The Great King Tiridates

The Church has the ability to turn the ravenous wolves into lambs. We can look at the example of St. Paul, a fierce persecutor of Christians, how the Church would humble this fearsome persecutor of the Faith into a Lamb, an Holy Apostle, for the sake of Christianity. Among those savage animals, there was a great King in Armenia. He was fearsome, he was vicious. He breathed the fire of a dragon. And he hated with fury the Christian faith that was sweeping across the Roman Empire. How to defend the heathen lies but by a vicious persecution. St. Gregory the Illuminator of Armenia had been a member of the royal family which had previous dynastic rule over Armenia. However, St. Gregory's family had overthrown the Great King's and this inspired him with a hatred over the man Gregory. He wanted nothing to do with St. Gregory or the Faith he had brought with him. To Tiridates, the Faith was nothing more than idle and foolish filth for it certainly is foolishness to the world as the Apostle whom Tiridates was about to follow in suit of once said.

When St. Gregory returned from Constantinople to preach to his home country of Armenia, Tiridates suspected him of more than just pious frauds. Tiridates suspected this family foe of his a traitor to the Kingdom. Though Tiridates enjoyed the servitude of St. Gregory for some time, things were about to dip even further southward in their relationship when the King had discovered that Gregory was a Christian. Not only had this man been a member of a family who opposed the legitimate royal family, this man had brought back the Faith that was spreading throughout the Roman Empire. Tiridates subjected St. Gregory to many harsh tortures, eventually throwing him inside of a pit of snakes for 14 years. The man had to be punished for this treason against the Kingdom of Armenia.

Then, Tiridates turned his wrath upon the nuns Rhipsima, Gaiana, and thirty-five others. As a beast, he desired carnal relations with those who had vowed themselves to chastity, but they refused for their Bridegroom was Christ. Tiridates demanded it, believing that as King, he possessed the right over their bodies. He had sensual desires which needed to be satiated. But the nuns held their grounds before the beast. Tiridates was scolded by Rhipsima who refused him the victory over her chastity. "And he who defeated the Princes of the Goths and destroyed the Persians was unable to overcome one virgin of Christ!" proclaimed the holy martyr. Tiridates, frustrated, seeing his efforts would be in vain, had her tongue cut out and her stomach cut open, and her entrails pulled out. The other nuns were seized and beheaded.

Tiridates began to go mad. He was a wild boar, an animal. Soon, he was grazing on the grass like Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. But his sister had a vision. She reminded him of the man he had thrown into the pit. She had explained that the man was still alive and that he would cure the madness of the Great King. Tiridates went to the snake pit he had thrown St. Gregory into years ago and pulled out the man, alive and unharmed by the snakes. St. Gregory still had to regain his vision from dwelling in a pit for so many years but he healed the King of his madness. And just like St. Paul who experienced the blinding light of Christ on the road to Damascus, Tiridates witnessed the blinding light of Christ as soon as St. Gregory cured him of his blindness. Tiridates, able to see with spiritual vision, would appoint Gregory to be Catholicos of Armenia and proclaimed the Christian Faith the religion of the state of Armenia. Armenia has remained the only state which affirms traditional Christianity as its state religion. Spending the rest of his life in peace and in repentance, Tiridates went from being a savage persecutor of the Christian Faith to becoming its greatest proponent in all of Armenia.

St. Katherine of Alexandria

St. Katherine was born to the earthly ruler of Alexandria, Constas. She suffered through the reign of the Emperors Maximian, Maxentius, and Maximinus. She was known for being tall in stature and exceptionally beautiful. She was also well-studied in the philosophical arts of Plato, Aristotle, Homer, and Virgil. She knew the medicines of Aesculapius, Hippocrates, and Galen. She was gifted in rhetoric and in the languages. Her parents intended to marry her but she was determined to keep her virginity. None of the suitors could match her wit, her intellect, her stature, or her beauty. She challenged her parents thus, "Present unto me a young man who is like unto me in the four virtues in which you claim I that I am peerless among women, and I will take him to be my husband."

Now her mother was a secret Christian. And her mother brought her to a certain priest. The priest began hearing the case for St. Katherine. She told him what she sought in a suitable husband and the priest explained that he did indeed know a man that would be suited for her. He began to describe this man. The Man was from before all time, born of a Virgin, He presented Himself for the sake of the world. The priest began to describe the life and work of Jesus Christ. He then told her to take with her an icon of the Ever-Virgin with the Christ-Child. She brought the icon home and began to ponder about this Man that the priest had explained to her. In a vision, she beheld the same icon that the priest had given her but the Christ-Child looked away from her. She found herself then in a room with the Ever-Virgin holding the Christ-Child but the Christ-Child refused to look upon the maiden and only looked toward His Mother. Each time she tried to peer into the face of the Christ-Child, the Child would turn His eyes away from her. The Theotokos wondered why and asked Her Child why He would not look into the face of the young maiden. She was quite beautiful in stature. The Christ-Child explained that while the maiden beheld much outer beauty, inwardly, she was filthy. She needed to clean herself from the filth that lay within her. And then He would look upon her.

Katherine, after having this vision, went back to the priest and inquired more about the Christian Faith. Eventually, Katherine rejected all of her Pagan deities, turned to Christ, and was baptized by the priest whom her mother had brought her to. She then beheld in a vision once again, Our Lady with the Christ-Child. This time, the Christ-Child was looking upon her, seeing in her a future bride fit for the Kingdom of Heaven. And she would soon be tested by the material elements of the world which follow after the Father of Lies and give credence to idols and fallen spirits over the one true God of the Universe, Our Lord Jesus Christ. The Emperor Maximinus had declared Christianity illegal and demanded that all must offer sacrifices to his idols. Seeing this new law and understanding the bloodthirsty extremes of the Emperor, Katherine would approach the Imperial Palace and make an argument against the Emperor's gods.

Appealing to Plato, Homer, and Diodorus, before finally confirming the Truth of Christ, Katherine masterfully refuted the Emperor's feeble arguments against the Christian faith in favor of his idols. This frustrated the Emperor so much, but he desired not the death of one so beautiful, so he had many of his wise men come to make an argument against the Christian faith against this woman. Once more, Katherine appealed to the philosophers to shame the gods and then finished off her argument with the Truth of Christ, which is hidden from the wise and revealed to infants (Matt. 11:25). The philosophers stood dumbfounded. They had no argument against the Christian. The Emperor demanded they give an answer but the philosophers explained that since the chief of their philosophers could not refute her arguments, neither could they. And they even accepted Christianity that very moment. These philosophers were put to death immediately, receiving a baptism of blood and entering into the Heavenly Kingdom. Katherine was beat and placed in prison.

In prison, she was visited upon by the Emperor's General Porphyrios and the Augusta whose name in some martyrologies is given as Faustina. As the two visited Katherine, they learned of the Christian faith from her and became attuned to it. Katherine explained to them that they would soon suffer greatly for the Kingdom of Heaven, but it would be for a moment in comparison to their eternal glory. When Katherine was released from prison and brought before the Emperor again, he was irate to find that she was in full health and in good nutrition despite that he had ordered her not to be fed while in prison. He inquired who had fed her to which she replied that no man had fed her but the Lord kept her nourished. The Emperor again began to use bribery and persuasion to convince her that it was the gods who gave her the gifts she held and that she should accept them. But she continued to refuse the Emperor's arguments. The Emperor's prefect Hursasden recommended a punishment so wicked that it had only recently been concocted in that era. He had four wheels which spun. Two in the rightward direction, and two in the leftward direction. The wheels meeting together. This is how the disobedient Katherine ought to receive death. The Emperor gave Katherine another opportunity to repudiate Christ. She refused and repudiated the Emperor's pagan deities once more. The wheels began spinning but as they approached Katherine, they broke apart and flew out in every direction. Those in the room met horrific ends as they cried out, "Great is the God of the Christians!"

Faustina entered into the room in the aftermath and ordered the Emperor to cease and desist his reproach of the Christians. He forgot she was his own wife and became incessant with anger. He had her breasts torn out ad as he was readying to strike her head off with a sword, she called out to Katherine who gave her one last blessing and bid her to eternity. The Emperor struck down his own wife. Then, his General Porphyrios honorably buried the body of the Emperor's holy wife and when the Emperor discovered this, he had Porphyrios and his men slain. Desiring to give Katherine one last chance, the Emperor offered Katherine his hand in marriage. But Katherine wouldn't have it. She repudiated the gods. And as the Emperor led her out to be beheaded, she prayed this one final time:

"My Lord Jesus Christ and God, I  thank Thee that Thou hast secured my feet on the rock of patience and hast directed my steps. Stretch out Thy sacred hand, which was nailed to the Cross for our sake, and receive my soul, which today is separated from the body out of love for Thee. Be Thou mindful, O Lord, that we are flesh and blood; and do Thou forgive my transgressions, which I committed unknowingly, before Thy dread judgment seat; but wash away with the blood that I shed for Thee; and grant that my body, cleaved for Thee, will become invisible to those who seek it, keeping it safe and secure wheresoever Thou dost wish. Look down from on high upon Thy people who surround me, O Lord, and guide them to the light of Thy knowledge. Bestow upon those who invoke Thy name, through me, all they seek for their bereavement, that Thy works may be praised by all and that Thou mayest be glorified with Thine unoriginate Father and Holy Spirit, now and ever unto endless ages. Amen."

