desire for martyrdom was lit within his heart. Then he of course heard of the New Martyrology by St. Nikodemos, and learned about the Neomartyrs, and the desire for confession and martyrdom grew within him. He went therefore to the Abbot of the Precious Forerunner and confessed his desire, and asked him to guide him, that his desire might come to pass.

The Abbot sent him with a letter to Chios, where St. Makarios Notaras, the former Metropolitan of Corinth (and trainer of other Neomartyrs, Sts. Polydoros and Theodore of Byzantium, was living). The Saint received him with much love, consoled him, and praised his love for Christ and his desire for confession. He stressed to him, however, that with repentance man can be saved from whatever great sins he had committed. He urged him to abandon the idea of martyrdom, because of his young age in case he would not be able to bear the tortures and fall into the same serious sin and deny Christ a second time. With many arguments he tried to dissuade him from martyrdom. The Saint listened to what St. Makarios told him without responding, however within his heart the love for Christ was like a fire. Thus he began to struggle spiritually with unceasing prayer, vigil roughly the whole night, countless prostrations, Supplications to the Most-Holy Theotokos and continuous tears. He cried bitterly as another Apostle Peter for his denial, as if all of these did very little to redeem him. For further ascesis, he went to a narrow cave, despite the cold of winter, where there was a spring, and continued his ascesis, as much as he could.

As he prepared spiritually according to the judgment of his trainer, St. Makarios, and having confessed cleanly all of his sins that he could remember, his spiritual father again counseled him to abandon his goal of martyrdom. Though he was silent externally, his heart however skipped at the idea of confessing his Faith. Thus, not being able to restrain it any longer, he sought permission of his Elder to go to the place where he had denied Christ, to find his brother, to teach him about his fall and also to confess and suffer for Christ. St. Makarios, seeing his steadfastness, having admonished him, prayed and let him go with his blessing, giving him a letter to give to a certain learned spiritual father in Argos, to support him. Traveling to Argos, he did not find this spiritual father, for he was absent. He stayed therefore near a virtuous Christian, waiting the return of the teacher, continuing his spiritual struggle with prayer, vigil, fasting and tears. As the days passed and the teacher was delayed, Demetrios, unable to hold back the flame in his heart, left for Tripoli with a God-fearing Christian. The priests who had learned of the reason of his traveling to Tripoli, because of fear of reprisals by the Turks, tried to convince him to return. The Saint, however, with great humility, calmed their fears.

Having communed the Immaculate Mysteries, he went to the agora of Tripolitsa to see if anyone recognized him, but no one did. In the end, with the blessing of the most-pious priest Anthony he went to his former master's barber shop, and greeted him with: “Christ is risen!”. It was the week after the Sunday of St. Thomas. When he asked him who he was, he answered:

“I am the Demetrios, who in this wretched work-place denied Christ, and I have come now to shed my blood for Him.”

The Christians, as soon as they heard this, left immediately.

A helper of the master who was a Turk, told him:

“What's this, Mehmet, come to your senses, don't you pity your life? The Turks will kill you.”

“I've come because of this” the Saint said.

“Eh, come in the yard, I'll cut your throat with the razor.”

Immediately the Saint ran and put forth his neck, but the Turk, however, went outside, telling him to find someone else.

In the meantime, his former master began to try to get him to return with threats and flatteries, but to no avail. He offered him money to go far away and live as a Christian. But he did not even give in to this.

He only said: “I am a Christian, I'm not leaving. I have come to confess my Faith and to shed my blood for my Christ.”

In the meantime, these events were becoming known, and the Christians, wherever they were, prayed for the grace of God to strengthen him, that he complete his struggle in a God-pleasing way, while the Turks seized him and took him initially to the commissioner of the pasha. He asked him who he was and why he left his faith.

The Saint responded in Greek: “I was and am a Christian and I worship my Christ as true God.”

Because the judge didn't speak Greek, he asked what he was saying, and some Turk told him: “I was and am a Turk” in order for the Saint to avoid martyrdom.

Then the Saint responded in Turkish with his correct confession. The judge ordered him to be imprisoned until he could be seen by the pasha. When he later appeared before the pasha and many high-profile Turks, the pasha tempted him with flatteries, the others with positions, and then terrible threats of tortures.

The Saint again confessed his faith in Christ, at which point the pasha ordered him to be beheaded. The saint was led joyfully bound to the center of the agora. There having stood and prayed, thanking God Who made him worthy of martyrdom, he knelt willingly, however the executioner got him up and led him to his master's barber shop, where he did the same to scare him.

He lifted him up again and hit him and led him to the fish market, where he beheaded him with three strokes, while the Saint said: "Remember me, O Lord, when You come into Your Kingdom".

And though he was turned towards the west, his body turned towards the east after it was beheaded. After a short time later, the martyrs eyes opened and the separated head appeared as if it were alive, to the amazement of the faithful and the shame of the faithless.

The Christians hastened with gladness to take from his blood, his clothes, or from his martyred relics which bore an incredible fragrance.

After three days the decision was made to burn the holy relic. However, in the end, with a lot of money, they threw it outside of the walls, from it was gathered by the Christians and buried with reverence. Many miracles followed and many miraculous cures were worked with the grace which was granted to the blessed Demetrios by the Lord Who grants struggles.

The precious relic is today found in the Holy Monastery of Saint Nicholas Varson, and his holy skull in the Holy Church of Saint Basil in Tripoli.

St. Demetrios is honored along with St. Paul the New Martyr as a Patron Saint of the city of Tripoli in the Peloponnese. On May 22nd (the day of St. Paul's martyrdom), both of their Holy Relics are processed through the city and are honored in various Church services. St. Demetrios is celebrated on April 14th.

Apolytikion in the First Tone

The glory and fervent protectors of Tripoli, you were shone to be Neomartyrs by struggling in her, Demetrios O brave champion and Paul the imitator of the Martyrs. Because of this we honor your holy memory, crying out: Glory to Him Who strengthened you, glory to Him Who crowned you, glory to Him Who grants healings to all through you.

