The Anglican archbishop Dr Rowan Williams accept Pope

The Anglican archbishop of Canterbury wants a “Christians” to pray together and place them self before “God”.

The Anglican Archbishop was invited to the Roman Catholic Synod of Bishops for the new evangelization, to express his views on the Second Vatican Council.   Rowan Williams addressed the Pope as “You holiness”, and underlined the need for full Church unity.

The Anglican head bow and kiss the ring of the Pope. A sign of submission.

“Praying together isn’t just a casual thing, a marginal activity,” he said.

When divided Christians “share the prayer of the Church”, even if they cannot share the fullness of that prayer in the Eucharist, they are placing themselves before God together and showing the world what it means to be Christian.

Preparing to retire, he said he obviously was disappointed that efforts to promote full, visible Christian unity had not progressed further, but no one could deny that Christians pray and work together today in a way that would have been unimaginable in the 1950s.

This is the exact words of Williams, in his address to the Pope:

” I am deeply honoured by the Holy Father’s invitation to speak in this gathering: as the Psalmist says, ‘Ecce quam bonum et quam jucundum habitare fratres in unum’ [How good and how pleasant it is when brethren dwell together in unity].The gathering of bishops in Synod for the good of all Christ’s people is one of those disciplines that sustain the health of Christ’s Church”.

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Trader or folk hero: Former Societe Generale trader Jerome Kervie loses appeal

Maddy Savage BBC News, Paris:

Jerome Kerviel is a cult figure here in France.

Many have painted him as an anti-establishment hero who managed to make a mockery of the global banking system just as the financial crisis was starting to unfold in 2008.

After he was arrested, Facebook fan sites were set up and some women even got T-shirts printed saying 'I am Jerome Kerviel's girlfriend'. 

But for others he has always been viewed as a reckless trader who refused to take responsibility for his actions. He has written a book about his experiences and has made occasional television appearances defending his line. 

But any money he has made from his story will barely make a dent in the 5bn euro debt he has been asked to pay back to Societe General. As one journalist here put it: "To raise the total, on his current salary after tax would take 333 thousand years". 

The bank has said it will be "realistic" about what it actually asks for. But it is Jerome Kerviel's prison sentence that will perhaps send the strongest message to other banks and traders around the world.

***

The ex-trader lost the bank almost 5bn euros ($6.5bn; £4bn) in 2008, and was convicted in 2010.

Kerviel, who was also convicted of unauthorised computer use, has always said his bosses knew what he was doing.

He will also have to pay back the losses incurred by the bank.

However, Societe Generale has said it will not demand full repayment.

"The appeals court... upholds the ruling," the judge told Kerviel, adding that he would not go to jail immediately.

"Jerome Kerviel was the sole creator, inventor and user of a fraudulent system that caused these damages to Societe Generale," the court's written ruling said.

'Lamentable injustice'

The trader's lawyer said his client might consider a second appeal against the original sentence.

"We defended Jerome Kerviel vigorously and I confirm that despite all the evidence put forward by the defence, it was not enough to dissuade [the court] against the original verdict," said David Koubbi.

"Our aim was to defend Mr Kerviel against a lamentable injustice. I admit we have failed.

"We will continue to support Mr Kerviel in his fight and we will now decide with him if we can take this further with the court of cassation."

Societe Generale's lawyer said the bank would take into account Kerviel's income and assets when deciding how much it wanted its ex-employee to pay back.

Jean Veil said it would be "indecent" if Kerviel kept money made from his actions at the bank, for example from any book or film rights.

Despite his claims that his superiors knew all about his actions, Kerviel's former bosses and colleagues lined up to testify against him during the trial in 2010. The judge at the time ruled that the trader "knowingly went beyond his remit".

Kerviel has been banned from trading for life, while Societe Generale was also fined 4m euros by French regulators for failures in its risk control systems following the scandal.

Another high-profile case of rogue trading is that of Kweku Adoboli, a former trader with Swiss bank UBS.

He is on trial for false accounting and fraud, which the prosecution maintains led to £1.4bn of losses at the bank. Mr Adoboli claims his managers supported his risk-taking.

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Russian TV visits Muslim No-Go Zones in Paris ( video - english subtitles )

Israel: Turkey - The greatest threat to the world’s peace

 

The greatest threat to the world’s peace, at this moment, comes from a man named Recip Tayyip Erdogan. He is the prime minister of Turkey, at the head of the Justice and Development Party (“AK,” from the Turkish).

A former mayor of Istanbul, he was arrested and jailed when he publicly recited Islamist verses (“the mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets are our bayonets,” etc.), in defiance of the old secularist, Ataturk constitution, which made it an offence to incite religious and racial fanaticism. 

Erdogan’s credentials as an anti-Semite, but also as an anti-Communist, were established from his school days. He came from an observant Muslim family, and while nothing he says can be taken without salt, he claims an illustrious ancestry, of fighters for Turkish and Ottoman causes.

He is an “interesting case” in other respects. His post-secondary education was in economics; he is a very capable technocrat, and under his direction the Turkish economy was rescued.

He is a dragonslayer of inflation, and public deficits; he took dramatic and effective measures to clean up squalor in the Turkish bureaucracy, and as the saying goes, “he made the trains run on time.”

Erdogan is also a “democrat,” who has no reason not to be, because he enjoys tremendous and abiding domestic popularity. The party he founded came to power by a landslide, and has been twice re-elected. (He had a stand-in for prime minister at first, for he was still banned from public office.)  

There are demographic reasons, too, why Turkish secularism has been overwhelmed by Turkish Islamism. 

The Muslim faithful have babies; modern secularists don’t.Turkey's powerful, western-equipped military is now entirely Erdogan's baby, and the country's secularist constitution is a dead letter. Erdogan, the Islamist, now has absolute power.

