“Today is the hope of
salvation, today is joy for the world... Christ is Risen, and He has
resurrected us.”
Basil the Great:
“The Resurrection of Christ
is the Resurrection of human nature.”
Saint Porphyry of
Kavsokalyvite:
“Christ is life, joy, peace,
everything. Whoever believes in the Resurrection fears nothing.”
Saint Silouan the Athonite:
“When the soul recognizes
the Risen Christ, it is filled with such joy that it no longer wants anything
else on earth.”
That is why those who do not have Christ within them
do not have the strength to love truly. Because Christ
is the leader of love.
Dimitrios
Panagopoulos Preacher †
When God sees that your strength has been exhausted
and that you have despaired of yourself, then He intervenes. He does not want
your self-love as an accomplice.
I do not care at all. I have learned to rest in God,
and He acts. When you entrust your care to God, then your soul also rests.
Whatever You will, Lord, as You will, when You will. I trust in You. Grace
comes and the soul becomes light, it no longer wants anything other than the
will of God.
➕ Saint Joseph
the Hesychast
You see hearts that are barren, yet within them roses
bloom.
Young people, boys and girls, seeking out the priest
to speak with him, to find the truth their souls are searching for.
There are these young people, too.
These are miracles.
A young person stops you and says:
“I want to talk, Father, something is weighing on my
conscience and I want to tell you.”
Yes, that kid!
From the café, with an earring in their ear or
eyebrow.
With a tattoo of a forgotten love and headphones
blasting Iron Maiden.
You’re talking to a group of young people in a café
and you feel the table with the frappés turning into a little chapel of
Christ’s presence, because let’s not forget: “Where two or three are gathered
in my name, there am I among them” (Matt. 18:20).
And to walk into the church and not have time to dodge
the jabs, especially from people who are “close to the priest” and “the
church.”
And to have a theological discussion with the rocker kid
you never would have imagined in your wildest dreams.
And yet, amidst this quagmire, baptism speaks within.
A prayer, perhaps, from a grandmother, a mother
kneeling before the icons, begging not for brides, grooms, jobs, or money, but
for repentance and the Kingdom of Heaven.
A candidate for sainthood in search of a spiritual
home.
These are miracles.
That little lamp in the heart that hasn’t gone out
yet—and is rekindled by a prayer.
And then it begins to illuminate the human heart, so
that the world may smell of truth.
And this “bad boy” of the world begins to see the
forgotten treasure within him and goes to the confessor to have it polished so
it shines again.
These are acts of repentance!
From those whom the world had already written off, but
who, in God’s eyes, are among the bravest.
It makes you see God’s presence as a “gentle whisper”
in thirsty souls.
And on the other hand, you see the lady in the suit, a
fan-shaped pastry in hand, begging Christ at every prayer for rabbits with
stone-hard hearts, just so the world can smell her selfishness.
And as soon as she sees the child with the earring,
she’ll say: “That little brat, eh, what do you expect from so-and-so’s son.”
And whenever she sees you, she’ll say with the
saleswoman’s smile: “Your blessing, Father.”
And after 30 years in the church, she hasn’t
understood a thing.
She feels that with a few donations and some Epitaph
decorations, she has a VIP spot in paradise.
Poor woman…
In the end, God is where He cannot be seen.
He hides and shines within the stillness of silence.
Something like the sun.
When the sun rises, it makes no noise; it does not
speak like the waves or the wind.
It simply reveals itself through its radiance and
warmth.
That almighty presence of His is enough.
That is how Christ acts.
He comes when those who are truly thirsty call upon
Him.
But when the self-righteous and the Pharisees provoke
Him, He withdraws,
because the space is closed to Him.
Let us not forget, my beloved, that Paradise was
opened by a thief with a single “I remember.”
A thirsty cry opened the gates of Paradise.
He who does not read the
Holy Bible will not be saved!
As soon as the grandmother
heard this word, she turned pale, became disappointed and, returning home, said
to her daughter:
My child, I will go to hell,
because I do not read the Holy Bible!
Her daughter tried to
reassure her, but in vain.
One day, the grandmother
decided to go to an enlightened elder, to help her.
