'Latest News': Orthodoxy in the World News

[Kosmas Damianides]

Irenaios comeback is dealt a blow

The former Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem, Irenaios, suffered a serious blow in his attempt to wrestle back power in the Church after the Israeli Supreme Court yesterday rejected his appeal to have the process to elect his successor annulled.

The court’s decision now paves the way for a special council of clerics who ousted Irenaios to meet today to compile a short list of candidates to replace the former patriarch. Irenaios was also ordered to cover court costs, totaling 15,000 shekels (some 2,700 euros).

Once the candidates have been nominated, the list will be made known to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority — the three governments with authority over the Jerusalem Patriarchate — for approval. If no problems arise, then the election of a new patriarch should take place by August 15, sources said.

Meanwhile, in a further snub toward Irenaios, the Palestinian Authority officially recognized the caretaker patriarch, Cornelius, Bishop of Petra, who was appointed in May.

KATHIMERINI Wednesday July 20, 2005

Patriarch Alexy II arrives in Kazan

14:15

KAZAN, July 20 (RIA Novosti) - Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia has arrived in Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, on a two-day visit to mark the 450th anniversary of the local eparchy of the Russian Orthodox Church.

"This year Kazan marks its 1000th anniversary," Alexy II said. "The Kazan eparchy turns 450 and tomorrow we will celebrate the day of the Kazan icon of the Virgin Mary."

The patriarch praised the wise decision of the Tatar government to build the Kul Sharif mosque, which opened in June.

The first divine service will be conducted in the recently restored ancient Annunciation Cathedral.

Kazan celebrates its 1000th anniversary in August.

The mosque and the cathedral are the core of the Kazan Kremlin.

More than ten archpriests from the Volga Federal District will attend the celebrations.

Alexy II brought the 18th century copy of the miraculous Kazan icon of the Virgin Mary, which had been kept in the Vatican for many years. Last summer the copy was returned to Russia.

The famous Kazan icon disappeared in 1904. The Church says that even its copies have been responsible for miracles.

NOVOSTI Wednesday July 20, 2005

[Kosmas Damianides]

Support for Bulgarian Christians

On the first anniversary of the police crackdown on Christians in Bulgaria, the Evangelical Alliance in the UK is calling on the Bulgarian government to end its repression of the Church.

On 21 June 2004 the Bulgarian police invaded 170 churches and monasteries and violently removed their priests. The action was in response to their failure to recognise Patriarch Maxim, whom they claim was installed by the Bulgarian Communist Party.

Speaking ahead of this week's rally to commemorate the crackdown in Sofia, Dr Don Horrocks, head of public affairs at the Evangelical Alliance UK, said: "The situation in Bulgaria is appalling. The authorities have no legal grounds to formally recognise Maxim as a patriarch but they do so for their own ends. Repression of any kind must be firmly rejected; it has already led to the loss of life. The actions of the Bulgarian Government highlight the need for the European courts to step in and deal with this situation as soon as possible."

Campaigners have turned to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

Currently, those priests banned from their churches have been carrying out official and spiritual duties to their congregations outdoors, often in harsh conditions.

Julia Doxat-Purser, from the European Evangelical Alliance, said: "It is tragic to see the Orthodox Church paralysed in this way. It is unbelievable that the Bulgarian government allowed itself to get involved by sending in the police to violently break up worship services and evict the priests. We call on the European Union to challenge the Bulgarian authorities."

Orthodox believers and clergy will be gathering in the centre of Sofia on 21 July to remember the violent actions of a year ago.

THEGOODNEWS Tuesday 19 July 2005

[Vasilis Kirikos]

> This URL site is worth down-loading

http://i.euniverse.com/funpages/cms_content/2529/4candles.swf In Christ, Vasilis

[Kosmas Damianides]

That was great Vasili.

I might send this to some of my friends.

~ Kosmas

[Kosmas Damianides]

An Orthodox choice

BY ROBIN GALIANO RUSSELL

The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS - (KRT) - The Eastern Orthodox Church, as far removed from a nondenominational or evangelical congregation as you can get, is nevertheless attracting a growing number of converts who are drawn by the tug of an ancient faith.

Converts are trading in their PowerPoint sermons and praise bands for the ancient rhythms of a liturgy that hasn't changed in thousands of years - a pendulum swing from the casual, seeker-friendly services that have dominated contemporary evangelicalism.

Their numbers are still small compared to megachurch growth patterns, with 1.2 million Eastern Orthodox Christians in America. But adherents say there's been a surge in people drawn to the faith.

The Antiochian Orthodox Church, the most evangelistic of the American Orthodox churches, has tracked conversions for several decades. The number of its churches in the U.S. has doubled in 20 years to more than 250 parishes and missions. About 80 percent of its converts come from evangelical and charismatic backgrounds, 20 percent from mainline denominations.

Many go on to become Orthodox priests. About 78 percent of clergy in the Antiochian Church are converts, up from 10 to 15 percent 25 years ago. Nearly half of the students in America's two largest Orthodox seminaries are converts.

Those who convert say they are drawn to an aesthetic beauty and spiritual mystery in Orthodox worship that are often lacking in their own Protestant services. It's like entering a time machine that allows congregants to worship as the early Christians did.

Not that it doesn't take some getting used to.

