| Ahab became king after Jeroboam (year 22), Nadab (2), Baasha (24), Elah (2), Zimri (7 days), Omri (12), and Tibni (6, at the same time as Omri) ; in the 38th year of Asa (cf. 3 Kings 16:29), that is, in the (19.5±0.5) + (37.5±0.5) + (37.5±0.5)=57(±1) year. Jehoshaphat became king: in the fourth year of Ahab (cf. 3 Kings 22: 41-42) – (57±1) + (3.5±0.5)=60.5(±1.5); after Asa (41) – (19.5±0.5) + 41= 60.5(±0.5) . Jehoram became king: after Ahab (22) and Ahasja (2) ; in the 18th year of Jehosaphat (cf. 4 Kings 3:1) – (60.5±0.5) + (17.5±0.5)= 78(±1) . Jehu killed Ahasja and Jehoram (cf. 4 Kings 9:23-28) and ascended the throne: Gophelia after Jehosaphat (25), Jehoram (8) and Ahasja (1) and Jehu after Jehoram (12) in year (78±1) + 12= 90(±1) from the D.S.K. Joash became king: in the seventh year of Jehu (cf. 4 Kings 12:1) – (09±1) + (6.5±0.5)=96.5(±1.5); after Gophelia (6) – (90±1)=96(±1). Jehoash became king after Jehu (28) and Jeoahaz (17) ; in the 37th year of Joash (cf. 4 Kings 13:10-11) – (96±1) + (36.5±0.5)= 132.5(±1.5) . Amaziah became king: after Joash (40); in the 2nd year of Joash of Israel (cf. 4 Kings 14:1-2) – (132.5±1.5) + (1.5±0.5)= 132(±2) . Jeroboam (the second) became king: in the 15th year of Amaziah (cf. 4 Kings 14:23 – (134±2) + (14.5±0.5)=148.5(±2.5); after Joash (16) – (132.5±1.5) + 16= 148.5(±1.5) . Azariah-Oziah became king: 15 year after the death of Joash (16) – (132.5±1.5) (cf. 4 Kings 14:17; 2 Chron. 25:25) – (132.5±1.5) + 16 + 15=163.5(±1.5); after Amaziah (29) – (134±2) + 29= 163(±2) . Pekah becam king: after Jerobaam (41), Zacharia (months), Salum (one month), Menael (10) and Pekah (2) ; in the 52nd year of Azariah (cf. 4 Kings 16:1-2) – (214.5±2.5) + (16.5±0.5)=231(±3); after Amaziah-Oziah (52) and Joapham (16) – (163±2) + 52 + 16= 231(±2) . Hoshea became king: after Pekah (20) ; in the 12th year of Ahaz (cf. 4 Kings 17:1-2) – (231±2) + (11.5±0.5)= 242.5(±2.5) . Hezekiah became king: after Ahaz (16); in the third year of Hoshea (cf. 4 Kings 18:1-2) – (242.5±2.5) + (2.5±0.5)= 245(±3) year after D.S.K. |
| E. The Later Anglo-Saxon Period. However, in one of the most astonishing reversals in Christian history, King Alfred, inspired by a vision from St. Cuthbert, emerged from his hiding place, defeated the Danish «Great Army» and baptised their king. Then, almost single-handedly, he proceeded to resurrect English Orthodox Christianity and statehood, even translating church books from Latin into English and sending them to his bishops. In the tenth century the English recovery continued under Alfred " s successors, until, by the 970s, the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom, uniting Anglo-Saxon, Celtic and Danish populations, emerged as probably the most powerful and civilized country in Western Europe. However, in 979 the young King Edward «the Martyr» was killed, marking the beginning of the end of Anglo-Saxon England. The Vikings invaded again, and in 1016 they conquered the whole country while the English Royal Family went into exile in France. However, the Danish King Canute, who ruled Denmark and Norway as well as England, was converted to the faith of his new subjects, and did not hinder the conversion of Scandinavia by English missionaries. Finally, in 1042, the last descendant of the old English royal line, St. Edward «the Confessor», returned from exile and was anointed king. During his reign, in 1052, the English Church was excommunicated by the Pope of Rome, who was then himself excommunicated by the Great Church of Constantinople in 1054. In January, 1066, King Edward died, having prophesied the fall of Orthodox England. Almost immediately, the Viking Duke William of Normandy laid claim to the throne. When the English people rejected his claim and elected King Edward " s brother-in-law Harold instead, William appealed to the Pope, who blessed him to invade «schismatic» England and its unlawful king. On October 14, in a desperate battle that lasted all day, the Normans defeated the English at Hastings and killed King Harold. In January, 1067 William was crowned in London as the first Catholic king of England, and proceeded to destroy English Orthodox civilization to its foundations, killing perhaps twenty percent of the population – the first genocide in European history. Most of the English aristocracy fled to Constantinople, where the Emperor Alexis gave them a basilica in which to worship and enrolled them in his army. Harold " s daughter, Gytha, fled to Kiev, where she married Great Prince Vladimir Monomakh& |
