Synaxarion For Holy and Great Thursday

By Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos

GREAT THURSDAY

On Holy and Great Thursday, the Divine Fathers, who ordered all things aright, in succession to the Divine Apostles and the Sacred Gospels, have handed down to us the tradition of celebrating four events: the sacred Foot-washing, the Mystical Supper (that is, the bestowal of the dread Mysteries), the preternatural Prayer, and the Betrayal itself.

Verses to the Foot-washing

God, Whose feet trod in Eden long ago in the afternoon,
Washeth the feet of His Disciples in the evening.

Verses to the Mystical Supper

Twofold is the Supper: for it is the Passover of the Law
And the New Pascha, the Blood and Body of the Master.

Verses to the preternatural Prayer

In Thy Prayer, O Christ, Thou didst show fear,
And let great drops of blood fall from Thy face,
Ostensibly avoiding death, but thereby deceiving the Enemy.

Verses to the Betrayal

What need have ye of swords and staves, O deceivers of the people,
To put to death Him Who is zealous to redeem the world?


Synaxarion

Since the sacrifice of the Hebrew Passover, that is, the slaughter of the lamb reared for this purpose, was to take place on Friday, and it was fitting that the type should be succeeded by the truth, that is, that Christ, our Paschal Lamb, be sacrificed on that day, our Lord Jesus Christ, as the Divine Fathers say, celebrated the Passover in anticipation with His Disciples on the evening of Thursday. This evening and the whole of Friday until the evening are reckoned by the Hebrews as a single day; for thus do they count, calling this period a night and a day. Christ celebrated the Passover at that time with the Disciples according to the Law, as some, including the Divine Chrysostomos, have said: first, standing upright, girt, wearing shoes, leaning on staffs, and everything else prescribed by the Law, lest He should seem to be transgressing the Law.

After this, showing the Disciples that which is more perfect, He entrusted to them the Mystery of our Pascha in the upper room, night having already fallen. For when the Supper took place, He sat down with the Twelve.

Note that this was not the Passover according to the Law; for it was a supper, they were sitting down, and there was bread and water, whereas at the Passover everything is cooked with fire and there is no leavened bread. Before they began to eat (this is what the Divine Chrysostomos says), He arose from the supper, placed His garments on the ground, and poured water into a basin, doing everything with His own hands; on the one hand, in order to put Judas to shame, and on the other hand, in order to remind the other Disciples not to seek primacy, as He exhorts them after the foot-washing, saying, “He who desireth to be first, let him be last of all” (cf. Luke 22:24-27) and making Himself an example. It appears that Christ washed the feet of Judas first of all, who had rather presumptuously sat down first, and subsequently came to Peter. He, being more ardent than the rest, restrained the Teacher, but then, after hearing from the Lord that unless He washed his feet, he had no part with Him, gave way still more vehemently.

After washing their feet and displaying an extraordinary exaltation through humility, He took up His garments again and reclined, exhorting them to love one another and not to seek primacy. While they were eating, He introduced the subject of His betrayal.

The Disciples being perturbed at these words, Jesus said quietly to John alone: “He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it” (John 13:26). He spoke in this way, for if Peter had known what He was saying, being more fervent than the others, he would have laid hands on Judas. Again, Christ says: “He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me” (Matthew 26:23).

Then, after a short time had elapsed, He took bread and said: “Take, eat”; (Matthew 26:26; Mark 14:22) and likewise the cup, saying: “Drink ye all of it; this is my blood, the blood of the new testament; this do in remembrance of me” (Matthew 26:27-28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:19). As He did this, He ate and drank with them.

Note that He calls His Body leavened bread, not unleavened bread. Let them be put to shame, therefore, who offer unleavened bread at the Eucharistic Sacrifice.

After Judas had tasted the sop, Satan entered into him, for, having previously tested him, he now completely dwelt in him. And he went and made an agreement with the chief priests, so that he might betray Christ for thirty pieces of silver.


After the supper, the Disciples went out to the Mount of Olives, to a place called Gethsemane. After much time had passed, Jesus said to them: “All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee. But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I. And Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice” (Mark 14:27-30). He said, “before the cock crow twice,” because the cock typically does not crow once, but twice or thrice. This indeed happened, and Peter was seized by immeasurable fear, for God thereby revealed the infirmity of human nature. He also permitted this to occur because He had entrusted the inhabited earth to Peter. Knowing from his own case the fickleness of our nature, Peter might thereby provide forgiveness to sinners.

Aside from the foregoing, the threefold denial of Peter was an image of the sins of all men towards God: the first is the transgression of the commandment which God gave to Adam; the second is the transgression of the written law; and the third is the violation of the Gospel message. The Savior subsequently healed this denial through a threefold repentance on the part of Peter by asking him thrice: “Peter, lovest thou Me?”


After this, wishing to disclose His humanity, He told the Disciples how fearful death is to all: “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:38-39).

He said these things, on the one hand, as a man, and on the other hand, in order to deceive the Devil in an artful manner into thinking that He, too, was a mere man because He supposedly feared death. He did this lest, knowing the truth, the Devil thwart the mystery of His death on the Cross.

After this first prayer, the Lord returned to the Disciples and found them sunk in sleep. Addressing Peter, He said: “What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:40-41). He spoke this to Peter as if to say to him: “You, who said that you wanted to struggle unto death, are you just as drowsy as the others?”

“He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me” (Matthew 26:42-46).

Then, after crossing the brook of Kedron, where there was a garden, He settled there with the Disciples.


Since the Lord was wont to go thither regularly, for this reason Judas knew the place. Thus, after procuring a band of soldiers, and with a crowd following him, he went up to Jesus, having previously given them a sign, saying, “Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast” (Matthew 26:48). He said this because oftentimes the Lord, when apprehended, would disappear from their midst and go on His way. However, in this instance Christ first went forth to them and asked: “Whom seek ye?” (John 18:4).

They still did not recognize Him. Now, the night was not an impediment, for they had come with light lanterns and torches. And yet, they fell to the ground in fear and drew back. When they returned, He gave the same answer.

After Judas had given the signal, Christ said, “Friend, wherefore art thou come?” (Matthew 26:50), as though to say: “It is now time to fulfill the purpose for which you have come, Judas.” And again, He said: “Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me?” (Matthew 26:55). They had, in fact, come by night so as to forestall any sedition on the part of the people.

Then Peter, who was so very ardent, drew his sword (for it was after supper, and they had come prepared) and smote the servant of the high priest, Malchos by name, cutting off his right ear. Christ rebuked Peter, saying that it is not good that a spiritual man should be known for resorting to the sword, and He healed Malchos’ ear.
Having arrested Jesus, they led Him bound to the palace of the high priest, Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas. The Pharisees and scribes, who thought ill of Christ, were all assembled there. It was here that the incident involving Peter and the maidservant and his denial of Christ took place. The night having passed in the meantime, “the cock crew, and Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly” (Matthew 26:74-75).


Towards daybreak they took Christ from Annas to the high priest Caiaphas, where He endured being spat upon and buffeted, and false witnesses were summoned. When day dawned, Caiaphas sent Him to Pilate. Those who led him “went not into the prætorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the passover” (John 18:28). We may conclude, therefore, that the chief priests and the Pharisees did something unlawful at that time in postponing the Passover, as the Divine Chrysostomos says; for they ought to have eaten it during the night, but postponed it so that Christ could be put to death.