Source

Litany in Tripoli on May 22, 2010

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On Cremation of the Dead

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich (Written in 1956)

You ask me, why is the Orthodox Church against cremation. First of all, because it considers it violent. The Serbs still shudder with the crime of Sinan Pasha, who burned the dead body of St. Sava in Vratsa.*

Do people burn dead horses, dogs, cats and monkeys? I have not heard of this. I have heard of and seen them buried. Why should the dead bodies of people who are the lords of all animals on earth endure violence? Would it not be in all respects much more reasonable to incinerate dead animals, especially in big cities, than people?

Second, because this pagan and barbaric habit disappeared from Europe thanks to Christian civilization two thousand years ago. Anyone who wants to reinstate it doesn't do anything else, neither civilized nor modern nor new, but something ancient which has long expired.

In England, which one can hardly call uncivilized, this form of Neopaganism is very much hated by the people. To tell you a case: during the years of World War II a famous Yugoslav lost his mind. When asked before he died, he said his only desire was to have his body burned.

In our day, our little Yugoslavian community was reduced in the incinerator of Golders Green. When the dead bodies entered the burning furnace we began to tremble with horror. Then they shouted to us on the opposite side of the furnace, "wait a quarter of an hour to see your compatriot in the form of ashes". We waited over an hour and were mystified why the fire struggled with the dead body, and we asked the stoker about this. He apologized saying the furnace was cold, "it is not heated every day, since rarely do volunteers get handed over to the fire". Listening to this we were dissolved, unable to wait at the edge for our compatriot. And we know that in London over a thousand human beings die every day.

I am in America, I saw the graves of the great Presidents Wilson, Roosevelt, Lincoln and many other important persons. None of them are cremated. Now this surprised me, that among the descendants of Saint Sava there could be found those who are like-minded with Sinan Pasha!

But why create an issue that has already been solved? If we want to be loaded with unnecessary worries, then someday we could be troubled by the question on whether to kill our decrepit men and women as do some primitive tribes? And we will create clubs to propagate this "idea"!

Finally, what sense is there in fighting the cemeteries, particularly in this country where the cemetery serves as a national pride, as a source of inspiration, and if you will as the book of the state?

Peace to you and health from God.

* Sinan Pasha of Belgrade, wanting to avenge the Serbs who had rebelled, burned in the year 1595 the incorrupt relics of St. Sava, first archbishop of Serbia, on Vratsa hill in the center of the city of Belgrade.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos

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New Conflict Between Australian Archdiocese & Genuine Orthodox Church

Marianna Kourti

April 9, 2011

Greek Reporter

A new ecclesiastic quarrel burst out in Australia, where Athens and the Phanar were also involved, between the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia and the Genuine Orthodox Church (GOC) of the nation. The new conflict was inflamed by an attack initiated by the Bishop of the GOC of Trimythus Mr. Christodoulos, against the Orthodox Church, which he considers to be “a sinner daughter of a sinner mother”. The Archdiocese of Australia brought Mr. Christodoulos to its Primary Spiritual Court, charging him for several “illegal” actions aiming at the manipulation of the pilgrims. Bishop of Dorileou Mr. Nikandros informed Mr. Christodoulos about the charges, while his “trial” was scheduled for the 6th of April, at the offices of the Holy Authority of Adelaide, Australia. The Bishop of Trimythus denies his presence in the Court and answered by characterizing the Orthodox Church as a “sinner”. He also supported that those who are members of the Orthodox Church should be charged and not him. He is not going to pay any attention to the threats regarding the Spiritual Court.

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Honest Statements By Atheists In Science

We’ve been told by more than one of our colleagues that, even if Darwin was substantially wrong to claim that natural selection is the mechanism of evolution, nonetheless we shouldn’t say so. Not, anyhow, in public. To do that is, however inadvertently, to align oneself with the Forces of Darkness, whose goal it is to bring Science into disrepute. Well, we don’t agree. We think the way to discomfort the Forces of Darkness is to follow the arguments wherever they may lead, spreading such light as one can in the course of doing so. What makes the Forces of Darkness dark is that they aren’t willing to do that. What makes Science scientific is that it is.

Who said that? Phillip Johnson? Mike Behe? Nope.

Materialist atheists Jerry Fodor and Massimo Piatelli-Palmarini, in What Darwin Got Wrong (London: Profile Books, 2010), p. xxii.

The same go on to say on page xvi:

You might reasonably wonder whether writing a critique of the classical Darwinist programme is worth the effort at this late date. Good friends in ‘wet’ biology tell us that none of them is ‘that kind” of Darwinist any more; no one in structural biology is a bona fide adaptationist. …

We are pleased to hear of these realignments, but we doubt that they are typical of biology at large (consider, for example, ongoing research on mathematical models of optimal natural selection). They are certainly not typical of informed opinion in fields that either of us has worked in including the philosophy o mind, natural language semantics, the theory of syntax, judgement and decision-making, pragmatics and psycholinguistics. In all of these, neo-Darwinism is taken as axiomatic; it goes literally unquestioned …

A view that looks to contradict it, either directly or by implication, is ipso facto rejected, however plausible it may otherwise seem. Entire departments, journals and research centres now wok on this principle. In consequence, social Darwinism thrives, as do epistemological Darwinism, psychological Darwinism, evolutionary ethics – and even, heaven help us, evolutionary aesthetics. If you seek their monuments, look in the science section of your daily paper. We have both spent effort and ink rebutting some o the mot egregious of these neo-Darwinist spin-offs, but we think that what is needed is to cut the tree at its roots: To show that Darwin’s theory of natural selection is fatally flawed. That’s what this book is about.

Bradley Monton, associate professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado, Boulder, offers:

So does intelligent design count as science? I maintain that it is a mistake to put too much weight on that question. Larry Laudan got the answer right:

"If we would stand up and be counted on the side of reason, we ought to drop terms like 'pseudo-science' and 'unscientific' from our vocabulary; they are just hollow phrases which do only emotive work for us."

