Saint Nikephoros the leper

Fr. Nikephoros (in the world, Nicholas) was born in a village of Chania, in Serikari.

His parents were simple and pious villagers, who while he was still a small child, died and left him an orphan.

Thus, at the age of thirteen he left his home, traveled to Chania and began to work in a barbershop.

There he started to show the first signs of Hansen’s disease (i.e. leprosy).

At that time, lepers were exiled to the island of Spinaloga, because leprosy was a transmissible disease and was treated with fear and horror. Nicholas, when he was sixteen years old and when the signs of his disease began to be more visible, to flee from enclosure on Spinaloga fled with a boat for Egypt.

There he remained working in Alexandria, again in a barbershop, however the signs of his disease became even more evident, especially on his hands and face. Due to the suggestions of a clertche fled to Chios where there was a home for lepers, in which was a priest, Fr. AnthimbsVagianos; JaterSt. Anthimos of Chios.

Nicholas reached Chios in 1914 at the age of 24. At the leper home in Chios, where there was a grouping of many beautiful little homes, was a chapel of St. Lazaros, where was preserved the wonder-working icon of Panagia of Ypakoe (Obedience). In that place was opened the stadium of virtues for Nicholas. Within two years St. Anthimos-discerned that he was ready for the angelic schema and tonsured him a monk-with the name Nikephoros.

The disease progressed and evolved in the absence of suitable medicines, and brought many great changes (the medicine was found later, in 1947).

Fr. Nikephoros lived with indiscriminate, genuine obedience, with austere fasting, working in gardens. He also compiled in a catalogue the miracles of St. Anthimos, which he had seen with his own eyes (many took the place of healing of the demon- possessed).

FOTOGRAFIA – Pictures of Greece and Cyprus Today

CLOSER TO GOD – One of the magical lures of Greece and steeped in ancient tradition and centuries of history, the monastery of Simonos Petra, at the Orthodox monastic sanctuary of Mount Athos, in northern Greece is set to mark its 100 year anniversary since becoming Greek sovereign territory after the region was freed from Ottoman rule.

Archbishop Ieronymos of Greece to Visit U.S.

Theodore Kalmoukos

Special to The National Herald

Archbishop Ieoronymos of Athens and All Greece will visit the U.S. from May 15-21 upon the invitation of Archbishop Demetrios of America. His Beatitude will start his visit in Boston where Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology will honor him with an honorary of Theology Degree. He then will visit New York where he will officiate at the Divine Liturgy at the Holy Trinity Archdiocesan Cathedrals.

YPG: Bishops kidnapped by Feteh El-Hesun group

West Kurdistan People’s Defense Units (YPG) released a written statement on the kidnapping of Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Aleppo, Boulos Yazigi, and the Syriac Orthodox Bishop, Yohanna Ibrahim, in Syria on 22 April.

The statement by YPG General Command said that two bishops were kidnapped by an armed group led by Feteh El-Hesun and affiliated to Free Syrian Army. YPG said they have reached this conclusion as a result of the research of YPG units.

In the Tomb of Lazarus

St. Lazarus’ tomb, Bethany.

Largely ignored by much of Christendom, the Orthodox today celebrate ”Lazarus Saturday” in something of a prequel to next weekend’s Pascha. It is, indeed a little Pascha just before the greater one. And this, of course, was arranged by Christ Himself, who raised His friend Lazarus from the dead as something of a last action before entering Jerusalem and beginning His slow ascent to Golgotha through the days of next week (Orthodox celebrate Pascha a week later than Western Christians this year).

A Word on Anger

Fr. George Calciu

Man today lives under such overwhelming pressure that his nerves are strained to the limit, and even the slightest provocation arouses in him the sin of anger.

Causes for anger could be the child who does not listen to us, or the husband or wife who contradicts us, or the driver who cuts us off with his car, or only seems to us to cut us off, giving a motive for us to be roused to anger.

Even if, through self-restraint, our anger is not outwardly expressed or is not heard by the one who provoked it, it is still a sin, because it harms our soul and our heart  It is an action against one’s own self, under the temptation of the devil to be angry.

 

The savior warns us in severe terms concerning anger that gives birth to verbal conflicts and the use of abusive words.

Reading in Communion

“Seeing they do not see and hearing they do not hear…” (Matt. 13:13)

This is Jesus’ description of those who encountered Him but did not understand. Just because we see something doesn’t mean we see it. Just because we hear something doesn’t mean we’ve heard it. This is particularly true of Holy Scripture. Just because we read it doesn’t mean we’ve read it.

Why do we read the Scriptures?

