Panagia Tripiti of Aigio

Among the most beautiful and original religious monuments in Greece is the historic shrine of the "Life-Giving Spring" (Zoodochos Pege) known as "Panagia Tripiti" in Aigio. It is located on the beach of Aigio, built on a steep cliff 30 meters above the sea in a cave ("tripa" in Greek means "hole", in reference to the cave).

Anyone who first visits the shrine is impressed by the beauty of the landscape: high trunk cypresses and shady pines provide a unique and evocative grandeur. A scale of 150 steps connects the Holy Shrine to the public road. There is also a second route from Kyparissona. Once the visitor comes closer to the church, one notices a small cave of 3 meters depth on the cliff with a width of 2 meters and a height of 2 meters. The opening is built with stones and has a small door and window. According to tradition, this was the monastic cell of the Captain/Navigator who found the icon. But if the admiration of the pilgrim from the beauty of the surroundings is great, the more impressed and stunned they will be when entering the church. The marble front of the temple is engraved with the message: "With the Fear of God and Love Draw Near", to remind the pilgrims of the sacredness of the place and the obligation to approach the miraculous icon of the Life-Giving Spring with fear of God, faith and love in their hearts.

In the narthex there is holy water in an artistic marble fountain with a cross shape. Out of the mouths of three carved angels holy water continuously runs into a marble basin. The fountain is carved with the well known inscription (which in Greek can be read the same backward and forward, even in the reflection of the water: "ΝΙΨΟΝ ΑΝΟΝΗΜΑΤΑ ΜΗ ΜΟΝΑ ΝΟΨΙΝ") "Wash Not Only Your Face, But Your Sins", that is, wash yourself clean of all your sins thoroughly with repentance first and not just your face superficially. Then the pilgrim enters the main part of the church, the nave, and the soul opens to the evocative set decoration. Right in the cave is the icon of the Virgin Mary with her sweet face with eyes both lively and full of sympathy that captivate the pilgrim, and with her left hand holding the child Jesus, who blesses with his right hand and holds a scroll in his left.

According to pious tradition - which in the Orthodox Church is credible - in the middle of the sixteenth century, ie around 1550, a navigator of the Corinthian Gulf distinctly saw a light at nighttime indicating how close he was to the shore. This gave him the courage and hope to enlist all his strength to get to the shimmering light. He approached and saw with great surprise that it was the front of an icon of the Virgin Mary which was surrounded by light.

The grace-filled icon of the Virgin Mary was hidden in this rocky cave, unknown till then. This is how the icon of Panagia Tripiti was discovered. The navigator, moved with reverence, knelt and venerated the icon. The next day he told the city authorities of Aigio. Clergy, people, and rulers came to venerate the icon and offer up a Doxology.

The founder of the icon became the first hermit and a servant of the Virgin Mary. He then helped to begin the task of building the church. Initially it was decided to be east of the area where the holy icon was discovered, because the original place was rocky. On the evening of the first day that work began on the building, the rock where the icon had been found quaked and was reshaped for a small church. So people felt that the Panagia "built her house", and the magnificent church of today was built at this location. The main cave in front of the church in which it was built has a depth of 11 meters, width of 7 meters and height of 4 meters. To make the altar area where the holy icon was found, the sanctuary faces southeast and not east according to Orthodox tradition. Over time, the first hermitage evolved to a splendid monastery. The church took its present form in the 19th century. The monumental, renaissance style, exterior marble staircase, which connects the coastal road to the church, was built in 1870 by project engineer Angelo Korizi.

By Royal Decree of 8 May 1933 the feast of Panagia Tripiti was established as an official religious holiday of Aigio. On Bright Friday there was to be a solemn procession of the holy icon. Finally, with the No. 10/16-5-1970 regulation of the Holy Synod of Greece, it was recognized as a "Panhellenic Sacred Shrine" and characterized a Public Entity.

With the proclamation of Panagia Tripiti as a Panhellenic Sacred Shrine, it formalized the devotion of many devout Christians who flocked there for pilgrimage. The many magnificent wonders of the Virgin Mary over the years reveal this sacred place to be a great spiritual center of Panhellenism.

It is very moving to see - on Bright Friday - thousands of Christians from all over Greece - of all ages - to climb the long staircase (150 steps), many on their knees, barefoot, and with tears in their eyes and with gratitude in their hearts as an "offering" to the Virgin, who listened and accepted their plea and released them from any need or illness.

Many are the miracles of the Virgin which have become known through testimonies, letters of the faithful, and publications in the daily press. A faithful replica of the holy icon was produced in the year 1991 and is available to those who desire.










Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos

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Panagia Kefalariotissas of Argos

The Church of Panagia Kefalariotissas (Life-Giving Spring) is located in the village of Kefalari in Argos. According to tradition it was built after 1634, which is about the time the icon of the Panagia was discovered in the cave. It is located just above the source of the Erasinos River, which springs from the bowels of the mountain Chaon where on the steep slope is built the church and next to the entrance are two outlets of a large cave.

Unfortunately, this ancient and historical temple was destroyed on May 18, 1918 after a tremendous explosion of ammunition stored in military depots located near the Cathedral. From this terrible explosion the temple was smoking heap of rubble and only the Holy Altar and the grace of the Panagia were left. The present church was rebuilt and opened in 1928 in place of the destroyed temple by the locals and especially at the expense of the Panargeiakos Association "Danaos" which is located in Atlanta, Georgia.

The feast of Panagia Kefalariotissas is celebrated on Bright Friday in honor of the Life-Giving Spring.

Read more here.