That they ought to have eaten it then is shown by what Christ said before the supper on Thursday evening, when He ate the passover of the Law and then initiated the Disciples into the more perfect Passover. For, as we have said, it was necessary that the shadow of the Law be succeeded by the truth. For John says that all of these things occurred before the feast of Passover on Thursday and during the ensuing night. For this reason we keep feast, commemorating with awe those dread and ineffable deeds and acts.

By Thine ineffable compassion, O Christ our God, have mercy on us. Amen.

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James Joyce and Orthodox Holy Week

James Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century. In a 1922 New York Times profile of Joyce, the following was told of him: "Mr. Joyce has no reverence for organized religion, for conventional morality, for literary style or form. He has no conception of the word obedience, and he bends the knee neither to God nor man." Yet what we find evident from his own testimony and that of his friends is his appreciation of the music and rituals of Orthodox Holy Week services, which he took every opportunity not to miss, whether it be in a Greek or Russian church.

In the autumn of 1904 he moved to Trieste to teach at Berlitz language school, where there was a large well-established community of diaspora Greeks. It is around this time that he begins to attend the Church of San Nicolo dei Greci, a Greek Orthodox Church in Trieste. Joyce reported to his brother Stanislaus that a colleague at his school had tweaked him about his ambiguous irreverence: "He says I will die a Catholic because I am always moping in and out of the Greek Churches and am a believer at heart: whereas in my opinion I am incapable of belief of any kind" (Letters II:89).

Nearly thirty-five years later, in Paris in 1938, Joyce used an "obligation" to attend an Orthodox Good Friday service as an excuse to avoid the unpleasant prospect of an invitation to an early dinner:

"But today she [Mrs. Turner] rang up to ask us to dine on Friday at 7:30! (6:30 pm real time) I am going to say I have to go to the Greek church - perfectly true it is their Good Friday - and can't get out till 8 at least so I am coming at 8:15 at least" (Letters III:420).

Throughout his life Joyce liked to attend Holy Week services, at various ecclesiastical venues whether it be in an Orthodox or Catholic church. A friend from Trieste, Alessandro Bruni, recalls the following of Joyce's regular attendance at Holy Week services:

"In his house there is no religious practice, but on the other hand there is much talk of Christ and religion and much singing of liturgical chants. I can go even further. You had better not look for Joyce during the week before Easter because he is not available to anyone. On the morning of Palm Sunday, then during the four days that follow Wednesday of Holy Week, and especially during all the hours of those great symbolic rituals at the early moring service, Joyce is at church, entirely without prejudice, and in complete control of himself, sitting in full view and close to the officiants so that he won't miss a single syllable of what is said, following the liturgy attentively in his book of the Holy Week services, and often joining in the singing of the choir."

Bruni writes that he had seen Joyce cry "secret tears" at hearing Jesus' words on the cross, "Eli, Eli, lamma sabactani". Joyce's sisters also noted James "devotion" to the liturgies of Holy Week:

"During Easter week he behaved in a way that seemed odd to his sisters. Too fond of the liturgy and music to forgo them, but determined to make clear his indifference, he avoided going with Eileen and Eva or sitting with them. Instead he came by himself and stood in a corner; and when the mass was over left quietly without waiting. He did not attempt to dissuade his sisters from going, but made clear that his own motive was esthetic, not pious."

A friend in Paris, Mercanton, in the late 1930's reports that Joyce told him "that Good Friday and Holy Saturday were the two days of the year when he went to church, for the liturgies, which represented by their symbolic rituals the oldest mysteries of humanity." His brother Stanislaus reports the same. Mercanton's memoir also includes a comment on Joyce's qualified enthusiasm for the chants of Slavic Orthodoxy: "Speaking next about Russian churches, where he [Joyce] loved to hear the deep, bass voices of the officiants, he said that he could not understand my fervent admiration for the Oriental ritual."

Throughout his writings, Joyce alludes to Eastern Orthodoxy. However his knowledge was not deep, as his main source of information was the Encyclopedia Britannica. Yet he had a deep appreciation for the music and aesthetic of Orthodox services which he felt were best experienced during Holy Week.

Sources:

R.J. Schork, "James Joyce and the Eastern Orthodox Church" in Journal of Modern Greek Studies, vol. 17, 1999.

Dennis Michael Shanahan, The Way of the Cross in James Joyce's "Ulysses" , 1983.

Below are photos from San Nicolo dei Greci in Trieste, where James Joyce often attended Liturgies and Holy Week services:

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Love and the Resurrection of Christ

By Metropolitan Paul Ioanou of Sisaniou and Siatistis

The Resurrection and Love are synonymous. You cannot have one without having the other, and this must be understood by all, especially by those living within the Church. Because essentially the devil unfortunately knows better than us, that Resurrection and Love cannot be separated, and he tries to kill the Resurrection within us. He destroys love from our souls and we unfortunately play his game.

Christ did not expel Judas. Rather the greatest hell for Judas was that Christ loved him, and the greatest hell for all slaves of the passions is that they are loved. And what did Judas do? He hung himself. Horrible is the death of those enslaved and deceived, because even if they won't hang themselves by a rope, they have much more hung their souls because they have denied the Resurrection of Christ from being the center of their lives.

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One Door and No Fire Exit at Holy Sepulchre Church

Matti Friedman
April 20, 2011
Associated Press

Thousands of Christian believers will fill the medieval chambers of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem on Saturday for a ritual known as the Holy Fire, packed shoulder to shoulder and holding burning candles as pilgrims have done for centuries. And, as in centuries past, the church will still have only one door and no fire exit.

The saga of the emergency exit at the storied church has pitted common sense against religious politics and tradition at one of Christianity's most sacred sites. The winner was never in doubt. Despite dire warnings from Israeli officials, safety concerns have been outweighed by a reluctance to upset a brittle balance of power among the six Christian sects in the Sepulcher. A fire exit still does not exist.

"Everyone understands that there is logic in it," said Theofilos III, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem. "But there is logic in the desire that no unnecessary changes be made. It is volatile."

On the day before Easter, as many as 10,000 worshippers crowd the church in the walled Old City for the Holy Fire, one of the Holy Land's most beautiful customs. Many thousands more fill the alleyways and courtyards outside.

Greek Orthodox and Armenian clergymen enter the Edicule, the small structure marking the site of Jesus' tomb, holding candles that are then lit, according to tradition, by a divine flame. They pass the fire out to the crush of believers, who transfer it from candle to candle, filling the dark building with light.

The Holy Sepulcher, revered by believers as the site of Jesus' crucifixion, burial and resurrection, is less a single coherent church than a conglomeration of ancient rooms and chapels renovated, destroyed and rebuilt over the years. The first church was built on the site in the 4th century A.D.

There is only one way out: the front door, which leads to a small stone courtyard. This courtyard is unreachable by ambulances.

Israeli officials have been concerned since the late 1990s that a fire or stampede at the church, especially during the Holy Fire ceremony, will end in disaster.

During the Holy Fire ceremony in 1834, the crowd in the church panicked and several hundred people were crushed or suffocated to death.

Robert Curzon, an English traveler who was there and barely survived, recounted in an 1849 book that frightened Turkish troops would not let anyone out.