I assume that anyone who is “reading the Scriptures” is, in fact, a believing Christian, otherwise they would just be reading a collection of ancient writings held in esteem by Christians. For the books of the Bible to be “Scripture” is to say that they are considered somehow inspired and somehow authoritative. But to read them as Scripture also asks the question: “Whose Scripture?” The answer is, “The Christian Community’s – the Church’s.”

Some point famously to Paul’s admonition to Timothy:

The Tree Heals the Tree

Readers of the New Testament are familiar with St. Paul’s description of Christ as the “Second Adam.” It is an example of the frequent Apostolic use of an allegoric reading of the Old Testament (I am using “allegory” in its broadest sense – including typology and other forms).

Christ Himself had stated that He was the meaning of the Old Testament (John 5:39).

Within the Gospels Christ identifies His own death and resurrection with the Prophet Jonah’s journey in the belly of the fish.

He likens His crucifixion to the serpent raised on a staff by which Moses healed the people of Israel.

Without the allegorical use of the Old Testament – much of the material in the gospels and the rest of the New Testament would be unintelligible.

Orthodox Christians are very accustomed to this manner of handling Scripture – the hymnography (largely written during the Patristic period) of the Church’s liturgical life is utterly dominated with such a use of allegory. The connections between New Testament and Old – between dogma and the allegory of Scriptural imagery is found in almost every verse offered within a service.

Those who are not familiar with the Eastern liturgical life are unaware of this rich Christian heritage and of its deep doctrinal piety and significance.

PROUDLY CYPRIOT CAMPAIGN

PRESS RELEASE:  ENGLISH / GREEK / RUSSIAN

[ENGLISH]

Proudly Cypriot: Promoting Cyprus, its products and its people

PROUDLY CYPRIOT CAMPAIGN

The “Proudly Cypriot” campaign, created by Paul Lambis, encourages the nation to support local products and make use of local services, in an effort to stimulate the local economy and help create jobs. “Proudly Cypriot” also promotes national pride, patriotism and social cohesion.

When consumers buy locally produced products and support local service providers, the local economy is stimulated and sustainable job opportunities are created. By supporting local producers and manufacturers, each and every Cypriot can contribute towards creating a bigger demand for home grown products and services; stimulating Cyprus’ economic growth; helping to prevent job losses and helping to create job opportunities.

LocBee Gee Barry Gibb unveils Cypriot sculpture in Australia

Greek-Cypriot sculptor Philip Piperides has created three bronze statues of the famous

Bee Gees band.

Barry Alan Crompton Gibb, the eldest and last surviving Gibb brother, returned to

Australia on Feb.14 to attend the unveiling of a life-size statue created in honor of the

legendary disco band. A few minutes before Gibb unveiled the monument, he shook

Piperidis’ hand and told him: «You did a good job.»

He also told the reporters: «I liked that he made us with bare feet. So we were in our

lives. » Barry Gibb has unveiled a statue of the Bee Gees in the Australian town where he

spent part of his childhood.

Saints Irmina and Adela of Germany (24 December)

By tradition it is known that the princess Saint Irmina, daughter of Dagobert II, was to marry Count Herman. All the preparations had been made when an officer of the court, who was in love with Irmina, persuaded Herman to a cliff where he threw himself and the betrothed over. After this Irmina asked that she be allowed to become a nun. Dagobert restored a convent at Trier for his daughter. read more…

“Greece will be saved and will stand on its own feet soon”- Elder Efthymios , the Hayiorite.

By George Theocharis

Fr Efthymios, the Hayiorite, is a quiet and humble monk, filled with God’s grace. I was taken aback by the absolute serenity in his movements and in the tone of his voice. He lives in a cell at Kapsala, underneath Karyes, with five other monks. He is only fifty years old yet he is already famous throughout the world. He is believed to be Fr Paisios’ successor.

Dozens of pilgrims visit him every day from all over the world to pay their respects and find a solution to their problems. Most come to hear him speak, finding solace away from the currents of everyday turbulence as if anchoring at a quiet port. .. We did the same thing twenty odd days ago. Two former Mps who had voted in favor of the two bailouts for Greece were amongst the group.

-“Niko, I told you not to do this”, he told one of the Mps, who had already met him on a previous occasion.

“You must know, my children, that this financial crisis will benefit Greece a great deal. You will notice this in a little while. It is like a storm which will pass. This is an opportunity to reinforce our faith to our Triune Lord”, the elder explained humbly.

