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The Star
4 days ago
- The Star
Brotherhood above the sea
THE medieval monastery clings almost impossibly to sheer cliffs high above the shimmering turquoise of the Aegean Sea. Rising from the rugged granite rock, its walls enclose a diverse Christian Orthodox community. The Monastery of Simonos Petra, also known as Simonopetra – or Simon's Rock – transcends country-based branches of the Christian faith, embracing monks from across the world, including converts from nations where Orthodox Christianity is not the prevailing religion. Father Simon tolling the bell to summon monks and visitors to afternoon prayers. — AP The monastery is one of 20 in the autonomous all-male monastic community of Mount Athos, known in Greek as Agion Oros, or Holy Mountain. The peninsula in northern Greece is no stranger to non-Greeks: of the 20 monasteries, one is Russian, one is Bulgarian and one is Serbian, and the presence of monks from other nations is not unusual. But Simonos Petra has the greatest range of nationalities. Father Kosmas (left) and Father Nyfmon walking in the Simonopetra. — AP 'Spiritually, there are no borders, because the Holy Mountain has an ecumenical nature' seeking to embrace all, said Archimandrite Eliseos, the abbot of Simonos Petra. This links back to the Byzantine Empire, he explained. 'We say that Byzantium was a commonwealth ... in which (different) peoples lived together in the same faith.' The monastery welcomes anyone who would like to visit – provided they are male. In a more than 1,000-year-old tradition, women are banned from the entire peninsula, which is deemed the Virgin Mary's domain. While men from other faiths can spend a few days at Mount Athos as visitors, only Orthodox men can become monks. Most of Simonos Petra's 65 monks hail from European countries where Orthodoxy is the predominant religion, such as Romania, Serbia, Russia, Moldova, Cyprus and Greece. Father Paisios being followed by cats while walking at the Simonopetra. — AP But there are others from China, Germany, Hungary, the United States, Australia, France, Lebanon and Syria. Founded in the 13th century by Saint Simon the Myrrh-bearer, the seven-storey Simonos Petra is considered an audacious marvel of Byzantine architecture. Renowned for its ecclesiastical choir, the monastery has become a symbol of resilience during its long history, recovering from three destructive fires – the most recent in the late 1800s – to embrace global Orthodoxy. It was within these walls nearly 20 years ago that Father Isaiah – who like other monks goes by one name – found the answer to a lifelong spiritual quest that had spanned half the globe. Born in Vietnam to Chinese parents, the now 50-year-old monk grew up in Switzerland, where his family moved when he was a child. 'In this Swiss environment, I was trying to understand what I'm doing, where I'm going, what is the meaning of life,' he explained on a recent morning, standing on a fifth-floor balcony next to a winch used to bring supplies up in wicker baskets from the monastery's storerooms. Father Serafeim lighting a candle inside an ossuary where the shelves are full of the skulls of the deceased monks of the Simonopetra. — AP 'While searching I found some answers through virtue, and this virtue was connected to the image of Orthodoxy,' he said, his fluent Greek bearing a hint of a foreign accent. Delving into this new faith, he found relationships based on love and a search for God, he said. His quest led him to an Orthodox monastery in France affiliated with Simonos Petra. That, in turn, led him to Mount Athos in 2006. 'It was in essence a deep searching of spiritual life, which is the answer for the meaning of life,' he said. Within the monastery, he found a brotherhood of monks from 14 countries. He decided to stay. 'We gather together with some principles, which are those of love towards our neighbour and the love for God,' Isaiah said. In the human and spiritual connections he experienced in Simonos Petras, 'I found a deep answer to everything I had been seeking in my youth'. Life in the monastery – and across Mount Athos – has changed little in the more than 1,000 years of religious presence there. Days begin long before dawn and are punctuated by prayer services followed by daily tasks, which can include farming, carpentry, winemaking, cooking, art, clerical and ecclesiastical work. Set among forested slopes, nearly every inch of Simonos Petra's land is cultivated, with the monks tending to herbs, fruit and vegetables used in the monastery's kitchen. Electricity comes from sustainable sources such as solar panels. Father Serafeim, a Lebanese-Syrian who has lived in the monastery since 2010, said Eliseos and his predecessor as abbot, the Elder Emilianos, had always embraced foreigners. 