Apostle James the Brother of St John the Theologian

Commemorated on April 30

The Holy Apostle James, the son of Zebedee, was the brother of St John the Theologian, and one of the Twelve Apostles. He and his brother, St John, were called to be Apostles by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who called them the "Sons of Thunder" (Mark 3:17). It was this James, with John and Peter, who witnessed the Raising of the Daughter of Jairus, the Lord's Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, and His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.

St James, after the Descent of the Holy Spirit, preached in Spain and in other lands, and then he returned to Jerusalem. He openly and boldly preached Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world, and he denounced the Pharisees and the Scribes with the words of Holy Scripture, reproaching them for their malice of heart and unbelief.

The Jews could not prevail against St James, and so they hired the sorcerer Hermogenes to dispute with the apostle and refute his arguments that Christ was the promised Messiah Who had come into the world. The sorcerer sent to the apostle his pupil Philip, who was converted to belief in Christ Then Hermogenes himself became persuaded of the power of God, he burned his books of magic, accepted holy Baptism and became a true follower of Christ.

The Jews persuaded Herod Agrippa (40-44) to arrest the Apostle James and sentence him to death (Acts 12:1-2). Eusebius provides some of the details of the saint's execution (CHURCH HISTORY II, 9). St James calmly heard the death sentence and continued to bear witness to Christ. One of the false witnesses, whose name was Josiah, was struck by the courage of St James. He came to believe in Jesus Christ as the Messiah. When they led the apostle forth to execution, Josiah fell at his feet, repenting of his sin and asking forgiveness. The apostle embraced him, gave him a kiss and said, "Peace and forgiveness to you." Then Josiah confessed his faith in Christ before everyone, and he was beheaded with St James in the year 44 at Jerusalem.

St James was the first of the Apostles to die as a martyr.

Troparion - Tone 8

As a soldier of the Lord you were ranked among the choir of apostles.
Together with your brother, O James, you clung wholeheartedly to the Savior.
Armed with the power of the Spirit you preached him to all and were slain by the sword.
Therefore we sing your praises!

Troparion - Tone 3

You were a chosen apostle of Christ
And the only brother of the beloved Theologian.
Most praised James, ask remission of sins and great mercy
For those who sing hymns to you.

Kontakion - Tone 2

You heard the voice of God calling you
And turned away from the love of your father.
With your brother you hastened after Christ, O glorious James.
With him, you were counted worthy to behold the Lord's divine Transfiguration!

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Adding of a New Blog-"St. Seraphim's Fellowship"

My good friend George Demas is currently studying at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Seminary. George and I became friends several years ago towards the beginning of my return to the Church. We have prayed together on many occasions and have had many a good conversation relating to the Faith.

We have stayed in sporadic contact since his leaving several years ago to study at Holy Cross mostly via e-mail or when he would comment on one of my blog posts.

George just sent me this e-mail where he says:

Soph,

Christos Anesti!!! I pray that your new Paschal season has and will be be blessed with God's abundant love. I have a blog site that you would be nice for you to have as a reference on your blog. If anyone you know, in good Orthodox standing, is interested in a prision ministry, with the emphasis on writing to Orthodox inmates and catecumens, then please rely the information from the blog and website to our brothers and sisters in Christ. I'm praying for you and hope all is well. I also hope to see you sometime in the summer.

Christos Anesti, george demas

The link to this blog is:

St. Seraphim's Fellowship

Please visit often as this is a worthy ministry. How wonderful to know that many in the prisons are being given our Holy Orthodox Faith.

The following is on their Volunteer Page:

The Church Triumphant

Mark Dean Schwab was executed on July 1, 2008 thirteen days after he was received into the Orthodox Church. He was quietly saying the Jesus Prayer when the Lethal Injection was administered. May his memory be Eternal.

Join St. Seraphim’s Fellowship ~ Become a Pen Pal

Many of these men, who are part of the Body of Christ, will never get a chance to attend a real Church Liturgy. They will never smell the incense nor hear the bells, nor hear the sound of the Talanton calling them to worship. They will never hear the beautiful haunting nuances in Byzantine Chant. They will never taste the Artoclasia after a Vigil, They will never be part of a procession at Pascha nor see the lights of the candles fill the church, and yet, they will be part of the Body of Christ. A living cell that the Body can’t do without, yearning for the life and light that flows from other cells in the body. You can help to bring life and encouragement to these precious souls

About St Seraphim’s Fellowship

We have a ministry to Inmates on the Death Row. We visit more than 400 men on the row. We send them teaching lessons on the passions and true repentance. We are also seeking volunteers to write to the prisoners. Many of the men are in the catecumenate and some are baptised. We need donations of money for books, bibles [leather only], Orthodox Magazine Subscriptions, prayer ropes, Icon Cards, etc.

Do you have family or friends in prison?

If you or someone you know have family or friends in prison anywhere and you would like this ministry to write to them, then please send us a private text message with all the appropriate information and we will contact the prisoner with words of faith and encouragement. While we are an Orthodox Ministry, we welcome the opportunity to communicate with people of all faiths.

If you would like to become the volunteer please fill in this form and send it to seraphimspm@comcast.net

st-seraphims-volunteer-application1

I will add this blog to my sidebar under Orthodox Blogs.

The nine holy martyrs Thaumasius, Theognes, Rufus, Antipater, Theostichus, Artemas, Magnus, Theodotus, and Philemon

Commemorated on April 29

The city of Cyzicus is in Asia Minor on the coast of the Dardenelles (Hellespont). Christianity already began to spread there through the preaching of St Paul (June 29). During the persecutions by the pagans, some of the Christians fled the city, while others kept their faith in Christ in secret.

At the end of the third century Cyzicus was still basically a pagan city, although there was a Christian church there. The situation in the city distressed the Christians, who sought to uphold Christianity. The nine holy martyrs Thaumasius, Theognes, Rufus, Antipater, Theostichus, Artemas, Magnus, Theodotus, and Philemon were also from Cyzicus. They came from various places, and were of different ages: the young like St Antipater, and the very old like St Rufus. They came from various positions in society: some were soldiers, countryfolk, city people, and clergy. All of them declared their faith in Christ, and prayed for for the spread of Christianity.

The saints boldly confessed Christ and fearlessly denounced the pagan impiety. They were arrested and brought to trial before the ruler of the city. Over several days they were tortured, locked in prison and brought out again. They were promised their freedom if they renounced Christ. But the valiant martyrs of Christ continued to glorify the Lord. All nine martyrs were beheaded by the sword (+ ca. 286-299), and their bodies buried near the city.

In the year 324, when the Eastern half of the Roman Empire was ruled by St Constantine the Great (May 21), and the persecutions against Christians ended, the Christians of Cyzicus removed the incorrupt bodies of the martyrs from the ground and placed them in a church built in their honor.

Various miracles occurred from the holy relics: the sick were healed, and the mentally deranged were brought to their senses. The faith of Christ grew within the city through the intercession of the holy martyrs, and many of the pagans were converted to Christianity.

When Julian the Apostate (361-363) came to rule, the pagans of Cyzicus complained to him that the Christians were destroying pagan temples. Julian gave orders to rebuild the pagan temples and to jail Bishop Eleusius. Bishop Eleusius was set free after Julian's death, and the light of the Christian Faith shone anew through the assistance of the holy martyrs.

In Russia, not far from the city of Kazan, a monastery was built in honor of the Nine Martyrs of Cyzicus. It was built by the hierodeacon Stephen, who brought part of the relics of the saints with him from Palestine. This monastery was built in the hope that through their intercession and prayers people would be delivered from various infirmities and ills, particularly a fever which raged through Kazan in 1687.

St Demetrius of Rostov (September 21), who composed the service to the Nine Martyrs, writes, "through the intercession of these saints, abundant grace was given to dispel fevers and trembling sicknesses." St Demetrius also described the sufferings of the holy martyrs and wrote a sermon for their Feast day.

Troparion - Tone 4

Your holy nine martyrs of Cyzicus, O Lord, for their sufferings
Have received incorruptible crowns from You, our God.
For strengthened by Your might,
They overthrew tyrants and destroyed the powerless boldness of demons.
Through their supplications save our souls.

Kontakion - Tone 1

Let us praise the nine–fold choir of martyrs:
Renown Theognes, and Antipater, Magnus and Theostichus,
Artemas and Theodotus, Thaumasius, Philemon and Rufus;
For they exude divine grace for us from the well–spring of life, our Savior!

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Day of Rejoicing

Commemorated on April 28

On Tuesday of St Thomas week we remember those Orthodox Christians from all ages who have died in faith, and in the hope of resurrection.

There are indications of this commemoration in the sermons of the Fathers of the Church. St John Chrysostom, for example, mentions it in his homily "On the Cemetery and the Cross."

In pre-Revolutionary Russia bars remained closed and alcoholic beverages were not sold until this Day of Rejoicing so that the joy people felt would be because of the Resurrection, and not an artificial joy brought on by alcohol.

Today the Church remembers its faithful members at Liturgy, and kollyva is offered in remembrance of those who have fallen asleep. Priests visit cemeteries to bless the graves of Orthodox Christians, and to share the paschal joy with the departed. It is also customary to give alms to the poor on this day.
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Venerable Stephen the Abbot of the Kiev Far Caves, and Bishop of Vladimir, in Volhynia

Commemorated on April 27

St Stephen, Igumen of the Caves, Bishop of Vladimir in Volhynia, pursued asceticism at the Kiev Caves monastery under the guidance of St Theodosius (May 3). St Theodosius sometimes entrusted him to exhort the brethren with edifying words.

Before the death of St Theodosius the monks asked him to appoint St Stephen as Igumen, who was the domesticus (chief arranger for the choir). "He grew up under your instruction," they said, "and he served you. Give him to us." So St Theodosius transferred the guidance of the monastery to St Stephen.

During his tenure as Superior, he laid the foundations of a spacious church in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, begun under St Theodosius. The cells of the brethren were moved near the new church. At the front of the place there were several cells for monks who were entrusted with burying the dead. They served the Divine Liturgy each day, and also commemorated the dead.

In 1078 St Stephen was removed from office and driven from the monastery through the malice of an evil monk. He endured his meekly and without bitterness, and continued to pray for those who had turned against him.

St Stephen learned that master builders had come from Greece with an icon of the Theotokos, and they told him of the appearance of the Heavenly Queen at Blachernae. Because of this, St Stephen also built a church at Klovo in honor of the Theotokos (in memory of the Placing of Her Robe at Blachernae). The monastery was founded in thanksgiving for solicitude of the Most Holy Theotokos for the Caves monastery.

