Holy New Confessor Anthimos, Metropolitan of Athens and Euripus and President of Crete (+ 1371)

The Frankish Occupation (1204–1489) was a dark and at the same time tragic time for the Church of Greece. After defeating Constantinople in 1204 during the Fourth Crusade, the Latins went on to occupy other former remnants of the Roman Empire, where they tried to impose papal authority on Orthodox Christians. One of then was the Duchy of Athens (1205–1458), with its two capitals Thebes and Athens, and encompassing Attica, Boeotia, and parts of southern Thessaly. In 1311, the Duchy was conquered by the Catalan Company, and in 1388, it passed into the hands of the Florentine Acciaiuoli family, which kept it until the Ottoman conquest in 1456. One of the great confessors of the Orthodox faith during this time was a virtually unknown saint, Metropolitan Anthimos of Athens and Euripus.

The Main Cause for the Schism Between Western and Eastern Christianity According to Saint Nektarios (St. Justin Popovich)

 

 By St. Justin Popovich

From the rich spiritual treasury of Saint Nektarios of Aegina, we have many precious pearls to present to pious readers. His Orthodox theology, his spiritual experience, soul-beneficial teachings and ascetic instructions, all this is abundantly present in his wonderful works, which he wrote following the Holy Fathers of the Orthodox Church in everything. But there is something new in his works, which today's Orthodox reader will find useful and necessary to know, so we will only mention it here. This is the opinion and assessment of Saint Nektarios, as a contemporary Father of the Church and as a Church historian (because he was also a learned theologian), about what were the causes of the split in the Church, that is, in fact, the causes of the separation of the Western Latin Church from the Eastern Orthodox Church.

The Seventh Ecumenical Synod as a Landmark for the Unity of the Church

 

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

The Sunday of Orthodoxy celebrates the restoration of the sacred icons that took place in the year 843 AD, and in fact it is the implementation of the decision of the Seventh Ecumenical Synod, which took place in the year 787 AD in Nicaea of Bithynia. An iconoclastic period preceded it, during which an intense debate about icons took place, people were divided into iconoclasts and iconophiles and many arguments were heard from each side.

The important thing about this case is that the politicians of that time were heavily involved in this debate. This was not unprecedented since, unfortunately, theology is always connected with politics, to be more precise I would say that politics used and still uses theology to implement its plans. This will also be made evident in today's speech.

Synaxarion for the Holy Thirteen Venerable Martyrs and Confessors of the Monastery of Kantara

 

 On the 19th of this month [May], we commemorate the Holy Thirteen Venerable Martyrs and Confessors of the Monastery of Kantara in Cyprus, John, Konon, Jeremiah, Markos, Kyrillos, Theoktistos, Baranabas, Maximos, Theognostos, Joseph, Gennadios, Gerasimos and Germanos, who in the year 1231 under the Latins had their end by fire.

Verses

Revered assembly, Champion Fathers,
You contested radiantly, against the Latin-minded.
On the nineteenth, the thirteen went to heaven together.

In 1228, when Cyprus was subject to the Latins, and the Orthodox were in many ways deprived of their faith, two God-bearing ascetics, John and Konon, came to Cyprus from Pamphylia in Asia Minor, and having first entered the Monastery of Machairas, they then settled in the abandoned Monastery of Mount Pentadaktylos called the Theotokos of Kantara, where they struggled in asceticism and piety and all means of philanthropy. With them there joined nine other monks - Jeremiah, Markos, Kyrillos, Theoktistos, Barnabas, Maximos, Theognostos, Joseph and Germanos.

The Return of the Skull of the Apostle Andrew to Patras as a Fruit of the Dialogue With the Roman Catholic Church

In the book by the theologian Aristides Panotis Peacemakers: Paul VI - Athenagoras I (Athens 1971) we read the following very interesting things about the return of the Honorable Head of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called from Rome to Patras on September 26, 1964:

"The story of the return of the head of Saint Andrew began in February 1963 at a meeting of Orthodox and Catholics in Athens. The relevant suggestions are made in Rome, with positive results. The Metropolitan of Patras, Konstantinos, is indicated by the writer the path he must follow. The text is written and sent. The answer is most desirable. In the middle of May, John Willebrans comes to Patras, for secret consultations with Metropolitan Konstantinos, who writes a personal letter to Pope Paul VI. Pope Paul VI responds in the affirmative to the request. But he wants the head to be returned "with a new reliquary worthy of its contents", which he would pay for himself, because the original reliquary, with which Thomas Palaiologos handed it over to Pope Pius II in 1462, had been replaced with a newer one, and the traces of the old one were lost in a Sacristy. Reliquary designs are requested from Athens, of the Orthodox type, but at the same time research is being done to discover the original reliquary. It is discovered. It was in the museum of the homeland of Pope Pius II. It is golden and its scientific examination by eminent archaeologists and Byzantine scholars proves that it is a rare work of art of the pre-iconoclast period (7th century) and thus has great artistic value. After this responsible opinion, the Pope decides to make a double gift to the Metropolis of Patras, the head and the ancient reliquary. They repair it and add only a base of precious stones, "blue" (lapis lazuli) with the inscription "in the spirit of concord and as a sign of great love". In this unique reliquary, with a relevant ceremony, in the presence of the Orthodox Observers, the Pope encloses the sacred relic and seals it and in this manner it is handed over to the Metropolitan of Patras Konstantinos, on 26 September 1964."

 

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.

 

Homilies on the Ecumenical Synods - The Eighth Ecumenical Synod (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

Homilies on the Ecumenical Synods

The Eighth Ecumenical Synod (879-880 A.D.)

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou 

The 8th century, beloved brethren, was a difficult century from the perspective of the State and the Church. On the one hand the western part of the Roman Empire began to separate from its eastern part, and on the other one begins to clearly see the alteration of western Christianity.

This was evident at the Eighth Ecumenical Synod, which convened in 879-880 in Constantinople during the reign of Emperor Basil the Macedonian. The President of the Synod was Photios the Great, and the representatives of the Orthodox Pope of Rome John VIII were also present.

This Synod is very important, as it is the last Synod between the Orthodox Church of the East and the Orthodox Church of the West, that is, between New Rome and Old Rome, because afterwards the Christians of the West by succession distanced themselves from the Orthodox Church.

Saint Iakovos Tsalikes and the Catholic Pharmacist

In 1990 or 1991 there was a Catholic Pharmacist from Volos, who was catechized and wanted to be baptized Orthodox, at the Monastery of the Venerable David, by Elder Iakovos Tsalikes, on Pentecost.

Everything was ready and from Saturday the sponsor and the candidate arrived for the baptism. On Sunday during the Divine Liturgy, the sponsor entered the sanctuary while Elder Iakovos was liturgizing and told him that the candidate for baptism, who for a long time was begging to be baptized, decided to not be baptized and left, on his way back to Volos.

"Don't worry, my child," said the Elder, "he will be here within twenty minutes."

How is the Date of Easter Determined for Orthodox and Catholics? (A Response from the Holy Synod of the Catholic Hierarchy of Greece)

 

In 2016 the Holy Synod of the Catholic Hierarchy of Greece issued an announcement to explain to Catholics in Greece why there is such a big difference between the dates of Easter that year (Orthodox - May 1 and Catholics - March 27). I thought it was a very good and simple and accurate explanation on their part, so I translated it. It is also offered as a rebuke to Orthodox Christians, who pride themselves in keeping the traditions of the Church, but fail in accurately determining the date of Easter. We must acknowledge our errors and fix them. We should not place the outdated calendar of a pagan king (Julian Calendar by Julius Caesar), and the outdated calculations of a pagan astronomer (Metonic cycle by Meton the Athenian) above the truth. And despite knowing it is wrong, the Catholic Church in Greece has adopted the Orthodox reckoning out of concerns for the local community.

How Catholics Celebrate Easter in Orthodox Majority Greece

In a recent interview, Roman Catholic Archbishop Sevastianos Rossolatos of Athens spoke to Skai.gr about how Catholics celebrate Easter in Greece. In Greece, because the great majority of the population are Orthodox Christians, Roman Catholics do not celebrate Easter with the rest of the Catholic world according to the Gregorian calendar reckoning, but according to the reckoning of the Julian calendar with the rest of the local population.

Excerpts from the interview are translated below:

The Orthodox: Arrival and Dialogue (Fr. John Romanides) - Part 5 of 5

 ...continued from part four.

VII

 

From an Orthodox point of view many aspects of Roman Catholic-Protestant differences are really divergent consequences of similar, sometimes identical, presuppositions. This means that on several key issues the Orthodox consider dialogue between Roman Catholics and Protestants really soliloquy which can become true dialogue only when the Orthodox are included.

