The Holy Monastery of Saint Nicholas of the Cats

“It is wonderful to see them, for nearly all are maimed by the snakes: one has lost a nose, another an ear; the skin of one is torn, another is lame: one is blind of one eye, another of both. And it is a strange thing that at the hour for their food, at the sound of a bell, they collect at the monastery and when they have eaten enough, at the sound of that same bell, they all depart together to go fight the snakes.” – The Venetian Francesco Suriano (1484)

The Monastery of Saint Nicholas of the Cats is regarded as a sacred cat haven in Cyprus, as it’s name has been linked to felines for almost 2,000 years.

The original monastery was built in 327 AD, by Kalokeros, the governor of Cyprus appointed by Constantine the Great, and patronised by Saint Helen, the mother of Constantine the Great. At that time, a terrible drought affected the whole of Cypus, and the entire island was overrun with poisonous snakes which made building the monastery a dangerous affair. Many of the inhabitants left their homes and moved off the island, for fear of the snakes, but Saint Helen came up with a solution to the plague – she ordered 1,000 cats to be shipped in from Egypt and Palestine to fight the reptiles.


In the following years, the cats did their duty, hunting and killing most of the snakes in the Akrotiri Peninsula, which soon came to be known as the “Cat Peninsula”. The monks would use a bell to call the cats to the monastery at meal time, and then the felines were dispatched to their snake-hunting duties. Pilgrims from all around Europe traveled to the Holy Monastery of Saint Nicholas to see its feline guardians, and the discovered documents of a Venetian monk describe them as scarred, missing various body parts, some completely blind as a result of their relentless battle against the snakes.



According to the writings of Father Stephen de Lusignan, in 1580, the Byzantine monks at the Monastery of Saint Nicholas were awarded the surrounding lands, on one condition – they had to take care of at least 100 cats and feed them at least twice a day. Legend has it, the cats were so well trained they knew that when the bell rang once they had to go hunting for snakes, and when it rang a second time, it was meal time at the monastery.

During the Turkish invasion, the Monastery of Saint Nicholas of the Cats was completely destroyed and its residing monks slaughtered or taken into captivity. Left without food and shelter, the cats left and wandered around the island, which explains the large number of cats currently living in Cyprus. Even now, locals appreciate their help in getting rid of the snakes centuries ago, and takegood care of them, even if they’re strays.



After being rebuilt and abandoned several times, the modern history of the Monastery of Saint Nicholas of the Cats began in 1983, when it was assigned to a group of nuns. When they arrived there wasn’t a cat in sight, but the number of snakes was once again overwhelming, so they did exactly what Saint Helen did over 1,500 years ago – they brought in a couple of cats. Their numbers grew, over the years, and there are now six nuns at the monastery and over 70 felines. Many people bring abandoned cats to this place, and the nuns take them in.

The Monastery of Saint Nicholas of the Cats receives a small subsidy from the government, but that isn’t enough to take care of the entire feline population, so the nuns rely on donations made by locals or cat-loving tourists.

 

 http://agapienxristou.blogspot.ca/2013/10/the-holy-monastery-of-saint-nicholas-of.html

Μακάριο το σπίτι, που όλοι προσεύχονται..( Γέρων Γαβριήλ )

Μάθε ότι:
Ο μεγαλύτερος και καλύτερος φίλος είναι : Ο Θεός.
Οι καλύτεροι σύντροφοι είναι : Οι γονείς.
Το καλύτερο σπίτι είναι : Το σπίτι σου.
Η καλύτερη ευτυχία είναι : Η καλή συνείδηση.
Η ωραιότερη ημέρα είναι : Η σημερινή.
Ο καλύτερος χρόνος είναι : Τώρα.
Η καλύτερη μέθοδος για να νικήσεις είναι : Η πειθαρχία.
Η καλύτερη ασχολία είναι : Η εργασία.
Η καλύτερη διασκέδαση είναι : Η μελέτη.
Η πλουσιότερη συλλογή είναι : Η συλλογή των καλών πράξεων.
Ο πιο εύκολος δρόμος για να είσαι ευτυχής είναι : Η ευθεία οδός.
Η μεγαλύτερη χαρά είναι : Το εκπληρωθέν καθήκον.
Η μεγαλύτερη δύναμη είναι : Το καλό.
Η καλύτερη συμπεριφορά είναι : Η φιλοφροσύνη.
Ο μεγαλύτερος ηρωισμός είναι : Το θάρρος να είσαι καλός.
Το μεγαλύτερο σφάλμα είναι : Το ψέμα.
Η χειρότερη φτώχεια είναι : Η τεμπελιά.
Η μεγαλύτερη καταστροφή είναι : Η αποθάρρυνση.
Ο μεγαλύτερος εχθρός είναι : Το κακό.
Το καλύτερο σπορ είναι : Να κάνεις το καλό.


