MYSTAGOGY: February 2012

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Elder Paisios and the Alcoholic Monk

Once on Mount Athos there was a monk who lived in Karyes. He drank and got drunk every day and was the cause of scandal to the pilgrims. Eventually he died and this relieved some of the faithful who went on to tell Elder Paisios that they were delighted that this huge problem was finally solved.

Father Paisios answered them that he knew about the death of the monk, after seeing the entire battalion of angels who came to collect his soul. The pilgrims were amazed and some protested and tried to explain to the Elder of whom they were talking about, thinking that the Elder did not understand.

Elder Paisios explained to them: "This particular monk was born in Asia Minor, shortly before the destruction by the Turks when they gathered all the boys. So as not to take him from their parents, they would take him with them to the reaping, and so he wouldn't cry, they just put raki* into his milk in order for him to sleep. Therefore he grew up as an alcoholic. There he found an elder and said to him that he was an alcoholic. The elder told him to do prostrations and prayers every night and beg the Panagia to help him to reduce by one the glasses he drank.

After a year he managed with struggle and repentance to make the 20 glasses he drank into 19 glasses. The struggle continued over the years and he reached 2-3 glasses, with which he would still get drunk."

The world for years saw an alcoholic monk who scandalized the pilgrims, but God saw a fighter who fought a long struggle to reduce his passion.

Without knowing what each one is trying to do what he wants to do, what right do we have to judge his effort?

* Raki is a Turkish unsweetened, anise-flavored hard alcoholic drink that is popular in Turkey, Greece, Albania, Serbia, and other Balkan countries as an apéritif.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos

Trailer: "Meteora" (2012)

"Meteora" follows an illicit romance between a Greek Orthodox monk and a neighboring nun.

Director: Spiros Stathoulopoulos
Cast: Theo Alexander, Tamila Koulieva
Duration: 83 min.

Read a review from The Hollywood Reporter here.

On Riches and Vanity

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

You will hear this kind of justification from many who pursue riches: "When I become rich, I will be able to perform good works!" Do not believe them, for they deceive both you and themselves. St. John Climacus knew in depth the most secret motives of men's souls when he said, "The beginning of love of money is the pretext of alms giving and the end of it is hatred of the poor" (Step 16). This is confirmed by all lovers of money, the rich or the less rich. The average man says, "If only it were that I had money, I would carry out this and that good work!" Do not believe him. Let him not believe himself. Let him look at himself, as in a mirror, at those who have money and who are not willing to do this or that good work. That is how he would be if he acquired some money. Again, the wise John says, "Do not say that you are collecting money for the poor; so that through and by this you give help to them, in order to gain the kingdom; remember, for two mites the kingdom was purchased" (Step 16) - (St. Luke 21:2). Truly, the Gospel widow purchased it for two mites, and the rich man, before whose gates Lazarus lay, could not purchase it for all of his countless riches. If you have nothing to give to the poor, pray to God that He will give to them and, by this, you have performed almsgiving and purchased the Heavenly Kingdom. When St. Basil the New prophesied to the empress, the wife of Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus, that she will first give birth to a daughter and then a son, the empress offered him much gold. The saint refused it. The empress implored the name of the Holy Trinity that he should take the gold. Then, St. Basil took only three pieces of gold and gave it to the needy Theodora, who served him saying, "We do not need too much of these thorns, for they prick much."

HYMN ON VANITY

What is the worth of man, O Lord, You said,
That the whole vast world as his property, he acquires,
When, either today or tomorrow, he must die,
And the accumulated wealth outlive him will.
What worth is it that upon his head, a crown he sets,
When behind him, he must leave it?
To him, what good is gold and a pile of silver,
When through his withered ribs, grass grows?
What good is silk, pearls and food,
When, upon him alive, the sun does not gaze?
Of what help is the world, if he loses his soul.
Without the soul, the body is lowered into the grave.
His body and soul, both have died,
And to its grave, each of them hurries.
Two lifeless ones, then men, do bury,
For neither of them, do men bitterly mourn.
Anyone who has a mind, over his soul, let him guard,
You gave to all a reminder clear:
The soul is the only thing that can be saved,
All else in the world, and even the world itself will perish.
When we know Your counsel, O dear Lord,
Still, Your power and help we need.
Help our sinful soul, O Good One,
That the smoke of vanity suffocate it not.

The Grave of Fr. Georges Florovsky and His Wife Xenia

Rev. Georges Florovsky (1893-1979
Xenia I. Florovsky (1893-1977)

Saint Vladimir's Russian Orthodox Christian Cemetery
Trenton, New Jersey
Monday – Friday: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Saturday: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Source

Was There Global Warming In Medieval Times?

Ted Thornhill
March 26, 2012
DailyMail.co.uk

Current theories of the causes and impact of global warming have been thrown into question by a new study which shows that during medieval times the whole of the planet heated up.

It then cooled down naturally and there was even a 'mini ice age'.

A team of scientists led by geochemist Zunli Lu from Syracuse University in New York state, has found that contrary to the ‘consensus’, the ‘Medieval Warm Period’ approximately 500 to 1,000 years ago wasn’t just confined to Europe.

In fact, it extended all the way down to Antarctica – which means that the Earth has already experience global warming without the aid of human CO2 emissions.

At present the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) argues that the Medieval Warm Period was confined to Europe – therefore that the warming we’re experiencing now is a man-made phenomenon.

However, Professor Lu has shown that this isn’t true – and the evidence lies with a rare mineral called ikaite, which forms in cold waters.

‘Ikaite is an icy version of limestone,’ said Lu. ‘The crystals are only stable under cold conditions and actually melt at room temperature.’

It turns out the water that holds the crystal structure together - called the hydration water - traps information about temperatures present when the crystals formed.

This finding by Lu's research team establishes, for the first time, ikaite as a reliable way to study past climate conditions.

The scientists studied ikaite crystals from sediment cores drilled off the coast of Antarctica. The sediment layers were deposited over 2,000 years.

The scientists were particularly interested in crystals found in layers deposited during the ‘Little Ice Age,’ approximately 300 to 500 years ago, and during the Medieval Warm Period before it.

Both climate events have been documented in Northern Europe, but studies have been inconclusive as to whether the conditions in Northern Europe extended to Antarctica.
Lu’s team found that in fact, they did.

They were able to deduce this by studying the amount of heavy oxygen isotopes found in the crystals.

During cool periods there are lots, during warm periods there aren’t.

‘We showed that the Northern European climate events influenced climate conditions in Antarctica,’ Lu says. ‘More importantly, we are extremely happy to figure out how to get a climate signal out of this peculiar mineral. A new proxy is always welcome when studying past climate changes.’

The research was recently published online in the journal Earth And Planetary Science Letters and will appear in print on April 1.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Contextual or Post-Patristic Theology

Letter of Metropolitan Pavlos of Glyfada to the Holy Synod of Greece

September 28, 2010

Protocol: # 1037

“CONTEXTUAL”, “POSTPATRISTIC”, AND OTHER "THEOLOGIKAL QUESTS” AT THE CONFERENCE OF THE THEOLOGICAL ACADEMY OF VOLOS

The "Academy for Theological Studies" of the Holy Metropolis of Demetrias, Volos, organized and hosted a theological conference with the following topic:

“NEOPATRISTIC SYNTHESIS OR POST-PATRISTIC THEOLOGY. THE QUEST OF CONTEXTUAL THEOLOGY IN ORTHODOXY.”

This conference was a "radical theological surprise” in the negative sense, for the listener who had not been adequately prepared to listen to a highly “distorted" neotheological language. And it was not difficult for this "language" to be heard by many, since the conference was broadcast on the internet TV station www.intv.gr with parallel translation in English and Greek. Some of these unorthodox distortions heard during the course of this conference will be presented a bit further down. It is necessary however to initially offer our observations on two key conditions that lead this “theological gathering” to a “theological shipwreck”.

First, the term "Contextual Theology."

The conceptual content of this term seems vague and not easily understood. Perhaps it can be seen as a glossy lingual neoplasm in order to express some concepts that arise from the need of formulating some new social realities. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The term "Synafeiaki Theologia" is known for at least forty years in inter-Christian literature and expressed in English as “Contextual Theology” or “Cohesive Theology”. The term became widely known by the "World Conference on Mission and Evangelism" which was organized in 1972 in Bangkok. The dominant trend in this conference was for the various Christian confessions to work against being seen divided, before non-Christians, as a result of doctrinal differences, and to further show unity by placing a priority on issues of social justice and oppression of social classes. This would steer the missionary and preaching effort to give first priority to the formulation of methods of restoring social injustice as opposed to spreading the truths of the Gospel. No one can deny the need for social justice, but this can only become a reality by living the truths of the Word of God as expressed through the doctrines of the Ecumenical Synods of the God-bearing Fathers of the Church. The basis and the prospect of “Contextual Theology” was "the conversion of missions into a community of churches in mission” (http://www.mission2005.org).

In Orthodox theology however, we do not have "community of churches" but "One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church." The appearance of Christian missions emerging from a “community of churches” degrades the “One Church” to a group of denominations that does not reveal the only Truth and further degrades missionary work to a sociological instead of a soteriological perspective. The “contextual theology” introduced in Bangkok has greatly expanded its horizons according to the internet site

(http://www.blogtalkradio.com/empowermentsanctuary/blog/2008/04/15/about-holistic-theology-empowerment-sanctuary):

"The goal of contextual theology is to enrich the spiritual, emotional, mental and physical experience of life, by exploring various teachings and concepts found in spirituality, metaphysics, in quantum physics, religion, the advisory of life, secular trends and scientific understanding, and then to synthesize all these together in a flowing and dynamic contextual sum ... we offer to provide you with a variety of tools designed to help you in your personal growth and development ... and all these regardless if you are involved with Angelic Support, Universal Law, Buddhism, Gnosticism, Christianity, or any secular, scientific or intellectual experiences in spirituality."

