Russian Orthodox Church calls for learning lessons from Hagia Sophia's transformation into mosque, Nantes Cathedral arson

Moscow, July 27, Interfax - The Hagia Sophia becoming a mosque and the recent arson of a church in Nantes should make one pause for thought and undertake to prevent such things in Russia, Bishop Savva, a deputy administrator of the Moscow Patriarchate, said.

"A namaz in the Cathedral of Saint Sophia... The arson of the Nantes Cathedral (far from being the first church arson in France in a year, let alone other anti-Christian actions) ... Some would say, perhaps even with a kind of smirk, that this is a response to Europe's abandoning Christianity. What are you laughing at? You're laughing at our common tragedy!" Bishop Savva said on Telegram.

Having acknowledged that Russia's path is special, he nevertheless said, "But European civilization is our common civilization. An assault on it is an assault on us."

Bishop Savva called Russia "one of the main pillars of Europe (whatever the descendants of various Germanic tribes, from the Saxons to the Langobards, might think)" and called Russian culture "one of the gems of European culture."

"And the Ottoman sword in the Hagia Sophia, and the Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson mocking 'the children of Europe' and church arsons and the demolition of monuments... All these assaults on our confused European neighbors, including on the fraternal Church, albeit one that betrayed us, these are assaults on us, too. The lesson for us, the titular nation, is to preserve our civilization and our culture," Bishop Savva said.

Paphnutius, Life of Abba Aaron

Now it happened one year that the Nile did not rise enough to water all our fields, and a multitude of the poor came to Abba Aaron weeping and saying, "Our holy father, we and our children are going to die because the waters have not risen!" He said to them,"Believe in God and He will deliver you.  As it is written, 'The prayer of the poor man who is downhearted, he pours out entreaty before the Lord.' Again it says, 'The Lord has heard the desires of the poor.'" 

“It is because of your humility alone that I cannot overcome you.”

As abba Macarius was returning to his cell from the marsh carrying palm-leaves, the devil met him with a sharp sickle and would have struck him but he could not. He cried out, “Great is the violence I suffer from you, Macarius, for when I want to hurt you, I cannot. But whatever you do, I do and more also. You fast now and then, but I am never refreshed by any food; you often keep vigil, but I never fall asleep. Only in one thing are you better than I am and I acknowledge that.” Macarius said to him, “What is that?” and he replied, “It is because of your humility alone that I cannot overcome you.”

A CONFESSION OF FAITH Against Ecumenism

From a Convention of Orthodox Clergymen and Monks

Greece, April 2009

Those of us who by the Grace of God have been raised with the dogmas of piety and who follow in everything the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, believe that:

The sole path to salvation of mankind[1] is the faith in the Holy Trinity, the work and the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ, and their continuance within His Body, the Holy Church. Christ is the only true Light;[2] there are no other lights to illuminate us, nor any other names that can save us: "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."[3] All other beliefs, all religions that ignore and do not confess Christ "having come in the flesh,"[4] are human creations and works of the evil one,[5] which do not lead to the true knowledge of God and rebirth through divine Baptism, but instead, mislead men and lead them to perdition. As Christians who believe in the Holy Trinity, we do not have the same God as any of the religions, nor with the so-called monotheistic religions, Judaism and Mohammedanism, which do not believe in the Holy Trinity.

Blessed-John -- Βy Fotios Kontoglou

After Christmas had passed, St. Basil took his staff and began to visit all the villages, in order to see who would celebrate his memory with a pure heart. He visited various cities, but none of the doors that he knocked on opened, because everyone assumed he was a beggar. Thus he left saddened, not because he himself was in need, but because he was hurt by the heartlessness that these people would show to the poor.

He passed by the cemeteries as well, where he noticed the collapsed monuments, the shattered and overturned gravestones, which had been utterly abandoned. As a Saint, he heard the deceased saying: “When we were on the earth, we worked, we suffered, and we left children and grandchildren behind in order for them to light us a candle every now and then, to say a prayer for us; but we don’t even see a priest, or kolyva, or incense. It’s as if we left no one behind”. St. Basil was hurt on account of man’s plight, and he proceeded alone through the icy snow.

