MYSTAGOGY: May 2011

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

The Division Between Theologians and Non-Theologians

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos

We divide people into theologians and non-theologians. We consider that theologians are those who possess some intellectual knowledge, and we think that theology is a speciality of some people who are studying scientifically the history of the Church. Without excluding the possibility that this too may be one distinction between students and teachers, we must say that theology is chiefly life, experience, and that theologians, according to the teaching of the Church, are essentially those who see God.

St. Gregory the Theologian says that theologians are "those who have been examined and are passed masters in the vision of God", which is to say those who have been tested and purified and, as a result, reached deification. Likewise, according to St. Neilos, a theologian is one who prays. Therefore theologians are those who experience the purifying, especially the illuminating and deifying energy of God.

Thus one person can have completed theological school, taught theology, and yet not know experientially what theology is. And another person can be mentally illiterate, but have developed his noetic energy to the extreme, and be a real theologian. On the Holy Mountain one can meet such people, who are able to interpret and analyze the teaching of the holy Fathers of the Church.

The Myth of a Postmodern Era

By Mark Sayers

For the last ten to fifteen years a great fallacy has clouded debate around the future of the Church in the West. The fallacy goes something like this. At some stage (depending on who you talk to), but most likely in the nineteen nineties the post modern era began. All of a sudden everything changed and a line was drawn in history. On one side were the postmodernists and on the other the modernists. The modernists were enslaved to a highly cerebral, hegemonic view of the world. They were obsessed with progress and holding the world at a cold calculated distance. They were beholden to technology, and if they were religious were either dogmatic fundamentalists or materialist liberals. They hated anything non-Western or from the past, and lived in Le Corbusier designed buildings where they almost suffocated on their own sense of hubris.

Then there was the postmodernists and apparently they were coming so we had to be ready, or had to become postmodern ourselves. The young were postmodern and the future was postmodern. The postmodernists were everything that the modernists were not, they loved spirituality instead of religion, were embracing of the non-West, the past, and anything experiential. They had piercings and hated objective truth. The implications were clear, soon Western culture would morph into a giant rave where we would find ourselves dancing to tribal techno with an dreadlocked Austrian backpacker/Yoga practitioner named Helga.

Read the rest here.

An Emotional Sharon Stone Meets the Patriarch of Georgia

June 6, 2011

Sharon Stone arrived in Tbilisi on Saturday to attend the premiere of the Renny Harlin film 5 Days in August about the Russian-Georgian war of 2008 and a charity event to raise funds for the families of war victims. The Hollywood actress was with Andy Garcia and other cast members.

She arrived at the Presidential Palace as Mikheil Saakashvili was showing members of the US Congress the panorama of the city. The film star took some photos of Tbilisi and was given a guided tour of the presidential residence by Saakashvili.

On Sunday Georgian Catholicos Patriarch Ilia II received the famous actress at the patriarchate in Tbilisi.

The actress listened to the musical compositions by the Georgian patriarch and inspected icons. The patriarch also talked about the art with the actress.

Later, Ilia II led Stone to the Winter Garden and showed her the plants.

After the meeting, the Georgian Patriarch gave a present of an icon of the Virgin Mary to Stone.

Sharon Stone also saw the city`s sights like Metekhi Church built in the 13th century and Anchiskhati Basilica of the Virgin Mary, the oldest surviving church in Tbilisi, which dates from the sixth century.

See video here.

Metropolitan of Patras: Keep the Traditions, Or We Will Be Lost!

During the Festal Great Vespers in honor of St. Cyril of Alexandria for his feast, on 8 June 2011 in the Chapel of the Prophet Elias in the Metropolis building of Kyfisia, whose Metropolitan celebrates his first name day as a hierarch, many gathered to celebrate. Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Patras spoke the following words to all in attendance:

All the Fathers, the Saints, the Righteous and the Neomartyrs of our Holy Church struggled for the Holy Faith, and for the truth that there is one God.

My Christian brethren, keep the traditions, and listen to the Fathers who taught these truths. During these difficult times in which we live, times of naivete concerning God and man, we are in spiritual slavery.

If we do not remain faithful to the traditions, to our faith, and whatever we received from our Holy Fathers, we all will be lost as a heritage, as a nation, as a people, and as a community.

This road is a single lane, and we are obligated to not turn from it or we will be destroyed. We must follow this road if we wish to be saved...."

Source

Orthodox Christianity In Kosovo Lives In Constant Fear!

PRESS RELEASE

THE DECANI MONASTERY RELEF FUND

ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY IN KOSOVO LIVES IN CONSTANT FEAR!

Please share with others...

Beloved in our Risen Lord,

CHRIST IS RISEN!

Humbly I greet you with the Radiant Joy of our Lord's Holy Resurrection and I pray all is well with you!

All is well in Kosovo/Metohija is not the situation at this time! We who live in our own economic struggles and woes all at times have to make sacrifices but in the end we always endure! Our Lord God takes care of us all with His love, and He will as well take care of those currently who are living in constant fear in Kosovo!

The fear is that it has been told that Serbian Orthodox Christians are not allowed to return to Kosovo/Metohija! Every Serb perceived the event as a warning against their return! Why? Kosovo is after all still the region of Serbia and every citizen has the right to live in their own land. Every Serbian has the right to live as free people, and they should have the privilege and the honor to live on their land! The independent ideals are to completely get rid of every Serb citizen which well includes other majorities. No Serb will fall to their knees nor be persuaded to leave the region! Serbian citizens have rights and the ideals of human dignity!

That not one Serbian has the right to live in their own land? Orthodox Christianity now lives in constant fear in Kosovo!

That not one Serbian has the right to plow their fields without living in constant fear! Orthodox Christianity now lives in constant fear in Kosovo!

That not one Serbian has the right to practice their Holy Orthodox Faith? That the reconstruction of the Orthodox Church's and monasteries cannot be rebuilt out of constant fear as we know that more and I humbly repeat more then 153 of these churches and monasteries have been destroyed, and less then five have been somewhat repaired? Those who destroyed these churches and monastery should offer assistance to rebuilt and to stop destroying that which is sacred and holy to the Orthodox Church! Orthodox Christianity now lives in constant fear in Kosovo!

That the Serbian Orthodox Christians who are burying the repose in the Lord are in constant fear as of late their cemeteries have been vandalized. I myself have witnessed empty graves in which their lies no more bodies to rest in peace. My goodness we persecute the living and we seem to think persecuting the dead is the norm of the day? This type of act even against Serbian Orthodox cemeteries and the dead should cease at this hour. Orthodox Christianity now lives in constant fear in Kosovo!

How can anyone ever forget that that St. Sava who is very much revered as a saint even up until this day that his bones where burned in Belgrade and this day is commemorated in the Orthodox Church .

That the Serbian Orthodox Church's and monasteries are now not living under Peace Keeping Troops as in the past, and discussions are that the local police will now offer protection? No one will trust that the police will protect anyone and anything that is labeled Serbian! Where are the police now as just before Holy Pascha-Easter of this year, a land mine was discovered in a Serbian Orthodox cemetery in Kosovo. According to a 2010 U.N. Mission in Kosovo report.

These constant hate crimes against the Serbs in Kosovo and other minorities should cease at this time, and that all citizens in the region should have the right to live as free people!

As Orthodox Christians let us offer our humble prayers for those who continue to struggle and suffer from constant persecution in Kosovo/Metohija and appeal that these hate crimes cease at this time -as we have seen enough since March 1998! This is a time for talks and understanding of one another, as these are not the times to destroy or bring further humanitarian sufferings among each other!

Let us humbly stop defacing one another and leave the dead in peace, as well as that which is sacred to all Orthodox Christians around the world their Church's and monasteries, and every Orthodox Christian who lives in Kosovo/Metohija!

Please let us help those in desperate need in Kosovo/Metohija as the Decani Monastery Relief Fund still exist and still prays to offer some help and consolation of our loving kindness.

Send your donations to the following address:

THE DECANI MONASTERY RELIEF FUND
C/O Very Reverend Archimandrite Nektarios Serfes
2618 West Bannock Street
Boise, Idaho 83702

Cell phone: 208-860-2479

The Decani Monastery Relief Fund is now on facebook: The Decani Monastery Relief Fund

Thank you most humbly!

May our Risen Lord always bless you with His Radiant peace and joy!
Peace to your soul!

