Musicians Who Are Converts to Orthodox Christianity

I am fairly often asked about certain famous people who are Orthodox Christians, and for most there is obscure information on the internet. There are many musicians who are Orthodox, in one form or another, especially those who were born into the Faith (one list is here). Questions usually revolve around converts however, and alleged converts. Here is some info I have come up with, to answer some of those questions.

1. Zac Hanson

Zac Hanson with his older brothers Isaac and Taylor formed the American pop rock band Hanson, and are best known for their 1997 hit song "MMMBop".

Zac is the nephew of Abbess Aemiliane (herself a convert) of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross Monastery in Thebes, Greece. Apparently he visited her there with his wife Kate, and soon after they decided to embrace Orthodoxy as a family in 2003. He is a member of an OCA parish.

Below are a few photos which show Zac and his family at a chrismation, and another of him participating in a procession:

2. Dave Gahan

I have written on Dave Gahan of Depeche Mode at this link, and posted photos:

Dave Gahan of Depeche Mode A Convert to Orthodoxy

3. Chris Hillman

Chris Hillman was one of the original members of The Byrds and a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They are one of the most successful and influential American pop/Country rock groups from the 1960's; they recorded a string of hits, including "Turn! Turn! Turn!", "Eight Miles High" and "So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star".

In a July 2003 interview with Triste, he says:

"I’m a member of the Greek Orthodox faith, having been an Evangelical Christian back in the 80’s, and then I converted to the Orthodox faith. Yeah, I’m very much devoted to that, but I don’t get in people’s face about it, or try and convert anybody! But it is my own personal belief with my family, and I sing in the Orthodox choir every Sunday - sing tenor - which is really Byzantine. Part of the liturgy that they do every week, and so it’s a completely different kind of music to what I do on stage, which is bluegrass. And even when we do Gospel stuff, it’s out of the old Baptist style, and Herb and I do old Gospel songs in our show. It’s really completely different. And then on Sundays when I’m in town, when I’m home, I sing these very old Byzantine hymns that you would hear in a monastery. But actually, both types of music embrace each other, if you follow me. I mean I get a lot out of the church singing as well as the other. And actually I get wonderful ideas from singing in a completely different style."

Read the rest of the interview here.

In fact, Chris was converted through his wife, Connie Pappas, who was born Greek Orthodox.

Kevin Allen did an interview with Chris Hillman in 2009 about his conversion, which can be heard or read here.

Read also here.

4. Chris Cornell

Chris Cornell is an American rock musician best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for Soundgarden and former lead vocalist for Audioslave, as well as several solo works. He is especially known for his wide vocal range. Along with Alice in Chains, Nirvana, and Pearl Jam, Soundgarden became one of the most successful bands from Seattle's emerging grunge scene in the early 1990s.

Chris Cornell was raised Catholic and went to Catholic School (from which he was almost kicked out for asking too many questions), but upon marrying in 2004 to a Greek woman, Vicky Karayiannis, he converted to Orthodoxy through Chrismation. In his songs sometimes he appears to be anti-religious, but other times seems to embrace religion, so it is hard to tell how deep his Orthodoxy is. He does thank God in his liner notes for "Carry On", and the song "Light My Way" he has said was written like a prayer. "Holy Water", "Jesus Christ Pose" and "Blind Dogs" seem to be against hardcore religious fanatics, but his later songs do reflect a more spiritual side ("Say Hello 2 Heaven" and "Wooden Jesus", which some might say is sarcastic). In this interview from 2007, he says about religion: "I don't really follow any particular one... I'm a free thinker and kind of open...." However, he does wear a cross necklace, he is a recent godfather (see photos here, where Chris and his wife even chanted), and he has had his children baptized Orthodox. In fact, his son was baptized by Greek singer Anna Vissi and Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington in 2009 at Saint Sophia Cathedral in Los Angeles, and he has expressed his desire to buy a house in Kolonaki, Athens (read here). He also recently paired with Greek actress Rita Wilson in her latest CD.

5. Chester Bennington

Chester Bennington is best known as the lead vocalist and co-songwriter of the rock band Linkin Park.

As mentioned above, Chester is the godfather of Chris Cornell's son who was baptized Orthodox, but I have no information as to whether he is himself an Orthodox Christian. They apparently are very close friends however (photo). Interestingly, the most famous album of Linkin Park is named "Meteora". The album was named after the Meteora rock formation in Greece. After seeing these monasteries on a trip to Europe, the band was inspired by the way they were built, almost defying gravity. It was this feeling of greatness and awesome accomplishment that Linkin Park wished to convey with their music, thus the name. It is the most successful album in the history of the Modern Rock Tracks chart, a chart that specializes in radio play of alternative rock songs. As for his faith, it is unclear, but he has said: "I believe in God but I don't practice or preach or really discuss it outside of my own ideals."

6. Eminem

Marshall Bruce Mathers III, better known by his stage name Eminem and by his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem is one of the best-selling artists in the world and is the best selling artist of the 2000s.

As far as him being Orthodox, this I think is an internet rumor which was spread after the release of his video "When I'm Gone" (see here) in 2005. At the 2:09 mark Eminem can be seen crossing himself from right to left, as Orthodox do, and because of this people say he is Orthodox. However, a close look will reveal that he is crossing himself with his left hand, and his fingers are not arranged in the Orthodox fashion. He's a left hander who just took to crossing himself. Dollars to donuts. Pulling is just more "natural" than "pushing".

Conclusion:

There are more musicians that can be addressed, but these are the ones I get asked the most about. I do not have any acquaintance with any of them, so I really don't know where their heart is at. At the most, I own some of the music of Chris Hillman, Dave Gahan, Eminem, Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington, and I have seen the latter three in concert. If anyone does have more info, please comment below.

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Video: Where Saint Sophia of Kleisoura Lived in Asceticism

The Holy Metropolis of Kastoria has released a video which shows where the newly-glorified Saint Sophia of Kleisoura lived in asceticism, including the fireplace in which she lived for 47 years at the Monastery of the Panagia in Kleisoura.

It also invites us to the first feast of the Saint and her canonization, at which Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will be present, between 30 June and 3 July 2012.

One can also hear the Saint speak, encouraging the faithful to have fear of God so nothing can happen to us.

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Fear Is the First-fruit of Sin

"The wicked man flees although no one pursues him; but the righteous man, like a lion feels sure of himself" (Proverbs 28:1).

Wicked men are even afraid of shadows; to them shadows of trees seem as an army. Wherever something rustles, the wicked man thinks; the avenger comes! The trembling of leaves, he hears as a sound of chains; he takes the voices of birds as the shout of hunters who give chase after game; he sees grass as a spy of his evil deed; water, as a witness against him; the sun, as a judge; the stars, as those who taunt him. O my brethren, how many lies are born out of fear? For fear is of sin, sin is of the devil and the devil is the father of all lies.

Fear is the first-fruit of sin. When Adam sinned, he hid from the face of God. And when God cried out, Adam said: "I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid" (Genesis 3:10). Before sin, Adam did not know about fear; neither did he hide from the face of God but, on the contrary, always hurried to encounter God. And as soon as he sinned, he "was afraid."

"But the righteous man, like a lion feels sure of himself." Without sin, without fear. Without sin, without weakness. The sinless ones are powerful, very powerful and brave, very brave. The righteous ones are strong and fearless. Such are the righteous ones, only the righteous ones.

O Sinless Lord, save us from empty fear but before that, preserve us from sin, the parent of fear. To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.

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The Minimalist vs. Maximalist Debate in Israeli Archaeology

A new discovery at Khirbet Qeiyafa, an ancient city southwest of Jerusalem, has reignited a debate about the existence and influence of the biblical figures David and Solomon.

If you think that archaeology is boring, you should take thirty minutes and read Asaf Shtull-Trauring’s article in the Haaretz magazine. This lengthy piece interviews the major players in the chief dispute in Israeli archaeology today. Those familiar with the minimalist-maximalist debate over the United Kingdom of Israel will find a good bit that is new. Those looking for an introduction to the conflict can hardly do better than start here.

