Met Antonios (el-Souri): The Peacemakers

Arabic original here.

The Peacemakers

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God" (Matthew 5:9).

Can a person make peace!? And what do you think peace is...?!

The Lord says, " Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (John 14:27). No one makes peace-- that is, no one gives peace-- apart from those who have peace, Christ's peace. One who has Christ's peace is not troubled and is not afraid existentially, because he entrusts himself to Christ...

*   *   *

What is the peace that the Lord has given us? It is an intrinsic and substantial peace. That is, it is within us and from us in our nature that has been renewed through Christ in the Holy Spirit by the will of the Father. Christ's peace is, in reality, Christ's dwelling within us by divine grace. Wherever Christ rests and settles, there is the fullness of grace. This is an experience that one lives in the heart, where one enters into the company and the knowledge of God. 

He who has not made peace with himself-- that is, who has not repented-- cannot attain peace and so is unable to be a peacemaker. Therefore, one who does not know himself in repentance only knows God according to his passions. That is, he is immersed in himself and incapable of reaching outside himself in the pure love that is from above, from the Father of Lights. He cannot be a peacemaker.

*   *   *

The peace of the world that we hear about is security, a limited reigning-in of evil, as represented by wars, killing, destruction and what results from that. This is what the world calls peace. We do not disparage the importance of this for all human life. But what do we do with the evil lying within souls, such as selfishness, pride, hatred, enslavement to the pleasures of the flesh, love of possessions, vainglory, seeking praise and domination....?! These are the roots of evil in all human life. These are what destroys relationships between humans and sows division, strife and enmity among them. Here is the hiding-place of evil: the human heart "for from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within..." (Mark 7:21-23). 

*   *   *

From divine love springs forth every good thing, joy and peace. In Christ, we are a "new creation." Through the Holy Spirit, the Lord "who is good and the maker of peace" we live in newness of life. We have been granted the grace of the renewal of our existence through the incarnate Son of God and the grace to share with Him the power to create spiritually, since divine grace has become hypostasized within us. Through the breath of the Holy Spirit that is within us, the spirit of peace overflows into the world and we become peacemakers... So let us ask for the indwelling of the Spirit of the Lord within us through the obedience of the Word, loving in God the Father, along the path of true repentance and our abiding in God through our surrendering ourselves completely to Him, so that God may be "all in all"...

Archimandrite Younan al-Souri
Abbot of the Monastery of the Dormition of the Theotokos-- Bkaftin
[And as of this week, Metropolitan of Zahleh]

Met Ephrem (Kyriakos) on Raising Children

Arabic original here.


Raising Children in the Family


Saint Porphyrios says, "Children's upbringing begins from the moment of their conception. The fetus hears and feels when he is in his mother's womb." A mother must pray much during the period of pregnancy. What sanctifies children and makes them good is their parents' life in the home. Children's behavior is directly connected to the state of the family.

*  *  *

Prayer in the family, in the house and in the church makes a child feel secure because prayer goes into the heart. It is very useful for the family to gather together with the children in order to pray together. A child must be trained to participate with his parents in prayer, even if it is for only a little part or a hymn that he has learned by heart. It is very useful for a child to see his father and mother praying in front of him. This picture in childhood will not leave him during his entire life.

Children today need people who provide them with a model and with prayer. Everything happens through prayer, silence and love: much prayer and little talking for children. If we constantly give them advice, them we will become overbearing to them. Family should not pressure children in order to make them good by force. We must let God speak in their souls. In the Book of Wisdom, Solomon says, "One who watches for Wisdom (i.e., Christ) at dawn will not be disappointed, for she will be found sitting at the gate" (Wisdom of Solomon 6:14) that is, present near him. A good upbringing in the Lord from infancy causes children not to be influenced by any of the bad influences coming from their surroundings.