As soon as the grandmother
saw him, she said to him:
My father, I will not be
saved, because I do not read the Holy Bible, because I am illiterate!
But the elder reassured her
and said to her:
And how were so many
illiterate people saved, grandmother? In fact, we also have Saints who were
completely illiterate! How were they saved? Letters do not save, but neither
does illiteracy bring damnation.
So, grandmother, you will do
this: You will take the Gospel, open it to the first page, put your palm on the
Gospel and then go to the iconostasis and say the following prayer: ''My
Christ, what you write in the Gospel, put into my heart!''.
The next day you will put
your palm on the second page and so on.
The grandmother applied the
elder's words to the letter for several months. One day at home, her
grandchildren were playing and began to speak badly and criticize.
The grandmother heard this
and observed them, telling them:
My children, do not judge so
that you will not be judged!
Her daughter is a bone!
Mother, what you said, where
did you hear it and say it? This is what the Gospel says, you are illiterate,
who told you?
My child, I did not hear it
from somewhere, but it came from my heart!
From that moment on, the
grandmother began to reproduce words of the Gospel, without understanding it!
Because the grandmother obeyed the elder with faith and simplicity, Christ
began to implant the words of the Gospel in her heart.
What will save us is faith
in Christ and not our education.
Besides, Christ chose
illiterate people as His Disciples, to show that He can make you all-wise, even
if you are illiterate, as long as one has faith and humility..
Elder Ephraim of the Skete
of Saint Andrew
“Conscience is called an adversary because it
always opposes our evil will and checks us for what we should do and do not do
and accuses us for what we do and should not do.” That is why it is said that
the best pillow is a quiet conscience.
Go to sleep. When you have
remorse of conscience, you cannot sleep, no matter how many sedatives you take.
You will have to settle your adversary, your adversary. You must forgive!
Conscience says, you must forgive and you say, no, I will keep my character, I
do not want to forgive, I do not want to be humiliated, I do everything, let
him do it too… and you cannot sleep. Conscience does not let you, the
adversary, the rival.
“Have good relations with
your rival, while you are still walking together on the road”. In this life. Do
not leave it after death. After death you cannot sort out your conscience.
After death your conscience will be your condemnation. “The road is, as St.
Basil says, this world”. While you are on the road, while you are in this
world, sort things out with your conscience, find them, sort out your
conscience. And we know what sorting out is, repentance and confession, the
correction of evil. Behold, what great things confession offers, which no
psychiatrist, psychologist, medicine, or anything can give you! It calms your
conscience, because the Holy Spirit comes and tells you, my child, it is as if
you had not done it. It is finished... I erase it, I erase it... and the person
calms down.
“Let us therefore, my
brothers, take care to guard our conscience, as long as we are still in this
world, without provoking it to control us for anything, without trampling on it
in anything at all, not even in the slightest.” Do not let your conscience
control you. Since you know, what you will do now, your conscience will control
you later.
The Ascetic Writings of Abba
Dorotheos.
Know
that intense thoughts and carnal temptations will fight you, to defile your
body and your soul.
To
overcome this passion, you must systematically avoid worldly associations. Do
not forget that our nature has within it the urge for procreation, which is
inflamed by our careless behavior with women.
Another
kind of damage is caused to the soul by temptations that come from things that
are far away from us, and another, much more serious harm is caused to our soul
by thoughts that come to us when the temptation is near us. When the fire is
far away, it does not harm us much, but when it is near, then the damage is
certain.
Just
as oil nourishes the light of a lamp, so carnal desires nourish passions. In
order to keep our bodies clean from carnal pollution, we must be very careful
about stimuli. For it is not the propensity for procreation that God has placed
in man that is harmful, but the deviation. However, man must tame this
propensity and direct it to good. For if he leaves himself without a bridle,
then he will become worse than wild animals. God made everything “very good”,
but man strayed from the right path and left his body free to be satisfied as
it wants, and not as the will of God commands.
The
natural movements of the body should not lead us astray or hinder us from
sobriety. Drink, much food, and careless intercourse with women kindle the flame
of evil desires, and the body becomes wild, losing its natural meekness and
simplicity.
