The Holy Zoni of the Mother of God in Medieval Constantinople

By Syngelis Em. Konstantinos, Philologist

On 31 August, the Church celebrates the Placement of the Honorable Zoni of our Most Holy Lady in the Church of the Theotokos in Chalkoprateia of Constantinople. This church was in a neighborhood close to a place called Milion, and it was here that the workshops were which belonged to the craftsmen who made and sold copperware, hence the name of the area.

There is no clear evidence concerning this feast of the Mother of God before the 7th century. In the 6th and 7th centuries, six new feasts were added to the liturgical life of the Church, all of them related to our Panagia: her Conception by Saint Anna, her Nativity, her Entry into the Temple, the Annunciation, Christ’s Reception in the Temple by Symeon, and her Dormition. It was the Empress Saint Pulcheria who established the practice of holding a vigil every Wednesday in the Church of the Theotokos in Chalkoprateia. The practice was formalized by the Emperor Saint Maurice (582-602).

Three Miracles of the Holy Zoni of the Mother of God

1. Nikolaos Yiannopoulos, a resident of Patras, was nineteen when he was involved in an accident:

On 10/14/2000, I was involved in a serious traffic accident and taken to a hospital in Rio [a town close to Patras]. I had a burst small intestine - peritonitis - a broken lower jaw and left shin, and peroneal nerve palsy. Six months after I had operations done, there was relative improvement in all areas, apart from the peroneal nerve palsy. I couldn’t move the sole of my foot or lock the knee on my left leg properly. All the doctors said that there was no way I would ever walk again, because it’s the only affliction that doesn’t allow for any restoration of movement in the leg.

How the Panagia Eikonistria Saved Skiathos and Her Church From the Destruction of the Nazis

The Icon of Panagia Eikonistria

The following excerpt is from a homily delivered by the Theologian, Iconographer and Professor of Byzantine Music, Konstantinos Koutoumbas, on August 23, 2009, on the anniversary of the saving of the city of Skiathos from being destroyed by the Nazi German army.

 

But even in the difficult years of the occupation, when the Italians were succeeded by the German conquerors, who victoriously marched into the Greek lands, the Most Holy Theotokos, the helper and protector of those who call upon her, did not abandon her faithful people, just as she did not abandon her humble island. The olive oil was abundant, the fruit trees were choked with their fruits with their branches leaning to the ground, the harvests were rich in those years. What the evil conqueror deprived the people of God, was abundantly provided by the nourisher of life, the Panagia Eikonistria.

However, on the morning of August 23, 1944, Skiathos was about to experience a nightmare. It was preceded, a few days before, by the arrest of the German commander of the Northern Sporades, Adler, from the 54th regiment of ELAS Pelion, following the order of the EAM Volos, which confirmed the fears of the local EAM Skiathos committee of retaliation by the Germans.

Saint Irenaeus of Lyons Resource Page

St. Irenaeus of Lyons (Feast Day - August 23)

 

Verses

Irenaeus speedily flees the earth by the sword,
With eros going towards the heavens he longs for.

 

Holy Hieromartyr Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons (+ 202)

 

Saint Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons (St. Justin Popovich)

 

The Life and Works of Saint Irenaeus of Lyon (Fr. George Florovsky) 

 

August: Day 23: Teaching 2: Holy Hieromartyr Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons
 

Recapitulation According to Saint Irenaeus of Lyon

 

The Analogy of Eve and the Theotokos (St. Irenaeus of Lyons) 

 

St. Irenaeus of Lyons on St. Polycarp of Smyrna

 

 

Panagia Prousiotissa Resource Page

Synaxis of the Panagia Prousiotissa (August 23)

History of Panagia Prousiotissa

 

Panagia Prousiotissa and the Woman Who Fell Down a Steep Cliff With Her Baby 

 

The Great Miracle of Panagia Prousiotissa on October 25, 1918

 

Testimony of a Miracle of the Panagia Prousiotissa During the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918

 

Two Miracles of the Panagia Prousiotissa - "The German Officer Who Was Punished" and "The Unknown 'Nun'"

