Using This Crisis to Your Advantage
There is this saying that there is "always something good that comes out of something bad." I am not quite sure that everyone subscribes to this saying, however, I keep thinking of what happened to my parents and family during the civil war in Greece which ensued immediately following World War II. I recall as a child how devastated my family was and the impact that had on all of us.But as some of you who know the story, the bombing of our house eventually led us to America. And instead of the destruction of our family, by the grace of God, the family was saved. Something good coming out of something bad.
My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
+
USING THIS CRISIS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE
There is this saying that there is "always something good that comes out of something bad." I am not quite sure that everyone subscribes to this saying, however, I keep thinking of what happened to my parents and family during the civil war in Greece which ensued immediately following World War II. I recall as a child how devastated my family was and the impact that had on all of us.But as some of you who know the story, the bombing of our house eventually led us to America. And instead of the destruction of our family, by the grace of God, the family was saved. Something good coming out of something bad.
I truly believe that good and positive things will come out of this present crisis. Since this is a pandemic that affects the entire world its impact will be long lasting and transforming. There is an opportunity for the human race to change for the good. To accept the premise that humanity has chosen the path of destruction. It is a unique opportunity that mankind will find its way back from disaster and rediscover God.
The fool says that there is no God. You see it's not only the coronavirus crisis that the world is facing but also a crisis of faith. Apostazing from God is a worse death than that of the coronavirus. Finding God is life. Individually the struggle to believe in His existence is indispensable for both man and the world. God will never give up on His creation and will always be in control of it. Mankind has proven over and over again that it is very weak and lacks the necessary wisdom to govern the world. We only have to look at history and how humanity for centuries has exploited, abused and corrupted the world as though the world belongs to it. It has deliberately refused to respect and admit that it is God's creation and it is His, and His alone. All of the above reveals man's denial of God's existence, of man's faithlessness, of man's pride, of man's rebelliousness, of man's arrogance and disobedience.
By the grace of God and His love and compassion for mankind, we will survive this pandemic. Life as we knew it will not be the same. Priorities will change and mankind that has been humbled by God hopefully will return to Him just as the prodigal son did. Our heavenly Father will embrace, kiss, and rejoice over the return of the one which was lost, dead, and is alive again.
Let us use this crisis to our advantage to strengthen our faith and obedience to our Divine Creator and God. Let us rely on His Divine wisdom, guidance, and above all to adhere to His Commandments. Instead of surrendering to the world let us surrender willingly to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who calls upon us to follow Him.
It seems counter-intuitive to some, but crisis can present amazing opportunities to grow spiritually and to learn from our personal mistakes and wrong choices. There is hope indeed for the human race and for a bright future. Humanity can once again find its purpose, direction, and the path to salvation.
God bless all of you and may He protect us all.
"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!"- Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +
With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia,The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George
The Jesus Prayer (Part II)
My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
+
THE JESUS PRAYER (Part II)
In Church history we read the following incident: "A soldier called Neokorus, a native of Carthage, was in the Roman garrison guarding Jerusalem at the time when our Lord Jesus Christ suffered His voluntary passion and death for the redemption of the human race. Seeing the miracles worked at the Lord's death and resurrection, Neokorus believed in the Lord and was baptized by the Holy Apostles. After finishing his term of service, Neokorus returned to Carthage and shared the treasure of faith with his whole family...
"The gracious power of the prayer of Jesus is contained in the Divine Name itself of the God-man, our Lord Jesus Christ. Although there is abundant evidence in Holy Scripture proving the greatness of the name of God, yet the importance of this name was explained with special precision by the holy Apostle Peter before the Jewish Sanhedrin when the council asked the Apostle "by what power, or by what name," he had given healing to a man lame from birth. Then Peter, "filled with the Holy Spirit, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people and elders of Israel, If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Whom ye crucified, WhomGod raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at naught of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under Heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:7-12). This witness is the testimony of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle's mouth, tongue, and voice were merely the Spirit's instruments."
Another organ of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle of the Gentiles (St. Paul), gives similar evidence. "Whosoever, he says, shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13). Christ Jesus...humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth and things under the earth" (Phil. 2:5-10).