Orthodox services are based on the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, which can last two hours or more. Congregants stand much of the time, while priests in vestments offer incense and chant the Psalms.

`STARTLINGLY DIFFERENT'

Frederica Mathewes-Green, a former Episcopalian and author of "Facing East: A Pilgrim's Journey into the Mysteries of Orthodoxy," said the experience of Orthodoxy was "startlingly different" from anything she'd known in Western churches. But it clicked when she saw it was directed toward God rather than her own emotional needs.

"It called us to fall on our faces before God in worship and to be filled with awe at his glory. I could never go back. I now find Western worship tedious and sentimental. To me, the contrast is jolting."

Mathewes-Green also prefers the Orthodox view of the Christian life as a healing process and a journey, rather than a one-time "sinner's prayer." She and her husband converted from a liberal Episcopal Church in 1993 and helped found an Orthodox church made up mostly of American converts.

"It's not about getting the sin-debt paid, the ticket punched and now you wait around to die and go to heaven. Orthodoxy is a transforming journey where every day the Christian is being enabled to bear more of God's light. That's exciting," she said.

Stan Shinn, who was raised in the Assemblies of God denomination and attended Oral Roberts University, recalls feeling nearly overwhelmed when he stepped inside Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in North Dallas for the first time.

What looked good on paper - definitive answers to his search for early Christian worship and doctrine - had taken him to a "very bizarre and strange" church with icon-filled walls, heavy incense and Byzantine chanting.

"I felt like there was a gauntlet thrown down in front of me," he said.

He and his wife, Janine, and their three children converted in 2002 from their nondenominational church to the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Like the Shinns, those who convert are joining 350 million Orthodox Christians around the world.

FIRST-CENTURY CHURCH

"Orthodox" means "right belief." The Orthodox Church traces its origins back to Jesus' apostles and first-century practice. The Roman Catholic Church makes that same claim, but the two branches of ancient Christianity differ in ecclesiastical hierarchy and a few doctrinal points.

Roman Catholics believe the pope has ultimate authority, while Orthodox Christians say their council of bishops is more in line with Scripture and church tradition. (The early church had five centers of Christianity - in Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem, Rome and Constantinople, which is now Istanbul.)

Orthodox Christians also disagree with the Catholic doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, which states that Jesus' mother was born without sin herself.

The two branches of ancient Christianity split in 1054.

Today, the Orthodox community is led by patriarchs and a hierarchy of bishops who must be celibate. Unlike Catholic clergy, Orthodox priests can marry before ordination.

Archbishop Dmitri, 81, leads the Archdiocese of Dallas and the South for the Orthodox Church in America. He grew up as Robert Royster in a Southern Baptist family in Teague, Texas, but converted to Orthodoxy as a teen because he wanted more out of faith.

"Everything was true, but it was not complete. It wasn't that I needed to repudiate it. I just went on to find the rest of it," he said.

The Orthodox consider themselves to have a bond with other Christians but believe they have a more accurate understanding of the faith. At a recent daylong festival in Dallas about Orthodox Christianity, Archbishop Dimitri encouraged people in other denominations to cling to the elements of the historic faith that their churches uphold, but added an invitation: "If you find there are holes at the bottom and you have to abandon ship, then head for one that's still afloat," he said.

IN SEARCH OF HISTORY

Conversion to Orthodoxy often begins with an intellectual quest, Stan Shinn said. He began searching when he saw modern churches abandoning historic Christian tenets, such as the Nicene Creed, and stripping their sanctuaries of any religious symbolism to be more seeker-friendly.

"The elements of Christianity were disappearing before me like the Cheshire Cat in "Alice in Wonderland." What kind of Christianity would my grandchildren inherit, and would the Gospel even be recognizable?" he said.

Studying church history and tradition raised even more questions: Why was the Apocrypha a part of Scripture until the Reformation? Did the early church really have bishops instead of the congregational rule that governs most Protestant churches? Why did they have such a high view of Communion and baptize infants?

And the ancient liturgies, chants, incense and sacraments used in Orthodox services, he discovered, were not taken from medieval Catholicism - as his Protestant upbringing taught him - but from early church worship.

"It all caused me to re-evaluate my core assumptions. Instead of me judging history, I decided I wanted history to judge me and tell me what should I practice," Stan Shinn said.

The unchanging nature of the Orthodox Church is a strong draw for "serious Christians" who are tired of Protestant individualism yet disagree with the Catholic Church's teachings, said the Rev. Peter Gillquist, chairman of missions and evangelism for the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America.

"It's charismatics and evangelicals, those diamonds in the rough who are looking to find Christ's church. There's a lot of people who love the Lord and his word, but they're still looking for his church."

Father Gillquist was a "card-carrying evangelical" himself before his conversion to Orthodoxy. He attended Dallas Theological Seminary and Wheaton College, and was a director for Campus Crusade for Christ, a nondenominational evangelistic campus organization.

Now he uses evangelistic strategies to promote Christianity and the Orthodox Church. Most who come into the church now are people from other denominations who are confused by the hundreds of Protestant denominations and disturbed by increasing theological liberalism, he said.

ETHNIC FLAVOR

But some who are ready to convert still think the church might be too exotic for them, said the Rev. Anthony Savas, pastor of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Dallas.

"They're afraid it's too ethnic. They wonder, `What will my friends think?'" he said.

