Orthodox Churches in Thessaloniki

 

Agios Demetrios

Greeka.com

Thessaloniki offers many religious attractions among which are the abundant Byzantine churches found in the upper town and the wider region. Visitors have an opportunity to admire a thousand years of unique architecture and well-preserved monuments.

One of the closest churches to the town that still stands proudly to this day is Agia Sofia, the largest and most famous Byzantine church in Thessaloniki. It was built in the 8th century over the ruins of a paleo-Christian church that was destroyed from the earthquake. It used to be a Turkish mosque. Along with other churches from Istanbul [Contantinople], Agia Sofia represents the Byzantine architecture.

The church of Agios Dimitrios lies in the heart of the old town, on the homonymous street. It was initially a small Byzantine church built over the ruins of a Roman spa. Bishop Ioannis founded the five-aisled basilica and between 1493 and 1912 it was used as a Turkish mosque. In 1917, the church was entirely burned out and in 1949 it was completely renovated. Today it is one of the most famous pilgrimages in Greece and the patron saint of the town.

One of the most valuable examples of Byzantine architecture is the church of Panagia Chalkeon dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It was founded in 1208 at the center of the town, near the ancient agora. It is well decorated with carved marble and well-preserved frescoes.

The 5th-century church of Panagia Achiropoitos is one of the best surviving monuments that exist in the city of Thessaloniki. It was the first Orthodox Church to be converted into a Turkish mosque. It hosts many beautiful frescoes from the 13th century and is open to the public.

The 14th century Church of Agios Nikolaos Orphanos is on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites and visitors are impressed by the surrounding environment and its well-decorated interior. Nearby is the monastery of Vlatadon, the only surviving monastery from the Byzantine era. It offers a breathtaking view to the entire town of Thessaloniki. Other churches in the town of Thessaloniki are Agios Panteleimonas, Agios Athanasios, Agios Antonios, and Agia Ekaterini.

 

Click on the titles:

Church of Agios Dimitrios

​ Egnatia

The church of Agios Dimitrios (Saint Demetrius) is the most famous in Thessaloniki and is dedicated to the city's patron saint. It dates back to the Byzantine Times and was built on the exact location of Saint Demetrius’ martyrdom.

Church of Agia Sofia

​ Egnatia

Located in the city center, this is among the most important churches of Thessaloniki. Built sometime around the 7th to 8th centuries, its design was influenced by the namesake grand church in Constantinople.

Church of Agios Nikolaos Orfanos

​ Old Town Ano Poli

The church of Agios Nikolaos Orfanos is one of the oldest in Thessaloniki. It was built in the 14th century and contains valuable frescoes from Byzantine times.

Church of Panagia Halkeon

​ Egnatia

On the southwest of the archaeological site of Roman Market, there is the Byzantine church of Panagia Chalkeon. Its name means "Virgin Mary of the Copper Smiths" in Greek, because of the many copper workshops that once resided in the area.

Monastery of Vlatadon

 

Old Town Ano Poli

Constructed in the 14th century, the Monastery of Vlatadon is one of the oldest and most historically important Byzantine Monuments in Thessaloniki, recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988.

Church of the Holy Apostles

​ Town Centre

The church of the Holy Apostles is representative of the Palaiologian Era’s prosperity and art. Two chapels lie next to it.

Church of Profitis Elias

​ Old Town Ano Poli

Dated to the late 14th century, the Church of Profitis Ilias presents significant examples of Palaeologan-era architecture and art and has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Church of Panagia Acheropoietos

 

 

​ Egnatia

The Church of Panagia Acheropoietos is one of the city’s most important religious buildings. Despite the several reconstructions it has undergone, it remains one of the most well-preserved examples of early Byzantine architecture.

Church of Agios Gregorios Palamas

​ Egnatia

The church of Agios Gregorios Palamas is the Metropolitan church of Thessaloniki. Its basic architectural plan was designed by the eminent architect Ernst Ziller.

Church of Kyrillos and Methodios

​ Beach Promenade

This imposing church is located on the Waterfront of Thessaloniki. It is a large building reminiscent of the architecture of Eastern European Orthodox churches.

Church of Agia Aikaterini

​ Old Town Ano Poli

The church of Agia Aikaterini is a hidden gem in the western area of Ano Poli. Since 1988, it has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Monastery of Latomos

 

​ Old Town Ano Poli

The monastery of Latomos in Ano Poli is a paleochristian religious monument in Thessaloniki. An impressive fresco depicting the Vision of Ezekiel is found inside it.

Church of Ipapanti

​ Egnatia

The Church of Ipapanti houses beautiful icons representative of its long history, going back to the 10th century.