Here arises a crucial question: Did the organizers of this conference have any knowledge of the history of the term “contextual theology”? If they did not, why did they use it? To make an impression or to pioneer modernism? But if they knew, then we can rightly speak of an attempt to "distort theology."

Second, the term "Post-Patristic Theology."

This term, outside of being novel, is also unbiblical and unorthodox. Unbiblical, because it contradicts the very basis of the patristic theology of our Church. The Lord Himself has said:

"And the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you" (John 14:26).

"But when the Paraclete comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me” (John 15:26).

"However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13).

The Holy Fathers are the fruit of the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church. The Fathers therefore are called God-bearing, because they are the vessels and the organs of the Holy Spirit. With persistent ascesis and strenuous neptic struggle, they subjugated the spirit of the flesh to the will of God. In Orthodoxy there cannot be Theology without ascesis and Theology without Fathers. The Fathers with their theology fulfill the aforementioned words of our Lord. The Fathers do not say anything novel, nor do they write new philosophical theories, but because they are spirit-filled and live in the Light of God, they interpret the truths revealed by Christ, empowered by His light.

The Paraclete, the Spirit of truth, leads the Fathers of the Church "to all truth." This means that there can be no period in the life of the Church that Fathers do not exist. This would mean that the Paraclete stopped "holding fast" “the entire institution of the Church" (Vespers of Pentecost). All this leads to the obvious conclusion that the term “post patristic” theology is totally baseless. It is impossible to have a period after the Fathers, since the Church will always grow theologically with the Grace of the Holy Spirit through the God-bearing Fathers. We do not deny the term "neo-patristic theology" because new Fathers will always emerge over time. But we reject the term "post patristic theology" because it leads us straight to Protestantism. The Church without Fathers would be a "falsified Christian Protestant formulation" without any relation to the "One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church."

Were the organizers of this "theological" conference not aware of the fundamental and basic principles of Orthodox Theology?

If that is true, how do they dare organize “theological” conferences under the auspices of a carrier bearing the grandiose name "Orthodox Academy," while the prefix/title suffers from theological unorthodoxy? But if they were aware, then we have every reason to speak about a sinister willingness to corrupt and distort the basic structures of Orthodox Theology.

Apart from these basic directives set by the conference and expressed by the general title, there were in the course of meetings a plethora of problematic points posited by the speakers which created deep concern regarding their Orthodox content.

We herein quote some of these troublesome positions:

- "The juxtaposition between East and West must stop” (Marcus Plested, Second Session 4/6/2010 and deacon Pavel Gavrilyuk, Fifth Session 06/04/2010).

- "In their scholastic approach to Scripture that is so dear to fundamentalists, they believe that every sentence of the Bible is inerrant" (John Fotopoulos, Fourth Session 06/04/2010).

- "Thanks to Jung we can finally understand the dual theory of the Cross" (George Dimakopoulos, Fifth session 04/06/2010).

- "The contextual method helps us to compare the Fathers with the non-Orthodox" (Archbishop Hilarion Alfeyev of Volokolamsk, Third Session 06/04/2010).

- "The focus of Fr George Florovsky on the minds of the Fathers reveals a weakness in his methodology and interpretation” (John Behr, Second Session 06/04/2010).

- "A view that claims the only truth is imperialist" (George Dimakopoulos, fifth Session 06/04/2010).

– “Theology must conform to liberal ways of thinking so it can depart from the patristic tradition" (Alexei Nesteruk, Fifth session 06/04/2010).

- "Trembelas is ignorant of all three volumes of the Dogmatics of Barth” (Father Dimitrios Bathrellos, Fifth Session 06.04.2010). Comment: It is certainly true that in the Dogmatics of Trembelas there are omissions, but the omission or ignorance of the Protestant system of dogmatics can hardly be held as a serious critical evaluation [in a supposedly Orthodox conference].

- "Tradition can not be a guarantor of truth. If the interpretive [method] of Gadamer could be accepted it would help Orthodoxy to not hold tradition as a fortress of truth” (Assaad Katan, Sixth Session 05/06/2010).

- "We must search for the seeds of post-patristic theology in the Fathers themselves" (Deacon John Manousakis, Sixth Session 06/05/2010).

- "It is time to do away with stereotypes and myths from theology” (Daniel Ayuch, Fourth Session 04/06/2010).

- "From the eighth century [Orthodox] theology lacks originality and theological production” (Daniel Ayuch, Fourth Session 04/06/2010). Comment: Mr. Ayuch seems to be uninformed about [several theologians, especially] St. Gregory Palamas.

- "Church is all the other Christians" (Father Emmanuel Clapsis, Tenth session 06/06/2010).

- "It is necessary to go above and beyond the Fathers since they compromised with the spirit of the world" (Pantelis Kalaitzidis, Tenth Session 06/06/2010).

- "We need to go beyond the Fathers" (Deacon Pavel Gavrilyuk, Fifth session 04/06/2010).

- "The Orthodox [theological] schools should invite non-Orthodox theologians to teach" (Deacon Pavel Gavrilyuk, Fifth session 06/04/2010).

- "We must see the western fathers such as Thomas Aquinas as co-workers worthy of our attention" (Deacon Pavel Gavrilyuk, Fifth session 06/04/2010).

- "We must attempt to move toward an Orthodox theology of religions" (Father Emmanuel Clapsis, Tenth Session 06/06/2010).

- "Spouses should be able to receive Holy Communion without spousal abstinence on the eve of Divine Liturgy" and "Holy Communion should be offered to women during the period of menstruation" (Pantelis Kalaitzidis, Tenth Session 6/6/2010 and Helen Kasselouri-Chadjivassiliadis, Sixth Session 5/6/2010). Comment: We emphasize here that St. Timothy of Alexandria has adequately responded to these issues in his canonical questions and answers, as recorded in the Rudder and validated by the Fourth, the Sixth and the Seventh Ecumenical Synod.

- "There must be a reinterpretation of our dogmatic tradition" (Pantelis Kalaitzidis, Tenth Session 06/06/2010).

- "The theory of evolution does not conflict with the doctrine of creation" (Father Andrew Louth, Seventh Session 06/05/2010).

- "The Fathers have transcended the Archaic Christian theology ... and we must now transcend [go over and above] the Fathers" (Pantelis Kalaitzidis, Tenth Session 06/06/2010).

- "Every birth has birth pangs, but out of it will come something new" (His Eminence Metropolitan of Demetrias and Almyros Ignatius, Conference closing remarks , Tenth Session 06/06/2010). Comment: It must be emphasized here that the dogmas of the Church were, in fact, a result of a painstaking ascetic, neptic and theological process, and as every child is born only once likewise the dogmas do not need not be reborn or, as it was stated many times in the Conference, to be "redefined".

All of the above [highlighted] selections of some of the positions of the speakers at this conference are in need of thorough explanations.

We do not deny freedom of speech in the field of Orthodox theology, but we can not accept freedom of reasoning to end up as Protestant reasoning. The organizers of the conference are required to come up with adequate explanations in order to avoid unnecessary clashes for fruitless "births."

Our Theology needs to increase in the Grace of the Holy Spirit. And this can be done through the Saints, who are always present in the Church.

Awaiting the Hierarchy to intervene accordingly regarding this scandalous offense against the flock of Christ, I remain yours,

With the deepest respect,

The lowest among the bishops

† Metropolitan of GLYFADAS PAVLOS

Source

Contemplations On The Fall of Man

By St. Anastasios the Sinaite

How is it possible to say that the serpent, created by God dumb and irrational, was endowed with reason and speech? For if it had the power of itself to speak, to discern, to understand, and to reply to what was spoken by the woman, there would have been nothing to prevent every serpent from doing this also. If, however, they say again that it was according to the divine will and dispensation that this [serpent] spoke with a human voice to Eve, they render God the author of sin. Neither was it possible for the evil demon to impart speech to a speechless nature, and thus from that which is not to produce that which is; for if that were the case, he never would have ceased (with the view of leading men astray) from conferring with and deceiving them by means of serpents, and beasts, and birds. From what quarter, too, did it, being a beast, obtain information regarding the injunction of God to the man given to him alone, and in secret, not even the woman herself being aware of it? Why also did it not prefer to make its attack upon the man instead of the woman? And if you say that it attacked her as being the weaker of the two, [I reply that], on the contrary, she was the stronger, since she appears to have been the helper of the man in the transgression of the commandment. For she did by herself alone resist the serpent, and it was after holding out for a while and making opposition that she ate of the tree, being circumvented by craft; whereas Adam, making no fight whatever, nor refusal, partook of the fruit handed to him by the woman, which is an indication of the utmost imbecility and effeminacy of mind. And the woman indeed, having been vanquished in the contest by a demon, is deserving of pardon; but Adam shall deserve none, for he was worsted by a woman—he who, in his own person, had received the command from God. But the woman, having heard of the command from Adam, treated it with contempt, either because she deemed it unworthy of God to speak by means of it, or because she had her doubts, perhaps even held the opinion that the command was given to her by Adam of his own accord. The serpent found her working alone, so that he was enabled to confer with her apart. Observing her then either eating or not eating from the trees, he put before her the fruit of the [forbidden] tree. And if he saw her eating, it is manifest that she was partaker of a body subject to corruption. For "whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body" [Matthew 15:17]. If then corruptible, it is obvious that she was also mortal. But if mortal, then there was certainly no curse; nor was that a [condemnatory] sentence, when the voice of God spoke to the man, "For earth you are, and unto earth shall you return" [Genesis 3:19], as the true course of things proceeds [now and always]. Then again, if the serpent observed the woman not eating, how did he induce her to eat who never had eaten? And who pointed out to this accursed man-slaying serpent that the sentence of death pronounced against them by God would not take [immediate] effect, when He said, For in the day that you eat thereof, you shall surely die? And not this merely, but that along with the impunity [attending their sin] the eyes of those should be opened who had not seen until then? But with the opening [of their eyes] referred to, they made entrance upon the path of death.

