An Example of Latin Prejudice That Led to the Sack of Constantinople in 1204

Odo of Deuil (1110 – April 18, 1162) was a French monk who participated in the Second Crusade (1147–1149), and served as the chaplain of Louis VII on the expedition. His narrative of the Crusade is titled De profectione Ludovici VII in Orientem (On Louis VII's Journey to the East), which relates the progress of the crusade from France to Antioch.

Odo blamed the Byzantine Empire under Manuel Comnenus for the downfall of the crusade. Odo's prejudice against Byzantium led Steven Runciman to describe Odo as "hysterically anti-Greek" (A History of the Crusades). However, J. Phillips has recently argued that Odo's view of Byzantium was possibly rooted in ideological differences which minor skirmishes between the crusaders and Greeks had brought to the fore ("Odo of Deuil's De profectione Ludovici VII in Orientem as a source for the Second Crusade", The Experience of Crusading). His prejudice should also be set against the experience of Conrad III of Germany, who wrote that Manuel treated him as a "brother" when he served as his physician in Constantinople when he came down with an illness in Ephesus.

Below is an excerpt from De profectione Ludovici VII in Orientem, (translated by V. Berry New York, Columbia University Press, 1948, p. 57):

If our priests celebrated mass on Greek altars, the Greeks afterwards purified them with propitiatory offerings and ablutions, as if they had been defiled. All the wealthy people have their own chapels, so adorned with paintings, marble, and lamps that each magnate might justly say, "O Lord, I have cherished the beauty of Thy house." ... But, O dreadful thing! We heard of an ill usage of theirs which could be expiated by death; namely, that every time they celebrate the marriage of one of our men, if he has been baptized in the Roman way, they rebaptize him before they make the pact. We know other heresies of theirs, both concerning their treatment of the Eucharist and concerning the procession of the Holy Spirit. ... Actually, it was for these reasons that the Greeks had incurred the hatred of our men, for their error had become known even among the lay people. Because of this they were judged not to be Christians, and the Franks considered killing them a matter of no importance and hence could with the more difficulty be restrained from pillage and plundering.

It was such prejudice and ideological difference that led to the sacking of Constantinople in the Fourth Crusade of 1204.

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The Relics of Saint Theodore of Tyro in Brindisi, Italy

There are two theories as to how the relics of St. Theodore of Tyro (known as St. Theodore of Amasea in the West) came to Brindisi, Italy: The first is that a ship containing the relics was going to Venice from the East (what is today St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice was originally the location of a church dedicated to St. Theodore) when, according to tradition, the ship stopped near the coast of Brindisi on 27 April 1210. The people took this as a sign that St. Theodore wanted to stay in Brindisi. The second hypothesis is that the relics were transported to Brindisi on occasion of the marriage between the emperor Fredrick II and Isabelle of Briene, Queen of Jerusalem. In fact, the marriage was celebrated in the Cathedral of Brindisi on November 9, 1225. In the museum of the cathedral, there is still kept the silk gold woven (with Byzantine patterns) sheet which enveloped the relics during the trip and the reliquary of real wood covered with silver, with the scenes of the martydom of the Saint and where the relics had been until the 18th century.

From 25 August to 3 September Brindisi celebrates its patron saints: San Teodoro d’Amasea (St. Theodore of Amasea) and San Lorenzo da Brindisi (Saint Lawrence from Brindisi). The festival is full of religious and civil events (processions on land and at sea, historical regatta – il Palio dell’Arca, fireworks, music concerts, etc.).

On 31 August there is a traditional boat race called “Palio dell’Arca”, organized in memory of the fishermen who, in the 13th century, found the relics of St. Theodore in a small boat that had been brought by the sea to the harbor of Brindisi.

On 1 September is the boat parade led by the ship that carries the statues and the relics of the Saints around the inner port from Aragon’s castle to the docks in front of the Capitaneria di Porto (at the beginning of Viale Regina Margherita), from where they are escorted to the Cathedral. As per tradition the procession ends with huge fireworks from the Sailors Monument on the other side of the harbor.

This ceremony began in 1776 as a cult to St. Theodore and was later extended to include Saint Lawrence, who was born in the city of Brindisi. (see photos of ceremony here)

In Brindisi there is a Greek Orthodox Church dedicated to St. Nicholas of Myra, which every year hosts the relics of St. Theodore for one day during this festival in September with the celebration of a solemn Divine Liturgy and a Supplication Service. The photos posted here are from this occasion.

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Russian Church Sanctifies North Pole

Atle Staalesen

September 18, 2012

Barents Observer

The capsual includes a small plate with the inscription: “With the blessing of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All of the Rus, the consecration of the North Pole marks the 1150 years of Russian Statehood”, a press release from the Church reads.

The Church consecration took place as part of the major ongoing Arctic-2012 expedition, a mission organized by the Russian Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute. The capsual was dropped to sea by Bishop Iakov of Naryan-Mar in a ceremony attended by both expedition leader Vladimir Sokolov and ship Captain Oleg Shchapin.

As previously reported, the Arctic expedition left Murmansk with the nuclear powered icebreaker “Rossiya” on 8 September. On 13 September, the vessel reached the Pole point, and the expedition subsequently continued through Arctic waters towards the site where the drifting Russian research station “North Pole-39” will be replaced by a new facility.

Like the historical planting of a Russian flag on the North Pole seabed in 2007, the recent symbolic, but still highly politically motivated, Church consecration illustrates the current major Russian drive on Arctic issues. Commenting on the Church ceremony, Bishop Iakov says the consecration of the North Pole is of importance not only for the Church, but for “all of Russia”, and that it symbolizes the Russian state efforts on “the return of the country’s former positions in the region”.

“The Russian Orthodox Church in all possible ways supports this process”, Bishop Iakov underlined.

Bishop Iakov was in early 2012 appointed leader of the Naryan-Mar and Mezen diocese. He has from before attended several Arctic and Antarctic missions and will be part of the whole ongoing one-month Arctic 2012 expedition.

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Italy Grants Legal Recognition to Orthodox Church

September 19, 2012

Catholic Culture

Italy’s government has conferred official recognition for the first time upon Orthodox, Pentecostal, and Mormon churches, responding to a lobbying effort than began in the 1990s.

There are an estimated 1.4 million Orthodox in Italy, and that number is rapidly growing with the influx of migrants from eastern Europe. There are about 500,000 Pentecostals and 25,000 Mormons.

