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ΕΠΙΣΚΕΨΗ ΤΟΥ ΑΠΕΡΧΟΜΕΝΟΥ ΠΡΕΣΒΕΩΣ ΤΗΣ ΓΕΩΡΓΙΑΣ ΣΤΗΝ Α.Θ,Μ.

Την 15η Απριλίου ε.ε, η Α.Θ.Μ. ο Πάπας και Πατριάρχης Αλεξανδρείας και πάσης Αφρικής κ.κ.Θεόδωρος Β’ εδέχθη στην Πατριαρχική Καθέδρα την επίσκεψη του απερχομένου Πρέσβη της Γεωργίας στην Αίγυπτο, Εξοχ.κ.Giorgi Janjgava.
Κατά την συνάντηση αυτή ο Μακαριώτατος ανεφέρθη στους αδελφικούς δεσμούς του παλαιφάτου Πατριαρχείου με την Εκκλησία της Γεωργίας και τον Σεπτό Προκαθήμενο αυτής Μακ.Πατριάρχη κ.Ηλία. Επίσης εξήρε την καλλίκαρπη πρεσβευτική θητεία του Εξοχ.κ.Janjgava στην Νειλοχώρα και του απένειμε τον Σταυρό του Αποστόλου και Ευαγγελιστού Μάρκου.
Ο κ.Πρέσβης ευχαρίστησε τον Μακ.Πατριάρχη για την γενομένη τιμή και επήνεσε το έργο και την προσωπικότητα Του.
Ακολούθησε περιήγηση του Γεωργιανού διπλωμάτη στους χώρους του Πατριαρχικού Μεγάρου και παράθεση γεύματος στην Πατριαρχική Τράπεζα.



Aρχιμ.Παντελεήμων Αράθυμος

Message of His Holiness Garegin II on the Feast of the Glorious Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ

In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.“Yet now He has been reconciled in the body of His flesh through death,to present you holy and blameless, and above reproach in His sight –if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast,and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard,which was preached to every creature under heaven.”Colossians 1:22-23Dear pious faithful,The tiding of the glorious and holy resurrection of our Lord and Savior is proclaimed to us from the holy altars of our churches today. The incomparable news of the grace of mankind’s salvation once more resounds within our faithful souls: Our Lord Jesus Christ reconciled us with God in the body of His flesh through His death, to present us before the Father as holy, spotless and immaculate, if we remain grounded and steadfast in faith and unshaken from the hope of the Gospel, which we heard and was preached to all creation under heaven.Indeed, who can present men before God as holy and immaculate, if not the Son of God alone? He Who paid the ransom for the sins of mankind with his righteous and honorable blood; and through His resurrection, saved us from death and granted us the path to eternal life. Today we once again praise and glorify Christ with exultation; we are renewed with faith and hope, which is the message of the Gospel, since the Savior of the world is Risen and we are hopeful for the grace of salvation He grants us.The belief in God is not merely the comprehension that He exists. Rather, it is the love for God, the acceptance of His message, as our fathers have taught us, and to be guided by that life-giving message. Faith is the most precious legacy, the light and vitality of the soul, which must be protected, cared for, sustained and nurtured, so that no thought, word or deed may cause it to be harmed or damaged within our soul.Faith in Christ, Who is the “true image of the invisible God”, is the recognition and praise of divine love and mercy toward men, and to live life with that love. During the course of His earthly mission, our Lord Jesus Christ frequently spoke about the importance of faith. He preached and performed miracles primarily in those places where He found faith; and was saddened and grieved when He could not find souls with faith and hope in God – finding instead merely the external appearance of worshipping God. Our Lord is always with us, if we are with Him with an undoubting soul. And there where the Lord is, is freedom, truth, justice, love and peace. Where the Lord is, is the grace of salvation, healing, consolation, resurrected spirit, hope and faith.The miracle of faith lives in the pages of the Holy Bible. The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are healed, and the dead are resurrected. Seeing all this and hearing the life-sustaining words of our Lord, men followed Him, believing that the prophecies about the Savior of mankind had come true. Faith was shaken and hopelessness enveloped men following the crucifixion. Fear overtook even the disciples of Jesus, who were confused and filled with doubt, when the Risen Christ appeared to them and spoke with them. The same Lord Who was crucified and placed in the tomb was now standing before the Apostles; they were now seeing Him, at last, risen. Then, with their minds enlightened, the Apostles understood that the path toward salvation for man – from death to life – had been opened before mankind. If they had been afraid or hopeless until now, they no longer feared death as they evangelized and spread the Gospel – the good news that Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, is Risen!Dear faithful sons and daughters, today and always, the Risen Christ is with humanity – to renew life, to transfigure the world. The Risen Christ is with men to solidify the love of God and the love of humanity within their souls, so that falsehood, injustice, jealousy and hatred are rejected; so that disasters and wars, pain, suffering and want are eliminated; and that the grace and mercy of God multiply in life as the earth receives light from the heavens, and dew and rain to make it green, flowering and bounteous. However, what can we expect, what future can we hope for, if life created by the Maker is entrenched within the soul that departs from the true love of God, from the divine light; within a soul that denies God? What outlook can there be, if not one “where evil men and imposters will go on from bad to worse”? 2 Timothy 3:13. The hope for the future is God, our Lord Jesus Christ, Who grants mankind the strength to live with resurrected life, to always progress toward the good, toward a peaceful, prosperous, secure and just world.Our people as well believed in their renewal of life and salvation in Christ, establishing themselves on the solid and unshakeable foundation of the hope and faith preached in the Gospel. The Risen Christ walked throughout our countryside through the faith of the Apostles, through our pontiff, the Apostle-like Saint Gregory the Illuminator and through many other saints, and illuminated the life of our people, blessed them with virtues of the mind and spirit, reinforced and protected them with hope during trials and tribulations. With the Savior as our refuge, our people rose again from the depths of the chasms of death; and their resurrected new life sprouted again. They built their homes, kept their native hearths burning, and although exiled from their homeland and dispersed throughout the world, stayed unified and united, believed in the victory of justice, the right of liberty, the renewal of life through goodness and the vision of a peaceful world.It is with these aspirations and faith, dear faithful, that today we work to make our free and native land of Armenia and Artsakh prosperous, and strengthen our ecclesiastical and national life throughout the world. For the realization of our hopes and goals, and the overcoming of the challenges of our day, let us make God-commanded love, respect, honesty and confidence, assistance and care for one another our companions, for they are the foundation and strength of our ecclesiastical and national life, and of our families, friends, communities and productive cooperation. These values nurture and advance state and societal structures, and serve the welfare of all. These values will help especially today, during uncertain economic times, in conditions of present issues and concerns, to find stable and hopeful ways to bring to life beneficial endeavors in Armenia and in the Diaspora. Yes, the true faith and acts flowing from that faith are and shall be triumphant and fearless. Seeing the noble results of a faithful spirit in every sphere, in every step turned into reality, is how our children will learn to live with them, love family and friend, love homeland and God. Therefore, dear ones, clothed with the gifts of the Lord’s salvation, and always renewing our souls with faith and hope, let us serve the realization of all our national aspirations and goals with love and with one mind, one heart and one will. And the Lord, Who is always with us, seeing our good works, will reward us with resurrected life.With the joyful tiding of Christ’s glorious resurrection and with fraternal love we greet the incumbents of the hierarchal sees of our Holy Apostolic Church: His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia; His Beatitude Torkom Manoogian, Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem; His Beatitude Mesrob Mutafyan, Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople; and the spiritual heads of our Sister Churches, asking for countless successes filled with the grace of the Lord in their spiritual mission. We convey our Pontifical love and blessings to all devoted ranks of clergy and our faithful sons and daughters dispersed throughout the world, and wish them a life of goodness, fruitful service and manifold accomplishments.We extend our Pontifical blessings and greetings to the President of the Republic of Armenia, Serzh Sargsian; the President of the Republic of Nagorno Karabagh, Bako Sahakian; and all state officials of the Armenians. May the abundant graces of the Lord bestow them with new successes for the sake of our homeland and Armenian life everywhere.We greet with wishes for all good things the leaders and representatives of diplomatic missions accredited to Armenia. May the Almighty Hand of God keep and protect you, your countries and state officials, in your God-pleasing mission of strengthening the friendship among nations and peoples.On the Risen Savior’s day of renewal, dear faithful children throughout the globe, let us offer our united prayer to heaven, asking for the faith and hope of our Lord’s salvation to be with all men, console those in pain, reinforce those in difficult situations, and keep us all on paths of divine love. May God bless our people, to continue toward peaceful and benevolent harbors; filled with blessing, grace and mercy. Let us remain strong and steadfast in faith, and unshaken in our hope of the Gospel, so that our Risen Lord and Savior present us before the Father as holy, spotless and immaculate, alongside all those who rely on Him.“Glory to Your Almighty Resurrection, O Lord, today and always. Amen.”CHRIST IS RISEN FROM THE DEADGREAT TIDINGS TO ALL