She ordered the executioner to cut her head off and as she was beheaded, milk flowed from her body and God had angels carry off her body to a secret place on Mount Sinai to the peak of the highest mountain in Sinai which now also bears her name. She now rests eternally in the glory of the Heavenly Kingdom. St. Katherine of Alexandria, pray for us!

St. Mercurios

One thing that is seen in Christianity is how woman often times overshadow men on Feast Days. I remember my priest talking about this in his homily on the Holy Martyr Katherine from last year. Katherine of Alexandria overshadows the Martyr Mercurios, though certainly no less important. Only in the Christian Faith is the true masculinity of men celebrated and does the true femininity of women prevail. In the modern world, the endgame of feminism is to destroy men and turn women into men. Many people don't even think about women anymore but instead refer to them using their genitals. How disturbed the modern world has become and how much it truly needs a full conversion to Christianity. Only in Christianity do you see the heroic Katherine convert so many sinners to Christ in the span of weeks and only in Christianity do you see the true heroism of the battlefield shine forth in men such as Mercurios.

Mercurios lived much before Katherine. He lived under the Emperors Decius, Gallus, and Valerian. He came from the land of Anatolia. While he was serving Decius, he and his men came across a horde of Scythians who confronted the borders of the Empire. It was here that an angel revealed himself to Mercurios and prophesied that Mercurios would be put to great tests, but that if he accepted the sword the angel gave him and put his trust in the Lord, victory over the barbarians would be granted unto the holy one. Wielding the sword the angel had given unto him, Mercurios went into battle and began to penetrate deeply into the Scythian lines until he reached their general Regas. Reaching him, the two began to fight in single combat and Mercurios bested Regas causing the Scythians to flee.

Following this victory, the Emperor Decius lavished upon Mercurios great praises, exalting him to become commander-in-chief of the Roman armies, making his name known throughout the lands. Mercurios would sit in the palace alongside the Emperor. But it was in this earthly glory, that the angel returned to him reminding him of the eternal glory he was neglecting. This palace was temporary, yet Mercurios found himself basking in it, neglecting even his eternal virtue. Mercurios needed to remember the promise he gave unto the Lord. After this, Mercurios wept bitterly remembering the words of the angel and what he had promised, and the eternal glory he had been forsaking. He then began to come up with different pretexts to avoid meeting with the Emperor and avoid the praises that the Emperor wished to heap upon him. He was soon accused of insubordination by Catallus who hated Mercurios with a vengeance and wanted to take his place as commander-in-chief.

The Emperor summoned Mercurios and questioned why Mercurios would fail to render thanksgiving to the gods for his victory over the barbarians. Mercurios revealed that it was not the gods of the Emperor who gave him victory, but it was Christ who had given him victory over the barbarians. Mercurios stripped himself of all of his military equipment and decorations and presented himself as naked to the Emperor. The Emperor became hostile toward Mercurios and threw him into prison. Mercurios proclaimed, "I shall combat thee and conquer thy great power, that I might receive from my Master Christ the crown of victory." The Emperor subjected Mercurios to being suspended with ropes over a lit brazier with soldiers rending asunder his flesh with knives. After much torture, Mercurios was so wounded he couldn't even walk to the prison cells. The Emperor's soldiers had to carry his body. The next day, Mercurios showed to the Emperor healed and well-nourished, an angel having visited him in the night. When the Emperor queried, Mercurios revealed that he had been healed by Christ. After many tortures endured, the Emperor, desiring to carry out the rest of the issue swiftly, sentenced Mercurios to be decapitated. Mercurios was crowned with heavenly glory on November 25 at the age of twenty-five. When his relics were discovered, there was an ineffable fragrance of myrrh and incense which emanated from them.

Over one hundred years later, St. Basil the Great, living under Julian the Apostate, had received word that the armies of the Emperor would be returning from their campaigns in Persia soon. He and his congregation gathered together on a mountain in Caesarea where the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos was. St. Basil saw in a vision a Woman enthroned with great glory who commanded him to call upon the intercession of St. Mercurios to slay the enemy of her Son. St. Basil obeyed the Theotokos and called upon the intercession of the Great Martyr. He descended to the mountain and arrived at the Church of the Holy Martyr Mercurios where the relics of this martyr lay, but could not find the relics or the weapons that this holy martyr had used in his life. He questioned the sacristan but the sacristan knew nothing. He then discovered on the night he had visited the relics, June 26, 363 A.D., the ungodly Emperor Julian the Apostate, had been slain while fleeing from the Persians. Julian's death remains a mystery to many who are worldly people, but not to Christians. St. Mercurios, pray for us!

The Greek Fathers

Let heathen sing thy heathen praise

Fall'n Greece! the thought of holier days

    In my sad heart abides;

For sons of thine Truth's first hour

Were tongues and weapons of His power,

Born of the Spirit's fiery shower,

    Our fathers and our guides.

All thine is Clement's varied page?

And Dionysius, ruler sage,

    In days of doubt and pain;

And Origen with eagle eye;

And saintly Basil's purpose high,

To smite imperial heresy

    And cleanse the Altar's stain.

From thee the glorious preacher came,

With soul of zeal and lips of flame,

    A court's stern martyr-guest;

And thine, O inexhaustive race!

Was Nazianzen's heaven-taught grace;

And royal-hearted Athanase,

    With Paul's own mantel blessed.

St. John Henry Newman

St. John Henry Newman shows his theological and historical depth of knowledge in a stream of beauty in his poetry. This one, called "The Greek Fathers", shows the flow of the early Church fathers through the Greek Church. He starts with a lament over the Fall of Constantinople, as the heathen Saracens cheer its downfall, "let the heathen sing thy heathen praise / fall'n Greece..." and then steps back in time to when Greece was Christian. The Greece he refers to is not Ancient Greece of the Platonists nor is it the Macedonian Empire. The Greece he refers to is none other than the Eastern Roman Empire. The Eastern Roman Empire would commonly be called the Greek Empire after the coronation of Charlemagne. After the Fall of Constantinople, Christianity would remain suppressed under Ottoman rule. There was a decline in the intellectual tradition of the Eastern Church. It is this that St. John Henry Newman reflects on. St. Clement of Alexandria, the founder of the Alexandrian school, St. Dionysius whose theological treatises have become influential in the Christian Neo-Platonic thought, Origen who continued the school of Alexandria and influenced an allegorical method of understanding Scriptures. Basil wrote to an imperial officer, the preacher, St. John Chrysostom, was excommunicated by a council formed by an Empress, St. Gregory the Theologian is who is referred to by Nazianzen, he is one of three to be given that epithet, and Athanase, St. Athanasius, who was chased away from his home but declared himself to be against the world.

Yes, let us praise the Greek fathers!

St. Elizabeth, Landgravine of Hungary

St. Elizabeth, the Landgravine of Hungary, is an exceptionally holy and pious example of Christian charity in the Church that the Middle Ages has produced. She also possessed a holy and childlike faith and devotion in all her life to Our Lord Jesus Christ. She was born to the pious King Andrew II who was renowned as King of Hungary for fighting back infidels, and his wife Queen Gertrude, the sister of the High Duchess St. Hedwig of Silesia, another charitable influence on the life of the young Landgravine. Herman, the Landgrave of Thuringia and Hesse at the time, was promised by the king that his son Lewis would be given in marriage to the daughter of the king. This promise was fulfilled, and from a very young age, she would be sent to live with the Landgrave, until she was old enough to marry.

She was always devoted to God and had her heart set on attaining the holiness of Our Lord and nothing else. She was devoted to her guardian angel and to St. John the Evangelist especially. At one point, she took the coronet off her head as she entered into the House of God. The Landgravine Sophia and her daughter Agnes inquired of the Princess why she did such an act, to which the young Elizabeth replied that she could not bear the weight of such jewels on her head while she beheld her Lord with a Crown of Thorns on His own head. Her acts of devotion earned her the ill-treatment of the Landgravine and Agnes who became her primary caretakers not long after she was given over the Landgrave Hermann. For Hermann had reposed when Elizabeth was just nine years of age and the widowed Landgravine became regent for her younger son Lewis, whom Elizabeth would soon marry. The courtiers would also bear hostility toward the young Elizabeth. It was through these trials that the saint would learn the rejection of worldly love and affairs and see that the only thing that mattered was her Lord. She would regularly pray,

O sovereign spouse of my soul, never suffer me to love any thing but in Thee, or for Thee. May every thing which tends not to Thee, be bitter and painful, and Thy will alone sweet. May Thy will be always mine: as in heaven Thy will is punctually performed, so may it be done on earth by all creatures, particularly in me and by me. And as love requires a union, and entire resignation of all things into the hands of the beloved, I give up my whole self to thee without reserve. In my heart I renounce all riches and pomp: if I had many worlds I would leave them all to adhere to Thee alone in poverty and nakedness of spirit, as Thou madest Thyself poor for me. O Spouse of my heart, so great is the love I bear Thee, and holy poverty for thy sake, that with joy I leave all that I am, that I may be transformed into Thee and that abandoned state so amiable to Thee.