The Orthodox Church is now considered an official religion that is in accord with Italian law. They can also can now receive income tax revenue. Up until recently, only the Catholic Church, Judaism and other established churches including Lutherans, Evangelists, Waldensians and 7th-day Adventists were recognized and able to receive tax revenue.

Read also:

Wikipedia: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy

The Holy Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy and Malta

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C.S. Lewis and the Case Against Scientism

September 18, 2012

CS Lewis Web

Famed Christian writer C.S. Lewis has often been regarded as either uninterested in the modern evolution debate or generally supportive of evolutionary theory. But newly discovered notes written by Lewis challenge those views, revealing Lewis’s intense interest in the topic of evolution as well as his early skepticism of Darwin.

The unpublished material is described and quoted from for the first time in the new book The Magician’s Twin: C.S. Lewis on Science, Scientism, and Society, out this month at Amazon.com and other booksellers.

“C.S. Lewis’s personal library contained more than three dozen books and pamphlets on scientific topics, many of them focused on evolution,” said Dr. John West, editor of The Magician’s Twin. “Several of the books on evolution contained annotations and underlining by Lewis, including Lewis’s personal copy of Charles Darwin’s Autobiography.”

“One of Lewis’s most heavily annotated books was a nearly 400-page book critiquing the creative power of Darwinian natural selection that Lewis first read as a 19-year-old soldier during World War I,” explained West. “Lewis wrote careful notes on most pages of that book, and he later stated that the book’s ‘critique of orthodox Darwinism is not easy to answer.’ Just a few years later, Lewis wrote a letter to his father saying that the evolutionary ideas of Charles Darwin and Herbert Spencer were built ‘on a foundation of sand.’ Lewis was still an atheist when he expressed these early doubts about Darwin.”

Near the end of his life, meanwhile, Lewis marked up with critical comments his copy of The Phenomenon of Man by prominent theistic evolutionist Teilhard de Chardin.

The Magician’s Twin explores C.S. Lewis’s far-ranging views on science and society, not just evolution, and it features chapters by a number of leading scholars, including Michael Aeschliman, author of C.S. Lewis and the Restitution of Man; Victor Reppert, author of C.S. Lewis’s Dangerous Idea; Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Edward Larson; and New York Times-bestselling author Jay Richards. The editor of the book, John West, previously co-edited the award-winning C.S. Lewis Readers’ Encyclopedia and directs the C.S. Lewis Fellows Program on Science and Society at Discovery Institute.

More information, including the download of a free chapter on “C.S. Lewis and Intelligent Design,” is available at the website for The Magician’s Twin.

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Fourth Century Texts Reveal True Bride of Christ

The Catechesis of St. Cyril of Jerusalem, an early fourth century Archbishop of Jerusalem, says the following concerning the Church as the Bride of Christ:

“The Church is called ‘Catholic’: such is the proper name of the holy Church which is the mother of us all. She is also the Bride of our Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God (for it is written in the Scripture, ‘Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her,’ and so on). Moreover she fulfills the type and carries out the pattern of the Jerusalem which is from above, which is free and the mother of us all. Though she was at first childless, she is now the parent of a mighty family."

In the early Church, the brides of Christ were specifically those women who dedicated their entire life to a life of purity for the sake of Christ, and in one of his poems St. Gregory the Theologian, a fourth century Archbishop of Constantinople, specifically addresses these virgins as the brides of Christ:

O bride of Christ on high,

Thy Bridegroom glorify!

Always thyself keep pure,

In word and wisdom sure,

That bright with Him all-bright

Thou e'er mayst dwell in light.

Far better spouse is He

Than earthly spouse could be:

Thy union happier far

Than mortal unions are.

In bodily estate

Thou yet didst imitate

The intellectual powers,

Giving to Him thy hours:

And didst acquire on earth

The angels' right of birth.

'Tis 'bind and loose' below,

Bodies from bodies grow:

Above each stands alone,

Nor loosing there is known.

Of pure existence, they

First bear the ethereal ray,

Spirit and fire: none rests,

Doing great God's behests.

But now wild matter found--

All nature flowing round

With unresisted force--

A mingled intercourse;

But God the flood restrained,

And marriage laws ordained.

But thou hast hence escaped,

And upward thy course shaped;

From matter's base alloy

To spirit's holy joy.

Mind harmonized with mind,

Doth truest pleasure find:

Such harmony is thine,

A harmony divine.

With flesh thou war dost wage,

And helpest God's image:

For thou art God's own breath,

With body yoked till death:

That out of wrestling sore,

At length the battle o'er,

And earth well beaten down,

Thou mayst receive the crown.

To marriage also raise,

But only second praise.

That is for passion given,

This is bright light of heaven:

That founds a pure offspring,

This is self-offering.

This honoured was, we hold,

At seasons marked of old.

To this in Paradise

Lo! Adam testifies:

For this on Sinai's peak

Doth Moses also speak;

And Zachary the priest,

Of God's true saints not least,

And whom we hail the rather

As the Forerunner's father.

But marriage hath its need:

Hence springs a holy seed:

And hence the Virgin bride

Honoured at God's own side.

Yet of the flesh it is, and earth,

All earthly from its birth.

When law and shadows ruled,

And we were sometime schooled,

Marriage held sceptre mild,

Yet like a little child.

But when the letter died,

The Spirit was supplied:

For Christ had come and borne

In flesh our woes and scorn:

Had brought Redemption nigh,

And then ascended high:

Christ, sprung from Virgin's womb,

Christ, Conqueror o'er the tomb.

Then continence did rise,

And this base world despise,

Which should its course have mended,

And high with Christ ascended.

Thou journey'st well! but haste!

Behind is fiery waste:

Take to thy steps good heed,

And to the mountain speed.

Cast not one backward glance

On Sodom, lest perchance

Thou, fixed upon the ground,

A pile of salt be found.

In battling with the flesh

Take ever courage fresh,

Neither by terror bent,

Nor over-confident.

Faint not, for He is nigh

Who will all strength supply.

A spark may kindle hell:

Water the flame cloth quell.

Full means to thee are lent

For good self-government.

Let thou the fear of God

Freeze the rebellious blood:

Fasting the flesh control:

Keep watches o'er thy soul,

And pour it forth in prayer:

Such thy true weapons are.

Add tears: and lowly bed,

With reeds or rushes spread:

One constant flame of love

Rising to God above,

And lulling all desire

Which doth not up aspire.

The fallen rise by thee!

The shipwrecked pitied be!

Thyself live out the gale,

Expanding Hope's bright sail.

They fall not who ne'er rise,

But they who try the skies.

