Christian Virtues ( Elder Cleopa )

Q. What teachings and spiritual counsels do you give to the faithful, to confirm them in the three theological virtues – in faith, in hope and in charity – which are the foundation of our salvation?

A. I AM a simple man, and unlearned, and I am not equal to the task of giving particular teachings on the three theological virtues. That I leave to theologians, who can understand them and explain them to their listeners.

Here it is necessary to deal with a theology of the many and the unlearned, who still do not know the “I believe” and the “Our Father”, nor the Trisagion. In my weak powers and understanding regarding matters beneficial for salvation, first, I recall the minds of the faithful to the fear of God, which teaches man to flee from evil (Prov 1:7, 9, 10).

We know from the Holy Fathers that wisdom has two ends. The lower end is the fear of God, and the upper end is the love of God, which is “the bond of perfection”. Beginning from the fear of God, I urge the faithful to the fear of death and of judgment. Then I recall their minds to the torments of punishment, to the glory of paradise, to compassionate mercy, to the upbringing of children in the fear and trials of the Lord, to sincerity and frequent confession and to the abandonment of sin, which is the true repentance.

As for the married, I urge them to a pure family life, counselling them to abandon the heavy sin of child-murder [i.e. abortion] and any attempts whatsoever to prevent conception. I urge them to abandon quarrelsomeness, fault-finding, anger, drunkenness and hatred, and I urge them to be reconciled before the sun has set.


Elder Cleopa

True Christianity Is a Struggle..( Archbishop Averky )

 

Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. (Mk 8:34).
The Great Fast is a season of repentance; and repentance is that struggle to contend against sinful passions and lusts which is so difficult for man that the Lord, the Judge of the contest Himself, likened it to the bearing of a cross. We are vividly reminded of this at the very midpoint of the Great Fast, on the Sunday of the Adoration of the Cross. Just as the Lord bore the Cross for the sake of our salvation, so each of us must bear “his cross” in order to attain the salvation prepared for us by the Lord.

Without the cross, without struggle, there can be no salvation! This is what true Christianity teaches. The teaching on struggle, on the bearing of the cross, runs like a scarlet thread through all the Sacred Scriptures and all of the history of the Church; and the lives of those holy ones who were pleasing unto God, the spiritual athletes of Christian piety, clearly bear witness to this. The Great Fast is merely an annually repeated exercise in the bearing of one’s cross in this life, an exercise in spiritual struggle inseparably bound up with the entire life of the true Christian.

But now, in the twentieth century of the Christian era, “wise men” have appeared—“neo-Christians,” as some of them refer to themselves—who do not wish to hear of this. They preach a new sort of saccharine, sentimental, rosy-hued neo-Christian love and the unrestricted enjoyment of all the delights of this transitory earthly life. They totally ignore the innumerable passages in Holy Writ which forcefully and eloquently speak of spiritual struggles, of emulating Christ the Savior in crucifying oneself, of the many sorrows which await the Christian in this life, beginning with the words which Christ the Savior Himself addressed to His disciples at the Mystical Supper: In the world ye shall have tribulation. (Jn 16:33). And this is because, as the Lord Himself explained, true Christians are not of the world (Jn 15:19), since the whole world lieth in wickedness (I Jn 5:19). This is why Christians must not love this world and the things that are in the world (I Jn 2:15); the friendship of the world is enmity with God, and whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. (Jas 4:4).

These modern “wise men” somehow fail to see that the Word of God nowhere promises Christians full spiritual satisfaction and paradisical blessedness in this earthly life. Quite the contrary; it emphasizes that life on earth will move further and further away from the Law of God; that, in respect to morality, men will fall lower and lower (II Tim 3:1-5); that all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived (II Tim 3:12-13); and that, finally, the earth also and the works therein shall be burned up. (II Pet 3:10). But there will appear new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. (II Pet 3:13)—a wondrous New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of Heaven (Rev 21:2), which was shown to John, the beholder of mysteries, during the revelation accorded him.