Και αν θέλεις ακόμα μια συμβουλή, θέτε στον εαυτόν σου, κάθε βράδυ, έπειτα από την προσευχή σου, αυτή την ερώτηση :

Τι καλό έκαμα σήμερα; . .

Μακάριο το σπίτι, που όλοι προσεύχονται.

St. Sabbas the Sanctified Monastery - Jerusalem

The holy and respected Laura of our Holy Father Sabbas the Sanctified in the Judean desert is a unique phenomenon in ecclesiastic history because of its contribution in forming worship and the monastic order and hymnography as well as its multitude of Saints, austere anchorites, divinely inspired theologians and martyrs. Even more significant was the decisive role of the Laura in fighting the heresies which appeared in the Holy Land after its foundation, the defense of Orthodoxy and the rights of the only legitimate Patriarchate of Jerusalem, namely the Greek Orthodox.

  
The Great Laura of St Sabbas, which celebrates more than 1,500 years of unceasing monasticism, owes its foundation and development to the God-endowed and Spirit-filled monk Saint Sabbas (439-532), who was the lamp shining from on high for those wishing to live the life of an anchorite and fervent intercessor before the Lord for all future “Sabbaite” monks. The first nucleus of the Laura was created by seventy hermits who had gathered around St Sabbas in 483 A.D. Subsequently, the Laura was relocated from the eastern side of the Kidron valley, where the hermitage of St Sabbas was located, to the western side, where the Theoktistos Church was built (486, consecration 491 A.D.). The increased number of the brotherhood members made it necessary to build the main church of the Theotokos (502 A.D.) and to organize the Laura buildings and facilities so as to serve the ever increasing needs. St Sabbas’ reputation and holiness, which resulted in his elevation to head and instructor of all the anchorites of the Jerusalem area (493 A.D.), influenced even the Great Laura which became the model of monastic life and liturgical order – The Typikon – not only for the other monasteries in Palestine and, curing the Middle Ages, the worldwide Church.


Under the leadership of St Sabbas, the Great Laura initially undertook the fight against the heresy of Monophysitism from 512 to 516 A.D., confronting emperor Anastasios and the other three Patriarchates of the East, which were in the hands of the Monophysites. The courageous stand and confession of the anchorites saved the Patriarchate of Jerusalem from heresy. St Sabbas’ successors in the abbacy made the Laura a stronghold against the heresy of Origenism. Under the guidance of Sabbaite St John the Hesychast, former bishop of Colonia (454-558), the Laura abbots Gelasios (537-546), Kassianos (547-548) and Konon (548-568) overwhelmed the wiles of Origenists and their intrigues before the emperor Justinian, yet not without cost. The monks of the Laura, which was the only monastery supporting Orthodoxy, suffered persecution and acts of violence and even the enforced enthronement of the Origenist Abbot Georgios (547 A.D.). Nevertheless, God saved the Laura, and Konon’s actions contributed greatly to the summoning of the Fifth Ecumenical Synod (Council) (553 A.D.), which condemned the errors of Origen once and for all and favored the entire Church forever. The appearance of the Persians in the Holy Land (614 A.D.) was the prelude of the invasion of the Arabs of Islam (638 A.D.). The first holy martyrs of the Laura were the forty-four Sabbaite Fathers slain by the Persians on May 16, 614 A.D.




The reorganization of the Great Laura under Patriarch Modestos after the Arabian conquest was followed by the glorious period, the “golden age” of the Laura, namely the eighth and part of the ninth century, A.D. The greatest theologian of the eighth century, St John of Damascus, the hymnographer, Kosmas the Hagiopolite, Stephanos the Melodist, Michael the Synkellos, Theodore and Theophanes the Graptoi (Branded), Theodore, bishop of Karron (Abu Qurrah), -- distinguished for their holiness and theology, and the Saints Stephanos the miracle-worker, Theodore bishop of Edessa and Michael the holy martyr enriched both the Church of Jerusalem and the Universal Church. Despite the violent and murderous invasions of various barbarians (796, 809, 813 A.D.) and general disorder, the contribution of the Laura to the Church reaches its peak with the stand in favor of the holy icons of St John of Damascus during the first period of Iconoclasm (726-787) and that of Saints Michael Syncellos, Theophanes and Theodore the Graptoi (Branded). The significant role of the Laura for theology is evidenced by the fact that the last three above mentioned confessors were summoned to Constantinople by St Theodore the Studite in relation to this subject. Apart from its theological literary production during this period, the Laura increased its copying and translating activities, becoming the center of Georgian literature from the seventh to the tenth century, as well as the center for translation of ecclesiastical writings from Greek into Arabic. A characteristic example of this is the widely known Ascetic Homilies by St Isaac the Syrian which were first translated from Syrian into Greek by the monks Avramios and Patrikios at the end of the eighth century. The liturgical Typikon of the Laura, along with the hymns of the Sabbaite hymnographers and probably certain monastic practices of the Laura were widely disseminated by distinguished monastery founders from the 9th to the 13th century. The Laura Typikoninfluenced, to a great or lesser degree, the monastic Typika written by St Theodore the Studite (ninth century), St Paul the Younger of Mount Latros (11th century), St Lazaros of Mount Galesion (10-11th century), St Luke of Messina (Sicily, 12th century), St Neophytos the Recluse (Cyprus, 12-13thcentury) and St Nilos of Tamasia (Monastery of Maheras, beginning of 13th century). Already in the ninth century the Typikon of the Laura had found its way to far-away Georgia (by Gregory Khandzta in 826 A.D.). Parallel there was also a spreading of the new hymnographic poetic form, the canon, developed mainly by St John of Damascus and his subsequent “Sabbaite poetic school.” The hymnographic production of the Laura was the foundation upon which ecclesiastical worship was shaped in the period after Iconoclasm. The eight tones in the melody, ascribed to St John of Damascus, prevailed in worship, while his Octaechos constituted the core of the Paraklitiki, the main liturgical book of the church.