Seeing the distant future, David, an ancestor of Jesus according to the flesh, sang the greatness of the name of Jesus, and vividly described the effect of this name, the struggle by means of it with the principles of sin, its power to deliver those who pray by it from captivity to the passions and demons, and the triumph of those who win a spiritual victory by the name of Jesus. Let us listen to inspired David! "O Lord our Lord," he cries, "how wonderful is Thy name in all the earth! For Thy magnificence is lifted high above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings, hast Thou perfected praise, because of Thine enemies, to destroy the enemy and avenger" (Pss 8:2). Exactly! The greatness of the name of Jesus is beyond the comprehension of rational creatures of earth and heaven. The comprehension of it is incomprehensibly grasped by child-like simplicity and faith. In this same disinterested spirit, we must approach prayer in the name of Jesus and continue in that prayer. Our perseverance and attention in prayer must be like the constant striving of an infant for his mother's breasts. Then prayer in the name of Jesus will be crowned with complete success, the invisible foes will be defeated, and the enemy and avenger will be finally crushed. The enemy is called the avenger because he tries to take from those who pray (especially at times, not incessantly) after prayer what they have obtained during prayer.
In order to win a decisive victory unceasing prayer and constant vigilance are indispensable.
[Orthodox Christians must follow the pattern assigned to them by their spiritual father.]
_________________
"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" -- Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +
With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George
The Jesus Prayer (Part I)
In the beginning, to speak of the prayer of Jesus, I invoke the aid of the All-Good and Almighty Jesus that He may assist my dullness. At the beginning to speak of the prayer of Jesus, I recall the righteous Symeon's utterance concerning the Lord: "Behold, this Child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against" (St. Luke 2:34).
My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
+
THE JESUS PRAYER
By Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov
In the beginning, to speak of the prayer of Jesus, I invoke the aid of the All-Good and Almighty Jesus that He may assist my dullness. At the beginning to speak of the prayer of Jesus, I recall the righteous Symeon's utterance concerning the Lord: "Behold, this Child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against" (St. Luke 2:34).
Just as the Lord was and is a true sign, a sign that is spoken against, an object of dispute and disagreement between those who know Him and those who do not, so too prayer in His All-Holy Name, which in the fullest sense is a great and wonderful sign, has become a subject of dispute and disagreement between those who practice it and those who do not. A certain father justly remarks that this way of prayer is rejected only by those who do not know it; they reject it through prejudice and through false ideas that they have formed of it.
The prayer of Jesus is said like this: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." Originally it was said without the addition of the word "sinner." This word was added to the other words of the prayer later. This word, remarks Saint Nil Sorsky, which implies consciousness and confession of the fall, is fitting for us and pleasing to God Who has commanded to offer prayers in acknowledgment and confession of our sinfulness. The Holy Fathers of the Church allow beginners, in deference to their weakness, to divide the prayer into two halves, and sometimes to say, Lord Jesus Chrisst, have mercy on me, a sinner, and sometimes, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. But this is only a concession or indulgence, and not at all an order or rule requiring unfailing compliance. It is much better to constantly say the same, whole prayer, without distracting and bothering the mind with changes or with concern about changes. Even he who finds a change necessary for his weakness should not allow it often. For example, the first of the prayer can be prayed till dinner and the other after dinner. Saint Gregory the Sinaite forbids a frequent change, saying: trees that are often transplanted do not take root.
Praying by the prayer of Jesus is a divine institution. It was instituted not by means of an Apostle or by means of an Angel; it was instituted by the Son of God and God Himself. After the Mystical ("Last") Supper, among other sublime, final commandments and orders, the Lord Jesus Christ instituted prayer by His Name. He gave this way of prayer as a new, extraordinary gift, a gift of infinite value. The Holy Apostles partly knew the power of the name of Jesus; they healed incurable diseases by it, they reduced devils to obedience, conquered, bound and expelled them by it. This most mighty, wonderful Name the Lord orders us to use in prayer. He promised that such prayer will be particularly effectual. "Whatsoever ye shall ask," He said to the Holy Apostles, "the Father in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask "anything in My name, I will do it" (St. John 14:13-14). "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My Name, He will give it to you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full" (St. John 16:23-24).