All of this is not to the liking of the “neo-Christians.” They want blessedness here in this world, burdened with its multitude of sins and iniquities; and they await this blessedness with impatience. They consider one of the surest ways of attaining it to be the “ecumenical movement,” the union and unification of all peoples in one new “church” which will comprise not only Roman Catholics and Protestants, but also Jews, Moslems and pagans, each retaining his own convictions and errors. This imaginary “Christian” love, in the name of the future blessedness of men on earth, cannot but trample upon the Truth.

The destruction of this earth with everything on it, although clearly foretold by the Word of God, is considered by them to be something indescribably horrible, as though it were not consistent with the omnipotence of God and, apparently, quite undesirable. They reluctantly admit the destruction of earth (for how can one not accept something prophesied in the Word of God?), but with the condition that it will take place in the far, far distant, mist-enshrouded future, not centuries, but millions of years from now.

What is the reason for this? One might say, because they are weak of faith, or lacking entirely in faith in the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the age to come. For them everything is in this earthly life, and when it ends for them, everything does.

In a few of its points—especially in the expectation of the blessed life in this world—such a frame of mind closely resembles the widespread heresy of the first centuries of Christianity called “chiliasm.” This is the expectation of a thousand-year reign of Christ on earth; therefore the modern manifestation of this heresy may be termed “neo-chiliasm.”

One should be aware and keep in mind that chiliasm was condemned by the Second Ecumenical Council in the year 381; and therefore to believe in it now in the twentieth century, even in part, is quite unforgivable. Besides which, this contemporary “neo-chiliasm” is far worse than the ancient chiliastic heresy in that at its basis indubitably lies a disbelief in the life of the age to come and the passionate desire to attain blessedness here on earth, using all the improvements and achievements of the material progress of our times.

This false teaching wreaks terrible harm, lulling to sleep the spiritual vigilance of the faithful and suggesting to them that the end of the world is far away (if in fact there will be an end?), and therefore there is no particular need to watch and pray, to which Christ the Savior constantly called His followers (cf. Mt 26:41), since everything in the world is gradually getting better and better, spiritual progress keeping step with materialism. And the terrible phenomena which we observe at the present time are all temporary; all has happened before, and all will ultimately pass away, and an extraordinary flourishing of Christianity will replace it, in which, of course, the ecumenists will occupy the principal and honored places.

Thus, everything is fine! It is not necessary to labor over oneself, and no spiritual struggle is required; the fasts may be abolished. Everything will get better all by itself, until the Kingdom of God is finally established on earth with universal earthly satisfaction and blessedness.

Brethren! Is it not clear where the ultimate source of this alluring false teaching is found? Who suggests all these thoughts to contemporary Christians with the purpose of overthrowing all of Christianity? As an infectious plague, as fire, must we fear this “neo-chiliasm” which is so profoundly contrary to the teaching of the Word of God, the teaching of the Holy Fathers and all of the centuries-old teachings of our Holy Church, by which many, many thousands of the righteous have been saved.

Without spiritual struggle there is not, and cannot be true Christianity! Therefore, our path does not lie with all the modern movements, nor with ecumenists, nor with the new-chiliasts.

Our faith is the faith of the holy ascetics, the apostolic faith, the faith of the Fathers, the Orthodox Faith which, hath made the whole world steadfast (from the service for the Sunday of Orthodoxy). This faith and only this faith will we firmly adhere to in these evil days in which we now live. Amen.

Christians, always rejoice, for evil, death, sin, the devil and hell have been conquered by Christ. ( St. Justin Popovich )

Christians, always rejoice, for evil, death, sin, the devil and hell have been conquered by Christ. But when all of this is conquered, is there anyone in the world who can bring our joy to naught? You are the lord of this eternal rejoicing as long as you do not give in to sin. Joy burns in our hearts from His truth, love, resurrection, and from the Church and His saints. Joy burns in our hearts all because of sufferings for Him, mockings for Him, and death for Him, insofar as these sufferings write our names in heaven. 

