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February 28, 2015

The Banquet of Empress Theodora on the First Sunday of Orthodoxy


The formal restoration of the sacred icons took place in the Church of Hagia Sophia on the 11th day of March, in the year 843.

The Empress Theodora (Feb. 11) held a great and open banquet for the entire day, where she entertained the venerable ones and the confessors. The holy Lazarus (Nov. 17), a celebrated iconographer, suffered much under Emperor Theophilos who had ordered his men to put horseshoes into the fire, heat them till they glowed red, and then place them in the hands of Father Lazarus. He was so badly burnt that he was near death, but he was preserved by divine grace. Therefore, when the tyrant himself learned that Lazarus was about to die, by the mediation of the pious Empress Theodora and certain other notable persons of the palace, Lazarus was released and freed from prison. Theodora was able to prevail upon her husband to permit Father Lazarus to recover at the Monastery of Saint John the Forerunner at Phoberos. Though the iconographer's hands healed miraculously, at the court banquet, he said to the empress in a marked and pointed tone, "God is not so unjust as to forget our sufferings and honor our persecutor." Theodora made no reply and took no offense. The hostess wished no wrangling or disputation on that happy day.

Saint John Cassian the Roman as a Model for our Lives

St. Cassian the Roman (Feast Day - February 29)

By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas

Saint John Cassian is a great Father and Teacher of the Church. Born in Rome of pious parents, they made sure to raise him "in the education and admonition of the Lord". Together with maternal milk he suckled on the pure milk of the Orthodox Faith from the living breast of the Church. From his parents he learned to love Christ, the Head of the Church, as well as the saints, her authentic members.

His acquaintance and fellowship from his childhood with holy people affected him beneficially by shaping his personality and entire way of life. Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite writes: "He went to various places and met with saints and renowned venerable ones, and the virtues of all he aggregated in himself, like a diligent bee; so that he also became to others another standard and example of all kinds of virtues. Thus by elevating himself above the passions and purifying his nous, he came to know perfect victory against the passions."

February 27, 2015

Blessed Elder Ephraim Katounakiotis (+ February 27, 1998)


By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

On the night of the 26th to 27th of February [1998] according to the new calendar there reposed in the Lord at holy Mount Athos, the Holy Mountain, "that revered place, the dwelling place of virtue", as Saint Gregory Palamas calls it, a sanctified and fragrant flower from the Garden of the Panagia, and even from the garden of the wilderness of the Holy Mountain, Papa Ephraim of Katounakia.

It was slow for the repose of this blessed and holy Elder to become known, because Papa Ephraim belonged to the category of those monks who did not seek to be promoted, but he remained within the mystery of silence, which is the biggest boast for those who can understand the Spirit. Unfortunately, the modern science of communication is concerned with people who live within the system of informed public opinion, while it ignores heroic figures who live in the freedom of the spirit, since they became exempted from the law of corruption and createdness.

February 26, 2015

A Church Where the Theotokos Confirms the Practice of Fasting


The Panagia of Lithines:
Support for the Sacred Practice of Fasting

In the village of Lithines, located in the Seteia district of Crete, there is an ancient Church dedicated to the Panagia, which celebrates its Feast Day on September 8th.

Conspicuous among the Templon Icons is that of the Panagia of Lithines (or Lithinon), which is framed by innumerable votive offerings, since it has worked many miracles.

The church has a large courtyard and guesthouse. The village residents frequently pass through the forecourt of the church, using it as a shortcut to their homes.

Elder Iakovos Tsalikes: "Fasting is a Commandment of God"


Elder Iakovos of Evia was a lover of fasting and knew by experience its physical and spiritual benefits. During times of temptation, he would eat absolutely nothing, subsisting only on Holy Communion. This is what his model and protector Saint David did for many years. He would eat a simple meal only on Saturdays at noon - and that not always - and on Sunday. Only God knows how he endured such a strict fast with so much manual labor.

Fasting is a commandment of God. Because of this, we should also fast, my children. I have not neglected fasting in my 70 years. My mother taught me fasting from childhood. I am not being a hypocrite, my children, when I fast, but I am doing that which my parents taught me and that which I keep until today, my children. Fasting has never brought sickness upon me.