During the occupation of the Crusaders, the position of the Laura abbot appears to have been exceptionally high with the Latins, on account of the absence of an Orthodox patriarch in Jerusalem. The Laura was endowed with assets by Queen Melissenda (1131-1162) while the church of the Theotokos and its frescos were renovated by the emperor Manuel Komninos (1143-1186) circa 1169.

The victory of Saladin’s Mamluks against the Crusaders in 1187 A.D. was the beginning of still further hardships for Palestinian Monasticism. Despite the renewed slaughter of Sabbaite monks, the Laura continued to function when all others in the desert were destroyed. During this period the Laura shrank to its core, the surrounding walls were erected and the monks adopted the coenobitic way of life abandoning the lavreotic. The Laura then went through the most difficult phase of struggle for survival within a hostile environment. Nevertheless, it became a significant school for the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher which taught the monastic way of life and matters concerning ecclesiastical subjects. A new renovation of the Laura Katholikon and St Sabbas’ tomb by the emperor Ioannis Kantakouzinos was carried out in the middle of the 14th century.


Even more decisive for this period and for the future of Orthodox worship was the spread of the so-called “neo-Sabbaitic liturgical Typikon” (i.e. the synthesis of the old Sabbaitic Typikon with elements of the Studite Typikon). Having replaced theTypika of the Studite and the Mother of God Evergetis monasteries this Typikonwas established in Constantinople in the 13th-14th century. (Convents of Lips, St Demetrios Kellibara and Mother of GodBebaia Elpis.) During this period, theTypikon was established as far away as Serbia by St Sabbas the Serbian (1175-1236) and the archbishop of Serbia Nicodemos (1317-1324). The new Sabbaite Typikon, on account of the radiant theology of Hesychasm, spread throughout the Balkans, Bulgaria and Russia. From its definitive prevalence everywhere in the 16th century until today, the Sabbaite-Athonite liturgical Typikon has been established as the Typikon of universal Orthodoxy.

The Turkish invasion of Palestine under sultan Selim, accomplished by a new slaughtering of the Sabbaite fathers, did not affect the life of the Laura favorably. Although the sultans had issued more than thirty firmans (between 1533 and 1735) concerning reconstruction of the Laura buildings, tax exemptions and the protection and rights of the Sabbaite Brotherhood, the Sabbaite fathers suffered greatly for many years and whole Arabic villages moved into the Laura. The significant presence of Serbian monks in the Laura, which had initially been a positive bolstering of the small number of Greek monks, ended at the beginning of the 17th century when the Serbians were unable to pay off the debts accrued by their construction activities. The intervention of Patriarch Theofanes III (1608-1644) barely saved the Laura from the hands of the Armenian and Latin creditors.


Among all the benefactors and donors of the Laura were the patriarchs of Jerusalem Nektarios (1669-1707), the so-called “great benefactor,” since they succeeded in restoring the Laura to the exclusive use and habitation of the Sabbaite fathers. Furthermore, they undertook (chiefly Dositheos) numerous and expensive renovations and expansions of the churches, buildings, reservoirs and the wall of the Laura during the years 1667 and 1686.

The Laura owes the present condition of its buildings to constructive activity carried out after the catastrophic earthquake on May 13, 1834 and the subsequent abbacy of Ioasaf the Cretan (1843-1874), a saintly figure of Palestinian monasticism of recent times. Proof of the spiritual depth of this holy, simple, humble and discerning monk is the fact that, for the first time after many centuries, the number of the Sabbaite fathers rose to around eighty.