There is no true joy on earth without the victory over death, but the victory over death does not exist without the Resurrection, and the Resurrection does not exist without Christ. The risen God-Man Christ, the founder of the Church, constantly pours out this joy into the hearts of His followers through the Holy Mysteries and good deeds. Our faith is fulfilled in this eternal joy, insofar as the joy of faith in Christ is the only true joy for human nature. 

St. Justin Popovich

The two Kinds of Laughter... ( St. John Maximovitch )

There are two kinds of laughter, light and dark. They can be easily distinguished from one another by the laughing person's eyes and smile. You can also distinguish the two within yourself by what kind of spirit accompanies the laughter. In the absence of a light joy, a subtle feeling of light-heartedness, the laughter is not light. If what you feel within your breast is coarse and dry, and you are wearing a crooked smile, then the laughter is filthy. [That type of laugh] always follows some type of joke, something that mocks the harmony of the world. Distorting harmony in the world also distorts one's soul, and that is reflected in one's twisted facial expression. 

"A serene smile," is the mirror of discovered harmony. The saints smile without laughing. Laughter, as the fullness of clean joy, is the condition of the age to come. Blessed are ye that weep now, for ye shall laugh. Ascetic experience in one's enlightening and transfiguration even recommends smiling without showing one's teeth (better to have a little less joy than to have even a fleeting moment of impurity therein!)

"Joking laughter" - the laughter heard in films, theaters, at parties and soirees, casually ridiculing one's neighbor, laughing at weaknesses and human dignity for the sake of amusement and to forget sorrow, pointless laughter, and vain ridicule of others - all these are a spiritual disease. More precisely, they can be characterized as symptoms of spiritual disease.

In the world of the spirits are unclean spirits, spirits seen in the faces of those roaring with laughter… Angelic joy puts a smile on the face.

Healthy laughter can quietly dissipate the gathering clouds of evil argumentativeness, enmity, and even murder... Good laughter restores friendships and the family hearth.

Caustic, sarcastic laughter is not of God. A sarcastic smile, biting sarcasm, is a mockery of the Gospel salt of wisdom. It is mockery contained in a twisted smile.

Words of sharp witticism always cut open the soul. Sharpness is sharpness whether the knife is held by a surgeon or by a brigand; yet it can be used to diametrically opposite effect. Incision can allow in the Heavenly Light and the warmth of the Spirit, can be employed in order to excise rotting tissue and to ablate necrosis. Yet there is a sharpness that is not beneficial, one that cuts, carelessly cuts up the soul, and often kills.

Only the saints are incisive, and only the holy is incisive. Unclean spirits are a mockery of incisiveness, and many people in the world hone their ability to speak their minds with such wittiness, such [mock] incisiveness.

The boundary between clean and unclean laughter is "Homeric laughter," cackling, roaring laughter... This is the kind of laughter encountered at opulent banquets.

Who is vigilant, remaining pious in cognizance of the Mystery of his life, will be vigilant with respect to his entire life, including his laughter. Before God, he will even watch how he smiles. For him, and with the help of his invisible protectors, everything will be clean and bright.

Just like children, the saints illumined the world both with their weeping and with their smiles. Only children and those who have true love for Christ possess that purity of life that can be seen with human eyes - seen even in their facial expression.

For children as yet untainted by the spirit of corruption, everything is direct and pure. For them, death has not yet revealed itself to mock their mortality. They still possess the spring of life both as a beginning and a memory of Heaven. Thus, their vision and laughter is clean and pure, they speak without dissembling, they find it easy to weep, and to forget that they had been weeping...

"Except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven…" The reason is clear.

The greatest praise for a person is "He has the laughter of a child"… incorrupt laughter, approaching Heavenly harmony.

I am a great sinner, but the Lord is merciful ( Saint Silouan the Athonite )

Understand two thoughts, and fear them. 

One says,  

"You are a saint," the other, 

"You won't be saved." 

Both of these thoughts are from the enemy, and there is no truth in them. 

But think this way: 

I am a great sinner, but the Lord is merciful. He loves people very much, and He will forgive my sins. 

