Category Archives: Persecution, Suffering and Crucified Church

Where the Lamp Has Never Gone Out

Panagia Prousiotissa: Twelve Centuries of Unceasing Prayer

Our pilgrimage to the wonderworking icons of the Mother of God in Central Greece continued with a second, extraordinary destination: the Monastery of Panagia Prousiotissa, the beloved Lady of Roumeli. Panagia Prousiotissa is widely regarded as one of Greece’s foremost Theotokos pilgrimage shrines, often described as second only to Panagia Evangelistria on the island of Tinos, the third one being Panagia Soumela.

Panagia Prousiotissa — A Pilgrimage in Four Parts

Our pilgrimage to Panagia Prousiotissa unfolds in three parts: from our arrival in the darkness before dawn to the extraordinary journey of the miraculous icon and the holy footprints of the Mother of God; and finally, to our unforgettable encounter with Elder Ioannikios and his ministry of love.

Three glimpses into one sacred place, where the prayers of centuries are still alive.

Part I: From Darkness into Light

We arrived at the Monastery of Panagia Prousiotissa before dawn on Sunday morning, while Matins was already being celebrated. The mountains of Evrytania, in Central Greece, were still wrapped in darkness, and the monastery, nestled among towering cliffs, glowed softly beneath the deep blue of the early morning sky.

I spent the entire service — Matins and the Divine Liturgy — standing before the miraculous icon of the Mother of God. For those precious hours, there was no need to go anywhere else.

“Beneath thy compassion we take refuge, O Theotokos; do not despise our supplications in time of trouble, but deliver us from dangers, O only pure, only blessed one.”

These ancient words of prayer seemed to express everything that needed to be said. Before her icon, surrounded by the prayers of so many generations, one could simply stand, entrusting everything and everyone to her intercessions.

Only afterwards, over morning coffee in the monastery’s archontariki (guest reception room), did we have the blessing of meeting Elder Ioannikios, the Abbot, and listening to him.

His warmth, his words, and above all the love with which he received each pilgrim deserve a story of their own. God willing, we shall return to this encounter in the third part of our pilgrimage series.

And then, as daylight spread across the mountains, we went out to discover the extraordinary beauty of the place itself.

A Monastery Between Heaven and Earth

The Holy Monastery of Panagia Prousiotissa stands in one of the most dramatic landscapes of mainland Greece, approximately 35 kilometres from Karpenisi, among the mountains of Chelidona, Kaliakouda and the Panaitoliko range.

Surrounded by dense forests and steep, rocky precipices, its stone buildings seem almost to emerge from the mountainside itself. From a distance, the monastery appears suspended above the valley.

It is little wonder that generations of pilgrims have called it the House of the Mother of God, and the Panagia herself the Lady of Roumeli.

In daylight, the full beauty of the setting becomes apparent: the wooded slopes, the narrow ravines, the great walls of rock and the monastery buildings gathered beneath them.

The aerial views reveal something that cannot quite be appreciated from the courtyard below — the extraordinary isolation and grandeur of this sanctuary. For more aerial views and drone footage, go to https://youtu.be/NT70-jDqE5E?utm_source=chatgpt.com and https://youtu.be/FLb8Kkc3-Wg?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Twelve Centuries of Unceasing Prayer

According to sacred tradition, the monastery’s origins date back to AD 829, during the period of Byzantine Iconoclasm, when the miraculous icon of the Theotokos arrived from Prusa (Bursa) in Asia Minor.

The tradition tells of two young men, later known as the monks Dionysios and Timotheos, whose lives became inseparably connected with the icon and the foundation of the monastery.

The full story of the icon’s extraordinary journey, its disappearance and miraculous discovery will be the subject of Part II.

During our conversation in the monastery’s archontariki, Elder Ioannikios emphasised something truly remarkable: according to the monastery’s tradition, its life of prayer has continued without interruption for some 1,200 years, ever since its foundation in AD 829.

Even during the darkest periods of its history, when only a single monk remained, the lamp before the miraculous icon of the Mother of God was never extinguished.

The Elder described this continuity as unique in the world, drawing a comparison with the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, whose sacred history (2000 years) reaches back to the time of Christ.

Twelve centuries of prayer. Twelve centuries of tears, petitions, thanksgiving and hope. And through it all, the lamp before the Mother of God still burning.

A Sanctuary Through the Centuries

Over the centuries, the monastery became not only a place of prayer and pilgrimage but also a refuge for those suffering through the upheavals of Greek history.

During Ottoman rule, it offered shelter and spiritual support to the surrounding population. It was also closely associated with the Greek War of Independence and the celebrated revolutionary commander Georgios Karaiskakis, who stayed here while suffering from illness.

Above the monastery stand the famous Karaoulia, two stone watchtowers associated with the revolutionary period, reminders of the days when these mountains were both a sanctuary and a stronghold.