The continual political changes in the Near East during the 20th century have, by the Grace of God and the intercessions of the Theotokos and our Father St Sabbas, created fewer problems for the Laura than for other monasteries and shrines of the Orthodox Patriarchate. On the contrary, the return of the incorruptible Holy Relics of St Sabbas in 1965, after their absence (possibly since the 13th century) has proved to be a great blessing for the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher, the Laura monks and all the Orthodox Christians of the Holy Land, but also undoubtedly the cause of sure hope in God and evidence of the unceasing fatherly care of St Sabbas for his Laura. The spiritual life of the Laura and the diversity of its contributions to the confrontation of the problems faced by the fathers of the Holy Sepulcher, the Orthodox flock and the pious pilgrims of the Holy Places, makes it possible even today to confirm the truth of the age-old assertion: “Just as Jerusalem is the queen of all cities, so too the Laura of St Sabbas is the prince of all deserts, and so far as Jerusalem is the norm of other cities, so too is St Sabbas the exemplar for other monasteries.”

Taken from an album published by St Sabbas the Sanctified Monastery in Jerusalem in 2002 as part of their celebration of 1,500 unceasing years of monasticism.

http://stsabbas.org/jerusalem.html

Αγία Βαρβάρα η Μεγαλομάρτυς

 

Αγία Βαρβάρα

Εορτάζει στις 4 Δεκεμβρίου εκάστου έτους.

Ξίφει πατήρ θύσας σε, Μάρτυς Βαρβάρα,
Υπήρξεν άλλος Αβραὰμ διαβόλου.
Βαρβάρα αμφὶ τετάρτη χερσί τοκήος ετμήθη.

Βιογραφία
Η Αγία Βαρβάρα αποτελεί κόσμημα των μαρτύρων του 3ου αιώνα μ.Χ. Ο πατέρας της ήταν από τους πιο πλούσιους ειδωλολάτρες της Ηλιουπόλεως και ονομαζόταν Διόσκορος. Μοναχοκόρη η Βαρβάρα, διακρινόταν για την ομορφιά του σώματός της, την ευφυΐα και σωφροσύνη της.

Στη χριστιανική πίστη κατήχησε και είλκυσε τη Βαρβάρα μια ευσεβής χριστιανή γυναίκα. Τη ζωή της μέσα στο ειδωλολατρικό περιβάλλον η Βαρβάρα περνούσε «ἐν πάσῃ εὐσεβείᾳ καὶ σεμνότητι» (Α’ πρός Τιμόθεον, β’ 2). Δηλαδή με κάθε ευσέβεια και σεμνότητα.

Όμως το γεγονός αυτό, δεν έμεινε για πολύ καιρό μυστικό. Ο Διόσκορος έμαθε ότι η κόρη του είναι χριστιανή και εκνευρισμένος διέταξε τον αυστηρό περιορισμό της. Αλλά η Βαρβάρα κατόρθωσε και δραπέτευσε. Ο πατέρας της τότε εξαπέλυσε άγριο κυνηγητό μέσα στις σπηλιές και τα δάση, όπου κρυβόταν η κόρη του. Τελικά, κατόρθωσε και τη συνέλαβε.

Ο άσπλαχνος και πωρωμένος ειδωλολάτρης πατέρας, παρέδωσε την κόρη του στον ηγεμόνα Μαρκιανό. Αυτός, αφού στην αρχή δεν κατόρθωσε με δελεαστικούς τρόπους να μεταβάλει την πίστη της, διέταξε και τη μαστίγωσαν ανελέητα. Κατόπιν τη φυλάκισε, αλλά μέσα εκεί ο Θεός θεράπευσε τις πληγές της Βαρβάρας και ενίσχυσε το θάρρος της. Τότε ο ηγεμόνας θέλησε να τη διαπομπεύσει δημόσια γυμνή. Αλλά ενώ έβγαζαν τα ρούχα της, άλλα ωραιότερα εμφανίζονταν στο σώμα της. Ο ηγεμόνας βλέποντας το θαύμα, διέταξε να αποκεφαλισθεί. Χωρίς καθυστέρηση, ο ίδιος ο κακούργος πατέρας της, ανέλαβε και την αποκεφάλισε. Την στιγμή όμως που είχε αποτελειώσει το έγκλημά του, έπεσε νεκρός χτυπημένος από κεραυνό κατά θεία δίκη.

Η Αγία Βαρβάρα ανακηρύχθηκε ως προστάτις Αγία του πυροβολικού (1828 μ.Χ.) και των ορυχείων.

Ἀπολυτίκιον (Κατέβασμα)
Ἦχος δ’.
Βαρβάραν τὴν Ἁγίαν τιμήσωμεν· ἐχθροῦ γὰρ τὰς παγίδας συνέτριψε, καὶ ὡς στρουθίον ἐῤῥύσθη ἐξ αὐτῶν, βοηθείᾳ καὶ ὅπλῳ τοῦ Σταυροῦ ἡ πάνσεμνος.