 It was he who sent the "peace flotilla" to challenge Israel's right to blockade Gaza (recognized under international law and explicitly by the U.N.).

He made the inevitable violent result of that adventure into an anti-Israeli cause célèbre.

He has now announced that the next peace flotilla will be accompanied by the Turkish navy.This will put Israel in the position of either surrendering its right to defend itself, or firing on Turkish naval vessels.  

There is no way to overstate the gravity of this: Erdogan is manoeuvring to create a casus belli.

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Nonsense: UN calls for boycott of U.S. companies doing business in Israel

 

The Washington Free Beacon has obtained a report soon to be released by the United Nations that calls for an international campaign of legal attacks and economic warfare on a group of American companies that do business in Israel, including Hewlett-Packard, Caterpillar Inc., and Motorola Solutions Inc.

The Human Rights Council (HRC), a body dominated by Islamic countries and known for its hostility to, and heavy focus on, the Jewish State, issued the report. The George W. Bush administration refused to participate in the HRC, but President Barack Obama joined it soon after taking office. Members of the HRC include infamous human rights abusers such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Libya, China, and Cuba.

The Obama-approved body maintains a "Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories [sic]." The current rapporteur is American college professor Richard Falk, a 9/11 "truther" who once posted an anti-Semitic cartoon on his personal blog.

In a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, the Anti-Defamation League's Abraham Foxman blasted the report and the HRC's special rapporteur: "We believe you should have prevented the Secretariat from being a party to Mr. Falk's anti-Israel agenda. Mr. Falk's entire tenure as Special Rapporteur has served to undermine the credibility of the institution of the United Nations."

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Polish RC Prof. Paweł P. Wróblewski Joins Orthodox Church

Baptismal reception into the Orthodox Church of Polish Academic Professor Paweł P. Wróblewski.

 

By the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, «…in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.» (Acts 10:34); it was by His condescension that He invited into the Ark of Salvation – the Orthodox Church – Mr. Paweł Wróblewski, the Polish (Adjunct) Professor of the Seat of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy of the School of Philosophy of Wroclaw (formerly “Breslau”), who was baptized in our Holy Monastery.

Professor Paweł P. Wróblewski, Dr.(Ph.D.) of the History of Philosophy, specialized in the delivery of the texts of Aristotelian works (Corpus Aristotelicum), is descended from a Polish family traditionally dedicated to Roman Catholicism. He came in contact with the Holy Fathers of the Church three years ago through their sacred and divinely-inspired texts and became aware of the unique Truth of Orthodoxy, as well as the need to become incorporated therein, through holy Baptism.  His acquaintance with the Holy Monastery of the Pantocrator at Melissochori in northern Greece reinforced his convictions, and he subsequently communicated with the Monastery, so that his already lengthy search might find an optimistic fulfillment, in accordance with the divinely-inspired Canons of the Ecumenical Councils.

In a recent letter that he had sent to the local High Priest and our Prelate, the Metropolitan of Langadas, Lete and Rendini, Fr.John, the Professor deposited the experiences that had led him to his incorporation into the Orthodox Church; among other things, he wrote the following:

«When I first attended the Greek-spoken Divine Liturgy of Saint John the Chrysostom, the heavens opened up before me during the prayers, and the Lord touched my soul from Above…  From the moment that God revealed the truth of Orthodoxy to my inner world – whose influence is so strong that whoever finds it becomes certain that it is what he was always seeking – I knew I had found my spiritual Home.».

 

Professor Wróblewski then spoke of his desire to be incorporated in the Church in the manner defined by the sacred Canons – that is, the Apostolic ones, especially the 46th, also those of the Ecumenical Councils, as well as the canonical epistles of Saint Basil the Great.  In Poland, on account of the prevalence of the ecclesiology of Ecumenism and the (altered, as he wrote) “baptismal theology”, it was not possible for him to be accepted through baptism, inasmuch as the incorporation through Chrismation is becoming more and more scarce there, and incorporation into Orthodoxy is being replaced from the year 2000 onwards, by Confession and Holy Communion alone.

Professor Wróblewski’s baptism took place in the morning of Thursday, the 13th of September, in the Catholicon (Main Church) of the Holy Monastery of the Pantocrator at Melissochori, by His Eminence the Metropolitan John, who, after the Baptismal rite, addressed the neophyte with words of praise for God’s bounteous Providence and the Professor’s reciprocation to it, and words of edification for Paul (Paweł), to whom His Eminence stressed the uniqueness of Orthodoxy and the deifying energy that acts within Her boundaries, as well as the need for our constant spiritual struggle, “lest we become disqualified” (1 Cor.9:27)

During the baptismal rite, where the “positive alteration” of the Professor was evident, all the Brothers of the Holy Monastery were present and prayerfully participating, along with Stephen, the godfather.  His Eminence honored with his presence the entire event of this blessing, and later continued his conversation with Professor Wróblewski during the ensuing customary offerings and the meal in the Dining Hall, urging him to also visit other places of spiritual blessing, as well as the natural beauty of our region.

The University of Wroclaw (Uniwersytet Wrocławski) is one of the oldest Universities of Eastern Europe and the largest in the area, founded by the Jesuits around three centuries ago, currently hosting 40.000 students and 1.900 candidate doctors.  The last participation of the young and hope-bearing Professor was at the International Russo-Polish Scientific Conference, regarding «Problems of Culture in Russian and Polish Scientific Thought» (Saint Petersburg, 21-25 May 2012), where Professor Wróblewski expounded the topic of  “The Cultural Creativity of the Christendom according to Georges Florovsky”).

The Professor has participated -parallel to his academic activity- in official missions of the Polish State abroad.