It's true that the Orthodox Church in America took on the ethnic flavors of 20th-century immigrants. The dozen Orthodox churches in the Dallas-Fort Worth area reflect these geographic and ethnic heritages. Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church is Dallas' largest, with 1,500 active members. The church holds services in Greek and English and hosts an annual Greek festival with ethnic foods, dance and crafts.

St. Seraphim Orthodox Cathedral in Dallas' Oak Lawn area is predominantly Russian. At Sts. Constantine and Helen, an Antiochian Orthodox Church, 80 percent of the families speak Arabic. Services at both are in English. There's a Hispanic congregation in Dallas' Oak Cliff neighborhood - Holy Transfiguration Hispanic Orthodox Mission.

Converts become more familiar with the church through catechism classes and the guidance of spiritual godparents (individuals and couples in the congregation who mentor new converts). If they've already been baptized in another church, they also must be chrismated, or anointed, to be received in the Orthodox Church.

Americans who convert to Orthodoxy know they will be part of a minority faith. That doesn't bother Father Savas at Holy Trinity, who grew up Orthodox among Mormons in Salt Lake City.

"It's wonderful to practice the ancient Christian faith in an environment that doesn't know what to do with it. A minority can be a beacon of light, like the apostles, who took it beyond their own country," he said.

"It's a beautiful eye-opening experience for people to see the church of the New Testament is alive and thriving today. We don't define ourselves by who we're not. The church is just here. And we're here to lift it up."

---

ORTHODOX CHURCH IN AMERICA

Adherents say there is only one Orthodox Church, which is administratively organized into several jurisdictions. The faith, worship and doctrine is the same, but churches differ in language and administration.

Dioceses of Orthodox Churches are administrated by bishops in North America, as well as archbishops and patriarchs abroad.

Orthodox Christians belong to two major ecclesiastical families: the Orthodox Oriental (Coptic, Syrian) and the Orthodox Byzantine (Greek, Russian, Serbian, Romanian).

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese is the largest American Orthodox body, with more than 530 parishes, and was founded by Orthodox Christians from Greece and the surrounding areas.

Orthodox Church in America has its roots in Eastern Europe and Russia. It was established when Russian missionaries landed in Alaska in 1794. Ethnic variations of the Orthodox Church of America include Serbian, Romanian, Albanian and Bulgarian. It includes about 700 parishes, missions, communities, monasteries and institutions throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Antiochian Orthodox, from the Archdiocese of Antioch, was established by immigrants from the Middle East, and includes more than 200 parishes and missions in the U.S. and Canada.

Coptic Orthodox Church, established by Arab-speaking Orthodox Christians from Egypt, includes about 700 parishes, missions, communities, monasteries and institutions throughout North America.

---

2005, The Dallas Morning News.

[Kosmas Damianides]

This is an undersatatement, by the way, there are more than 1.2 million , more like 5-6 millinon in North and South America.


Their numbers are still small compared to megachurch growth patterns, with 1.2 million Eastern Orthodox Christians in America. But adherents say there's been a surge in people drawn to the faith.

Original Source (http://titusonenine.classicalanglican.net/index.php?p=6307)

[Marie-Duquette]

Kosmos,

In Christ Jesus! Why so numbers seem so important? It doesn't matter! This seems to me to be only comparisons of some sort. It is the Faith in the heart of the believer that is essential, isn't it?

by the way that "Original source" is an Episcopalian bloggers' site, not an official statistic.

mega church growth? God be praised and glorified! Now it is the "Living of the Faith" that is, -- the so to say, -- "proof of the pudding"

marie_duquette

[Kosmas Damianides]

You are right

Numbers are nothing but at least we are getting recognised. People don't even know what Orthodox means. Most people know the Catholic Church and every other Church but not the Orthodox Church.

It makes me wonder. There are no Roman Soldiers waiting to chop our heads off anymore, so why are we stil hiding in the shadows?

[Antonios]

Renovators in Egypt say they find oldest monk cell
08 Aug 2005 13:56:02 GMT

Source: Reuters

CAIRO, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Renovators working in an ancient Egyptian monastery have unearthed the oldest example of a building housing Christian monks, a member of the restoration project near the country's Red Sea coast told Reuters on Monday.

The cell, a building that served as the living quarters for monks, dates from between the fourth and fifth centuries and will help shed light on the early days of monastic life, said Father Maximous, a monk working at the site.

"It is the oldest physical evidence of a cell from that age ... It's the oldest in the Christian world," said Maximous, who works on restoring Coptic monuments.

The renovators had been repairing paintings inside a fifteenth century church on the site of St. Anthony's Monastery, founded in the mid-fourth century by disciples of one of Christianity's most influential hermits.

St. Anthony, who lived between the third and fourth centuries, is credited with developing regulated monastic life. Before him, individual hermits lived solitary lives dedicated to prayer and contemplation.

The renovators also found an eighth century church on the same site.

Historical texts make mention of the early monks living at the site but no archeological evidence had previously been found from before the sixth century, Maximous said.

The cell is a collection of rooms with private living areas and a central communal room, where the team found cooking implements, he said.

St. Anthony's Monastery, 155 km (100 miles) south west of Cairo, is one of the Christian world's oldest monasteries.