The ‘slogan’ of Great Lent

“ let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light”

The so called ‘slogan’ which we hear throughout Great Lent is the recommendation by Paul the Apostle, who calls upon us to cast off all our dark deeds and dress into the armor of light. “Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.” (Rom. 13, 12)

The first thing the Apostle points out is that we ought to accept that we often fall under the spell of darkness, namely of sin, and therefore our deeds are sinful. Indeed there is no man, particularly no Christian, who does not readily confess in a general and vague manner, that he is a sinner.

“Is there anyone who is not a sinner?’ we are often asked when we engage in this kind of talk. Nevertheless, such a general and vague acknowledgement is not what the Apostle seems to have had in mind. Because the vague recognition of our sinful condition most probably serves as an alibi of sin itself in the sense that we are all in the same boat so… In other words, we profess the sinfulness of human nature in order to justify it as something normal!

The Apostle however gives a dramatic tone to his call that we need ‘to cast off the works of darkness’ and of sin: Namely that whatever we do, whatever we talk about or even think about, if it is cut off from Jesus, who is the source of light, constitutes a sin and therefore is darkness. At the end of the day, he who does not act and live Jesus’ life, he lives a nonexistent life, even if his deeds seem great and important.

Why Does It Take So Long?

So often, with great expectations, we will renew our commitment to the Orthodox Way of Life by making significant changes in our life and how we spend our time.  

We will increase our time in prayer, participate more regularly in services and sacraments, begin to read Scripture and the lives of the saints daily.  

Yet, we find we are still confronted with the same desires and distractions that keep us separated from God.  We expect instant success and we do not find it.  We grumble that we followed the instruction from a wise elder yet do not experience any improvement in our relationship with God.  Why do we expect such instant success? Why is it so difficult?

The life and wonder works of St Joseph the New-Metropolitan of Timisoara (1568-15 August 1656)

By Alekos Christodoulou,Theologian

St Joseph the New, this holy hierarch and Jesus’ dwelling, the toast of Mount Athos and jewel of the Great and Holy Monastery of Vatopedi, was born in Ragouza ( Dubrovnik of Croatia) in 1568.

 

His father John hailed from Venice and was a wealthy skipper. While staying at the Greek isle of Limnos, he met and married Katherine, a Greek girl. Young James, who was later to be given the name ‘Joseph’, grew up alone with his orthodox and devout mother because his father was travelling a lot.

At the age of twelve his father drowned and his ship sank to the bottom of the sea. He and his mother sought refuge at her brother’s place in Ocrid (in today’s Skopje).

St Joseph attends school for three years. At the same time he loves going to the church and reading the scriptures. At fifteen with his mother’s blessing, he enters the monastery of the Most Holy Lady at Ocrid, under the guidance of a hieromonk who was her cousin. He stays there up to the age of twenty.

In 1588, he hears the Lord’s calling “Follow Me”. The Lord’s love pierced his heart like an arrow and like a thirsty deer he hastens to the garden of the Most Holy Lady. Abandoning the vainness and the disorder of this world he enters the Holy monastery of Pantocrator at the Holy Mountain along with a novice called Nikodeme. Jacob is thereafter named ‘Joseph’.

He continues his unrelenting spiritual struggles, assisted by the brunt of his youth, in order to accomplish virtue, particularly obedience and prayer. He bears Christ’s benign cross and slowly ascends the ladder of the beatitudes, acquiring the garment of the divine and Christ’s humility by deadening his self-will.

Should Jesus scare us?- By Elder Porfyrios

 “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love” (A John, 4, 18)

 

When you love Jesus, despite your many weaknesses and your awareness of them, you rest assured that you have overcome death because you are in communion with Jesus’ love.

We ought to feel that Jesus is our friend. He is our friend. He confirms it Himself when He says: ‘You are my friends…” (John 15, 14).We ought to look up to Him and approach Him as our friend. If we fall, if we commit an offence, we ought to approach Him with love and courage and be filled with trust bestowed to us by our mutual friendship without fearing His punishment. We ought to tell Him: ‘Yes, Lord I have done this, I have fallen, forgive me”. At the same time we ought to feel that He loves us, that He receives us with tenderness and love and that He forgives us. Let our trespasses not separate us from Jesus. If we believe that He loves us and that we love Him, we will not feel strangers, neither we will feel separated from Him, not even when we commit a sin. We have secured His love and no matter what we do, we know that He loves us.

Footprints in the Sand

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.

Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticedthat during the low periods of my life,when I was suffering from

anguish, sorrow or defeat,I could see only one set of footprints.

Healing the ‘sickness’ of the Pharisees

By the Metropolitan of Limassol, Athanasios.