"Everyone struggled to defend himself or to get away," he wrote, "and in the melee all who fell were immediately trampled to death by the rest."

Curzon fought his way through the crowd to the smooth stone where Jesus' body is believed to have been laid out: "The dead were lying in heaps, even upon the stone of unction, and I saw full 400 unhappy people, dead and living, heaped promiscuously one upon another, in some places above five feet high."

Little of significance has changed in the church's architecture since then. Though the sects at the Sepulcher acknowledge the necessity of an emergency exit, Israeli efforts have come up against the intricacies of the Status Quo, a 155-year-old agreement that governs relations between the groups that control the church.

Tweet Be the first to Tweet this!Yahoo! Buzz ShareThis Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Armenian clergy govern the Sepulcher building, with lesser rights accorded to Ethiopians, Copts and Assyrians. The sects are typically backed by at least one foreign government. Every inch of the building and its immediate environs belongs to one of the sects, each of which meticulously guards its territory.

Disputes have occasionally erupted into fistfights between clergymen. Greeks and Armenians, for example, have clashed over the way certain ceremonies and processions are conducted, and the Copts have a long-running feud with the Ethiopians over possession of a rooftop monastery.

Cesare Marjieh, the Israeli Interior Ministry liaison with the Christian churches, said his power to press for a new exit is limited.

"I don't like to push. I try to mediate -- that's our policy," he said.

Father Athanasius, a Texas native and Catholic monk of the Franciscan order who sits on an inter-church committee at the Holy Sepulcher, described the Status Quo as an "ecosystem" that had to be treated with caution.

"The question is, how is this going to change the dynamic inside the church?" he asked.

The most likely location for an exit would require the agreement of the Greek Orthodox, Copts and Ethiopians. But wherever a new exit is located, one of the churches would have to cede part of the sacred space under its control. "I don't know where they're going to do it," said Father Samuel Aghoyan, the senior Armenian priest at the church.

Adding a layer of political complexity, some of the space directly outside other potential exit points in the church walls is controlled by an Islamic religious body known as the Waqf, which does not recognize Israel's control in Jerusalem and is therefore unlikely to cooperate.

An attempt to force construction unilaterally, even on safety grounds, would almost certainly meet with an international outcry because Israel's sovereignty in the holy city is a matter of dispute.

The plan has also faced technical challenges because the church is hemmed in on most sides by other buildings. Building an exit will involve breaking walls, constructing staircases and cutting through neighboring structures, at a building where far more minute alterations have been controversial.

A ladder placed on a ledge over the entrance sometime in the 19th century, for example, has remained there ever since because of a disagreement over who has the authority to take it down.

Theofilos III, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch, termed the situation in the church "delicate and complex" and warned that risking the equilibrium at the Holy Sepulcher could be done only with the utmost care. "It's like a ruined house," he said. "Don't take out a stone, because it might fall down."

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Holy Week and Pascha in Zakynthos

The celebration of Easter in Zakynthos and the events of Holy Week are characterized by the Byzantine splendor of the Orthodox faith, but customs and traditions that are found more in the western Catholic Church.

The solemn spirit of the day until the day of Resurrection, surrounds life in the city and throughout the island very openly.

In Zakynthos, Easter, or Lambri (Bright Day) as it is called by Dionysios Solomos in his writings, is lived by everyone everywhere. In the streets, the squares and even in cafes, all are imbued with the spirit of the day.

The festivities begin on the Saturday of Lazarus, when the bells ring joyfully and churches are decorated with "vayia", a work of art crafted in several formats from the spring leaves of palm trees in memory of Jesus entering into Jerusalem.

The next day, Sunday, the vayia enter all Zakynthos' houses and decorate the shrine of the family.

From Great Monday evening there begins in all the churches of the island the somber week of the Passion.

Moving in all respects is when the churches sing the hymn of Kassiani in a special Ionian tone on Great Tuesday night.

On Holy Thursday the churches open their doors in the morning. The bells are rung for the last time before the Resurrection. In the evening the faithful fill the churches, where the divine drama is praised by Ionian ecclesiastical music which is deeply influenced by music of the Renaissance.

On Great Friday all the towns and villages are in mourning colors. Even the balconies of the houses hang banners of mourning.

It is the hour of the death and taking down from the Cross. From the Crosses of the churches, the priest lowers the whole body in the form of a carved icon of Jesus, it is wrapped in a white sheet, and is processed within the church.

Then the priest places the wrapped image in the Epitaphion.

At noon on Great Friday, Zakynthos lives the procession of the Crucifix. Thousands of believers flock to the main square following the somber, mournful hymns of the Philharmonic, the Crucifix and the famous image of Mater Dolorosa through the streets of the city.

The culmination of the procession is at the Church of St. Nicholas of Seafarers, where the Bishop blesses the faithful and carries the Crucifix into the church where he places it on the Epitaphion.

At night, in all churches of the island, the Lamentation's take place. In the Cathedral of St. Nicholas the Stranger the service of Great Friday takes place according to an old custom in the early morning hours of Saturday.

There follows the procession of the Epitaphion through the city streets, accompanied by the Philharmonic orchestras of the island and thousands of believers.

At five in the morning, after the return of the Epitaphion in the church, there takes place the first resurrection. It is time the people celebrating the first resurrection or "kommati" in the squares where they break clay pots from their balconies as the first manifestation of joy for the resurrection event.

This custom is known by the Latin name of Gloria, in memory of the glory of Christ after the Resurrection.

The normal sequence of resurrection, however, is a few hours later, on the night of Holy Saturday to Sunday. After the reading of the Gospel there is the joyous sounds of bells and at midnight everywhere is sung, "Christ is risen."

Since that hour, the world rejoices and entertains as few times in the year.

The uniqueness of the Easter traditions in Zakynthos has only in recent years become known nationwide and has enjoyed the attention and interest of people who love the traditions around the world.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos

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The Holy Skull of St. Anastasia the Pharmokolitria To Be Brought To Ukraine

Following the paschal celebrations, the Holy Skull of the Great Martyr Saint Anastasia the Pharmokolitria will be escorted throughout Ukraine in various churches for a blessing to the people. This is being done with the blessing of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, under whose jurisdiction is the Monastery of St. Anastasia the Pharmokolitria in Chalkidiki of Greece. For the Ukrainians, this will be a major event and will be very much welcomed and celebrated.

St. Anastasia was tortured and endured many torments and was eventually put to death by fire in the year 290 in Rome. In the fifth century the relics of the saint were transferred to Constantinople, where a church was built and dedicated to her. This was the church where St. Andrew the Fool-for-Christ was brought to be cured from his foolishness, and there St. Anastasia appeared to him in a dream and encouraged him to continue his ascetic feat. Later her head and one of her hands were transferred to the Monastery of St. Anastasia the Pharmokolitria in Chalkidiki of Greece.

The Monastery of St. Anastasia the Pharmakolitria is under the jurisdiction of the Church of Constantinople and is located near the village of Vassilika of Thessaloniki (Chalkidiki of Greece), at the base of one of Mount Hortiatis' summits, Adrianos. The monastery is said to have been founded by Leon sometime in the 6th Century but this has not been verified by any historian. It is more likely that it was built in 1522 by St. Theonas, who later became the Metropolitan bishop of Thessaloniki. During the Turkish occupation, the monastery owned many acres of land but the buildings were destroyed by the Turks during the Greek War of Independence of 1821 and were rebuilt in 1830.