[Antonios]

Archeologists Discover Medieval Monastery In Kyrgyzstan


8 August 2005 -- Archaeologists in Kyrgyzstan say they have discovered the remains of a medieval Christian monastery on the northern bank of Lake Issyk-Kul.


Aleksandr Kamyshev, who is heading the team from the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University, told ITAR-TASS that archeologists have long suspected the existence of a monastery built by Armenian Christians on the shore of Issyk-Kul.

Maps from the time charting the Silk Road suggest the remains of the Apostle Matthew are buried near the monastery walls.

Kamyshev said the monastery was built around the 14th century and is designed in a style similar to medieval Armenian Christian monasteries.

[Antonios]

Biblical Pool of Siloam Is Uncovered in Jerusalem
Tue Aug 09 2005 00:09:33 ET

Workers repairing a sewage pipe in the old city of Jerusalem have discovered the biblical Pool of Siloam, a freshwater reservoir that was a major gathering place for ancient Jews making religious pilgrimages to the city and the reputed site where Jesus cured a man blind from birth, the LOS ANGELES TIMES reports.

The pool was fed by the now famous Hezekiah's Tunnel and is ``a much grander affair'' than archeologists previously believed, with three tiers of stone stairs allowing easy access to the water, according to Hershel Shanks, editor of Biblical Archeology Review, which reported the find Monday.

``Scholars have said that there wasn't a Pool of Siloam and that John was using a religious conceit'' to illustrate a point, said New Testament scholar James H. Charlesworth of the Princeton Theological Seminary. ``Now we have found the Pool of Siloam ... exactly where John said it was.''

A gospel that was thought to be ``pure theology is now shown to be grounded in history,'' he said.

The discovery puts a new spotlight on what is called the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, a trip that religious law required ancient Jews to make at least once a year, said archeologist Ronny Reich of the University of Haifa, who excavated the pool.

``Jesus was just another pilgrim coming to Jerusalem,'' he said. ``It would be natural to find him there.''

The newly discovered pool is less than 200 yards from another Pool of Siloam, this one a reconstruction built between A.D. 400 and 460 by the empress Eudocia of Byzantium, who oversaw the rebuilding of several Biblical sites.

[Antonios]

Glory be to God! Some beautiful gifts we've been given this Dormition period!

[Vasilis Kirikos]

CONSTANTINOPLE – Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople received the Thessaloniki Bar Association’s directorate at
the Phanar last week and disclosed a new attempt by the Turkish Government to embezzle property belonging to the Patriarchate and the Greek community and asked for help to confront any such arbitrary acts. "We are determined to defend our rights in every way. We are asking for nothing more than our rights. We are citizens of this country. We are fulfilling our duties toward the state, but precisely for this reason, we are also seeking our rights in full," the Ecumenical Patriarch said on July 26. "We do not want to be treated like second rate citizens," he added. The Ecumenical Patriarch further pointed out that, while the majority of the
Turkish population genuinely desires accession to the European Union, Turkey must meet its obligations if it wants to shorten its path to Brussels. Turkey must change to become part of the EU, the Patriarch said three days later, in a strongly-worded recrimination against the injustices inflicted on Turkey’s Christian minorities, warning Turkish authorities that the changes in the country must be more than skin-deep if it wanted to become part of Europe.
"If we really want to become Europeans, we must change our attitudes, not just make some reforms and pass a few new laws that are sometimes implemented and sometimes not," he stressed. "We must radically change the way we think, and this is what the Europeans are telling us," he added. The Patriarch made the statements during the scheduled opening of a summer camp for children organized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the opening of which had been so delayed by the failure of Turkish authorities to push through the
necessary paperwork, parents had taken their
children back home.
"We are declaring the start of the Paidopolis,
though only symbolically, because our children’s camp is opening without our children. And this is due to the hard-heartedness of certain state services, which made sure to postpone, using various ways and means, and each time found some excuse to prevaricate," Bartholomew said, pointing out that July has already passed. The Patriarch spoke forcefully about the way Turkish authorities handled the
Patriarchate’s institutions and property, and the fact that the Turkish Government still refuses to reopen the theological school on Halki, which has now been closed for 34 years.
"The Ecumenical Patriarchate has never intended to create problems for the State and our government. On the other hand, it demands its rights from the State, and does not allow the State to press, repress and be unjust to its own citizens. We are not strangers in this land," the
Patriarch said. Reuters reported that, in a leading story in the Turkish newspaper Milliyet this past Monday, August 1, Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin said the Patriarch "has exceeded the limits of his role," and accused Bartholomew of "seeking privileges" for Turkey’s small Orthodox community. The Patriarchate expressed its "sorrow" over Sahin’s statements on Tuesday, August 2, and emphasized its "prayers and efforts for our country’s accession to the European Union, and that our citizens might live in justice and prosperity." – The Athens News Agency

[Adam Cody]

Can someone explain why the turkish authorities are involved in opening a summer camp? Living in the USA, am I simply taking something for granted? Adam

"The Patriarch made the statements during the scheduled opening of a summer camp for children organized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the opening of which had been so delayed by the failure of Turkish authorities to push through the necessary paperwork, parents had taken their children back home. "

[Leandros Papadopoulos]

The summer camp operation needs to be authorized from the government and to be certified on issues like health and safety.