Elder Timothy Tzannis: On Temperance


By Elder Timothy Tzannis

As the intestine widens, so does our soul distance itself from God.

As the intestine narrows from temperance, the soul dances with the angels.

When the heart is distressed, the abdomen narrows through sacred temperance.

February 25, 2015

Fasting Resource Page

Gluttony, Vatopaidi Monastery
 
Orthodox Fasting 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Secret-Eater Monk 
 
Elder Timothy Tzannis: On Temperance 
 
Fr. Alexander Men: On Keeping the Orthodox Fasts 
 
Dialogue With an Athonite Elder on Fasting 
 
The Power of Prayer and Fasting 
 
Healing By Prayer and Fasting 
 
The Ascetic Corrective (Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople) 
 
Fasting Is Great, But Love Is Greater 
 
Who Should Commune? 
 
To Forgive Is More Admirable Than To Fast 
 
We Ought Not Care More For the Body Than the Soul 
 
Scandalizing By Fasting? 
 
Various Views on Fasting 
 
Should A Child Fast? 
 
A Church Where the Theotokos Confirms the Practice of Fasting 
 
Pouqueville on Greek Fasting Practices in 1798 
 
A Confrontation Between Eugenios Voulgaris and Voltaire 
 
The Man Who Starved to Death While Feeding the Hungry
 
 
Fasting and the Saints  
 
The Lengthy Fasts of the True and False Saints
 
Holy Martyr Hyacinth the Cubicularius of Caesarea 
 
The Childhood Fasting of Hosios Loukas 
 
Saints Anthony, John, and Eustathius of Lithuania 
 
Holy Abba Ares 
 
Saint Aquila the Deacon of the Kiev Caves 
 
The Fragrant Paschal Egg of Saint Iakovos Tsalikes   
 
The Forty Day Fast of Saint Paisios the Athonite for the World

 

General Fasting Rules and Practices

Q & A: Fasting Rules Regarding "No Wine And Oil" Days

Why We Fast From Olive Oil and Not From Olives

Elder Epiphanios Faces Challenging Fasting Questions

Father, Why Don't We Eat Meat During Fasts?


Wednesday and Friday Fasting

The Benefits of Fasting On Wednesdays and Fridays


Day of the Cross Fast (September 14th)

Why Do We Fast on September 14th?

Pontian Customs for the Day of the Cross


The Nativity Fast (November 15-24th)

On the Nativity Fast - When? Why? How?

The Nativity Fast

Why the Nativity Fast Has Been Established

The Nativity Fast and Orthodox Tradition

Reflections On The Nativity Fast

Fasting: "As Old As Humanity"

Christmas With Papa Tychon


Theophany Eve Fast (January 5th)

The Theophany Eve Fast on January 5th

Clarifications and Guidelines for the Observation of Theophany


The Great Fast of Lent (in preparation for Pascha)

Why Orthodox Christians Fast (St. Nikolai Velimirovich)

Why Don't We Fast During the Week of the Publican and the Pharisee?

Advice for Healthy Fasting During Great Lent

Great Lent: A Time of Hunger and Temptation

Tsiknopempti - "Barbecue Thursday"

Why Only No Meat During Cheesefare Week?

Sunday of Cheesefare: Forgiving and Fasting

Let Us Fast With a Fast That is Pleasing To the Lord (St. John Maximovitch)

Great Lent Imitates the Fast of Christ

Why Jesus Fasted After His Baptism

The Holy Forty Day Fast

St. Dorotheos of Gaza: On the Holy Lenten Fast

Sex and Great Lent

Great Lent in Fourth Century Jerusalem

Clean Monday and the First Week of Great Lent

Clean Monday and It's Traditional Observance

How A Cypriot Village Kept the Blessed Three Day Fast

The Year I Kept the Holy Three-Day Fast at the Beginning of Great Lent

Clean Week in the Monasteries of the Holy Land

Homily for Tuesday of the First Week of Great Lent at Great Compline: About Fasting and Its Benefits 