If our goal is to believe truth and avoid falsehood, and if we are rational people who take into account evidence in deciding what to believe, then we need to focus on the question of what evidence there is for and against intelligent design. The issue of whether intelligent design counts as 'science' according to some contentious answer to the demarcation question is unimportant. Of course, on this approach it would be much harder to get a federal judge to rule that intelligent design can’t be taught in public school. But sometimes it is more important to be intellectually honest than to o what it takes to stop people from doing something you don’t like.

- Bradley Monton, Seeking God in Science: An Atheist Defends Intelligent Design (Broadview Press, 2009), p. 49.

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Saint Thomais the Martyr of Alexandria

St. Thomais of Alexandria (Feast Day - April 14)

The Holy martyr Thomais was born into a Christian family in the city of Alexandria. She was raised in piety, and loved to read spiritual books.

When she was fifteen, the girl married a fisherman, who was also a Christian. The young couple lived in the house of her husband's family, where St Thomais was loved for her mild and gentle disposition, and for other good traits.

St Thomais' father-in-law, at the prompting of the devil, was captivated by her beauty. One night, when his son went out fishing, he attempted to lead his daughter-in-law into sin. Horrified, St Thomais admonished the senseless old man, reminding him of the Last Judgment and the penalty for sin. Infuriated by her steadfastness, he seized a sword and threatened to cut off her head. St Thomais answered resolutely, "Even if you cut me to pieces, I shall not stray from the commandments of the Lord." Overcome with passion, the old man cut St Thomais in two with the sword. The saint received the crown of martyrdom in the year 476.

Divine punishment overtook the murderer. He became blind and could not find the door in order to escape. In the morning, the companions of the saint's husband came to the door. They saw the body of the saint, and the blind old man covered with blood. The murderer confessed his evil deed and asked to be taken to the judge for punishment. He was beheaded for his crime.

At this time, St Daniel of Skete (June 7) happened to be in Alexandria. He told the monks of the Oktodekadian monastery (at the eighteenth mile on the road leading west from Alexandria) to bring the body of the martyr to the monastery and bury her in the cemetery with the departed fathers. Some of the monks were scandalized because he wanted to bury a woman's body with the monks. St Daniel replied, "She is a mother to me and to you, because she died for her chastity."

After the funeral St Daniel returned to his own skete. Soon one of the young monks began to complain to him that he was tormented by fleshly passions. St Daniel ordered him to go and pray at the grave of the holy martyr Thomais. The monk did the bidding of the Elder. While he prayed at the grave, he fell into a light sleep. St Thomais appeared to him and said, "Father, accept my blessing and go in peace."

When he awakened, the monk felt joy and peace in his soul. After this, he told St Daniel that he was no longer bothered by the temptations of the flesh. Abba Daniel exclaimed, "Great is the boldness of those who have struggled for chastity."

Many found both spiritual joy and release from their passions at the grave of St Thomais. Her holy relics were transferred to Constantinople to one of the women's monasteries. The Russian pilgrim Archdeacon Zosimas venerated them in 1420.

St Thomais is invoked by those seeking deliverance from sexual impurity. Other saints whose intercession we seek for this purpose are: St John the Much-Suffering (July 18) and St Moses the Hungarian (July 26).

Source

HYMN OF PRAISE: SAINT THOMAIS

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

Whoever suffers because of his evil deeds

Does not have a share with the angels:

Whoever suffers for the will of God,

And for the sake of Christ, misfortunes endures,

Either from the faithful or from the unfaithful,

That one, will gaze upon the face of God.

Thomais, handmaiden of God,

According to her heart, was, a true, devoutly-praying person.

But, for the sake of God's law, she suffered

From her father-in-law, arrogant.

Leave, O father-in-law, my poor body alone!

Of the Most High God are you not afraid?

The human body, even though it is plain mud

Because of the soul, by God, to us, it is given.

If, with sin, the body we defile,

Of our soul, we are breaking the wings,

From the Living God, we are separating it,

And to the unclean one, we give it as a booty.

From passion blind, the father-in-law axed her to pieces;

May God forgive! The righteous one uttered.

But to the murderer, blindness befell -

The two-fold blindman, around Hades crawls.

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The Validity of Episcopal Translations from One See to Another

By Socrates Scholasticus

After this there was another debate concerning the election of a bishop of Constantinople. Many were in favor of Philip, of whom we have already made mention; but a still greater number advocated the claims of Proclus. And the candidacy of Proclus would have succeeded, had not some of the most influential persons interfered, on the ground of its being forbidden by the ecclesiastical canon that a person nominated to one bishopric should be translated to that of another city. The people believing this assertion, were thereby restrained; and about four months after the deposition of Nestorius, a man named Maximian was promoted to the bishopric, who had lived an ascetic life, and was also ranked as a presbyter. He had acquired a high reputation for sanctity, on account of having at his own expense constructed sepulchral depositaries for the reception of the pious after their decease, but was 'rude in speech' (2 Corinthians 11:6) and inclined to live a quiet life.

But since some parties by appealing to a prohibition in the ecclesiastical canon, prevented the election of Proclus, because of his previous appointment to the see of Cyzicus, I wish to make a few remarks on this subject.

Those who then presumed to interpose such a cause of exclusion do not appear to me to have stated the truth; but they were either influenced by prejudice against Proclus, or at least have been themselves completely ignorant both of the canons, and of the frequent and often advantageous precedents that had been established in the churches.

Eusebius Pamphilus relates in the sixth book of his Ecclesiastical History, that Alexander bishop of a certain city in Cappadocia, coming to Jerusalem for devotional purposes, was detained by the inhabitants of that city, and constituted bishop, as the successor of Narcissus; and that he continued to preside over the churches there during the remainder of his life.

So indifferent a thing was it among our ancestors, to transfer a bishop from one city to another as often as it was deemed expedient. But if it is necessary to place beyond a doubt the falsehood of the statement of those who prevented the ordination of Proclus, I shall annex to this treatise the canon bearing on the subject. It runs thus:

"If any one after having been ordained a bishop should not proceed to the church unto which he has been appointed, from no fault on his part, but either because the people are unwilling to receive him, or for some other reason arising from necessity, let him be partaker of the honor and functions of the rank with which he has been invested, provided he intermeddles not with the affairs of the church wherein he may minister. It is his duty however to submit to whatever the Synod of the province may see fit to determine, after it shall have taken cognizance of the matter" [Canon 21 of the Council of Antioch; see also Canon 15 of the First Ecumenical Council and Apostolic Canon 14 and 15].