What a wonderful gift! It is a guarantee of unending, infinite blessings! It came from the lips of the unlimited God, clothed in limited humanity and called by the human name of the Savior. The name by its exterior form is limited, but it represents an unlimited object, God, from Whom it borrows infinite, divine value or worth, the power and properties of God.
In the life of Saint Ignatius the God-bearer, Bishop of Antioch, who was crowned in Rome with a martyr's death under the emperor Trajan, we read the following:
"When they were taking him to be devoured by wild beasts, and he had the name of Jesus constantly on his lips, the pagans asked him why he unceasingly remembered that name. The Saint replied that he had the name of Jesus Christ written in his heart and that he confessed with his mouth Him Whom he always carried in his heart. After the Saint had been eaten by the wild beasts, by the will of God among his bones his heart was preserved intact. The infidels found it, and then remembered what Saint Ignatius had said. So they cut that heart into two halves, wishing to know whether what they had been told was true. Inside, on the two halves of the heart that had been cut open, they found an inscription in gold letters; Jesus Christ. Thus Saint Ignatius was in name and in fact a God-bearer, always carrying Christ our God in his heart, written by the reflection (or meditation) of his mind as with a reed."
Saint Ignatius was a disciple of the holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Divine and was privileged in his childhood to see the Lord Jesus Christ personally. He was that blessed child of whom it is said in the Gospel that the Lord placed him among the Apostles who had been arguing about priority, took him in His arms and said: "Verily, I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever, therefore, shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven" (St. Matthew 19:3-4; cf. St. Mark 9:16).
Certainly, Saint Ignatius was taught the prayer of Jesus by the Holy Evangelist and practiced it in that flourishing period of Christians like all other Christians. At that time all Christians learned the prayer of Jesus, firstly on account of the great importance of the prayer itself, and then on account of the scarcity and costliness of the handwritten holy books, on account of the rarity of literacy (most of the Apostles were illiterate), and on account of the convenience, satisfaction and very special action and power of the prayer of Jesus. (Source: Orthodox Heritage)
(To be continued)
_________________________
"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" - Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +
With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George
Psalms and Prayers
O Lord, hear my prayer, lend Your ear to my supplication in Your truth, and in Your justice hear me. And do not enter into judgment with Your servant, for in Your sight, no living person can be justified. For the enemy has persecuted my soul, and has brought my life down to the ground. He has forced me to live in the darkness like those dead for centuries, and my spirit is in anguish, my heart within me is troubled. I reminisced the days of old, I meditated on all Your works, on all the creations of Your hands did I contemplate.
My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
+
PSALMS AND PRAYERS
Psalm (142 (143)
O Lord, hear my prayer, lend Your ear to my supplication in Your truth, and in Your justice hear me. And do not enter into judgment with Your servant, for in Your sight, no living person can be justified. For the enemy has persecuted my soul, and has brought my life down to the ground. He has forced me to live in the darkness like those dead for centuries, and my spirit is in anguish, my heart within me is troubled. I reminisced the days of old, I meditated on all Your works, on all the creations of Your hands did I contemplate. I stretched out my hands to You; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Hear me speedily, Lord, my spirit has failed me. Do not turn away Your face from me, else I will be like those who go down in the graves. Make me hear Your mercy in the morning, for I have hoped in You. Make know to me, Lord, the road I should walk on, for I have lifted up my soul to You. Deliver me from my enemies, Lord, for I have fled to you; teach me to do Your will, for You are my God. May Your good Spirit lead me in straight paths; for Your name's sake, Lord, You shall give me life. In Your justice, You shall bring my soul out of affliction, and in Your mercy destroy my enemies. And will utterly destroy all those who afflict my soul, for I am your servant.
+
Psalm 50 (51)
Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight--That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge. Behold, I was brought for in majesty, And in sin my mother conceived me. Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part, You will make me You will make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You.
Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, The God of my salvation, And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, And my mouth shall show forth Your praise. For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart--These, O God, You will not despise.
Do good to Your good pleasure to Zion; Build the walls of Jerusalem. Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifice of righteousness, With burnt offering and whole burnt-offering; Then they shall offer bulls on Your altar.