Church of Panagia Gorgoepikoos

​ Egnatia

The Church of Panagia Gorgoepikoos is dedicated to the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. It houses an iconostasis with beautifully painted icons and a lovely icon of Mary holding infant Jesus.

Church of Agios Charalambos

​ Egnatia

The Church of Agios Charalambos dates to the early 20th century and is a dependency of the Monastery of Simonopetra of Mount Athos.

Church of Pammegistoi Taxiarches

​ Old Town Ano Poli

Founded in the 14th century, the Church of Pammegistoi Taxiarches saw many alterations throughout its lifetime. It is notably one of the only churches in Thessaloniki that presents Byzantine and neo-Byzantine architectural elements.

Church of Agios Panteleimon

​ Rotonda

The Church of Agios Panteleimon is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the city. It has been through a lot, yet restoration works have aided it to be preserved.

Church of Agios Minas

​ Town Centre

The church of Agios Minas is one of the oldest churches in the city. It has been through a lot of destruction, yet has maintained its design and beauty to a large extent.

Church of Agios Athanasios

 

​ Egnatia

Dated to the early 19th century, the Church of Agios Athanasios is a small, three-aisled basilica emblematic of post-Byzantine architecture.

Monastery of Agia Theodora

​ Town Centre

The Monastery of Agia Theodora is situated in the center of Thessaloniki. It has a long history behind it and is dedicated to Saint Theodora who resided and died there.

Church of Agios Antonios

​ Town Centre

The church of Agios Antonios has a charming exterior, with stone features and roof tiling. During the Ottoman occupation of Thessaloniki, it was used as a psychiatric asylum.

Church of Nea Panagia

​ Town Centre

This small church was built on the site of a Byzantine Monastery. Inside it, one can admire beautiful icons and ceiling paintings.

Church of Panagia Laodigitria

​ Old Town Ano Poli

The Church of Panagia Laodigitria was constructed in the 14th century and renovated in the 19th century. It presents wonderful architecture and houses the miraculous icon of Panagia Tricherousa.

Church of the Transfiguration of Jesus

​ Egnatia

The Church of the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ is one of the greatest examples of Byzantine architecture in the city and a UNESCO-recognized World Heritage Site.

 

From Ancient Hellenic to Romeiko Civilization

 

Ioannis Kon. Neonakis
Head of the Romeosyne Policy Department of NIKI

ΝΙΚΙ 

The transition of our Genos (sic) from Ancient Hellenic to Romeiko civilization constitutes a pivotal development in the historical course of our people. Countless scholars across generations have concerned themselves with this transition. Here we shall simply mention eminent contemporary thinkers, such as the late Professors Fr. John Romanides, Fr. George Metallinos, Christos Yannaras, as well as the Metropolitan of Nafpaktos and Agios Vlasios, Fr. Hierotheos Vlachos.

All human communities, sooner or later, are led to an inevitable, foundational regulation of relationships and modes of life, aimed at satisfying innate needs (nutrition, pleasure, health, security, companionship, religion, etc.). The concept of need is broad. It is not limited to the bodily sphere but extends also to the psychic dimension. The instinctive search for the divine, for example, and the consequent formation of religion by man, which psychologically secures the individual, belongs to this same cycle of need and its satisfaction. Communities formed for the purpose of meeting needs thus shape what may be called “societies of necessity.”

Over the course of history, and depending on particular parameters (power structures, political systems, division of labor, technological development, education, artistic cultivation, etc.), countless variations of this model have emerged. Yet their central axis and primary objective remains the individual and the satisfaction of his needs. The more impersonal the individual becomes and the greater the uniformity achieved within such a society, the more effectively regulation, control, and systemic equilibrium are ensured. Despite the significant achievements of such societies (primarily in technological advancement or artistic production), the greatest good one may hope to attain—rarely realized—is merely well-being: that is, the orderly and uninterrupted satisfaction of individual needs. And yet this is the limit. Such a society can never existentially liberate itself from the oppressive bondage of necessity, nor escape the darkness of corruption and the ultimate tyranny of transience and death.

Standing as an exception in its time, ancient Hellenism—after centuries of historical maturation—managed to approach, if only briefly, imperfectly, and fragmentarily, another mode of existence: another kind of society, described by ancient thought and by modern thinkers alike as the “society of the true,” or alternatively as a “relation-centered communitarian civilization.” Here, the primary axis of life was no longer the satisfaction of needs but rather the relationship between persons, the safeguarding of otherness, and the harmonious integration of persons into a novel body: the Ecclesia, understood as a mode of living and illumination of relationship. The Ecclesia of the Demos was not merely an electoral assembly, but a way of life and a manifestation of relationship as the supreme value. The healing of need was not abandoned but was integrated into the service of preserving and elevating personal communion. Though imperfect, this civilization of relationship fertilized the Hellenic soul and rendered it fertile ground for further developments.