His ecclesiologically documented and conscious turn to Orthodoxy, from within the traditional and austere roman-catholic environment of Poland is proof that not only does the Lord work salvation for those who were “afar off and to those who were near”  (Ephes.2:17), but also that once again, those who baptismally become joined to the Body of Christ – the Orthodox Church – act with a benevolent conscience and are internally “informed”, by having as their uncontested and unerring criterion and starting point the truthful documentation of ecclesiastic history, dogmatic self-awareness and the worshiping and canonical praxis of the Catholic Orthodox Church throughout the centuries.

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Christian Arabs Targeted Throughout the Middle East

 

The nations of the Middle East have been steadily forcing out Christian Arabs that have lived there for centuries, often in the most brutal fashion. This is the hallmark of Islam that has no tolerance for any other religion. Islam is a cult that has been at war with all religions, using terror, intimidation, and deception to achieve its goal.

The process has a long history. A recent Wall Street Journal commentary, "When the Arab Jews Fled", tells a story rarely told; the story of how an estimated 850,000 Jews living in Arab nations, many of whose families had lived in Middle Eastern nations for centuries, were forced to leave. What happened to them after Israel declared its sovereignty in 1948 is now occurring again, but for Christians in the wake of the so-called Arab Spring, the ascendency of the Muslim Brotherhood, and the militancy of al Qaeda and the Taliban.

Cynically, Arab nations have pointed to the Palestinians as an example of people made refugees by the creation of Israel but, generally unknown to most Americans and others has been the role of the United Nations in maintaining the myth of refugees via its Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), established to aid Palestinians in the wake of the 1948 war on Israel.

As Middle East experts, Steven J. Rosen and Daniel Pipes, pointed out in a Jerusalem Post article on July 10, 2012, "UNRWA's most consequential problem is its mission. Over 63 years, it has become an agency that perpetuates the refugee problem rather than contributing to its resolution.

URNWA does not work to settle refugees; instead by registering each day ever more grandchildren and great-grandchildren who have never been displaced from their homes or employment, artificially adding them to the tally of ‘refugees'. It adds to the number of refugees said to be aggrieved by Israel. By now, those descendants comprise over 90 percent of UNRWA refugees."

This presupposes that there is or ever was a state of "Palestine", but that is a name given the region by the Roman Emperor Hadrian to replace the name of Israel. It was unsuccessful but centuries later was incorporated into the Palestinian Mandate given England to administer following WWI. In point of fact, Palestine was never a state, has no borders, has no capitol city, has no currency, and was declared by Yassir Arafat as a means to wage war on Israel. Today, this so-called state is divided into two separate entities; the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza. They cordially hate one another.

After 1948, the Wall Street Journal article noted, "Jews began fleeing-to Israel, of course, but also to France, England, Canada, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S." Yemen had been home to more than 55,000 Jews' in Aden, (where) scores were killed in a vicious program in 1947. An airlift dubbed ‘Operation Magic Carpet' relocated most Yemenite Jews to Israel. In Libya, once home to 38,000 Jews, the community was subjected to many brutal attacks over the years."

"In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Jews continued to pour out of the Muslim countries. The Six-Day War of June 1967 brought some of the most violent anti-Jewish eruptions.

UNRWA, however, was only concerned with the so-called Palestinian Arabs. "The number of UNRWA refugees has steadily grown since 1949, from 750,000 to almost five million. At this rate," wrote Rosen and Pipes, "UNRWA refugees will exceed 8 million by 2030 and 20 million by 2060." This is, of course, absurd. The "Palestinians" are now the world's oldest "refugee" population.

In addition to the obstinence of UNRWA, its existence has been an obstruction to a resolution of the conflict between the "Palestinians" and Israel. This is a violation of the UN Refugee Convention. In a January 16, 2012 article by Anne Bayefsky in The Jerusalem Post, noted that "Years of UN-driven anti-Semitism have clearly deadened the nerve-endings of democracies..."

The UN General Assembly has annually sponsored a Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, followed by the usual anti-Israel agenda items.

"By the end of a year of double-standards, discrimination and hate-mongering eighty percent of all 2010 General Assembly resolutions criticizing specific countries for human rights violations were directed at the Jewish state alone. Only six of the remaining 191 UN member states face human rights criticism at all, one of which was the United States." The United States!

Will the UN declare its solidarity with the Arab Christians now under siege throughout the Middle East and across northern Africa? Don't count on it.

The world, worried about the spread of war in the Middle East as the result of the Syrian conflict, is not paying much attention to the plight of the millions of Arab Christians being driven from their homes. It is a tragedy of immense proportions and it is one that is entirely the result of the inherent hatred by Islam for all other faiths.

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National Geographic Channel on Terror Alert Over Bin Laden Documentary

The National Geographic Channel has beefed up security at its Washington headquarters after being “bombarded” by threats over its upcoming film, “SEAL Team Six: The Raid on Osama Bin Laden,” a source said yesterday.

 

The movie has prompted enough threats from what one source called “Muslim extremist groups” that the network felt it had to take the action.

“They have been bombarded with phone calls and blog posts, saying that anyone airing a film like this is asking for trouble,” the source added. 

“Enough threats have come in that the network is on higher security alert. They have a huge public building, with a museum and 1,600 people working.”

The network was already receiving sharp criticism for its decision to debut the feature-length TV movie Nov. 4, two days before the presidential election. Critics charged the timing was calculated to boost President Obama’s campaign. 

The film’s distributor is staunch Obama supporter Harvey Weinstein. The channel, also called NatGeo, denied that accusations.

A rep for National Geographic said only that the channel will air the film “no matter what,” adding, “We are big believers in the First Amendment.”

A source told The Post that the reaction is far from what NatGeo is used to.