'You don't feel that you're a stranger, you feel from the start that you're an equal member of the brotherhood,' said Serafeim, who joined the monastic community seven years after he first arrived in Greece to study theology in the northern city of Thessaloniki. 'This spirit, this open spirit of the elder attracted many souls who were searching for a genuine, emphatic meaning of life,' he said. One of the oldest non-Greek monks in the monastery is Father Makarios. The Frenchman's spiritual quest began in May 1968, when as a young man he experienced first-hand the social uprising sparked by student demonstrations in Paris. His search led him to Mount Athos for the first time in 1975. 'I found this monastery and an embrace,' he said. 'I found people who understood and accepted me. They didn't judge me. 'It was very easy for me to decide that in the end, after I finish my studies, I will come to Mount Athos, I will try to see if I can become a monk.' Converting from Catholicism to Orthodoxy on Mount Athos, Makarios is now the monastery's librarian. He has been living in Simonos Petra for 46 years. Eliseos, the abbot, stresses his monastery is open to all visitors. 'We say we are open to people with love,' he says. 'Someone comes along and wants to visit Mount Athos, he visits it. ... Does he want to take it further? 'We say: 'Let's discuss it, with your will'. What does he want? Does he want to participate in this life, does he want to enter into our spirit, embrace our values and our faith? We will accept that. We will not discriminate.' — AP
The Independent
13-06-2025
- The Independent
Earthquakes damage centuries-old monasteries in a secluded religious community in Greece
Centuries-old monasteries have been damaged by an ongoing series of earthquakes in a secluded monastic community in northern Greece, authorities said Friday. A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck the Mount Athos peninsula on June 7, followed by a series of both undersea and land-based tremors that continued through Friday. The quakes caused 'severe cracks' in the dome of the Monastery of Xenophon, which was built in the late 10th century, and damaged religious frescoes at that site and several others, the Culture Ministry said. Mount Athos is one of the most important religious sites for Orthodox Christians, and is often referred to as the Holy Mountain. It is a semi-autonomous monastic republic and is home to 20 Orthodox monasteries. The self-governing community still observes strict traditions under Greek sovereignty, including a ban on all women entering the territory. 'We are fully aware of the immense archaeological, historical, and spiritual significance of Mount Athos, and we are ensuring that all damage is addressed according to scientific and ethical standards,' Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said. The restoration work — including structural reinforcement and the repair of artwork — will be expanded and accelerated, Mendoni added. A more detailed assessment of the damage is expected next week, the Culture Ministry said.
Associated Press
13-06-2025
- Associated Press
Earthquakes damage centuries-old monasteries in a secluded religious community in Greece
THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Centuries-old monasteries have been damaged by an ongoing series of earthquakes in a secluded monastic community in northern Greece, authorities said Friday. A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck the Mount Athos peninsula on June 7, followed by a series of both undersea and land-based tremors that continued through Friday. The quakes caused 'severe cracks' in the dome of the Monastery of Xenophon, which was built in the late 10th century, and damaged religious frescoes at that site and several others, the Culture Ministry said. Mount Athos is one of the most important religious sites for Orthodox Christians, and is often referred to as the Holy Mountain. It is a semi-autonomous monastic republic and is home to 20 Orthodox monasteries. The self-governing community still observes strict traditions under Greek sovereignty, including a ban on all women entering the territory. 'We are fully aware of the immense archaeological, historical, and spiritual significance of Mount Athos, and we are ensuring that all damage is addressed according to scientific and ethical standards,' Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said. The restoration work — including structural reinforcement and the repair of artwork — will be expanded and accelerated, Mendoni added. A more detailed assessment of the damage is expected next week, the Culture Ministry said.