HOW OFTEN SHOULD WE RECEIVE HOLY COMMUNION? by Macarius Notaras 18th Century Archbishop of Corinth

To receive Communion the usual two or three times a year is good and helpful, but to receive Communion more frequently is far better. Remember, the nearer a person comes to the light, the more light he gets. The closer he draws to the fire, the warmer he is. The nearer he approaches sanctity, the more saintly he becomes.
In the same way, the more often one draws near to God in Communion, the more one receives light and warmth and holiness. My friend, if you are worthy to make your Communion two or three times a year, you are worthy of making it more often, as St. John Chrysostom tells us, by maintaining your own earlier preparation and worthiness.
But what does stop us from taking Communion?

¨ Following the Holy Fathers¨ : Fr Theodoros Zisis' escape from the Babylonian Captivity of Ecumenism

"Formerly I was a disciple of the ecumenists, but I have become a disciple and follower of the Holy Fathers. And I glory in this fact!" 

- Fr Theodoros Zisis.

1. Introduction.

Recently a number of texts written by the well-known, and now retired, Professor of Patristics, Protopresbyter Theodoros Zisis, have 're-emerged', reaching the English-speaking Orthodox faithful via the internet.[1] Originally published in the 1970's, these texts, particularly one entitled 'The Ecumenical Patriarchate and Archimandrite Justin Popovich', speak glowingly of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and of Patriarch Athenagoras,[2] and are critical of the recently recognized Serbian saint, Justin Popovich.[3] One might wonder, what renders the 'rediscovery' of these old texts particularly newsworthy? It would seem to be the fact that Fr Theodoros is now, some roughly thirty years later, a leading light in the Orthodox world, calling on the Orthodox faithful - hierarchs, clergy and laity alike - to uphold the Tradition of Church as expressed in the writings of the Holy Fathers and the sacred canons, in the face of the pan-heresy of ecumenism. He is, in other words calling on us to follow in the footsteps of Saint Justin Popovich, thus checking the uncanonical, ecumenist practices of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

Blessed-John still remained unaware of what had taken place.....

After Christmas had passed, St. Basil took his staff and began to visit all the villages, in order to see who would celebrate his memory with a pure heart. He visited various cities, but none of the doors that he knocked on opened, because everyone assumed he was a beggar. Thus he left saddened, not because he himself was in need, but because he was hurt by the heartlessness that these people would show to the poor.

He passed by the cemeteries as well, where he noticed the collapsed monuments, the shattered and overturned gravestones, which had been utterly abandoned. As a Saint, he heard the deceased saying:

THE TERRORISM OF ECUMENISM --- By Mr Georgios Tramboulis, theologian

Holy relics sacrificed on the altar of profit and pseudounification!

The  Patriarchs claim to be contributing to fighting terrorism, while they themselves have been terrorising clergy and people, who have been reacting to their ecumenistic-despotic plans.

And while terrorist attacks have become an almost every day reality, meetings among religious leaders and dialogues at both interchristian and interreligious level are held more and more frequently, as if one of the objectives of terrorist attacks were to lead religious communities to the accomplishment of their unity. Thus, at the end of April, on the occasion of the terrorist act, which took place in Egypt on Palm Sunday, on 9 April, when more than fifty people were killed, an interreligious convention was held in Cairo. On the occasion of the same event, on 23 May, a meeting took place in the capital of Russia between Cyrill, Patriarch of Moscow and Theodore II, Patriarch of the Copts . The Russian Patriarch in his adress, among others, stated: “Thanks to God’s mercy, no problems exist between our Churches.

What Yoga Really Is

 

By Johannes Aagaard
Professor of Religious Studies at Aarhus University of Denmark

http://impantokratoros.gr/http://impantokratoros.gr/FCF89A19.en.aspx

Ιslam is the denial of the divinity of Christ

Obey a non-conforming Spiritual Father?

MUST WE OBEY WHEN OUR SPIRITUAL FATHER DOES NOT UPHOLD THE ORTHODOX WAY OF LIFE?

