On the Dark Paths of Mankind Before and Apart From Christ

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

"In time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience" (Ephesians 2:2).

This is all one and the same path - the path to destruction. According to the course of this world means inclination toward sinfulness; according to the prince of the power of the air means according to the will of those chiefs of the demons who inhabit the air; in the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience means that in the same way that the opponents and adversaries of God now live, all men lived before the advent of Christ, including those to whom the Apostle writes the epistle.

What is this power of the air, brethren? This is the order of evil spirits who exist in constant movement in the air. They make the air lethal and they impede the souls of the departed as they make their way to heaven. They deceive the spirit of man to work every evil; they tempt it with every sin. Yet, they do not command the spirit to sin, for they lack the power to do that; they can only tempt and corrupt. They acted more strongly and directly on the pagans than on the Israelites. They fell upon the pagans as a swarm of flies on a carcass, but the Israelites they watched from a distance, corrupting and tempting them more subtlely. They stood at a distance from Israel because of the name of God, which was preserved and spoken among the Israelites. The Lord Jesus Christ scattered them all and plucked out their poisonous stings, so that they remained only as empty phantoms, as miserable, inconstant shadows that vanish instantly at the mention of the name of Christ or at the tracing of the sign of Christ's Cross.

O Lord Jesus, our Commander and Deliverer, help us to live in Thy freedom. To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.

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Video: Russians Put Their Hope In the Theotokos

See also:

The Belt of the Virgin Mary In Russia For the First Time

Thousands Line Up To Venerate Holy Belt of the Theotokos

Video: The Holy Belt of the Theotokos in Russia

The Holy Belt (Zoni) of the Theotokos

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By Grace Ye Are Saved

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

"By grace ye are saved" (Ephesians 2:5, 8).

Who can comprehend and acknowledge that we are saved by grace - that we are saved by God's grace, and not by our merits and works? Who can comprehend and acknowledge that? Only he who has comprehended and seen the bottomless pit of death and corruption in which man is engulfed by sin, and has also comprehended and seen the height of honor and glory to which man is raised in the Heavenly Kingdom, in the realm of immortality, in the house of the Living God-only such a one can comprehend and acknowledge that we are saved by grace.

A child was traveling by night. He stumbled and fell into hole after hole and pit after pit, until he finally fell into a very deep pit from which he could in no way escape by his own power. When the child gave himself over to the hands of fate and thought his end was near, there was suddenly someone standing over the pit, lowering a rope to him and telling him to grab the rope and hold firmly to it. This was the king's son, who then took the child home, bathed him, clothed him and brought him to his court and set him beside himself. Was this child saved by his own deed? By no means. All he did was to grab the end of the rope, and hold on. By what, then, was the child saved? By the mercy of the king's son. In God's relationship with men, this mercy is called grace.

"By grace ye are saved." The Apostle Paul repeats these words twice in a short span, that the faithful might recognize and remember them.

Brethren, let us comprehend and remember that we are saved through grace by the Lord Jesus Christ. We were in the jaws of death, but have been given life in the courts of our God.

O Lord Jesus Christ our Savior, by Thee are we saved. To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.

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The Miracle of the Bleeding Gospel (April 27, 1989)

An open letter written by Fr. Anthony Moschonas to His Grace Bishop Anthony (+2004) of San Francisco:

Your Grace, with respect and reverence, I kiss your right hand. Christ is Risen! With great humility and fear of God I am writing to you to confirm our telephone conversation on Good Friday, concerning the miracle that occurred in our church.

On the evening of April 27th, Holy Thursday, at 7:30 p.m., we started the service of the Holy Passion (the Service of the "Twelve Gospels"). Before I started the reading of the twelve Gospels, I placed a stand at the Holy Door and laid the Holy Gospel upon it. The Gospel is in two languages, Greek and English, and the cover is gold-plated, with a small enamel on it. According to the holy tradition of our Church, one side has the Crucifix of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the other side has the Resurrection.

During the reading of the prescribed passages of the Holy Gospel, I left it at the Royal Door, on the stand. Father Anthony Sipsas, a retired priest, and I alternated reading the holy passages, one in English and one in Greek. When I finished the reading of the fifth Gospel, I picked it up to place it on the Holy Altar, while preparing ourselves for the procession of the crucified Christ on the Cross. When I picked up the Holy Gospel, it appeared heavier than usual. I did not pay much attention to it, thinking to myself that I was tired from the work of the day. With Fr. Sipsas, the altar boys, and the reader, we started the procession of the crucified Christ chanting the hymn, "Today is hung upon the Tree, He who suspended the land in the midst of the waters".

After I placed the cross in the center of the Church, in the solea, we returned to the Holy Altar to continue the Service. As I stood in front of the Holy Altar, my eyes focused upon the Holy Gospel's Icon of the Crucifixion. With great astonishment, I clearly observed blood on the Holy Body of our Lord. Fear came all over me. After looking at it for a long time, I called Fr. Sipsas and asked him to tell me what he saw. "Blood, my son, blood ... I don't know," he replied. The blood was on the Holy Icon of Christ, on the right side of His body, at the place where he was pierced. Some blood also appeared on the left side of His chest.

For the reading of the sixth Gospel, I used a different Bible. After I finished reading the Gospel, I announced the miracle to the faithful that were present. When the services finished, I called a few men to come into the Holy Altar to witness the phenomenon. Some of the ladies asked me if they could say a prayer to the Almighty God that His sign, a miracle, be for the best intended use of the world and to thank Him for the great and marvelous things that happened among us, the unworthy servants and sinners. It was during such a prayer, I remembered, that our Lord appeared to the Myrrhbearers. As I finished, with great fear and tremor, because of my unworthiness, I proceeded towards the Holy Altar. I picked up the Holy Gospel and placed it in the solea for all people who were present to exalt and venerate.

The next day, Good Friday, before the procession of the Epitafio, I announced the miracle to the congregation once again. After the procession, all of the faithful drew near and venerated it.

The Holy Gospel remains on the Holy Altar and in the near future we will place it in a case. We will put it in the church for the glorification of our Almighty God and for the strengthening of the faith among His flock.

Asking humbly and with reverence that you pray for me, the sinner, and for the faithful of my community, I wish that the resurrected Lord grant you health, happiness and long life.

Your spiritual child in Christ, Fr. Anthony Moschonas May 2, 1989

Source: Orthodox Heritage Vol. 09, Issue 09-10

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The Tomb of Saint Arsenios of Cappadocia

St. Arsenios of Cappadocia reposed on November 10, 1924. In 1958 his relics were brought from Kerkyra to Konitsa by Elder Paisios, and in 1970 the same Elder Paisios brought them to the female monastery dedicated to St. John the Theologian in Souroti. On February 11, 1986 he was glorified as a Saint by the Ecumenical Patriarchate. His relics have become a source of many miracles.

Below is a photo of a portion of his relics in the Church of Panagia Nafpliou in Nafplion, his skull in the monastery of Souroti, Elder Paisios with the skull of St. Arsenios, his tombstone, and a video of Farasa where St. Arsenios served as a priest in Asia Minor.

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A Train Dedicated To Saint Luke the Surgeon of Simferopol

The train is a mobile medical hospital with a consultaion and diagnostic center. A priest travels with doctors and nurses throughout Russia who serves in the church on the train dedicated to St. Olga. Both doctors and priest offer medical services and spiritual help to those in need. Admission is free for all.

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Hagia Sophia In Nicaea Becomes A Mosque Again

The Church of Hagia Sophia was built by Justinian I in the middle of the city of Nicaea in the 6th century (modelled after the larger Hagia Sophia in Constantinople), and it was there that the Second Council of Nicaea met in 787 to discuss the issues of iconography.

