Holy Hieromartyr Neophyte the Cretan (+ 1753)

St. Neophyte the Cretan (Feast Day - June 16)

Metropolitan Neophyte the Cretan, of Greek origin, was born around 1690, on the island of Crete, and reposed on June 16, 1753, in Bucharest.

He came to Wallachia when he was a hieromonk, in the entourage of Constantine Mavrocordatos (in the third reign: 1735-1741), as a teacher of his children. Born in Constantinople as a Phanariote member of the Mavrocordatos family, Constantine succeeded his father, Nicholas Mavrocordatos, as Prince of Wallachia in 1730, after obtaining boyar support.

Also with the help and support of Prince Constantine Mavrocordatos, he became "titular" (honorary) Metropolitan of Myra in Lycia (ordained in Bucharest January 27, 1737), and, a year later, he was elected Metropolitan of Wallachia on November 7, 1738, where he served as a shepherd of Christ's flock until his death.

The 23 Turkish Martyrs of Thyatira (+ 1649): Account by a 17th Century Jesuit Missionary to Smyrna

The following narrative is translated from an old volume in French (Auguste Carayon, Unpublished Relations of the Missions of the Company of Jesus Christ in Constantinople and the Middle East in the XII Century, Poitiers – Paris 1864), containing some account of the Jesuit missions in Constantinople and the Levant during the seventeenth century. The translation, which had come into the hands of Rev. Marcellus Bowen, formerly missionary at Smyrna, has been kindly furnished by him.

By Francis Lucas
Jesuit Missionary of Smyrna (17th century)

A notorious martyrdom of twenty-three Turks occurred in the town of Thyatira,* famous in old times, of which St. John made mention in the Revelation, since there were more than 200,000 inhabitants, despite the fact that the plague killed more than 50,000 during the year 1656. It is still among the most populous cities of Asia Minor. In our times, God chose this city to become the arena of twenty-three athletes of Jesus Christ, that He willfully crowned with immortal glory, after much more struggling than naturally expected from such people.

May 29th - A Day of Repentance and a Day of Orthodoxy

 

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

Until the fall of Constantinople, the positive dimension of Romiosini functioned, while after its fall, the negative dimension of Romiosini functioned and flourished, since despite the difficulties it highlighted the new martyrs, who according to Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite revived our martyrology, that is, the martyric spirit of the Orthodox Church.

It can be emphasized that until 1453 the Orthodox Church showed its confessional spirit, after it established the Orthodox teaching, as it also established its martyric and hesychastic spirit. In fact, as has been observed, hesychasm, which is the quintessence of the Orthodox teaching, developed even more towards the end of the Roman Empire and it was what kept the Orthodox Church alive and dynamic during the Turkish rule and it animated the entire subjugated race and showed, as previously mentioned, the martyrs and confessors of the faith.

Homily on the Gospel Reading for the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Synod (St. Luke of Simferopol)

 

 

 By St. Luke, Archbishop of Simferopol and All Crimea

(Delivered on July 30, 1950)

In today's reading, you have heard the extremely important words of our Lord Jesus Christ, which I need to explain so that you understand them properly and imprint them in your hearts.

The Lord Jesus Christ, before His terrible sufferings, prayed to His Father like this: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:1-3).

What is eternal life? This is the same as the Kingdom of Heaven.

Christ Ascended on a Cloud of Uncreated Glory (Fr. John Romanides)

By Protopresbyter Fr. John Romanides

One hears that Christ ascended into heaven in a cloud. On the one hand, if this person can think for himself, if this person has nothing to do with the experience of theosis, and if he has not even heard about it, he will start laughing when he reads such an account. He will say, “How is it possible for a man to sit on a cloud?” On the other hand, if this person is a superstitious Orthodox Christian, he will say, “Oh look, our sweet little Jesus did this miracle, too! He sat on a cloud and ascended into heaven.” And he will believe it. Someone else might even imagine that at the Ascension Christ began to be lifted up on a cloud as though it were an elevator.

Pascha as a Passage (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 Pascha as a Passage

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

I have the great joy today, on the day of Pascha, of the Resurrection of Christ, to have this communication through television and the internet with all the Christians who live both in the Sacred Metropolis of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou as well as in the Sacred Metropolis of Aetolia and Akarnania, of which I am the Vicar during this time, and to address this bright greeting, "Christ is Risen!"

There is no greater greeting that has within it the element of joy, hope, optimism and love. It is the day of the Resurrection of Christ. We say "Pascha, the Lord's Pascha." The word Pascha is Hebrew and means "passage". It is a passage.

Papa-Fotis the Fool for Christ Sends Paschal Greetings from Paradise

Christ is Risen from Paradise!

 

Father N. is a simple Levite and above all one who is in dire straights, with many personal problems, but he was a dear friend of Papa-Fotis Lavriotis the Fool for Christ. Many times when he saw him, Papa-Fotis teased him, because Father N. is a very simple soul, pure, childlike I would say... and Papa-Fotis found comfort in such souls!

This year (2020) he received an order from the Bishop to officiate on Bright Tuesday in a church in another village, as he did. On his way home, he had to pass by the cemetery where Papa-Fotis is buried, and he was thinking about it.

When he got very close, he saw Papa-Fotis standing in front of him, dressed in a white priestly garb, and very radiantly smiling and greeting him!

Saint Eumenios Saridakis and the Drought of 1993

By Monk Simon

At the beginning of the 1990's, our country* was plagued by drought. The authorities were worried about a major water shortage, and the media had added a water bulletin to the news reports. Every day they told us that Lake Marathon** had so many cubic meters of water, which was enough for so many days. They recommended us not to waste water needlessly and to take various measures to limit its consumption.***

Saint Eumenios Saridakis (+ 1999) from the Leper Hospital of the Municipality of Agia Varvara was hospitalized at that time in Evangelismos, for about three months, seriously ill and with the prospect of the doctors amputating his leg. On the day of Great Saturday, in the morning, he told me to take him and go to the Metropolis to attend church, since we had previously received permission to leave the hospital.

Paschal Pastoral Encyclical 2020 (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

Pascha in the Pandemic

To the Clergy, monks and laity
of our Sacred Metropolis

Beloved in the Lord,
Christ is Risen!

This year we celebrate the Resurrection of Christ in a special way, due to the pandemic of the new virus. This also happened during Holy and Great Week of the Passion and the Cross of Christ. This pandemic is testing our faith, our endurance, our patience, but also our obedience to the Holy Synod, which dealt with this issue with seriousness and responsibility.

The Holy Synod emphasized that "the temporary stay of Christians at home for prayer does not imply any doubt or, much more, it does not mean questioning the Mystery of the Divine Eucharist." And that "any suspicion of the transmission of diseases from the Divine Eucharist is condemnable, because it violates doctrinal Truth and the Apostolic Faith and Tradition of the Church."