Humbly in Our Risen Lord,

+ Very Reverend Archimandrite Nektarios Serfes

President of The Decani Monastery Relief Fund

Who prays for you and with you!

I have run to the fragrance of your myrrh,
O Christ God, for I have been wounded by your love;
do not part from me, O heavenly Bridegroom.

- "Wounded by Love: The Life and The Wisdom of Elder Porphyrios"

From the Sacred Ascension To Holy Pentecost

The Purified Heart as a Foundation for the Mystical Ladder: Prayer, Confession, and Deification

1. “Purify your hearts...”

LET US GATHER once again, all ye assemblies of those who love God, Christ, and the Comforter!

The deifying Grace of the Holy Trinity calls us, today, to the upper chamber of Pentecost: to a sacred banquet!

And it enlightens the Holy Fathers to remind us that there is a sacred order:

“that the nous (mind) be led from the Spirit to the Son, and, through the Son, be led to the Father”;1

and a mystical ladder:

“Every provision of the good things that is made unto us proceeds through the Son in the Spirit.”2

Now, after the glorious and God-befitting Ascension, we see Christ our Savior “going into Heaven,” and sitting “on the right hand of God; Angels and Authorities and Powers” and all of the Bodiless Ones “being made subject unto him.”3

How, one wonders, can our nous ascend to such a height? And how will “the provision of good things” descend into our hearts?

Let us listen to the Divinely-inspired Holy Apostle James:

“Purify your hearts, ye double-minded”!4

The mystical ladder must have our purified hearts as its unshakeable foundation; such is the beginning and root of all external actions worked by the body. From the heart, our Lord
assured us, spring forth all of the things that render man truly impure:

“Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: these are the things which defile a man.”5

And how, O holy brother in Christ, will we, the fainthearted and “double-minded” Christians, be purified?

“Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep”!6

“Be afflicted,” O ye Christians!” the Hesychast and new light of Athos explains; “that is to say, willingly suffer hardship and choose to walk the strait and narrow path of virtue”; “‘mourn and weep,’ because mourning and godly sorrow, and especially lamentation and tears, greatly aid man to cleanse the defilement of his heart and to receive forgiveness for his sins.”7

Holy Fathers, what else is needed to accompany blessed affliction and mourning?

“Cleansing the heart, also,” continues the saintly Nicodemos, “is the continuous meditation in the heart of the prayer, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me,’ with moderate retention of the breath; for that warmth that is engendered by the action of the holy Prayer consumes and burns up the impurities of the heart.”8

Yes! What is required is this sacred “warmth,” which the Comforter kindles in our hearts when we zealously seek, by means of the Jesus Prayer, “the Kingdom of God which is within us.”

“A warmth is generated in the heart through this meditation,” the chief of the Hesychasts, St. Gregory Palamas, assures us, “which wards off evil thoughts like flies; and produces spiritual peace and solace in the soul; and grants sanctification to the body, according to the one who said: ‘My heart grew hot within me, and a fire was kindled in my meditation.’”9

Moreover, the godly-voiced Prophet Isaiah encourages us in this saving activity of the purification of the heart:

“Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts”!10

God is sanctified, glorified, and worshiped primarily and truly within our clean and purified hearts, from which, by his Name, are expelled thoughts that are proud and blasphemous, wicked and full of hatred for one’s brother, shameful and impure.

2. “Bringing into captivity every thought...”

OUR Lord ascended, “gone into Heaven”11 and all of the Heavenly Powers have submitted themselves unto Him.

And our hearts, in order to be raised, to become aerial and heavenly, and to become fellow-citizens of the luminous Angels, must first and foremost bring into captivity “every thought to the obedience of God.”12

O Divine Apostle James, how can we, the fainthearted and “double-minded,” achieve the unachievable?

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you”!13

And you, Paul, who was raised to the heavens, do you perhaps agree?

“Neither give place to the Devil”!14

Yes! The Lord grants His Grace and strength to the humble, who unquestioningly submit themselves to His Will. With It, the sovereign and imperial nous valiantly withstands and battles against the Devil when he attacks us and tyrannically attempts to enter into our hearts, with blasphemous, wicked, and impure thoughts as his means of conveyance.

Watchfulness and prayer are needed, such that we do not give place in our heart—that is, that we do not open it—to the Devil, or yield ground for coupling, communion, and consent to thoughts.

When the cunning snake, the Devil, finds a gap or entrance way, he first inserts his head and then draws in his entire body—that is, the whole of his impure energy, and he completely dominates us. Then, the evil thoughts become strongholds, high things, and errors, which deprive us of the unerring knowledge of Jesus Christ.

The holy Ecclesiastes makes us take heed:

“If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place”!15

But do not lose heart! says the spirit-bearing Paul, bolstering us. The struggle is certainly great and unequal, but “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” 16

And what else, O Saints of God, must we add to this valiant resistance, such that the Devil take flight, his strongholds and high things be pulled down, and that we might take captive and submit “demonic conceptions to obedience and the unerring knowledge of Jesus Christ”?

“If you become accustomed,” says the God-bearing Nicodemos, “to meditating in your heart the short prayer:

‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me,’ as the Holy Fathers, who are called ‘Neptic,’ instruct us, the holy and fearsome Name of Jesus, being meditated, becomes like a knife and scourge, scourging the Devil, and it expels him and the demons with him from the heart.”17

3. “Whosoever shall confess...”

BELOVED Apostle of our Lord, how will we know that the “provision of good things” has descended from the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit, into our hearts?

“Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit.”18

The Holy Spirit descends from the mystical ladder and dwells in our purified hearts; with Him dwell and abide also the Father and the Son.

Wherever one Hypostasis of the Trinity is present,” says the hierophant Chrysostomos, “all of the Trinity is present.” 19 “The Holy and Blessed Trinity is indivisible and united within Itself,” continues St. Athanasios, the luminary of Alexandria, “and when one speaks of the Father, His Word is present with Him, and the Spirit Who is in the Son” ; for the Grace is one, from the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit.”20

When we received Holy Baptism, “born of God,”21 the seed of the Grace of the Holy Spirit came to dwell deep within the soil of our hearts, where, continuously increasing, it guides us “unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”22 This seed of Grace, even when deeply buried by our voluntary sins, yet never dies or completely disappears; rather, as the Godbearing Nicodemos teaches us,

“it is like the spark of fire buried in hot ashes; neither did it leave us completely, but is within us, awaiting our repentance—that is, that we first cleanse our hearts of the passions, which are the ashes that cover that spark of Grace of the Holy Spirit. And, having cleansed our hearts and found the hidden spark of Grace, we apply the virtues onto it like wood, and blowing upon it with manful alacrity, we shall light the fire: that is, we shall more purely and sensibly come to know the energy and strength of the Divine Grace dwelling within us, through the life-gushing warmth brought about in the heart. We shall be illumined by it and be caught up in revelations of the unutterable mysteries of the Spirit. And we shall be perfected according to the measure possible for man."23

O Chief of the Theologians, John, the Disciple of Christ, teach us the manner whereby Christ will be continuously in our hearts, while we will remain continuously in God!

“Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.”24

God dwells and abides in him, who confesses Jesus as Son of God; and, vice versa, the confessor of this saving confession dwells in God.

This noetic union, relationship, and loving fusion, which is the consequence of our good confession, bears witness once again, in a truly revelatory manner, to the great value of the unceasing Prayer of Jesus: praying without ceasing, we unceasingly confess the Divinity of Christ; in consequence, we unceasingly have God in our hearts and simultaneously dwell unceasingly in God the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit!

“That is why the Fathers who are called Neptic,” infers the holy bird of Athos, “persuaded by this saying of the Theologian, teach that all Christians must always meditate upon, and unceasingly pray using, this short and so-called ‘single-phrased’ (monologistos) prayer: ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.’ When this prayer is constantly meditated in one’s heart, he confesses that Jesus is the Son of God; and this being confessed, he has God dwelling within him, and he dwells in God, and his heart is filled with Grace and is sanctified. He becomes a temple of God and is vouchsafed many and great spiritual gifts. And he enjoys a profusion of good things from God, as enumerated by the same Neptic Fathers.”25

The continuous confession of our Savior as the Son of God is therefore necessary so that the Comforter might be continuously present within us, constantly rebuking the menacing waves and furious winds of the passions incited by the unclean spirits, and constantly bringing peace to our hearts.