The Keys to the Kingdom

A slightly shorter and updated account can be read here.

Raiders of the Lost Relics

Like any science of the past, archaeology is constantly developing and changing, and the views expressed in these articles are too young to have much merit, but it is interesting to see where things are and where they are going.

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Elder Joachim of St Anne's Skete (+ 1889)

Fr. Joachim, Manoli in the world, was born on the island of Crete, in the village of Kalikrata. From of old the local inhabitants had a reputation for being adroit and reckless robbers, and they considered the title of bandit to be an honor.

Manoli was unschooled; he didn't know any prayers, and in playing with his friends naturally assimilated their bad habits. When he was twenty he joined a band of robbers. While still inexperienced, he fell into the hands of some soldiers and was imprisoned, but he managed to escape. Soon, however, he became proficient in his "trade", and the authorities posted a substantial price on his head.

Manoli spent fifteen years as a bandit. But the good Lord, Who desires that all men be saved, seeing that his criminal behavior proceeded not from a wicked heart but was merely the result of a local tradition, gave opportunity for him to leave this path to perdition. When Manoli's older brother landed in jail, Manoli, feeling sorry for his brother and his brother's family, decided to intercede for him and to give himself up in place of his brother. In the village lived some Christians. One night Manoli approached one of their leaders for advice: should he turn himself in or go away somewhere? The elder promised to talk it over with the kaimakam. He went to him and asked, "If we capture Manoli, will you give him to us?" "Absolutely!" replied the kaimakam. The elder told Manoli of the "deal" he had arranged and took him to the pasha. The pasha was stunned; he couldn't believe that the notorious bandit Manoli, who had such a high price on his head, was standing there before him, and, what was even more incredible, that he was voluntarily turning himself in. The pasha was so taken by this that he released Manoli's brother and asked Manoli to stay with him as a paid servant, to which Manoli agreed.

After four years the pasha was assigned to Thessalonika, and Manoli asked to go with him. A year later he accompanied the pasha to Mount Athos, where they met the same kaimakam to whom Manoli had turned himself over. The kaimakam asked that Manoli stay there on patrol, but Manoli declined, unwilling to abandon the pasha en route, and he returned to Thessalonika. Within a week the kaimakam came and asked that the pasha release Manoli, as he was a strong and daring man well suited for defending the Holy Mountain. Manoli took this as a sign from God; he left his bride and departed with the kaimakam.

For a whole year Manoli diligently fulfilled his responsibility, making the rounds of the monasteries, keeping order among the crowds at feasts, etc. with other patrolmen. When the kaimakam was assigned elsewhere, he offered Manoli to go with him. "Efendi," replied Manoli, "I like it here. Allow me to stay another year." "Very well, very well," answered the kaimakam, and he departed alone. This marked a turning point in Manoli's life. In his heart he began to hear the call of God-to forsake the world and devote the rest of his life to repentance.

In the first year of his life as a pilgrim, Manoli was tempted several times to leave the Holy Mountain-whether out of boredom, or because of his former self-will, or because he couldn't endure the difficult penance laid upon him-but no sooner would such thoughts enter his mind than he felt something binding him there.

Five years passed since his arrival on Athos, and the period of his penance was coming to an end. Again Manoli decided to leave. With this determination he set off, but he had barely reached the monastery of Chilandar when he experienced such inner turmoil that he could go no further and he turned back, giving away to those he met all the money he had earned in the service of the kaimakam.

At St. Anne's Skete, where Manoli had spent a year, he was warmly received by the superior, Fr. Bessarion, who sympathized with his spiritual distress and welcomed him to stay. Manoli found a place very much to his liking just behind the skete, in a large cave. Receiving a blessing from the elders, he settled there, and went to the skete daily for the early morning Liturgy.

One day he arrived at the church before Liturgy. Several brothers were gathered in the foyer. "Come now, Manoli. How is it that you continue to live in our midst as a layman. It's time you set aside your worldly clothes and became clothed in monastic apparel!" Manoli avoided giving an answer and entered the church. Standing in his accustomed place, he heard a quiet inner voice: "Why are you delaying so, Manoli? Take the elders' advice. Look at you, you're already an old man, even your beard is grey. Where are you going to go? Don't you realize that Sts. Joachim and Anna, together with the Mother of God, are watching out for you? Just look how they've kept you here; they don't want you to leave this place!"

After the service Manoli said to the brothers, "I'm going to stay here. I've taken your advice. Just get me the appropriate garments and call me Anna, so that by my very name I will always belong to the skete!" The monks, knowing of Manoli's former life, were not surprised at such simplicity. They explained that this was not proper, but that they would call him Joachim. The elders took up a collection to pay for the monastic habit: the superior gave ten levs, the others-whatever they could. When this was still not enough, Manoli went round to several monasteries asking for donations and bought whatever was necessary. Then he was tonsured and, since his penance was no longer in force, he was able to receive the Holy Mysteries.

The cave where Fr. Joachim lived was spacious and even rather light, but it was always cold and damp; there was little protection from the wind and the elements: there was no door, no window, the roof leaked and in freezing temperatures the rivulets of water turned to ice. Snow blew in and remained long after it had melted in more exposed areas. Fr. Joachim never had a fire, nor did he wear warm clothes; he always went about in the same lightweight inner and outer cassock-summer and winter.

He spent five years in this way after his tonsure. The Lord rewarded his determination and voluntary suffering by gifts of humility and compunction. And he fully absorbed the fear of God.

The fathers of the skete appointed him sacristan of the cemetery chapel, where he would come every day before dawn to prepare whatever was necessary for the Divine Liturgy. In appointing Fr. Joachim sacristan, the skete fathers agreed to give him every day a loaf of bread. After Liturgy he would clean the chapel, then go to one of the cells, where he was given a loaf and, taking a jug of water, return to his cave. The next day he would go to another cell, and so forth by turn. The bread he turned into rusks, which he offered to his visitors. As soon as someone came he would pour water into a dilapidated bowl, break into it some rusks, put in a spoon, and, folding his hands on his breast, invite his guest to eat; and he was so sincere, so touching, that even if a person were full he would not decline.

He had a wooden cross which had been given to him when he first came to Athos. Both sides were intricately carved with the twelve major feasts. Into the spaces between them he stuffed pieces of cotton which he had taken from reliquaries of all the monasteries. According to his faith these pieces of cotton emitted a marvelous fragrance, as if from the relics themselves. This cross was his sole treasure, and he kept it in a wooden chest. When anyone came, he first brought out the cross and offered his guest to pray; afterwards he asked his guest to venerate a paper icon of the Mother of God. He then invited the guest to sit down while he went about preparing the rusk "soup".

"Previously," he would tell people, "I ate meat and all sorts of food; I drank quantities of wine; milk I drank instead of water, from a bowl. Now the Lord has given me this water and this bread, and to me it is more delicious than anything I ever ate or drank in the world! It's amazing how the desert sweetens bread; it gives it a special flavor, a special sweetness. Glory to Thee, O Lord! Glory to Thee, O Lord! How merciful is the Lord and how amazing His gifts!"

When asked, Fr. Joachim never hesitated to tell people that yes, indeed, he was the notorious bandit Manoli. "It is a miracle of God's mercy, a miracle! I never had the slightest idea of becoming a monk, and just look what the Lord has done! A Turk, a Turk brought me here! It's an absolute miracle, a miracle of God's loving-kindness."

At the entrance to the cave the elder made a little garden where he planted sage, cornflowers and some other fragrant herbs, which he would give to his visitors as a blessing. In crevices between the rocks along the path leading up to the cave, he stuffed here and there grapevines or shoots from almond trees and took pleasure in seeing them take root and leaf out.