Euronews
02-06-2025
- Health
- Euronews
Why deceased donation is struggling to catch on in Central Asia
Organ transplantation, which is often the only way to save a life, is directly dependent on donors. But their sometimes unreliable availability often leads to patients dying before receiving a donated organ. There are two types of organ donations: from a living donor and cadaveric transplants. While options for a living donor are generally restricted to just the kidney and liver, in Kazakhstan it tends to save more lives than a posthumous donation. "Around the world, 80-90% of donations are posthumous, but the same cannot be said about Kazakhstan and the countries in Central Asia. In our country, 80-90% of donors are living relatives of the patients," said Aidar Sitkazinov, Director of the Republican Centre for Coordination of Transplantation and High-Tech Services in Kazakhstan. According to him, the reason many people refuse to donate their organs after death is a lack of trust in the healthcare system. The belief that corruption is everywhere makes them fear that donated organs will be misused or illegally sold, or that doctors will not treat the patients to get to their organs. Sitkazinov notes that selling organs is punishable by law in Kazakhstan. At the same time, dozens of people and several organisations are involved in the procedure for organ transplantation, and hospitals do not benefit monetarily or otherwise if a patient becomes a donor after death. Still, he understands that scandals surrounding organ transplantation often deter people from signing the donation form. Last year alone, there were 15 cases where people attempted to sell donated organs. Religion also plays a role. Many believe Islam or Orthodox Christianity - the two main religions in Central Asia - do not allow posthumous donation. Religious authorities in Kazakhstan all support posthumous donation as a charitable act, but that still has not swayed many people. The religious question is not unique to Kazakhstan or Central Asia. Studies have shown that a reluctance to donate organs after death is a long-standing trend in Islamic countries where living donations prevail. In contrast, in Europe organ donation after death is an established practice, covering up to 50% of the need for organs. Unlike in other parts of the world, Europe also uses organs of donors who died due to heart failure. As of May 2025, 4,226 people in Kazakhstan are on the waiting list for some kind of organ donation, 128 of whom are children. Of the total number of patients, 3,828 are waiting for a kidney, but in the worst case scenario that a donor is not found, those patients also have the option of haemodialysis, which can keep them alive for between 10 and 15 years. "Not everyone who needs an organ transplant is on this list. This category has no other alternative, only an organ transplant can save their lives," highlighted the director of the transplantation coordination body. According to him, on average 300 people die because there simply are not enough organ donors. "I'll give you a simple example – in 2024, we had 86 deceased donors who were diagnosed with brain death. All relatives were approached and only 10 families gave their consent," said Sitkazinov, noting that one deceased person can save seven lives. Kazakhstan has an opt-in consent system, where each citizen has to officially agree to donate their organs after death. However, even if the person gives consent, their relatives must also agree. This system came into place in 2020, after several lawsuits from the relatives of deceased persons, who were outraged that organs were extracted without their consent. In 2024, there were 260 transplantations, of which 237 were from a living donor. "The main problem is refusal of relatives. We also have a very low expression of will. As of January 2025, with an adult population of 11 million, 115,000 people have expressed their will to opt out, and only 8,000 opted in," noted Sitkazinov. All Central Asian countries share similar problems when it comes to posthumous donation; lack of trust in the system and misconceptions about the donations themselves. Until public awareness increases and systems prove to be more transparent and secure the number of organ donations from deceased people is unlikely to grow significantly.
BBC News
25-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Young US men are joining Russian churches promising 'absurd levels of manliness'
BBC "A lot of people ask me: 'Father Moses, how can I increase my manliness to absurd levels?'" In a YouTube video, a priest is championing a form of virile, unapologetic masculinity. Skinny jeans, crossing your legs, using an iron, shaping your eyebrows, and even eating soup are among the things he derides as too feminine. There are other videos of Father Moses McPherson - a powerfully-built father of five - weightlifting to the sound of heavy metal. He was raised a Protestant and once worked as a roofer, but now serves as a priest in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) in Georgetown, Texas, an offshoot of the mother church in Moscow. ROCOR, a global network with headquarters in New York, has recently been expanding across parts of the US - mainly as a result of people converting from other faiths. In the last six months, Father Moses has prepared 75 new followers for baptism in his church of the Mother of God, just north of Austin. "When my wife and I converted 20 years ago we used to call Orthodoxy the best-kept secret, because people just didn't know what it was," he says. "But in the past year-and-a-half our congregation has tripled in size." During the Sunday liturgy at Father Moses's church, I am struck by the number of men in their twenties and thirties praying and crossing themselves at the back of the nave, and how this religion - with traditions dating back to the 4th century AD - seems to attract young men uneasy with life in modern America. Software engineer Theodore tells me he had a dream job and a wife he adored, but he felt empty inside, as if there was a hole in his heart. He believes society has been "very harsh" on men and is constantly telling them they are in the wrong. He complains that men are criticised for wanting to be the breadwinner and support a stay-at-home wife. "We are told that's a very toxic relationship nowadays," Theodore says. "That's not how it