“And because the passions are mollified by prayer,” St. Ignaty Brianchaninov advises us, “when they rise up [within us], we must noetically, without haste and very calmly, say the Jesus Prayer (i.e. ‘Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me’), which will gradually mollify and bring to an end the passions that are rising up. Sometimes the rising up of the passions and the onslaught of hostile thoughts become so intense that they raise man up to a great spiritual battle. Then is the hour of an invisible martyrdom. It is necessary to confess the Lord in the face of our passions and demons with prolonged prayer, which will certainly bring victory.”26

“The Lord was taken up into Heaven that He might send the Comforter unto the world.” 27

All ye who have been invited to the sacred banquet of Pentecost; all ye who love God, Christ, and the Comforter; as many as have been initiated into the sacred order of the ascent from the Spirit, through the Son, to the Father, but also of the descent from the Father, through the Son, to the Spirit; as many as have received the breath of Divinely-flowing Grace, let us all be luminous, all be radiant as lightning, and all be transformed with an exceedingly beautiful and extraordinary transformation!

With the help of the Mother of God and the Spirit-bearing Fathers, we have been vouchsafed to come to know that the Divinity’s essence of threefold splendor is equipotent, indivisible, and wise!

Hence, theologizing and confessing in an Orthodox manner, we glorify and magnify the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit unto the ages!

“We on whom Divinely-flowing Grace hath breathed are made luminous and radiant as lightning, and are transformed with an extraordinary transformation of exceeding beauty; and acknowledging the indivisible, equipotent, wise essence of threefold splendor, we give glory.”28

Notes

1. St. Nicodemos the Hagiorite, “Interpretation” of the Iambic Canon of Pentecost, First Ode, Irmos, Commentary on the Great Feasts (Venice: 1836), p. 555.
- St. Nicodemos refers to St. Basil the Great:

“In receiving the gifts, we firstly encounter the distributor (namely, the Spirit); then, we comprehend the sender (namely, the Son); then, we lead the reflection to the source and cause of good things (namely, the Father)." (St. Basil the Great, On the Holy Spirit, ch. 17, §37, Patrologia Græca, Vol. XXXII, col. 133C.)

- See also the following:

“Thus, the way of the knowledge of God is from the one Spirit, through the one Son, to the one Father. And vice versa: the natural goodness, the sanctif ication according to nature, and the royal dignity extend from the Father, through the Only-begotten One, to the Spirit.” (Idem, col. 153CD/ ch. 18, §47).
2. Ibid.
3. I St. Peter 3:22.
4. St. James 4:8.
5. St. Matthew 15:19-20.
6. St. James 4:9
7. St. Nicodemos, on St. James 4:9, “Interpretation” of the Seven General Epistles,
(Venice, 1806), p. 52.
8. Ibid.
9. St. Gregory Palamas, “Homily XI ‘On the Holy and Life-giving Cross,’”
Patrologia Græca, Vol. CLI, col. 129A; Psalm 38:4.
10. I St. Peter 3:15; Isaiah 8:13.
11. I St. Peter 3:22.
12. II Corinthians 10:5.
13. St. James 4:7.
14. Ephesians 4:27.
15. Ecclesiastes 10:4.
16. II Corinthians 10:5.
17. St. Nicodemos, on St. James 4:7, “Interpretation” of the Seven General Epistles,
p. 49.
18. I. St. John 4:13.
19. St. John Chrysostomos, “Homily XIII ‘On the Epistle to the Romans’” (§8),
Patrologia Græca, Vol. LX, col. 519.
20. St. Athanasios the Great, “Epistle I to Serapion of Thmouis” (§14), Patrologia
Græca, Vol. XXVI, col. 565AB.
21. St. John 1:13.
22. Ephesians 4:13.
23. St. Nicodemos, on I St. John 3:24, “Interpretations” of the seven General
Epistles, p. 259.
24. I. St. John 4:15.
25. St. Nicodemos, on I St. John 4:15, “Interpretations” of the seven General
Epistles, p. 273.
26. St. Ignatios Brianchaninov, “The Action of Noetic Prayer,” in Orthodox Witness (Cyprus), No. 72 (Winter 2004), p. 39.
27. Great Vespers Service for the Ascension, Sticheron Idiomelon 1.
28. Iambic Canon of Pentecost, Seventh Ode, Troparion 1.

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Items Now Available Exclusively Through Mystagogy

I am pleased to announce that the books announced in my Mystagogy Bookstore over the past month or so are finally available and will be sent this week. My apologies for the unforeseen delay for all who have patiently waited for their orders. The books I have made available on my website, for the most part, are smaller-scale projects I have worked on over a number of years or have been recently made available to me. I am making them available in order to financially support future upgrades and updates to this website, to make possible future publications of a higher standard that I am working on privately and with other Orthodox scholars, and to advance all future ministry endeavors. Mystagogy readers number in the thousands every day from all around the world, and financial support, after prayer support, is the most important factor to ensure future success in this ministry.

As of today I am also making available two more publications exclusively offered through Mystagogy Bookstore. They are placed at the top of the list. I will be adding even more in the near future.

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1. The Agony of the Church
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2. The Death of God and the Resurrection of Man
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By John Sanidopoulos
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4. Old Calendar - New Calendar: The Facts
By Archimandrite Joel Yiannakopoulos
Translated by John Sanidopoulos
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5. The Holy Snakes of the Virgin Mary: Examining the Mysterious Annual Appearance of Snakes in Kefallonia
By John Sanidopoulos
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7. Saint Joachim of Ithaki, Otherwise Known As "Papoulakis" (1786-1868)
By John Sanidopoulos
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By Theoharis Provatakis
Translated by John Sanidopoulos
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9. The History and Miracles of Panagia Prousiotissa
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10. The Synaxarion of the Triodion and Pentecostarion
By Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos
Translated by John Sanidopoulos
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11. The Monastery of Mega Spelaion: A Brief History
By Metropolitan Agathonikos of Kalavryta
Translated by John Sanidopoulos
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By Anonymous
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By John Sanidopoulos
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By John Sanidopoulos
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16. Saint Luke the Evangelist As the First Iconographer
By John Sanidopoulos
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17. Essays In Honor of Protopresbyter John Romanides (1927-2001)
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By Reverand Ioannis S. Pispas
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By John Sanidopoulos
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20. The Drama of a Nightingale

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23. The Two Fugitives

Saint Theophanes the New Martyr of Constantinople (+ 1588)

St. Theophanes the New Martyr (Feast Day - June 8)

Theophanes was born in the village of Zapanti, today's Kalovrisi, in Kalamata, to his pious parents Nicholas and Kyro. In the world he was known as Theodore and in his youth he travelled to Constantinople where he learned sewing under a harsh employer. At one point a group of Muslims persuaded him to become a Muslim, and for six years he learned Turkish and Arabic. In the course of his studies he remembered his Orthodox Faith, and began a process of repentance.

The young and handsome Theodore sought a guide to lead him on the path of repentance and guide his soul towards salvation, and for this he found Metropolitan Gabriel Seviros of Philadelphia (1577-1616) in Venice. This holy hierarch taught, nurtured and encouraged Theodore, and tonsured him a monk giving him the name Theophanes. This strengthened him to return to his homeland to receive martyrdom for the completion of his repentance.

In Constantinople he was unable to accomplish his martyric wishes, so he travelled to Athens. After three days of prayer Theophanes courageously appeared before the judge confessing Jesus Christ and renouncing Islam. Again not taken seriously he was told to leave. He tried again in Evia and Larissa, pleading to the judges to suffer on behalf of his renunciation. The harsh judge of Larissa had him whipped 600 times, which Theophanes received with gratitude and joy. After he was healed of his wounds, he left for Mount Athos.

On Mount Athos he met virtuous monks and spiritual elders, where he received their advice and blessings. He settled at Vatopaidi Monastery where he met Hierodeacon Sinesios of Vatopaidi, who later wrote the biography and hymns of the Saint which is preserved at Vatopaidi.

Empowered by his stay on Mount Athos, he travelled again to Constantinople to complete his intention for martyrdom. There he met the holy Euthymios, who prepared him to undergo martyrdom with a strong confession. He received Holy Communion, and after a compunctionate all-night vigil he proceeded with courage to the local judge.

