Orthodox Priest Martyred In Syria
From the Mystagogy blog of John Sanidopoulos. Another Orthodox martyr – this one a young priest in Syria. On January 25, 2012 Greek Orthodox Hieromonk Basilios Nassar was shot by an armed terrorist group in Hama, Syria on the second day of heavy fighting there. Fr. Basilios was at the Metropolis when he was informed by a phone call that a parishioner of his was shot and needed assistance. The Patriarchate of Antioch has reported that the 30-year-old priest was shot while giving [Read more...]
Sociologist: Every 5 Minutes A Christian In Martyred
A sociologist representing a European security organization says that the number of Christians killed each year for their faith is so high that it calculates to one martyr’s life being taken every five minutes. Massimo Introvigne of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) reported this data at a conference on Christian-Jewish-Muslim interfaith dialogue, which concluded today in Hungary. The conference was sponsored by the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the European Union, and included a variety of high-level representatives [Read more...]
In The Spirit of St. George: The Vocation of the Christian Warrior
The vocation of the Christian warrior is a dangerous and demanding one requiring as it does that the solider stand physically between the aggressor and his intended target and that he respond with force—even deadly force if needed—and yet do so without malice. This requires to be sure not only intense self-discipline and physical courage equal to any monastic asceticism, it also demands that the warrior bear the physical, psychological and spiritual scars of his service. This burden is made all the more difficult I think when military personnel (to say nothing of law enforcement professionals) are greeted with a lack of appreciation for the positive good of their service to say nothing of open hostility and moral censure what their service.