Saint Silouan the Athonite

How can one laugh at a clergyman? ( St. Anatoly of Optina )

How can one laugh at a clergyman? 

So what if he serves poorly? 

He still has grace. He is ordained. 

One must not, must not, laugh!

St. Anatoly of Optina

The boy stopped short: "In my heart you will find Christ"

A young boy was rushed to a hospital emergency room. After urgent examinations, the doctor said: "I will open your heart ..."



The boy stopped short: "In my heart you will find Christ"

The surgeon looked at him strangely, and as he did not believe, he nodded his head and said:
"I will open your heart to see the damages caused by your illness ..."

"Yes, but when you open my heart, you will find Christ."

The doctor took a curious look at his parents sitting quietly beside him and continued, "When I see the damage, I will close your heart and chest and decide what to do."

"Yes, but you will find Christ in my heart. The Bible says that Christ dwells there. All the hymns of the church say that Christ dwells there, in our heart. You will find him in my heart. "

The cardiac surgeon said: "I'll tell you exactly what I'll find in your heart. I will find a damaged heart muscle, a decreased blood flow and weakened blood vessels. And then I can, once I know, do you good. "

"And you will also find Christ, who is there ..."

The doctor came out of the exam room annoyed by the child.

As he had predicted, he underwent surgery ... The injuries were significant, as he had predicted, according to the image of the exam. He couldn't do anything ...

When the surgery was over, he sat down at his desk to write down notes on the operation: a broken aorta, a damaged pulmonary vein, extensive muscle degeneration. No hope of a transplant. No hope of healing. Treatment: painkillers and complete rest. Prediction (paused): death will come in time ...

He left the computer and got up ... Addressing the little Christ: "Why, " he exclaimed "why did you do this? You sent him here. You sent him with this evil. He is sentenced to die of this evil. Why; Why;"

Then in the depths of it, he heard a voice answering: "This child is not destined to live in your flock long term. This child belongs to My flock and so it will be forever. Here, in My flock, there is no pain. He will be comforted as much as you can imagine. Someday, his parents will meet him here and get to know the peace. My flock will continue to grow. "

Tears were running in the eyes of the cardiac surgeon. But his sentiments against God, full of selfishness, responded within him: "You have created this creature, You have made this heart. He is doomed to die within a few months ... why? "

The voice inside replied: "The child has to go back to my flock because he has done his job. I did not bring My child to earth to lose him, but to find another lost sheep. "

The doctor understood that this child did not come here by accident ... he came for him ... He had received a Christian education ... Memories danced in his mind. Because of his many professional accomplishments, his soul had become his last care.

He went into the child's ward, sat on his bed, facing his parents.

The boy woke up and yelled, "Did you open my heart?"

"Yes!" The doctor replied excitedly.

"And what did you find?" The young man asked.

"I found Christ," the surgeon replied, crying like the little child he was, fifty years ago ...

The child and the doctor became best friends ..

http://apantaortodoxias.blogspot.com

The Proper Understanding and Use of Antidoron

Traditional View and Practice According to Akrivia (Strictness)

 
Please help me to understand the significance of antidoron. How should one receive it and handle it? 

If one takes it home during the week for daily "communion" is this wrong? 

Is there a proper way of doing it—before a prayer, before a meal, etc.? 

When can you or should you take prosphora to Church? 

Should you also take wine and oil? 

Do you bring the names of people to be commemorated with these gifts? (G.M., IL)

This is a subject of great importance which we have several times addressed in the pages of Orthodox Tradition. When we do not commune at Liturgy, we receive antidoron (an-dee-tho-ron, with a hard "d" and a soft "d," as in "the") at the end of Liturgy (that is, blessed bread which substitutes for the Gifts; thus, antidoron, "instead of the Gifts"). Those who commune during the Liturgy receive antidoron or antidoron and wine immediately after communing and should not take it again at the end of Liturgy. 

Since it is blessed, the antidoron should be carefully handled and no particles of it should be allowed to fall on the ground. This means that children must be carefully watched while consuming antidoron and taught to treat it with pious reverence.