The First Orthodox Church In Rwanda

With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa, two weeks ago construction began for the first Orthodox church in Rwanda. It is named after the Holy Trinity and is being built on one hectare of land purchased by donation from an anonymous donor (20,000 euros) and other Christians (15,000 euros). It is built in Nyamata, 2 km from the New International Airport with the support of the "Brotherhood of Orthodox External Missions of Thessaloniki".

Rwandan people have shown great interest in Orthodoxy, but financial difficulties in purchasing land and the settlement of relevant documents delayed the construction work.

The Spiritual Meaning of the Greek Revolution

Below are significant messages, either written or oral, showing the deep spiritual and ideological meaning of the Greek Revolution, from heroes of the Revolution.

On the eve of the declaration for a national revolution against the Turks at Holy Lavra Monastery, Asimakis Zaimis said the following:

"Nothing remains but the immediate proclamation of Revolution. Nothing separates us and there is no dispute. Let us rest tonight, and tomorrow in the church, after having received the Undefiled Mysteries, let us all pray, according to the Doxology of Saint Alexios and the Panagia, that they may help us in the unequal struggle which we are undertaking. This hour tomorrow let us meet herein, that we may arrange the Struggle."

Demetrios Ypsilantis, when he came to Greece to take on the leadership in the Struggle, having reached Hydra he wrote on on 08/06/1821:

"Almighty God, the King of Heaven and Earth, the Protector of the aggrieved and the Father of orphans, decided to put an end to injustice and lawlessness and raised the chariots of the Christian race."

The Old Man of the Morea, Theodoros Kolokotronis, said:

"God signed the freedom of Greece and will not take back His signature."

The legendary congressman Konstantinos Kanaris narrating his achievements to the poet Aristotelis Valaoritis, said:

"The Turks were such, that if they threw themselves upon us, we would have undoubtedly drowned. But Almighty God did not allow this and saved us."

The commander heroine Laskarina Bouboulina told the politicians:

"I lost my husband. Blessed be God! My eldest son fell with his weapon in his hands. Blessed be God! My second and only son, 14 years old, fought with the Greeks and eventually found a glorious death. Blessed be God! Under the sign of the Cross my blood will also flow. Blessed be God! We will conquer or die with the living, but we will have the consolation that in the world we did not leave behind the Greeks in slavery."

General Makriyannis addressed to God the following prayer:

"Thou, Lord, will resurrect the dead Greeks, the offspring of famous people, who adorned humanity with virtue. And with Thy strength and Thy justice Thou wants to revive the dead, and Thy decision is just to revive Greece, that it may be illumined with the religion of Christ and for there to be honorable and good men, where they defend justice."

Odysseas Androutsos wrote to the people of Galaxidi on 03/22/1821:

"It was certainly written by God to bear arms one day and pour out against our tyrants who for many years tyrannized us. What do we want, my brothers, with this very bitter life, to live under slavery, and for the sword of the Turks to be directed to our heads? Do you not see that nothing is left for us? Our churches have become mosques or slums of the Turks. Nothing brothers is left for us. It is inappropriate to cross our hands and wait upon heaven. God gave us hands, knowledge and minds. Let us ask our hearts and whatever moves us let us quickly put it into action, and let us be brothers certain that our Christ, the much-beloved, will put His hand upon us.... To the armories, my brothers, in order to free ourselves from slavery or to die."

And Photis Kontoglou, in his book Suffering Romiosini, writes:

"The Greek Revolution is the most spiritual revolution to ever occur in the world. It is sanctified. The slavery which pushed the Greeks to rise up against the Turk was not only about the deprivation and evils against the body, but, above all, the tyrant wanted to ruin their Faith, bothering them with their religious debts, changing their Faith and slaughtering and hanging them, because they did not deny their Faith to become Mohammadens. For them Faith and Homeland became one and the same thing, and the freedom they longed for was not only the freedom all revolutionaries long for, but it was the freedom to preserve their sacred Faith, with which they hoped to save their souls. Because for them, though near to the body which has many needs and with its suffering requires maintanence, there also existed a soul, which Christ said is worth more than the body...."

Monday, March 26, 2012

Turkey To Reopen Halki Seminary, Obama says

March 26, 2012
Ekathimerini

Turkey has decided to reopen a former Greek Orthodox seminary on an island off the Istanbul coast, according to a statement made by US President Barack Obama.

“I am pleased to hear of his decision to reopen the Halki seminary,” the American President said after a meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the eve of a two-day nuclear security summit in Seoul on Sunday.

The European Union has said re-opening Halki seminary, a centre of Orthodox scholarship for more than a century until Turkey closed it down in 1971, is key if Ankara is to prove a commitment to human rights and pluralism and advance its membership bid.

During the meeting in Seoul, the two leaders discussed ways to press Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step aside, including non-lethal assistance to the opposition and getting Iran to stop supporting Assad’s regime.

Obama is expected to visit Turkey for the second time in June, Erdogan said.

Patriarch Kirill's Advice To Orthodox Bloggers

March 26, 2012
Interfax

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia advises Orthodox bloggers to direct their "enhanced energy" to real work.

"It's enough to follow the discussions in blogs of believers, both laity and clerics. After reading them, you often think: if only they could use this energy for good purposes!" the Patriarch said at a session of the Coordination Committee on Promoting Social, Educative, Cultural and other Initiatives under Auspices of the Russian Church.

He asked a question to the participants in these Internet discussions: "You speak very decisively - but what are your real works and your real deeds? What are your practical actions?"

"I don't underestimate the importance and need of deep, serious discussion among Orthodox believers, but I want to remind its every participant, that the Savior speaks directly to you: 'By their fruits you will know them.' By their fruit, not by their chats, jokes, desire to look strong, clever, convincing, biting and so on," the Primate stressed.

Video: Priest Distributes 1 Ton of Fish To People of Rhodes

About 2 tons of fish were distributed on March 25, 2012 by Fr. Christos, the head of the Church of St. Panteleimon in Old Town Rhodes, who will also offer on Palm Sunday 1 ton of oil, 800 loaves of bread and 800 dozen eggs for everyone.

Father Christos thought of the difficult days that many people are going through, and has decided that nobody should be left without food.

Speaking on the TV program "TV Kosmos", Father Christos thanked the fisherman who cast their nets to offer the world the fish.

Source

Read also: Muslim Donates Free Fish To Orthodox Church In Rhodes

Video: Georgian Church Celebrates the Restoration of Autocephaly

The Georgian Orthodox Church celebrates the 95th anniversary of the restoration of autocephaly on March 25th. On this occasion the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II congratulated the parishioners. The Georgian Church gained autocephaly in 457. In 1811 it was abolished by the Russian Empire. The church's independence was restored in 1917. And thanks to the efforts of the current Catholicos-Patriarch it has been documented. The corresponding letter of Ilia II was received from the Ecumenical Patriarch in 1990.

Panagia Oxylithiotissa: A Church Perched Atop A Volcano

On March 25th, the feast of the Annunciation to the Theotokos, a unique church in Greece celebrates. Panagia Oxylithiotissa is probably the only church in Greece perched atop a volcano. From the slopes of this volcano, the Panagia overlooks the village of Oxilithos of Kymi Evia, as well as the sea.

The village Oxilithos got its name from the sharp stones which are found on the volcano of Oxilithos; Oxilithos means "sharp stone". 200 years ago pious villagers took these stones and lifted them to the top of the mountain to build this picturesque church dedicated to the Panagia. It's as if the Panagia embraces land and sea that stretches before her church.

Notable also is that St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite lived the ascetic life in a cave on this volcano for a short time. Also when St. Nektarios was a preacher in Evia, he came and liturgized in this church.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

The Annunciation In Early Christian Art

By Raffaela Fazio Smith

Written sources

The iconography of the Annunciation derives primarily from the canonical Gospels of Matthew and (above all) Luke (1:26-38), but also from the apocryphal gospels, such as the Gospel of the Pseudo Matthew and the Protogospel of James (11:1-3). These apocryphal gospels were divulged in the West by Vincent de Beauvais (1250 ca.) in his Speculum Historiae and by Giacomo da Varagine (1260 ca.) in his Leggenda Aurea. Another apocryphal source is the Armenian Gospel of the Infancy which had a significant influence on Byzantine iconography.

According to the apocryphal gospels, there were two annunciations. The Armenian Gospel (5:2-9), for example, says that the Virgin was initially greeted by an invisible angel as she left home carrying a jug on her way to fetch water at the fountain. Fearing that the devil was trying to trick her, Mary began to pray, asking God to free her from the temptations of the devil. Then, upon returning home, she begins spinning the purple veil for the temple. Gabriel then enters through a closed door and appears before her, this time as a being of flesh and blood, announcing that she will give birth to the Messiah. At that moment, the Word of God penetrates her through her ear, beginning the act of conception.

Early representations

Among the earliest representations of the annunciation in Christian art are the frescoes in the catacombs in Rome, where [the] funerary art was a “prayer”, a witness to hope. Particularly significant was the message of Christ’s victory over death. The annunciation to Mary is the very beginning of this message.

The oldest image of an annunciation is a fresco on the vault of a cubicle in the catacomb of Priscilla, dated to the second half of the 2nd century or first half of the 3rd century. Mary is wearing a tunica and pallium according to the roman fashion. Seated on a high-backed chair, she is listening to a man in front of her, to the right, who is wearing a tunica with wide sleeves. He is raising his hand in the loquendi sign, i.e. the sign of speech. In this fresco, Mary is without a veil. The introduction of a veil in her representations comes at a later date following the fashion of the oriental omophorion (a veil that is worn with a dark blue cape). Yet, Mary will also continue to be depicted without a veil and with her hair down, as a sign of her virginity (unmarried women wore their hair this way). The angel’s gesture of orator will sometimes be replaced in later depictions by his raised finger, indicating the provenance of his message. The fresco in the catacomb of Priscilla follows the then contemporary iconography representing a messenger in the presence of some high-ranking person: remaining seated while receiving a visitor symbolised the person’s dignity. The fact that the divine messenger is featured without wings in early Christian iconography is probably an attempt to distinguish Christian angels from the “winged victories” of pagan religion.