With all the strength of his soul he confessed Christ before the judge and renounced Islam. Enraged by this the judge sent him immediately to prison to think of the right punishment. While in prison the Saint was beat and kicked by the guards. The judge called for him again thinking he may have been drunk, but Theophanes spoke of how he sinned greatly in accepting Islam and rejoiced exceedingly on becoming a Christian again. The judge thus ordered that he be whipped 700 times and be imprisoned.

During his second imprisonment the guards would mock him and put him under severe tortures. The Saint afterwards prayed for three hours, and after saying "amen" a great earthquake took place and the prison then became immersed in light, which brought great joy to his soul and he glorified God. The guards dropped at the feet of the Saint upon seeing this, begging forgiveness for what they did, and through the guidance of Theophanes some became Christians.

Theophanes was brought before the leaders once again after all this, and the Saint went fearlessly. He rejected the enticement to renounce his Christian Faith for riches and power, and it was decided that he would be tortured horribly and be put to death.

The Martyr was thus tied to a wooden pole and strips of skin were peeled from his chest and back. Putting him like this on a donkey, they showcased and humiliated him throughout the streets of Constantinople. They also put hooks through his body. Through this horrific torture and great suffering however, the Saint remained calm and was in sincere prayer. He thanked the Holy Trinity and prayed that he may be a cause for unbelievers to repent. After his prayer a white bird like a dove came upon him that descended from the sky. While he was filled with joy, the crowd was perplexed. Many Turks saw this and confessed that Christ was God as proclaimed and glorified by the Martyr. The dove remained with him for three hours, then went away. As darkness came, the Saint, like Christ, said "I thirst". The guards said that if he became a Muslim, then he would receive water. Theophanes responded that Christ has cooled him, and his thirst is for salvation.

Through the night there was a thunder and lightening storm, all the while the Saint was immersed in light. The attending Turks were confessing Christianity as the true Faith as a result. This scared the executioners, since the people were calling out his innocence, so they took a sharp object and began to brutally scratch the Saint, taking out his eyes. From this the Saint gave up his spirit and his sacrifice was complete.

After this the Christians payed the executioners to receive the body, and they also gathered up his blood. These became a source of miracles for the lame, the lepers, the possessed, and those who were sick for many years. The executioners eventually had a bad end and some became blind, mad, or drowned at sea. Some even repented.

The martyrdom of the Saint is placed on June 8, 1559. These sources are based on the account by St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite. But P.B. Paschou places the martyrdom of the Saint in 1588 based on Codex 339 of the Metochion of the Holy Sepulchre in Constantinople and Codex 797 of the Holy Monastery of Vatopaidi, since his death in 1559 does not coincide with his meeting of Metropolitan Gabriel Seviros.

The Relics and Blood-Flowing Icon of St. Theodore Stratelates

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

St. Theodore Stratelates is commemorated on February 8 and on that date his life is recounted.

However, June 8 commemorates the translation of his relics from Heraklion to Euchaita. Before his martyrdom, Saint Theodore left the following instructions in his will to Varus his servant: 'Bury my body in Euchaita on the estate of my ancestors.'

St. Anastasius of Sinai wrote about the miracle of the icon of St. Theodore: In the town of Karsat near Damascus, there was a church dedicated to St. Theodore Stratelates. When the Saracens conquered Damascus, a group of Saracens took up residence in this church with their wives and children. There was a fresco of the image of St. Theodore on the wall. One of the Saracens shot an arrow and struck the image of the saint in the face. At once blood flowed from the image. Soon after that, the entire group of those Saracens perished in the church. St. Anastasius said that he was personally in that church, saw the image of the saint on the wall and traces of congealed blood.

Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
In truth enlisted with the King of the Heavens, thou didst become for Him a noble commander, O trophy-bearer and Great Martyr Theodore. With the weaponry of faith didst thou arm thyself wisely and didst utterly destroy all the hordes of the demons, as a triumphant athlete of the Lord; wherefore we ever do faithfully call thee blest.

Kontakion in the Second Tone
As Christ the Saviour's mighty athlete and victor, and a provider of the gifts come from Heaven, thou always swiftly helpest with thy prayers to God all those who seek refuge in thy divinely-graced temple and who flee with fervent faith to thy holy protection. Wherefore we cry to thee: Deliver us from every danger, O thrice-blessed Theodore.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

The Ark of Salvation and the Pirate Ship of Zealotism

"... Sailing alongside the Ark of the Church are certain pirate ships. The largest one has the Pope as its captain, who has been trying to take over the Ark of Orthodoxy and become captain by expelling Christ. Next to it are other pirate ships and rafts. Among them there is a string of 5-10 small fishing boats (that is how many its larger groups are), then there is the rotten ship of Zealotism with its black flag that says "Orthodoxy or Death" on it. The Zealots' profession is fishing, which is why it has to take place in the dark and is therefore always nocturnal. The fish that they catch are those who slip out of the Ark of the canonical Church. They become dizzy from the tempests caused by the scandals of the Church; they lose their balance and fall into the water. Then the trawler that is tailing them fishes them out. It promises them that it will take them directly to Paradise and that it was a stroke of good fortune that they had fallen out of the Ark of the Church."

Excerpt from the book "The Crisis of the Church in Greece: The Trap of Zealotism", by Monk Michael.

Chronology of the Life of Saint Panagis Basias

1801 - Born in Lixouri, Kefallonia during the bishopric of Metropolitan Ioannikios Anninos (1783 - 1817).

1821 - Becomes a public school teacher.

1827 - Goes to the Holy Monastery of Dios to become a monk.

1828-9 - Returns to Lixouri.

1828-36 - Employed as a private teacher and ordained a Reader.

1836 - Ordained a Deacon and Presbyter by Archbishop Parthenios Makris.

1845 - Manifestation of sickness begins together with "foolishness for Christ".

1861 - His sister Maria dies.

1864 - Insurance is given for him to be taken care of for his illness.

1864 - Union of the Ionian islands with Greece takes place.

1867 - Catastrophic earthquake takes place. His home is destroyed.

1867 - Lives in the house of his cousin John Geroulanos.

1868 - Bishop Constantinos Iakovatos dies.

1884-89 - Archbishop Germanos Kalligas.

1888 - June 7 he falls asleep in the Lord.

1976 - June 6 his relics are translated.

1986 - February 4 he is proclaimed a Saint by the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

1986 - September 7 his feast is proclaimed in Lixouri for June 7.

Read about the life, miracles and prophecies of St. Panagis here and here in English and here in Greek.

Απολυτίκιον Ήχος α΄ "Της ερήμου πολίτης"
Ληξουρίου τον γόνον, Ιερέων το καύχημα, της Κεφαλληνίας φωστήρα νεοφανώς ανατείλαντα, τιμήσωμεν εν ύμνοις Π Α Ν Α Γ Η Ν, τον μύστην της Τριάδος της σεπτής, εμφανώς κεκοσμημένον προφητικώ του Πνεύματος χαρίσματι. Διο τον δοξάσαντα αυτόν λαμπρώς αντιδοξάσωμεν, ινα ευρωμεν χάριν και πταισμάτων την συγχώρησιν.

Κοντάκιον Ήχος γ΄ "Η Παρθένος σήμερον"
Χαρμοσύνοις άσμασι, Κεφαλληνία η νήσος, συγκαλείται σήμερον των φιλεόρτων τα πλήθη, έρεισμα της Εκκλησίας ανευφημήσαι, σέμνωμα νεοφανέντα Ορθοδοξίας, Παναγήν τον Θεηγόρον, Χριστού τον μυστην και ταύτης αγλάϊσμα.

Μεγαλυνάριον
Τον του Ληξουρίου γόνον λαμπρόν, Ορθοδόξων κλέος Ιερέων υπογραμμόν, της Κεφαλληνίας αγλάϊσμα το νέον, τον Παναγήν τον Θείον ύμνοις τιμήσωμεν.

The Icon of Christ Which Flowed Blood and Myrrh

A few hundred kilometers east of Moscow is the village Derjavino. On May 5, 1999 at the home of Antonina Ivanovna Efimova icons began to flow myrrh. Witnesses to the event were Antonina and her daughter Olga who is 33 years old. On Holy Wednesday in 2000 the right hand of Christ in an icon began to flow myrrh as from an open wound. Then on His head in the area which left scars from the thorns there appeared red spots. Slowly the blood and myrrh came together and formed a crust purple color.