*  *  *

There is no doubt that the priest has an important role in raising children spiritually, culturally and socially. Today children are absorbed with the lures of worldly things, with consumer society and with attractive modern technology. A priest must know in his wisdom how to guide a child along with his family, so that they will not drown in this consumerist social vortex. He must earn the family's trust, making him a spiritual father to every member of the family. Then they consult him in matters relating to the children and their problems at home, in church and at school. He must make use of knowledge of pedagogy and psychology relating to children and the family.

Here we want to call attention to and stress what what Saint Paisios advised about raising children, in terms of both family and priests. That is, providing the virtue of devotion (philotimia), which requires sacrifice, persistence and patience alongside instruction and guidance so that we may attain healing from all the maladies of sin.

So let us resemble the Lord Jesus Christ who " went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people" (Matthew 9:35).

By the grace of the Holy Spirit, this virtue of devotion makes the one who possesses it into a saint who is capable, by the healing power of the Lord Jesus, to comfort others, cause them to grow, and make them holy. 

+Ephrem
Metropolitan of Tripoli, al-Koura and their Dependencies

Fr Georges Massouh on Christ with a Whip

Arabic original here.

Christ with a Whip

In order to justify their offenses in general and in particular their wars, some resort to this text from the Gospel: "Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves" (Mark 11:15 and equivalent passages in the other three Gospels). They put themselves in Christ's place in the story and put their enemies in the place of those who deserve to be killed and expelled. But is there a way of reading this text that is closer to the mind of the fathers?

The fathers found in this event a warning for themselves and for Christians in general-- not for others-- that gives them guidance in order not to fall into temptation, in order not to become merchants who traffic in holy things rather than faithful servants of the Church according to God's heart. They found that this event is concerned with them, the children of the Church, more than it concerns others who do not belong to the Church. Contrary to what happens today, they placed themselves in the place of the merchants, not in the place of Christ, so that they might benefit from repentance before Christ comes and expels them.

The fathers, then, asked their followers to be careful not to fall into the trap that the temple merchants fell, lest Christ come and expel them just as He expelled those who preceded them in defiling God's temple. Saint Ambrose of Milan (d. 397) says, rejecting human infallibility, "God does not want His temple to be a market, but a house of holiness. He does not preserve the priestly ministry as a religious duty without sincerity, but as willful obedience... He taught that the Church should not make a place for worldly commerce, and so He expelled the money-changers in particular, those who seek profit from God's money and are unable to distinguish between good and evil."

The Venerable Bede (d. 735), a doctor of the church, also calls believers to repent and to not behave like the merchants and money-changers in the temple so that Christ will not come and expel them. Bede says, "Christ cast the merchants and con-artists and all their lot outside, along with all those who are attached to the goods of commerce... We must avoid evil actions with great care and diligent perseverance, lest Christ come suddenly and find something evil in us as a result of which we will truly be worthy of whipping and expulsion from the Church."

Saint Irenaeus of Lyon (d. 202) affirms this patristic interpretation that calls for cleansing the temple of those who conduct commerce and wreak havoc within it. He employs a symbolic reading of the events and sees in the temple nothing other than the human body. "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are" (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). So according to Irenaeus' reading of the event, man is called to expel sin from his body and repent.

Origen (d. 235) has the same reading, as he states that, "He is zealous for God's house in each one of us. He does not want the house of prayer to be a place for money-changers or to become a den of thieves, as He is the Son of a jealous God... These words make it clear that God does not want anything foreign to mix with His will in the soul of any one of us, especially the souls of those who desire to accept the teachings of the divine faith."

According to these readings of the Church, we conclude that the fathers found in this passage a call to purify the Church from the money-changers who exploit their positions within it for their own interests and worldly purposes. Christ did not come to expel the children of foreign nations. He came and expelled from the temple the children of the temple who did not deserve to be children of the temple. This is confirmed by what Jesus said, citing the Old Testament: "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a den of thieves" (Mark 11:17).