Revelation

As I have already mentioned, the annunciation to Mary is somehow the beginning of God’s plan to redeem humankind through Christ. However the annunciation is not depicted exclusively in this light. Over time it becomes increasingly used as a message pertaining not only to salvation, but also to revelation: the mystery of Christ is first revealed to Mary. Mary is considered to be the first witness to God’s love taking shape in the Incarnation.

Thus, in the 4th and 5th centuries, the annunciation becomes part of a much wider context. It starts to be included in cycles of epiphany scenes relating to the first manifestations of Christ to humankind. The epiphanic nature of the annunciation is often emphasized by the presence of a curtain, which is used not merely for decorative purposes but also for its symbolic reference to revelation. (In this context, it is worth remembering that the curtains in the sanctuaries of some pagan “mysteries religions” hid the sacred image until the moment of the theophania, i.e.the appearance of the divinity, when they were pulled open). The feature of the curtain was introduced in the iconography of Christian martyrs towards the end of the 4th century. The first example is the portrait of the Saint in front of the Confessio of the Basilica of Ss. John and Paul in Rome.

Regal nature

With the passing of time, the attention focuses more and more on the nature of Christ and the dogmatic importance of his representation, as true God (the Council of Nicea in 325 declared that the Father and the Son are consubstantial; the Council of Ephesus in 431 proclaimed that Mary is the mother of God) and true man (the Council of Chalcedon in 451 declared that two natures –human and divine- coexisted in Christ). Yet, it is above all the divinity of Christ that the victorious Church wants to stress (it is after the Edict of Theodosius in 381 that Christianity becomes the official religion of the empire). Mary acquires a nobility and a regal nature of clearly imperial inspiration. The regal nature of Mary is naturally due to the regal nature of Christ, increasingly represented as Christ in Glory, who will judge humanity at the end of time.

The dove and the angel

In the 5th century, in the mosaic of the triumphal arch in Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, a flying dove appears for the first time in an annunciation, symbolising the Holy Spirit. In the Bible, the manifestation of the Holy Spirit as a dove can be found only once, namely in the account of Christ’s baptism. However, the Council of Nicea in 325 declared that the dove of the baptism was a valid symbol for the Holy Spirit. From then on, the dove will be depicted above all in the annunciations of Mary and then later in the scenes of the Pentecost and eventually in the images of the creation and the Trinity. It should be said though that the depiction in Santa Maria Maggiore remained for a long time a unique example, perhaps due to the aversion towards the still existing cult of Venus which also used the dove as a conventional symbol. Four hundred years would have to pass before this symbol took hold in Christianity: it became a fully integrated part of the annunciation iconography in the 11th-12th centuries.

In the 6th century, we witness a reversal in the positions of Mary and the angel. Mary begins to appear on the right of the scene. The main figure has thus been moved, following the direction in which Greek and Latin are written and read (from left to right), so that the eye stops on the image of the Virgin.

The angel Gabriel is portrayed usually alone, facing Mary, holding a rod or a sceptre, the symbol of the staff of command that God – the celestial emperor – entrusts to his special ambassador. However, there are exceptions. Sometimes the scene introduces more than one angel. For example, in the above-mentioned mosaic of Santa Maria Maggiore, four angels surround Mary. Yet, it is after the Council of Trent (1545-1563) that we begin to see an increasing number of angels and a multiplication of little putti.

Mary’s position and gesture

The seat of the Virgin, who is often depicted resting her feet on a footstool, is covered with an imperial cushion. At times the seat becomes an actual throne. We frequently see an aedicule with a gable above it, suggesting the idea that the Virgin is the “dwelling place” of the Most High, and the symbol of the Church itself.

Emotions are not portrayed in these images. Gestures, on the contrary, have a highly symbolic value. Mary’s hand can assume several positions. When she holds it to her chin, it is a sign of reflection. Her palm facing outwards suggests her initial reserve. The back of her hands held to her chest indicates her consensus. The gesture of the orans (praying figure) is also highly significant, with the palms of her hands facing outwards at chest level, as a sign of trusting welcome. Iconographically, the image of the orans was borrowed from the image of the Roman pietas which represented devotion and respect towards the gods, as well as towards one’s family and nation.

Besides the byzantine tradition featuring Mary seated while spinning the purple veil for the temple, we find a different iconography. In the 6th century, the Virgin begins to be depicted in a standing position in the act of speaking. This image is influenced by the byzantine-hellenistic regal tradition, which wants to emphasize not only the nobility but also the wisdom of the Virgin, who instantly recognises the true nature of her visitor, rises to her feet out of respect, and is able to answer him after listening to his message.

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Photo 1: The Catacombs of Priscilla in Rome are home to the earliest visual representations of the Virgin Mary and the Annunciation, dating to the second century. Here the Annunciation, the largest and most prominent of three distinct images of the Virgin in the catacomb, is painted on the ceiling of cubiculum P in the oldest part of the catacomb. Some suggest this is the earliest Christian depiction of an angel as well.

Photo 2: Annunciation mosiac in Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome

Photo 3: Mosaic of the Annunciation in Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome.

Photo 4: 12th century Byzantine depiction of the Annunciation in St. Katherine's Monastery on Mount Sinai.

Source

Saturday, March 24, 2012

The Twin Portable Icon of the Panagia of Love and Hate

This is a unique twin portable icon of the Virgin Mary, located in the Church of Panagia Chrysaliniotissa in Nicosia, where the Panagia is depicted facing in two directions. On one side is depicted the Panagia of Love or Unity (Eleousa type), and on the other side the Panagia of Hate or Separation (Odigitria type).

The Panagia of Love or Unity (Παναγία Αγαπητική ή Ενωτική)

According to popular tradition, the help of the Panagia of Love is sought by the woman to win back the love of her husband or the lover who abandoned her, as well as the young man that loves unrequited. In other words, it helps bring love to oneself and to others, and thus unity. Some say this is achieved by drinking wood dust from the icon. As for the other Panagia, the one of Hate, which is facing the opposite side, it has different qualities.

The Panagia of Hate or Separation (Παναγία Μισητική ή Χωριστική)

In this icon there is an understanding by mothers that it helps remove evil and corruption from their teenage daughters. For this special attribute it is called Separator (Ποϋριστιτζή or Πογυριστική). In other words, she helps separate oneself or others from evil and hate. She furthermore helps a sinner understand their evil ways and bring them to unity with the Church, with family and with their neighbor. For the Panagia to act as a Separator, some say one must light up a candle and for the mothers to plead for the influence to leave their teenage daughters.

This icon shows us that not only is love a virtue, but hate is also a virtue if directed against evil.

Archbishop Ieronymos Defends Solar Park Project

March 23, 2012
Ekathimerini

Archbishop Ieronymos said on Friday that the Church of Greece is determined to make use of its assets using all legitimate means “for the benefit of the people,” rebuffing criticism provoked by the Church’s decision to build a photovoltaic park on the slopes of Mount Pendeli, north of Athens.

Without naming anyone in particular, Ieronymos blasted “individuals whose social contribution and solidarity is limited to grandiloquent, tearful and ostensibly ideologically loaded sermons.” Such speeches will not help austerity-weary Greeks, Ieronymos said. “Words will not comfort our people, who have been plunged into poverty and insecurity,” he said, adding that the Church’s charities were doing the best they could despite «being abandoned increasingly by the welfare state.”

Earlier this month, authorities granted the Church the right to build the solar park in spite of a law on forest protection forbidding construction on this land. The proposal suggests the Church be granted the right to build on the 350-hectare plot in return for reforesting 2,000 hectares of burned land.

Read also:

Pendeli Monastery Investing in RES

Qatar & Greek Orthodox Church Discuss Solar Energy & Quarrying

World's Largest Solar Park Planned in Greece

Texas Christians Raise Money To Pay Medical Bills For Atheist Protestor

March 23, 2012
The Huffington Post

A Texas atheist who earlier this year fought to ban religious symbols on government property in his town is reportedly "flabbergasted" that Christians have offered to help him pay his bills.

The Tyler Morning Telegraph is reporting that Christians in Henderson County have raised around $400 to help Patrick Greene, an atheist who is at risk of going blind in one eye due to a detached retina.

Greene, a former Air Force officer and taxi driver who was forced to retire due to his eye condition, wrote a letter to members of the Henderson County Commissioner's Court in February threatening a lawsuit if they did not move a Nativity scene from court property, the Malakoff News reported.

The Nativity scene had been a source of controversy since it was erected in front of the courthouse last December, an ongoing battle between a variety of groups on which the Malakoff News has reported extensively.

Greene eventually did file suit, but when doctors told him about his eye condition, he decided that could no longer pursue the lawsuit and dropped the case. At that point, he had been forced to retire from his job driving a taxi and was facing mounting medical bills.

So when local Christians wrote him a check for $400 to help him pay his living expenses, Greene was more than surprised.

"They said they wanted to do what real Christians are supposed to do – love you – and they wanted to help," Greene told the Tyler Morning Telegraph.

He told reporters he plans to write about their gesture in a new book, tentatively titled "The Real Christians of Henderson County."

Greene has also setup a website where anyone can donate money to help cover living expenses. On the site, Greene says he and his wife are considering a move to Athens, Texas, where the rent is more affordable, and asks for donations to help cover moving costs.

"You will never know how hard it is to write all of this," Greene writes on the website. "In our 33 years of marriage, Karen and I have never been in this situation."

Pussy Riot Sparks A Polarizing Debate In Russia

Andrew Roth
March 22, 2012
The Moscow News

For Russia’s Orthodox Christian community, the Pussy Riot debacle has transformed into a polarizing debate over the church’s place in society.

