The Tomb and Relics of St. Kosmas Aitolos

By John Sanidopoulos

In the Albanian village of Kolikontasi of Great Mouzakia in Northern Epirus, in the historical Church of the Entrance of the Theotokos, lies the tomb of St. Kosmas Aitolos, the Equal to the Apostles. Today the Monastery surrounding the church goes by the name of St. Kosmas.

The Monastery of Saint Kosmas Aitolos was built between August 1813 and June 1814 by Ali Pasha of Tepelena when he acquired the Pashalik of Berat. When Ali Pasha entered Berat he remembered Fr. Kosmas, who was martyred there, and invited Metropolitan Ioasaph II of Berat to build a Monastery in the Saint's name and transfer his relics there, because he considered him to be a true man of God.

The relics of St. Kosmas rest in the Archdiocese in Tirana for security reasons. They rest in a simple wooden coffin. The skull was stolen in 1917 by Austria-Hungarians and likely rest today in a museum in Vienna. The lower jaw is in the Monastery of Saint Nicholas in Andros. His right hand rests in the Church of Saint Kosmas in Konitsi. Also, portions of relics of his fingers and toes rest in many places, such as Ioannina, the Monastery of Dousikou, and other places. Portions of his relics were also given by Archbishop Anastasios of Albania to the Church of Greece, which rest in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens. Another portion is in the Monastery of Saint Kosmas in Aitoloakarnania.

In 1984 Professors Panagiotis Christopoulos and P.B. Paschou visited the area by special permission of the Albanian regime, and brought publicity to the shrine.

As for how the Monastery survived the atheistic regime of Enver Hoxha, Christos Mitros from the city of Fieri, Albania has revealed the following, after his baptism as an Orthodox Christian:

"When in 1968 the law of the Albanian state prohibited any religious event, there came an order from Tirana to destroy the churches and for the crosses to disappear from the Christian graves. The Fieri police commander took with him a competent crew and went to the Monastery to destroy it. Knowing the devotion of the Greeks to St. Kosmas, he instructed to begin the work by demolishing first the tomb of the Saint. When workers gave the first blow to the church monument, then a loud roar broke the stillness of the area and a strong fire sprang from the grave of the Saint. Terrified bystanders fled and did not return despite threats coming from Tirana and despite the reassuring statement of the commander that supposedly a forgotten World War 2 bomb exploded. Therefore they did not desecrate the tomb of St. Kosmas and the grace-filled relics remained there as a balm on the wounds of Christians and the hope that the "the desirable will come" (Archimandrite Timothy Iliaki, The Supplication Canon to Saint Kosmas the Aetolian, New Philadelphia 1997, p. 61).

Read also: Προσκύνημα στον Tάφο του Αγίου Πατροκοσμά του Αιτωλού

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St. Kosmas Aitolos and the Education of the Greeks

By John Sanidopoulos

One of the primary missions of St. Kosmas Aitolos (+ 1779) was to establish schools wherever he preached to prevent as well as reverse the Turkification of the Greek people and its future generations. His primary territory was in the regions of Epirus, Macedonia and Albania. At the time the majority of the Greek people were illiterate due to lack of schools, and education was seen as an essential tool in recovering their identity, remembering their history, and continuing their traditions. This eventually would help lead to the Greek Revolution of 1821.

St. Kosmas would say: "Open schools. You also, my brethren, be educated and learn letters, as much as you can. And if the fathers don't learn, then let the children be educated to learn Greek, because our Church is Greek. And if you do not learn Greek, my brother, you cannot learn what our Church confesses. It is better for you to have a Greek school in your land rather than springs and rivers, and as much as your child learns letters, then he is called a person."

Due to the efforts of St. Kosmas 210 Greek schools were established, and another 1,100 elementary schools operated so Greek children could learn to read and write. He did this while living in total poverty, having no home, no money, no clothes except for what he wore, and no bag to carry any belongings.

This was only one of the many contributions of St. Kosmas Aitolos to the Greek people, which ended with the sacrifice of his own life.

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Beyond the Pussy Riot Sentencing

I will use this page as a resource for articles I find interesting and worth reading concerning the Pussy Riot case and its aftermath. It will be updated as new articles come forward.

Pussy Riot Sentences Split Russian Society

Pussy Riot's Crime and Unfair Punishment

Pussy Riot: A Complex View From Orthodox Moscow

Pussy Riot is the tip of the iceberg – 'there's a lot of intimidation going on'

Too Much Noise About Pussy Riot

Why Pussy Riot Is Not The Most Important Political Case In Russia

Pussy Riot Sentence Brings Dissent to the Masses

‘Jail for Sacrilege’: Vandalism by Pussy Riot supporters angers MPs

Pussy Riot as Modern Day Skomorokhi

Pussy Riot Trial Unleashes Putin’s Secret Weapon: The Orthodox Faithful

Pussy Riot, Holy Foolishness and Monk Punk

“Establishing an Orthodox Militia Will Lead to Civil War”

The Desecration of Crosses in Russia and the Russian Church

Pussy Riot Condemn the Cutting Down of Four Orthodox Crosses in Russia

After Pussy Riot Verdict, Christian Culture Warriors Run Riot in Moscow

"Free Pussy Riot" Written in Blood at Russian Murder Scene

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What St. Kosmas Aitolos Asked For When He Preached

"I came to your village and I preached to you. It is thus just for you to pay me for my effort. With money perhaps? What would I do with it? My payment is for you to put the words of God in your hearts, that you may gain eternal life." - Saint Kosmas the Aitolos

«Ήρθα στο χωριό σας και σας κήρυξα. Δίκαιο είναι λοιπόν να με πληρώσετε για τον κόπο μου. Με χρήματα μήπως; Τι να τα κάνω; Η πληρωμή η δική μου είναι να βάλετε τα λόγια του Θεού στην καρδιά σας, για να κερδίσετε την αιώνια ζωή.» - Άγιος Κοσμάς ο Αιτωλός

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Panagia Demerliotissa of Farsala

The Church of Panagia Demerliotissa is found in Stavro Farsalon (in old Demerli, from which it is named). The icon of Panagia Demerliotissa is said to be one of the 70 icons of the Apostle Luke.

It is a single-spaced, oblong church with a narthex divided lengthwise into three pseudo-aisles with the use of wooden pillars. The middle aisle is covered by an arch. The church bears wall paintings from 1786 in three zones. It was painted by the disciples of Dionysios of Fournas from Evrytania. The wood engraved icon-screen belongs to the Mt. Pelion style and has many similarities with the icon-screen of the church of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple of Venetos. According to the founding inscription above the south entrance, the church was built in 1778.

In the church are saved the chain links which the Turks placed during the years of occupation when they attempted to use the church as a stable for their animals. The Panagia did not allow her house to be desecrated, so the first time the Turks entered and began to tie their horses the bells began to strike loudly by themselves. This was the last time an attempt was made for the church to be used as a stable.