“They’ve never seen such a dramatic reaction. It’s not like there’s outrage over airing a documentary on the Grand Canyon,” the source said.

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SYRIA: A bomb during Father Fadi Haddad's funeral, "martyr of reconciliation and harmony"

 

Damascus - A bomb exploded this morning during Fr. Fadi Jamil Haddad’s funeral, the Orthodox priest who was kidnapped and found dead yesterday in Damascus (see Fides 25/10/2012). According to local sources of Fides, the explosion killed two civilians and some soldiers. The funeral Mass, celebrated in the church of St. Elias in Qatana by Greek-Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius IV Hazim, was attended by thousands of Christians moved and saddened by the loss of the priest.

In a statement sent to Fides Agency, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch defines Fr. Haddad a "martyr of reconciliation and harmony." In fact, the priest "had engaged in a noble humanitarian mission to free a member of his parish who had been kidnapped a few days before." In the mediation, Fr. Fadi was kidnapped along with another intermediary. The kidnappers demanded a huge ransom and then killed him.

The note of the Orthodox Patriarchate reports the "terrible tragedy", "Father Fadi Haddad’s body was found on the morning of October 25 in the Drousha area. There were indescribable signs of torture and mutilation on his body. He was identified by Father Elias el-Baba, a priest of the town of Hina, and was taken to the clinic in the city. The Patriarchate in Damascus was informed of his martyrdom: his innocent blood is a sacrifice for reconciliation and harmony " .

The note Fides received continues: "We strongly condemn this brutal and barbaric act against civilians, the innocent and men of God, who strive to be apostles of peace. They are men who hold together the hearts, wrap the wounds of suffering, comfort the sick, strengthen the weak in these difficult circumstances. We express the depth of our sorrow for these heinous acts that are unprecedented in the long history of our beloved nation, built on the foundations of love, cooperation, peace and harmony."

The Patriarchate urges "all citizens, humanitarian organizations and all people of good will to condemn kidnapping, murder, destruction, robbery, assault to the safety and welfare of citizens." "We call all to dialogue, peace and harmony," he continues, "to put an end to the innocent bloodshed that takes place every day."

The text asks the faithful Christians "to stand firm in our faith and our hope in the power of the Lord who wanted us to have life, and in abundance (John 10:10)", inviting them to "stay in their land and their nation, "looking to the future" with the power of faith. " "We ask God - said the Orthodox Patriarch – that Father Fadi Haddad’s martyrdom is a sacrifice offered for the children of this nation and for a truce in the painful events we are experiencing in this period."

Father Fadi Jamil Haddad was born in the city of Qatana on February 2, 1969. He studied theology in Damascus and Lebanon. He had married and was ordained a priest in 1995 by His Beatitude Patriarch Ignatius IV Hazim. He was the pastor of the Greek-Orthodox church of St. Elijah in Qatana. A source of the Patriarchate remarks that "he was loved by all religious groups and had not taken a position in the political conflict in Syria, but was strongly committed to reconciliation." 

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Syria: The Patriarchate of Antioch's Statement on the Martyrdom of Fr Fadi Haddad

"O Lover of Mankind, inasmuch as You are the God of Peace and Father of Mercies"

We turn to you our sorrowful hearts and ask You for mercy, that in Your compassion You will lead us to peace, treat us kindly, have compassion for us, and guide us to reason and awareness, we humans who are created in your divine image and likeness.

On October 18 of this year, the Reverend Father Fadi Haddad, priest of the parish of the Prophet Elias in Qatana went out on a noble humanitarian mission to return a member of his parish who had been kidnapped a few days earlier. What occurred was more difficult than expected and Father Fadi was himself kidnapped along with the other intermediary, the random, and a private vehicle. The tragic series of events began with negotiations with the kidnappers who demanded an enormous sum of money.

There had been hope that consciences would be sober, lest a painful tragedy occur, which is what happened, as the body of Father Fadi Haddad was found on the morning of Thursday, October 25 in the region of Drousha. On him were indescribable marks of torture and mutilation. He was identified by the Reverend Father Elias el-Baba, priest of the town of Hina and he was transported to the town clinic. The Patriarchate in Damascus was informed of his martyrdom, that his pure and blameless blood may a sacrifice for reconciliation and harmony.

We turn to God, may He be exalted, asking mercy and forgiveness for him. At the same time, however, we condemn in the harshest terms this beastly and barbaric act aimed at civilians, the innocent, and men of God who strive to be apostles of peace who bring hearts together, dress the wounds of the suffering, comfort the sorrowing, and strengthen the weak in these difficult circumstances. We express the profundity of our pain as our beloved nation as it witnesses heinous acts that are unprecedented in its long history which has enjoyed a life built on the foundation of love, cooperation, peace, and harmony.

1 day ago

1 day ago

Fr. Fadi Jamil Haddad

Greek Orthodox Priest Found Tortured And Murdered By Islamist

We urge all citizens, humanitarian organizations and all those of good will and good intentions, who are the majority of our kind, peaceful, and life-loving people, to join with us in condemning the kidnapping, murder, destruction, robbery, and assault on the security and well-being of citizens that is taking place. We call them to dialogue, peace, and harmony, especially the men of God among them.

We likewise call children of this country to cooperate and support each other in these difficult circumstances in order to contain the evil that is besetting us in the hope of putting an end to it and to the bath of innocent blood that takes place every day, in which innocent people from all elements of society in the nation are falling. We hope to arrive at putting a final end to it through all humanitarian means which lead to the outbreak of peace instead of war, love instead of hatred, rapprochement instead of estrangement, as our common history has seen and sees.