In 1091 St Stephen was made Bishop of Vladimir in Volhynia, and he participated in the transfer of the relics of St Theodosius from the cave to the monastery (August 14). He also labored to convert the inhabitants of Volhynia to Christianity.

St Stephen died on April 27, 1094 during the sixth hour of the night.

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Hieromartyr Basil the Bishop of Amasea

Commemorated on April 26

The Hieromartyr Basil, Bishop of Amasea, lived at the beginning of the fourth century in the Pontine city of Amasea. He encouraged and comforted the Christians suffering persecution by the pagans. During this time the Eastern part of the Roman Empire was ruled by Licinius (311-324), the brother-in-law of the holy emperor Constantine the Great (May 21). Licinius deceitfully signed St Constantine's Edict of Milan (313), which granted religious toleration to Christians, but he hated them and continued to persecute them.

Troparion - Tone 4

Having partaken of the apostolic way of life,
And becoming their successor to the throne,
You have discovered in the practice of the virtues
The way to divine contemplation.
Therefore dispensing the word of truth,
You have also suffered to the shedding of blood for the sake of the faith.
O holy martyr Basil, entreat Christ our God to save our souls.

Kontakion - Tone 4

In defying the king's decree
You obtained the Kingdom of Heaven,
Rejoicing there now,
O Hieromartyr Basil,
Remember us who celebrate your memory.

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Apostle and Evangelist Mark

Commemorated on April 25

The Holy Apostle and Evangelist Mark, also known as John Mark (Acts 12:12), was one of the Seventy Apostles, and was also a nephew of St Barnabas (June 11). He was born at Jerusalem. The house of his mother Mary adjoined the Garden of Gethsemane. As Church Tradition relates, on the night that Christ was betrayed he followed after Him, wrapped only in a linen cloth. He was seized by soldiers, and fled away naked, leaving the cloth behind (Mark 14:51-52). After the Ascension of the Lord, the house of his mother Mary became a place where Christians gathered, and a place of lodging for some of the Apostles (Acts 12:12).

St Mark was a very close companion of the Apostles Peter and Paul (June 29) and Barnabas. St Mark was at Seleucia with Paul and Barnabas, and from there he set off to the island of Cyprus, and he traversed the whole of it from east to west. In the city of Paphos, St Mark witnessed the blinding of the sorcerer Elymas by St Paul (Acts 13:6-12).

After working with the Apostle Paul, St Mark returned to Jerusalem, and then went to Rome with the Apostle Peter. From there, he set out for Egypt, where he established a local Church.

St Mark met St Paul in Antioch. From there he went with St Barnabas to Cyprus, and then he went to Egypt again, where he and St Peter founded many churches. Then he went to Babylon. From this city the Apostle Peter sent an Epistle to the Christians of Asia Minor, in which he calls St Mark his son (1 Pet 5:13).

When the Apostle Paul came to Rome in chains, St Mark was at Ephesus, where St Timothy (January 4) was bishop. St Mark went with him to Rome. There he also wrote his holy Gospel (ca. 62-63).

From Rome St Mark traveled to Egypt. In Alexandria he started a Christian school, which later produced such famous Fathers and teachers of the Church as Clement of Alexandria, St Dionysius of Alexandria (October 5), St Gregory Thaumatourgos (November 5), and others. Zealous for Church services, St Mark composed a Liturgy for the Christians of Alexandria.

St Mark preached the Gospel in the inner regions of Africa, and he was in Libya at Nektopolis.

During these journeys, St Mark was inspired by the Holy Spirit to go again to Alexandria and confront the pagans. There he visited the home of Ananias, and healed his crippled hand. The dignitary happily took him in, listened to his words, and received Baptism.

Following the example of Ananias, many of the inhabitants of that part of the city where he lived were also baptized. This roused the enmity of the pagans, and they wanted to kill St Mark. Having learned of this, St Mark made Ananias a bishop, and the three Christians Malchos, Sabinos, and Kerdinos were ordained presbyters to provide the church with leadership after his death.

The pagans seized St Mark when he was serving the Liturgy. They beat him, dragged him through the streets and threw him in prison. There St Mark was granted a vision of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who strengthened him before his sufferings. On the following day, the angry crowd again dragged the saint through the streets to the courtroom, but along the way St Mark died saying, "Into Your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit."

The pagans wanted to burn the saint's body, but when they lit the fire, everything grew dark, thunder crashed, and there was an earthquake. The pagans fled in terror, and Christians took up the body of St Mark and buried it in a stone crypt. This was on April 4, 63. The Church celebrates his memory on April 25.

In the year 310, a church was built over the relics of St Mark. In 820, when the Moslem Arabs had established their rule in Egypt and oppressed the Christian Church, the relics of St Mark were transferred to Venice and placed in the church named for him.

In the ancient iconographic tradition, which adopted symbols for the holy Evangelists borrowed from the vision of St John the Theologian (Rev 4:7) and the prophecy of Ezekiel (Ez. 1:10), the holy Evangelist Mark is represented by a lion, symbolizing the might and royal dignity of Christ (Rev 5:5).

St Mark wrote his Gospel for Gentile Christians, emphasizing the words and deeds of the Savior which reveal His divine Power. Many aspects of his account can be explained by his closeness to St Peter. The ancient writers say that the Gospel of Mark is a concise record of St Peter's preaching.

One of the central theological themes in the Gospel of St Mark is the power of God achieving what is humanly impossible. The Apostles performed remarkable miracles with Christ (Mark 16:20) and the Holy Spirit (Mark 13:11) working through them. His disciples were told to go into the world and preach the Gospel to all creatures (Mark 13:10, 16:15), and that is what they did.

Troparion - Tone 4

From your childhood the light of truth enlightened you, O Mark,
and you loved the labor of Christ the Savior.
Therefore, you followed Peter with zeal
and served Paul well as a fellow laborer,
and you enlighten the world with your holy Gospel.

Kontakion - Tone 2

When you received the grace of the Spirit from on high, O Apostle,
you broke the snares of the philosophers and gathered all nations into your net,
bringing them to your Lord, O glorious Mark,
by the preaching of the divine Gospel.

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Renewal Friday: Theotokos of the Lifegiving Font

Reading:

Outside of Constantinople, towards the district of the Seven Towers, there was in ancient times a very large and most beautiful church named in honour of the Theotokos; it had been built about the middle of the fifth century by the Emperor Leo the Great (also called "Leo of Thrace," he is commemorated on Jan. 20). Before he became Emperor, he had encountered there a blind man, who being tormented with thirst asked him to help him find water. Leo felt compassion for him and went in search of a source of water but found none. As he became downcast, he heard a voice telling him there was water nearby. He looked again, and found none. Then he heard the voice again, this time calling him "Emperor" and telling him that he would find muddy water in the densely wooded place nearby; he was to take some water and anoint the blind man's eyes with it. When he had done this, the blind man received his sight. After Leo became Emperor as the most holy Theotokos had prophesied, he raised up a church over the spring, whose waters worked many healings and cured maladies by the grace of the Theotokos; from this, it came to be called the "Life-giving Spring." The Church of Christ celebrates the consecration of this church on this day.

After the fall of the imperial city, this church was razed to the ground and the materials from it were used for building the mosque of Sultan Bayezid. Nothing remained of that church's ancient beauty, except for a small and paltry chapel, almost completely buried in the ruins. This chapel had twenty-five steps going down into it, and a transom window on the roof, wherefrom it received a little light. Toward the western side of the chapel was the aforementioned holy Spring, fenced about with a railing, and with fish swimming in it. Such was the condition of the Spring until 1821. Then even that little remnant was destroyed, occasioned by the uprising of the Greek nation against the Ottoman Empire; the sacred Spring was buried with it and disappeared altogether.

But in the days of Sultan Mahmud, when those subject to him were rejoicing in their freedom to practice their religion, permission was sought by the Orthodox Christian community to rebuild at least part of the chapel. Thus the work was begun on July 26, 1833. When the excavation had been made, and the foundations of the ancient church were found, there was rebuilt -- by a later writ of permission from the Sultan -- not merely a chapel of the holy Spring, but another new church, constructed upon the foundations of the ancient one. The building of this spacious, beautiful, and most majestic temple began on September 14, 1833, and the work was completed on December 30, 1834. On February 2, 1835, the Ecumenical Patriarch Constantine II, serving the Liturgy together with twelve hierarchs and a great company of clergy, as well as a boundless multitude of Christians, performed the consecration of this sacred church and dedicated it to the glory of the Mother of God. On September 6, 1955, however, it was desecrated and destroyed again by the Moslem Turks; it has been restored again, but not to the former magnificence.

Apolytikion in the Third Tone

As a life-giving fount, thou didst conceive the Dew that is transcendent in essence, O Virgin Maid, and thou hast welled forth for our sakes the nectar of joy eternal, which doth pour forth from thy fount with the water that springeth up unto everlasting life in unending and mighty streams; wherein, taking delight, we all cry out: Rejoice, O thou Spring of life for all men.

Kontakion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone

O Lady graced by God, you reward me by letting gush forth, beyond reason, the ever-flowing waters of your grace from your perpetual Spring. I entreat you, who bore the Logos, in a manner beyond comprehension, to refresh me in your grace that I may cry out, "Hail redemptive waters."

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Bright Thursday

Commemorated on April 23

On Bright Thursday the Gospel reading is John 3:1-15, which mentions the Pharisee Nicodemus who came by night to speak to Christ. The Lord told him that a man could not see the Kingdom of God unless he were born again. Nicodemus, taking Him much too literally, could not understand how such a thing was possible.

The Savior then clarified His words, saying that one must be born "of water and the Spirit" (John 3:5), referring to Baptism. Nicodemus, however, still found it difficult to understand Him.

The Lord said, "If I have told you of earthly things, and you believe not, how shall you believe if I tell you of heavenly things?" (John 3:12).

The reading from Acts 2:38-41 also speaks of Baptism. St Peter told the crowd, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you… and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38).

The main focus of today's readings is on Baptism, but they also point to other things. We are to raise our mind and understanding from earthly to heavenly things, and to seek the gift of the Holy Spirit."

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Costa's Monthly Newsletter-On the Divine Inheritance

My brother Costa has had the privilege for some time now to be the caretaker of the bookstore at St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church.

He supplies a monthly article for The Desert Messenger, that parish's newsletter.

This is his most recent entry.

