Tag: Christianity

Qatar’s foreign affairs ministry said Nov. 27 that an agreement has been reached to extend the Israel-Hamas truce for another two days. The announcement was made by a ministry’s spokesperson on X on the final day of a four-day cease-fire in which some of the hostages abducted by Hamas in October have been released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

The Hamas militant group agreed with Qatar and Egypt to extend the cease-fire “under the same conditions reached before,” CNN reported. According to the agreement, at least 50 Israeli hostages — civilian women and children under age 19 — among the about 240 kidnapped by Hamas Oct. 7 — were being released in batches over four days during a pause in the fighting. The release of every additional 10 hostages will result in one other day in the pause. The White House confirmed an agreement was reached.

In the exchange, besides releasing at least 150 Palestinians, Israel also has allowed fuel, medicine and other humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.

On the evening of Nov. 27, local time, the Israeli military said 11 hostages were released and were being transported by the Red Cross in Gaza. Later, the Israel Defense Forces released a statement saying that the hostages were in Israeli territory and that after they get a medical assessment, they will be reunited with their families. This was the fourth exchange of the original truce, which started Nov. 24. Earlier on Nov. 27, the families of this group were notified that their loved ones were expected to be released but there were conflicting reports about the status of the list of hostages during the day.

Hamas, Israel and the U.S. had been working through ongoing issues with Nov. 27’s list of hostages, “including ensuring children on the list are not released without their mothers or grandmothers who might also be in captivity,” CNN reported. The agreement stated that no families be separated during the release, but an IDF spokesman said that deal was violated when Hamas released one hostage without her mother Nov. 25.

According to Reuters, U.S. officials hoped two American women would be among the hostages released that day. But later that day, White House spokesperson John Kirby told CNN that no American hostages were believed among those freed Nov. 27.

Delicate and intense negotiations between Israel and Hamas, with the mediation of Qatar, Egypt and the U.S., led to the start of the hostage-Palestinian swap. Since Nov. 24 — the first day of the truce — 69 hostages, mostly women and children, have been released. So far, 117 prisoners — women and children but also teenage males, according to media reports — have been released from Israeli prisons. Hamas received a list of Palestinian prisoners set to be released in exchange for the Nov. 27 group. Israel will release 33 Palestinian prisoners later Monday, the Associated Press reported.

The first hostage group, released late afternoon Nov. 24, included 13 Israeli civilians — four children, three mothers and six other women — as well as 10 Thai and one Filipino. Their release was followed by the first group of 39 Palestinians freed by the Israelis.

On the second day of the hostage-Palestinian exchange Nov. 25, Hamas initially delayed the exchange, claiming “that the aid deliveries permitted by Israel fell short of what was promised,” according to A.P. But through mediation, Hamas ultimately released the second group that evening — 13 Israelis and four Thai nationals — and later that night Israel released 39 Palestinians to the militant group. The freed Israelis were eight children and five women.

On the third day, the freed hostages ranged in age from 4 to 84 and included nine children, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office. One of the released hostages is an Israeli-American child, Abigail Edan, who turned 4 in captivity. Her mother and father were gunned down in front of her by Hamas in their Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel killed in the Hamas attack that started the war. Abigail has two siblings who survived the attack by hiding in a closet.

The agreement between Israel and Hamas, originally scheduled to take place Nov. 23, was postponed for a day because Hamas had not yet presented a list of prisoners to be released.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Nov. 24 that “137 trucks of goods were offloaded” at a reception point in Gaza operated by the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees. “Humanitarian teams from the U.N. and partners will continue to ramp up humanitarian operations to meet the needs of people throughout Gaza in the coming days,” the OCHA statement said.

As the war in Gaza neared its 50th day, the destruction in the enclave is “simply unimaginable,” said Latin Patriarchate CEO Sami El-Yousef in a letter of reflection published on the website of the Latin Patriarchate Nov. 20.

He noted that as of its writing, the U.N. had said over 11,000 Palestinians had been killed in Israeli retaliatory strikes as it vowed to destroy Hamas infrastructure following the Hamas attack, and some 1.6 million people — almost 70% of the Gaza population — have been displaced.

During the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, 1,200 Israelis were killed, 240 people were taken hostage and thousands have been displaced. Between 150,000 and 200,000 Israelis also have been evacuated from the southern and northern borders as Hamas and Hezbollah continue to lob rockets and missiles into Israel.

El-Yousef said the internally displaced Palestinians in Gaza were without a proper mechanism to care for their basic needs and most hospitals are not functioning because of the lack of electricity, fuel and medicines.

After the recitation of the Angelus, which he led from his residence’s chapel due to a lung inflammation, Pope Francis gave thanks for the temporary truce and the release of some of the hostages in Gaza. “Let us pray that all of them will be (released) as soon as possible — think about their families! — and that more humanitarian aid enters Gaza,” he said.

In an interview with Vatican News, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, said that freeing hostages is the “first step” toward ending the war between Israel and Hamas.

“The fact that an agreement has been reached on the release of at least some of the hostages is positive, because so far the only channel of communication has been military,” the cardinal said. “It is clear that politics must take control of the situation, offering perspectives above all, because the military has none. It is clear, therefore, that negotiations and the release of hostages are the first steps to then start paths of political perspectives for Gaza after this war. This is what is needed.”

