CLIFFTOP MONASTERIES OF METEORA, GREECE

CLIFFTOP MONASTERIES OF METEORA, GREECE

Caves and Fissures used by 9th Century Hermits

In the northwest corner of Thessaly, the wide bed of the Pinios River emerges from the mighty canyons of the Eastern Pindus Mountains that plummet abruptly onto the Thassalian plain. Here, in the shadow of the mountains and just beyond the town of Kalampaka, massive gray colored pinnacles rise towards the sky. It is a strange but breathtaking landscape that has been sculpted by wind and water over thousands of years. These smooth, vertical rocks have become a favorite destination for rock climbers who are, perhaps, the only ones today who can truly appreciate the feat of the 9th century hermits who first climbed them to settle in the caves and fissures of the rocks. On Sundays, they clambered down from their cells to celebrate mass in Doupiani and as their numbers increased, the Theotokos of Doupiani was established as the first semi-organized community during the 11th century. By the 14th century, the Byzantine Empire was already on the wane and the monastic communities of the Athos peninsula were increasingly besieged by Turkish pirates. After an encounter with brigands, three monks, Gregory, Moses and Athanasius, left the Monastery of Iviron on the western coast of the peninsula to search for a new home. They had heard of ‘miracles’ taking place in the land of the great rock forest and on arriving there, settled on top of the rock called Stylos or the Pillar where they built a hesychasterion or wooden hut. Later, Athanasius assembled a small community and constructed a few cells and a chapel in a cave on the nearby Platys Lithos or the Broad Rock. The Serbian Emperor, Symeon Uros provided them with an endowment that allowed them to build the Church of the Transfiguration around 1356 and to expand the monastery with more cells and cloisters. His son, John Uros, retired here as the Monk Ioasaph about 1373 adding to the already sizable endowment enjoyed by the Grand Meteoron, also known as the Monastery of the Transfiguration. Ioasaph assumed authority upon the death of Athanasius in 1383 and he further expanded the monastery and the Church.

Monastery of the Holy Trinity

Meaning ‘suspended in air’ the name Meteora soon came to encompass the entire rock community of 24 monasteries. There were no steps and the main access to the monasteries was by means of a net that was hitched over a hook and hoisted up by rope and a hand cranked windlass to winch towers overhanging the chasm. Monks descended in the nets or on retractable wooden ladders up to 40m long to the fertile valleys below to grow grapes, corn and potatoes. Each community developed its own resources and by the end of the 14th century, the Grand Meteoron emerged as the dominant community. Its wealth included landed estates, flocks of sheep, and herds of cattle. After Ioasaph died in 1422, Meteora gradually plunged into a period of disorder and decline. Unscrupulous men expropriated the income of the monasteries, Vlach squatters settled in Holy Trinity and Kallistratos and a squint eyed monk named Theodore lived with two women dressed as monks in the Monastery of the Pantocrator. The rock community enjoyed a brief revival of monasticism in the 16th Century under the reign of Suileman the Magnificent who relaxed earlier prohibitions on the building and restoration of Christian churches but lapsed once again into decline. By the 18th century, Meteora had become a refuge center for Greeks escaping the increasingly harsh administration and taxation of the Ottoman overlords as well as a hideout of the klephts, rebel warriors who harassed the Turks and participated in the fight for independence in the 19th century. The German and Italian occupation during World War II saw further looting and destruction of the monasteries. Today, only six monasteries survive as museums. They are sparsely occupied by a few monks and nuns but they offer a rare glimpse of Orthodox monastic life.
Best Times to Go: The Monasteries of Meteora may be visited year round but the weather is wet and cool from December to March. Crowds and high season rates are guaranteed from July 1st to October 15th . May and June are the best months for comfortable weather, low season rates and the opportunity to leisurely explore the area.
Getting There: Buses to Kalampaka are available from Ioannina, Trikala, Thessaloniki and Athens. It is also possible to take the train from Thessaloniki or Athens with a switch at Larissa. If you are traveling from Athens, take a morning train so that you can enjoy the spectacular scenery as you pass through the mountains between Livadia and Lamia.
Clothing/Gear: Appropriate clothing is required to visit the monasteries. Sleeveless clothing and shorts are prohibited. Skirts and shawls are available at the entrance for those who are deemed to be unacceptably dressed (including guys wearing shorts and tanktops).

Grand Meteoron Courtyard

General Information: A visit to the Monasteries of Meteora is highly recommended. Each monastery charges a small admission fee. The nearby towns of Kalampaka and Kastraki have become very touristy with accompanying higher rates than the outlying areas. We suggest combining a trip to Meteora with another destination such as Zagoria or the Halkidiki peninsula. If you do not plan to travel to other areas in northern Greece or if your time is limited, the most efficient way to visit Meteora is to take a bus tour from Athens. You can usually negotiate a good deal with any of the several travel agencies to be found around Syntagma Square.
The Greek National Tourist Organization produces a brochure entitled "Greece: Thessalia Meteora" which lists several A, B and C class hotels in Kalampaka as well as their telephone numbers. Unlisted are many D and E class hotels, domatia and campsites. A listing can be obtained from the local Tourist Police located near the bus station (Hatzipetrou 10, Kalampaka Tel: 2432022813, 2432022109). Hotel rooms in the A,B and C classes cost about $50-$100 per night for a double in the high season and about a third less in the low season.
The village of Kastraki is closer to the monasteries and convenient for those who want to visit by foot but there are more options for food and lodging in Kalampaka.
Planning Tips:

• Plan to spend a full day at Meteora. You will delight in the play of light on the rocks and their changing moods. On sunny mornings, the red roof tiles of the monasteries glisten in sharp contrast to the weather-stained grayness of the rocks while the late afternoon sun bathes the landscape with a golden glow. At nighttime, the rocks are dramatically illuminated by spotlights while autumnal mists shroud them in an ethereal mysteriousness that must have appealed to the hermits and monks who sought refuge from the things of the world.
• Explore the paths between the rock towers but be careful because they are not all intact and some scrambling over uneven ground is required.
• Acquaint yourself with Greek Orthodoxy. It will enhance your appreciation of the Churches and Monasteries of Meteora and their valuable displays of Byzantine art. There are volunteers at the Church of the Transfiguration who will explain the rich tradition of Byzantine iconography.
• Remember to carry bottled water, especially if you are visiting the monasteries by foot. There are refreshment vendors along the road by the monasteries but their prices are excessive.

Related Books:

• Greece: A Lonely Planet Travel Survival Kit by David Willett, Rosemary Hall, Paul Hellander and Kerry Kenihan provides excellent general travel information on Greece. They also provide food and lodging recommendations for small villages like Kastraki.
• Roumeli: Travels in Northern Greece by Patrick Leigh Fermor is one of the best travel books written about Northern Greece. "The Monasteries of the Air" is a chapter that should be read before visiting Meteora but it is likely that you will want to read the book in its entirety.
• Monasteries of Greece by Chris Hellier is a lavish "coffee table" book with a chapter on Meteora. It features beautiful photographs with an interesting text. It also has a wonderful chapter on Mt. Athos, the preeminent monastic community that is closed to women and allows only restricted visitation by non-Orthodox men.