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The Feast of Panagia Enniameritisa on Paros

Panagia Enniameritisa (of the Nine Days), otherwise known as Panagia of Naousa, is found in the village of Naousa on the island of Paros. It celebrates its feast on August 23rd, which is nine days after the Dormition of the Theotokos.

On August 23rd there is a pirate festival with a big feast representing the assault of the pirates on the villages of Paros. Fireworks, traditional music, dances, local food and wine compose this great feast.

The Pirates of Paros

Everyone is aware of the "Pirates of the Caribbean", but how many have even heard of the "Pirates of the Aegean"? Well, all you need to do is get your tickets booked and head to the picturesque island of Paros. It is always advisable to coincide your trip to Paros at the time of the colorful Barbarossa Pirate Festival, which is held every year on the 23rd of August.

This unique festival is a classic case of reenacting of the entire episode of an infamous pirate attack on the island of Paros, which is rather skillfully represented by the enthusiastic locals. There is tons of fun and one can be assured of hilarious and chilling scenes during this unique Pirate Festival.

Unbelievably, the quaint fishing vessels who play a pivotal role in the Festival, act in the guise of pirate ships and energetic locals, particularly the youths of Paros undertake the roles of pirates, protectors and believe it or not - dancing damsels in distress. A lot of times the casualty of Greek pirates surprisingly used to be a Greek island itself, which may sound odd, but is very true.

The island of Paros in particularly was witness to wave after wave of pirate attacks. As a ploy to rebuff the pirates, the people of Paros built impregnable “Skiathos” which were nothing but traditional Greek fortresses principally meant to ward off pirate attacks. But even these unconquerable “Skiathos” weren’t able to withstand the fierce attacks of the heavily-armed pirates.

The islands of Greece in general and Paros in particular has a long history of pirate attacks. According to a popular Greek legend, heavily armed pirates once kidnapped a beautiful Pelekas bride on the day of her wedding. This act of cruelty so shocked the bride’s mother that she cursed the pirates and as per legend they all were turned into stones, including her daughter who was taken into captivity, due primarily to some inappropriate use of words that were uttered in the curse. (Source)

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The Hermitage of the Panagia of Grava in Patmos

The Hermitage of the Panagia of Grava is built on the west side of Chora in between the hill of Kalamoti and the Evangelismos Convent. It was founded around 1790 from the monk Gregory of Nisyros (April 22), the monk Niphonas and other monks, who fled Mount Athos during the Kollyvades controversy and ended up on Patmos. The small church is dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos and celebrates on the apodosis of the feast, which is the 23rd of August, every year.

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Elder Sophrony: The Basics of the Divine Liturgy

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos

Before I left the Holy Monastery I found an opportunity in a discussion to ask him [Elder Sophrony] about the Divine Liturgy, and he presented me with the basic teaching about it.

- "The Priesthood is not given to man as a reward for virtues, but as a gift for the edification of the Church. Someone becomes a Priest in order to celebrate the Divine Liturgy and to sanctify the people. Also, the Priesthood has a social significance, since he will deal with the construction of the church and the suffering of the Christians. So he also needs these qualifications, besides the spirituality."

- "The Divine Liturgy occurred one time forever. It has eternality. Every time the Divine Liturgy is celebrated, we rise up to its height. If we live some aspects of the Divine Liturgy, then we will understand its greatness, as happened with St. Seraphim of Sarov who saw angels coming to the church during the Small Entrance. We follow the Divine Liturgy, because we do not live it, or until we live it."

- "The Divine Liturgy teaches us to live with the heart. By celebrating the Divine Liturgy we keep the command of Christ: 'Drink this in remembrance of Me' (Lk. 22:19; 1 Cor. 11:24). That's why we say: 'Remembering this saving command....' This is not a psychological fact, but spiritual. Thus, every time we celebrate the Divine Liturgy, we are obedient to the word of Christ, and we penetrate the Divine Mystagogy in the Liturgy of Christ.

What God did once, remains now forever. This happens with the Divine Liturgy. One time Christ celebrated it in the Upper Room with the Mystical Supper, and this remains forever. The Christian, depending on the sacrifice he makes and his infiltration of Grace with this 'spirit' of the Divine Liturgy, receives Grace from God, and is purified of the passions. The Divine Liturgy in its perfection is the supplication and prayer for the entire world. This is the so-called royal officiation-priesthood. Thus, man reaches the end of the age. He does not wait for the day of the Lord, but this day of the Lord comes to him. So by Grace he becomes timeless."

From I Knew A Man In Christ: The Life and Times of Elder Sophrony, the Hesychast and Theologian (Οίδα άνθρωπον εν Χριστώ: Βίος και πολιτεία του Γέροντος Σωφρονίου του ησυχαστού και θεολόγου) by Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou. Translation by John Sanidopoulos.

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Eldress Konstantia of Arapissas

By John Sanidopoulos

The eldress Konstantia lived in the first half of the 19th century and came from the land of Africa. She served as a slave in the household of a Turk, who was a resident of the old city of Zaverda. For some unknown reason till this day, she was abandoned to her fate by the Turks who after the liberation of the Greek nation left the area. She possibly could have escaped by her own means, but found refuge in the Holy Monastery of Saint Demetrios of Zaverda (now Paleros Aitoloakarnania) in which she received Holy Baptism and later the Angelic Schema. She lived here for many decades, adorning her life ascetically with the virtues and helping her neighbor in every possible way. She highlighted the Monastery as a spiritual oasis in which all the downtrodden found refuge. Her physical and spiritual asceticism reached the height of the great male ascetics. God graced her with many gifts, such as that of clairvoyance and wonderworking. And Saint Demetrios, the protector of the Holy Monastery, made her worthy to see him visually and appeared to her and directed her in her spiritual struggle and in the struggle for the correct functioning of the Monastery through which many people were spiritually benefited. Her life ended peacefully in the Monastery she so loved and was buried within it.

The translation of her holy relics took place in 2004 and were stored in a wooden coffin in the Katholikon of the Monastery. On 2 February 2009 the holy relics of Eldress Konstantia were stolen from the Monastery of Saint Demetrios, but were later returned.

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For the Perfect, Evil No Longer Exists

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

When a man once truly repents, he need not think any more about the sins he committed so that he will not sin again.

St. Anthony counsels: "Be careful that your mind not be defiled with the remembrance of former sins and that the remembrance of those sins not be renewed in you."

Again, in another place, St. Anthony says: "Do not establish your previously committed sins in your soul by thinking about them so that they not be repeated in you. Be assured that they are forgiven you from the time that you gave yourself to God and repentance. In that, do not doubt."

It is said of St. Ammon that he attained such perfection that from much goodness he was not aware that evil exists anymore. When they asked him what is that "narrow and difficult [sorrowful] path" (Matthew 7:14), he replied: "It is the restraining of one's thoughts and severing of one's desires in order to fulfill the will of God."

Whoever restrains sinful thoughts, does not think of his own sins or the sins of others, neither of anything corruptible nor of anything earthly. The mind of such a man is continually in heaven where there is no evil. Thus, in him, sin gradually ceases to be, even in his thoughts.

