| In the order of the books of the New Testament, the Gospel of Matthew comes first. Palestine is said to be the place where the Gospel was written. St Matthew wrote in Aramaic, and then it was translated into Greek. The Aramaic text has not survived, but many of the linguistic and cultural-historical peculiarities of the Greek translation give indications of it. The Apostle Matthew preached among people who were awaiting the Messiah. His Gospel manifests itself as a vivid proof that Jesus Christ is the Messiah foretold by the prophets, and that there would not be another (Mt. 11:3). The preaching and deeds of the Savior are presented by the evangelist in three divisions, constituting three aspects of the service of the Messiah: as Prophet and Law-Giver (Ch. 5-7), Lord over the world both visible and invisible (Ch. 8-25), and finally as High Priest offered as Sacrifice for the sins of all mankind (Ch. 26-27). The theological content of the Gospel, besides the Christological themes, includes also the teaching about the Kingdom of God and about the Church, which the Lord sets forth in parables about the inner preparation for entering into the Kingdom (Ch. 5-7), about the worthiness of servers of the Church in the world (Ch. 10-11), about the signs of the Kingdom and its growth in the souls of mankind (Ch. 13), about the humility and simplicity of the inheritors of the Kingdom (Mt. 18:1-35; 19 13-30; 20:1-16; 25-27; 23:1-28), and about the eschatological revelations of the Kingdom in the Second Coming of Christ within the daily spiritual life of the Church (Ch. 24-25). The Kingdom of Heaven and the Church are closely interconnected in the spiritual experience of Christianity: the Church is the historical embodiment of the Kingdom of Heaven in the world, and the Kingdom of Heaven is the Church of Christ in its eschatological perfection (Mt. 16:18-19; 28:18-20). The holy Apostle brought the Gospel of Christ to Syria, Media, Persia, Parthia, and finishing his preaching in Ethiopia with a martyr’s death. This land was inhabited by tribes of cannibals with primitive customs and beliefs. The holy Apostle Matthew converted some of the idol-worshippers to faith in Christ. He founded the Church and built a temple in the city of Mirmena, establishing there his companion Platon as bishop. |
| Mt. Athos in the eighteenth century was the cultural and social center of Greece, and the school at Vatopedi Monastery was in its glory—the famous Athoniada. That is where Constas went to continue his education in 1749. The Athoniada was in its height, and was a leading educational institution, which specialized in the teaching of logic, grammar, and theology. The foremost scholars of Mt. Athos were Cosmas’ instructors. One of them was notably the teacher of philosophy, “the most learned Eugenios”—Eugenios Voulgaris. Possessing a magnificent education, he was famous not only in Greece, but also beyond her borders (for example, he conducted a lengthy correspondence with Voltaire). At first interested in the ideas of Western enlightenment, he later rejected them as contradictory to the Orthodox tradition, which he had always defended. He also upheld the Great Idea—the rebirth of the Byzantine Empire and the unification within it of all Orthodox peoples. Pain for the fate of Orthodoxy and fatherland induced the disciples of Voulgaris to band together in a secret society. Its main goal was the struggle with illiteracy. “In that period, a group of Eugenios’ students, including Cosmas, seeing the threat to Orthodoxy and their nation, unanimously agreed in the name of the Holy Trinity to help the nation in the spread of literacy.” On Mt. Athos, Cosmas not only received the necessary knowledge, but was also strengthened in his resolve to dedicate himself to the work of enlightening the people. Cosmas was there not just due to circumstances—he considered foreign study inacceptable, and Athos was the only place in Greece where he could receive a fundamental education. There he not only became firmer in his faithfulness to the Orthodox tradition, but also found people of like mind with him, who strengthened his faith and resolve to facilitate a national renaissance. Cosmas gradually prepared himself to carry out his intentions: he studied patristic literature and the Holy Scriptures. He was also aided by lessons in rhetoric which he later received in Constantinople. |
