By Nick Stamatakis

Please look at the photos in our post – especially the one below from www.orthodoxianewsagency.gr. They show the unbelievable, unique beauty of the 1,000-year-old iconography of the Moni Choras, the church “Sultan” Erdogan decided to turn into a mosque four years after he turned Hagia Sophis into a mosque. The Church was a museum as it should be: its iconography and mosaics are part of the world’s cultural heritage.  But this did not mean much for the janissary Recep Tayyip Erdogan… Are we surprised? No, not at all!  We should not be! Humanity has been witnessing all kinds of atrocities by the Turks for centuries.

But we are somewhat surprised by the very mild reaction by those who are in a position to react:

  1. Contrary to what many have suggested, Pat. Bartholomew has no excuse to stay silent.  We have heard that he is blackmailed by the Turks numerous times – it’s not enough anymore!! He must come out in the world fora and voice the sentiment of all of us, the sentiment of Hellenism from the depths of history! How many more times the Turks will rape our ethnicity and our heritage?  But he is staying silent!  Why? What do the Turks know about his sins and other “weaknesses” to blackmail him in such a way? What do they know? Time for Bartholomew to resign!! He is not worth this supreme office for which other Patriarchs gave their lives!
  2. AB Elpidophoros is also mum.  Why? His position as the head of the Greek Orthodox Church in America is to protest this atrocity at the highest level and to call on all Orthodox and all civilized Americans to demonstrate against the Islamists. What is he waiting for? At a time when pro-Islamist Hamas protests overtake America, at the same time as Erdogan hides the Hamas leadership in Turkey, is there a more opportune time to demonstrate against Islamist Erdogan? It was too easy for him to participate in the infamous BLM demonstration in Brooklyn a few years ago.  But now that he needs to take a stance for the supposed “Mother Church” and our Cultural Heritage, he stays silent – hoping that Erdogan will help him become a Patriarch; that’s how self-centered and foolish he is!!
  3. Greek PM Mitsotakis, after receiving this massive slap in the face, is still planning to go on an official visit to Turkey in a few days. He should have canceled it already!
  4. How about the so-called Archons of the Patriarchate? Did they decide to take action? I just visited their website, and they do not even have a statement!! But they will keep sending money to the “bottomless pit” of Istanbul, knowing that much of it goes directly to the Pashas or even to the Turkish State!! The nickname i gave them a long time ago is the “Archons of Disaster” and it is very fitting!

I have said many times that the Greek communities around the globe cannot operate in this schizophrenic situation. Our religious leaders, who were always next to us and many times at the forefront of the fight for any serious issue we were facing as a community (and many of those had to do with Turkey), are now hiding in their offices and are making excuses. At the same time, they operate an open line with the Turkish Foreign Ministry promoting “peaceful coexistence” with the “Barbarians”.  This is unconscionable! What would the Jewish Americans do if their Chief Rabbi was under the knife of the Mullahs in Tehran? Would they sit there and take it? 

The Patriarchate has to turn all Churches of the Diaspora into Autocephalous Churches – especially the ones in America, Canada, Australia, and Gr. Britain (with certain conditions for its financial support).  Immediately after, a discussion has to start regarding the proper re-location of the Patriarchate. I have been writing for the longest time that Pat. Bartholomew’s wrong policies in Ukraine will cause its forced relocation anyway.  The best way for the Patriarchate to have stayed in Constantinople was to have Russian support.  There is no other power that scares the Turks more than the Russians. With the Russians winning the war in Ukraine (as we all knew it would happen), the Patriarchate has no chance.

But one thing can happen without delay: Elpidophoros has to go IMMEDIATELY!!

May 4, 2024, n.stamatakis@aol.com   www.helleniscope.com

DISCLAIMER: The views and statements expressed in this article constitute constitutionally protected opinions of this author.

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www.orthodoxianewsagency.gr

Οι τοιχογραφίες της Μονής της Χώρας στην Κωνσταντινούπολη

Οι τοιχογραφίες της Μονής της Χώρας στην Κωνσταντινούπολη

Η Μονή της Χώρας στην Κωνσταντινούπολη (μουσείο και από σήμερα τζαμί ) είναι το σημαντικότερο μνημείο της εποχής των Παλαιολόγων και λόγω του μοναδικού του εικονογραφικού προγράμματος ένα από τα σπουδαιότερα καλλιτεχνικά δημιουργήματα της βυζαντινής τέχνης.