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What Elder Epiphanios Said About Pre-Marital Sex

By Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos

There are many devout Christians who foster the question: If we make love five minutes before our wedding it is a sin, but if we make love five minutes after we are okay?

This is exactly the nature and power and value of the Mysteries: to change things, to alter situations, to transform events, to make the sinner holy, to bless the forbidden, to raise the earthly to heaven.

"Five minutes" before the blessing of a priest we have on the Holy Altar "bread" and "wine", but "five minutes (to the second) after" we have from this the divinized Body and Blood of our Lord!

"Five minutes" before the baptism of catechumens it is a grave sin to convey to them the Divine Eucharist, but "five minutes after" the conveyance is an essential and holy act.

"Five minutes" before his ordination as Bishop the "elect" remains a Presbyter and cannot celebrate the ordination of a Cleric, but "five minutes after" the continuation of his ordination in the celebration of the Divine Liturgy he can ordain Presbyters and Deacons.

But why should we remain in the divine and supernatural Mysteries of our Church? Perhaps "within our" life, that is our earthly life, there are similar parallels.

"Five minutes" before the signing of a contract by a notary and the parties involved it is simply a paper, but "five minutes after" it remains an indisputable public document created with legal consequences (rights and obligations) sometimes to an unfathomable extent.

"Five minutes" before the signing of a covenant it is no different than wrapping paper, but "five minutes after" it has the strength to determine the fate of hundreds of millions of assets.

"Five minutes" before the inauguration of a President he is just an ordinary citizen devoid of any special power, but "five minutes after" he is given the power to dismiss the Government and dissolve the House.

Yes, "five minutes" before marriage the carnal relations of a couple is a sin, and "five minutes after" it is not a sin.

Source: Translation by John Sanidopoulos

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A Strange Scene in the Icon of the Dormition

By John Sanidopoulos

In many icons of the Dormition of the Theotokos, one can see a strange scene near the bottom: an angel invisibly cuts off the two hands of a certain man.

What is the story behind this scene?

Bewailing their separation from the Mother of God, the Apostles prepared to bury Her all-pure body. A solemn procession went from Zion through Jerusalem to the Garden of Gethsemane. Unbelieving inhabitants of Jerusalem, taken aback by the extraordinarily grand funeral procession and vexed at the honor accorded the Mother of Jesus, complained of this to the High Priest and scribes.

The Jewish priest Jephonias (or Athonios), out of spite and hatred for the Mother of Jesus of Nazareth, wanted to topple the funeral bier on which lay the body of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, but an angel of God, some say the Archangel Michael, invisibly cut off his hands, which had touched the bier. Seeing such a wonder, Jephonias repented and with faith confessed the majesty of the Mother of God. He received healing and joined the crowd accompanying the body of the Mother of God, and he became a zealous follower of Christ.

According to Elisheva Revel-Neher, in her study of "The Image of the Jew in Byzantine Art", the earliest known artistic depictions of the scene are from Cappadocia around the ninth and tenth centuries, with subsequent examples from much later periods.

The Theotokos is all-pure and ever-virgin, and her conception of the Son of God was foreshadowed in the Old Testament by the Ark of the Covenant. The procession of the body of the Theotokos by the Apostles is thus also seen as a foreshadow of a particular event in the Old Testament, when the Ark of the Covenant was captured by the Philistines, and eventually brought to Jerusalem.

In 1 Samuel 5:1-5 we read:

After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then they carried the ark into Dagon’s temple and set it beside Dagon. When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained. That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor any others who enter Dagon’s temple at Ashdod step on the threshold.

Here the pagan god Dagon is depicted as not being able to stand in the presence of the Ark, to the point that it fell and its head and hands broke off. Numerous other disasters were said to have befallen the Philistines for stealing the Ark, until they finally gave it back to the Jews out of fear.

Years later King David desired to bring the Ark to Jerusalem, and a great procession followed the Ark. In 2 Samuel 6:3, 4, 6 and 7 we read:

They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart with the ark of God on it, and Ahio was walking in front of it... When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of God.

This incident is said to have struck fear in the heart of King David, and it made him realize how great and significant the Ark of the Covenant truly was.

This iconographic scene in the icon of the Dormition, therefore, is an illustration to serve as a warning to believers and unbelievers who question and despise the mysteries of God, and do not hold the proper reverence for these sacred mysteries.

A miracle recorded by St. John Moschos in The Spiritual Meadow (Leimonarion) further details the moral described above. It concerns a certain actor named Gaianas who blasphemed the Holy Mother of God in the theatre. He writes:

Heliopolis is a city of Lebanese Phoenecia. There was an actor there named Gaianas who used to perform at the theatre an act in which he blasphemed against the holy Mother of God. The Mother of God appeared to him, saying: "What evil have I done to you that you revile me before so many people and blaspheme against me?" He rose up and, far from mending his ways, proceeded to blaspheme against her even more than before. Three times she appeared to him with the same reproach and admonition. As he did not mend his ways in the slightest degree, but rather blasphemed the more, she appeared to him once when he was sleeping at mid-day and said nothing at all. All she did was to sever his two hands and feet with her finger. When he woke up he found that his hands and feet were so afflicted that he just lay there like a tree-trunk. In these circumstances the wretched man confessed to everybody (making himself a public example) that he had received the reward for his blasphemy. And this he did for love of his fellow men.

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Elder Sophrony and the Union of Churches

By Elder Sophrony of Essex

- There is a great difference between East and West. A Westerner who is baptized Orthodox for many years will be within the Orthodox Church under the guidance of an experienced Spiritual Father to obtain a pure Orthodox phronema and ethos.

Until then, he can not and must not play the teacher to people who have Orthodox bones, who were born and raised as Orthodox.

That is why there cannot be a "Union of Churches". With discussion an acquaintance can be made that can help the "political", without harming Orthodoxy. But the "union of Churches" is difficult, if not impossible. Those who speak of "union of Churches" do not know the mindset of the heterodox nor the height of Orthodoxy. Some of the heterodox hate the Orthodox. Proof is that if some Westerner becomes a Buddhist or Marxist, his household does not extract him from the family, but if he becomes Orthodox, then they extract him. If this mindset did not exist, then many Westerners would become Orthodox.

- I do not want, at least now, the "Union of Churches", because the Romans (Latins) will not change, and the Orthodox will not be corrupted.

From I Knew A Man In Christ: The Life and Times of Elder Sophrony, the Hesychast and Theologian (Οίδα άνθρωπον εν Χριστώ: Βίος και πολιτεία του Γέροντος Σωφρονίου του ησυχαστού και θεολόγου) by Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou. Translation by John Sanidopoulos.

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Early Christian Church Discovered in Kakhetia, Georgia

August 13, 2012

Pravoslavie.ru

Archaeologists have discovered a church that was built in Kakheti in the 5th century and destroyed in the 14th century. This is a conclusion made by the experts who have recently announced the news about the unique discovery. Specialists of the National Agency of Cultural Heritage Protection have arrived to the valley of the river Duruji, territory of Dolochopi, where an early Christian-era church was found, reports Blagovest-info portal with the reference to internet.ge.