Stone, Silence and Living History

The monastery’s principal church, or katholikon, incorporates a remarkable sanctuary associated with the original cave where the miraculous icon was discovered.

The present church dates substantially from the eighteenth century, while surviving frescoes bear witness to earlier periods of its history.

Around it, the monastic buildings, courtyards, arches and passageways form an architectural whole that seems to belong naturally to the rocky landscape.

The monastery also preserves important ecclesiastical treasures, relics and historical objects, including items associated with Karaiskakis. Its collections recall the close relationship between Orthodox monasticism, education and the history of Roumeli.

IIn 1944, during the German occupation of Greece, the monastery suffered devastating destruction. Yet, amid the flames and devastation, one place remained untouched: the chapel housing the wonderworking icon of the Mother of God. The monastery was reduced to ruins, but the sanctuary of the Panagia was spared. Yet it rose again, and its centuries-old life of worship and hospitality continued.

Today, pilgrims still arrive from Greece and abroad to venerate the miraculous icon, attend the Divine Liturgy and seek the intercessions of the Mother of God.

The monastery celebrates its principal feast on 23 August, the Leavetaking of the Dormition of the Theotokos.

The Mountains in the Morning Light

By the time we had finished our visit, the mountains were no longer hidden in darkness.

The cliffs, forests and stone buildings stood revealed in the morning light. The place that had welcomed us before dawn with the sound of prayer now opened before us in all its astonishing natural beauty.

Yet what remains most vividly with me is not the grandeur of the mountains, nor even the beauty of the monastery.

It is those early hours before the miraculous icon of the Mother of God, while Matins gave way to the Divine Liturgy.

The mountains were still in darkness when we arrived. But within the monastery, the day had already begun in prayer.

In Part II, we shall follow the extraordinary journey of the miraculous icon of Panagia Prousiotissa, from Asia Minor to the mountains of Roumeli, and discover why, according to sacred tradition, the Mother of God chose this remote sanctuary as her dwelling place.

The Mother of God in Exile: Panagia Faneromeni of Nea Michaniona

The miraculous icon of Panagia Faneromeni of Nea Michaniona, also known as Panagia Michaniotissa, is one of the most revered wonder-working icons of the Theotokos in Greece. Together with Panagia Evangelistria of Tinos and Panagia Soumela, it is counted among the country’s major Theotokos pilgrimage shrines. Today’s pilgrimage took us to Nea Michaniona, near Thessaloniki, to venerate this beloved icon of the Mother of God, whose remarkable story of survival during the Asia Minor Catastrophe of 1922 bears witness to the refugees’ deep faith and their enduring love for the Panagia, whom they could not bear to leave behind.

How the Icon of Panagia Faneromeni of Nea Michaniona Was Saved in a Quilt During the Asia Minor Catastrophe of 1922

More than a century ago, the refugees from Asia Minor managed to save their beloved icon of the Mother of God by concealing it among their belongings. Today, the miraculous icon of Panagia Faneromeni, also known as Panagia Michaniotissa, continues to attract thousands of pilgrims from Northern Greece and beyond, especially during the days surrounding her feast, when the holy icon is carried in solemn procession.

Old Michaniona on the Cyzicus Peninsula

The Old Michaniona of Cyzicus

According to the accounts handed down by the older inhabitants of Michaniona, when the great tragedy of the Asia Minor Catastrophe struck in 1922 and the Greek population was forced to abandon its ancestral homes, a woman named Katigo Maoutsa, also known as Lazarakaina, together with her granddaughters, took steps to save the precious icon of Panagia Faneromeni.

They made a protective covering from chintz, a thin cotton fabric, and reverently placed the icon inside it. They then concealed it in a large bundle of clothing, known locally as a degi. In this way, the icon was rescued and eventually brought to Greece.

As A. R. Matikas, a former headmaster of the First Primary School of Nea Michaniona, wrote, the women of Michaniona kept the miraculous icon of the Mother of God constantly with them, as their guide and protectress throughout the ordeal of their displacement, until they finally settled on the beautiful shores of the Thermaic Gulf.

At that time, the area was so desolate and overgrown that the refugees were frightened by the wilderness and the snakes emerging from the uncultivated land.

Panagia Faneromeni, the beloved Mother of God of Michaniona, was initially housed in a wooden church built by the refugees beside the makeshift tents in which they themselves lived.

Traditional “dor-tsefte” fishing boats (1924), brought by the fishermen from Old Michaniona.

The Flight from Asia Minor: An Eyewitness Account

A particularly moving description of the rescue and transportation of the icon is preserved in Vangelis Chatzibirbilou’s popular history of Old and New Michaniona.

He describes the inhabitants as deeply religious people who built small chapels in their fields and faithfully attended church services on Sundays and feast days, even when they were away from home on fishing expeditions.

Just as their lives had begun to improve, and they had built new houses and achieved a measure of prosperity, disaster struck.