| He launched two ultimately unsuccessful Crusades against the Ottomans: in 1443 AD, reaching Sofia before retreating for the winter, and 1444 AD reaching the Black Sea city of Varna where he perished at the age of 20 in theBattle of Varna against the forces of Ottoman Sultan Murad II (r. 1421-1451 AD). Because of that, in Bulgaria theheroic Polish and Hungarian King is known as Vladislav Varnenchik (Wladyslaw Warnenczyk), i.e. Vladislav of Varna. The Second Bulgarian Empire (1185-1396) was conquered by the Ottoman Turks in 1396 (although some Bulgarianestates in the west may have survived for а few more decades). In 1396 AD, Hungarian King Sigismund of Luxembourg (r. 1387-1437 AD, later Holy Roman Emperor in 1433-1437 AD), organized a crusade against the Ottoman Turks which, however, ended in a disaster for the Christian forces in the Battle of Nicopolis (today’s Bulgarian town of Nikopol). The Crusades of the Polish and Hungarian King Vladislav (Wladyslaw) III Varnenchik were the last Christian campaign against the Ottoman Empire in the Late Middle Ages that had the potential to liberate Bulgaria. With its failure, Bulgaria remained suffering for centuries, a horrific period known as the Ottoman Yoke, and was liberated only in the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878. D uring his campaign against the Ottoman Empire in 1444, King Vladislav (Wladyslaw) III Jagello was in charge of an army of some 20,000 European Christian warriors, including Poles, Hungarians, Czechs, Slovaks, Wallachians, Ruthenes (Rusyns), Bulgarians, Croatians, Saxons, Lithuanians, and Crusader Knights of Pope Eugene IV (r. 1431-1477). The young Vladislav (Wladislaw) III Jagello inherited his father King Wladyslaw II Jagello as the King of Poland in 1434, at the age of 10. In 1440, Vladislav became also the King of Hungary, after a union between the Kingdoms of Poland and Hungary designed to unite their forces against the Ottoman Turks. After the first Crusade of King Vladislav and John Hunyadi against the Ottoman Empire, which reached Sofia in the fall of 1443, the Ottoman Sultan Murad II signed a 10-year truce with Hungary, and in August 1444 resigned from the throne in favor of his 12-year-old son Mehmed II (who later became Mehmed II the Conqueror after conquering Constantinople in 1453 AD). The new Crusade was organized under the auspices of Pope Eugene IV in anticipation of a new Ottoman invasion. The preemptive Christian campaign that later became known in history literature as theVarna Crusade led the old Sultan Murad II to return to the throne. |
| Upon being enthroned in Jerusalem after the death of Saul, king David became the most outstanding king ever to rule Israel. He had combined within himself many valuable qualities: love for the people, fairness, wisdom, courage, and, most importantly – a strong faith in God. Before deciding any state question, King David always zealously prayed to God, asking for understanding. The Lord always helped David and blessed his 40-year reign with major successes, in both internal and external politics. But David did not evade severe ordeals. His deepest grief was the military uprising, headed by his own son Absalom, who wanted to become king before his time. In this instance, David experienced all the bitterness of villainous ingratitude and treachery among his subjects. But, as before with Saul, faith and hope in God helped David. Absalom died ingloriously, although David tried to save him by all means. He also forgave the other mutineers. Afterward David clearly portrayed his enemies’ senseless and insidious revolt in his Messianic psalms. While attending to the material well-being of his people, David imparted great meaning to its spiritual life. Often he headed religious holidays, bringing sacrifices to God for the Hebrew people and putting together his inspired religious hymns – psalms. Being a king and a prophet, and also to a certain extent a priest, King David became the prototype (a model), as a precursor of the greatest of Kings, Prophet and High Priest – Christ the Savior, the descendant of David. The personal experience of King David, and also the poetic gift with which he was endowed, gave him the opportunity to describe the character and feat of the coming Messiah in a whole row of psalms with unprecedented clarity and vividness. For example, in his 2 nd psalm king David foretells the enmity and uprising against the Messiah on the part of his enemies. This psalm is written in the form of a discussion among three entities: David, God the Father, and the Son of God, anointed by the Father to the Kingdom. Here are the main excerpts from this psalm: |