Panagia Prousiotissa and the Lamp That Has Burned for 1200 Years

 

The Woman Who Was Demon Possessed in a Greek Village for Eight Years  

 

The Baby Who Was Tossed Into the Trash: Testimony of a Miracle Associated With Panagia Prousiotissa

Three Cave Churches of Mount Oeta

 

 

Remembering When the Head of Saint Symeon the Barefoot Was Stolen During the Greek Civil War and How It Was Miraculously Found

By Fr. Elias Makos

Saint Symeon, who was also the abbot of the Philotheou Monastery on Mount Athos, is an ascetic figure of Orthodoxy, whose soul escaped from the finite world, was connected with God and remains immortal.

On August 22nd, the Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of the finding of his head, which was stolen during the Civil War from the Monastery of Flamouriou in Pelion, of which the Saint was its founder, and then it was miraculously found.

As the crisis in our world grows, such events, not too long ago, show that faith saves and inspires.

Saint Christopher of Trebizond, Founder of the Monastery of Panagia Soumela

Our Venerable Father Christopher was born in the village Gazaree of Trebizond (today Trabzon) in the region of Pontus. He was a farmer. Once while Christopher was cultivating his land with a pair of oxen, the Panagia appeared to him. She said to him, "O child, Christopher, rise speedily and stand on your feet." Christopher fell to the ground upon hearing the voice. The Panagia then took him by the hand and helped him up. She continued by saying, "Understand what I shall tell you O Christopher. You are a Christian who confesses Christ and His Mother."

Christopher replied to her by saying, "Yes, my Lady, I confess and adore Christ and you O Lady Theotokos." The Panagia then said to Christopher, "I desire that you leave the farm life and become mine. You are to go to Mount Mela. Once there, you will renew and revive my imperial home. Therefore leave the oxen and plow in the field. Show yourself before the bishop and reveal to him all that I have told you and say to him that he is to ordain you to the priesthood." When Christopher heard this he said to the Panagia, "How can this be. Not only am I unworthy to become a priest but I also am illiterate?" The Theotokos replied, "Obey and do not contradict my will. Do as I command you to do, and as to being illiterate, I shall provide." Immediately then the Panagia vanished.

Holy New Venerable Martyrs Nikodemos of Meteora (+ 1551) and Daniel of Meteora

 Verses

"What of you Nikodemos?" He said during his passion,
"I am being put to death for the love of the Lord."

We are told by Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite, who wrote the verses above, that the "Holy New Venerable Martyr Nikodemos from Meteora was martyred for his piety in the year 1551." Besides this, we have no other information about this Saint or what led to his martyrdom, other than the fact that he lived at the Great Meteoron Monastery and was martyred on August 16th.

Holy New Martyr Christos from Preveza, A Once Forgotten Saint

 

By Spyros Symeon

Saint Christos is one of the holy new martyrs of our Church that bears the name of the Savior and Risen Christ. This name is only found among martyrs since unfortunately it is not given to monks and clergy because it is customary there to give "monastic" names, and unfortunately although many lay people receive it they do not honor it in memory of a Saint but on the feast of the One who on that day is celebrated by all of Christianity.

When I was young I had heard an elder in a small monastery who told us that those who have names that celebrate them on some Despotic Feast should be catechized and urged to move their name day feast to a day in memory of a Saint who bore their name.

The Holy Seven Maccabees, their Mother Solomone and their Teacher Eleazar as Models for our Lives

(Feast Day - August 1)

 

By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas

The holy seven Maccabean martyrs lived and were martyred before the incarnation of the Son and Word of God, but the holy hymn writer calls them, apart from "guardians of the doctrines of the law", also "martyrs of Christ", that is, of the Incarnate Word. And he calls them so, because these martyrs also had communion with the Son and Word of God, since all the appearances of God in the Old Testament, namely to the Patriarchs, the Prophets and the Righteous, are appearances of the Pre-Incarnate Word.