Is it permissible to remain silent before the money-changers and thieves who occupy the temples of God? Is it permissible to remain silent before the money-changers and thieves who claim that they are doing Jesus' work since they are expelling other money-changers and thieves in their image and likeness? Is it permissible to remain silent before those who do not clothe themselves in Christ's humility but who use His name as an excuse to launch their wars?

Fr. Georges Massouh: Holy War isn't Holy

Arabic original here.

Holy War isn't Holy

"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is." (Mark 13:32-33)

No one knows the hour when the end of times will come, when it will be. No one can prophecy about the end of times. The Gospel is clear and Christ even rules Himself out from having such knowledge. So how can a person claim that he will reveal the times and prophecy about the fall of nations, the rise of others, earthly Christian victories that we do not know from the One who says that His kingdom is not of this world?!

The occasion for these words is the rise of a certain apocalypticism among some Christians in historical Syria, especially after Russia's entrance into the war in Syria, since some believe that this intervention is the beginning of the realization of the prophecy of Saint Paisios the Athonite and others believe that the president of Russia is the "faithful Orthodox leader" who has come to save the Christians from Islamic terrorism. 

Saint Paisios

In an article published in an-Nahar under the title "Paisios, the newest Orthodox saint... What did he prophecy about the Middle East?", relying on the website of one of the Orthodox monasteries, it says that the most famous of Paisios' prophecies is related to the Middle East and states that "the Russians will take Turkey and the Chinese will cross the Euphrates. Divine providence has informed me that many events will occur. The Russians will take Turkey and Turkey will be wiped off the map because a third of the Turks will become Christians, another third will die in war, and the last third will depart to Mesopotamia. The Middle East will become a theater for war in which Russia will play a great role. Much blood will be spilled. The Chinese will cross the Euphrates with an army numbering 200 million and they will advance to Jerusalem."

The sign that these events are approaching will be "the destruction of the Mosque of Umar because its destruction will herald the beginning of the Jews' work to rebuild the Temple of Solomon which was built in that very location. Many wars will break out between the Russians and the Europeans. Much blood will be spilled. Greece will not play a big role in this war. However, the Russians will give it Constantinople, not because they love Greece, but because they will not find a better solution. They will hand the city over to the Greek army even before it arrives there."

Then Paisios prophecies about the Jews and says, "The Jews will increase in strength and the Europeans will help them, so arrogance will increase unimaginably. They will act with impunity and even try to rule Europe. They will try all kinds of tricks. But the resulting persecution will completely unite the Christians. This unity, however, will not be in the form desired by those who are attempting in various ways to unite the churches under a single religious leadership. The Christians will unite because the events that will be revealed will automatically divide the sheep from the goats. Then the prophecy shall be realized: 'One sheepfold and one Shepherd.'"

The Ecumenical Patriarchate recognized the sainthood of Paisios early this year, almost twenty years after his repose-- this is an unusually short span of time by the Church's standards. His widespread popularity among the faithful as a "prophet" and wise man was one of the most prominent factors in declaring his sainthood. The aforementioned article states that "the Monk Paisios, who lived on Mount Athos in Greece, became famous for his teachings, spiritual gifts and prophecies. Even before the declaration of his sainthood, the faithful regarded him as one of the greatest saints on Mount Athos in the 20th century. Over the years, thousands sought him out for his advice and prophecies and his fame spread beyond Greece to various parts of the world."

The Russian intervention in Syria has awakened among some the religious feeling that Paisios' prophecy has begun to be realized and that the president of Russia is none other than a divine instrument for returning the glory of Constantinople and returning the great city to Greek control. We have started to hear talk of a "holy war" taking place in Syria with this orientation, even though in reality it does not represent the official view of any church. In the icon of Saint George, Putin replaces the Greatmartyr and Obama or a terrorist takes the place of the dragon. We have started to see other images of the "believing president", the "tsar", and under his picture the troparion of the Feast of the Cross: "O Lord save thy people and bless thine inheritance. Grant victory to our faithful kings over the barbarians and by the power of thy cross preserve those who belong to it."