By Gamon McLellan

Several Turkish newspapers reported on Monday that the Hagia Sophia in İznik (Nicaea) is now open for regular worship as a mosque. The building was full to capacity with worshippers for the dawn prayers (namaz) of the Kurban Bayramı (Feast of Sacrifice/Eid al Adha) on Sunday morning – the first time the building has been used as a mosque for some 90 years.

The prayers were led by the Müftü of İznik, and were attended by the Mayor, several AK (Justice and Development) Party Members of Parliament for Bursa (the province in which İznik is located) and by Adnan Ertem, Director General of Religious Foundations.


A floor has been constructed on which carpets and prayer rugs have been placed, a minber (pulpit) has been installed, and a loudspeaker system attached to the minaret. The sign "Ayasofya Müzesi" (müze means museum) outside the building which has been there for some years has been removed. In its place a new sign was put up on Saturday: "T.C. Başbakanlık Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı: Ayasofya Camii (Orhan Camii)" or "Presidency of Religious Affairs, Prime Ministry of Turkish Republic: Ayasofya Mosque (Orhan Mosque)", with the date 1331 (when Orhan Gazi converted the building into a mosque and endowed it). An imam has also been appointed to the mosque.

Photographs of the opening prayers can be seen in the following two press reports:

Ayasofya Camii ibadete açıldı

İznik Ayasofya Camii'nde 90 yıl sonra ilk namaz

This development is not without its critics, who point out that the building has been operating as a museum under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and is described as such on the Ministry website and on the website of the Governorate of the Province of Bursa:

Bursa - İznik Müzesi Müdürlüğü

Ayasofya Müzesi (İznik)

However, Adnan Ertem said the building had been used as a mosque for 680 years and had never functioned as a museum, and he did not believe it would be right for it to become a museum and thereby be closed to worshippers. There were, he said, four Ayasofyas in Turkey: two in Istanbul, one in Trabzon and this one in İznik. The Küçük Ayasofya (SS Sergius & Bacchus) in İstanbul had been opened for worship. Now the İznik one had as well. However he said he could not say anything about the Ayasofya Museum in Istanbul, "which had become a museum as a result of a decision of the Council of Ministers in 1934". (In fact the decision was taken in 1935).

Read also: Nicea, A Church Transformed Into a Mosque

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Multimedia Project "THE ICON"

We present you the multimedia project "THE ICON" based on the book of His Grace Bishop Jovan of Nis titled "Human Face of God".

Visit the Website

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Metamorphosis: The Design and Beauty of Butterflies

Throughout history, butterflies have fascinated artists and philosophers, scientists and schoolchildren with their profound mystery and beauty. In Metamorphosis you will explore their remarkable world as few ever have before.

Spectacular photography, computer animation and magnetic resonance imaging open once hidden doors to every stage of a butterfly's life-cycle. From an egg the size of a pinhead to a magnificent flying insect. It is a transformation so incredible biologists have called it "butterfly magic."

The butterfly's superbly engineered body is magnified hundreds of times to reveal compound eyes made of thousands of individual lenses, wings covered with microscopic solar panels, and navigational systems that unerringly guide Monarch butterflies on their annual migration from Canada to Mexico.

How did these extraordinary creatures come into being? Are they the products of a blind, undirected process? Or were they designed by an intelligent cause?

Filmed in North, Central, and South America, Metamorphosis is an unforgettable documentary filled with the joys of discovery and wonder.

Read more and buy the DVD here.

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Saint Nektarios the Wonderworker, Bishop of Pentapolis

St. Nektarios of Aegina (Feast Day - November 9)

Saint Nektarios was born in Selyvria of Thrace on October 1, 1846. After putting himself through school in Constantinople with much hard labour, he became a monk on Chios in 1876, receiving the monastic name of Lazarus; because of his virtue, a year later he was ordained deacon, receiving the new name of Nektarios. Under the patronage of Patriarch Sophronius of Alexandria, Nektarios went to Athens to study in 1882; completing his theological studies in 1885, he went to Alexandria, where Patriarch Sophronius ordained him priest on March 23, 1886 in the Cathedral of Saint Sabbas, and in August of the same year, in the Church of Saint Nicholas in Cairo, made him Archimandrite. Archimandrite Nektarios showed much zeal both for preaching the word of God, and for the beauty of God's house. He greatly beautified the Church of Saint Nicholas in Cairo, and years later, when Nektarios was in Athens, Saint Nicholas appeared to him in a dream, embracing him and telling him he was going to exalt him very high.

On January 15, 1889, in the same Church of Saint Nicholas, Nektarios was consecrated Metropolitan of the Pentapolis in eastern Libya, which was under the jurisdiction of Alexandria. Although Nektarios' swift ascent through the degrees of ecclesiastical office did not affect his modesty and childlike innocence, it aroused the envy of lesser men, who convinced the elderly Sophronius that Nektarios had it in his heart to become Patriarch. Since the people loved Nektarios, the Patriarch was troubled by the slanders. On May 3, 1890, Sophronius relieved Metropolitan Nektarios of his duties; in July of the same year, he commanded Nektarios to leave Egypt.

Without seeking to avenge or even to defend himself, the innocent Metropolitan left for Athens, where he found that accusations of immorality had arrived before him. Because his good name had been soiled, he was unable to find a position worthy of a bishop, and in February of 1891 accepted the position of provincial preacher in Euboia; then, in 1894, he was appointed dean of the Rizarios Ecclesiastical School in Athens. Through his eloquent sermons his unwearying labours to educate fitting men for the priesthood, his generous alms deeds despite his own poverty, and the holiness, meekness, and fatherly love that were manifest in him, he became a shining light and a spiritual guide to many. At the request of certain pious women, in 1904 he began the building of his convent of the Holy Trinity on the island of Aegina while yet dean of the Rizarios School; finding later that his presence there was needed, he took up his residence on Aegina in 1908, where he spent the last years o
f his life, devoting himself to the direction of his convent and to very intense prayer; he was sometimes seen lifted above the ground while rapt in prayer. He became the protector of all Aegina, through his prayers delivering the island from drought, healing the sick, and casting out demons. Here also he endured wicked slanders with singular patience, forgiving his false accusers and not seeking to avenge himself. Although he had already worked wonders in life, an innumerable multitude of miracles have been wrought after his repose in 1920 through his holy relics, which for many years remained incorrupt. There is hardly a malady that has not been cured through his prayers; but Saint Nektarios is especially renowned for his healings of cancer for sufferers in all parts of the world.

Apolytikion in the First Tone
The offspring of Selyvria and the guardian of Aegina, the true friend of virtue who didst appear in the last years, O Nektarios, we faithful honour thee as a godly servant of Christ, for thou pourest forth healings of every kind for those who piously cry out: Glory to Christ Who hath glorified thee. Glory to Him Who hath made thee wondrous. Glory to Him Who worketh healings for all through thee.

Kontakion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone
In joy, let our hearts praise the latest shining star of the Orthodox, the newly erected rampart of the Church. For, glorified by the work of the Spirit, he abundantly pours forth the grace of healing to those who cry out, "Hail, Father Nektarios".

Source: Holy Transfiguration Monastery - Brookline, MA

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Saint Theoktiste of Lesvos

St. Theoktiste of Lesvos (Feast Day - November 9)

Saint Theoktiste was born in the city of Methymna on the island of Lesvos. At an early age she was left a complete orphan, and relatives sent her to a monastery to be raised. The girl was happy to be removed from the world of sin, and she liked the monastic life, the long church services, monastic obedience, the strict fasting and unceasing prayer. She learned much of the singing, prayer and psalmody by heart.