Download Many of Historian David Irving's Books for Free via Focal Point Publishing ~

Historian of World War II & The Holocaust™, David Irving, is making his books available in pdf format (and maybe other formats also) for free! No strings attached (external link) 

This is a very generous undertaking.  I've noticed over the past three years that many Holocaust™ revisionists have their books, monographs, academic papers, & thesis' available for free online.  I think this shows that they aren't necessarily in it for the money.  (On the contrary, many Holocaust™ revisionist's go bankrupt, having their livelihood ruined by the Kosher Kriminals involved in the brutal coverup.)  When & if you can, try to purchase some hard copies of books & pamphlets from some of the brilliant minds involved in revisionism.  (The Barnes Review journal, IHR, CODOH, etc) 

True Freedom (from the Sober Catholic website

 True Freedom (from Sober Catholic)

Posted: 26 Mar 2012 07:46 PM PDT

Freedom, the lack of it, the excess of it, or the abuse of it, is an undercurrent of the culture wars of today. Everyone wants it, everyone pretty much gets resentful when someone else uses it, and what it means for one person doesn’t necessarily hold for another. Nevertheless, what is freedom to the Christian?

True freedom is freedom from sin. Sin cuts us off from God. Sin prevents us from fulfilling our potential as true adopted children of God. Sin is an offense against God and also an offense against other people’s dignity and our own.

No one is sinless, and we all suffer from the effects of sin and of repeatedly falling into a state of sin (concupiscence). Nevertheless the struggle to resist temptation mirrors the struggle for freedom. We all struggle to get what we want that we think would make us “free.”. It may be things we feel we are entitled to and things we are responsible for and take care of and things we are obligated to do. Responsibilities and obligations do not curtail our freedom, despite the fact that in fulfilling them, we may not be doing what we’d prefer. Selfishness is an abuse of freedom. We are not isolated individuals, we are a part of a community of people (although that seems hard to fathom at times) and our freedom should not really be at the expense of others.

The struggle against the flesh, a war fought from Adam and Eve’s time that manifests itself most vividly today in the culture wars (Life versus “Choice”, Christianity versus the World, etc.) is a battle fraught with pain and anxiety. The constant war against temptations, difficult to do in the excessively sexualized Western countries, has damaged individuals and societies.

For those of us addicted to something, we remember the relief we felt when we succumbed to the addiction. Perhaps we realized that we drank too much and tried to stop, either by our own efforts or through a 12 Step program. We tried real hard, resisting the urge to drink and remember feeling trapped by our desires. Relief was all that we desired, but it was to no avail until we drank again. And then we felt free.

But it was a false freedom, for we remained trapped by the addiction. The temporary relief sufficed for a while, and after a period of time we felt the draw to drink again. We might struggle against the temptation, and we might win or succumb again depending upon circumstances.

But the temptation is often there. As it is with us now after a period of sobriety, the temptation for something is not far away. I remember a few years ago I was feeling frustrated in my sobriety, that I couldn’t “do anything fun.” I remember praying to have a “safe vice.”

Nowadays many people are cross-addicted, (addicted to several things). Quite often sex or pornography is the other addiction.

As I said above it is hard to resist such things in the hyper-sexualized world of today.

There are no easy answers in how to cope with temptation. No quick and easy solutions. Satan will keep hammering away at you until he succeeds. There is temporary respite in the form of prayer, Bible reading, attending Mass or Adoration, or going to Confession. Once I immerse myself in “Church stuff” such as those, I feel the wolves have been scared away. I feel more fully reconnected to God and holiness and I feel truly free. I feel close to God and the community of the Church, I feel more like the way I am supposed to be. Truly free, unencumbered by the shackles of addiction or temptation or desires of the world.

There may be some value in temptation. Satan isn’t going to bother with you if you are in his clutches. If you are in a state of mortal sin, he won’t bother tempting you. You already belong to him. Even if you have committed only a number of venial sins, he may not bother you that much. Not to imply that that there is a formula like ‘x’ number of venial sins = 1 mortal sin, but the cumulative effect of numerous venial sins may make it easier for you to commit a mortal sin. Sort of like a snowball effect, it gets bigger and bigger unless it is checked. You become prone to immorality, it is only a matter of time before you find yourself deeper in it. So, temptation may be a sign of your holiness. Do some “Church stuff” and increase the holiness. It helps you to rebound after you do sin. This is what defined the saints. Sure, they all lead holy lives of heroic virtue. They needed heroism to be victorious over sin. They always picked themselves up after a fall.

So that is it. Like the contradiction of the Cross, wherein death brings life:

1 Corinthians 1:23: “But we are preaching Christ crucified. Certainly, to the Jews, this is a scandal, and to the Gentiles, this is foolishness.”

(Via Sacred Bible: Catholic Public Domain Version.)

Truth is sometimes confounding. God’s Truth usually confounds human reason to the point of seeming ridiculous. So it is with “true freedom,” it is not what we normally think it is.

† The Characteristics of & Conditions for Answered Prayers †

†The Characteristics of and Conditions for Answered Prayers†



† † †
Having explained to his visitors, the two monks, Cassian and Germaine the spiritual meaning of our Lord's Prayer, St. Isaac reiterated, "This is the prayer outline that our Lord has given us to pray with; a type of prayer, void of requests for wealth, honor, physical power, health, nor anything related to this transient life. This is so, because He Who is the founder of eternal life, wants that mankind ask him not for trivial, volatile, ephemeral things; For when man neglects supplicating for eternal things, choosing instead to ask for the transient ones, he will offend the mightiness and generosity of his Creator; and through the pettiness of his prayers, will incur upon himself the Judge's wrath instead of His compassion."

The Advantages of Fervent Prayers:

The Lord's Prayer comprises perfection in it fullness. For it is the Lord Himself who has instituted it, establishing its words through His authority. When man transcends to this praying mode, it will elevate him to a sublime state, and assist him to continue journeying his path in spite of hardships. This type of prayer, which in reality, is indescribable, noiseless, motionless, and speechless, is experienced by very few. It transcends all human thoughts illuminating the mind through the pouring of that heavenly light that no human language could describe, but which pours out lavishly as from an overflowing spring of profound thoughts expressing to God, in an indescribable way, in the least amount of time, grand things that the human brain, after returning to its normal state, will not be able to describe. This mode of prayer and the resultant subsequent state had formerly been practiced by the Lord too, while agonizing in His prayers, alone on the mountain of Gethsemane. He was said to have silently poured His supplications, while His sweat was falling like drops of blood. These have been transcendental praying models and examples for us to follow.

Concerning trust in prayers:

St. Isaac: "Any doubt, through some kind of loss of hope, overshadowing our prayers, will destroy our trust in what we ask for. While pouring out our hearts in prayers, let our feelings be those of complete assurance that we have already attained the desire of our heart and that certainly our requests have reached the throne of God. For in as much as we believe in God's care for us and His ability to grant us our desires, will God hear and answer our requests; Because God can never go back on His Words "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them" (Mark 11:24).

Germaine: "We are sure that this trust in God's answering our prayers springs from purity of heart. Whereas we, whose hearts still get afflicted by the stings of sin, how could we attain such trust while we have no interceding worthiness to cause us to trust in the acceptance of our prayers?"