Few in the church supported the actual protest, where the group broke into Christ the Savior Cathedral, an iconic Moscow church, and performed a “punk prayer” singing “Holy Mother, Blessed Virgin… chase Putin out.”

But with a possible seven-year prison term for hooliganism looming over the trio of arrested group members and calls for extremism charges to be brought against them as well, conservatives and liberals are battling over what influence the Church should, or can, exert on the group’s future.

“There have been scandals and wide societal discussion about the Church in the past, but nothing like this, linking the Church and a very public investigation and courtroom proceeding,” said Ksenia Luchenko, the deputy editor of PravMir, a popular Web portal on Orthodox Christian life.

Officially, the Church does not have an official position on the case, but some high-ranking clergy, such as Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, have on at least one occasion called for the 20-something rockers to be prosecuted on extremism charges.

“I am convinced that the text [of Pussy Riot’s song] and the [Internet] clip are extremist materials, and their distribution is an extremist act,” Chaplin told journalists this week, adding that the performance promoted “the incitement of hatred against Orthodox Christians.”

The debate, together with some of the more radical calls for harsh punishment against Pussy Riot, has been voiced inside the Church too. In at least seven churches in the Moscow region this weekend, a letter calling for “Pussy Riot” to be investigated for extremism was distributed to local priests. In some cases, the letter was read following morning services, while in others it was put on display, with space for supporters to sign their names.

Some suspected that the petition was distributed through the church hierarchy, but Vladimir Legoyda, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church’s press office, denied the existence of the signature drive.

Many were disturbed by the letters: Archdeacon Alexander Ageikin said a similar letter came to the Christ the Savior Cathedral where he works, but was not read after the sermon. He said the letters represent the most radically conservative opinions on the case.

“Of course there must be punishment against a sinner before God, he should not be left free,” said Ageikin. “But to charge these women in the same manner as murderers and rapists is clearly wrong.”

While Ageikin maintained that the Church could not interfere with an ongoing investigation, he said that the girls’ continued refusal to “recognize their guilt” made it less likely for the Church to exert any influence on the case or their care.

“If people admit their guilt, like believers, for offending the Church and God, and ask for forgiveness, then we as people should recognize that and we could ask for [Pussy Riot] to be released into our care,” he said.

Others in the Church have taken to online blogs and Facebook to call for the other “radical” position – to release the members of the band. “I believe that the security services are influenced by the fact that the feelings of members of the Church were offended [by the demonstration]. I surely do not want handcuffs put on anyone in my name,” said outspoken Archdeacon Andrei Kurayev in an interview with Snob magazine.

Kurayev then went on to comment on Pussy Riot’s accusations that the Church was tied too closely to the government: “Surely many in the Orthodox community want to cling to the shoulder of the government. Here’s what bothers me about that: if they have the political opportunity to go further than both societal and internal Church restrictions [against Church influence on the state], will they be able to stop?”

“There are these two radical positions, and then a mass of people caught in the middle,” Luchenko said. “It has become clear from this case that in both public discussion and de facto the Orthodox community is not homogenous.”

The case has also become a cause celebre for opposition activists, who have irritated many in the Church by harnessing Orthodox rhetoric in their arguments.

“Isn’t there a saying that one should not cast the first stone?” Ksenia Sobchak, a socialite and TV talk show host turned political activist, teased Chaplin during a live broadcast this week.

Luchenko said the case showed how the gap between society and the Russian Orthodox Church is growing.

“Of course when you see various bloggers and journalists react to this case, saying, ‘This is how Christ would have acted,’ or what’s really written in the gospel, it’s wrong and unpleasant,” Luchenko said. “It shows just how unfamiliar … society is not only with Orthodox culture, but simply with Orthodoxy in general.”

Madonna vs. the Russian Orthodox Church On Gay Rights

Paul Carsten
March 23, 2012
Telegraph.co.uk

The singer, proclaiming herself a "freedom fighter", vowed to challenge a new law in the city of St Petersburg which prohibits the "propaganda of homosexuality and paedophilia among minors".

This "propaganda", according to the bill, threatens to "damage the health, moral and spiritual development of the underaged." Madonna, who is planning a tour of Russia this summer, called the legislation a "ridiculous atrocity" on her Facebook page. She wrote: "I will come to St Petersburg to speak up for the gay community and to give strength and inspiration to anyone who is or feels oppressed." Signed into law in March by Mayor of St Petersburg Georgy Poltavchenko, a former KGB operative and close ally of President-elect Vladimir Putin, the legislation has, according to gay rights groups, effectively outlawed any and all gay rights and gay awareness events.

Individuals found guilty of propagating the "false perception that traditional and non-traditional relationships are socially equal" can be fined as much as £10,000. Organisations may be penalised by up to £100,000.

The law has also been criticised for equating homosexuality with paedophilia.

But the Russian Orthodox Church, which regards homosexuality as a sin, has called for the law to be nationalised.

Various attempts to hold gay rights events in Moscow, which authorities have ruled illegal, resulted in multiple arrests and clashes with ultra-Orthodox believers. These believers claim that homosexuals should be punished or receive treatment in hospital for their "illness".

Madonna has already clashed with the Orthodox Church after the church's activists protested against her singing "Live to Tell" while strung up on a crucifix and wearing a crown of thorns during a 2006 concert in Moscow.

However, this time she has also been slammed as a 'hypocrite' by organisers of gay pride events.

"We intend to protest against the hypocrisy of pop stars. In Russia they have fantastic earnings and this allows them to forget about the problems of human rights," Yuri Gavrikov, head of St Petersburg's Gay Russia movement, told AFP.

"If people like Madonna boycott their concerts, particularly in St Petersburg, that could have economic consequences, and that is important, while declarations of support for gay rights at concerts mean nothing."

The European Court of Human Rights fined Russia in 2010 for banning homosexual parades in Moscow.

Questions Often Asked About the Mother of God

By Fr. Deacon J. Smolin

Q.: Why do you pray to the Mother of God?

A.: Since Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, conquering death for us, there is no reason why we cannot ask those in heaven to pray for us just as we ask those still living on earth for their prayers. After all, in Christ all are alive. Therefore we ask the Ever-Virgin Mary to pray to her Son for us, just as we also ask the angels, the saints ,and all faithful believers here on earth to pray on our behalf, as Scripture Commands us to do: "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men... I will therefore, that men pray everywhere" (I Tim. 2:1,8). We turn readily to our friends and neighbors to ask for their prayers in our time of need; are not those in heaven even more our friends than those on earth? Why should they not intercede for us also before the throne of God?

Q.: Why do Orthodox Christians call the Virgin Mary "Mother of God"? This term seems to imply that God is not the creator and origin of all things.

A. We call the Holy Virgin Mary the Mother of God (from the Greek, Theotokos: literally, the "Birth giver of God") because it is Scriptural: the righteous Elizabeth addressed the Virgin with these words: "And whence is this to me, that the Mother of my Lord should come to me?" (Luke 1:43). Who is this "Lord" of which Elizabeth speaks? It is Christ, the Lord God. For this reason we say, correctly, that the Virgin Mary is the Mother of God. She is not the Mother of God the Father, but the Mother of God the Son, who was begotten by the Father before all ages, and took flesh from the Virgin Mary.

Q.: Why do Orthodox Christians give so much honor to the Mother of God?

A.: We honor her because Jesus Christ Himself honored her on several occasions recorded in Scripture. He fulfilled her requests and also gave her special thought even while He was dying on the cross (Luke 2:51; John 2:3-9; John 19:26-27). Even before Christ was born, she was honored by heaven when the Archangel Gabriel appeared and said to her: "Hail, thou that art full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women" (Luke 1:28). Holy Scripture further proclaims of her that "henceforth all generations shall call me blessed" (Luke 1:48), because from her womb came forth God in the flesh. This means that all who believe in Christ and in the Bible must give special honor and veneration to the one that is "blessed among women." It is not enough to merely give attention to her at Christmas time, when she appears in the manger scenes of western Christian churches. No, this "one full of grace" must occupy a very special place in the hearts of those that follow her Son, just as she did among the first Christians.

Q.: Didn't our Lord, during His earthly life, sometimes place His mother (and His other kinsmen) in a decidedly secondary position, emphasizing spiritua1 virtues over kinship according to the flesh?

A.: No one who accepts the Gospel can believe that our Lord was in any way lacking respect for His mother. Any seeming disrespect on His part can only be due to a faulty, superficial interpretation of Scripture, due sometimes to understandably imperfect translations into modern languages.

When, for example, at the marriage of Cana, His mother tells Him: “They have no wine,” and our Lord replies: "Woman, what have I to do with thee?" (John 2:l) -- one must understand that although the word "woman" might sound disrespectful in modern English, it was not so in the ancient East; it is the very word our Lord used to address His mother as He was dying on the Cross and entrusted her to His beloved disciple (John 19: 26). His words to her at the marriage feast in no way indicate disrespect, but only emphasize the importance of the miracle which was to follow (the changing of water into wine) -- a miracle which He indeed performed at her request.

When our Lord extends the concept of spiritual kinship to all those who "do the will of God," (Mark 3:34-5) He does not deny such a higher kinship to His own family; we know of several of His kinsmen who were Apostles (James, Jude, Simon), and especially "blessed" in this spiritual kinship, of course, was His own mother, of whom alone does the Scripture say that "all generations shall call me blessed" (Luke 1:48). Again, when a certain woman praises His mother for being the one who bore Him, and our Lord says, "Yea, indeed, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it" (Luke 11:28), He has a higher degree of veneration for His mother: she is blessed not only for bearing Him in the flesh, but even more for being one who "hears the word of God and keeps it."

Q.: Yet in your church services I have heard Orthodox Christians call on the Mother of God to "save" them. How can she "save" anyone, since Christ is the only Savior?