The blood started to clot. In 19 separate icons of these two faithful people there ran myrrh and blood.

Archbishop Sergius of Samaria said: "At first I had doubts, until I saw the icon of Christ. A smell of blood was truly in the air. This indeed turned out after a chemical analysis." With the blessing of the Archbishop of Samaria the icon was venerated in different cities of Russia.

In Moscow, in the Church of the Nine Holy Martyrs of Cizic who are celebrated on December 14, tens of thousands of believers venerated the icon of Christ from Derjavino. Archpriest Ioan Bukotkin was shocked by what he saw with tears in his eyes and he prayed: "O Lord and my God! Not even the Scribes and Pharisees crucified You as much as we crucify You with our sins."

At that time the myrrh and the blood ran copiously.

The icons in the home of Antonina Efimova are not old, nor even painted. Most are paper. Those who venerate the icons feel a tacit pleasure in their soul and there have been many miracles.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos

The Mystery of the Eucharist Is Not A Symbol

This is what Abba Daniel [June 7], the Pharanite, said: 'Our Father Abba Arsenius [May 8] told us of an inhabitant of Scetis, of notable life and of simple faith. Through his naivete he was deceived and said, "The bread which we receive is not really the body of Christ, but a symbol."

Two old men having learnt that he had uttered this saying, knowing that he was outstanding in his way of life, knew that he had not spoken through malice, but through simplicity. So they came to find him and said, "Father, we have heard a proposition contrary to the faith on the part of someone who says that the bread which we receive is not really the body of Christ, but a symbol."

The old man said, "It is I who have said that."

Then the old men exhorted him saying, "Do not hold this position, Father, but hold one in conformity with that which the catholic Church has given us. We believe, for our part, that the bread itself is the body of Christ and that the cup itself is his blood, and this in all truth, and not a symbol. But as in the beginning, God formed man in his image, taking the dust of the earth, without anyone being able to say that it is not the image of God, even though it is not seen to be so; thus it is with the bread of which he said that it is his body; and so we believe that it is really the body of Christ."

The old man said to them, "As long as I have not been persuaded by the thing itself, I shall not be fully convinced."

So they said, "Let us pray God about this mystery throughout the whole of this week and we believe that God will reveal it to us."

The old man received this saying with joy and he prayed in these words, "Lord, you know that it is not through malice that I do not believe and so that I may not err through ignorance, reveal this mystery to me, Lord Jesus Christ."

The old men returned to their cells and they also prayed to God, saying, "Lord Jesus Christ, reveal this mystery to the old man, that he may believe and not lose his reward."

God heard both the prayers.

At the end of the week they came to church on Sunday and sat all three on the same mat, the old man in the middle. Then their eyes were opened and when the bread was placed on the holy table, there appeared as it were a little child to these three alone. And when the priest put out his hand to break the bread, behold an angel descended from heaven with a sword and poured the child's blood into the chalice. When the priest cut the bread into small pieces, the angel also cut the child in pieces. When they drew near to receive the sacred elements the old man alone received a morsel of bloody flesh.

Seeing this he was afraid and cried out, "Lord, I believe that this bread is your flesh and this chalice your blood." Immediately the flesh, which he held in his hand, became bread, according to the mystery, and he took it, giving thanks to God.

Then the old men said to him, "God knows human nature and that man cannot eat raw flesh and that is why he has changed his body into bread and his blood into wine, for those who receive it in faith." Then they gave thanks to God for the old man, because he had allowed him not to lose the reward of his labor. So all three returned with joy to their own cells.'

Saint Daniel of Scetis

St. Daniel of Scetis (Feast Day - June 7)

There are two saints that go by this name. The first was a disciple of St. Arsenios the Great [May 8] and became abbot of Scetis in Egypt upon the repose of his elder. He was present at Arsenios' death in 449. Daniel was left his tunic, hair shirt and sandals, saying, 'And I the unworthy wear them that I may receive a blessing."

Below are six sayings from this Holy Father:

1. It was said concerning Abba Daniel, that when the barbarians invaded Scetis and the Fathers fled away, the old man said, 'If God does not care for me, why still live?' Then he passed through the midst of the barbarians without being seen. He said to himself therefore, 'See how God has cared for me, since I am not dead. Now I will do that which is human and flee with the Fathers.'

2. A brother asked Abba Daniel, 'Give me a commandment and I will keep it.' He replied, 'Never put your hand in the dish with a woman, and never eat with her; thus you will escape a little the demon of fornication.'

3. Abba Daniel said, 'At Babylon the daughter of an important person was possessed by a devil. A monk for whom her father had a great affection said to him, "No-one can heal your daughter except some anchorites whom I know; but if you ask them to do so, they will not agree because of their humility. Let us therefore do this: when they come to the market, look as though you want to buy their goods and when they come to receive the price, we will ask them to say a prayer and I believe she will be healed." When they came to the market they found a disciple of the old men setting there selling their goods and they led him away with the baskets, so that he should receive the price of them. But when the monk reached the house, the woman possessed with the devil came and slapped him. But he only turned the other cheek, according to the Lord's Command. (Matt. 5.39) The devil, tortured by this, cried out, "What violence! The commandment of Jesus drives me out." Immediately the woman was cleansed. When the old men came, they told them what had happened and they glorified God saying, "This is how the pride of the devil is brought low, through the humility of the commandment of Christ."

4. Abba Daniel also said, 'The body prospers in the measure in which the soul is weakened, and the soul prospers in the measure in which the body is weakened.'

5. One day Abba Daniel and Abba Ammoes went on a journey together. Abba Ammoes said, 'When shall we, too, settle down, in a cell, Father?' Abba Daniel replied, 'Who shall separate us henceforth from God? God is in the cell, and, on the other hand, he is outside also.'

6. Abba Daniel said that when Abba Arsenius was at Scetis, there was a monk there who used to steal the possessions of the old men. Abba Arsenius took him into his cell in order to convert him and to give the old men some peace. He said to him, 'Everything you want I will get for you, only do not steal.' So he gave him gold, coins, clothes and everything he needed. But the brother began to steal again. So the old men, seeing that he had not stopped, drove him away saying, 'If there is a brother who commits a sin through weakness, one must bear it, but if he steals, drive him away, for it is hurtful to his soul and troubles all those who live in the neighbourhood.'

The second Daniel lived in the sixth century and lived in Scetis from childhood. On one occasion he was overtaken by certain Barbarians and captured for two years. He was bailed out by a certain pious Christian, but again he was captured and held for six months, though this time he was able to escape. When men were sent to bring him back, human instinct for survival came over him and with a rock Daniel killed a man to escape being captured a third time. That murder lay on his conscience like a lead weight. In perplexity as to what he should do, he went to Timothy, the Patriarch of Alexandria, and asked his advice. The Patriarch soothed him, and released him from all penance. But his conscience continued to gnaw at him, and he went to Rome, to the Pope. The Pope gave him the same reply as had the Patriarch. Still dissatisfied, Daniel visited the remaining patriarchs in turn; going to Constantinople, Antioch and Jerusalem, even the Metropolitan of Ephesus, confessing to each of them and asking for advice. But he could find no peace. So he returned home to Alexandria and declared himself to the authorities as a murderer, and was flung into prison. At his trial before the governor, Daniel told how everything had come about, and pleaded that he might be killed too, that his soul might be saved from eternal fire. The governor was amazed at the whole thing, and said to him: 'Go your way, Father, and pray to God for me, even if you kill seven more!' Still dissatisfied with this, Daniel resolved to take a leper into his cell and care for him until he died, and then find another. He did as he had resolved, and in this way brought peace to his conscience.

Monday, June 6, 2011

The Church of Panagia of Finikia and Lord Byron

Near the site of Lord Byron’s house in Messolonghi and the Garden of the Heroes, which is a memorial garden commemorating the Philhellene Europeans who fought in the Greek War of Independence, is the island Chapel of Panagia of Finikia (Panagia of the Palms). Lord Byron especially loved this place and would often come here to rest and enjoy an evening equestrian excursion. The church was built in 1804.