| Подробней о внутренних противоречиях в израильском обществе времен Иеровоама II см., напр.: Арсений (Соколов), игумен. Книга пророка Амоса: введение и комментарий. Москва, 2012. Особ. с. 18-22. Гадий был из Фирцы, а Менаим вышел из Фирцы? Еврейский текст допускает обе интерпретации. Согласно Синодальному переводу, Гадий происходил из Фирцы. Современный русский перевод, выполненный под редакцией Михаила Селезнева (Москва, 2011), вставляет еще одну запятую, следуя, таким образом, общему современному пониманию, отраженному в современных европейских переводах: «Менахем, сын Гади, пошел из Тирцы на Самарию». В этом месте локализует Типсах, напр., Библейская энциклопедия Брокгауза: Ринекер Ф., Майер Г. Библейская энциклопедия Брокгауза. Кременчуг, 1999. С. 974. В средневековых еврейских комментариях встречается и другая локализация. Напр., у Давида Кимхи (Радак): «Тифсах находился не на земле Исраэля, а за рекой и принадлежал Араму… Вероятно, он находился на рубеже земли Исраэля против Тирцы» ( Книга Царей с толкованием Давида Кимхи. Т. II. Иерусалим-Запорожье, 2009. С. 166). Очевидно, «рекой» Радак называет здесь не Евфрат, а Иордан. См., напр.: CookH.J. Pekah. “Vetus Testamentum”, (1964). P. 121-135. Thiele E.R. Pekah to Hezekiah. “Vetus Testamentum”, (1966). P. 83-107. Протоиерей Александр Мень считал, что создание антиассирийской коалиции было делом рук Египта, который таким образом хотел отгородиться от напористых ассирийцев: «Две великие державы, Ассирия и Египет, много лет готовились к решительной схватке, причем перевес был явно на ассирийской стороне. Между соперниками находились государства Палестины и Сирии, и фараон хотел заручиться союзом с ними, чтобы создать заслон от ассирийцев. Между тем Ассур готовился поглотить эту преграду и выйти на рубежи Египта… В 736 году фараон добился больших политических успехов. Посулами, запугиваниями и увещаниями ему удалось создать блок против Ассирии. Сам он его не возглавил, предпочитая загребать жар чужими руками, а предоставил водительство Пекаху, царю Израильскому, и Рецину, царю Дамаска» ( Мень Александр, протоиерей. Вестники Царства Божия. Брюссель, 1986. С. 130-131). Это лишь предположение. Нет сомнения, антиассирийская коалиция Израиля и Дамаска (в которую, возможно, вошли и некоторые филистимские города-государства) была на руку египтянам, но исторических сведений о реальном участии Египта в ее создании нет. |
| The organizers from “Chigot” point out that the 1444 Battle of Varna was one of the most important military battles in the history of the Balkan Peninsula because its outcome doomed Bulgaria and all of Southeast Europe to remain part of the Ottoman Empire, a period known as the Ottoman Yoke, for centuries to come. The reenactment on the 571st year since the Battle of Varna is sponsored by Varna Municipality, and the Varna District Administration. Bulgaria’s Black Sea city of Varna has a memorial complex dedicated to the Battle of Varna in 1444 AD, and the heroism of the Polish King, known as the Vladislav Varnenchik Museum Park. The Museum was first opened on the site of the Battle of Varna as a mausoleum in 1935, and then turned into a park museum with an area of 30 decares (app. 7.5 acres) in 1964, on the occasion of the 520th Year since the Battle of Varna. Varna is also going to have a monument of Vladislav Varnenchik in the city (the museum park is located outside the site, on the actual site of the 1444 Battle of Varna). The monument is to be erected at the initiative of the Bulgarian Cultural Institute in Warsaw, Poland, and has been donated by renowned Polish sculptor Prof. Marian Konieczny from Krakow. The bravery, sacrifice and tragic end of Polish and Hungarian King Vladislav (Wladyslaw) Varnenchik, whose warriors included Poles, Hungarians, Czechs, Slovaks, Wallachians, Ruthenes (Rusyns), Bulgarians, Croatians, Saxons, Lithuanians, and Crusader Knights of Pope Eugene IV (r. 1431-1477), affected the fate of all of Central and Eastern Europe, and made him a hero in the folklore of many European nations, Bulgaria included. Background Infonotes: The Battle of Varna occurred on November 10, 1444, near the Bulgarian Black Sea city of Varna. In it, the forces of Ottoman Turkish Sultan Murad II (r. 1421-1451 AD) defeated the Christian Crusade of the King of Poland and Hungary Vladislav (Wladyslaw) III Jagello. Vladislav (Wladyslaw) III Jagello, also known as Varnenchik (Warnenczyk), King of Poland and Hungary, was King of Poland in 1434-1444, and King of Hungary and Croatia in 1440-1444. |