Conditions for Answering Prayers:

St. Isaac: "The Holy Bible teaches that there are different reasons or conditions for answered prayers, based on the variability and changeability of every soul. These conditions are:

First: The agreement of two people in asking for the same thing will blossom into fruitful prayers. "Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven" (Mt 18:19).

Second: Faith, even if it were as a mustard seed. "So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you..."" (Mt 17:20).

Third: Importuning, as described by our Lord and which means continuing and persisting in praying and supplicating tirelessly without losing heart. "I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs" (Lk 11:8).

Fourth: Giving "Store up almsgiving in your treasury, and it will rescue you from every disaster" (Sirach 29: 12).

Fifth: Purification of one's life and merciful acts "Is this not the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; when you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light shall break forth like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.'…" (Is 58:6-9).

Sixth: Unbearable afflictions can move God to answer prayers. "In my distress I cried to the Lord, and He heard me" (Ps 120:1) and "You shall neither mistreat a stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child. If you afflict them in any way, and they cry at all to Me, I will surely hear their cry; and My wrath will become hot, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless. If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him interest. If you ever take your neighbor's garment as a pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down. For that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin. What will he sleep in? And it will be that when he cries to Me, I will hear, for I am gracious" (Exodus 22: 21-27)

Thus, it is through many ways that we obtain the gift of answered prayers in order that we may not be deprived of securing useful needs or everlasting eternal affairs. I firmly believe that in reflecting over our pettiness, we will discover our void of all the virtues just cited, that we do not have the worth-of-praise total agreement between two, faith like a mustard seed, nor mercy acts as described by the prophet.

The availability of importunate prayers to all:

Certainly, we cannot be totally void of that persistence which God provides to all those who desire it, through which God has promised granting whatever we ask of Him and for which we should subsequently persist in our insistence in praying without loosing faith nor doubting that by continuing praying along with those requirements, we will receive all those things we have asked for according to His will.

In His desire to grant us the heavenly eternal things, God urges us to inform Him through importunity in praying. For, He does not despise nor reject he who is persistently insistent. Rather He welcomes and praises him, promising to lavishly grant anything importunely asked of Him, "And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive" (Mt 21: 22) and "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you, for everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened" (Lk 11: 9, 10).

Thus, even if we ran short of all the support upon the foundation of which our prayers are heard, our discourse on persistence in prayers will encourage us because the latter is available to all who wants it as it does not need the toils and struggles required to attain virtues.

If man doubts in his persistence, his prayers will not be answered. For, we have learned from the blessed prophet, Daniel, to ask of God without losing heart. Although his prayers had been answered from the first day of praying; yet Daniel obtained the results of his supplications twenty days later (Daniel 10: 2-13). Hence, we ought to not become slack in the seriousness of our prayers, thinking that answers will not come except slowly, lest Divine Providence become tardy, or the angel in charge of delivering the Divine blessing, on exiting from the Almighty's presence might be deterred by Satan's resistance. It is certain, though, that the angel cannot deliver the granted request when he discovers how sluggish we have become in the earnestness with which we have started our importunity.

Assuredly enough, this is what would have happened with Daniel the Prophet, had he not persisted in his prayers with unprecedented steadfastness till the twenty first day.

Also, we have to appreciate St. John's words which have clearly unfolded the obscurity of this matter, "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us" (1Jn 5:14) and with which he commands us to have complete, doubtless trust in attaining transient benefits and comforts that are in accordance with God's will; For we have learned in the Lord's Prayer to say "Let Thy will be done" not ours. While we recall St. Paul's words, "Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered" (Rom 8:26), we realize that sometimes we ask for what disagrees with our salvation. Thus, such requests might be denied by Him Who, through His Divine Providence, sees what is beneficial for us in a far better, more correct way than we can see. The same thing happened with the Gentiles' prophet when he had asked that the messenger of Satan depart from him, but who for whose benefit and well being, God had allowed to inflict him. "And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me'" (2 Cor 12:7-9).

While in the flesh, our Lord, expressing the same feelings, "He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, 'O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.'" (Mt 26:39), thus providing us with a prayer model. While His will was not against His Father's, "For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost" (Mt 18:11) and "just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many" (Mt 20:28), saying about himself "No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father" (Jn 10:18), preserving the exact unity between the Father and the Son that David had chanted "I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness in the great assembly; indeed, I do not restrain my lips, O LORD, You Yourself know" (Psalm 40:9); "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (Jn 3:16), we find the Son "who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father" (Gal 1:4); and as was said about the Father, "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" (Rom 8:32) so was written about the Son, "Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand" (Is 53:10) and even in the Lord's Resurrection we have learned that the Father's will was according to the Son's as the Apostle says, "Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead)" (Gal 1:1) so does the Son testify that He will resurrect His body saying, "Jesus answered and said to them, 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up'" (Jn 2:19). Therefore, if we learn from the Lord through all these examples, it behooves us to end our supplications with the same expression of our Lord's "not according to my will but according to yours".

Go into Your Room and Shut Your Door:

Before keeping anything, one has to keep the Biblical command to enter their room, shut the door and pray to their Father Who is in the secret place, "But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly" (Mt 6:6). To pray in the secret means to detach our hearts from all thoughts and preoccupations offering our prayers secretly in a hidden relation with the Lord. That means we are to pray to the One Who asks for the heart not the words. To pray in the secret means to offer supplications to God alone from a fervent heart and mind, so that no opposing power may unfold the nature of our supplications. In addition, we have to pray in complete quietude not only to avoid drawing the attention of those near us to our loud voice thus confusing them; but also to hide from our watchful enemies the content and gist of our supplications and so fulfill the commandments to "Guard the doors of your mouth From her who lies in your bosom" (Micah 7:5).

The Value of a Short Silent Prayer:
 
We must pray frequently with succinct words in order not to distance our prayers, lest by doing so we give our enemy the chance to plant something in our hearts. For, the true sacrifice to God is a broken spirit "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart- these, O God, You will not despise" (Ps 51:17). The useful, pure offering is "the sacrifice of righteousness, (Ps 51:19), and the sacrifice of praise (Ps 50:23 & 66:15). These are the true sacrifices that show the spirit's zeal with which it can powerfully and effectively sing "Let my prayer be set before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice" (Ps 141:2).

But now that time is running short and darkness has fallen, we feel the need to do this: offer prayers characterized with the same traits we have just mentioned. It seems we have presented you with a useful topic as much as our frail power has allowed. We have exhausted our talk extensively. However, when it comes to the transcendence and difficulty of the topic, we feel we haven not said much.

With these words of St Isaac's we were astounded and satisfied. Then, after the evening service, we rested for a while till dawn, very joyful because of what we had gained through those recommendations and spiritual knowledge about prayer.
† † †

**The canon of the Ethiopian Bible**

The Bible 

The Holy Scriptures are one of the two great foundations of the faith and here is what our church holds and teaches concerning it. The word of God is not contained in the Bible alone, it is to be found in tradition as well. The Sacred Scriptures are the written word of God who is the author of the Old and New Testaments containing nothing but perfect truth in faith and morals. But God’s word is not contained only in them, there is an unwritten word of God also, which we call apostolic tradition. We receive the one and other with equal veneration.

The canon of the Ethiopic Bible differs both in the Old and New Testament from that of any other churches.
List all books. As a whole, books written in the Geez language and on parchment are numerous. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church has 46 books of the Old Testament and 35 books of the New Testament that will bring the total of canonized books of the Bible to 81.