It must be stated that the faithful are not bound to accept everything that the saints said during their lives. The faithful are only bound by what pertains to the faith and their salvation, that is, to their spiritual edification. Therefore, we have the right to doubt Paisius' prophecy-- not his personal sanctity and not the majority of his spiritual teachings-- especially since many of his followers doubt the veracity of this prophecy attributed to him. Our support in this is that Christ Himself called for not calculating times and seasons. Everyone of every religion-- whether Jewish, Christian or Muslim--and every sect or religious group-- such as the Jehova's Witnesses and the chiliasts-- who has set a time has been met with failure.

Most of the patristic heritage goes so far as to say that all prophecies were realized in the coming of Christ the Lord and that prophecy continues in another form, whose standard is its veracity, as the Apostle Paul says in his Epistle to the Romans, "Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith" (Romans 12:6). Something that is not in accord with the basic principles of Christian faith, then, is not a prophecy, especially that which is not in accord with the fundamental dogmas on which this faith is based, such as the Most Holy Trinity, the Incarnation, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection... For this reason, those who do not believe in Paisius' prophecy remain Orthodox, since they believe in the fundamentals and the prophecy is a secondary matter! The Church, then, is not bound to accept all the sayings of the saints, whether ancient or modern, at the same level that it submits to the text of the Holy Bible. Of course, it bears repeating so that we will not be misunderstood: those things that the Church universally agrees upon, especially the Seven Ecumenical Councils, are indeed binding.

The Book of Revelation

Here we must turn to the Apocalypse of John, which some people turn to in order to affirm the truth of certain prophecies relating to the last day. Those who think that the book of the Apocalypse of John prophecies about the end of times are mistaken. Those who read it literally, as though it is a journalistic report about an event that has happened or as though they are watching a news report, are mistaken. The Apocalypse of John does not offer its readers an image of the end of the world, but rather it speaks in symbolic language about the Christians of its era who were suffering persecutions and thus about every similar era.

The concern of Revelation's author was not to instruct his readers about the signs of the end of times, but rather to encourage them to stand firm in faith and not to apostasize before the Roman state and its rulers, who opposed the Christians, persecuted them, and subjected them to the most heinous tortures so that they would deny their faith and offer allegiance and worship to them and not to God. It is possible for us to say that Revelation is a great text in praise of bearing witness and martyrdom and lack of cowardice, no matter how difficult the circumstances.

The Book of Revelation was written at the end of the first Christian century, during the rule of the emperor Domitian, who gave himself the title "lord and god". Worship and veneration of the emperor became the distinguishing signs of a good citizen and thus the only way once could practice certain professions or engage in commerce. Thus Christians found themselves before a bitter, uncompromising choice: either perform the obligatory worship of Caesar or reject this paganism and live accused of disobedience to the state and be prepared for martyrdom by lions' teeth or beheading by the sword...

The Book of Revelation is a book of revolution against tyrannical authorities. Christians did not placate the emperors and oppressors, but rather faced them with firmness of faith and loyalty to the teachings of Christ the Lord and the exigencies of the Gospel. They did not practice dissimulation in order to preserve themselves, they had no exoteric and esoteric. They spoke the faith openly in the squares and streets and in the fields of martyrdom. They did not retreat from their convictions. They remained faithful to their Lord and Master to the last breath because they did not lose hope in the coming salvation.

The Book of Revelation is a revolutionary book because it did not hesitate to liken the authority in power to a beast and from likening the god-emperor to Satan. The Book of Revelation says, "Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666" (Revelation 13:18) or, in some manuscripts, "616." The Book of Revelation calls on its readers to uncover the hidden symbol behind 666 (or 616). If we calculate them according to the system where every letter of the Hebrew alphabet has a numeric value, we find that 666 means "Nero Caesar", while the number 616 according to the Greek system means "Caesar is god."