The Fragrant Paschal Egg of Saint Iakovos Tsalikes 

Elder Paisios and the Boiled Milk During Lent

Lagana, the Greek Bread Traditionally Served for Clean Monday

Homily for the First Saturday of Great Lent (St. Symeon the New Theologian)

Metropolitan George of Paphos Interviewed Concerning the Fast of Great Lent

Why Lent Must Rise Again

"You Feed on Men's Flesh and Blood"

St. Theodore the Studite: On Fasting and Dispassion

Concerning the Christians Who Were Massacred in Bulgaria During the Holy Lent, On Account of Meat-eating

Saint Patrick and the Flesh-Meat that Changed into Fishes

Concerning the Diet of the Fathers

Connecticut Diner Observes Orthodox Lent

On our Accomplishing the Days of the Fast Gently and Readily in the Hope of Life Without End

The Man of God From Judah

St. Gregory Palamas on the Fifth Sunday of Lent

Fasting Rules For Annunciation and Palm Sunday

Despite the War, Many of the Greek Soldiers in 1940 Kept the Fasts of the Church 

Lent in Narnia

Your Brain During the Great Fast

A Lenten Lesson


The Apostle's Fast (Second Monday after Pentecost till June 29th)

On the Fast of the Apostles (St. Symeon of Thessaloniki)

A History of the Apostle's Fast

The Fast of the Holy Apostles and the New Calendar

Venerable Macarius' Miracle of the Moose

Holy New Martyr James of Kastoria and his Two Disciples James the Deacon and Dionysios the Monk (+ 1520)


The Dormition Fast (August 1-15th)

The Fast and Preparation for the Feast of the Dormition

Why We Fast for the Dormition of the Theotokos (St. Symeon of Thessaloniki)

The Dormition Fast

The Dormition Fast

Saint John the New Martyr of Monemvasia

The Fasting Maccabees (Demetrios Panagopoulos)


The Beheading of St. John the Forerunner (August 29th)

Orthodox Customs to Honor the Beheading of St. John the Forerunner


Fasting and Science

Fasting and Science

Advice for Healthy Fasting During Great Lent

"Fasting Works Miracles"

"Fasting Works Miracles"

Greek Orthodox Fasting Cleanses Body and Soul

The Health Benefits of Fasting

Does Intermittent Fasting Have Benefits? Science Suggests Yes

If You Want To Avoid Cancer, Live Like A Monk

Vegetative Cures for Cancer

Fasting Reduces Bad Cholesterol

Study Finds A Three-Day Fast Regenerates the Entire Immune System

Health Benefits of Fasting Seen in Dolphins

Study Says Fasting May Help Protect Brain

Effects of Orthodox Christian Fasting on Serum Lipids and Obesity

Fasting for Lent Forces Hyenas to Change Diet


Saint Tarasios, Patriarch of Constantinople (+ 806)

St. Tarasios of Constantinople (Feast Day - February 25)

By Hieromonk Makarios of Simonopetra

This great luminary of Orthodoxy was born at Constantinople into a prominent family of patrician rank. In his uprightness and concern for the defense of the weak and innocent he followed his father, an eminent member of the judiciary, and he shared the great piety of his mother. He completed an extended education during the reigns of Irene and her son Constantine VI. In 780, he was raised to the consular dignity and appointed secretary of state (protosecretis), an office in which he combined outstanding talents with a strong sense of the eternal dimension in human affairs.

In 784, Patriarch Paul IV, who had returned to Orthodoxy after supporting the iconoclasts, resigned and retired to the Monastery of Floros, discouraged by the inextricable problems that affected the Church. To the bitter criticisms of the Empress-Regent and of her son at his resignation, he responded that he could struggle no longer, and he recommended Tarasios as the one capable of restoring the true Faith, and of bringing the Church of Constantinople back to communion with the other Patriarchates.

February 24, 2015

Great Lent: A Time of Hunger and Temptation


By Protopresbyter Fr. Thomas Vamvinis

Fasting and Temptation

Fasting means I don't eat, it is voluntary hunger. Therefore, to fast as an Orthodox during Great Lent is to drive ourselves into a marginal situation in which we feel the demands of the body, but the power of the soul masters it.