| Most archaeologists in Israel do not dispute that King David was a historical figure, and a written reference to the " House of David " was found in an archaeological site in northern Israel. But archaeologists are divided on identifying Davidic sites in Jerusalem, which he is said to have made his capital. Shukron's dig, which began in 1995, uncovered a massive fortification of five-ton stones stacked 21 feet (6 meters) wide. Pottery shards helped date the fortification walls to be 3,800 years old. They are the largest walls found in the region from before the time of King Herod, the ambitious builder who expanded the Second Jewish Temple complex in Jerusalem almost 2,100 years ago. The fortification surrounded a water spring and is thought to have protected the ancient city's water source. The fortification was built 800 years before King David would have captured it from its Jebusite rulers. Shukron says the biblical story of David's conquest of Jerusalem provides clues that point to this particular fortification as David's entry point into the city. In the second Book of Samuel, David orders the capture of the walled city by entering it through the water shaft. Shukron's excavation uncovered a narrow shaft where spring water flowed into a carved pool, thought to be where city inhabitants would gather to draw water. Excess water would have flowed out of the walled city through another section of the shaft Shukron said he discovered -- where he believes the city was penetrated. Shukron says no other structure in the area of ancient Jerusalem matches what David would have captured to take the city. The biblical account names it the " Citadel of David " and the " Citadel of Zion. " Ronny Reich, who was Shukron's collaborator at the site until 2008, disagrees with the theory. He said more broken pottery found from the 10th century BC, presumably King David's reign, should have been found if the fortification had been in use then. Shukron said he only found two shards that date close to that time. He believes the reason he didn't find more is because the site was in continuous use and old pottery would have been cleared out by David's successors. Much larger quantities of shards found at the site date to about 100 years after King David's reign. |
| Wulfhilda and the Growth of Feudalism A century has passed. The year is 970. A brilliant general of Armenian stock, John I Tzimiscês, sits on the imperial throne in Constantinople. He rules over a splendid court, a well-trained army, and a treasury enriched by imported goods from Italy to Mesopotamia. In England, King Eadgar, later called ‘the Peaceable’, has united the Kingdoms of Northumbria and Mercia to his native House of Wessex. With the Archbishop of Canterbury, a noble from Wessex named Dunstan, he restores the monastery at Barking. Now it is a women’s monastery, following the international Rule of St. Benedict. The abbess is Wulfhilda, a talented and beautiful nun whom King Edgar himself once had in mind for a bride. Like her predecessor Hildelith in centuries past, she is also firm in her vocation. It is said that she fled the king through the sewers! The times, however, are very different from those of Ethelburga and Hildelith. Kings increasingly lay claims on churches and monasteries, rejecting Christian standards and echoing the ancient, pagan Germanic concept of Heil: the divine power that flows directly from the chieftain. In this spirit, upon King Edgar’s death, his widow Ælfthryth or Elfrida ejects Abbess Wulfrida in order to retire to Barking in her later years. Four years later, the widowed Queen arranges the murder of her stepson, Edward the Martyr, at Corfe Castle in Dorset. Only upon her death, Abbess Wulfrida returns from Dorset to take the reins at Barking once more. She falls asleep in 1000, when many in England and elsewhere expect the world to end. The world does not end in the year 1000. A world ends. The brutal Emperor Basil II,nicknamed Voulgaroktónos or the ‘Bulgar-slayer’ for his conquest of the Bulgarians in the Balkans, rules in an era of decline. Caught in a web of wars between Normans in Italy and Seljuk Turks advancing into Anatolia, the Roman Empire sinks into endless intrigues that merit the insult ‘Byzantine’. In northern France, relatives of the same Normans who threaten the Orthodox provinces of southern Italy now threaten England. In 1066, William the Bastard defeats the last Saxon King, Harold II Godwinson at Senlac Hill, eight miles north of the town of Hastings. For some four and a half centuries, England is divided between a French-speaking nobility and an English-speaking Saxon underclass. The new King William spends several months at Barking Abbey, while Saxon and other workers build his new castle that is to become the Tower of London. His legacy to the abbey is much darker. |
