The Invincible and Victorious Grace of God

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

"My Grace is sufficient for you" (2 Corinthians 12:9).

The Lord did not even spare His apostles from temptations. That is why He gave them Grace! When Satan himself began to malign the Apostle Paul, Paul prayed to God that Satan depart from him. To that, the Lord replied: "My Grace is sufficient for you!" That is, if you need to withstand Satan, for your endurance "My Grace is sufficient for you!" If you need to struggle with Satan, again "My Grace is sufficient for you!" If you wish to defeat Satan, again "My Grace is sufficient for you!" Grace is an all-inclusive weapon. Grace is stronger than all opposition, than all assaults, than all the powers of darkness. Grace is invincible and victorious.

Brethren, that is why we should pray to the Lord to give us His All-powerful Grace. Grace is God within us. Grace is the kingdom of God within us. When the Grace of God is within us, then day is within our souls. And day signifies light, knowledge and fearlessness.

Brethren, we cannot here on earth implore a greater good from God than the Grace of God. If we were to receive the entire universe as a gift, that gift would be less than the Grace of God.

O most abundant Lord, the inexhaustible source of the omnipotent Grace, sprinkle our hardened hearts with Your Grace that we might weep before Your most great goodness and our horrendous ingratitude.

"That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His Grace" (Ephesians 2:7).

With the prophetic gift, the Apostle Paul prophesied about the riches of the Grace which, throughout the ages, will be poured out on the generations of mankind. We who live nearly twenty centuries separated from the apostle can attest to that which the apostle prophesied in ages past. Just as beehives are filled with valuable and honey-bearing bees, so all the centuries from Christ until today are filled with praiseworthy men, virgins and women.

O how abundantly the richness of the Grace of God manifested itself on countless souls who, at first, were sinful and later became holy!

O how abundantly the richness of the Grace of God manifested itself on men and women who were, at first, weak and fearful and after that heroically confessed Christ the Lord and joyfully suffered for Him!

O how abundantly the richness of the Grace of God manifested itself throughout the centuries on the simple and illiterate who, after that, became true wisemen and spiritual generals of the faithful armies of Christ!

Brethren, just think how much more hidden holiness, unrevealed sacrificing, unrecorded heroism, unsung virtues lay hidden in the depths of twenty centuries of Christianity! When all of that is made known, all that which was in the past centuries and in those centuries which will come until the end of time, then will the angels and men be astonished before the unspeakable riches of the Grace of God. Then the Apostle Paul himself will have to cry out: "Even though I was an apostle, nevertheless, my word was too weak to express all the immeasurable richness of the Grace of God which, out of love for man, was proclaimed in the world."

O Most Holy Trinity, our mankind-loving God, uplift our hearts that we continually glorify and praise the exceeding great richness of Your Grace.

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New NASA Data Blow Gaping Hole In Global Warming Alarmism

Further proof, if any more is needed, of a collapsing theory. So much for the anti-science belief in “consensus” used to bully people away from the facts in order to establish alarmist ideologies.

James Taylor
July 27, 2011
Forbes

NASA satellite data from the years 2000 through 2011 show the Earth's atmosphere is allowing far more heat to be released into space than alarmist computer models have predicted, reports a new study in the peer-reviewed science journal Remote Sensing. The study indicates far less future global warming will occur than United Nations computer models have predicted, and supports prior studies indicating increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide trap far less heat than alarmists have claimed.

Study co-author Dr. Roy Spencer, a principal research scientist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and U.S. Science Team Leader for the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer flying on NASA's Aqua satellite, reports that real-world data from NASA's Terra satellite contradict multiple assumptions fed into alarmist computer models.

"The satellite observations suggest there is much more energy lost to space during and after warming than the climate models show," Spencer said in a July 26 University of Alabama press release. "There is a huge discrepancy between the data and the forecasts that is especially big over the oceans."

In addition to finding that far less heat is being trapped than alarmist computer models have predicted, the NASA satellite data show the atmosphere begins shedding heat into space long before United Nations computer models predicted.

The new findings are extremely important and should dramatically alter the global warming debate.

Scientists on all sides of the global warming debate are in general agreement about how much heat is being directly trapped by human emissions of carbon dioxide (the answer is "not much"). However, the single most important issue in the global warming debate is whether carbon dioxide emissions will indirectly trap far more heat by causing large increases in atmospheric humidity and cirrus clouds. Alarmist computer models assume human carbon dioxide emissions indirectly cause substantial increases in atmospheric humidity and cirrus clouds (each of which are very effective at trapping heat), but real-world data have long shown that carbon dioxide emissions are not causing as much atmospheric humidity and cirrus clouds as the alarmist computer models have predicted.

The new NASA Terra satellite data are consistent with long-term NOAA and NASA data indicating atmospheric humidity and cirrus clouds are not increasing in the manner predicted by alarmist computer models. The Terra satellite data also support data collected by NASA's ERBS satellite showing far more longwave radiation (and thus, heat) escaped into space between 1985 and 1999 than alarmist computer models had predicted. Together, the NASA ERBS and Terra satellite data show that for 25 years and counting, carbon dioxide emissions have directly and indirectly trapped far less heat than alarmist computer models have predicted.

In short, the central premise of alarmist global warming theory is that carbon dioxide emissions should be directly and indirectly trapping a certain amount of heat in the earth's atmosphere and preventing it from escaping into space. Real-world measurements, however, show far less heat is being trapped in the earth's atmosphere than the alarmist computer models predict, and far more heat is escaping into space than the alarmist computer models predict.

When objective NASA satellite data, reported in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, show a "huge discrepancy" between alarmist climate models and real-world facts, climate scientists, the media and our elected officials would be wise to take notice. Whether or not they do so will tell us a great deal about how honest the purveyors of global warming alarmism truly are.

James M. Taylor is senior fellow for environment policy at The Heartland Institute and managing editor of Environment & Climate News.

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Five Miracles of Saint Irene Chrysovalantou

Below are a few of the thousands of miracles attributed to St. Irene Chrysovalantou which the recipients responded to with thankful letters addressed to the Saint and published in the bi-monthly periodical "Saint Irene Chrysovalantou" distributed by the Monastery dedicated to this Saint in Lykovrisi (read more here). These were published in the September-October 2009 issue.

1. Healing of Leukemia

Saint Irene Chrysovalantou, I thank you for hearing my prayers and healing my daughter of fifteen years old who was admitted to a hospital in Vancouver because the doctors diagnosed her with leukemia.

We prayed to Saint Irene Chrysovalantou to cure our child and she worked her miracle. I went to the hospital and gave my daughter the icon of Saint Irene Chrysovalantou to have next to her and pray for her health. I also gave her a piece of holy apple to eat. As soon as she ate it she felt a weight lifting from her.

The same night she dreamt that she was thirsty and she asked for water. She saw Saint Irene holding an apple in her hand coming near to her to give her some apple. The next morning when she woke up she felt completely well and the doctors were amazed with the progress in her health.

May Saint Irene give to all health and peace and have us under her protection.

The parents,
Konstantinos and Aikaterini Agriomitrou
Vancouver, Canada

2. The Childless Receive A Child

Saint Irene Chrysovalantou, thousands of thanks for the miracle which you worked for me.

After thirteen whole years of marriage full of pain, worry, sadness and a big emptiness in my life because I did not have a child, you came to give me an adorable little boy, my Chrysovalanti. You gave me so much joy and happiness that I cannot describe it.

I prayed to you day and night to help me feel the joy of motherhood and you helped me. I had vowed that if I had a child I would call it by your name.

One night, when I thought I was asleep, a door suddenly opened from the east (there was not a door there normally). I saw a woman coming in dressed in black. I was very frightened and I started to call for my husband and mother. Then I saw the woman coming close to me and standing at my bedside. She said three times: "Do not be afraid".

I continued to shout because I did not realize it was Saint Irene Chrysovalantou. Then I heard my mother saying: "Do not be afraid, it is Saint Irene Chrysovalantou and she has come to tell you that you will have a child." Emotionally I turned around to see you, but you had gone.

After that I was certain that Saint Irene would help me and finally I was pregnant. Every day I smeared holy oil on my tummy and thank God I had my baby with no problems.

Thank you Saint Irene Chrysovalantou from deep in our hearts and please always protect everyone and us.

Please protect our Chrysovalanti. I am sending a photograph of him too.