A.: We believe that there is only one Lord God and Savior of mankind, Jesus Christ. No one is equal to Him, and no one but Him can save mankind. We do not turn to Mary, the Mother of Christ our God, as to a savior, and we certainly do not put her on the same level as her Son, but we turn to her as to one who helps us by her prayers, just as St. Paul himself said that he had become all things to all men, "that I might by all means and in any way save them" (I Cor. 9:22). St. Paul was not claiming to usurp Christ as the savior; he merely wanted to help and strengthen others on the path to salvation. It is in this sense that we Orthodox Christians say, "Most Holy Mother of God save us" -- that is, "Please help us toward salvation by your prayers."

Source

Photo: Artillery Of Mount Athos From 1821

The photos above depict some of the artillery brought to Great Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos in 1821 for the monks defense against the Ottomans. The photo above is one of the cannons, and below are swords and guns.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Romanian Neomartyrs Relics Flow With Myrrh 4 Years In A Row

For the fourth year in a row relics of Holy New Martyrs of Romania who were killed in communist prisons gushed myrrh. The miracle took place in Iasi, Romania on 19 March 2012 where there were talks of the canonization of the Romanian new martyrs under the communists.

Hundreds witnessed the miracle. So much myrrh flowed from the relics that it was spilling onto the table. The first to gush myrrh was the skull of a martyr whose head was sawn off. Afterwards the other relics began to flow with myrrh.

The first time the relics were myrrhgushing was on 19 March 2009.

See photos from the same miracle that took place in 2011, here.

Source

Artist’s “Orthodoxy or Death” T-shirt is Extremist, says Russian court

A man wearing an "Orthodoxy or Death" t-shirt (left) watches the Russian artist Pyotr Verzilov (centre) from the activist art collective Voina is arrested after storming into a courtroom in Moscow in 2010.

Russian Orthodox monarchist’s fashion statement falls foul of anti-extremism laws.

Sophia Kishkovsky
March 22, 2012
The Art Newspaper

While a storm of media attention followed the arrest of members of the feminist punk band Pussy Riot when they protested against the re-election of Vladimir Putin as Russian president, a Moscow court has upheld a decision that a pro-religious t-shirt design constitutes an extremist work and should be banned.

The t-shirts, bearing the logo “Orthodoxy or Death”, are designed by Igor Miroshnichenko, a former underground artist and fashion designer who became a Russian Orthodox Christian monarchist. They feature a cross, skulls, crossbones and knives, and have been openly displayed by Orthodox activists protesting against the band Pussy Riot, the members of which are being prosecuted for performing a “prayer” against Vladimir Putin in Moscow’s Christ the Saviour Cathedral in February. Now, the Moscow City Court has upheld a lower court’s ruling that t-shirts bearing the logo are extremist. The logo is on a Russian Justice Ministry certified list of extremist literature and slogans, ranging from Muslim fundamentalist materials to Jehovah’s Witness leaflets.

Various cases against Miroshnichenko have been heard in Moscow courts since 2010. Those who wear the t-shirt risk prosecution, however last year another Moscow court, in a separate case over the same logo, ruled that it is not extremist.

“Where is the logic?” says Anatoly Pchelintsev, a religious rights lawyer representing Miroshnichenko. “Two courts in the same city: one rules that it’s extremist, the other rules that it’s not.”

Miroshnichenko, who was born in 1955, is a member of a nationalist organisation called the Union of Orthodox Banner Bearers. On 15 March, a member of the Banner Bearers wearing the “Orthodoxy or Death” t-shirt appeared on an episode of the TV show “Let them Talk” devoted to a vociferous debate over the Pussy Riot protest, and whether the band was making an artistic and political statement or is guilty of blasphemy. The Banner Bearers say that band members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, who are being held on remand for allegedly participating the performance, should face corporal punishment rather than prison.

“We are for public punishment, in the Russian tradition, on a square, with rods,” Miroshnichenko told The Art Newspaper. “Prison can break a person, but this is a corrective measure that makes them think about the shameful thing they have done and about what shame is.”

The populist newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda reported in February that an activist in an “Orthodoxy or Death” t-shirt “set the tone” at public hearings in St Petersburg over a proposed law against “gay propaganda” that was subsequently passed. The Banner Bearers and supporters among Russian Orthodox clergy defend the logo as a call to spiritual focus rather than to arms. Banner Bearers in the t-shirts were present at the trial of the curator Andrei Erofeev and the former Sakharov Museum director Yuri Samodurov, who were found guilty by a Moscow court in 2010 of inciting religious hatred after organising a contemporary art exhibition called “Forbidden Art”.

Read also:

'Orthodoxy or Death!' T-shirt Russian Controversy

Orthodoxy or Death?

Video: Cyprus Welcomes Relics of the Undefiled Passion

"The Undefiled Passion", a unique treasure of the Holy Archangels Monastery in Aigialia, was venerated on March 15th to March 22 by hundreds of faithful on the island of Cyprus, in its first ever visit to the island.

"The Undefiled Passion" is composed of fragments of the True Cross, the Sponge, the Mantle, the Crown of Thorns and a Stone of the All-Holy Sepulchre of our Lord. It also contains hair from St. John the Forerunner. They were a gift of the bishops Thomas and Demetrios Palaeologos to the founder of Holy Archangels Monastery, their nephew, Saint Leontios, in 1450.

Video: The Feast of Saint Gerasimos of Jordan in the Holy Land

On Saturday 4/17 March 2012 the Patriarchate of Jerusalem celebrated the feast of St. Gerasimos of Jordan in the ancient 5th-century monastery that bears his name in the desert of the Jordan River near the Dead Sea.

Saranda: An Albanian City Dedicated To the Forty Martyrs

Saranda or Sarandë is the capital of the District of Sarandë, Albania, and is one of the most important tourist attractions of the Albanian Riviera. It is situated on an open sea gulf of the Ionian Sea in the Mediterranean 2 nautical miles from the Greek island of Corfu. The city of Saranda has a population of about 30,000 (2001 estimate). Alongside its ethnic Albanian majority, Sarandë is home to an ethnic Greek minority and is considered one of the centers of the Greek minority in Albania.

Sarandë's current name derives from the name of the Byzantine Monastery of the Agioi Saranda (Greek: Άγιοι Σαράντα), meaning the "Forty Saints" and honoring the Forty Martyrs of Sebastea. Under Turkish rule, this became Aya Sarandi and then Sarandoz. Owing to Venetian influence in the region, it often appeared under its Italian name Santi Quaranta on western maps. This usage continued even after the establishment of the Principality of Albania, owing to the first Italian occupation of the region. During the second occupation in World War II, Benito Mussolini changed the name to Porto Edda, in honor of his eldest daughter. Following the restoration of Albanian independence, the city employed its Albanian name Saranda.

Source

The Church of the Forty Martyrs

On the hill above Saranda, affording a magnificent panorama, is located the extraordinary Church of the Forty Martyrs. The hill has views down over the bay of Saranda and along the Ksamili peninsula to Butrint, and there are equally breathtaking views inland to Phoenicê and the mountains range beyond.

The church was built in late antiquity, in the late 5th or early 6th century, probably by a Holy Man, and designed to be an important place of pilgrimage. The site was first investigated in the 1920s by the Italian Archaeological Mission; sadly, it was bombed by Allied or German forces during the Second World War, and probably dynamited for use as an Albanian military area in the late 1950s, hence only a fraction of the monument now remains.

The Church of the Forty Martyrs was a large 40-metre long church with an extraordinary ground plan: a large eastern apse and three wide apsidal bays opening off the nave on each side. Great round-headed windows, five to each bay, lit the interior. This was a sophisticated building, roofed with a series of domes and semi-domes. On the north and west-facing exterior walls of the basilica still survives the votive inscriptions fashioned of red tiles set into the masonry, recording the names of founding benefactors – both male and female – who contributed to the cost of the construction.

In a later phase an outer narthex was added, designed to be prominent to seafarers passing through the Ionian Sea north of Corfu and, specifically, to those in Saranda below. Further, the interior walls were redecorated throughout. In particular, within the multi-chambered subterranean chapels of the crypt recent conservation has revealed elaborate painted programmes, including an episode in which Christ pulls at the beard of a nimbed saint. This second phase of decoration probably belongs to the later 9th or 10th centuries.

The main relic chambers, reached by narrow passages, lay on the south side at the end of a long vaulted hall. Traces of a line of saints and a painted cross were discovered around the two fenestellae beyond which the relics were located. A modest bath-house to the north was probably where pilgrims would have bathed before visiting the relics.

The unusual plan of the basilica is paralleled in late antique multi-apsed triclinia, such as the banqueting hall of the Palace of Lausos in Constantinople, and some related features are found in early Christian martyria. However, as a church this building is unique, designed to enshrine and promote the relics of widely venerated saints. In the age of Justinian in the 6th century it must have been one of the most visually striking pilgrimage basilicas in the central Mediterranean.

Entry to the church can only be gained by contacting the Institute of Monuments either in Saranda or Tirana.

Source

Fascinating Facts Behind the Forty Martyrs of Sebastea

By Dan Graves

It was one of the strangest episodes in all of military and Christian history--an army killing its own best soldiers. The time: A.D. 320. The place: Sevaste, in present-day Turkey. The issue: Would Christian soldiers obey and bow to pagan gods?

How many agreed to sacrifice? A legion consisted from 3,000 to 6,000 infantry plus cavalry. Apparently at least 2,960 men from the Sevaste legion sacrificed at Licinius's order. Barely 1% bucked his demand!

The famous Thundering Legion. The legion stationed at Sevaste may have been the famed Thundering Legion. Dating back to Caesar Augustus, it took its name from a lightening emblem on its shields. The Thundering Legion is connected with another unusual historical event. During the reign of Marcus Aurelius, it was trapped in a dry valley and only saved from dying of thirst by a furious thunderstorm which provided drinking water and threw enemy soldiers into panic. Christian writers spoke of the thunderstorm as a miracle in answer to the petitions of a group of praying Christian soldiers. Pagan authors attributed it to sorcery or to the prayers of Marcus Aurelius.