These, then, the seven martyrs lived in the years of the Syrian king Antiochus, who was a cruel, barbaric and deadly persecutor of all those who worshiped the true God. Therefore, this ungodly king, after first arresting, torturing and killing their ninety-year-old teacher Eleazar, who remained steadfast in his faith and teaching on the exact observance of God's law, then arrested them as well. At first he treated them with feigned kindness, offering them honors and positions, if they would deny their faith in the God of their Fathers. In fact, he offered them delicious food, which, however, was forbidden by the law given by God to His people, through the Prophet Moses, and insisted that they try it. They refused and then Antiochus showed his true face, the cruel and inhuman one. He had each of them, one by one, endure wheels, javelins and fire. Their mother Solomone was constantly near them and strengthened them, and then followed them in martyrdom. She was also thrown into the fire and thus everyone received the unfading wreath of martyrdom.

Testimony of a Miracle of the Holy Zoni from Monk Hesychios of Konstamonitou

When Monk Hesychios of Konstamonitou (+ 1979), who was then named George, first came to the Holy Mountain from Prousa during the population exchange with the Turks at the age of 18, he had no spiritual guidance, only spoke Turkish, and slowly learned Greek while at the Monastery of Konstamonitou, but he was inspired by the life of Saint Anthony the Great to imitate his example as a hermit with extreme ascetic practices in order to attain sanctification. He did not light a stove in his cell despite the humid climate, he would fast austerely and keep vigil. This led to his nervous system being shaken, he lost his strength and as a result he could not speak, eat or sleep. He was on the verge of going mad.

A revered monk named Dositheos took George to the various monasteries of the Holy Mountain in order to find healing for him. At Vatopaidi Monastery, George venerated the Honorable Zoni of the Theotokos and became perfectly well. He himself testifies of his healing as follows:

"When I venerated the case with the Holy Zoni of the Lady Theotokos which was brought out by the prosmonarios, it was as if the case became stuck to me. That is, I bent down, kissed it, and as I was getting up the case, which was four or five kilos, was coming up with me! The prosmonarios pulled at it, Elder Dositheos pulled at it, nothing! At that moment I came back to my senses and was able to speak! I was healed. With joy I returned to our monastery. I became a Great Schema Monk. From George I was named Hesychios."

 

Returning to Konstamonitou Monastery, he was obedient to the rule established for him by his spiritual father. He was to fast on Monday, Wednesday and Friday by eating nothing until after sunset. Then he would get his food and eat it in the reception area, where he served his duty to the monastery for a number of years. Only on feasts did he eat in the common dining room. From his portion of food he ate a little and fed the rest to the birds.  

 

He also had the office of bell ringer permanently. No one knew about his asceticism, because he was a man of few words. His whole behavior was unknown (being idiorrhythmic), thus he hid his struggle and his spiritual work. He reposed trying to light the lamp at the entrance to the Monastery. Despite never bathing, his body did not emit a stench, and in his empty cell no second change of clothes for his funeral was found.

 

Discourse on the Placement and Veneration of the Honorable Zoni of Theotokos (St. Germanos of Constantinople)

Discourse on the Placement and Veneration of the 

Holy and Honorable Zoni (Girdle) of Our Most Pure Lady 

the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary

By St. Germanos, Patriarch of Constantinople

 

Through the Holy Spirit, David, the Prophet and King, sang, “Glorious things are spoken of you, the City of God”. In this way he revealed, as the City of the Great King, her of whom many wonderful things, praises and hymns have been spoken. But what is this City, in fact? It seems to me that David answers this clearly and beyond doubt when talking about her who was really chosen and is superior to all others. Not because of the excellence of its buildings, nor because it is higher than the highest hills and mountains of the earth. The all-immaculate and all-unblemished Mother of God is higher because of her great, divine virtues and because she excels in purity. The King of royal rulers and Lord of the overlords dwelt in her. Or rather, in accordance with the holy Apostle, we should say that “all the fullness of the deity in bodily form” dwelt in her.