Many
times we think that through exercise and prayer we have reached high standards
of virtue. It is then that God permits carnal temptations in order to humble
us. Force is needed, because the flesh does not submit easily. The struggle is
difficult, but with the Lord's help we will conquer. Our labor and struggle,
hard and difficult, will be rewarded by God. Sorrows and sorrows kill the
passions of the flesh.
Our
bodies, like our souls, are not sinful, but evil desires and carnal defilements
defile them. Exercise, suffering of the body, and prayer help in spiritual
elevation.
When
we despise the sorrows and griefs that God allows for our perfection, it is as
if we despise the commandments of God. We must not forget that virtue blooms in
us like a flower only through sorrows and physical labor. The more we love
rest, the more we give way to passions. For when the body is tormented by
labors and sorrows, evil thoughts subside. When a person remembers his sins and
repents of them, then God provides for him and increases his virtue. The more
someone forces himself, the more God blesses him, granting him the joy of
virtue. Every joy that does not come from virtue feeds the passions of the
flesh.
“Often
our body, fearing temptations, becomes a friend of sin.”
These
words were spoken by one of the Holy Fathers of our Church. Therefore, he who
desires the Lord to dwell within him must bridle his body, work the
commandments of God, and guard his soul from the works of the flesh. The Holy
Spirit does not dwell in the body that rests in carnal desires. When the body
is weakened by fasting and prayer, then the soul is strengthened. And the body
is accustomed to begging the soul for rest, because rest is its food. When the
body is not nourished by laziness and much rest, then it gives way and is
defeated.
Therefore
it comes and begs: “Let me rest a little and come to my senses.”
And
this it does until it regains its strength. Then it attacks the soul with
greater ferocity. Therefore, we will not consider the insidious entreaties of
the body. We will conduct ourselves as God wants. And in the world one can
acquire virtue, provided one struggles against the sinful demands of the body.
When
the body is exhausted by temptations and asks to be freed, you should say to
it: “You desire impurity and a shameful life.” But if it objects to you that it
is a great sin to kill one’s body, you should refute it with the argument that
I am not killing you (the body), but the evil and wicked desires that nest
within you.
You
should say to the body: “I kill the unclean life that the Lord detests, and not
you who are a gift from God.”
It
is better to die than to be separated from our God, who gives us so many gifts,
and above all purity of soul and sobriety. What is one to do with life when he
is far from God? A thousand times to endure the sufferings of the body, than to
give in to his unlawful and sinful desires.
source / churchofagianapa.blogspot.gr
They don't keep notes about
which blossom gave them the most nectar or which one left them hungry.
They fly. They gather. They
move on.
They have no time for
bitterness. Nor for selfishness.
Nor do they wait for the
perfect flower. They work with what is available — and make something
worthwhile.
And that's how honey is
made.
Not with ideal conditions.
But with consistency. Patience. And a simple decision: not to get stuck on what
didn't give you. But to move on to the next flower.
Maybe that's a lesson for
all of us.
You don't need to remember
who didn't treat you well.
Just keep collecting what's
good.
And make something sweet out
of it all.
If someone asks you:
How is it proven that Orthodoxy is the only true
faith, answer him that:
a) The Holy Light is given miraculously,
Only to the Orthodox
And to no heterodox or non-Orthodox!
b) Only the Orthodox Priest
Casts out demons from a demonized person!
To heterodox and non-Orthodox clergy, the demon is
indifferent.
c) Only the tomb of Christ is empty. No other tomb of
a religious leader
Is empty..
The empty tomb of Christ is indeed a proof of the
Resurrection
And of our correct Faith.
d) Only in Orthodoxy do you encounter countless Holy
relics.
(Some were incorruptible and others were fragrant),
all raised their hands, unable to explain them scientifically!
e) Only in Orthodoxy,
You will encounter countless miracles.
From the Virgin Mary and from countless Saints.
And countless miraculous icons.
f) Only the Orthodox Priest, by reading a special
prayer, sanctifies the water
And makes it a Sanctification.
In fact, sanctification never spoils the water, no
matter how many centuries pass!
g) Only Orthodoxy has millions of Witnesses.
Preacher
Dimitrios Panagopoulos +
We live in this paradise on
earth.
Here, then, my beloved, this
great truth is fulfilled.