 It should be received from the Priest at the end of Liturgy and immediately consumed. Since antidoron is given in place of the Gifts, it is also received on an empty stomach, for which reason Orthodox Christians do not eat or drink anything from the midnight before the Divine Liturgy, whether communing or not. 

Antidoron may also be taken home for use during the week. It is a pious custom for Orthodox Christians to begin the day, after their morning prayers and before eating, by consuming a particle of antidoron and drinking agiasmos, or blessed water. 

Prosforo(n), the word for the bread which we offer at the Divine Liturgy, comes from the Greek word for an offering, prosfora. It is customarily baked in the home with prayers and taken to Church, where it is offered for the Divine Liturgy. (Incidentally, women, out of piety, should not prepare prosforon during their monthly periods.) One may also give oil and wine along with prosforon—other "offerings"—so as to provide for the oil lamps and the remaining element of the Eucharist, though this is not mandatory. This can be done for any Liturgy. It is also customary to offer the names of Orthodox Christian family members, of friends, and of relatives with the prosforon, so that the Priest may commemorate them at the Service of Preparation (Proskomide).


Most Orthodox Christians are aware that one should keep a strict and complete fast from midnight before receiving the Holy Mysteries, but one should also receive holy water and the antidoron (the blessed bread given out at the end of the Liturgy) fasting. If, as many do, you keep a supply at home, use a little each day to break your fast, when you have said your morning prayers and before eating anything else. If you are attending the Divine Liturgy, then keep a fast until the service is over (as in any case one should) and you receive your antidoron from the priest. If for some reason, you have eaten when you attend the Liturgy, then take the antidoron home as a blessing and consume it on another day, thus showing reverence for the things of God and the blessing which this bread has received.


It is a pious custom to keep some holy bread and holy water in one's icon corner—to consume, breaking the night's fast, with one's morning prayers. 

“O Lord my God, may Thy holy gift and Thy Holy Water be unto forgiveness of my sins, unto enlightenment of my mind, unto strengthening of my spiritual and bodily powers, unto health of my soul and body, unto vanquishing of my passions and weaknesses, by Thy boundless merciful kindness, through the prayers of Thy Most-pure Mother and all Thy Saints. Amen.” 

Taken from the Parish Newsletter of the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St John the Baptist (May 2011).

Ημέρα Μνήμης της Γενοκτονίας των Ελλήνων (14 Σεπτεμβρίου) - Greek Genocide Remembrance Day (September 14)

Γενοκτονία των Ελλήνων 1914-1923

Η Γενοκτονία των Ελλήνων αναφέρεται στη συστηματική εξόντωση των Ελλήνων της Οθωμανικής Αυτοκρατορίας πριν, κατά τη διάρκεια και μετά τον Α 'Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο (1914-1923). Διεξήχθη από δύο διαδοχικές κυβερνήσεις της Οθωμανικής Αυτοκρατορίας - δηλαδή από το Κομιτάτο Ένωσις και Πρόοδος
(ΚΕΠ) και το Τουρκικό Εθνικιστικό Κίνημα του Μουσταφά Κεμάλ Ατατούρκ. Περιλάμβανε σφαγές, εξαναγκαστικές εκτοπίσεις και πορείες θανάτου, απελάσεις, μποϊκοτάζ, βιασμό, αναγκαστικός εξισλαμισμός, στρατολόγηση σε τάγματα εργασίας, αυθαίρετες εκτελέσεις και καταστροφή πολιτιστικών, ιστορικών και θρησκευτικών μνημείων. Σύμφωνα με διάφορες πηγές, περίπου 1 εκατομμύριο Έλληνες της Οθωμανικής Αυτοκρατορίας έχασαν τη ζωή τους κατά τη διάρκεια αυτής της περιόδου.