These are the following

A. The Holy Books of the Old Testament

1. Genesis
2. Exodus
3. Leviticus
4. Numbers
5. Deuteronomy
6. Joshua
7. Judges
8. Ruth
9. I and II Samuel
10. I and II Kings
11. I Chronicles
12. II Chronicles
13. Jublee
14. Enoch
15. Ezra and Nehemia
16. Ezra (2nd) and Ezra Sutuel
17. Tobit
18. Judith
19. Esther
20. I Maccabees
21. II and III Maccabees
22. Job
23. Psalms
24. Proverbs
25. Tegsats (Reproof)
26. Metsihafe Tibeb (the books of wisdom)
27. Ecclesiastes
28. The Song of Songs
29. Isaiah
30. Jeremiah
31. Ezekiel
32. Daniel
33. Hosea
34. Amos
35. Micah
36. Joel
37. Obadiah
38. Jonah
39. Nahum
40. Habakkuk
41. Zephaniah
42. Haggai
43. Zechariah
44. Malachi
45. Book of Joshua the son of Sirac
46. The Book of Josephas the Son of Bengorion

B. The holy books of the New Testament

1. Matthew
2. Mark
3. Luke
4. John
5. The Acts
6. Romans
7. I Corinthians
8. II Corinthians
9. Galatians
10. Ephesians
11. Philippians
12. Colossians
13. I Thessalonians
14. II Thessalonians
15. I Timothy
16. II Timothy
17. Titus
18. Philemon
19. Hebrews
20. I Peter
21. II Peter
22. I John
23. II John
24. III John
25. James
26. Jude
27. Revelation
28. Sirate Tsion (the book of order)
29. Tizaz (the book of Herald)
30. Gitsew
31. Abtilis
32. The I book of Dominos
33. The II book of Dominos
34. The book of Clement
35. Didascalia

The Ethiopic version of the Old and New Testament was made from the Septuagint. It includes the book of Enoch, Baruch, and the third and fourth Esdras. In the international Bible studies there are certain books belonging to the class usually designated pseudepigraphic. The whole Christendom and whole-learned world owes a debt of gratitude to the church of Ethiopia for the preservation of those documents.

Among these books is the book of Enoch which throws so much light on Jewish thought on various points during the centuries immediately preceding the Christian era. The book of Jubilee (Kufale, i.e. Division) otherwise known as the Little Genesis has also been preserved entire only in the Ethiopic version. The preservation of yet one more book in its entity, namely, the Ascension of Isaiah, is to be remembered to the credit of the Ethiopic Church.

But books, which should be considered for higher education and could be prepared carefully in order to suit modern thinking, are the following.

1. Theological books such as the following

- Haymanote Abew or the Faith of the Fathers in which other writings of the Apostolic Fathers and also of the Eastern Orthodox Church fathers are to be found.
- Works of St. Cyril and many other writers.
- The exegesis of the letter to the Hebrews by St. John Chrysostom.
- The pastoral work of St. John Chrysostom.
- Severious of Asmunage – a collection of twelve exegetical works, which prove the teaching concerning God.
- A book that proves the existence of God Hilawae – Melekote
- The book of Hawi, which proves the teaching concerning God.
- Book of the mystery by Abba Georgis containing arguments and evidence about the mysteries.
- Religious documentary book by Jacob of Elbaredia.
- The true faith (written during the reign of Zera Yacob)
- The five pillars of the Sacraments (as Catechism).

M E I L A D

2. Books that have the orders of the church

- The liturgical book with the 14 Anaphora
- Ghitsacwa –Lectionaries or a list of annual reading of the scriptures during the liturgical service and other prayer hours.
- The book of the Sacrament of Matrimony (Metsehafe Teklil)
- The book of Baptism
- The book of Ordination
- The book of Covenant
- The prayer book for the dead
- The prayer book of the Incense
- The book of Canon
- The prayer book of purification

3. Books on Church administration and on counseling

- A big book on the Synod of the Apostles in four parts
- The Didache and Abthulis
- The book on the Synod of Nicea
- The book on the Synod of Galatia
- The book on the Synod of Antioch
- The book on the Synod of Lethokia
- The book on the Synod of Kerthica
- The book on the Synod of Esrskousia
- The book on the Synod of Srethia
- The book of Fetha Negast
- Spiritual Medicine (Fewse Menfsawi)
- Exegesis on the meeting of clergy (Tikbe Kahenat)

4. Scared books

Most of these books are written in sections or parts for bindings, these are

- The old & The New Testaments
- The Books of the scholars of the Church
- Metsehafe Menequsat (book of the Monks)

5. Hymn books, mostly by St. Yared
- Digua
- Thesome Digua
- Mieraf
- Zimare
- Mewasiet
- Zik
- Mezmur
- Liturgy (Kedasie)
- Saatat (of ABBA Giorgis)

6. Books on Calendar

- Book of Abushakir
- Sid, the Son of Batrik
- Mark son of Kenbar
- Leader of Blind – by Demetros
- Mathematics concerning calendar by the Monastery of Bizen

7. Historical Books

- First writing on Zion
- Biography (Gedle) of Lalibela
- History of the Kings of Axum
- History of the Kings of Zagwe
- On the treasure of the kings
- On the honor of the Kings
- Tefut
- Biography (Gedle) of Tekla Haimanot
- George the son of Amid
- History of Alexander
- Works of the brothers – Part II
- Books on preaching

8. Compositions (works) on the virgins (celibates)

- Writings (compositions) on the woman who anointed Jesus
- Compositions (writings) on the Samaritan woman
- Writings on the birth of Christ
- Writings on Epiphany
- Writings on the Resurrection etc.

9. Writings that describe the biography of the martyrs

Biography and works of St. George
“ “ “ St. Kopnious
“ “ “ St. Irenaeus
“ “ “ St. Gelwdewos
“ “ “ Forty soldiers of Heaven

10. Different philosophical books

- Wogris the Wise (philosopher)
- Angare Felasfa (collections from philosophers)
- Thoughts and commentary of Zera Yacob of Axum

11. Books on the tradition and culture of the country

- On old age and adolescence
- Customs and traditions of Ethiopia

12. Books on nature and science

- Books on nature and science Part II and I
- Aximaros
- Phisalgos on animals and others

13. Books, which show writings of compositions

- The composition or writing of one of the criminals (outlaws), who was hanged with Jesus
- On the Miracles of St. Mary and many other apocryphal books are to be found.

14. Ancient grammatical books

There are very many grammatical books written by different people and found at different places in the world. The above noted are but a very few examples from among the different books numbered by the thousands that the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church has. In the past, at present and even in the future either in the church or at the schools what the church uses for educational services was and will not be outside of these books.

In the past, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church had not much opportunity to expand and propagate the above, noted doctrine and orders of the church inside and outside the nation; this is because of the different circumstances prevailing in the surroundings of the country. Because of the advent of European Colonialism upon its neighboring African countries and the great monetary support that other religious groups received to convert Africans. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church had no other choice but to defend on and preserve all here Christian legacy. Henceforth, she was unable to raise her apostolic voice louder among her African brothers and sisters. Nevertheless, the sense of freedom that the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church maintained for centuries being, the torch of freedom to all Africa has enabled Africans to be aware of their freedom.