Here, when we celebrate the
Liturgy, the entire Church of Christ is present.
We are united with Christ
and become one body with Him.
Just as, if you take a white
cloth and place a very powerful lamp behind it, it becomes a luminous screen,
so too are we absorbed by the rays of Christ and made Christ-like.
We become the temple of
Christ, we become members of Christ, we become Christ-like, and He is our head.
Head, “Christ is the head of the church,” means the source, the origin. When
you are thirsty, you go to the fountain to quench your thirst.
Christ is the one who
quenches our thirsty hearts. Our members, our flesh, and our bones become the
members, flesh, and bones of Christ. We live the life of Christ, and Christ
takes on our own life.
Just as the bread we place
in the holy bread box is one, just as the bread we place on the holy Table is
one, just as Christ is one, so too do we become one with Christ and with one
another; we become one Christ.
What, then, happens when we
celebrate the Divine Liturgy? We hold a banquet, a supper. We invite as our
fellow guests the saints of our Church; we invite our departed father, our
grandfather, our great-grandfather, our beloved ones who have passed away; we
invite the angels.
And Christ Himself comes and
offers us His body and His blood. This means, “Having commemorated all the
saints, we offer ourselves, one another, and our entire lives to Christ our
God.”
Having brought all the
saints here and entrusted ourselves to them, having implored them and made them
our helpers, we now give ourselves to Christ.
Elder Emilianos of Simonopetra
I'll
tell you how I don't love anymore.
I
don't love waiting for a response as if it were proof.
I
don't love looking at the clock lest you be late in feeling what I feel.
I
don't love keeping score: who said "I love you" first, who stayed the
longest, who cried the deepest.
I
don't love as a transaction: I give you tenderness, you give me attention.
I
don't love as a bargain: if you change, I change too.
I
don't love as a court: with witnesses, accusations, evidence and convictions.
I
don't love out of fear of losing you.
I
don't love out of lack, to fill gaps that only I know where they hurt.
I
don't love to prove to anyone (neither you nor me) that I'm worth it.
I
don't love with conditions.
I
don't love by saying "if you love me, I will...".
I
don't love by asking for proof of love, because whoever asks for proof has
already lost the point.
I
don't love because it's the way it should be.
I
don't love because I'm afraid of loneliness.
I
don't love because everyone loves.
I
don't love because I read in a poem what love is like.
And
now that I've told you all this,
I'll
find you doing exactly the opposite.
You'll
find me doing the opposite too.
And
I won't say it's wrong.
I'll
say: "This is also a path."
I'll
say: "Next time, maybe differently."
I'll
say: "Welcome to the experiment. Here we don't give answers, here we live
them."
As
you said:
to
find fellow passengers who are still wondering.
Not
teachers. Not therapists.
People
who also got a little lost, to find their own map.
And
you know what?
Maybe
love is nothing we say.
Maybe
it's the moment we say "I don't know" and that's enough.
Are
you still here?
Great.
This is a start.
By Archpriest Fr. George Metallinos, Adjunct Professor
at the School of Theology, University of Athens
The greatest event in history: The Resurrection of
Christ is the greatest event in history. It is what distinguishes Christianity
from any other religion. Other religions have mortal leaders, whereas the head
of the Church is the Risen Christ. “The Resurrection of Christ” signifies the
deification and resurrection of human nature and the hope of the deification
and resurrection of our own being. Since the remedy has been found, there is
hope for life.
Through the Resurrection of Christ, life and death
take on a new meaning. Life means communion with God. Death is no longer the
end of this present life, but man’s separation from Christ. The separation of
the soul from the body is not death, but a temporary sleep.
The Resurrection of Christ vindicates His uniqueness
and exclusivity as Savior, capable of truly giving life, of infusing His
Life—which overcomes death—into our mortal lives. One Christ, one Resurrection,
and one possibility of salvation and deification. That is why our hope for
overcoming the dead ends that suffocate our lives is directed toward Christ.
Toward the Christ of the Saints, the Christ of History.
The distorted “Christ” of heresies or the
“relativized” Christ of the religious syncretism of New Age pan-religion
constitutes a rejection of the true Christ and of the Salvation offered by Him.