It was 22 August 1922, the eve of the great feast of Panagia Faneromeni, celebrated on the Ninth Day after the Dormition of the Mother of God. This was the most important religious festival in Michaniona.

The inhabitants had gathered at the monastery for Great Vespers when news arrived that they would have to flee their homes once again, as catastrophe was approaching.

The account continues:

“Five days later, a steamship arrived at the harbour, sent to us by the Brotherhood of Michaniona in Constantinople. On 29 August 1922, it carried us across to the village of Epivates on the opposite shore, in Eastern Thrace.

“With two journeys, we managed to take our fishing boats, nets, and a considerable number of our possessions. Our animals were transported overland through Bursa.

“The widow Katigo Maoutsidou, who tended the lamps in the Church of Panagia Faneromeni, took Kostas Kamatakis and fifteen-year-old Grigoris Bogakis with her, and together they rescued the holy icon. We carried it with us, wrapped in a quilt.

“Nikolaos Chatzigiannakis, also known as Karanikolas, rescued another valuable icon, that of St Nicholas, which had an oyster embedded in its forehead because it had originally been found in the sea.

“This icon is now kept in the Church of the Holy Unmercenaries in Loutra Edipsou, where some refugees from Michaniona settled and where their descendants still live.”

Thus, amid the confusion, grief, and terror of displacement, the refugees took extraordinary care to preserve the icon of their beloved Panagia.

They had lost their homes, their homeland, and much of what they possessed, but they would not abandon the Mother of God who had accompanied them throughout their lives.

The original church of Panagia Faneromeni, following the completion of its construction in 1928.

A New Home for Panagia Faneromeni

The first church dedicated to Panagia Faneromeni in the refugees’ new settlement on the Thermaic Gulf was a simple wooden structure.

The foundations of a more permanent church were laid in 1927, and its construction was completed in 1932.

Alexandros Sarafidis, a former member of the parish council, recalled how the entire community contributed to its construction:

“Young and old, women and children, everyone worked to build the church. Whenever the bell rang, they all hurried to help, each according to their strength.

“You could see women climbing ladders, passing bricks and roof tiles from hand to hand to the builders. Children formed lines, passing building materials from one to another, all the way from the shore.”

The church was far more than a place of worship. It represented a living connection with the refugees’ ancestral homeland and became a spiritual and social centre around which the new community gradually took shape.

The construction was made possible largely through the tireless efforts of the first parish priest, Fr Ioannis Valasoglou, and was completed under his successor, Fr Georgios Vogiatzoglou.

The parish council also played an essential role. Its members included Alexandros Sarafidis, Vasilis Arapakis, Georgios Tatarakis, Emmanouil Stamidis, and Georgios Svolakis.

Raising the necessary funds was extremely difficult. The community resorted to internal loans and appeals for donations, yet the determination of the refugees never wavered.

The Present Church of Panagia Faneromeni

After the Second World War, as Nea Michaniona continued to grow and prosper through the hard work of its inhabitants, most of whom were engaged in maritime occupations, the need arose for a larger church.

The new church was built during the episcopate of the late Metropolitan Prokopios of Nea Krini and Kalamaria, with generous contributions from the faithful and funds raised through numerous collections.

Its foundations were laid on 9 March 1975, and its consecration took place with great solemnity on Sunday, 27 May 1984.

The architectural plans were prepared by Georgios Axiotis, an architect specialising in church buildings, while the construction was undertaken by Vasilios Paterakis.

The church can accommodate approximately 4,000 worshippers.

Its dimensions are impressive:

  • Length: 35 metres
  • Width: 22 metres
  • Interior height of the dome, measured from the basement floor: 26.5 metres
  • Diameter of the dome: 13 metres

The church contains five chapels, two of which have been consecrated in honour of St John the Theologian and St Prokopios.

Today, this magnificent church attracts pilgrims from throughout Greece, including organised groups from the southern mainland and the islands.

The Establishment of Nea Michaniona

Nea Michaniona was founded on 14 May 1923.

The refugees initially lived in tents, before moving into the first newly constructed houses towards the end of August that year.

The settlement was established by approximately 450 refugee families, originating from Old Michaniona on the Sea of Marmara, Avdimio and Kerasia in Eastern Thrace, and Kasteli, Ambarli, and Çeşme in the Smyrna region.

Initially, Nea Michaniona was administered as part of the Community of Epanomi, which owned the land allocated for the refugees’ settlement.

In June 1926, Nea Michaniona became an independent community, incorporating the neighbouring settlements of Nea Kerasia and Angelochori.

The Long Journey to a New Homeland

For many of the refugees who eventually settled in the wider Nea Michaniona area, the Asia Minor Catastrophe marked the beginning of a long and difficult journey through various parts of Greece.

Most of the inhabitants of Old Michaniona initially found temporary refuge in Loutra Edipsou, on the island of Euboea.