The cave was quite bare. In one corner a few old boards covered with a tattered woolen bag served as a "bed". One wondered how Fr. Joachim spent the long nights in the cave: he didn't light a fire, he didn't know how to read (he memorized all the festal hymns), he didn't have any handiwork. Somewhere he found two empty gourds; into one he put some pebbles, and he set the other gourd nearby; for each pebble he would make a prostration with the Jesus Prayer, transferring the pebbles from one gourd to the other. The pebbles served him as a kind of prayer rope.

When he first settled in the cave, some people took pity on his poverty and gave him a shirt or other clothing, but it was not long before he had given these away to some hermit or simply left them along the road frequented by the hermits; he did the same with money he was given. Seeing he never wore these things, the people would ask what had happened to them. Fr. Joachim would answer rather absentmindedly: "I left them in the cave, and when I was out someone must have taken them." Once they discovered his habits, people stopped giving him things. In later years, however, Fr. Joachim suffered dire need: the cave's biting cold, the dampness, and his advanced age took their toll on his health, and he was obliged himself to ask for a warm cassock and sturdy boots.

In addition to his prostrations, Fr. Joachim added to his physical exploits by cleaning the paths of stones and making them smooth. Mount Athos is covered by narrow, twisting paths, winding down steep slopes of crumbly rock. It was impossible to keep them perfectly clean, but the lover of labor picked up the bigger stones which made walking difficult, and used these to make the paths more even. On the steepest slopes he made walls of these stones to keep rocks from falling onto the paths. His primary purpose in this activity was to keep himself from growing slack, and at the same time, in his sincere love for the monks, to make their walking easier.

Where these paths intersect, crosses have been traditionally erected as sign-posts to help pedestrians find their way. In the vicinity of St. Anne's Skete, because of its location among a lot of cliffs, paths branch off in every conceivable direction; almost every cell has its own path. The local monks were accustomed to finding their way, but others were easily confused by the many, often tangled intersections. At each intersection and major turn Fr. Joachim placed crosses, braced by rocks, rather artistic constructions. And by means of this handiwork he made it significantly easier for visitors to find their way.

Once Fr. Joachim was asked if living in such a damp cave weren't bad for his health, wasn't he afraid of catching cold? "...What better habitation could I have? I just don't know how to thank the Lord and His Most Holy Mother for this cave. After all, where would I go, what do I lack here? I have clothing, I didn't even have to go after it, it was brought to me. The fathers provide me with bread. I should stay put. And here I remain, as if tied down; I can't leave the cave, except to go to the skete for Divine Liturgy. The Lord has given me such sweetness here in this cave that even if I were given the whole of Athos I wouldn't leave this spot. "And isn't it cold, Father?"

"At times my hands and feet get so cold that they become contracted and I can't straighten them. But when this passes I feel seven times healthier than before. I must tell you, brothers, they say that on Athos the air is bad, the water, flowing along the marble rocks, is bad, and they're afraid of this. Fear is from the enemy. If the Mother of God is the Queen of Creation, and if this is her domain, and if she has care of the whole world how much more care will she lavish upon her own domain. Then what is there for us to fear?

"Twice Abbot Paul came here and asked if I wouldn't move to the monastery, promising to provide everything I needed, but I just can't. Here I've been given clothing, footwear; I have bread, water... Glory to God. How can I justify leaving? A monk must exhibit valour and courage, just like Christians at war against the Turks: only the valorous among them are conquerors. If at the outset they do not firmly resolve to fight even unto death, they could not have such courage, they couldn't be conquerors and they wouldn't become captains and generals. So too, a monk must exhibit his own form of valor and courage in his affairs, and before all else he must establish himself in one place and maintain strict discipline...

"But don't think that I'm leading any kind of monastic life. I just sit here constantly occupied with judging others, with pleasing my belly and sleeping. Although I have no desire for fish, I eat lots of bread. Nevertheless, I trust in God's graciousness, in the protection of the Mother of God, in Saints Joachim and Anna-even though I'm altogether unworthy!"

By God's allowance, Elder Joachim had an experience similar to St. Anthony the Great. On the eve of some feast, after working on the paths, he was on his way to the vigil when suddenly there appeared a horde of demons who grabbed him and flung him down the steep slope towards the sea. The elder tumbled down and when he stopped on some level ground the demons again threw him further; and each time he managed to stop they threw him further, until, rolling along craggy rocks and through bushes, he landed at the very sea shore. Amazingly, he suffered no harm. Meanwhile, the monks of the skete had begun to gather for the vigil. Surprised not to see Fr. Joachim - knowing that he was always first to arrive at the church - they suspected something was amiss and went to his cave. Perhaps he had died.

When they did not find him in his cave, the fathers began to seek elsewhere. Finally they heard his voice and discovered him down by the sea. Afterwards they all decided he shouldn't be allowed to live anymore in the cave and he was given a cell at the cemetery chapel.

Before the Feast of the Lord's Nativity, 1888, the elder became ill; he went to bed and did not eat. And until his very repose he ate nothing, drinking only small amounts of water. His voice weakened, but he managed still to speak and one could, with difficulty, make out what he was saying. Bright Week arrived, the eve of the cemetery chapel's patronal feast: the Life-giving Spring. The sun had already reached the edge of the horizon, another minute and it would be hidden. Suddenly Fr. Joachim cried out in a loud voice: "My Mistress! My Heavenly Queen!" And with these words he gave up his spirit into the hands of his Lord, Whom he had loved with such devotion.

Elder Joachim reposed at the age of about eighty, having spent twenty-five years on the Holy Mountain.

Translated and compiled from Lives of the Athonite Ascetics of the 19th Century by Hieromonk Anthony of Mount Athos; Jordanville, 1988.

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Jonathan Jackson's Orthodox Acceptance Speech at the Emmy's

This past Holy Saturday Jonathan Jackson, a five-time Emmy Award winning actor on General Hospital, together with his family, were received into the Orthodox Christian Church.

Wikipedia

Official Website

Along with acting, Jonathan is also the lead singer of the indie rock band Enation. www.EnationMusic.com

Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick interviewed him about his journey into Orthodox Christianity, his family, how he lives his faith as a Hollywood actor, music and writing, on an episode of Roads From Emmaus, which can be heard here. For background on the interview, read here.

On Sunday, 24 June 2012, Jonathan won his fifth Emmy for his work on General Hospital as a Supporting Actor. His acceptance speech is below, in which he begins by thanking the Holy Trinity while making the sign of the cross, and ends by thanking the monks of Mount Athos for their prayers for the world.

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Video: Humor With the "God Gene"

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10 Facts About the Panagia of "Axion Estin"

Below are ten little known facts about the Holy Icon of Panagia "Axion Estin":

1. To arrive at the exact date when the Archangel Gabriel revealed the hymn "Axion Estin", we calculate according to the following facts:

- The synaxarion for the feast says it took place during the reign of the emperors Basil (976-1025) and his brother Constantine Porphyrogenitos (1025–1028), and the patriarchate of St. Nicholas Chrysoberges (980-995), in the year 980 (6490 years from the creation of the world).

- However, 6490 is not 980, but 982.

- We also read in the ancient sources that the miracle took place on a Sunday and the date was June 11. Since June 11th fell on a Sunday in 982, we can assume this is the date the miracle took place.

2. The second part of the hymn "Axion Estin", which begins "More honorable than the Cherubim", was written by St. Kosmas the Poet in the 8th century.

3. With few exceptions, the hymn "Axion Estin" is chanted during the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom, in the same tone as the previous Cherubic Hymn. However, according to Athonite tradition, the Archangel Gabriel chanted it in the second tone.

4. The Service to the Panagia "Axion Estin" was written by a Russian hierodeacon named Benedict in 1838. It was published four times in Athens (1854, 157, 1890, 1971) and one time in Karyes, Mount Athos (1924). It was translated into Slavonic twice, once in Constantinople (1861) and once in Thessaloniki (1910). The synaxarion read during the Orthros was written by the Protos Seraphim. The Doxastikon was written by Monk Averkios, a representative of Xenophontos Monastery, in 1923.