Regarding Lord Byron's view of Greek Orthodoxy, as a Christian himself who read a chapter of Scripture daily, he respected the fact the Greeks were Christians, and did not want any Christian dominated by the Muslim Turks. Furthermore he would argue against Christians from the West coming into Greece doing missionary work following their liberation, since his liberal opinion honored the free choice of people, and believed that the Greek priests should be given a chance to teach the people their inherited Faith.

Saint Dionysios the Wise, Patriarch of Constantinople

St. Dionysios the Wise (Feast Day - November 23)

Dionysios was born in Dimitsana of Peloponnese. He became a monk in the Holy Magganon Monastery in Constantinople, where he progressed in goodness and piety under the supervision of his spiritual father, St Mark Eugenikos, Metropolitan of Ephesus, who ordained him into the Deaconate and Priesthood.

He was kept captive by the Turks in Adrianoupolis, but was freed by the noble Kyritzis, and was ordained Metropolitan of Philippoupolis by the Ecumenical Patriarch Gennadios Scholarios. In January 1467 he ascended onto the Ecumenical throne of Constantinople at the protection of the Christian step-mother of Sultan Mehmet II, Madam-Maro, and shepherded his flock until 1472.

He was maliciously accused that during his captivity in Adrianoupolis he renounced the faith and accepted circumcision. He proved that the accusation was false in front of a panel of hierachs and laity "by showing his flesh to all the people", and all saw "his innocence and virginity...," and he departed to the Monastery of Eikosifinissa in Drama, where he also stayed after his second patriarchy (1488-1490) until his death in 1492. He is considered the second founder of that Monastery.

The Church acknowledged him as a Saint under Patriarch Joachim I; his memory is kept on November 23rd. His relics were kept in the Monastery of Eikosifinissa, though a portion was given in 1881 to the Skete of Saint Andrew on Mount Athos and another was given in his birthplace of Dimitsana in 1955. A service and a canon to his honour have been written by his contemporary, the Great Rhetor of the Great Church, Manuel the Corinthian, and another canon has been composed by the chancellor Chrysanthos of Xanthe. The latter was completed by Hilarion the Sinaite by decree of Patriarch Gregory V.

On April 30, 2011 Metropolitan Paul of Drama, by request of Metropolitan Jeremiah of Gortyna, brought the relics of St. Dionysios back to Dimitsana after over 600 years since his birth. (Photos and video in this post are from this event.)

Μεγαλυνάριον
Χαίροις Δημητσάνα πόλη τερπνή, η υποδεχθείσα τον σον γόνον τον ιερόν, κλεείσαντα τον θρόνον πόλεως Κωνσταντίνου, τον μέγα Ιεράρχην τον Διονύσιον.

St. Luke the Surgeon: On Science and Religion

By St. Luke the Surgeon, Archbishop of Simferopol (1877-1961)

"When we examine contemporary science as developed by scientists such as Lamark and Darwin, we see the antithesis and I would say the complete disagreement that exists between science and religion, on topics that concern the more basic problems of existence and knowledge. For this, an enlightened mind cannot accept at the same time both one and the other and must choose between religion and science."

A well known German Zoologist, Ernst Haeckel (1834-1919), who was a good follower of Darwin, wrote these words some 65 years ago, in his book, “The Riddle of the Universe” that was very successful and as it seemed, had proved that faith is absurd. So says Haeckel that every enlightened man must choose between science and religion and should follow either one or the other. He considered it necessary that such men should deny religion because a logical man cannot deny science.

Truly, is this necessary? No, not at all, for we know that many and great scientists were at the same time great believers. For example, such was the Polish astronomer Copernicus who laid the foundation of all contemporary astronomy. Copernicus was not only a believer but was also a cleric. Another great scientist, Newton, whenever he mentioned the word God, he removed his hat. He was a great believer. A great bacteriologist of our time and almost a contemporary, Pasteur, who laid the basis of contemporary bacteriology, he would start every scientific work with a prayer to God. Some ten years ago a great scientist passed away, who was our countryman, physiologist Pavlov, who was the creator of the new physiology of the brain. He too was a great believer. Would Haeckel therefore dare say that these men did not have enlightened minds because they believed in God?

So what happens now? Why even today there are some scientists, professors at Universities whom I personally know and are great believers. Why don’t all the scientists deny religion but only those who think the same as Haeckel? Because these people believe only in the material and deny the spiritual world, they do not believe in life after death, they do not accept the immortality of the soul and of course they do not accept the resurrection of the dead. They say that science is capable of everything, that there is no secret in nature that science cannot discover. What can we answer to these?

We shall respond to them this way. You are totally right. We cannot limit the human mind that searches nature. We know that today, science knows only a part of the things we have of nature. We also understand that the possibilities of science are great. In this they are right and we don’t doubt it. What then do we doubt? Why don’t we deny religion like them and consider it contrary to scientific knowledge?

Because we believe wholeheartedly that there is a spiritual world. We are certain that apart from the material world there is an infinite and incomparably superior spiritual world. We believe in the existence of spiritual beings that have higher intellects than us humans. We believe wholeheartedly that above this spiritual and material world there is the Great and Almighty God.

What we doubt is the right of science to research with its methods the spiritual world. Because the spiritual world cannot be researched with the methods used to research the material world. Such methods are totally inappropriate to research the spiritual world.

How do we know that there is a spiritual world? Who told us that it exists? If we are asked by people who do not believe in Divine Revelation, we shall answer them thus: “Our heart tells us." For there are two ways for one to know something, the first being that which is spoken by Haeckel, which is used by science to learn of the material world. There is however another way that is unknown to science, and does not wish to know it. It is the knowledge through the heart. Our heart is not only the central organ of the circulation system, it is an organ with which we know the other world and receive the highest knowledge. It is the organ that gives us the capability to communicate with God and the world above. Only in this we disagree with science.

Praising the great successes and achievements of science, we do not doubt at all its great importance and we do not confine scientific knowledge. We only tell the scientists: “You do not have the capability with your methods to research the spiritual world, we however can with our heart."

There are many unexplainable phenomena which concern the spiritual world that are real (as are some type of material phenomena). There are therefore phenomena that science will never be able to explain because it does not use the appropriate methods.

Let science explain how the prophecies appeared on the coming of the Messiah, which were all fulfilled. Could science tell us how the great prophet Isaiah, some 700 years before the birth of Christ, foretold the most important events in His life and for which he was named the evangelist of the Old Testament? Could it explain the prophetic grace possessed by the saints and tell us with which physical methods the saints inherited this grace and how they could understand the heart and read the thoughts of a person they had just met for the first time? They would see a person for the first time and they will call him by his name. Without waiting for the visitor to ask, they would answer in regards to what troubled him.

If they can, let them explain it to us. Let them explain with what method the saints foretold the great historical events which were accurately fulfilled as they were prophesied. Let them explain the visitation from the other world and the appearance of the dead to the living.

They shall never explain it to us because they are too far from the basis of religion - from faith. If you read the books of the scientists who try to reconstruct religion, you will see how superficially they look at things. They do not understand the essence of religion, yet they criticize it. Their criticism does not touch the essence of faith, since they are unable to understand the types and the expressions of religious feeling. The essence of religion they do not understand. Why not? Because the Lord Jesus Christ says: "No one can come to me unless My Father who sent Me draws him to Me" (John 6:44).

So it is necessary that we be drawn by the Heavenly Father, and it is necessary that the grace of the Holy Spirit enlighten our heart and our mind. To dwell in our heart and mind through this enlightenment, the Holy Spirit and the ones who were found worthy to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, those in whose heart lives Christ and His Father, know the essence of faith. The others, those outside the faith, cannot understand anything.

Let us hear the criticism against Haeckel from a French philosopher Emile Boutroux (1845-1921). So says Boutroux: “The criticisms of Haeckel concern much more the ways, than the essence, which he observes with such a materialistic and narrow view, that they cannot be accepted by religious people. Thus the criticism of religion by Haeckel is not referred to, not even in one of the principles that constitutes religion."

This is therefore our opinion regarding Haeckel’s book “The Riddle of the Universe” which up to day is considered the “Bible” for all those who criticize religion, which they deny and find it contrary to science. Do you see how poor and tasteless arguments they use? Don’t become scandalized when you hear what they say about religion, since they themselves cannot understand its essence. You people, who may not have much of a relationship with science and do not know much about philosophy, remember always the most basic beginning, which was well known by the early Christians. They considered poor the person who knew all the sciences yet he knew not God. On the other hand, they considered blessed the person who knew God, even if he knew absolutely nothing about worldly things.