This marginal situation is expedient to the tempter to betray us with the most powerful temptations. He does not have power over the struggling fasting Christian, but the Christian is lured by the weaknesses of the body, which the tempter believes he can exploit. This happened with Christ.

Popular Edited Photos of Saint Paisios with their Originals


Those who had the blessing to meet with Saint Paisios the Athonite, remember how he avoided to be photographed. This is why there are so few photos of him which he gave permission for. Most photos of him were taken from a distance or with others, usually with him unaware. For this reason some photos were edited and cropped, and with their distribution it put the originals at risk of being lost. Here they are presented with the originals.

Bulgarian Bones Could Be John the Baptist's, Scientists Say


Richard Greene
February 20, 2015

When the tools of modern science are applied to religious relics, the results are almost always the same: Science says the relics aren't what their supporters claim.

The most famous of them all, the Turin Shroud, is widely regarded as a Middle Ages forgery, and even the Catholic Church does not insist the shroud was actually used to wrap the body of Jesus himself.

So when Bulgarian archeologists announced in 2010 that they had found the bones of John the Baptist, Tom Higham was skeptical.

He got a surprise.

February 23, 2015

Fasting as a Tool of Perfection


“A worker,” notes Saint John Cassian, “takes the trouble to get hold of the instruments that he requires. He does so not simply to have them and not use them. Nor is there any profit for him in merely possessing the instruments. What he wants is, with their help, to produce the crafted objective for which these are the efficient means. In the same way, fasting, vigils, scriptural meditation, nakedness, and total deprivation do not constitute perfection but are the means to perfection. They are not in themselves the end point of a discipline, but an end is attained to through them.” And, “Fasts and vigils, the study of Scripture, renouncing possessions and everything worldly are not in themselves perfection, as we have said; they are its tools. For perfection is not to be found in them; it is acquired through them. It is useless, therefore, to boast of our fasting, vigils, poverty, and reading of Scripture when we have not achieved the love of God and our fellow men. Whoever has achieved love has God within himself and his intellect is always with God.”

12 Changes and Transformations After a Period of Forty Days or Years in the Bible


1. It rained for 40 days and 40 nights when God wanted to cleanse the world and start over.

(Gen 7:12) And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.

2. Noah waited another 40 days after it rained before he opened a window in the Ark.

(Gen 8:6) And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made.

Saint John the Theristis (Harvester) of Calabria

St. John the Harvester (Feast Day - February 23)

By Hieromonk Makarios of Simonopetra

John, a nobleman's son from Cursano near Stylos in Calabria, was born in Sicily, where his mother had been carried into captivity by the Saracens and taken to wife by an Arab notable of Palermo. He was brought up in the Faith and he returned to Calabria at the age of fourteen to be baptized. From that time his intention was to follow the way of life of Saint John the Baptist, whose holy icons he loved to venerate in church.

Saint Damian the Myrrhgusher of Esphigmenou (+ 1280)

St. Damianos of Esphigmenou (Feast Day - February 23)

Saint Damian the Myrrhgusher holds a very prominent place among the saints who lived at the Monastery of Esphigmenou and the nearby hill of Samaria. He was a contemporary and a friend of Saint Kosmas of Zografou who heard instructions from the Holy Mother herself to guard and protect themselves from her enemies and those of her Son, that is, the Latins and those of the same belief system.

Saint Damian desired the yoke of Christ from a very young age. Thus, he came to the Holy Mountain and stayed at the Holy Monastery of Esphigmenou. He was completely obedient to his elder and the rest of the brotherhood. The desire, zeal and reverence that he exhibited during his monastic life as he strived to lead a virtuous life quickly set him apart from the other monks, and set him as an example for others to follow. Everybody looked up to him and sought his spiritual advice.

February 22, 2015

The Meaning of Forgiveness Vespers


By Fr. A.H.

With Forgiveness Vespers, which is celebrated on Cheesefare Sunday evening, Great Lent begins. This solemn period of repentance is offered to us as a way of life. A way of life that brings forgiveness from God, as well as from our brethren.