THE HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN EUROPE

By G.R. EvansLion, 224 pp., $34.95.
Perhaps you're celebrating the Resurrection in church this morning. Or you may be catching "Meet the Press" and scoffing at those sitting in their pews. Either way, it's clear that the trial and crucifixion of the historical Jesus mark one of the pivotal moments in humanity's stay on the planet. Scholars - atheists and believers alike - doggedly hunt for what really happened during that last week in Jerusalem.
"The Final Days of Jesus" is the latest entry in the literature of the historical Easter story. Archaeologist Shimon Gibson says his field has been overlooked for what it can reveal about the real Jesus. (A book that slides into a discussion of bathroom plumbing in ancient Jerusalem may be a little too real for your tastes, but Gibson makes it work.) He offers what he calls fresh evidence about the precise location of Jesus's trial, execution, and tomb, and the reasons Rome charged him with sedition.
Gibson also borrows from other disciplines in reconstructing these events. Those nonarchaeological sections will be more interesting to readers seeking the script and plot of the Easter drama, the "what happened?" Gibson's archaeological insights, on the other hand, will appeal to those curious about the stage design, the physical environment in which the story unfolded. Each camp will find the book half a good read.
Students of history might be tempted to read Susan Gubar's book on one of the Easter story's villains, Judas Iscariot. They should be forewarned: Her title, "Judas: A Biography," is somewhat false advertising. Gubar, an English professor at Indiana University, admits up front that an account of the life of history's most famous turncoat is impossible because we know virtually nothing about him, except that the most famous thing we know - his betrayal of Jesus - probably did happen.
Rather, this is a biography of the biographies, of the disparate ways Judas has been portrayed over time. Double-crossing viper is only one. More sympathetic takes date back to antiquity, as Gubar reminds us by citing the 2006 discovery of part of the Gospel of Judas. Its fourth century author considered Judas Jesus's prized disciple, the engine of the savior's plan for redeeming humanity. This is a fair and fascinating challenge to the view of the 12th apostle as villain, but Gubar's long book, covering centuries of literature, painting, and theology, will tax all but devoted English and art history majors.Continued...
If reading the Bible as literature rather than history is your passion, a more enjoyable survey is available from a Jewish writer. Christians, of course, also accept as scripture the Hebrew Bible, and allusions to it are littered throughout the Gospels and the Passion story in particular. In "Good Book," David Plotz, editor of Slate and a self-confessed biblical ignoramus, admirably does what so few do: He reads the entire Old Testament, encountering the lesser-known stories you don't get in church or synagogue and ladling his layman's commentary onto the scriptural stew. It's a poignant effort to ponder, particularly with Passover just behind us.
A strength of his book is that he says what many people think: He's appalled by the lessons (many morally troubling) in the Bible, which believers consider divinely inspired. Not only the patriarchs but God Himself can behave abominably. Plotz actually thinks about his faith to a degree that many Bible-thumpers don't. He occasionally - too occasionally - provides insights from scholars. (Apropos of the Easter story, he notes that Judas's betrayal fee of 30 pieces of silver echoes the price for which Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery. Scholars would say Judas's price actually derives from the Books of Zechariah and Exodus.) In the end, "Good Book" lives up to Plotz's promise of a "rapid (and entertaining, if not necessarily theologically sound) biblical education."
Those interested in what we know of actual events that followed the first Easter should try "The History of Christian Europe." Written by an emeritus professor from the University of Cambridge, it's essentially a textbook, but that's a good thing, as G.R. Evans writes in clear, accessible prose, which can't be said for every academic author. If there's a flaw, it's the short shrift she gives to the historic elephant in the room, modern Europe's lurch into secularism, which receives just a few pages at the end of the book (though an earlier sidebar hints at the challenge to Christian explanations of human nature raised by secular psychologists such as Freud and Carl Jung).
Evans taught medieval theology and intellectual history, and her appreciation for Christianity and its historic role shows. "The challenge posed by modern conceptions of secularism," she concludes, "is what is to be done with the inveterate tendency of people to look beyond this life and wonder what will happen to them next." If you doubt that tendency, peek this morning inside your nearest church, filled with people who on other Sundays would be home, like secularists, watching "Meet the Press."
Rich Barlow can be reached at barlow81@gmail.com.
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
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Thousands mark Easter Sunday in Jerusalem

Jerusalem - Thousands of Christian pilgrims flocked to Jerusalem Sunday, to mark the resurrection of Jesus Christ, as recounted in the New Testament. Catholics celebrated Easter Sunday mass in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is believed to be where Jesus was crucified and then resurrected.
Delivering his first Easter sermon since taking up his post, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Raymond Tawil delivered an apolitical speech, noting that the festival was the climax of the Christian year and that "we are participants in the mystery of salvation."
Outside Jerusalem's Old City, several hundred metres from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Protestants conducted their own Easter Sunday service at the Garden Tomb.
Orthodox Jews, celebrating the week-long festival of Passover, congregated at the Western Wall, to participate in the traditional priestly blessing.

Gregorian calendar Easter celebrated

BELGRADE -- Christians who mark their holidays according to the Gregorian calendar are today celebrating Easter.The Catholic Archbishop of Belgrade Stanislav Hočevar said in his Easter message that "man has never been less free, although technological advancement and connecting the world have been achieved, but only with the faith in Jesus Christ can man find the right way"."And while systems are getting stronger, the master of the systems, man, is becoming ever weaker, a slave to his own inventions, mostly without a hope," the archbishop said. Hočevar also congratulated Easter to the country's majority Orthodox Serbs. The Serbian Orthodox Church, along with the Russian Orthodox Church and the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, will celebrate Easter on April 19.