With love and respect,
Maria Charilaou
Lemesos, Cyprus


3. Healing Of An Unconscious Man Following An Accident

I too want to thank you, Saint Irene Chrysovalantou, for the miracle which you worked for us.

My husband after a car accident remained unconscious in big shock. At the hospital where he was for two weeks fighting for his life the doctors, in spite of their efforts, did not give us much hope of survival. They said that if his heart could cope he would live.

I, who was expecting my second child, put all my hopes in you Saint Irene Chrysovalantou and I smeared some holy oil from your oil lamp on my husband which I always have in the house.

After two weeks one morning my five year old daughter woke up and said: "Mummy, Saint Irene Chrysovalantou came to our house and she told me not to cry because my daddy would get better. He will wake up from being unconscious and speak to you."

The next day he recovered and we asked him what he would like, and he said he wanted Saint Irene Chrysovalantou's holy apple and to see his daughter. I fasted for three days and I gave the holy apple to my husband to eat.

In the morning when he woke up the doctors examined him and they told my husband that he had fluid in the brain and they would have to operate in a week. When the time came for the operation there was a test to be done and they found nothing. They were amazed how it had happened. I knew it was a miracle from you and he did not have to go through the inconvenience of an operation.

I vowed to come to your Monastery to pray when we were on leave from our work and to thank you from near. Now my husband is at home and we are happily waiting for the birth of our second child. We shall always thank you for as long as we live.

With faith and respect,
Kate Rosenli
Germany

4. Healing of Painful Kidney Stones

Thank you Saint Irene Chrysovalantou from deep in my soul for the miracle which you worked for me.

I had bad pains in my right side and I was admitted to the hospital for tests which showed I had a stone in my kidneys. They had me often under observation because the pains continued to torment me.

One night when I went to bed I read one of your magazines which my wife had brought to me in the hospital to read of your miracles. After I read them my eyes filled with tears and with true faith I prayed that you would work for me a miracle too to avoid the pain and operation I would go through.

Your miracle did not take long to work Saint Irene Chrysovalantou.

That same day at midnight I woke up afraid, thinking that something was cut inside me and the pain I felt inside me was unbearable. I went back to sleep without any painkiller.

In the morning when they x-rayed me your miracle had worked. The x-rays were clear. There was no stone on the kidney.

After a while the doctor came and he said smiling: "You are lucky and you don't need the operation. There is nothing wrong with you." So I left the hospital completely well thanks to your miraculous intervention, Saint Irene Chrysovalantou.

I thank you from deep in my soul and pray that you will have us always keep us under your protection and we will always call on you when in difficulty.

Your humble servant,
Savvas Orphanidis
Germany


5. A Mother Prays For the Health of Her Children

I thank you wholeheartedly Saint Irene Chrysovalantou for the miracles which you worked for me too.

My child was just nine months when he had problems with his kidneys. We took him to a very good hospital in Athens where after many tests they told us that for a year he must take antibiotics and if things did not improve then he must have an operation.

When we returned home and talked to someone I know, she told me that for a young child to take antibiotics over such a long period was disastrous for my child's health. So I decided to stop the antibiotics and instead three times a day I put three drops of oil from your oil lamp in his milk which he drank, and I also smeared some holy oil on his kidneys.

You worked your great miracle sweet Saint Irene, as a year later, after many tests, my little Nicholas was completely healthy and today he is a young man aged 27.

After that miracle you enabled me to hold in my arms a second child who bears your name Chrysovalantou, as after having my first child I was unable to have a second child which I so much wanted.

For nine whole years I waited for this joy and my faith in you gave me hope. I visited your Monastery at Lykovrisi and I got some holy apple and holy oil which I drank regularly and smeared some on me.

After some tests which I had for other reasons I found out I was five months pregnant. You protected me Saint Irene and I gave birth very well to my little Chrysovalantou who today is 18 years old.

Thank you sweet Saint Irene Chrysovalantou for your help towards me, and please always protect my family and all those who call on your miraculous power.

Theodora Noula
Mesologgi, Greece

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Saint Panteleimon and the Irreverent Doctor

Our presvytera had a tumor and had surgery. As soon as they removed the tumor, they gave a piece to her husband, Father Evangelos, to go for a biopsy and bring back the results immediately. After receiving the results of the examination the doctors did not give even six months to the afflicted. The daughter of Papa-Vangeli fainted, while he himself lost it. In his hands however he squeezed the hand of Saint Panteleimon, which he brought with him, and prayed.

Presvytera returned from surgery. With longing Father Evangelos placed on top of the bandages where the breast surgery of presvytera took place the hand of the Saint, and he knelt down in prayer. At that time the surgeon entered with his mask on. Beholding the scene, he began to yell:

"What is this bone, my Father? Get it out of here and head on home."

The poor priest was dizzy; he gathered the holy relic and sought the door. Though he was dizzy, he heard the nurse call the doctor on the telephone saying that his wife was asking for him.

In the evening a car stopped outside the home of the priest. Surprised, Papa-Vangeli saw the doctor emerge. "My! My!", he thought, "the doctor is even chasing me to my house!" With horror, however, he also sees emerge from the car a young disfigured boy; his mouth went all the way to his ear.

The doctor approached the priest and said:

"My Father, that bone, do you have it? Forgive me, I got carried away. At the moment I kicked you out my wife called me saying that my child, as he was taking an exam, came down suddenly with the palsy you see. I realized that I was to blame, which is why I beg you much to read for us a prayer. Your presvytera gave me your address to the village."

Father Evangelos replied: "Gladly my child. Come to the small church. My son, hold the hand of the Saint and kneel."

Father Evangelos then explained what happened next, saying: "I lay my stole on the head of the youth and I began to read the prayer. As I read I heard a noise, crack! crack! I thought, what is going on? I finished, and when the child got up, what did we see, but the mouth of the child came back in place! Father and son threw themselves on me."

"My Father, how can I thank you?" asked the father of the child.

"Not me, my child," replied the priest, "but thank God and the Saint."

From that time and for a very long time they would come to venerate and to bring oil for the oil lamp of the Saint.

As for the presvytera, it is now more than twenty years since she became perfectly well without any more therapy. She raised her children and lives in the village, taking care of the small church with its many relics, since Father Evangelos is no longer around.

The doctor would often say to Papa-Vangeli: "We, my Father, must burn our books."

Source: Σταχυολογήματα από την θαυμαστή ζωή του π.Ευαγγέλου Χαλκίδη εφημέριου Αγ.Βασιλείου Λαγκαδά (Gleanings From the Wondrous Life of Fr. Evangelos Halkidi, Parish Priest of Saint Basil's in Langada) by Orthodoxos Kypseli. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.

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The Tomb of the Apostle Philip Discovered In Hierapolis

The tomb of St. Philip, one of the 12 Apostles of Jesus, was unearthed in a great discovery in the Denizli province of Turkey.

The discovery took place at the Hierapolis (Pamukkale) ancient excavation site of Denizli in western Turkey on Tuesday 26 July 2011. The excavation has been going on in the area for some 32 years led by the Italian Prof. Francesco D’Andria. Prof D’Andria gave the news of the great discovery on Tuesday, saying: “The discovery of the tomb of St Philip, who is a very important figure for Christianity, will make a tremendous impression in the world,” shortly after the great success of his team.

Up till now, people believed that the tomb of St. Philip was in the back hill of Hierapolis known as Martyr's Hill, but Italian Archaeologist Francesco D’Andria and his team discovered a new unknown church 40 meters of Martyr's Hill and the real tomb of St. Philip the Apostle is in this church.

“St. Philip is considered a martyr. In fact, the church built in his name on the Martyr's Hill is, for this reason, also called Martyrion, despite the fact there were no traces of the grave of St. Philip. As we were cleaning out the new church we discovered a month ago, we finally found the grave. With close examination, we determined that the grave had been moved from its previous location in the St. Philip Church to this new church in the fifth century, during the Byzantine era. We are extremely happy and proud to have discovered the grave of a saint whose name appears in the Bible – this surely is an important discovery for religious tourism, archaeology and Christendom,” the professor said.