Those who came from Çeşme followed a different route.

Many of the refugees were fishermen, sailors, or boat captains, and therefore possessed their own vessels. They used these boats to cross to the nearby Greek islands of Chios, Samos, and Lesbos.

Once the new settlement of Nea Michaniona had been established, they gradually made their way there.

In 1923, the steamship Thetis transported the refugees from Edipsos to Thessaloniki, from where they eventually reached their new home on the shores of the Thermaic Gulf.

The farmers settled further inland, while the fishermen established themselves along the coast, continuing the occupations and traditions they had brought from their lost homeland.

Through hardship, perseverance, and faith, the refugees gradually rebuilt their lives.

And at the heart of their new community stood the icon of Panagia Faneromeni, the Mother of God, whom they had carried with them through exile, concealed in a humble quilt.

The icon remains to this day a cherished symbol of their faith, their suffering, their survival, and their enduring connection with their ancestral homeland.

Source for its remarkable story of survival during the Asia Minor Catastrophe of 1922: Faros tou Thermaikou, drawing on historical accounts and testimonies concerning Old and New Michaniona, including the works of A. R. Matikas and Vangelis Chatzibirbilou.

The Joyous Pustinik Comes Back — Day 3, Part 1

Thursday the 11th of June, the Feast of St. Luke Symferoupol and the revelation of Axion Estin by the angel Gabriel. 

The journey to St. Kyriaki monastery was quite eventful. St. Kyriaki monastery is where a number of our Antiochian nuns found themselves.

At one point in the journey, engrossed as we were, in deep conversation and with the Paraklesis of St. Luke Symferoupol providing the background ison to our talk, we took a wrong road. My fault, I’m afraid, as I was the co-pilot, supposed to be directing the way.

The sign Local Road did not really do justice to the rather barely marked track that we found ourselves on in this huge field. However, Sat Nav came to the rescue and revealed to us the way that we should go. We needed a U-turn.

U-turns can be life-saving in a religious and a spiritual point of view, from sin and death and the roads which lead to destruction, to the way that leads to Paradise. 

A reliable source told me how beautiful this place was, and indeed there was no hyperbole from that source. 

This beautiful monastery, which is really a hidden gem amidst the beautiful countryside, reminded me of the Hymns of Resurrection from St. Ephraim, also a Syrian.

In his Hymn to the Resurrection, chapter 15, verse 10, he writes this: 

“Let us summon and invite the saints, 

the martyrs, apostles and prophets, 

whose own blossoms and flowers 

shine out like themselves –

such a wealth of roses they have, 

so fragrant are their lilies:

from the Garden of Delights do they pluck them, 

and they bring back fair bunches 

to crown our beautiful feast. 

O praise to You from the saints who are blessed.” 

Sister T told us how the nuns came to be there, and it reminded me of another verse from St. Ephraim the Syrian, verse 12, in the same poem:

“Receive our offering, O our King, 

and in return grant us salvation;

give peace to the land that has been devastated,

rebuild the churches that were burned, 

so that when deep peace has returned, 

we may plait you a great wreath, 

with flowers and people to plait it,

coming in from all sides

so that the Lord of Peace may be crowned. 

Blessed is He who has acted and is able to act.”

*

For those of you who missed it, the story of the Sisters of War and St. Kyriaki monastery in Veria can be read here

The Nuns from Syria to Veria

“Dedication to Christ is the joy of life,” Mother Maria will answer me, instantly solving the questions about the smiling faces of the women in their cassocks. The thriving convent she now runs once languished with only two very old nuns.

The Sisters found refuge from the war in Syria. An old bond brought them here

I had heard a lot, but I couldn’t separate the legend from the truth. I had to wander the plain of Veria. To forget myself for a while in the blooming peach trees – the ones that filled Instagram at the end of March – to pass, full of curiosity, the heavy iron door of the Monastery of Agia Kyriaki. And to face the truth in the bright faces of women of all ages.

In the monastery’s mansion, Arabic coffee awaited me with treats from Aleppo. Yes, from Syria. The nuns pronounce Greek with small – I would say charming – grammatical errors that testify that their mother tongue is different.

Gerasimi is a graduate of Fine Arts. She elaborately decorates the candles for the Resurrection – their sale is a significant source of income for the small monastery.

“God’s Will”

The war in Syria brought here, to Loutro Imathias, an entire sisterhood of nuns from Aleppo. Aleppo, which was also called Veria during the Byzantine Empire. Luck, fate or divine providence?

For my interlocutors, everything is “God’s will”. And one name is constantly on their lips: Paul! The missing Metropolitan of Aleppo.

On Holy Monday 2013, Paul of Aleppo, returning to Syria from Alexandretta in Turkey, decided to go to a village to try to free locals for whom the rebels were demanding ransom. He was accompanied by the Jacobite bishop Yuhanna.