Russia, November 28, 2023

Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in Charishshkoe, Altai Krai, built in 1880-1895     

An electronic intra-Church register of architectural monuments of the Russian Orthodox Church located on the territory of the Russian Federation has been developed.

The electronic database contains information about monuments of Church activity and buildings and other structures of historical and artistic value, including those that currently belong to the Church or which are historically associated with the Church. The registry includes ruined and inactive churches, reports the Russian Orthodox Church.

The project, supported by the Presidential Grants Fund, was developed by the Patriarch Cultural Council and the Foundation for the Promotion of the Preservation of Christian Values.

The registry is constantly being updated and currently includes 14,000 entries.

The database provides information about the date of construction, ownership, and state of the churches, and whether it has an active liturgical life, and much more. It also includes pictures of many of the churches and architectural objects.

See the registry here.

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St. Catherine Labouré was born on May 2, 1806, in France, the ninth of 11 children in her family. Her mother died when she was 8, and Catherine took over the household duties. She was a quiet, practical child. 

As a young adult, Catherine joined the Daughters of Charity, and when she was 24, and still a novice, she received a vision from the Virgin Mary. Mary appeared a second time to Catherine, and asked that she have a medal made that portrayed Mary as she appeared — inside an oval frame, standing on a globe, with many rings, set with gems, that beamed light across the globe. The frame around Mary contained the words, “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.” These medals, now known as Miraculous Medals, would give great grace to those who wore them. 

Catherine spent the next two years trying to convince her spiritual director of Mary’s message. When he finally listened, they had 2,000 medals made, which were dispersed so quickly and so effectively as to be considered miraculous. 

Once the medals were made, Catherine’s visions stopped, and she spent the rest of her life in humble service as a portress, and working with the sick in Paris. She did not tell her superior that she had received the visions about the Miraculous Medals until 45 years later. 

St. Catherine died on December 31, 1876, in Paris. She was canonized in 1947 by Pope Pius XII, and her incorrupt body is still in the crypt of her convent. 

Panglao, the Philippines, November 28, 2023

Photo: phvieparchy.org     

Construction of a new church in honor of the Theotokos is underway in the Philippines.

On November 22, on the feast of the She Who Is Quick to Hear Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, the foundation stone of a future church of the same name was consecrated on the island of Panglao, reports the Diocese of the Philippines and Vietnam.

With the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Pavel of Manila and Hanoi, the consecration was celebrated by diocesan secretary Hieromonk Kornily (Molev), together with the dean of the Manila District, Hieromonk Alexei (Lapshin).

Photo: phvieparchy.org     

The rite was preceded by a moleben to the Most Holy Theotokos.

Panglao is the most popular Filipino island among Russian tourists and is home to a number of Filipinos.

Another parish community began on Bright Saturday, Dozens baptized at new parish in the PhilippinesThe Sacraments were celebrated by the local dean Hieromonk Alexei (Lapshin) and two local rectors.

“>April 23, with its first Divine Liturgy and the Baptism of 26 people. There are currently New parish communities established in the PhilippinesTo date, there are 34 parishes in the diocese, and the number of clergy is steadily growing.”>more than 35 parishes in the diocese.

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Russia’s extensive drone attack on Kyiv Nov. 25 damaged the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ.

Russia launched close to 75 Iranian-made Shahed drones at Ukraine’s capital, as Ukrainians marked Holodomor Remembrance Day, which commemorates the 7 million to 10 million victims of an artificial famine waged by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin from 1932-1933 against Ukrainians.

No fatalities were reported, but five individuals were injured.

The assault was Russia’s largest drone attack on Kyiv since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. Ukraine’s forces said 74 of the drones had been successfully eliminated. Kyiv remained under an air raid alert lasting more than six hours.

One Shahed drone was shot down in the Dniprovskyi district of Kyiv, beside the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ and the residence of Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, or UGCC.

The debris impacted doors and shattered windows within the cathedral. A nearby multistory building sustained even greater destruction, according to the UCGG information department.

The UGCC reported that “six windows in the basement of the Patriarchal Cathedral were damaged,” as “the blast wave shattered the glass panes.

“The hardware on four cathedral doors was damaged, and door locks were torn off,” said Vasyl Bukatyuk, director of the Construction Directorate at the UGCC Patriarchate.

Bukatyuk said that Major Archbishop Shevchuk’s residence also suffered damage.

“The hardware on three doors was affected at both the Patriarchal residence and the Patriarchal curia,” he said.

Slight damage to the cathedral facade also was documented, and fragments of varying sizes from the drone were gathered on its grounds.

“In return for gifts from St. Nicholas, we’ll be receiving unique souvenirs,” said Major Archbishop Shevchuk.

According to the Ukrainian Institute for Religious Freedom, some 500 religious sites in Ukraine have been “wholly destroyed, damaged, or looted by the Russian military” between the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 and January 2023. That number has only increased since then, according to Religion on Fire, a nongovernmental project headed by several Ukrainian religious scholars.

On July 23, Russia launched an X-22 anti-ship missile that struck the Ukrainian Orthodox Holy Transfiguration Cathedral (Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral) in the port city of Odesa. The missile directly hit the central altar, as a result of which the cathedral building and the three lower floors were partially destroyed, while the interior and icons were significantly damaged.