Ἕτερον Ἀπολυτίκιον
Ἦχος πλ. α’. Τὸν συνάναρχον Λόγον.
Τῆς Τριάδος τὴν δόξαν ἀνακηρύττουσα, ἐν τῷ λουτρῷ τρεῖς θυρίδας ὑπεσημήνω σοφῶς, κοινωνίαν πατρικὴν λιποῦσα πάνσεμνε, ὅθεν ἠγώνισαι λαμπρῶς, ὡς παρθένος εὐκλεής, Βαρβάρα Μεγαλομάρτυς. Ἀλλὰ μὴ παύση πρεσβεύειν, ἐλεηθήναι τᾶς ψυχᾶς ἠμῶν.

Κοντάκιον
Ἦχος δ’. Ὁ ὑψωθεὶς ἐν τῷ Σταυρῷ.
Τῷ ἐν Τριάδι εὐσεβῶς ὑμνουμένῳ, ἀκολουθήσασα σεμνὴ Ἀθληφόρε, τὰ τῶν εἰδωλων ἔλιπες σεβάσματα· μέσον δὲ τοῦ σκάμματος, ἐναθλοῦσα Βάρβαρα, τυράννων οὐ κατέπτηξας, ἀπειλὰς ἀνδρειόφρον, μεγαλοφώνως μέλπουσα ἀεί, Τριάδα σέβω τὴν μίαν θεότητα.

Κάθισμα
Ἦχος γ’. Τὴν ὡραιότητα.
Ἐν τῇ ἀθλήσει σου, πάντας ἐξέπληξας, ὅτι ὑπέμεινας, τὰς τῶν τυράννων πληγάς, δεσμὰ, βασάνους, φυλακάς, Βαρβάρα παναοίδιμε· Ὅθεν καὶ τὸν στέφανον, ὁ Θεός σοι δεδώρηται, ὅνπερ ἐπεπόθησας, ψυχικῶς καὶ προσέδραμες· αὐτὸς καὶ τὰς ἰάσεις παρέχει, πᾶσι τοῖς πίστει προσιοῦσί σοι.

Ἕτερον Κάθισμα
Ἦχος δ’. Ὁ ὑψωθεὶς ἐν τῷ Σταυρῷ.
Τὸν νυμφίον σου Χριστὸν ἀγαπήσασα, τὴν λαμπάδα σου φαιδρῶς εὐτρεπίσασα, ταῖς ἀρεταῖς διέλαμψας Πανεύφημε· ὅθεν εἰσελήλυθας, σὺν αὐτῷ εἰς τοὺς γάμους, τὸ στέφος τῆς ἀθλήσεως, παρ’ αὐτοῦ δεξαμένη, ἀλλ’ ἐκ κινδύνων λύτρωσαι ἡμᾶς, τοὺς ἐκτελοῦντας Βαρβάρα τὴν μνήμην σου.

Ὁ Οἶκος
Τὴν νυμφευθεῖσαν τῷ Χριστῷ διὰ τοῦ μαρτυρίου, Βαρβάραν συνελθόντες τιμήσωμεν ἀξίως, ὅπως αὐτῆς ταῖς προσευχαῖς λύμης ψυχοφθόρου λυτρωθέντες, καὶ λοιμοῦ, σεισμοῦ τε καὶ καταπτώσεως, τὸν βίον ἐν εἰρήνῃ διέλθωμεν, καταξιωθέντες μετὰ πάντων τῶν Ἁγίων, τῶν ἀπ’ αἰῶνος Θεῷ εὐαρεστησάντων, διάγειν ἐν φωτί, καὶ μέλπειν ἀξίως, ἐθαυμάστωσας Σῶτερ τὰ σὰ ἐλέη πᾶσι τοῖς πίστει ὁμολογοῦσι, Τριάδα σέβω τὴν μίαν θεότητα.

Μεγαλυνάριον
Τον θείον κοσμήτορα της Χριστού Εκκλησίας πάντες Ιωάννην Δαμασκηνόν ύμνοις συν τη θεία σεπτή καλλιπαρθένω Βαρβάρα επαξίως ανευφημήσωμεν.

http://agapienxristou.blogspot.ca/2014/12/blog-post_85.html

“I went to Christouli and Panagitsa high in heaven”

I went to Christouli (Christ Jesus) and Panagitsa (Mary, Most Holy Mother of God) high in heaven” 

E. and T. T., from Drosato N. Kilkis, are the parents of three children. They relate the following: “On March 30th 2001 we took our M., four and a half years old, to the Hospital in Thessaloniki because of an unbearable stomach pain. With the appropriate tests they diagnosed him with obstructive ileus, and operated on him for three and a half hours, removing half a meter of necrotic gut.