Few mount on pinion wings:

Straight course to humbler things.

Fell Lucifer through pride

Angels in heaven reside.

One, traitor, sunk in night:

The eleven are stars of light.

Be pure, be wholly pure,

Of this make ever sure,

Lest thou, by heeding not,

Christ's spotless robe shouldst spot.

Let modest be thine eye:

Thy tongue speak maidenly:

Thy mind not pandering,

Thy foot not wandering:

Nor loud laugh marking thee,

As one we blush to see.

Thy poor and tarnished wear,

Thy unadornèd hair,

I honour more than pearls,

Or silken dress, or curls.

Fair flower is modest face,

And paleness is true grace:

And virtues plentiful

Are braid most beautiful.

With paints let others dress

The living God's likeness;

Live tablet they of sin,

And all that's base within.

Whate'er thou hast of beauty,

Die let it all to duty:

But beauty of the soul--

'Tis God's--it keep thou whole.

Of men, though good they be,

The sight 'twere best thou flee.

Some cheat might thee entrance,

Or be entranced perchance:

Eye now with eye bespangling,

And word with word entangling,

Then cheek with cheek o'erglowing,

And mutual passion flowing.

'Tis well: but not for thee:

Not thine the accursed tree:

The tree of Life thy care;

The serpent's guile beware!

O maiden, hear my word,

Have thou no other lord;

Thy Bridegroom reigns above

And bids thee faithful prove.

Thou from the flesh hast fled,

And it to thee is dead,

Why turn to it again,

And make thy work all vain?

That singleness of thine

Is a rare gift divine:

Few they whom it adorns,

As rose among the thorns.

Such grace'tis thine to know:

High o'er the snares below,

By which the wicked fall,

Thou safely passest all.

Lo! one no sooner builds,

And bridal chamber gilds,

Than she with mournful gloom

Forth bears him to the tomb.

Felt one a father's pride?

At once the loved child died.

And oh! the mother's pain

Of travailing in vain!

And jealousy, ah me!

How frightful 'tis to see,

When each the other taunts,

Where stolen friendship haunts!

What wormwood and what gall,

Worst recompence of all,

To rear up family,

And then dishonoured be!

One care is thine, one call,

To look to God in all!

But little thou dost need:

That little God will speed.

Shelter and barley cake

Sufficient wealth will make:

Nor shall dire need impart

Keen edge to tempter's dart,

As when Christ, hard bestead,

He bade turn stones to bread.

By thee, however tried,

Be all base gain denied:

Fowls of the air God feeds,

Sure then His saints He heeds.

Of oil, if faith prevail,

Thy cruse shall never fail.

By Cherith's desert brook

At the great Prophet look!

To feed him ravens sped:

So too shalt thou be fed!

How Thecla from the flame,

And lions, unscathed came,

Thou know'st: and how great Paul,

Preacher of truth to all,

Bore hunger, thirst, and cold,

Through death's worst forms still bold;

That thou might'st look, O maid,

To God alone for aid,

Who in the wilderness

With food can myriads bless.

Lo! beauty fadeth fast,

Nor will earth's glories last:

Wealth is a failing stream,

And power an empty dream.

But thou, faith's sail unfurled,

Hast fled this erring world,

Steering thy course on high

To realms beyond the sky.

There in the holy shrine

Thou shalt for ever shine:

And there with angels raise

The song of endless praise!

A better portion far

Than sons and daughters are!

But maidens, be ye wise,

And watch with longing eyes,

That when Christ shall return

Your lamps may brightly burn:

That with the Bridegroom ye

May enter in, and see

The beauty and the grace

Of His own dwelling place,

And share in truth and love

The mysteries above.

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Orthodoxy in Japan Today

February 6, 2012

Interfax

The Japanese Autonomous Orthodox Church faces problems in its mission: people in the "land of the rising sun" are in no hurry to get baptized.

"We have newly converted believers, who have been baptized. But the majority of the baptized are children of mixed Japanese-Russian marriages. In total, there are about 20-30 new Orthodox believers a year in Japan," Metropolitan Daniel of Tokyo and All Japan said in his interviewee with the Izvestia daily.

According to his data, there are about 30 thousand Orthodox believers in the country (there were about 90 thousand of them in the first half of the 20th century), 60 small churches and chapels are open, and about 30 priests work in them.

"After the October Revolution, Orthodox Japanese were left to themselves and it did not help spread Eastern Christianity. And in recent years, Japanese have mostly focused on their immediate needs. They often forget that there is something more important," the Metropolitan said.

According to him, very few Japanese want to become monks.

"They want to have a family. It is not in Japan tradition - to be alone. When Patriarch Kirill was here, he told me it would be nice to have more monks here. But where can I get them? So we have two administrators for three dioceses and I have double the job. That's why I can't even find a successor," Metropolitan Daniel said.

If someone from Russia becomes a successor, then the Japanese Church will "lose its autonomy," so "we need a Japanese," he believes.

The Japanese Autonomous Church was founded by St. Nicholas (Kasatkin) who came to Japan from Russia in 1861 by decision of the Holy Synod. He founded and headed the Russian Orthodox mission in Japan in 1870. He translated the Holy Scripture and liturgical books into Japanese and built the Resurrection Cathedral in Tokyo.

The Russian Orthodox Church canonized Archbishop Nicholas in 1970. The Moscow Patriarchate granted autonomy to the Japanese Orthodox Church the same year.

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Documentaries on St. Nicholas of Japan (Russian)

Unfading Light of the Rising Sun: the Memory of St. Nicholas of Japan

February 16, 2012 marks the 100th anniversary of the repose of St. Nicholas of Japan (1836-1912). Archbishop Nicholas converted to Orthodoxy over 20 thousand people, translated into Japanese the New Testament and the main prayer books, and built the Orthodox Cathedral in Tokyo. The film tells the story of Russia and Japan since St. Nicholas. It includes photographs of Japanese daily life of the Orthodox mission ands rare archival footage. The shooting took place in Japan, Tver, St. Petersburg and other places associated with the life of the Saint. Filmed with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II and the Metropolitan of Tokyo and All Japan Daniel. In 2005, he received the Special Jury Prize at the XIV International Film Festival "Golden Knight".

The third film in the series "Planet of Orthodoxy."

The film stars the Metropolitan of Tokyo and All Japan Daniel, and makes one believe in the miracle of serving as a single person giving birth to a new Orthodox Church - the Church in Japan.