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Saint Basil of Ostrog

St. Basil of Ostrog (Feast Day - April 29)

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

Basil was born in Popova, a village in Hercegovina, of simple and God-fearing parents. From his youth, he was filled with love for the Church of God, and when he reached maturity he entered the Monastery of the Dormition of the Mother of God in Trebinje and there received the monastic tonsure.

As a monk, he quickly became renowned because of his genuine and rare ascetical life. Saint Basil took upon himself mortification upon mortification, each one heavier and more difficult than the last. Later, against his will, he was elected and consecrated bishop of Zahumlje and Skenderia.

As a hierarch, he first lived in the Monastery Tvrdosh and from there, as a good shepherd, strengthened his flock in the Orthodox Faith, protecting them from the cruelty of the Turks and the cunning ways of the Latins. When Basil was exceedingly pressed by his enemies, and when Tvrdosh was destroyed by the Turks, he moved to Ostrog, where he lived an austere ascetical life, protecting his flock by his ceaseless and fervent prayer.(*)

He died peacefully in the Lord in the sixteenth century, leaving behind his incorruptible relics; incorruptible and miracle-working to the present day. The miracles at the grave of St. Basil are without number. Christians and Muslims alike come before his relics and find healing of their most grave illnesses and afflictions. A great pilgrimage of people occurs there annually on the Feast of Pentecost.

(*) A new church was built upon the ruins of the old Tvrdosh Monastery in our day by Nikola Runjevac from the village of Poljica near Trebinje. A wonderful and glorious monumental church (Zaduzbina) before God and before His people.

See also:

St. Basil of Ostrog and U.S. Senator Bill Barr

History of Ostrog Monastery

HYMN OF PRAISE: SAINT BASIL OF OSTROG

Saint Basil, one chosen by God,
And of every affliction, wondrous healer,
With the power of your Christ, Whom you greatly loved,
The gravest of the ill, you were able to heal,
Even now, for anyone who honors you, you are able [to do]
And who firmly believe in the Living God.
O glory of the Serbian people, do not cease to help,
For the sinful, do not cease to pray.
In heavenly glory, you are a saint of God
And saints are men with a full healthy spirit,
In you [Basil] we see a true man,
Free from sin and overly filled with healing,
In whom the fire of the Holy Spirit burns,
In whom the love of the resurrected Christ stands.
To the All-powerful God and to you, we are grateful,
Because through you, God pours out abundant mercy,
Through His saint, glorious and of angelic face -
Basil the Serbian, God's chosen one!

Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
From your youth you gave yourself entirely to the Lord, remaining in prayer, labor and fasting, O God-bearing Father. Because you were an example of virtues and good works to your flock, seeing your good work, God established you as a pastor and good hierarch of His Church. And after your repose, He kept your body incorrupt, O Holy Basil. Therefore, with boldness pray to Christ God to save our souls.

Kontakion in Plagal of the Fourth Tone
Even as a youth, you served the Lord, O Wise one, belaboring your body with prayer and vigil. Because you were shown to be a precious vessel of the Holy Spirit, He established you as a pastor of His Church which you tended well. And as such, you departed to the Lord whom you loved. We pray to you to remember us who keep your memory with faith, that all may shout unto you: Rejoice, O most honorable Basil.

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The Inner Existential Celebration of Christ's Resurrection

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos

Christ's Resurrection should not be celebrated as a historical or social event, but as existential, which means that it should be a participation in the grace of the Resurrection. The fasting which precedes the feast during the whole of Great Lent, the ascetic struggle, aims at the best participation in the mystery of the Resurrection. In order to be successful, however, this requires, as all the Fathers teach, purification of the senses of both body and soul. St. John of Damascus sings: "Let us purify our senses and we shall behold Christ, radiant with the ineffable light of the Resurrection, and shall hear Him saying clearly, 'Rejoice!', as we sing the triumphant hymns!" Thus purification is a necessary condition for vision of God and communion with God. St. Gregory the Theologian says: "Therefore one must be purified, then one must converse in purity."

The purpose of the spiritual life is for one to be united with the Risen Christ, to see Him in one's heart. Christ is risen in our heart, mortifying the passionate thoughts which are present there under the influence of the demons and overcoming the impassioned representations and preoccupations of sin, just as He overcame the seals of the tomb (St. Maximus the Confessor). Therefore it is not a question of an outward symbolic celebration, but of an inner and existential one. In this light St. Gregory the Theologian recommends that we should not celebrate in a festive and worldly manner, but in a godly and heavenly manner.

Participation in the mystery of the Resurrection is an experience of deification. He who has been initiated into the ineffable power of the Resurrection has realized from experience what Christ's purpose was in creating the world (St. Maximus the Confessor). In reality, man was created in order to attain deification, and the world to share in the sanctification through man. Then he who is initiated into this ineffable power of the mystery of the Resurrection attains deification and fulfills the purpose of his existence. Thus he acquires greater knowledge.

The Apostle Paul commends this experience of life, and therefore he writes that we have been buried through holy Baptism with Christ into His death, "that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life" (Rom. 6:4). This rebirth is essential, because otherwise man will die spiritually, according to the words of the Apostle Paul: "For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the flesh and you will live" (Rom. 8:13).

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Serbian Church Mulls Making Patriarch Pavle A Saint

Although many Serbs want to see their former Patriarch canonized as soon possible, the Serbian Orthodox Church says the complex process of declaring people saints must be followed carefully.

