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Maybe it was a matter of, "Don't ask, don't tell."

"Don't ask me if I'm a woman, and i'll tell you no lies."

Now, if we only had a picture of grandmother Dalrymple.

Abdur

Dearest sister in Christ, Alice -

Life is too short, and the judgement too near for anger!

I'm afraid the ladies you discuss are indicative of a deeper problem within the Greek Orthodox Church. The sort of 'renovationism' seen within the Soviet's puppet 'Living Church' seems to have some ardent supporters within the state Greek Church. Luckily, there are also many holy men and women, sincere in faith, but they seem not to be heard.

The new 'spirit' seems to have been infused into students by lecturer's, shaped not by the holy fathers, but by the schools of German protestantism.

The rampantly Hellenic brotherhoods, with their neo-Orthodoxy, have have made their presence painfully felt on Mt Athos, hounding older monks and assisting in the ethnic cleansing of the Holy Mountain.

As the principal of the primary department of a Greek independent school I am appauled by the pick-and-mix attitude to religion which I see in my brothers and sisters around me. So called Orthodox believers choose not to believe in the real presence of the Lord in the Holy Gifts; they deny the posibility of the Panagia being Ever Virgin; they deny the need for confession and preparation for the Holy Communion. They make my heart heavy with grief for them and I struggle to plant a seed in the souls of my pupils, in the hope that it may remain intact, even if dormant. I pray God that it will grow some time - and bear fruit.

I pray for the Holy Mountain, that it will not be forsaken by the All Holy Mother of God - for I really think that the time approaches when it will not be an oasis and the Garden of the Panagia, but a forsaken place, full of tourists and the curious, destroyed by political correctness, European Union laws, pseudo-Orthodoxy and ethnic purism.

Please ask your spiritual father to pray for me -
the sinful Hierodeacon Mark.

Spasi Khristos.
With love in Christ -
Mark, monk and sinner.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by alice:
[QB]Dear Father Mark,

>>>However, it is a fact that there is a rampant LIBERAL laity in the Greek Orthodox Church here, many of whom are women, and they just don't accept things the way I do.<<<
...........................

Oh Alice, you are so right.

Melina Mercouri liberal...Senator Kyria Snow liberal...Maria Callas liberal...PASOK liberal...Lysistrata liberal..."Athenian women, who had no political rights, seize the Acropolis and leave the men without women" liberal...and start a women's rights revolution throughout all of ancient Hellas... liberal..Aristophenes, now there is a guy with a sense of humor...liberal...and how about dark and malignant Medea liberal...God help us!

Born in the Greek ghetto.

Abdur

Dear Servant of the Lord, Alice:
For those who might absolutely need some "official" statement about women on the Holy Mountain, please check out the site for the Friends of Mt. Athos. They have been officially recognized for some years now by the Holy Monasteries of Athos. The URL is: http://abacus.bates.edu/%7Erallison/friends/friendsintro.html
Hope this helps!
Silouan, monk

This is the "official statement" from the Holy Mountain:
Mount Athos Visiting Rules:
Basic Conditions for Admission to Mount Athos In accordance with a "Chryssobul" (edict) issued by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Monomahos, in 1060 A.D. which still remains valid, conditions for entering the territory of Mt. Athos are as follows:

A permit is required for both individuals and groups. This is issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate of Churches (at No 2, Zalokosta Street, in Athens, tel: 3626.894) or by the Ministry of Northern Greece, Directorate of Civil Affairs at Diiki- tiriou Square in Thessaloniki, tel. 031/270.092.

Women are not admitted into the territory.

Overnight stay is forbidden except for those who have proven religious or scientific interests in the area and are over 18 years old.

'Overnight stay is forbidden except for those who have proven religious or scientific interests in the area and are over 18 years old.'

... unless you are a Greek, so it seems. The presence of young teenagers with male relatives is all too common, together with the disruption they bring.

Spasi Khristos -
Mark, monk and sinner

Dear Friends,

I don't know what the problem here is.

Most of those monks wouldn't know what to do with women even if they were allowed to roam about freely . . .

Alex

Oh Alex,

How could you

Dear Angela,

Well, it's true, isn't it?

alex

Well, I thought my question would seem silly.

But it was actually kind of serious. I was really curious about the monks' life on Mt. Athos. Besides the Administrator's suggestion, are there any other good books on the life on Mt. Athos, or its history?

Kewl Fr. Mark!

>>>As an Orthodox monk I would simply say that we need venture NO FURTHER than the comment previously made. Mount Athos is a MONASTIC republic and is like a great monastery whose rule precludes the presence of women. The issue endes there!!! <<<

Precise and to the point. I love it.

Rose

Dear Father Mark:

Dear Brother in Christ:

If I had not read this from you I would have thought the problem of liberal revisionism was something that only plagued us in the western part of Christ's Vineyard. I had thought that this was only a Latin problem or a Protestant problem. Apparently the Enemy is at work everywhere.

Pope Paul VI, of blessed memory, was quoted as saying that "the smoke of Satan has entered the Church" some short time after the end of the Vatican Council. Maybe he wasn't so wrong.

Our present Holy Father has commented in a similar vein on some occasions reported by individuals who have spoken with him.

Makes it all the more necessary that we pray for each other even if we cannot agree on all points of the Faith. The Enemy is still at his "divide and conquer" strategy and it seems to be going on everywhere.

You will remain in my prayers.

Glory be to Jesus Christ.

BOB