Placement of the Honorable Zoni of the Most Holy Theotokos: Epistle and Gospel Reading

Placement of the Honorable Zoni of the Most Holy Theotokos

August 31

 Epistle Reading

Prokeimenon. Mode 3.
Luke 1: 46-48
My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
Verse: For he has regarded the humility of his servant.

The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Hebrews 9:1-7

English

Brethren, the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly sanctuary. For a tent was prepared, the outer one, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence; it is called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain stood a tent called the Holy of Holies, having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, which contained a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail. These preparations having thus been made, the priests go continually into the outer tent, performing their ritual duties; but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood which he offers for himself and for the errors of the people.

Saint Adrian of Ondrusov Protects the Villagers of Obshi During World War 2

During World War 2, Karelia (a region in northwest Russia, bordering Finland) was occupied by the Finns. In 1944, a large offensive of the Soviet troops began on the Karelian Front. In the area of the village of Obzhi, heavy shelling from Katyusha rocket launchers and artillery was conducted. The Finns left the village by the beginning of the offensive. But the Soviet artillerymen did not know this. The shells exploding near the village houses rattled terribly, everything was engulfed in fire and smoke. The villagers, who fled in fear from their homes, lay down with their livestock in a deep ditch by the river. Someone's cow, frightened by the shooting, jumped out of cover and got stuck in a swampy place near the Obzhanka river. But no one, out of fear of dying, dared to help her get out until the shelling stopped and the advanced Soviet units approached. Only then did the villagers come out of their hiding place.

Saint Jeiunio of Gerace (+ c. 1000)

St. Jeiunio of Gerace (Feast Day - August 25)

Gerace is a town in the province of Reggio Calabria in Italy. It is located some 10 km inland from Locri. The town stands on a hill formed of conglomerates of sea fossils from 60 millions years ago. The name of the city derives from the Greek Ierax (Ιέραξ, which means "Sparrowhawk"). According to a legend, the inhabitants of the coast, fleeing from a Saracen attack in 915, were led by a sparrowhawk to the mountains commanding the area of Locri, and here they founded the city. After the Byzantine reconquest of Italy (6th century), the town became an administrative, military and religious capital under the name of Santa Ciriaca. In 986 the Saracens briefly conquered the city, but it returned to Byzantine control until the Norman conquest in 1059.

How a Miracle of the Mother of God Prevented the Fall of Constantinople on August 24, 1422

John Kananos was a Roman/Byzantine historian who lived during the first half of the 15th century. Kananos wrote a "a vivid eyewitness account" of the failed siege of Constantinople by the Ottomans under Sultan Murad II in 1422, the penultimate of four attempts on the city by the Ottomans. He attributes the survival of Constantinople to the miraculous intervention of the Mother of God on 24 August, when he says even the Ottomans saw her on the ramparts. The defeat was disastrous for the Ottomans.

The Roman Emperor was Manuel II Palaiologos. In July 1422, 10,000 Ottomans began looting the outskirts of Constantinople under the orders of Sultan Murad II. According to John Kananos, they started raping women, killing men and circumcising children. This was the vanguard of a huge army, which came a few days later. An army of 200,000 Ottomans was at the gates.

Miracles of Saints Reginos and Orestes in Fasoula of Cyprus (Part 2)

...continued from part one.

4. Healing of a Malignant Tumor

The priest of the community of Fasoula, Fr. John Papamarkidis, had a tumor in his side, and the doctor informed him they would watch it because it was cancer. The priest, however, entrusted the treatment to the miraculous Saints of his community. Every day, as he himself told me, he went and begged Saints Reginos and Orestes to heal him. And indeed, in fifteen days that tangle disappeared and he was completely healed.

5. Healing of a Paralytic

Little Christakis Panagiotou from Fasoula was paralyzed in the lower extremities and could not walk. One day his mother took the little Christakis and she stood in the church of the Saints and said to her fellow villager the priest John to do a supplicatory canon for the healing of little Christakis, which he did. Then he went down to his tomb and he took the stones, which the villagers call cheeses, and rubbed his little feet with them, and - O the miracle! -, the young one began to walk. The parents of the child, out of gratitude, renamed the little one from Christakis to Reginos, the name of the Saint.