Το καθολικό της Μονής της Χώρας χτίστηκε μεταξύ 1077 και 1081 από τη Μαρία Δούκαινα, την πεθερά του αυτοκράτορα Αλέξιου Α’ Κομνηνού, πάνω σε παλαιότερο κτίσμα.

Το 1120 επισκευάστηκε ριζικά από τον γιο του Αλέξιου, τον σεβαστοκράτορα Ισαάκιο Κομνηνό. Πολύ αργότερα, μεταξύ 1316 και 1321, ο Θεόδωρος Μετοχίτης, Λογοθέτης του Γενικού επί Ανδρόνικου Β’ Παλαιολόγου και λόγιος με σημαντικό συγγραφικό έργο, ανακαινίζει το κτήριο, προσθέτει τον εξωνάρθηκα και το νότιο παρεκκλήσι και τα διακοσμεί με μωσαϊκά και τοιχογραφίες.
Το νότιο παρεκκλήσι προσαρτήθηκε και διακοσμήθηκε στα 1315-20 με δαπάνη του Μετοχίτη, με σκοπό να συμπεριλάβει τον τάφο του κτήτορα.

Σύμφωνο με το νεκρικό προορισμό του χώρου είναι και το εικονογραφικό του πρόγραμμα. Μία επιβλητική σύνθεση της Καθόδου του Χριστού στον Άδη διακοσμεί την αψίδα, ενώ μία μνημειακή παράσταση της Δευτέρας Παρουσίας καλύπτει τα ψηλότερα μέρη του ανατολικού τμήματος. Οι δύο παραστάσεις από τα Θαύματα του Κυρίου, η ανάσταση του γιου της χήρας και της κόρης του Ιαείρου, ολοκληρώνουν το πρόγραμμα του ανατολικού τμήματος του παρεκκλησίου, που συνολικά εκφράζει τον Θρίαμβο του Χριστού πάνω στον θάνατο.

Στη διακόσμηση της κάτω ζώνης της αψίδας του παρεκκλησίου απεικονίστηκε και η ολόσωμη Παναγία που τραβά με τα χέρια προς το μάγουλό της το Θείο Βρέφος και χαρακτηρίζεται «ένας από τους πιο συναισθηματικούς τύπους της Παναγίας Ελεούσας στη βυζαντινή τέχνη».

Σχετικές με τη μεγάλη διάδοση της λατρείας της Θεοτόκου είναι και οι απεικονίσεις των τεσσάρων μελωδών αγίων: του Ιωάννη Δαμασκηνού, του Κοσμά Υμνογράφου, του Θεοφάνη Γραπτού και του Ιωσήφ Υμνογράφου, που δημιούργησαν τη βασική μαριολογική υμνογραφία της Ορθοδοξίας.

Αξιόλογη στη σειρά των σκηνών της Παλαιάς Διαθήκης είναι η παράσταση της κλίμακος του Ιακώβ στη δυτική πλευρά του νότιου τοίχου.Το δυτικό τμήμα διακοσμείται με σκηνές από την Παλαιά Διαθήκη που αποτελούν προεικονίσεις της Παναγίας, διαμορφώνοντας έτσι με ζωγραφικά μέσα έναν ύμνο στη Θεοτόκο.

H αναδημοσίευση του παραπάνω άρθρου ή μέρους του επιτρέπεται μόνο αν αναφέρεται ως πηγή το ORTHODOXIANEWSAGENCY.GR με ενεργό σύνδεσμο στην εν λόγω καταχώρηση.

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11 COMMENTS

  1. Thank you Helleniscope for bringing us truth. By your continued revelations we grow in truth.

    “IN THE SPIRIT ON THE LORD’S DAY

    Brothers and sisters, do not be deceived or troubled. If we are one with the Head then we are one with the Body, even if we are not physically gathered together; and if we are NOT one with the Head then we are NOT one with the Body, even if we ARE physically gathered together. How can that be?

    Because Jesus is building His Church, and it is a spiritual house, not a physical house.”