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The Atheist Student Who Visited Mount Athos

By Metropolitan Nicholas of Mesogaias and Lavreotiki

Several years ago I was approached by a young student. With great reluctance, but with the intensity of a demanding seeker, he said he was an atheist, yet would love to believe, but could not. For years he tried and searched, but to no avail.

He spoke with professors and the educated, but his thirst for something serious was not satisfied. He heard of me and decided to share with me his existential need. He asked me for scientific proof for the existence of God.

"Do you know integrals or differential equations?" I asked.

"Unfortunately no", he replied. "I am a Philosopher."

"Too bad! Because I knew one such proof", I said, obviously joking.

He felt uncomfortable and was quiet for a bit.

"Look", I said, "I'm sorry I hurt you a bit. But God is not an equation or a mathematical proof. If it were so, then all the educated would believe in Him. You should know, there are other ways to approach God. Have you ever been to Mount Athos? Have you ever met an ascetic?"

"No, Father, but I'm thinking of going, having heard so much. If you tell me, I can go even tomorrow. Do you know anyone educated to go and meet with?"

"What do you prefer? Someone educated that can make you dizzy, or a saint who can wake you up?"

"I prefer the educated. I fear saints."

"Faith is a matter of the heart. Why don't you try a saint. What is your name?" I asked.

"Gabriel", he answered.

I sent him to an ascetic. I described for him the way to access him and gave him the necessary instructions. I even sketched for him a map.

"You will go," I said, "and ask him the same thing. I am an atheist, you will tell him, and I want to believe. I want a proof of the existence of God."

"I am afraid, embarrassed", he told me.

"Why are you embarrassed and afraid of the saint but not embarrassed and afraid of me?" I asked.

After a few days he went and found the ascetic conversing with a young man in his yard. On the opposite side four others were sitting on some logs waiting. Among them Gabriel found a tentative seat. No more than ten minutes later the Elder finished his conversation with the young man.

"How's it going, guys?" he asked. "Have you taken a loukoumaki? Did you drink some water?"

"We thank you, Elder", they replied, with conventional secular nobility.

"Come here," he said addressing Gabriel, distinguishing him from the others. "I will take the water, and you take the box with loukoumia, and come closer so I can tell you a secret: It is fine for someone to be an atheist, but to have the name of an angel and be an atheist? This is the first time I have seen such a thing."

Our friend nearly suffered a heart attack after this revealing surprise.

How did he know his name? Who revealed to him his problem? What, finally, did the Elder want to tell him?

"Father, can I speak with you for a bit?" he asked, barely able to mumble.

"Look, now it is getting dark. Take the loukoumi, drink some water, and go to the most nearby monastery to spend the night."

"My Father, I want to speak with you, is it not possible?"

"What will we say, my lad? For what reason did you come?"

"To this question I felt my breathing open immediately," he told me. "My heart was flooded with faith. My inside world was heated. My doubts were solved without any logical argument, without any discussion, without the existence of a clear answer. All the 'if's, why's and but's' were automatically destroyed, and all that remained was 'how' and 'what from this time forward'."

What the educated could not give his thoughts, was given to him with the gentle hint of a saint, who was a graduate of only the fourth grade of elementary school. The saints have much discernment. They make a surgery on you, and you feel no pain. They do a transplant without opening your stomach. They raise you to inaccessible peaks without ladders or worldly logic. They plant faith in your heart, without tiring your mind.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos

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On Wisdom, Faith, Hope and Love

By St. Augustine of Hippo

The Fear of God is Man's True Wisdom

The true wisdom of man is piety. You find this in the book of holy Job. For we read there what wisdom itself has said to man: "Behold, the fear of the Lord [pietas], that is wisdom." If you ask further what is meant in that place by pietas, the Greek calls it more definitely θεοσέβεια, that is, the worship of God. The Greeks sometimes call piety εὐσέβεια, which signifies right worship, though this, of course, refers specially to the worship of God. But when we are defining in what man's true wisdom consists, the most convenient word to use is that which distinctly expresses the fear of God. And can you, who are anxious that I should treat of great matters in few words, wish for a briefer form of expression? Or perhaps you are anxious that this expression should itself be briefly explained, and that I should unfold in a short discourse the proper mode of worshipping God?

God is to Be Worshipped Through Faith, Hope, and Love

Now if I should answer, that God is to be worshipped with faith, hope, and love, you will at once say that this answer is too brief, and will ask me briefly to unfold the objects of each of these three graces, viz., what we are to believe, what we are to hope for, and what we are to love. And when I have done this, you will have an answer to all the questions you asked in your letter. If you have kept a copy of your letter, you can easily turn it up and read it over again: if you have not, you will have no difficulty in recalling it when I refresh your memory.

Read the rest at this link: The Handbook on Faith, Hope and Love

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St. Euphemia, St. Melitini and the Island of Lemnos

By John Sanidopoulos

The Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of Sts. Euphemia and Melitini on the same day, September 16th. And these two Saints in a paradoxical way both have a certain association with the Greek island of Lemnos, even though neither of them were from there.

In 770 A.D. the Roman Emperor and Iconoclast Constantine V outlawed the veneration of Icons and Relics, and during this time ordered the much-beloved holy relics of St. Euphemia the Great Martyr, contained in her larnax, to be thrown into the waters of the Bosporus. This larnax which contained the holy relics of St. Euphemia traveled by divine Providence to the island of Lemnos, where the brothers Sergios and Sergonas found it on the shore and the inhabitants kept it safely in the Church of Saint Glykeria on the island. After 15 years, in 760, the larnax containing the holy relics of St. Euphemia was returned to Constantinople by order of the Empress Irene.

In Kontias, near the Fakos peninsula, is the Chapel of Saint Euphemia (Αγιαθυμιά), where according to tradition her holy relics were found.

In Costantinople, on the feastday of St. Euphemia at the Ecumenical Patriarchate, where her relics are now kept, the priest distributes sewing needles to the women which were blessed over the relics of the Saint, since St. Euphemia is the patron of sewers.

St. Melitini, like St. Euphemia, was an early Christian martyr, who was beheaded for her Christian faith in Thrace. A pious Christian by the name of Akakios, having seen her do many miracles, gathered her holy relic and intended to take it to his homeland where he would build a church in her memory. During the sea voyage, however, Akakios became ill and died. Because the sea was rough, the captain of the ship decided to stop at the island of Lemnos for safety, and while there they buried the body of St. Melitini as well as the body of Akakios, forever together by divine Providence. It is thought by some that the homeland of Akakios was in fact Lemnos.