Such is the language of the canon. That many bishops have been transferred from one city to another to meet the exigencies of peculiar cases, I shall now prove by giving the names of those bishops who have been so translated.

Perigenes was ordained bishop of Patras: but inasmuch as the inhabitants of that city refused to admit him, the bishop of Rome directed that he should be assigned to the metropolitan see of Corinth, which had become vacant by the decease of its former bishop; here he presided during the rest of his days.

Gregory was first made bishop of Sasima, one of the cities of Cappadocia, but was afterwards transferred to Nazianzus.

Melitius after having presided over the church at Sebastia, subsequently governed that of Antioch.

Alexander bishop of Antioch transferred Dositheus bishop of Seleucia, to Tarsus in Cilicia.

Reverentius was removed from Arca in Phoenicia, and afterwards to Tyre.

John was transferred from Gordum a city of Lydia, to Proconnesus, and presided over the church there.

Palladius was transferred from Helenopolis to Aspuna; and Alexander from the same city to Adriani.

Theophilus was removed from Apamea in Asia, to Eudoxiopolis anciently called Salambria.

Polycarp was transferred from Sexantaprista a city of Mysia, to Nicopolis in Thrace.

Hierophilus from Trapezopolis in Phrygia to Plotinopolis in Thrace.

Optimus from Agdamia in Phrygia to Antioch in Pisidia; and Silvanus from Philippopolis in Thrace to Troas.

This enumeration of bishops who have passed from one see to another is sufficient for the present; concerning Silvanus who was removed from Philippopolis in Thrace to Troas I deem it desirable here to give a concise account....

Maximian, having peacefully governed the church during two years and five months, died on the 12th of April, in the consulate of Areobindus and Aspar. This happened to be on the fifth day of the week of fasts which immediately precedes Easter. The day of the week was Thursday. Then the Emperor Theodosius wishing to prevent the disturbances in the church which usually attend the election of a bishop, made a wise provision for this affair; for in order that there might be no dispute again about the choice of a bishop and tumult thus arise, without delaying, before the body of Maximian was interred, he directed the bishops who were then in the city to place Proclus in the episcopal chair. For he had received already letters from Cælestinus bishop of Rome approving of this election, which he had forwarded to Cyril of Alexandria, John of Antioch, and Rufus of Thessalonica; in which he assured them that there was no impediment to the translation to another see, of a person who had been nominated and really was the bishop of some one church. Proclus, being thus invested with the bishopric, performed the funeral obsequies of Maximian: but it is now time briefly to give some account of him also.

Source: Church History (Book 7, Chapters 35, 36, 40)

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The Latest Scam: Nails from Jesus’ Cross

There are a few things to be learned from the story yesterday that the nails from Jesus’ cross have been found. First, Simcha Jacobovici is a scam artist. He will say anything to make a buck. Second, the media will carry any story about Jesus the week before Easter. If you ignore all of these for the rest of your life, there is little chance you will miss anything of value.

Robert Cargill does a good job of evaluating Simcha’s “logic” when he says the following:

Because Caiaphas is mentioned in the story of Jesus, and the nails “disappeared” for a time, they must be the nails of Jesus’ crucifixion?????

Jim West makes a good observation that the “sad thing about idiotic archaeological claims

Is that – because Simcha Jacobovici and others have so often presented unsubstantiated and unfounded claims about stirring and important ‘discoveries’ - if anything real is ever discovered very few people will believe it.

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The Hidden Church of Panagia Sergena in Santorini

There is a church carved in the rock, which Vothonas in Santorini is famous for. It is called Panagia Sergena, or more popularly Panagia tis Trypas (of the Hole). The Church of Panagia Sergena was a shelter for the locals during pirate invasions (Sergena means "the Patroller" because from the mountain they would look out and patrol for pirate ships). The church was dug in the rock 20 m above the ground and hidden from site. The entrance to it originally was by a ladder, which was pulled up after the people climbed it. The church celebrates annually on February 2nd, which is the feast of the Presentation of Christ.

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An Athonite Paschal Miracle in 1935

On the day of Pascha in 1935 the abbot of Saint Paul's Monastery [Mount Athos], Archimandrite Seraphim, and all sixty fathers of the cenobium came out into the courtyard to celebrate the Liturgy of the Resurrection.

In a joyful mood and full of enthusiasm after the "Christ is risen!" was proclaimed, the abbot said to one of the simple fathers, "Elder Thomas, go where the relics of the fathers are kept and tell them that Christ is risen."

"Let it be blessed, Geronda," he replied, and without a second thought quickly went to the crypt where the bones were kept.

"Fathers, I was sent by the abbot to say to you 'Christ is risen!'" he cried out in a loud voice.

Then something awesome happened. The bones creaked and jumped. One skull rose up a metre high and answered Father Thomas' proclamation:

"Indeed He is risen!"

There was dead silence after that. The elder rushed back to tell all that he had seen and heard. For the fathers of the monastery that was truly a unique Pascha, and praising the risen Lord and Master of life, they chanted with joy:

"Angels are praising your Resurrection in heaven, O Lord! Make us who live on earth to praise you with cleansed hearts!"

The ever memorable elder Theodosios, the monastery's late librarian, would often tell the story of this event.

From the Athonite Gerontikon.

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Divorce and Selfish Egotism

St. Paul says in Ephesians 4:26:

"The sun should not go down on your anger, and you should not give room to the devil."

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Elder Paisios on Divorce:

- Why, Elder, are couples divorcing?

- People divorce, my child, because they are selfish and egotistical; from nothing else. Any other reason comes from the Evil One in order to justify oneself.

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Monk Moses the Athonite on Marriage:

Marriage is an arena for exercising humility, mutual leeway and mutual respect, and not the parallel journey of two egotisms despite a lifelong coupling and coexistence. The devil dances for joy whenever there is no forgiveness in human weaknesses and in everyday mistakes.