In the year 846 when she was already eighteen years old, she set off with the blessing of the abbess, on the Feast of the Resurrection of Christ, to a neighboring village to visit her sister and she remained there overnight. Arabs invaded the settlement, and they took captive all the inhabitants, loaded them on a ship, and by morning they were at sea.

The brigands took the captives to the desolate island of Paros so that they might examine them in order to assign a value to each when they were sold at the slave-market. The Lord helped the young maiden to flee, and the Arabs did not catch her. From that time St Theoktiste dwelt on the island for 35 years. An old church in the name of the Most Holy Theotokos served as her dwelling, and her food was sunflower seeds. All her time was spent in prayer.

Once, a group of hunters landed upon the island. One of them, pursuing his prey, went far off from the coast into the forest and suddenly he saw the church. He went into the church so as to offer up a prayer to the Lord. After the prayer the hunter saw what looked like a human form in a dim corner, not far from the holy altar table, through thick cobwebs. He went closer and heard a voice, "Stay there, fellow, and come no closer to shame me, since I am a naked woman." The hunter gave the woman his outer clothing and she came out from concealment. He beheld a grey-haired woman with worn face, calling herself Theoktiste. With a weak voice she told of her life fully devoted to God.

When she finished her story, the saint asked the hunter, if he happened to come to this island again, that he should bring her a particle of the Presanctified Gifts. During all her time of living in the wilderness she not once was granted to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ.

A year later, the hunter again arrived upon the island and brought a small vessel with a particle of the Holy Mysteries. St Theoktiste met the Holy Gifts in the church, fell down to the ground and prayed long with tears. Standing up, she took the vessel and with reverence and in the fear of God she received the Body and Blood of Christ.

On the following day the hunter saw the dead body of the nun Theoktiste in the church. After digging a shallow grave, the hunter placed the venerable body of the nun in it. As he did so, he impudently cut off her hand, so as to take with him part of the relics of the great saint of God. All night the ship sailed upon a tempestuous sea, and in the morning it found itself at the very place from which it began. The man then perceived that taking the relic was not pleasing to God.

He returned to the grave and placed the hand with the body of the saint. After this the ship sailed off unhindered. On the journey the hunter told his companions everything that had happened on the island. Listening to him, they all decided immediately to return to Paros, to venerate the relics of the great ascetic, but they could not find her holy body in the grave.

Source

Note: Monk Symeon of Paros, a biographer of St. Theoktiste, noting similarities within her life with St. Mary of Egypt, authored her life according to the pattern of St. Sophronios' biography of St. Mary. Details are probably thus imagined for literary purposes.

The Holy Monastery of Saint Theoktiste in Icarus

On the island of Icarus is found the Holy Monastery of Saint Theoktiste (Lefkados Monastery), in the village of Pigi, where in an unknown manner her holy relics were discovered. It is not known when the monastery was founded, but probably existed before 1688. An inscription says it was founded by Hatzi Panteli from Chios in 1688.

According to tradition, the holy relics of St. Theoktiste, upon being discovered, were brought to a cave called "Theoskepaste", where they prayed for the identification of the relics.

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Finnish Pastor Juha Molari Converts To Orthodox Faith

November 8, 2011
Interfax

Finnish Lutheran Church pastor Juha Molari converted to the Orthodox faith at a ceremony conducted by Archpriest Nikolay Voskoboinikov at Helsinki's St. Nicholas Church, which belongs to the Russian Orthodox Church, on October 30.

"It is a very important decision in my life, but it cannot be called difficult. The Russian Church is not some sect, but a multi-million community of worshippers living in different countries," Molari told Interfax-Religion.

Molari said that his wife and children are Russian citizens and belong to the Moscow Patriarchate.

"That is why it is quite normal for me to belong to the same Church," Molari said, adding that he was supported by Orthodox priests.

"I realized that it is easy to be within the Church where you are loved," he said.

The Lutheran Church earlier defrocked Pastor Molari for openly criticizing the Kavkaz-Center website, which was recognized by Russia as extremist.

"Molari has been punished because he demanded Finnish law enforcement agencies' reaction to the activities of Kavkaz-Center, organized a picket against this website and spoke out against this mouthpiece of Chechen terrorists led by Doku Umarov," Finland's Antifascist Committee head Johan Backman told Interfax.

Molari has been campaigning for the website's shutdown for spreading propaganda supporting terrorism. He turned to the police in October 2010 and complained he had been threatened by Chechen terrorists and separatists.

The police, however, dismissed the priest's demands as groundless and refused to launch a criminal investigation into these threats.

Molari also advocated the interests of Russian national Rimma Salonen, criticized the Pro Karelia anti-Russian organization, which demands a review of the post-World War II border and the return of Karelia's territory to Finland, as well as protested against the public demonstration of the Soviet Stori anti-Russian film in Finland organized by Pro Karelia.

In April, the Human Rights Center of the World Russian People's Assembly called on Molari to convert to the Orthodox faith.

"Orthodox people really need such brave people like you today," it said.

Read also:

I Chose the Russian Orthodox Church

Juha Molari's blog can be read here.

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Message In A Bottle: A Miracle of the Archangel Michael Panormitis

The Archangel Michael Panormitis, apart from the countless confirmed miracles that he has done and is doing for hundreds of years in this Holy Monastery of Symi, performs (as we shall see below) a timeless (over the centuries), while globally unique, miracle for those who are believers in various parts of the world and are unable to bring themselves to the monastery.


The monastery is located in the southern tip of the island and is built on the beautiful bay of Panormos, which even from the first Christian centuries was one of the central locations of devotion to the Angels. Todays holy church (in which rules the miraculous icon of the Archangel Michael) was built in 1783, and the iconography was done in 1792 by two indigenous painters, the monks Neophytos and Kyriakos Karakosti. Lastly, above the main gate of the monastery is the famous Belfry of Panormitis (built in 1911), which resembles Russian Bell Towers.

So the great and timeless miracle mentioned above has happened and is happening to anyone with true faith in the only true God, the Lord Jesus Christ.


He who is unable at present to visit the monastery, can in a small bottle, either from bottled water or juice (preferably plastic, to be more resistant), place incense, a paper with a list of names of whoever one wants prayers for under "For the Health of the Living" and "For the Repose", and a piece of paper with the name, address and telephone number of the sender. It may also include a letter to the monastery, on any matter of concern which the petitioner would like to become a matter of prayer in the holy monastery.

Having placed all these offerings to the Archangel and closed the bottle, the petitioner can, either from a port or a ship found in the open waters, throw the bottle into the sea, after praying to the Archangel Michael Panormitis and asking him to lead it himself to the Monastery of Symi.


The Panormitis will receive the bottle with the offerings contained within and it will eventually reach Symi in the bay of the Monastery, or otherwise become entangled in fishing nets off the island. In every case, however, the final destination will be to land intact in the hands of the people of the monastery, who in turn (as confirmation of the miracle, "to the glory to God") will send back a thank-you letter to the faithful who sent it, thanking him for the offerings.

In the holy monastery are kept till our day offerings, which traveled alone for the Panormitis from around the world (for example from Australia) and from different eras.

In the old days, the faithful sent in the way mentioned above their offerings in glass bottles, and even boxes!