We turn to our beloved children and affirm that we are children of resurrection and life because our Lord taught us when He said:

"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life"

We are children of the hope that conquers all human feeling of weakness. We remind them that the Savior's crucifixion preceded His Resurrection from the dead. The path to Golgotha ends with life bursting forth from the tomb with the light of the Savior's glorious Resurrection.

We affirm to all our children that we remain steadfast in our faith and our hope in the power of our Lord who desired that we have life, and more abundantly (John 10:10). We call on them in the love of Christ to remain in their land and their nation and for us not to stand at the border of tragedy and weep for our dead, since it is the will of Life for us to grow in faith and hope. We urge them to look to our future which we are building by the power of faith, to realize free and dignified life for the children of our nation and our people.

7 hours ago

7 hours ago

We ask God that the martyrdom of Father Fadi Haddad be a sacrifice offered for the children of this nation and a stopping point to the painful events that we are living in this wicked time.

We ask God's rich and abundant mercy for our beloved departed martyr and we turn to him for mercy for our people, our beloved nation, and for all the peoples and countries of this afflicted Middle East

Issued by the Patriarchate on October 25, 2012.

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Elder Paissios: Are you Jesus’ warrior or a fighter for the tempter?

I told someone once: ‘What are you? Are you Jesus’ warrior or a fighter for the tempter? Do you realize that there are also fighters for the evil one? A Christian ought not to be a fanatic but ought to love all people’.

Whoever speaks without discretion, he harms people even when he is right. I met a writer who was very devout, but when he was talking to laymen, he was very blunt to the extent that they were shocked. He told me once: ‘I said such and such to a lady during a meeting’. However, he had talked in such a way that he had ‘damaged’ her, offending her in front of everyone.

‘Look’, I said to him. ‘You throw wreaths with diamonds at people. But the way you do it, breaks their heads, even the heads which are not very sensitive. Let’s not throw stones at people, in the name of Christianity. Whoever… rebukes one in front of others because he had committed a sin, or talks to someone aggressively, he is not moved by the Spirit of the Lord; He is moved by another spirit. The way of the Church differs from the way of the law.

The Church always perseveres and looks for ways to help one, no matter what one did, no matter how much he had sinned. There is some strange logic to be found among the devout. It is ok that they are devout and that they possess the desire to do good but they also need to acquire spiritual discernment and broadmindedness if they are to avoid being narrow minded.

The whole point is for one to acquire a solid spiritual state and discernment, otherwise he remains within ‘the letter’ of the law which ‘kills the law’.

He who has acquired humility never pretends to be a teacher; he listens and if asked speaks humbly. He never talks assertively but says: ‘I think such and such’ or ‘the holy fathers said such and such’. In other words he speaks as if he is the pupil. He who believes that he is able to correct others is very selfish.

- Elder, when one has a good intention to do something but goes over the top, does he lack discernment?

- He is full of pride and does not realize it, because he does not know himself. That’s the reason he goes over the top. Occasionally people begin to do something out of reverence but look what they end up doing! Just like the icon- lovers and the icon- fighters. These are the two extremes!

- The former reached the stage where they would scratch the wood on Jesus’ icon and pour the chippings inside the Holy Grail to make the Holy Communion better! The latter would burn the icons and throw them away!

- It is for this reason that the Church had to place the icons high up. When the fighting broke off, the icons where lowered so that people would worship them and honor the person depicted on the icon.

‘Whatever we do, we ought to do it for the Lord’

- Elder, I normally try to avoid hurting others or fall from their eyes; I never think about saddening the Lord. How is it possible to increase the fear of God in me?

- You need to be vigilant. Whatever one does, one ought to do it for the sake of the Lord. We normally forget about the Lord and as a result we think that we are doing something special. We love to be people-pleasers and try to avoid falling in their eyes. On the other hand, when one acts while thinking that the Lord sees him and watches him, he treads with confidence. On the contrary, when all he does is looking to please people and winning their favor, he loses everything. Everything he does goes in vain.

For every deed, one must ask himself: ‘Ok. I like this. Does the Lord like it also?’ And then he must see whether what he does is pleasing to the Lord. If he forgets to do this, he then forgets all about the Lord as well. In the old days people would say: ‘for God’s sake!’ or ‘He is fearless of the Lord; isn’t he afraid of the Lord?’ Or ‘God willing we will do such and such’ or ‘If the Lord wishes it , we will do such and such’. They felt the Lord’s presence everywhere and had constantly the Lord in mind and thus they were careful. “I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken” (Psalms 16, 8). And indeed they were not shaken.

These days as you see, many people become westernized and avoid doing harm out of politeness. However, whatever one does, one ought to do it purely for Jesus; he ought to have in mind that Jesus sees him and is watching him. Jesus ought to be at the centre of his every deed. His deeds must not be contaminated by anything secular. If we act in order to please people, we derive no benefit. We must be very careful on this.

One always ought to be aware of the reasons behind his every act and as soon as he recognizes that it is tainted with any desire to please people he ought to reject the deed immediately. When there is such a desire it is as if one tries to drain water with a bucket full of holes.

We create most of our own temptations especially when we act out of selfishness. When we act in such a way, we wish to place ourselves above others and strive to satisfy ourselves. No one ascends to Heaven through worldly achievements; only through his spiritual descent. He, who always walks low, always treads carefully and never stumbles. Therefore, we ought to try as best we can to uproot the desire for worldly awards and worldly successes; these constitute spiritual failure. We ought to detest any hidden or obvious selfishness and the desire to please others and ought to love Jesus with honesty.

Our times are described by the desire to do things to impress and are full of things which are in reality unfulfilling. It is best if we were to do what we can properly, without fanfare and without going overboard, otherwise this will be to the detriment of our soul and body and often will be to the detriment of the Church as well.