Read also:

The Fate of the Relics of the Apostle Philip

Conversion, Crucifixion and Celebration

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The Tomb of Saint Paraskevi in Pounta

According to the tradition of the people of Epirus, St. Paraskevi was not martyred in Rome as mentioned in her traditional hagiography, but in Thesprotia where the Monastery of Saint Paraskevi of Pounta stands today. According to this tradition strongly held by the locals, the headless body of St. Paraskevi was entombed here and her tomb can still be venerated today.

It is said that the persecutors of St. Paraskevi dragged her to the edge of the river Acheron to behead her. As the sword was raised over her head, she grabbed a stone pillar that she held so tightly that the print of her hands melted into it leaving an indelible mark. A church was eventually erected here by the faithful in her honor and housed her holy relics. Her skull was eventually placed in the walls of the church, though today it is kept in Moni Petraki in Athens (skull is pictured below).

This tradition is reinforced for the following reasons:

1. According to St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite, through St. Paraskevi "many Greeks returned to the knowledge of God".

2. The Roman Martyrology omits this.

3. Many villages in Thesprotia located near the location of the martyrdom of St. Paraskevi celebrate their primary feast on July 26th in honor of St. Paraskevi, such as Valanidia, Kerasovo, Agia Kyriaki (Popovo), Tsangario, and Karamachi.

4. Portions of the skull and relics of St. Paraskevi remain throughout Greece. Petraki Monastery of the Bodiless Powers (Moni Petraki) in the center of Athens treasures part of the miraculous, myrrh-flowing skull of St. Paraskevi (along with relics of Sts. Raphael, Nicholas and Irene). Every Friday evening after Vespers, they serve Paraklesis to St. Paraskevi, and her relics are available for veneration. Also, Koutloumousiou Monastery of Mount Athos preserves a portion of her holy skull. Dionysiou Monastery of Mount Athos and the Monastery of Prophet Elias on Thira also have relics of St. Paraskevi, among others in Greece.

Today many faithful come to venerate the tomb of St. Paraskevi in Pounta and on July 26th a great feast is held in her honor.

According to the author and novelist Spyros Mouselimis, in his article "The Monastery of Pountas and the Feast of Saint Paraskevi" (Ηπειρωτική Εστία, 10, pp. 638-641, 1961), Pountas Monastery was known for its healing waters and numerous miracles. The pilgrims would cut off portions of the stone pillar of St. Paraskevi as a talisman, to the point that in 1960 the size of the stone was half its original size. He further writes:

"Lame and blind people come here to her tomb on her feast and leave strong. It was not too long ago (1952) where a crazy girl came here and the next day left reasonable and well. Out of her tomb there once flowed water through which the sick were healed. However a Turk came here to bathe his skin diseased bloodhound, and the water stopped, though the dog was healed."

According to the testimonies of soldiers during the Albanian war of 1940 St. Paraskevi appeared to many soldiers and saved them in miraculous ways.

The property of the Monastery at one time was very great. According to Lambridis, at the end of the 19th century the annual revenue of the Monastery was 20,000 piastres, from which a boarding school was supported on its premises until 1913. After the population exchange of 1923 the Monastery was abandoned and did not operate again until 1975. Only the eastern side of the original Holy Altar area of the Katholikon survives today, while the rest of the church was restored in 1989 together with the inscription for the tomb of St. Paraskevi.

Today the Monastery operates as a female convent.

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A Critique of Visions of Heaven and Hell

I have a general opinion regarding alleged visions of heaven and hell - never believe them when someone else tells you about them and pray you never receive one. Do I believe a vision of heaven and hell is possible? Yes I do, for with God all things are possible. What I look for is its fruits to see if they are authentic/revelation or a hoax/delusion. An authentic vision of heaven and hell can only possibly lead towards one path for the visionary - a life of extreme ascetical self-deprivation and repentance coupled with an over-abundance of humility and love. A hoax on the other hand does one of two things - it either self-glorifies the visionary giving him an exalted spiritual status to himself and others or it promotes views with good or evil intentions through lies to manipulate the hearer to accept the words of the visionary. 99.9% of all visions of heaven and hell one reads about usually falls into the latter category of being a hoax/delusion, whether conjured up in one's imagination or through demonic influence.

To demonstrate, I will briefly evaluate a popular "vision" of heaven and hell which is being distributed among the Orthodox Christian faithful in the United States, especially through certain monasteries, which gives it an extra ounce of credibility and believability, unfortunately. It is titled "My Spiritual Rebirth" by Dushan Yovanovich (Dusan Jovanovic) of Kragujevac, Serbia. I was given this small booklet a little over ten years ago by a married couple from outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania whom I was friends with through my wife. They received it trough the Greek Orthodox monastery in Saxonburg. The husband whole-heartedly believed in its authenticity, while the wife asked I read it for an evaluation knowing that I have a background in evaluating such material. Having read dozens upon dozens of such visions even by that time, I could pretty much predict its content and structure before even looking at it, and when I did read it I was not disappointed by my assumptions. I emailed this couple back with my negative evaluation, and I received no response and have never heard back from them since.

I don't have any particular background knowledge of the visionary or the publication of the text, but this is not necessary to evaluate it. It is not available anywhere online in either English or Serbian, though a false prophet/wacko named William Tapley, a self-proclaimed "prophet" of the end times, has uploaded it on YouTube, showing us what kind of mentality this stuff attracts. It can be seen in five parts here, here, here, here, and here. I will divide up my evaluation according to the five videos.

Part One

A first sign of delusion is when one actually puts their vision into writing, and if it is an authentic vision they have a high standard of life to follow thereafter. We know from Scripture that only one who is called to be a prophet can record their revelations, so in essence what we read about in the first video is Dushan's calling to be a prophet of God, though he doesn't come out and say it.

Dushan says he received this revelation in 1976 when he was 48 years old, following a Memorial Service he attended in his hometown on July 10th. Leaving the Memorial Service Dushan was returning to a famous Serbian spa where he was receiving therapy and along the way a bus accident caused a traffic jam. Among the passengers of the bus were a monk and nun who were trying to hitchhike their way to Zica Monastery. Since no one would pull over for the monk and nun, Dushan decided to pick them up and take them to the Monastery. While the monk and nun were sitting in the back seat they began to reveal secret things about Dushan's life.

The conversation between Dushan and the monastics is questionable. First of all, one wonders why a monk and nun are traveling alone together. We are immediately lead to assume that these monastics are in fact Saints not of this world. The questioning of Dushan by the monk and nun also resemble psychological games one never encounters in the Lives of the Saints. There is also a contradiction in the text when Dushan comes out and says he was an atheist, and then a few lines later the monk tells him he is not an atheist since he doesn't believe in the theory of evolution. While it is true that an atheist that doesn't believe in the theory of evolution is "intellectually unfulfilled" as Richard Dawkins would put it, it does not mean that one is not an atheist. The argument seems a bit over-simplistic. The monk and nun then try to prove their prophetic credibility, and it seems also like something one would see a psychic do on television to prove their credibility. And as all these things are being said we are supposed to assume that Dushan is still driving safely within the traffic lane. Anyone that is of normal mind would have stopped the car at some point and tried to figure out what was going on, especially when he looked back through the rear-view mirror and saw bright halos over their head. An overall evaluation of this conversation in the car is that it is very odd, unreliable, unique in Orthodox Christian history if true, awkward, and very dramatic as if it were a script to a very bad movie. It also sets the tone for the rest of the vision - just like the people who passed by the monk and nun when they were hitchhiking and supposedly "spat" on them, so also will those who do not believe in the contents of this book receive a harsh punishment from God to the point where it would be better off if we weren't born. At this point we can safely assume that the author of this book is a deluded man. His reactions clearly are not from a man with a normal mind, if authentic. I was left wondering what kind of therapy this man was actually getting in the spa.

As they pull into the Monastery the nun tells Dushan that everything he was told, in this the most incredible car ride ever, should not be revealed for three months, and then only to friends and family. After he parks and goes to open the door of the monk and nun (surprise surprise) the backseat is empty and the monastics had disappeared. Like I said, this "vision" is a typical and predictable B-movie script. Almost laughable actually if people didn't take it so seriously. It is only when the monastics disappear, who never reveal who they are, that Dushan goes a bit insane. He says: "I was afraid I was losing my mind, so I bit my hands, pulled my hair and slapped my face." Sorry, but God doesn't leave His prophets with signs of demonic possession after he makes a revelation to them through the saints.