Since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 — which continues attacks begun in 2014 — Russia has killed more than 10,000 Ukrainian civilians (including 510 children) and injured some 18,500, while committing close to 113,525 documented war crimes. From 2014 to 2021, some 14,400 Ukrainians were killed and 39,000 injured in Russian attacks, according to the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

At least 2.5 million Ukrainians have been forcibly taken to the Russian Federation, and close to 19,600 children are being held in Russian “re-education” camps, with the actual number for the latter feared to be much higher.

Currently, there are an estimated 5.1 million individuals internally displaced within Ukraine, according to the International Organization for Migration, part of the United Nations network. More than 6.2 million Ukrainians have sought safety abroad since the start of the full-scale invasion.

In a July 2023 joint report, New Lines Institute and the Raoul Wallenberg Center for Human Rights reiterated their May 2022 conclusion that Russia has violated the 1948 Genocide Convention through its atrocities in Ukraine.

Explaining that he had a “problem with inflammation of my lungs,” Pope Francis led the recitation of the Angelus prayer from the chapel of his residence rather than from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter’s Square.

But he had an aide, Msgr. Paolo Braida, sit next to him in the chapel Nov. 26 and read his meditation on the Sunday Gospel and his special greetings and appeals.

The Vatican press office had issued a statement Nov. 25 saying, “Pope Francis underwent a CT scan at Gemelli Isola Hospital in Rome to rule out the risk of pulmonary complications. The test yielded negative results,” and the pope returned to his residence. Earlier in the day, the press office said he had canceled his morning appointments “due to a slight flu-like condition.”

In a direct broadcast to the square, the 86-year-old Pope Francis told the thousands of people gathered there that “today I cannot come to the window because I have this inflammation problem in my lungs.”

Instead, he introduced Msgr. Braida and revealed that anyone familiar with his Sunday Angelus talks would know Msgr. Braida, who usually is the person who drafts those texts.

Pope Francis coughed several times during the broadcast and had what appeared to be an IV port covered with a bandage on his right hand. But he recited the Angelus and took the microphone back from Msgr. Braida to wish everyone viewing a happy Sunday and a good lunch and to ask for their prayers.

In the text read by Msgr. Braida, Pope Francis said he still intends to travel to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Dec. 1-3 to address COP28, the U.N. climate change conference.

Climate change “endangers life on Earth, especially future generations. And this is contrary to the plan of God, who created everything for life,” the papal text said, adding thanks to people who pray for his trip and those committed to “safeguarding our common home.”

The text also drew people’s attention to the previous day’s commemoration in Ukraine of “the Holodomor, the genocide perpetrated by the Soviet regime which, 90 years ago, starved millions of people to death.”

“That excruciating wound, instead of healing, is made even more painful by the atrocities of the war that continues to make that dear people suffer,” the text said.

The pope also gave God thanks for the temporary truce between Israel and Hamas, and the release of some of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. “Let us pray that all of them will be (released) as soon as possible — think about their families! — and that more humanitarian aid enters Gaza.”

“For all peoples torn apart by conflict, let us continue to pray without tiring, because prayer is the force for peace that breaks the spiral of hatred, breaks the cycle of revenge and opens up unhoped-for paths of reconciliation,” he said.

As the church celebrated the feast of Christ the King, the Gospel reading was Matthew 25:31-46 on how people will be judged by what they did for Jesus in giving food to the hungry or visiting prisoners or welcoming the stranger.

Christ is a king who counts as his friends not those who increase his wealth or power, but those who care for the poor, the homeless, the sick and the migrant, whom he loves, the papal text said.

“The Gospel today tells us that the ‘blessed’ are those who respond to these forms of poverty with love, with service: not by turning away, but by giving food and drink, clothing, sheltering, visiting; in a word, by being close to those in need,” it said.

Jesus’ “royal court” is wherever people suffer, the text continued. “And the style with which his friends, those who have Jesus for Lord, are called to distinguish themselves is his own style: compassion, mercy, tenderness.”

The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance
​(Ps. 112:6)

Today, a name is glorified throughout the entire Orthodox Church—the name of the great teacher and saint of Christ, St. John Chrysostom

“>Holy Hierarch John Chrysostom. Everything is filled with him. Everyone strives in one way or another to express their love and reverence for the glorious shepherd of Christ’s flock. The Church of Constantinople, on whose throne this great luminary once shone, now rejoices. The Church of Antioch is also triumphant, because in it he grew and was strengthened. And the Russian Church also celebrates him, having been so assiduously edified by his works throughout all the centuries of its existence. What happened to give rise to this solemn celebration of the memory of St. John Chrysostom?…

Fifteen centuries of unceasing and undiminished influence on the entire Christian world, its power and scope ever increasing —this is the triumph of the great spirit over death and time, to which everything human is subject. This is a kind of historical miracle. This is what compels us, at the turn of new centuries and millennia, with the great saint’s same, unchanging influence, to turn to him with all our souls, to pour out before him all the gratitude of loving children, and to praise him with all the praises of which we are capable. This is what is happening now throughout the entire Orthodox Church. The great hierarch John is being hymned everywhere, and thousands of praiseworthy words are being uttered in honor and memory of him.

But who can properly praise St. John Chrysostom? Even St. Proclus the Archbishop of ConstantinopleSaint Proclus, Archbishop of Constantinople, from his early years devoted all his time to prayer and the study of Holy Scripture.