The Inheritance of the Ancestral Sin


By Archimandrite Maximos Panagiotou,
Holy Monastery of Panagia Paramythia in Rhodes

We did not inherit the guilt of the original ancestral sin, but its consequences. With this, due to our remoteness from God, the entire human race is fallen and is in corruption with the tendency towards evil. This can be given a parallel example: if our natural environment due to our current irrational use of it is irreversibly damaged, the next generations of people will have no responsibility for the evil they were born in, but they will inherit the corruption of nature.

February 21, 2015

Nun Barsanuphia and the Pouch with Thousands of Names


By Nina Pavlova

In Optina Monastery there lived a nun of almost ninety years in age. Her name was Barsanuphia and she wandered with a staff in her hand from one monastery to another.

All of her belongings were contained in two pouches which she carried with her. In one pouch there were some dried pieces of bread, while in the other there were papers with names on them for their commemoration that were mostly old and worn.

Saint Timothy of the Monastery of Symboloi (+ 795)

St. Timothy of Symboloi (Feast Day - February 21)

Verses

Timothy both living and dead,
God honors you both living and dead.
On the twenty-first Timothy was covered in the grave.

Our venerable father Timothy was an Italian by descent and became a monk at an early age. He is said to have lived an ascetic life at the Monastery of Symboloi (Symbola) at Mount Olympus. There Saint Timothy was the disciple of Monk Theosteriktos together with his fellow pupil Saint Plato (Apr. 4), who went on to become the abbot of the neighboring Sakkoudion Monastery.

February 20, 2015

Features of a Religious Extremist


By Archimandrite Arsenios Katerelos

God does not ask for advocates, who can raise the value of Christianity with their words. He asks for believers, who will show through their flawless life the power of Christ.

The best defense of Christianity, as well as its worst defamation, is derived from the life and works of those who allege to be believers.

Many speak of Christianity by the meter, but they live it by the centimeter.

OSU Professor: The Byzantines were Romans


Tom Jackson
Feb 18, 2015
Sandusky Register

Conventional historical thinking is that the Roman Empire "fell" in A.D. 476, when the Germanic tribes finished their occupation of western Europe by deposing the last Western Roman emperor.

But Byzantine and classical scholar Anthony Kaldellis, a professor in the Department of Classics of The Ohio State University, argues that not only did the eastern half of the empire survive for centuries, it kept its Roman identity, even though its citizens mostly spoke Greek.

His new book, "The Byzantine Republic: People and Power in New Rome" (Harvard University Press), defies the received wisdom in Byzantine studies by insisting that Byzantium, as the Eastern Roman Empire is usually known, was a Roman republic in which the people were sovereign. Although it had an emperor, he did not rule as the absolute monarch that he's usually depicted as, Kaldellis asserts. His startling book is aimed at scholars but is well written enough to interest general readers who enjoy history.

Kaldellis' official university website lists 18 different books that he wrote, translated or edited, and numerous articles, book chapters and reviews. His translations include major Byzantine historians such as Prokopios, the major source for figures such as Justinian I and Belisarius. He's currently working on a narrative history of Byzantium from 955 to 1097 A.D., just before the beginning of the Crusades, and he has other projects in the works. He also shoulders a full load of classes, including classes in Latin, Greek, classical literature and classical history.

Despite all that, he took time to answer our questions about his new book and other issues:

February 19, 2015

The House of Saint Philothei


The unknown story of the only surviving mansion from the Ottoman period.

Below the Acropolis, in a bustling neighborhood of Plaka full of tourist shops, behind a tall stone fence - on Adrianou Street, number 96 - is one of the oldest surviving buildings in the city of Athens. This is the family mansion of Benizelos-Palaiologos, a building that has continuously functioned since the 16th century that is essentially connected with moments from the life of Saint Philothei.

"The House of Saint Philothei", therefore, as it is known to the people of the region, was where the relics of the Saint were well hidden in the building until they were surrendered in the early 20th century to the priests of the Archdiocese. Today the relics of the Saint are located in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens and are kept in a silver coffin.