Part Two

Obviously Dushan is not in the right state of mind to go through any more revelations in his fragile state, but sure enough when he goes back to his hotel room and tries to get some rest the relentless vision continues. The story is still sounding like a movie script that is not grounded in reality, and it only gets worse as we proceed with the text.

We are supposed to assume as he is lying down in bed that he dies and is taken to heaven by an angel wearing a pony tail. As they are walking to a hill where a cloud would take them to heaven, the angel reveals that the monk in the car was the Apostle Peter and the nun was St. Paraskevi, the two patron saints of his family. The moral of the story - never leave a hitchhiker behind. Could be very dangerous advice though.

As the cloud carries Dushan and the angel to heaven, the angel reveals why he of all people were chosen for this special vision - basically its because he loves justice and honesty. When one reads the Lives of the Saints, these are precisely the type of things demons say to delude people in visions. Furthermore, Dushan then reveals something that is just impossible to be true. He says that as the cloud is carrying them to heaven the angel stops the cloud and tells him to look at the earth from a distance one is to assume is very high. But from this high distance he says that not only could he see the "entire" earth and every detail on it, but he could even recognize every face. As one who has been to the top of the Empire State Building in New York City, I can testify that not only could I not see the entire earth even from that distance, but I surely could not distinguish any face from that height on the ground. This gives us yet another reason to find the whole thing questionable.

Even more questionable is when this angel tries to impress Dushan with visions of many angels holding trumpets and an illusion of what it will look like when all the dead will rise for Judgment Day. If Dushan isn't trying to show himself to be a great prophet here, then I don't know how it could be more obvious.

What we are seeing in the entire text so far and as we proceed is something common among hoax stories. The author is first trying to show why God chose him for these revelations, then proceeds to push his agenda by showing that God is revealing to him the answers to controversial issues. One issue we encountered already is atheism and the theory of evolution. The vision of the resurrection of the dead is supposed to answer the issue of what will happen to those who died while out at sea or perished through fire. How will their bodies resurrect? There is a clear agenda here that even though it sounds Orthodox it is still very unusual, since doctrinal issues are matters for the Church to evaluate and not individuals in heavenly and questionable visions that show signs of demonic possession or insanity in the least.

Dushan then sees these resurrected people with pieces of paper on their forehead, some with more writing on them than others. These are a list of sins and thoughts, which again sounds very odd since I can personally attest that my own sins and thoughts could not fully be listed on a small paper on the forehead. In my fictional tales, I prefer the chains of Jacob Marley conjured by Charles Dickens, but this author is clearly no Dickens.

Also, one would think that when one sees their entire family resurrected that he would have had a much more dramatic reaction, but do I really need to go into how lame of a story teller this author is again and how ungrounded he is in reality.

Another questionable instance in the text is when the angel tells Dushan that for 40 days following death the soul of a person relives their entire earthly experience. Such a belief is a common folk belief among simplistic Orthodox that contradicts reality and tries to give a special interpretation for why we have a 40 day Memorial Service for the dead.

Interestingly, in his travels through the Cosmos, he describes the glowing spirits of the dead, but never encounters demons which Scripture says are the spirits of the air. Could the angel here, who is probably in fact a demon, be hiding from Dushan the reality that these human souls are in facts demons? Interesting also that when Dushan starts asking questions, the angel shuts him up and tells him that he could not endure the answers if given to him. Why reveal it then in a vision? Clearly this angel is showing demonic tendencies.

Part Three

The vision then starts to get even weirder when he enters a gate with a cross on it. Within this gate are ever-narrowing roads cut off by even narrower gates guarded by angels and containing also demons. At one point Dushan even enters a gate no wider than his foot, and from here the story starts sounding a lot like Alice in Wonderland. Basically we are to assume here that Dushan went through all seven heavens and enters finally into the dwelling-place of God beyond the firmament. Clearly this is a bad version of what we find in the apocryphal literature of heretics. And what do you know, there is actually a literal river of milk and honey in heaven. Now we get to a story that sounds like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, where the angel also prevents Dushan from touching anything. Why? Could they be a demonic illusion?

In the vision of heaven Dushan is told certain trees bear fruit twelve time a year. Dushan is obviously not being consistent here. Are we to assume that in heaven there are years, that souls eat fruit, and that trees in heaven actually go through a period when they are fruitless? He also sees old people with grey hair and beards that actually look like young people, and children who were like the angels. They even play games in heaven. One wonders what kind of games. Games entail competition and losing and are usually not fun for everyone. Even if Dushan were to question the angel on these things, the angel would not answer. Something just keeps getting more and more fishy. The more questions this vision is trying to answer, the more questions it brings up. But we are supposed to leave with the impression that heaven is beautiful and lots of fun.

Dushan then is revealed all the saints and ranks of angels, as is typical in these stories, and even meets his car passengers from that day, the Apostle Peter and St. Paraskevi, who offer him some words of advice. We are also told that it is the angel Gabriel that is leading Dushan. Interestingly when Gabriel introduces him to the Prophets and Martyrs, they bow to Dushan. One would think it would be the other way around at this point.

Dushan also explains the contradiction at this point why he could see in far distances the most minor details - God gave him these super powers. And yet, he does not go into more detail about it as a normal person would who experiences something so extraordinary, but only explains it as to not to appear to be fabricating a story.

As he walks with the Archangel Gabriel they turn West and come into a realm of thick darkness with a stinky smell. Then he begins to describe something from out of Dante's Inferno while trying to remain faithful to a literal interpretaion of the Orthodox icon of the Last Judgment where a large dragon brings souls to hell. At first all he sees are viscious animals and the carcases of dead bodies while they terrified human souls. From this we are to assume that in hell animals eat the bodies of the damned, yet bodies and souls sound very confused and you don't know which is which. The author does a pretty good job here of showing that hell is populated by vampiric like animals that feed off humans. Not Scriptural, but this would actually make a pretty good scene in a movie.

I find it sort of odd that the angel thinks that by answering Dushan's questions it would not be bearable for him, but to see the sight of such horros is bearable. Very weird.

Part Four

Part four continues the vivid description of hell and gets into certain morals that are behind the obvious agenda of this book. Clearly this book is written by an Orthodox Christian who may have the right intentions, but is using a vivid story one reads in many other sources and with his own particular twist to bring people to repentance through fear. Such tales were often seen by heretical groups as a persuasive means of getting their points across with a certain level of authority, but Orthodox Christians should be wiser to avoid such things since rarely are they of any benefit to anyone. For example, what is the point of describing a promiscuous person in the following way:

"The promiscuous, like other sinners, were disfigured with large swellings and open wounds. Their enlarged sex organs reached the ground and upon them, in the pus, crawled snakes and worms."

Can you imagine going on a date and explaining to someone that you wish to remain a virgin until marriage lest you go to hell and your sex organs reach down to the ground with pus on them and snakes and worms crawl on them. That would probably be the end of the date right there. There are much better ways to persuade a person towards a life of virtue than such vivid horrific means. One would think an angel and God would know better, and how impractical such methods are. But of course they do know, which is why we know God does not use such methods to teach a moral tale, as Jesus revealed in His much more persuasive and wise parables. These tales are more in the tradition of the Brother's Grimm than the Prophets and Apostles.

Of course, you cannot have a vision of heaven and hell without seeing the clergy in hell. It is odd that not one clergyman was seen in heaven, but a lot of them are seen in hell. But of course, this serves the agenda of the author very well. Its a great way to teach clergy to not shorten services, or else they will live forever in a vampiric lair chewed upon by wild animals.

The vision eventually and finally comes to an end. After the angel again explains why Dushan is alone worthy of such visions, he sums up everything he should have learned in this lesson. It basically is reduced to doing this and that, while not doing this or that...or else. It is a very basic exposition of what a Christian ought and ought not to do that has been repeated many times over and better said without the need to get into a vision of heaven and hell.

Part Five

Now six hours have passed since his vision began, and Dushan wakes up. He gets up with joy and goes to Zica Monastery to get the books he was told to get by the angel. After being rude to the monk from whom he purchased the books, he gives a list of the books he bought by recommendation of the the Archangel Gabriel. He stays quiet about his experience for the next three months, but has a dramatic change in how he lives his life. His wife asks him about this two days before the three months are up and asks her to wait two days more before he explains. Two days later he reveals everything to his family and then goes to a priest for confession. Everyone he seems to tell believes his story and all live happily ever after. The end.