“>St. Proclus of Constantinople, one of his closest successors on the pulpit, said that no one could match him unless another such John should appear. But the Church had only one John Chrysostom, and therefore there are no words worthy for this servant of the Word. However, since his memory, which, in the words of the same St. Proclus, consists of his countless labors, exploits and instructions, like a river overflowing with waters, solaces the souls of the faithful, then you and I, brothers, ought to join this river and drink from its life-giving waters.

What attentive Christian does not know the name of St. John Chrysostom? Almost every day for a whole year, his wonderful work—the Divine Liturgy—sanctifies the faithful. We pray using the prayers he composed. And on the bright night of Christ’s Resurrection, who has not experienced a moment of great spiritual delight while listening to his Paschal homily? Who among the faithful, having at least once tasted of the sweetness of his infinitely edifying and highly talented works, would not be drawn to them again with irresistible force? Who has not at least once had the marvelous image of his holy life and his sorrowful but blessed death penetrate his consciousness? And what seems more wonderful to us in St. John: his life or his works? This question could not have been solved if Chrysostom’s life and works had not represented one whole, if they had not formed a single integral personality, in which his works are inseparable from his life and his life from his works. St. John Chrysostom continues to live in his works—and not only in heaven, for his works owe their origin to his holy life and exceptional work—the salvation of his neighbor. So, his life and his works are truly wonderful.

The life of St. John Chrysostom arouses reverent awe in us. From his first conscious movement to his last breath, his life was wholly dedicated to God. There are no gaps or omissions in it, no backsliding or sidestepping. Like an arrow shot from a bow and rushing straight to its goal, so the short life of St. John is one swift run to honor of the highest rank. St. John firmly held the helm of his ship of life, always guiding it to the quiet haven of the Heavenly Kingdom. No deceptive mirages made him doubt the dignity of his goal, its exceptional value and superiority over all other life goals. Neither was he tempted by the difficulty of the path, filled with many sorrows and hardships. Even when instructed by the care of his rare and amazing mother, Anfusa, whose name can never be omitted when speaking of St. John Chrysostom, not only in Christian rules and Christian wisdom, but also in secular sciences, moreover from the best teachers of that time in the city where St. John lived, which had not yet lost its former glory in this respect—Antioch of Syria, the capital of the whole East and the center of its enlightenment. St. John could have boldly and quickly won for himself a brilliant position in life, become a celebrity, and perhaps a great dignitary. But he was not seduced by such prospects shown him, which thousands of young men, less gifted and less educated, could not have resisted. And that brief period when he applied his secular knowledge was for him only a way and a means of familiarizing himself with the world of poverty, grief, and various calamities, which later became so useful to him in his purely pastoral ministry, and which directed him to this path of the highest and most perfect service to God and neighbor. Both by his own ideal motivation and miraculously guided by Providence, which prepared in him a great lamp of the Church, St. John, like the Apostle Paul he so loved, considered all these external advantages as rubbish. And for the sake of Christ, he chose the best and surest way to prepare himself for his exceptionally important life’s work—that is, pastoral care. This is the path of asceticism, personal spiritual perfection, which, corresponding to St. John’s own ardent desire, was the best preparatory school for his great pastoral ministry. For in general it must be recognized that there isn’t nor can there be fruitful service for the salvation of others where there is no consciousness of the need to first overcome one’s own passions, and to strive steadily to fulfill God’s commandments. Chrysostom perfectly portrayed this joining of personal righteousness and ascetic labors to pastoral ministry in his truly classic work on pastoral theology, “Six Words about the Priesthood.” So, mistakenly it may seem to some that there is no connection between the six-year period of St. John Chrysostom’s life of strict asceticism in the Syrian mountains and his subsequent pastoral ministry, or that one period contradicts the other, and only his illness and ill health—unfortunate for him but fortunate for the Church—caused Chrysostom to depart from the desert to Antioch, from seclusion to the pulpit. Between those and other periods of St. John Chrysostom’s life there is a most profoud inner connection, the strictest unity of purpose, and direction of life. It was in the desert that the foundations of St. John’s deep pastoral influence were laid. It was there that his love for his neighbors and zeal for their salvation were purified and ignited into a great flame, the most eloquent evidence of which are the many pages of his works from that time and all his subsequent works. Here he further broadened and deepened his knowledge of the word of God, the divinely inspired scriptures, which guide us to salvation (2 Tim. 3:15), and here, no doubt, he was accustomed to fervent prayer, without which pastoral labors are unthinkable. How necessary, therefore, to praise that solitude, which later became the salvation of many multitudes! O blessed is the desert that gives the world a great shepherd!

Thus, St. John Chrysostom took up the cause of the salvation of his neighbors; and of course, serving this great cause, the source and model of which is the very redemptive love of God, he saved others according to the immutable law of true spiritual life, and was saved himself, ascending in degrees of spiritual perfection, until he reached immeasurable glory eternally in heaven and in history on earth. St. John Chrysostom’s service to the Church, which fell to the last twenty years of the fourth, and first years of the fifth centuries, was not accompanied by any struggle for dogmas, as was the preceding and subsequent time in the history of the Church, and which was the glory of St. John Chrysostom’s older and younger contemporaries, other great fathers and teachers of the Universal Church. The time of St. John’s ministry is, as rightly noted, a time of “dogmatic peace,” and his activity was the activity of a great moral reformer, a great fighter for the purity of Christian life, for the full and therefore only true realization of the unconditional gospel commandments and ideals. The fruits of this indefatigable activity and this most intense struggle remain by their very nature invisible to us who are centuries removed from that time, but we can judge them by the effect that the only remaining works of St. John produce on us; and they will be revealed in all their glory on the day when not only the external, but also the entire internal, so to speak, history of the Church, the hidden life of all its members will be revealed. Then, when the whole historical life of the Church of Christ on earth will be summarized and concluded, then all that immense and valuable good that the great saint sowed in the souls of the faithful with the gracious help of God will be revealed, and his exceptional, one might say, unique significance will be determined in the history of the Church. After all, to support a poor traveler to the Heavenly Fatherland—that is, man in his fatal struggle with ever seductive sin, a struggle that decides his eternal fate, to shake off laziness, drive away despondency, save him from despair, spiritual death—what a noble and truly Christian task this is. But St. John pursued this and only this, and moreover, successfully and victoriously. And what innumerable pledges of irresistible moral influence are cherished invisibly in the hearts of hundreds of generations of Christian people, beginning with his immediate listeners and members of his flock. But even what is recorded on the pages of ecclesiastical-historical chronicles clearly indicates the degree of St. John Chrysostom’s pastoral zeal, and of its successes. It is these chronicles that speak of the help provided by St. John to his flock at a difficult time for it, when the king’s anger broke out over it; about the correction of the morals of the Antiochians, which occurred under the influence of their pastor’s preaching; about St. John Chrysostom’s great missionary concerns, especially in the last period of his life; about how the people of Constantinople treated him, and how The Empress Eudoxia herself, who had caused so much evil to the prelate of Christ, then humbly asked for forgiveness for the sin she had committed in the person of her royal son, Emperor Theodosius. How many souls have been saved from eternal perdition by St. John—and he can boldly say of a great multitude: Behold I and the children God has given me (Is. 8:18; Heb. 2:13). Oh, truly blessed is John, for he served in the salvation of so many people!

How did St. John Chrysostom act so powerfully on people’s hearts? What were the means of his irresistible moral influence? The simplest albeit incomplete answer to this question is that the power of Chrysostom’s influence was in his word. Yes, for St. John Chrysostom the ministry of reconciliation, that is, pastoral ministry, was primarily a ministry of the word. Everyone unanimously recognizes St. John Chrysostom as the greatest preacher of the Eastern Church. For him, the name Chrysostom (“Golden tongue”) was established and became his own. Experts in the art of ecclesiastical eloquence claim that the best school for those who want to become good preachers is the study of the works of St. John Chrysostom. So eloquent and at the same time so simple, so edifying and at the same time so fascinating; to preach as St. John Chrysostom preached, as he alone could preach—and despite the one and a half thousand years since the golden tongue of the universal saint was silenced, to this day he remains unsurpassed. His brilliant sermons, which are mostly interpretations of the Holy Scriptures, are remarkable for the pure evangelical spirit that pervades them. St. John Chrysostom was a preacher of pure, unadulterated Christianity, the true Gospel. Not in vain is the mouth of Chrysostom called the mouth of Christ. At the same time, Chrysostom’s sermons reveal such an amazing knowledge of the human soul, of all the secret bends of the human heart, that they leave the listener or reader speechless, conquered, and captivated. What is the secret of this inimitable eloquence, where is the key to unraveling such an amazing homiletic talent? Not in natural gifts alone, which of course God generously bestowed on St. John Chrysostom from his youth and which he, as a good and faithful servant, multiplied with his diligence and work; and not in school and its exercises, which he passed before his age. We know other fathers and teachers of the Church who are gifted by nature and have gone through the same rhetorical school; but in their sermons, there is more artfulness and less simplicity, sincerity or profound edification than in the sermons of St. John Chrysostom. And the secret of Chrysostom’s unique and incomparable eloquence lies in his love for his listeners, in the deep moral bond which he had with his flock. “You are everything to me,” he confessed to the people one day, “If my heart were torn and revealed to you, you would see that you are all there at great length: women, children, and men” (Conversation on the book, Acts of the Apostles). He accepted with all his heart the Savior’s commandment about the relationship of a good shepherd to his sheep; that is, not only the shepherd’s external belonging to the sheep, but such an inner relation to them that it approaches, if not directly passes over into an essential relationship. And love makes a person eloquent even without natural gifts, especially if it sees the one it loves in danger—a danger that is, from a Christian point of view, the loss of salvation. It also compels him to share with those he loves the content of his spiritual life. Just as the Father loves the Son and shows Him everything that He Himself does (John 5:20), so the human spirit, enlightened and enlarged by love, naturally pours out its abundance far beyond itself. But it is not easy to acquire the gift of love. It is the most excellent way (1 Cor. 12:31), and one needs to pass through the whole rock of virtues, truly become a saint, in order to acquire this pearl. And above all, one must have that unshakeable faith that St. John Chrysostom possessed and which borders on vision. In general, St. John Chrysostom was not a dogmatist; he does not explore the mysteries of faith, but underlying all his writings, but his deep faith in the basic dogmas of Christian teaching is the unshakable foundation and the deepest spring from which the rivers of his instructions flow. It can be said with certainty that for him the invisible, spiritual world was incomparably more real than the visible, sensual world, and his whole order of contemplation was the opposite of ours, for we are at the mercy of external feelings and concrete concepts. Thus it is necessary to acquire his boundless mercy and love for the lesser brothers of Christ—that is, the poor and the needy of all kinds, for whom John Chrysostom did so much with his sermons and to whom he gave literally everything he had.