| Monarchy is an icon of Christ. No other form of government images this: “God has placed a king on earth in the image of His Heavenly single rule, an autocratic king in the image of His almighty power, an autocratic king and a hereditary king in the image of His Kingdom that does not pass away.”—Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow In summary, here are just a few of the reasons, from both a consideration of political theory and practical application, that monarchy is a more moral, stable, and overall better and ontologically higher form of government than any other system. I will not delve into the debate of whether or not absolute or autocratic monarchy is preferable to constitutional monarchy, but I will simply observe that, whether or not a monarchy exists constitutionally within a democratic political framework, its existence is still of great benefit to the broader political society and culture. 1) Monarchy’s intrinsic end or aim is ontologically higher than the intrinsic end or aim of any other type of political authority. The underlying purpose of monarchy is the rendering to God by each monarch of a successful stewardship on behalf of his or her people. Each monarch is only a temporary steward, but he must give an eternal account of his or her stewardship to the King of Kings. This stewardship is best carried out by the monarch’s zealous maintenance of peace and good order, and therefore, the general protection of liberties and freedoms conducive to that peace and order. An elected leader who abuses his or her authority and violates the constitution he or she has sworn to defend understands himself or herself to face only earthly consequences (possible impeachment, criminal conviction, removal from office, enduring unpopularity, etc.). A monarch on the other hand understands himself or herself to be fundamentally accountable to God for how he or she discharges the duties of his or her office. 2) Monarchy is the most natural form of government known to mankind, and the most widely practiced form of political authority throughout human history. The fact that monarchies still exist today after thousands of years and numerous political revolutions is remarkable in and of itself, and all the more so given that most monarchies in the world today are seen as highly legitimate by most of their populations. History is replete with examples of bad monarchs and good monarchs, as well as bad presidents and good ones, yet the presidential and prime ministerial systems of government are, at most, three hundred years old in any part of the world, and in most countries, far more recent introductions. |
| Now doth the blessed Olav stand with boldness before the all-holy Trinity, unceasingly rendering praise with all the spiritual ranks. Theotokion: O ye people, let us join with all the heavenly hosts, to glorify the Mother of the Infinite One, and magnify her above all unto the ages. Ode IX Irmos: With oneness of mind, we, the faithful, magnify thee, the Mother of God, who, in manner past understanding and recounting, ineffably gavest birth in time to the Timeless One. Rouen witnessed thy rebirth in the font of Christian baptism, and Trondheim beheld thy martyr's death, whereby thou didst enter the timeless kingdom, O sanctified Olav. With one heart and one mouth let us magnify the holy king of Norway, who therein sowed the seed of faith for the Lord of the harvest, and hath reaped the wheat of grace in abundance. All ye faithful, form a single choir, and magnify the pious King Olav, who labored with diligence for his Master and hath received from His hand rewards past understanding and recounting. Theotokion: Ye faithful, in Orthodox manner let us magnify the all-holy Theotokos, who in manner past understanding and recounting gave birth to the only infinite and transcendent God. Exapostilarion: Spec. Mel.: Hearken, ye women Let us earnestly praise today the royal intercessor for the Norwegian realm: Olav the right-believing passion-bearer, who, zealous with zeal for the one true God, set pagan falsehood at nought and cast down the idols thereof, and boldly preached the Christian Faith, shedding his blood for the Lord. Theotokion O merciful Queen of heaven, Bride of God, divine Mistress, Mother of the King of all, blossom of virginity, splendour of the angels, adornment of heavenly beings, impregnable refuge of sinners: With fitting laudation we lift our voices to hymn thee, O all-holy one, as our fervent intercessor without peer. Aposticha stichera from the Octoechos; and Glory: Idiomelon, in Tone VI Let us bless wondrous Olav the King, the warrior of Christ, courageous in battle, who in virtue was harder than adamant, the valiant champion of the Church of God, the unshakable tower of piety, who was shown to be a martyr for the Christian Faith, and standeth ever before the throne of Christ, praying on our behalf. |
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