Two questions are then immediately raised in the readers mind. First, why did he have to wait three months before explaining anything? Possible answers could be brought up, such as for people to see his change in order to believe his vision, but the question remains. Even more odd is that the angel clearly tells Dushan to not tell anyone about the vision except for family and a few friends, and he goes and writes a book for the whole world to read without indicating any change in revelation to him from the angel to do so. This is clear disobedience.

Conclusion

I can get into the dangers and warnings given throughout the Orthodox Christian tradition concerning believing in such visions described above, but I don't think its necessary if one actually examines the vision itself. And such fantastic tales are not all that rare in Orthodox tradition, which are usually evaluated as demonic delusions by the saints. They always contain questionable material and serve a particular agenda either to serve a greater good or maybe even a greater evil. A similar vision circulating among Orthodox today is that of a young Catholic girl from Ecuador who claimed to see Michael Jackson and Pope John Paul II in hell, which can be similarly refuted as above when examined (one could read a Catholic critique of this vision here). The point is to never accept such visions. They are pointless and often do more spiritual harm than good. It makes Christians look very ridiculous also to believe in such tales often used in the medieval West as moral tales for the simple and illiterate. They never say anything more true than what has already been revealed, and often exagerate folk traditions to make them look as credible as the word of God. Let my evaluation above serve as an example of how such things should be read.

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Resuming My Time Off

This week I will be resuming my temporary time away from regularly posting here at Mystagogy in hopes of returning soon when all things are settled in my personal life. Till then I will only be issuing updates and links to previous posts among other things via my Facebook and Twitter pages, so if you are not yet linked I hope you will be soon. Just click on the buttons at the top of this page to connect.

Below I am again posting the books available through my bookstore for those who may be interested in some summer reading and helping out with the future of this ministry. All those who have already placed orders by today will be receiving their books either this week or the next. Those who order today or after are asked to allow about two weeks to receive their order.

Shipping and handling fees for 1-5 items are $3.00, and anything more than 5 items is $6.00. International orders are doubled for shipping and handling. For those who would like to make a $250 donation, you can receive all the items listed below at this discount price by indicating in your order that you would like to receive all the items.

Orders can be made by credit or debit card by clicking on the DONATE button at the top of this page via Paypal, or you can email me at jexilem@aol.com for questions or the info if you wish to send a check, money order or cash. Please include the titles of the items you would like to receive in your order.


- The Sacred Catechism of the Eastern Orthodox Church,
I.E. Of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church

By St. Nektarios of Pentapolis

This book is a short easy to understand introduction to the Orthodox Christian faith in a question and answer format written by one of the great Orthodox Saints of the 20th century. (Price: $8.00)

- The Agony of the Church

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

The contents of this book was originally given in the form of lectures at St Margaret's, Westminster in 1917. This is an Orthodox message on the Church for the West. (Price: $15.00)

- The Divine Comforter and Orthodox Theology According To Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite

A short summary of the patristic teaching on the Holy Spirit as taught by St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite. (Price: 5.00)

- The Death of God and the Resurrection of Man

By Panagiotes Nellas

An Orthodox response to the existentialist declaration of the “death of God”, which is the Gospel of the Resurrection of Man. (Price: $15.00)

- Orthodox Christian Clerical Attire and Appearance

By John Sanidopoulos

Examines and clarifies the history and meaning behind the appearance of Orthodox Christian clergy and the controversies on clerical appearance in the contemporary world. (Price: $18.00)

- Old Calendar - New Calendar: The Facts

By Archimandrite Joel Yiannakopoulos

The “Calendar Issue” has been the cause of much turbulence in the Church. It has been turned into a focal point for controversy. This book succeeds in shedding abundant light on this controversial issue of the Calendar and renders inexcusable all those who condemn the act of the Church in correcting the Calendar, and also enlightens those who so desire to make peace with their conscience. (Price: $13.00)

- The Holy Snakes of the Virgin Mary: Examining the Mysterious Annual Appearance of Snakes in Kefallonia

By John Sanidopoulos

This study examines the strange phenomenon of snakes which visit a tiny mountain village in southern Kefallonia called Markopoulo. They appear every year some time during the Dormition fast of the Theotokos after the feast of the Holy Transfiguration (between August 6-15) in a chapel built on the ruins of an old convent. This chapel is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and enshrines one of her miraculous icons. These snakes, with distinctly small naturally formed crosses on their head and tongue, make their appearance during the services conducted during the fast, venerate the icons and Gospel book, and are handled without bringing any harm to the handler. When the feast is over on August 15th, they disappear until their reappearance the following year. (Price: $13.00)

- Newly-Revealed Saints of the Orthodox Church

By John Sanidopoulos

Throughout the history of the Church, and especially in modern times, we have had many unknown and forgotten Saints which have come to light often centuries later by a revelation of God for the benefit of the Church. Some of these Saints have become well-known throughout the world, like Sts. Raphel, Nicholas and Irene of Lesvos, while others are more well-known at a more local level like St. Evdokimos of Vatopaidi. Some of these stories have never before been translated into English. (Price: $13.00)

- Saint Joachim of Ithaki, Otherwise Known As "Papoulakis" (1786-1868)

By Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi

Saint Joachim of Ithaki, later known as Papoulakis, was from Ithaki, and initially lived an ascetic life for twenty years in the Holy Monastery of Vatopaidi on the Holy Mountain, in which he received the Great Schema, and which later sent him forth on a mission to bolster the afflicted flock of the Greek mainland. For forty years afterward he developed a special mission on his home island of Ithaki. He lived a blessed and holy life, being a model of citizenship in Christ and a living image of virtue, and showed himself to be an instructor and protector of the harried Christian Greek people. This book compiles his life and miracles. (Price: $13.00)

- Saint Dionysios of Zakynthos

By Theoharis Provatakis

Saint Dionysios of Zakynthos was born in 1547 on the island of Zakynthos in the Ionian Sea. He excelled in theology, and became a monk in 1568 where he served in Zakynthos and Strofades. In 1577 he was raised to Archbishop of Aegina and Poros and after a year abdicated from this dignity and settled in Zakynthos as an abbot of a monastery. On December 17, 1622 he fell asleep in the Lord. Today he is known throughout the world for his many miracles and his incorrupt relics which can still be venerated in Zakynthos. (Price: $12.00)

- The History and Miracles of Panagia Prousiotissa

By Abbot Kyrillos Kastanofyllis

A popular pilgrimage site located just before the village of Prousos in Greece is the Holy Monastery of Panagia Prousiotissa, named after the miracle-working icon contained within. This book contains the translation of an old codex written by a former abbot Kyrillos during the Turkish occupation which describes the history of this icon and monastery as well as many miracles he recorded. (Price: 12.00)

- The Synaxarion of the Triodion and Pentecostarion

By Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos

Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos lived in the 14th century. Though primarily known as a historian, he also wrote liturgical texts such as these Synaxaria which describe all the major commemorations from the preparatory Triodion period, through Great Lent and Holy Week, all the way to the conclusion of the Bright Pascha celebrations on the Sunday of All Saints. These writings are a treasure for those who wish to participate deeper in these most solemn and festive days of the ecclesiastical year. (Price: $12.00)

- The Monastery of Mega Spelaion: A Brief History

By Metropolitan Agathonikos of Kalavryta

Near Kalavryta, inside the gorge of Vouraikou, encrusted in a rock, is the Great Cave Monastery, otherwise known in Greek as Mega Spelaion. Founded in the fourth century over the spot said to be where St. Luke the Evangelist celebrated the Divine Liturgy, wrote his Gospel and painted icons, today it holds one of his miraculous images of the Virgin Mary. This book describes the history of this monastery and icon in a very simple style that benefits the soul. (Price: $12.00)

- The Morbid and Macabre of 1893

By Anonymous

This is a copy of an old morbid scrapbook discovered at a farmhouse auction in Middletown, Connecticut back in 1995. No one knows who put this scrapbook together, but it was done in the late 19th century and they used a child's math book to paste the clippings in! This fascinating and macabre scrapbook is jam packed with authentic newspaper articles about deaths, murders, supernatural spirits, witches, horrible fatal accidents, an over-filled cemetery, poisonings, shootings, suicides, lynchings, and so on. There are even original clippings from the Lizzie Borden trial and President Hayes' death. These clippings not only cover events from various cities and towns in America, but from throughout the world. Having acquired this rare and fascinating historical text, I am now making copies of it available. (Price: $20.00)