Miracles of Saints Reginos and Orestes in Fasoula of Cyprus (Part 1)

By Presbyter Haralambos Neophytos

When I was serving the community of Fasoula [a village in the Limassol District of Cyprus] as a regular pastor and I had contacts with the residents of the village, I was told various miracles of Saints Reginos and Orestes, who had been martyred in their village, in the time of the great persecution of the early fourth century.

As I began to find out these miracles they started to be forgotten and it is sad, because they are not recorded somewhere and over time they will be forgotten. So I decided with my poor strength to try and gather the miracles of the Saints of Fasoula to preserve them and in order to be taught.

The miracles of the Saints strengthen and rekindle our faith in God. Miracles are the result of the fervent faith of people, and should exist and be studied by Christians, in order to imitate the Christian life and the piety of our Saints.

Holy New Martyr George of Kastoria who was formerly a Hagarene (+ 1809 or 1815)

St. George of Kastoria (Feast Day - August 18)

The glorious Neomartyr George, who was formerly a Hagarene, that is, a Muslim, was born in Kastoria in the late 18th century. He went to Ioannina to find work and there he was an eye-witness to the martyric contest of Saint Demetrios of Samarina, who suffered for his faith in Christ at the hands of Muslims. This inspired him to abandon the Islamic faith of his forefathers and embrace the Orthodox Christianity of the Holy New Martyr Demetrios. Upon Holy Baptism he received the name George.

Saint Joseph the Hesychast Resource Page

St. Joseph the Hesychast (Feast Day - August 16)

Verses

You translocated in haste from earth to the vault of the heavens,
Having previously been there through theoria.

 

Synaxarion of our Venerable Father Joseph the Hesychast  

 

Saint Joseph the Hesychast as a Model for our Lives

Saint Daniel of Katounakia in the Life of Saint Joseph the Hescyhast

 

Contemporary Testimonies of the Vision of God on the Holy Mountain

 

Athonite Neo-Hesychast Fathers (3 of 3)

 

The Tomb of Elder Joseph the Hesychast 

 

Father George Aspropoulos (+ 1929), the Priest Who Baptized Saint Joseph the Hesychast

Elder Ephraim of Arizona and the Holy Skull of Saint Joseph the Hesychast

 

Saint Joseph the Hesychast and the Confession of Demons 

 

Saint Joseph the Hesychast and the "Devil's Box"

Fishing for the Grace of God (Instructions on Vigilance from Saint Joseph the Hesychast to Elder Ephraim of Arizona)

 

Even Great Saints Have Human Needs 

 

Saint Joseph the Hesychast Explains Why an Icon "Spoke" to Saint Ephraim of Katounakia

 

Two Holy Fathers on the Calendar Issue: Elder Ephraim of Katounakia and Elder Joseph the Hesychast 

 

Some Teachings of Elder Joseph the Hesychast about the Mother of God 

 

The Temptations and Troubles That Come Against Us During Great Lent (Saint Joseph the Hesychast)

 

Why Did Peter Deny Christ? (Saint Joseph the Hesychast) 

 

A Letter of Elder Joseph the Hesychast to a Seminarian of Holy Cross School of Theology in Brookline 

 

What Activates True Love? (Elder Joseph the Hesychast) 

 

Documentary Film: "Joseph the Hesychast" (2020) 

 

Jonathan Jackson Discusses His Most Challenging Role as Elder Joseph the Hesychast 

 

Jonathan Jackson Dedicates an Album of Songs to Saint Joseph the Hesychast 

 

Ecumenical Patriarch Announces the Canonization of Four 20th Century Athonite Elders 

 

Official Announcement of the Ecumenical Patriarchate Regarding the Canonization of the Three New Athonite Saints 

 

Three Athonite Fathers - Joseph the Hesychast, Ephraim of Katounakia and Daniel of Katounakia - Officially Canonized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate

 

A New Television Series on the Life of Saint Joseph the Hesychast Coming Soon