5. The Litany with the Icon of Panagia "Axion Estin", which takes place on Bright Monday, is for the following reasons, according to the sources:

- Out of love for the Panagia.

- For the sanctification of homes.

- For the blessing of the fruits.

- To abolish insects and other harmful living things from the gardens, trees and vines.

- For physical health.

6. Before the wars of the 20th century, the litany of Bright Monday would gather more than 2000 people.

7. In 1508, the following miracle took place on Bright Monday. The monks of the Dionysian Cell could not be found to welcome the Icon to their Cell. They had abandoned the Cell and hid themselves. That night a strong rain and hail destroyed their vines, trees, and gardens, though that of their neighbors was perfectly fine. The monks realized their sin and went to the Monastery of Dionysiou to confess to Saint Niphon, the Patriarch of Constantinople, who was there. He gave them an appropriate canon for repentance, and the following year they welcomed the Holy Icon with much honor, and begged forgiveness from the monks on their knees for not receiving them the prior year.

8. Twice the Monastery of Koutloumousiou did not welcome the Holy Icon during the litany of Bright Monday, because they considered themselves a large Monastery and did not feel the need to recognize the traditions of the other monasteries. As a result, the first time the boat of the Monastery was burned together with its watch tower, and the second time the walls of the newly-built trapeza and other buildings of the Monastery fell.

9. In 1963, in honor of the 1,000 year anniversary of Mount Athos, the Holy Icon of Panagia "Axion Estin" was brought to Athens. Thousands came to venerate this treasure of Orthodoxy with great emotion. This was the first time the Icon left the Holy Mountain.

10. Night and day services take place at Protaton, where the Icon is kept, before the Panagia "Axion Estin", and dozens daily venerate the Holy Icon, leaving their names and those of their loved ones for commemoration.

The Holy Cell of Axion Estin

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Cathedral of the Resurrection in Tirana Consecrated

The third largest Orthodox church in Europe was consecrated today, 24 June 2012, in Tirana, Albania, after 8 years of construction and an investment of millions of euros. The consecration of the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ was attended by many political and religious figures, including Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana, Durres, and All Albania, President Bamir Topi, Prime Minister Sali Berisha, opposition leader Edi Rama, representatives from the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Archbishop Demetrios of America, the leader of the Albanian Archdiocese of Boston, and a large number of clergy and laity.

The Cathedral is in the central square of Tirana and was added to existing buildings which belong to three historical periods: the Turkish occupation by the Mosque of Etem Beu (1794) and the clock tower (1822); the "Italian" decade of the 1930's-40's which are the Town Hall and the other ministry buildings; and the Communist period from which came the operas, the national museum, the central bank, etc.

Thus the clock tower, which measures at 35 meters and is a registered trademark of Tirana, will not be alone anymore, as a few meters south will stand the bell tower of the Cathedral at 46 meters.

The land area is about five thousand square meters, and the church itself occupies 1660 square meters. This consecration coincided with the 20th anniversary of Anastasios of Tirana as Archbishop in Albania.

The complex, besides many works in marble, is divided into several parts. The ancient church in the northwest corner is dedicated to the Birth of Christ, then to the east side is the seat of the Holy Synod, while inside the premises has a cultural and conference center, amphitheater and library.

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C.I.A. Aid in Steering Arms to Syrian Opposition

Eric Schmitt

June 21, 2012

The New York Times

A small number of C.I.A. officers are operating secretly in southern Turkey, helping allies decide which Syrian opposition fighters across the border will receive arms to fight the Syrian government, according to American officials and Arab intelligence officers.

The weapons, including automatic rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, ammunition and some antitank weapons, are being funneled mostly across the Turkish border by way of a shadowy network of intermediaries including Syria’s Muslim Brotherhood and paid for by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the officials said.

The C.I.A. officers have been in southern Turkey for several weeks, in part to help keep weapons out of the hands of fighters allied with Al Qaeda or other terrorist groups, one senior American official said. The Obama administration has said it is not providing arms to the rebels, but it has also acknowledged that Syria’s neighbors would do so.

The clandestine intelligence-gathering effort is the most detailed known instance of the limited American support for the military campaign against the Syrian government. It is also part of Washington’s attempt to increase the pressure on President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, who has recently escalated his government’s deadly crackdown on civilians and the militias battling his rule. With Russia blocking more aggressive steps against the Assad government, the United States and its allies have instead turned to diplomacy and aiding allied efforts to arm the rebels to force Mr. Assad from power.

By helping to vet rebel groups, American intelligence operatives in Turkey hope to learn more about a growing, changing opposition network inside of Syria and to establish new ties. “C.I.A. officers are there and they are trying to make new sources and recruit people,” said one Arab intelligence official who is briefed regularly by American counterparts.

American officials and retired C.I.A. officials said the administration was also weighing additional assistance to rebels, like providing satellite imagery and other detailed intelligence on Syrian troop locations and movements. The administration is also considering whether to help the opposition set up a rudimentary intelligence service. But no decisions have been made on those measures or even more aggressive steps, like sending C.I.A. officers into Syria itself, they said.

The struggle inside Syria has the potential to intensify significantly in coming months as powerful new weapons are flowing to both the Syrian government and opposition fighters. President Obama and his top aides are seeking to pressure Russia to curb arms shipments like attack helicopters to Syria, its main ally in the Middle East.

“We’d like to see arms sales to the Assad regime come to an end, because we believe they’ve demonstrated that they will only use their military against their own civilian population,” Benjamin J. Rhodes, deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, said after Mr. Obama and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir V. Putin, met in Mexico on Monday.

Spokesmen for the White House, State Department and C.I.A. would not comment on any intelligence operations supporting the Syrian rebels, some details of which were reported last week by The Wall Street Journal.

Until now, the public face of the administration’s Syria policy has largely been diplomacy and humanitarian aid.

The State Department said Wednesday that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton would meet with her Russian counterpart, Sergey V. Lavrov, on the sidelines of a meeting of Asia-Pacific foreign ministers in St. Petersburg, Russia, next Thursday. The private talks are likely to focus, at least in part, on the crisis in Syria.

The State Department has authorized $15 million in nonlethal aid, like medical supplies and communications equipment, to civilian opposition groups in Syria.

The Pentagon continues to fine-tune a range of military options, after a request from Mr. Obama in early March for such contingency planning. Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told senators at that time that the options under review included humanitarian airlifts, aerial surveillance of the Syrian military, and the establishment of a no-fly zone.

The military has also drawn up plans for how coalition troops would secure Syria’s sizable stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons if an all-out civil war threatened their security.

But senior administration officials have underscored in recent days that they are not actively considering military options. “Anything at this point vis-à-vis Syria would be hypothetical in the extreme,” General Dempsey told reporters this month.

What has changed since March is an influx of weapons and ammunition to the rebels. The increasingly fierce air and artillery assaults by the government are intended to counter improved coordination, tactics and weaponry among the opposition forces, according to members of the Syrian National Council and other activists.

Last month, these activists said, Turkish Army vehicles delivered antitank weaponry to the border, where it was then smuggled into Syria. Turkey has repeatedly denied it was extending anything other than humanitarian aid to the opposition, mostly via refugee camps near the border. The United States, these activists said, was consulted about these weapons transfers.

American military analysts offered mixed opinions on whether these arms have offset the advantages held by the militarily superior Syrian Army. “The rebels are starting to crack the code on how to take out tanks,” said Joseph Holliday, a former United States Army intelligence officer in Afghanistan who is now a researcher tracking the Free Syrian Army for the Institute for the Study of War in Washington.

But a senior American officer who receives classified intelligence reports from the region, compared the rebels’ arms to “peashooters” against the government’s heavy weaponry and attack helicopters.