- Ten Reasons I Believe the Holy Light Is A Miracle

By John Sanidopoulos

For nearly seventeen centuries an annual event has taken place at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on Holy Saturday that is today reported by media outlets around the world and hailed by tens of millions as one of Christianity's greatest miracles. The event is known to non-Orthodox as the ceremony of the "Holy Fire", while Orthodox prefer to call it "Holy Light" because they claim without hesitation it has a divine origin and supernatural qualities. This study outlines ten reasons why I believe the Holy Light phenomenon gives a higher probability of having a supernatural rather than natural origin and is a reply to skeptics of this miracle. (Price: $10.00)

- The Iconography of the Akathist Hymn

By John Sanidopoulos

This booklet provides the text of the Salutations from Akathist Hymn with the icons depicting what is written in the text. (Price: $10.00)

- Saint Theodora of Vasta

By John Sanidopoulos

This study separates the facts from the fiction behind the life of St. Theodora and her miraculous chapel at the place of her martyrdom in southern Peloponnesos. (Price: $10.00)

- Saint Luke the Evangelist As the First Iconographer

By John Sanidopoulos

Ancient tradition holds St. Luke the Evangelist to be the first iconographer. Shrines throughout the world claim to have icons painted by St. Luke. Is there a factual case behind this tradition? In this study the issue is examined. (Price: $10.00)

- Essays In Honor of Protopresbyter John Romanides (1927-2001)

Translated by John Sanidopoulos

Fr. John Romanides was a progressive and traditional theologian, pervasive and discerning, sharp and therapeutic, patristic and Orthodox. In the Greek journal Parembasis (Nov. 2001, Issue 70) a tribute was made to Fr. John Romanides upon his repose in 2001 that is here translated. Furthermore, His Eminence Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou recently published a book titled "Empirical Dogmatics of the Orthodox Catholic Church According To The Oral Traditions of Father John Romanides" in Greek. A Symposium was held in Athens on 19 January 2011 upon its release in honor of the ten year anniversary since his repose. These talks are also translated here. (Price: $10.00)

- The Church of the Dormition in Kalambaka

By Reverand Ioannis S. Pispas

Everyone who travels to Kalambaka, Greece becomes immediately fascinated by the holy rocks and monasteries of Meteora. Yet at the foot of these rocks is a church often passed by visitors that is as fascinating as the monasteries of Meteora known as the Church of the Dormition of the Theotokos. This booklet examines the history, architecture and iconography of this church and contains many photos. (Price: $10.00)

- Sainthood In The Old Testament

By John Sanidopoulos

Recently I was interviewed for a podcast on the topic of sainthood in the Old Testament. Due to requests for a transcript and the length of this discussion, it is offered here for one's sudy. (Price: $5.00)

ORTHODOX DVD MOVIES (Price: $10 each)

- The Drama of a Nightingale

Directed by Christopher Murray
Starring Dana Behan
1986
English (with Greek subtitles)
Read more here.

- Saint Theodora of Vasta

Directed by Christopher Murray
Starring Dana Behan
1986
English (with Greek subtitles)

- Saint Mary of Egypt

Directed by George Kypriotakis
1987
Greek

- The Two Fugitives

Directed by Mario Retsilas
1987
Greek

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Elder Arsenie Papacioc Has Reposed In The Lord

Father Arsenie has reposed in the Lord today, Tuesday 19 July 2011, at 11:00 in the morning. He was one of the greatest Romanian spiritual fathers in the second half of the 20th century.

He was born on August 15, 1913 in Misleanu, a village in southern Romania. His baptism name was Anghel. His grandfather was a Vlach shepherd.

After WWII he was received at Cozia Monastery. He became a monk at Sihastria Monastery. He later became abbot of Slatina Monastery.

Hearing that the communists wanted to arrest him, he lived as a hermit for several years, along with Father Ilie Cleopa. He was arrested in 1958 and released in 1964.

In 1976 he became the spiritual father of a female monastery, called Techirghiol. It is here where he reposed in the Lord. He will be buried here on Thursday 21 July.

May his memory be eternal!

Read also:

Părintele Arsenie Papacioc: "Viaţa înseamnă moarte continuă”

Elder Arsenie Papacioc: Don't Judge Priests


These are a few recordings of him:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FpJY6S0A4c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsRHIW5FrHk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o7UGLTauHI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjjjjiYeuMw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyeOlx22ftk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGsWytL8ee4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFID-ZHdPiA

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Humans 'Predisposed' to Believe in Gods and the Afterlife

Does this study show we need to be reprogrammed to think "rationally", or that we are deliberately created to worship? If the former is true, then "rational thinking" is dangerous with no "selective advantage", which in turn would cast doubt on the evolution of the mind.

July 14, 2011
Science Daily

A three-year international research project, directed by two academics at the University of Oxford, finds that humans have natural tendencies to believe in gods and an afterlife.

The £1.9 million project involved 57 researchers who conducted over 40 separate studies in 20 countries representing a diverse range of cultures. The studies (both analytical and empirical) conclude that humans are predisposed to believe in gods and an afterlife, and that both theology and atheism are reasoned responses to what is a basic impulse of the human mind.

The researchers point out that the project was not setting out to prove the existence of god or otherwise, but sought to find out whether concepts such as gods and an afterlife appear to be entirely taught or basic expressions of human nature.

'The Cognition, Religion and Theology Project' led by Dr Justin Barrett, from the Centre for Anthropology and Mind at Oxford University, drew on research from a range of disciplines, including anthropology, psychology, philosophy, and theology. They directed an international body of researchers conducting studies in 20 different countries that represented both traditionally religious and atheist societies.

The findings are due to be published in two separate books by psychologist Dr Barrett in Cognitive Science, Religion and Theology and Born Believers: The Science of Childhood Religion.

Project Co-director Professor Roger Trigg, from the Ian Ramsey Centre in the Theology Faculty at Oxford University, has also written a forthcoming book, applying the wider implications of the research to issues about freedom of religion in Equality, Freedom and Religion (OUP).

Some findings of the Cognition, Religion and Theology Project:

- Studies by Emily Reed Burdett and Justin Barrett, from the University of Oxford, suggest that children below the age of five find it easier to believe in some superhuman properties than to understand similar human limitations. Children were asked whether their mother would know the contents of a box in which she could not see. Children aged three believed that their mother and God would always know the contents, but by the age of four, children start to understand that their mothers are not all-seeing and all knowing. However, children may continue to believe in all-seeing, all-knowing supernatural agents, such as a god or gods.

- Experiments involving adults, conducted by Jing Zhu from Tsinghua University (China), and Natalie Emmons and Jesse Bering from The Queen's University, Belfast, suggest that people across many different cultures instinctively believe that some part of their mind, soul or spirit lives on after-death. The studies demonstrate that people are natural 'dualists' finding it easy to conceive of the separation of the mind and the body.

Project Director Dr Justin Barrett, from the University of Oxford's Centre for Anthropology and Mind, said: 'This project does not set out to prove god or gods exist. Just because we find it easier to think in a particular way does not mean that it is true in fact. If we look at why religious beliefs and practices persist in societies across the world, we conclude that individuals bound by religious ties might be more likely to cooperate as societies. Interestingly, we found that religion is less likely to thrive in populations living in cities in developed nations where there is already a strong social support network.'

Project Co-Director Professor Roger Trigg, from the University of Oxford's Ian Ramsey Centre, said: 'This project suggests that religion is not just something for a peculiar few to do on Sundays instead of playing golf. We have gathered a body of evidence that suggests that religion is a common fact of human nature across different societies. This suggests that attempts to suppress religion are likely to be short-lived as human thought seems to be rooted to religious concepts, such as the existence of supernatural agents or gods, and the possibility of an afterlife or pre-life.'