The only reference we have to the grave of St. Melitini comes from the Menologion of Basil II from the 11th century. However, the relics of Melitini and Akakios were never found, nor is it known where they were buried. Some say they were buried near Agio Sozon near Fisini. Today there is a church dedicated to St. Melitini in Kallithea, but this church was built on the ruins of an old monastery that was also dedicated to St. Melitini. The reason the place is known as Agio Sozon (Saint Who Saved) is because many years ago certain sailors were caught in a storm and managed to live. Wanting to give thanks for their salvation to the patron saint of the island they landed on, they saw the monastery which they did not know to whom it was dedicated, and because it was anonymous they called it "Saint Saved" or "Agio Sozon". There is also a port named after St. Melitini on the island that may be where the ship carrying her relics landed.

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The Orthodoxy of St. Basil and the Extremism of Patriarch Nikon

By Riassophore-nun Paisia (Reid)

History offers many lessons, and the nearly 2,000 year existence of the Church is replete with illustrations of what and whom to emulate and what to avoid. The following essay concentrates on two celebrated hierarchs who, although widely separated in time and culture, were both faced with periods of severe ecclesiastical unrest which threatened to tear the very fabric of the Church. The fourth-century Cappadocian Father, Saint Basil the Great, and Patriarch Nikon of Moscow from the 17th century, are an unlikely pair. But the similarity of their respective situations allows for an interesting comparison of the effects they had on their times, and the divergent legacies they have left the Church. Patriarch Nikon's character and attitudes foreshadowed in many ways the temperament often found in Orthodoxy today, and his effect on the Church in Russia offers a timely warning whose importance cannot be minimized. St. Basil, on the other hand, provides a sobering and inspiring counter balance, to the trend of much current Orthodox inclination.

St. Basil grew up in a family which numbers among its members several illustrious saints--both men and women. It is therefore not surprising that even after being steeped in the Greek classics and having tasted glory as a talented rhetorician, St. Basil should abandon the secular arena and passionately devote himself to serving Christ. Full of pastoral and monastic idealism, he did not shrink from shouldering the yoke of the episcopacy, but willingly sought it out when he saw that his energies and talents could be used to defend the Faith against the tide of heresy and apostasy which threatened both, Church and Empire in his time. Bt. Basil was richly gifted, ascetic, learned, tireless in pursuit of his object--in a word, he was eminently suited to the task before him.

His surpassing spiritual and intellectual capabilities gave him a broader scope than many who, as St. Gregory Nazanzius wrote, used the Faith "as a weapon in their private differences." Basil's efforts to steer the Church onto the Royal Path met with resistance on both sides. The "liberals" and Arians he opposed in matters of dogma called him proud, hard, self-seeking, disobedient, power-hungry; the Orthodox zealots, dissatisfied with his carefully worded public statements on the nature of the Trinity, called him a crypto-Arian more concerned with keeping peace with heretics than with preaching the True Faith.

What both sides refused to admit (or failed to see) was that St. Basil was determined to preserve the good order of the Church, and the balance between Church and Empire, at a time when both were in danger of buckling under the assaults of heresy and anarchy. With an Arian in almost every episcopal seat, and the barbarian tribes pounding at the gates of the Empire, he refused to compromise the integrity of the Faith or jeopardize the fragility of the Empire.

When the Arian emperor Valens subdivided St. Basil's see, in a deliberate attempt to weaken the Orthodox presence in the region, Basil retaliated by immediately creating new bishoprics in his remaining territory so as to consolidate a power-base and slow the Arian advance. He defied and rebuked the Imperial emissaries sent to threaten and flatter him into compromising or abjuring the Nicene Creed. Nonetheless, when the Emperor came to Basil's church, the Saint communed him, as Emperor, and remained unmoved by the impassioned outcry of the anti-Arian zealots who were outraged by the Saint's breach of "purity" and "correctness." When at last he was sentenced to banishment and exile he submitted meekly and even volunteered to leave his city secretly by night, to prevent the danger of revolt in his defense.

He, as an anointed defender of the heavenly realm, was willing to suffer whatever God willed for the sake of his faith and his flock. But he was not willing to rebel against the anointed ruler of, the earthly realm, even in the ostensible defense of Orthodoxy, because he knew he could not hope to preserve the Faith by rending the fabric of God-established order. He prepared, in all humility, and faith, to obey. Twice he was sentenced, and twice God dealt with the Emperor so overwhelmingly that Valens cancelled his decrees himself. St. Basil, so unyielding and imperial as a Bishop, so meek and humble as a subject, was saved by the God in Whom he trusted, through the king whose order he helped preserve.

Basil spent only a few more years in freedom before he died. Although he continued to preach a true and undefiled Orthodoxy, he never saw the full restoration of the faith. When he died in 379 an Arian still sat in the seat of the Emperor, and heresy seemed almost to have devoured all the light of truth. Small wonder St. Basil wrote of the Church in his time, rife with faction and apostasy, "How terrible is the famine of love among us!" Truly it seemed, then and for a long time to come, that the love of God and the knowledge of True Orthodoxy were gone from the earth. Where then is St. Basil's triumph? What is his witness to us today?

Although he surely knew he could do very little to influence the final outcome of events in his lifetime, St. Basil never deigned to use the apparent bleakness of the external situation as an excuse for indulging his passions, his arrogance, or his despair (even in a "spiritual" disguise). This worthy hierarch, who passed his life in genuine persecution and struggle for True Orthodoxy, remained to the end as he had always been—a strict monk, a loving shepherd, a humble servant of God, a loyal subject of Church and State, a defender of the Faith who loved God too well, and knew his own weaknesses too clearly, to risk using his position and the circumstance of his time as cloaks for faithlessness, self-opinion, and pride. In this way he is a supreme example of godly courage and balance for al! who seek to preserve Orthodoxy in the face of apostasy without losing sanity and sobriety of soul.

Patriarch Nikon and the 'Correctness Disease'

In Patriarch Nikon we find similar talents and character traits, but his love for the Church was tainted by his weakness for power and an unyielding self-opinion. Aflame with an all-encompassing vision of Orthodoxy and its possible effect on society, he devoted himself entirely to the "best," the "purest," the most "traditional," the most "otherworldly'' form of Orthodoxy he found available, and was resolved to awaken the souls of the indifferent and revive what he considered a moribund Church Establishment. Although he remained confident to the end, assured of the purity of his intent and the nobility of his stand, he succeeded only in bringing the Russian Church to a grievous schism. [1]

It would have been hard to predict such an outcome on the basis of Nikon's outwardly exemplary life as a monk wherein, his biographer Philip Longworth writes, "he had been guided by the rule of St. Sabbas in his extreme asceticism and by St. John Chrysostom in his charity." Although of peasant origin, and lacking any formal education, he was truly gifted, perhaps even a genius. Few could fail to be impressed by this "towering figure of a man" whose physical dimension was matched by his charisma and indefatigable energy. Small wonder that when he came to Moscow in 1646 to collect alms for his monastery in the far north, the young Tsar Alexi Mikhailovitch, pious and impressionable, was swayed by his dominant personality and sharp mind.