The Syrian National Council, the main opposition group in exile, has recently begun trying to organize the scattered, localized units that all fight under the name of the Free Syrian Army into a more cohesive force.

About 10 military coordinating councils in provinces across the country are now sharing tactics and other information. The city of Homs is the notable exception. It lacks such a council because the three main military groups in the city do not get along, national council officials said.

Jeffrey White, a defense analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy who tracks videos and announcements from self-described rebel battalions, said there were now about 100 rebel formations, up from roughly 70 two months ago, ranging in size from a handful of fighters to a couple of hundred combatants.

“When the regime wants to go someplace and puts the right package of forces together, it can do it,” Mr. White said. “But the opposition is raising the cost of those kinds of operations.”

Neil MacFarquhar contributed reporting from Beirut, Lebanon. Souad Mekhennet also contributed reporting.

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An Interpretation of the Name "JOHN"

According to Nikephoros Theotokis (a Greek scholar and theologian of the late eighteenth century, who became an archbishop in the southern provinces of Russia and is considered by Greeks as a "Teacher of the Nation"), in his treatise on the Nativity of Saint John the Forerunner, writes: "The name Ioannis (Ιωάννης or John), sent from above by the All-Holy Spirit, was given to him by the Archangel Gabriel, to Zachariah, saying: 'and you shall call his name Ioannis'."

Theotokis goes on to interpret this name according to each individual letter, of which in Greek there are seven: Ι.Ω.Α.Ν.Ν.Η.Σ or I.O.A.N.N.I.S. This was given to him to fulfill the prophecy of the Prophetess Hannah, who in 1 Samuel 2:5 says "she who was barren has borne seven children"; one "child" is represented by one letter from the name Ioannis. Also, in Holy Scripture the number seven is found many times and is considered holy.

Below is the Divine Mystery of the name Ioannis derived from the seven letters of the Greek alphabet, according to Nikephoros Theotokis:

Ι = Ιεραρχίες or Hierarchies:

According to Saint Dionysius the Areopagite, who wrote The Celestial Hierarchy, there are three Ιεραρχίες (Hierarchies, Spheres or Triads) of angels, with each Hierarchy containing three Orders or Choirs. They are as follows:

1 First Hierarchy

1.1 Seraphim

1.2 Cherubim

1.3 Thrones or Ophanim

2 Second Hierarchy

2.1 Dominions

2.2 Virtues

2.3 Powers or Authorities

3 Third Hierarchy

3.1 Principalities or Rulers

3.2 Archangels

3.3 Angels

There is also a Tenth Order, which according to Orthodox tradition fell through the tempting of Satan and became Demons. This Tenth Order was replaced on earth by the Order of Monastics, which is why when a monastic is tonsured they receive the "Angelic Schema", by virtue of their living as earthly angels through their virginity, total reliance on God, and their constant prayers. Monastics are thus the Tenth Order of Angels, and it is from Saint John the Forerunner that monastics received an initial example of their lifestyle. St. John is the first and chief of the Order of Monastics, and the day of his joyous birth marks the beginning of the Monastic Order. Theotokis also mentions that according to Greek numerals, the letter "I" is the Greek value for ten, which is symbolic for the Honorable Forerunner.

Ω = A Pre-Image of the Two Natures of Christ:

According to Theotokis, "Ω" is a pre-image of the First Coming of Christ, just like "I" was a pre-image of St. John the Forerunner. According to scholars, the letter "Ω" has its origins in putting two "O" together to form one letter; thus "OO" became "Ω" (two Omikrons became one Omega). The letters "OO" together are what pre-image Christ's two Natures, both the Divine and Human, as well as pre-imaging His eternalness through the never-ending circle shape of the letter. Essentially the meaning is that the God-man, Jesus Christ, has neither beginning nor ending. Since the "OO" together became the last letter of the Greek alphabet "Ω", we also recall the title Christ gave Himself in Revelation 1:8, where He says: "I am the Alpha and the Omega".

ΑΝΝ = Ανάσταση Νεκρών or Resurrection [of the] Dead:

Following the pre-image of the birth of John the Forerunner through the letter "I", and the pre-image of the First Coming of Christ through the letter "Ω", the next three letters in the name Ioannis go together to pre-image the Second Coming of Christ. The "AN" together are the first two letters of the word "Ανάσταση" (Resurrection) and the next "N" is the first letter of the word "Νεκρών" (Dead), which confesses the creedal statement that we believe "in the resurrection of the dead" at the end of the age.

H = The Eighth Age:

The letter "H" according to Greek numerals is the letter for the number eight, and the number eight according to Orthodox tradition pre-images the Eighth Age, which is the post-apocalytpic age to come following this present age. And just as we confessed through the letters "ANN" our belief "in the resurrection of the dead", so now we continue to also confess the creedal statement "and the life of the age to come".

Σ = Twice-Perfect:

According to Greek numerals, the letter "Σ" is valued at 200. 200 comes to us by adding together two 100's. The number 100 in Holy Scripture is a number of perfection. When you add two 100's together, however, you make something beyond perfect or twice-perfect. This beyond perfect number therefore images the beyond perfect and ageless age of the life to come.

This is the Divine Mystery behind the name Ioannis, according to Nikephoros Theotokis.

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The Reclusive Hermitess Christina Has Reposed

According to Romfea.gr, today, Saturday 23 June 2012, at the age of 87 years old, the Eldress Christina reposed.

The Eldress was born in 1925 and was from Kilkis Akritas, though she lived a reclusive ascetic life for many years at the Hermitage she herself founded in Prasinada Paranesti.

She was tonsured a nun at the Holy Sepulcher by the Patriarch of Jerusalem Benedict, and received the Great Schema from the Archbishop of Sinai Damianos.

It should be noted that the Eldress lived the life of a hermitess at Sinai. She also helped established the Holy Monastery of Panagia Pangaiotissa, in the Holy Metropolis of Eleutheroupolis. From here she received the blessing from her spiritual father, the blessed Elder Eusebios Vittis, to live an eremitic life in Paranesti.

She was perhaps the only hermitess in Greece; a recluse nun who helped many people through her prayers and admonitions.

The funeral of Eldress Christina will take place today at 17:00 at the Holy Monastery of Panagia Pangaiotissa in Eleutheroupolis, presided by Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Eleutheroupolis.

Finally the Eldress will be buried at her own Hermitage, in a grave she has prepared for herself.

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Troubled Monk Apparently Commits Suicide in Arizona

Theodore Kalmoukos

June 21, 2012

The National Herald

At the St. Anthony's Monastery in Florence, AZ, a 27 year-old novice monk took his life with a gun on the dawn of June 11.

Scott Nevins was a novice for six years at St. Anthony, one of the 21 Monasteries established by Elder Ephraim, the former abbot of the Philotheou Monastery on Mount Athos. From Modesto, CA Nevins was a convert to Orthodoxy. He had left the Monastery 15 months ago in the middle of the night and went to Oregon and enrolled in college. He returned the Monastery armed with two guns and a knife on June 10.

When he pulled into the Monastery parking lot he was met by a night watchman monk. He drove a short distance away. The watchman drove his car toward the area where Nevins had parked. At some point, Nevins shot himself according to police accounts, and was flown by a helicopter to an area hospital, where he died. An autopsy was scheduled to be performed.

The Monastery belongs ecclesiastically and canonically to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America through the Metropolis of San Francisco under Metropolitan Gerasimos. TNH was unable to reach Archbishop Demetrios or Nevins' parents for comment.

The authorities have not established a motive why Nevins took his life or why he returned to the Monastery armed with two guns and a knife. In e-mails that he exchanged with Abbot Paisios and another monk, Fr. Ilarion, Nevins wrote that he had been threatened by other monks including elder Ephraim whom he described as "charlatan."