What the Hellenic intellect had long awaited was fulfilled—indeed fulfilled in perfection—when the God of the Christians was revealed to the Hellenic world. For this God bestowed upon the Hellenic soul the two things it most deeply desired: freedom from all necessity and an inconceivable model of personal communion. This God possesses an incomprehensible freedom, subject to no limitation. His Incarnation constitutes a transcendence of nature itself, while His Resurrection constitutes liberation from the ultimate necessity of death. Yet most astonishing of all is this: this God is not merely a person who has relationships; He Himself is relationship. The God of the Christians is defined as relationship—indeed, as relationship of ecstatic love: an indivisible, loving, ontological unity of three persons (“without division”), without confusion or absorption of otherness (“without confusion”). The Hellenes received this God with joy and were intoxicated with the “sober intoxication” of revelatory light. They tasted and celebrated the endless feast of the ecclesial event and sought, as far as they were able, to shape their relationships—both individually and collectively—according to the Trinitarian mode of “without confusion and without division.” Thus Hellenism evolved into a new way of life, into a new Hellenicity, into a new civilization: that of Romeosyne.

Much could be written concerning the specific elements and axes that constitute what we describe as Hellenic identity across time—elements of the “society of relationship” which existed in embryonic form within ancient life and found their full meaning and fulfillment within Orthodoxy. Here we shall confine ourselves to a concise presentation of certain central axes, using the formulation of the late Professor Fr. George Metallinos.

(a) A foundational element of Hellenic identity is religiosity as theocentricity. The Hellene is a theocentric being. He lives in constant reference to God. The Hellene was never atheist; rather, he always engaged in an unceasing quest for the true God. From Homeric times, the divine element permeates every aspect of daily life. This is precisely what led Saint Paul to describe the Athenians as “most religious,” that is, most reverent.

(b) The second element is ethics as humanism. Hellenic civilization affirms the human person, recognizes him, and honors him. Despite its shortcomings, it does not possess a racist spirit. It continually seeks truth and virtue, presenting moral exemplars and striving to educate toward the “good and noble.” It offers powerful paradigms of virtue, such as Antigone, who nearly touches Christianity itself.

(c) Simultaneously, Hellenism manifests a consciousness of the unity and universality of life. The Hellene affirms life in its entirety—all its dimensions, earthly and heavenly. He rejects nothing. This is what he would later proclaim more fully as a Christian: “Let us commit ourselves and one another and our whole life unto Christ our God.” It is the affirmation and sanctification of life in its unbroken and ongoing journey.

(d) Hellenic civilization also possesses a profound awareness of the limits of human reason. It knows that human reason and human capacities are finite. Any transgression of these limits is understood as hubris. Hellenism never accepted any form of absolutized rationalism or the absolutization of reason. The absolutization of reason—or even further, the absolutization of efficiency (to use a modern term)—which today has been elevated to supreme value, is regarded by Hellenic civilization as deviation and dead end. This understanding would later be expressed most fully by the great Cappadocian Fathers and by Saint Gregory Palamas. Human wisdom is clearly distinguished from divine wisdom. The created can analyze only the created. The uncreated is revealed only within divine grace. The God of the Christians is not grasped intellectually but reveals Himself freely within the salvific body of the Church.

(e) A central place in Hellenic civilization is held by the communal understanding and communal experience of truth. Heraclitus expressed that truth is realized through participation. The Hellene has always believed that only by sharing—both his goods and his very being—does he live in truth. This is expressed among others in warmth of manner, joy of coexistence, philotimo, and the proverbial Greek hospitality.

(f) A sine qua non characteristic of Hellenicity is its powerful capacity for assimilation and transformation. Hellenism not only affirms otherness but rapidly absorbs and creatively transforms whatever the outside world offers—ideas, goods, structures. One recalls here Chrysostom’s phrase: “What is not assumed is not healed.” Historically, however, Hellenism assimilated only those elements compatible with its identity and tradition, elements that would not distort its unique character. Tragically, over the past two centuries, serving foreign interests, the political and academic elite imposed institutions that not only fail to correspond to our identity but actively oppose it, gravely distorting the people’s innate sense of authenticity.

(g) Finally, we mention the universality of Hellenism. Hellenicity is not confined to the artificial borders of a protectorate-state or Balkan province, as some seek to impose. It is a soteriological reality that concerns every human person. But this reception must be mature—within freedom, love, and light—not an imposed, chaotic “multiculturalism” engineered deceitfully by the rulers of this dark age. Hellenism united with all peoples partially through the light of the Hellenic spirit, and fully through the uncreated light of the eternal Pentecost, with Christ Himself as Shepherd. From the incomplete universality of Alexander the Great to the true universality of Saint Paul and Constantine the Great. From ancient Hellenicity to the new Hellenicity: Romeosyne.

 

A Modern Lent

 

 

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Fr. Stephen Freeman / Glory 2 God for all things 

Few things are as difficult in the modern world as fasting. It is not simply the action of changing our eating habits that we find problematic – it’s the whole concept of fasting and what it truly entails. It comes from another world.

We understand dieting – changing how we eat in order to improve how we look or how we feel. But changing how we eat in order to know God or to rightly keep a feast of the Church – this is foreign. Our first question is often, “How does that work?” For we live in a culture of utility – we want to know the use of things. Underneath the question of utility is the demand that something make sense to me, and that I be able to ultimately take charge of it, use it as I see fit and shape it according to my own desires. Perhaps the fast could be improved?

Our modern self-understanding sees people primarily as individual centers of choice and decision. A person is seen as the product of their choices and decisions – our lives are self-authenticated. As such, we are managers.

Of course there are many problems with this world-view from the perspective of Classical Christianity. Though we are free to make choices and decisions, our freedom is not unlimited. The largest part of our lives is not self-determined. Much of the rhetoric of modernity is aimed towards those with wealth and power. It privileges their stories and mocks the weakness of those without power with promises that are rarely, if ever, fulfilled.

Our lives are a gift from God and not of our own making. The Classical Christian spiritual life is not marked by choice and self-determination: it is characterized by self-emptying and the way of the Cross.

When a modern Christian confronts the season of Lent – the question often becomes: “What do I want to give up for Lent?” The intention is good, but the question is wrong. Lent quickly becomes yet another life-choice, a consumer’s fast.

The practice of the traditional fast has been greatly diminished over the past few centuries. The Catholic Church has modified its requirements and streamlined Lenten fasting (today it includes only abstaining from meat on the Fridays of Lent – which makes them similar to all the other Fridays of the year). The Protestant Churches that observe the season of Lent offer no formal guidelines for Lenten practice. The individual is left on their own.

Orthodoxy continues to have in place the full traditional fast, which is frequently modified in its application (the “rules” themselves are generally recognized as written for monastics). It is essentially a vegan diet (no meat, fish, wine, dairy). Some limit the number of meals and their manner of cooking. Of course, having the fast in place and “keeping the fast” are two very different things. I know of no study on how Orthodox in the modern world actually fast. My pastoral experience tells me that people generally make a good effort.

Does any of this matter? Why should Christians in the modern world concern themselves with a traditional practice?

What is at stake in the modern world is our humanity. The notion that we are self-authenticating individuals is simply false. We obviously do not bring ourselves into existence – it is a gift. And the larger part of what constitutes our lives is simply a given – a gift. It is not always a gift that someone is happy with – we would like ourselves to be other than we are. But the myth of the modern world is that we, in fact, do create ourselves and our lives – our identities are imagined to be of our own making. We are only who we choose to be. It is a myth that is extremely well-suited for undergirding a culture built on consumption. Identity can be had at a price. The wealthy have a far greater range of identities available to them – the poor are largely stuck with being who they really are.

But the only truly authentic human life is the one we receive as a gift from God. The spirituality of choice and consumption under the guise of freedom is an emptiness. The identity we create is an ephemera, a product of imagination and the market. The habits of the marketplace serve to enslave us – Lent is a call to freedom.

A Modern Lent

Thus, a beginning for a modern Lent is to repent from the modern world itself. By this, I mean renouncing the notion that you are a self-generated, self-authenticating individual. You are not defined by your choices and decisions, much less by your career and your shopping. You begin by acknowledging that God alone is Lord (and you are not). Your life has meaning and purpose only in relation to God. The most fundamental practice of such God-centered living is the giving of thanks.

• Renounce trying to improve yourself and become something. You are not a work in progress. If you are a work – then you are God’s work. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in” (Eph 2:10).
• Do not plan to have a “good Lent” or imagine what a “good Lent” would be. Give up judging – especially judging yourself. Get out of the center of your world. Lent is not about you. It is about Christ and His Pascha.
• Fast according to the Tradition instead of according to your own ideas and designs. This might be hard for some if they are not part of the traditional Church and thus have no fasting tradition. Most Catholics have differing rules for fasting than the Orthodox. If you’re Catholic, fast like a Catholic. Don’t admire other people’s fasting.

If you’re Protestant but would like to live more traditionally, think about becoming Orthodox. Short of that, covenant with others (family, friends) to keep the traditional fast. Don’t be too strict or too lenient, and if possible keep the fast in a manner that is mutually agreed rather than privately designed. Be accountable but not guilty.

• Pray. Fasting without praying is called “the Fast of Demons,” because demons never eat, but they never pray. We fast as a means of drawing closer to God. Your fasting and your prayer should be balanced as much as possible. If you fast in a strict manner, then you should pray for extended periods. If you fast lightly, then your prayers may be lighter as well. The point is to be single – for prayer and fasting to be a single thing.
• To our prayer and fasting should be added mercy (giving stuff away, especially money). You cannot be too generous. Your mercy should be as invisible as possible to others, except in your kindness to all. Spend less, give away more.

Eating, drinking, praying and generosity are very natural activities. Look at your life. How natural is your eating? Is your diet driven by manufactured, processed foods (especially as served in restaurants and fast food places)? These can be very inhuman ways of eating. Eating should take time. It is not a waste of time to spend as much as six hours in twenty-four preparing, sharing, eating and cleaning up. Even animals take time to eat.

• Go to Church a lot more (if your Church has additional Lenten services, go to them). This can be problematic for Protestants, in that most Protestant worship is quite modern, i.e. focused on the individual rather than directed to God, well-meant but antithetical to worship. If your Church isn’t boring, it’s probably modern. This is not to say that Classical Christianity is inherently boring – it’s just experienced as such by people trained to be consumers. Classical Christianity worships according to Tradition and focuses its attention on God. It is not there for you to “get something out of it.”
• Entertain yourself less. In traditional Orthodox lands, amusements are often given up during the Lenten period. This can be very difficult for modern people in that we live to consume and are thus caught in a cycle of pain and pleasure. Normal pleasures such as exercise or walking are not what I have in mind – although it strikes me as altogether modern that there should be businesses dedicated to helping us do something normal (like walking or exercising), such that even our normal activities become a commodity to consume.
• Fast from watching/reading the news and having/expressing opinions. The news is not presented in order to keep you informed. It is often inaccurate and serves the primary purpose of political propaganda and consumer frenzy. Neither are good for the soul. Opinions can be deeply destructive to the soul’s health. Most opinions are not properly considered, necessary beliefs. They are passions that pass themselves off as thoughts or beliefs. The need to express them reveals their passionate nature. Though opinions are a necessary part of life – they easily come to dominate us. Reducing the need to express how we feel about everything that comes our way (as opposed to silently weighing and considering and patiently speaking what we know to be true) is an important part of ascesis and self-control.

I could well imagine that a modern person, reading through such a list, might feel overwhelmed and wonder what is left. What is left is being human. That so much in our lives is not particularly human but an ephemeral distraction goes far to explain much of our exhaustion and anxiety. There is no food  for us in what is not human.

And so the words of Isaiah come to mind:

Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in fatness (Isa 55:1-2).

“Let your soul delight itself in fatness…” the irony of Lent.

 

Άγιος Διονύσιος ο εν Ολύμπω (23 Ιανουαρίου)

 

Eν σαρκί ως άσαρκος έζησας πάτερ,
Και τοις ασάρκοις νυν συνευφραίνη νόοις.

Ορθόδοξος Συναξαριστής (εικ)

Ο Άγιος Διονύσιος γεννήθηκε λίγο πριν το 1500 μ.Χ. στο ορεινό χωριό Σκλάταινα της Καρδίτσας, την σημερινή Δρακότρυπα. Το όνομά του ήταν Δημήτριος και από παιδί επέδειξε ζήλο για την αγάπη του Χριστού και την ασκητική ζωή.

Σε ηλικία 18 ετών μόνασε στα Μετέωρα λαμβάνοντας το όνομα Δανιήλ.

Τρία χρόνια αργότερα, αναζητώντας πιο απομονωμένο τόπο και επειδή δεν του έδιναν την ευκαιρία ν’ αναχωρήσει, πήδηξε ως δια θαύματος κάτω από το βράχο των Μετεώρων και μετέβη στις Καρυές του Αγίου Όρους. Εκεί γίνεται ιερεύς και μεγαλόσχημος μοναχός, μετονομασθείς σε Διονύσιο.

Αργότερα εγκαθίσταται στην σκήτη Καρακάλου όπου έζησε ερημικά για δέκα έτη με αυστηρή άσκηση, προσευχή και νηστεία, βιώνοντας πολλές θαυματουργικές ενέργειες του Θεού. Η ισάγγελη ζωή του στάθηκε αιτία της εκλογής του ως ηγουμένου της βουλγαρικής, τότε, μονής Φιλοθέου. Συναντώντας μεγάλες αντιδράσεις για τον τρόπο ζωής που θέλησε να εφαρμόσει στην μονή εγκατέλειψε το Άγιο Όρος και εγκαταστάθηκε γύρω στο 1524 μ.Χ. στην μονή Τιμίου Προδρόμου στη Βέροια.