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos

Read also: Holy Panormitis Monastery of the Archangel Michael in Symi

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Saint Lazarus the Wonderworker of Mount Galesion

St. Lazarus the Stylite (Feast Day - November 7)

Saint Lazarus the Wonderworker of Mount Galesion near Ephesus was born in Lydia, in the city of Magnesium. An educated young man who loved God, Lazarus became a monk at the Monastery of Saint Savvas, the founder of great ascetic piety in Palestine. He spent ten years within the walls of the monastery, winning the love and respect of the brethren for his intense monastic struggles.

Ordained to the holy priesthood by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, St Lazarus returned to his native country and settled near Ephesus, on desolate Mount Galesion. Here he saw a wondrous vision: a fiery pillar, rising up to the heavens, was encircled by angels singing, "Let God arise and let His enemies be scattered."

On the place where the saint beheld this vision, he built a church in honor of the Resurrection of Christ and took upon himself the feat of pillar-dwelling (stylite). Monks soon began to flock to the great ascetic, thirsting for spiritual nourishment by the divinely-inspired words and blessed example of the saint, and a monastery was established there.

Having received a revelation about the day of his death, the saint told the brethren. Through the tearful prayers of all the monks, the Lord prolonged the earthly life of St Lazarus for another fifteen years.

St Lazarus died at 72 years of age, in the year 1053. The brethren buried the body of the saint at the pillar upon which he had struggled in asceticism. He was glorified by many miracles after his death.

St Lazarus is also commemorated on July 17 (to celebrate the translation of his holy relics).

Source

For a more detailed biography, read here.

Apolytikion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone
In thy vigilant prayers, thou didst drench thy pillar with streams of tears; by thy sightings from the depths, thou didst bear fruit a hundredfold in labours; and thou becamest a shepherd, granting forgiveness to them that came to thee, O our righteous Father Lazarus. Intercede with Christ God that our souls be saved.

Kontakion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone
With great joy, the Church of Christ doth glorify thee on this day with psalmic hymns as a great light unto us all; hence never cease thou to intercede with Christ to grant the forgiveness of sins to all.

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Metropolitan Hilarion Speaks On the Coming Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church

November 3, 2011
Mospat.ru

On 2 November 2011, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations (DECR), visited the St. Petersburg Theological Academy with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and at the invitation of Metropolitan Vladimir of St. Petersburg and Ladoga.

Metropolitan Hilarion met with the members of the Academic Board, faculty and students of the Academy. Attending the meeting were Archbishop Ionafan of Tulchin and Bratslav and Bishop Amvrosiy of Gatchina, rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy and Seminary. Metropolitan Hilarion is accompanied by the DECR vice-chairman, hegumen Philaret (Bulekov); archpriest Vladimir Shmaliy, vice-rector of the Ss Cyril and Methodius Postgraduate School; and Director of the St. Gregory the Theologian Charity, Leonid Sevastianov.

Bishop Amvrosiy of Gatchina introduced Metropolitan Hilarion to the audience and enumerated his scholarly titles and degrees. He said that the Academic Board of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy and Seminary decided to confer a title of doctor of theology honoris causa on Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk in consideration of his numerous theological transactions and his extensive scholarly and theological work.

Archpriest Kirill Kopeikin, secretary of the Academic Board, read out Metropolitan Hilarion’s curriculum vita, and Bishop Amvrosiy of Gatchina handed a cross and diploma of the doctor of theology to Metropolitan Hilarion and gave him a book with a dedicatory inscription of Metropolitan Vladimir of St/. Petersburg and Ladoga.

The DECR chairman thanked the Academic Board for the privilege of being made doctor of theology and delivered a lecture, which he dedicated to the memory of Metropolitan Nikodim.

Metropolitan Hilarion spoke of the inter-Orthodox cooperation in the preparation to the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church, the pre-Council process and expectations.

He noted that preparations for the Council cause bewilderment in certain circles. Some marginal mass media launched a campaign against the convening of the Council, while some websites misinform the public by citing the sayings of the Holy Fathers arbitrarily taken out from the context. The believers are frightened that the Council will be an “anti-Christ” council as its decisions would run contrary to the teaching of the Church, its dogmas, canons, and rules.

“Such arguments have no ground and indicate the lack of knowledge or a deliberate distortion of historical facts and the tradition of the Church,” Metropolitan Hilarion said.

He assured all those doubting that the Council will not be the Eighth Ecumenical Council and will not rescind or review the decisions of the Seven Ecumenical Councils. “The Council will not cancel fasts, nor will it introduce married episcopate or allow a second marriage to clergyman. It will not recognize the authority of the Pope of Rome over the Orthodox Church or sign union with the Catholics. The long and short of it is that the Council will do nothing of that what some “defenders of Orthodoxy” fear, displaying zeal that exceeds reason. In case something adverse to the spirit and the letter of the Seven Ecumenical Council happens, the Russian Orthodox Church will renounce this Council and its decisions as she renounced the Council of Ferrara and Florence in 1441. I believe, however, that the other Local Orthodox Church will renounce it, too.”

Metropolitan Hilarion hopes that in case the Local Orthodox Churches surmount internal differences and ‘with one heart and one mouth’ witness their inherent unity, the Council will be an important and remarkable event. ‘Undoubtedly, it will strengthen Orthodox cooperation and will help to formulate and voice the pan-Orthodox position on a number of topical issues, thus consolidating the Orthodox Church and making it capable of meeting the challenges of the time. The Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church could be a real Triumph of Orthodoxy provided that convictions, traditions and views of all Local Orthodox Churches are taken into account in the spirit of brotherly love and mutual respect,” the DECR chairman said.

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President Dmitry Medvedev Speaks On the Revival of Orthodoxy in Russia

Medvedev: Orthodoxy Is Russia's Guardian of "Indisputable Truths"

November 7, 2011
Interfax

President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday credited Orthodox Christianity with helping Russia preserve its traditional values and counteract doctrines that "give rise to social strife, hostility, violence, instability in our country, which, unfortunately, actually pervert people's mentalities."

"Valuable and productive trends, very often very doubtable factors find their way into an open society - doubtable ideological constructs, all kinds of rubbish that is essentially destructive," Medvedev said at a meeting with the Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and members of the country's Orthodox community.

The country needs "the solidarity of all healthy public forces" to resist such trends, the president said.

"We must find enough energy and will to promote what are traditional values for our country. This is especially important in this complex and rapidly changing world, in the global information space, which creates not only advantages but also very serious challenges. For our country, Orthodoxy is the guardian of such intransient values and indisputable truths," he said.

Orthodoxy "helps tremendous numbers of our people not only to find their place in life but also to understand what would seem to be pretty simple things," Medvedev said.

"For example, such things as what it means to be Russian, what the mission of our people is, what made our nation great and gave it a unique identity in a definite period and what, at some point, gave a lot of trials to our nation and the Orthodox Church," he said.

Revival of Orthodoxy in Russia a Miracle, says Medvedev

November 7, 2011
Interfax

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has spoken of the fruitfulness of cooperation between the Russian Orthodox Church and government and public institutions and called the revival of Orthodox Christianity in Russian in the past two decades a miracle.

"Speaking of what has happened in these 20 years from the viewpoint of my feelings as an Orthodox Christian, it is simply a miracle. Frankly speaking I could not imagine 15-20 years ago that the revival, the recovery of faith for an enormous number of our compatriots would proceed at such a speed," Medvedev said at a meeting with the Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and members of the country's Orthodox community.

He attributed this largely to the efforts of the Patriarch, clergymen and donors and also the attitude of the state.

"Today thanks to our joint efforts, thanks to the efforts of the Holy Patriarch the Church is fruitfully cooperating with government bodies, with public institutions. In the past few years we succeeded with several very important initiatives the need for which had been widely discussed but which had not been implemented for various reasons. I am very glad that these state and Church undertakings did materialize in the past few years," he said.