The Book of Revelation is not a book that talks about the unseen or about times that have not yet come. It does not invite Christians to eternal life through laziness, cowardice and not taking a stand with regard to the persecutions that are happening in their world. It is not a book that calls them to fear, isolation and flight from facing reality. It is a book that calls them to the freedom that God planted in man to distinguish between the rest of creation. It calls them to defend this freedom even if the cost is exorbitant, even at the price of their lives. However, the book is also a book of hope, of hope in the Lord, not in the ruler or in authority or power. It is not right for Christians to ignore hope by taking refuge in fear and by tying their survival to the survival of a regime or a ruler. They did not seek refuge in Nero, Domitian or any of the other tyrants, but rather they took refuge in the Lord and they remained. Times of persecution did not put an end to them, nor shall they. The Book of Revelation is the book of "the new heaven and the new earth."

Months ago, we wrote an article entitled "Gone is the Glory of Constantinople... But Christ Remains" (Lebanon Files, May 13, 2015), in which we said, "Gone is the glory of Antioch, where the disciples were first called Christians. Gone is the glory of Constantinople, the great capital of Orthodoxy. Gone is the glory of Cappadocia, Nicea, Ephesus, Chalcedon, Smyrna, Rusafa and Palmyra... but the glory of the Christians shall not end so long as they hold fast to faith in Jesus Christ and carry Him with them wherever they wander, wherever they are taken, wherever they settle. Jesus alone is their glory." Now we say these same words and we pray that no one is killed in wars. Not in Syria, not in Lebanon, and not in Palestine... We pray that "a third of the Turks" will not be killed, nor of Greeks, for our glory is not in empire but in bearing true witness.

as-Safir on the Destruction of Monasteries and Churches in Syria

Arabic original here.


Destruction of Historic Monasteries in Syria: 
The War on the Past

by Wissam Abdallah

Christian antiquities are spread throughout the geography of Syria. Some are an extension of ancient civilizations, while others were built by early Christians. The war in Syria poses a danger for these antiquities, such as monasteries, icons and manuscripts which are being destroyed or looted by antiquities dealers.

Christian antiquities are considered part of the landscape of cultural heritage in Syria, where most of them fit the ten criteria for inclusion on UNESCO's world heritage list.

In Northern Syria, between the hinterlands of Idlib and Aleppo, stretches what is known as the limestone massif, which contains a collection of historic sites such as the church of Qalb Lozeh, Serjilla, and the Church of Saint Simeon Stylites.  This region is considered to be the original home of the "stylite monks" when asceticism spread around the world and the history of the monuments there goes back more than 1400 years. Information from the area indicates that the Church of Saint Simeon Stylites has been damaged when it was turned into a training-ground by a group called Liwa' al-Tawhid ["The Monotheism Brigade"] and the interior of the monastery and church was damaged. This is in addition to digging and exploration work in the monastery, which also caused damage.

The Directorate for Antiquities and Museums in Syria states that in the region of Jisr al-Shughur, a rebel group has attacked two churches and a monastery in the village of Jdaydeh and the theft of 11 icons registered with the Department of Antiquities in Idlib. The church of Qalb Lozeh, one of the most important Byzantine sites in Northern Syria, has been damaged as a result of excavations and vandalism to the church's stone facade.

In Aleppo, where both man and stone suffers from the war, the Armenian Catholic Archdiocese has suffered the partial destruction of a 200 year-old church, and the Syriac Orthodox Cathedral, the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, and the Armenian Orthodox Cathedral have been targeted by rockets.

The Syrian Desert was the final destination for Armenians fleeing the Ottoman massacres in the early 20th century. They took shelter in Deir ez-Zor and built the Church of the Armenian Martyrs there, which housed relics and documents from the time of the massacres. After it entered the city, ISIS published pictures of the destruction of the church in the Rashidiya neighborhood, known as the Church of the "Martyrs of the Land", and extremist groups raised their flag over the rubble of the church. Liwa Ansar al-Sunna ["The Advocates of the Sunnis Brigade"] published a video showing members of the group in possession of manuscripts belonging to one of the churches of Deir ez-Zor, where they discussed with an antiquities dealer the price for their sale.