Guard this truth like the best treasure of the heart, walk straight without looking right or left. Let us not bother with what we hear against religion, losing our bearings. Let us hold on to our faith which is the eternal indisputable truth. Amen.

A Metropolis Is Robbed While A Metropolitan Slept Inside

Dimitris Zoitsoudis
June 6, 2011
Romfea.gr

Not even the building of the Metropolis of Ilia has escaped being robbed by unidentified burglars, in the central tower, where there is even an alarm and night security.

Metropolitan Germanos of Ilia slept in his room inside when strangers forced their way in through the back door in the garden.

The burglars were not afraid of the alarm systems and night-watchman and managed to get to the accounting area and taking the amount of EUR 6584.74.

The funds were in a folder and came from collecting rents.

First Russian Church In Arabian Peninsula Goes Up

The first Russian church has been constructed in the United Arab Emirates to become the one and the only Orthodox shrine on the Arabian Peninsula.

Located in the city of Sharjah, the church was built by order of Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, the current ruler of the Sharjah emirate.

Apart from a five-dome church, the group of buildings also includes a three-storey cultural and educational center. In 2007, the foundations of the Russian spiritual complex in Sharjah were consecrated by Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad Kirill, now the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia.

On Thursday 2 June 2011, the feast of the Ascension of Christ, the crosses on the dome of the Church of the Holy Apostle Philip were placed in Saria. This church was established with permission from the Patriarchate of Antioch. It is under the Antiochian jurisdiction. Currently a Russian priest is the parish priest.

Read also: Saudis Told They Can Build a Mosque in Moscow if Russians Get a Church in Saudi Arabia

Five New Dioceses Created In Russia To Improve Church Administration

The Synod approves the reorganisation of the canonical territory, still based on the Soviet framework with parishes in the same dioceses at a distance of 1,000 kilometres.

Nina Achmatova
June 6, 2011
AsiaNews

The Russian Orthodox Church is expanding its pastoral work and setting up five new dioceses. The decision was taken on 31 May at a session of the Holy Synod, the Patriarchate’s highest administrative authority, chaired by Patriarch Kirill. According to some analysts, in addition to improving the Church’s local administration, the new framework will strengthen the Patriarch’s authority. Last year, the head of the Church had already began a more centralised reorganisation of the Church and its activities, including in the field of mission.
“We must make important decisions on how to reorganise some dioceses,” Kirill said opening the session. “We must think about steps to take so that the life of the Church, in a number of regions, can become more intense and coherent with the guidelines of the Council of Bishops”.

The restructuring of the canonical territory had already begun in the previous session of the synod in March, when new dioceses were established in the northern Caucasus (Pyatigorsk and Circassia, Vladikavkaz and Makhachkalinsk), which were previously part of the dioceses of Stavropol and Vladikavkaz and Baku and Prikaspiisk.

The most recent dioceses are those of Narva (which becomes the second diocese of the Estonian Orthodox Church), Krasnoslobodsk and Ardatov, Khanty-Mansiysk and Surgut, Salekhard and Novy Urengoy and finally that of Yeniseysk and Norilsk.

“In Greece, there is a bishop per city, whilst we have inherited a structure from soviet times, so that cities a thousand kilometres from one another are in the same diocese, and parishioners do not even know who their bishop is,” Vladimir Vigilianskii, director of the Moscow Patriarchate Press Office, told the daily Kommersant. “By reducing the size of dioceses, it will be easier to run them,” he added.

According to Roman Lunkin, director of the Institute of Religion and the Law, “reforming the Church administration will strengthen the authority of the Patriarch in the provinces, because the new bishops will be beholden to him.”

The Church Russian Orthodox has 164 dioceses, 217 bishops, 30,675 parishes, 29,324 priests and 3,850 deacons. It also has 805 monasteries, 398 for men and 407 for women.

Last year, Kirill took personal control of the Mission Department of the Central Bureau of the Patriarchate, ordering its expansion.

Some observers suggest the patriarch wants to apply to the religious field the vertical organisation of power imposed on the state by Vladimir Putin during his first presidential mandate.

Video: N.T. Wright On the Western Depiction of Hell

Elder Sophrony, when visiting the Sistine Chapel, made a similar observation to Anglican scholar N.T. Wright, which can be read in the following post:

The Icon In the East and In the West

Transcript of Video: "The word hell has had a checkered career in the history of the church. And it wasnt hugely important in the early days. It was important, but not nearly as important as it became in the Middle Ages. And in the Middle Ages, you get this polarization of heaven over here and hell over there, and you have to go to one place or the other eventually. So you have the Sistine Chapel, with that great thing behind the altar. This enormous great judgment seat, with the souls going off into these different directions.

Very interestingly, I was sitting in the Sistine chapel just a few weeks ago. I was sitting for a service, and I was sitting next to a Greek Orthodox Archimandrite who said to me, looking at the pictures of Jesus on one wall. He said, these I can understand. The pictures of Moses on the other wall, he said, those I can understand. Then he pointed at the end wall of judgment, and said, that I cannot understand. Thats how you in the West have talked about judgment and heaven and hell. He said, we have never done it that way before, because the Bible doesnt do it that way. I thought, whoops. I think hes right actually. And whether you're Catholic or Protestant, that scenario which is etched into the consciousness of Western Christianity really has to be shaken about a bit. Because heaven and earth are to join together.

Its not a matter of leaving earth and going to heaven. Its heaven and earth joined together. And hell is what happens when human beings say, the God in whose image they were made, we dont want to worship you. We dont want our human life to be shaped by you. We dont want, who we are as humans to be transformed by the love of Jesus dying and rising for us. We dont want any of that. We want to stay as we are and do our own thing. And if you do that, what youre saying is, you want to stop being image bearing human being within this good world that God has made. And you are colluding with your own progressive dehumanization. And that is such a shocking and horrible thing, that its not surprising that the biblical writers and others have used very vivid and terrifying language about it. But, people have picked that up and said, this is a literal description of reality. Somewhere down there, there is a lake of fire, and its got worms in it and its got serpents and demons and there coming to get you.

But I think actually, the reality is more sober and sad than that, which is this progressive shrinking of human life. And that happens during this life, but it seems to be that if someone resolutely says to God, Im not going to worship you...its not just I'll not come to church. Its a matter deep down somewhere, there is a rejection of the Good Creator God, then that it the choice humans make. In other words, I think the human choices in this life really matter. We're not just playing a game of chess, where tomorrow morning God will put the pieces back on the board and say, Ok that was just a game. Now were doing something different. The choices we make here really do matter. There's part of me that would love to be a universalist, and say, it'll be alright. Everyone will get there in the end. I actually...the choices you make in the present are more important than that."

The Poisonous Songs of Arius

Many wonder today how it was possible for Arianism to spread so widely and become so popular in the fourth century, even after its condemnation by the First Ecumenical Synod. There are a few factors that may explain this, and one of these likely has to do with the wide-spread distribution of easily memorized songs composed by Arius, the compilation of which is known as Thalia (or Banquet). Philostorgius writes in his Epitome (Bk. 2, Ch. 2) the following concerning the songs of Arius:

"Arius, after his secession from the church, composed several songs to be sung by sailors, and by millers, and by travellers along the high road, and others of the same kind, which he adapted to certain tunes, as he thought suitable in each separate case, and thus by degrees seduced the minds of the unlearned by the attractiveness of his songs to the adoption of his own impiety."

It is not without reason that St. Athanasius begins his Orations Against the Arians (Oration 1, Chapter 1) with a critique of the songs of Arius. St. Athanasius writes that "Arius imitated the dissolute and effeminate tone, in writing Thalia", of the ancient Greek poet Sotades, known for his lewdness. Further he writes that Arius in his Thalia, like the daughter of Herodias, "rivalled in her dance, reeling and frolicking in his blasphemies against the Savior". He also said that by singing the songs of Arius, Christians are "announcing a new heresy". Athanasius further writes of the character of those who sang such songs:

"... those only who sing such strains over their cups, amid cheers and jokes, when men are merry, that the rest may laugh; till this marvellous Arius, taking no grave pattern, and ignorant even of what is respectable, while he stole largely from other heresies, would be original in the ludicrous, with none but Sotades for his rival. For what beseemed him more, when he would dance forth against the Savior, than to throw his wretched words of irreligion into dissolute and loose metres? That, while 'a man', as Wisdom says, 'is known from the utterance of his word', so from those numbers should be seen the writer's effeminate soul and corruption of thought."