Hello from the Bookstore

On the Divine Inheritance

Lets say that we have a rich uncle who lives in a far away country. And this rich uncle is offering you to come and live on his estate and enjoy all of his wealth. All that he asks in return is for you to be mindful and respectful of his house rules; which are simply to love and respect him and everyone of his household, who will also love and respect you. In exchange for your obligation to treat everyone around you with kindness and the way that you want to be treated, you get to enjoy the riches of his household for the rest of your years. How many of us would reject that offer? Well, those who think that they are wealthier than their rich uncle would reject it, and also those who do not want to honor the house rules of loving those around them.

Isn’t this the offer that God is making to us? In exchange for ETERNAL joy and UNIMAGINABLE bliss, all we have to do is love Him and love each other. THAT’S IT! These are God’s house rules. So why do we reject His offer? Many of us think that we are wealthier than Him. We don’t stop to think that EVERYTHING we own belongs to Him and we are just managing what is His until our death. God owns the sun, the moon, the universe, the oceans, me, you, and everything else that you can think of. The only thing that belongs to us is a choice. We have the free will to choose to be with Him. At the end of this earthly life, everything will be taken from us. Our houses, clothes, cars, and these bodies also. There is no second chance, there is no reincarnation, there is only the Resurrection, where every soul will be given an eternal body. Each soul and body will then experience for eternity the choice that it made in THIS lifetime. The choice is simple: Have faith and believe that Jesus Christ IS God and do as He has commanded us. Love God and love your neighbor. And let us start now because we do not know when our end will be.

Until next month, GW, ICXC NIKA, Costa

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Holy Queen Tamara

Commemorated on April 22

St. Tamara is commemorated on the Sunday of the Myrrh-beating Women in addition to her regular commemoration on May 1. In 1166 a daughter, Tamar, was born to King George III (1155–1184) and Queen Burdukhan of Georgia. The king proclaimed that he would share the throne with his daughter from the day she turned twelve years of age.

The royal court unanimously vowed its allegiance and service to Tamar, and father and daughter ruled the country together for five years. After King George’s death in 1184, the nobility recognized the young Tamar as the sole ruler of all Georgia. Queen Tamar was enthroned as ruler of all Georgia at the age of eighteen. She is called “King” in the Georgian language because her father had no male heir and so she ruled as a monarch and not as a consort.

At the beginning of her reign, Tamar convened a Church council and addressed the clergy with wisdom and humility: “Judge according to righteousness, affirming good and condemning evil,” she advised. “Begin with me—if I sin I should be censured, for the royal crown is sent down from above as a sign of divine service. Allow neither the wealth of the nobles nor the poverty of the masses to hinder your work. You by word and I by deed, you by preaching and I by the law, you by upbringing and I by education will care for those souls whom God has entrusted to us, and together we will abide by the law of God, in order to escape eternal condemnation.… You as priests and I as ruler, you as stewards of good and I as the watchman of that good.”

The Church and the royal court chose a suitor for Tamar: Yuri, the son of Prince Andrei Bogoliubsky of Vladimir-Suzdal (in Georgia Yuri was known as “George the Russian”). The handsome George Rusi was a valiant soldier, and under his command the Georgians returned victorious from many battles. His marriage to Tamar, however, exposed many of the coarser sides of his character. He was often drunk and inclined toward immoral deeds. In the end, Tamar’s court sent him away from Georgia to Constantinople, armed with a generous recompense. Many Middle Eastern rulers were drawn to Queen Tamar’s beauty and desired to marry her, but she rejected them all. Finally at the insistence of her court, she agreed to wed a second time to ensure the preservation of the dynasty. This time, however, she asked her aunt and nurse Rusudan (the sister of King George III) to find her a suitor. The man she chose, Davit-Soslan Bagrationi, was the son of the Ossetian ruler and a descendant of King George I (1014–1027).

In 1195 a joint Muslim military campaign against Georgia was planned under the leadership of Atabeg (a military commander) Abu Bakr of Persian Azerbaijan. At Queen Tamar’s command, a call to arms was issued. The faithful were instructed by Metropolitan Anton of Chqondidi to celebrate All-night Vigils and Liturgies and to generously distribute alms so that the poor could rest from their labors in order to pray. In ten days the army was prepared, and Queen Tamar addressed the Georgian soldiers for the last time before the battle began. “My brothers! Do not allow your hearts to tremble before the multitude of enemies, for God is with us.… Trust God alone, turn your hearts to Him in righteousness, and place your every hope in the Cross of Christ and in the Most Holy Theotokos!” she exhorted them.

Having taken off her shoes, Queen Tamar climbed the hill to the Metekhi Church of the Theotokos (in Tbilisi) and knelt before the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. She prayed without ceasing until the good news arrived: the battle near Shamkori had ended in the unquestionable victory of the Orthodox Georgian army.

After this initial victory the Georgian army launched into a series of triumphs over the Turks, and neighboring countries began to regard Georgia as the protector of the entire Transcaucasus. By the beginning the 13th century, Georgia was commanding a political authority recognized by both the Christian West and the Muslim East.

Georgia’s military successes alarmed the Islamic world. Sultan Rukn al-Din was certain that a united Muslim force could definitively decide the issue of power in the region, and he marched on Georgia around the year 1203, commanding an enormous army.

Having encamped near Basiani, Rukn al-Din sent a messenger to Queen Tamar with an audacious demand: to surrender without a fight. In reward for her obedience, the sultan promised to marry her on the condition that she embrace Islam; if Tamar were to cleave to Christianity, he would number her among the other unfortunate concubines in his harem. When the messenger relayed the sultan’s demand, a certain nobleman, Zakaria Mkhargrdzelidze, was so outraged that he slapped him on the face, knocking him unconscious.

At Queen Tamar’s command, the court generously bestowed gifts upon the ambassador and sent him away with a Georgian envoy and a letter of reply. “Your proposal takes into consideration your wealth and the vastness of your armies, but fails to account for divine judgment,” Tamar wrote, “while I place my trust not in any army or worldly thing but in the right hand of the Almighty God and the infinite aid of the Cross, which you curse. The will of God—and not your own—shall be fulfilled, and the judgment of God—and not your judgment—shall reign!”

The Georgian soldiers were summoned without delay. Queen Tamar prayed for victory before the Vardzia Icon of the Theotokos, then, barefoot, led her army to the gates of the city.

Hoping in the Lord and the fervent prayers of Queen Tamar, the Georgian army marched toward Basiani. The enemy was routed. The victory at Basiani was an enormous event not only for Georgia, but for the entire Christian world.

The military victories increased Queen Tamar’s faith. In the daytime she shone in all her royal finery and wisely administered the affairs of the government; during the night, on bended knees, she beseeched the Lord tearfully to strengthen the Georgian Church. She busied herself with needlework and distributed her embroidery to the poor.

Once, exhausted from her prayers and needlework, Tamar dozed off and saw a vision. Entering a luxuriously furnished home, she saw a gold throne studded with jewels, and she turned to approach it, but was suddenly stopped by an old man crowned with a halo. “Who is more worthy than I to receive such a glorious throne?” Queen Tamar asked him.

He answered her, saying, “This throne is intended for your maidservant, who sewed vestments for twelve priests with her own hands. You are already the possessor of great treasure in this world.” And he pointed her in a different direction.

Having awakened, Holy Queen Tamar immediately took to her work and with her own hands sewed vestments for twelve priests.

History has preserved another poignant episode from Queen Tamar’s life: Once she was preparing to attend a festal Liturgy in Gelati, and she fastened precious rubies to the belt around her waist. Soon after she was told that a beggar outside the monastery tower was asking for alms, and she ordered her entourage to wait. Having finished dressing, she went out to the tower but found no one there. Terribly distressed, she reproached herself for having denied the poor and thus denying Christ Himself. Immediately she removed her belt, the cause of her temptation, and presented it as an offering to the Gelati Icon of the Theotokos.

During Queen Tamar’s reign a veritable monastic city was carved in the rocks of Vardzia, and the God-fearing Georgian ruler would labor there during the Great Fast. The churches of Pitareti, Kvabtakhevi, Betania, and many others were also built at that time. Holy Queen Tamar generously endowed the churches and monasteries not only on Georgian territory but also outside her borders: in Palestine, Cyprus, Mt. Sinai, the Black Mountains, Greece, Mt. Athos, Petritsoni (Bulgaria), Macedonia, Thrace, Romania, Isauria and Constantinople. The divinely guided Queen Tamar abolished the death penalty and all forms of bodily torture.

A regular, secret observance of a strict ascetic regime—fasting, a stone bed, and litanies chanted in bare feet—finally took its toll on Queen Tamar’s health. For a long time she refrained from speaking to anyone about her condition, but when the pain became unbearable she finally sought help. The best physicians of the time were unable to diagnose her illness, and all of Georgia was seized with fear of disaster. Everyone from the small to the great prayed fervently for Georgia’s ruler and defender. The people were prepared to offer not only their own lives, but even the lives of their children, for the sake of their beloved ruler.

God sent Tamar a sign when He was ready to receive her into His Kingdom. Then the pious ruler bade farewell to her court and turned in prayer to an icon of Christ and the Life-giving Cross: “Lord Jesus Christ! Omnipotent Master of heaven and earth! To Thee I deliver the nation and people that were entrusted to my care and purchased by Thy Precious Blood, the children whom Thou didst bestow upon me, and to Thee I surrender my soul, O Lord!”

The burial place of Queen Tamar has remained a mystery to this day. Some sources claim that her tomb is in Gelati, in a branch of burial vaults belonging to the Bagrationi dynasty, while others argue that her holy relics are preserved in a vault at the Holy Cross Monastery in Jerusalem.

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SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2008:

Kyklos Greek Cafe presents, "Wisdom of the Saints"

Before my last visit to Saint Anthony's Greek Orthodox Monastery in Florence, Arizona, I began reading this book, on Saint Nektarios of Pentopolis.



I have been to the monastery several times but it never registered to me before that the main church is named after St. Anthony and St. Nektarios.

This trip was a big deal for me in many ways, one of which is that I made a connection with the Saint.

At the beginning of his work career in Constantinople when he was yet very young, (he was born in 1846 and reposed in the Lord in 1920), he wished to serve the Lord in his work for his cruel boss where he packed tobacco and sent it in boxes. He came up with a brainstorm wherein,

"He thought of a way that he could serve the Lord and be able to spread the treasure of the Orthodox faith to the people, despite his lack of time. In the bundle he carried with his worldly possessions, he had a flat notebook in which he had written various verses from the Bible and the writings of the Holy Fathers. His idea was that he would sort out the most impressive verses from the notebook and then write them on the wrappings of the boxes in which he placed the tobacco."