In this 20th century, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church is conducting many apostolic missions – that is organizing church councils and founding clergy training programs within the country; and carrying on her apostolic missionary activities.

CANON LAW
The canons, regulations of Christian instruction and worship of the Ethiopian Church, are contained in the Sinodos and Didascalia, two compilations of ancient church canons, dating from the second period of Ethiopic literature. These canons are closely associated with the New Testament.

The Sinodos, classed as part of Ethiopic New Testament, is composed of various elements: Constitutions of Apostles, the Statutes of the Apostles, the Canons of the Apostles, the canons of Various councils-Nicaea, Gangra, Sardica, Antioch, New-Caesarca, Aneyra, Laodienea – and various theological and pastoml treatises. Eight books make up the Sinodos. Sinodos is the Corpus juris Ecclesiastic of the Church. The various discourses and treaties included in this Corpus are:

1. An exposition of the dialogue ascribed to St. John Chrysostom.
2. On the Essence of the Holy Trinity.
3. On the fear of God.
4. On the ancient people and a refutation of the Jews.
5. A discourse of St. Gregory of Armenia against the Jews.
6. Hortatory discourse to believers who desire to walk in the paths of wisdom and knowledge.
7. Hortatory discourse to believers who desire to walk in the paths of wisdom and knowledge.
8. The discourse of the Nicene Fathers on the Holy Trinity.
9. The penitential canons of our Lord to Peter.

The Didascalia a document well known in the Christian Church originally composed in Greek probably in the middle of the third century, a discourse on Church life and society. The whole work was afterwards, somewhere in the fourth century, incorporated in the Apostolic Constitutions. It has Latin, Arabic and Syriac versions, which differ among themselves and from the Ethiopic version with regard to the subject matter. The Ethiopia Didascalia contains the first seven books of the Apostolic Constitutions and it represents a form intermediate between the shorter Syriac Didascalia and the complete work of Apostolic Constitutions.

Briefly the contents of the document are: Questions of morality, the duty of studying the Scriptures and observance of the Seventh Commandment, mutual duties of husband and wife, offices and duties of Christian ministers; the duties of widows; the method of baptism, laymen not to baptize; vows of virginity; the duties of the faithful towards the martyrs; observance of Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy week and method of calculating the date of Easter; warning against heresy; respect to be shown to the faithful departed; prayers to be used on specified and unspecified occasions.

“Glory be to the Almighty God,” Amen.

Source

A short history, faith and order of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church, published by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church Holy Synod, Addis Ababa 1983.

Edited by Aymero W and Joachim M., The Ethiopian Orthodox Church, published by the Ethiopian Orthodox mission, Addis Ababa 1970.

Captured German War Films (1945)

Father Justin, Saint Catherine's Monastery

A great lecture by Fr. Justin in the worlds oldest monastery, Saint Catherine's in

Mt Sinai. Very interesting!

Orthodox Chant

More beautiful Orthodox chanting...

"The Ring and the Cross" Cool story about J.R.R. Tolkien & His Chritian Writings

 

 

The Ring and the Cross

How J.R.R. Tolkien became a Christian writer

 

From their mastery of Middle-earth geography to their occasional fluency in Elvish, fans of the "Lord of the Rings'' books tend to be a pretty knowledgeable bunch. But many would be surprised to learn that J.R.R. Tolkien's great medievalist epic had a co-author: God. According to Peter Kreeft, a Catholic philosopher at Boston College, Tolkien was under the divine spell when he composed his sprawling trilogy. "Of course it's inspired; it's got His fingerprints all over it,'' wrote Kreeft in an article on Tolkien and evil that was reprinted this spring in a special all-Tolkien issue of the Catholic-leaning Chesterton Review.

Kreeft isn't alone in his analysis. Though Tolkien's epic romance remains a lodestar for fantasy geeks worldwide, it has also been adopted by myriad Christian commentators. Books on Tolkien's religiosity are everywhere. For evangelical Protestants, there's "Finding God in 'The Lord of the Rings,'" written by two authors affiliated with the organization Focus on the Family. For Catholics, there's Hillsdale College historian Bradley Birzer's "J.R.R. Tolkien's Sanctifying Myth,'' which was just released to coincide with Peter Jackson's latest "Lord of the Rings'' film, "The Two Towers.''

When "The Lord of the Rings,'' a novel in three volumes, was first published in 1954-55, the Anglican poet W.H. Auden called it a "masterpiece,'' and even suggested that Tolkien had "succeeded where Milton failed'' when it came to the question of reconciling free will with the notion of a God whose power is absolute. The current emphasis on Tolkien's religiosity has its more immediate origins in Joseph Pearce's 1999 book "Tolkien: Man and Myth,'' which underscores Tolkien's deeply Catholic views. Since Pearce's writing — and, of course, the news that the "Lord of the Rings'' books were coming to movie theaters — the theological ferment has been considerable. In April of 2000, Christianity Today ranked Tolkien's epic among the top 10 Christian books of the 20th century; the first slot went to C.S. Lewis's "Mere Christianity,'' which might not even have been written had Tolkien not helped Lewis to find God in 1931. More religiously-infused books on Tolkien are on the way, including Kreeft's "The Philosophy of Tolkien'' and Baylor University theology and literature professor Ralph Wood's "The Gospel According to 'The Lord of the Rings.'"

In the 1960s and early '70s, Tolkien was often associated with the counterculture — in particular, with the Green movement. After all, he once wrote that "in all my works I take the part of the trees as against all their enemies.'' "Gandalf for President'' buttons were common, and Led Zeppelin lyrics abounded with Tolkien references — consider "Ramble On,'' for example: "'Twas in the darkest depths of Mordor, I met a girl so fair / but Gollum, and the evil one crept up and slipped away with her, yeah.'' (The less said about Leonard Nimoy's 1967 song-poem "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins,'' the better.) But Tolkien's Christian interpreters, many of them conservatives, have tried to wrest him away from hippies, tree-huggers, and other assorted left-wingers. Birzer, for example, wrote in the New Oxford Review last year that the new Christian interpretation makes it "impossible'' to see Tolkien as the poster boy for the "libertine drug culture'' of the '60s. Will the real J.R.R. Tolkien please stand up?

No one disputes that Tolkien's Catholicism influenced his writing. Indeed, he held his conservative Catholic views rather fiercely — due in part to his conviction that his mother Mabel had been persecuted by her family for her conversion to Catholicism in 1900 (she died shortly afterward of diabetes). After serving on the Western Front in World War I, Tolkien returned to his studies of medieval literature; after becoming a professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford in 1925, he helped found an influential group of Christian philosopher-writers called "the Inklings,'' which included C.S. Lewis, Owen Barfield, and Charles Williams. In a 1953 letter Tolkien described "The Lord of the Rings'' as a "fundamentally religious and Catholic work.''

But Tolkien's views — on both religion and fiction — were complex. In another letter, Tolkien outlined his aspiration to create a new mythology for England, describing the existing body of Arthurian legend as inadequate for the role because it "explicitly contains the Christian religion.'' (He added, "That seems to me fatal.'') References to real-world belief systems, Tolkien thought, would detract from the beguiling timelessness he hoped to convey. Tolkien's characters inhabit a pre-Christian version of our own world; they don't worship, carry on religious rituals, or talk about faith. Commentators have noted similarities between Tolkien's trilogy and Wagner's "Ring Cycle,' which also put Europe's pagan heritage in the service of national myth-making.