At one point Athanasius asks: "And shall not all human kind at Arius's blasphemies be struck speechless, and stop their ears, and shut their eyes, to escape hearing them or seeing their author?" Interestingly it is said that when these songs were quoted at the First Ecumenical Synod, the fathers clapped their hands over their ears, and shut their eyes.

Below are a sample of the songs of Arius, which have been extracted from the writings of St. Athanasius:

"And so God Himself, as he really is, is inexpressible to all. He alone has no equal, no one similar ('homoios'), and no one of the same glory. We call Him unbegotten, in contrast to him who by nature is begotten. We praise Him as without beginning, in contrast to him who has a beginning. We worship Him as timeless, in contrast to him who in time has come to exist. He who is without beginning made the Son a beginning of created things. He produced him as a son for Himself, by begetting him. He [the Son] has none of the distinct characteristics of God's own being ('kat' hypostasis') For he is not equal to, nor is he of the same being ('homoousios') as Him."

Also from the Thalia:

"At God’s will the Son has the greatness and qualities that he has. His existence from when and from whom and from then—are all from God. He, though strong God, praises in part ('ek merous') his superior."

Thus, said Arius, God's first thought was the creation of Jesus Christ, therefore time started with the creation of the Logos or Word in Heaven.

In this portion of the Thalia, Arius endeavors to explain the ultimate incomprehensibility of the Father to the Son:

"In brief, God is inexpressible to the Son. For He is in himself what He is, that is, indescribable, So that the Son does not comprehend any of these things or have the understanding to explain them. For it is impossible for him to fathom the Father, who is by Himself. For the Son himself does not even know his own essence ('ousia'). For being Son, his existence is most certainly at the will of the Father. What reasoning allows, that he who is from the Father should comprehend and know his own parent? For clearly that which has a beginning is not able to conceive of or grasp the existence of that which has no beginning."

Here, Arius explains how the Son could still be God, even if he did not exist eternally:

"Understand that the Monad [eternally] was; but the Dyad was not before it came into existence. It immediately follows that, although the Son did not exist, the Father was still God. Hence the Son, not being [eternal] came into existence by the Father’s will, He [the Son] is the Only-begotten God, and this one is alien from [all] others."

Sociologist: Every 5 Minutes a Christian Is Martyred

June 3, 2011
Zenit.org

A sociologist representing a European security organization says that the number of Christians killed each year for their faith is so high that it calculates to one martyr's life being taken every five minutes.

Massimo Introvigne of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) reported this data at a conference on Christian-Jewish-Muslim interfaith dialogue, which concluded today in Hungary. The conference was sponsored by the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the European Union, and included a variety of high-level representatives from the three monotheistic religions, as well as political and social leaders.

Introvigne reported that Christians killed every year for their faith number 105,000, and that number includes only those put to death simply because they are Christians. It does not count the victims of civil or international wars.

"If these numbers are not cried out to the world, if this slaughter is not stopped, if it is not acknowledged that the persecution of Christians is the first worldwide emergency in the matter of violence and religious discrimination, the dialogue between religions will only produce beautiful conferences but no concrete results," he stated.

Egyptian diplomat Aly Mahmoud said that in his country laws have been passed that will protect Christian minorities, for example, prosecuting those who give speeches that incite hatred and banning hostile crowds outside churches.

"However, the danger is that many Christian communities in the Middle East will die from emigration, because all Christians, feeling threatened, will flee," he said.

The diplomat suggested Europe prepare for "a new wave of emigration, this time from Christians fleeing the persecutions."

For his part, Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev, chairman for the Russian Orthodox patriarchate's Department of External Church Relations, reminded that "at least 1 million" Christian victims of persecutions are children.

Read also: Russian Orthodox Church Holy Synod’s Statement on Growing Manifestations of Christianophibia in the World

One Man's Deprivation Is Another Man's Luxury

One of the apophthegmata of the Sayings of the Desert Fathers reads as follows:

There was once a monk who had lived in a vast mansion in Rome, but in Scete lived near the church with a servant to look after him. The presbyter of the church realised his weakness in that he had been used to all kinds of luxury, and shared with him all that the Lord sent him and all that was given to the church. After living for twenty-five years in Scete, he had become well known as a contemplative of discernment.

Hearing of his reputation, one of the foremost Egyptian monks came to see him, expecting to find that his way of life was physically fairly arduous. After their greetings they said the prayers and sat down together. The Egyptian was shocked to notice that his companion was clothed in fine raiment, that his bedding was of finely woven reeds over a layer of tanned leather, that he had a little scarf of soft material round his neck, and that he was wearing sandals on his clean feet. Such a way of living was not customary in that place; severe abstinence was rather the usual rule. Seeing that he had the gift of prayer and discernment, the old Roman realised that his companion was shocked and said to his servant, "Let's do things well today for the sake of this abba who has visited us."

And he cooked a few vegetables which he had, and sat down for the meal as soon as they were ready. They also drank some of the wine which he kept for his infirmity. And when Vespers was done they said the twelve psalms, went to bed and slept all night. When they got up in the morning the Egyptian said, "Pray for me" and departed, totally disillusioned in him.

He hadn't gone far before the Roman sent after him and called him back, because he wanted to clear up the misunderstanding. After welcoming him gladly he asked, "What nationality are you?"

"I am an Egyptian," he replied.

"And from what city?" he asked.

"I wasn't born in a city and have never lived in one," was the answer.

"Before you became a monk, what did you do? Where did you live?" he asked.

"I was a farm worker," he said.

"You had a bed to sleep in?" he asked.

"As a farm worker should I have been so lucky as to have a bed to sleep in?" he replied.

"Where did you sleep then?" he asked.

"On the bare ground," he replied.

"What did you eat in your field, and what sort of wine did you drink?" he asked.

"What sort of food and wine do you think you are likely to get as a farmworker?" he replied.

"Well, tell me how you lived," he said.

"I ate dry bread and perhaps a little salted fish if I could get it, and my only drink was water," he replied.

"A hard life" the old man said, and went on, "You had no bath to wash in?"

"No, I washed in the river when I could," he replied.

When the old man had learned from these replies everything about his former life and work he told him about his own previous life before becoming a monk, hoping to open his eyes a bit.

"This poor sinner that you see before you came from the mighty city of Rome," he said. "I had an important position under the Roman Emperor."

At these words the Egyptian was taken aback and began to listen carefully to what was being said.

"I left Rome and came here to solitude. I used to have an enormous house and plenty of money, but I counted them as nothing and came to live in this tiny cell. I used to have couches decorated with gold and covered with expensive drapes, in place of which the Lord has given me this bedding of reeds and leather. My clothing was of the highest and most expensive quality, instead of which I now wear this simple garment. I used to spend a great deal of money on food, instead of which God gives me a few vegetables and a small cup of wine. I used to have countless numbers of servants to look after me, and the Lord has spared me this one servant only to look after me. Instead of my bath I do wash my feet a little and wear sandals in my weakness. Instead of lyre and pipe and other kinds of music which I used to enjoy as I feasted I now say my twelve psalms by day and twelve by night. And for the sins which I formerly committed I now find peace in offering my poor and unworthy service to God. So you see, father, you need not be scandalised because of my weakness."

Having listened to all this, the Egyptian had a complete change of heart, and said, "Woe is me! For I came into the monastic way from a background of great deprivation and hard work, and I now possess such a lot of things which I did not possess before. You however chose to come from a life of great luxury into a life of deprivation, from great distinction and riches into humility and poverty." Greatly edified, he departed, but became a great friend of his and often came back because he found it so profitable. For he was indeed a man of discernment, filled with the life-giving breath of the Holy Spirit.

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A Metropolis Is Robbed While A Metropolitan Slept Inside

First Russian Church In Arabian Peninsula Goes Up

Five New Dioceses Created In Russia To Improve Church Administration

Video: N.T. Wright On the Western Depiction of Hell

The Poisonous Songs of Arius

Sociologist: Every 5 Minutes a Christian Is Martyred

One Man's Deprivation Is Another Man's Luxury

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