But the Turkish state is always taking its time (decades) when must serve Greek institution in order to drive them out of business. (the ethnic Turks are served in a normal procedure, but for an ethnic Greek (or Kurd,or Armenian) the same procedure takes several decades to be completed, if they ever complete at all.)

These are normal tactics of genocide that the Turkish state is following against Greeks and Kourds and Armenians since 1900 ! Now days they can not kill Greeks in massive executions, like they did in the past, but they can make one's civil life intolerable and eventually drive them out of the country.

[Kosmas Damianides]

Who said they can't kill Greeks? They did in 1974 (6,800-9,300 killed, 2,000-3,000 missing/presumed dead) without anyone deciding to step in to help the Cypriots. The UN came in the nick of time to stop the Greeks any allies fighting back. Ironic isn't it.

[Theopesta]

the external suffering of the militant church make her more deep more creative in doing het best for her members

[Vasilis Kirikos]

"Who said they can't kill Greeks? They did in 1974 (6,800-9,300 killed, 2,000-3,000 missing/presumed dead) without anyone deciding to step in to help the Cypriots. The UN came in the nick of time to stop the Greeks any allies fighting back. Ironic isn't it."

Also, in 1955 the Turks burned many Christian homes and businesses and killed many Christians..but not one word was mentioned in any of the West's papers. It was the same when the Turks murdered the entire population in Smyrna in 1922...No mention of it was allowed in any of the West's papers..(freedom of the press..are you joking?)
Read the former ambassador from the USA to that region, George Horton's account of what the Turks did in Smyrna. George Horton was the American Consul at the time It is quite a read; and it will dispell the myth we have here in the USA about "FREEDOM OF THE PRESS". You can down-load all of his accunt for FREE by going to this site:http://www.ellopos.net/politics/turkey-blight/download.asp
Vasilis Kirikos}

[Eleftheria]

Speaking of so-called &#34;free&#34; press in the US of A, a few years ago, Thea Halo wrote an account of her mother&#39;s life entitled, <u>Not Even My Name. </u> Ms. Halo&#39;s mother is a refugee of the Asia Minor Holocaust & the book gives a heart-wrenching account of Sano Halo&#39;s FORCED march from the Pontian region of Greece to Syria. Even though it is a best seller, I learned at a reading conducted by Ms. Halo at a church in NY, that it was not promoted in the USA because the Turkish-Israeli lobby suppressed media attention. Ms. Halo had been scheduled to be interviewed at CNN & the interview was cancelled at the last minute. The book was reviewed by the Washington Post...alongside a review of a biography of Kemal Ataturk. How&#39;s that for &#34;free&#34; press?
Information about The Asia Minor Holocaust is suppressed by certain Israeli lobby groups because those groups want the US citzens to believe that there was only one holocaust. Information about The Asia Minor Holocaust is further suppressed by Turkish lobby groups because they would prefer to suppress the truth about their barbaric past.
A final aside: the facts are that here in Cyprus &#40;a member of the EU&#41;, one third of our island Republic, is still occupied by 48,000 Turkish troops and ethnic cleansing/deliberate population changes continues at an astonishing rate, with over 165,000 Turkish nationals &#34;imported&#34; to the northern &#40;occupied&#41; third of our island. It is obvious that the Asia Minor Holocaust has never stopped & continues full-throttle today.
By the way, even if all this information were to be touted daily in the so-called &#34;free&#34; US Press, nothing would be done to alter the status-quo here or at the Patriarchate, the lobby groups wouldn&#39;t allow it!

[Vasilis Kirikos]

&#62; I agree with all that you said EXCEPT the part about the Turkish barbaric past....What past? What was still is...There is not a past that is different to what remains to this day with those people. They were and still are barbarians with no respect for the lives of others; much less their human rights. The hacking to death of the two who in an act of protest attempted to take down a Turkish flag in Cyprus is fresh in my mind.. This bludgeoning to death was performed by a group of locals form a Turkish community; and they used pick and ax handles ..After all that was only 2 years ago. Vasilis Kirikos

[M.C. Steenberg]

Friends,

It is best to keep this forum focused on the matters of patristic, monastic and liturgical discussion as much as we can. There are many venues for other matters.

INXC, Matthew

[Eleftheria]

Dear Matthew et al,
Sorry about that...sometimes the injustice of it all carries me away.
When there is injustice committed against the Church&#40;es&#41; it is difficult to remain quiet. I recall that at one of my spiritual father&#39;s lectures, it was related that in fact we are to cry out loudly and continuously whenever any part or parcel of &#34;heaven on earth&#34; is destroyed. What I am thinking of is William Dalrymple&#39;s travelogue, <u>From the Holy Mountain.</u> What is clear is that there is some kind of unwritten/hidden Turkish policy to eradicate even the existence of ancient Christian communities. This is seen in Dalyrmple&#39;s description of the ongoing physical demise of Armenian & Greek churches. One can only wonder what the monks/authors of <u>The Spiritual Meadow</u>who were Dalyrmple&#39;s inspiration, would think.
I guess my question is, does anyone cry aloud about this anywhere?

[Byron Jack Gaist]

Dear Eleftheria,

I see you are also based in Cyprus! I am in Nicosia.

I recently visited Turkey, from Constantinople down the west coast to Smyrna, where the events of 1922 took place. I went there because I wanted to see the Ancient Greek, and particularly the Byzantine sites of interest.