About a month or so ago, I remembered this story from the Saint's life and thought it would be worthy of us at our restaurant, Kyklos Greek Cafe, to in a similar manner spread the Orthodox Faith. We did not however, think it the best way to do this from giving out Bible verses but instead determined to put out sayings of the Saints.

We also did not think it wise to include sayings that mention the name of our Lord feeling that doing so would automatically turn off a lot of people without them perhaps examining the uniqueness of the Orthodox Faith.

Our hope is that when we place these cards with each order that the client might be interested enough to look up the Saint quoted on the card online and be drawn into our most Holy Faith. It has been neat reflecting on what effect these cards have as many people mention now they look forward to them. They are also counter to Panda Express "Fortune Cookies" which build up the customers' egos and actually, in some of the cards we give out are rebukes to the selfishness which afflicts modern man.

At the bottom of each receipt we quote Father Seraphim Rose but only as "Seraphim Rose" like so, using one of the Blessed Father Seraphim Rose's favorite sayings, "It's Later Than you think":


("It's Later Than You Think" is written on the bottom of our receipts as shown here)

Below is a smattering of the sayings we now give out to each and every customer to the glory of God in the hope of guiding many towards repentance and a Life in Christ in this very limited and humble way.

I must give credit to my brother Costa who has gone online and put together all these sayings as well as the format of the cards which I think is very attractive.

Mom's Video

I was visiting with Mom and Dad the other day and Mom was so excited about showing me this video that caught her eye. She mentioned several times as she was showing it to me that "We need to go to Greece again, plan it". I have not been there since 1991, when I was 21 years old and was a much different person then, as the photos will evidence.

Here's Mom's video:






Here are the pictures from Greece of me and some of my friends.












Now this photo is not from Greece but from Montreal, Canada in my cousins' home's basement. It was not wise to fall asleep around us, for things like this happened to those unfortunate enough to actually succumb to sleep(at about 5:00-5:30 am or so if I remember correctly).

(My cousin Chris sleeping like a baby as we diabolically set about doing him up)
(click to enlarge the photo. Poor Chris.)

Chris' brother Peter has already told me he has pictures where they gave me the same treatment. If I get those, I will post them.

Renewal Tuesday

Reading:

On the island of Mytilene (Lesbos in ancient times), near the village of Therme, the villagers had a custom of ascending a certain hill on this day to celebrate the Divine Liturgy in the ruins of a small chapel, although no one knew whence the tradition sprang. In the year 1959, certain villagers began seeing persons who spoke to them, first in dreams, then awake, both by day and by night. Through these wondrous appearances, which were given to many people independently, the holy Martyrs Raphael, Archimandrite of the ancient monastery, and Nicholas, his deacon, together with other Saints who had been martyred on the island, told the villagers the whole account of their martyrdom, which had taken place at the hands of the Moslem Turks ten years after the fall of Constantinople, in 1463. The twelve-year-old Irene had been tortured, then burned alive in a large earthenware jar in the presence of her parents. On Tuesday of Renewal Week, Saint Raphael had been tied to a tree and his head sawn off through his jaws; Saint Nicholas had died at the sight of this. Although the feast is celebrated today because it is the day of their martyrdom, through the appearances of the Saints as living persons five hundred years after their martyrdom, it is also a singular testimony to the Resurrection of Christ.

Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone

On Lesbos, ye strove in contest for the sake of Christ God; ye also have hallowed her with the discovery of your relics, O blessed ones. O God-bearer Raphael, with thee, we all honour Nicholas the deacon and Irene the chaste virgin, as our divine protectors, who now intercede with the Lord.

Kontakion in the Fourth Tone

Ye shone on the world like stars first as ascetics, then as athletes slain for Christ, and were translated to the heights through the great torments that ye endured; and them that praise you, ye keep and protect, O Saints.

SOURCE:

SAINT OR FEAT POSTED THIS DATE 2008:

Venerable Theodore Trichinas "the Hair-Shirt Wearer" and Hermit Near Constantinople

Commemorated on April 20

Saint Theodore Trichinas was born in Constantinople, the son of wealthy and pious parents. From childhood St Theodore was inclined toward monasticism, so he left his home, family, and former life in order to enter a monastery in Thrace. There he began his arduous ascetic struggles. He dressed in a hair-shirt, from which he derived the name "Trichinas," (or Hair-Shirt Wearer"). He even slept on a stone in order avoid bodily comfort, and to prevent himself from sleeping too much.

His life was adorned with miracles, and he had the power to heal the sick. He reposed at the end of the fourth century, or the beginning of the fifth century. A healing myrrh flows from his relics.

The name of St Theodore Trichinas is one of the most revered in the history of Orthodox monasticism. St Joseph the Hymnographer (April 4) has composed a Canon to the saint.

Troparion - Tone 8

With streams of tears You watered the barren desert,
And with sighs from the depths of your soul You made it to bear fruit a hundredfold.
You were a beacon to the whole world, sending forth beams of miracles.
O Theodore, our father, entreat Christ God to save our souls.

Kontakion - Tone 4

You became most wondrous in life,
O wise Father Theodore,
Exchanging the royal treasures of this earth for a hairshirt,
Thereby receiving a heavenly garment.
Pray ever for us, O venerable one.

SOURCE:

SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2008:

Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen!

XRISTOS ANESTI!

ALITHOS ANESTI!

Venerable John of the Ancient Caves in Palestine

Commemorated on April 19

Saint John of the Ancient Caves is so called because he lived during the eighth century in the Lavra of St Chariton (September 28). This was called the "Old," or ancient cave, since it was one the oldest of the Palestinian monasteries. The Lavra was situated not far from Bethlehem, near the Dead Sea.

St John in his early years left the world, went to venerate the holy places of Jerusalem, and settled at the Lavra, where he labored in fasting, vigil, and prayer. He was ordained to the holy priesthood, and glorified by his ascetic life.

Troparion - Tone 8

From your youth you were a lover of Christ, filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit,
You followed your call.
Your heart was pure and you lived as an angel on earth.
O holy Father John, together with the angels,
Pray that we may be saved!

Kontakion - Tone 8

Wounding your soul with the desire for God, O blessed John,
You abandoned your carefree life of riches and nourishment,
Withdrawing to live an honorable life in foreign lands
And depriving your body through the labors of abstinence.
Keeping silence courageously you attained to perfection of virtue.
Therefore in faith we cry out to you:
Entreat Christ God to grant forgiveness to those who honor in love your holy memory.

SOURCE:

SAINT OR FEAT POSTED THIS DATE 2008:

Martyr Victor of Nicomedia

Commemorated on April 18

The Holy Martyrs Victor, Zoticus, Acindynus, Zeno, Severian and Caesarius suffered under the emperor Diocletian (284-305) when he began a fierce persecution against Christians. One of the first to suffer was the holy Great Martyr and Victory-Bearer George (April 23). St George's unshakable faith and bravery during his suffering led many pagans to Christ.

The saints were struck with astonishment that St George suffered no harm from the wheel of torture, and they declared in the hearing of all that they also believed in Christ. At the judge's order, the holy martyrs were beheaded at Nicomedia in 303.

SOURCE:

SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2008:

St Acacius the Bishop of Melitene

Commemorated on April 17

Saint Acacius, Bishop of Melitene, was born into a pious family in the Armenian city of Melitene. His parents were childless for a long time. They prayed for a son, and vowed to dedicate him to God. Therefore, Acacius was given to Bishop Ostrychius of Melitene (November 7) to serve the Church. St Ostrychius was a firm supporter of Orthodoxy. When the heresy of Macedonius arose, it was St Ostrychius who set forth the Orthodox teaching about the Holy Spirit as the Third Person of the Holy Trinity One in Essence and Undivided at the Second Ecumenical Council (381).

The holy hierarch raised Acacius with love, made him a reader, and then ordained him a deacon and then to the holy priesthood. St Acacius devoutly served the Church. He instructed both adults and children in the Holy Scripture, and in the Orthodox Confession of faith.

Among his disciples was St Euthymius the Great (January 20).

After the death of St Ostrychius, St Acacius was elevated to the bishop's throne of Melitene by general acclamation. He wisely governed his diocese. By his firm faith, humility and deeds, the saint acquired the gift of wonderworking. Once, during a dry summer, the saint celebrated Liturgy in an open field, suddenly the wine in the Holy Chalice was mixed by the falling rain, which fell throughout the land.

He prayed during a flood, and the advancing river turned away and did not rise higher than the stone which he had placed at the riverbank. On one of the islands of the River Azar, despite the opposition of the pagans, the saint built a temple in honor of the Most Holy Theotokos. The builders of the church either through carelessness or through malice, were not careful in building the dome. During the Liturgy the dome was ready to collapse. The people rushed out of the church in terror. But the saint halted their flight saying, "The Lord is the defender of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?" (Ps. 26/27:1). The dome remained suspended in the air. Only when the services were ended, and the saint was the last one to emerge from the church, did the dome collapse, causing harm to no one. After this, the church was rebuilt.

St Acacius participated in the Third Ecumenical Council (431) and he defended the Orthodox teaching of the Two Natures (Divine and Human) of the Savior, and of His seedless Birth from the Most Holy Virgin Mother of God.

St Acacius peacefully fell asleep in the Lord around the year 435. He should not be confused with St Acacius the Confessor (March 31), who was also a bishop of Melitene.

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SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2008:

Martyr Leonidas of Corinth

Commemorated on April 16

The Holy Martyr Leonidas and the Holy Martyrs Charissa, Nike, Galina, Kalisa (Kalida), Nunekhia, Basilissa, and Theodora suffered at Corinth in the year 258. They threw them into the sea, but they did not drown. Instead, they walked upon the water as if on dry land, singing spiritual hymns. The torturers overtook them in a ship, tied stones around their necks and drowned them.

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SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2008:

Great and Holy Wednesday

Commemorated on April 15

On Great and Holy Wednesday, the hymns of the Bridegroom Service remind us of the sinful woman who poured precious ointment on Christ's head at Simon the leper's house (Mt. 26:7).

The disciples complained about the wasteful extravagance, for the myrrh could have been sold and the money given to the poor. On this same day Judas agreed to betray the Lord for thirty pieces of silver. Because the betrayal took place on Wednesday, Orthodox Christians fast on most Wednesdays during the year.