| Giorgi Mtatsmideli also wrote a remarkable original work «The Lives of loanne and Euthymius»; the book is not only a detailed biography of these men, but is also a first-rate source of information on the history of Georgia and of Byzantium. A feature of these «Lives» is that most of the numerous facts mentioned by the author go back to documentary sources; «The Lives» –trustworthy, comprehensive, revealing a depth of thought, are permeated with a high social and national spirit «Written in classical Georgian with appealing sincerity, the book is the best monument of ancient Georgian historical literature » (I. Djavakhishvili). When writing this book, the author had yet another aim in mind: the matter was that ever since the monastery was founded, the fraternity of Iviron had to contend with the Greek clergy who laid claim to the monastery, which not infrequently caused great difficulties. In his book, Giorgi Mtatsmideli proved the monastery to be the property of Georgians, at the same time showing the services its founders had rendered both to the government of Byzantium and to other fraternities on Mt. Athos. Generally speaking, Giorgi Mtatsmideli did not limit his activities to monastic – affairs, to translation and other literary work. He took a keen interest in the pressing problems the Georgian public had to face. Even before he moved to Mt. Athos, while still in the Lauraof St. Simeon on the Black Mount, Giorgi Mtasmideli polemized with Theodosius, Patriarch of Antioch, concerning the autocephaly of the Georgian church; his profound and broad education enabled him to assert the rights of the Georgian church. Subsequently, after he had resigned from the office of prior, he accepted the invitation of King Bagrat IV and arrived in Georgia in 1060 where he directed the measures taken to purify the Georgian church, thus helping the King to consolidate the Georgian statehood. It should be stressed that the outstanding personalities from the fraternity of Mt. Athos never lost touch with their homeland; they regularly sent to Georgia works they had translated and copied; they involved monks from other Georgian monasteries in literary work; they responded readily to the problems facing the public in Georgia. All this accounts for the great authority of Iviron both in Georgia and in Georgian monastic centres abroad. The latter tried to equal Iviron, followed instructions from there, recognizing it as an authority on monastic life and literary work. |
| The imperial court decided to appeal to David Kuropalates for assistance; Ioanne-Tornike was prevailed upon to act as envoy. David sent twelve thousand picked warriors, commanded by Tornike himself, as reinforcements for the imperial army. In 979, in Asia Minor, a battle was fought by the river Halys, and Bardas Skleros was defeated. It was the Georgian troops that decided the outcome, therefore the Empress Theophano left Tornike all the booty that had been taken from the insurgents and also richly rewarded him. As a result, the Georgian monks on Mt. Athosobtained sufficient funds for erecting a large, wellbuilt monastery. loanne and Tornike selected the site and bought land which was secured to the monastery by an imperial chrysobull. Construction began in 980 and was completed in 983, Ioanne being elected the first prior. Before long the Iberian monastery («Iviron», as the Byzantines called it) became one of the leading monastic centres in Byzantium. Owing to the grants and purchases of land, it came to be a considerable feudal demense. It should be mentioned here that its first prior was a highly authoritative figure on Mt. Athos; Athanasius appointed him epitropos of his Laura, and in one of the charters granted to Ioanne (charter dated to 984), Athanasius made special mention of his great services to the fraternity of the monastery; in particular, Athanasius stressed the fact that Ioanne several times successfully defended the interests of the monasteries on Mt. Athos against the imperial gevernment, not only before the Iberian monastery was founded, but after that too. This fact shows that the imperial courts of Byzantium also recognized loanne’s merits. However, the principal thing is that from the very moment of its inception the Iberian monastery became a considerable centre of Georgian learning and enlightenment. Its founders, Ioanne and Tornike, began organizing work in translation and copying ecclesiastic books: at their own cost. they commissioned some of the fraternity to translate books from the Greek and to copy ecclesiastic works. At the same time, it is greatly to loanne’s credit that he brought up his son Euthymius as a scholar, a lover of books encouraged him to gain a perfect command of Greek and to make scholarly and literary work his vocation. Euthymius the Athonite (of the Holy Mount, Euthymius Iviros), Ioanne " s successor as prior of Iviron (1005–1019) became the founder of a brilliant literary school which made such a tremendous contribution to the development of Georgian literature, scientific thought and culture in general. His contemporaries and co-workers, monks of the Iviron fraternity, attached such tremendous importance to Euthymius " s literary work and to his translations that they begged him to leave the time-consuming office of prior and to devote himself wholly to literary work. |