Medvedev said that he meant primarily the introduction of the foundations of religious culture in the school curricula.

He said that presently the subject is taught at 10,000 schools in 21 regions Russia. Starting with next year the foundations of religious culture will be taught in all Russian schools.


Patriarch Kirill On the Uniqueness of the Orthodox Revival in Russia

November 7, 2011
Interfax

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia believes that the people has revived in Russia together with the Church in modern times.

"What has happened in the expanses of Holy Rus in 20 years has not happened ever throughout the history of the human race. Not a single country, not a single civilization, not a single religious group, not a single Church has experienced what we have - the magnificent revival of Orthodox Christianity," he said at the opening of an exhibition and forum 'Orthodox Rus' on Friday on the Day of the feast of Our Lady of Kazan icon.

He said that this manifests itself in thousands of restored churches, in hundreds of monasteries, educational institutions, hospices, social centers, schools for adults and children, in collaboration with the Armed Forces and in work in places of confinement.

"In these 20 years not only did the Russian Church revive from the viewpoint of the revival of its monuments, our people revived because churches are never built or restored, if there is no need for them, if there is no powerful movement from grassroots, if these churches are not filled with people," he stressed.

The "Symphony" of Church and State

November 7, 2011
Interfax

A high-ranking Russian Orthodox Church priest has highly commended President Dmitry Medvedev's meeting with representatives of the Orthodox public, saying that the Russian Orthodox Church will continue its policy of crafting a "symphony" in the relationship between the church and state.

"An important event has occurred at the exhibition and forum - the president has met with representatives of various strata of our Church body for an essential, serious and committed discussion," head of the Synodal Department for Church and Society Relations Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin told a roundtable at the 10th exhibition and forum, Orthodox Rus, in Moscow, devoted to the 20th anniversary of the revival of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Father Vsevolod was commenting on President Dmitry Medvedev and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia's visit to the exhibition and their subsequent meeting with representatives of the Orthodox public.

It was the first meeting, which was devoid of "pomposity and formal rigor, but was a serious dialogue between the state leader and the Orthodox public," he said.

"In my opinion, the meeting helped the president move closer to the people, make his position clearer to them, and speak his mind and share his innermost feelings with them. The words spoken by the president were heard and appreciated," he said.

It is important, said Father Vsevolod, that the president used the word "symphony" to describe the relationship between the church and state.

"We must not and we will not lay this word aside. We do live in a secular state, which is normal, but our society is largely made of Orthodox Christians. Therefore, the symphony of the church, state and society is a natural thing. It is a relationship within one body, not between things of differing nature - the body that largely belongs at once to the people and to the Church, which is Jesus Christ's body," he said.

A "symphony is as possible, as a Christian policy, economy and culture is possible and needed," Father Vsevolod said.

During the meeting, the president made several statements. He said the values traditional for the state must be further promoted. "The Orthodox Church is the keeper of these values and truths of monumental importance for our state," he said. Medvedev also spoke about the role the Orthodox community is playing in Russia's development, describing it as "people with an extremely powerful inner energy and strong moral values." Hopefully, the state will rely on them, he said.

Medvedev also announced that he would ask the Defense Ministry to increase the corps of military clergy and he supported the idea of expanding theologian culture and secular ethics programs at schools, if the parents do not object.

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An Orthodox View of Contemporary Economics, Politics, and Culture

In 1967, following two decades of progressively harsher persecution of religion under communist rule, Albanian dictator Enver Hoxha triumphantly declared his nation to be the first atheist state in history. Hoxha, inspired by China's Cultural revolution, proceeded to confiscate mosques, churches, monasteries, and shrines. Many were immediately razed, others turned into machine shops, warehouses, stables, and movie theaters. Parents were forbidden to give their children religious names. Anyone caught with bibles, icons, or religious objects faced long prison sentences. In the south, where the ethnic Greek population was concentrated, villages named after saints were given secular names. For the religious, a long nightmare of persecution and martyrdom was to follow.

Hoxha's campaign destroyed life and property, but could not kill the spirit. The government eased its official policy of religious persecution in the late 1980s and finally lifted the ban on faith observances in December 1990. Today, Albania's religious roots are being watered again. The Muslim majority (about seventy percent of the population) is rebuilding its institutions, as are the Orthodox Christian and Roman Catholic minorities.

In 1991, into this milieu of despair and destruction, came Anastasios, the newly appointed Archbishop of Tirana and all Albania. Anastasios, a former dean of theology at the University of Athens and an expert on world religions, set to work heroically rebuilding the Orthodox Church. According to one count, 1,608 Orthodox churches and monasteries were destroyed during the communist persecution.

In Albania, Anastasios turned the Marxist program upside down; he focused not on the state, but the person.

"The secret of substantive change, the guarantee of change, and the dynamic through which change occurs all lie hidden within the process of restoring and purifying the human person," he says.

Anastasios' ecumenical vision for social change, seen through the lens of Orthodox theology, has been admirably captured in a new collection of essays from St. Vladimir's Seminary Press titled Facing the World: Orthodox Christian Essays on Global Concerns. The essays, published during a period of 30 years, touch on topics such as human rights, Islam, globalization, and Church and culture. The book serves as an excellent introduction to the Orthodox mindset, and its interpretation of divine life and worldly affairs through scripture, holy tradition, and a trusty reliance on Greek patristics.

Anastasios' understanding of social and political events is, of course, characteristically rooted in the miracle of Easter. While not denying that it was the cross that reconciled humanity with God, Anastasios points out that in Orthodox Christianity the "emphasis on the Resurrection is the crucial element in the Christian ethos of the east; it pervades every thought and action, intensifies faith in miracles, and deepens the certainty that every impasse in human life will ultimately be overcome."

And what better place to hope for miracles than in Albania?

Laboratories of Love

In the essay "Orthodoxy and Human Rights," Anastasios takes a critical view of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations in 1948, and the later development of these declarations into exhaustive lists of economic, social, and political rights. Anastasios makes an important distinction between rights declarations, and their enforcement through legal and political forms of coercion, and Christianity's preferred method of persuasion and faith. "Declarations basically stress outward compliance," he says, "while the gospel insists on inner acceptance, on spiritual rebirth, and on transformation."

Anastasios reminds us of Christianity's contribution to the development of political liberty. "Human rights documents," he says, "presuppose the Christian legacy, which is not only a system of thought and a worldview that took shape through the contributions of the Christian and Greek spirit, but also a tradition of self-criticism and repentance." Those words should be hung from banners everywhere new constitutions and declarations are being drafted.

Anastasios rightly discerns the secularizing motive and thrust behind much of what passes for human rights activism these days. He points out that a predominant ideology behind these declarations advances the "simplistic" view that people are radically autonomous beings, capable of advancing on their own innate abilities. This strict reliance on logic, the "deification of rationality," is but a short step to the logical denial of faith in a living God. Anastasios asks: Are human rights simply and merely an outcome of human rationality, or are they innate to the human personality?

"Rights declarations are incapable of inducing anyone of implementing their declarations voluntarily," he concludes. "The hypocritical manner in which the question of human rights has been handled internationally is the most cynical irony of our century."

Anastasios' solution to the problem of human rights is thoroughly Orthodox: "The power and means for promoting worldwide equality and brotherhood lie not in waging crusades but in freely accepting the cross." He urges a radically personal solution, one that takes as its model the saint, the martyr, and the ascetic. Here Anastasios draws on the traditional Orthodox understanding of freedom, which is ordered and tempered by ascetical practice, self-control, and placing limits on material desires. Churches are to become "laboratories of selfless love," places where the Kingdom of God is manifest on earth. "Our most important right is our right to realize our deepest nature and become ‘children of God' through grace," he says.