On the way, the two hierarchs were ambushed. Their driver was murdered and they were kidnapped. Everyone then thought that the kidnapping was the work of ISIS jihadists. The State Department rewarded the kidnappers with 5 million dollars. After all, Paul was the fleshly brother of the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East John.Thirteen years since then, the fate of the two archpriests continues to be unknown. But back to the Monastery of Agia Kyriaki, Pavlos is so “present” in all the stories!

“Missing Father” – “He encouraged me to go to the School of Fine Arts.” “He wanted us to study first and then become a nun.” “He showed me the way to iconography.” “He insisted that we learn Greek, the language of the Fathers.” This is what the sisters say of Metropolitan Pavlos of Aleppo, whose fate has been unknown since 2013, when he was kidnapped.

Emiliani and Iliani were taught the art of needlework in Ormylia, the women’s monastery of Simonopetra. Monks from Simonopetra on Mount Athos are still their spiritual leaders today. 

Ten were the first nuns – from the Monastery of the Annunciation of the Theotokos in Aleppo – who found refuge here. “Like Noah who landed his sea-swept ark on Ararat,” I will hear one evening.

All from families of old Romans, that is, citizens of the Byzantine Empire who gradually became Arabic-speaking.

Most from the Valley of the Christians, a natural valley, as large as Kos, near the border with Lebanon.

Philothei rings the monastery bells. For centuries, events in monasteries have been announced by rhythmic metal or wooden sounds that lead the brotherhoods to the Katholicon, a chapel, or the refectory.

Every time they went to distribute medicine and food, the locals would exclaim: “For the sake of Deir el Bisara” – “the nuns of the Annunciation are coming!”

A liturgy in two languages ​​– The Arabic psalms, in the monastery church, are “married” with invocations in Greek: “Lord of Hosts, have mercy on us”. With pilgrims from Alexandria and Veria recognising the same prayer in different words and rejoicing.

But how did the nuns of war find their way to the humble and then unknown Agia Kyriaki?

The current Metropolitan of Veria Panteleimon, in the early 1990s, served as a hieromonk in Thessaloniki. And he had the Syrian Pavlos as his deacon. A graduate of the famous Theological Seminary of Balamand and the Polytechnic University of Latakia – who was then completing his doctorate in theology, while also studying Byzantine music. Paul then became a monk on Mount Athos, where he studied iconography under the most famous iconographers of Athos.

Sister Nikodimi studied Dentistry in Syria. In Greece, she obtained a master’s degree in psychological support for children with cancer and chronic diseases.

Over the years, the hieromonk became the metropolitan of Veria and the deacon the metropolitan of Aleppo. And during the war, he asked his counterpart in Veria for shelter for his spiritual daughters.

One of the photographs of the Metropolitan of Aleppo before his kidnapping in Syria 

The Sisterhood

Thirteen years since then, the sisterhood has thrived and now numbers twenty nuns and four novices.

Hieronymi shows the fruits from the sisterhood orchard to Stavros Theodorakis. The monastery’s “development” plan is to create new cells for the nuns and an orchard with fruit trees and gardens with medicinal herbs. Apple, apricot, and cherry trees have already been planted, and once the cold weather passes, sage, verbena, rosemary, and oregano will follow, on terraces.

And at my Lenten table they serve makhlouta* with red lentils, cumin, and vegetables from the sisterhood’s vegetable garden.

Next to me, the reader, standing, commemorates Pavlos in the present tense.

As if he is absent for a while and they are waiting for him to return.

* Makhlouta means “mix” in Arabic, and that’s exactly what this soup is: a mix of beans and grains, simmered slowly.

Translated from Kathimerini

Photos by Olympia Krasagaki — Text/ Interviews by Stavros Theodorakis — 06.04.2026

The story of the Sisters of War was broadcast by “Protagonists” on Holy Wednesday evening 2026 and can be watched on YouTube here with Arabic and Greek subtitles: Πρωταγωνιστές | Βέροια – Ιερά Μονή Αγίας Κυριακής Λουτρού – 08/04/2026

NEAR-DEATH MONASTERY MIRACLES

Conversion miracles, War/ Persecution miracles, Secret Christians

We visited a monastery, where a young British man who wanted to become a catechumen “accidentally” met a British Orthodox priest who was visiting the same morning and “happened” to be a parish priest very near this young man’s hometown. Last but not least, they had booked the same return flight to the UK that Saturday! So, this young man had his first 3 catechesis lessons that morning!

The nuns of war.

From Aleppo to …

Years ago, it was a deserted monastery with only two nuns. But in 2013, the war in Syria brought here a sisterhood from Aleppo. These nuns have experienced the war, and each has a moving story to share. This monastery is now vibrantly alive, full of radiant Joy and warm Love.

