On the occasion of the shameful events which are unfolding in the Monastery of the Holy Fathers in Chios, His Eminence, Metropolitan Gerontios of Piraeus and Salamis as the press representative of the Holy Synod made the following statement:
“It is tragic for one to find that in 2015 legal and police authorities of a democratic country, members of the European Union - by the mandate of the local Metropolitan of the State Church – have taken actions against a religious minority.
Before the body of the ever-memorable Archimandrite Ambrose could even be buried in Chios, Mark - the local State Church Metropolitan - has ordered the facilities of the Monastery to be sealed under the pretext of protecting the island's national treasures, according to news reports.
We ask, what legal basis motivated the court and police forces who sealed parts of the Monastery, and even attempted to seal the Holy Bema of its central church (Katholikon)? By what authority did the Metropolitan of the State Church enlist the civil authorities as cohorts against a Monastery which has belonged to the Church of the Genuine Orthodox Christians for nearly 100 years?
Once again, we Genuine Orthodox Christians behold the Greek State not only stand by idly while our religious freedoms are trampled upon, but even become the active agent of such a violation. At the time when the local ecclesiastical community mourns the loss of a great ecclesiastical figure, at a time when his body has not even been buried, the local State Church Metropolitan shamelessly attempts to seize the Monastery by arousing public sentiment...simply because he is able.
We call upon the Minister of Justice and the Public Prosecutor of the Supreme Court to restore order.
How long will the Genuine Orthodox Christians be treated as second class citizens? Must we become Muslims in order to obtain the right to exercise our religious freedom?”
This miracle of Saint Spyridon took place in Mandra, Greece in 1926.
It was 12/25 December, 1926. The state Church of Greece adopted the Papal calendar and with the help of the Greek government persecuted all those who did not accept the Papal calendar. The faithful Orthodox Christians of Mandra woke up and headed to their Church to celebrate the Feast of Saint Spyridon. When they reached the Church they saw that the door to the Church had been secured with chains and the faithful could not enter. Before leaving the Church to return to their homes they stuck their candles on the door. As soon as the last person placed his candles on the door
the chains broke and fell. The faithful, confirmed in their Faith, entered the Church and celebrated the Feast of Saint Spyridon.
The miracle was reported the next day by the newspaper Skrip.
St. John of Kronstadt Orthodox Church began as a mission parish in the year 2000, in a home chapel in Palm Coast, FL – a small town on Florida’s northeast coast located between St. Augustine and Daytona Beach. After two years, it became necessary to have services in area community centers, rented for Sundays and other Holy Days. Read more...
2023 Youth Conference
Please join us for the 2023 youth conference in Chicago, IL! To learn more, visit the home page or visit the conference website.
Q. Are the prayers in the blue prayer book [A Prayerbook for Orthodox Christians by the Holy Transfiguration Monastery —ed.] compulsory for everyone? I mean their morning prayers and the service of Small Compline. My confessor gave me a special rule but wasn’t clear about whether this replaced the book prayers or was in addition to them. Read more...