Lest this approach be interpreted as a justification of passiveness and quietism, Anastasios also urges Christians to exercise their ethical conscience in the world. "Christians must be vigilant, striving to make the legal and political structure of their society ever more comprehensive through constant reform and reassessment," he says.

Globalization and the Church Fathers

In his essay on "Culture and Gospel," Anastasios reminds us of Christianity's emphasis on the "immeasurable importance of the human person and personal freedom." At the same time, he rightly warns of an interpretation of life that sees everything from a material, economic perspective. This tension between personal freedom and a distrust of the exclusively economic view carries over into his essay on "Globalization and Religious Experience." Here, unfortunately, he falls into an interpretation of economics and trade as functions of, as he puts it, "several hundreds of multinational corporations with power over the worldwide production and distribution of goods and information." He claims that the disparities between the "privileged" and the "deprived" are growing wider everywhere and cites one writer who claims that "only 20 percent of the population derives any benefit from free commerce."

Anastasios' distrust of economic globalization puts him at odds with the experience of Orthodox cultures-indeed back to the Byzantine era-which were always energetic traders. Indeed, one the biggest factors in the globalization of trade in the twentieth century was the remarkable growth of Greek merchant shipping on a global scale. Still, it is not wealth itself that Anastasios condemns, but what he perceives as powerful and rapacious economic powers that hoard it and consume it. In this, his outlook is entirely consistent with the views of wealth and poverty formulated by the Greek fathers.

In "The Dynamic of Universal and Continuous Change," Anastasios cites numerous Patristic sources to show that wealth is best understood in the context of stewardship. "If you exceed what is reasonable in wealth, you fall short to the same degree in love," said Basil the Great. And St. John Chrysostom: "Failing to give the poor some of what we possess is the same as robbing them and depriving them of life; for the things we are withholding belong to them, not to us." Greed is the culprit. And that is a vice even the poor can succumb to. "Many of the poor, who lack material wealth, happen nevertheless to have extremely greedy intentions," Chrysostom said. "The fact that they are poor does not save them, for they are condemned by their intentions."

Anastasios' cure for the ills of secular human rights movement-a personal dedication to living out the Gospel-is really the only cure for the world's economic evils or for that matter any other social ill. The root problem is selfishness, that pervasive evil. Such a solution may seem naïve or simplistic to the secular minded. And even the religious would not go so far as to put the lawful regulation of society on the honor system. Yet, outside of coercion and control, what else has ever worked?

Anastasios points out that spontaneous, brotherly love is Christianity's quintessential message:

"We have a duty to live out conscientiously the mystery of our faith-at the heart of which lies the rediscovery of the one, universal and divine koinonia-so that we can offer, without seeking anything in return or any worldly reward, the kind of genuine love that reveals the life of the Trinitarian God."

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Objectivity of Science Undermined

Science has no boast if not objective. It is objectivity that supposedly sets science apart from all other modes of inquiry: following a “scientific method” that guarantees objective truth about the natural world. Results are reported in peer-reviewed journals that weed out mistaken ideas. After publication, other scientists can replicate any published results, making science a self-correcting process that refines its objectivity over time. Most insiders and philosophers know that the picture is highly flawed, but the vision persists that science is objective. Recent articles raise awareness of some of the problems with the portrayal of scientific objectivity.

Fiery Feyerabend: Paul Feyerabend was a fiery philosopher of science who fiercely attacked the concept of scientific objectivity. He died in 1994, but a new anthology of his writings has come out, The Tyranny of Science, Oberheim E, editor (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2011). Two reviews were published in PLoS Biology earlier this month (Ian Kidd, Axel Meyer). Although both reviewers think his reputation for the “worst enemy of science” is overblown, there is no question Feyerabend warned of treating science as an objective process. He worried that it could be a threat to democracy – an elitist society unanswerable to the people. Meyer quoted him saying, “The separation of state and church must be complemented by the separation of state and science, that most recent, most aggressive, and most dogmatic religious institution.” Many regard his views as extreme, but Feyerabend did raise a number of issues that are still taken seriously. Kidd, commenting on the 1990s debates about objectivity vs constructivism (the idea that science “constructs” reality rather than “discovering” it), remarked that “There is some truth to such charges” as Feyerabend raised.

Consensus bashing: In Nature earlier this month (published online 5 October 2011 Nature 478, 7 (2011) doi:10.1038/478007a), a headline read, “The voice of science: let’s agree to disagree.” Subtitle: “Consensus reports are the bedrock of science-based policy-making. But disagreement and arguments are more useful, says Daniel Sarewitz.” That represents severe erosion of the bedrock. His first line: “When scientists wish to speak with one voice, they typically do so in a most unscientific way: the consensus report.” Sharing recent examples of the politics that stifle minority opinions, Sarewitz advised more debate and less consensus. For example, “much of what is most interesting about a subject gets left out of the final report.” Take-home paragraph:

"The very idea that science best expresses its authority through consensus statements is at odds with a vibrant scientific enterprise. Consensus is for textbooks; real science depends for its progress on continual challenges to the current state of always-imperfect knowledge. Science would provide better value to politics if it articulated the broadest set of plausible interpretations, options and perspectives, imagined by the best experts, rather than forcing convergence to an allegedly unified voice."

Conflict of interest: The field of bioengineering is a good place to look for demons undercutting objectivity. The lure of fame or money clouds the objectivity of some researchers, while products of bioengineering – including human cloning – overlap with ethics, philosophy, and theology in big ways. In a Nature book review about Jonathan Moreno’s new book The Body Politic: The Battle Over Science in America (Bellevue Literary Press, 2011), reviewer Kevin Finneran used the eye-catching headline, “Bioethics: Brave new politics” (Nature 478, 13 October 2011, pp. 184–185, doi:10.1038/478184a). Emphasizing the fact that today’s science cannot remove itself from society, Finneran said, “The age of bioscience has become the age of biopolitics.” Apparently Moreno wrote his book with a political bias of his own: “Moreno devotes much of the book to a critique of what he sees as a neoconservative hostility to science, and explains how science can be a key ingredient of a progressive political agenda.” That doesn’t sound objective; in fact, Finneran felt that “Moreno’s analysis focuses too heavily on the neoconservatives,” while he himself showed he had some heart for conservative concerns: “The challenge is to maintain this human side of science when the research, to many people, seems to be a threat to what is essentially human.”

Smear review: Many have questioned the value of peer review in recent years (a relatively recent convention in science, dating largely from after World War II). Virginia Gewen, writing in Nature this month (478, 13 October 2011, pp. 275–277, doi:10.1038/nj7368-275a) joked a little about the naivete of rookie reviewers. In “Rookie review,” she revealed a bit of the good-old-boys’ club mentality among seasoned reviewers. Rookies (who incidentally never receive much training on how to review a paper) think they are supposed to tell the truth: one Nature editor explained why she sought out rookies as reviewers: “they are politically naive enough to tell the truth,” implying that is the exception to the rule for more seasoned reviewers. Yet even with that saintly attribute, rookies tend to give inconsistent grades, or overestimate their objectivity. Gewen also touched on the issues of disclosure of bias, conflict of interest and politics that cloud the objectivity of peer review in general.