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Elder Dionysios the Athonite on Divorce:

Many families suffer because there is selfish egotism within, which stifles love and throws it away! Couples do not practice patience. The husband does not honor the wife, nor the wife the husband, and they suffer and torture themselves and make their children unhappy. But he/she that you took [in marriage], are they not from the Church? Why do you constantly forget this?

Why? Because they reach the point of divorce. This is the worst. What can I say? People with two and three and four kids dissolve the great Mystery of Marriage. My, my, my! Fearful, fearful! What pain in those poor children, what sorrow, what grief! ... We ensure them with a dark life. Be careful! A mother is one thing, but a second wife or relatives to help them is another. Within each family there must be a Divine Liturgy, since it is a "house church". How can you father, how can you mother, ruin this Mystery? As good and beautiful is another woman, as good and beautiful is another man, she is the wife the Church gave you, he is the husband God gave you in "glory and honor". Forget about everything else. We must have patience. That is our cross. Patience! Ah, Satan constantly works.

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Saint Neophytos the Recluse of Cyprus (+ 1219)

St. Neophytos of Cyprus (Feast Day - April 12 and September 28)

By Father Panagiotes Carras

St. Neophytos was born in the year 1134 of pious Orthodox parents who had eight children. His parents, Athanasios and Evdoxia, strove to impart to their children a love for our Lord. Evdoxia upon the death of her husband entered a convent. The family was extremely poor and the Saint had to till the fields with his father and was not able to attend school even for one day. When Saint Neophytos became eighteen years old, his parents, according to the custom of the time, undertook to arrange a marriage for him.

The blessed one, even at that young age, had come to understand the vanity of this world and his soul desired to give itself completely to our Saviour. He secretly departed from his paternal home and sought to find a monastery where his parents would not find him. He reached Mount Koutsoventes where he found a monastery dedicated to Saint John Chrysostom. When the Saint arrived at the monastery, the Fathers were in church and so Saint Neophytos entered. The Fathers were reading the first verse of the Book of Genesis, "In the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth". These words filled the Saint’s soul with a joy that he had never felt before. In his heart there was kindled the love of the knowledge of the Mysteries of God. He asked God to give him the Grace to understand the words of the Divine Books, for as we said earlier, he was illiterate.

The Holy Neophytos struggled devoutly in the monastery. He was obedient to the rule that he was given and supplemented it with trying to teach himself to read the Service Books of the Church. Cyprus, however, does not cover a great expanse and his parents soon discovered where he was concealed. His parents pleaded with him for many hours to return to their home and Neophytos as an obedient son agreed to follow them. Upon returning he immediately began to speak to them of his fervent desire to follow the angelic life. He appealed to them to grant him their blessing and when his parents saw the fervour of his faith, they acceded to his request. Once again he set out for the Monastery of Saint John Chrysostom.

On arriving, he sought out the abbot and begged him to put upon him the holy Schema of the monks. Wherefore, the righteous one was tonsured and was clothed in monastic garments. As soon as the service was completed the blessed one began to weep with joy and to kiss his new robes, all the while fervently praying that the Lord would give him the Grace to keep his garment pure. Saint Neophytos describes the joy that he felt at that moment in the following words: "Never has anyone been so captivated by their wedding clothing as much as I have by the wearing of the monastic garment."

In the monastery, the Saint was given the obedience to work in the vineyards. He remained in this service for five years, praying and studying the word of God night and day. Although unlettered, through the Grace of God he was soon not only able to read, but could recite by heart the Psalms of Prophet David. Here we see a great wonder. We know that Saint Neophytos had never attended a school even for one day and yet our Lord gave him such understanding that his writings can be compared with the works of the great Fathers of the Church. It is estimated that he was the author of many works totaling as much as five thousand pages. Currently scholars at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland are preparing to publish the surviving writings of Saint Neophytos. They expect that the publication will contain about one thousand pages. This great Father wrote interpretations to the Psalms, Song of Songs and the Six-day Creation. Included in his works are many Homilies, Hymns and Odes along with many letters written to the faithful. This is an accomplishment which can only be brought about by the Grace of God.

There are many events in the Saints life that witness to the fact that his gift was God-sent. On one occasion the righteous one was visited by a priest who had a great veneration for Saint Diomedes and requested that the Saint compose a homily on Saint Diomedes so that those who would hear it would be encouraged to emulate the Saint. The man of God, however, did not heed the priest’s request. Earlier he had decided not to write any more because some people inspired by Satan were scandalized by the abundance of the Saints writings. The priest would not leave the site of the cave. After twenty-four hours, Saint Neophytos, not wishing to be unbending, acceded to the priest’s pleas. That very night, Saint Diomedes appeared to the great ascetic and asked him to put his life in writing. When Saint Neophytos awoke he realized that this day was the feast day of Saint Diomedes.

After working obediently in the monastery’s vineyard for five years, he was given a blessing by the abbot to become the monastery’s ecclesiarch in which capacity he served for two years. At this time he asked for a blessing to become a hermit, but the abbot would not give this blessing. Obediently he continued in his position as ecclesiarch and then a year later the abbot approached him and told him that he was free to go and become a desert dweller. His desire was to go to the Holy Lands to live as an ascetic under the guidance of a desert father. Upon reaching the Holy Land he venerated all the holy places around Jerusalem. He then set forth northwards to the mountains of Magdala, Tabor and Jordan. During his six-month stay in the Holy Lands he sought out every cave and crevice in search of one to whom he could place himself under obedience. The fathers of the Palestinian deserts, however, had been driven away by the incursions of the Arabs and later by those of the Crusaders. In vain did the righteous one search for a spiritual guide. One day as he was asking for Gods direction our Lord appeared to him and spoke to him in the following words: "Not in this desert but go to another place where the king will descend and grant you a morsel."