When he quickly left the Monastery 15 months earlier, Nevins had left his oral retainer behind, among other personal items. He had requested that the Monastery retrieve it, but the monk who cleaned his room had thrown it away. Nevins insisted to be reimbursed $4,000 for it, but the Monastery offered to send him to an orthodontist in California and to pay to replace it; Nevins refused.

Nevins sent an email to Ilarion stating among other things that "you have to pay for the retainer. I am calling the sheriff if you don't and getting a lawyer." He also wrote that "I had to leave in a hurry, and I forgot my retainer. I had to leave because of the immediate threat to my personal safety. A number of the fathers, including the elder were after me, and a threat against my life was made. Did you even ask elder Ephraim if he had threatened me? Oh, no, you just know these things without having to ask."

In another email to Ilarion, Nevins wrote that "elder Ephraim is a charlatan, he's lying about being holy and being a good person. When I discovered this, he threatened me and I had to leave immediately, in the middle of the night, which is why my retainers and baptismal certificate were left behind."

Ilarion replied to Nevins that "please note that on the day you left here we were really concerned about your whereabouts and safety, so I called the Sheriff's office and filed a missing person report because you didn't leave a note nor did you inform anyone. Later that night the Sheriff's office called and informed me that they spoke to your father/mother and that you left here for good. The Sheriff's deputy said you went to a friend's house. The morning you left, you were seen going to church, getting the elder's blessing and walking out the front gate around Liturgy time 3AM holding a small bag. No one thought anything at the time, but they told me about it a day or two later."

Ilarion also wrote to Nevins that "the elder has never threatened anyone who wanted to leave here. All who come here as novices or guests come of their own free will and leave of their own free will. No one is forced to be here and all monks and novices have access to a telephone."

Nevins replied to Ilarion: "the elder has never threatened anyone" uhhh…you live in a fantasy world. I didn't ask you for your opinion as to why I left the way I did; actually Fr. Paisios told me that I was to leave with nothing. Absolutely nothing; so, I did. I didn't have a bag in my hand. And another thing, your Elder Ephraim is a complete charlatan! He isn't holy at all! Not at all! He is lying about everything. The deception is unbelievable."

At some point Nevins appeared very angry and he threatened Ilarion and also Elder Ephraim and used inappropriate language. On April 20 he wrote to Ilarion: "hey worthless, deadbeat, loser, give a direct phone number to the All Holy and Thrice Blessed Eminent and Despotic Elder of the Monastery, so that I can tell the person in charge what I really think about Your All Worthlessness! I truly feel like ripping your face off of your skull! I don't know what to do, dumba**. Help me! Hey, …s**t-head, ask The All Holy Elder Ephraim if he feels like having every tooth beaten out of his Skull, because that's how I feel".

Passios told TNH "that the young man was not progressing here and I told him if he wanted to go back home and do something with his life."

As to why Nevins left, Paisios said "he simply couldn't stay here. He wasn't telling me many things. We were talking frequently but he was not telling me the reasons that he wanted to stay here."

Regarding Nevins' overall behavior at the Monastery, Paisios said that "he was not talking much, he was coming to his work but he was in another world." Paisios revealed that "on Monday June 4, he called me and threatened me saying `I will blow your brains with a gun.' I told him that it would be good for him to go and see a psychotherapist. He told me that `I already had gone and I am well.'

Paisios is convinced that Nevins "came to the Monastery to kill us and then take his own life."

Paisios said that during most of the time that Nevins was a novice "he did not show any signs [of peculiar behavior]. A year before he left he was in contact with some people who were acquaintances and friends and he had some concerns. I remember one time he had said to me that the white flowers in the oleanders in the Monastery's garden is the symbol of Satanists".

If the Monastery notified his parents when they saw the signs that something had changed on Nevins, Paisios said "we did not have a connection because they were saying that we had stolen their child, that we had brainwashed him."

Speaking about Nevins' allegations that elder Ephraim had threatened him, Paisios said "all these were in his fantasy" and he added that "Fr. Ephraim doesn't threat nor has any intent to threat anybody." Paisios added that Nevins "did not have any contact with the Elder who does not speak English and Scott did not speak Greek."

Paisios said that the Monastery checks prospective monks' past to determine whether they have ever taken antidepressant drugs, at which point it does not admit them. He refuted the possibility that the Monastery watchman could have killed Nevins, maintaining that the police confirmed that Nevins had taken his own life.

According to Paisios, the Monastery has 39 monks and 6 novices, 45 in total. It was built in 1995 and Paisios said "it cost 8 to 9 million dollars, which came from donations." He denied that abbot Ephraim from the Vatopedi Monastery of Mt. Athos has given money to the Monasteries built and controlled by Fr. Ephraim's of Arizona. "No, no, how do these things circulate," Paisios said. When he was reminded about the official news announcement issued by the Vatopedi Monastery on October 9, 2008 that $2 million was given as assistance to various causes including "in ecclesiastical institutions and Monasteries in America and many Eparchies of the Ecumenical Patriarchate" Paisios said "we have never asked and we have never been offered [money]."

Paisios attributed how all these 21 Monasteries were established throughout the Archdiocese within only a few years "as a miracle" and added "we do not do anything secretive [and we have not] received any funds from Vatopedi. These [rumors] are baseless."

Regarding Nevins' death, Metropolitan Gerasimos issued the following letter:

Dear Brothers in Christ,

The responsibility we share as the ordained ministers of the Holy Gospel is a sacred trust bestowed upon us by Holy Ordination. Our ministry is replete with joy and sorrow that we experience with the people of God entrusted to our spiritual care.

It is, therefore, my paternal obligation to inform you of a tragic event that has occurred within the boundaries of our Holy Metropolis. A young man who had come to our Faith and became a novice at the Holy Monastery of St. Anthony the Great, and subsequently left the Monastery for unknown reasons last year, took his life last Monday morning at approximately 2:45AM. Scott Nevins, 27 years old, had spent six years at St. Anthony's. Last year, after leaving the Monastery he enrolled in a college in Oregon. In the early hours of last Monday morning, Scott took his life in an area near the monastery.

The proper authorities are investigating this incident and we will cooperate in every way necessary. In addition, the Metropolis is conducting an investigation into this matter.

On behalf of the Holy Metropolis of San Francisco we wish to extend our prayers and love to the Nevins family. May Christ Jesus, our Lord, God and Savior look with mercy upon the soul of his departed servant. Eternal be his memory!

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You Cannot Be Spiritual Without Being Religious

Kevin DeYoung

June 19, 2012

The Gospel Coalition

At the end of 1 Corinthians 2:13 Paul uses a popular word: spiritual. It’s a popular word for us, and it was a popular word in Paul’s day. They desired spirituality just as much. They loved spiritual gurus, and so do we. But not everything spiritual is truly spiritual.

When you hear the word “spiritual” certain images come to mind. You think of someone very quiet and contemplative. Or maybe you picture someone with hands raised in a demonstrative expression of worship. You may think of your spontaneous, free-wheeling, “Spirit-led” friend. The spiritual person in your mind may be the young woman deeply interested in miracles and mystery, or maybe the old man earnestly pursuing a relationship with a higher power. To be “spiritual” in our day is to be vaguely interested in the supernatural and loosely committed to practices like prayer and meditation.

And yet, all of these indicators are what Jonathan Edwards would call non-signs. They don’t prove anything one way or another. It’s not bad to be contemplative or demonstrative or spontaneous. There’s nothing wrong with being interested in prayer, miracles, or a higher power. These interests and practices could be good or bad, depending on other factors. But by themselves, these things are not spiritual, not according to Paul’s definition.

The spiritual person understands spiritual truths (1 Cor. 2:13). He receives what the Spirit imparts. By contrast, the natural person (the unspiritual person) does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him (v. 14). Paul is clearly distinguishing between two categories of people. On one side you have spiritual people who accept spiritual things. Opposite them you have unspiritual people who do not accept spiritual things. What makes a person spiritual, then, is the embrace of spiritual things.

And what are the spiritual things Paul has in mind?