Θέλοντας ν’ αποφύγει την εκλογή του σε επίσκοπο που επεδίωκαν οι κάτοικοι της περιοχής, αναχώρησε κρυφά και μετέβη στον Όλυμπο. Εκεί ασκήτευσε σ’ ένα σπήλαιο που σώζεται μέχρι και σήμερα. Συκοφαντούμενος όμως εκδιώχθηκε από το ασκητήριό του και αναχώρησε για το Πήλιο, όπου το 1542 μ.Χ. ίδρυσε τη μονή της Αγίας Τριάδος Σουρβίας έπειτα από θαυματουργική υπόδειξη του Θεού.

 

Φωτο (βλ. παρακάτω)

Μετά από τρία έτη και λόγω της παντελούς ανυδρίας που έπληξε τον τόπο των διωκτών του, επέστρεψε επισήμως με πρόσκληση του διώκτη του Αγά Σάκου. Με την αγγελική βιωτή του γρήγορα προσείλκυσε πλήθος μοναχών, ο ίδιος όμως χρησιμοποιούσε τα πλησιόχωρα σπήλαια για προσευχή και ησυχία, όπου ζούσε στο γνόφο της νοερής προσευχής. Δεν παρέλειπε, ωστόσο, να περιέρχεται τα γύρω χωριά για να κηρύξει, να εξομολογήσει και να στηρίξει τους σκλαβωμένους Έλληνες. Είχε απέραντη αγάπη για το λαό.

Εκοιμήθη εν ειρήνη, αφήνοντάς μας για ανεκτίμητο θησαυρό τα χαριτόβρυτα λείψανά του.

Σημείωση: Στη Δρακότρυπα η εορτή του πανηγυρίζεται επίσης την τελευταία Κυριακή του Ιουλίου.

Ἀπολυτίκιον  (Κατέβασμα)
Ἦχος α’. Τῆς ἐρήμου πολίτης.

Τοῦ Ὀλύμπου οἰκήτωρ Πιερίας ἀγλάισμα, καὶ τῆς ἐπωνύμου Μονῆς σου ἱερὸν περιτείχισμα, ἐδείχθης Διονύσιε σοφέ, βιώσας ὥσπερ Ἄγγελος ἐν γῇ, καὶ παρέχεις τὴν ταχεῖαν σου ἀρωγήν, τοὶς εὐλαβῶς κραυγάζουσιν δόξα τῷ δεδωκότι σοὶ ἰσχύν, δόξα τῷ σὲ θαυμαστώσαντι, δόξα τῷ ἐνεργούντι διὰ σοῦ πάσιν ἰάματα.

 

Το Άγιο Σπήλαιο στον Όλυμπο που σώζεται μέχρι και σήμερα και η απίστευτη φυσική ομορφιά

Μagnesia news

Ο Άγιος Διονύσιος ο εν Ολύμπω, κατά κόσμον Δημήτριος Καλέτσης, γεννήθηκε περίπου το 1500 στο χωριό Σκλάταινα Καρδίτσας, στη σημερινή Δρακότρυπα. Αφού πέρασε από τις μονές του Μεγάλου Μετεώρου στην Καλαμπάκα, το Άγιο Όρος και άλλες, το 1542 εγκαταστάθηκε στον Όλυμπο.

Σε υψόμετρο 900μ. μέσα στο φαράγγι του Ενιπέα, σε φυσικό οχυρό πλάτωμα, ανάμεσα σε δύο ρέματα και σε απόσταση 18 χιλιομέτρων από το Λιτόχωρο, έχτισε την παλαιά Μονή. Την αφιέρωσε στην Αγία Τριάδα, αργότερα, όμως, επικράτησε να ονομάζεται Ιερά Μονή Αγίου Διονυσίου εν Ολύμπω.

Ο Άγιος Διονύσιος, ασκητεύει σε σπηλιά κάτω από ένα βράχο, η οποία απέχει περίπου 20 λεπτά με τα πόδια από το παλιό μοναστήρι. Ο τόπος ονομάστηκε «Άγιο Σπήλαιο» και σώζεται μέχρι και σήμερα, ενώ προσελκύει καθημερινά χιλιάδες επισκέπτες.

Από τη θέση Πριόνια, στην οποία φθάνουμε με αυτοκίνητο, κατηφορίζουμε το μονοπάτι Ε4 προς το Λιτόχωρο. Πριν την Παλαιά Μονή του Αγίου Διονυσίου, συναντούμε τα χαρακτηριστικά ξέφωτα και μία μικρή καλύβα. Στρίβουμε δεξιά, και το μονοπάτι μας οδηγεί σε λίγα λεπτά σε καταρράκτη του Ενιπέα.

Επιστρέφοντας στο Ε4 διασχίζουμε τον Ενιπέα μέσω μίας ξύλινης γέφυρας και συνεχίζουμε την πορεία μας για 20΄ προς το Άγιο Σπήλαιο. Από εκεί επιστρέφουμε στην Παλαιά Μονή όπου μπορούμε να επισκεφτούμε το καθολικό το οποίο ανακαινίζεται, αλλά και τους γύρω χώρους του μοναστηριού.

Η επιστροφή από το μοναστήρι μπορεί να γίνει είτε από το ίδιο μονοπάτι, μέχρι τα Πριόνια και από εκεί στο Λιτόχωρο, είτε με αυτοκίνητο, μέχρι το Λιτόχωρο.

 

Orthodox Psychotherapy — Road signs towards achieving in-Christ Thera

 

The famous book "Orthodox Psychotherapy" of the Metropolitan of Nafpaktos Hierotheos
 

Orthodox Outlet for Dogmatic Enquiries 

The term "Orthodox Psychotherapy" does not pertain to specific cases of people suffering from psychological problems or neuroses. Rather, it is something that pertains to all people. According to Orthodox Tradition, after Adam's fall, Man became ill; his intellect (called “dianoia”) was darkened and the mind (the “nous” or,  the "eye of the heart") lost communion with God. Death entered mankind's life thereafter, giving rise to many personal, anthropological, social, even ecological problems. With the tragedy of his fall, Man continued to be "in the image of God", but he had now completely forfeited the "likeness" of Him, as his communion with God was disrupted.

However, the Incarnation of Christ and His bodily presence among us, and the pursuant opus of the Church (which entails the in-Christ guidance by spiritually illuminated Saints and Fathers throughout Time) are both intended to assist a person to regain the "likeness" of God, that is, to restore his communion with God. By adhering to the Orthodox "therapeutic treatment" as proposed by the Holy Fathers of the Church, Man can succeed to "manage" his thoughts properly, thus solving his spiritual issues fully and comprehensively.

This "therapeutic regimen" of psycho-therapy (Greek: literally, therapy of the soul) is closely linked to the Church’s "neptic" tradition (sobriety) and Her hesychastic life (of "quietude") - as preserved in the texts of the Philokalia, in the works of the Fathers of the Church and notably in the teaching of Saint Gregory Palamas. Most certainly, one must not overlook the fact that the neptic and hesychastic ways of life are the same that one observes in the lives of the Prophets and the Apostles, as clearly described in the texts of the Holy Scriptures.

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Wherefore he who professes the science of spiritual medicine ought first of all to consider the disposition of him who has sinned, and to see whether he tends to health or (on the contrary) provokes to himself disease by his own behaviour, and to look how he can care for his manner of life during the interval. And if he does not resist the physician, and if the ulcer of the soul is increased by the application of the imposed medicaments, then let him mete out mercy to him according as he is worthy of it.

(Canon CII of the Quinisext Ecumenical Council)

 

LIST OF ARTICLES (by various authors)