All of the sisters have studied at Syrian universities – from Fine Arts to Economics – all come from old Christian families, and most of them have postgraduate degrees in Theology, which they have studied in Greek Universities. Pavlos, the Metropolitan of Aleppo, their spiritual Father, asked them to come here.

This is a monastery where Arabic hymns and psalms mingle along with Greek prayers. But what is most amazing and I have never encountered before in any other monastery I have visited, is their joy and love. This radiant Joy and love are a fruit of their obedience to their spiritual father in everything, and especially to his word. This is what a sister told us: “The most important thing is that Joy in a person, being joyful, is a decision. When we are not joyful in this life, it is a sin against God and His love.

When I was in Thessaloniki, I can’t remember because it’s just one, visiting from one monastery to another, and the spiritual fragrance of those places is filled with the living Christ. I met a Gerontas. I won’t tell you his name because I know some know him, but some believe he is a saint already. And when you are next to a saint, you know it. Remember, Orthodoxy is very physical. I wanted to be near him, because you could feel holiness. He told us a story about a woman from Canada. She was Chinese. And she had a dream of this face, of this Geronda. She had this dream every night for four years in Canada. Four years. Every night, this Geronda would come in her dream and say, “Come see me. I don’t have so much time.” She didn’t know who he was. She didn’t know where he lived. So she went and had a car, and she went on a tour of monasteries in northern Greece. Until she arrived at this particular monastery, where Gerontas lived, “Ah, here you are”. (And then, this Gerontas made particular arrangements for her to be properly catechised and baptised back in Canada with a priest next door to her own house!) You see, there are some hidden Christians.

This Gerontas goes and secretly baptises people in Turkey. There are secret Christians. There are people who want to become Christians. Many Muslims, rather than going to Greece, go to Romania, perhaps.

Other little miracles happened during my stay in Thessaloniki. I asked Gerontas for a word. It’s a tradition in Greece to say, “Give me a word.” Do you have this tradition? He didn’t say anything. He took a sweet out of his pocket and gave it to me. And I knew what he meant. He said, Give, feed people with the sweetness of Christ. You see, he doesn’t speak English. And I don’t speak very much Greek, so he just gave me a sweet. Simplicity is the beauty of Orthodoxy.

This same Gerontas shared with us another monastery miracle. Many years ago, on Mount Athos, a small boat with monks and doctors met another small boat with some Italian students. One of them was so impressed with the holiness of the Fathers that he swapped boats and followed them to their monastery pilgrimage. Years passed by, communication continued between this Gerontas and this Italian student, miracles happened to his family with Gerontas’ prayers, including saving his father’s life from cancer, and now this Gerontas visited him in Italy and made arrangements for his catechism and baptism, again next door, by an Orthodox Italian hieromonk, a former Uniate priest and now a member of Gerontas’ synodeia.

“Help Lord, I am sinking!”

 

footprints in the sand

Homily on  MATTHEW 14:22-34 — 9th Sunday of St Matthew

A Homily and a favourite Poem

 

“At that time, Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was many furlongs distant from the land, beaten by the waves; for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. But immediately he spoke to them, saying “Take heart, it is I; have no fear.” And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus; but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “O man of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they entered the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret.”

The Gospel writer presents us with a vivid scene on the Lake of Gennesaret. Peter sinking beneath the waves is a picture that resonates with our own condition when we are overcome with anxiety, guilt, sin, overwork, doubt and grief. We become immersed in the conditions that surround us, unable to focus on anything else. The waves seem to be too high and we begin to sink under the waves of pressure.

Peter may have had in mind the Psalm when in his panic and despair he cries out to Christ:

Psalm 69:1-2

Save me, O God!
For the waters have come up to my neck.
2 I sink in deep mire,
Where there is no standing;
I have come into deep waters,
Where the floods overflow me. 

We see that our Lord, after he had dismissed the crowds goes up into the hills to commune with His Father. After prayer he goes to the Lake of Galilee but His disciples had already gone fishing and it was dark, the fourth watch of the night,3.00 am.-6.00a.m.  It is in the middle of the night when fear may overcome us. There was a strong wind that caused a storm on the waters. He walks on the water towards the disciples boat. His disciples thinks it is a ghost and they are terrified. We notice here how the storm outside, had entered into them and they cry out with fear. It is then when they were at their most vulnerable that Christ speaks His words of reassurance:

“Take heart, it is I, have no fear.”

When we find ourselves battered without and within by the storms of life then Christ will come to us bidding us to take courage and trust in Him.

 Peter immediately responds:

 “Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water.” The “if” signals a doubt in the mind of the apostle.

One word from our Lord,“Come!” So Peter jumps out of the boat, but he takes his eyes of faith from the Lord Jesus Christ and is more concerned about the surrounding turmoil and prevailing storm and begins to sink beneath the waves. This is precisely what often happens to us. We lose focus, we are distracted, we take our eyes from Him Who is the Lord over all Creation and we are embroiled, consumed, overwhelmed by the condition(s) in which we find ourselves.