The heirlooms of the monastery include the whole-body relic of St. Theona and the head of St. Anastasia the Healer. The monastery honors St. Anastasia on December 22.

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Secular Science Analyzes Jesus

In a classic religion-vs-science confrontation, Live Science took on the question, “Jesus Christ the Man: Does the Physical Evidence Hold Up?” The answer may say more about science than about Jesus.

To begin with, reporter Natalie Wolchover drew distinctions between scientific evidence and belief – as if scientific evidence requires no belief or assumption or interpretation. She says the belief of Christians in Jesus’ life comes from “textual evidence in the Bible” – betraying first of all a bias that textual evidence is less credible than scientific evidence. Her headline also implies that evidence must be physical. This rules out logical and textual evidence and eyewitness testimony. It also begs questions about whether other beliefs accepted by scientists are based on physical evidence alone.

Wolchover spent a moment on a red herring about Simcha Jacobovici (“The Naked Archaeologist” from the History Channel) and his latest documentary about two crooked nails he claims are tied to the crucifixion. Many scholars consider this little more than a publicity stunt (see here). From there, Wolchover debunked various other controversial relic stories, including the lead plates recently announced from Jordan (see here). But dubious archaeological claims, frauds and forgeries have little to do with the question of whether Jesus really lived.

After dispensing with relics, Wolchover turned her science scanner on texts. The Dead Sea scrolls are not much help, she claimed, because the “Teacher of Righteousness” mentioned in some scrolls could be anybody.

Regarding the Biblical text, she seemed to indicate that non-canonical gospels have equal bearing with Matthew, Mark, Luke and John on the history of Jesus: “There are still other Gospels,” she said, without naming them, “never canonized but written by near-contemporaries of Jesus all the same.” She did not mention that the Gospel of Judas was written much later by Gnostics, and that the Gospel of Thomas and others have long been considered spurious by early church fathers who lived closest in time to the writing of those documents. Nor did she explore the church fathers’ criteria for authenticity, the social dynamics of heretics and cults who might have reasons to write spurious accounts, nor the science of textual analysis, concerned with the authenticity of texts.

All the same, she drew a middle ground on the historicity of Jesus, quoting Marcus Borg, a secular scholar at Oregon State: “We do know some things about the historical Jesus – less than some Christians think, but more than some skeptics think.” That judgment, though, rests on what documents one takes as credible. Borg did not question the fact that Jesus lived, but from the textual evidence, presented a synopsis of Jesus’ life sanitized of the miraculous. Acknowledging that “More healing stories are told about Jesus than about any other figure in the Jewish tradition,” he proceeded to the crux of the story - the cross and resurrection:

He was executed by Roman imperial authority, and his followers experienced him after his death. It is clear, Borg said, that they had visions of Jesus as they had known him during his historical life. Only after his death did they declare Jesus to be “lord” or “the son of God.”

To make such claims, Borg (and Wolchover, the reporter) had to rule out of court the eyewitness testimony of Thomas, the doubter, who reached into the wounds of the risen Jesus (John 20:24-27), of John, who said their hands touched Him (I John 1:1-4), and of all the disciples who saw him eat and drink in their presence (Luke 24, John 21), and the 500 who saw him at one time (I Cor 15:1-11), most of whom were still alive when the testimony was written.

Moreover, to deny the resurrection, they would have to completely discount the life testimony of the Apostle Paul (I Corinthians 15, written at most 25 years after the crucifixion), the fact that Paul had been a hostile witness (I Timothy 1:12-16), yet spread his testimony of the risen Christ throughout the Middle East and Europe, finally being martyred without flinching from his testimony.

They would have to deny that Matthew, Mark, Peter, John (1 John 1:1-10), James and possibly the writer of Hebrews were also eyewitnesses of Jesus and the resurrection, and that the New Testament authors, including Luke (Luke 1:1-4, Acts 1:1-3), Peter (2 Peter 3:16-21), John (I John 4:1-6), Paul (2 Timothy 3) all advocated telling the truth, each of them staunchly opposing myths and fact-free speculations (I Timothy 4:1-4).

Furthermore, they would have to ignore the fact that all the apostles (except possibly John), who claimed they had seen the resurrected Christ, died martyr’s deaths without recanting. Plus, they would have to explain the explosive growth of the early Church in a time of persecution, when all the enemies of the new faith would have to do to squelch it was produce the body of Jesus and parade it down the streets of Jerusalem. Furthermore, Wolchover and Borg had to dismiss a priori the possibility of predictive prophecy (Isaiah 53, Luke 24, esp. vv. 25-26).

No philosopher of science would affirm that the opinions of Borg and Wolchover were dictated to them by the scientific evidence itself. Their knowledge of Christianity too seems limited to fringe and controversial claims that can be easily dismissed. Clearly a different set of authorities would produce different conclusions. The question of what constitutes evidence is a philosophical question about science, not a statement by science. Invariably, one must consider the biases that fallible human beings bring to a question.

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A Dramatic Representation of the Anointing of the Lord With Myrrh

This video is a dramatic recreation of the anointing of the Lord with myrrh by the sinful woman before his saving Passion. It is put on by Theatre Erinaos in the Metropolis of Dimitriados.

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Synaxarion For Holy and Great Wednesday

By Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos

GREAT WEDNESDAY

On Holy and Great Wednesday, the Divine Fathers decreed that we should commemorate the harlot who anointed the Lord with myrrh, because this took place shortly before His saving Passion.

Verses

The woman who applied myrrh to the body of Christ
Anticipated the myrrh and aloes of Nicodemos.


Synaxarion

As the Lord was going up to Jerusalem, He came to the house of Simon the leper, where a woman who was a harlot approached Him and poured precious myrrh upon His head. This episode is placed here, in order that, according to the word of the Savior, her act of fervent devotion might be proclaimed everywhere. What moved her to come to Simon’s house? Because she saw His compassion and the fact that He kept company with all people, and especially now, when she noticed that He had entered the house of a leper, with whom, being unclean, it was forbidden by the Law to associate.

The woman reckoned that, just as He had put up with Simon’s leprosy, so also He would tolerate the disease of her soul. Thus, as Christ was reclining at supper, she poured on His head myrrh that was worth three hundred denarii. The Disciples, and Judas in particular, rebuked her for this. But Christ came to her defense, lest they thwart her good intention. He then alluded to His entombment, deterring Judas from betraying Him and deeming the woman worthy of honor, saying that her good deed would be proclaimed throughout the world.

It should be known that some are of the opinion that one and the same woman is mentioned by all of the Evangelists; but such is not the case. As the Divine Chrysostomos says, the same woman is cited by three of the Evangelists, and she is thus called a harlot. It is not she who is mentioned by Saint John, but another woman, admirable and of chaste life, Mary the sister of Lazarus, whom Christ would not have loved had she been a harlot.