should be." Almost all the converts I meet have opted to home-school their offspring, partly because they believe women should prioritise their families rather than their careers. Father John Whiteford, an archpriest in the ROCOR from Spring, north of Houston, says home-schooling ensures a religious education and is "a way of protecting your children", while avoiding any talk about "transgenderism, or the 57 genders of the month or whatever". Compared to the millions of worshippers in America's evangelical megachurches, the numbers of Christian Orthodox are tiny - only about one percent of the population. That includes Eastern Orthodoxy, as practised across Russia, Ukraine, eastern Europe and Greece, and the Oriental Orthodox from the Middle East and Africa. Founded by priests and clergy fleeing the Russian Revolution in 1917, ROCOR is seen by many as the most conservative Orthodox jurisdiction in the US. Yet this small religious community is a vocal one, and what's unfolding within it mirrors broader political shifts, especially following President Donald Trump's dramatic pivot toward Moscow. The true increase in the number of converts is hard to quantify, but data from the Pew Research Centre suggests Orthodox Christians are 64% male, up from 46% in 2007. A smaller study of 773 converts appears to back the trend. Most recent newcomers are men, and many say the pandemic pushed them to seek a new faith. That survey is from the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), which was established by Russian monks in Alaska in the late 18th Century and now has more than 700 parishes, missions, communities, monasteries, and institutions in the US, Canada and Mexico which identify as Russian Orthodox. Professor Scott Kenworthy, who studies the history and thought of Eastern Orthodox Christianity - particularly in modern Russia - says his OCA parish in Cincinnati "is absolutely bursting at the seams". He's attended the same church for 24 years and says congregation numbers remained steady until the Covid lockdown. Since then, there has been constant flow of new inquirers and people preparing to be baptised, known as catechumens. "This is not just a phenomenon of my own parish, or a few places in Texas," Prof Kenworthy says, "it is definitely something broader." The digital space is key in this wave of new converts. Father Moses has a big following online - when he shares a picture of a positive pregnancy test on his Instagram feed he gets 6,000 likes for announcing the arrival of his sixth child. But there are dozens of other podcasts and videos presented by Orthodox clergy and an army of followers - mainly male. Father Moses tells his congregation there are two ways of serving God - being a monk or a nun, or getting married. Those who take the second path should avoid contraception and have as many children as possible. "Show me one saint in the history of the Church who ever blessed any kind of birth control," Father Moses says. As for masturbation - or what the church calls self-abuse - the priest condemns it as "pathetic and unmanly". Father Moses says Orthodoxy is "not masculine, it is just normal", while "in the West everything has become very feminised". Some Protestant churches, he believes, mainly cater for women. "I don't want to go to services that feel like a Taylor Swift concert," Father Moses says." If you look at the language of the 'worship music', it's all emotion - that's not men." Elissa Bjeletich Davis, a former Protestant who now belongs to the Greek Orthodox Church in Austin, is a Sunday school teacher and has her own podcast. She says many converts belong to "the anti-woke crowd" and sometimes have strange ideas about their new faith - especially those in the Russian Church. "They see it as a military, rigid, disciplinary, masculine, authoritarian religion," Elissa says. "It's kind of funny. It's almost as if the old American Puritans and their craziness is resurfacing." Buck Johnson has worked as a firefighter for 25 years and hosts the Counterflow podcast. He says he was initially scared to enter his local Russian Orthodox Church as he "looks different, covered in tattoos", but tells me he was welcomed with open arms. He was also impressed the church stayed open throughout the Covid lockdown. Sitting on a couch in front of two huge TV screens at his home in Lockhart, he says his newfound faith is changing his view of the world. "Negative American views on Russia are what worry me," Buck says. He tells me the mainstream, "legacy" media presents a distorted picture of the invasion of Ukraine. "I think there's a holdover from the boomer generation here in America that lived through the Cold War," Buck says, "and I don't quite grasp why - but they say Russia's bad." The head of the Russian Church in Moscow, Patriarch Kirill, has doggedly backed the invasion of Ukraine, calling it a Holy War, and expressing little compassion for its victims. When I ask Archpriest Father John Whiteford about Russia's top cleric, who many see as a warmonger, he assures me the Patriarch's words have been distorted. Footage and photographs of Putin quoting Bible verses, holding candles during services in Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour and stripping down to his swim trunks to plunge into icy water at Epiphany, seem to have struck a chord. Some - in America and other countries - see Russia as the last bastion of true Christianity. Nearly a decade ago, another Orthodox convert turned priest from Texas, Father Joseph Gleason, moved from America to Borisoglebskiy, a village four hours' drive north of Moscow, with his wife and eight children. "Russia does not have homosexual marriage, it does not have civil unions, it is a place where you can home-school your kids and - of course - I love the thousand-year history of Orthodox Christianity here," he told a Russian video host. This wispy-bearded Texan is in the vanguard of a movement urging conservatives to relocate to Russia. Last August, Putin introduced fast-track shared values visa for those fleeing Western liberalism. Back in Texas, Buck tells me he and his fellow converts are turning their backs on instant gratification and American consumerism. "We're thinking of things long term," Buck says, "like traditions, love for your family, love for you community, love for neighbours. "I think that orthodoxy fits us well - and especially in Texas."