According to the preliminary estimates, the church parameters are not inferior to the ones of the massive monument of the Christian architecture in Georgia, Sioni Bolnisi. Graves of historic significance were also found on the church territory, but they had been robbed.

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Pussy Riot Controversy: Nothing New Under the Sun

By John Sanidopoulos

Three members of the punk band Pussy Riot – Maria Alyokhina, 24, Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22 – were sentenced to serve two years in a penal colony on Friday after being found guilty of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred". A Moscow judge rejected the defence's argument that the band's performance of an anti-Vladimir Putin "punk prayer" was a form of political protest and found that it was motivated by hatred for Russian Orthodoxy.

Unfortunately the prosecution has not read its history to know that such an extreme reaction to a protest only vindicates and fuels the growth of the movement and ideology, and creates a deeper controversy than what could have been prevented.

For example, when the news first reported on the Pussy Riot performance in Christ the Savior Cathedral a few months ago, my mind immediately went to a performance in 1977 by the English punk band the Sex Pistols. That year they had released the single "God Save the Queen", amidst very much scrutiny, criticism and protest. By chance it coincided with Queen Elizabeth's Silver Jubilee celebrations. Hardly anyone would sell it, let alone play it on the radio, and the band were prevented from playing at any venues. Till this day it is the "most heavily censored record in British history". In England the monarchy is considered a God-established institution, and to mock the Queen is seen as a form of sacrilege.

On June 7 that year it was arranged by the record label for a private boat to have the Sex Pistols perform while sailing down the River Thames, passing Westminster Pier and the Houses of Parliament. The event, a mockery of the Queen's river procession planned for two days later, ended in chaos. Police launches forced the boat to dock, and constabulary surrounded the gangplanks at the pier. While the band members and their equipment were hustled down a side stairwell, many of the band's entourage were arrested. Soon after they were released on bail.

Watch Video: Remembering the 1977 Sex Pistols' Jubilee Boat Trip

After 35 years it was announced this year that "God Save the Queen" was being re-released in honor of Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee, and surely the Pussy Riot trial makes it just as relevant as ever. But this likely would not have been so if everything was handled much more wisely and the Russian courts learned from history rather than repeated it, and even now have gone beyond it.

It may be a good thing however that the Pussy Riot girls will be in jail for the next two years, unless the courts give in to the overwhelming pressure from around the world and release them sooner. History also tells us what happened to the Sex Pistols after their controversial trip along the Thames. Violent attacks on punk fans were on the rise. In mid-June lead singer Johnny Rotten himself was assaulted by a knife-wielding gang outside Islington's Pegasus pub, causing tendon damage to his left arm. Jamie Reid and Paul Cook were beaten up in other incidents; three days after the Pegasus assault, Rotten was attacked again. Everywhere they played there were huge protests, sometimes even outnumbering those who attended the concert. The band eventually only released one album and broke up during their first tour of the United States, which began with strong protests in the Bible-belt states. Maybe two years in prison will be enough time to calm everyone down a bit, but only the future will tell. However, it was within those two years that the Sex Pistols had already broken up and gone their separate ways.

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The Snakes of the Panagia in Kefallonia (Videos and Photos)

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Patriarch Bartholomew Against Hagia Sophia in Trebizond Becoming a Mosque

August 17, 2012

AsiaNews

There is "no need" to transform the ancient church of Hagia Sophia in Trabzon into a mosque, it is better that it remains a museum open to all religions: Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, expressed with clarity his opposition to the idea supported by the Deputy Turkish Prime Minister, Bulent Arinc who would like to turn this monument of Christianity into an exclusive place of worship for Muslims.

The church of Hagia Sofia (Saint Sofia) is a gem of ancient architecture and dates back to the era of the Comnenus Emperors (1204-1461). It testifies to the ancient presence of Christians from Pontus on the Black Sea, wiped out as a result of various genocides and purges first by the Ottomans, then by the neo-Turks.

Yesterday, the Ecumenical Patriarch visited the church and met with the mayor of the city, Genc. In front of reporters, Bartholomew said: "We respect all mosques and all places of worship, but in this case - turning Hagia Sophia into a mosque - I see no need for worship."

He added: "We are in favor of maintaining the church of Hagia Sophia as a museum. Moreover, as stated by the head of the local [Islamic] community [here] there are already many mosques to meet the needs for worship of the faithful, and they remain largely partially empty."

The Patriarch recalled the recent statements by the President of the Muslim community of the place, Zeki Baytar, who reacted strongly to the Arinc proposal, even threatening a revolt, and said: "First we must fill the mosques, then, if necessary, transform Saint Sophia into a mosque."

"If Hagia Sophia in Trabzon is converted into a mosque - continues Bartholomew I - it will be made available only to our Muslim brothers. Conversely, if it remains as a museum, it can offer its services to the entire international community, with sizeable profits for its inhabitants."

Among the journalists present, many remember the words of the same Bulent Arinc during his visit to the Phanar - the seat of the patriarchate - in January 2011: "As a government we have a duty to meet the needs of these citizens who have a centuries old presence in these lands."

Therefore, the position of the Ecumenical Patriarch is hardly surprising. What is of wonder however, is the Turkish government policy towards minorities of "one step forward, one step back", depending on the circumstances and political conjunctures. Precisely for this reason anti-conformist courageous groups voicing anti-conformist sentiments are on the increase in Turkey.

Trabzon, in the far north-east of Turkey, is inhabited by a population of almost 300 thousand inhabitants. Of these few are Christians. On 5 February 2006, Italian priest Andrea Santoro was murdered by a young nationalist Islamic.

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Arab Spring Turns to Christian Winter

William Dalrymple

August 9, 2012

Real Clear World

Wherever you go in the Middle East today, you see the Arab Spring rapidly turning into the Christian winter.

The past few years have been catastrophic for the region's beleaguered 14-million strong Christian minority.

In Egypt, the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood has been accompanied by anti-Coptic riots and intermittent bouts of church-burning. On the West Bank and in Gaza, the Christians are emigrating fast as they find themselves caught between Benjamin Netanyahu's pro-settler government and their increasingly radicalised and pro-Hamas Sunni Muslim neighbours. Most catastrophically, in Iraq, two thirds of the Christians have fled the country since the fall of Saddam.

It was Syria that took in many of the 250,000 Christians driven out of Iraq. Anyone who visited Damascus in recent years could see lounging in every park and sitting in every teahouse the unshaven Iraqi Christian refugees driven from their homes by the sectarian mayhem that followed the end of the Baathist state. They were bank managers and engineers, pharmacists and businessmen - all living with their extended families in one-room flats on what remained of their savings and assisted by the charity of the different churches.