Why a legion of troops in Sevaste? Licinius had to defend against Barbarians and Persians. Sevaste (now Sivas, Turkey) was a logical place to station a sizable force to meet challenges from North and East.

Save the remains. The bodies of the Forty were burned and their ashes cast into a river. The current deposited fragments of bone at a bend in the stream. Christians collected and preserved them as honored remains to be kept among local churches.

Sevaste (now Sivas, Turkey) was in Armenia. It was a strategic location to station troops to meet threats from North and East.

Ephraim the Syrian, one credible witness to the story

Too Incredible to Be True? Are we really supposed to believe that forty men in the prime of life voluntarily undressed to die by freezing? Is this just a legend?

Actually, the story is as solid as ancient history gets. There are at least three sources for it. The men were martyred in 320. Gregory of Nyssa (c.335-396) tells that he was still a boy when a feast was established in their memory and churches dedicated to them. He wrote two sermons on them and declared his intention to bury his parents beside the remains of some of the brave soldiers.

When Gregory's brother, Basil the Great, Bishop of Caesarea (c.330-379), preached a sermon on the feast day of the Forty Martyrs, there were still men and women alive who remembered the brave fellows. Basil's sermon, by the way, is the oldest written record we have of their icy death, and was preached in a church named for the Forty Martyrs.

Another person who later wrote about the martyrs was actually alive as a fourteen year old boy when they spent their night on the ice. Ephraim the Syrian (c.306-373) became a leading Christian scholar and hymn writer. He spent much of his life in Edessa, about two hundred miles south of Sevaste. Among his many poems was a eulogy on The Forty.

That Day the North Wind Did Blow

"The day was very cold. Surely I do not have to inform you about the cold since today's weather gives you a clear idea about it. The chill even penetrates the walls....such was the season of the contest and the time of their miracles when the north wind blew so vehemently." - Gregory of Nyssa's 1st Sermon on the Forty Martyrs

Did Licinius Kill for Spite?

It is commonly and inaccurately stated that Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire when he became emperor. Not so. It was Theodosios I over a half-century later with his edict of 380. Constantine actually came to power with a co-emperor Licinius.

In 313, Licinius needed Constantine's help and struck a deal with him. To seal the bargain, Constantine married his sister to Licinius. The two generals issued the edict of Milan, granting religious toleration to the empire. Licinius even fought under a Christian banner.

So what changed? Why did Licinius turn on the Christians in 320? Both wanted the same thing --single control over the empire. Persecuting Christians was one way for Licinius to show how much he hated Constantine, whose favor for the Christian faith was well known.

Out of Place Christians?

What were Christians doing in the army? Early Christian writers tell us that Christians believed it was wrong to fight and kill. Could it be that The Forty were draftees? Or had Christians decided it was okay to fight as long as they did so under a Christian banner? Perhaps the men converted to Christ after enrolling in the armed forces.

Source

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Controversial End Time Prophecies By Holy Elders

When reading the biographies and writings of certain modern day Holy Elders, one will inevitably come across various "prophecies" they made concerning end-time events. These "prophecies" have especially arisen in modern times during periods of high anxiety for Orthodox Christians - in Slavic countries with the rise of communism and in Greece especially since the 1970's and on as we neared the beginning of the second millenium. Much of the latter stems from the rise of eschatological propaganda infiltrating Greece from the West in translation (in 1970 Hal Lindsey's The Late, Great Planet Earth was published following the Six-Day War in the Middle East that sparked a plethora of eschatological writings in the West), and the translation into Greek of the antisemitic forgery The Protocols of the Elders of Zion by a Greek politician in the 1980's. Fascinated by these writings, Orthodox Christian thinkers began to look into their own tradition to apply these seemingly convincing portrayals of the soon-to-be second coming of Christ to make them their own. Unfortunately many of our beloved Holy Elders and modern day Saints were influenced by these writings and traditions, to the confusion of many. I personally believe this was mainly due to the simplicity of their hearts, since these neoeschatological and conspiratorial writings do seem to conform to aspects of Orthodox eschatology if one is pushed to reconcile them. This should by no means determine the authenticity or sanctity of a Holy Elder, since no one is infallible and God may have His reasons for allowing such things.

But not all of our Holy Elders were of a similar mind on these eschatological issues. In fact, when these Holy Elders were asked about these issues, they flatly disagreed with what other Holy Elders were saying about these things. In doing so, they would never try to discredit the Holy Elder they disagreed with, but still considered them men of God with special gifts of the Holy Spirit. They recognized that these things were spoken not by revelation, but through their own opinion or because it was a tradition that they were convinced of by their own logic. Unfortunately most people cannot tell the difference between a real prophecy and an opinion, and this has caused much confusion among impressionable contemporary Orthodox.

One of the most popular and beloved Holy Elders today is Elder Paisios the Athonite (+ 1993). He is one most especially known for his end-time prophecies circulating throughout the Orthodox world. Elder Porphyrios of Kavsokalyvia (+ 1991) was another Holy Elder of our times very much beloved by Orthodox Christians. These two Holy Elders are considered the two strongest pillars of sanctity in 20th century Greek Orthodoxy. But on the critical issue of eschatology they strongly disagreed, much like the Apostles Peter and Paul disagreed in the Acts of the Apostles on the issue of Jews and Gentiles in early Christianity. In fact, Elder Porphyrios censured Elder Paisios for circulating his eschatological material. From this incident, many important lessons can be learned by contemporary Orthodox Christians. For this reason the details of this incident are written below.

The Epistle of Elder Porphyrios to Elder Paisios

In an interview for Cypriot television, Metropolitan Neophytos of Morphou spoke of his personal relationship with Elders Porphyrios, Iakovos, Evmenios and Paisios. He says in the interview that he was instructed by Elder Porphyrios to have Elder Iakovos of Evia as his spiritual father. The Metropolitan was in law school at the time, before he entered ecclesiastical life. His impression of Elder Porphyrios was that he was able to be attuned to another persons soul in a more intimate way, like an x-ray machine, than the other Elder's he met, such as Elders Iakovos, Evmenios and Paisios. This is because each Holy Elder has a particular gift manifested in a more powerful way than other Holy Elders.

The special gift of Elder Porphyrios above all the other Greek Elders, according to Metropolitan Neophytos, was that of clairvoyance and the foreseeing of the future. He had the unique gift of being able to see not only future events, but those of the past as well. He could tell you about the various mineral deposits below the earth better than any geologist, he could determine the accurate movements of the stars better than astronomers, and if there was anything below the sea or in your home you needed to know about, he would reveal to you that as well. The charisma he had was very rare which few in the history of the Church ever possessed. What is striking however is that despite his clear visions of things in the past, present and future, he never spoke about the signs of the end-times.

This, said the Metropolitan, is a very strong message for the people of our day who are inundated with many supposed prophecies and predictions concerning the end of the world, the reign of Antichrist and the second coming of Christ. These in fact are mere speculations and baseless interpretations of the writings from people of the past that have been imposed upon our time to deal with the various changes our world has gone through over the past few hundred years and especially now that we have entered the second millennium after the birth of Christ. The Church works synodically; it is a synaxis. Since a synod of the Church has not expressed itself on these matters, then no individual can interpret them any way they please. For these reasons, understanding the times we live in, Elder Porphyrios did not reveal anything about end-time events that was revealed to him, according to God's will. Thus, while richly endowed with gifts of clairvoyance and prophecy, Elder Porphyrios systematically avoided speaking about apocalyptic events.

When Metropolitan Neophytos was a deacon in Cyprus he went to visit his elder Iakovos in Evia. At the time the people were in a fever about end-time events, the meaning of 666, the identity of the Antichrist, etc. Also, an Archimandrite had published a best-selling book about apocalyptic events. He went to Elder Iakovos and asked him his opinion on all these matters. Elder Iakovos then spoke in a very authoritative tone, which was something very rare for him to do, since he spoke much more humbly than all the other Greek Elders he had met. He said: "Listen to me, my Neophyte. Elder Porphyrios and dumb Iakovos do not speak about anything. Not the things of the present, nor of the things to come, unless the Holy Spirit expressly reveals to them. And up to this point the Holy Spirit has not revealed any such thing to me, not about the Antichrist, nor about wars to come, nor about the future." These are the exact words of Elder Iakovos and the Metropolitan says that he neither added nor subtracted from his words.

I will now translate the words of Metropolitan Neophytos:

"I must mention that there is an epistle held by a monastery on the Holy Mountain, and it would be good for the keepers of this epistle to publish it at some point. This happens to be an epistle by Elder Porphyrios addressed to Elder Paisios. Now I understand that the content of this epistle might challenge some of our spiritual brothers, but it is good to be challenged this way. It is better to be challenged than to fall into exaggerations. This epistle was from a man who honored and revered Elder Paisios very much. Fr. Porphyrios told me that Fr. Paisios is a man of God. And he wrote to him:

My beloved Father Paisios, what happened to you? If Constantinople will be freed or not, this is the concern of the politicians and of the military rulers, and not of the monks nor even the archpriests. If the Antichrist will come, this must be the concern of the archpriests and it is their duty to inform the people. And when that time comes, God will provide us with illumined archpriests who will in turn illumine the people. We the monks, if we are members of the priesthood, we need to liturgize for the salvation of the entire universe. And if we happen to be simple monks, we need to weep over our sins. Now because of my love for you, and knowing how much you love Christ, I am giving you a rule not to talk about these things again out of your great love for Asia Minor and Hellenism.

And Fr. Paisios, this great man of God, did obedience to this great Elder of Elders, Fr. Porphyrios. And since then he kept silent about these matters, because he realized that the smallest comment he would make would often be exaggerated by his highly impressionable visitors. Not to mention, some of these prophetic sayings were not his, but he was quoted by different people, or misquoted, and with other things he was often quoting from a notebook of his spiritual father, St. Arsenios of Cappadocia, who happened to be his godfather. St. Arsenios had received the gift of prophecy [or had heard things from others] and recorded a number of things. Elder Paisios would make some comments based on this notebook he had in his possession.