The Christ of our Saints is the Christ of History as well, and He excludes any
confusion of His person with whatever redemptive substitutes are invented to
mislead the masses. For only in this way can delusion sustain the deception,
facilitating the domination of antichrist forces (which may have even
infiltrated the Church) that, while they spread death, appear as “angels of
light” and “ministers of righteousness” .
Through the experience of our Saints, we realize that
there are no more tragic existences than those of the “hopeless” —hope of
resurrection—viewing biological death as destruction and the end.
Unfortunately, science also succumbs to this tragedy, desperately seeking
methods to prolong life and spreading the illusion of overcoming natural death.
Equally tragic, however, are those —even Christians—who are trapped in the
confines of millenarian visions of universal prosperity and immanent
eschatology, losing sight of the true meaning of the Resurrection and
sacrificing the transcendent to the immanent and the eternal to the transitory.
The Resurrection of Christ, as the resurrection of
humanity and of all creation, acquires meaning only within the framework of
Patristic soteriology. That is, through the crucifixion and resurrection with
Christ. This is how Hellenism has experienced the Resurrection throughout its
historical course. Faithful to the Resurrection of Christ, Orthodoxy has been
characterized as the “Church of the Resurrection,” because it builds its entire
historical presence upon it, instilling in the consciousness of its peoples the
hope of the Resurrection, something that is evident in its cultural continuity.
Among them, the Greek people learned to dispel the darkness of their bondage in
the Light of the Resurrection, as during the Ottoman occupation, when, upon
hearing “Christ is Risen,” they could not help but add: “and Greece is risen!”
And this for four hundred years….
It is within this symbolic context that the hopeful
invitation “Come, receive the Light!” is voiced. It is the invitation to the
uncreated Light of the Resurrection, which is received by those who have
purified their hearts of evil and passions. Without the “purification” of the
heart—that is, repentance—no one can partake of the Resurrected Light. Repentance
is the overcoming of sin, the cause of all our death. This is what the monastic
saying, which sounds strange to the uninitiated, constantly reminds us: “Well,
if you die before you die, you won’t die when you die!” Christ is Risen!!
(Saint Cyril of Jerusalem)
May it soften and sweeten our hearts, so that the
"ice" surrounding them may melt and we may forgive any transgressions
of our fellow human beings....
May the Resurrection of our Lord show us the right
path to joy, spiritual awakening, and spiritual gladness.
Let us offer a smile, a sign of love to our fellow
human beings, in whatever way we can and without expecting anything in return…
Love, a feeling so powerful, the highest form of sacrifice taught to us by the
Lord—a smile, even to a stranger passing by on the street, can make someone
happy!
It can save and redeem souls.... It is in our hands to
make our world a more beautiful place!
I wholeheartedly wish that the Resurrection of the
Lord may enlighten all our souls and bring blessings to every step of our
life’s journey, so that we may be worthy of the heavenly Kingdom....
Christ is risen, and no one lies in the tomb!!!!
Take heart and pray......
If there is one truth in which all the truths of the
Gospel could be summarized, that truth would be the resurrection of Christ. And
furthermore, if there is a reality in which all the New Testament realities
could be summarized, that reality would be the resurrection of Christ. Only in
the Resurrection of Christ are all His miracles, all His truths, all His words,
and all the events of the New Testament explained.
Until His resurrection, the Lord taught about eternal
life, but with His resurrection He showed that He Himself is indeed eternal
life. Until His resurrection, He taught about the resurrection of the dead, but
with His resurrection He showed that He Himself is indeed the resurrection of
the dead. Until His resurrection, He taught that faith in Him brings one from
death to life, but with His resurrection He showed that He Himself had
conquered death and thus secured for those who have died the passage from death
to resurrection.
Through sin, man became mortal and finite; through the
resurrection of the God-man, he becomes immortal and eternal. And this is
precisely where the power, the authority, and the omnipotence of Christ’s
resurrection lie. And for this reason, without the resurrection of Christ,
there would not even be Christianity. Among the miracles, the Lord’s
Resurrection is the greatest miracle. All other miracles stem from it and are
summed up in it. From it spring faith and love and hope and prayer and piety.