Η πρώτη φάση της Γενοκτονίας των Ελλήνων ξεκίνησε το 1914 στην Ανατολική Θράκη, όπου ολόκληρες ελληνικές κοινότητες εκδιώχθηκαν βίαια και απελάθηκαν στο εσωτερικό της Μικράς Ασίας. Άλλα μέτρα που χρησιμοποιήθηκαν για την καταδίωξη των Ελλήνων σε αυτή την περιοχή ήταν το μποϊκοτάζ των ελληνικών επιχειρήσεων, δολοφονίες, βαρειά φορολογία, κατάσχεση περιουσίας και η πρόληψη από την εργασία στα κτήματα τους. Την άνοιξη και το καλοκαίρι του 1914 πραγματοποιήθηκε η εθνοκάθαρση των Ελλήνων της δυτικής ακτής της Μικράς Ασίας. Αυτές οι επιχειρήσεις, περιλαμβανομένων εκείνων της Ανατολικής Θράκης, σχεδιάστηκαν και εκτελέστηκαν από την ΚΕΠ χρησιμοποιώντας τακτικές και άτακτες δυνάμεις, συμπεριλαμβανομένων μελών της παραστρατιωτικής μονάδας της ΚΕΠ, της λεγόμενης Ειδικής Οργάνωσης (δηλαδή η Teşkilât-i Mahsusa).

Με την έναρξη του Μεγάλου Πολέμου, ο Ελληνικός αρσενικός πληθυσμός μεταξύ 21-45 ετών στρατολογήθηκε βίαια σε τάγματα εργασίας (τα Amele Taburlari). Οι περισσότεροι από αυτούς έχασαν τηζωή τους κάτω από άθλιες συνθήκες εφόσον αναγκάζονται να εργάζονται όλο το εικοσιτετράωρο με λίγη τροφή ή νερό. Το 1915, με τη συμβουλή του γερμανικού στρατιωτικού προσωπικού, το ΚΕΠ απέλασε τις
ελληνικές κοινότητες από τα Δαρδανέλλια και την Καλλίπολη με το πρόσχημα της στρατιωτικής
αναγκαιότητας. Αυτοί οι Έλληνες δεν είχαν το δικαίωμα να πάρουν τίποτα μαζί τους. Τα εμπορεύματα στα καταστήματά τους πωλήθηκαν αργότερα από τις οθωμανικές αρχές. Απελάθηκαν στο εσωτερικό της χώρας και σε μουσουλμανικά χωριά όπου αναγκάστηκαν να επιλέξουν μεταξύ του Ισλάμ ή του θανάτου.

 Στις περισσότερες περιπτώσεις, πριν από τις απελάσεις, οθωμανικοί χωροφύλακες (αστυνομία) και οι τσέτες (ένοπλοι συμμορίτες) κατέλαβαν χρήματα και τιμαλφή από τις κοινότητες, διαπράττουν σφαγές και καίνε εκκλησίες και σχολεία. Τον Δεκέμβριο του 1916 αρχίζει η δίωξη των Ελλήνων στην περιοχή του Πόντου.
Μέχρι το 1917, πηγές αναφέρουν ότι πάνω από 700.000 Έλληνες είχαν πέσει θύμα ενός προκατειλημμένου και καλά ενορχηστρωμένου σχεδίου αφανισμού.

Σύμφωνα με στοιχεία που συνέταξε το Οικουμενικό Πατριαρχείο, μέχρι το 1918, 774.235 Έλληνες είχαν  απελαθεί από τα σπίτια τους, πολλοί από αυτούς στο εσωτερικό της Τουρκίας και χάθηκαν τα ίχνη τους.