"Before the war there was no separation between Christian and Muslim," I was told on a recent visit by Shamun Daawd, a liquor-store owner who fled Baghdad after he received Islamist death threats. I met him at the Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate in Damascus, where he had come to collect the rent money the Patriarchate provided for the refugees. "Under Saddam no one asked you your religion and we used to attend each other's religious services," he said. "Now at least 75 per cent of my Christian friends have fled."

Those Iraqi refugees now face a second displacement while their Syrian hosts are themselves living in daily fear of having to flee for their lives. The first Syrian refugee camps are being erected in the Bekaa valley of Lebanon; others are queuing to find shelter in camps in Jordan, north of Amman. Most of the bloodiest killings and counter-killings that have been reported in Syria have so far been along Sunni-Alawite faultlines, but there have been some reports of thefts, rape and murder directed at the Christian minority, and in one place - Qusayr - wholesale ethnic cleansing of the Christians accused by local jihadis of acting as pro-regime spies. The community, which makes up about 10 per cent of the total population, is now frankly terrified.

For much of the past 100 years, and long before the Assads came to power, Syria was a reliable refuge for the Christians of the Middle East: decades before the Iraqis arrived the people of Syria welcomed the Armenians escaping the Young Turk genocide of 1915. In 1948 they took in the Palestinians, both Christian and Muslim, driven out of their ancestral homes at the creation of Israel; and during the 1970s and 80s their country became a place of shelter for Orthodox Christians and Maronites seeking a refuge during Lebanon's interminable sectarian troubles.

For while the regime of the Assad dynasty was a repressive one-party police state in which political freedoms were always severely and often brutally restricted, it did allow the Syrians widespread cultural and religious freedoms. These gave Syria's minorities a security and stability far greater than their counterparts anywhere else in the region. This was particularly true of Syria's ancient Christian communities. The reason for this was that the Assads were Alawite, a syncretic Shia Muslim minority regarded by Sunni Muslims as heretical, and disparagingly referred to as Nusayris, or Little Christians: indeed, their liturgy seems to be partly Christian in origin. Alawites made up only 12 per cent of Syria's population and the Assads kept themselves in power by forming what was in effect a coalition of Syria's religious minorities, through which they were able to counterbalance the weight of the Sunni majority.

In the Assads' Syria, the major Christian feasts were national holidays; Christians were exempt from turning up to work on Sunday mornings; and churches and monasteries, like mosques, were provided with free electricity and were sometimes given state land for new buildings. In the Christian Quarter of Old Damascus around Bab Touma, electric-blue neon crosses would wink from the domes of the churches and processions of crucifix-carrying boy scouts could be seen squeezing past gaggles of Christian girls heading out on the town, all low-cut jeans and tight-fitting T-shirts. This was something unknown almost anywhere else in the Middle East.

There was also widespread sharing of sacred space. On my travels, in a single day I have seen Christians coming to sacrifice sheep at the Muslim Sufi shrine of Nebi Uri, while at the nearby convent of Seidnaya (recently shelled by government forces) I found that the congregation in the church consisted not principally of Christians, but instead of heavily bearded Muslim men and their shrouded wives. Now that precious multi-ethnic and multi-religious patchwork is in danger of being destroyed for ever.

As in Egypt, where the late Coptic Pope Shenouda supported Hosni Mubarak right up until his fall, the established churches of Syria marked the beginning of the revolution by lining up behind the regime. My friend Mar Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim, the urbane and multilingual Syrian Orthodox Metropolitan of Aleppo, was quoted as saying: "We do not support those who are calling for the fall of the regime simply because we are for reform and change."

Initially many of the flock were unsure of the wisdom of that position, and young Christians were among those calling for the end of the Assad regime, hoping for a new dawn of freedom, human rights and democracy. But, a year on, pro-revolution Christians are much harder to find. There are more and more reports of violent al-Qa'ida-inspired salafists fighting alongside the Free Syrian Army, while Turkish backing for the opposition Syrian National Council has terrified the Syrian Armenians.

As criminality, robbery, lawlessness and car-jacking become endemic, even in places where outright fighting is absent, and as the survival of the regime looks daily less and less likely, the Christians fear they will soon suffer the fate of their Iraqi brethren.

As ever, the Christians here remain mystified by the actions of Christian America. When George W. Bush went into Iraq, he naively believed he would be replacing Saddam with a peaceful, pro-US Arab democracy that would naturally look to the Christian West for support. In reality, nine years on, it appears that he has instead created a highly radicalised and unstable pro-Iranian sectarian battleground. Now US support is being channelled towards opposition groups that may eventually do the same to the minorities of Syria.

As in 80s Afghanistan, a joint operation between the CIA and Saudi intelligence could end up bringing to power a hardline salafist replacement to a brutally flawed but nonetheless secular regime. If that happens in Syria, the final death of Christianity in its Middle Eastern homelands seems increasingly possible within our lifetime.

William Dalrymple is the author of "From the Holy Mountain: A Journey in the Shadow of Byzantium". His new book "Return of a King: The Battle for Afghanistan 1839-42" will be published by Bloomsbury in February.

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Miracle at Panagia of Valana in Lania, Cyprus

A child in a wheelchair walks again, after sleeping under an icon of the Panagia in her chapel.

August 15, 2012

Kathimerini

His faith in the Panagia, and more specifically the Panagia of Valana in Lania, helped an eleven year old boy overcome serious health problems, while scientists had given up hope.

Regarding his moving story, the child and his parents spoke on the main television newscast of ΡΙΚ.

As mentioned, due to tumors in the head and spine, the child was confined to a wheelchair and doctors ruled out the possibility for him to walk again.

At Christmas the child was being treated at a hospital in Germany, and when he returned to Cyprus he had lost all hope for his healing, and he read a book of the history and miracles of Panagia of Valana. Since then, the desire of the child was to sleep beneath the icon of the Panagia, which, as he said, he saw three times in his sleep.

Last April he slept beneath the icon of Panagia of Valana in her chapel in Lania.

Since then his health has steadily improved, and today, the day of the feast of She Who is Full of Grace, the child visited and venerated the Panagia of Valana without a wheelchair, but walking.

Translated by John Sanidopoulos

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The Medal of Panagia Soumela Goes to Greek Olympian

By John Sanidopoulos

The gold medal of the Panagia Soumela went to Ilias Iliadis, the Bronze medalist for Judo of the 2012 Olympics in London, by Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria.

The Greek champion was at the holy shrine of Panagia Soumela in Vermio, with his father Niko, and followed the Divine Liturgy in honor of the Dormition of the Theotokos.

Iliadis was very moved by this recognition, and said that "what I got was worthy of Greece and God", while the people said over and over "axios, axios" (worthy, worthy)!

Read also: The Fervent Orthodox Faith of Greek Olympians

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Video: The Snakes of the Panagia in Kefallonia 2012

From August 6th to the 15th every year, the holy snakes of the Panagia make their annual appearance on the island of Kefallonia in a miraculous way, in the villages of Markopoulo and Arginia. Once again this year they made their appearance, to the joy of all who witnessed this miracle.