Our doctors said that the child passed a very difficult situation, but was not out of danger yet. Monday evening he had a 40 degree (Celsius) fever. Tuesday he was transferred to the ICU with sepsis and acute respiratory shock. His hopes of living were only 10%. In the mean time, without us knowing anything, a neighbor of ours saw St. Raphael in a vision who told her: “Antonina, I’m leaving, because you don’t need me any more. I will go to E., he has need of me now!” The woman later learned about our son. A friend of our family from Goumenissa, Mr. P. S., went to St. Raphael in Griva and knelt with the priest reading the paraklesis for the…
… salvation of our child. Our brother A. went in the evening to our empty house to chant the Paraklesis to St. George for the health of M.. At one point the room started to shine, so much that he was shaken. Where did this much light come from? Most likely it was the Grace of the Saint. After these, the child’s situation began to improve, until the Saturday of Lazarus, when he opened his eyes. On Holy Monday he was totally well and exited the hospital. After being sick for 23 days, we left the hospital. When we returned, he began to tell us different things: “I went to Christouli and to Panagitsa high in heaven, where there are a lot of clouds, with the white horse of St. George. I saw uncle Fani (our neighbor who died eight months before) and Despoula (a little girl who died three years before), there were many people I didn’t know there and they wore golden angel’s clothes and everyone was singing…Christouli and Panagitsa asked me if I have any brothers and what are they called, and told me not to worry, you will go back to Mama and to your brothers. ‘I don’t know how to get back there.’ ‘With my horse’, said St. George. ‘I’m scared, I don’t know how to drive the horse.’ ‘Don’t worry, I will drive you.’ M. is near us, a strong child as he was before, and every day we glorify God, Panagia and all the Saints who gave him back to us.”

http://agapienxristou.blogspot.ca/2014/11/i-went-to-christouli-and-panagitsa-high.html

”Μέσα από τους ανθρώπους βοηθάει ο Θεός τους ανθρώπους” ( Γεροντας Νίκων )

The Flock of the Theotokos

        
The Most-Holy Theotokos "Gerontissa" ("The Abbess"), depicted with Holy Angels and several Monastic Saints

M.M. Elder, let us move onto a different topic. Speak to us on the relationship that you and every Athonite has with the Panagia.

Elder Markellos: It is Her Garden, and we are her children. Once, an Athonite monk was sick. In order to be healed, he took refuge in the Panagia of Tinos. There, of course from reverence, he slept at night within the church. In reality, therefore, Panagia visited him, but in a...unique manner. She gave him a motherly slap, saying at the same time: "What do you want here?"

He replied: "My Panagia, I came to find my health."

"Well, why didn't you call me and entreat me in my Garden? I'm there every day along with you. Was there a need to come here?" Then the poor monk lost it, and awoke thinking: "Wow, what a fool I am, what am I doing here?"

This motherly position Panagia has before all of us, and when we are pleasing before Her--according to Her promise--she gives us everything. The blessed Elder Ephraim of Katounakia said: "Are you being tempted? Grab hold of the Panagia by her dress and call upon Her! She is a mother, she will hear you." He said this with joy, and also with faith that it would thus occur. When he sought for something from the Panagia, She gave it to him.

There is a story regarding an astonishing vision having to do with the Athonite Fathers and the Most-Holy Theotokos, which depicts her many times as an Abbess, as the Gerontissa of the Holy Mountain, with Her rod and mandya. She visits, she keeps vigil, she cares for Her children.

An Elder saw this astonishing vision: "The Second Coming, the Last Judgment had come. The Panagia as an Abbess passed by the cemetaries of the Holy Monasteries, by the Sketes, by the Hermitages, where there were the graves of the Fathers. As she passed by the place of the Fathers' rest, she would hit Her staff on the graves, and the Fathers would rise!"

An astonishing vision... All the resurrected Fathers followed the Panagia, who went before them, and arranged them into a large flock, the flock of the Most-Holy Theotokos. The Athonite Fathers were and are Her children, and she led them and leads them to the Kingdom of the Heavens.

An incredible vision. But once in a while, from certain graves, the Panagia did not take the Fathers. She left them there. They were those monks who did not take care in their life, who did not keep their monastic promises and their monastic duties. These cried out, mourned, wailed, entreated: "Take me too, Panagia! Take me together with You!" However, she did not take them, and they remained complaining and estranged from the great brotherhood, the Synodeia of the Most-Holy Theotokos.

Every Athonite monk senses the Panagia as his Mother. Whatever he asks of Her with faith and purity, the Panagia brings about, but he must try to always be pleasing before Her in his life. In other words, he must try to not make his life something that would sadden his Mother.