Some fundamentalist Christians — the same folks who bash the "Harry Potter'' books — have denounced the prevalence of magic in the "The Lord of the Rings.'' Tolkien's Christian champions, however, argue that the Oxford don — like the Beowulf poet whose work he knew so well — breathed his own devout sensibility into pagan tales and archetypes, thus creating what Birzer calls a "Christ-inspired and God-centered mythology.'' Indeed, some of Tolkien's Christian interpreters see three of the novel's main characters — the wizard Gandalf, the hobbit Frodo, and the heroic human Aragorn — as Christ figures. "Each offers his life for others, each passes through darkness and even a kind of death, to a kind of resurrection,'' writes Stratford Caldecott, a Catholic reader of Tolkien who is writing a book on the subject.

Christian Tolkienists also point to the central role of the virtue of pity — a word Tolkien tends to capitalize — in the book's plot. When the hobbit Bilbo Baggins first discovers the dark lord Sauron's lost Ring of Power (an event which occurs in Tolkien's 1937 children's book "The Hobbit''), he makes a conscious decision to spare the life of its previous owner, the wretched creature Gollum. In "The Lord of the Rings,'' Bilbo's heir Frodo and his companions continue to spare Gollum from death; these acts of mercy end up inadvertently saving the world. "'The pity of Bilbo will rule the fate of many' gradually becomes the motto of Tolkien's epic,'' writes Ralph Wood. "The unrestrained quality of mercy is what, I suggest, makes 'The Lord of the Rings' an enduring Christian classic despite its pagan setting.''

For more secular Tolkienists, though, this sort of talk rankles. "I don't see pity as exclusively Christian,'' notes University of Maryland English professor Verlyn Flieger, author of "Splintered Light: Logos and Language in Tolkien's World.'' Flieger doesn't consider the specifically Christian reading of Tolkien's novel to be entirely wrong-headed, but she does find it reductionist. Some critics further observe that the novel's characters tend to be deeply invested in their middle-earthly lives, rather than in any afterlife. Consider Gandalf's carpe-diem advice to Frodo: "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.''

Also, where Christian Tolkienists see intimations of redemption in "The Lord of the Rings,'' their secularist rivals contend that Tolkien did not create a divine comedy. Take Frodo's parting words to Sam when Frodo leaves for the Grey Havens, a kind of overseas Elvish retirement home: "It must often be so, Sam, when things are in danger: someone has to give them up, lose them, so that others may keep them.'' For Peter Kreeft, this smacks of a Christ-like sacrifice. But the sacrifice and loss isn't suffered by Frodo alone; it's suffered by all the denizens of Middle-earth: In Tolkien's scheme, the destruction of the one ring necessitates the departure of the Elves from Middle-earth — and with their parting, much that is beautiful and cherished disappears from the world forever. Evil, meanwhile, will doubtlessly reconstitute itself in yet another form. "That's a very Norse outlook: Even the winners lose,'' says Stephen Morillo, a Wabash College medieval historian who's teaching a course this January that covers Tolkien. 'That's really what lies behind the morality of 'The Lord of the Rings,' and that's just incompatible with a Christian interpretation.''

Tolkienian Christians have a marked tendency to gush about the books: "I have no doubt that Tolkien's great tale will be one of those we will hear told, or sung, by the golden fireside in that longed-for Kingdom,'' writes Caldecott. Some also want to use the popularity of "The Lord of the Rings'' to win converts. In a recent interview, David Mills, an editor of the conservative Christian magazine Touchstone, called Tolkien's work "stealth evangelization"; in regard to its appearance on the big screen, he suggests that Catholics "use the movie to raise questions for their unbelieving friends. . . help them begin to see that the great story depends upon its moral and spiritual depth, and then you can ask them where they find this morality and spirituality today. We know that the only place you find them in their full strength is the Catholic church, but your unbelieving friends don't know that yet.''

Of course, taking "The Lord of the Rings'' this way would turn it into something closer to C.S. Lewis's "Chronicles of Narnia'' series, with its far more overt Christian exhortation. Tolkien and Lewis shared a distrust of the modern world, but they disagreed over the value of conveying direct religious messages through allegorical fiction. Tolkien disliked the Narnia books, and when it came to Lewis's popular apologetics, he snidely dubbed his friend "Everyman's theologian.''

Sure enough, today Tolkien retains his status as a big-church fantasist whose work inspires multiple interpretations, while Lewis tends to be more narrowly championed by conservative Christians. Speaking of the breadth of Tolkien's appeal, Bradley Birzer admits that "I think the beauty of Tolkien is that he's not explicitly Christian. I think I would be turned off if we had Jesus running around the story.'' Tolkien avoided that, but quite a few devout Christians are nevertheless claiming his story as their own. The question is whether this could be a turn-off to everybody else.

Saint Charbel

Saint Charbel

CBS Documentary - A Visit To The Holy Mountain ATHOS, Greece

The Sign of the Times 666

The Sign of the Times 666

             by Elder Paisios of Mt Athos of ever-blessed memory

After the devil's cataclysm, God's sunshine will appear.

Behind the worldly spirit of today's "freedom," the lack of respect for the Church of Christ, older people,
parents and teachers who have fear of God, is hidden spiritual slavery, anxiety and anarchy which lead the
world to an impasse, the destruction of man's body and soul.

Therefore, behind the perfect system of the computerised "convenience cards", is hidden the universal
dictatorship, the slavery of the Antichrist. Also "he causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, free
and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except
one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who
has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: his number is 666" (Rev
13:16-18).

St. Andreas of Caesarea writes, "On the dirty name of the Antichrist. Time and experience will reveal to
those who are vigilant the accuracy of the numbers and anything else written about him ... but divine grace
did not wish that the name of the scourge be written in the Holy Bible; a lot will be found written on the
subject..."

Oddly enough, many spiritual people, apart from the fact that they give their own interpretations on this
issue, are afraid of the evolving secular filing-system. They should also be concerned in a spiritual way,
however, and help Christians by alerting them positively on the subject and strengthen their faith, so that they
can feel God's consolation.

I wonder! Don't they question what is going on? Why don't they put a question mark next to their mind's
interpretations? What if they help the Antichrist in marking more people? How can they sway these people
from losing their souls? "For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to
deceive, if possible, even the elect" (Mk 13:22).

Those who give their own interpretations will be led astray.

Things are very clear. The 'beast-with 666' in Brussels has swallowed almost all the countries in its
computers. The card, the identification cards, the introduction to the mark, what do they indicate?
Unfortunately, we only listen to the radio when we want to hear the weather report.

What will Christ tell us? "Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern
the signs of the times" (Mt 16:3).

After the card, the identification cards and the establishment of the filing-system, they will maliciously
proceed to the marking by announcing on Television that someone stole another person's card and withdrew
all his money from his bank account. On the other hand, they will advertise the "perfect system", the marking
of the Antichrist's name, 666, on the hand and forehead with laser beams which will not be externally
detectable.