A close relationship soon developed which had the potential of benefiting both Church and State. Nikon influenced Alexis to issue decrees against drunkenness, and the Tsar began to raise the level of piety throughout the realm, beginning with his own court. His confidence in Nikon prompted the Tsar to entrust him with the reigns of government when he himself had to go off to war. It was not long before Alexis begged Nikon to join him in fatherly joint-rule of the Russian Orthodox. In fairness to Nikon it must be said that he did not reach greedily for power by seeking the throne himself, and even refused it several times. But at last he could resist the fatal temptation no longer and accepted the patriarchy, on one condition--and in this condition we have a "key" to the complex and tragic personality of Patriarch Nikon. Nikon insisted that everyone, whether in secular or spiritual life, must unceasingly honor him as chief shepherd and allow him to "regulate the affairs of the Church" without interference. Once assured of the full allegiance of Church and State he consented to sit on the patriarchal throne, "and thus pronounced against himself the sentence of his own doom."

Although he remained a strict monk throughout his life, utterly pure, utterly “correct” in his observance of the monastic rule, he had set foot on a dangerous path by aligning himself so completely with the temporal affairs of Russia; here was the "beginning of those strong temptations of spirit, under the weight of which he gave way at last and, from being exalted, was led to exalt himself."

Nikon tried to justify his intrusions into the affairs of state by promoting the idea of a theocracy according to a dubious Byzantine model which he interpreted to his own advantage. His authoritarian nature began to reveal itself, and although his manner of life continued to be above reproach--he was generous in almsgiving, Unexcelled in pastoral zeal, solicitous in promoting a "due magnificence" in church services--his high-handed manner in dealing with any opposition and his increased isolation in his own self-opinion, created an upheaval which had a calamitous and long-lasting effect on both Church and State.

The correction of the Russian Church's Slavonic books is usually seen as the match that touched off the explosion, although the need for some correction of texts had hardly been discovered by Nikon. The Council of the Hundred Chapters had recommended a review and reform of liturgical texts long before, and a number of corrections had already been effected. Graduates of the theological academy in Kiev, established by Metropolitan Peter Mogila earlier in the century, were invited to Moscow in 1649 to apply their knowledge of Greek and Latin in examining the service books. The task of reform was complicated by the widespread suspicion of Greek Church authority which had been compromised in its acceptance of the union with Rome in 1439. Nevertheless, the Tsar himself supported the reform movement, and it could very conceivably have proceeded with success were it not for the growing excesses of the Patriarch's zeal and the ruthless manner in which he forced the reforms to be carried out.

"There is a way which seemeth right unto a man but the end thereof is death." (Prov. 14:12)

Waving all caution aside, Nikon pressed the Tsar and Synod for faster, more wholesale changes, modeled after the newest Greek texts. In this he was supported and encouraged by the Patriarch of Constantinople, Paisios, who "at the same time entreated [Nikon] to he indulgent to those who had erred not in any essential doctrine of the faith but only in some unimportant external matters, so that he might retain them within the pale of the Church, and it would have been more prudent had the mild counsel of Paisios been followed; but unfortunately the natural hastiness of Nikon's temper, joined to his ardent zeal..., carried him beyond the bounds which pastoral longsuffering might have observed." 

What made Nikon's passionate concern for correctness still less tolerable is the fact that many things in the Russian books which he and his followers perceived as being incorrect, "impure," "modernist," or otherwise "un-Orthodox," in reality in no way compromised the integrity of the faith. Nikon, and the Nikonian reformers, lacked an understanding of the essential Orthodox concept of living continuity with Holy Tradition, a concept intimately linked with all aspects of daily Orthodox life, including texts of services, rubrics; etc. While "reforming" a few real errors, Nikon committed the far greater mistake of breaking continuity with the living Orthodox past of the Russian people.

Not satisfied with reforming the books, Nikon launched a crusade against icons which showed Italian-style influence. Houses were searched and the Patriarch personally took part in burning the sacred images which the simple people held in veneration. His Savonarola-like character, nurtured on the throne of power, fired his opposition: "Traditionalists hated him for enforcing the liturgical reforms;...churchmen feared him for his harshness; ministers resented his highhandedness.., the environment of hostility towards him extended even to members of the Tsar's own family."

Sensing the waning of his authority, Nikon petulantly declared himself unable to continue in his rank because of the Tsar's "weakness," the corruption of the government, and the lack of support for himself and his reforms. The "roar of a wounded lion and a forsaken friend," it marked the end of his reign. A Church Council of 1660 decided his abandonment of the Patriarchy constituted abdication and permitted them to proceed to the election of a successor. But since no precedent for this existed the question could not be easily nor immediately resolved. Nikon did not agree that he had effectively resigned, and it therefore became necessary to depose him. In 1666 he was tried in the presence of the Tsar and Greek and Russian clergy, including the Patriarchs of Alexandria and Antioch. It was a long dramatic struggle, suitable for Shakespeare, but ill-befitting a monk, a bishop, a Patriarch. Finally deposed, Nikon was sent to a monastery for "perpetual confinement,'' calling out along the way to any who would listen, "Blessed are the persecuted!"--a cry that echoes even today wherever proud churchmen are criticized.

Even though Nikon remained personally "correct" in all his external behavior, he had departed from the path of True Orthodoxy. By chasing after an ephemeral phantom of "pure Orthodoxy," he became like those who today dismiss the living witness of Orthodoxy as being filled with "error" and "Westernism" and seek fruitlessly after some abstract and self-created fourth-century perfection.

For all his desire to increase the power and prestige of the Church, Nikon, like all extremists, actually helped further the process of spiritual decline. By attempting to usurp secular authority, and by disrupting the organic continuity of the Russian tradition. he upset the dynamic tension between Church and State, creating an instability and conflict that led to Peter the Great’s Westernization of society and shackling of the Church.