Now what can we say about all this, but to marvel at the great spirit of discretion of Elder Porphyrios. A spirit of watchfulness, vigilance and patient endurance. But in order to have this patient endurance regarding end-time events, whether social or political or personal, the exercise of patience is extremely necessary....

The work of the Church is to liberate people, to redeem people. When people lean towards interpreting the signs of the times and the future, this mania about the things to come is often alienating people from the essence of spirituality - from their personal struggle, the purification of the heart, our personal trauma, and our need to become well, to cure our passions. This is the heart of the problem.

One time I asked Elder Evmenios about these things, and he responded very simply. He was the most simple of all the Elders, a man of very few words who did not like endless spiritual talk. He needed to be inspired by someone or by something in order to speak. And when I asked him about all the prophetic talks circulating, he said: 'You know, I personally don't believe that Christ would only give 2000 years of grace to the world. It just doesn't seem very long to me.'"

The interview from which the above was translated can be seen below:

Elder Porphyrios' Conversation With Elder Paisios

Furthermore, Fr. Akakios, a spiritual child of Elder Porphyrios, in a recent talk about his Elder provided further useful information on this subject. After being asked during the question and answer period about Elder Porphyrios' opinion on the issue of the Greek ID cards, Fr. Akakios responded as follows:

"Let me tell you, the Elder had a philosophy somewhat different. He would tell us to not occupy much with such things. Not because he did not know. He understood everything. If you remember, as it has been written in books, when he went to Patmos he lived the entire apocalypse and knew all about the end-times. But he did not like for us to occupy ourselves with dates and eschatology. He said that the best way to prepare ourselves for the hour of Christ is to remove the Antichrist from within ourselves and to occupy ourselves with Christ. Then, even if we are called to martyrdom, we will go. This was the philosophy of the Elder.

I will explain to you an event. You will remember a pamphlet Elder Paisios circulated around 1987 about 666 and the ID cards. That summer, at the end of August, I was at the Holy Mountain and I went to get the blessing of Elder Paisios and talked to him a bit, since I had with this Elder a certain relationship as well. But this time the Elder was very different from the other times I had visited him. He was talking about the signs of the times and about the Antichrist with a sense of urgency. At the end he said he could not speak with anyone and told us to take a pamphlet and go. So he distributed the pamphlet to approximately thirty people that were there. We all left and near his cell we all opened this pamphlet, but when I put my hands up to read this pamphlet I realized I didn't have one in my hands. He offered it to me, but didn't give it to me. So I ran back before he shut his door so I also could receive a pamphlet. But Elder Paisios was waiting for me at the door with a pamphlet in his hand. As soon as I arrived he looked at me in the eyes and he gave me the pamphlet. And he said to me three times: 'I thank you, I thank you, I thank you.' I did not understand what he meant by this 'thank you'. The look in his eyes looked beyond me entirely.

So I read the pamphlet and left the Holy Mountain. I visited the Elder [Porphyrios]. We spoke a little and then he said that tomorrow we will say more. The next day was a Sunday, and after the Divine Liturgy, as was usual we went to the garden with Mr. George, who had held a high office in the courts and after his retirement he dedicated himself under the Elder and oversaw all the work that was going on at the monastery. After we said a few things he [Elder Porphyrios] asked:

'Did you pass by Elder Paisios'?'

I told him: 'Yes'.

'What did he tell you?'

I said he was distributing a pamphlet, and so on.

'Do you have this pamphlet?'

'I have it,' I said.

And he began to read it. He read it with attention. He said to me: 'Ah, I disagree. I did not see things this way.'

And then, without me realizing it, I began to respond to Elder Porphyrios, but not with my thoughts or my voice. From my voice could be heard the voice of Elder Paisios and he was responding to Elder Porphyrios. And this conversation took place for a long time, until the high court official said: 'But Elders don't disagree.' It was right that he said Elders, since I was still a young man of the world and wearing worldly clothing. It was right he said Elders because I did not speak, but Elder Paisios spoke through me. And then I realized why he had said to me 'thank you'. My spirit received him and gave him hospitality and he united with me in order to speak with Elder Porphyrios concerning this fearful subject. But was this necessary? As we know, he was able to communicate even from far away. But this was another subject. This was in order for this subject to be made public and become known so it could be an experience spoken about. When George said that the Elders don't disagree, Elder Porphyrios chastised him saying: 'No vre, we disagree.'

To avoid misunderstanding, both Porphyrios and Paisios are great saints. But even in the Old Testament there are incidents where even the angels disagreed, and St. John Chrysostom explains this well. If you remember, when the Prophet Daniel was praying and fasting and the Archangel Gabriel waited 21 days or so to visit him, he said that he waited so long because the angel of Persia did not permit me to enter the borders, and it was necessary for the Archangel Michael to get involved and then I entered. And St. John Chrysostom explains that even the angels disagree, since they don't know everything. Each had a command from God. God gave one command to the angel of Persia and another to Gabriel, and the Archangel Michael had to get involved for the angel of Persia to receive this. Not even the angels know everything. And God has His reasons to say on one side one thing and on the other side another thing and for them to not know everything, and thus to disagree. This also happened with Peter and Paul, Paul and James, Paul and Barnabus. Other times Chrysostom says that they agreed to disagree for spiritual reasons, or they disagreed though they were both God-bearers, etc etc. So please don't think I am saying anything against the saints. God forbid.

Then I responded; now this is very important. I said: 'Elder, in our days we know both of you within the Church. If you both disagree, on whom should we lean, whom should we believe, in what way should we walk?' And the Elder responded very humbly to me: 'All of us together will be obedient to the Church.' We wait for the Church to guide the people.

I believe in 1998, in the days of Archbishop Seraphim, a decision was released that the 666 on the ID's, if it exists, it is not the seal of the Antichrist, but we would not receive the ID as a matter of conscience. This decision has existed since 1998 by the hierarchy of the Church of Greece. We await the hierarchs, the Church, to lead the people so that there will not be anxiety. God forbid this should happen. Beyond this, I do not want to say anything. I don't want to take a position on this matter."

The video from which this answer of Fr. Akakios was translated can be heard below:

I wish to further point out that Fr. Vasilios Voloudakis, in his book The Antichrist, the Number 666 and the Anxiety of Christians (Greek) writes on pages 109-110 concerning the aftermath of Elder Porphyrios' censure of Elder Paisios:

"Father Paisios continued for a short time to speak exclusively on the issue of 666 to guests, and then stopped dealing passionately with this subject. In fact, someone told me recently that when he went in 1990 to Mount Athos and asked Fr. Paisios about the topic of 666 and the ID cards, he replied: 'What do you want by occupying yourself with these things? Occupy yourself with Christ and the Church!'"

A Clarification By Saint Barsanuphios

For those a bit troubled by all this, specifically concerning some of the prophecies that Elder Paisios may have circulated that do not entirely reflect a divine revelation, the following quote from St. Barsanuphios, in his answer to question 604, may help clarify things a bit:

May all the Fathers, all the saints who have pleased God and the righteous men and the genuine servants of God, pray for me. But do not think that, even if they were saints, they were able to comprehend genuinely all the depths of God. For the Apostle says: ‘We know in part and we prophesy in part.’ And again: ‘To whom it is given through the Spirit’, the one thing and the other—and not all those things in one man but some things thus and other things differently. However, the one and the same Spirit operates all things. Knowing the things of God, that they are incomprehensible, the Apostle cried, saying: ‘O the depth of the wealth and wisdom and knowledge (gnosis) of God! O how unsearchable his judgements and untraceable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has become his counsellor?’ And the rest.

Contriving, then, to become teachers of their own accord or being forced to come to this by men, they made very great progress, even beyond their teachers, and being filled with spiritual assurance composed new dogmas, at the same time, however, remaining in the possession of the traditions of their teachers, lessons which were not correct.

And after these things, progressing and having become spiritual teachers, they did not ask God about their teachers, whether they spoke through the Holy Spirit, but treating them as wise men and gnostics (gnostikos), they did not discern their words; and so the teachings of their teachers were mixed together in their own teachings, and they spoke at one time from the teachings that they learned from their teachers, and at another time from the genius of their own mind, and thus their words were written in their name. For receiving from others and progressing and being improved, they spoke through the Holy Spirit, if they were spiritually assured with something by it, and they spoke from the lessons of the teachers who were before them, not discerning the words, if they were obliged to be spiritually informed by God with assurance through entreaty and prayer if they were true. And the teachings were mixed together, and because they were spoken by them, they were written in their names.

When you hear from one of them that he heard from the Holy Spirit what he is saying, this is an answer of spiritual assurance and we are obliged to believe. When he speaks concerning those words and you do not find him saying this, then it is not from an answer of spiritual assurance but it is from the lessons of his first teachers, and paying attention to their knowledge (gnosis) and wisdom, he did not ask God concerning these things if they were true.

Behold! You have heard all of my foolishness. Quiet down then and be occupied with God; and, ceasing from vain talk, pay attention to your passions, concerning which passions you will be required to give an account in the Day of Judgement. For concerning these things you will not be required: ‘Why did you not know these things or learn these others?’ …

Read also:

Elder Porphyrios: "We Ought Not To Fear the Antichrist Or 666"

Elder Porphyrios' Meeting With Elder Paisios

Elder Porphyrios' Esteem For Elders Iakovos of Evia and Paisios the Athonite

The Theological Error of a Simple Elder Who Saw Angels

An Eternal Perspective On Circulating "Prophecies"

A Question Regarding the So-Called "Prophecies" of Holy Elders

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Friday, March 23, 2012

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Saranda: An Albanian City Dedicated To the Forty Martyrs

Fascinating Facts Behind the Forty Martyrs of Sebastea

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Controversial End Time Prophecies By Holy Elders

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