+
A PRAYER
O Christ our God, Who at all times and in every hour in heaven and on earth is worshiped and glorified; Who are longsuffering, merciful, and compassionate; Who loves the just and show mercy upon sinners; Who calls all to salvation through the promise of the good things to come; O Lord, in this hour, receive our supplications and direct our lives according to Your commandments. Sanctify our souls, purify our bodies, correct our thoughts, cleanse our minds, deliver us from all tribulation, evil and distress. Surround us with Your Holy Angels, so that
guided and guarded by them, we may attain to the unity of the faith and to the full knowledge of Your unapproachable glory. For You are blessed unto ages of ages. Amen.
JUST BEFORE GOING TO SLEEP
Into Your hands, O Lord Jesus Christ, I commend my spirit and body; bless me, save me, and grant me eternal life. Amen.
BENEDICTION
Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.
_________________
"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!"--Saint John Chrysostom
+ + +
With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George
Hope - The Fortress of Life
He Who dwells under the shadow of the Most High, shall abide under the shelter of the God of Heaven. He will say to the Lord: "You are my support and my refuge, O my God: in Him, I shall put my trust." For He will deliver you from the hunter's snare, and from every troublesome slander. With His broad shoulders, He shall overshadow you, and under His wings, you shall rest secure; His truth shall cover you like a shield. You shall not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day; nor the thing that lurks about in the darkness, nor any calamity or the evil spirit at noon.
My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
+
HOPE - THE FORTRESS OF LIFE
PSALM 90 (91)
He Who dwells under the shadow of the Most High, shall abide under the shelter of the God of Heaven. He will say to the Lord: "You are my support and my refuge, O my God: in Him, I shall put my trust." For He will deliver you from the hunter's snare, and from every troublesome slander. With His broad shoulders, He shall overshadow you, and under His wings, you shall rest secure; His truth shall cover you like a shield. You shall not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day; nor the thing that lurks about in the darkness, nor any calamity or the evil spirit at noon. A thousand shall fall at your side and ten thousand at your right, but nothing shall come close to you. Instead, you shall observe with your eyes and see the retribution of the sinners. For You, Lord, are my hope; You made the Most High my shelter. No evil shall come to you, and no pestilence shall approach your dwelling. For He will put His Angels in charge of you to protect you in all your ways. They shall tread upon the asp and the viper, and you shall trample upon the lion and the dragon. Because he hoped in me, I will deliver him; I will shelter him because He knew my name. He will call on me and I will answer him; I am with him in trouble and I will deliver him and glorify Him. I will satisfy him with a length of days and I will show him my salvation. Amen.
+
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the
Holy Spirit you may abound in hope" (Romans 15:13).
HOPE - JOY AND PEACE
Hope occupies the central place in the three: hope, joy and peace. The meaning of each of these three excellences should be understood in the background of the other two. Hope itself plays a role in activating faith and love; hope enriches faith by uplifting it to a deep conviction, and it keeps alive the content of love. It is because of hope that Christians expect with eagerness the fulfillment of the essence of this hope; salvation is a deep feeling of expectation, and as such gives wings to faith and love. For these reasons, we invoke Almighty God as the "God of hope" to make firm these three excellences as the foundation of the spiritual and moral life.
The Gospel of Christ is a Christian way of life; it is a daily experience in living. This way of living can be attained and safeguarded when the pious Christian delves constantly in the Divine Word, especially in the Gospel of Christ, when also he elaborates the Message of the Gospel in his thinking and meditation for an experience of his own; and then prayerfully invokes Almighty God to lift up his heart in the hope of the attainment of salvation and also the attainment of his expectations, of his hope...
"Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing steadfastly in prayer" (Romans 12:12).
"Rejoicing in hope" is the admonition of a great preacher who overthrew the power of evil. Apostle Paul fought the two battles and established his victory in the hope of a new destiny of life. Apostle Paul expresses his experience to each of us. Such rejoicing in hope lives in the hearts of the faithful; it becomes stronger at moments of tribulations; it becomes more fruitful in genuine love for others; it becomes more powerful in abhorring evil; hope's strength is derived from constant prayer and from practicing charity (Romans 12:9-13). (Source: O Logos)
+
Beloved,
I ask all of you that you follow our holy Orthodox Christian traditions of praying unceasingly, of lighting your votive light (kandili) and offering incense, daily. All of these spiritual practices bring us the strength of faith and comfort. We are reminded through them of God's presence and of His unending love. If you have the service of the Small Paraklesis (Supplication) service to the Theotokos offer it daily. The Paraklesis service can be conducted by all at hope or any other place and is chanted in times of distress and sorrow of soul.
