Three Holy Hierarchs

admin on 30 Ιανουαρίου, 2020

During the reign of the Emperor Alexius Comnenus (1081-1118), a controversy arose in Constantinople among men learned in Faith and zealous for virtue about the three holy Hierarchs and Fathers of the Church, Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom. Some argued for Saint Basil above the other two because he was able, as none other, to explain the mysteries of the Faith, and rose to angelic rank by his virtues. Organizer of monastic life, leader of the entire Church in the struggle with heresy, austere and demanding shepherd as to Christian morals, in him there was nothing base or of the earth. Hence, said they, he was superior to Saint Chrysostom who was by nature more easily inclined to absolve sinners.

The partisans of Saint Chrysostom retorted that the illustrious Archbishop of Constantinople had been no less zealous than Saint Basil in combating vices, in bringing sinners to repentance and in raising up the whole people to the perfection of the Gospel. The golden-mouthed shepherd of matchless eloquence has watered the Church with a stream of homilies in which he interprets the divine word and shows its application in daily life with more accomplished mastery than the two other holy Doctors.

According to a third group, Saint Gregory the Theologian was to be preferred to the others by reason of the majesty, purity and profundity of his language. Possessing a sovereign mastery of all the wisdom and eloquence of ancient Greece, he had attained, they said to such a pitch in the contemplation of God that no one had been able to express the dogma of the Holy Trinity as perfectly as he.

With each faction setting up one of the Fathers against the other two in this way, the whole Christian people were soon caught up in the dispute, which far from promoting devotion to the Saints in the City, resulted in nothing but ill-feeling and endless argument. Then one night the three holy Hierarchs appeared in a dream to Saint John Mauropus, the Metropolitan of Euchaïta (5 Oct.), separately at first, then together and, speaking with a single voice, they said: “As you see, the three of us are with God and no discord or rivalry divides us. Each of us, according to the circumstances and according to the inspiration that he received from the Holy Spirit, wrote and taught what befits the salvation of mankind. There is not among us a first, a second or a third, and if you invoke one of us the other two are immediately present with him. Therefore, tell those who are quarrelling not to create divisions in the Church because of us, for when we were on earth we spared no effort to re-establish unity and concord in the world. You can conjoin our three commemorations in one feast and compose a service for it, inserting the hymns dedicated to each of us according to the skill and knowledge that God has given you. Then transmit it to the Christians with the command to celebrate it each year. If they honor us thus as being with and in God, we give them our word that we will intercede for their salvation in our common prayer.” At these words, the Saints were taken up into heaven in a boundless light while conversing with one another by name.

Saint John immediately assembled the people and informed them of this revelation. As he was respected by all for his virtue and admired for his powerful eloquence, the three parties made peace and every one urged him to lose no time in composing the service of the joint feast. With fine discernment, he selected 30 January as appropriate to the celebration, for it would set the seal to the month in which each of the three Hierarchs already had a separate commemoration (Saint Basil – January 1; Saint Gregory – January 25; Saint John (translation of relics) – January 27).

 From left to right: Saint Basil the Great, Saint John Chrysostom, Saint Gregory the Theologian

The three Hierarchs—an earthly trinity as they are called in some of the wonderful troparia of their service—have taught us in their writings and equally by their lives, to worship and to glorify the Holy Trinity, the One God in three Persons. These three luminaries of the Church have shed the light of the true Faith all over the world, scorning dangers and persecutions, and they have left us, their descendants, this sacred inheritance by which we too can attain to utmost blessedness and everlasting life in the presence of God and of all the Saints.

With the feast of the three Hierarchs at the end of January—the month in which we keep the memory of so many glorious bishops, confessors and ascetics—the Church in a way recapitulates the memory of all the Saints who have witnessed to the Orthodox faith by their writings and by their lives. In this feast we honor the whole ministry of teaching of the holy Church, namely, the illumination of the hearts and minds of the faithful through the commemoration of all the Fathers of the Church, those models of evangelic perfection which the Holy Spirit has raised up from age to age and from place to place to be new Prophets and new Apostles, guides of souls heavenward, comforters of the people and fiery pillars of prayer, supporting the Church and confirming her in the truth.

Addictions

admin on 24 Ιανουαρίου, 2020

Greek law prohibits the sale of alcoholic drinks to children younger than 18 years old, or their entry to bars and clubs. Yet these laws are never enforced and, what’s worse, a lot of these places are even getting away with selling potentially lethal adulterated spirits.

Alcohol consumption among teenagers in Greece is widespread, largely because it is considered socially acceptable, even taking place in the home. According to a study on youngsters aged up to 16 by the University Mental Health Research Institute (UMHRI) in Athens, 94.1 percent of respondents in Greece had consumed alcohol at some point.

“Alcohol-related harm is the third biggest factor in the rise of morbidity and mortality in Europe. At the same time, it is a legal and very widely available product that is economically important to businesses and states. All of this requires a multidimensional approach to the issue, but under no circumstances should we treat alcohol as something innocent, especially when it comes to young people,” said a clinical psychologist.

“Greece is a wine-producing country and drinking wine or other alcoholic drinks is part of the country’s cultural heritage. You cannot imagine a festive dinner without there being wine, beer or some form of alcohol on the table. The question is how societies can hold onto the positive aspects of such cultural traits and avoid the harmful consequences.”

“Children in Greece first taste alcohol much sooner than in other European countries and many parents actually encourage their children – wrongly, of course – to taste beer or wine at a very young age,” added the clinical psychologist.

This misguided practice tends to be spurred by the belief that it will take the mystique out of alcohol and make children less eager to get their hands on it. However, it also breeds familiarity and the data show that 4.7 percent of under-16s got drunk for the first time when they were younger than 13.

ΕΘΙΣΜΟΙ-ΣΤΗΝ-ΕΛΛΑΔΑΛήψη

Another fact pointing to the cultural aspects of the issue, as well as the effect of having easier access, is that alcohol consumption in general tends to be higher in rural parts of the country than in Athens and other cities. That said, alcohol consumption among minors has decreased steadily since the 1980s, pointing to more public awareness.

DEPENDENCE

“People need to acknowledge that alcohol is not harmless. It is an addictive substance like nicotine and narcotics,” said the clinical psychologist. “The main thing is to educate children at school and in the home. Banning it is not the way to really solve the problem, especially when it comes to teens who see breaking a ban as a challenge.”

Experts want to see more being done to tackle the phenomenon on every level and point to the proliferation of sweet fizzy drinks that contain alcohol as a sign that there is not enough awareness on the part of the state and consumers.