Once, when Elizabeth went out in public, richly adorned and crowned, met a crowd of poor people. Having already given to them all her silver, a poor man walked up to her. She gave to him her embroidered glove. A young cavalier who was following the crowd bought the glove from the beggar and attached it to his helmet for Divine protection. He never ceased to go into battle without the glove. He would be triumphant in all battles and tournaments he faced and he fought in the Crusades. He attributed his victories to the saint. And it was not only in gifts of money that the saint would bestow. She would also serve them in holy acts. Once, when serving a group of impoverished people, she went out to gather meat, bread, and eggs. When her husband came out to meet her, he asked what it was she was carrying. She opened her arms to reveal a bundle of flowers and roses. He was about to caress her when he saw a cross appear above her head. He took one of the flowers from her, which he kept throughout his life and went on his way. When she returned to her friends, the flowers had gone back to the form of meat, bread, and eggs. Once, when she found a poor boy who was suffering from leprosy, she washed him and brought him back to her home. The Landgravine Sophia, who had detested Elizabeth for her charitable acts, exclaimed to Lewis, "See what she has done now! ... She has put one in your bed and you will catch the leprosy!" But when Lewis pulled back the curtain, it was revealed that in the bed was the Savior, and he never allowed Elizabeth to be opposed in her acts of charity ever again.

When she turned fourteen, the young Lewis would return from his education and though he would not think of her much, when the question was put in regards to marrying her, the one thing he considered most of value was her virtue. He expressed much displeasure to the way the saint was treated and more than honored, but also promoted her virtuous acts. He also was inspired to much virtue by the saint himself. As a gift, he sent her a glass garnished with precious stones of incredible value, on one side an image of the Crucified Christ, and the other a looking glass. The wedding was performed with utmost pomp and extraordinary public rejoicings by a holy man, Conrad of Marpurg. This Conrad became the saint's confessor and encouraged her in her acts of virtue. Conrad was further approved by Lewis and he submitted to Conrad as his confessor too. Both Lewis and Elizabeth joined themselves together in their charitable acts of giving. If she wasn't praying or reading, she was performing acts of charity, spinning, or cording wool, of which she would distribute to the poor. She strove to make prayer a continual act. And she never ate but what came out of her own kitchen.

In 1221, the Order of St. Francis was founded in Germany and the young Landgravine gave them utmost support. In 1222, Lewis and Elizabeth paid her father a visit and attended his second marriage to Yolande de Courtenay, daughter of the Emperor of Constantinople. In 1223, Elizabeth gave birth to her first child, Hermann. Elizabeth bore Lewis three children. Hermann, Sophia, and Gertrude. In 1225, a severe famine broke out in Germany while Lewis was visiting with the Emperor Frederick II. Elizabeth had exhausted the entire treasury to assist the poor and hungry during this time and the nobles were sharply critical of what she had done. They brought their accusations of her to her husband. But once more, he supported her, acknowledging that God would enrich them with divine blessings for the charity that they had done for the poor. But soon after this event, Lewis would be called out of his piety to fight in the Crusades for the Emperor Frederick II. The separation was a great trial for the two lovers but they bore all things in holiness. On his way to fight in the Crusades however, the Landgrave became ill with a fever and he died in Otranto. Elizabeth had just given birth to her youngest daughter Gertrude when the news of his repose reached her. She put on the dress of a widow and declared, "If my husband be dead, I promise to die henceforth to myself, and to the world with all its vanities."

And God would grant this request to her through the suffering which would soon befall her. For the Landgrave's brother treated his widowed sister-in-law with bitter contempt. It was said she squandered the public revenue to the poor and that her son Hermann was unfit for the government of the state. Elizabeth was forced out of the palace and made to stay in an inn with her maidens. But she nevertheless rejoiced in this newfound poverty that she had acquired. She would attend the Matins of the Franciscan friars the next day, and finding no one to take her in afterwards, stayed at the Church. She eventually was reunited with her children while there. And yet, reduced to poverty, she cried out in worship:

Ah. my Lord and my God, may Thou be all mine, and I all Thine. What is this, my God and my love? Thou all mine and I all Thine. Let me love Thee, my God, above all things, and let me not love myself but for Thee, and all other things in Thee Let me love Thee, with all my soul, with all my memory.

This bitter poverty the princess found herself in at only the age of 20 would not last long. For the nobility and her family were incensed at the outrage that had taken place and demanded justice for the widow and her children. Her aunt Matilda, the Abbess of the Kitzingen Monastery, invited her in. And the Bishop of Bamberg provided her a house near his palace. The Emperor Frederick II, seeing how young she was and having lost his own wife, proposed marriage to her. But the maiden desired to fulfill the rest of her days in chastity. The remains of her husband were brought back to Bamberg for a funeral procession where she thanked God for having received him into His eternal tabernacles. The remains were then brought back to Thuringia and laid to rest. The chief barons demanded that Henry restore her dower and all the rights of her widowhood. Though she chose to renounce the government, allowing Henry to serve as regent for her son while she took the habit of a Third Order Franciscan. Henry gave to her the land Marpurg begrudgingly asserting that if she held all of Germany, it would be given to the poor. She stayed the remainder of her days with her confessor Conrad who forbade her to give up the remaining disposal of her revenues. She converted the remainder of her dower to the use of the poor.

She was now separated from her children. Hermann was the Landgrave of Hungary, his uncle Henry the regent. Her daughter Sophia was pledged in marriage to the Duke of Brabant. Her daughter Gertrude would be the Abbess of the Aldemburg monastery. Her father attempted to encourage her to reclaim her royal titles, but she refused, preferring the state of voluntary poverty to the riches of the world. Conrad began to treat her harshly so that she would not be inclined to think of her past life and always be in remembrance of the new vows she had taken up. He ordered her not to give so much to the poor and not to provide so much for the sick and when she would disobey, he treated her with blows. He further took away her maids Ysentrude and Guda, lest her conversation with them remind them of her past life and replaced them with ill-tempered women. This was to teach Elizabeth the importance of obedience to her new spiritual director and confessor.

One day, a boy, both deaf and dumb, came to the saint. She inquired of him what ailed him. He did not answer. Not knowing why, she presumed an evil spirit had possessed him and said, "In the name of the Lord Jesus, I command you to answer me." At this point, the boy was able to speak. Hearing of this miracle, many brought their sick to the saintly woman for healing. She beheld a vision not long before her death which she would relate to Conrad. A voice had proclaimed to her, "Come, Elizabeth, come with me into the tabernacle I have prepared for thee from all eternity." On the fourth day, she fell ill with a violent fever which last for several days. Though Conrad had also been battling a recent illness, he was able to recover just enough to visit her one last time. The saint gave her last confession and gave up her soul on November 19, 1231. She was brought to the Church of St. Francis where she had often visited. She was laid to rest in Marpurg.

Her confessor Conrad and her brother-in-law Duke Conrad begged Pope Gregory IX to canonize her. The Pope did so on May 26, 1235. On May 1, 1236, people from all over came to do homage to the saint and two altars were erected to her. Frederick II took up the first stone of her grave and placed upon it a rich crown of gold. Her daughters Sophia and Gertrude took part in these ceremonies. Her son Hermann desired to be buried next to his mother. The Landgrave Henry, fearing the miracles that Elizabeth had performed, was afraid that the proximity to her body would raise her son back to life if he was laid next to her. He sought to have Hermann buried next to his father Lewis in Reinhartsbrunn. The Landgravine's widowed daughter Sophia, the Landgravine of Brabant, sought to claim the inheritance of Hermann for her son, and she succeeded in gaining him Hesse. Portions of her relics are kept in the Church of the Carmelites at Brussels; another portion at the Church of La Roche-Guyon upon the Seine; and a significant portion in the electoral treasury of Hanover.

Sources:

Agnes B.C. Dunbar, A Dictionary of Saintly Women

St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Widow

St. Elizabeth of Hungary, pray for me, and may you send your guardian angel to assist my own angel!

The beautiful rosary

I learned the rosary from an Anglo-Catholic priest. He knew the history of the rosary quite well and never prayed the luminous mysteries. I don't have any judgment toward those who do, but for me, the rosary will always be prayed with the full 150 Hail Mary's to remember the 150 Psalms. I wrote this on an old blog of mine back in 2016.