Of these women, Mary performed the act of pouring out myrrh six days before the Passover, at her house in Bethany, while the Lord was reclining at supper. She poured out the myrrh on His beautiful feet and wiped them with her hair, showing Him exceeding honor and offering the myrrh as to God. For she knew very well that at sacrifices olive oil was offered to God, that priests were anointed with myrrh, and that Jacob of old had anointed a pillar with oil and dedicated it to God. Thus, she offered the myrrh to Christ, honoring her teacher as God in return for the resuscitation of her brother. For this reason, she is not promised any reward. On that occasion, Judas alone, being a lover of money, murmured against her.

The other woman, that is, the harlot, two days before the Passover, when Christ was still in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, likewise reclining at supper, poured very costly myrrh upon His head, as Saints Matthew and Mark recount. The Disciples were indignant at this harlot, being fully aware how earnest Christ was with regard to almsgiving. This woman was given the recompense of having her good deed proclaimed throughout the world. Some commentators, therefore, say that one woman was mentioned by the four Evangelists, whereas St. John the Golden-tongued says that there were two women.

There are others who maintain that there were three women. Two of them were the aforementioned—that is, the harlot and Mary, the sister of Lazarus—when the Lord’s Passion was drawing near. The third was another, who performed such a deed prior to these—or rather, being the first of them—around the middle of the Gospel narrative; she was a harlot and a sinner. She poured out myrrh only on Christ’s feet and in the house not of Simon the leper, but of Simon the Pharisee. On that occasion, only the Pharisee was scandalized. Upon her the Savior bestowed the recompense of the remission of her sins. Only the Divine Luke tells about her, around the middle of his Gospel, as we have said. In fact, after the account of this harlot, he immediately adds the following: “And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God” (Luke 8:1). From this it is evident that the event in question did not occur during the time of the Passion.

It seems, therefore, from the time, from those who entertained the Lord, from the location, from the persons involved, and from the houses, and also from the manner in which the myrrh was poured out, that there were three women, two of them harlots, and third Mary the sister of Lazarus, who was conspicuous for her virtuous life. As well, it seems that one house was that of Simon the Pharisee, the other that of Simon the leper, situated in Bethany, the third being that of Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus, in the same city of Bethany.

Hence, it may be inferred from these considerations that two suppers were given for Christ, both of them in Bethany. One took place six days before the Passover, in the house of Lazarus, when Lazarus also ate with Christ, as the Son of Thunder relates: “Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair” (John 12:1-3). The other supper was held for Christ two days before the Passover, when He was still in Bethany, at the house of Simon the leper, at which time the harlot went up to Him and poured out the precious myrrh. This is confirmed by Saint Matthew’s narrative, in which Christ says to His Disciples: “Ye know that after two days is the feast of the Passover” (Matthew 26:2). A little further on, the same Evangelist adds: “Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, there came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at table” (Matthew 26:6-7). Saint Mark concurs with this account, for he says: “After two days was the feast of the Passover, and of unleavened bread... And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at table, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head” (Mark 14:1, 3).

From this it is clear that they are incorrect who maintain and assert that one and the same woman is mentioned by the four Evangelists as having anointed the Lord with myrrh; who suppose that Simon the Pharisee and Simon the leper are one and the same person—some of them interpreting Simon the leper as being the father of Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha; and who opine that one and the same supper took place in one and the same house, in Bethany, and that Simon prepared and furnished the upper room in which the Mystical Supper was held. For these two suppers were given for Christ in Bethany, outside Jerusalem, six days and two days, respectively, before the Jewish Passover, as we have said, when the women offered myrrh to Christ in different ways. The Mystical Supper and the furnished upper room were prepared within the city of Jerusalem one day before the Jewish Passover and the Passion of Christ. Some say that this Supper was held in the house of an unknown man, others that it took place in the house of Christ’s Disciple and bosom friend John, in holy Sion, where the Disciples were hiding for fear of the Jews and where the touching by Saint Thomas occurred after the Resurrection, as did the Descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, along with other ineffable and mystical events.

For this reason, it seems to me that the account given by Saint John Chrysostomos is truer and more precise, that is, that there were two women about whom the Evangelists wrote. One, as we have said, was the woman mentioned by three of the Evangelists, who was a harlot and a sinner and who poured myrrh on Christ’s head. The other was the woman mentioned by Saint John, Mary the sister of Lazarus, who applied myrrh solely to Christ’s Divine feet by pouring it on them. There were two suppers in Bethany, the Mystical Supper being separate from these. This is evident from the fact that, after the narrative of the harlot, the Savior sends His Disciples into the city to make ready the Passover, as Saint Matthew says: “Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at thy house with my disciples” (Matthew 26:18). Again, St. Mark says: “And...there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him.... And he will shew you a large upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready for us” (Mark 14:13, 15). The Disciples went, and found it to be just as Jesus had told them, and they prepared the Passover, that is, the Jewish Passover, which was at the doors and which Christ came and celebrated with the Disciples, as the Divine Chrysostomos says. Then, after the Mystical Supper had taken place, the Divine Washing of the feet having been performed in the meantime, Christ reclined once again and instituted our Passover on the same table, as Saint John the Golden-tongued explains.

The Divine John, and also Saint Mark, the Holy Evangelists, add in their accounts the type of the myrrh, calling it “spikenard, very costly.” It is customary to call spikenard that which is unadulterated and trustworthy in purity. Perhaps this was also an appellation of the best and prime kind of myrrh. Saint Mark adds that the woman broke the alabaster flask in her eagerness, since its neck was narrow. This is a glass vessel, as St. Epiphanios says, made without any handle, which is called a bikion. Myron was compounded of many other kinds of fragrances, and from the following in particular: myrrh, cassia, iris, calamus, and oil.

Yea, O Christ God, free us from the flood of passions and have mercy on us, for Thou alone art holy and lovest mankind. Amen.

Source


Doxastikon of Saint Kassiani

Sensing Thy divinity, O Lord, a woman of many sins
takes it upon herself to become a myrrh-bearer,
And in deep mourning brings before Thee fragrant oil
in anticipation of Thy burial; crying:
"Woe to me! For night is unto me, oestrus of lechery,
a dark and moonless eros of sin.
Receive the wellsprings of my tears,
O Thou who gatherest the waters of the oceans into clouds.
Bend to me, to the sorrows of my heart,
O Thou who bendedst down the heavens in Thy ineffable self-emptying.
I will kiss Thine immaculate feet
and dry them with the locks of my hair;
Those very feet whose sound Eve heard at dusk in Paradise
and hid herself in fear.
Who shall reckon the multitude of my sins,
or the abysses of Thy judgment, O Saviour of my soul?
Do not ignore Thy handmaiden,
O Thou whose mercy is endless."

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Holy Week and Pascha on Mount Athos

Mount Athos has a somber and completely spiritual atmosphere during Holy Week. Visitors to the Holy Mountain during this time find themselves in a completely different world from what they are used to in the world. It is a monastic life which especially at this time focuses on the last days of Jesus according to the lived experience of 2,000 years of authentic Christianity. One cannot escape being reminded of this and making it a lived reality in their own lives.

The Athonite fathers on Holy Thursday begin by going out into the fields to gather flowers for the Cross and Tomb which will be displayed during the services over the next few days. Great Friday throughout Mount Athos is a day of silence and vigilant prayer within the churches. Holy Week contains some of the most beautiful hymns of the entire Orthodox ecclesiastical year, and the professional chants of the monks, coupled with the ancient iconography and architecture, make for a powerful experience unrivalled. Holy Saturday services with the Epitaphios do not begin until 1:00 AM and last till 4:00 AM. At 5:00 AM begins the procession with the shroud and tomb of Christ.