Genders and Orientations Psychosomatic enslavement and liberation Want to find peace and quiet in a forest? Don't bring technology with you! God with us "For many more years!" To Bishop Kastor, On the Eight Thoughts of Evil The Problem of Theodicy The Ladder of Divine Ascent and Moral Improvement What is the role of a Spiritual Father? Love and Freedom Transformation and Forgiveness Personal responsibility in spiritual life Fantasy: a post-Fall phenomenon Hesychia: Our Method of True Healing Insanity and Demonic Possession in Patristic Thought The strength of faith and the weakness of faithlessness What is "psychotherapy" in the context of Orthodox Christianity? Christianity is not a religion. It is psychotherapeutic science Orthodoxy as therapy Sickness and healing in Orthodox Theology The Impact of Orthodox Psychotherapeutic Interventions on Depressive Symptomatology The Illness of religion The use of the word “religion” The Orthodox Therapist Demolition, Canons and Spiritual Direction Deification and Orthodoxy Simple village folk who saw… the Uncreated Light! Dostoevsky and Morality Freedom and way of existence in Orthodoxy The Power of the Name (book) Experience of God Holy Communion and Confession Self-confidence, or Egotism? The Tragic Paradox of Christian Jerks Theosis: Partaking of the Divine Nature True Christianity: The soul's journey Anthropological background: The human composite and spiritual healing The cure of the neurobiological sickness of religion A Homily on Repentance : Can we fast without it? The Sickness of Religion and its Orthodox Cure Metropolitan Seraphim: "If the priest isn't at least gracious, then all his ministry goes to waste" Why are premarital relations not allowed? Therapeutic Treatment of the Human Nous The Human Body: Ascesis and Exercise Living as an Orthodox Christian in a Non-Orthodox World Hypersexuality and Sterility: the Social Costs of Porn in Japan On the selection of a Spiritual Father How should we behave towards atheists or heterodox? Atheist buses, God's Chocolates, but .... atheist Christians? Regarding the Church What is the meaning of "Church"? Stages of Conversion "With kindness and with love you can make many tame... Frequent Bible Reading Tied to Social Justice, Openness to Science The "purity" of the Church Sinners in the Church About building churches Why would anyone want to forgive an enemy? Should One Kill Moles? Or, How to Avoid Falling Into Traps While Reading Contemporary Orthodox Literature Is secular “psychotherapy” compatible with principles & anthropology of the Orthodox Church? On humility and humor 'The year I lost my limbs was the most brilliant of my life' We shouldn't ask to see God if we aren't prepared Asceticism as Repentance,  Repentance as Failure Is Porn really destroying 500,000 Marriages Annually? Psychology and Orthodox Christian Therapy. Why Morality is not Christian. Asceticism as Repentance, Repentance as Failure. Burning Incense is Psychoactive Brain scans of porn addicts: what's wrong with this picture? The Plethora of "Elders" and the "Piety" of the Naive Depression Justice Does Not Belong to the Christian Way of Life Can everyone theologize? The Knowledge of God. Is it Really OK To Look But Don’t Touch? To Vent or Not To Vent: Modern and Ancient Views on Dealing with Anger The disappointment of religion A Homily on Repentance : Can we fast without it? The Hypnotic Mall Ancient Christian Wisdom and Beck’s Cognitive Therapy Out of the Fountain that is Christ: Free Will, Tolerance and Forgiveness Canonoclasts and Canonophiles: An Ecclesiastic problem, or an Ecclesiological heresy? «And the wife see that she reverence her husband» The Elder Paisios on the secularization of Monasticism The Unfortunate Effects Apocalyptic Beliefs Can Have On Morality You are not a Biblical character Why don't we want to be cured? A contemporary manifestation of the Holy Trinity Pietism as an ecclesiological heresy Healing the Mind:  The Nexus between Contemporary Psychology and Eastern Christian Practice Self-esteem, or Humility? The course from tragedy to catharsis Benefits in Delaying Sex Until Marriage Elder Porphyrios: Overcoming Depression Why does God allow wicked Bishops? Should we have a "fear of Christ"? The Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos on Psychoanalysis and Psychiatric Medications ‘But I Say To You,Love Your Enemies’ Saint Siluan's stance towards those who disagreed with him The Elder Porphyry: On problematic spiritual fathers and "misguided obedience" Orthodoxy and Homosexuality How to cultivate humility "Sexual Addiction": An Orthodox and Scientific View Principles for healing the passion of lust A passion is not removed the same way as a sin A tale of two therapies Miracle-lust: a child's disease Priests and Hypocrisy Palamism Explained in Twelve Minutes or Less Curing the sickness of Pharisaism “Elderism”:  Spurious “Elders” The Spiritual Father: Spiritual paternity in the light of Orthodox Tradition Divine Eros Celebrating the defeat of death… The Crisis is a spiritual one On Fasting Safely Home to Heaven : A Letter from an Orthodox Nun to a Former Calvinist Five types of Religious lives Orthodox Pathology Depression: The “silent epidemic” Orthodox therapeutics for homosexuality: A "Fool for Christ" heals a transvestite Is “secular psychotherapy” compatible to Orthodoxy’s anthropology? Ecclesiastic Psychotherapy vs. Secular Therapeutic Techniques Concerning Repentance and Spiritual Warfare The tragedy of Man Contemplation The Function of Spiritual Paternity Confession - Confessor - Confessing A saintly Fool for Christ in the heart of Athens Who is the Truth ? Thoughts about Freedom Stella: God's little sparrow Church and Prison The simple housewife who taught Saint Chrysostom how to preach On the experience of Theosis Thoughts and Deception A… thief for God! How not to despair The Enigma of I AM The Risk in Creation Prayer of the Spirit The Bliss of Knowing the Way The Struggle in Prayer The letter of the Law can be deadly Experiencing the Sacrament/Mystery of the Church through Baptism and the Eucharist Elder Amphilochios Makris -Spiritual Counsels- Basil the Great and Communal Ownership Genuine and false experiences of the Grace of God Injustice Is a Great Sin Mother Gabriel - The Sayings The Jesus Prayer On Corrupt Bishops Mindless Zeal Light or Darkness A Greek-American family man who saw the Uncreated Light The lay porter who resurrected a dead man Simple village folk who saw… the Uncreated Light!