This is what no other religion possesses; this is what elevates the Lord above
all people and gods. This is what, in a unique and indisputable way, shows and
proves that Jesus Christ is the only true God and Lord in all the visible and
invisible worlds.
That a person truly believes in the Risen Lord is
demonstrated by their struggle against sin and passions, and if he does
struggle, he must know that he is struggling for immortality and eternal life.
But if he does not struggle, then his faith is in vain! For if a person’s faith
is not a struggle for immortality and eternity, then what is it? If faith in
Christ does not lead one to immortality and victory over death, then what is
the point of our faith? If Christ did not rise from the dead, this means that
sin and death have not been conquered. And if these two have not been
conquered, then why should anyone believe in Christ? But he who, through faith
in the Risen Christ, struggles against every sin of his own, gradually
strengthens within himself the sense that the Lord has truly risen, has blunted
the sting of death, has conquered death on all fronts of the battle.
Without the Resurrection, there is nothing in heaven
or under heaven more absurd than this world, nor greater despair than this life
than this one, without immortality. In all the worlds, there is no existence
more miserable than that of a human being who does not believe in the
resurrection of the dead. That is why, for human existence, the Risen Lord is
“all in all” in all worlds: that which is Beautiful, the Good, the True, the
Lovable, the Joyful, the Divine, the Wise, the Eternal. This is all our Love,
all our Truth, all our Joy, all our Goodness, all our Life, Eternal Life in all
eternities and infinities.
- What does this saying of our Lord mean?
Be careful, He says, while you are on the road with
your adversary, to maintain a good relationship with him, lest he hand you over
to the judge, and the judge to the officers, and they throw you into prison.
Truly I tell you, you will not get out of there until you have paid the last
penny of your debt.
Here the translator has a footnote explaining how St.
Athanasius interprets this passage. A path, a road—that is this vain life, our
temporary existence. How many years… ten, twenty, a hundred—whatever we may
live. This vain and deceptive life, which deceives us, misleads us. We think we
will be here forever, while we are so very temporary. We are like a drop of
water, like a ray of light that passes and disappears. Such is our life here on
earth. “For if the soul is separated from the body and departs from this life
and this path, it can no longer do good,” says St. Athanasius, if the union of
soul and body is severed. This is death. Death is not disappearance; it is
simply that this union of soul and body ceases to exist. These two are
separated. So when this happens and we leave this vain life and this path, we
can no longer work toward the good, toward repentance. In Hades, there is no
repentance. After death, you cannot change. So be careful, while you are here
with your adversary—that is, with your conscience—for he is the adversary, says
Christ—to maintain a good relationship. Listen to your conscience. Do not
trample on it, because otherwise this conscience will hand you over to the
judge, to the court, and you will go to prison, to eternal hell. And you will
not be able to leave unless you pay back every last penny of your debt, and the
very last coin. “A ‘kodrantis’ is called,” explains St. Athanasius, “and this
is the remnant of memory”—that is, the slightest memory that remains within us.
“Conscience is also called an adversary. For it examines us in the secret of
our hearts and restrains us from evil.” It is our conscience that secretly
examines us in our hearts and tells us, “Do not do this,” and it stops evil if
we listen to it.
- And if we don’t listen to it?
In the end, it delivers us to God’s Judgment, and we
will give an account; we will be held accountable for the great sins, but also
for the small ones and the slightest ones.
There is no such thing as a mortal sin and a
non-mortal sin, as some say—that one is grave and mortal, the other is minor.
It may be minor, but if you don’t repent even for this small one, and say, “It
doesn’t matter,” I’ll just do it… then even the small sin becomes mortal.
Therefore, all sins are deadly, and when we repent, they cease to kill us, to
be deadly. And so even the smallest sins must be eradicated. That is why
repentance is necessary, confession for everything.
After the Ascension of the Lord, Pontius Pilate, the
governor of Judea, wrote a report as required to the Roman Emperor Tiberius
regarding the events that occurred concerning our Lord Jesus Christ.
Tiberius, having been informed of the Lord’s many
miracles, His Resurrection from the dead, and that many believed Him to be God,
reported these matters to the Roman Senate and threatened the accusers of the
Christians with death.