As promised I am going to resume what we were talking about yesterday …

One may wonder what the purpose is of all the things we do as part of our worship, namely our visits to holy places, the lighting of candles, the all night vigils, the prayers, the fasting, alms giving etc. The response to this question is very significant since it will reveal whether or not we are leading a proper spiritual life.

Let me give you an example. I often ask the kids at the camps which is the most important commandment the Lord gave. And they all give me various answers: ‘Do not steal’, ‘do not lie’, ‘do not harm other people’, ‘respect your parents’ etc, yet no child ever suspects that none of these is the first command given by the Lord.

They often believe that the first commandment is ‘love thy neighbor’, yet when I told them that this is not it, one child once said: ‘Yes, I know the first commandment. It is ‘multiply and fill the earth’! Of course this isn’t the first commandment either!

Jesus’ cv!!!!

CURRICULUM VITAE

JESUS CHRIST

Hello! My name is Jesus- the Christ. I have sent you my CV because I am seeking to apply for the top executive position in your heart. Please examine my credentials as cited below.

QUALIFICATONS

• I have created the earth and the Heavens ( Proverbs 3, 19)
• I have created man from earth ( Genesis 2, 7)
• I have given him the breath of life (Genesis 2, 7)
• I have redeemed him from the curse of the law ( Galatians 3, 13)

POSITIONS HELD

• I have had only one employer,(Luke 2, 49)
• I have received only the greatest of recommendations ( Matthew 3, 15-17)

SKILLS AND WORK EXPERIENCE

My experience with Elder Paisios Part B.

Homily by the Metropolitan of Limassol Athanasios at a symposium on blessed Elder Paisios the Hayiorite at Konitsa, 2011, published in ‘Paraklisis’ magazine, July 2012.

 

I would like to present before you the facts which to my mind set Elder Paisios apart as a great saint and not so much the innumerable and sometimes unknown miracles Elder Paisios performed even after his death. I have always believed and will continue to believe that we are dealing here with a modern-day, great Saint of our Church. To my mind he not only ranks amongst the great Saints but I am also convinced that this man truly sustains the universe with his prayers.

Seeing that I was weak and wretched, the Elder gave me the blessing to stay with him during several consecutive nights; this lasted two and a half weeks. During my stay I was watching him meticulously and very carefully. I was very curious to see how he lived. I have always been under the impression that this man sustained the entire universe with his prayers indeed.
I remember that the very first night I stayed with him he told me: “Let’s go and eat”. But, what was there to eat? There was absolutely nothing. I am not in a position to describe the absolute poverty that reigned in that cell at the Holy Cross.
Nevertheless, we went to get something to eat. He threw a rag on a marbled, square stone since there was no table and presented me with a couple of onions, some crisp bread and a tin which somebody had given to him. He said to me: “I am going to open this tin for you to eat. I was saving it for you”. How was he going to open it? He had no kitchen utensils, since he had no use for them. He tore it open using a hammer.
We stood up to pray and recite the Lord’s Prayer. This Holy Cross area of Kapsala was such a deserted place. And he stood up to pray in this forsaken place; he lifted his hands to the sky and started saying: “Our Father, Who art in heaven…” I am truly confessing to you, that so many years afterwards I have never heard this prayer said with such might. I almost thought that God Himself would reach out and bless our meager fare. It was awesome!
Yet, his entire life was equally awesome.

My experience with Elder Paisios (by Metropolitan of Lemesos Mr. Athanasios), (Part 1)

Homily by the Metropolitan of Lemesos Mr. Athanasios at a symposium on blessed Elder Paisios the Hayiorite at Konitsa, 2011, published in ‘Paraklisis’ magazine, May 2012.

Elder Paisios ranks amongst the great saints of our Church; he was a great ascetic and a man of prayer, nurturing great love towards the Lord.

Let us dare speak about the many things we have seen and heard next to him, being obliged to bear witness just like the Apostles who spoke about Jesus, His life and His miracles, in order to help us believe that He is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world, and by believing in Him to acquire eternal life.

Numerous people have met Elder Paisios and were associated with him. Each one, according to the measure of his ability, has received his blessing and his prayers. Certainly each one of them has to say a lot about him. This blessing of communication is endless, just as endless was the ocean of Divine Grace which Elder Paisios was always flooded with.

I first met Elder Paisios in 1976 when I was 18 years old. I had just graduated from school and gone to the Theological School of Thessaloniki University to study. I used to hear about the Holy Mountain from other students and I became very keen to pay a visit. Thus I tried to go there for the first time in 1976. This trip had a tragic ending. I didn’t like it at all and I left the very first morning. I said to myself: “I am never going to come back to such a place!” It felt nasty, awful and depressing. This was clearly a temptation from the devil, since the place is none of the above.  It was my fault, and it had nothing to do with the place. But this was how my mind worked at the time. Bear in mind that I came from a family which had no great experience about monastic life and the Holy Mountain.