Saint Neophytos returned to the Monastery of Saint John Chrysostom until he could determine to which desert our Lord was directing him. He learned that many desert fathers had fled from Palestine and Egypt to Mount Latros in Asia Minor. Once more with the blessing of the abbot he set out in search of the desert which his soul longed for. The Lord God in His wisdom and out of love for the Orthodox people of Cyprus did not allow the blessed one to leave the Island. When the Saint reached the port city of Paphos, he was arrested by the guards of that city who suspected that he was a fugitive. He was bound and cast into prison where he remained for a sufficient length of time. Certain Christians of the city learned of his situation and arranged for his release. Seeing this as a sign from God, he determined not to leave Cyprus.

Not having any particular place in mind he left the city and directed himself toward the highlands. North of Paphos, high on a mountain, he found a desert place with a steep precipice. On closer examination he was able to discern a small cave and immediately the Saint knew that this was the desert which the Lord selected for him. This cave was found on the Feast of Saint John the Baptist, June 24th, 1159. He began cleaning and leveling it out, using his own hands or stakes that he found nearby. The site was extremely rugged and it took him about fifteen months to complete his task. On the Feast of the Elevation of the Holy Cross [September 14th] his cave was ready. He dedicated it to the Feast not only because on that day his labours ceased, but more so in order to have the Cross of our Lord always before him. For the Saint, a monk had to be above all a Cross-bearer. He had a great love for the Holy Cross and this can be seen in the many hymns he wrote glorifying the Precious Cross.

Along with preparing a place to sit and lie down he also prepared his tomb inside the cave. Once the tomb was completed he inscribed underneath it the following: "You will gain no more than this, even if you should acquire the whole world." Truly the King descended here and granted His Saint much Grace. One may imagine the suffering and hard­ships of the flesh that Saint Neophytos must have endured in that desert place. These the man of God countered with readings from the Holy Fathers, prayers, prostrations, vigils and standing all night with his hands extended towards our Heavenly Father begging for a morsel of His Grace. Here he would remember that Paradise was lost because of sin and that man was a prince who had lost his inheritance. He would weep and lament for hours, pleading to regain Divine Sonship. He was no longer the Kings son but a stranger in a strange land, a captive in a foreign land. How could he not weep?

Within this cave he vowed to enclose himself giving it the name Enkleistra or Enclosure. He confined himself to physical darkness so that he may receive the Heavenly and Uncreated Light of the Most Holy Trinity. In a vision our Lord revealed to the Saint the time of his departure from this life. Our Lord first told him that he would be taken up to worship the Heavenly Cross in fifty years and then said that it would take place in sixty years. This extension was given so that Saint Neophytos would be able to make the faith of the Cypriot people firmer. The holy one then increased his ascetic struggles vowing not to eat cooked food and to wear chains on his body. Later he com­manded his disciples to bury him with these chains.

His fame spread everywhere and many flocked to him for his prayers and blessing. Those who loved this God-loving man came nearly every day and besought him fervently to become his disciples. After much pleading he consented to accept a few disciples, later commanding that his monastery never exceed eighteen fathers. The holy one avoided the esteem of men, but the all-merciful God, Who cares for the salvation of our souls, ordained that the Saint’s Grace become known to all. In a divine vision Basil, the Bishop of Paphos, was commanded by our Lord to ordain His Saint to the Priesthood. For four years the bishop, who had great love and veneration for Saint Neophytos, pleaded with him to accept ordination from his hands. Finally, in obedience the man of God received the Grace of the Priesthood. He was thirty-six years of age when through Gods Providence he entered the final stage of preparation which would make him the spiritual father of all Cyprus when the Latin cloud would descend upon it.

Every day during the Divine Liturgy he would receive the Sacred Mysteries which would restore the lost sonship. With his few disciples he started the construction of a monastery not too far from his cave. For thirteen years they worked unceasingly to build this future spiritual centre of Cyprus, as if the man of God knew what the Lord had ordained for him. The people of Cyprus were about to go through great temptations, but the Lord would provide them with the means to withstand. The funds for the construction of the monastery were provided by the Emperor of Constantinople himself and many other Byzantine nobles, as a Patriarchal document which survives to this day attests to.

The Saint called the fathers of the monastery the Enkleistoi or the Enclosed Ones. He diligently instructed them not only in the ways of ascetic struggle but also gave much attention to teaching them the Orthodox Faith. Not only did he insure that the monastery had as many writings of the great Fathers as possible, but he zealously endeavoured to acquire the Holy Relics of many Saints for the fathers to venerate and from which they would receive enlightenment.

The monastery was filled with many Holy Icons. Especially noteworthy are the frescoes depicting scenes from the Holy Gospels. It is at this point where we notice how concerned Saint Neophytos was to lead not only his monks but all Christ-loving people closer to our Lord. We observe that the Saint commanded the iconographer to include him in many of the icons. In the icon of the Mystical Supper he places himself next to Judas, in the Washing of the Disciples feet, near Saint Peter, and in the Descent from the Cross he puts himself in the place of Saint Joseph of Arimathea. This was done to set an example of how we should fervently desire to be inseparably united to our Lord.

On May 6th 1191, Richard the Lion-Heart invaded and captured Cyprus on his way to Jerusalem to take part in the Third Crusade. From this day on the people of Cyprus were ruled by non-Orthodox foreigners until 1958. Richard the Lion-Heart sold Cyprus to the monastic order of the Knights Templars, who in turn sold it to the deposed King of Jerusalem, Guy de Lusignan, in 1192. The Franks introduced the Feudal system and all Cypriots became serfs. The Orthodox Church was persecuted and all educated people and most bishops were forced to leave. Using similar methods in Southern Italy and in Sicily, the Papacy forced the people to become Roman Catholics.