Tiberius’s response to Pilate came in a letter
criticizing his unjust decision to condemn Christ, but also dispatching his
Commissioner Rahab along with 2,000 men to arrest him and bring him to Rome,
along with the High Priests Caiaphas and Annas.
The delegation from Rome arrested Pilate and the High
Priests, whom they bound in chains. In chains, they sailed for Rome.
Caiaphas died in Crete. The ship stopped, and they
buried the high priest’s putrid body, which was expelled from the grave, since
even the earth would not accept him. They buried him seven times, but “the
earth cast him out, unburied and black as Cain, for the great evil we
committed, which condemned Christ.” A great crowd then gathered and, cursing
him, buried him under a huge pile of stones.
This was the end of Caiaphas. His tomb in a village
near Heraklion survived until the end of the 19th century.
This tradition is very old and is mentioned by several
travelers (though it is not historically confirmed).
The ship continued its journey and arrived in Rome.
Tiberius did not wish to examine them. He gave an order, and the High Priest
Annas was wrapped naked in oxhide and left in the summer sun. From the heat,
the skin dried out and tightened around his body, causing it to burst and his
internal organs to spill out, thus bringing about a gruesome death.
As for Pilate, he ordered that he be locked up in a
tower in chains, with the intention of killing him himself. One day, Tiberius
had gone out hunting near the tower where Pilate was being held captive.
Pilate was informed of this by the guard and rushed to
a hole in the wall to see Caesar. Then a roe deer approached the tower wall,
roughly at the height of the hole from which Pilate was watching.
Caesar Tiberius, fearing he would lose his prey,
quickly took aim with his bow, and the arrow entered through the hole in the
tower wall, piercing Pilate’s eyes and killing him.
According to Eusebius of Caesarea (Church History,
vol. II, VII), Pilate was exiled to Vienne in France, where he committed
suicide. According to another tradition, he was thrown into the Tiber River,
and his corpse caused floods and destruction.
Yet another tradition holds that he fell from a
mountain that still bears his name today on Lake Lucerne in Switzerland. While
another states that he was beheaded during the reign of Tiberius.
Metropolitan Meletios of Athens, in his Ecclesiastical
History, states the following: After the Ascension of the Lord, Pontius Pilate,
the governor of Judea, wrote a report as required to the Roman Emperor Tiberius
regarding the events that occurred concerning our Lord Jesus Christ.
Tiberius, having been informed of the Lord’s many
miracles, His Resurrection from the dead, and that many believed Him to be God,
reported these matters to the Roman Senate and threatened the accusers of the
Christians with death. After the election of the seven deacons, persecution
broke out against the Church in Jerusalem. Then, Mary Magdalene, along with
Martha, Lazarus, and Joseph of Arimathea, visited Tiberius in Rome (according
to Baronius, in Marseille, France), to whom she recounted the events and the
injustices committed by the Jews against Christ and protested his unjust execution.
Tiberius was enraged and ordered the high priests (Caiaphas and Annas) and
Pilate to be put to death.
As soon as Vitellius assumed control of the province
of Syria, he replaced Pilate with Marcellus and sent him to Rome to answer to
Tiberius. It took him two years to reach Rome, and in the meantime Tiberius had
died; the new emperor, Gaius Caligula, exiled him to Vienna, where he suffered
great misfortunes and, in despair, committed suicide.
Vittellius maintains that Caiaphas met the same fate,
having committed suicide. Clement of Rome agrees with this. Caiaphas’s
father-in-law, Annas, also met a terrible death—a divine judgment. (See
Meletios, Metropolitan of Athens, Ecclesiastical History, Volume 1, Vienna,
Austria, 1794, pp. 119–126). It is worth mentioning, in closing this note, that
Pilate’s wife, Procula, after his terrible death, repented, was baptized a
Christian, lived a life of faith and piety, and passed away peacefully. Our
Church honors her memory on October 27.
Source: Averkius, a monk of Mount Athos, A Precise
History of the Events Occurring at the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ, Originally written by a certain Jew named Aeneas, a
contemporary of the Savior, and translated into Latin by Nicodemus, a Roman, it
is preserved in a manuscript on Mount Athos, Varna 1896, pp. 60–63.
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