I wanted to write this for people unfamiliar with the rosary. It is a very beautiful devotion though often misunderstood. The rosary is quite a scriptural prayer and takes on the prophetic narrative of the 150 Psalms and how they are fulfilled in the Gospel. For instance, Mary’s intercession on behalf of sinners is seen in John 2:1-12. She stands at the side of the King (Psalm 45:1-9) and is always present in his life. One needs to become acquainted with the Psalms though to see how Mary is prophetically seen alongside her son in his mission but this is why the rosary has three sets of mysteries. The joyful, sorrowful, and luminous mysteries. Not only do they recount the prophetic detail of the Psalms but also the prophetic detail of Mary’s participation in Jesus’s life. What initially started as 150 Psalms became 150 Our Father’s and then 150 Hail Mary’s.

So here is the basics on how to pray the rosary.

Start with the crucifix saying the Apostle’s Creed–

I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

Next, pray the Our Father holding the next bead–

Our Father, Who is in heaven, Holy is Your Name; Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

On the next three beads, three Hail Mary’s–

Hail Mary, full of grace. Our Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

On the next bead, pray the Glory Be and optional Fatima prayer–

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

O my Jesus, forgive us of our sins. Save us from the fires of Hell. Especially those in most need of your mercy. Amen.

Then begins the first Our Father introducing the first decade. An Our Father introduces the decade, and then the mystery is announced. Normally, information on the rosary does not specify the mystery, however, for our purposes, we will identify each one as I am most interested in explaining a full rosary which will give the 150 Hail Mary’s reflecting on the prophetic message of the Psalms.

After saying the Our Father, the joyful mysteries are begun. They start with the Annunciation. This is announced followed by 10 Hail Mary’s. Afterward, a Glory Be and optional Fatima prayer and whatever intercessions desired are made.

Then another Our Father and the Visitation of Mary’s to Elizabeth is the next joyful mystery. This is announced followed by 10 Hail Mary’s. Afterward, a Glory Be and optional Fatima prayer and whatever intercessions desired are made.

Then another Our Father and the next mystery is the Nativity. This is announced followed by 10 Hail Mary’s. Afterward, a Glory Be and optional Fatima prayer and whatever intercessions desired are made.

Then another Our Father and the next mystery is the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. This is announced followed by 10 Hail Mary’s. Afterward, a Glory Be and optional Fatima prayer and whatever intercessions desired are made.

Then another Our Father and the next mystery is the Finding of Jesus in the Temple. This is announced followed by 10 Hail Mary’s. Afterward, a Glory Be and optional Fatima prayer and whatever intercessions desired are made. This concludes the joyful mysteries. The sorrowful mysteries are then transferred to as you pick up normally.

An Our Father is said and the first sorrowful mystery is the Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. This is announced followed by 10 Hail Mary’s. Afterward, a Glory Be and optional Fatima prayer and whatever intercessions desired are made.

Then another Our Father and the next mystery is the Scourging at the Pillar. This is announced followed by 10 Hail Mary’s. Afterward, a Glory Be and optional Fatima prayer and whatever intercessions desired are made.

Then another Our Father and the next mystery is the Crowning with Thorns. This is announced followed by 10 Hail Mary’s. Afterward, a Glory Be and optional Fatima prayer and whatever intercessions desired are made.

Then another Our Father and the next mystery is the Carrying of the Cross. This is announced followed by 10 Hail Mary’s. Afterward, a Glory Be and optional Fatima prayer and whatever intercessions desired are made.

Then another Our Father and the final sorrowful mystery is the Crucifixion. This is announced followed by 10 Hail Mary’s. Afterward, a Glory Be and optional Fatima prayer and whatever intercessions desired are made.

This concludes the sorrowful mysteries as the glorious mysteries are next transitioned to which complete the prophetic nature of the Psalms. If we go to Hebrews 1:1-12, we see many Psalms are fulfilled in the resurrection. In addition, St Peter cites numerous Psalms, specifically Psalm 110:1 in Acts 2 related to the resurrection. There are three glorious mysteries which refer to our own resurrection–the resurrection of Christ which we are to become incorporated into, the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost in which our baptism is a major part and we are joined to Christ’s resurrection in baptism (Rom. 6:3-4), and the Assumption of Mary which reveals Mary’s own resurrection from the grave to be foreshadowing of our own resurrection.

An Our Father is said as the glorious mysteries are announced. The first of which is the Resurrection of Christ. This is announced followed by 10 Hail Mary’s. Afterward, a Glory Be and optional Fatima prayer and whatever intercessions desired are made.

Another Our Father is said. The next mystery is the Ascension of Christ into Heaven. This is announced followed by 10 Hail Mary’s. Afterward, a Glory Be and optional Fatima prayer and whatever intercessions desired are made.

Then an Our Father is said and the next mystery is the Descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. This is announced followed by 10 Hail Mary’s. Afterward, a Glory Be and optional Fatima prayer and whatever intercessions desired are made.

Then an Our Father is said and the next mystery is the Assumption of Mary. This is announced followed by 10 Hail Mary’s. Afterward, a Glory Be and optional Fatima prayer and whatever intercessions desired are made.

Then an Our Father is said and the last glorious mystery is the Coronation of the Ever-Virgin. This is announced followed by 10 Hail Mary’s. Afterward, a Glory Be and optional Fatima prayer and whatever intercessions desired are made. There is one more prayer–the Hail Holy Queen.

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy, hail, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve: to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus, O merciful, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Amen.

This concludes the rosary.

The escape from Egypt

During the Fast of St. Phillip, Byzantine Christians pray regularly the service of the Paraklesis. A series of prayers offered to the Theotokos with intentions for our fellow Christian men.* In the course of these prayers, one theme strikes me. Ode 1 reads, "Crossing the waters on dry land, in that way escaping, from the evils of Egypt's land, the Israelites cried out exclaiming: To our Redeemer and God, let us now sing!" We see an historic reference here to the flight of the Israelites from Egypt, but we also tend to forget that there is also a spiritual element to the texts as well. Of course, we see the obvious historical reference. In the sacred history, Israel is subjected to the slavery of Egypt, Moses is chosen by God to deliver the Israelites from Pharaoh's hands, and God unleashes severe plagues on Egypt. It is easy to see the historic meaning and neglect other meanings. But as the Archimandrite told me a year and a half ago, the Scripture are not only shallow enough for an infant to wade in, they are also deep enough for an elephant to drown in!

It is largely in our prayers that we see the spiritual elements at play. In the Psalms, when King David speaks of Babylon, it often refers to a metaphorical place of spiritual captivity. Babylon had not increased in power when King David was alive. Yet King David speaks of a captivity as if it happened or was happening in his days. There is simultaneously prophecy and metaphorical reflection on our own spiritual captivity to the Devil in the Psalms. I will write more on those at another time. In the prophesies of Isaiah and Ezekiel, there are two instances where the Prophets cease speaking of the earthly Kings and refer to the Fall of Lucifer from Heaven. When Isaiah speaks of the King of Babylon and when Ezekiel speaks of the King of Tyre. There may be a typographical imaging in the Kings of Babylon and Tyre respectively that correlate to the Devil's rebellion against God, but the texts are primarily speaking of a spiritual being that has rebelled against God's order.

No truer is this than when we gather to pray the service of the Small Supplicatory Canon to the Theotokos known as the Paraklesis. For when we are confronted with the Israelites being led out of Egypt, we are next confronted with the praise of the Theotokos:

"Most Holy Theotokos save us. With many temptations surrounding me, searching for salvation, I have hastened to you; O Mother of the Word and Ever-Virgin, from all distresses and dangers deliver me."

In the East, the concept of sin is one of our own spiritual captivity. How much more fitting to begin this forty day fast with the realization that the Israel crying out to sing praise to the Theotokos is in fact the very Israel of today! Certain teachers have claimed that Israel still exists as a distinct country in the Scriptures or is of the Jewish inheritance still but those teachers have failed to see in Scriptures that a new Israel has emerged. When Jesus came into the world, He came into a world that was held hostage to sin and the Devil. He came to oust the Devil's rule from this world and release the captives from Hades. This is what St. Peter reflects on. It is why St. Peter compares the waters of regeneration in baptism to the flight of Israel from Egypt. The Israel of the Old Testament was the prefigurement of the Israel of the New Testament. What these teachers miss in their delusion is that the material Israel was under the old agreement. There now reigns a new agreement. The world that is Israel is now seen fulfilled in the Church. So together with the Israelites, we too celebrate our freedom from Egypt, even as we begin a new forty year wandering, which for us is forty days of fasting until the Nativity Feast.

"Assaults of the passions have shaken me, my soul to its limits, has been filled with much despair, bring peace O Maiden, in the calmness, Of your own Son and your God all-blameless One."