Churches in Homs have been damaged in various combat zones and the churches in the Old City of Homs in particular were burned and destroyed as a result of their lying along the line of fire between rebel groups and the Syrian Army. The Umm al-Zunnar Church, the Church of the Forty Martyrs, the Greek Catholic church, the Protestant church and others were looted and damaged. After the conclusion of the ceasefire and the withdrawal of the rebels, work began to rebuild the buildings that were destroyed as well as the gradual return of the area's residents to life there, with prayers and religious services, even before rebuilding was completed.

The latest thing ISIS has done is to destroy the historic Monastery of Saint Elian in the town of al-Qaryatayn to the south of Homs, where they used bulldozers to destroy the walls of the monastery, which dates to the 5th century. They also kidnapped a number of the town's residents and published pictures of "the establishment of God's rule over the Christians of the city of al-Qaryatayn", imposing the restrictions for dhimmis on them.

In the province of Hassake, villages along the Khabour river have been subjected to attacks from ISIS. These villages are populated for the most part by Assyrians and Chaldeans who are the continuation of Mesopotamian civilization. Historic churches in the region have been destroyed and more than 100 people have been kidnapped.

Monasteries are sheltered along the slopes of the Qalamoun Mountains, but as a result of their proximity to the Lebanese border, the fires of the Battle of Qalamoun have reached them. Located in the region of Nabak, the Syriac Orthodox Monastery of Mar Mousa the Ethiopian sits on a mountain peak 1320 meters above sea level. It has been attacked by rebels who stormed it in search of money and weapons, stealing as much food as possible from the monastery's farm. Close by lies the Monastery of Saint James the Persian in the region of Qara, which has also had its possessions and icons pillaged. In Maaloula, churches were burned and historic icons were stolen. The Monastery of Saint Thekla was burned and the Tomb of Saint Thekla was destroyed. The Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus, one of the oldest churches in the world, was shelled and its contents were looted. With the return of the village's inhabitants, reconstruction work has begun and efforts have been made to recover what was stolen, some of which had reached the area of Arsal in Lebanon.

as-Safir on the History of Antiochian Orthodox Iconography

Arabic original here.

The Arabic Icon... In Athens

by Walid Nasib Elias

Tripoli native Emma Ghorayeb Khoury gave a lecture at the University of Athens about iconography in the Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch during the 17th and 18th centuries.

As-Safir met with Khoury in Athens and she spoke about Antiochian iconography, revealing the secrets of the Arabic icon and its home in the Monastery of Our Lady of Kaftoun in Koura. She mentions that it is not possible to talk about icon painting before the 17th century, with the appearance of the art of the Aleppo School of icons which was founded by the family of the priest Yusuf al-Musawwir, who was born in Aleppo in the mid-17th century. He was followed by his son the priest Ni'mat Allah al-Musawwir, his grandson the deacon Hanania al-Musawwir and his great-grandson the deacon Jirjis al-Musawwir.

The iconographer Michael Polychronis transmitted the secrets of the Cretan School of iconography by painting the Church of Saint Nicholas in Tripoli, which contains 120 icons, in 1809 and the Church of Saint George, which was erected in 1862 by a decree from the Ottoman sultan.

She adds that according to the memoirs of her grandfather, Abdallah Ghorayeb, the painter lived in Tripoli from 1809 to 1821 and left a valuable legacy of icons. Thanks to him, the most important icons in the Patriarchate of Antioch were painted, especially those found on the iconostasis of the church in Maaloula.

The painter Hanna al-Qudsi transmitted the art of the Jerusalem School to the Church of Antioch, signing his work "the wretched painter."