Saint Neophytos, at fifty-eight years of age, was called on by God to undertake a new struggle as the spiritual guide of all Cyprus. In 1196, under the direction of Pope Celestine III, a Latin Metropolitan along with suffragan bishops were given the spiritual leadership of the people of Cyprus. This was the Papal policy in all the conquered lands where there were Orthodox. Saint Neophytos led the resistance against the latinization of Cyprus without going against his vow to remain in his cave. When it was necessary, he would write general epistles which were sent to the various parishes throughout Cyprus. On Sunday or a Feast day the priest would read the epistle to the people who had come to partake in the Divine Liturgy. The Orthodox Christians would heed the words of the Saint just as if they were coming directly from the mouth of God. The righteous one would instruct the faithful in all the matters that were needed for one to remain in the Faith. His letters would include admonitions against laxity regarding the holy fasts, the significance of the Great Feasts, and exhortations to stand firm in the current struggle against the Latins. On occasion he would also stipulate that an epitimion (penance) should be given for violating the Holy Canons. In one letter when he referred to the Crusaders coming to save Jerusalem, he wrote that it is similar to the wolves coming to chase away the dogs. In another letter he wrote: "Our country now is no better than that of a raging sea, under a great storm and tempest. Nay it is worse than a wild sea. For a calm succeeds the wildness of the sea, but here day by day the tempest increases and its fury knows no end."

Saint Neophytos observed that the growing numbers of the faithful and those who desired to attend to his teaching were depriving him of his cherished solitude. He decided that after forty years in his beloved cave of the Holy Cross he would have to leave and go higher up on the precipice. Placing a ladder on the ledge outside his cave he stood on top of the ladder and excavated a small opening which with time he enlarged so that it would become his new place of habitation. Once the new cave was complete he wished to make a ledge upon which he could walk. As the ledge was nearing completion, Satan, the hater of good, caused a boulder to dislodge and, as it rolled, it took with it the man of God. The Lord, however, wished to glorify His Saint even more and just as the Saint was about to roll off the ledge and fall to his death, the boulder was held back by the hand of God. Underneath the boulder the Saints right hand and part of his robe were caught whereas the rest of him was already over the ledge. The Fathers who were watching helplessly from down below glorified God for His mercy and rushed to dislodge the Saint from the boulder.

This new cave was named New Zion. There, he accustomed himself to living in total silence not even attending the Divine Services except on the Lords Day, on which day he would also instruct his disciples. At other times he would listen to the Divine Services and prayers of the fathers through a hole which was his only contact with the cave below. The Saint struggled in this way for a long time. He foreknew the day of his departure from this world, which he did not hide from his disciples; rather he summoned them and instructed them both verbally and in writing on how they were to continue after his departure. He also ordered that, after the funeral service, they bury him in the tomb which he had prepared and that it should be walled up and an icon painted on the wall because he wished his tomb to remain unknown. He also expressed his desire to be buried in the burial garments which he himself had prepared and with the chains which he always wore. He bade them live in peace and harmony and in a God-pleasing manner to obey the abbot they would elect. After he uttered these things, he prayed for them, gave them his blessing, and gave up his blessed soul into the hands of God.

The man of God reposed on April 12th, 1219 after having given the people of Cyprus the guidance which would assist them in resisting the efforts of the Papists to separate them from the Kingdom of Heaven. He had become a spring of living water that did not dry up after his departure from this world. The sixty years of his struggle in the Enkleistra, just as the Lord had foretold him, had come to an end. The Grace that flowed from that holy cave, however, would not cease. His presence was something the people of Cyprus always felt although for hundreds of years no one knew where his Holy Relic was.

Through the Grace of God its presence was revealed in the following manner. On September 27th, 1750, a certain monk who had thought that he found a hollow space in the wall of the Enkleistra was overcome by temptation and imagined that there was a treasure to be found behind the wall. That night he waited for the fathers to sleep and he went to the Cave of the Holy Cross with a pickaxe and made an opening in the wall. He was then struck down by a Divine hand. When he came to himself, he ran to the abbot to confess his sin. The abbot, realizing the true nature of the treasure that was found, summoned the other fathers and lifted the marble cover and immediately the cave was filled with indescribable fragrance. Since then the 28th of September is also kept as a feast day by our Holy Church.

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Video: More On the Miracle In Kalymnos

Kosmos television interviewed witnesses of the miraculous appearance of the face of Christ in Holy Trinity Church of Kalymnos yesterday, 11 April 2011, in the video below.

kalimnos agia triada from NewsKosmos.com on Vimeo.

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Muslim Donates Free Fish To Orthodox Church In Rhodes

The Church of Saint Panteleimon in Rhodes annually gives fish out for free to the people before Palm Sunday, a fasting day in which fish is allowed by Orthodox Christians.

Yesterday, 11 April 2011, one ton of fish was distributed for the feast. Since last year four tons was distributed, they will attempt for another catch sometime this week.

The parish priest of St. Panteleimon Church in the interview below for Kosmos television said that the church is there to help the people for 365 days of the year, and thanked the fisherman, a Muslim man, who for the past four years has donated these fish to the parish of St. Panteleimon in anticipation of Palm Sunday.

psaria palia poli from NewsKosmos.com on Vimeo.

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We Have No Lasting City On Earth

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

"For here, we have no lasting city, but we seek the one that is to come" (Hebrews 13:14).

Brethren, where are the great cities of Babylon and Nineveh? Today, only lizards lay in the dust of their towers. Memphis and Thebes, were they not the pride of the pharaohs and the princes of mankind? Today, it is difficult to establish the exact place where these two cities were located.

However, let us leave these cities of stones and bricks. Let us look at the cities of blood, flesh and bones. Men fashion the city of their bodies more slowly and more painstakingly than they fashion fortresses and cathedrals. Men spend about eighty to a hundred years to fashion the cities of their bodies and, in the end, see that their effort is in vain. That which took them decades to fashion with care and constant fear, collapses into the dust of the grave in the twinkling of an eye. Whose bodily city is not toppled over and turned into dust? No ones.

But, let us leave the cities of the body. Let us look at the cities of fortune which men have built from generation to generation. The materials of which these cities were built are: good times, pleasure, property, authority, honor and glory. Where are these cities? As a cob web they spin around man in an instant and as a cob web they break and vanish, making the fortunate more unfortunate than the unfortunate.

Truly, we have no city here that will remain.

This is why we seek the city which is to come. This is the city built of Spirit, Life and Truth. This is the city whose one and only architect is the Lord Jesus Christ. This city is called the Kingdom of Heaven, Eternal Life, the dwelling place of the angels, the haven of saints and refuge of martyrs. In this city, there is no dualism of either good or evil but, everything is a harmony of good. Everything that is built in this city is built to last forever. Every brick in this city remains without end and termination. The bricks are living angels and men. In this city the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ sits on the throne and reigns.