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The Faithful Husband That Would Not Abandon His Unfaithful Wife

By Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi

I will tell you of another characteristic of a proper spouse, which is extremely difficult to find in our day. But we did encounter one such person. He was in every way a perfect character, a Christian, and completely social. He married late, around thirty years old, not because he was averse to marriage, but because he thought that was how it should be. So he said his prayers with faith, and found himself a young girl and married her. The girl was young, ten years younger than him. Soon after he married her, she began her mischief. He pretended not to notice; he regarded her as his daughter and himself as her father. However, they had important business interests overseas and they had to go there, even if only temporarily. So he took her and they went abroad. When they arrived, she became very obstinate, and would say to herself: "He did this on purpose, to estrange me from my environment. I will desert him." So she abandoned and left him. She came back to Greece, and where do you think she went? To one of those "casino" places, and began to live the life of a free woman - one who is paid.

The husband however, from the day that she left him, never stopped praying with tears and insisting - in fact exhorting God: "All Good One, I will not retreat, I will not leave You alone; You were the One who gave me my wife. 'By the Lord is a man and woman harmonized' (according to the Bible). I want my wife. If the young girl has been deceived, must she be lost? Why did You come down to earth? Didn't You come to find the lost ones, to heal the sick, to resurrect the dead? I will not retreat. I will not let You rest. I want my wife; bring her back to me." He wept for two whole years.

His prayer was eventually heard and the young woman came to her senses. "Oh my," she confessed, "God will have to create another Hell, because this one is too small for me!"

So she sat down and wrote him a letter, saying: "I dare not address your name; I have no such right. If I return, will you accept me as your servant?"

He replied: "My love, why did you mention that word and hurt my feelings? Wasn't it me who sent you on a vacation and I was longing for my love to return to my open arms?"

So, he went and waited for her at the airport, as they had arranged. When she arrived, she fell down and began to beat herself and cry. He took her in his arms.

"My love, why are you like this and hurt my feelings? I was longing to see you again. Let's go home now; we never parted - I was always with you."

And this young girl proved herself to be a faithful wife from then on.

And that is the stance that a man - a husband - should take.

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The High End of Low

Her eyes,
Her cold empty eyes.
They were reaching into me,
Emptying me.
And it was her,
But it wasn't her.
She was in a circle,
Chanting,
And everything I was,
Was taken from me.
Naked I came from my mother's womb,
And naked shall I return.
The Lord gave,
And the Lord has taken away.
As it seemed good to the Lord,
So also it came to pass.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.

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The Cell of St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite In Kapsala

This is the Cell of St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite in Kapsala, Mount Athos. In the background is the Russian Skete of Saint Andrew in Sarai.

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Father of Israeli President Owes Life To Greek Monks

Greer Fay Cashman
July 13, 2011
The Jerusalem Post

At state dinner, Peres says that his late father, Yitzhak, as a soldier in the British Army, had been stationed in Greece.

The Second World War and the Holocaust figured in the official addresses by both President Shimon Peres and his Greek counterpart President Karolos Papoulias at the state dinner that Peres hosted on Monday night in honor of the president of the Hellenic republic.

Peres said that his late father, Yitzhak, as a soldier in the British Army, had been stationed in Greece and had been captured by the Germans.

He had managed to escape, but finding shelter was difficult because he knew no one in Greece, and not a word of Greek. But he had found his way to a Greek monastery, where for two years, he and six other British soldiers had been hidden by the priests who, at great risk to their own lives, fed them and ensured their safety.

After two years in hiding, Yitzhak Perski and the other soldiers decided to make another bid for freedom, and attempted to sail out of Greece on a small dinghy that was quickly intercepted by the Luftwaffe. They were again taken captive by the Germans, who brought them to a POW camp not far from Auschwitz.

During the period in which he had been in hiding, Perski had learned to speak Greek and sing Greek songs.

When he returned home after a four-year absence, he would frequently gather his children and grandchildren around him to tell them Greek folk tales and sing Greek songs to them.

Whenever he hears Yehuda Poliker, the son of Greek Holocaust survivors sing Greek melodies, said Peres, it fills him with emotion, and he is reminded of his late father.

Poliker, in fact, was chosen to sing for Papoulias at the dinner, and the Greek head of state later embraced him.

Papoulias, who during his visit to Israel met with Greek Holocaust survivors and visited Yad Vashem, said that during the Nazi occupation of Greece, Jews and Christians joined forces in the struggle against the barbarous destruction wrought by the Germans and their cohorts.

In the village of Ionnina where he was born, the Nazis murdered ten Jewish families with whom he had grown up.

Among the victims was his first girlfriend from elementary school. His voice broke as he recalled how the Nazis had locked the Jews in the synagogue and set fire to it while they were still alive.

Greece had paid a heavy toll in blood during the Holocaust, he said.

More than 65,000 Greek Jews had been murdered, and the number would have been even higher, had not so many simple Greek Christians put their own lives at risk in order to save the lives of their Jewish friends.

He had been very moved, he said, when meeting Greek Holocaust survivors in Jerusalem.

The Holocaust is more than the number six million, he said. Behind each victim is a name, a life, a tragedy. This is the reason, he said, that the Greek people, state and community do not turn a blind eye to any incident of anti- Semitism, racism or religious incitement.

Read also: Peres Thanks Greek President For Help On Flotilla

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The Discovery of the Holy Icon of Panagia Eleousa in Xyniada of Domokou in 1962

The First Appearance of the Theotokos to Athanasios Syros

The terrible earthquakes that shook Thessaly on 30 April 1954, the feastday of the Life-Giving Spring, are unforgettable to its oldest inhabitants. This day was particularly memorable for the villagers of Xyniada, and even more so for Athanasios Syros, who saw with his eyes the Most-Holy Theotokos.

Athanasios Nicholas Syros was eight years old then, and while playing on Friday afternoon along with other children on the mountainside, he saw in front of him a barefoot woman dressed in black doing prostrations. And while the ground at that spot was dry, the prostrations made by this unknown woman dressed in black made the ground soft and it sank like dough. At the three points where this unknown woman made these prostrations, the place exuded a sweet fragrance.

Then young Athanasios told the other children: "Children, look at the grandma doing prostrations." He called her grandmother because she wore black clothes, like almost all the grandmothers in the villages wear. None among all the other children could see her however. Then the kids went running to the villagers to announce what Athanasios saw, so they could quickly come to confirm the event.

Indeed Athanasios repeated for them that he saw an unknown woman doing prostrations at the same area. The villagers could not see anything and asked him insisting to tell them where he was seeing the woman dressed in black. Though the young Athanasios repeated the same to them, they could not see anything. All they could discern was the smell of a sweet fragrance emanating from the point where the little boy said that he saw the unknown woman dressed in black doing prostrations.

The Second Appearance of the Theotokos in Athanasios' Sleep

That same night the unknown woman made her appearance in Athanasios' sleep, who slept next to his parents on one side and his other siblings on the other. This time she had a bright crown on her head and he was a little bit frightened, asking her: "Grandma who are you? And what do you want from me? I am afraid!". And then the black dressed woman told him: "Do not be afraid, young one, I am the mother of the infant Christ, Whom you love so much, and He sent me to reveal to you that you have a clean heart and pure soul, and that at the central point you saw me marking, they should dig there and my icon will be found. That spot shall become a place of worship, and a church is to be built, a holy place." With these words the Panagia disappeared from before young Athanasios.

In the morning Athanasios told his family in detail about the second appearance of the Theotokos and begged them to dig at the spot mentioned by the Panagia.

The Reactions of the Villagers

Unfortunately, the reactions of the villagers were not favorable for the young Athanasios. Nobody could believe everything he narrated was true, and many times they browbeat him away with insulting phrases! Such is always done by people who do not believe. Approximately the same was done to the Lord, Who said: "Blessed are you when they insult and persecute you and speak against you any evil thing ... Rejoice and be glad, because your reward is great in heaven" (Matthew 5:11-12).

All these reactions of the villagers however were unable to shake Athanasios. He gathered stones and built himself a small chapel where the Panagia indicated. There he placed a small icon of the Panagia, and he would go there every day, morning and evening, to light the oil lamp and pray to the Most-Holy Theotokos. In his constant entreaties to dig there at the spot indicated by the Panagia, at one point some villagers gave in. These actions, however, were isolated and without any effect.

Eight years of indifference by the villagers passed, but this stopped when a deadly disease befell the animals of the village. They began now to think seriously whether the illness of their "livelihood" was God's punishment for their lack of faith shown to the words of Athanasios. They began to make supplications to the Theotokos to forgive them and exempt them from the evil which befell them. Thus the death of the animals was the cause of the villagers to return closer to God.