Saint Conon the Baptizer

St. Conon the Baptizer (Feast Day - February 19)

The following incident is recounted by St. John Moschos in his Spiritual Meadow (P.G. 87.2853). The author died in 619, but the event is supposed to have taken place a century earlier, while Peter was archbishop of Jerusalem (524-548).

At the monastery of Penthucla was a certain Conon of Cilicia, a priest assigned to [the ministry of] baptism. Since Conon was an old man of high repute, the [monks] appointed him to perform the baptisms. Thus he used to anoint and baptize those who were presented to him for this. But whenever he did anoint a woman, he felt tempted [lit. ‘scandalised’], and because of this, he wanted to leave the monastery. When he was on the point of leaving, St. John [the Baptist] appeared to him and said: "Have patience, and I will deliver you from this struggle."

February 18, 2015

The Miracle of the Icons of Hagia Sophia that Left the Turks Speechless


By Nikos Chiladakis

An amazing story was brought to light that shows the grandeur of the Orthodox holiness of its greatest architectural creation, that has been characterized as one of the greatest wonders of human civilization, the Church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. This was presented by the Turkish press (in the newspaper Radikal, by the journalist Ömer Erbil), which testified to another powerful sign of the presence of Orthodox holiness in our neighboring country.

Saint Leo I, Pope of Rome

St. Leo of Rome (Feast Day - February 18)

By Hieromonk Makarios of Simonopetra

In the days when the Church of the West was part of the indivisible Church, the Pope of Rome, as bishop of the old imperial city and Patriarch of the West, enjoyed a particular preeminence and was regarded by all Christians as the prime guardian of the apostolic tradition and umpire in matters of dogma. Saint Leo occupied the see of Rome during one of the most critical periods of history, which saw the collapse of the Roman Empire in the West and the Church threatened on all sides by heretics. He proclaimed the wholesome doctrine of the Truth and did his utmost to preserve the unity of the holy Church, for which he is justly venerated in both East and West as Saint Leo the Great.

February 17, 2015

The 11th Century Church of Saints Theodoroi in Klafthmonos Square in Athens


This church (dedicated to St. Theodore the General and St. Theodore the Recruit) was originally founded between 1049 and 1065, and rebuilt with stones and bricks later in the 12th century, as is recorded by two inscriptions, one on the west wall and the other on the west door. It has three naves and one dome. The outer wall is decorated with arranged courses of stones and bricks with curif motifs. The frescoes are much more recent (20th century) and they have been painted by Athanasios Kandris. The church is near Klafthmonos Square, in Evripidou and Skouleniou Street, in the center of Athens.

The Veneration of Saint Theodore the Tiro in Samos

Procession Icon of St. Theodore the Tiro in the Parish Church of Saint Theodore in the city of Samos

It was soon after the martyrdom of Saint Theodore the Tiro that he was honored by Orthodox people, and churches were built in his honor along with that of Saint Theodore the Stratelati. These churches were known by the plural name "Saints Theodoroi" or "Saints Theodoron", and they can be found throughout Greece today (Anavyssos Attica, Thebes, Atalanti Fthiotida, Lamia, Serres, Orestiada Evros, Mytilini). Most memorable is the Byzantine Church of Saints Theodoroi in Klafthmonos Square in Athens, as well as the historic Sacred Monastery of Saints Theodoroi in Sopotos Kalavryta.

A Unique Photo of St. Paisios the Athonite with the Russian Elder Papa Tychon


This is a unique photo from 1966 of Saint Paisios the Athonite with his Spiritual Father and Elder Papa Tychon (1884-1968), when they were visited at their Cell of the Honorable Cross by Joasaphite brothers. Saint Paisios is offering rainwater from the cistern of the Cell, while Hieromonk Tychon gives his blessing.

February 16, 2015

The Preconditions for Canonization


Below is an interview by journalist Maria Papavlachou from the website newsbomb.gr with Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou.

1. Question: What are the characteristic features by which the Church chooses who will enter the List of Saints?

Answer: First we need to define the meaning of holiness, and what does it mean to be a saint according to our ecclesiastical and theological tradition.