I did get a sad sense of the Greek community in Constantinople and the Christian sites in general, especially the Orthodox Christian, being in decline, or at the very least not being given the honour they deserve. I was astonished by the extent in which the face of Ataturk dominated everything: his picture is literally everywhere. The Turks are clearly proud of their country and their civilisation, and the Turkish government, judging from the pictures and statues and memorials of Ataturk and other national figures, no doubt cashes in on people&#39;s national pride - Turkey is also a country where there is great and apparent division between the rich and the poor, the haves and have-nots. For example, in the city of Bursa, I noticed a crippled man who could only &#34;walk&#34; by dragging his lifeless body along using his arms; this shabbily dressed man was begging drivers on the motorway for money. This was in the industrial area of the town, which was also shabby and ugly. I confess it breaks my heart that people actually live in these conditions. As tourists, we didn&#39;t stay in this part of the town of course. Our hotel was a five-star place in the &#34;nice&#34; part of Bursa - very near one of Ataturk&#39;s glorious residences.

I learned a lot on this trip. I learned not to hate the Turks, or any of God&#39;s children. I learned that they are as near-sighted in their national pride as we are. Nationality and ethnicity become idols, exactly at the point where we cease to see our neighbour as a human being.

I also learned that history is one of the most important lessons in the school curriculum. No doubt both Turkish children and Greek children have not always been given fair readings in history by their teachers. So injustices on both sides ought to be fairly and objectively reported and made public. We can&#39;t even have a football match between our countries without fights and indignities, and that&#39;s nothing to be proud of!

Another observation I would like to make, painful as it is in one sense to admit, is that we Greeks and Greek-Cypriots tend to blame everybody but ourselves for the disasters that befall us: its not us, its the Turks, or the Israelis, or the Americans. I&#39;m not saying there aren&#39;t any political agendas there; but don&#39;t we all sadly have political agendas in this fallen world? And how fair are we to one another within the national frontiers even of our own countries? Do we treat one another with the love and justice we are created to offer, and which we complain our &#34;enemies&#34; have not shown us?

Even from a purely secular viewpoint, objectivity and fairness in our dealings with our neighbours &#40;and this includes the views we hold about us and them&#41; is important; how much more important is it then for Christians to love their enemies, while of course at the same time protecting their mother Church and all its members?

In Christ
Byron

P.S. I just wish to point out that I ascribe to no particular political party here in Cyprus or abroad. If I have a &#34;political&#34; agendain writing this, it&#39;s the fact that I am myself of mixed origin &#40;half Greek-Cypriot, half English-Jewish&#41;, and therefore I wish to be respectful to the ancestors and heritage of all people everywhere.

[Marie-Duquette]

Dear Byron,

Bravo! Isn&#39;t what you say above placed in the Light of being a Christian in Truth, a KEY to Peace among peoples, nations, ethnic groups.

LOVE -- Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge, Counsel, Prudence, Courage, Fear of the Lord. Is.11:1-2 Which express the Spirit of Christ Jesus, the Holy Spirit at the Heart of the Blessed Trinity. God is Love! Love one another as I have loved you.

Respect of oneanother, reverence and awe for LIFE! without blame, or taking it for granted.

When will we ever learn, when will we ever learn?
to treat one another with love and justice? . . . Perhaps a seed at a time needs to be planted, cultivated and nurtured and brought to fruition for a harvest of Thankfullness.

My heart and prayer go out as a cry for Mercy to God upon all of us.

Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me a sinner.
Most Holy theotokos, save us!

[Eleftheria]

Dear Byron,
Thank you for your thoughtful & well-rounded post. You are right, of course. It is crucial for us to live with & learn to love everyone, esp. our enemies, if we are ever to be true Christians.
As a 3rd generation Gk-American &#40;non-Cypriot&#41;,married to a Gk-Cypriot, I must admit that it is difficult to put our past & our &#40;recent&#41; history behind us. This too, becomes one of those &#34;struggles&#34; we must overcome.
In Christ
Eleftheria

[Petros Stefanis]

Dear Folks,

I feel that this might be helpful here:

http://www.pigizois.gr/agglika/agglika.htm


LORD, BLESS MY ENEMIES


By St. Nikolai of Ochrid




Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.


Enemies have driven me into your embrace more than friends have. Friends have bound me to earth, enemies have loosed me from earth and have demolished all my aspirations in the world. Enemies have made me a stranger in worldly realms and an extraneous inhabitant of the world. Just as a hunted animal finds safer shelter than an unhunted animal does, so have I, persecuted by enemies, found the safest sanctuary, having ensconced myself beneath Your tabernacle, where neither friends nor enemies can slay my soul.


Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.


They, rather than I, have confessed my sins before the world. They have punished me, whenever I have hesitated to punish myself. They have tormented me, whenever I have tried to flee torments. They have scolded me, whenever I have flattered myself. They have spat upon me, whenever I have filled myself with arrogance.


Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.


Whenever I have made myself wise, they have called me foolish. Whenever I have made myself mighty, they have mocked me as though I were a dwarf. Whenever I have wanted to lead people, they have shoved me into the background. Whenever
I have rushed to enrich myself, they have prevented me with an iron hand. Whenever I thought that I would sleep peacefully, they have wakened me from sleep. Whenever I have tried to build a home for a long and tranquil life, they have demolished it and driven me out. Truly, enemies have cut me loose from the world and have stretched out my hands to the hem of your garment.