Below is video from Markopoulo:







Below is video from Agrinio (photos can be seen here):

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Ecumenical Patriarch at Panagia Soumela in Trebizond 2012

August 16, 2012

Tourism Travel Vacation

A Divine Liturgy, marking the Dormition of the Theotokos, was held at the historic Sümela Monastery in the northern province of Trabzon on Wednesday, ending with messages of peace.

It is the third time that a religious service has been held at the monastery in the history of the Turkish Republic. Wednesday’s event saw much less participation compared to the previous two years, with many citing the economic crisis that has hit Greece hard as the primary reason. Some 300 Orthodox Christians attended the service.

Since 2010, the Turkish government has allowed a church service to be held there once a year in a gradual loosening of restrictions on religious expression. The service was officiated by Greek Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I — as in the past two years.

Following the religious ceremony, he addressed participants in Greek and then in Turkish, speaking on the importance of the occasion and delivering messages of peace. He expressed his joy at being able to gather for Divine Liturgy with other believers in a sincere atmosphere for the third time at Sümela Monastery, which, he said, is considered one of the most important places of veneration of the Virgin Mary.

Bartholomew noted that visiting Sümela is a holy experience for believers of all faiths and thanked the Turkish authorities for opening it up to religious services once again. He added: “We grew up remembering this place of worship, which we couldn’t reach for years, and listening to stories about it, and we tried to be happy praying away from it. Thank God that this hope of ours came true and the Lord God destined us to be here. We [the Greek Orthodox] thank our government, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Ministry of European Union Affairs, the Maçka Municipality and the people of Maçka.”

Bartholomew also noted that all three services held at the monastery have coincided with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and said: “In this sense, this coincidence indicates that Muslims and Christians, who have worshiped one common Creator for hundreds of centuries even though they do it in different ways, live together. Building a monastery on this mountain, hundreds of meters high, … wouldn’t be possible without surrendering to God, loving God with one’s body and soul and, of course, without God’s consent.”

The Greek Orthodox patriarch also highlighted that all must be free to carry out their religious requirements and yet humanity still suffers from violence between believers of different faiths. “Here on this hill where this historically and religiously rich Sümela Monastery, which is consigned to us, is located, let us all pray together for the peace of humanity. Let us work more for the peace of humanity and our country that we dream of, let us meet more and let us get to know each other more,” he said.

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Dormition of the Theotokos Resource Page

The Dormition of the Theotokos

On the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos

The Fast and Preparation for the Feast of the Dormition

Monk Moses: "The Mother of God's Fifteen Days of August Has Arrived"

The Relationship Between Saint John of Damascus and the Theotokos Together With a Sermon on Her Dormition

The Relationship Between Saint Gregory Palamas and the Theotokos Together With a Sermon on Her Dormition

The History of the Small Paraklesis (Supplication) Canon to the Theotokos

The History of the Great Paraklesis (Supplication) Canon to the Theotokos

The Thief Who Prayed Daily To the Theotokos

The Lamentations of the Dormition of the Theotokos

Video: Lamentations and Hymns of the Dormition of the Theotokos

The Lamentations of the Theotokos In Worship

Elder Paisios' Favorite Icon of the Panagia

Saint Methodios of Byzantium and His Long Beard

God Guides the Humble

Feast of the Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Cross From August 1 - 14

August 6 - Transfiguration of Christ

Synaxarion for the Feast of the Transfiguration

"Discourse on the Holy Transfiguration of our Lord" by St. Gregory Palamas

St. Maximus the Confessor: 18 Spiritual Interpretations of the Transfiguration (1)

St. Maximus the Confessor: 18 Spiritual Interpretations of the Transfiguration (2)

St. Maximus the Confessor: 18 Spiritual Interpretations of the Transfiguration (3)

St. Maximus the Confessor: 18 Spiritual Interpretations of the Transfiguration (4)

St. Maximus the Confessor: 18 Spiritual Interpretations of the Transfiguration (5)

St. Maximus the Confessor: 18 Spiritual Interpretations of the Transfiguration (6)

An Interpretation of the Icon of the Transfiguration of the Lord

Questions About the Transfiguration Answered

The Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Savior

Significance of the Lord's Transfiguration

Why the Transfiguration is Celebrated on August 6

The Blessing of Fruits on August 6th

The Transfiguration Unites the Old and New Testaments

Why Peter, James and John Were Chosen Witnesses of the Transfiguration

The Miraculous Holy Cloud of Mount Tabor

An Account of the Annual Miracle on Mount Tabor on August 6th

Nun Aikaterini: A Witness of the Holy Cloud of Mt. Tabor

Meteorologists Cannot Explain the Miraculous Cloud of Mt. Tabor

Mount Tabor As the Location of Christ's Transfiguration

Video: The Monastery of the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor

The Chapel of the Transfiguration on the Peak of Mount Athos

The Feast of Transfiguration in Bulgaria

The Holy Mount of Grabarka in Poland

August 15th Celebrations In Greece

August 15th Customs and Traditions In Greece

August 15th Celebrations in Greece for the Virgin Mary

The Litany of Panagia of Tripolitsa in Tripoli

Finding of the Panagia Evangelistria Icon in Tinos

The Ecclesiastical Year and the People of Tinos

Video: 1947 Footage of Panagia of Tinos Feastday

Photos: Today's Last Paraklesis Service In Tinos

My Experience of the Feast of the Dormition in 1991

The Holy Snakes of the Virgin Mary in Kefallonia (1 of 2)

The Holy Snakes of the Virgin Mary in Kefallonia (2 of 2)

The Holy Snakes of Kefallonia and the Calendar Change of 1924

The Annual Appearance of the Snakes of the Panagia in Kefallonia

The Chapel of Panagia Krifti (The Hidden Panagia)

Panagia of Mikrokastrou and the Dormition Monastery

The Castle of the Panagia in Leros

The Chapel of Panagia Kavouradaina in Leros

Panagia Gourlomata of Leros

The Monastery of Panagia Panahrantos in Andros

Chapel of Panagia Thalassini in Andros

Panagia Thalassomahousa of Strofades Monastery

The Monastery of Panagia Chrysoleontissa in Aegina

The Monastery of Panagia Spiliani in Nisiros

The Chapel of Panagia Makrini in Samos

The Monastery of Panagia of "Toso Nero" In Sifnos

Synaxis of Panagia Ypseni in Rhodes

Worshipping Among Stylites!