A saint is not a good person or even a virtuous person, but someone who exists within the Church with its sacramental and evangelical life, united with Christ, and they feel within them the Grace of Christ. Saint Nicholas Cabasilas says that "they are called holy because of the holy gifts which they partake of, and the body and blood they commune of."

Saint Maruthas of Martyropolis and the Holy Martyrs of Persia Who Rest There

St. Marouthas of Martyropolis (Feast Day - February 16)

Verses

To St. Maruthas
Maruthas loved God very very much,
Standing beside God he is glad very very much.

To the Martyrs of Martyropolis
The city of Martyrs is called such,
Because many there were martyred by the sword.

At the time of Constantine the Great, Liyuta, the ruler of Sophene (or Sophia), a territory to the Southwest of Armenia, fell in love with Mariamne, the Christian daughter of the ruler of a neighboring district on the borders of the Roman and Persian Empires. Mariamne was unwilling to marry a pagan but, through the mediation of Saint James of Nisibis (Jan. 13), her parents agreed to the union. Liyuta was baptized that year on Easter following the intervention of an angel, and a large number of his people embraced the Christian faith.

February 15, 2015

A Homily for Meatfare Sunday: The Love the Lord Seeks on Judgement Day (Fr. George Metallinos)


Meatfare Sunday: Love, Yes, But What Kind of Love?

By Protopresbyter Fr. George Metallinos

1. In today's Gospel reading we are reminded of a great truth. Last Sunday, the sacred Gospel spoke to us about the goodness of God the Father, who awaits the return of that which He fashioned. But this should not lead us to forget His justice. God is not only a loving Father, but also a just Judge.

"Neither is His mercy without judgement, nor His judgement without mercy," says Basil the Great. The Gospels tell us that He will judge the world, and not arbitrarily, but according to our works. Today's reading, therefore, brings us before the event of the Judgement. And we say "event" because this global Judgement is for our Faith an eschatological certainty and reality, which is acknowledged by our Creed as part of our ecclesiastical Faith: "And He will come again to judge the living and the dead...."

We are called, therefore, today to realize three things:

Slavery and Saint Onesimus

Holy Apostle Onesimus (Feast Day - February 15 and November 22)

By Panagiotis Melikidis

On February 15th our Church celebrates the memory of the Apostle Onesimus, who became a Christian through the Apostle Paul when he was a prisoner either in Rome or Ephesus (probably Ephesus, according to modern research).

This brief note will deal with the subject of slavery and its correlation with the case of Onesimus.

First let us note that in the era of Emperor Augustus, half the population of the Roman Empire were slaves. Furthermore, based on the testimonies we have, the living conditions of the slaves were harsher in the West than in the East. For this reason, for example, in 1 B.C. we have the revolt of the slaves in Italy.

February 14, 2015

Elder Ambrose Lazaris: "Marriage Is Like A Row Boat"


When a certain man with his wife visited the Monastery [Dadiou] for the first time, they had the following experience with the Elder [Ambrose Lazaris], who of course knew nothing about them previously.

They greeted him, received his blessing, and stayed silently beside him for a little while. Eventually he asked them their names. Then, suddenly, he said to the husband:

"Your hands and feet will be cut off!"

Holy New Martyr Damian the New (+ 1568)

St. Damianos the New (Feast Day - February 14)

Saint Damian, born around 1510 and a native of Myriochovos (known today as Agia Triada) in Thessaly, became a monk in his youth at the Monastery of Philotheou on Mount Athos. Some years later he embraced the eremitic life under the direction of Domitian, an ascetic endowed with much grace. After three years of contests in all the monastic virtues, he heard a divine voice saying to him, "Damian, you must seek not only your own profit but that of others as well." So he left the Holy Mountain in order to preach the word of God in the villages around Mount Olympus in Thessaly, and then in the region of Kissavos, of Larissa and of Agrapha. He taught the Christians to remain firm in the Faith and, despite Turkish oppression, to live according to the commandments of God.