Free us from the hand of spiritual Egypt. Free us from the bondage which sin holds to our souls. Free us from the chains of imprisonment, this spiritual slavery we find ourselves in under the Devil. Be with us during these next forty days of wandering. Without the understanding that the Church is Israel, the New Covenant (Testament) becomes almost meaningless. The prayer life of the Church becomes almost void. We are marching forward, away from Egypt, on toward our Hope, on toward the Lord, led by His Holy Light in the Theotokos. She is the bush that did not burn for she held Him Who is Above All in her womb. She is the Ladder that leads Jacob to Heaven. She is the Ark of the Covenant which we now carry with us. "To God and the Savior, you've given birth; I ask you, O Virgin, from the dangers deliver me!"

To the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit be the glory, unto ages and ages, Amen!

*I offered two of my friends names this year, both of whom have difficult job situations and one has been through many of the spiritual challenges I have been through.

Emperor Justinian

The Holy Emperor Justinian the Great was a military commander for his uncle Justin I before his elevation to the throne. It was toward the end of Justin I's reign that the two began a co-reign as uncle and nephew for the former's health was beginning to deteriorate. Justinian would begin this co-regnancy with his uncle in the year 527 A.D. and later that year, his uncle would repose. Justinian would become the sole monarch of the entire Roman Empire. The Roman Empire was beginning to deteriorate. The barbarians had overrun the West and all that was left was in the East. Yet that was about to change. According to the historian Otto of Freising,

"In the five hundred and twenty-seventh year from the incarnation of the Lord, Justinian, the fifty-first in line from Augustus, obtained the imperial power while the sons of Clovis were still  reigning in Francia. This most zealous and Christian monarch resurrected his domain, as it were, from the dead. The state, which had been in large part overthrown, he reestablished and among other brave and valiant deeds triumphed gloriously, through Patrician Belisarius, over the Persians who had invaded the Roman territories. The laws published before his time had been put together in loose fashion with semblance of order. Justinian made a compendium of all these laws. This he reduced to order and published in a single volume, a volume which to this day is called after Justinian the Leges Justinianae. He adorned the Church of God also with many beautiful basilicas throughout the length and breadth of his domain: among others was one in the Royal City, a basilica preeminent for its material workmanship, in honor of wisdom divine, called by the Greeks Sophia. He also caused the king of the Heruli, Grates by name, who came to him at Constantinople, to be baptized at the festival of the Epiphany of the Lord. At that time also Garda, king of the Huns, and a certain widow woman of the Huns with a hundred thousand of their race are said to have accepted the faith and to have received the sacrament of baptism." (The Two Cities, Bk. 5.4)

Justinian was a Serb by birth according to St. Nikolai Velimirovic. There was much work to do for the Roman Empire when Justinian took charge. He began to complete the bathhouses throughout the Empire and he also contributed significantly to the construction and architecture. His most notable contribution to the architecture of the Roman Empire was Hagia Sophia Cathedral. Hagia Sophia, initially built as a Cathedral, flipped allegiances after the first millennium different times before finally falling into the hands of the Turks. It had been a Cathedral for the Greeks who had opposed communion with the Roman Bishop, it had been a Cathedral for the first Uniates, and back and forth. According to Met. Kallistos Ware, the last joint-service between the Latin Crusaders and the Greek Church occurred in Hagia Sophia before the Turks captured Constantinople in 1453 A.D. and turned it into a mosque. Hagia Sophia was a museum up until 2020 when it was converted back into a mosque. There is a tradition in the Hagiography of St. Demetrios that Justinian wanted to have relics of the Great Martyr brought back to Hagia Sophia. So he sent soldiers to the tomb of the saint, yet when they started digging, they were halted by a fire. The saint appeared, condemning the soldiers for their actions but allowed them to take some of the dirt back to Constantinople for the Emperor. The Emperor was told this story and placed the dirt from the tomb of St. Demetrios in the Hagia Sophia Cathedral.

The Emperor would also marry out of love his consort Theodora. Theodora was an actress, which in Roman culture, and in Christian culture, was one of the lowest of the professions. It certainly was not economically successful and was a largely frowned upon profession. Yet Justinian's love for his consort was genuine and the two would marry. Justinian was greatly influenced by her and her role in the Nica Revolts would save him the throne. She has been falsely tarnished as a Monophysite heretic, especially regarding her role in the Council of Constantinople. Though the Empress would not live to see the Council, she would be involved deeply with Justinian's arguments regarding the Three Chapters with Pope Vigilius. The West for some time disregarded the Council of Constantinople though its fruits are now evident in the entire Christian world. The Council would denounce the Nestorian leanings of Ibas of Edessa, Theodoret, and Theodore of Mopsuestia. When Theodora would repose in 548, presumably of cancer, the Emperor would regularly light a candle in remembrance of her.

The Emperor also began liberation campaigns in various regions of Africa and Western Europe for Christians who were persecuted by the Arian heretics. Seeking peace first, the Emperor had actually converted many Huns to Christianity from their Arian heresies, he would eventually be forced to exercise war. These former regions once held by a Christian Empire under Constantine could not tolerate being given up to Pagans and Heretics once again. He launched a military campaign in Africa against the Vandals through his Patrician Belisarius and then went into Spain and Italy seizing more land from the Goths and the Vandals. He would form an alliance with the Frankish Kings Childebert, Lothar, and Theudebert. Though Theudebert wanted sole control of Italy so he appointed his general Buccelin to combat Belisarius. Buccelin would achieve many victories against the formidable Patrician forcing Justinian to demote his Patrician and appoint Narses in his place. Narses at first was driven back but when Buccelin was killed in battle, Narses would be able to regain full control of Italy for the Emperor. This control began in 555 A.D. and would last until 565 A.D. when the Emperor reposed.

"The same emperor also built within the city of Constantinople to Christ our Lord, who is the wisdom of God the Father, a church which he called by the Greek name 'Hagia Sophia,' that is, 'Divine Wisdom.' The workmanship of this so far excels that of all other buildings that in all the regions of the earth its like cannot be found. This emperor in fact was Catholic in his faith, upright in his deeds, just in his judgments, and therefore, to him all things came together for good. In his time Cassiodorus was renowned in the city of Rome for knowledge both human and divine. Among other things which he nobly wrote, he expounded particularly in a most powerful way the obscure parts of the Psalms. He was in the first place a consul, then a senator, and at last a monk." (Paul the Deacon, History of the Langobards, Bk. 1.XXV)

The Justianianic Code, which establishes the principles of equality under the law and the presumption of innocence, forms the basis of many of the legal codes today. It had tremendous influence on Napoleon Bonaparte who included many of its principles in his own Napoleonic Code. The legal legacy of Justinian the Great is so tremendous that if one walks into the Halls of U.S. Congress, they will see, in the House of Representatives, images of the great influencers and legal thinkers of American law. Among these are Pope Innocent III, Louis IX, and Justinian the Great. Justinian is considered the founder of Roman law though what he really did was right Roman law down into written format, giving it a more explicitly Christian emphasis.

Justinian practiced this law and governed as was due. During the Nika riots, of which the Blue faction of the chariot fanatics would often persecute relentlessly other factions, burning their homes down, murdering, and looting. Justinian did not lean himself in the governance to be in favor of one faction over another despite whatever perceived leanings he had toward the chariot factions. He ministered due justice, putting to death whoever caused harm, even if it was the Blue faction that he may have been sympathetic toward (Evagrius Scholasticus, Ecclesiastical History, Bk. 4, ch. XXXII). According to John Malalas, Justinian would cut the genitals off of clerics who practiced pederasty causing the deaths of many priests caught in pederasty (Chronicle, Bk. 18.18) and he ended the Gothic wood and oil taxes (Bk. 18.20). The Empress Theodora, his consort, also punished severely brothel keepers (Bk. 18.24).

In addition to his theological contributions at the Council of Constantinople which led to the further decimation of the Nestorian heresy, he also combated the Monophysite heresy in Byzantium and contributed to the Divine Liturgy by writing the Hymn "Only Begotten". He also established as Patriarch of Constantinople, St. Eutychius and his successor St. Menas. Toward the end of his life, Justinian was taken over by an evil spirit, much like the Pious King David, and began to oppose the Patriarch he had appointed, teaching the error of Theopassianism which asserted that the Divine Nature experienced suffering and died. This error was rebuked at the Council of Chalcedon. Justinian would be rebuked for this error but before he could do further damage to the Church, he came to repentance and reposed.

Justinian was always accessible to his people and would allow them to visit his courts frequently. He was a great rebuilder of the Roman Empire and was known as "the Emperor who never sleeps". In his final moments, the light of the Imperial Palace in Constantinople was still on. He is forever immortalized in Western Culture, but even more importantly, he is immortalized in the Church as a Pious Emperor who died in the Holy Faith of Orthodox Catholicism. He entered into eternity in the year 565, having reigned for 38 years as Emperor of the Romans. St. Justinian the Great, pray for us sinners!