The healing mission of the Church

The main mission of the Church is to heal a person. In other words, when a person becomes part of the Church is healed if he follows the therapeutic regime which aims to assist him to return to the natural state which God gave him when He had created him.

 

After the fall of our forefathers, our nature was corrupted. When man severed his relationship with the Lord after disobeying His command, all his mental and physical capacities were immediately corrupted and perverted; his mind turned away from its unbreakable communication with the Lord, which was his natural state, towards the creation and matter, passions and sin. From that moment sickness and perversion entered man’s nature.

This is the reality of the fall, the sin of the forefathers, namely the hereditary sickness which passes on from one generation to another because we are natural descendents of our forefathers. Thus, each man has inherited this condition of spiritual sickness; the perversion of his nature.

Jesus Christ is called the ‘New Adam’, because He enters history at a certain point in time and accomplishes a mission.

Dimitrije

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Please allow me to take you at a slow pace trough one mysterious but indeed real story. It was 29^th of November 2011 when three men, coming from the city Banja Luka (Republika Srpska), began their trip to monastery Ostrog (Montenegro) to bow down to the holy relic of the saint – Holy Vasilije.

When they arrived early in the morning in front of the monastery, the door was closed. One of the three said: “Don’t worry brothers! When we have managed to arrive in front of the door, the Saint will recognize our wish and will bless our intention.”

At this moment a running fast monk appeared from nowhere, as if he came out directly from the surrounding mountains, unlocked the heavy iron door of the church and said: “Please come in and bow down in front of Holy Vasilije – honor to him”. The monk opened the coffin with the holy relic of the saint. At this moment, the church got full of an indescribable smell which God decorated with his power. He cures sick people, gifts faith to unbelievers, and love to those who hate.

After praying to God and to saint Vasilije from Ostrog, the three men went out of the Holy place, radiating joy and happiness across their face.

Afterwards, the three men spontaneously decided to take the way in direction of the city Cetinje (Montenegro) where the monastery of the Saint Petar Cetinjski is located. The hand of Saint Johannes Baptist is guarded in this monastery as well.

When they arrived, the door of the monastery was open and the three men went in. They bow down in front of holy relics, prayed and took bless.

“Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation”

By the Metropolitan of Limassol, Athanasios

The Church offers us Lent (or Great Fast) as the grand and joyful stage set for spiritual struggles. It calls us to begin this period with great joy and eagerness in order to work spiritually harder on the virtues, while offering this time as a present to the Lord through our repentance and our spiritual struggle.

We hear “Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (B Corinthians 6, 12) during the vespers of Lent. This is the time favorable to the Lord, the time for repentance and redemption. Lent is distinguished by the presence of the virtue of repentance, which attracts the grace of the Holy Spirit into people’s hearts. The Church sets forgiveness as the prerequisite of Lent, right from the very first day. Thus, the first vespers of Lent ( katanyktikos esperinos) are called the ‘vespers of forgiveness’. Just as Jesus said: “If you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses”(Matthew 6,14-15). One needs the presence of grace in order to wage any spiritual struggle.
Fasting during Lent is not a diet which one may follow just by sheer will for health reasons. Fasting here has a totally different purpose: the advent of grace in one’s heart, the avoidance of sin which kills one’s soul and the acquisition of divine illumination which leads one to the Kingdom of Heaven. Thus, one needs the assistance and the presence of the Lord along with the physical struggle and the pain of fasting.

Who is Christ?

One of the major questions which have preoccupied mankind has to do with Jesus. “Who is Jesus Christ really?’

This is a question first posed by Jesus Himself when speaking to His disciples: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”(Matthew 16, 13) and “But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16, 15) The same query was also raised against the Pharisees, just before He finished His mission on earth:  “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?”(Matthew 22, 42)

Jesus posed these questions because He wished to prove that all prophesies of the Old Testament were being fulfilled in Him, not in an anthropological way as the Pharisees were expecting, but in the way the Lord wished.

 

The Pharisees were expecting the Messiah to be the one, who was going to lead his people to glory; who was going to prove how special he was; who would be able to pass on the spiritual and secular authority to those who would receive him.

 

Yet Jesus speaks of the God-man nature of the Messiah. He says that He was not just a perfect man, a special person, but that God Himself assumed human nature. Therefore, whatever He was going to offer was not exclusive to the Jews but it would be a gift and a blessing to all men and all peoples, irrespective of time and human understanding.