Bojana Barlovac
April 28, 2011
Balkan Insight

As the Catholic Church in Rome prepares to beatify the late Pope, John Paul II, on May 1, Serbia's powerful Orthodox Church is readying to turn its own late head, Patriarch Pavle, into a saint.

But nothing is being rushed. "The Church must be very careful when it comes to canonization, so the whole process of choosing and proposing the candidate takes time," a Church source told Balkan Insight.

The first step is to see whether a cult exists around the candidate, the source added.

If there is,the relevant bishops inform the Church's Council with a request to consider the proposal for the person to be declared a saint, the source explained.

Preconditions for being turned into a saint include: a justified reputation for having lived a life of sanctity; a legacy of memories of a trustworthy, godly life; that he was a witness to the faith.

"The entire life of the person who is proposed for sainthood should be checked, as he will be set as an example for believers to look up to," the Church source continued.

Patriarch Pavle died on November 15, 2009. His death united Serbia for a moment, as most Serbs revered him. Pavle spent 19 years at the helm of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The Church, the state and the Serbian people faced huge challenges at the time but Pavle emerged from the era with a high reputation.

He was known for his personal humility and modesty. Many also remember him for a statement he made in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the 1992-5 war: “Budimo ljudi iako smo Srbi”. [“It's more important to be a man than a Serb."]

If the proposal to canonise the Patriarch goes ahead, an icon of the saint must be made. The saint is then proclaimed at a solemn liturgy at which the icon is blessed as well.

After the canonization, the Church informs its brother Orthodox churches of the news in a letter, asking them to add the saint to their own Church calendars.

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Panagia Kamariotissa In Samothraki

In the village of Kamariotissa in Samothraki (Samothrace), at the port of the island in the Church of the Dormition of the Theotokos, is found the icon of Panagia Kamariotissa. It is honored and celebrated annually on the Thursday of Bright Week.

The icon was discovered some time during the days of Iconoclasm on the island on the Thursday of Bright Week that year. It is estimated to have been found in the first or second decade of the ninth century.

One morning some fishermen were gathered in the cove in the northwest of the island where there is the current port, and as they engaged in arranging the nets they saw on the horizon a bright light without seeing anything floating in the sea.

As time passed the light became more intense, and with their growing curiosity and surprise, as they could not explain what the light was they were seeing, it gradually approached them.

It finally occurred to the fisherman to take their boats out to solve the mystery of the light. In one boat there were two men and in the other a man rowed to the light by himself, which was about a half mile away. They followed each other at a short distance. When they reached approximately a hundred fathoms from land they stopped rowing awaiting for the light to approach them.

And this is what happened. The illuminated object came to them and stopped in between the two boats. As they looked closely they saw a sealed canister. The boat with two fishermen took the canister, with one fisherman holding it while the other led them to shore. The other boat followed, full of suspense.

They reached shore, tied their boats, and gathered around the canister curious what treasure it contained. Indeed they found a priceless treasure, when they saw that it contained an icon of the Theotokos holding the child Jesus in her arms. It bore the name "Panagia Kamariotissa".

Great awe and joy seized the fishermen. They glorified the Mother of God and the All-Good God. After venerating the icon they brought it in the middle of the night to their poor homes.

The three boatmen revealed to everyone the circumstance of the discovery, and everyone considered it a miracle. They even related how when their boats stopped in the middle of the sea, it was because their hands became paralyzed and they could not row anymore. The names of the three fishermen, according to tradition, are Paul and his younger brother Raxi, the latter of the two being the one who carried the canister to shore; the third was named Lambros.

That afternoon during lunch they discussed where to house the icon. Instead of it being kept in one of their homes, they decided instead to build a small church forty steps above the area where they found it, since there were ruins of an old church there already. They named it Panagia Kamariotissa and its celebration was done annually on the Thursday of Bright Week. Since then all the people of the island began celebrating "the feast of Kamariotissa".

These fishermen together with the help of others on the island, despite their daily occupations, made it a point to always keep an oil lamp burning before this miraculous icon. In turn many miracles over the centuries have occurred for the inhabitants of the island. The Theotokos has truly become the protectress of the island.


ΑΠΟΛΥΤΙΚΙΟΝ Ήχος πλ. α΄. Τον Συνάναρχον Λόγον
Σεβασμίαν εικόνα της Θεομήτορος, την εν θαλάσση οφθείσαν, την επισκέπτιν ημών, προσκυνούμεν ευλαβώς και ασπαζόμεθα˙ ότι ηυδόκησεν ελθείν, απαλλάξαι των δεινών και χάριτας δωρηθήναι˙ της Σαμοθράκης το κλέος, και των πιστών το αγαλλίαμα.

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Holy Week and Pascha In Colombia

In an atmosphere of Christian brotherly love and solidarity Pascha was celebrated in the small community of Orthodox Christians in the city of Cucuta in Colombia. The young priest of the church, Fr. Timothy Torres, led the Holy Week and the Resurrection services in the small humble Orthodox church. And on Pascha Sunday there were celebrations with the elderly who found a warm hug and hospitality in a small nursing home supported by the Orthodox community.

In this community is proof that acts of love and strength are produced by those who have faith in God, even amidst extreme poverty, social problems, and the weather. It is significant that recently the area was affected by torrential rains and extreme weather events, further complicating the lives of ordinary people.

Source

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The Authenticity of Mark 16:9-20

Modern versions of the New Testament contain the following footnote to Mark 16:9-20:

(NIV) The most reliable early manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not have Mark 16:9-20.

(NASV) Later mss add vv 9-20 & Some of the oldest manuscripts do not contain vv. 9-20

(Amplified) Some of the earliest manuscripts do not contain verses 9-20.