Bless my enemies, Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.


Bless them and multiply them; multiply them and make them even more bitterly against me: so that my fleeing to You may have no return; so that all hope in men may be scattered like cobwebs; so that absolute serenity may begin to reign in my soul; so that my heart may become the grave of my two evil twins: arrogance and anger; so that I might amass all my treasure in heaven; ah, so that I may for once be freed from self-deception, which has entangled me in the dreadful web of illusory life. Enemies have taught me to know what hardly anyone knows, that a person has no enemies in the world except himself. One hates his enemies only when he fails to realize that they are not enemies, but cruel friends. It is truly difficult for me to say who has done me more good and who has done me more evil in the world: friends or enemies. Therefore bless, Ο Lord, both my friends and my enemies. A slave curses enemies, for he does not understand. But a son blesses them, for he understands. For a son knows that his enemies cannot touch his life. Therefore he freely steps among them and prays to God for them. Bless my enemies, O Lord .Even I bless them and do not curse them.



ORTHODOX HERITAGE. APRIL 2005. BROTHERHOOD OF ST. POIMEN


ps the website where this came from is well worth a look. Most of it is in greek, but it also has English and French sections.

In XC
peter

[Antonios]

...possibly the oldest Church to date has just been found under an Israeli prison. See here (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051106/ap_on_sc/israel_ancient_church_5;_ylt=AhiSE6SKbcfzpOVMHcbwC TXlWMcF;_ylu=X3oDMTA5bGVna3NhBHNlYwNzc3JlbA--) and here (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051106/sc_nm/mideast_church_dc) for more information.

Glory be to God for all things!!!

[katya the nirse-aid]

&#34;What is important about this find &#40;at Megiddo&#41; is it is in a transitional period. It is the very beginning of churches. There was no standard plan of a church,&#34; Alexandre said.

great words...was no standart of the church.....

[Antonios]

The NCC elects an Orthodox bishop as president. More info here (http://www.christianpost.com/article/church/2380/section/ncc.places.emphasis.on.orthodox.church.during.asse mbly/1.htm).

[Antonios]

&#34;Greek Orthodox Patriarchy is ecumenical: US&#34; &#40;not that we needed the US to tell us that&#41;

see link (http://www.ntvmsnbc.com/news/352697.asp)

[Antonios]

Though I don&#39;t know how relevant this story (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060102/ap_on_re_us/911_cat_call) has to do with the Monachos discussion forum &#40;especially after reading the new Terms of Use!&#41;, but I found it so heart warming I couldn&#39;t resist sharing it. Cats may have 9 lives, but I think they may have one soul as well!!

[Antonios]

A modern day miracle (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/01/20/nblind20.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/01/20/ixhome.html)...

Glory be to God for all things!!

[Antonios]

Relic of St. Andrew Given to Greek Orthodox Church

link (http://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=85171)

[Olga]

How interesting! Antonios, do you have any information on the reaction to this news of the people or hierarchy of Patras, the city where Apostle Andrew preached and was martyred? As far as I know, the Cathedral of St Andrew in that city has a relic of the apostle, one of his fingers, I believe. It wouldn&#39;t surprise me if the Patrines would want this &#34;new&#34; relic of their patron to be repatriated to their city! http://www.monachos.net/mb/clipart/happy.gif

[Antonios]

I dont have any more information but if I run into any, I will definitely post it!

[Antonios]

Link (http://www.physorg.com/news11683.html) to report of incorrupt body of Greek Orthodox monk discovered 15 years after burial. Glory to God for all things!!

[Antonios]

An icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker flows myrrh in the Russian church in Antwerp

Antwerp, July 26, Interfax - An icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, archbishop of Myra in Lycia, began to flow myrrh in a parish of the Moscow Patriarchate in Antwerp several days ago, press service of the Brussels and Belgium archdiocese of the Russian Orthodox Church reported to Interfax on Wednesday.

The parishioners noticed the first signs of myrrh-flowing during Sunday divine service on July 16. Two clear drops appeared beneath the saint’s right eye on the icon and turned into tear-resembling streams of clear oily fluid.

Then St. Nicholas’ omophorion was covered with dewdrops, and the worshippers saw with their own eyes the thin streams of myrrh beginning to flow and exhaling strong fragrance, a source in the archdiocese said.

After the liturgy the rector of the church celebrated a prayer service with akathistos hymn to St. Nicholas. All the worshippers were singing, while the myrrh was gushing from the right hand of the saint raised in blessing. The stream left an oily imprint on a paper icon.

There were no signs of myrrh-flowing on the icons placed near the St. Nicholas icon made of the same material, the press service specified.

The myrrh-drops and fragrance were receding on the days that followed, probably because many pilgrims coming from Belgium and the neighboring countries to worship before the icon touched it.

Many different ailments and hardships of life were alleviated in Brussels during the last week. The believers think it to be the result of the prayer to St. Nicholas.

The rector of the church will record all testimonies of people who received help from the myrrh-flowing icon.