Unfortunately, some that think of themselves as knowledgeable will swaddle (bind) "their spiritual children,
as if they were babies in order to console them by telling them 'it doesn't matter, it's nothing, as long as you
have faith inside you'. While we see that St. Peter externally denied Christ, and it was a denial, they deny the
holy mark of Christ, which was granted to them through the Holy Baptism - the Seal of the gift of the Holy
Spirit", by accepting the mark of the Antichrist. These will claim they have Christ inside them!

Unfortunately, some "knowledgeable" people shared the same logic during the years of the holy martyrs and
tried to change the minds of the prospective martyrs. St. Basil the Great writes, in his speech on Martyr
Gordios, "many people were being irrational by trying to convince the martyr to deny Christ with his words
only, and keep his faith in his soul, in his inner disposition, claiming that God does not pay attention to our
words but to our disposition. However, martyr Gordios was rigid in his belief and replied, "the tongue,
which is created by Christ, cannot bear to utter anything against Him... Do not deceive yourselves, God
cannot be mocked, he judges us according to our own mouth, he justifies us by our words, and by our
words, he convicts us".

Also, Dekios had issued a decree ordering Christians to avow the religion of paganism; those who did and
offered a sacrifice to the idols, were granted a certificate and thus were saved from martyrdom. The Church
considers these people who denied Christ, together with those who gave money to the committee of pagans
and took the certificate without denying Christ, the so-called "liveloforoi", as being apostates and sinners.

We have many examples, such as the miracle of St. Theodoros that is celebrated every year on the
Saturday of the First Week of the Great Lent. "Julian, the Apostate, knowing that Christians are cleansed
more by fasting strictly during the First Week of the Great Lent, which for this reason we call Pure Week,
chose to pollute them during this specific period. He, therefore, secretly ordered that food, which had been
polluted by the blood of the idols' sacrifices, be put out in the market place during this week. By holy
appearance Martyr Theodoros appeared to Archbishop of Constantinople Evdoxios in his sleep. The
martyr revealed the mystical message to the Archbishop and asked him to gather the faithful people
immediately on Monday morning, and alert them not to eat from this food. Instead, he offered them "kolliva"
(boiled wheat given at memorial services) to replace the shortage of food. The aim of the Apostate was thus
annulled and the devout people were protected and kept pure.

Abstaining from the pollution of the idols is a rule of the Apostles. "…The apostles and the elders were
gathered together to consider this matter …abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality,
from things strangled, and from blood" (Acts 15:6, 20).

Despite what I just reported, unfortunately, we hear today a lot of nonsense from those considered
"knowledgeable". Some people say, "I will accept the identification card with the number 666, but I will put
the sign of the Cross next to it". Others say, "I will accept being marked on the forehead with the number
666, but I will also put the sign of the Cross next to it". They think that by this way they can be sanctified,
but this is only an illusion.

Only what is accepted with Holy Water is sanctified. For instance, water can be blessed and become Holy
Water. Urine cannot be sanctified. A stone can be turned into bread by a miracle. Whatever is dirty, cannot
be sanctified. Therefore, putting the sign of the cross next to it cannot sanctify the symbol of the Antichrist
(devil) on our identification card, our head or hand.

We have the power of the Holy Cross (our holy symbol) and the divine grace of Christ, only as long as we
have the holy marking of the Holy Baptism. In other words, we have denied the devil and sided with Christ,
and received the Holy Marking (the seal of the Gift of the Holy Spirit).

May God enlighten us. With lots of pain and love in Christ.
Amen.

Mount Athos, Panagouda Cell of Koutloumousiou Monastery, Saturday, First Week of Lent, 1987.

Giant Easter Egg Tree!! WOW! Super Cool Aerial Photo! Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!

Easter Egg Tree!   This is awesome!

Spiritual Elders

 

 When reading the biographies and writings of certain modern day Holy Elders, one will inevitably come across various "prophecies" they made concerning end-time events. These "prophecies" have especially arisen in modern times during periods of high anxiety for Orthodox Christians - in Slavic countries with the rise of communism and in Greece especially since the 1970's and on as we neared the beginning of the second millenium. Much of the latter stems from the rise of eschatological propaganda infiltrating Greece from the West in translation (in 1970 Hal Lindsey's The Late, Great Planet Earth was published following the Six-Day War in the Middle East that sparked a plethora of eschatological writings in the West), and the translation into Greek of the antisemitic forgery The Protocols of the Elders of Zion by a Greek politician in the 1980's. Fascinated by these writings, Orthodox Christian thinkers began to look into their own tradition to apply these seemingly convincing portrayals of the soon-to-be second coming of Christ to make them their own. Unfortunately many of our beloved Holy Elders and modern day Saints were influenced by these writings and traditions, to the confusion of many. I personally believe this was mainly due to the simplicity of their hearts, since these neoeschatological and conspiratorial writings do seem to conform to aspects of Orthodox eschatology if one is pushed to reconcile them. This should by no means determine the authenticity or sanctity of a Holy Elder, since no one is infallible and God may have His reasons for allowing such things.

But not all of our Holy Elders were of a similar mind on these eschatological issues. In fact, when these Holy Elders were asked about these issues, they flatly disagreed with what other Holy Elders were saying about these things. In doing so, they would never try to discredit the Holy Elder they disagreed with, but still considered them men of God with special gifts of the Holy Spirit. They recognized that these things were spoken not by revelation, but through their own opinion or because it was a tradition that they were convinced of by their own logic. Unfortunately most people cannot tell the difference between a real prophecy and an opinion, and this has caused much confusion among impressionable contemporary Orthodox.

One of the most popular and beloved Holy Elders today is Elder Paisios the Athonite (+ 1993). He is one most especially known for his end-time prophecies circulating throughout the Orthodox world. Elder Porphyrios of Kavsokalyvia (+ 1991) was another Holy Elder of our times very much beloved by Orthodox Christians. These two Holy Elders are considered the two strongest pillars of sanctity in 20th century Greek Orthodoxy. But on the critical issue of eschatology they strongly disagreed, much like the Apostles Peter and Paul disagreed in the Acts of the Apostles on the issue of Jews and Gentiles in early Christianity. In fact, Elder Porphyrios censured Elder Paisios for circulating his eschatological material. From this incident, many important lessons can be learned by contemporary Orthodox Christians. For this reason the details of this incident are written below.

The Epistle of Elder Porphyrios to Elder Paisios

In an interview for Cypriot television, Metropolitan Neophytos of Morphou spoke of his personal relationship with Elders Porphyrios, Iakovos, Evmenios and Paisios. He says in the interview that he was instructed by Elder Porphyrios to have Elder Iakovos of Evia as his spiritual father. The Metropolitan was in law school at the time, before he entered ecclesiastical life. His impression of Elder Porphyrios was that he was able to be attuned to another persons soul in a more intimate way, like an x-ray machine, than the other Elder's he met, such as Elders Iakovos, Evmenios and Paisios. This is because each Holy Elder has a particular gift manifested in a more powerful way than other Holy Elders.

The special gift of Elder Porphyrios above all the other Greek Elders, according to Metropolitan Neophytos, was that of clairvoyance and the foreseeing of the future. He had the unique gift of being able to see not only future events, but those of the past as well. He could tell you about the various mineral deposits below the earth better than any geologist, he could determine the accurate movements of the stars better than astronomers, and if there was anything below the sea or in your home you needed to know about, he would reveal to you that as well. The charisma he had was very rare which few in the history of the Church ever possessed. What is striking however is that despite his clear visions of things in the past, present and future, he never spoke about the signs of the end-times.