The vigil for the Resurrection begins about 10:00 PM on Holy Saturday night and ends at 6:00 AM. Then a table is set for a festive dinner with fish, eggs and salad. On Pascha there is great joy throughout the Holy Mountain, as if death truly has been conquered by the resurrection of Christ.

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3 Holy Fathers On the Parable of the Ten Virgins

Saint Macarios the Great

The five wise virgins, watchful and alert, had taken oil in the vessels of their heart. That oil, not part of their own nature, means the grace of the Spirit. They were enabled to enter with the Bridegroom into the heavenly bridal chamber.

The other five virgins, however, were content with their own nature. They neither watched nor busied themselves to receive the oil of gladness [Ps. 44:6] in their vessels, while they were yet in the flesh. Instead, they sank into sleep through carelessness, slackness, idleness, and ignorance, or even fancied righteousness. Hence, they were shut out of the bridal chamber of the Kingdom, unable to give satisfaction to the heavenly Bridegroom. Held fast by their tie to the world, and by some earthly affection, they did not give their whole love or passionate devotion to the heavenly Bridegroom; thus they were not provided with oil.

Souls that seek the sanctification of the Spirit, which is outside of nature, fasten all their affection upon the Lord. It is in the Lord that they walk, pray, and employ their thoughts, turning away from all else. For this cause, they are priviledged to receive the oil of heavenly grace. This enables them to succeed in coming through without falling, giving perfect satisfaction to the spiritual Bridegroom. Those souls, however, content with what belongs to their own nature, creep upon the earth in their thoughts. Not only do they employ their thoughts upon earth, but their minds have their whole existence upon earth. In their own estimation, they appear to belong to the Bridegroom, and to be adorned with the ordinances of the flesh. Nonetheless, they have not been born of the Spirit; and they have not received the oil of gladness.

(Fifty Spiritual Homilies, Homily IV)



Saint John Chrysostom

This parable admonishes us to remain diligent in almsgiving. It counsels us to help our neighbor by every means available to us, since it is impossible to be saved in any other way....

For nothing is more sullied than virginity without mercy ... What was the profit of virginity, when they saw not the Bridegroom? Even when they knocked at the door, they did not obtain; instead, they heard the fearful saying, "Depart, I know you not". When he said this, nothing else but hell is left, and that intolerable punishment....

This parable was spoken with respect to mercy in almsgiving ... It is also that we might learn how close Christ is joined unto virgins that strip themselves of their possessions; for this indeed is virginity.

(Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew, Homily LXXVII)



Saint Gregory the Great

As it is written: "The day of the Lord shall come as a theif in the night" (1 Thess. 5:2). Then the virgins shall awake, because both good and wicked are roused from the sleep of death. They shall trim their lamps, that is, they shall count the number of their good works for which they hope to receive the reward of eternal happiness. However, the lamps of the foolish virgins shall fail. This is because their works, seen so clearly by men, shall wane and vanish at the coming of the Judge. From God, they shall receive no recompense, for men gave them the praise they esteemed so highly.

The blessed will rejoice in their recompense, when they enjoy that vision of Him in Whose presence the elements tremble. They will then go in with Him to the marriage. As they rejoice in the nuptials of the Bridegroom, they themselves will be the bride; for in the bridal chamber of the eternal Kingdom, they are united forever to their God. Thenceforth, that vision can never be snatched from them. The door of the Kingdom will close forever upon those left outside, who then will weep.

However, that same door is now open to all penitents. There will be repentance then, but it will be fruitless. When the Bridegroom comes, those that wasted time that might have be used for repentance shall not find pardon. Thus St. Paul warns us: "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Cor. 6:2). The Prophet Isaiah says: "Seek ye the Lord, and when ye find Him, call upon Him" (Is. 55:6).

(Parables of the Gospel, "The Ten Virgins")

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St. Seraphim of Sarov on the Parable of the Ten Virgins

The parable about the ten virgins has been clearly and convincingly explained by St. Seraphim of Sarov in his conversation with Motovilov:

Some say that the shortage of oil of the foolish virgins signifies their shortage of good works in their lives. Such understanding is not exactly correct. How can they be short of good works if they, though foolish, are still called virgins? Chastity is a supreme virtue, the state of being equal to angels, and could itself serve as a substitute for all other virtues. I humbly think that they were actually short of the grace of God's All-Holy Spirit. These virgins did good, and out of their spiritual foolishness supposed that doing good was exactly the point of Christianity. They did good works and by this obeyed God, but they did not care in the least beforehand whether they had received or reached the grace of God's Spirit. This very gaining of the Holy Spirit is that oil which the foolish virgins lacked. They were called foolish because they forgot about the necessary fruit of virtue, the grace of the Holy Spirit, without which no one is saved and no one can be saved, for: ‘it is by the Holy Spirit that any soul is vitalized and exalted in chastity, and any soul is lit by the Trinitarian unity in holy mysteries’. The Holy Spirit moves into our souls, and this installation of the All-Mighty into our souls, and co-existence of His Trinitarian Unity with our spirit is given only through the gaining by all means, the Holy Spirit, which prepares in our soul and body the throne for God’s creative co-existence with our spirit in strict accordance with the word of God: ‘I will dwell among them and will be their God, and they will be my people’. This is the oil in the lamps of wise virgins, oil that burnt bright and long, so that the virgins with the burning lamps could wait until the Bridegroom who came at midnight, and enter with Him into the house of joy. But the foolish virgins, seeing that their lamps were going out, went to the marketplace to buy oil but would not come back in time, for the doors were already shut. The marketplace is our life; the door of the house of marriage (that was shut and did not lead to the Bridegroom) is our human death; wise and foolish virgins are Christian souls; the oil is not works but the grace of the All-Holy Spirit of God which is received through these works, and which converts things perishable into things imperishable, transforms spiritual death into spiritual life, darkness into light, the manger of our being, with passions tied like cattle and beasts, into the Divine Temple, into the glorious palace of never-ending rejoicing in Christ Jesus.

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Ultimate Truth Comes By Revelation, Not Conjecture

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

"Brethren, see to it that no one captivate you with an empty, seductive philosophy according to human tradition, according to the elemental powers of the world and not according to Christ" (Colossians 2:8).

Brethren, do not let philosophy enslave us, which by conjecture, says that there is no eternal life nor resurrection from the dead. For we do not arrive at the Truth through the conjecture of man, but by God's revelation. That which we know about the truth we know from Truth Itself which was revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ and which was communicated to us through the faithful and wise witnesses of the Truth: the apostles and the saints. If we, because of our sins, were to reject these witnesses and accept the conjecture of humans, we will fall into the dark and bitter slavery of nature, of the body, to sin and to death.

Brethren, let us not be deceived by the empty myths of men, from men and according to men as though another world does not exist or if another world does exist, we, so to speak, do not know anything about it. Behold, we know with confidence that another world does exist. We know this not from conjecturers or deceivers but from the Lord Jesus Himself Who, on Mount Tabor, appeared to His disciples with Moses and Elijah who long ago departed this world and Who Himself, appeared to many of His followers after His death. We also know about this from the apostles, saints and numerous discerners to whom, because of their chastity and sanctity, God revealed the ultimate Truth about the other world. If, because of our sins, we do not believe these holy and the truthful witnesses, we will then have to believe those unholy and false men and we will be slaves to darkness, sin and death.