(ESV) Some of the earliest manuscripts do not include 16:9-20. Some manuscripts end the book with 16:8; others include verses 9-20 immediately after verse 8. A few manuscripts insert additional material after verse 14; one Latin manuscript adds after verse 8 the following: But they reported briefly to Peter and those with him all that they had been told. And after this, Jesus himself sent out by means of them, from east to west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation. Other manuscripts include this same wording after verse 8, then continue with verses 9-20.

(HCSB) 16:9-20 Other mss omit bracketed text.

(RSV) Other ancient authorities omit verses 9-20. Some ancient authorities conclude Mark instead with the following; But they reported briefly to Peter and those with him all that they had been told. And after this, Jesus himself sent out by means of them, from east to west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation.

(1881 RV) The two oldest Greek manuscripts, and some other authorities, omit from verse 9 to the end. Some other authorities have a different ending to the Gospel.

(1901 ASV) The two oldest Greek manuscripts, and some other authorities, omit from verse 9 to the end. Some other authorities have a different ending to the Gospel.

(TNIV) The earliest manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have Mark 16:9-20.

Notice the words that these versions use concerning their manuscripts: “authorities,” “witnesses,” “early,” “ancient” and “oldest.” If I were a new Christian, these words, when used so convincingly, would cause me to instantly question as to whether Mark 16:9-20 is really part of the book of Mark.

Yet the evidence that supports these verses are part of the original is more overwhelming than the skepticim presented above. James Snapp, Jr. presents some of the best evidence to support this case and can be read at the links below:

The Authenticity of Mark 16:9-20
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Early Evidence for Mark 16:9-20

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Catholic Cerebral Palsy Child Denied Communion

People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them. -- Mark 10:13-16

One thing that can be assured: incidents like those described below would never happen in an Orthodox Church, where the Sacraments are viewed as Mysteries beyond human understanding, and where human limitations do not limit the grace of God.

Eight-year-old with cerebral palsy denied first communion because he was ‘incapable of understanding what it meant'

April 25, 2011
Daily Mail

A disabled boy was refused his first Holy Communion after a priest decided the child could not understand what it meant, his family have claimed.

Eight-year-old Kevin Castro's family have accused Father Phil Henning, priest at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church of Floresville, Texas, of 'discrimination' after he refused to carry out the ritual.

Instead Father Henning offered to give the the boy the sacrament of the anointing of the sick.

Irma Castro, Kevin's grandmother, said: 'That is the anointing they give you before death. That was very offensive.'

She claims the priest said her grandson, who suffers from cerebral palsy and has a mental age of six months, did not qualify for the Catholic initiation 'because he was not able to understand the meaning of receiving the body of Christ.'

First Communion - the colloquial name for a child's first reception of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist - is an important religious milestone for children raised in Catholic families.

Catholic doctrine says that a child receiving Holy Communion must have 'sufficient knowledge' of Christ, but it doesn't specify what level of knowledge is considered sufficient.

The rite of passage is an important step towards Confirmation, which bestows full membership of the church, and is often accompanied by family gatherings and celebrations.

Deacon Pat Rodgers, from the Archdiocese of San Antonio, said the decision whether to give the sacrament lies with the priest.

'It's never our desire, hope or wish to withhold a sacrament from someone who wants or needs it,' Father Rodgers told KSAT12.

Mrs Castro said after spending months preparing her grandson for his communion the refusal had shaken her faith.

'I hurt for my grandson and my family,' she said.

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(Video) Derren Brown: "Miracles For Sale"

In this documentary which aired last week during Holy Week on British television, skeptic Derren Brown reckons faith healers are just wicked con artists and in his latest stunt, he sets out to show how they're using the same tricks as any stage hypnotist.

To prove the point, he's spent six months training a scuba diving instructor called Nathan to "heal" the sick.

And at the climax of this programme we'll see Nathan get on stage in Dallas, Texas, to attempt to convince an audience that he's the real deal.

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Bright Week Celebrations In Greece

Bright Week, otherwise known as Renewal Week, begins on Pascha (i.e. Easter) Sunday and ends on the following Sunday of Thomas. The name probably originates from the fact that the newly baptized catechumens from Pascha are newly illumined and bright. For them it is a time of regeneration and renewal. These newly baptized in ancient times wore all white for a week, hence the week sometimes being called White Week.

The seven days of Bright Week are seen as one day, a continuous Paschal celebration. According to the 66th canon of the Council in Trullo: "From the holy day of the Resurrection of Christ our God until New Sunday (i.e. Thomas Sunday) for a whole week the faithful in the holy churches should continually be repeating psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, rejoicing and celebrating Christ, and attending to the reading of the Divine Scriptures and delighting in the Holy Mysteries. For in this way shall we be exalted with Christ; raised up together with Him. For this reason on the aforesaid days that by no means there be any horse races or any other public spectacle." Furthermore, because of the continuous paschal celebration, there should be no fasting this week. And as the above canon states, this is a time of renewal for all Orthodox Christians and not just the newly baptized. It is a time for the faithful to bear spiritual fruit and generate new virtues for our own illumination as well.

In the Eastern Roman Empire, especially in Constantinople, this week had special joy and was celebrated with great pomp and splendor. The emperor would call the newly-baptized and the poor to a rich meal, while on Bright Thursday the Patriarch would have an honorary dinner for the clergy. Rich gifts were distributed by the emperor and official visitations were made. Prisoners with light offenses were released as well. These traditions are somewhat carried out today in Greece where state officials visit hospitals and military camps, and military sanctions are lifted.