The Discovery of the Sacred Icon of the Panagia

In early June of the year 1962 a bulldozer came to Xyniada to dig open the streets of the village. The residents then begged the operator, that upon finishing the digging, to help dig at the spot mentioned by Athanasios as suggested by the Panagia where her icon was to be found. The operator of the machine, however, named Elias Saltas and came from the village named Stavros Lamias, did not want to dig and even reacted violently to the persistent requests of the villagers.

Then stepped up another resident of Lamia, Spyros Houliaras, an official of the Ministry of Finance who had heard from his mother concerning the appearances of the Panagia. Mr. Houliaras heard of the reactions of the driver, and called a meeting of the leaders of the community, namely the president of the village, the teacher, the priest, the police and the church council, and together they went and asked the operator, whom they eventually convinced.

The machine began to dig and remove soil at the indicated spot and everyone had gathered, waiting anxiously. The operator after the first and second trench had no result. He began to blaspheme and tried a third time without success again. The machine stopped. Then the policeman who was close saw next to the blade of the machine near the root of an oak the icon of the Panagia.

What happened at that point is indescribable. Everyone who was there fell on their knees and venerated the holy icon of the Panagia and asked with tears in their eyes for her grace. Some ran and struck the bell to alert the other residents who were in the fields. Others ran and embraced the sixteen year old Athanasios and asked him to forgive them for their contempt and unbelief. The machine operator fell in tears, venerated the icon, and begged the Theotokos to forgive him. It is said that by resorting to the grace of the Panagia, with a warm faith, he was healed of a stomach ailment from which he was tormented until then.

The Miraculous Icon of the Theotokos

The miraculous icon of the Panagia was hidden at a depth of a meter and a half for centuries. It is small and bears the inscription "Mother of God Eleousa". According to expert opinion, the icon seems to belong to the era of iconoclasm. It remained in the soil however so many centuries without anything wrong with it. When the grace of God wills, the destructible becomes indestructible and the mortal immortal.

Today the icon of "Panagia Eleousa" is covered with silver and gold and placed in a beautiful shrine. The offerings of the faithful who are troubled and receive grace decorate the entire surface of the icon.

The Katholikon and the Cells

The pious pilgrims offered whatever they could for a small church to be built to serve the spiritual needs of the faithful who resorted to the Panagia. The chapel was built, and at the root of the oak, where they found the icon, they placed the altar.

This small church however could not serve the needs of the ever increasing pilgrims. That is why Metropolitan Damaskinos of Fthiotida in November 1965 laid the foundation for a larger church, which with the assistance of the faithful pilgrims ended in August 1966. Athanasios, now known as Father Athanasios, secured by personal efforts to complete the construction of the church. He loved this project so much that he built a magnificent Monastery. The dome and walls of the church were frescoed. In the eastern part of the Monastery was built the Abbot's residence and a few cells. The Abbot is Fr. Athanasios.

Consecration of the Church

The day of consecration was 21 June 1972, ie, the same day they found the icon. On June 21 Great Vespers was celebrated by the then chancellor and now the former Metropolitan Agathonikos of Mesogaias and Lavreotiki. The next day the great celebration of the consecration by Metropolitan Damaskinos of Fthiotida took place, accompanied by many priests and before a large number of believers.

The Holy Shrine celebrates twice a year: on the day of the discovery of the icon on June 21, and on August 15 for the celebration of the Dormition of the Theotokos.

MIRACLES OF THE THEOTOKOS

Healing of Demonic Possession

Lemonia Kokkini, from the village Agrapidia of Domokou, in the year 1963, became demon possessed at mealtime. The demon constantly annoyed her and would not calm down. Her parents, desperate, having brought her to many doctors, called on the Panagia Eleousa. The girl did not speak but made inarticulate cries. During the night a change in behavior was witnessed and the girl after a few days became absolutely tranquile. The event became known throughout the region, and the people ran to the miraculous icon of the Panagia to offer thanks. (From the newspaper National Struggle of Lamia, 3 January 1963).

Healing of Blindness

From the village of Xyniada in Domokou, the son of Vaios Polymeros, named Stavros, at dinner became blinded. His parents were astonished by what happened and placed their hopes in God. They grabbed their blind son and went to our Panagia who is Great in Grace. A Supplication Service took place and towards the end of it vision returned to the child. The parents, wanting to thank the Panagia, dedicated to the Monastery the gate of the garden.

The Greatest Gift of Heaven

Two childless married couples from Karditsa, whose surnames were Giannakis and Kafetzis, begged the Panagia to give them children. They asked the Abbot of the Monastery to pray a Supplication Service for them. The Abbot blessed them, and told them that the Panagia will do the miracle. The following year the two couples, holding their children in their arms, went to the Panagia to thank her and have them baptized. From then till now over 1,500 couples have sought assistance to bear children, and all baptized their children in the Monastery.

She Saved Her Monastery From Fire

Several years ago, a pilgrim left a lit candle in the church. The Abbot, forgetting the lit candle, locked the church. As the candle burned, it reached the point where it was attached to the candelabra and fell down, so it started burning the carpet. At midnight the Abbot, while sleeping, heard knocks on the window and a voice saying: "Wake up, the church is burning." Immediately he ran to the church, and he fought the flames alone, extinguishing the fire without seeing any man beside him. It was the Panagia who informed the Abbot and saved the Monastery from a sure fire. The burnt carpet still exists.

They Were Guided By A Bird

Pilgrims from Athens heard about the discovery of the icon and decided to visit and to venerate. Arriving at the 22nd km after Lamia, they did not know where to go. Then in front of the driver who was in despair there appeared in front of the bus a black bird, which showed him the way to the Monastery until the gate of the enclosure. Then the bird disappeared. All the pilgrims proclaimed the miracle of the Panagia and still proclaim it today.

The All-Night Vigil Which Brought A Miracle

From Ambelia Farsala two couples came to give thanks for the grace they received by attending an all-night vigil. The first couple had a child on whose cheek was seen an incision that reached up to his mouth. The diagnosis by the doctors was cancer. The believing parents brought the child to the Monastery for the vigil. While the child was asleep, he was healed. Waking in the morning his mother saw that the cut was gone.

The second married couple from the same village had a deaf-mute girl. Her mother constantly prayed to the Panagia and finally in desperation said: "My Panagia, either give her a voice or take her, as I cannot see her suffer."

The Panagia did the miracle and the girl spoke. The first word she said was "mama" ("mom").

An Incurable Illness

Panagiota Psihogios from Agia Paraskevi of Lokridos, now residing in Athens, confesses the miracle of the Panagia who cured her of cancer.

Chants From Heaven

The miraculous icon was found in 1962. The church started being built in 1965. North of this was built a temporary hut with three rooms. In one lived the Abbot, in the other builders, and in the third was placed the icon along with the sacred vessels. During the night the workers heard noises, censors and chanting coming from the room where the Panagia was kept. They became very frightened and wanted to leave before finishing the building of the church. The Abbot reassured them and told them not to fear because the chants were coming from the Panagia. This strengthened their faith and they remained until the completion of the church.

Always Close To Her Children

A resident from Karditsa told the Abbot that for three nights a woman with black clothes took him and brought him to a big door. The third time he found the courage and asked her where she was leaving him, and she replied "at the Sacred Monastery of Panagia Eleousis in Xyniada of Domokou."

Care of the Panagia For the Monastery

Entering the Main Gate of the church, to the right, surrounded by balusters for safety reasons, is kept the Holy Icon. Due to lack of money there wasn't a door for the balusters. Then the Panagia appeared to Mr. Karahalios, a resident of Lamia, and asked him to go fix the door. Surprised Mr. Karahalios asked to know which Monastery, and she replied "at the Sacred Monastery of Panagia Eleousis in Xyniada of Domokou."

Note:

The above text was based on the book by Archimandrite Panteleimon Poulos, preacher of the Archdiocese of Athens' "Holy Monastery of Panagia Eleousa".

The miracles were recorded by the theologian Dr. Sophia Tsagkali from narratives by the Abbot and pilgrims on August 18, 1998.

To date, there have been countless miracles.

Megalynarion
In your venerable Icon does the village of Xyniados truly rejoice, O Daughter, and take recourse in it; receiving endless strength, and mercy and grace, the faithful glorify you.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos

Relics of the Monastery

Fr. Athanasios, to whom the Panagia appeared

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