Let us turn to a few of the Hymns to the Theotokos and Mother of God
O Theotokos, we shall never be silent. Of your mighty acts, all we the unworthy; Had you not stood to intercede for us Who would have delivered us, From the numerous perils? Who would have preserved us all Until now with our freedom? O Lady, we shall not depart from you; For you always save your servants, From all tribulations.
+
Deliver us, All of your servants, from danger, O Theotokos; After God, we all flee to you, For shelter and covering, As an unshakable wall and our protection.
+
A fervent prayer, and wall most unshakable A merciful spring And shelter of all mankind; Fervently, we cry to you: Theotokos, our Lady, Come to us And from all dangers now deliver us The only protection who speeds to us.
+
All those Do you shelter, O Good One, Those who in their faith flee unto you, With your strong hand, you protect; We who sin have no one else, Who intercedes for us Before God, praying endlessly, In ills and all dangers, For us who are laden with Our many sins and mistakes; Mother, of our God in the Highest Therefore, we fall down to you, humbly; From all misfortunes, keep your servants safe.
+
My numerous hopes are placed Before you, most holy one; Mother of God, Guard me with care, within your sheltered arms.
________________
PLEASE KNOW THAT ALL OF YOU ARE ALWAYS IN MY PRAYERS. MAY OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST BLESS AND PROTECT EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU.
_______________
"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!"-- Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +
With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+Father George
Hellenes Celebrate the 119th Anniversary of Greek Independence
Today marks the 199th Anniversary of Greek Independence Day. This is when Hellenes remember their long struggle against the Ottoman Empire, an effort that eventually leads to Greece's Independence.
The Ottoman Empire enslaved the Greek people for 400 years. Greece had been part of the Ottoman Empire since 1453. The Greek revolt was precipitated on March 25, 1821, when Bishop Germanos of Patras raised the flag of revolution over the Monastery of Agia Lavra in the Peloponnese. The cry "Freedom or Death" became the motto of the revolution.
My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God the Only True God and the Only True Savior,CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
+
THE 199TH ANNIVERSARY OF GREEK INDEPENDENCE
Today marks the 199th Anniversary of Greek Independence Day. This is when Hellenes remember their long struggle against the Ottoman Empire, an effort that eventually leads to Greece's Independence.
The Ottoman Empire enslaved the Greek people for 400 years. Greece had been part of the Ottoman Empire since 1453. The Greek revolt was precipitated on March 25, 1821, when Bishop Germanos of Patras raised the flag of revolution over the Monastery of Agia Lavra in the Peloponnese. The cry "Freedom or Death" became the motto of the revolution.
Greeks experienced early successes on the battlefield, including the capture of Athens in June 1822, but infighting ensued. By 1827 Athens and most of the Greek isles had been recaptured by the Turks.
Just as the revolution appeared to be on the verge of failure, Great Britain, France, and Russia intervened in the conflict. The Greek struggle had elicited strong sympathy in Europe, and many leading intellectuals had promoted the Greek cause, including the English poet Lord Byron. At the naval battle of Navarino, the combined British, French, and Russian forces destroyed an Ottoman-Egyptian fleet. Although this severely crippled the Ottoman forces, the war continued, complicated by the Russo-Turkish War (1828-1829). A Greco-Turkish settlement was finally determined by the European powers at a conference in London; they adopted a London protocol (Feb. 3, 1830), declaring Greece an independent monarchical state under their protection. By mid-1832 the northern frontier of the new state had been set along the line extending from south of Volos to south of Arta; Prince Otto of Bavaria had accepted the crown, and the Turkish sultan had recognized Greek Independence (Treaty of Constantinople; July 1832).
The celebration of the Greek Independence coincides with the Orthodox Church's celebration of the Annunciation to the Theotokos, when the Archangel Gabriel appeared to the Ever-Virgin Mary and told her that she would bear the Son of God.
Zeto e Ellas! Zeo to Ethnos!
+ Father George