On the other hand, the Savior declared that the woman's actions would be remembered wherever the Gospel is preached (Mt. 26:13), for she had anointed Him in preparation for His burial (Mt. 26:12).

Troparion - Tone 8

When the glorious disciples were enlightened
At the washing of their feet before the supper,
Then the impious Judas was darkened, ailing with avarice
And to the lawless judges he betrays You, the righteous Judge.
Behold, O lover of money, this man who because of money hanged himself.
Flee from the greedy soul which dared such things against the Master.
O Lord, who is good towards all men, glory to You!

Kontakion - Tone 2

With his hands the betrayer receives the Bread.
With his hands he secretly receives the silver,
The price of Him who fashioned man with His hands;
So the servant and deceiver Judas remains depraved.

SOURCE:

SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2008:

Great and Holy Tuesday

Commemorated on April 14

Holy Week: A Liturgical Explanation for the Days of Holy Week

3. MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY: THE END These three days, which the Church calls Great and Holy have within the liturgical development of the Holy Week a very definite purpose. They place all its celebrations in the perspective of End ; they remind us of the eschatological meaning of Pascha. So often Holy Week is considered one of the "beautiful traditions" or "customs," a self-evident "part" of our calendar. We take it for granted and enjoy it as a cherished annual event which we have "observed" since childhood, we admire the beauty of its services, the pageantry of its rites and, last but not least, we like the fuss about the paschal table. And then, when all this is done we resume our normal life. But do we understand that when the world rejected its Savior, when "Jesus began to be sorrowful and very heavy... and his soul was exceedingly sorrowful even unto death," when He died on the Cross, "normal life" came to its end and is no longer possible. For there were "normal" men who shouted "Crucify Him [" who spat at Him and nailed Him to the Cross. And they hated and killed Him precisely because He was troubling their normal life. It was indeed a perfectly "normal" world which preferred darkness and death to light and life.... By the death of Jesus the "normal" world, and "normal" life were irrevocably condemned. Or rather they revealed their true and abnormal inability to receive the Light, the terrible power of evil in them. "Now is the Judgment of this world" (John 12:31). The Pascha of Jesus signified its end to "this world" and it has been at its end since then. This end can last for hundreds of centuries this does not alter the nature of time in which we live as the "last time." "The fashion of this world passeth away..." (I Cor. 7:31).

Pascha means passover, passage. The feast of Passover was for the Jews the annual commemoration of their whole history as salvation, and of salvation as passage from the slavery of Egypt into freedom, from exile into the promised land. It was also the anticipation of the ultimate passage - into the Kingdom of God. And Christ was the fulfillment of Pascha. He performed the ultimate passage: from death into life, from this "old world" into the new world into the new time of the Kingdom. And he opened the possibility of this passage to us. Living in "this world" we can already be "not of this world," i.e. be free from slavery to death and sin, partakers of the "world to come." But for this we must also perform our own passage, we must condemn the old Adam in us, we must put on Christ in the baptismal death and have our true life hidden in God with Christ, in the "world to come...."

And thus Easter is not an annual commemoration, solemn and beautiful, of a past event. It is this Event itself shown, given to us, as always efficient, always revealing our world, our time, our life as being at their end, and announcing the Beginning of the new life.... And the function of the three first days of Holy Week is precisely to challenge us with this ultimate meaning of Pascha and to prepare us to the understanding and acceptance of it.

1. This eschatological (which means ultimate, decisive, final) challenge is revealed, first, in the common troparion of these days:

Troparion - Tone 8

Behold the Bridegroom comes at midnight, And blessed is the servant whom He shall find watching, And again unworthy is the servant whom He shall find heedless. Beware, therefore, O my soul, do not be weighed down with sleep, Lest you be given up to death and lest you be shut out of the Kingdom. But rouse yourself crying: Holy, Holy, Holy, are You, O our God! Through the Theotokos have mercy on us!

Midnight is the moment when the old day comes to its end and a new day begins. It is thus the symbol of the time in which we live as Christians. For, on the one hand, the Church is still in this world, sharing in its weaknesses and tragedies. Yet, on the other hand, her true being is not of this world, for she is the Bride of Christ and her mission is to announce and to reveal the coming of the Kingdom and of the new day. Her life is a perpetual watching and expectation, a vigil pointed at the dawn of this new day. But we know how strong is still our attachment to the "old day," to the world with its passions and sins. We know how deeply we still belong to "this world." We have seen the light, 'We know Christ, we have heard about the peace and joy of the new life in Him, and yet the world holds us in its slavery. This weakness, this constant betrayal of Christ, this incapacity to give the totality of our love to the only true object of love are wonderfully expressed in the exapostilarion of these three days:

"Thy Bridal Chamber I see adorned, O my Savior And I have no wedding garment that I may enter, O Giver of life, enlighten the vesture of my soul And save me."

2. The same theme develops further in the Gospel readings of these days. First of all, the entire text of the four Gospels (up to John 13: 31) is read at the Hours (1, 3, 6 and 9th). This recapitulation shows that the Cross is the climax of the whole life and ministry of Jesus, the Key to their proper understanding. Everything in the Gospel leads to this ultimate hour of Jesus and everything is to be understood in its light. Then, each service has its special Gospel lesson

On Tuesday: At Matins: Matthew 22: 15-23, 39. Condemnation of Pharisees, i.e. of the blind and hypocritical religion, of those who think they are the leaders of man and the light of the world, but who in fact "shut up the Kingdom of heaven to men."

At the Presanctified Liturgy: Matthew 24: 36-26, 2. The End again and the parables of the End: the ten wise virgins who had enough oil in their lamps and the ten foolish ones who were not admitted to the bridal banquet; the parable of ten talents ". . . Therefore be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh." And, finally the Last Judgment.

3.These Gospel lessons are explained and elaborated in the hymnology of these days: the stichiras and the triodia (short canons of three odes each sung at Matins). One warning, one exhortation runs through all of them: the end and the judgment are approaching, let us prepare for them: '"

"Behold, O my soul, the Master has conferred on thee a talent Receive the gift with fear; Lend to him who gave; distribute to the poor And acquire for thyself thy Lord as thy Friend; That when He shall come in glory, Thou mayest stand on His right hand And hear His blessed voice: Enter, my servant, into the joy of thy Lord." (Tuesday Matins)

4. Throughout the whole Lent the two books of the Old Testament read at Vespers were Genesis and Proverbs. With the beginning of Holy Week they are replaced by Exodus and Job. Exodus is the story of Israel's liberation from Egyptian slavery, of their Passover. It prepares us for the understanding of Christ's exodus to His Father, of His fulfillment of the whole history of salvation. Job, the Sufferer, is the Old Testament icon of Christ. This reading announces the great mystery of Christ's sufferings, obedience and sacrifice.

5. The liturgical structure of these three days is still of the Lenten type. It includes, therefore, the prayer of St Ephrem the Syrian with prostrations, the augmented reading of the Psalter, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts and the Lenten liturgical chant. We are still in the time of repentance for repentance alone makes us partakers of the Pascha of Our Lord, opens to us the doors of the Paschal banquet. And then, on Great and Holy Wednesday, as the last Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is about to be completed, after the Holy Gifts have been removed from the altar, the priest reads for the last time the Prayer of St Ephrem. At this moment, the preparation comes to an end. The Lord summons us now to His Last Supper.

by THE VERY REV. ALEXANDER SCHMEMANN

Troparion - Tone 8

Behold the Bridegroom comes at midnight,
And blessed is the servant whom He shall find watching,
And again unworthy is the servant whom He shall find heedless.
Beware, therefore, O my soul, do not be weighed down with sleep,
Lest you be given up to death and lest you be shut out of the Kingdom.
But rouse yourself crying: Holy, Holy, Holy, are You, O our God!
Through the Theotokos have mercy on us!

Kontakion - Tone 2

You know that this is the last hour, O wretched soul,
And fear the cutting of the fig tree.
Work diligently therefore at the talent given to you
Keep watch and pray:
Let us not remain outside the bridal chamber of Christ.

SOURCE:

SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2008:

Great and Holy Monday

Commemorated on April 13

Holy Week: A Liturgical Explanation for the Days of Holy Week

3. MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY: THE END These three days, which the Church calls Great and Holy have within the liturgical development of the Holy Week a very definite purpose. They place all its celebrations in the perspective of End ; they remind us of the eschatological meaning of Pascha. So often Holy Week is considered one of the "beautiful traditions" or "customs," a self-evident "part" of our calendar. We take it for granted and enjoy it as a cherished annual event which we have "observed" since childhood, we admire the beauty of its services, the pageantry of its rites and, last but not least, we like the fuss about the paschal table. And then, when all this is done we resume our normal life. But do we understand that when the world rejected its Savior, when "Jesus began to be sorrowful and very heavy... and his soul was exceedingly sorrowful even unto death," when He died on the Cross, "normal life" came to its end and is no longer possible. For there were "normal" men who shouted "Crucify Him [" who spat at Him and nailed Him to the Cross. And they hated and killed Him precisely because He was troubling their normal life. It was indeed a perfectly "normal" world which preferred darkness and death to light and life.... By the death of Jesus the "normal" world, and "normal" life were irrevocably condemned. Or rather they revealed their true and abnormal inability to receive the Light, the terrible power of evil in them. "Now is the Judgment of this world" (John 12:31). The Pascha of Jesus signified its end to "this world" and it has been at its end since then. This end can last for hundreds of centuries this does not alter the nature of time in which we live as the "last time." "The fashion of this world passeth away..." (I Cor. 7:31).

Pascha means passover, passage. The feast of Passover was for the Jews the annual commemoration of their whole history as salvation, and of salvation as passage from the slavery of Egypt into freedom, from exile into the promised land. It was also the anticipation of the ultimate passage - into the Kingdom of God. And Christ was the fulfillment of Pascha. He performed the ultimate passage: from death into life, from this "old world" into the new world into the new time of the Kingdom. And he opened the possibility of this passage to us. Living in "this world" we can already be "not of this world," i.e. be free from slavery to death and sin, partakers of the "world to come." But for this we must also perform our own passage, we must condemn the old Adam in us, we must put on Christ in the baptismal death and have our true life hidden in God with Christ, in the "world to come...."

And thus Easter is not an annual commemoration, solemn and beautiful, of a past event. It is this Event itself shown, given to us, as always efficient, always revealing our world, our time, our life as being at their end, and announcing the Beginning of the new life.... And the function of the three first days of Holy Week is precisely to challenge us with this ultimate meaning of Pascha and to prepare us to the understanding and acceptance of it.