Peter cries out: “Lord, save me!” and the Saviour does just that, despite his lack of faith, extending his arm for Peter to grasp. How speedily this vision takes us to the Icon of the Resurrection in which our extends His arms and  brings Adam and Eve out from Hades. This is what Christ does for us, but we also can extend that saving “hand” of friendship, that word of comfort to others whose faith is weak, who feel lost; those that are sinking under the waves of anxiety. We see how Christ immediately comes to the rescue.

The miracle here is not that Our Lord Jesus walked upon water, but that His word and action is immediate towards His disciples! The One who made the Heavens and the Earth, the Sea and all that is therein, is Lord over all nature. He who multiplies five loaves and two fish to feed 5000 can walk upon the waters, can turn water into wine, can calm the storm, can cause a multitude of fish to be caught. The real miracle is that Christ knows our needs and responds to them immediately. He is with us always even unto the end of the age and His hand supports us and saves us now and unto eternal life.

 Lord save us!

  And when they entered the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Christ is indeed our Saviour and the Son of God 

The poem “Footsteps in the Sand “so eloquently illustrates the nature of our loving and saving Lord Jesus Christ:

One night I dreamed a dream.
As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.
Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,
One belonging to me and one to my Lord.

After the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,
especially at the very lowest and saddest times,
there was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.
“Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,
You’d walk with me all the way.
But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,
there was only one set of footprints.
I don’t understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me.”

He whispered, “My precious child, I love you and will never leave you
Never, ever, during your trials and testings.
When you saw only one set of footprints,
It was then that I carried you.”

 

The Suicidal Church, in Body or in Spirit

Archimandrite Gregorios Estephan

Archimandrite Gregorios Estephan, Abbot of Holy Dormition of the Theotokos Monastery, Bkeftine, Lebanon

A most poignant, sobering and timely warning. Your prayers and your thoughts.

A few excerpts:

We ask with honesty, was there no other way or a dispensational solution, taking into account all the health measures, to face this pandemic, without closing the Churches and surrendering to a collective spiritual suicide?

…

Going to Church during pandemics, temptations, hardships and persecutions does not mean that we are tempting God as if we are inviting something to befall us, but rather, by this, we are saying to Him that we walk with Him in Faith, revealing that what we need the most is to be with Him during these very afflictions, united with Him in His Body and Blood, in order to confront this pandemic and the dangers of disease, as well as all of the other catastrophes awaiting us. When Christians, during major persecutions and communism, risked their lives to go into the catacombs and gather around the Lord’s table, it was an expression of their loving Christ more than themselves, an expression of their knowledge that true life exists within this Eucharistic table, and not in their bodies.

…

Today also, if we do not stand up to this current pandemic by prayer, supplication and repentance, and more importantly, by holding Divine Liturgies, and receiving the Body and Blood of Christ which frees us from eternal death, what should we confront it with? By running away and isolating oneself?

…

The Church faced the consequences of sin through such firm Faith and by strengthening piety in the souls of her members. … Christians, in prisons and mines during exile, perceived in depth their great need to partake of the Body and Blood of Christ, so their priests used to celebrate the Divine offering on the breasts of the faithful; the breast of the faithful became an altar for God.

…

We are in a time when we need the Body and Blood of Christ, more than at any other time, in order to be nourished and to receive the strength to resist every evil and disease. Although we know that, by God’s permission, we can fall sick due to this pandemic, but the faithful who becomes ill and continues his struggle in the Church and his participation in its Mysteries, is like a soldier in the battle arena resisting all evil, not by his own strength, but by the power of the salvific gift of Redemption. Does the one who partakes of the Body and Blood of Christ, knowing that it is the true food for eternal life, think of bodily death anymore? The death of such person therefore resembles the death of Martyrs.

…

Why is everyone silent in front of all these evils and perversions that are afflicting the Church of Christ and disorienting its mission of the salvation of mankind? Do those speaking with such an unlawful enthusiasm in support of the Church closures have such a zeal for the purity of the Orthodox Faith? Would they be as zealous in applying the Church Canons as they are to submit to the laws of the nations?

…

The end of the world will come, not when the antichrist becomes strong, but when the Church becomes weak (Archbishop Sergei Baranov).

If the strength of the Church exists in her Mysteries, and especially in the Mystery of the Eucharist, then her weakness, rather her death, is found in the interruption of these Liturgies.

…

We must also consider that since the Church has surrendered so easily because of this pandemic, even unto the closing of her doors, what is she going to do when the Antichrist comes? Do any of us ask this question?

The interruption of these Liturgies, although temporary, is nothing but a sign among the signs of the end of times. Concerning the latter days, Saint Ephraim the Syrian (of the fourth century) reveals that: “the Churches will pathetically weep for the holy services will cease to take place in them and there will no more be Eucharistic oblations”[9]. The Church of Christ which is ever strong and victorious over Satan, sin and death, and concerning which the Lord promised that the gates of Hades shall not prevail over her, is submitting that simply? Does not this reveal its weakness and the fragility of its earthly journey?