[Antonios]

Glory to God for all things!!!


http://www.spiritdaily.com/pantocratoricon.htm

http://www.allsaintsbloomington.org/index.html

[Antonios]

After a century of struggle, a new monastery rises - Reuters
------------------------------------------------------
Volume 8 Number 52 - Monday, September 11, 2006 Posted: September 8, 2006


By Luke Baker

NABLUS, West Bank, Sept 8 (Reuters) - In a matter of weeks, once the bells are in place and the marble tiles laid, the final chapter in a century-long saga over a Greek Orthodox monastery in the middle of the West Bank may finally be written.

The monastery at Jacob's Well, on the edge of the Palestinian city of Nablus, stands on the site where the Bible says Christ stopped on his way through Samaria 2,000 years ago and asked a Samaritan woman for a drink of water.

Construction of a church at the well began under Emperor Constantine in the 4th century but it wasn't until 1908, under the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, that the monastery that now stands here, surrounded by olive trees, began to take shape.

It was an ill-fated beginning.

Funded largely by the Russian branch of the Orthodox church, the money dried up with the Bolshevik revolution in 1917 and almost nothing more was done to the monastery for the next 80 years as it fell victim to the region's politics.

Only in 1998 did the Palestinian authorities give final approval for work to be completed.

For Ioustinos Mamalos, the priest who has overseen the monastery for 26 years and lives there alone, it has been a worthwhile wait, even if it has been accompanied by tragedy, including the murder of his predecessor.

It's been a long time, so it's a very good feeling to see it finished," he said, sitting in the garden in front of the white-stone building, drawing patiently on a cigarette.

"I think in three to four months it will all be done, after 100 years. Although a church is like a house -- it's never completely finished," he added wryly.

WELL'S COOL WATERS

Mamalos says the work was held up for decades because Israelis, who have occupied the West Bank since 1967, did not want a Greek Orthodox church built on a site that some Jews consider sacred.

Many believe the grisly murder of Mamalos' predecessor in the monastery's crypt was linked to this dispute, although Israel has not elaborated on why it opposed construction.

Today, the monastery looks complete, until you step inside where two rows of gothic columns supporting the domed roof rise over an uneven dirt floor. There are no pews and very little religious ornmentation.

Tiles for the floor, which are being imported from Greece, are held up at a port in Israel, while cast-iron bells that will eventually be installed in the towers over the stained-glass doorway are sitting on the ground gathering dust.

Only the underground crypt, site of the well that Jacob purchased for 100 pieces of silver 4,000 years ago, feels fully imbued with a sense of history and religious significance.

The crypt's walls are decorated with icons, while tall candles sit in the corners and chalices hang from the low ceiling. In the centre, stands the plain stone well, with a modern metal bucket on a long rope hanging above it.

At 40 metres (130 feet) deep, clean and cool water can still be drawn from the spring.

"It's good water, very healthy for everyone," says one of two Palestinian boys who help look after the monastery.

MURDERED PRIEST

It was here in the crypt that Mamalos' predecessor, Archimandrite Philoumenos, took shelter in November 1979 when a group of people, believed to be fanatical Zionists, broke into the monastery and attacked him with hatchets.

According to Orthodox Web sites, his face was cleaved in two, his eyes plucked out and the fingers of his right hand, used to make the sign of the cross, were chopped into pieces.

No one was ever arrested for the murder, which took place a week after a Zionist group had come to the monastery claiming that it was a Jewish holy place and demanding that all the crosses and other religious iconography be removed.

For Mamalos, who has spent 46 years in the Holy Land, it is a harrowing memory.

"They murdered my predecessor, so it hasn't always been a calm or peaceful life," the 65-year-old priest said of his time in Nablus, a place he now thinks he will never leave. Locals say his perfect Arabic is littered with clever Nablus slang.

An amusing raconteur with a long white beard tinged with nicotine stains, Mamalos speaks six languages and is quick to jump into a political debate. And he does not shy away from criticising Israeli authorities.

"The Israelis are always coming here to check on us, to harass us. Sometimes they think Palestinian fighters are hiding here," he said. "Once they destroyed one of our gospels because it was in Arabic, but I give the services in Arabic."

His latest beef with the authorities is over the tiles, which have been stuck at customs for weeks.

When they are released and the bells are finally hung, he plans to hold a special service of commemoration.

"It will be nice to perform a special ceremony here," he said, admiring the monastery from the garden. "It's a piece of the Holy Land. A small piece maybe, but a piece all the same."

[Antonios]

Moscow, October 5, Interfax - Moscow - Nizhniy Novgorod highway management has reported a decrease in the accident rate at the sections where cases with Orthodox icons have been placed.

According to statistics, the number of accidents at these sections has decreased by 13%, the number of the injured by 42% and the death toll by 67%.

Recently another icon case has been placed on the Moscow - Nizhniy Novgorod highway and it is planned to place two more cases in the nearest future, the official website of the Moscow Patriarchate has reported in Thursday.

link (http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=2104)

[Olga]

I wonder whether there are any statistics on whether or not this also occurs in Greece, given the profusion of roadside shrines and little churches in interesting places, including in people's fields. Given that Greeks drive like utter maniacs, they could do with all the divine intervention they can get! :D

[Antonios]

[link ] (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/07/AR2006100700445.html) here for full story

[Olga]

Thank you for the link, Antonios, the only gripe I had with the story was the description of the letters in the Christ-child's halo - it would certainly not have been alpha and omega! :eek: