DOCSLIB.ORG

Defenders of the Faith the Archons of the Order of St

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Defenders of the Faith the Archons of the Order of St DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH THE ARCHONS OF THE ORDER OF ST. ANDREW IBy OLGA VICTORIA KARRAS 1 Photographs By Dimitris Panagos My Godfather was an archon, a "leader" within the community and the Greek Orthodox Church. He devoted his life to serving, both his fellow man and his Creator. In recognition of his commitment to bettering the quality of life and to preserving sacred traditions, he was designated an "Archon" by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constan­ tinople and inducted into the Order of St. Andrew, the Apostle with the title or "offikion" of Archon Depoutatos meaning "Patriarchal Summoner". Archon Depoutatos is one of dozens of appellations based on ancient Greek and equally mystifying in sound denot­ ing specific duties performed for Church and State by those exceptional citizens of the Byzantine Empire who were designated Archons. Among the responsibilities of Archon Depoutatos, His Eminence with the former Commander Dr. Anthony Borden, left, and his for instance, were "to issue invitations successor Dr. Chris Philip. to the Archons for audiences before the Church of Christ, otherwise known as about the Archons, the men who have Patriarch and Bishops and to seat the the Mother Church of Orthodoxy or the been honored for their essential works congregants holding official titles and Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constan­ in the private sector and for their gener­ offices according to protocol." tinople, the seat or see of our Christian ous contributions of time and money to My Godfather, a pious man, was one Orthodox faith located in Istanbul the Church here, in the United States, of some 800-900 Eastern Orthodox Turkey - yesteryear's Byzantium: and to the Mother Church, in Istanbul. Christians- from around the world (600 "New Rome", Constantinople. In spite I had never asked by Godfather to tell strong in the United States) who in of relentless harassment through the me in any great detail about his role and recent years have been honored by the centuries, the Patriarchate has upheld responsibilities as Archon. I do know Mother Church with the highest acco­ ecclesiastical and liturgical tradition how very proud he was to serve as lade accorded a layman for exemplary and bound together the Greek people as Archon. I do know that my Godmother, dedication inside and outside the no other force could have hoped to do. independently of my Godfather a most Church. I t is only recently that I have learned devout Christian and supporter of the Archon. Ecumenical Patriarchate of something more about the rich and Church, will continue to uphold the Constantinople. St. Andrew, the Apos­ troubled history of our Church and the Faith. Now that I know more about the tle. Offikion. Archon Depoutatos. Pat­ unquestionable strength and dignity of Order of St. Andrew, the Apostle and riarchal Summoner. Mother Church. its spiritual leaders, from the first, St. the very important, indeed vital work it Among others, these terms, titles, insti­ Andrew, the Apostle ("Bishop" from performs, I am so sorry that I cannot tell tutions, and even Andrew, brother of 33-36 A.D.), to the 270th, His All Holi­ my nouno how proud I am that he was St. Peter, are not altogether familiar to ness Bartholomew I, enthroned as Ecu­ an Archon. He died last year, just as my most Greek Orthodox parishioners in menical Patriarch of Constantinople on interest in the Archoli.s was awakening. spite of the fact that Orthodox Chris­ November 2, 1991 by election of the tianity points to the year 33 A.D. as the Holy Synod, following the death of His My interest developed through that Beginning. It is only recently that I have All Holiness Dimitrios I. of my husband, Michael Karras, who come to learn more about the Great And, only lately have I learned more just about a year ago, asked Anastasios DECEMBER, 1991 17 Manessis, Vice Commander of the Constantinople fired Michael's mount­ Constantine the Great, in the year 330, Archons of the Order ofSt. Andrew, the ing desire and mine to delve into the nearly three centuries following the Apostle to tell him all there was to know history of our Church and become bet­ death of the Apostle Andrew. The about the Order. Mr. Manessis spoke ter acquainted with those individuals Byzantine Empire was dawning. By the enthusiastically, devotedly. Little did who function, according to their own 5th century there were five important Michael know that there was so very deep reverence and on authority of the centers of Christianity: Rome, where much to tell. The more involved Patriarchate, as Defenders of the Faith, Latin continued to be spoken; and Con­ Michael became, the more I, too, the Archons of the Order ofSt. Andrew, stantinople:, Alexandria, Antioch, and learned and wanted to learn. And, all the Apostle. Jerusalem, where Greek reigned. In the the while, I remembered my Godfather. 6th century the Patriarchate of Con­ Michael suggested that an interview stantinople became know as the "Ecu­ be conducted and published so that A number of sources offered valuable menical" Patriarchate, thereby more many people could have the benefit of information with respect to the history accurately expressing its spiritual learning firsthand about the Order. Mr. of the Patriarchate, a little bit of which authority over world Orthodoxy. By the Manessis suggested that Dr. Chris must be understood in order to appre­ 8th century, Islamic Arabs besieged Philip, the Archon entrusted with the ciate the highly important work of the Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, principal executive post within the Archons. Of these, I wish to acknowl­ leaving only Rome and Constantinople Order, that of National Commander, be edge an excellent and most engaging to fend for Christianity. invited to answer our questions. Dr. study, A Short History oJthe Ecumeni­ From 726-843, a weary 107 years, Philip graciously accepted the invita­ cal Patriarchate oj Constantinople: Constantinople faced another threat: tion. It took many months for us all to First A mong Equals in the Orthodox iconoclasm. Iconoclasts sought to des­ get together, but we did, in the final days Church, written by Deno J . Geanako­ troy the icons of the church because, of September, 1991. plos (Archon Didaskalos Tou Genous, they argued, the icons were being wor­ In the meantime, several events of "Teacher of the People"), Professor of shipped as idols, not venerated, as they historic magnitude took place and gar­ Byzantine History and Orthodox should be, as representations of Christ, nered worldwide interest in the Chris­ Church History, Yale University. As the Virgin, the Saints. Some historians tian Orthodox Church, principal one can imagine, the Patriarchate has believe that the real reason why the among them the arrival in the United lived a long and often difficult life. It all iconoclasts raged on and on had States of His All Holiness Dimitrios I in began just following the death and nothing to do with icons and everything July, 1990, which was his first official resurrection of our lord Jesus Christ. to do with the "chief protectors of the and, as it was to be, only visit to the In spite of the warnings of its pagan icons", the monks, who were exempt western hemisphere, restricted as he had emperors who banned Christianity, the from paying taxes and military duty. If been by the government of Turkey with Apostles traveled throughout the there were no icons to care for, these respect to his travels. Suddenly many Roman Empire to spread the word. able men could serve the Empire more questions were being asked: Why did Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome, "usefully". Turkey continue to have so decisive a the city which would become the first In the end, the iconoclasts did not say in matters concerning the Ecumeni­ among the world's Christian sees. have their way. To this day, the first cal Patriarchate, including the election Peter's brother, the Apostle Andrew, Sunday of Lent celebrates the Victory of the Patriarch and his travels? What concentrated his efforts in the East - in of the icon and is set aside as the Feast of was the Patriarch's relationship to the what we know of today as Greece, Orthodoxy or Sunday of Orthodoxy or world's estimated 300 miliionDrthodox .southern Russia, and Istanbul. Andrew Procession of the Holy Icons . Christians, including the Russians, was crucified in Patras by a pagan From 843 up to the lith century, the whose own religious leaders, in light of Roman general, but not before he had Byzantine Empire thrived and with it the breakdown of Communism, broke laid the cornerstone of the Christian so, too, did the Patriarchate and its their long, imposed silence and sum­ Orthodox Church and its center in magnificent cathedral church, Hagia moned the faithful to prayer? Byzantium. Sophia (the "Great Church of Holy The world's focus, if only momen­ Byzantium was christened Constan­ Wisdom"), which had also been named tary, on the Ecumenical Patriarchate of tinople by the first Christian Emperor, by Constantine the Great. In the year 988 envoys of Prince Vladimir the Great of Russia, dispatched to Constantino­ XPONIA IlOAAA ple to consider Orthodoxy as a possible , religion to be adopted by the Russian ana people, reported to their sovereign that, TOV, MdiK, ~m;~TR€) so in awe were they of Hagia Sophia and the mystical Greek Orthodox Liturgy, they believed they were in "Heaven itself". In 989 Prince Vladimir con­ EAST and WEST DINER verted to Orthodoxy. By the II th century, the Byzantine 449 3rd AVENUE - TEL (212) 213- 1100 Empire's strength, its power, its glory 400 WEST 23rd STREET - TEL (212) 924-3709 began to fade.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Who Freed Athens? J
    Ancient Greek Democracy: Readings and Sources Edited by Eric W. Robinson Copyright © 2004 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd The Beginnings of the Athenian Democracv: Who Freed Athens? J Introduction Though the very earliest democracies lildy took shape elsewhere in Greece, Athens embraced it relatively early and would ultimately become the most famous and powerful democracy the ancient world ever hew. Democracy is usually thought to have taken hold among the Athenians with the constitutional reforms of Cleisthenes, ca. 508/7 BC. The tyrant Peisistratus and later his sons had ruled Athens for decades before they were overthrown; Cleisthenes, rallying the people to his cause, made sweeping changes. These included the creation of a representative council (bode)chosen from among the citizens, new public organizations that more closely tied citizens throughout Attica to the Athenian state, and the populist ostracism law that enabled citizens to exile danger- ous or undesirable politicians by vote. Beginning with these measures, and for the next two centuries or so with only the briefest of interruptions, democracy held sway at Athens. Such is the most common interpretation. But there is, in fact, much room for disagree- ment about when and how democracy came to Athens. Ancient authors sometimes refer to Solon, a lawgiver and mediator of the early sixth century, as the founder of the Athenian constitution. It was also a popular belief among the Athenians that two famous “tyrant-slayers,” Harmodius and Aristogeiton, inaugurated Athenian freedom by assas- sinating one of the sons of Peisistratus a few years before Cleisthenes’ reforms - though ancient writers take pains to point out that only the military intervention of Sparta truly ended the tyranny.
    [Show full text]
  • UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Byzantine Liturgy and The
    UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Byzantine Liturgy and the Primary Chronicle A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Slavic Languages and Literatures by Sean Delaine Griffin 2014 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Byzantine Liturgy and the Primary Chronicle by Sean Delaine Griffin Doctor of Philosophy in Slavic Languages and Literatures University of California, Los Angeles, 2014 Professor Gail Lenhoff, Chair The monastic chroniclers of medieval Rus’ lived in a liturgical world. Morning, evening and night they prayed the “divine services” of the Byzantine Church, and this study is the first to examine how these rituals shaped the way they wrote and compiled the Povest’ vremennykh let (Primary Chronicle, ca. 12th century), the earliest surviving East Slavic historical record. My principal argument is that several foundational accounts of East Slavic history—including the tales of the baptism of Princess Ol’ga and her burial, Prince Vladimir’s conversion, the mass baptism of Rus’, and the martyrdom of Princes Boris and Gleb—have their source in the feasts of the liturgical year. The liturgy of the Eastern Church proclaimed a distinctively Byzantine myth of Christian origins: a sacred narrative about the conversion of the Roman Empire, the glorification of the emperor Constantine and empress Helen, and the victory of Christianity over paganism. In the decades following the conversion of Rus’, the chroniclers in Kiev learned these narratives from the church services and patterned their own tales of Christianization after them. The ii result was a myth of Christian origins for Rus’—a myth promulgated even today by the Russian Orthodox Church—that reproduced the myth of Christian origins for the Eastern Roman Empire articulated in the Byzantine rite.
    [Show full text]
  • The Viking Age
    Laval University From the SelectedWorks of Fathi Habashi March, 2020 The iV king Age Fathi Habashi Available at: https://works.bepress.com/fathi_habashi/615/ The Viking Age INTRODUCTION The Viking Age (793-1066) is a period in history during which the Scandinavians expanded and built settlements throughout Europe. They are sometimes referred to as Norsemen and known to the Greek as Varangians. They took two routes: the East - - the present-day Ukraine and Russia, and the West mainly in the present-day Iceland, Greenland, Newfoundland, Normandy, Italy, and the British Isles. The Viking were competent sailors, adept in land warfare as well as at sea. Their ships were light enough to be carried over land from one river system to another. Viking ships The motivation of the Viking to invade East and West is a problem to historians. Many theories were given none was the answer. For example, retaliation against forced conversion to Christianity by Charlemagne by killing any who refused to become baptized, seeking centers of wealth, kidnapping slaves, and a decline in the profitability of old trade routes. Viking ship in Oslo Museum The Vikings raids in the East and the West of Europe VIKINGS IN THE EAST The Dnieber The Vikings of Scandinavia came by way of the Gulf of Finland and sailed up the Dvina River as far as they could go, and then carried their ships across land to the Dnieper River, which flows south to the Black Sea. They raided villages then they became interested in trading with the Slavs. Using the Dnieper, they carried shiploads of furs, honey, and wax south to markets on the Black Sea, or sailed across that sea trade in Constantinople.
    [Show full text]
  • The Role of the Bible in the Formation of Philosophical Thought in Kievan Rus’ (As Exemplified by Ilarion of Kiev, Kliment Smolatič, and Kirill of Turov)
    Studia Ceranea 6, 2016, p. 61–74 ISSN: 2084-140X DOI: 10.18778/2084-140X.06.04 e-ISSN: 2449-8378 Justyna Kroczak (Zielona Góra) The Role of the Bible in the Formation of Philosophical Thought in Kievan Rus’ (as Exemplified by Ilarion of Kiev, Kliment Smolatič, and Kirill of Turov) he existence of philosophy in Kievan Rus’ (10th–13th centuries) is a contro- Tversial issue. We do not find there a philosophy in a sense of theoretical and rational reflection with abstract notions and schemes about the world and Man but we do find a philosophy understood as a love of wisdom (любомудрие). Wis- dom at that time meant a great knowledge of the Bible, proficiency in allegorical interpretation of it, a certain worldview and an ethical attitude that enabled to set intellectual standards, to teach, to guide society and to create popular ideas. The concept of “книжность” partly covers the semantic field encompassing these activities and virtues. The Eastern and Southern Slavonic “книжник” was a schol- ar, (bookman) either a monk or a priest whose work laid foundations for the cul- tural development of the country. The work of Ilarion of Kiev (ca. 990–1055), Kliment Smolatič († ca. 1164), and Kirill of Turov (1130–1182) fits within the concept of “книжность” only partially and does not exhaust it. These men are the most representative though not the only figures in the theological (and thus philosophical) life of Kievan Rus’1. The period of their activity bears the name of the Golden Age due to enterprises extreme- ly important for the nascent Rus’ identity, such as the erection of St.
    [Show full text]
  • The Roles of Solon in Plato's Dialogues
    The Roles of Solon in Plato’s Dialogues Dissertation Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Samuel Ortencio Flores, M.A. Graduate Program in Greek and Latin The Ohio State University 2013 Dissertation Committee: Bruce Heiden, Advisor Anthony Kaldellis Richard Fletcher Greg Anderson Copyrighy by Samuel Ortencio Flores 2013 Abstract This dissertation is a study of Plato’s use and adaptation of an earlier model and tradition of wisdom based on the thought and legacy of the sixth-century archon, legislator, and poet Solon. Solon is cited and/or quoted thirty-four times in Plato’s dialogues, and alluded to many more times. My study shows that these references and allusions have deeper meaning when contextualized within the reception of Solon in the classical period. For Plato, Solon is a rhetorically powerful figure in advancing the relatively new practice of philosophy in Athens. While Solon himself did not adequately establish justice in the city, his legacy provided a model upon which Platonic philosophy could improve. Chapter One surveys the passing references to Solon in the dialogues as an introduction to my chapters on the dialogues in which Solon is a very prominent figure, Timaeus- Critias, Republic, and Laws. Chapter Two examines Critias’ use of his ancestor Solon to establish his own philosophic credentials. Chapter Three suggests that Socrates re- appropriates the aims and themes of Solon’s political poetry for Socratic philosophy. Chapter Four suggests that Solon provides a legislative model which Plato reconstructs in the Laws for the philosopher to supplant the role of legislator in Greek thought.
    [Show full text]
  • Volodymyr the Great Spiritual Reflection July 30,Final
    In Memory of Vladimir the Great Father Deacon Howard On July 15th we celebrated the feast day of St. Vladimir the Great. Vladimir was Grand Prince of Kiev, ruler of Kievan Rus’ from 980 to 1015 and first Christian ruler in Kievan Rus. His military conquests consolidated the provinces of Kiev and Novgorod into a single state, and whose Byzantine baptism determined the course of Christianity in the region. On the death of his father Sviatoslav in 972, a struggle for power broke out among his sons and in 976 Vladimir who was then prince of Novgorod was forced to flee to Scandinavia. In Sweden he enlisted help from an uncle to assemble an army to reconquer Novgorod. By 980 he had consolidated the Kievan realm from modern-day Belarus, Russia and Ukraine to the Baltic Sea and had solidified the frontiers against the Baltic tribes and Eastern nomads making Kyivan Rus’ one of the most powerful states in Eastern Europe. Although Christianity in Kiev existed before Vladimir’s time he remained a follower of Slavic paganism, attributing his victories to the support he received from pagan forces. He established heathen temples, and, it is said, took part in idolatrous rites involving human sacrifice. Vladimir converted to Christianity in 988 as part of a pact to give military aid to Emperor Basil II. Vladimir offered military aid only if he was allowed to marry Basil’s sister Anna. Basil agreed to the marriage only if Vladimir promised to convert himself and his subjects to Christianity. At his command, the people of Kiev and the whole nation were baptized, as were his 7 young sons and two daughters.
    [Show full text]
  • St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Church
    SCHEDULE OF DIVINE SERVICES PRAYER LIST – Janet, Mark, Trish, Audrey, Cathy, Kay, Arlene, Bill, Amelia, Butch, Barb, Dolores, Ida, Patty, Beatrice, Alice, Dorothy, Fred, Elmer, Tillie, Janet, Carl, Mary, Louis, Norma Jean, Dan, Pauline, Ted, Patty, Jack, Monica, Margie, Rita, Jamie, Sunday, July 14 SUNDAY OF THE FATHERS OF THE Jeff, Sr. Josetta, Shirley, Sharlene, Zackery, Margaret, George, John, Dave, Bertie, 9:00 a.m. SIX ECUMENICAL COUNCILS (Church) For Vocations Rose, Aubrey, PJ, Cil, Nadine, Robert, Mickie, Loren, Sharen, Rita, Bernard, Janet, Req. by Vincent A. Semachko Clara, Josephine, Charlene, Troy, Traci, Trevor, Tanner, Kyle, Carter, Riley, Tammy, James, Ashley, Chris, Patrick, Michelle, Olivia, Barbara, Cindy, Charlene, Joe, Emily, Monday, July 15 Vladimir the Great (Equal to the Apostles) Gabriel, Gina, George, Erica, Janet, George Jr., Diana, Emil, Margie, George, Dorothy, 8:00 a.m. +Janet Meyers Hannah, Michelle, Curtis, Stephanie, James, Delores, Debbie, Dan, Marcia, Tammy, (Church) Req. by Mr. & Mrs. Larry Shinsky Vicki, David, Damon, Shane, Ryan, Nathan, David Jr., Rita, Johnathon, Joseph, Charles, Laura, Roger, Cindy, Brian, Nancy, Robin, Lee, Buzzy, Elaine, Kathy, Lee, Tuesday, July 16 Athenogenes (Bishop – Martyr) 8:00 a.m. Intention of Anthony Rocchi Joe, Dewayne, Dave, Jamie, Chris, Mike, Cindy, Dianne, Helen, Riley, Don, Jenn, Dolly, (Church) Vic, Rita, Marla, William, Joyce, John, Joann, Jeean, Melvin, Melanie, Mason, Deloris, Toby, Elaine, Brian, Adam, Max, Sam, Midge, Sam, Vicki, Sam, Riley, Tina. Wednesday, July 17 Marina (Great Martyr), Bl. Paul Gojdick No Liturgy FINANCIAL INFORMATION FOR 7/7/19 Offering Candles Holy Day Peter’s Pence Loose Cash Cemetery Thursday, July 18 Hyacinth and Emilian (Martyrs) 8:00 a.m.