Such three-way dialogue might help break down the thousand-year-old impasse between the Latin and Greek churches. Thus far two-way dialogue between those two groups has proved impossible because each has interpreted the other's theological language according to his own categories. For instance, the Greeks rejected the dogmatic formula of Filioque (that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son as well as from the Father) because, according to their categories - which are those of the First (325) and the Second (381) Ecumenical Councils - it is sheer heresy. On the other hand, the Latins in a legalistic way accepted the decisions of those Greek councils as authority, but with little understanding of the categories dominating the lengthy debates which provided background. One calls to mind St. Augustine's complaint that he could not understand what the Greeks meant by distinguishing between essence and hypostasis in the Trinity (De Trinitate, v, 8, 10), and this happens to be one of the foundation stones of Greek Trinitarian theology. When difficulties arose about the Filioque the Latins, consistent with their trinitarian categories, insisted that it is a dogma of faith necessary for salvation. The seventh century Greek theologian St. Maximus the Confessor calmed Greek suspicions by translating the Filioque into Greek categories. The enthusiasm of later Frankish and Latin theologians led the West to claim that the Filioque is consistent with and implicit in the decisions of the early Greek Ecumenical Councils, even that it was taught by the early Greek Fathers. For a while the Latins accused the Greeks of having removed the Filioque from the Creed and thus having betrayed their own tradition. Eventually they repeated that accusation in regard to other aspects of doctrine on which differences exist - such as grace, merits, sacraments, purgatory, authority, ecclesiology, even piety. The practical effect of many centuries of such anti-Greek propaganda has been to create a Latin image of the Greek as a stubborn and tricky churchman who because of pride refuses to be faithful to his own tradition.

The Orthodox: Arrival and Dialogue (Fr. John Romanides) - Part 3 of 5

...continue from part two.

In the ancient Church each Eucharistic assembly was headed by a bishop. Very early these bishops organized themselves into synods whose jurisdiction was determined by the provincial divisions of the Roman Empire. The provincial synods gathered together at the ordinations of the bishops and at regular intervals at the provincial capitals. Since the bishop of the provincial capital was usually the host at the gatherings of the bishops, he was recognized as the presiding bishop of the provincial synod and became known as the Metropolitan. The bishops decided upon questions by vote in synod and not by the arbitrary rule of any one bishop. The Metropolitan was primus inter pares.

When the Roman provinces were later reorganized and grouped into dioceses, the bishops of the diocesan capitals were recognized as having a primacy of honor (primus inter pares) above that of the provincial Metropolitans. Then there was a higher scale of primacy of honor for those bishops of imperial capitals. Rome was given the first place (primus inter pares), Alexandria, the capital of the Ptolemies, was accorded second place, and Antioch, the capital of the Seleucid Empire, third place.

When Roman Catholics Detested Photios the Great as One of the Greatest Enemies of the Church

 

 

If you read pretty much any Roman Catholic text dealing with Photios the Great, the Patriarch of Constantinople from 858 to 867 and from 877 to 886, before Francis Dvornik's The Photian Schism: History and Legend was published in 1948, it would appear that many Roman Catholics could hardly contain their utter contempt for him. One source of contempt that can be found online and yet you wouldn't expect to be so biased is the entry "Photius of Constantinople" in the 1907 Catholic Encyclopedia. Though this is somewhat more mild than most things written about Photios in the West at the time, which often styled him as one of the worst heretics in Church history, it still offers a veiled glimpse. Below are a few excerpts from this entry to show how much Roman Catholic scholars detested Photios even in this esteemed work of the early 20th century.

The Roman Catholic Monk From Italy Who Was Left Speechless by Saint Porphyrios of Kavsokalyva

 

 

By Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol

For every person who approached him, Father Porphyrios was a revelation. And this was also the case with the non-Orthodox. Let me tell you a very typical story.

Once, when we were at New Skete [the brotherhood of Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi], we hosted a Roman Catholic monk, who had come to Mount Athos to know how the monks live here and, in general, the whole ascetic life and conduct of the Holy Mountain.

Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of Romania Persecuted by Roman Catholics: Bessarion, Sophronius, Oprea, Moses and John

 

Sts. Bessarion, Sophronius, Oprea, Moses and John of Romania (Feast Day - October 21)

Venerable Bessarion Sarai the Confessor

Saint Bessarion (Sarai) was a Serb who was born in Madian of Bosnia in 1714. At Baptism he was given the name Nicholas. Longing for the monastic life, he went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land at eighteen, and was tonsured at the Monastery of Saint Savvas in the Holy Land in 1738 with the name Bessarion. 