| Since then the name of Iviron remains on Mt. Athos only as the memory of those scholarly monks who had done so much for the monasteries on the Holy Mount, a memory which could not be effaced even among the Greek clergy. As material evidence of this remarkable centre of enlightenment, there remains a splendid library possessing a great many unique manuscripts, a library created by the labours of loanne, Tornike, Euthymius, Giorgi the Athonite and many other devoted champions of Georgian culture. Such is, very shortly, the history of the Georgian literary and educational centre on Mt. Athos, «...which was always the bearer of the Georgian national idea in Greece..., which became a source from which there flowed to Georgia an abundant stream of advanced culture. In the 11th and 12th centuries Georgian literature achieved a high level of development. This was largely due to the Iberian monastery where the best cultural forces of the Georgian had assembled, men who set themselves the task of acquainting their compatriots with the literary wealth and heritage of the West. It was in this monastery that most of the treasures of which ancient Georgian literature has every right to be proud, were translated and copied. It was here, on Mt. Athos, that an original literary, grammatical and calligraphic school took shape and left an indelible mark on the past of the Georgian people». (K. Kekelidze). Грузинский научнопросветительский очаг на Афоне К востоку от Балканского полуострова в Эгейское море с его северного побережья в виде огромного трезубца выступает полуостров Халкидика. Его восточным зубцом является узкий и удлиненный полуостров Афон (древний Акте), именуемый также Айон-орос, т. е «Святая гора». Удобное расположение, замечательный климат, богатый растительный покров (оливковые сады, буковые, дубовые и сосновые леса), гористый рельеф Афона издревле привлекали верующих и уже с VII–VIII вв. здесь стали поселяться отшельники, а затем и монахи. Первые монахи селились в небольших разрозненных келиях, а в 963 г. известный монастырский деятель Афанасий основал у юго-восточного побережья полуострова, на Афонской горе, первый крупный монастырь. Основание Афанасием «Великой Лавры» положило начало оживленному монастырскому строительству на Афоне и его превращению в «Святую гору» уιος рος. В том же X в. здесь появились и другие монастыри и в их числе грузинский монастырь, или «Ивирон», превратившийся с момента основания в один из мощных очагов грузинского просвещения и литературы. |
| 21. Chiediamo a tutti di rispettare il diritto inalienabile alla vita. Milioni di bambini sono privati della possibilità stessa di nascere nel mondo. La voce del sangue di bambini non nati grida verso Dio ( cfr. Gn 4, 10).Lo sviluppo della cosiddetta eutanasia fa sì che le persone anziane e gli infermi inizino a sentirsi un peso eccessivo per le loro famiglie e la società in generale.Siamo anche preoccupati dallo sviluppo delle tecniche di riproduzione biomedica, perché la manipolazione della vita umana è un attacco ai fondamenti dell’esistenza dell’uomo, creato ad immagine di Dio. Riteniamo che sia nostro dovere ricordare l’immutabilità dei principi morali cristiani, basati sul rispetto della dignità dell’uomo chiamato alla vita, secondo il disegno del Creatore. 22. Oggi, desideriamo rivolgerci in modo particolare ai giovani cristiani. Voi, giovani, avete come compito di non nascondere il talento sotto terra ( cfr. Mt 25, 25), ma di utilizzare tutte le capacità che Dio vi ha dato per confermare nel mondo le verità di Cristo, per incarnare nella vostra vita i comandamenti evangelici dell’amore di Dio e del prossimo. Non abbiate paura di andare controcorrente, difendendo la verità di Dio, alla quale odierne norme secolari sono lontane dal conformarsi sempre. 23. Dio vi ama e aspetta da ciascuno di voi che siate Suoi discepoli e apostoli. Siate la luce del mondo affinché coloro che vi circondano, vedendo le vostre opere buone, rendano gloria al vostro Padre che è nei cieli ( cfr. Mt 5, 14, 16). Educate i vostri figli nella fede cristiana, trasmettete loro la perla preziosa della fede ( cfr . Mt 13, 46) che avete ricevuta dai vostri genitori ed antenati. Ricordate che “siete stati comprati a caro prezzo” (1 Cor 6, 20), al costo della morte in croce dell’Uomo-Dio Gesù Cristo. 24. Ortodossi e cattolici sono uniti non solo dalla comune Tradizione della Chiesa del primo millennio, ma anche dalla missione di predicare il Vangelo di Cristo nel mondo di oggi. Questa missione comporta il rispetto reciproco per i membri delle comunità cristiane ed esclude qualsiasi forma di proselitismo.Non siamo concorrenti ma fratelli, e da questo concetto devono essere guidate tutte le nostre azioni reciproche e verso il mondo esterno. Esortiamo i cattolici e gli ortodossi di tutti i paesi ad imparare a vivere insieme nella pace e nell’amore, e ad avere “gli uni verso gli altri gli stessi sentimenti” ( Rm 15, 5). Non si può quindi accettare l’uso di mezzi sleali per incitare i credenti a passare da una Chiesa ad un’altra, negando la loro libertà religiosa o le loro tradizioni. Siamo chiamati a mettere in pratica il precetto dell’apostolo Paolo: “Mi sono fatto un punto di onore di non annunziare il vangelo se non dove ancora non era giunto il nome di Cristo, per non costruire su un fondamento altrui” ( Rm 15, 20). |