Pascha Sunday

Today Pascha for the Greek people begins where it originated, on Holy Saturday afternoon at the empty tomb of Jesus known as the Holy Sepulchre in the city of Jerusalem. Every year at this time a great miracle of Orthodoxy takes place when the Patriarch of Jerusalem enters the tomb of Christ in complete darkness and emerges from the tomb moments laters with fire literally sent from heaven. This fire is popularly known as “Holy Fire”, though Orthodox Christians prefer to call it “Holy Light” for its supernatural origin. News of this miraculous event is widely covered in the Greek media, and is increasingly becoming popular news in the West as well. At the ceremony of the Holy Light there is always a delegation from Greece to receive this Holy Light and bring it to Greece with state honors through a special flight. Arriving in Athens it is then distributed on various aeroplanes to bring the Holy Light throughout Greece.

At 11pm on Saturday night pretty much the entire country is in church. The lights are turned off in the churches at midnight as everyone holds candles waiting to be lit. Soon the priest emerges from the darkened altar and announces that Christ has risen from the dead by calling all the faithful to receive the light of the Resurrection. In many places in Greece this light is in fact the Holy Light which was transferred from Jerusalem. Soon an amazing wonder takes place, when it seems the entire country is lit by this Holy Light as one person passes on the flame to another person as they greet one another with “Christ is risen!” and “Truly he has rise!” which will be the primary greeting for the next forty days. Leaving the churches the people carry this flame to their homes for a blessing where they will try to preserve this flame for the next forty days.

During this midnight service as well as on Pascha day many unique events take place in certain areas of Greece. One common theme is that fireworks are set off everywhere making the fourth of July look tame in comparison. Sometimes even dynamite and guns are used to symbolize the utter destruction of death and the powers of evil by Christ’s Resurrection. Probably the most well-known and dangerous firework display takes place in Chios, where two rival churches fire thousands of rockets at each other as part of an annual firework battle. This is a tradition in Chios dating back to 1889 when Turkish soldiers confiscated the cannons of the islanders, so instead they returned fire upon them with homemade rockets. In the town of Asine in Argolida they actually have a street battle with the men of the upper and lower parts of the village hurling insults and fireworks at each other. In southern Messenia people go to the main squares to watch the saetapolemos, which are rockets without sticks that the men hold while the force of the explosions makes them jump as if they are dancing. This practice supposedly goes back to the War of Independence when people of the area fashioned this home-made bombs to scare the horses of the Turks to force their riders to dismount and lose their advantage. In Corfu ceramic pots are thrown out of windows symbolizing the throwing out of evil. The people of Leonidio in Peloponnesos fill the sky with hot air balloons released by the faithful of each parish. In Thrace and Macedonia young women in traditional clothing called the Lazarins go around the villages singing traditional Paschal songs.

The Burning of Judas is a folk custom done in various places throughout Greece and other places. It is typically performed after the midnight service on Pascha Sunday, though sometimes done on Good Friday or Pascha Sunday afternoon after the Agape service. During this ceremony the people gather around a bonfire as an effigy of Judas is consumed to the accompaniment of roaring cheers, exploding firecrackers, and the occasional burst of gunfire. Some of the more popular Judas burnings take place in Chania and Loutro in Crete, as well as Kalymnos and Sifnos. It also takes place in Monemvasia, Rhodes, Hydra, Halkidiki, Koroni, and Leros. In Syros and Karpathos people bring their guns and shoot Judas as a scapegoat for society's ills.

The Paschal feast after the midnight service, which officially ends the 48-day fast of Great Lent and Holy Week, consists primarily of red eggs, richly scented breads and magiritsa. The red eggs, which were painted on Holy Thursday, are brought out and each person takes one and hits their end against someone else's until the last person who has an un-cracked egg is considered the lucky person for the year. Magiritsa is a variety of chopped and sautéed animal innards (mainly lamb), with herbs and spices and avgolemono (egg and lemon soup). During the day another larger feast takes place which features the famous paschal lamb roasted on a spit. In some villages the priest will go from house to house and bless the roasted lamb of the people. After the meal in certain areas people will attach swings to a tree and swing, while others may go out and pick flowers and form wreaths. There seem to be as many varied traditions on this day in Greece as there are towns and villages.


Bright Monday

In many parts of Greece the festivities of Pascha continue into Monday, with more feasts and dances. Some on this day will visit dead relatives and friends and leave red eggs on their graves praying for them a good resurrection. In Giannitsa of Pella and other areas the people will swing on this day. It is believed that riding a swing is good for one's health and an abundant harvest.

Often it happens that the feast of St. George the Great Martyr falls during Great Lent or Holy Week on April 23rd. Because no feasting is allowed on these days, the feast will be transferred to Bright Monday. St. George is very popular in Greece and churches everywhere are named after him, so many celebrations will take place on Bright Monday in his honor. In Mikropoli of Drama an event called "Celebration of God" (Γιορτή του Θεού) takes place at the Chapel of St. George with a dinner there.

On Bright Monday some monasteries on Mount Athos and Karyes hold litanies with their miraculous icons and holy relics. The others do this on Bright Tuesday. The most notable takes place with the icon of the Panagia of Axion Estin which departs Karyes and goes to all the surrounding monasteries, sketes and cells until it returns to Karyes on Bright Tuesday.

