Sheep

“Miracles of Padre Pio”

With the blessing of Reverend Bishop Volodymyr (Viytyshyn), Eparch of Ivano-Frankivs’k, for the first time a relic of St. [Padre] Pio has been brought to Ukraine. Presently the relic is at the Cathedral of the Holy Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. So reports the Ivano-Frankivs’k Eparchy.

At this time many people from all corners of Ukraine are traveling to Ivano-Frankivs’k to venerate the relics of the saint and ask for different graces. However, many people do not know about this saint.

It is possible to become closer acquainted with one of the greatest Catholic saints, Padre Pio, by reading a book of the Svichado [Beacon] publishing house, “Miracles of Padre Pio.” Padre Pio for more than half a century had on his body stigmata, bloody wounds, as signs of the suffering and death of Christ, which not a single doctor could heal. Padre Pio was often accompanied with a tender floral smell which spread from his clothes; he was a wonderful confessor, could read the secret thoughts of people he never met, and performed miraculous healings. Hardened atheists were converted by his life. But, in addition to this, his life was full of ordeals and lack of acceptance.

The author of book, Renzo Allegri, used in this work very rare documents never before seen by any other biographer. He mentions facts and reliable testimonies of people who knew the priest personally, and also those who thank Padre Pio for their conversions, healing, and many others graces obtained.

http://www.ugcc.org.ua/news_single.0.html?tx_ttnews[tt_news]=837

Monarchist Saints?

I think I am going to attempt to compile a list of those saints that were monarchs of their countries

Pre-Christian

King David


Latin Catholic

Bl. Charlemagne
Bl. Karl I of Austria
St. Louis of France
St. Edward the Confessor


Byzantine (Catholic and Orthodox)
St. Justinian
St. Theodosios
Great King, St. Constantine
Great King, St. Voldomyr and his mother Olha of Kyiv
Bl. Constantine XI
St. Nicholas, last Tsar and Passion-bearer

Protestant Churches (Anglican)
Charles I Stuart, King of England, Scotland, France, etc.


More to come, the list will be updated each time I think of more.If ye know any (like Armenians, Ethiopians, etc) that I missed then leaving a comment would be great. Plus there are many kyivan princes in the Ukrainian calender that I have missed that will require some time to go through and get them all. A fact I always find interesting is that St. Nicholas of Russia and Bl. Karl of Austria were both the last two sovereigns of empires that claimed succession from the Roman Empire, and both fought on opposing sides in WWI.

Philosophy Blog

As a byzantine, I realize that Philosophy and Theology have not always gotten along together (Palamas v. Barlaam),and this has opened my mind to accept the possibility that theology does not need a philosophical system to operate (see Aquinas,neothomism,scholastics, etc)and has given me a fresh outlook on Philosophy since I find that theology is best left to be done in a way akin to the Church Fathers. This also is partly a result of constantly having to argue with several people at my school who believe that the Truths of Divine Revelation are accessible to Reason and that Philosophy and Theology are married in some inseparable way. I reject this notion as false. The Truths of Faith are not accessible to Reason, other wise Aristotle and Plato would have believed in a Triune God. I applaud Tertullian when he says "What has Athens to do with Jerusalem" and I answer him by saying that Athens only brings to the Theology terminology necessary to better define a teaching, but that this teaching exists independently of Philosophic thought. The Real Presence of Christ was true before the Scholastic theologians called it Transubstantiation.
Anyways, what's my point. The point is that I am entering into a secondary endeavor, to have a philosophy blog. Obviously there are many situations where there is serious overlap, and I won't shy away from the overlap when its necessary, but this blog is not the place to discuss how exactly causation works or the nature of time because such things are not part of Divine Revelation and there is no exact answer to them. Rather they are better left for philosophical discussion and inquiry. The blog will cover a wide variety of philosophical schools and hopefully represented as well by two of my friends whom are both Philosophy/Theology double majors like myself in order to provide and excellent overview and reflection on the topics at hand. Epistemology, metaphysics, and logic. Never fear though, this blog will not be abandoned in favor of this new blog.


http://diokomentinsophian.blogspot.com/

American genocide

"The democratic president has brought American science back to extensive development. It is not inconceivable that the world will hold another Nuremberg Trial to condemn the destruction of human lives at the embryonic stage of development. But even Obama is unable to escape Heaven, and Heaven holds Judgment,"- Fr. Dimitry, Chairman of the Committee for Biomedical Ethics and Medical Law of the All-Russian Orthodox Youth Movement

This is a sad situation in this country indeed.... when the most vulnerable people in society are tossed aside like nothing and used as tools to make our lives more comfortable. I am glad to see the Russian Orthodox standing with us against such a monstrous action.



His Holiness Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus.

To thee, the Champion leader