According to the author, the most important schools of art in the Patriarchate of Antioch are the Aleppo School and the Jerusalem School, whose icons circulated in most churches and monasteries but whose artistic importance is less than that of the Aleppo School. The icons of the Church of Saint Nicholas resemble those of the Aleppo School and are of an excellent artistic quality. Very old icons are also found in the Church of Saint George in Mina.

With the coming to power of the Russian Empress Catherine II in the 17th century, iconography started to decline-- after having been at its apex-- because she preferred the tradition of Italian painting and so iconography changed and was no longer as authentic as before.

The rarest and most important icon in the Patriarchate of Antioch is found at the Monastery of Our Lady of Kaftoun and dates to the 13th century. It has numerous distinct features that are different from other icons depicting Theophany. The icon has two sides. One side is an icon of the Theotokos and the other is an icon of Theophany. Its importance is due to three texts written in three languages: Arabic, Syriac and Greek.

Despite the lack of any book on the subject, the writer stresses that its painter is unknown because originally icons were not signed. They only started being signed in the 17th century. For example, the famous icon of the Holy Trinity painted by the Russian Andrei Rublev was not signed.

Khoury mentions that Greek influence on Antiochian art is very clear because of the presence of Greek bishops and patriarchs in positions of ecclesiastical authority up to 1850 [in fact, until 1899]. People from Aleppo would go to Mount Athos and the Greek islands, including Crete, bringing with them the style of iconography that does not differ from the eastern, Antiochian style.

[...]

Met Georges Khodr on Giving

Arabic original here.

On Giving

Today's Gospel reading speaks to us about the material giving that causes the giver to stand in the presence of God until the end of the age. However, the discussion is broader than material giving and those who practice it. As for the generous person, one with a generous spirit, "he righteousness endures forever" (2 Corinthians 9:9) because he breaks his heart in order to give it to people and to spread generosity of spirit among them.

If the human heart folds in on itself, it withers. God does not abide in a solitary heart, but comes to the heart whenever it is open. Inasmuch as it gives of itself, it is given. In this sense, "For to everyone who has, more will be given" (Matthew 25:29).

God always wants the one with a generous spirit to be in beauty and splendor. If the Lord comes down into the heart, then He is capable of demolishing all barriers. God is transmitted from heart to heart. He has no throne apart from the human soul. He sits within it and treats it kindly, causing it to be kind to other souls.

At the liturgy, we recline together upon the breast of the Beloved at the Mystical Supper. The holy supper that we perform is a call for us all to recline upon Jesus' breast as John did on a blessed day for human history.

It is today and not tomorrow that we come to the Lord to hear from Him words of kindness and for Him to hear from us a word of repentance. If we have returned to God, then we return to all human beings because they are the children of God. How can someone who does not love the person he sees love God, whom he does not see?

We must love person who is seeking God, the person who is with us. We do not have to go very far in order to find the person that we must love. The first who should be mentioned is the one whom we have harmed or who has been harmed without our intending to harm him. The human soul is fragile and breakable. It may be that this is no one's fault. It may be that through laziness, negligence, disregard, or forgetfulness we are all responsible for any soul that suffers on account of this. Therefore we are all implicated in one responsibility in His presence, may He be exalted, under sin and under mercy so that we may appear to those who have suffered and so that we may cast them as well upon Jesus' breast, as He can heal every soul. He came, as He said, to heal the brokenhearted (Psalm 146:3), to make people pleased with existing.

"Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your heart" (Hebrews 3:7-8). Today, if you will hear His voice, His voice is sweet and His melodies will place you in paradise. Therefore, let us purify ourselves by repenting to Him, may He be exalted, and fall together at His feet. Let our hearts be victorious through the mercy that we ask of Him. 

If our spirits are open to the Lord's giving, then we are generous and then we give and our righteousness endures forever. 

Christ our Lord, Christ our Shepherd, let us go to Him as He came to us. And in this He will be pleased and in this we will rejoice and be as He wanted us to be, enjoying joy, peace and grace.