When we wish to genuinely assist our neighbor, then we genuinely please Jesus. This is where we must place our emphasis: how to cleanse our act in helping our neighbor. That is, how to remove any trace of the need to pleasing people in our actions. It is only in this way that our human offering will reach Jesus.

When one tries to clarify Ecclesiastical issues in a seemingly orthodox way, when really deep down he is only interested in showing off, how is he ever going to be blessed by the Lord?

One ought to try living in such a way as to be kin to the Lord. One ought to always watch himself to see if he is following the Lord’s will.

When he does follow God’s will, then he becomes God’s kin and whatever he asks of Him, he will receive. He will constantly drink water from the source.

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Syria: Greek Orthodox priest abducted in Damascus is found dead

Father Fady was one of the symbols of national unity. Grant mercy on Father Fady Haddad, a martyr of the nation and humanity, and shame on those criminal killers who are destroying the country.

Fady al-Haddad served the St Elie parish in Qatanaa, a mixed Christian and Muslim town of 15,000 inhabitants 20 kilometers (12 miles) west of Damascus

BEIRUT -- A Greek Orthodox priest has been found slain after being kidnapped near the Syrian capital of Damascus, the Syrian government and the Vatican news service reported Thursday.

The body of the Rev. Fadi Jamil Haddad, pastor of St. Elias Church in Qatana, outside Damascus, was discovered  in the Jaramana district  of the capital, reported Agenzia Fides, the Vatican news service. The site was not far from the area where he was kidnapped by an “unidentified armed group" last Friday, the agency said.

The Vatican agency quoted a colleague saying the priest had been “horribly tortured.”

The official Syrian news service said the priest was found with a gunshot wound to his head. The government news agency blamed the crime on “terrorists,” its usual characterization of the armed opposition fighting to oust President Bashar Assad.

According to the official  account, the priest was abducted while seeking the release of another person who had been kidnapped by militants.

But it was not clear if the priest’s slaying was political, sectarian or criminal in nature. Many Syrians have complained of a breakdown in law and order and a spike in kidnapping for ransom and other crimes as security has deteriorated. Opportunistic criminals have moved to take advantage of the nation's security void. 

The Vatican news agency reported that the priest’s kidnappers had demanded a ransom equivalent to about $715,000 for the priest’s release. “It was, however, impossible to find the money and meet this exorbitant demand,” reported Agenzia Fides. 

The Greek Orthodox population is considered the largest Christian denomination in Syria, where Christians represent perhaps 10% of the population. Syria is overwhelmingly Muslim.

Christian leaders in Syria say their community, which has ancient roots, is in a precarious position. Some Christians have joined the rebellion and called for Assad to step down. But  many Syrian Christians back Assad, whose administration has been tolerant of religious minorities even as it  has crushed political dissent. 

Assad has tried to rally support among Christians and other minorities against the armed rebellion, which is led by the nation's Sunni Muslim majority. There have been reports from Syria of government efforts to arm Christian communities. But some Christian leaders have urged their co-religionists to remain neutral in the conflict.

Some Christians voice fears that Islamists will take over the secular Syrian government and that the nation will experience the kind of sectarian violence, including the bombing of churches and torching of Christian shops, that ravaged neighboring Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein. Hussein, like Assad, was a secular autocrat who tolerated Christian religious practice. Tens of thousands of Iraqi Christians fled to Syria in the aftermath of Hussein’s fall.

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Pope Supports Russian Church’s Position on Vandalism

 

Pope Benedict XVI has agreed with the Russian Orthodox Church’s position regarding acts of vandalism in downtown Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral, the Church said.

“Pope Benedict XVI has expressed solidarity with the Russian Orthodox Church’s position on the issue and perplexity over the reaction of a number of media to these events,” the church said on its website on Wednesday.

It said the head of the Roman Catholic Church also expressed his “words of support to the Russian Church in connection with the blasphemous act in the Christ the Savior Cathedral in February.”

The issues were discussed at a meeting between Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Russian Church's Department of External Church Relations, and the Pope in the Vatican on Tuesday.

In September, a man poured ink on an icon in the central Moscow cathedral. Earlier, vandals sawed down crosses in three Russian regions. In March a man chopped 38 icons in the Vologda Region with an ax. The events followed February’s “punk prayer” by the Pussy Riot punk band in the Christ the Savior Cathedral.

An edited clip of Pussy Riot’s protest in late February posted online showed the group alternately high-kicking near the entrance to the altar of the Christ the Savior Cathedral, accompanying the “Holy S**t” song urging the Virgin Mary to “drive [Vladimir] Putin out.” The song contained words insulting to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and to believers.

Three band members were found guilty of hooliganism aimed at inciting religious hatred and jailed for two years each on August 17. The prison term for one of them was later replaced with a suspended sentence. The trial and sentences attracted unprecedented media attention and international criticism, which Moscow dismissed as "groundless" saying the band's act was not an issue of artistic performance but was "insulting to millions of Orthodox [Christian] believers." The band said their performance was not aimed at insulting believers' feelings.

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“Invisible Children: Rough Cut” - Top Documentary Film on Uganda's child soldiers ( video )

In the spring of 2003, three young Americans traveled to Africa in search of such as story. What they found was a tragedy that disgusted and inspired them. A story where children are weapons and children are the victims. The "Invisible Children: rough cut" film exposes the effects of a 20 year-long war on the children of Northern Uganda. 

These children live in fear of abduction by rebel soldiers, and are being forced to fight as a part of violent army. This wonderfully reckless documentary is fast paced, with an MTV beat, and is something truly unique. 

To see Africa through young eyes is humorous and heart breaking, quick and informative - all in the very same breath. See this film, you will be forever changed.