By contrast, St. Basil poured out all his passion, his willfulness, his pride, not on the Nikonian forging of a new society, in which a reformed Church could dictate to a chastened State, but on the preservation of all that which he was given, and on the restoration of that life-giving synergy between "pious Kings and right-believing Bishops," between the City of God and the City of Man, which was the golden dream of Byzantium, the hope of Holy Russia.

By preserving the hierarchical interplay of spirit and state, St. Basil's real meekness barred the door Nikon's presumption cast open. Once Nikon lost sight of the Royal Path in his own life he became quite unable to preserve the flock given him by Christ. Having failed to achieve, or preserve; an understanding of himself he became blind to everything outside, unable to admit his errors or profit from counsel. He sank deeper and deeper into the self-righteous isolation  of his "unjust" punishment at the hands of an "apostate" power.

The bitter chill which emanated from the heart of this proud patriarch finds its antithesis in the radiant warmth of St. Basil who suffered no less at the hands of an apostate power. Though there may indeed have been a famine of love around this holy hierarch, in him there was no lack, and all who came to him found food for their souls and peace for their hearts, courage to persevere and wisdom to rise above despair. It was indeed fitting that St. Ephraim the Syrian, when told by God in a dream to "feed upon intellect," was sent to find St. Basil preaching undaunted in his ruined diocese, and saw the Holy Spirit sitting dove-like on the hierarch's shoulder, giving him the words of sober endurance and mystical joy that still feed the flock of Christ today.

St. Basil, by humbly preserving in his teaching, and embodying in his life, all he was given by his Fathers in the Faith, saved many and preserved True Orthodoxy. Nikon, by attempting an artificial, academic recreation of a theoretically superior Orthodoxy having nothing in common with the organic continuity of Holy Russia, destroyed himself and shattered the Church. Choices like these face every Orthodox Christian at many points in his life, in many guises. Let us take a lesson from history--and be wise.

There are many who will come to us and tempt us with all manner of subtle rebellions and impassioned causes. It is important that we preserve a true fidelity not to the letter of the law--which will only infect us with Nikon' s 'correctness disease,' but to the living Faith as we received it. If we struggle to acquire a sober humility and trust not to our own opinions, we can hope that through the prayers of our holy Father Basil, God will grant us the wisdom to persevere to the end on the narrow path of the King's highway - despite the passions of our times, the weakness of our faith, and the darkness of our age. Amen.

[1] Those who refused to accept Nikon's reforms, the "Old Believers," were persecuted and alienated from the fold of the Church.

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Religiosity, Russia and the Muslim World

Donna Welles

September 15, 2012

Global Voices

Responding to the attack on U.S. embassies and diplomatic territories across the Muslim world (specifically the murder of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three members of his staff in Libya), Russian bloggers have addressed the perceived growth of religiosity in their own country, and used the incident as an opportunity to discuss the wider consequences of political unrest.

Several media outlets have emphasized the connection between these anti-American violent outbursts and U.S. support for the Arab Spring. Evaluating the legitimacy of the recent bloodshed, many RuNet bloggers have questioned the validity of violently “avenging” Western religious liberality.

Blogger Evgeny Schultz contextualized the recent events in the Middle East amid growing religiosity in Russia in a post titled [ru], “Religion on the March: In Libya and Russia”:

Объяснение всегда просто: “Так требует вера, Бог”. […] Они экстраполируют всезнание, благость и всемогущество Бога на предстоятеля своей религии. И естественно, власть не собирается пропускать возможности мимо себя. Для власти религия - мощнейший электоральный рычаг. Но не понимает власть, что рычаг этот не им подчиняется. И рано или поздно ударит их по лбу. А вместе с ними и всю Россию. Никакие тактические выгоды не оправдают того стратегического тупик [sic], в который ведет клерикализация.

The explanation is always simple: “It requires faith, God.” […] They extend God's omniscience, kindness, and omnipotence to their religious leaders. And, naturally, the authorities don't intend to let this opportunity pass them by. For the authorities, religion is the most powerful electoral lever. But the authorities fail to understand that they don't control this lever. Sooner or later it's going to knock them upside the head — and all Russia with them. There are no tactical advantages that justify the strategic deadlock to which clericalization is leading.

Schultz's nuance, if one can call it that, has not characterized the reactions of all netizens. Hardliner Orthodox blogger Archbishop Sergey Zhuravlev, for instance, posted [ru] a militant anti-Islam rant in response to the mob attacks on American embassies.

On Twitter, some have aired skepticism about the effectiveness of violence as a response to sometimes offensive material.

In Baku, Azerbaijan, Rahman Haji wrote:

Один идиотский фильм о Пророке перевернул пол мира.Посол в Ливии убит, флаги США срывают с посольств на всем Ближнем Востоке. Просто ужас…

One idiotic film about the Prophet has turned upside down half the world. The [American] Ambassador in Libya has been killed, and American flags are being torn down from embassies across the Middle East. Simply awful…

In Chelyabinsk, Sergei Tretyakov tweeted:

Ирония дня: ливийские мусульмане увидели в интернете ролик про то, что мусульмане - не миролюбивые, обиделись и убили посла США в Ливии

The irony of the day: Libyan Muslims saw an Internet clip about how Muslims aren't peace-loving people, and they got offended and killed the U.S. Ambassador in Libya.

Others have been more ambiguous in their commentary. In Tula, for example, Gregory Bukreev connected [ru] the anger allegedly incited by an anti-Muslim film to the Pussy Riot case.

В Ливии убит посол США за фильм,где плохо показан пророк Мухаммед,а остающиеся на свободе участницы Pussy Riot готовят новую акцию.Подумайте

In Libya, the U.S. Ambassador was killed because of a film that negatively portrayed the Prophet Mohammed. Pussy Riot's remaining members not in jail are planning a new initiative. Think about it.

What is the public meant to “think” exactly? Bloggers seem to be united in disapproval of the mob violence against American foreign dignitaries, but a more vexing issue is Russia's own struggle with religious pluralism, including matters as troubling as homegrown Muslim and Orthodox extremism. The Orthodox Church's own growing influence, of course, was and remains a major concern for secularists following the Pussy Riot controversy.

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Krustova Gora: Holy Cross Forest in Bulgaria

Few Christian sites in Bulgaria attract as many visitors as Krustova Gora (Holy Cross Forest) does. The region gained significant popularity over the past 10 years.

Krustova Gora is situated in the very heart of the Rhodope Mountains. Dense pine forests surround the area. Its history began in the 17th century, when a small monastery complex was constructed there. Today the complex includes Pokrov na Sveta Bogoroditsa and Sveta Troitsa churches, as well as 15 chapels.