1. This eschatological (which means ultimate, decisive, final) challenge is revealed, first, in the common troparion of these days:

Troparion - Tone 8 Behold the Bridegroom comes at midnight, And blessed is the servant whom He shall find watching, And again unworthy is the servant whom He shall find heedless. Beware, therefore, O my soul, do not be weighed down with sleep, Lest you be given up to death and lest you be shut out of the Kingdom. But rouse yourself crying: Holy, Holy, Holy, are You, O our God! Through the Theotokos have mercy on us!

Midnight is the moment when the old day comes to its end and a new day begins. It is thus the symbol of the time in which we live as Christians. For, on the one hand, the Church is still in this world, sharing in its weaknesses and tragedies. Yet, on the other hand, her true being is not of this world, for she is the Bride of Christ and her mission is to announce and to reveal the coming of the Kingdom and of the new day. Her life is a perpetual watching and expectation, a vigil pointed at the dawn of this new day. But we know how strong is still our attachment to the "old day," to the world with its passions and sins. We know how deeply we still belong to "this world." We have seen the light, 'We know Christ, we have heard about the peace and joy of the new life in Him, and yet the world holds us in its slavery. This weakness, this constant betrayal of Christ, this incapacity to give the totality of our love to the only true object of love are wonderfully expressed in the exapostilarion of these three days:

"Thy Bridal Chamber I see adorned, O my Savior And I have no wedding garment that I may enter, O Giver of life, enlighten the vesture of my soul And save me."

2. The same theme develops further in the Gospel readings of these days. First of all, the entire text of the four Gospels (up to John 13: 31) is read at the Hours (1, 3, 6 and 9th). This recapitulation shows that the Cross is the climax of the whole life and ministry of Jesus, the Key to their proper understanding. Everything in the Gospel leads to this ultimate hour of Jesus and everything is to be understood in its light. Then, each service has its special Gospel lesson :

On Monday:

At Matins: Matthew 21: 18-43 - the story of the fig tree, the symbol of the world created to bear spiritual fruits and failing in its response to God.

At the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts: Matthew 24: 3-35: the great eschatological discourse of Jesus. The signs and announcement of the End. "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away...."

"When the Lord was going to His voluntary Passion, He said to His Apostles on the way: Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, And the Son of Man shall be delivered up As it is written of Him. Come, therefore, and let us accompany Him, With minds purified from the pleasures of this life, And let us be crucified and die with Him, That we may live with Him, And that we may hear Him say to us: I go now, not to the earthly Jerusalem to suffer, But unto My Father and your Father And My God and your God, And I will gather you up into the heavenly Jerusalem, Into the Kingdom of Heaven...." (Monday Matins)

by THE VERY REV. ALEXANDER SCHMEMANN

Troparion - Tone 8

Behold the Bridegroom comes at midnight,
And blessed is the servant whom He shall find watching,
And again unworthy is the servant whom He shall find heedless.
Beware, therefore, O my soul, do not be weighed down with sleep,
Lest you be given up to death and lest you be shut out of the Kingdom.
But rouse yourself crying: Holy, Holy, Holy, are You, O our God!
Through the Theotokos have mercy on us!

Kontakion - Tone 8

Jacob lamented the loss of Joseph,
But his noble son was seated on a chariot
And honored as a king.
For when he refused to be enslaved
By the pleasures of the Egyptian woman,
He was glorified by the Lord who beholds the hearts of men,
And bestows upon them an incorruptible crown.

SOURCE:

SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2008:

Hieromartyr Zeno the Bishop of Verona

Commemorated on April 12

Saint Zeno, Bishop of Verona, was born a Greek and came from Syria. In his youth he became a monk and devoted himself to the study of Holy Scripture. Visiting several monasteries, the saint came to the city of Verona and settled there. The people chose him as bishop of the city.

The emperors Constantius (353-361) and Valens (364-378), were advocates of the Arian heresy, which had been condemned at the First Ecumenical Council at Nicea in the year 325. Under their patronage the Arians began a persecution against the Orthodox. St Zeno bravely endured all the oppression from the heretics.

In his sermons and letters he firmly asserted the Orthodox teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ as the Only-Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. St Zeno wrote sixteen long and seventy-seven short discourses and directives. He died around the year 360.

St Gregory Dialogus (March 12) speaks of a miracle in the year 558 on St Zeno's Feast day. There were spring floods in Italy. The River Tiber overflowed its banks and inundated the surrounding area. The River Atesis flowing past Verona also flooded. The water reached the church built in honor of the hieromartyr Zeno, and came up to the windows of the church. The doors of the temple were open, but the water did not rush inside. It stopped at the wall, and did not harm the church.

SOURCE:

SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2008:

Books I've Read(or am reading)-Seventeen: "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" by Victor E. Marsden (B)

This book is a very controversial one and I would like the reader to know that I post this with some reservation because it may be assumed that I hold positions as a result of such a book that may not actually be mine in fact.

The fact is that this book has had a major effect on history. Whether it is indeed a forgery, as its detractors claim, or whether it is true as its author claims, peoples' ideas have been set into motion as a result of this collection of these protocols and perhaps to understand the previous century and the one we are now in it is necessary to read such a book to see what, if any, effect this book may have had.

I myself will offer no comment except to note that the protocols have a very detailed and profound understanding of the human condition and in a C.S. Lewis, Screwtape Letters type of way, the Protocols view the human being in the reverse of the Benevolent God Who desires the healing of the human being through union with Himself and Who accurately expounds on the human condition so as to bring about this healing.

In the Protocols we have the same viewing of the fallen condition which is prone to sin and error but with the aim of exploiting this weakness to bring about the subjugation of the human being using this understanding of the psychology of the fallen human condition against itself. There is a certain wisdom in these protocols which surprised me.

Also, interestingly, Plato's Republic came to mind when I read this book. As the reader may know, in his work, Plato argued that Rule should be in the hands of a born and bred Philosopher King whose rule alone should be desired over the other forms of government he speaks of in descending value from the Philosopher King: Tyranny(and remember that a "tyrant", in the ancient Greek usage of this word denotes something other what a modern user of this word means, Oligarchy(the rule of the few) and in Plato's mind the worst form of government, Democracy.

Along these lines, it must be noted that in the aim of the protocols there is also manifested a certain desire by those orchestrating the events to bring about the good of those to be ruled for their own good as they, if left to themselves cannot rule. So the "takeover" is viewed in a "positive"light by the one being instructed in the protocols for the ultimate good of those to be ruled who cannot, because of an inherent weakness, rule themselves.

I will over the course of time print all the protocols. It is a fascinating work. I will preface each post with the above primer I have provided.

Protocol VI

Take-Over Technique

1. We shall soon begin to establish huge monopolies, reservoirs
of colossal riches, upon which even large fortunes of the
GOYIM will depend to such an extent that they will go to the
bottom together with the credit of the States on the day after
the political smash ... (Compulsory superannuation, Social
Security).

2. You gentlemen here present who are economists, just strike
an estimate of the significance of this combination! ...

3. In every possible way we must develop the significance of
our Super-Government by representing it as the Protector and
Benefactor of all those who voluntarily submit to us.

4. The aristocracy of the GOYIM as a political force, is dead -
We need not take it into account; but as landed proprietors they
can still be harmful to us from the fact that they are self-
sufficing in the resources upon which they live. It is essential
therefore for us at whatever cost to deprive them of their land.
This object will be best attained by increasing the burdens upon
landed property - in loading lands with debts. These measures
will check land-holding and keep it in a state of humble and
unconditional submission.

5. The aristocrats of the GOYIM, being hereditarily incapable
of contenting themselves with little, will rapidly burn up and
fizzle out.

WE SHALL ENSLAVE GENTILES

6. At the same time we must intensively patronize trade and
industry, but, first and foremost, speculation, the part played by
which is to provide a counterpoise to industry: the absence of
speculative industry will multiply capital in private hands and
will serve to restore agriculture by freeing the land from
indebtedness to the land banks. What we want is that industry
should drain off from the land both labor and capital and by
means of speculation transfer into our hands all the money of
the world, and thereby throw all the GOYIM into the ranks of
the proletariat. Then the GOYIM will bow down before us, if
for no other reason but to get the right to exist.

7. To complete the ruin of the industry of the GOYIM we shall
bring to the assistance of speculation the luxury which we have
developed among the GOYIM, that greedy demand for luxury
which is swallowing up everything. WE SHALL RAISE THE
RATE OF WAGES WHICH, HOWEVER, WILL NOT
BRING ANY ADVANTAGE TO THE WORKERS, FOR, AT
THE SAME TIME, WE SHALL PRODUCE A RISE IN
PRICES OF THE FIRST NECESSARIES OF LIFE,
ALLEGING THAT IT ARISES FROM THE DECLINE OF
AGRICULTURE AND CATTLE-BREEDING: WE SHALL
FURTHER UNDERMINE ARTFULLY AND DEEPLY
SOURCES OF PRODUCTION, BY ACCUSTOMING THE
WORKERS TO ANARCHY AND TO DRUNKENNESS
AND SIDE BY SIDE THEREWITH TAKING ALL
MEASURE TO EXTIRPATE FROM THE FACE OF THE
EARTH ALL THE EDUCATED FORCES OF THE "GOYIM."

8. IN ORDER THAT THE TRUE MEANING OF THINGS MAY NOT STRIKE THE "GOYIM" BEFORE THE PROPER TIME WE SHALL MASK IT UNDER AN ALLEGED ARDENT DESIRE TO SERVE THE WORKING CLASSES AND THE GREAT PRINCIPLES OF POLITICAL ECONOMY ABOUT WHICH OUR ECONOMIC THEORIES ARE CARRYING ON AN ENERGETIC PROPAGANDA.

Protocol VII

World-Wide Wars

1. The intensification of armaments, the increase of police
forces - are all essential for the completion of the
aforementioned plans. What we have to get at is that there
should be in all the States of the world, besides ourselves, only
the masses of the proletariat, a few millionaires devoted to our
interests, police and soldiers.