For the complete article by Archimandrite Gregorios Estephan, Abbot of Holy Dormition of the Theotokos Monastery, Bkeftine, Lebanon, go to Orthodox Ethos, a website by Father Peter Heers I wholeheartedly recommend for all its podcasts, interviews and articles

 

A Holy Warning

Elder Parthenios

Elder Parthenios of the Monastery of Saint Pavlos: Αn orthodox message from the Holy Mountain

“Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!

The abbot of the Holy Monastery of Saint Pavlos, father Parthenios, speaks to you. I am in the monastery of Saint Pavlos since 1954 till now, with the help of our God, Virgin Mary and all of saints. Till now, we are blessed of God and we all celebrated the Holy Easter, with all of our happiness and love, the Risen of our Lord. This year it was the only year, since I came in the Mount Athos (Holy Mount), that we celebrated alone. Because all of the previous years we had with us more that 100-150-200 visitors, only in our Monastery. Together all the Monasteries of the Holy Mount had approximately 5,000 visitors, who have come every year, to honor the Holy Easter, the Risen of our Lord!

It was hard for me, that this was the year that we glory alone the God. Because of the measures they took, they left us alone with only few workers who are regular here. I am telling you that, with a lot of father’s love, I am in pain, in grief. Because all the faithful men who used to come here with us, were our consolation, to praise all together to the most important event, the Easter. All together we were chanting the pray of “Christ is Risen”, full of joy. Perhaps, God allowed this temptation to be penetrated, for our sins. Maybe He wants to activate us, cause the people got away from the Lord’s path and doing nonsense.

Our Churchs, all over the country, in Athens, in Thessaloniki and other where were like a cemetery. All the people were isolated in their houses; even the churches have closed their gates. What happened? What happened?

Unfortunately, our politicians trying to do their best. These are human measures, we cannot blame them. On the other hand, I am sending them a message. These measures are not enough. I am begging our politicians and our ecclesiastical authority, to shout at people to open the churches for the public, to go out on the roads, to take with them the holy icons and go for a litany, in order to beg our almighty God to obviate that temptation. The governors of this time cannot save us. Only the powerful God, He is the one who can save us. Open the doors of the churches, take the people outdoors, get the icons out, and get down on your knees, like the Ninevites did, to beg the God, His omnipotence, to quash this temptation. Otherwise, I don’t know where we will end up.

Please, do not be delusional, only God can save us, only our Lady Virgin, only the Saint Apostles and all the Saints together. Also can save us our pray and faith to God. “What did save the world?” “Our faith”!

Let all these thoughts of lukewarm and oligopolies, behind. We are Christians and I refer to the politicians who prepare to seal up/chip the people, but this will be their biggest scandal, because they not do justice to Christians. We, the Christians, strongly believe in His Almighty, we are baptized; we are anointed by the Holy Oil in the sealing of God. “Seal donation of the Holy Spirit, amen.”

Anyone who is not baptized, has the freedom to be sealed by the government, it is their decision. But do not force us, the Christians. Whatever you want to do against us, the God will be the Victor!

The God says: “Just as someone will confess in front of other people that he believes me, so I will do for him too, in front of my Father who live in the sky.” “Just as someone denies that he loves me, in front of the people, so I will do for him too.” Do not believe what the Zionists and Masons, the devils say; they do not believe in anything. On the other hand, we strongly believe in the real God. Whatever it takes, we confess Jesus Christ the Crucified we lean on Him our hopes, in his All-powers, nowhere else.

Many happy returns! Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!

Our Lord has beaten the world. He says: “Don’t be afraid! I have been beaten the world for you!” That is our confession and our faith! Thank you so much!

Source: Enomeni Romiosini

The Coronavirus Diary of a Joyous Pustynnik — 13

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Holy Week Highlights — a photoblog. Christ is Risen!

Nymfiosholy unction

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The Saints are delighted with the flowers! I eventually found the card. Thank you dearest sisters. I am overwhelmed, and all the saints in my icon corner are smiling.

Bleeding Crucifix today, on Holy Thursday, now in Athens, in Holy Andreas Chapel, Nursing Home Care

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Greek style! A flying priest! Go to https://ellada.press/vinteo-o-iptamenos-iereas-tis-chiou-edose-pali-resital-telos-sunelifthi/

And Cypriot style 🙂 Holy Saturday Vespers — How to make holy noise — Cypriot style 🙂
Please watch from 1:14:28 up to 1:17, and later, and pay attention to all details His Eminence Metropolitan Morfou

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This is one of the first Icons I “made.” It is a simple print stuck on to a piece of wood. I found it in my attic at the bottom of a cardboard box. 

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