Dias, the Ionian Island Dedicated to the Panagia Where Orthodox Priests Were Exiled

Steep on all sides and imposing, it has been described by Professor Spyros Marinatos as “the Meteora of the sea”. It was named Dias because in ancient times, on the rocky islet there was an altar of the god Zeus. 

There is a reference in Hesiod about this islet that, at the top of Aenos in Kefallonia, there was a Temple of the God Zeus, where traces and many relics of sacrifices had been found, which were saved until 1813. When the priests on Aenos sacrificed the sacred carcasses on the altar of Zeus, the smoke that rose to the sky gave the "sign" and the ceremony of a second, almost simultaneous sacrifice began on the rocky islet of Dias, which is in line of sight with Megalo Soros (the highest peak of Aenos). When the priests saw the second column of smoke, they understood that the sacrifice to Zeus had been completed. 

The rocky islet of Dias during the British rule was a place of exile for clergy, for spiritual and political reasons. Many priests, on the occasion of the measures imposed by the English, opposed and were accused of seeking popular uprisings against the English authority. In fact, in a specific issue of civil law, which had to do with the chronological system of registry acts, and was the subject of the Church, many priests resisted. The priests of Lixouri resisted very vigorously and were exiled to Dias and Vardiani as punishment.

July: Day 2: Deposition of the Honorable Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos in Blachernae

July: Day 2:
Deposition of the Honorable Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos in Blachernae
 
(On Reverence for the Sacred)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The present celebration of the Deposition of the Honorable Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos was established in the following way. Tradition says that the Most Holy Theotokos gave one of Her garments to a Jewish woman, a pious maiden, with the order, in turn, before Her death, to give it to the same maiden. In the 5th century, two brothers, Greek nobles, Galbius and Candidus, went to venerate the holy Places in Palestine. Going to Nazareth, the city where the Annunciation took place, they stopped to spend the night in one village in the house of a pious Jewish woman. Here in one of the rooms they saw a large number of lamps and smelled the smell of incense. The nobles asked the hostess about the room, and she told them that she kept a precious relic - the robe of the Most Holy Theotokos. The Greek brothers, considering the keeping of the robe of the Theotokos by a Jewish woman impious, decided to secretly carry off the holy robe. Having made a reliquary exactly similar to the one in which the robe was kept, they prayed to God that He would not impute to them a sin for stealing the reliquary with the robe, secretly took this reliquary at night, and put their own, and brought the robe to Constantinople, placing it in their house. But since many miracles were manifested from the robe of the Theotokos in their house, then, by order of the Emperor Leo, Patriarch Gennadios transferred it with reverence to the Blachernae Church of the Theotokos. This was in the year 474. Parts of the clothing of the Theotokos, separated from that which had been placed in Constantinople, are in various places: in the Dormition and Annunciation Cathedrals in Moscow, in the Lateran Cathedral in Rome, and on Athos in the Russian Skete of the Prophet Elijah.

The Sistine Chapel of Vatican City (Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

The Sistine Chapel of Vatican City 

 

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

Recently, on the occasion of the election of the new Pope, there had been much talk about the temple in which the conclave of Cardinals gathered to elect him, namely the Capella Sistina or Sistine Chapel.

The Capella Sistina (Sistine Chapel) was renovated by Pope Sixtus IV from 1473 to 1477 in order to be used as the Papal Chapel (Cappella Pontificia), which was established in 1483 in honor of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. The Sistine Chapel is named after Pope Sixtus IV.

In order to paint the temple, many prominent painters were enlisted, such as Botticelli, Perugino, Signorelli, Cosimo Rosselli, Pinturicchio and others, but mainly the great painter Michelangelo, who constitutes the pinnacle of the Renaissance and heralds the Baroque.

The Orthodox Christians of Syria and Lebanon

By Konstantinos Holevas, Political Scientist

Syria and Lebanon are countries with a multi-religious character. The civil war between Maronite Christians and Muslims, but also between Muslims among themselves, began in Lebanon in 1975. The country still has difficulty making peace today. In Syria, the civil war between the Assad government and its opponents began in 2011. The Assad family, which was overthrown in December 2024, was supported by the Alawite minority. Turkey still maintains military and political influence in Syria today. Greece has the right and obligation to be concerned about the protection of the Orthodox Christians of the region and to press in every way for the peaceful coexistence of all religious groups in the Middle East.

For a better understanding of the problem, I will list five questions with the corresponding answers

July: Day 1: Holy Unmercenaries Kosmas and Damian

July: Day 1:
Holy Unmercenaries Kosmas and Damian
 
(On Imitating Them)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Today the Holy Church celebrates the memory of the Holy Unmercenaries Kosmas and Damian, who suffered in Rome in 284. They were brothers and were raised in Christian piety. Having studied the art of medicine, they, with the help of God's grace, healed all kinds of illnesses. Helping people, they also healed animals. The good healers did not take payment or reward for healing from anyone and therefore were called unmercenary doctors or unmercenaries. They demanded only one thing from those being healed: that they believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Healing the sick in Rome itself and in the surrounding cities, they converted many to Christ. Giving healing to the sick, they also helped the poor from their estates left to them by their parents, fed the hungry, clothed the naked, and did other works of mercy.