Bright Tuesday

Places like Pilios, Lesvos and Samos save riding on swings for this day. The dancing and festivities will continue today in many areas of Greece, as it will throughout the week. In Kalyvia Limenaria of Thassos Bright Tuesday is called "For Rain In April" (Για βρέξ΄ Απρίλη μ΄). It is an ancient custom to pray for spring rain. Residents of the community and visitors celebrate with folk dances and large pots of rice cooked with meat that is distributed to everyone. On the same day in Ierissos of Halkidiki there is the tradition called in Greek "Του μαύρου νιου τ΄ αλώνι" or "the black threshing floor". This is a dance that takes place in honor of Greeks killed by Turks in the area in 1821.

Many Saints who could not be celebrated properly over the past few weeks during Great Lent and Holy Week are celebrated throughout Bright Week and especially on Bright Tuesday. In 1680 on Pascha Sunday after the midnight service in Ntaou Penteli Monastery outside Athens, 179 monks were slaughtered by pirates and secretly were buried under the floor of the main church. It wasn’t until 1963 that the incorrupt relics of these holy martyrs were discovered in a miraculous way, and since then their feast is celebrated on Bright Tuesday. In 1904 the relics of St. Patapios of Thebes were revealed in his monastery in Thebes in a miraculous fashion, and since then the discovery of his relics are celebrated in Thebes on Bright Tuesday. On April 18, 1826 the Turks were devising a slaughter of the Christians in Herakleion, Crete on the feast of Pascha in the Church of Saint Menas. As the gospel was being read proclaiming the Resurrection Feast suddenly a gray haired man appeared and began running around the church holding a sword, and the faithful saw him chase away the Turks who were devising the slaughter. The people recognized this man to be St. Menas and every year since then this feast is celebrated on Bright Tuesday in Crete.

Probably the most famous feast on Bright Tuesday takes place in Mytilene at the Monastery of Sts. Raphael, Nicholas and Irene. For centuries the people of Lesvos would go on Bright Tuesday to the ruins of a monastery near Thermi, a village northwest of the capital, Mytilene. As time passed, however, no one could remember the reason for the annual pilgrimage. There was a vague recollection that once there had been a monastery on that spot, and that the monks had been killed by the Turks. It was not until 1959 that Sts. Raphael, Nicholas and Irene started appearing in dreams and visions to the residents near Thermi revealing to them their identity as well as the location of their relics. Since then this monastery has become one of the most popular pilgrimage destination for Orthodox Christians in the world and they are celebrated especially on Bright Tuesday.


Bright Wednsday

On Bright Wednesday in the Municipal District of Eleutheron west of Kavala there is an emotional and reverent custom called "Mazidia" (Μαζίδια) that takes place dating back to Ottoman times. The faithful process with icons from the Byzantine Church of the Archangels, which is the oldest church in the region of Mazidia, to the picturesque Church of Sts. Raphael, Nicholas and Irene.

There is a blessing of artoklasia and holy water with prayers to the Risen Christ to bless the crops for a fruitful season. After venerating the icons, the procession returns to the Church of the Archangels.

Then the big feast begins in the village square. The dancing begins with the priest leading followed by the villagers. This is a tradition that goes prior to Ottoman times.

Bright Thursday

On Bright Thursday in Kalis Vrysis of Drama the icon of the Resurrection of Christ is processed around the farming areas to protect the village from all evil, especially from the extremely dangerous hail storms that could devastate the spring crop.

In Samothraki a festival is celebrated on Bright Thursday in honor of the miraculous discovery of the icon of Panagia Kamariotissa.


Bright Friday

Many churches throughout Greece are dedicated to the Virgin Mary of the Life-Giving Spring (Zoodochos Pege). Bright Friday is primarily set aside for this feast with the blessing of waters and processions that end in dances. In places like Larissa, Aigio, Argolida, Rhodes, Naxos, Kerkyra and Telendou special feasts take place in the churches dedicated to the Life-Giving Spring.

Bright Saturday

The Holy Doors in the iconostasis, which have remained open all of Bright Week are closed on this day before the beginning of the Ninth Hour. The Vespers (or All-Night Vigil, depending upon local usage) on Saturday night is chanted in the normal manner, rather than the Paschal manner. However, the Paschal troparion "Christ is risen..." is read (or chanted, if a Vigil) three times at the beginning. That Vespers is the beginning of Thomas Sunday.

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12 Historical Facts Most Critical Scholars Believe Supporting the Resurrection

In 2000 I attended a debate in Charlotte, North Carolina between Dr. Gary Habermas, a professor of mine at the time, and Dr. Anthony Flew, who was a famous atheist at the time but soon after this debate converted to theism. The twelve historical facts below were presented at this debate. Read here for more details about this.

1. Jesus died by crucifixion.

2. He was buried.

3. His death caused the disciples to despair and lose hope.

4. The tomb was empty (the most contested).

5. The disciples had experiences which they believed were literal appearances of the risen Jesus (the most important proof).

6. The disciples were transformed from doubters to bold proclaimers.

7. The resurrection was the central message.

8. They preached the message of Jesus’ resurrection in Jerusalem.

9. The Church was born and grew.

10. Orthodox Jews who believed in Christ made Sunday their primary day of worship.

11. James was converted to the faith when he saw the resurrected Jesus (James was a family skeptic).

12. Paul was converted to the faith (Paul was an outsider skeptic).

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A Case For Hell

Ross Douthat
April 24, 2011
The New York Times

Here’s a revealing snapshot of religion in America. On Easter Sunday, two of the top three books on Amazon.com’s Religion and Spirituality best-seller list mapped the geography of the afterlife. One was “Heaven Is for Real: A Little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back,” an account of a 4-year-old’s near-death experience as dictated to his pastor father. The other was “Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived,” in which the evangelical preacher Rob Bell argues that hell might not exist.