| 4. The Stance of the Holy Mountain All of this can, to a certain degree, explain the contemporary position of Athonite abbots, but it surely does not exonerate the Holy Community of Mt. Athos for its refusal to speak and its deafening silence which it continues to maintain on issues of faith - a stance which is diametrically opposed to the confessional mindset [phronema] and witness which the Holy Mountain has held throughout the centuries. We are all waiting to hear what stance Mount Athos will take on the “Council” of Crete, which it has already provided legitimacy to by the participation of its own representative, the Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Stavronikita. We await the reaction of the Holy Community to the fact that so many of its proposals for changes in the pre-Synodal texts were completely rejected by the “Council.” What will be the final position of the Holy Community of Mount Athos regarding the heterodox? Will they recognize them as Churches, in accordance with the decisions of the “Council” or will they recognize them as “Christian teachings and confessions” as they did in their epistle-commentary of the 12 th /25 th of March 2016 to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew? We will quote some characteristic passages from older treatments of this particular question by the Holy Community of Mt. Athos, which express in a clear and authoritative manner the Orthodox ecclesiology and self-understanding which was contravened by the “Council” of Crete. We await the reconfirmation of these positions from the contemporary Holy Community of Mt. Athos. Announcements of the Holy Community: 1980: “…the departure from Orthodox Ecclesiology and the adoption of heterodoxy, that the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church does not alone constitute the Church but that there are branches of the Church, namely Orthodoxy and Papism/Catholicism… convinces us that the situation has gotten much worse and that a de facto union as the Second Vatican Council designed and planned is already at the gates.” |
| Saint Pyrrhus of Breti, called the “Divine Image of Repentance,” founded a monastery in Breti, on the bank of the Jvaristsqali River. His holy relics are buried in the church at that monastery. Saint Isidore of Samtavisi preached the Christian Faith in Kartli for many years, in accordance with his teacher’s instruction. On the eastern bank of the Rekhula River, he founded Samtavisi Monastery of the Icon of the Savior “Not-Made-By-Hands.” He reposed and was buried at that monastery. Saint Thaddeus of Stepantsminda first preached in Mtskheta, and later he founded a monastery at the foot of Zedazeni Mountain. After Saint John’s repose, Saint Thaddeus continued to preach throughout Kartli and erected many new churches. Among them, the Church of the Protomartyr Stephen in Urbnisi is a glorious example. Near the end of his life Saint Thaddeus withdrew to a cave at Tsleva Mountain not far from the city of Kaspi. He reposed peacefully and is buried in that place. Saint Stephen of Khirsa and his companions preached throughout the region of Kakheti in eastern Georgia. Later Saint Stephen founded Khirsa Monastery near Kharnabuji Castle. He is buried in the sanctuary of the Church of the Protomartyr Stephen at Khirsa. Saint Zenon of Iqalto preached the Christian Faith in northern Kakheti and founded Iqalto Monastery. He reposed peacefully, after accomplishing many good works on behalf of the true Faith. Saint Zenon is buried at Iqalto in the Church of the Icon of the Savior “Not-Made-By-Hands.” Saint Michael of Ulumbo preached the Christian Faith in northern Kartli and Ossetia. He founded a monastery in the Ulumbo (named after Mt. Olympus (in old Georgian Mt. Olympus is known as Mt. Ulumbo), a center of monasticism in Bythinia, Asia Minor.) area, where his wonder-working relics were later buried. Many Georgian children have been raised at the monasteries founded by the Thirteen Syrian Fathers. For centuries the Divine grace of the holy ascetics has spread among the Georgian people and throughout their land. |