        What does our ecclesiastical past teach us on the matter of obedience to our spiritual Father when dealing with a matter of Faith, whether of a dogmatic nature or related to the holy Canons? Do we owe our spiritual Father indiscriminate obedience when he opposes the Tradition of the Church or do we not?  Do we carry the stigma of "disobedience" before God, or are we ‘covered', by remaining obedient to Christ in accordance with the infallible Tradition of the Church? It is these questions that we shall attempt to answer in this article.

Theofano, the Hellene regent of Germany

The dream of Otto I - the German Duke of Saxony and king of Germany and Italy (912-973) – to marry his son, Otto II, to a Greek princess was partly fulfilled, in 972.  On the 14^th of April of that year, his son was married to Theofano in the basilica of Saint Peter in Rome, by Pope John XIII (965-972).

Theofano was not of noble lineage (“born in the purple”). Many attempts have been made to discover Theofano’s origin, given that her person is absent in the Greek sources.  The prevailing version is that she was a descendant of the Skleros family and the niece of Ioannis Tsimiskis from his first marriage.  The Emperor Tsimiskis had consented to Otto’s proposal, for political reasons.  Having had to confront the Saracens eastwards and the Bulgarians at the northern borders of the Empire, the last thing that he desired was a military confrontation with the Germans in Italy.

(Ένα κομμάτι από το κείμενο του Archbishop John Maximovitch of blessed memory : The Meaning of the Russian Diaspora).

And what of the Russian fatherland? Blessed are you, O Russian land, being purified by the fire of suffering. You have gone through the water of baptism, and now you are going through the fire of suffering, and you will yet enter into your repose. At one time Christians gathered with reverence sand from the Colosseum which was drenched with the blood of martyrs. The place of the sufferings and death of the martyrs became sacred and especially revered. And now the whole of Russia is an arena of passion-bearers. Her earth has been sanctified by their blood, her air by the ascent of their souls to heaven. Yea, sacred are you, O Russia. The ancient writer was correct who said that you are the Third Rome, and there will be no fourth. You have surpassed the ancient Rome by the multitude of exploits of your martyrs, you have surpassed also the Rome which baptized you [Constantinople] by your standing in Orthodoxy, and you will remain unsurpassed to the end of the world. Only the land which was sanctified by the sufferings and the earthly life of the God-man is holier than you in the eyes of Orthodox Christians.

Και τι δε θα έπρεπε να λεχθεί για τη πατρίδα [μας] Ρωσία;

Ευλογημένη είσαι εσύ, Ω, ρωσική γη που εξαγνίστηκες με το πυρ των παθών.

Εν πρώτoις, βαπτίστηκες με ύδωρ, τώρα υποφέρεις τα πυρά των παθών - ανάπαυση και γαλήνη σε περιμένουν.

Κάποτε οι χριστιανοί μάζευαν με ευλάβεια από το Κολοσσαίο άμμο που είχε ποτιστεί με το αίμα των μαρτύρων. 

Ο τόπος του μαρτυρίου και του θανάτου των μαρτύρων θεωρείτο ιερός και ευλαβής. 

Τώρα ολόκληρη η Ρωσία είναι μία παλαίστρα κομιστών των παθών. Η γη της έχει αγιαστεί από το αίμα τους και ο αέρας της από την άνοδο των ψυχών τους στους Ουρανούς. 

Ιερή είσαι ‘συ, Ω, Ρωσία.

Ο αρχαίος συγγραφέας ήταν σωστός όταν είπε πως εσύ είσαι η Τρίτη Ρώμη και ότι τέταρτη δεν θα υπάρξει.

Ξεπέρασες την αρχαία Ρώμη με το πλήθος των άθλων  των μαρτύρων σου. Ξεπέρασες και τη Ρώμη που σε βάπτισε [Κωνσταντινούπολη] με την στάση σου έναντι της Ορθοδοξίας και θα παραμείνεις αξεπέραστη μέχρι την συντέλεια του κόσμου. 

Μόνο η γη που αγιάστηκε από τα Πάθη και το γήινο βίο του Θεανθρώπου είναι αγιότερη από εσένα στα μάτια των Ορθοδόξων Χριστιανών. 

Organ Harvesting Before "Brain-Death" Increasingly Common, Concerned Doctors Warn

They warn that changing definition of death will eventually lead to organ harvesting from disabled

By Gudrun Schultz

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 21, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Organ harvesting from patients before brain-death has been declared is a rapidly increasing trend in U. S. hospitals, the Washington Post reported March 18, alarming doctors and ethicists about the dubious ethics behind the practice.