Synaxis of All Saints of Lefkados

August 15th Celebrations On Mount Athos

Lecture: Monk Moses On Panagia Athonitissa (Greek)

The Athonite Island of Kyra Panagia

August 15th Celebrations In Cyprus

Synaxis of Panagia Trikoukiotissa in Cyprus

The Monastery of Panagia Trooditissa in Cyprus

August 15th Celebrations In Asia Minor

Panagia Soumela - Pontus and the Pontians

The Liturgies at Soumela and Akhtamar on August 15 and 19

88 Years Later, A Liturgy at Soumela Monastery

The Historic Divine Liturgy At Soumela in Pontus

Second Historic Divine Liturgy At Soumela Monastary

Ecumenical Patriarch Celebrates Paraklesis In the Ruins of Panagia Paramythia After 40 Years

Greeks Look To Revive Identity on Gökçeada (Imvros)

August 15th Celebrations In Israel

The Feast of the Dormition at the Tomb of Mary in Gethsemane

The Miraculous Panagia of Jerusalem Icon

August 15th Celebrations In Bulgaria

Bulgaria Honors Dormition of Mary

August 15th Celebrations In Romania

Romania Adds August 15 Among Free Days For Workers

August 15th Celebrations In Russia

12 Greeks Who Built the Dormition Cathedral in the Kiev Caves

August 15th Celebrations In Georgia

Georgian President Pardons 201 Prisoners For the Feast of the Dormition

August 23 - Apodosis of the Feast of the Dormition

The Annual Miracle of Panagia of Harou in Leipsi

History of Panagia Prousiotissa

The Miraculous Panagia Faneromeni of Nea Artaki in Evia

Video: Contemporary Miracles of Panagia Malevi (Greek)

Panagia Faneromeni of Nea Skioni in Halkidiki

The Monastery of Panagia Mavriotissa in Kastoria

The Appearance of the Most Holy Theotokos to St Sergius of Radonezh

August 31 - The Placement of the Holy Zoni of the Theotokos

The Holy Belt (Zoni) of the Theotokos

When Elder Daniel of Katounakia Was Healed By the Holy Zoni of the Theotokos

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Theology in Greece in the 1960's

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Hagiou Vlasiou

These days there are references to theology in Greece during the decade of the 60's and this theology is presented as a new theology, either as a resetting of the teachings of the Church Fathers, or as a neo-patristic theology, that is, as a theology of the Church which is expressed in a new language.

There are many who argue that the theology that appeared in Greece during the 60's was an important event for our Church, but, as they say, several factors contributed to the disappearance of this significant prospect which this theology created.

It is the emergence of some young theologians, who wrote various scientific treatises or produced theological texts, who tried to see Orthodox teaching through another perspective, different from those prevailing at the time.

I would like to emphasize some points which, in my opinion, should be considered together, along with other studies made in this regard.

1. Theology in the 1960's

It is known that in Greece, both before and after the liberation from the Turkish yoke, a Western-style theology was introduced, which was associated either with the scholasticism of the papacy or with Protestant moralism. This is why the late Fr. George Florovsky spoke about the Babylonian captivity of Orthodox theology.

In turn, at some point certain Greek theologians came in contact with the texts of Russian émigré (refugees) in Paris, or other sensitive voices, and found a different way of expressing the problems and themes which occupied Western man. They were enthused by such texts and tried to transfer these views to the Greek Orthodox public.

At the same time, however, there was another movement by theologians, especially in Thessaloniki, to bring to light the works of Saint Gregory Palamas, who expressed an Orthodox hesychastic way of life. Within this perspective there were written studies, theses, and socio-theological texts.

All these trends are called "theology of the 1960's", and were seen as something new, because it treated philosophical, theological, anthropological, ecclesiological, and social issues through a new perspective and provided a new language, which touched more the new man. This surprised many, which both the left and critics have described this movement as "neo-orthodoxy".

2. The Causes For Which Appeared the Theology of the 1960's

Certainly this phenomenon must be studied to examine all of its parameters. For example, the causes for the emergence of this theology should be investigated, whether this theology has a foundation in timeless tradition or is it a seasonal phenomenon, and what ultimately caused its fertilization in our country and the Church.

Of course, all of these trends should be studied adequately and objectively, because the starting point and perspective of all theologians who fall into this theology are not the same, as already mentioned. Some of them began with the study of patristic texts within the hesychastic tradition of Mount Athos, others from contemporary philosophies such as Meyendorff, others by the study of the Russian theologians of the diaspora, and others were affected by the "political theology" of Latin America. Of course, all of these categories result in different conclusions.

Certainly theology in the 1960's should be studied without exaggeration and without devaluations and be payed its just praise or be judged. At the same time, we should not think that the same trends were abandoned in the decades of the twentieth century in the western world. Therefore, the influence of West German theology should be examined in shaping at least part of the so-called theology of the 60's in Greece.

I mean that in the western world, primarily in the German theology of the 1920's, after the horrific results of the First World War and the cooperation of the Christians with the imperialist powers of the time, there developed crisis and dialectical theology or neo-orthodoxy, which tried to see the relationship of God with the world through a new perspective. There appeared new Protestant theologians, such as Barth, Brunner, Bultmann, and Tillich, who met with philosophers of the time, such as Kierkegaard, Berdyaev, Heidegger, etc. respectively, and spoke of the Church in relation to the world in a different manner from older German theologians, such as Harnack.

In this German theology of the 1920's there were heard and discussed terms like neo-orthodoxy, secularism, ecclesiology, pneumatology, eschatology, universality, etc., which were terms used extensively by Greek theologians of the 1960's. Moreover, there was a great debate in Germany and in the West generally regarding the relationship of the Church with the world, faith and reason, philosophy and theology, history and eschatology, word and revelation, and of God.

Also, in the western world in the 1960's there developed various theological trends which spoke of eschatological theology, post-christian theology, the theology of the death of God, political theology, etc. And such terminology was brought to Greece in the 1960's and beyond. Professor Marios Begzos presented in a beautiful way the entire evolution of this theology to the Protestants.

Thus, the theology of the 1960's in Greece should certainly be studied from this perspective, that is in relation to parallel theological movements which were in the Protestant world, primarily in Germany, and the relationship between the Orthodox theologians of the 1960's and the Protestant theologians of the 1920's and 1960's should be investigated.

For example, during the student years of my generation, we would very often hear from our professors the views of the great German Protestant theologians, such as Barth, Brunner, Bultmann, etc. As an example I will mention that in my class on the history of dogmatics, among others, I had examined the issue of dialectical theology and the views of the above German theologians regarding the justification of man in relation to Orthodox theology as expressed by the Holy Fathers. Also, in the degree examinations for the class on Christian ethics I examined the book of Nikolai Berdyaev The Destiny of Man. This was occurring because some of the professors had studied in Germany and knew the whole movement of dialectical theology.

Our previous generation had been influenced too much by the German theologian Harnack, who preceded dialectical theology, because the professors of that time studied German theology through his views.

In any event, the so-called theology of the 1960's in Greece should be studied on the basis of the corresponding theology in Germany and the basis of the Russian theology of the diaspora.

3. The Theology of the Church

Beyond what has been reported I must add a view which should be explored, in order to move to safer conclusions on this issue.

In the 1960's I was a student of the Theological School of Thessaloniki, when I was taught by professors but also read texts of theologians who expressed this new perspective. At the same time however I was studying texts of the hesychastic tradition, the Fathers of the Church, especially St. Gregory Palamas, St. Symeon the New Theologian, and the philokalic Fathers.