Empress Theodora, Wife of Justinian

Perhaps the one thing that the Empress Theodora was known for is the misconceptions that center on her life. However, there is no doubt that through her marriage to the Holy Emperor Justinian, she contributed greatly to the restoration of the Roman Empire. Justinian himself was greatly influenced by her his marriage was one of love, not of political advantageousness. Most Emperors would indeed prefer the most prominent woman of all to marry, but Justinian married Theodora, a daughter of a bear-keeper and a professional actress. Both the career of bear-keeper and actress were not only frowned upon in Roman culture, they were seen as the lowest ends of the political spectrum, a sign of worthlessness, often times a sign of immorality. But Justinian was interested in love, not prominence, and he married this lowly woman Theodora who was brought up to the highest of heights, not only in the Roman Empire but in the Heavenly Courts also.

Procopius is well known for his Secret History which is riddled with gossip and lies. Though his works On Buildings and History of the Wars show high praise and exaltation for the Emperor and Empress, he decided to gossip about them in this Secret History. In this, he sensationalizes, especially about the Empress, making her out to be a prostitute and a scandal-ridden Empress. It is unclear why he writes so positively about Justinian in two other works but decides to chide the Emperor and his consort in this work. Most historians have deemed this work too sensationalist to be believed with any sincerity, almost satirical rather than historical, and have dismissed much of the work as a product of pseudo-history. Further, the Church has never confronted this as a problem within the lives of either the Emperor or his consort which would be evident if the Secret History were to actually be credible.

Theodora may have also first heard of the faith from a group of Monophysites who held the heresy that Jesus had one nature which was mixed of divine and human, but not two. She may have first learned of the faith from these Monophysites, but whether or not she actually affirmed or understood the teaching is unclear. A further claim to this accusation is her support of Justinian in the Three Chapters controversy. However, as we have already discussed, the Three Chapters contained severe Nestorian errors and were formally condemned at the Council of Constantinople in 553 A.D. There is no doubt that her theological leanings influenced Justinian greatly on this topic, however her concern was not the spread of Eutychianism but the spread of Orthodoxy and the condemnation of Nestorianism. She certainly did intend to establish unity between the Monophysites and the Chalcedonians, but in this, she leaned more toward the Chalcedonians. Justinian's stumbling into Monophysitism under the form of Theopassianism later on in his life should not be attributed to her influence but rather to a demonic spirit which came over him as was King David overcome by a demonic spirit.

Early on in his reign, Justinian fell into serious trouble and was about to be dethroned. This was during the Nika Riots of 532 A.D. The rioting mob had already burned the central part of the city and elected a rival Imperial-usurper named Hypatios. Justinian, just five years into his reign as Emperor of the Romans, was considering the abandonment of Constantinople but the Holy Empress spoke to him saying,

Every man born to see the light of day must die. But the one who has been emperor should become an exile I cannot bear. May I never be without the purple I wear, nor live to see the day when men do not call me 'Your Majesty.' If you wish safety, my Lord, that is an easy matter. We are rich, and there is the sea, and yonder our ships. But consider whether if you reach safety you may not desire to exchange that safety for death. As for me, I like the old saying, that the purple is the noblest shroud.

Justinian changed his mind at this point and he would subdue the rioters and have them put to death for their treason.

As recorded by John Malalas, the Empress possessed a heart for the women who were sold into prostitution as sex slaves and sought to reform the laws to punish the brothel-keepers and the pimps (Chronicle, Bk. 18.24). Procopius also records this in On the Buildings, how the Empress and the Emperor banished the very name brothel-keeper and set the women free who were held by these wicked men as slaves to every form of licentiousness and provided them with care. She also built a monastery for these women as a safe-house for them. The Right-Believing Queen Tamara of Georgia would emulate her virtue in contributing to the growth of the Church, the building of monasteries, and the care for the poor.

The Empress reposed, perhaps of cancer, on June 28, 548 A.D. and is commemorated in the Greek calendar on November 15 with Justinian and in the Slavonic calendar on November 14 with Justinian. In the Oriental Orthodox Church, she is commemorated on June 28. Amongst the Eastern Catholics, she is commemorated on November 14 according to those following the Slavonic calendar and on November 15 according to those following the Greek calendar and on June 28 among those following Oriental rites. Justinian the Great would light candles for her by the gate of the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople (Theodora: Actress, Empress, Saint, 1).

See also:

Theodora: Actress, Empress, Saint by David Potter

Pious Kings and Right-Believing Queens, by Protopresbyter James Thornton

St. Josaphat Kunsevich

Since the Photian schism, the Greek Church and the Latin Church have made numerous attempts at full reconciliation with one another. Though some of these were resolved within the time of the crisis, others were not. One of the constant arguments against full unification with the Latins that the Greeks have held was over the issue of the filioque. The filioque was added to the Nicene Creed in the West in order initially to suppress Arian views on the nature of the Trinity and to re-emphasize the deity of Christ by affirming the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son. Whereas in the East, this procession has been affirmed to be from the Father through the Son, but not from both the Father and the Son. This has led to different arguments over the nature of the Trinity in both Eastern and Western theology. Some theologians seem to make a bigger deal out of the issue than most and I am not experienced enough to comment. But the East has often times made villains out of supporters of the filioque in both the West and among its own ranks. One such villain was Michael Palaeologus whose efforts to forcibly compel the East to accept Latinization and acceptance of the filioque ultimately led to his being denied a Christian burial in the Orthodox Church. St. John Doukas III made efforts to harmonize with the Latins but resisted their efforts to impose Latinization. St. Stephen Milutin opposed with force the efforts of Michael Palaeologus. Most notorious was St. Mark of Ephesus who, upon seeing the Council of Florence would not result in the desired compromise, condemned the Latins.

But there persisted a faction in both the Latin Church and the Greek Church which desired unification and acceptance than the division. St. Josaphat Kunsevich led the unification efforts in the early 17th century. Josaphat was baptized into the Ruthenian Orthodox Church and was nothing but a tradesmen when the Union of Brest was signed by a group of Orthodox Christians desiring union with the Catholic Church. These Christians were opposed by the Greeks who believed that the Union of Brest fell short of unification requirements. The Union of Brest sustained and upheld Greek tradition to be a fully legitimate expression of the Catholic faith. It resolved the dispute with the filioque clause by not mandating that the Greeks accept anything regarding the procession that could not be found in Scriptures, essentially making the doctrine a matter of theologoumenon, theological opinion. The issue of Purgatory was also settled as a matter of pious speculative theology, as long as some sort of purgation was affirmed (which the Greeks did in the tradition of Toll Houses), then the opinion was considered orthodox. Finally, it enabled the Greek clergy to stay married, not bounding them to clerical celibacy, and upheld the rite of the Byzantine tradition as a valid liturgical rite.

The converts to the newly established Greek Catholic rite were only required to uphold the supremacy of the jurisdictional authority of the Pope. This was still a problematic issue among the fiercely Orthodox and when Josaphat became the Archbishop of Polotsk in 1618, these tempers flared. Josaphat's father desired him to be a councilman but Josaphat's interests were in religion. Josaphat was deeply religious himself and seeing the unification with Rome, desired to uphold that unity and defend the unification with Rome under the conditions of the Union of Brest. He entered into the Basilian Monastery in Vilna in 1604 and would be ordained to the priesthood in 1609. He would be elevated to the Episcopacy in 1617, being made the Bishop of Vitebsk. Finally, he would be the Archbishop of Polotsk. As Archbishop he pleaded and defended the unification of the Greek Catholics with the Latins.

But he had harsh critics among the Orthodox who rejected the unification. Riots broke out and the Orthodox opponents of unification resorted to mob violence. One such, a priest named Elias, had to be jailed for the trouble he caused. In October of 1623, Josaphat challenged the mobs. He stated, "Some of you people in Vitebsk want to kill me. Well, here I am, I have come here of my own free will. I am your shepherd and I should be happy to give my life for you. If it please God that I should die for unity under the earthly headship of Peter's succession, so be it. I am ready to die for truth." A riot was staged by the followers of the Orthodox priest and Josaphat's residence was broken into. They hacked and beat the bishop and they threw his body into the water. The body was retrieved the following Friday and interred at Baila in Podlesie.

King Sigmund would petition the Pope for the canonization of Josaphat. He would eventually be presented to the reliquary in the Church of St. Sophia. His remains were examined and while they found the vestments to be damaged by the water, the body remained in tact. His face broke out into sweat when it was touched. Though his beard and hair fell away and the vestments disintegrated upon touch, the body was found to be of a white color, soft to touch. In 1650, when the body was exposed yet again, blood flowed from it. It was determined that Josaphat was indeed incorrupt and he would be canonized in 1867 by Pope Leo XIII, the first Eastern Catholic saint to be canonized by the Pope since the unification in 1595-1596. St. Josaphat, pray for the unity of the Church! Amen.