    [Show full text]
  • Black Sea-Caspian Steppe: Natural Conditions 20 1.1 the Great Steppe
    The Pechenegs: Nomads in the Political and Cultural Landscape of Medieval Europe East Central and Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 450–1450 General Editors Florin Curta and Dušan Zupka volume 74 The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/ecee The Pechenegs: Nomads in the Political and Cultural Landscape of Medieval Europe By Aleksander Paroń Translated by Thomas Anessi LEIDEN | BOSTON This is an open access title distributed under the terms of the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license, which permits any non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided no alterations are made and the original author(s) and source are credited. Further information and the complete license text can be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ The terms of the CC license apply only to the original material. The use of material from other sources (indicated by a reference) such as diagrams, illustrations, photos and text samples may require further permission from the respective copyright holder. Publication of the presented monograph has been subsidized by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education within the National Programme for the Development of Humanities, Modul Universalia 2.1. Research grant no. 0046/NPRH/H21/84/2017. National Programme for the Development of Humanities Cover illustration: Pechenegs slaughter prince Sviatoslav Igorevich and his “Scythians”. The Madrid manuscript of the Synopsis of Histories by John Skylitzes. Miniature 445, 175r, top. From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository. Proofreading by Philip E. Steele The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available online at http://catalog.loc.gov LC record available at http://catalog.loc.gov/2021015848 Typeface for the Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic scripts: “Brill”.
    [Show full text]
  • Greece • Crete • Turkey May 28 - June 22, 2021
    GREECE • CRETE • TURKEY MAY 28 - JUNE 22, 2021 Tour Hosts: Dr. Scott Moore Dr. Jason Whitlark organized by GREECE - CRETE - TURKEY / May 28 - June 22, 2021 May 31 Mon ATHENS - CORINTH CANAL - CORINTH – ACROCORINTH - NAFPLION At 8:30a.m. depart from Athens and drive along the coastal highway of Saronic Gulf. Arrive at the Corinth Canal for a brief stop and then continue on to the Acropolis of Corinth. Acro-corinth is the citadel of Corinth. It is situated to the southwest of the ancient city and rises to an elevation of 1883 ft. [574 m.]. Today it is surrounded by walls that are about 1.85 mi. [3 km.] long. The foundations of the fortifications are ancient—going back to the Hellenistic Period. The current walls were built and rebuilt by the Byzantines, Franks, Venetians, and Ottoman Turks. Climb up and visit the fortress. Then proceed to the Ancient city of Corinth. It was to this megalopolis where the apostle Paul came and worked, established a thriving church, subsequently sending two of his epistles now part of the New Testament. Here, we see all of the sites associated with his ministry: the Agora, the Temple of Apollo, the Roman Odeon, the Bema and Gallio’s Seat. The small local archaeological museum here is an absolute must! In Romans 16:23 Paul mentions his friend Erastus and • • we will see an inscription to him at the site. In the afternoon we will drive to GREECE CRETE TURKEY Nafplion for check-in at hotel followed by dinner and overnight. (B,D) MAY 28 - JUNE 22, 2021 June 1 Tue EPIDAURAUS - MYCENAE - NAFPLION Morning visit to Mycenae where we see the remains of the prehistoric citadel Parthenon, fortified with the Cyclopean Walls, the Lionesses’ Gate, the remains of the Athens Mycenaean Palace and the Tomb of King Agamemnon in which we will actually enter.
    [Show full text]
  • Archons (Commanders) [NOTICE: They Are NOT Anlien Parasites], and Then, in a Mirror Image of the Great Emanations of the Pleroma, Hundreds of Lesser Angels
    A R C H O N S HIDDEN RULERS THROUGH THE AGES A R C H O N S HIDDEN RULERS THROUGH THE AGES WATCH THIS IMPORTANT VIDEO UFOs, Aliens, and the Question of Contact MUST-SEE THE OCCULT REASON FOR PSYCHOPATHY Organic Portals: Aliens and Psychopaths KNOWLEDGE THROUGH GNOSIS Boris Mouravieff - GNOSIS IN THE BEGINNING ...1 The Gnostic core belief was a strong dualism: that the world of matter was deadening and inferior to a remote nonphysical home, to which an interior divine spark in most humans aspired to return after death. This led them to an absorption with the Jewish creation myths in Genesis, which they obsessively reinterpreted to formulate allegorical explanations of how humans ended up trapped in the world of matter. The basic Gnostic story, which varied in details from teacher to teacher, was this: In the beginning there was an unknowable, immaterial, and invisible God, sometimes called the Father of All and sometimes by other names. “He” was neither male nor female, and was composed of an implicitly finite amount of a living nonphysical substance. Surrounding this God was a great empty region called the Pleroma (the fullness). Beyond the Pleroma lay empty space. The God acted to fill the Pleroma through a series of emanations, a squeezing off of small portions of his/its nonphysical energetic divine material. In most accounts there are thirty emanations in fifteen complementary pairs, each getting slightly less of the divine material and therefore being slightly weaker. The emanations are called Aeons (eternities) and are mostly named personifications in Greek of abstract ideas.