This, said the Metropolitan, is a very strong message for the people of our day who are inundated with many supposed prophecies and predictions concerning the end of the world, the reign of Antichrist and the second coming of Christ. These in fact are mere speculations and baseless interpretations of the writings from people of the past that have been imposed upon our time to deal with the various changes our world has gone through over the past few hundred years and especially now that we have entered the second millennium after the birth of Christ. The Church works synodically; it is a synaxis. Since a synod of the Church has not expressed itself on these matters, then no individual can interpret them any way they please. For these reasons, understanding the times we live in, Elder Porphyrios did not reveal anything about end-time events that was revealed to him, according to God's will. Thus, while richly endowed with gifts of clairvoyance and prophecy, Elder Porphyrios systematically avoided speaking about apocalyptic events.

When Metropolitan Neophytos was a deacon in Cyprus he went to visit his elder Iakovos in Evia. At the time the people were in a fever about end-time events, the meaning of 666, the identity of the Antichrist, etc. Also, an Archimandrite had published a best-selling book about apocalyptic events. He went to Elder Iakovos and asked him his opinion on all these matters. Elder Iakovos then spoke in a very authoritative tone, which was something very rare for him to do, since he spoke much more humbly than all the other Greek Elders he had met. He said: "Listen to me, my Neophyte. Elder Porphyrios and dumb Iakovos do not speak about anything. Not the things of the present, nor of the things to come, unless the Holy Spirit expressly reveals to them. And up to this point the Holy Spirit has not revealed any such thing to me, not about the Antichrist, nor about wars to come, nor about the future." These are the exact words of Elder Iakovos and the Metropolitan says that he neither added nor subtracted from his words.

I will now translate the words of Metropolitan Neophytos:

"I must mention that there is an epistle held by a monastery on the Holy Mountain, and it would be good for the keepers of this epistle to publish it at some point. This happens to be an epistle by Elder Porphyrios addressed to Elder Paisios. Now I understand that the content of this epistle might challenge some of our spiritual brothers, but it is good to be challenged this way. It is better to be challenged than to fall into exaggerations. This epistle was from a man who honored and revered Elder Paisios very much. Fr. Porphyrios told me that Fr. Paisios is a man of God. And he wrote to him:

My beloved Father Paisios, what happened to you? If Constantinople will be freed or not, this is the concern of the politicians and of the military rulers, and not of the monks nor even the archpriests. If the Antichrist will come, this must be the concern of the archpriests and it is their duty to inform the people. And when that time comes, God will provide us with illumined archpriests who will in turn illumine the people. We the monks, if we are members of the priesthood, we need to liturgize for the salvation of the entire universe. And if we happen to be simple monks, we need to weep over our sins. Now because of my love for you, and knowing how much you love Christ, I am giving you a rule not to talk about these things again out of your great love for Asia Minor and Hellenism.

And Fr. Paisios, this great man of God, did obedience to this great Elder of Elders, Fr. Porphyrios. And since then he kept silent about these matters, because he realized that the smallest comment he would make would often be exaggerated by his highly impressionable visitors. Not to mention, some of these prophetic sayings were not his, but he was quoted by different people, or misquoted, and with other things he was often quoting from a notebook of his spiritual father, St. Arsenios of Cappadocia, who happened to be his godfather. St. Arsenios had received the gift of prophecy [or had heard things from others] and recorded a number of things. Elder Paisios would make some comments based on this notebook he had in his possession.

Now what can we say about all this, but to marvel at the great spirit of discretion of Elder Porphyrios. A spirit of watchfulness, vigilance and patient endurance. But in order to have this patient endurance regarding end-time events, whether social or political or personal, the exercise of patience is extremely necessary....

The work of the Church is to liberate people, to redeem people. When people lean towards interpreting the signs of the times and the future, this mania about the things to come is often alienating people from the essence of spirituality - from their personal struggle, the purification of the heart, our personal trauma, and our need to become well, to cure our passions. This is the heart of the problem.

One time I asked Elder Evmenios about these things, and he responded very simply. He was the most simple of all the Elders, a man of very few words who did not like endless spiritual talk. He needed to be inspired by someone or by something in order to speak. And when I asked him about all the prophetic talks circulating, he said: 'You know, I personally don't believe that Christ would only give 2000 years of grace to the world. It just doesn't seem very long to me.'"

Funeral of Pope Shenouda

 

Funeral of Pope Shenouda

 

Gregorios III: Shenouda III or the spiritual strength and pastoral outreach of Coptic monasticism

“We have lost a friend with whom we have been linked for very many years. As early as the 1960s, before his election to head his Church in 1971, the future Shenouda III was collaborating with our ecumenical review Al Wahdat fil Iman (Unity in Faith), bringing to it his ever lucid and deep vision.”

Just back from a fortnight’s round-trip of episcopal conferences and European seats of government, Gregorios III, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, of Alexandria and of Jerusalem left Beirut on Monday 19 March 2012 for Cairo to take part in the national funeral of Shenouda III thus expressing the attachment for and closeness of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church to the Coptic Orthodox Church.

“Shenouda III was the Patriarch of the biggest Orthodox Church of the Middle East, incarnating in his person all the history of his Church,” Gregorios III declared before hailing “the presence of the Coptic Church in the Arab world, its spiritual strength, its monasticism and its pastoral outreach that Shenouda III so perfectly incarnated. This Church, as Mgr Elias Zoghby, for a long time patriarchal vicar in Cairo, once said, is the only non-Catholic Church that has understood how to renew itself without ever losing sight of consistency with itself. We are very keen especially to welcome the various moves towards closer understanding especially in formulating the tricky but vital areas of doctrine to do with the Council of Chalcedon or indeed the Incarnation. A tangible sign of this increasing closeness between the Holy See and the Coptic Orthodox Church was the signing in Rome on 10 May 1973 of the Common Declaration of Faith in the Incarnation of the Son of God and the participation of Pope Paul VI in the building of St. Mark’s Cathedral in Cairo.

“Shenouda III was a Patriarch who was a very deep spiritual thinker but who knew how to make his thoughts accessible to everyone, through his memorable sermons and homilies, aided by a wit and sense of humour that were quite Pharaonic and Egyptian.”

Patriarch Gregorios III then recalled the celebrations of the Nativity of our Lord in Cairo according to the Coptic tradition, which he had never missed since his election to the Melkite Greek Catholic See of Antioch in 2000 and which had enabled him to be alongside Shenouda III, before joining his “prayer to that of the whole Coptic Orthodox Church for the repose of the soul of its late lamented shepherd and for the Holy Spirit to illumine hearts so that the designated successor might allow the Coptic Church to pursue its very special mission.”

Rabweh, 19 March 2012

Note: His Beatitude was accompanied on his visit to Cairo for Pope Shenouda’s funeral, by Archbishops Elias Shakour and George Bakar, and by the Patriarchal Chancellor, Archimandrite Tony Dib. On his first day in Cairo, Patriarch Gregorios III gave an interview of an hour’s duration to CTV on the subject of his friend and fellow-pastor, the late, great Pope Shenouda III.

V. C.