The region is located 60 km away from Plovdiv and six km away from the village of Borovo. The winding road will take you to an altitude of 1545 m, where the holy place is located.

A legend describes the creation of the monastery complex. In 1933, a man named Iordan Driankov arrived in Borovo. According to locals, he had visions. One of the visions involved a holy place, where a monastery used to exist.

The monastery preserved a major treasure, a part of the Holy Cross. The piece was initially preserved in the treasury of the Ottoman sultan. Russia’s tsar sent the sultan numerous gifts, in order to receive the Cross piece. The sultan decided to send the piece to the tsar. It was taken to the monastery and hidden in an underground treasury. This helped the holy relic survive an Ottoman assault that took place later on.

Bulgaria’s Tsar Boris III learned of Driankov’s visions. He ordered the positioning of a large cross on the peak, where the monastery was located. The cross, having weight of 33 kg, was set up there on May 1, 1936. During the ceremony, a white dove flew to a place where a spring flowed. Today, people believe that the water of the spring has healing power.

Years ago, the cross was stolen. A new one replaced it. Numerous stories describe the miracles related to the cross and to Krustova Gora.

Over the past years, the complex has become increasingly popular. The number of people praying in the churches and the chapels increased.

Pokrov Bogorodichen church is located near the entrance of the complex. A path leads to the cross at the peak. Twelve chapels are positioned alongside the path, each one honoring one of the apostles.

Krustova Gora attracts believers year-round. Its official holiday, however, is the most special occasion for visits. On the night of September 13, hundreds of followers gather together to attend a night-time liturgy. Many spend the night in prayer.

The ceremony ends when the first rays of the sun touch the cross at the peak.

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The Holy Martyr Aristides the Philosopher of Athens

By Aristides G. Theodoropoulos, Teacher

On September 13th the Orthodox Church honors and celebrates Saint Aristides, the illustrious and blessed philosopher of Athens and all-praised martyr of Christ, who has remained known in Ecclesiastical History and Patrology for his famous apology on behalf of persecuted Christians.

This celebrated Christian philosopher, fiery apologist and glorious martyr of the second century was born in Athens and studied classical philosophy in the famous Philosophical School of Athens. He embraced the reverence and faith of the one true God from the enlightened hierarchs of the Apostolic Church of Athens, Saint Hierotheos and Saint Dionysius the Areopagite, whose disciple he was. He became a staunch defender of Christianity and Christians, having struggled with his famous apologetic work in a particularly difficult and critical time for the state of the Church. At the same time he managed to establish the correctness and superiority of the Christian faith, the truths of the Gospel of Christ, the excellent character of the Christians and the unjust and cruel attitude of the Roman Empire against the Christians. His unwavering faith in Christ and his struggle for persecuted Christians and the truths of Christianity created intense discomfort and resentment to the Roman Emperor Hadrian (117-138 A.D.), who decided on his exile. He went to Rome to defend himself, but then was moved to Athens, where he continued to preach Christ in spite of the many tortures incurred. At the end of his earthly life he was brought to the market in Athens, where he suffered the agonizing death of hanging on September 13, 120 or 134 AD, the day on which the Orthodox Church commemorates and celebrates his all-honored memory.

His fiery faith and fighting spirit are hymned and honored within his Service of Praise, which was written in 1990 by the Great Hymnographer of the Alexandrian Church, Dr. Haralambis M. Bousias. This same gifted hymnographer wrote in 2006 the Supplication Service and in 2009 the Akathist Oikos' in honor of the Saint.

Many iconographers, beginning with the foremost Photios Kontoglou (1895-1965), have depicted the form of the Saint in churches and monasteries of our nation. Elaborate is the hand-made portable icon of Saint Aristides made by Panagiotis Markopoulos, which is kept in the historic and beauteous Church of the Dormition Chrysospilaiotissis on Aiolou Road in Athens, where every year is solemnly honored the memory of the glorious Athenian philosopher, apologist and martyr of our faith.

The spread of the name of St. Aristides across the Greek territory has contributed to the spread of his honor and the construction of churches in his name in the various regions of our country. The honor of the glorious Athenian Saint began in Crete in 1986, where the Saint is honored with three churches (in Zerviana of Kissamos, Anogia of Rethymnos, and Stylos Apokoronou). In recent years the honor of the Saint spread to the region of Roumeli, where churches dedicated to St. Aristides exist in the city of Karpenisi in Arkitsa Fthiotidos.

With great splendor and particular honor is St. Aristides celebrated in the Cyclades, namely Santorini and Tinos, where churches have been erected in his name.

The beauteous holy Church of St. Aristides in Santorini is in the region of Exo Katoikies within walking distance from the center of Fira. It was founded on June 19, 1997 and was built at the expense of the pious family of Chris and Stavroula Makrogianneli. The Church of St. Aristides in Santorini is an architectural jewel on the island and is perfectly adapted to the Cycladic tradition. The architectural work was done by the engineer G. Kapsimalis, while the decorating with black volcanic stone was by Kosmas Syrigos. The inauguration of this beauteous temple, which was frescoed by the prominent iconographer George Livanio, was celebrated with solemnity on September 11, 1999 by the Metropolitan of Nea Ionia and Philadelphia, Constantine. The Church of St. Aristides is the center of brilliant festivities in Santorini during the two-day 12-13 September feast, which has become an institution in the island's cultural heritage, attracting many Christians from Athens and throughout Greece.

The holy Church of Saint Aristides on the Holy Island of Tinos is located in Tsiknia and three kilometers from the village Steni. The church was erected in 2007 by the family of Mr. Anthony Vidos in memory of his father Aristides, and is built with great care and according to the ecclesiastical architecture of Tinos. It offers wonderful views of the beach Lychnaftia and cosmopolitan island of Mykonos. The consecration of the holy church occurred on September 12, 2007, the eve of the feast of St. Aristides, with the blessing of His Eminence the Metropolitan of Syros, Dorotheos II, in the presence of the Reverend Archimandrite Iakovos Setta and the Reverend Protopresbyter Fr. George Fanerou of the archdiocese of Tinos. The Church of St. Aristides on the Holy Island of Tinos, which is a real jewel in the beauty of the surrounding landscape, keeps the elaborate modern portable icon of the Saint, which was created by the excellent iconographer Maria Nasioka-Apostolakis. The Church of St. Aristides in Tinos awaits the saint-loving believers and nature-lovers every year on 12-13 September to commemorate the glorious Athenian Saint, but also to taste of the generous hospitality and love of the owners.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos

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