We must let scriptural context, and not our immediate culture, answer that question. Paul has just finished explaining that the message of the cross is folly to those who are perishing (1:18). His preaching does not look like wisdom to the wise ones in the world. Nevertheless, he continues to know nothing among the Corinthians except Christ and him crucified (2:2). Paul knows that what Jews and Greeks want to condemn is the power of God unto salvation (Rom. 1:16). But you have to have ears to hear it. This message, considered foolish by many, is wisdom among the mature (1 Cor. 2:6). Though the rulers of this age did not understand it and therefore crucified the Lord of glory, the message of the cross is actually the revealed wisdom of God, once hidden from view and decreed before the ages began (2:7). The “spiritual things” refers to the gospel proclamation revealed by the Spirit and entrusted to Paul and his apostolic band.

The spiritual person, therefore, is the one who accepts the message of the cross. We are truly spiritual if, and only if, the Spirit of Christ has given us the mind of Christ to receive the good news concerning the death and resurrection of Christ. No matter how much you like angels, or how much you pray, or how often you mediate, or how much you are into yoga, or how much you believe in miracles, if you do not understand, cherish, and embrace the cross you are not a spiritual person. The spiritual person discerns spiritual things, starting with the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ on the cross for sinners like you and me. To accept this gospel, with all its doctrinal and religious contours, is the beginning of true spirituality. For in the end, our slogans and endless searching do not count for much, neither does our interest in reading Chicken Soup for the Soul. If we reject the message of the cross, we have rejected the Spirit’s revelatory work. And when we spurn the Spirit we forfeit the right to be considered spiritual.

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Muslim Group Offended By 'Christian' Tomatoes

Alex Murashko

June 20, 2012

Christian Post

A Salafist group from Egypt appears to be trying to retract a post on Facebook that warned that eating tomatoes are "forbidden because they are Christian."

However, the Muslim traditionalist group, calling themselves the Popular Egyptian Islamic Association, apparently still finds tomatoes offensive if they are cut in such a way that reveals the shape of a cross, according to the Now Lebanon website.

Along with a photo of a tomato cut in half to reveal what could be viewed as a cross, the group originally posted on Facebook: "Eating tomatoes is forbidden because they are Christian. [The tomato] praises the cross instead of Allah and says that Allah is three (a reference to the Trinity).

"[God help us]. I implore you to spread this photo because there is a sister from Palestine who saw the prophet of Allah [Mohammad] in a vision and he was crying, warning his nation against eating them [tomatoes]. If you don't spread this [message], know that it is the devil who stopped you," according to a translation by Now Lebanon.

More than 2,700 comments were left under the warning posted 10 days ago, perhaps prompting the association to give this response:

"We didn't say you can't eat tomatoes. We said don't cut it in [such a way that reveals] the cross shape."

Although many of the comments made on the Facebook post were not suitable for re-publishing, one blogger posting on his blog joked, "Warning! Your salad could be making you into an Infidel!"

There is an estimated 5-6 million Salafis in Egypt. The Salafis are generally considered to be more traditional than other Muslim sects. Last year, a group of hardline Muslims, including Salafis, were responsible for the burning of several Christian churches and businesses in Egypt that later resulted in hundreds of deaths during demonstrations against the destruction.

According to a German domestic intelligence report done in 2010, Salafism is the fastest growing Islamic movement in the world.

A writer for The Blaze categorized most news coming out of the Middle East as "intriguing, bizarre and unceasingly concerning," but said the forbidden tomatoes story "actually crosses into a comical sphere."

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Documentary: "Culture of Fear"

The documentary details the epidemic of fear in our society, ranging from child predators to immigrants and from flu pandemic to terrorism. It features interviews with Dr. Noam Chomsky, a renowned linguist, human behaviorist, and political activist; US House Representative Dennis Kucinich, once US presidential candidate; and many other experts offering an in-depth exploration of the culture of fear. Culture of Fear is a term used by certain scholars, writers, journalists and politicians who believe that some in society incite fear in the general public to achieve political goals.

The term is used to describe fears about Islamic terrorism which, it is argued, are fears that are usually exaggerated or irrational in nature. The term has also been used to describe irrational fear in other contexts, such as citizens fearing persons of different ethnic backgrounds, or neighborhood residents fearing retribution if they assist police in identifying criminals.

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The Relentless Cult of Novelty

The following address was delivered when Solzhenitsyn was awarded the National Arts Club Medal of Honor for Literature in 1993. It was translated by Solzhenitsyn's sons, Ignat and Stephan. The title was provided by The New York Times, where the essay was first printed.

By Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Nothing worthy can be built on a neglect of higher meanings and on a relativistic view of concepts and culture as a whole.

There is a long accepted truth about art that "style is the man" ("le style est l'homme”). This means that every work of a skilled Musician, Artist or Writer is shaped by an absolutely unique combination of personality traits, creative abilities and individual as well as national experience. And since such a combination can never be recreated, art (but I shall here speak primarily of literature) possesses infinite variety across the ages and among different peoples.

The Divine Plan is such that there is no limit to the appearance of ever new and dazzling creative talents, none of whom, however, negate in any way the works of their outstanding predecessor, even though they may be 500 or 2,000 years removed. The unending quest for what is new and fresh is never closed to us, but this does not deprive our grateful memory of all that came before.

No new work of art comes into existence (whether consciously or unconsciously) without an organic link to what was created earlier. But it is equally true that a healthy conservatism must be flexible both in terms of creation and perceptive to the old and to the new, to venerable and worthy traditions, and to the freedom to explore, without which no future can ever be born.

At the same time the artist must not forget that creative freedom can be dangerous, for the fewer artistic limitations he imposes on his own work, the less chance he has for artistic success. The loss of a responsible organizing force weakens or even ruins the structure, the meaning and the ultimate value of a work of art.

Every age and ever form of creative endeavor owes much to those outstanding artists whose untiring labors brought forth new meanings and new rhythms. But in the 20th century, the necessary equilibrium between tradition and the search for the new has been repeatedly upset by a falsely understood “avant-gardism"--a raucous, impatient "avant-gardism” at any cost.

Dating from before World War I, this movement undertook to destroy all commonly accepted art--its forms, language, features and properties--in its drive to build a kind of "super-art" which would then supposedly spawn the New Life itself.

It was suggested that literature should start anew "on a blank sheet of paper." (Indeed, some never went much beyond this stage.) Destruction, thus, became the apotheosis of this belligerent avant-gardism. It aimed to tear down the entire centuries-long cultural tradition, to break and disrupt the natural flow of artistic development by a sudden leap forward.

This goal was to be achieved through any empty pursuit of novel forms as an end in itself, all the while lowering the standards of craftsmanship for oneself to the point of slovenliness and artistic crudity, at times combined with a meaning so obscured as to shade into unintelligibility.

This aggressive impulse might be interpreted as a mere product of personal ambition, were it not for the fact that in Russia (and I apologize to those gathered here for speaking mostly of Russia, but in our time it is impossible to bypass the harsh and extensive experience of my country) this impulse and its manifestations preceded and foretold the most physically destructive revolution of the 20th century.

Before erupting on the streets of Petrograd, this cataclysmic revolution erupted on the pages of the artistic and literary journals of the capital's bohemian circles. It is there that we first heard scathing imprecations against the entire Russian and European way of life, the calls to sweep away all religions or ethical codes, to tear down, overthrow, and trample all existing traditional culture, along with the selfextolment of the desperate innovators themselves, innovators who never did succeed m producing anything of worth.

Some of these appeals literally called for the destruction of the Racines, the Murillos and the Raphaels, "so that bullets would bounce off museum walls." As for the classics of Russian literature, they were to be "thrown overboard from the ship of modernity."

Cultural history would have to begin anew. The cry was "Forward! Forward!"--its authors already called themselves "futurists" as though they had now stepped over and beyond the present, and were bestowing upon us what was undoubtedly the genuine art of the Future.