2. Throughout all Europe, and by means of relations with
Europe, in other continents also, we must create ferments,
discords and hostility. Therein we gain a double advantage. In
the first place we keep in check all countries, for they will
know that we have the power whenever we like to create
disorders or to restore order. All these countries are
accustomed to see in us an indispensable force of coercion. In
the second place, by our intrigues we shall tangle up all the
threads which we have stretched into the cabinets of all States
by means of the political, by economic treaties, or loan
obligations. In order to succeed in this we must use great
cunning and penetration during negotiations and agreements,
but, as regards what is called the "official language," we shall
keep to the opposite tactics and assume the mask of honesty
and complacency. In this way the peoples and governments of
the GOYIM, whom we have taught to look only at the outside
whatever we present to their notice, will still continue to accept
us as the benefactors and saviours of the human race.

UNIVERSAL WAR

3. We must be in a position to respond to every act of
opposition by war with the neighbors of that country which
dares to oppose us: but if these neighbors should also venture
to stand collectively together against us, then we must offer
resistance by a universal war.

4. The principal factor of success in the political is the secrecy
of its undertakings: the word should not agree with the deeds of
the diplomat.

5. We must compel the governments of the GOYIM to take
action in the direction favored by our widely conceived plan,
already approaching the desired consummation, by what we
shall represent as public opinion, secretly promoted by us
through the means of that so-called "Great Power" - THE
PRESS, WHICH, WITH A FEW EXCEPTIONS THAT MAY
BE DISREGARDED, IS ALREADY ENTIRELY IN OUR
HANDS.

6. In a word, to sum up our system of keeping the government
of the goyim in Europe in check, we shall show our strength to
one of them by terrorist attempts and to all, if we allow the
possibility of a general rising against us, we shall respond wit!
the guns of America or China or Japan. (The Russo-Japanese
War of 1904-1905-Ed.).

Protocol VIII

Provisional Government

1. We must arm ourselves with all the weapons which our opponents might employ against us. We must search out in the very finest shades of expression and the knotty points of the lexicon of law justification for those cases where we shall have to pronounce judgments that might appear abnormally audacious and unjust, for it is important that these resolutions should be set forth in expressions that shall seem to be the most exalted moral principles cast into legal form. (Genocide Convention? U.N. Declaration of the Rights of the Child?) Our directorate must surround itself with all these forces of civilization among which it will have to work. It will surround itself with publicists, practical jurists, administrators, diplomats
finally, with persons prepared by a special super-educational training IN OUR SPECIAL SCHOOLS (Rhodes Scholars? London School of Economics?) These persons will have consonance of all the secrets of the social structure, they will know all the languages that can be made up by political alphabets and words; they will be made acquainted with the whole underside of human nature, with all its sensitive chords on which they will have to play. These chords are the cast of
mind of the GOYIM, their tendencies, short-comings, vices and qualities, the particularities of classes and conditions. Needless to say that the talented assistants of authority, of whom I speak, will be taken not from among the GOYIM, who
are accustomed to perform their administrative work without
giving themselves the trouble to think what its aim is, and
never consider what it is needed for. The administrators of the GOYIM sign papers without reading them, (As Margaret Thatcher signed-away British sovereignty by the Maastricht Treaty? As Australian Parliamentarians signed over 2,000 U.N. Treaties ... unread?) and they serve either for mercenary reasons or from ambition.

2. We shall surround our government with a whole world of
economists. That is the reason why economic sciences form the
principal subject of the teaching given to the Jews. Around us
again will be a whole constellation of bankers, industrialists,
capitalists and - THE MAIN THING - MILLIONAIRES,
BECAUSE IN SUBSTANCE EVERYTHING WILL BE
SETTLED BY THE QUESTION OF FIGURES.

3. For a time, until there will no longer be any risk in entrusting
responsible posts in our State to our brother-Jews, we shall put
them in the hands of persons whose past and reputation are
such that between them and the people lies an abyss, persons
who, in case of disobedience to our instructions, must face
criminal charges or disappear - this in order to make them
defend our interests to their last gasp.

Protocol IX

Re-education

1. In applying our principles let attention be paid to the character of the people in whose country you live and act; a general, identical application of them, until such time as the people shall have been re-educated to our pattern, cannot have success. But by approaching their application cautiously you will see that not a decade will pass before the most stubborn character will change and we shall add a new people to the ranks of those already subdued by us.

2. The words of the liberal, which are in effect the words of our sonic watchword, namely, "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity," will, when we come into our kingdom, be changed by us into words no longer of a watchword, but only an expression of idealism, namely, into "The right of liberty, the duty of equality, the ideal of brotherhood." That is how we shall put it, and so we shall catch the bull by the horns ... DE FACTO we re already wiped out every kind of rule except our own, although DE JURE there still remain a good many of them. Nowadays, if any States raise a protest against us it is only PRO FORMA at our discretion and by our direction, for THEIR ANTI-SEMITISM IS INDISPENSABLE TO US FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF OUR LESSER BRETHREN. I will enter into further explanations, for this matter has formed the subject of repeated discussions amongst us.

JEWISH SUPER-STATE

3. For us there are not checks to limit the range of our activity.

Our Super-Government subsists in extra-legal conditions which
are described in the accepted terminology by the energetic and
forcible word - Dictatorship. I am in a position to tell you with
a clear conscience that at the proper time we, the law-givers,
shall execute judgment and sentence, we shall slay and we
shall spare, we, as head of all our troops, are mounted on the
steed of the leader. We rule by force of will, because in our
hands are the fragments of a once powerful party, now
vanquished by us. AND THE WEAPONS IN OUR HANDS
ARE LIMITLESS AMBITIONS, BURNING GREEDINESS,
MERCILESS VENGEANCE, HATREDS AND MALICE.

4. IT IS FROM US THAT THE ALL-ENGULFING TERROR
PROCEEDS. WE HAVE IN OUR SERVICE PERSONS OF
ALL OPINIONS, OF ALL DOCTRINES, RESTORATING
MONARCHISTS, DEMAGOGUES, SOCIALISTS,
COMMUNISTS, AND UTOPIAN DREAMERS OF EVERY
KIND. We have harnessed them all to the task: EACH ONE
OF THEM ON HIS OWN ACCOUNT IS BORING AWAY
AT THE LAST REMNANTS OF AUTHORITY, IS
STRIVING TO OVERTHROW ALL ESTABLISHED FORM
OF ORDER. By these acts all States are in torture; they exhort
to tranquility, are ready to sacrifice everything for peace: BUT
WE WILL NOT GIVE THEM PEACE UNTIL THEY
OPENLY ACKNOWLEDGE OUR INTERNATIONAL
SUPER-GOVERNMENT, AND WITH SUBMISSIVENESS.

5. The people have raised a howl about the necessity of settling
the question of Socialism by way of an international
agreement. DIVISION INTO FRACTIONAL PARTIES HAS
GIVEN THEM INTO OUR HANDS, FOR, IN ORDER TO CARRY ON A CONTESTED STRUGGLE ONE MUST HAVE MONEY, AND THE MONEY IS ALL IN OUR HANDS.

6. We might have reason to apprehend a union between the
'clear-sighted" force of the GOY kings on their thrones and the
blind" force of the GOY mobs, but we have taken all the
needful measure against any such possibility: between the one and the other force we have erected a bulwark in the shape of a mutual terror between them. In this way the blind force of the people remains our support and we, and we only, shall provide them with a leader and, of course, direct them along the road that leads to our goal.

7. In order that the hand of the blind mob may not free itself
from our guiding hand, we must every now and then enter into
close communion with it, if not actually in person, at any rate
through some of the most trusty of our brethren. When we are
acknowledged as the only authority we shall discuss with the
people personally on the market, places, and we shall instruct
them on questings of the political in such wise as may turn
them in the direction that suits us.

8. Who is going to verify what is taught in the village schools? But what an envoy of the government or a king on his throne himself may say cannot but become immediately known to the whole State, for it will be spread abroad by the voice of the people.

9. In order to annihilate the institutions of the GOYIM before it is time we have touched them with craft and delicacy, and have taken hold of the ends of the springs which move their
mechanism. These springs lay in a strict but just sense of order: we have replaced them by the chaotic license of liberalism. We have got our hands into the administration of the law, into the conduct of elections, into the press, into liberty of the person, BUT PRINCIPALLY INTO EDUCATION AND TRAINING AS BEING THE CORNERSTONES OF A FREE EXISTENCE.

CHRISTIAN YOUTH DESTROYED

10. WE HAVE FOOLED, BEMUSED AND CORRUPTED
THE YOUTH OF THE "GOYIM" BY REARING THEM IN
PRINCIPLES AND THEORIES WHICH ARE KNOWN TO
US TO BE FALSE ALTHOUGH IT IS THAT THEY HAVE
BEEN INCULCATED.

11. Above the existing laws without substantially altering
them, and by merely twisting them into contradictions of
interpretations, we have erected something grandiose in the
way of results. These results found expression in the fact that
the INTERPRETATIONS MASKED THE LAW: afterwards
they entirely hid them from the eyes of the governments owing
to the impossibility of making anything out of the tangled web
of legislation.

12. This is the origin of the theory of course of arbitration.

13. You may say that the GOYIM will rise upon us, arms in
hand, if they guess what is going on before the time comes; but
in the West we have against this a manoeuvre of such appalling
terror that the very stoutest hearts quail - the undergrounds,
metropolitans, those subterranean corridors which, before the
time comes, will be driven under all the capitals and from
whence those capitals will be blown into the air with all their organizations and archives.

Protocol X

Preparing for Power

1. To-day I begin with a repetition of what I said before, and I BEG YOU TO BEAR IN MIND THAT GOVERNMENTS AND PEOPLE ARE CONTENT IN THE POLITICAL WITH OUTSIDE APPEARANCES. And how, indeed, are the GOYIM to perceive the underlying meaning of things when their representatives give the best of their energies to enjoying themselves? For our policy it is of the greatest importance to take cognizance of this detail; it will be of assistance to us when we come to consider the division of authority of property, of the dwelling, of taxation (the idea of concealed taxes), of the reflex force of the laws. All these questions are such as ought not to be touched upon directly and openly before the people. In cases where it is indispensable to touch upon them they must not be categorically named, it must merely be declared without detailed exposition that the principles of contemporary law are acknowledged by us. The reason of keeping silence in this respect is that by not naming a principle we leave ourselves freedom of action, to drop this or that out of it without attracting notice; if they were all categorically named they would all appear to have been already given.

2. The mob cherishes a special affection and respect for the geniuses of political power and accepts all their deeds of violence with the admiring response: "rascally, well, yes, it is
rascally, but it's clever! ... a trick, if you like, but how craftily played, how magnificently done, what impudent audacity!" ...

