www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life The Christian East & West May 29, 1453

Dear Alice,

The Kozaks made great friends - and very bad enemies . . .

Greek Orthodox writers of their era used to say that they were truly "Orthodox liberators" and when such an Orthodox Kozak died in battle with the Turks and Tatars, especially in the act of freeing Orthodox Christians from the Turkish Yoke of slavery, their souls went straight to Heaven!

There is a Kozak Saint on Patmos, one in Constantinople and also the widely venerated (in Greece especially) St John "O Aghios Ioannis O Rossos" the Confessor of New Prokopion.

Three Churches glorified St John . . .

And your St Gregory V, Patriarch of Constantinople the New Hieromartyr had his shrine in Odessa until his relics were returned to Greece at Athens - two years ago, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ukraine formally placed the name of St Gregory the Patriarch into the Ukrainian church calendar of Saints!

Isn't that great?

Yassous!

Alex

Were the Vikings still a part of the Varangian Guards for the Emperor at that time?
Stephanos I

"The Guard was apparently disbanded after the city's capture in 1204."

I have visited the church of Agios Ioannis o Rossos (St John the Russian). It is at the northern part of Evia, Greece. His body is still there, intact.

Like many Kozaks, St John memorized the psalter to have a source of prayer during captivity if he should have been captured.

He was and was sold to a wealthy Turkish family. The man of the house was away on business, but the family had his favourite dish for dinner. St John told them that it would be a shame if the father didn't share the food with them - they laughed at him.

He took the man's favourite, inscribed dish with the rice pilaf into his room and prayed over it, asking God to perform the miracle to show the family the truth of Christianity and the power of God.

The plate was noetically transported to the father at a great distance and he ate the rice pilaf and brought the plate home with him - there was no doubt in the family's mind as to what happened . . .

This family later became most zealous in assisting the Christians to built a shrine in honour of their reposed servant and friend - and now intercessor in heaven.

Alex

I thought I'd post a little information on the Paleologus', (the little I know). :rolleyes:

The name still exists in Greece, and the one Paleologus that I know came from Mani, the wild section in mountainous southern Greece. A section that was never captured by the Turks.

That area is known for it's feuding families, (they have towers like the cities of Northern Italy, so they could throw stones down at their neighbors), :p and it is said that the feud's originated between the original Spartans that ran there to hide, and the more recent Byzantine's from Mistra that were looking for a safe haven. Mistra was the medieval capital that replaced Constantinople when it was captured.

Well, one of France's admiral's was also a Paleologus, and he was a cousin of Christopher Columbus. A biography of Columbus, written by an American author, stated that Columbus was a Paleologus, otherwise there was no way he would have been able to enter the European courts so readily.

It is interesting that they had this connection with France. I have to assume it was because of the Frankish influence and control of the Southern part of Greece known as the Peliponesus or the Morea. It is where Byzantine Mistra is located, and is said that in the Middle ages, French was one of the languages spoken there, as was Slavic and two Greek dialects.

When the Crusaders needed more men in the Middle East, rather than send to France for them, they came from the Morea.

Well being my curious self, I can't help but wonder why is there a Paleologus buried at Barbados, and why was Columbus so intent on making his trip west? It seems, (to me at least), that there was quite an interest in going west among the Paleologus'. Could some old prophecies have existed that the new empire would be across the sea in the West, and they wanted to claim their rights to it...considering they were descendants of Roman emporors and all? Certainly they would not have been able to perceive of an empire as being anything other than what it was before the advent of democracy?

Zenovia

There is a beautiful recording - which I've only found on sale at the Benaki Museum in Athens - one side is folk-laments for the Fall of Constantinople, and the other side is excerpts from the service for Blessed Constantine the Martyr. The album is illustrated with a breath-taking icon, by Photios Kontoglou, of Blessed Constantine.

A particular grave in Constantinople is venerated as the resting-place of Blessed Constantine.

Incognitus