Great was John Chrysostom in his life, but was he great also in his very death, which as we know occurred in exile, after occupying the most important throne of the Eastern Church—the cathedra of the capital city. “O John!” we will exclaim together with St. Proclus. Your life was truly filled with sorrow, but your death is honorable, your tomb is glorious, your reward is great! The death of St. John Chrysostom is touching, and the deathbed instruction that he gives us all in his last words is deeply edifying, Glory to God for all things! Surely, we also thank God for giving such a saint to His Church; for one ecclesiastical writer rightly said that there is no person so insensitive as would not thank divine Providence for giving the world such a brilliant luminary. Let us be edified by his immortal works, for to not know such beautiful works, in the words of the same ecclesiastical writer, is the same as not seeing the sun at noon. Let us take to heart his most important precepts, the study of the word of God, the labor of prayer, and Instructions for AlmsgivingCharity is a gift to God.

“>almsgiving— the “queen of virtues.” And we will be ever confident that his heavenly glory will always be reflected by his eternal glory on earth—according to the words of the Psalm: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. (Ps. 112:6).

Amen.

The Hamas militant group Nov. 26 released a third group of hostages numbering 17, who include 12 Israelis, one American woman and an Israeli-American child and three Thai nationals, according to The Associated Press, and Israel confirmed it freed another 39 Palestinians.

On Nov. 27, the last day of the cease-fire, “a fourth exchange is expected,” AP said, which would bring the total of freed hostages and freed Palestinian prisoners to 50 and 150, respectively, as agreed upon. Women and children make up each group.

According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, the freed hostages in the third group range in age from 4 to 84 and include nine children. One of them is an Israeli-American child, Abigail Edan, who turned 4 in captivity. Her mother and father were gunned down in front of her by Hamas in their Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel killed in the Hamas attack that started the war. Abigail has two siblings who survived the attack by hiding in a closet.

Long days of delicate and intense negotiations between Israel and Hamas with the mediation of Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. led to the start of the hostage-Palestinian swap. As of Nov. 26, mediators are trying to extend the cease-fire, AP reported.

The first hostage group, released late afternoon Nov. 24, included 13 Israeli civilians — four children, three mothers and six other women — as well as 10 Thai and one Filipino. Their release was followed by the first group of 39 Palestinians freed by the Israelis.

On the second day of the hostage-Palestinian exchange Nov. 25, Hamas initially delayed the exchange, claiming “that the aid deliveries permitted by Israel fell short of what was promised,” according to AP. But through mediation, Hamas ultimately released the second group that evening — 13 Israelis and four Thai nationals — and later that night Israel released 39 Palestinians to the militant group. The freed Israelis were eight children and five women.

The first two groups of hostages, who were held in Gaza, were transferred to Egypt in Red Cross vehicles and then transported to Israel. In the third group, some hostages “were handed over directly to Israel, while others left through Egypt,” AP reported. According to the Israeli army, one was airlifted “directly to a hospital.”
Hospitals in Israel were receiving many of the released hostages before they were reunited with family, and the media was asked to respect the privacy of families whose loved ones were to be released.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Nov. 24 that “137 trucks of goods were offloaded” at a reception point in Gaza operated by the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees. “Humanitarian teams from the U.N. and partners will continue to ramp up humanitarian operations to meet the needs of people throughout Gaza in the coming days,” the OCHA statement said.

The agreement between Israel and Hamas, originally scheduled to take place Nov. 23, was postponed for a day because Hamas had not yet presented a list of prisoners to be released.

According to the agreement at least 50 Israeli hostages — civilian women and children under age 19 — among the about 240 kidnapped by Hamas Oct. 7 — were being released in batches over four days, during a pause in the fighting. The release of every additional 10 hostages will result in one additional day in the pause.

In the exchange, besides releasing at least 150 Palestinians, Israel also has allowed fuel, medicine and other humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The list of Palestinians being freed includes teenagers detained over the past year for rock-throwing and other minor offenses, but also those held in Israeli prisons convicted of murder attempts against Israelis.

On Nov. 22, the pope met with families of Israeli hostages, and later with the families of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. The Assembly of Italian Rabbis published a letter following the meeting criticizing the format of parallel meetings, saying that it unjustly put “innocents” who have been “torn from their families” in the Hamas terrorist attack on the same level as families with people often convicted of “very serious acts of terrorism.”

“And soon after, the Pope publicly accused both sides of terrorism,” the rabbis wrote, voicing their confusion over Pope Francis’ words: “This is what wars do. But here we have gone beyond wars. This is not war. This is terrorism.”