Anthropology: Can science answer big questions like “What is man’s place in nature?” Sites like New Scientist don’t hesitate to ask. What, though, gives a scientist more power of place to discuss such things than a theologian or philosopher? All have access to the same basic scientific facts. Botanist Sandra Knapp gave her opinions on this key question with hat tips to Alfred Russell Wallace and Charles Darwin. Proceeding on to the opinions of Melanie Challenger, author of On Extinctions, Knapp discussed other questions far beyond the data of any scientific method: are humans natural? What is naturalness? Knapp concluded that Challenger’s book “doesn't offer answers to any of the complex questions it raises, but it will make you pause to consider your own relationship with the natural world that surrounds you.” If science can only ask questions, and not provide answers, then it would seem to be one among many valid modes of inquiry.

Aesthetics: Can art free itself from anthropo-centrism? What would a universal art look like? It might be pretty bland. Imagine a Bach concerto with a quarter of its notes mutated back to randomness by the law of entropy. Think of a painting with nothing but a uniform shade of tan. Those are some of the things Jonathan Keats (no relation, as far as we know, to the English romantic poet John Keats) tried to visualize by taking the Copernican principle to the extreme in his new San Francisco exhibit, “The First Copernican Art Manifesto.” Keats didn’t even intend his art for humans. Science Magazine entertained the radical idea (“Random Samples,” 21 October 2011: Vol. 334 no. 6054 pp. 295-297, DOI:0.1126/science.334.6054.295-a), but didn’t explain how the Bach composition arose in the first place without intelligent design, or how astronomers determined the average color of starlight was tan without intention and purpose. Indeed, the color of the universe is highly localized to stars and galaxies. A question of definitions also arises. If there is no intelligent viewer, is there art?

What you are not told: Dr. Jennifer Rohn, an insider in the world of academic research, writes a blog called LabLit. Guest blogger Matthew Hall, in the October 21 entry, revealed “The untold story: what doesn’t make the cut in scientific papers.” Hall argues that reproducibility is rare in science. Few read a paper’s protocol and try to reproduce the experiment. Besides, most research papers are so boring! “Given that protocols aren’t as useful as one is taught in History and Philosophy of Science courses, why can’t they be more personal?” He recommends writing scientific papers like stories. Perhaps many already do. How would anybody know without trying to reproduce the experiment?

Analyze the analyzers: An article on Medical Xpress claims that a new field is emerging: the Psychology of Science. The bumper states:

"You've heard of the history of science, the philosophy of science, maybe even the sociology of science. But how about the psychology of science? In a new article in Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal published by the Association for Psychological Science, San Jose State University psychologist Gregory J. Feist argues that a field has been quietly taking shape over the past decade, and it holds great promise for both psychology and science."

While an interesting trend, it raises the question of the objectivity of the psychologist. Who will analyze the analyzer, and so on ad infinitum?

We hope these short forays into questioning the objectivity of science provide some snack food for thought. There are much richer meals in books and lectures. Don’t be a dupe and merely assume that someone who calls himself or herself a scientist has a corner on objectivity. Scientists can be very adept at math, jargon and specialized fields of inquiry, but at the conclusion of any paper, every citizen has a responsibility to weigh evidence, evaluate reasoning, and consider influences that led to the conclusion.

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The Spiritual Love of Saints Galaktion and Episteme

Holy Martyrs Galaktion and Episteme (Feast Day - November 5)

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

Both Galaktion and Episteme were born in the city of Edessa, in Phoenicia. Galaktion's mother was barren until she was baptized. After her baptism, she converted her husband [Cleitophon] to the true Faith, baptized her son Galaktion, and raised him in the Christian Faith. When Galaktion was old enough to marry, his good mother, Leukippa, entered into rest, and his father betrothed him to a pagan-born maiden named Episteme. By no means did Galaktion want to enter into marriage, and convinced Episteme to be baptized, then to be tonsured a nun at the same time that he became a monk. Both of them withdrew to Mount Publion (near Mount Sinai) - Galaktion to a monastery and Episteme to a convent. They proved to be shining lights in their monasteries. They were first in labor, first in prayer, first in humility and obedience, and first in love. They neither left their monasteries nor did they see one another until just before their death. A fierce persecution began and both of them were brought before the tribunal (in Alexandria). When the pagans mercilessly whipped Galaktion, Episteme wept. Then they whipped her. After that, they cut off their hands, their feet and then their heads. Their friend Eutolmios took their bodies and honorably buried them. Eutolmios had been a slave of Episteme's parents, and then a monk with Galaktion. He also wrote the life of these wonderful martyrs of Christ who suffered and received their wreaths in heaven in the year 253.


The Spiritual Love of the Saints

Physical love, in comparison to spiritual love, is less than a shadow is to solid substance. Brotherhood and sisterhood of the blood and body is nothing compared to the brotherhood and sisterhood of the spirit. Galaktion's father betrothed him to the maiden Episteme. Galaktion baptized Episteme and, after that, both received the monastic tonsure. Their physical love was replaced by spiritual love, a love as strong as death. So great was Galaktion's spiritual love for Episteme that he never desired to see her with his physical eyes. Neither physical contact nor closeness are necessary for spiritual love. So great was Episteme's spiritual love for Galaktion that when she heard that he had been taken for torture she ran after him, begging him not to reject her, but to receive her as a fellow sufferer, as he was her spiritual father and brother. When the merciless torturers flogged holy Galaktion's naked body, holy Episteme wept. However, when the torturers cut off their hands and feet for Christ, both rejoiced and glorified God. So great was the power of their love for our Lord Jesus Christ, and so great was the spiritual love with which they loved each other. Truly, physical love is like a colorful butterfly that quickly passes, but spiritual love is enduring.

HYMN OF PRAISE: The Venerable Martyrs Galaktion and Episteme

Galaktion, and Episteme with him,
Abandoned the world of passing smoke,
Crucified the passions of the body,
And ascended to heaven in spirit.
Their hearts remembered Christ with every beat,
And were crucified with love for Him.
Then the tormentors arrived.
Galaktion went to his torture,
And Episteme hurried after:
"Slower, Brother," she said, "do not hurry!
I was baptized by your hand,
Now take me with you to torture!
Even though I am unworthy, Brother,
I am willing to die for my Christ."
Galaktion, and Episteme with him,
Proclaimed Christ to the unbelievers,
And in bitter tortures they breathed their last.
They gave their souls to Christ:
Now they live with angels in Paradise -
Galaktion and Episteme.

Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
Thy Martyrs, O Lord, in their courageous contest for Thee received as the prize the crowns of incorruption and life from Thee, our immortal God. For since they possessed Thy strength, they cast down the tyrants and wholly destroyed the demons' strengthless presumption. O Christ God, by their prayers, save our souls, since Thou art merciful.

Kontakion in the Second Tone
The Martyrs of Christ, received you in their companies, who through mighty trials contested most resplendently; O renowned Galaktion and thy hallowed spouse and co-sufferer, Episteme, ye both entreat the one God and Lord in behalf of us all.

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The Great Wager Between Believers and Unbelievers

By Photios Kontoglou

On Pascha [Easter] Monday, in the evening after midnight, before lying down to sleep, I went out into the little garden behind my house. The sky was dark and covered with stars. I seemed to see it for the first time, and a distant psalmody seemed to descend from it. My lips murmured, very softly: “Exalt ye the Lord our God, and worship at the footstool of His feet.” A holy man once told me that during these hours the heavens are opened. The air exhaled a fragrance of the flowers and herbs I had planted. “Heaven and earth are filled with the glory of the Lord.”

I could well have remained there alone until break of day. I was as if without a body and without any bond to the earth. But fearing that my absence would disturb those with me in the house, I returned and lay down.