Brethren, let us not be led astray by worldly teaching, which examines animals, plants and stones and say it has not found God among these things and, from that, arrogantly attest that there is no God. Behold, we know that the Creator cannot be, as a thing among things, rather He is above all things and different from all things. We know this, as much by spiritual understanding and conscience, as well as by the obvious revelation of the Lord Jesus Himself, Who appeared in the body of a man as the Lord of all created things, as well as through the witness of the apostles, many other saints and discerning men.

Rather, let us glorify the Lord Jesus resurrected from the dead.

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800 Year Old Macedonian Monastery To Be Moved

Eight hundred years after its founding, one of the oldest monasteries in Macedonia, the Monastery of the Dormition of the Theotokos in Torniki of Grevena, is about to go uphill 127 meters on rails to be installed 27 meters higher in order to escape the waters of the third artificial lake of the Aliakmon which will flood the area.

Weighing 300 tons and at a height of 9 meters, the PPC will move this monastery with a special technique used on ancient monuments in Athens and Thessaloniki.

The monastery was said to have been built by General John Tornikiou to glorify the victories of Emperor Nikephoros Phokas.

The lake will begin to fill in the summer of 2012. The rescue of Panagia Tornikiou Monastery is said to cost approximately 800,000 euros.

Read more here.

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Synaxarion For Holy and Great Tuesday

By Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos

GREAT TUESDAY

On Holy and Great Tuesday, we commemorate the Parable of the Ten Virgins in the Holy Gospel.

Verses

Great Tuesday bringeth us ten virgins,

Who win a victory from the impartial Master.

Synaxarion

As our Lord Jesus Christ was going up to Jerusalem to endure His suffering, He told such parables as this to His Disciples, while addressing others to the Jews. He related the Parable of the Ten Virgins in order to encourage almsgiving, teaching, at the same time, that we should all be ready before our end. For since He had expounded much to them about virginity and eunuchs, and since virginity has great glory (for it is truly a great thing), in order that one who has accomplished this virtue might not neglect the others, and especially that of almsgiving, which causes the lamp of virginity to resplend, the Holy Gospel introduces this Parable of the Ten Virgins.

Christ calls five of them wise, since they possessed the oil of almsgiving in great abundance together with virginity. But five of them He calls foolish, because although they had virginity, they lacked the corresponding virtue of almsgiving. For this reason they were foolish, because having achieved what is greatest, they neglected the lesser, differing thereby in no respect from harlots. For harlots are overcome by the body, whereas these foolish virgins were overcome by money.

Now that the night of the present life had run its course, all of the Virgins slumbered; that is, they died, for death is called sleep. While they were sleeping, a cry was uttered around the middle of the night, “Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him,” and the wise virgins, displaying an abundance of oil, entered with the Bridegroom when the doors of the bridal chamber were opened. The foolish virgins, however, not having sufficient oil, went in search of it after waking from sleep. Although the wise virgins were willing to give them oil, they were unable to do so before entering the bridal chamber, and responded thus: “Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell”—that is, the poor— “and buy for yourselves” (St. Matthew 25:9). But this was not easy, since after death it is not possible either to give or to receive alms, as Abraham states in the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. The foolish virgins, approaching the bridal chamber in darkness, cried out as they knocked on the doors, saying: “Lord, Lord, open to us.” But the Lord Himself pronounced that dread sentence: “Go away; I know you not.” How can you see the Bridegroom when you do not have the dowry of almsgiving?

This is why the God-bearing Fathers assigned the foregoing parable to be read at this point in Great Week, for it teaches us always to be vigilant and ready to meet the true Bridegroom through good deeds, and especially almsgiving, since the day and hour of our end is uncertain. Likewise, through the story of Joseph we are taught to strive for chastity, and through that of the fig tree to bring forth spiritual fruit. For he who accomplishes a single virtue, even if it be the greatest, while overlooking the others—and in particular, almsgiving—will not enter with Christ into eternal rest, but will be turned back in disgrace. There is, indeed, nothing more pitiful or ignominious than virginity that has succumbed to love of money.

Yea, O Christ the Bridegroom, number us with the wise virgins, join us to Thine elect flock, and have mercy on us. Amen.

Apolytikion in Plagal of the Fourth Tone

Behold, the Bridegroom is coming in the middle of the night, and blessed is the servant whom He shall find awake and watching, but unworthy is he whom He shall find idle and careless. Beware, then, my soul, lest thou be weighed down with sleep, lest thou be given up to death and shut out of the Kingdom. But awake and cry: Holy, Holy, Holy, art Thou, O God: through the intercessions of the Forerunner, save us.

Kontakion in the Second Tone

Realizing the hour of reckoning, O my soul, and fearing the cutting down of the fig tree, work diligently with the talent that has been given thee O wretched one. Watch and pray that we may not remain outside the bride chamber of Christ.

Exapostelarion

Thy bridal chamber, O my Saviour, do I behold all adorned, and a garment I have not that I may enter therein. Illumine the garment of my soul, O Giver of Light, and save me.

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Saint Cyril VI, Patriarch of Constantinople (+ April 18, 1821)

St. Cyril the New Hieromartyr of Pythio (Feast Day - April 18 and Sunday of St. Thomas)

The Holy Hieromartyr and Ecumenical Patriarch Cyril was born in Adrianople around 1769. He was enthroned as Metropolitan of Iconium and later transferred to Andrionople. He was Ecumenical Patriarch from 1813 till 1818, at which time he was removed by the Turks. He was exiled to his hometown, where he was martyred by hanging on the Monday of Saint Thomas, 18 April 1821. This was nine days following the martyrdom of Ecumenical Patriarch Gregory V (+ April 10, 1821).

His holy relic was thrown into the Ebro (Iberus) River, but Divine Providence took care to bank it by a tree near the village Pythio. He was buried in this border village in Thrace and thereafter performed miracles to benefit the pious people. In Pythio a church was erected in his honor. His memory is celebrated on April 18, but also celebrates the Sunday after Pascha.

A brief biography of the Saint has been published together with authentic eyewitness testimony about the many miracles done by the him through the grace of his holy relics. A portion of the holy relic was preserved and venerated at the Skete of Saint Demetrios which is under Vatopaidi Monastery on Mount Athos, but today is kept at the Holy Monastery of Vatopaidi, where there is a small silver reliquary with a small piece of the holy relic and an old manuscript that says St. Cyril suffered martyrdom in April 18, 1821.

On June 26, 1988 a chapel to the Saint was founded at the expense of Ms. Lina Kallas-Hajji in memory of her husband and her parents. The tomb of the Saint opened on 11 May 1989, at which time his relics began to give off myrrh that gave off a fragrance throughout Pythio. On September 8, 1991 the church was dedicated. Finally on July 8, 1993 the Holy Synod of Greece ranked the Holy New Hieromartyr Cyril VI, Patriarch of Constantinople, to the List of Saints of the Church.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos

Read more here.