O Resurrected Lord, redeem us from beneath the ruins of time and lead us mercifully into Your eternal city of Heaven. Amen.

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The Church of Greece Paid 100 Million Euros In Charity For 2010

April 13, 2011

Romfea.gr

Today, Tuesday 12 April 2011, the first meeting for the month of April by the Standing Holy Synod of Greece was held, under the presidency of the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Mr. Ieronymos.

At today's meeting:

The Standing Holy Synod was briefed by the Synodal Commission for Social Welfare and Benefaction that in 2010 it spent more than ninety-six million euro (96,234,510.47 ₠) for the maintenance and operation of institutions for charitable and social purposes.

The Church has a huge social and charitable work that alleviates the suffering and underprivileged of the Greek people, which it undertakes with seven hundred (700) institutions around the Archdiocese of Athens and the Holy Metropolis'.

As examples, in recent years the Church has spent:

- For 2004 the amount of 62,862,240.10 ₠

- For the year 2006 the amount of 90,723,926.13 ₠

- For the year 2007 the amount of 92,605,900 ₠

- For the year 2008 the amount of 92,605,900.75 ₠ and

- For the year 2009 the amount of 92,023,217.75 ₠

Moreover, for the year 2010 the Holy Synod of Greece paid a sum of approximately 600,000 ₠ in Scholarships for a total of 100 Greek students studying abroad and foreign students studying in Greek Universities, and this covers health care in all cases for the students to take the student insurance card from the school.

Continuing the program of subsidy for those with a third child in Thrace, the Church paid for the year 2010 the total amount of 1,086,276 ₠ to 917 families.

In summary, the Church in charity work generally spent in the year 2010 the amount of 100,000,000 ₠.

Translated by John Sanidopoulos

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Muslims Who Venerate Saint George

William Gourlay

April 12, 2011

Eureka Street

On an island known to the Greeks as Prinkipo, Ayshe Özakcam spends six months of the year attending a small stall beside a steep cobbled path. She sells home-grown plums, and apples, which she peels and quarters deftly with a sharp knife, to pilgrims passing en route to the Orthodox Church of Ayios Giorgios (St George) on the summit of the island.

What is intriguing about this is not that Ayshe ekes out a living by selling apples, or that she sits all day in the full glare of the Mediterranean sun, but that she is a Muslim, that the island is off the coast of Istanbul, the great Turkish metropolis, and that the majority of visitors to the Orthodox church are in fact Ayshe's fellow Turks.

Ayshe sees nothing remarkable in this. She doesn't appear to dwell on the faith or motivations of those puffing past her up the hill. When I ask her who the most common visitors are here she can't answer definitively. 'Greek, Turks,' she shrugs. 'Everybody!'

On the day of my visit, in late summer, she may not be far wrong. On the island (called Büyükada by the Turks), I encounter well-healed Istanbul locals, Turkish matriarchs in headscarves and dour gabardines, a black-garbed Greek widow, and a gaggle of Iranian tourists who offer around pistachios.

But the busiest day of the year is St George's Day, April 23, when Turks come by the thousands, taking advantage of the fact that the date coincides with a national public holiday, Independence Day. Crowding onto ferries in Istanbul, they arrive on Büyükada early in the morning, Muslim pilgrims en route to a Greek Orthodox church to ask favours of St George.

'The path to the monastery is packed with bodies,' recalls long-term Turkish resident and journalist Pat Yale of her visit on St George's Day last year. A festive air reigns. At the base of the hill pilgrims buy charms and trinkets designated for whatever they may be praying for: health, love, marriage, children. 'People unspool cotton along the lower slopes,' says Pat, 'and some hand out cubes of sugar.'

These are Muslim customs; cotton threads in white, red or green signify wishes for peace, love or money; the sharing of sugar and sweets is characteristic of Turkish hospitality and communal gaiety.

At the top of the hill pilgrims bustle forward to be allowed into the church in small groups where, with hands upturned in an attitude of prayer, they pass slowly before Greek icons and place handwritten entreaties to St George in a wish box. Outside again they form an orderly queue to be blessed by an Orthodox priest and then proceed on their way.

But aren't the Greeks and Turks mortal enemies? Isn't their mutual antagonism prima facie evidence of the 'clash of civilisations', the incompatibility of Muslim and Christian cultures? On the face of this, perhaps not. No one is sure when the Muslim practice of venerating St George began, but it is well documented.

In the early 1900s, Edith Durham encountered Albanian Sufis who observed St George's feast day. In his much-lauded travelogue, From the Holy Mountain, William Dalrymple tells of Palestinian Muslims crowding into a musty Church of St George near Jerusalem. These are just a few of countless instances of Muslim-Christian symbiosis throughout the Balkans and the Levant.

After enjoying one of Ayshe's tart apples, I continue up the path towards the church, enjoying sweeping views of the Sea of Marmara and the Asian and European shores of Istanbul. Along the route, remnant cotton threads linger on the trunks of scrubby oak and pine trees, and votive rags flutter from the branches of wild olives.

The church itself is not of architectural note, but it too offers panoramic views. Nearby the Turks have, perhaps inevitably, built a teahouse and restaurant. The site seems quintessentially Mediterranean to me, combining the Greek genius for building places of worship in remote locales with the Turkish predilection for tea and other such sedate pleasures in picturesque landscapes.

A Turkish teahouse abutting a Greek church, and Muslim pilgrims receiving blessing from Orthodox priests strike me as powerful evidence that civilisations do not inevitably clash, that where faiths meet the result need not be a tussle whereby one must cancel the other out. Through long interaction and mutual respect, cultures can fuse and meld, adopting and adapting from each other.

St George, the 'warrior saint', may be puzzled by all of this. Known for smiting the dragon he offered inspiration to belligerent Crusaders, but for countless years on Büyükada he has brought members of different faiths together. On April 23rd, as at many times during the year, their prayers in different languages will again intermingle and rise heavenwards.

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