Μετά την ήττα της Οθωμανικής Αυτοκρατορίας στο Α' Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο, εξέχοντες ηγέτες της ΚΕΠ έλαβαν θανατικές ποινές σε οθωμανικό στρατοδικείο για το ρόλο τους στη διοργάνωση της σφαγής των Ελλήνων κατά τη διάρκεια του πολέμου. Αλλά, ο μεταπολεμικός σχηματισμός του Τουρκικού Εθνικιστικού Κινήματος υπό την ηγεσία του Μουσταφά Κεμάλ Ατατούρκ διέκοψε τη διαδικασία για να φέρει τους δράστες στη δικαιοσύνη. Οι εθνικιστές Κεμαλιστές συνέχισαν την πολιτική της ΚΕΠ να διώκουν τους
Έλληνες και κατέληξαν στην καταστροφή της κοσμοπολίτικης πόλης της Σμύρνης (σήμερα Ιζμίρ) και στην απέλαση όλων των Ελλήνων που απομένουν στην Τουρκία. Οι αρχές απαγορεύουν την έξοδο από την Τουρκία στον υγιής Ελληνικό αρσενικό πληθυσμό και, αντίθετα, στάλθηκαν στο εσωτερικό όπου οι περισσότεροι έχασαν τη ζωή τους σε στρατόπεδα εργατικής δουλείας ή σφαγιάστηκαν.
Μέχρι το 1923, διάφορες πηγές αναφέρουν ότι περίπου 1 εκατομμύριο Έλληνες έχασαν τη ζωή τους στη γενοκτονία.




The Greek Genocide of 1914-1923

The Greek Genocide (or Ottoman Greek Genocide) refers to the systematic extermination of the native Greek subjects of the Ottoman Empire before, during and after World War I (1914-1923). It was instigated by two successive governments of the Ottoman Empire; i.e. the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP)
party, and the Turkish Nationalist Movement of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. It included massacres, forced deportations and death marches, summary expulsions, boycotts, rape, forced conversion to Islam, conscription into labor battalions, arbitrary executions, and destruction of Christian Orthodox cultural, historical and religious monuments. 

According to various sources, approximately 1 million Ottoman Greeks perished during this period.
The first phase of the Greek Genocide commenced in 1914 in Eastern Thrace where entire Greek
communities were forcibly and often violently expelled or deported to the interior of Asia Minor. Other measures used to persecute Greeks in this region were the boycotting of Greek businesses, killings, heavy taxation, seizure of property and prevention from working on their lands. In the Spring and Summer 1914, the ethnic cleansing of Greeks along the western shoreline of Asia Minor was carried out. These operations, including those in Eastern Thrace, were planned and executed by the CUP using regular and irregular
forces including members of the CUP's paramilitary unit, the Special Organization (Teşkilat-i Mahsusa).

With the outbreak of the Great War, all Ottoman Greek males aged between 21-45 were forcibly
conscripted into labor battalions (Amele Taburlari). Most of them perished under appalling conditions being forced to work around the clock with little food or water. In 1915, under the advice of German military personnel, the CUP deported Greek communities from the Dardanelles and Gallipolli regions under the pretext of military necessity. These Greeks were not permitted to take anything with them. Goods in their shops were later sold by Ottoman authorities. They were deported to the interior and to Muslim villages
where they were forced to choose between Islam or death. In most cases, before deportations took place Ottoman gendarmes (police) and chetes (armed irregulars) seized money and valuables from communities, committed massacres and burnt churches and schools. In December 1916, the persecution of Greeks in the Pontus region commences. By 1917, it was reported that over 700,000 Greeks had fallen victim to a
preconceived and well orchestrated plan of annihilation.
According to figures compiled by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, by 1918, 774,235 Greeks had been
deported from their homes, many of them to the interior of Turkey, never to be seen again. Following the Ottoman Empire's defeat in WW1, prominent leaders of the CUP were given death sentences in Ottoman Courts-Martial for their role in organizing the massacre of Greeks during the war. But the post-war formation of the Turkish Nationalist movement under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk interrupted
proceedings to bring the perpetrators to justice. The Kemalist Nationalists continued the CUP policy of persecuting Greeks which culminated in the burning of the cosmopolitan city of Smyrna (today Izmir) to the ground and the expulsion of all remaining Greeks from Turkey. All able-bodied Greek males were refused exit from Turkey and instead were sent to the interior where most perished in slave labor camps or were massacred.

By 1923, various sources state that around 1 million Greeks perished in the genocide.