Απολυτίκιον Ήχος α’. Της ερήμου πολίτης.
Βυζαντίου τον θρόνον αρεταίς κατεκόσμησας, Ανδριανουπόλεως θρέμμα, Ιερότατε Κύριλλε· ζηλώσας, γαρ τας τρίβους αθλητών δεινώς αγχόνη ηωρήθης απηνώς και Πυθίου ανεδείχθης πανσθενουργός προστάτης· όθεν κράζομεν· Δόξα τω σε δοξάσαντι Χριστώ, δόξα τω σε κραταιώσαντι, δόξα τω νεοάθλων κοινωνόν σε αναδείξαντι.

Κοντάκιον Ήχος πλ. δ΄. Τη Υπερμάχω.

Τον Πατριάρχην τον φιλόθεον και άριστον οφθέντα πάσιν αθλητήν εγκωμιάσωμεν, Βυζαντίου τον κοσμήτορα και ποιμένα αληθή του εν πικρά δουλεία στένοντος ορθοδόξων δήμου, θείοις μελωδήμασιν ανακράζοντες· Χαίροις, πάντιμε Κύριλλε.

Μεγαλυνάριον

Χαίροις, ο προθύμως αποκτανθείς ως ποιμήν, θεόφρον, Εκκλησίας Χριστού καλός, Κύριλλε τρισμάκαρ, υπέρ του σου ποιμνίου Αγαρηνών προτάσσων την ιταμότητα.

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Andres Serrano's "Piss Christ" Destroyed By Christian Protesters

Photograph of crucifix submerged in urine attacked in French gallery after weeks of protests.

Angelique Chrisafis

April 18, 2011

Guardian.co.uk

The controversial work Piss Christ by the New York photographer Andres Serrano has been destroyed at a gallery in France after weeks of protests.

The photograph, which shows a small crucifix submerged in a glass of the artist's urine, outraged the US religious right in 1987, when it was first shown, with Serrano denounced in the Senate by the Republican Jesse Helms. It was later vandalised in Australia, and neo-Nazis ransacked a show by the artist in Sweden in 2007.

The work has previously been shown without incident in France, but for the past two weeks Catholic groups have campaigned against it, culminating in hundreds of people marching through Avignon on Saturday in protest.

Just after 11am on Sunday, four people in sunglasses entered the gallery where the exhibition was being held. One took a hammer from his sock and threatened security staff. A guard restrained one man but the remaining members of the group managed to smash an acrylic screen and slash the photograph with what police believe was a screwdriver or ice pick. They then destroyed another photograph, of nuns' hands in prayer.

Piss Christ is part of a series by Serrano showing religious objects submerged in fluid such as blood and milk. It was being shown in an exhibition to mark 10 years of the art dealer Yvon Lambert's personal collection in his 18th-century mansion.

Last week the gallery complained of "extremist harassment" by Christians who wanted the image banned. The archbishop of Vaucluse, Jean-Pierre Cattenoz, called the work "odious" and said he wanted "this trash" taken off the gallery walls. Saturday's street protest against the work gained the support of the far-right National Front, which has recently done well in local elections.

Lambert had complained he was being "persecuted" by religious extremists who had sent him tens of thousands of emails. He likened the atmosphere to a return to the middle ages. The gallery stepped up protection, putting Plexiglass in front of Piss Christ and assigning two gallery guards to stand in front of it.

The culture minister, Frédéric Mitterrand, condemned the vandalism as an attack on the fundamental freedoms of creation and expression. A police complaint has been filed by the gallery and the guards.

The gallery's director, Eric Mézil, says he will keep the exhibition open to the public with the destroyed work on show "so people can see what barbarians can do".

The I Believe in Miracles exhibition opened in December and will run until May.

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550 Students Baptized at Saint Mark's In Belgrade

Outside the Cathedral of Saint Mark in Belgrade yesterday, April 17th (Palm Sunday), 550 primary and secondary students were baptized into the Orthodox Christian Church. This marks probably the largest mass baptism in the city of Belgrade.

The baptism is organized by the Commission for Religion of the Archdiocese of Belgrade and Karlovikiou, headed by Bishop Athanasios of Chvosnou, President of the Commission. The service was conducted by Bishop Athanasios along with clergy of the Patriarchate of Serbia.

The Bishop spoke to the students outside the Cathedral where this years marathon is set to begin, saying: "You action is the beginning of a spiritual marathon - a marathon of life in Christ."

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Palm Sunday In Hong Kong

Metropolitan Nektarios of Hong Kong celebrated the Divine Liturgy and first Bridegroom service of Holy Week at Saint Luke the Evangelist Church in Hong Kong. In between service the Metropolitan met with local seminary students of heterodox churches and spoke to them about the Orthodox cycle of Holy Week services.

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Metropolitan Hilarion Conducts Service For Those Re-joining the Church

On Lazarus Saturday Metropolitan Hilarion conducted the rite of joining the Orthodox Church on those who, for a time, fell away from her.

April 16, 2011

Mospat.ru

The Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations Metropolitan Hilarion performed in the Moscow Church of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow" in Ordynka the rite of joining to the Orthodox Church people who, for a time, fell away from her -- going over to sects, schisms and heresy .

54 people wishing to reunite with the Orthodox Church, renounced paganism, sectarian errors and schismatic false teachings swore allegiance to the Church on the Gospel. After that Metropolitan Hilarion placed his omophor on the head of each of the participants.

The archpastor then turned to those present with words of edification:

"Today, by the Providence of God and by His grace you have been reunited with the Holy Church, and henceforth will remain members of the Body of Christ - the Church founded by the Lord. 'The gates of hell shall not prevail against her' (Matt. 16:18), said the Savior.

You know from your own experience what confusion and deception are. The difference between error and truth is the same as that between the devil and God, between darkness and light. Today, all around us there are many false teachers, false prophets, false christs, who present their teachings as true, deceiving people and depriving people of the kingdom of God and the salvation of their souls.

Christ's Church exists on earth in order to lead people to salvation. And today, having returned to that path, you are called to encourage others to be preachers of truth and apostles of Christ. Each of you probably know other people who have not yet freed themselves from the snares of deception and delusion. Based on your own experience, you can tell them how harmful delusion is, and about the saving truth of the Christian faith.

From now on you will be members of the Church. Take care to always grow in the knowledge of the truth: read the Scriptures, the works of the holy fathers, participate in the Church's Sacraments, come regularly for Confession and Holy Communion. Let the Orthodox Church be your home, so that nothing that happens here would be alien to you, so that the temple becomes like family to you, so that you learn and love the divine services.

If thoughts associated with your former way of life come to mind, chase them away as a diabolical obsession. Remember that a person, having entered the path of salvation, should not look back, should not return to old sins, errors, sinful thoughts. Remember, having turned away from false doctrines and misconceptions, you need to stand firm, without hesitating about truth and through your steadfastness and strong faith help others come to salvation, to the Kingdom of Heaven. Amen."

The work with people who had fallen away from Orthodoxy is carried on at the temple in honor of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow", the AS Khomiakov Center of rehabilitating victims of non-traditional religions. Currently, the center is directed by the temple's priest, Eugene Tremaskin. Preparatory instruction of sectarians and schismatics who wish to return to the Church takes several months

As a rule, the rite of joining [the Church] is performed twice a year. Last year it was done on November 21, 2010, and was also headed by Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokalamsk.

Source: See photos here.

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