From Elder Markellos of Blessed Memory, Former Abbot of Karakallou Monastery, Mount Athos. From the Book: Logos Athonos, by Manolis Melinos.

source

Ανοικτή Επιστολή στον Αλέξη Τσίπρα

Αλέξη, σε αποκαλώ έτσι αφού αρνείσαι ότι είσαι κύριος, γιατί όλοι ξέρουμε ότι ένας κύριος ξεχωρίζει από τον τρόπο του και από την εμφάνισή του. Σε όλο τον κόσμο οι σοβαροί άνδρες φορούν γραβάτα, είναι ένα συμπλήρωμα της ανδρικής ενδυμασίας. Εσύ το θεωρείς περιττό, και σε ερωτώ γιατί δεν θεωρείς περιττό και το παντελόνι που είναι δείγμα και ρούχο ανδρισμού, και να σε δούμε μια μέρα με το σώβρακο στους δρόμους;

Δήλωσες επανειλημμένα ότι είσαι άθεος, από ότι θυμάμαι είσαι ο πρώτος Έλληνας αρχηγός κράτους που δηλώνει άθεος. Εμείς οι Έλληνες είμαστε χριστιανοί ορθόδοξοι, έτσι γεννηθήκαμε και έτσι θα πεθάνουμε, δεν πέρασε ποτέ από το μυαλό μας ότι μπορεί να μας κυβερνήσει ένας άθεος. Προχθές σε είδα στην τηλεόραση όταν έπαιζε η μπάντα τον εθνικό ύμνο, και στεκόσουν με ανοιχτά τα πόδια, συζητούσες και χαριεντιζόσουν με τους παρευρισκομένους αδιαφορώντας για τη σοβαρότητα της στιγμής.

Είσαι πολύ επικίνδυνος για να μας κυβερνάς.

Σου είπαν ότι το χαμόγελο σου πάει, και εσύ το πήρες στα σοβαρά, και όπου βρεθείς και όπου σταθείς, χαμογελάς σαν την Τζοκόντα του Ντα Βίντσι και έχεις την εντύπωση ότι με το χαμόγελο λύνονται όλα τα προβλήματα της Ελλάδας μας.

Περπατάς και ονειρεύεσαι ότι όλα λύνονται με ένα χαζό χαμόγελο, τόσο νυχτωμένος είσαι;

Έχεις μαζέψει για συνεργάτες σου, όλα τα φτωχόπαιδα, με τα εκατομμύρια, που δεν θυμούνται που και πώς τα απέκτησαν. Έχεις μαζέψει κοντά σου όλους αυτούς που άγνωστο πώς , έχουν αποκτήσει δύο, τρία, πέντε, δέκα και είκοσι ακίνητα, και τους θεωρείς σοσια(λ)-ληστές.

Μάζεψες μεγάλα μυαλά για να μας διαλύσεις.

Ποιόν να σου θυμίσω; Τον Γιάννη Μπαρουφάκη, τον Αλέξη Μητρόπουλο, τον Παναγιώτη Λαφαζάνη την Ζωή ;... όλα τα μπουμπούκια της αριστεράς για να μας διαλύσεις μια ώρα συντομότερα. Αδυνατείς να αντιληφθείς ότι οι ξένοι ηγέτες σε δουλεύουν!!!!

Και αντί να τους το ανταποδώσεις, εσύ δουλεύεις εμάς.

Αλέξη, είμαι διπλάσιος στα χρόνια από εσένα.

Σου δίνω μια συμβουλή! Όσο είναι καιρός πάρε την Περιστέρα σου, τα πιτσιρίκια σου, τους συντρόφους σου και τα συνεταιράκια σου, και αδειάστε μας... την Ελλάδα. Μη ξεχάσεις να πάρεις μαζί σου και τον μπουλούκο τον ΑΝΕΛ, θα σου είναι χρήσιμος , όπου και αν πας.

Κάποιος πριν από σένα είπε :

Ο σοφός άνθρωπος αναγνωρίζει τα λάθη του.

Ο πονηρός προσπαθεί να τα δικαιολογήσει

Και ο ανόητος επιμένει σ'αυτά.

Η επιλογή σε ποια κατηγορία ανήκεις δική σου.



ΓΙΑΤΙ ΤΟ ΤΕΛΟΣ ΣΑΣ, ΤΟ ΠΡΟΒΛΕΠΩ

ΔΥΣΟΙΩΝΟ ΓΙΑ ΕΣΑΣ.



Παλαιό Φάληρο 12 Νοεμβρίου 2015

Νίκος Κ. Αρβανίτης

Ετών 89 συνταξιούχος γήρατος του ΙΚΑ

Αλκυόνης 23 Π.Φάληρο 175 61

The Tiger ( St. Porphyrios )

Let’s suppose someone is all alone in the desert. Suddenly he hears a voice crying out in distress in the distance. He follows the sound and is confronted by a horrendous sight: a tiger has grabbed hold of a man and is savaging him with its claws. The man is desperately shouting for help. In a few minutes he will be torn to pieces.