OUR GOAL - WORLD POWER

3. We count upon attracting all nations to the task of erecting
the new fundamental structure, the project for which has been
drawn up by us. This is why, before everything, it is
indispensable for us to arm ourselves and to store up in
ourselves that absolutely reckless audacity and irresistible
might of the spirit which in the person of our active workers
will break down all hindrances on our way.

4. WHEN WE HAVE ACCOMPLISHED OUR COUP
D'ETAT WE SHALL SAY THEN TO THE VARIOUS
PEOPLES: "EVERYTHING HAS GONE TERRIBLY
BADLY, ALL HAVE BEEN WORN OUT WITH
SUFFERING. WE ARE DESTROYING THE CAUSES OF
YOUR TORMENT - NATIONALITIES, FRONTIERS,
DIFFERENCES OF COINAGES. YOU ARE AT LIBERTY,
OF COURSE, TO PRONOUNCE SENTENCE UPON US,
BUT CAN IT POSSIBLY BE A JUST ONE IF IT IS
CONFIRMED BY YOU BEFORE YOU MAKE ANY TRIAL
OF WHAT WE ARE OFFERING YOU." ... THEN WILL
THE MOB EXALT US AND BEAR US UP IN THEIR
HANDS IN A UNANIMOUS TRIUMPH OF HOPES AND
EXPECTATIONS. VOTING, WHICH WE HAVE MADE
THE INSTRUMENT WHICH WILL SET US ON THE
THRONE OF THE WORLD BY TEACHING EVEN THE
VERY SMALLEST UNITS OF MEMBERS OF THE
HUMAN RACE TO VOTE BY MEANS OF MEETINGS
AND AGREEMENTS BY GROUPS, WILL THEN HAVE
SERVED ITS PURPOSES AND WILL PLAY ITS PART
THEN FOR THE LAST TIME BY A UNANIMITY OF DESIRE TO MAKE CLOSE ACQUAINTANCE WITH US BEFORE CONDEMNING US.

5. TO SECURE THIS WE MUST HAVE EVERYBODY VOTE WITHOUT DISTINCTION OF CLASSES AND QUALIFICATIONS, in order to establish an absolute majority, which cannot be got from the educated propertied classes. In this way, by inculcating in all a sense of self-importance, we ill destroy among the GOYIM the importance of the family and its educational value and remove the possibility of individual minds splitting off, for the mob, handled by us, will not let them come to the front nor even give them a hearing; it is accustomed to listen to us only who pay it for obedience and attention. In this way we shall create a blind, mighty force which will never be in a position to move in any direction without the guidance of our agents set at its head by us as leaders of the mob. The people will submit to this regime because it will know that upon these leaders will depend its earnings, gratifications and the receipt of all kinds of benefits.

6. A scheme of government should come ready made from one brain, because it will never be clinched firmly if it is allowed to split into fractional parts in the minds of many. It is allowable, therefore, for us to have cognizance of the scheme of action but not to discuss it lest we disturb its artfulness, the interdependence of its component parts, the practical force of secret meaning of each clause. To discuss and make alterations in a labor of this kind by means of numerous votings is to impress upon it the stamp of all ratiocinations and understandings which have failed to penetrate the depth and nexus of its plottings. We want our schemes to be forcible and ably concocted. Therefore WE OUGHT NOT TO FLING
THE WORK OF GENIUS OF OUR GUIDE to the fangs of the mob or even of a select company.

7. These schemes will not turn existing institutions upside
down just yet. They will only effect changes in their economy
and consequently in the whole combined movement of their
progress, which will thus be directed along the paths laid down
in our schemes.

POISON OF LIBERALISM

8. Under various names there exists in all countries
approximately one and the same thing. Representation,
Ministry, Senate, State Council, Legislative and Executive
Corps. I need not explain to you the mechanism of the relation
of these institutions to one another, because you are aware of
all that; only take note of the fact that each of the above-named
institutions corresponds to some important function of the
State, and I would beg you to remark that the word "important"
I apply not to the institution but to the function, consequently it
is not the institutions which are important but their functions.
These institutions have divided up among themselves all the
functions of government - administrative, legislative,
executive, wherefore they have come to operate as do the
organs in the human body. If we injure one part in the
machinery of State, the State falls sick, like a human body, and
... will die.

9. When we introduced into the State organism the poison of
Liberalism its whole political complexion underwent a change.
States have been seized with a mortal illness - blood poisoning.
All that remains is to await the end of their death agony.

10. Liberalism produced Constitutional States, which took the place of what was the only safeguard of the GOYIM, namely, Despotism; and A CONSTITUTION, AS YOU WELL KNOW, IS NOTHING ELSE BUT A SCHOOL OF DISCORDS, misunderstandings, quarrels, disagreements, fruitless party agitations, party whims - in a word, a school of everything that serves to destroy the personality of State activity. THE TRIBUNE OF THE "TALKERIES" HAS, NO LESS EFFECTIVELY THAN THE PRESS, CONDEMNED IE RULERS TO INACTIVITY AND IMPOTENCE, and thereby rendered them useless and superfluous, for which reason indeed they have been in many countries deposed. THEN IT WAS THAT THE ERA OF REPUBLICS BECOME POSSIBLE OF REALIZATION; AND THEN IT WAS THAT WE REPLACED THE RULER BY A CARICATURE OF A GOVERNMENT - BY A PRESIDENT, TAKEN FROM THE MOB, FROM THE MIDST OF OUR PUPPET CREATURES, OR SLAVES. This was the foundation of the mine which we have laid under the GOY people, I should rather say, under the GOY peoples.

WE NAME PRESIDENTS

11. In the near future we shall establish the responsibility of presidents.

12. By that time we shall be in a position to disregard forms in carrying through matters for which our impersonal puppet will be responsible. What do we care if the ranks of those striving for power should be thinned, if there should arise a deadlock from the impossibility of finding presidents, a deadlock which ill finally disorganize the country? ...

13. In order that our scheme may produce this result we shall
arrange elections in favor of such presidents as have in their
past some dark, undiscovered stain, some "Panama" or other -
then they will be trustworthy agents for the accomplishment of
our plans out of fear of revelations and from the natural desire
of everyone who has attained power, namely, the retention of
the privileges, advantages and honor connected with the office
of president. The chamber of deputies will provide cover for,
will protect, will elect presidents, but we shall take from it the
right to propose new, or make changes in existing laws, for this
right will be given by us to the responsible president, a puppet
in our hands. Naturally, the authority of the presidents will then
become a target for every possible form of attack, but we shall
provide him with a means of self-defense in the right of an
appeal to the people, for the decision of the people over the
heads of their representatives, that is to say, an appeal to that
same blind slave of ours - the majority of the mob.
Independently of this we shall invest the president with the
right of declaring a state of war. We shall justify this last right
on the ground that the president as chief of the whole army of
the country must have it at his disposal, in case of need for the
defense of the new republican constitution, the right to defend
which will belong to him as the responsible representative of
this constitution. (Iran? Grenada? Kuwait? Iraq? Panama?
Somalia? Bosnia? Kosovo? Indonesia?)

14. It is easy to understand that in these conditions the key of
the shrine will lie in our hands, and no one outside ourselves
will any longer direct the force of legislation.

15. Besides this we shall, with the introduction of the new
republican constitution, take from the Chamber the right of
interpolation on government measures, on the pretext of
preserving political secrecy, and, further, we shall by the new constitution reduce the number of representatives to a minimum, thereby proportionately reducing political passions and the passion for politics. If, however, they should, which is hardly to be expected, burst into flame, even in this minimum, we shall nullify them by a stirring appeal and a reference to the majority of the whole people ... Upon the president will depend
the appointment of presidents and vice-presidents of the Chamber and the Senate. Instead of constant sessions of Parliaments we shall reduce their sittings to a few months. Moreover, the president, as chief of the executive power will have the right to summon and dissolve Parliament, and, in the latter case, to prolong the time for the appointment of a new parliamentary assembly. But in order that the consequences of all these acts which in substance are illegal, should not, prematurely for our plans, fall upon the responsibility established by us of the president, WE SHALL INSTIGATE MINISTERS AND OTHER OFFICIALS OF THE HIGHER ADMINISTRATION ABOUT THE PRESIDENT TO EVADE HIS DISPOSITIONS BY TAKING MEASURES OF THEIR OWN, for doing which they will be made the scapegoats in his place ... This part we especially recommend to be given to be played by the Senate, the Council of State, or the Council of ministers, but not to an individual official.

16. The president will, at our discretion, interpret the sense of such of the existing laws as admit of various interpretation; he will further annul them when we indicate to him the necessity to do so, besides this, he will have the right to propose temporary laws, and even new departures in the government constitutional working, the pretext both for the one and the other being the requirements for the supreme welfare of the tate. (Presidential Decrees such as F.D.R. employed to debase the US dollar and steal the gold and to place the U.S. under a permanent State of Emergency and War against its own citizens?)

WE SHALL DESTROY

17. By such measure we shall obtain the power of destroying
little by little, step by step, all that at the outset when we enter
on our rights, we are compelled to introduce into the
constitutions of States to prepare for the transition to an
imperceptible abolition of every kind of constitution, and then
the time is come to turn every form of government into OUR
DESPOTISM.

18. The recognition of our despot may also come before the
destruction of the constitution; the moment for this recognition
will come when the peoples, utterly wearied by the
irregularities and incompetence - a matter which we shall
arrange for - of their rulers, will clamor: "Away with them and
give us one king over all the earth who will unite us and
annihilate the causes of disorders - frontiers, nationalities,
religions, State debts - who will give us peace and quiet which
we cannot find under our rulers and representatives."

19. But you yourselves perfectly well know that TO
PRODUCE THE POSSIBILITY OF THE EXPRESSION OF
SUCH WISHES BY ALL THE NATIONS IT IS
INDISPENSABLE TO TROUBLE IN ALL COUNTRIES
THE PEOPLE'S RELATIONS WITH THEIR
GOVERNMENTS SO AS TO UTTERLY EXHAUST
HUMANITY WITH DISSENSION, HATRED, STRUGGLE,
ENVY AND EVEN BY THE USE OF TORTURE, BY
STARVATION, BY THE INOCULATION OF DISEASES,
BY WANT, SO THAT THE "GOYIM" SEE NO OTHER ISSUE THAN TO TAKE REFUGE IN OUR COMPLETE SOVEREIGNTY IN MONEY AND IN ALL ELSE.

20. But if we give the nations of the world a breathing space the moment we long for is hardly likely ever to arrive.

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