 

After traveling to Mount Athos on his way home, he entered the Monastery of Pakrou in Slavonia. There he served as a Deacon for seven years, then he was ordained a Priest. After another pilgrimage to the Holy Land he returned again to his homeland to bear witness for his Orthodox Christian faith.

About this time there was a great deal of unrest in the regions of the Banat and Transylvania because many Romanian Orthodox Christians had been forced into union with Rome. At Karlovits around 1742, Patriarch Arsenius had heard of Saint Bessarion’s holy and ascetical life and his reputation as a preacher, and asked to see him. He sent him to defend the Orthodox faith northwest of the Carpathian Mountains and to restore the Orthodox people from Uniatism.

Saint Thekla and the Bubonic Plague of 1630 in the Italian City of Este

The first Cathedral in Milan was originally dedicated to the early Christian martyr Saint Thekla and the beautiful Baroque church of Este, near Venice, is still the most important church in her name to be found in Europe. It was here that in the 1630s citizens prayed to Saint Thekla during a violent outbreak of bubonic plague that killed 50,000 people in Este and the surrounding area. Some years later, in 1758, Este’s priest, Marco Marchetti, commissioned a moving portrait of Saint Thekla from Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, a key exponent of Venetian Baroque painting.

 

Saint Roufos, Bishop of Thessaloniki

St. Roufos of Thessaloniki (Feast Day - September 9)

Saint Roufos (Rufus) served as the Bishop of Thessaloniki from around 407 to 434, succeeding Anysios. Papal letters are addressed to him, the content of which is of great importance for the ecclesiastical history of Thessaloniki. With the letter of Pope Innocent (402-417) on June 17, 412, the Vicariate of Thessaloniki is formally established and the duties of the papal vicar, that is, of the respective Bishop of Thessaloniki, are defined.

Two relevant letters of Pope Boniface (418-422), successor of Innocent, are addressed to Roufos, a) in 419 on the occasion of the election of Bishop Perigenos of Corinth, and b) in 422 following information for an impending convening of a synod to reconsider the episcopate of Perigenos.

Why Catholicism Formulated the Dogma of the Assumption of Mary

By George S. Gabriel Ph.D.

In 1950, in his "apostolic constitution," Munificentissimus Deus, Pope Pius XII decreed as a dogma the ancient belief in the bodily assumption of Mary into Heaven. On the face of it, Rome was taking a step in the right direction by formally accepting a dogma that the Orthodox, Catholic and Apostolic faith has always held. But in reality, the step was a Papal retrenchment.

At that time, the ancient belief that the Mother of God truly died and then was taken bodily to Heaven was still held by many Roman Catholic clergy and laity, despite the dogma of the Immaculate Conception which, a century earlier, had exempted Mary from the consequences of the fall of Adam. But there were also many who, in anticipation of the forthcoming Papal decree, argued that Mary did not die. They were willing to allow the possibility only that she could have fallen into a light slumber, but her soul never left her body and she never died.

Was Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos A Uniate?

By John Sanidopoulos

Emperor John XIII Palaiologos led the delegation that ultimately signed for the union with the Pope during the Synod of Ferrara-Florence. When the emperor John XIII died in October 1448, the process of electing a new emperor began, who was ultimately John's brother, Constantine XI Palaiologos. Overall, the last Roman emperor reigned from March 12, 1449 until May 29, 1453. Here are a summary of some of the proofs that Constantine Palaiologos was not a Uniate but an Orthodox Christian:

Saint Theodore I, Pope of Rome (+ 649)

Verses

Man-eating executioners I call wolves,
They ate the flayed flesh of Theodore.

Saint Theodore came from Jerusalem, he was the son of a bishop, and was of Greek ancestry. His date of birth is unknown. He was a cardinal deacon, (possibly around 640) and became a full cardinal under Pope John IV. He was elected to succeed Pope John IV, after his short reign, and was quickly confirmed by the Eastern Roman Exarch of Ravenna, possibly because of his Greek ancestry. He was consecrated on November 24, 642.

Papal Politics and the Veneration of Saint Alexios the Man of God in the West

The Cult of St Alexius: a New Veneration of an Old Saint and Italian Influence in the Catalan Region

By Ekaterina Novokhatko

Although this fourth-century saint had become popular very early among the eastern Christians, in Western Europe St Alexius was the recipient of a wave of devotion only in the ninth and tenth century. From the ninth century onwards, different versions of his life spread in diverse religious communities from Spain to England. Around 1040 his Vita was even translated into vernacular Old French language, known as Chanson de saint Alexis. How can this wave of devotion be explained?