February 13, 2015

Elder Thaddeus on the Souls of the Dead


Q. Fr. Thaddeus, what can you tell us about the souls of the dead?

A. We should not mourn the dead but instead pray fervently for our departed loved ones that God may grant them to dwell with the angels. This is what He wants from us. Mourning will get us nowhere. By mourning we not only can destroy our own health but can also harm the peace that the souls of the deceased have received from the Lord. We must pray for our loved ones. We must not be sorrowful and depressed. Excessive sorrow for our loved ones who have left this world is not a Christian act, but an act of godlessness. We prepare ourselves in this life for eternal life. We must be thankful for everything and thank God for taking the souls of our departed loved ones to Himself.

St. Gregory the Great on the Unity of the Three Apostolic Sees of Rome, Antioch and Alexandria


When Saint Gregory the Great (Mar. 12) was Pope of Rome, he had a lively correspondence with Saint Eulogios, Pope of Alexandria (Feb. 13), and in Letter 40 of Book 7 he writes the following about the unity of the three Sees of Rome, Antioch and Alexandria due to their association with the Apostle Peter, and their mutual authority:

February 12, 2015

Saint Meletios of Antioch as a Model for our Lives

St. Meletios of Antioch (February 12)

By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas

Saint Meletios was born in Melitene (modern Malatya) of Lesser Armenia at around 310 A.D. He was ordained Bishop of Sebastia and then was made Archbishop of Antioch in 360. He was pious, gentle, candid and educated. Because of his Orthodox mindset, he was exiled by the Arians thirty days after his enthronement. But during the short period while he was Archbishop of Antioch he managed to strengthen and make firm his flock in the Orthodox faith, so as to enable them to survive the test of the coming of the heretics.

February 11, 2015

Holy Hieromartyr Blaise, Bishop of Sebaste, and Those With Him

St. Blaise of Sebastea and those with him (Feast Day - February 11)

By Hieromonk Makarios of Simonopetra

Born in the province of Armenia and a physician by profession, Saint Blaise (Vlasios) led a life life like the righteous Job, "being blameless and upright, and one who feared God and eschewed evil" (Job 1:1). His virtues having won him the affection of all his fellow-citizens, he was elected Bishop of Sebaste (Sivas) in Eastern Anatolia. During the Great Persecution, he boldly confessed the Faith and encouraged the holy Martyrs "to fight the good fight" to the end. He visited Saint Eustratios in his dungeon before his glorious martyrdom and served the Divine Liturgy for him. Afterwards he took it upon himself to collect the honorable relics of the Five Martyrs (Dec. 13) in order to present them for the veneration of the Christian people.

Should Prayer Be Our Last Resort in Troubles?


"All I can do now is pray."

How many times have we heard this from others and also said it ourselves? It is true: ALL we can do is pray...but that is not how this is usually said.

Usually, there is a sigh, a shrug of the shoulders and then, "Well, all I can do now is pray" after we have turned to every worldly solution which man has to offer for whatever problem may be facing us: troubled marriage, illness, rebellious children, trouble at work or school, misunderstandings between friends or family, etc. Although it is not the intention of the one who uses this expression, it comes across as, "Well, I, in my great knowledge, vast abilities and wisdom, have done everything possible to solve this and nothing has worked; so, Lord, maybe, just maybe, You can do something. I have exhausted all my resources and now have no where else to turn."

February 10, 2015

Saint Zeno the Letter Carrier as a Model for our Lives

St. Zeno the Letter Carrier (Feast Day - February 10)

By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas

Saint Zeno came from Cappadocia and lived in the fourth century. For several years he worked as a messenger of the letters of the Emperor Valens, which somewhat makes him a postman, and this is why those who work in post offices in Greece honor his memory and revere him as their patron. Of course, at that time there were no organized post offices, but there were plenty of people who engaged in the handling of letters, which was then the basic means of communication between people and their loved ones who were in distant places.

Saint Haralambos Resource Page


Verses

Through the sword, Haralambos, you were deemed worthy
Of the brightness and joy of the Martyrs.
On the tenth, Haralambos, you were decapitated at the neck.
 
 
 
 
The Relics of Saint Haralambos the Wonderworker