Aleppo: Syrian Orthodox school hit in attack

The Syrian Orthodox Church has condemned the violence in Aleppo after one of its schools was struck by a homemade mortar last Friday.

There were no children at the Bani Taghieb I School at the time as it was a holiday.

The Church said in a statement that missiles were falling “relentlessly and indiscriminately” over Aleppo.

“At this juncture it is rather difficult and frankly irrelevant to know the source of the mortar,” the Church said.

“The missiles cause an untold toll of martyrdom, fatalities, injuries and great damages to utilities, infrastructure and antiquities.”

The Church added that the fighting was disrupting children’s education.

“We believe it is high time that belligerent brothers should get together to discuss the need to bring about ceasefire, co-operate to re-establish security and bring back the life to our beloved city, so 

Aleppians can celebrate Eid and festivities in the usual joyful customary ways and usher the start of a new era of reform and justice,” it said.

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The School of Byzantine Music Opened for the First Time in Tirana, Albania

On October 2012 first, with the blessing and support of Archbishop Anastasios, and after many efforts and prayers, the School of Byzantine Music opened for the first time at the Thavor Complex in Tirana. 

Among the staff of the School present were Archimandrite Justin Anthimiadhi, Mr. Theodhor Peci who is also the director of the school, Mr. Stefan Xhupa and some other professors of Byzantine Music. In this first step toward Church education, His Beatitude, with special care and love, inaugurated the school, offering this possibility to all that have the desire and will to acquire extensive qualifications in Byzantine music. On this special day, His Beatitude held a meeting with all the students will be the school’s first generation. One of the finest words His Beatitude said in this meeting was: “The Church gives the best for you, and you must give the best of yourself”. 

A Blessing of the Waters Service was held to celebrate the new beginning. At the end of the service, Archbishop Anastasios wished all the students well, emphasizing: “Let us bless God who has made us worthy of this new step of opening this school for the graceful Psalters. This is something very important because the Psalters have a central role inside our worship. All of you strive to the best of your ability in order to have the best results, and in addition to the studies, to create a harmonic environment among yourselves. May God bless every work and effort that is done by you.” With the blessing of God and with the blessings of our Archbishop, we wish the best for the new school.

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The most wanted Tamil Tiger leader will not be prosecuted

Colombo - Selvarasa Kumaran Pathmanathan, the former head the international secretariat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), was released on Wednesday, the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence announced at a press conference at the Media Centre for National Security (MCNS). Lakshman Hulugalle, the MCNS' director general, said that Kumaran would not be prosecuted for lack of evidence, and that his release constitutes a "major victory" for the government. However, many Sri Lankans are critical of the move, calling it "irresponsible".

Known by his initials of KP, Pathmanathan smuggled billions worth in weapons for the Tamil rebels. Interpol wants him for his smuggling operations across Asia, Canada, United States and Europe. India wants him for the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.
Sri Lankan authorities caught him not long after the death of the LTTE's supreme leader, Thiruvenkadam Velupillai Prabhakaran (in May 2009), and brought him first to Colombo, then to an undisclosed location.

After his arrest, Kumaran began cooperating with the authorities, acting as a mediator with the Tamil Diaspora, providing intelligence about the LTTE's organisation and information about LTTE operatives still on the run. However, he was never brought before a court.

Kusal Perera, journalist and political analyst, is critical of the case's lack of transparency. "First, Kumaran was never arrested. He was never produced before any court of law and we have never heard of any legal detention or remand order for him; therefore, we don't know of any investigation. Yet, he was kept under tight security."

For Perera, the former LTTE leader bargained his freedom to avoid Interpol and LTTE rebels who had rejected his leadership claim.

For Jehan Perera, executive director of the National Peace Council, Kumaran's release is a major problem because he is still "wanted by Interpol" and was slated to "become LTTE supreme leader. For this reason, it is hard to believe that the government does not have any evidence against him. If they want to work with him, they should try him and then pardon him."
According to Fr Nananda Manatunge, director of the Human Rights Office in Kandy, the issue "is about justice and the rule of law."

"When I heard about him, I thought about all the people in prison under the Prevention Terrorist Act who have not yet been charged, about those who were tortured into signing confessions on blank papers and are now facing eight or ten charges."


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People's religious feelings should be respected, but Russia is a secular state – Putin said

 

 

 Novo-Ogaryovo, October 18, Interfax - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday commented o the situation around the wearing of hijabs at schools.

"We should always treat the religious feelings of people with deep respect. This should manifest itself in government activity, in nuances, in all. Second, ours is a secular state and that's what we should proceed from," Putin said at a meeting with representatives of the All-Russian Popular Front.

The hijab issue was raised by a female participant, who criticized one of the Cabinet ministers for saying that there was nothing terrible in schoolgirls wearing hijabs, when asked to comment on the matter.

Although, Russia is a multi-religion state, it is also a secular state with "common secular rules", Putin remarked.

"In our country, the church is separated from the state", he added. "This is an important element of our life - for today and for tomorrow. We should take a look at our neighbors, how they deal with such problems, say, in European countries. And then all will become clear".

Everything should be done in a "calm and acceptable form so as not to offend anyone, through discussions with religious communities," the president said. "I saw how some respected people, including in the Islamic environment, spoke about the values of our living in a secular state".

If Russia is allowed to move in a different direction, then "here I ask you to listen attentively - more than 80% of our country's population associate themselves with Orthodoxy, formally or informally".

"In other words, if all people are not equal, if they do not abide by the secular principles of our state, then representatives of all other traditional religions may feel hurt in some way or other in the not so distant future," Putin said.

Earlier, a Stavropol region mufti said that some Muslim parents complained of their daughters having been barred from attending classes in one of the local schools while wearing hijabs.