Sleep had not really taken possession of me; I do not know whether I was awake or asleep, when suddenly a strange man rose up before me. He was as pale as a dead man. His eyes were as if open, and he looked at me in terror. His face was like a mask, like a mummy’s. His glistening, dark yellow skin was stretched tight over his dead man’s head with all its cavities. He was as if panting. In one hand he held some kind of bizarre object which I could not make out; the other hand was clutching his breast as if he were suffering.

This creature filled me with terror. I looked at him and he looked at me without speaking, as if he were waiting for me to recognize him, strange as he was. And a voice said to me: “It is so-and-so!” And I recognized him immediately. Then he opened his mouth and sighed. His voice came from far away; it came up as from a deep well.

He was in great agony, and I suffered for him. His hands, his feet, his eyes — everything showed that he was suffering. In my despair I was going to help him, but he gave me a sign with his hand to stop. He began to groan in such a way that I froze. Then he said to me: “I have not come; I have been sent. I shake without stop; I am dizzy. Pray God to have pity on me. I want to die but I cannot. Alas! Everything you told me before is true. Do you remember how, several days before my death, you came to see me and spoke about religion? There were two other friends with me, unbelievers like myself. You spoke, and they mocked. When you left, they said: ‘What a pity! He is intelligent and he believes the stupid things old women believe!’

“Another time, and other times too, I told you: ‘Dear Photios, save up money, or else you will die a pauper. Look at my riches, and I want more of them.’ You told me then: ‘Have you signed a pact with death, that you can live as many years as you want and enjoy a happy old age?’

“And I replied: ‘You will see to what an age I will live. Now I am 75; I will live past a hundred. My children are free from want. My son earns a lot of money, and I have married my daughter to a rich Ethiopian. My wife and I have more money than we need. I am not like you who listen to what the priests say: “A Christian ending to our life …” and the rest. What have you to gain from a Christian ending? Better a full pocket and no worries … Give alms? Why did your so merciful God create paupers? Why should I feed them? And they ask you, in order to go to Paradise, to feed idlers! Do you want to talk about Paradise? You know that I am the son of a priest and that I know well all these tricks. That those who have no brains believe them is well enough, but you who have a mind have gone astray. If you continue to live as you are doing, you will die before me, and you will be responsible for those you have led astray. As a physician I tell you and affirm that I will live a hundred and ten years …’”

After saying all this, he turned this way and that as if he were on a grill. I heard his groans: “Ah! Ouch! Oh! Oh!” He was silent for a moment, and then continued: “This is what I said, and in a few days I was dead! I was dead, and I lost the wager! What confusion was mine, what horror! Lost, I descended into the abyss. What suffering I have had up to now, what agony! Everything you told me was true. You have won the wager!

“When I was in the world where you are now, I was an intellectual, I was a physician. I had learned how to speak and to be listened to, to mock religion, to discuss whatever falls under the senses. And now I see that everything I called stories, myths, paper lanterns — is true. The agony which I am experiencing now — this is what is true, this is the worm that never sleeps, this is the gnashing of teeth.”

After having spoken thus, he disappeared. I still heard his groans, which gradually faded away. Sleep had begun to take possession of me, when I felt an icy hand touch me. I opened my eyes and saw him again before me. This time he was more horrible and smaller in body. He had become like a nursing infant, with a large old man’s head which he was shaking.

“In a short time the day will break, and those who have sent me will come to seek me!”

“Who are they?”

He spoke some confused words which I could not make out. Then he added: “There where I am, there are also many who mock you and your faith. Now they understand that their spiritual darts have not gone beyond the cemetery. There are both those you have done good to, and those who have slandered you. The more you forgive them, the more they detest you. Man is evil. Instead of rejoicing him, kindness makes him bitter, because it makes him feel his defeat. The state of these latter is worse than mine. They cannot leave their dark prison to come and find you as I have done. They are severely tormented, lashed by the whip of God’s love, as one of the Saints has said [St. Isaac the Syrian]. The world is something else entirely from what we see! Our intellect shows it to us in reverse. Now we understand that our intellect was only stupid, our conversations were spiteful meanness, our joys were lies and illusions.

“You, who bear God in your hearts, Whose word is Truth, the only Truth — you have won the great wager between believers and unbelievers. This wager I have lost. I tremble, I sigh, and I find no rest. In truth, there is no repentance in hell. Woe to those who walk as I did when I was on earth. Our flesh was drunk and mocked those who believed in God and eternal life; almost everyone applauded us. They treated you as mad, as imbeciles. And the more you accept our mockeries, the more our rage increases.

“Now I see how much the conduct of evil men grieved you. How could you bear with such patience the poisoned darts which issued from our lips which treated you as hypocrites, mockers of God, and deceivers of the people. If these evil men who are still on earth would see where I am, if only they were in my place, they would tremble for everything they are doing. I would like to appear to them and tell them to change their path, but I do not have the permission to do so, just as the rich man did not have it when he begged Abraham to send Lazarus the pauper. Lazarus was not sent, so that those who sinned might be worthy of punishment and those who went on the ways of God might be worthy of salvation.

“He that is unrighteous, let him do unrighteousness yet more; and he that is filthy, let him he made filthy yet more. And he that is righteous, let him do righteousness yet more; and he that is holy, let him be made holy yet more” (Apoc. 22:11).

With these words he disappeared.

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On Zeal For the House of God

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

"For the zeal of Thy house has eaten me up and the reproaches of those who reproach Thee have fallen on me" (Psalm 69:9).

The heavens are the house of God. The Church of God is the house of God. The bodies of believing people are the house of God. Wherever God is, there is the house of God; and where the house of God is, there is holiness. Men dishonor the holiness of God's house, and the royal prophet is provoked and burns with zeal. He takes upon himself all the offenses against the holy things of God, and they fall upon him like a fire that enkindles him with even more zeal.

Men desecrate the heavens when they do not believe that which God Himself revealed to mankind for the sake of their salvation. When men oppose or pervert the truth, as do the heretics, or when, of their own free will, they conceive of Christ according to their corporeal understanding, or when they have doubts about angels and saints, the Judgment, and the Eternal Kingdom of Christ, and refuse to consider the eternal punishment of unrepentant sinners - in all this and more, men attack the house of God and desecrate its holiness like savage animals. This causes zeal against the opponents and the blasphemers of God to rise in the hearts of the righteous.

In the same manner, men attack the house of God's holiness when they behave unworthily toward the Church of God, when they are negligent concerning the Church's ordinances, when they are slothful toward ecclesiastical commandments and malicious toward the servants of the Church. Again, zeal for the holiness of the house of God is inflamed in the hearts of the righteous and the devout.

Finally, the corrupting of the human body, the surrendering to passions, the service of sin, abduction, murder, brutality, drunkenness and other wicked actions, are all attacks on the holiness of God's house. It is all blasphemy against God and against man. Again, the fervor of the zealots of holiness rises up and shines as a heavenly flame before men. O my brethren, let us look at Christ's zeal for the holiness of God's house, and the zeal of the apostles and the Holy Fathers of our Orthodox Church. Let us have more zeal for our salvation than the devil has, day and night, for our destruction.

O Lord Jesus Christ, the Model of our zeal for holiness, grant us a spark of Thy zeal that we may be like Thee in zeal, and be saved by Thee. To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.

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An Invitation From The Pope To Elders Paisios and Porphyrios

A female American professor once told an Orthodox clergyman the desire of the Pope to invite Elder Paisios and Elder Porphyrios to the Vatican. The response of both was the following:

"No, we cannot go. Because the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope are not ready. They have very much egoism. They not only want to subjugate us, but they do not believe we have the truth. There is no need to go. We would better help the situation by our prayers."

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos

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Depictions of the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus

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