Sources:

The Incorruptibles, Joan Carroll Cruz

"St. Josaphat Kunsevich: Who was St. Josaphat?", St. Josaphat Parish

St. John the Merciful

St. John the Merciful, Patriarch of Alexandria, was born to two wealthy parents, Kosima and Epiphanios, on the island of Cyprus in 555 A.D. Both of his parents were adorned with great virtue and his mother reflected the beauty of her virtue. Always wanting to honor his parents, the saint accepted a marriage that he was forced into by them. Though the saint had no desire for marriage or for child-rearing, he desired to give them the honor that was due to them as his parents. It was not in God's will that the soon-to-be Patriarch should retain the married state and St. John would see the death of his wife and his sons. Shunning wealth, the saint sought a more solitary life as a monastic, but when the Emperor Herakleios seized the throne of Constantinople, the people of Egypt begged for a Patriarch. Herakleios would appoint John to the Patriarchal throne of Constantinople at the people's request, and though not accepting it at first, he soon realized that the Emperor would resort to force if it had been necessary, so he accepted the throne.

The Archbishop would be both generous with the monetary assets of the Church, and he would go about reforming the Egyptian Church to a state of orthodoxy. He threw out the addition of "Who was crucified for us" that Patriarch Peter of Antioch had added to the Trisagion. This was in contrast to the orthodox faith which taught that the Divine Nature of Christ did not suffer death, for indeed, when Christ suffered in His flesh, death could not contain Him and spat Him out. How then could the Divine Nature have suffered death? St. John used the Church's wealth to build up hostels for strangers, lying-in hospitals for women in labor, and even would distribute food and grain during times of famine. He would give to all in proportion to the wealth that was possessed by each and in consideration of their social standing. He would always treat anyone as a child and showed abundant mercy to all who encountered him. When rebuked by others he replied, "If this money were my own which is being given away, perhaps I should sorrow. But since it is the Master's free gift and grace, one must observe the Donor's command and wishes unswervingly without disguise."

St. John had a vision once of a lady who approached him, most beautiful, who identified herself as the first daughter of the great King. This lady, he realized, was almsgiving. When a man approached him for six coins, he gave to him freely. This same man would disguise himself and come back for six coins more. St. John would give to him. Once again, this man came back and his clergy recognized that the man was deceiving the Patriarch. Rebuking them, St. John did not see villainy in the man, but rather saw Christ, and an opportunity to pay back what he owed Christ. He held courts for the poor who were being treated unjustly in Egypt and he sought to make it right for them whenever they had a just cause. He believed that the poor were greater than he for it would be the poor who would be the means by which he would reach Heaven. It would be their prayers that he would seek after. Once, a merchant asked him for assistance when he lost all the cargo on his ship. The merchant would once again lose the cargo and St. John revealed that some of the money was ill-gotten. He gave to the merchant yet again. Once again the merchant lost the cargo. He came to St. John yet again and St. John did give him the ten pounds of gold that he needed. The merchant came upon the British Isles where there was great famine and the merchant provided for the British with the abundance of wheat on board his ship. St. John had also noticed a problem of a famine of the Word of God, the Scriptures, and the Mysteries at the Mareotic Lake near Alexandria. He ordered churches be built for the inhabitants and priests appointed to minister to them. When this merchant arrived in Dekapolis, he had presented the tin to his client. But his client had discovered that the tin was silver. The merchant recognized this as a miracle from the prayers of the Patriarch offered to the God who had turned water into wine. The merchant and his client discovered that all the tin in the cargo he held had turned into silver.

St. John was clairvoyant and knew how his clergy had swindled a poor man whom he had instructed his clergy to present 15 pounds of gold too. They only gave five pounds though and a wealthy widow who had one son presented St. John with a note offering 500 pounds of gold. He explained that had they given the poor man the amount of gold they had been instructed to, this widow would have given them a thousand more. Indeed, the widow was amazed to find that when she had written the note, the word "one thousand" had been miraculously deleted. The governor Niketas then would coerce the Patriarch into giving money from the Church to the Empire. Niketas then found merchants carrying honey and wished to send some of the honey as offering to the Patriarch. When the pots reached the Patriarch, they were miraculously filled with gold. The Patriarch would experience his own losses when 13 ships of his carrying cargo were caught in a storm and in order to save both the crew and the ships, the cargo had to be thrown out into the sea. The Patriarch took this moment as Job did when the latter suffered much losses. A man named Kosmas, hoping to take advantage of the poverty that the Patriarch now found himself in, offered money to the holy Patriarch for the diaconate. Kosmas had been twice married and by canon law, would not be allowed to attain the diaconate. The Patriarch sniffed out the bribe and refused the man's offer.

Once, two priests were caught in fisticuffs with each other and both had to be suspended. One priest repented, but the other did not and had been the one to inspire Niketas to come against the Patriarch. Remembering Our Lord's command to make things right with one's brother before offering the gifts at the altar, the Patriarch sensed something wrong and paused before the gifts was offered. The priest had a stomachache as he began to pray the offertory. So the saint took the priest aside and apologized to the priest for everything and anything he had done wrong. The priest, in awe, then repented of all he had done to the Patriarch and the two were reconciled together.

He would regularly settle conflicts and never let his anger stay while the sun went down. Once, during another dispute with the Patrician Niketas, the Patriarch, realizing things would be unsettled and that night was coming, sent the Patrician a note that the sun was about to go down. Niketas and the Patriarch quickly resolved the matter. He also cautioned his nephew to avoid a dispute with a certain retailer. The Patriarch admired the tradition of another kingdom which presented its new king with four stones to choose from. The stone he chose would go to make his tomb, thus reminding him of his death. The Patriarch always lived with a reminder of his death. Once, the Patriarch was given a blanket by a certain rich ruler as a gift. The Patriarch took it initially but could not sleep knowing how many poor men he could have been feeding with the money that could be attained from selling the quilt. He sold the quilt and used the money to feed the poor. The rich man saw the quilt in the shop and bought it and gave it once again to the Patriarch. And the Patriarch took it and sold it again and distributed the money. This went on for some time and the money that the Patriarch would use, he counted as the rich man's gift, thus aiding the rich man's salvation. His Bishop Troilos was very avaricious toward his wealth and he ordered his Bishop to distribute a gold coin to each poor man until his pocket ran dry. This made Troilos sick. Seeing how sick the Bishop had become, the Patriarch brought to the Bishop the total sum of money that he had ordered to be given. But Troilos must also sign that the deed was done by the Patriarch. Later, the Bishop had a vision that he was in Paradise and saw a room prepared for him but an angel struck his name off the room and replaced it with John. He told the Patriarch what had happened and repented of his avariciousness.

He would recite the tale of a rich man named Peter who found that he would be saved by even the most hostile act of almsgiving and repented of his avariciousness afterwards as an example for people to follow. He was influenced deeply by St. Serapion who sold himself for a widow and thought that he had only given material wealth whereas St. Serapion gave himself. Once, a woman who had converted from Judaism was found with a monk and the monks slandered their brother. The Patriarch had the monk beaten for this but finding out that the monk had been slandered through a revelation, repented of what he had done to the monk and witnessing the monk's humility and honesty in how he had been providing shelter for this former Jewess who had converted to Christianity, was inspired to give even more to the monasteries and he lent more support to the monks afterwards. Especially after it was revealed how the Abba Vitalios would secretly lead the harlots away from their sinful lives, St. John refused to make any rash judgments on people or submit his ears to any potential slanders. "Indeed, many times we have seen the sin of our brother, but we have not seen his secret repentance. Only God judges the secret things of the heart, and He is able to accept the repentance and renew a right spirit in the sinner."

The saint humbly listened to the wisdom of his advisors John and Sophronios who would greatly assist in combating the Monophysite heresy which reigned rampant in Egypt. The Patriarch also admonished his flock to adhere to holy conduct in the liturgy, appearing to people who had held conversations during the Gospel reading while they were outside the Church and also warning people to only carry out the business of prayer in the holy sanctuary. The Patriarch also warned his flock not to commune with heretics, even if it meant that they would not be able to receive the Holy Mysteries for their entire lives for one is wed to the Church and one should not leave his wife for another woman, even if separated from her. He admonished his flock not to partake of Communion in the hand as well.

St. John thought much on death and the final judgment. Toward the end of his life, he sought to return to his homeland. But his old friend, the Governor Niketas, desired that the Patriarch grant a blessing to the Emperor in Constantinople. While they were venturing out at sea, a storm came upon the ship threatening them. St. John began to pray and the storm began to cease. An angel with a gold scepter in hand appeared and beckoned the saint to his homeland, for he was to see the King of Heaven. St. John told Niketas that he must go to Cyprus to see the Heavenly King though Niketas had intended him to see the earthly king. There in Cyprus, St. John wrote his will and reposed on the evening of November 11, 619 A.D. He was interred between two holy hierarchs on June 16 in the Church of St. Tychon in Cyprus. The hierarchs, upon the Patriarch's being laid to rest there, both gave way and moved to make room for the new hierarch that was to accompany them. Thus, St. John entered into his eternal rest, building many monasteries, churches, hospitals, hostels, and other structures for the homeless and the needy. Almsgiving would crown him with the wreath of Heavenly Glory.*

St. John the Merciful, pray for us!