Bill V. Thomopoulos

Vancouver, BC, Canada

bthomopoulos@gmail.com

The Holy Theotokos – Image of an Ideal Woman

One of the most terrible manifestations of our times is the complete distortion of the image of an ideal woman. The ideal image depicted for us by the mass media shows a sort of attractive witch, unashamedly half-naked, with loose and disheveled hair, impudent glance, business-like, energetic, fearless, unfettered by moral laws or conscience. In consequence, unfortunate young girls and women – mothers, wives, daughters, – striving to imitate this devilish image, corrupt their souls, ruin their families, hopelessly destroy their own and others’ lives.

Yet at the same time we – Orthodox Christians – always have before our eyes the image of the One Who was more beautiful and wondrous than all the people on earth and even all the celestial denizens, the cherubim and the seraphim, the One Whom the Pre-eternal Council chose to become the Mother of God. As St. Dimitry of Rostov says: “After Adam’s transgression the Word of God did not forthwith come down to earth to be incarnated and save fallen mankind,” because “there was not yet a single maiden on earth who was pure not only in body, but also in spirit.” Thus the Theotokos’s major characteristic is Her virginal purity.

Another characteristic of this greatest Handmaiden of God is Her humility. Of all the personages in the Gospel, there is no one about whom we know so little as the Holy Virgin; Her entire life is shrouded in mystery, and yet She was undoubtedly the spiritual center of the first Christian Church after Her Divine Son’s Ascension; however, under the cover of modesty, She preferred to remain in the shadows.

The third characteristic of the Holy Virgin, according to St. Dimitry of Rostov, was Her all-encompassing and boundless love for God, which is mentioned in the following spiritual song: “O Mother-Virgin, miracle of chastity! Thou art daughter of the heavenly Father, the bride of the Holy Spirit, the Mother of Christ – the Son of God.”

There was not a single one among the Holy Fathers who did not laud the Theotokos! Foretold and presaged by the Old Testament prophets, She is glorified by all the ancient and contemporary Holy Fathers of the Orthodox Church.
As St. Gregory of Neocaesaria says, what amazes us in the Holy Virgin is not only Her chaste and pure physical beauty, but above all the beauty of Her soul. She was holy both in body and soul. Her garments were modest, Her gait was dignified, Her speech was brief, pouring out of a humble heart; all Her thoughts and all Her desires were turned only towards God.




The Church historian Nikiforos Kallistos adds: in conversing with others She retained Her modesty, did not laugh immoderately, did not express indignation, did not argue, never thought of Herself, and was characterized by total humbleness.
More than anything else in the world She loved Her Son, loved Him so much that She was ready to die with Him, yet with what courage and firmness She accompanied Him when He went on His path of suffering, was present at Golgotha when He was being crucified, stood at His Cross and attended His burial. “She wears the crown of martyrs, – says Leo the Philosopher, – because as She stood at the Cross, with Her soul pierced by the greatest anguish, She suffered more than all the martyrs.”




She loved and respected Her family members, but also loved and welcomed all strangers. St. Ambrose of Milan says: “She never offended anyone, never denigrated anyone, even the poorest person. Her modest belongings, consisting of two robes, She gave away before Her death to the two widows who served Her.”

Each person’s death sums up his life and brings recompense from the Lord – either reward or punishment. The most-glorious Dormition of the Mother of God revealed Her in all Her majesty and glory. Three days before Her death the Archangel Gabriel appeared before Her, announced Her repose and gave Her a shining branch from paradise – symbol of victory over death and corruption. On the third day after Her Dormition, the Mother of God appeared to the apostles in indescribable glory, surrounded by a multitude of angels, and said: “Rejoice, I am with you forever.” The apostles, filled with joy, instead of saying their usual “O Lord Jesus Christ, help us!”, exclaimed: “O Holy Mother of God, help us!”

And thus all Christians pray to the Holy Mother of God to help them. Help us then, O Most Holy Theotokos, grant our children the enlightenment to see in Thee the purest and most beautiful example of behavior, save and protect them from the vices and temptations of these evil times!



Reprinted from “Orthodox Russia,” No. 16, 2003..