What can the person do to help?

 Can he run to his side? How? It’s impossible. 

Can he shout for help? Who will hear him? 

There is no one within earshot. Should he perhaps pick up a stone and throw it at the man to finish him off? ‘Certainly not,’ we would say. But that’s exactly what can happen if we don’t realize that the other person who is acting badly towards us has been taken hold of by a tiger, the devil.

We fail to realize that when we react to such a person without love, it is as if we are throwing stones at his wounds and accordingly we are doing him great harm and the ‘tiger’ leaps onto us we do the same as him and worse. What kind of love do we have then for our neighbor and, even more importantly, for God?

St. Porphyrios

Ὁ ἐγωισμός προκαλεῖ τήν λύπη, τήν κατάθλιψη καί τά λεγόμενα «ψυχολογικά» ( Ιερομόναχος Σάββας Ἁγιορείτης )

          
Ὁ ἐγωισμός ὁδηγεῖ στήν λύπη· σ' ἐκείνη τήν λύπη πού δέν εἶναι κατά Θεόν. Ἡ κατά Θεόν λύπη ὁδηγεῖ στή μετάνοια. Ἡ μή κατά Θεόν λύπη ὁδηγεῖ στήν ἀπελπισία. «Ὁ ἐγωισμός φέρνει πάντα λύπη καί ἄγχος» ἔλεγε ὁ π. Παΐσιος. Ὁ πονηρός «θέλει νά μᾶς βλέπει λυπημένους καί νά χαίρεται...τό ταγκαλάκι δέν θέλει κανένας νά χαίρεται».

Ὁ ἐγωισμός ἀνοίγει τήν πόρτα στό ταγκαλάκι γιά νά μᾶς ἐπηρρεάσει ρίχνοντάς μας στήν Κατάθλιψη καί τά διάφορα λεγόμενα «ψυχολογικά προβλήματα».
Ἔλεγε καί ὁ μακαριστός Γέροντας Πορφύριος: «Κύριον αἴτιον εἰς τήν κατάθλιψη καί σέ ὅλα αὐτά πού τά λένε πειρασμικά, σατανικά, ὅπως εἶναι ἡ νωθρότης, ἡ ἀκηδία, ἡ τεμπελιά, πού μαζί μ’αὐτά εἶναι τόσα ἄλλα ψυχολογικά, δηλαδή πειρασμικά πράγματα, εἶναι ὅτι ἔχεις μεγάλον ἐγωισμό μέσα σου».

Κάνει ἐντύπωση πού ὁ γέροντας ὅλα τά ἀνωτέρω «ψυχολογικά» τά ἀποκαλεῖ πειρασμικά, δηλ. δαιμονικά, δηλ. δαιμονικές ἐνέργειες, δαιμονικές ἐπήρρειες.

Ὁ ἐγωισμός-ὑπερηφάνεια πού εἶναι καί ἡ νόσος τοῦ διαβόλου εἶναι ἡ βάση, ἡ αἰτία τῆς εἰσβολῆς καί δράσης τοῦ πονηροῦ στόν ἄνθρωπο. Ὁ διάβολος μπαίνοντας στήν ψυχή τήν γεμίζει μέ λύπη.
Κάποιος ρώτησε τόν Γέροντα Παΐσιος σχετικά μέ τήν στενοχώρια πού τοῦ ἐρχόταν γιά τίς πτώσεις του:
«- Γέροντα, κάμπτομαι ἀπό τήν στενοχώρια γιά τίς πτώσεις μου καί κουράζομαι στόν ἀγώνα μου.


- Ἀπό τόν ἐγωισμό εἶναι. Ἐπειδή δέν «κάμπτεις», γι’ αὐτό ἀποκάμνεις μετά. Δέν ὑπάρχει ταπείνωση, μετάνοια, συντριβή· ὑπάρχει ἐγωισμός, καί ὁ ἐγωισμός πάντα φέρνει λύπη καί ἄγχος. Ὅταν ὁ ἄνθρωπος δέν ἔχη μετάνοια, ἀλλά στενοχωριέται ἀπό ἐγωισμό, ἀπό ἀνθρωπαρέσκεια, ἐπειδή ξέπεσε στά μάτια τῶν ἄλλων, τότε ὑπάρχει μέσα του ἀγωνία, φαρμάκι, πόνος».

Ὁ καταθλιπτικός ἄνθρωπος βιώνει ἀκριβῶς τήν λύπη, τό φαρμάκι, τόν πόνο διότι δέν «κάμπτει», δέν ταπεινώνεται, δέν μετανοεῖ ἀλλά στενοχωριέται ἀπό πληγωμένο ἐγωισμό καί ἀνθρωπαρέσκεια.


Ἱερομόναχος Σάββας Ἁγιορείτης.