On one of my visits then to Mount Athos I asked the late monk Theoklitos Dionysiatis, who then excelled even in a monastic state on Mount Athos and Greece as an exponent of Orthodox theology, about how he saw all of these theological problems in Greece. He replied correctly that he didn't see a problem in theology, but a problem with theologians!

With my subsequent studies I concluded that Orthodox theology is the voice of the Church. And just like the Church is timeless as the Body of Christ, so also does Orthodox theology have a timeless expression and experience that is not divided by decades. Of course, we can evaluate within history various theological trends which were expressed by theologians in their time or developed in various cities (Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, etc.), but we cannot talk about an Orthodox theology of the 1960's, the 1970's, the 1980's, the 1990's, etc.

In other words, the Orthodox theology of the Church is the theology of the Prophets, the Apostles and the Fathers through all the ages. Every new current which appears must be studied in relation to the theology of the Church which is expressed by the Prophets, the Apostles and the Fathers. These saints reached theosis, saw God within Light, and then expressed their experiences within the terms of their times.

When one studies the so-called theology of the 1960's through the perspective of the Prophets, the Apostles, and the Fathers, one will see a theology that was both influenced by the theology of the Russian diaspora and by Protestant dialectical theology, and is associated with elements of thinking, emotion and heredity. Thus, in some places it offers a new language, but essentially differs much methodologically from the patristic tradition, which in its depth is neptic/hesychastic and not philosophical/thoughtful. It is a theology that deals with aesthetics and not with asceticism, with the logical faculty and not the noetic faculty.

Also, the theologians who have been influenced by the "beauty" of the theology of the 1960's, remain clung to it, and do not see that there are subsequent theological studies both in the West and in the Orthodox East which have gone much further on these issues and have largely exceeded the so-called theology of the 1960's. But for a runner/athlete to judge negatively those who have overcome and run stronger than him, is not a correct understanding and criticism.

In May-June of 1997 Fr. John Romanides, Fr. George Metallinos and the author were asked to speak at a Seminar which was organized by the Orthodox Church of America (O.C.A.) near Atlanta. We were the only speakers and each of us in turn gave lectures, over two days, around the issue of Orthodoxy and therapeutic science. Fr. Romanides due to illness was unable to attend, but his introductory text was read. Fr. George Metallinos spoke on the topic of the historical and theological context of the Orthodox Church. And the author explained issues that related the Church with a hospital and the method by which man is healed.

The O.C.A. is a Church in which Fr. Alexander Schmemann, known to all, taught and played a significant role. The organizers of the Seminar wanted to know our views on these issues. We learned that the members of this Church, until then, considered the theologians of Greece influenced by the scholastic and Protestant theology of the West and that the Russian theologians of the diaspora expressed the true Orthodox theology of the so-called neo-patristics and neo-palamites, which of course is superior and outweighs the theology of the Fathers. Well-known are the views of Alexis Khomiakov that the scholastic theology of the West is higher than the theology of the Fathers, and that Russian theology surpassed both scholastic and even Greek patristic theology. But when they heard us repeatedly over two days at this Seminar analyze issues of Orthodox tradition, then one of those in attendance said: "This theology is higher than ours and the Russian diaspora. We were mistaken to have underestimated it."

4. The Case of Fr. John Romanides

Among the theologians of the 1960's many count the Protopresbyter Fr. John Romanides, who really created a great surprise at that time and contributed to the restoration of theology in Greece towards the patristic tradition.

I think it is inappropriate to associate Fr. John Romanides with this trend of so-called neo-orthodoxy. And for many reasons.

The first is that Fr. John appeared in theological writings and studied theology in the 1950's, first with studies and later with his thesis, titled "The Ancestral Sin", which was indeed a milestone in the Theological School of Athens, where he created a great discussion, but also more generally in the theological world of Greece.

The second reason is because Fr. John was not affected by the Russian theologians of the diaspora nor by dialectical Protestant theology, but he did personal research on the Apostolic Fathers of the Church. Raised in the Protestant environment of America, he studied at a Papal Institute, where he learned and studied the theology of Thomas Aquinas, and in Protestant theological schools, such as Yale and Harvard, and came to know their mentality very well. Primarily because the Protestants teach that the Fathers of the Church changed apostolic tradition, he studied thoroughly the Apostolic Fathers (Irenaeus, Ignatius, Methodius, Justin, Polycarp, etc), who are the ring by which the Apostles and later Fathers are linked. Arising from this study was his thesis on ancestral sin, which, among other things, determined the difference between Orthodox and scholastic theology. Characteristic is the subtitle of his study on the ancestral sin, which identifies the book's contents: "Contributions to the examination and conditions of the Ancestral Sin, from the Ancient Church of St. Irenaeus in comparison to the entire inheritance of the Orthodox and the West until the theology of Thomas Aquinas."

The third reason, therefore, was that when he came to Greece in the 1950's he felt great surprise by the climate he met. After developing his thesis he studied deeper the issue and reached other conclusions, such as the theology of hesychasm and the life of Romiosini. This Romiosini however he saw more in light of the neptic and hesychastic tradition of the Church. I note here that whoever interprets the theory of Fr. John Romanides regarding Romiosini within nationalism and not within the neptic tradition of the Church, which is beyond all nationalism, misinterprets his views.

Therefore, the subsequent studies of Fr. John Romanides are not deprived of his initial studies, as some claim, but they are its positive evolution, that is, towards the pure patristic tradition. Furthermore, those who interpret his teachings within the trends of Monophysitism, Neo-Nestorianism and Origenism also do him injustice. For example, because some see Origenism in some of the views of Fr. John Romanides, I studied the doctrines of Origen which were condemned by the Fifth Ecumenical Council, as they appear in its surviving Acts, and I did not discern any similarity. If some views of Origen are Orthodox and passed through the Fathers of the Church (Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, etc.) in its tradition, we cannot criticize Fr. John. Besides, Fr. John repeatedly in his writings refers to the erroneous views of Origen. I have in mind the transcript of a speech I have, in which he is sharply critical of the views of Origen.

The fourth reason is that Fr. John knew very well the theology of the Russian diaspora, as well as the causes and views of those who were propagating them. He also knew very well German idealism, dialecticalism, and the existentialism of the West, and judged it according to those who developed it or brought it to Greece.

In fact, he supported the view that when one suffers in the physical body by a bacterium or virus, you should find the cause of the infection, where the virus comes from. Similarly, when someone carried a "theological virus or microbe" to Greece, one should examine to find the person who was "infected". He supported the fact that such research in theological literature can demonstrate that a Greek theologian who studied in the West brought to Greece a similar "theological microbe" or "theological virus"!

The conclusion to my thoughts above is that the study of theology in the 1960's should be handled with care and through the perspective of the conditions found above, but it must be underlined with emphasis that Orthodox theology cannot be interpreted within decades, but through the timeless tradition of the Prophets, the Apostles and the Fathers. That is, in Orthodox theology there is no theology of the 1960's, but a theology of the God-seeing Saints, who are counter to the thinking of the philosophers.

From Paremvasis, January 2010. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.

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