*Adapted from The Life of St. John the Merciful in the Greek Synaxaristes from Nov. 12

Loss, grief, confusion

One of my dear friends writes lovely poetry on two different blogs, both of which I have linked in my blogroll on the side of my page. Though she has disclosed her name to me in private for the sake of including it in my prayers, most of you who have encountered her probably know her affectionately as "Rae". We first encountered each other through our shared experiences in the autistic community. Though she does not have autism, she does have close family members with autism. I also bear autism as a cross. It creates a multitude of confusion, especially with social interactions. I often have a difficult time forming and making friends because of my experiences. It is difficult for people to communicate with me as a result. For those who bear this cross or know close family bearing this cross, it is difficult to see their sufferings.

Her last poem is exceptionally beautiful. I recommend reading it several times. It is about our venturing around in this world. We find ourselves wandering around in darkness, yet as we bear this baptismal garment, there is for Christians a light that remains with us at all times. We cannot hope to fully know God in this life for our minds are too feeble to understand that infinite goodness that He is. We can only begin to grasp. Yet for Christians, we return to Him. We return to the home He has prepared for us. When we return, we will experience the full fruits of our labors. Though we are often times in confusion, pain, and suffering, we will be eternally glorified, partaking in the Divine light that shines through us, even if dimly for now.

Though this poem can be applied to all of our sufferings, she mentions that she wrote it for a woman who experienced the loss of her child and husband on the same day. One of the many crosses that are given out is that of grief. We experience and deal with grief so differently. Yet for those who are bound to the Resurrection, there remains a flicker of hope. We may not see this hope clearly in the losses that we have been inflicted with, but the hope does indeed prevail. There are many examples in Christian tradition of those who have been wounded with grief, but a particular woman in the history of Christianity comes to my mind whom this poem applies so well to.

St. Cleopatra was a widow of a Roman officer, living in Egypt, during the time of the Holy Martyr Varus. She had witnessed firsthand the sufferings of Varus. He was also a Roman officer and a Christian. Cleopatra was moved by his sufferings and also extended compassion for him as he had shared the position of her deceased husband. When he was killed, she pleaded for his relics so that she could honorably bury them, stating that her husband was an officer and that she wanted to bury his relics honorably. St. Varus was not her husband, but she took his relics and gave them honorable burial, building a Church for him. Cleopatra gave herself in devotion to the Holy Martyr from that point on.

Now Cleopatra had one son named John. Once, when praying, she asked the Holy Martyr Varus to give to her son that which was beneficial in the eyes of God. Her son, who was at an age to be enlisted into the army, became ill shortly afterward and died. In her grief, being hit with the loss of her son, she cursed at the Holy Martyr whom she had honorably buried and devoted herself to all this time. Experiencing confusion from her grief, she could no longer see what was beneficial to her son. She was losing faith from this experience. It was the Holy Martyr who appeared to her in a vision then, with her son at his side. She beheld her son in the glory of Heaven, crowned with a wreath and standing next to the martyr. Varus offered her son to her but pleaded that she would reconsider having now seen her son basking in the radiant glory of eternity. Cleopatra was called back to faith in this moment and allowed her son to remain in eternity. She would enter into eternal rest with Varus and John soon.

This life is incomplete. I grieve most for those who can only see this earthly life. Often times we want to curse at God because most of the time, we only see a tangled mess. We see ourselves apart from God, distant from God, plagued with dark and depressive thoughts, sometimes blasphemous, wondering if someone will ever lift these from us. We can always ask that the burden be made lighter, but much of the time, it is the things we overcome that make us great. I have heard how Samwise is the "true hero" of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Frodo gave into temptations and Samwise pulled him aside, always directing him onward. We all have spiritual directors in this life who aid us in our lives. But it is not what our directors overcome that lead us to Heaven. They are helping us overcome our temptations. Frodo is at the helm of it all, bearing the ring. He is suffering the deepest conflict of all the Hobbits and all of the characters. He is tasked with the greatest burden of all. This is what makes Frodo the hero. If God were to take away our temptations, our sufferings, what triumph would we experience when they were finally thrown down. This is why a Christian should not fear death, for in death, we enter into the most splendid of eternal rest.

Much like St. Cleopatra, we have our moments where we become angry toward the God we love wondering why He has weighed us down with such a heavy burden, why He has taken away those we love so dearly. But as we wrestle through this, as we continue to see only the tangled mess of the incomplete tapestry, as we see through the glass darkly, we come to realize there is beauty in our sufferings. Whatever your cross may be, whether it is dealing with developmental disorders or standing by a loved one as they experience a battle to overcome their developmental disability, or if it is the loss of a loved one as was thrown upon the woman my friend wrote her poem for or even St. Cleopatra, or maybe your cross is something different, we all struggle through this life. But we remain connected to Him through His touch. We come to touch His grace in the sacraments. He provides warmth for us when a friend lights a blessed candle for us. He lifts our burdens when we confess our sins to Him and receive His grace in the sacrament of reconciliation and He fills us with His grace once more when we partake of the Holy Eucharist. This touch remains with us, even should He appear most distant at times.

Why are the icons angry?

It was during Lent. I know I had a lot of baggage on me. That subdeaconess gave off an aura which just didn't agree with me. I don't know why she was liked by so many people and they seemed to blame me for my failure to like her in response. I just couldn't bring myself to talk to her. I had other sins that I had fallen back into since deciding to convert. I longed to have my confession heard but that was only for Christians. Sure, I go to Church regularly, but I don't decide whether to become a Christian. It's the Church that decides that. I might believe the doctrines but that doesn't make me a Christian. God makes you a Christian and if the Church allows you, you get to be one. But the Church was not allowing me.

I looked at the icon of Christ and saw a fierce scowl. Why does He scowl in anger at me? I know I've done a lot wrong but I've been trying to make it right. The Reader was in the nave at this time and I asked him why the icons are so angry. Why is this icon of Christ so furious? He said that it looked more expressionless, possibly stern as Christ the Teacher rather, to him. But the icons still looked angry, inflamed with rage toward me. I asked another lady why the icons were so furious. She said she never noticed the way they looked before. Have I not tried my best to serve God all my life yet when it comes to such exterior circumstances beyond my control He is to turn away in anger and hostility?

For a while, I tried to fix everything that was broken about me on my own thinking that it would earn His grace and yet still I remained on the outside of the Church. I didn't know what religion or faith I had held to when people asked such question of me. I went through the motions. I attended Church, I asked about becoming a Catholic numerous times, yet there seemed less and less of a benefit. I began to despair more severely and the anger in the icons remained. Have I not done everything in my power to change the situation? Do I not believe the right things? Do I not attend Church faithfully? Yet the reward appears for those who seem to desire it the least.

I hate talking about my conversion. It fills me with pride. I was ill-treated and pushed to the side. People aren't supposed to break into the Church. I worry often if I made demands of God. It was a time of confusion and often times, I am shocked I stuck it out so long. I ponder if the Church had shut itself down like it did last Spring before I was confirmed in the orthodox Catholic faith, should I even be a Christian at this point? I hesitate to say yes. The Church's officials have scandalized me so severely, I may have taken this as a sign from God that He desired me not. Are not conversions moments of joy? One goes from a worse state to a much better state, being filled with God's grace. Yet this conversion seems to have left me in perpetual doubt. How did I come to this faith suffering so much abuse from such an holy church?

I have fallen into much sin and temptations. I am stirred with anger and pride. How to humble myself? I ask for strength in my weakness. No. There were no demands made of God. You were left in delusion intentionally but look, you have been rescued. These abusers, these mockers, can do you no harm because you hold onto your baptismal garment. Those who pray for you faithfully, they are building up a store for you in Heaven. These are the ones you owe your devotion to. Your godmother, the Crazy Church Lady, who called you her godson when you thought you were distant. Your friend who prays so much for your godmother and for you and who will light candles for you. The Reader, now Priest, who shows godly humility. Presbytera spontaneously lit a candle for you just the other day. What other acts have you failed to see others doing for you?

As I came to give confession for the third time since my conversion, I looked to the icons. The expression of anger was gone. There stood I its place an expression of mercy, welcoming the sinner as he sought to return to the fold. Has this expression always been there? Maybe I was not looking in the right place for so long? But I have not seen the angry expression in the icons in quite a long time. I don't think I have seen this expression in the icons since that moment. They have presented me with mercy and grace. I was deluded to seeing this angry expression. Delusion came not from my control but without. With God's grace, I shall be delivered from this delusion and fly to the place He has prepared for me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit! Unto ages of ages, Amen.