As the war in Gaza neared its 50th day, the destruction in the enclave is “simply unimaginable,” said Latin Patriarchate CEO Sami El-Yousef in a letter of reflection published on the website of the Latin Patriarchate Nov. 20. He noted that as of its writing the U.N. had said over 11,000 Palestinians had been killed in Israeli retaliatory strikes as it vowed to destroy Hamas infrastructure following the Hamas attack, and some 1.6 million people — almost 70% of the Gaza population — have been displaced.

Between 150,000 and 200,000 Israelis also have been evacuated from the southern and northern borders as Hamas and Hezbollah continue to lob rockets and missiles into Israel.
El-Yousef said the internally displaced Palestinians in Gaza were without a proper mechanism to care for their basic needs and most hospitals are not functioning because of the lack of electricity, fuel and medicines.

“Gazans are on the brink of starvation, dehydration, and disease outbreaks given the thousands of bodies rotting under the rubble; the start of the winter season; and the lack of any hygiene with 700 people sharing a shower and 500 people sharing a toilet,” he wrote.

He said some 600 people had taken refuge inside the Holy Family Parish complex located in northern Gaza, although Israel has asked that all Palestinians evacuate to the south.

“That is a huge responsibility to provide for their daily needs at a time of war and at a time when no new supplies are coming to the north,” he said.

The Christian community in Gaza has lost 21 people so far — over 2% of the Christian population.

“This is very devastating to all of us given that we have personally known most of those killed from previous visits and many were recipients of some of the aid programs and various activities,” he said of the Christians, most of whom have been killed on site of the Greek Orthodox church that was hit with an Israeli strike.

Israel has maintained that Hamas embeds its weapons and members within the civilian population and near sensitive locations such as hospitals and schools. Over the past week the IDF has taken foreign and Israeli TV reporters into Gaza to see the complex network of tunnels they uncovered underneath the main Al Shifa Hospital they say were used by Hamas terrorists.

El-Yousef said all Christian families in Gaza have been affected by the war, and the homes of over 50 families from the community have been destroyed.

“Incredible suffering of our small community, and we have not seen the worst of this ugly war yet,” El-Yousef said, adding that “most hospitals are out of service given the lack of electricity, fuel, and medicines; 55 ambulances have been damaged; fatalities include 102 U.N. relief workers, 200 health workers, and 51 journalists.”

He acknowledged that 11 bakeries have been destroyed “leaving people to wait between 4-6 hours to get some bread at the few operating bakeries; 45% of all housing units either completely or severely destroyed raising serious questions regarding the day after,” El-Yousef said.

One of the saddest incidents suffered by the community is that of the death of the parish’s 80-year-old former church organist and retired music teacher who was taking refuge at the Holy Family church complex. She was shot in the leg just outside her home after going to check on it and bring back some clothes. Because of the security situation, no one could reach her to take her to a hospital and she bled to death, El-Yousef said.

“She was on the street for three days until her body was collected and buried in a mass grave,” he said. “May they all rest in eternal peace.”

El-Yousef emphasized that the “Christian message of forgiveness, coexistence, tolerance, love, and peace does not change during times of war.”

“It is critical that this message continues to guide our society so that some tracks can be found to move forward to reach justice and peace for all who call the Holy Land home,” he said. “Humanity must return and all children of God regardless of their religion or nationality should be treated equally with dignity.”

Hieroschemamonk Paisie (Olaru) The great Romanian elders had their own confessor—a Confessor with a capital “C”—a schemamonk named Paisie. “I couldn’t wait to get out of prison so I could go see Spiritual Counsels From Elder Paisius Olaru of Sihla SketeWhen someone shames you, say that God commanded him to do it. When someone takes something of yours, God commanded him to take it, in order to make you a monk. When you are removed from a higher place, God changed your place so that you would change from your passions and bad habits.

“>Fr. Paisie (Olaru),” says Archimandrite Justin (Parvu)Justin (Parvu), Archimandrite “>Elder Justin (Pârvu). “My heart burned in my chest with the desire to see him, and after I was released, I went straight to Fr. Paisie’s cell and waited for two days at his door for him to receive me to Confession.” All the Romanian faithful loved and still love him, no less than Archimandrite Justin. Elder Paisie was a man of grandiose spiritual greatness, possessed of great gifts of grace; and in 2025, Romania: Elders Paisie (Olaru) and Dionisie (Ignat) proposed for canonizationThe names of two more of the holy elders under consideration for canonization in 2025 by the Romanian Orthodox Church were revealed over the weekend.”>he will be numbered among the saints.

Fr. Paisie was born on June 20, 1897, in the village of Stroești, Lunca Commune, Botoșani County, in a poor family that already had five children. His parents, Ioan and Ecaterina, raised them in deep faith and love for God. His father was a forester and his mother looked after the house and the children. After graduation, Fr. Paisie joined the army and fought in World War I.

When he returned from the front, the young Peter, chosen by God for the monastic life from an early age, left his father’s house in 1921 and entered the Cozancea Skete—the closest to his native village. On June 9, 1922, he was tonsured in monasticism with the name Paisie. After several years of obedience in the church and the brotherhood, filled with zeal for God and longing for solitary prayer from a young age, he retired into silence in the woods not far from Cozancea, where he built himself a small cell with a chapel.