Instead of waiting until brain function ceases and the patient is declared "brain-dead" by medical officials (itself a questionable practice since there is no universally-accepted definition of brain-death) surgeons have begun following an approach known as "donation after cardiac death." Organs are harvested once the heart has stopped beating and several minutes have passed without the heart spontaneously re-starting.

"The person is not dead yet," said Jerry A. Menikoff, an associate professor of law, ethics and medicine at the University of Kansas. "They are going to be dead, but we should be honest and say that we're starting to remove the organs a few minutes before they meet the legal definition of death."

"Non-beating heart" organ donations have more than doubled since 2003, from 268 to more than 605 in 2006, and the numbers are continuing to rise. The United Network for Organ Sharing and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations now require all hospitals to evaluate the practice and decide whether or not to adopt it.

The Alliance for Human Research Protection issued an alert Sunday warning that the policy is under consideration by hospitals without allowing for public input.

"The race to catch-up to China's policy of live vivisection organ removal from prisoners is underway right here in the US where, the Post reports, the trend is expected to accelerate this year," the AHRP stated.

"So far as we know, our right to informed consent--which means the right to say, NO--has been abrogated without so much as a public hearing!"

While doctors normally wait five minutes after the heart has stopped before pronouncing death, more and more doctors are shortening the wait period to maximize the quality of the organs. Surgeons at the Children's Hospital in Denver, Colorado wait only 75 seconds after infants' hearts stop beating before removing the heart for transplant, according to the Post. The demand for usable organs is a powerful incentive to push back the ethical boundaries of harvesting policies, say alarmed physicians.

"A lot of us are not particularly happy about cutting that line particularly close," said Gail A. Van Norman, an anesthesiologist and bioethicist at the University of Washington in Seattle.

"It's worrisome when you stop thinking of the person who is dying as a patient but rather as a set of organs, and start thinking more about what's best for the patient in the next room waiting for the organs."

While the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine approved the practice as ethical so long as strict guidelines are followed, opponents say it is difficult to ensure patients are not being killed by over-eager harvesting, particularly in pediatric situations. Van Norman and others said the practice could put pressure on families to stop care prematurely, especially when doctors and nurses are caring for both the potential donor and potential recipient.

David Crippen, a University of Pittsburgh critical-care specialist, told the Post he is concerned the changing definition of death will eventually lead to organ harvesting from the disabled.

"Now that we've established that we're going to take organs from patients who have a prognosis of death but who do not meet the strict definition of death, might we become more interested in taking organs from patients who are not dead at all but who are incapacitated or disabled?"

http://www.righttoliferoch.org/norganharvestingbfdeath.htm

From the book Holy Fire the miracle fo Holy Saturday at the Tomb of Christ

The General Charles Warren

In 1867 he went to Jerusalem as a member of the Palestine Exploration Fund and conducted a series of excavations that lasted until 1870. Amongst his findings is a network of galleries located under the Dome of the Rock, as well as an underground water supply system that was later named after him (Warren Shaft). He also completed a detailed topographical map of the old city of Jerusalem.

A portion of the results of his excavations was published in his work entitled Underground Jerusalem that was published in 1876 in London. In a chapter of this work entitled “Holy Fire,” Warren speaks of all he knows of the miracle of Holy Saturday which was of particular interest to him. In the first paragraph of this chapter he poses a crucial question: “What is that fire?,” and immediately responds to his question:

«What is that fire which on Easter-eve lights up the lamps in the Holy Sepulchre?... That a miracle attends the ceremony, there cannot be a doubt.1

Hypocrisy: The Illness of our Time

By Metropolitan Seraphim of Kastoria

In Matins of Holy and Great Tuesday, which is chanted by custom in the evening of Holy and Great Monday, there will parade before us hypocrisy and the hypocrites, the theater and actors, and will feature the terrible "woe" which our Lord sent to the exponents of hypocrisy.

"Woe to you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces... You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin... You are like whitewashed tombs..." (Matthew 23:13-29).