| Following the death of Archbishop Theodosius of Australia and New Zealand, the Synod of Bishops appointed Bishop Paul, Vicar of the German Diocese, to replace him. Archimandrite Mark was then elevated to the episcopacy and appointed Bishop of Munich and Southern Germany. The hierarchal consecration was performed on November 30, 1980 at the Synodal Cathedral of Our Lady of the Sign in New York. In accordance with ecclesiastical law, during the nomination, Archimandrite Mark read a sermon through which he threaded his concern for how he was to lead his flock. Warm words were spoken about his spiritual proximity to the great Serbian ascetic and theologian Archimandrite Justin (Popovic, +1979) and affinity for Holy Mt. Athos. His Eminence Metropolitan Philaret (Voznesensky, +1985) officiated at the consecration, along with Archbishop Vitaly (Oustinov, +2006) of Montreal and Canada; Archbishop Anthony (Medvedev, +2000) of San Francisco and Western America; Bishop Laurus (Shkurla, +2008) of Syracuse and Holy Trinity Monastery; Bishop Paul, and Bishop Gregore (Grabbe, +1995) of Manhattan. After the consecration, Vladyka Mark moved with a small group of monks to the Monastery of St. Job of Pochaev in Munich. The monastery underwent reconstruction and renovation. Since 1981, it has published the Vestnik Germanskoj Eparkhii [Messenger of the German Diocese], a publishing house was set up for Russian—and German-language materials, as well as a candle and incense factory. The monastery follows the Mt. Athos rule. In the fall of 1982, Bishop Mark, due to the serious illness of Archbishop Thilophius (Narko), became Bishop of Berlin and Germany, continuing to live at St. Job Monastery, from which he rules the Diocese. In the mid-1980’s, Vladyka Mark was appointed Administrator of the Diocese of Great Britain as well as the St. Alexander Nevsky Parish in Copenhagen. In 1991, the Synod of Bishops elevated Vladyka Mark to the rank of Archbishop. In 1997, he was appointed Overseer of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem. |
| The Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, Prince Potemkin, came to Jassy along with Archbishop Ambrosius of Slovenia and Poltava. The latter wished to see the renowned Elder Paisius, and arrived in Niametz Monastery, where he was greeted by the monks. This was in 1790. That Sunday, Archbishop Ambrosius officiated at divine liturgy, during which he elevated the Elder to the rank of Archimandrite. The Elder was born in Poltava, and the Archbishop of Poltava performed the elevation. After the military operations ended, life gradually settled down, and the Elder continued to work as before: he did translations, wrote letters, guided the monks, but his strength was weakening, and he faltered. Not long before his fatal illness, he ceased his translating work. On November 5, 1794, he felt particularly weak and took to his bed. On Sunday, he felt better and came to church to partake of communion. Yet his weakness continued, and on November 15, 1794, at the age of 72, he died peacefully. News of the repose of Schema-archimandrite Paisius spread rapidly, and a great many monks and faithful gathered in Niametz, Bishop Benjamin came, and the funeral was performed at Ascension Cathedral, followed by his burial. And so we see that the resettlement of Elder Paisius, through Divine Providence, to Moldovlachia turned out to be very beneficial for his work. Had he remained on Mt Athos, first of all, his brotherhood would not have grown as it did because of a lack of resources and space, and secondly, he could not have had such a great influence on the spiritual life of Orthodox monasticism in Moldavia and Russia. Within Schema-archimandrite Paisius, personal holiness was combined with love for education, ability to organize monastic coenobitic life, the ability to attract and teach a great host of students, the skill in creating a school of spiritual asceticism and finally, a great literary talent which helped him complete an important, much-needed task—to correct old translations and also make new translations of the ascetic literature of the Holy Fathers. The literary works of Elder Paisius are varied. Finding among the Slavonic translations of the writings of the Holy Fathers extant at the time a great number of errors, he realized the importance of their painstaking review. For this he began to strenuously search Greek originals on Mt Athos. But these were not easy to come by, since no one ever offered such books for sale. For this reason he had to transcribe them himself, and pay others to do it. He found that by far not all works of the Holy Fathers had been translated into Slavonic. And the second part of this task, the translations themselves, he undertook in Moldavia after he moved there with his monks. |
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