    (Wicked Shepherds blog)

  2. Christ is Risen!
    All you say is correct Niko, but aside from the blasphemous activities of the Turks, and their tacit support from the heretical hierarchs, who in reality want to destroy Orthodoxy, drowning her in the Ecumenist sea (which will never happen because Christ promised that His Church will prevail), I can’t help thinking what a bad business move this is by Erdogan. When we last visited Constantinople, we went to many churches and monasteries, including this one, which operated as museums. The Turks charged admission. They’ve been making good money from our sites of worship, which they destroyed. So, If they convert this to a mosque, which Muslim is going to worship in there with all that iconography on the walls? They will either have to finish the destruction they started by at least gauging out the eyes of every icon, or covering them up with drapery to try and ignore their barbarism. I’m surprised UNESCO isn’t doing anything about this. Perhaps somebody should talk to them, but I’m not holding my breath for Bart or Elpi to do that. All they care about is praying with Catholics and Zulus. How shameless!

    • Hopefully they will not cover it with canvas or any other drapes… But the desecration will be evident. An icon meant for Christianity into a mosque!!!

  5. Apparently they are all far too busy engaging in Uniate activities and rhetoric these days to be bothered by such “trivialities”…

    We already saw the Cardinal sprinkling the faithful in NYC last Friday, but did anyone catch these Paschal quotes from “Methodios the Magnificent” to the Cardinal he invited to the Resurrection service?

    “I don’t need to welcome you here, because this is your Cathedral too…”
    “the people love and recognize you as… a ‘leader of our Church’…”

    https://twitter.com/arist0men1s/status/1787473094019317936

    How does this “hierarch” compare to St. Mark of Ephesos’ and the latter’s insistence in the treasonous pseudo-council of 1439 that the Latins were heretics, and not schismatics? What kind of Apostolic succession and continuation of Tradition are we talking about these days? It’s 1439 all over again…and it’s unfolding at a rapid pace…

    Interestingly enough, only 48 hours earlier, Methodios was reading this scriptural quote… “What further need do we have of witnesses…?”

    Here’s the message of the simple faithful back to any such Metropolitan….if you personally feel that the Cardinals and their “infallible” Pope are also a “leaders of your Church”, then you should have probably just stayed there with them forever at their Cathedral and put on Red Robes and red caps when you attended “their Easter” celebration as you admitted doing…”the door is open and the dogs are tied” as we say in Greece…you are free to go where you like in order to earn your 30 pieces of silver, however, we the Orthodox faithful don’t need to follow you to the slaughter that you are leading us to! There are other bishops around that we can follow if it comes down to that…we happen to like and respect the traditions of our forefathers that the Latins “spit upon” with various apostatic and heretical teachings over the centuries (which they have not formally renounced or repented about to date)….just do us all a favor at this point…if you still feel the Cardinals and the Pope are your Church’s “leaders”, then leave your Orthodox omoforion at the door, don’t let the door hit you on the way out, and go down the street to join your favorite Cardinal, but don’t ask us to follow you…The people of Constantinople prevented the enforcement of the treasonous signatures in Ferrara in 1439, and the people will side-step your Uniate actions in 2024 and beyond…good riddance!

    Do we really believe that any of these people care about Byzantine history, tradition, or even if Erdogan turns every Byzantine monument into mosques?

    Sure folks, keep donating to their “cause”…

    • Markos this is brilliant! I know you wrote this as a comment but I would consider giving this just a little more work and polish and perhaps Nick will publish it as its own article. I loved every word of it any our entire community should read this!

  6. How many inactive mosques are in Europe today?

    Example: The “Tashkyopryu Mosque is currently inactive despite efforts and demands, mainly by Turks of Bulgaria, to give active status for it.”
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tashkopryu_Mosque

    List of mosques in Greece
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mosques_in_Greece

    What would happen if some entrepreneurs responded by converting several inactive mosques in Greece and other traditional Christian countries, to museums, cinemas, theaters or into apartments for rent for low-income housing?
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Orthodoxy_by_country

    List of former mosques in Spain
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_former_mosques_in_Spain

  7. When the money dries up here in the GOA then the current North American hierarch will be removed and the EP might rethink his position.

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