    [Show full text]
  • Russian Viking and Royal Ancestry
    GRANHOLM GENEALOGY RUSSIAN/VIKING ANCESTRY Direct Lineage from: Rurik Ruler of Kievan Rus to: Lars Erik Granholm 1 Rurik Ruler of Kievan Rus b. 830 d. 879 m. Efenda (Edvina) Novgorod m. ABT 876 b. ABT 850 2 Igor Grand Prince of Kiev b. ABT 835 Kiev,Ukraine,Russia d. 945 Kiev,Ukraine,Russia m. Olga Prekrasa of Kiev b. ABT 890 d. 11 Jul 969 Kiev 3 Sviatoslav I Grand Prince of Kiev b. ABT 942 d. MAR 972 m. Malusha of Lybeck b. ABT 944 4 Vladimir I the Great Grand Prince of Kiev b. 960 Kiev, Ukraine d. 15 Jul 1015 Berestovo, Kiev m. Rogneda Princess of Polotsk b. 962 Polotsk, Byelorussia d. 1002 [daughter of Ragnvald Olafsson Count of Polatsk] m. Kunosdotter Countess of Oehningen [Child of Vladimir I the Great Grand Prince of Kiev and Rogneda Princess of Polotsk] 5 Yaroslav I the Wise Grand Duke of Kiew b. 978 Kiev d. 20 Feb 1054 Kiev m. Ingegerd Olofsdotter Princess of Sweden m. 1019 Russia b. 1001 Sigtuna, Sweden d. 10 Feb 1050 [daughter of Olof Skötkonung King of Sweden and Estrid (Ingerid) Princess of Sweden] 6 Vsevolod I Yaroslavich Grand Prince of Kiev b. 1030 d. 13 Apr 1093 m. Irene Maria Princess of Byzantium b. ABT 1032 Konstantinopel, Turkey d. NOV 1067 [daughter of Constantine IX Emperor of Byzantium and Sclerina Empress of Byzantium] 7 Vladimir II "Monomach" Grand Duke of Kiev b. 1053 d. 19 May 1125 m. Gytha Haraldsdotter Princess of England m. 1074 b. ABT 1053 d. 1 May 1107 [daughter of Harold II Godwinson King of England and Ealdgyth Swan-neck] m.
    [Show full text]
  • The Ritualisation of Political Power in Early Rus' (10Th-12Th Centuries)
    The Ritualisation of Political Power in Early Rus’ (10th-12th centuries) Alexandra Vukovic University of Cambridge Jesus College June 2015 This dissertation is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Preface Declaration This dissertation is the result of my own work and includes nothing which is the outcome of work done in collaboration where specifically indicated in the text. No parts of this dissertation have been submitted for any other qualification. Statement of Length This dissertation does not exceed the word limit of 80,000 words set by the Degree Committee of the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages. Word count: 79, 991 words Alexandra Vukovic Abstract The Ritualisation of Political Power in Early Rus’ (10th-12th centuries) Alexandra Vukovic This dissertation examines the ceremonies and rituals involving the princes of early Rus’ and their entourage, how these ceremonies and rituals are represented in the literature and artefacts of early Rus’, the possible cultural influences on ceremony and ritual in this emergent society, and the role of ceremony and ritual as representative of political structures and in shaping the political culture of the principalities of early Rus’. The process begins by introducing key concepts and historiographic considerations for the study of ceremony and ritual and their application to the medieval world. The textological survey that follows focusses on the chronicles of Rus’, due to their compilatory nature, and discusses the philological, linguistic, and contextual factors governing the use of chronicles in this study. This examination of the ceremonies and rituals of early Rus’, the first comprehensive study of its kind for this region in the early period, engages with other studies of ceremony and ritual for the medieval period to inform our understanding of the political culture of early Rus’ and its influences.
    [Show full text]