The publishing industry knows its audience. Even in our supposedly disenchanted age, large majorities of Americans believe in God and heaven, miracles and prayer. But belief in hell lags well behind, and the fear of damnation seems to have evaporated. Near-death stories are reliable sellers: There’s another book about a child’s return from paradise, “The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven,” just a little further down the Amazon rankings. But you’ll search the best-seller list in vain for “The Investment Banker Who Came Back From Hell.”

In part, hell’s weakening grip on the religious imagination is a consequence of growing pluralism. Bell’s book begins with a provocative question: Are Christians required to believe that Gandhi is in hell for being Hindu? The mahatma is a distinctive case, but swap in “my Hindu/Jewish/Buddhist neighbor” for Gandhi, and you can see why many religious Americans find the idea of eternal punishment for wrong belief increasingly unpalatable.

But the more important factor in hell’s eclipse, perhaps, is a peculiar paradox of modernity. As our lives have grown longer and more comfortable, our sense of outrage at human suffering — its scope, and its apparent randomness — has grown sharper as well. The argument that a good deity couldn’t have made a world so rife with cruelty is a staple of atheist polemic, and every natural disaster inspires a round of soul-searching over how to reconcile with God’s omnipotence with human anguish.

These debates ensure that earthly infernos get all the press. Hell means the Holocaust, the suffering in Haiti, and all the ordinary “hellmouths” (in the novelist Norman Rush’s resonant phrase) that can open up beneath our feet. And if it’s hard for the modern mind to understand why a good God would allow such misery on a temporal scale, imagining one who allows eternal suffering seems not only offensive but absurd.

Doing away with hell, then, is a natural way for pastors and theologians to make their God seem more humane. The problem is that this move also threatens to make human life less fully human.

Atheists have license to scoff at damnation, but to believe in God and not in hell is ultimately to disbelieve in the reality of human choices. If there’s no possibility of saying no to paradise then none of our no’s have any real meaning either. They’re like home runs or strikeouts in a children’s game where nobody’s keeping score.

In this sense, a doctrine of universal salvation turns out to be as deterministic as the more strident forms of scientific materialism. Instead of making us prisoners of our glands and genes, it makes us prisoners of God himself. We can check out any time we want, but we can never really leave.

The doctrine of hell, by contrast, assumes that our choices are real, and, indeed, that we are the choices that we make. The miser can become his greed, the murderer can lose himself inside his violence, and their freedom to turn and be forgiven is inseparable from their freedom not to do so.

As Anthony Esolen writes, in the introduction to his translation of Dante’s “Inferno,” the idea of hell is crucial to Western humanism. It’s a way of asserting that “things have meaning” — that earthly life is more than just a series of unimportant events, and that “the use of one man’s free will, at one moment, can mean life or death ... salvation or damnation.”

If there’s a modern-day analogue to the “Inferno,” a work of art that illustrates the humanist case for hell, it’s David Chase’s “The Sopranos.” The HBO hit is a portrait of damnation freely chosen: Chase made audiences love Tony Soprano, and then made us watch as the mob boss traveled so deep into iniquity — refusing every opportunity to turn back — that it was hard to imagine him ever coming out. “The Sopranos” never suggested that Tony was beyond forgiveness. But, by the end, it suggested that he was beyond ever genuinely asking for it.

Is Gandhi in hell? It’s a question that should puncture religious chauvinism and unsettle fundamentalists of every stripe. But there’s a question that should be asked in turn: Is Tony Soprano really in heaven? 

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Synaxis of All Saints of Mount Sinai

On Bright Wednesday we commemorate the holy monastic Fathers who have shone forth on the God-trodden Mount Sinai. This commemoration was established by the Church of Russia on April 17, 1997.

The Sinai desert, rich in important shrines, has proved to be fruitful in its anchorites. Unceasing noetic prayer strengthens the anchorites’ spiritual struggle, while participation in common prayer and worship transforms the desert into a spiritual meadow.

In addition to Saint Catherine, whose relics were translated to Sinai, there have flourished numerous elders, martyrs, teachers. These include the righteous martyrs Galakteon and Episteme, and the ascetics Nilus, John Climacus, Hesychius, Philotheus, and the two saints named Anastasius. Saint Symeon Pentaglossos helped establish the veneration of Saint Catherine in the West, while Saint Gregory of Sinai transplanted the traditions of noetic prayer to the Slavic peoples.

The list of Sinai saints includes figures from both the Old and New Testaments, martyrs, and righteous ascetics, who have been revealed as emblems of sanctity. A total of 181 saints are recognized, and their memories celebrated, in the cycle of daily services. The Wednesday after Pascha has been established as the feast day of All Saints of Sinai, in which mention is made of these by name. This also forms the occasion for the celebration of all those whose names are known only to God.

Read also:

St. Anastasios of Sinai: Concerning the Holy Fathers in Sinai

Official Website For Sinai Monastery

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The Kasperov Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos

Tradition says that this holy icon had been brought to Cherson from Transylvania by a Serb at the end of the sixteenth century. Passing down from parent and child, the icon had come to a certain Mrs. Kasperova of Cherson in 1809.

One night in February of 1840 she was praying, seeking consolation in her many sorrows. Looking at the icon of the Virgin, she noticed that the features of the icon, darkened by age, had suddenly become bright. Soon the icon was glorified by many miracles, and people regarded it as wonder-working.

During the Crimean War (1853-1856), the icon was carried in procession through the city of Odessa, which was besieged by enemy forces. On Great and Holy Friday, the city was spared. Since that time, an Akathist has been served before the icon in the Dormition Cathedral of Odessa every Friday.