Education and Science Minister Dmitry Livanov said, in response to these complaints, that the wearing of hijabs did not contradict school regulations or commonly accepted norms.

Stavropol Duma deputy Olga Timofeyeva called his statement "absurd". "This man fails to understand the traditions existing in schools in the North Caucasus", she told Interfax. 

 

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Terror in Lebanese capital of Beirut - 8 kills: Suspicions surround Syria and Israel

 

Intelligence chief Gen. Wissam al-Hasan, was killed in yesterday’s attack in Ashrafieh. He had eradicated Syrian Israeli and Salafi espionage and terrorist cells. Protests in many cities across Lebanon. Politicians and people accuse Assad. The UN envoy’s attempts at a truce before the end of the month. Condolences pour in from across the world, including the Vatican. Patriarch Rai’s appeal for unity and coexistence.

Beirut (AsiaNews) - Lebanon's security services are leaving no stone unturned, including tracks leading to Syrian or Israeli involvement in yesterday's terrorist attack which destroyed a part of the Ashrafieh district and killed eight people, among them security forces chief, Gen. Wissam al-Hasan.

In comments published this morning in the As-Safir newspaper, the head of the security forces, Ashraf Rifi, said that "all options are open, but we are looking for tangible evidence." He admitted that the killing of al-Hasan can be tied to the arrest of former minister Michel Samaha, who has close ties with Damascus, but also pointed out that the terrorist act may be a response to the unveiling of an Israeli spy network in Lebanon, or the hunt for terrorist cells in the country.

Wissam al-Hasan (pictured) is the most prominent victim of the eight people killed after a powerful explosion (60-70kg of explosives) in a street adjacent to Sassine square, that left 78 people injured and extensive damage to buildings .
Al-Hasan had returned to Lebanon the day before and no one knew of his arrival. His movements were always preceded by communiqués to throw would-be attackers off track. A brilliant analyst, and young (47 years old), al-Hasan was to succeed Rifi in 2013. Knowing that he was a key target, he took every precautions. His wife and two children had been transferred to Paris.

The general is credited with having dismantled pro-Israeli, pro-Syrian and Salafi cells of espionage and terrorism.

Last night, the Druze Walid Jumblatt and Sunni Saad Hariri immediately pointed the finger at Syria, as principal author of the attack. The Sunni population has now launched protests in several cities of Lebanon: Beirut, Saida, Bekaa, Tripoli, Kamed el-Loz, Bire.

Wissam al-Hasan

The assassination of Wissam al-Hasan risks creating a deeper furrow between the Lebanese communities, already divided between those who support the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and those who want his departure from the scene.

The Sassine square car bomb (but intelligence has not excluded the possibility of a suicide bomber) seems to confirm fears that the Syrian civil war can spread to Lebanon and the region.

Yesterday's massacre came just as UN peace envoy Lahdar Brahimi, was in Damascus, groping for a truce on the occasion of Eid, which begins Oct. 26. He even got Iran - Syria's major sponsor - to accept a possible fall of Assad, provided it was through elections.

The international community unanimously condemned the attack that has attempted to "destabilize Lebanon." Statements of condemnation and condolences emerged from the UN Security Council, the European Union, Canada, Brazil, USA, France.

The Vatican, through press office director Fr. Lombardi, condemned the "absurd murderous violence" and appealed that it not become "an opportunity to foster further violence." Only a month ago Benedict XVI paid a visit to Beirut, pointing to Lebanon as a model of coexistence between religions and ethnicities, important for the Middle East and the entire world.
The Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai, condemned the "criminal acts that remind us of days we thought long behind us." From the Vatican, where he is participating in the Synod on the New Evangelization, he urged all Lebanese to remain "united against the forces of evil that want to create dissension among us" and to "preserve Lebanon as a model of coexistence."

Even Hezbollah - suspected by many Lebanese as the authors of the attack - condemned the crackdown, expressing "great shock at this terrible crime of terror." Syria, for its part, denounced the massacre as "vile", "unjustifiable" and "terrorist." Iran today condemned the terrorist explosion which "seeks to create divisions between the different Lebanese groups, to the detriment of the interests of Lebanon." "Without a doubt - continues the statement of the Foreign Ministry - the main enemy of the Lebanese people is the Zionist regime."

This morning, Marwan Charbel, Lebanese minister of the interior, revealed that al-Hasan had received death threats long before he revealed the Samaha affair.

Top Moscow scientific university announces chair in theology

 

Moscow - One of the most prestigious scientific schools in Russia, the National University for Nuclear Studies, also known as "Mefi" is about to open a new department dedicated to theological studies. Announced by Forbes magazine, the news has quickly spread on the internet causing some controversy. The initiative, reportedly, was undertaken by the university, but there are those who will see yet another "pitch invasion" of the Russian Orthodox Church in society, in a climate of tension in relations between the Moscow Patriarchate and civil society, after the Pussy Riot case.

The Department will be chaired by the Metropolitan of Volokolamsk, Hilarion, chairman of the Synodal Department for External Relations of the Patriarchate. Archpriest Vladimir Shmaliy, Vice Chancellor of the University's postgraduate church studies, explained that the idea of a theology department belongs solely to the university and dates back to 2010, during a visit by Patriarch Kirill. In the past Mefi hosted courses for Orthodox seminarians on physics, astronomy and chemistry and now Christian scholars "reciprocate" with courses on the history of the Church, dogma and religious culture. They are, however, voluntary lessons and the university said it would not prohibit students expressing different and contrary views and religious beliefs will not be a discriminating factor for access to courses.

As reported by Izvestia, the Church is preparing a document entitled "The balance between faith and science" and the new theology department should help to provide students with a less Manichean vision of reality, "in which faith and reason are not necessarily at odds, "explained the Patriarchate.

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