But no sooner did the revolution explode in the streets, than those "futurists" who only recently, in their manifesto entitled "A Slap in the Face of Public Taste," had preached an "insurmountable hatred toward the existing language" these same "futurists" changed their name to the "Left Front," now directly joining the revolution at its leftmost flank. It thus became clear that the earlier outbursts el this "avant-gardism" were no mere literary froth, but had very real embodiment in life.

Beyond their intent to overturn the entire culture, they aimed to uproot life itself. And when the communists gained unlimited power (their own battle cry called for tearing the existing world "down to its foundations," so as to build a new Unknown Beautiful World in its stead, with equally unlimited brutality) they not only opened wide the gates of publicity and popularity to this horde of so-called "avant-gardists," but even gave some of them, as to faithful allies, power to administrate over culture.

Granted, neither the ragings of this pseudo "avant-garde" nor its power over culture lasted long; there followed a general coma of all culture. We in the USSR began to trudge, downcast, through a 70-year long ice age, under whose heavy glacial cover one could barely discern the secret heart-beat of a handful of great poets and writers. These were almost entirely unknown to their own country, not to mention the rest of the world, until much later. With the ossification of the totalitarian Soviet regime, its inflated pseudo-culture ossified as well, turning into the loathsome ceremonial forms of so-called "socialist realism."

Some individuals have been eager to devote numerous critical analyses to the essence and significance of this phenomenon. I would not have written a single one, for it is outside the bounds of art altogether: the object of study, the style of "socialist realism," never existed.

One does not need to be an expert to see that it consisted of nothing more than servility, a style defined by "What would you care for?" or "Write whatever the Party commands." What scholarly discussion can possibly take place here?

And now, having lived through these seventy lethal years inside Communism's iron shell, we are crawling out, though barely alive. A new age has clearly begun, both for Russia and for the whole world. Russia lies utterly ravaged and poisoned; its people are in a state of unprecedented humiliation, and are on the brink of perishing physically, perhaps even biologically.

Given the current condition of national life, and the sudden exposure and ulceration of the wounds amassed over the years, it is natural that literature should experience a pause. The voices that bring forth the nation's literature need time before they can begin to sound once again. However, some writers have emerged who appreciate the removal of censorship, and the new unlimited artistic freedom mostly in one sense for allowing uninhibited "self-expression."

The point is to express one's own perception of one's surroundings, often with no sensitivity toward today's ills and scars, and with a visible emptiness of heart; to express the author's personality, whether it is significant or not, to express it with no sense of responsibility toward the morals of the public, and especially of the young, and at times thickly lacing the language with obscenities which for hundreds of years were considered unthinkable to put in print, but now seem to be almost in vogue.

The confusion of minds after seventy years of total oppression is more than understandable. The artistic perception of the younger generation finds itself in shock, humiliation, resentment, amnesia. Unable to find in themselves the strength fully to withstand and refute Soviet dogma in the past, many young writers have now given in to the more accessible path of pessimistic relativism. Yes, they say, communist doctrines were a great lie, but then again, absolute truths do not exist anyhow, and trying to find them is pointless. Nor is it worth the trouble to strive for some kind of higher meaning.

And in one sweeping gesture of vexation, classical Russian literature--which never disdained reality and sought the truth--is dismissed as next to worthless. Denigrating the past is deemed to be the key to progress. And so it has once again become fashionable in Russia to ridicule, debunk, and toss overboard the great Russian literature, steeped as it is in love and compassion toward all human beings, and especially toward those who suffer. And in order to facilitate this operation of discarding, it is announced that the lifeless and servile "socialist realism" had in fact been an organic continuation of full-blooded Russian literature.

Thus, we witness, through history's various threshold, a recurrence of one and the same perilous anti-cultural phenomenon, with its rejection of and contempt for all foregoing tradition, and with its mandatory hostility toward whatever is universally accepted. Before, it burst in upon us with the fanfares and gaudy flags of "futurism"; today the term "post-modernism" is applied. (Whatever the meaning intended for this term, its lexical make up involves an incongruity: the seeming claim that a person can think and experience after the period in which he is destined to live.)

For a post-modernist, the world does not possess values that have reality. He even has an expression for this: "The world as text," as something secondary, as the text of an author's work, wherein the primary object of interest is the author himself in his relationship to the work, his own introspection. Culture, in this view, ought to be directed inward at itself (which is why these works are so full of reminiscences, to the point of tastelessness); it alone is valuable and real. For this reason, the concept of play acquires a heightened importance--not the Mozartian playfulness of a Universe overflowing with joy, but a forced playing upon the strings of emptiness, where an author need have no responsibility to anyone.

A denial of any and all ideals is considered courageous. And in this voluntary self-delusion, "post-modernism" sees itself as the crowning achievement of all previous culture, the final link in its chain (A rash hope, for already there is talk of the birth of "conceptualism." a term that has yet to be convincingly defined in terms of its relationship to art, though no doubt this too will duly be attempted. And then there is already post-avant-gardism; and it would be no surprise if we were to witness the appearance of a "post-post-modernism.") We could have sympathy for this constant searching, but only as we have sympathy for the suffering of a sick man. The search is doomed by its theoretical premises to forever remaining a secondary or tertiary exercise, devoid of life or of a future.

But let us shift our attention to the more complex flow of this process. Even though the 20th century has seen the more bitter and disheartening lot fall to the peoples under Communist domination, our whole world is living through a century of spiritual illness, which could not but give rise to a similar ubiquitous illness in art. Although for other reasons, a similar "post-modernist" sense of confusion about the world has also arisen in the West.

Alas, at a time of unprecedented rise in the material benefits of civilization, and ever improving standards of living, the West, too, has been undergoing an erosion and obscuring of high moral and ethical ideals. The spiritual axis of life has grown dim, and to some lost artists, the world has now appeared m seeming senseless, as an absurd conglomeration of debris.

Yes, world culture today is of course in crisis, a crisis of great severity. The newest directions in art seek to outpace this crisis on the wooden horse of clever stratagems----on the assumption that if one invents deft, resourceful new methods, it will be as though the crisis never was. Vain hopes. Nothing worthy can be built on a neglect of higher meanings and on a relativistic view of concepts and culture as a whole Indeed, something greater than a phenomenon confined to art can be discerned shimmering here beneath the surface---shimmering not with light but with an ominous crimson glow.

Looking intently, we can see that behind these ubiquitous and seemingly innocent experiments of rejecting "antiquated" tradition, there lies a deep seated hostility towards any spirituality. This relentless cult of novelty, with its assertion that art need not be good or pure, just so long as it is new, newer, and newer still, conceals an unyielding and long sustained attempt to undermine, ridicule and uproot all moral precepts. There is no God, there is no truth, the universe is chaotic, all is relative, "the world as text," a text any post-modernist is willing to compose. How clamorous it all is, but also, how helpless.

For several decades now, world literature, music, painting, and sculpture have exhibited a stubborn tendency to grow not higher but to the side, not toward the highest achievements of craftsmanship and of the human spirit but toward their disintegration into a frantic and insidious "novelty." To decorate public spaces we put up sculptures that aestheticize pure ugliness--but we no longer register surprise.

And if visitors from outer space were to pick up our music over the airwaves, how would they ever guess that earthlings once had a Bach, a Beethoven, and Schubert, now abandoned as out of date and obsolete?

If we, the creators of art, will obediently submit to this downward slide, if we cease to hold dear the great cultural tradition of the foregoing centuries together with the spiritual foundations from which it grew, we will be contributing to a highly dangerous fall of the human spirit on earth, to a degeneration of mankind into some kind of lower state, closer to the animal world.

And yet, it is hard to believe that we will allow this to occur. Even in Russia, so terribly ill right now, we wait and hope that after the coma and a period of silence, we shall feel the breath of a reawakening Russian literature, and that we shall witness the arrival of fresh new forces--of our younger brothers.

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