The icon is painted with oils on a canvas mounted on wood. The Mother of God holds Her Son on her left arm. The Child is holding a scroll. St John the Baptist (Janurary 7) is depicted on one side of the icon, and St Tatiana (January 12) on the other. These were probably the patron saints of the original owners of the icon.

The Kasperov Icon is commemorated on October 1, June 29, and Bright Wednesday.

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Saint Symeon the Martyr, Bishop of Jerusalem

St. Symeon the Brother of our Lord (Feast Day - April 27)

According to Eusebius (Church History, Book III, ch. 11), Saint Symeon is said to have been the son of Cleopas, otherwise called Alpheus, who was father also of Saint James the Lesser, of Saint Jude the Apostle, and of another son named Joseph. Alpheus, according to tradition, was Saint Joseph’s brother; thus Saint Symeon was the nephew of Saint Joseph and the cousin of our Savior.

However, Symeon is sometimes identified with Symeon, the "brother of the Lord", who is mentioned in passing in the Bible (Matthew 13:55, Mark 6:3) (although Aramaic had no term for "cousin") and pointing to Hegesippus referring to him as the "second cousin" as bishop of Jerusalem. James the Brother of our Lord was the first bishop of Jerusalem. Other exegetes consider the brothers to be actual brothers and Hegesippus' wording as subsuming both James and Symeon under a more general term.

We cannot doubt but that he was an early follower of Christ; tradition assigns the family’s residence to Nazareth. He certainly received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, with the Blessed Virgin and the Apostles. When the Jews massacred Saint James the Brother of our Lord, his brother Symeon reproached them for their atrocious cruelty. After this first bishop of Jerusalem had been put to death in the year 62, that is, twenty-nine years after Our Savior’s Resurrection, the Apostles and disciples met at Jerusalem to appoint a successor, and unanimously chose Saint Symeon, who had probably already assisted his brother in the government of that Church.

In the year 66 or 67, during which Saints Peter and Paul suffered martyrdom at Rome, civil war broke out in Judea as a result of the hostility of the Jews against the Romans and their seditions. The Christians of Jerusalem were warned by God of the impending destruction of that city. With Saint Symeon at their head, they therefore left it in that year and retired beyond the Jordan to a small city called Pella, before Vespasian, Nero’s General, later Roman Emperor, entered Judea. After the taking and burning of Jerusalem they returned there once more, still under the leadership of Saint Symeon, and settled amid its ruins.

The Jerusalem church flourished again for a few years until razed by Adrian, and multitudes of Jews were converted by the great number of prodigies and miracles wrought in its midst. The emperors Vespasian and Domitian had commanded all to be put to death who were of the race of David; but Saint Symeon escaped their searches. When Trajan renewed the same decree, however, certain heretics and Jews accused the Saint before the Roman governor in Palestine, as being both of the race of David and a Christian.

The holy bishop was condemned to be crucified. He died in the year 107, after having undergone during several days the usual tortures, though he was one hundred and twenty years old. He suffered these torments with so much patience that he won universal admiration. He had governed the Church of Jerusalem for about forty-three years.

HYMN OF PRAISE: THE HOLY APOSTLE SYMEON

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

Symeon, glistening with youth and strength,
When he, the good Teacher approached
Saw not a relative, known to him according to the flesh
But, the unknown God in bodily form;
And the entire world became dark to him from this great light,
When he came to himself, with the world He parted
And as a powerful eagle in lofty flight
Toward heaven and the heavenly world, he raises his spirit.
He, through Christ, recognized the goodness of God,
And immortal life and immortal beauty
Yet through Christ, True Man he recognized,
That is why he scorns glory and the honor of this age;
As a honey bee, he devoted himself to labor,
Not grieving over youth, not grieving over the body,
But, to the end to fulfill the law of Christ
And to become worthy of Paradise divine.
And crucified on the Cross, the elder centenarian,
Did not feel the deadly sting,
For with the spirit, long ago he resurrected,
Now waits with the body to resurrect gloriously.

Apolytikion in the First Tone
We sacredly acclaim thee as Jesus Christ's kinsman, and as His steadfast Martyr, O all-lauded Hierarch. For bravely hast thou destroyed all deception and kept the faith. Hence, O Symeon, we keep thy holy remembrance on this festive day; and by thy prayers, we are granted the pardon of grievous sins.

Kontakion in the Second Tone
Since the church hath Symeon, the God-proclaimer, as a great and shining star, she is now guided by his light as she doth cry out in joy today: Rejoice, O ven'rable summit of martyred Saints.

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Video: Pascha At Optina Monastery 2011

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The Truth and Power of the Resurrection

By St. Theophan the Recluse

The mind can prove the truth of the Resurrection through reason based on the scriptures, and a non-believer cannot but admit the power of its arguments, as long as a sense of truth is not yet dead in him. A believer does not need proof, because the Church of God is filled with the light of the Resurrection. Both of these indicators of truth are faithful and convincing. But counter-reasoning can spring up and contradict mind’s reason, and faith can be trampled and shaken by perplexities and doubts, coming from without and arising within.

Is there no invincible wall around the truth of the Resurrection? There is. It will occur when the power of the Resurrection, received already at baptism, begins to actively be revealed as it purges the corruption of soul and body, and establishes within them the beginnings of a new life. He who experiences this will walk in the light of the Resurrection, and anyone talking against the truth of the Resurrection will seem to him insane, like a person saying in the daytime that it is night.

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