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    300,000 Priests Were Given a Choice – They All Chose Death

    They could have rejected their priesthood and saved their lives. But they didn’t under Bolshevik persecution… 300,000 priests were killed during the Communist era. They actually had an easy way out. They could have just rejected their priesthood and been set free. They could have kept praying in secret, even singing in church choirs, as long as they rejected their calling. Yet so many of them chose death.  What people are ready to die for reveals with startling clarity what is actually valuable in life. I mean, can you imagine being ready to die just because something frustrated you, for example, if you didn’t get your newspaper in the morning? No, people are…

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    When Fr Benedict Resurrected His Dead Benefactor

    Archimandrite Benedict Petrakis (+ September 8, 1961) developed a magnificent pastoral activity in the Metropolis of Aitoloakarnania and especially in Agrinio. Many spiritual branches of this region bore fruit through his systematic work and his exceeding love for God and neighbor. When he was young and wanted to study theology, he was helped financially by a pious woman from Patras, Melpomeni Bulbasakos. And when he became a mature preacher in Aitoloakarnania, he received a phone call informing him that his benefactor was near death and he was requested to go and give her final communion. Immediately Benedict got into a taxi and hurried for Melpomeni’s home in Patras. When he…

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    The Simple Shepherd Of The Simple Sheep

    It is necessary today, living in an age of distraction and materialistic stupor, that we become acquainted with holy persons that struggled against the same onslaughts our modern age brings upon the soul. These persons are a testimony to the living sanctity of Truth–that victorious war can be waged against this world’s poison. One such personality is “Papa” (Father) Nicholas Planas. + LIFE OF ST. NICHOLAS PLANAS (1851-1932) Commemorated March 2nd HIS BIRTH. He was born in Naxos in 1851. His parents, captain John and Augustina, were quite well off but were also good people, with the simple and pure soul which distinguishes island people. They had their own estate,…

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    ‘FATHER, BLESS ME TO HANG MYSELF!’

    Over ten years ago there was the following incident at our parish. I was an altar attendant at the time, serving with the rector of the Church of the Mother of God “of the Don” in the town of Mytischi (just north of Moscow), Fr. Anatoly (Proskurin). A man came to him and said, “Father, life is hard. Bless me to hang myself.” You can imagine father’s surprise. However, Fr. Anatoly listened to him, heard him out, and explained to him that taking one’s own life by suicide is a terrible sin, and that human life is a priceless gift of God. But the man would not hear it, and…