Cozancea Monastery today     

During the day he would carry out obedience in the skete, and at night he would labor in prayer, fasting, and vigil. However, his life in Christ remained hidden and none of his disciples knew his tears and labors. Fr. Paisie began to have his own disciples when he was still young; the closest of them were the very young Constantin Ilie, later the famous Archimandrite Cleopa, and two of his brothers. In this skete, in silence and prayer, obedience and strict participation in Church services, Fr. Paisie went through the higher school of spirituality, humility and patience, purification from the passions, and renewal of the spirit.

Cozancea Monastery, chapel on the site where Elder Paisie labored as a hermit     

His most characteristic virtue was love for God and neighbor. He saw God in everything. He had boundless love for flowers, children, birds, sick people, and the whole creation of God in general. Therefore, he was charged with the obedience of caring for the sick members of the skete for many years.

Elder Paisie (Olaru) In 1943, Fr. Paisie was ordained a hierodeacon. On April 4, 1947, he was ordained a hieromonk and named abbot and spiritual father of Cozancea Skete, which had twenty-five inhabitants at the time. However, seeing that the abbatial obedience deprived him of silence, he transferred to the brotherhood of Sihăstria Monastery, headed by his disciple Archimandrite Cleopa (Ilie), where more than seventy monastics labored in asceticism. For more than forty years, Fr. Paisie was the confessor of the brethren there and for many pilgrims who flocked to him from everywhere, and he became one of the most famous elders in Romania.

In 1949, Archimandrite Cleopa, whose fame had already spread throughout the entire country, was sent to Slatina Monastery to improve the monastic life there. He took more than twenty experienced Sihăstria monks with him, including, of course, the main spiritual father of his entire life, Elder Paisie. This spiritual mission was of great importance, marking the beginning of a whole stream of spiritual renewal in Moldovan monasticism.   

Later returning to Sihăstria, Fr. Paisie continued to carry his holy obedience as a confessor, receiving monks and laymen, and managed to educate hundreds of monks and thousands of faithful laymen, self-sacrificing priests, wonderful young people, and educated intellectuals of all ages.

Slatina Monastery     

Fr. Paisie was a grace-filled confessor. He was God’s chosen, endowed by Him with exceptional gifts for fulfilling the important mission of cultivating people for the Kingdom of Heaven. He was a bearer of love, joy, and blessing. He received everyone at any time of the day or night, and never spoke about hell, the punishment awaiting sinners, or the strictness of the canons. He greeted everyone meekly and joyfully and blessed them. He listened to confessions with great patience, giving everyone hope for salvation, prescribing penances according to strength, and would give them a small gift and forgive their sins, entreating the penitent to give up the sins he had committed. Finally, he wished everyone to gain “a corner of Paradise,” or he would say: “We’ll see each other at the gates of Paradise!”

Many times I saw how he wept for his spiritual children: the ill, those in danger, much-suffering mothers and children, and those who have fallen into strong temptations and sins. I’ve never seen any monks or spiritual fathers who would love people more than he did, who would have enough patience to deal with everyone, who would sacrifice their time, rest, prayer, sleep, health, and even salvation, who would take such great responsibility before our Savior Jesus Christ for thousands of human souls with but one desire—that everyone might be saved.

Elder Paisie with his spiritual child Archimandrite Ioanichie (Balan) in front of his cell at Sihla Skete     

He blessed monks with one hand and laymen with the other, and made no distinction between them. Under his stole, we were all brothers; especially since he had not a few lay spiritual children who surpassed priests and monks with their labors, humility, tears and fasting, patience, and alms. This is why everyone sought him out and loved him: Under his stole, everyone changed their lives for the better and reconciled with Christ.

As for his spiritual feat, none of his disciples knew its full extent. Fr. Paisie carried out his monastic labors in secret. As gentle and forgiving as he was with others, so strict was he with himself. He slept very little, and then on a bench, leaning against something; he ate once a day, in the evening, after Confession was over and he was left alone; he had noetic prayer; he prayed and fulfilled his evening rule in secret from everyone, and had the gift of tears.

He confessed weekly to his confessor, Archimandrite Cleopa, and also communed every week, on Saturday, when he usually served the Divine Liturgy. He undoubtedly possessed the gift of clairvoyance, as testified to by faithful laity and monks. He foretold future events, revealed innermost thoughts and deeds that disciples were ashamed to admit, and spoke about many hitherto unknown facts.

Elder Paisie at the Church of the Nativity of St. John the Forerunner at Sihla Skete Fr. Paisie’s most fruitful years as a confessor, 1970-1985, were spent at the Sihla Skete of Sihăstria Monastery. Then he got sick and had to return to Sihăstria. In 1986, he broke his leg and spent the rest of his life in bed. In 1988, he went partially blind and deaf, but his memory, patience, and joy of the Holy Spirit, as well as his closest disciples never left him until the very last minute of his departure to the Lord.

On his sick bed, Fr. Paisie prayed with the unceasing prayer of the heart, confessed his close spiritual children, and gave invaluable advice, partially published in Spiritual Conversations.¹ Sometimes he would say through tears:

“A spiritual father bears great responsibility! I think I’m suffering now because of my own sins and because I absolved sins and allowed people to have Holy Communion too easily!”

This is how the great hesychast and spiritual father of numerous spiritual children, our Fr. Paisie the Confessor labored in asceticism and spent his life on Earth. Few monks and confessors are able to successfully combine the labors of a hermit with ministry as a spiritual father, solitude with an abundance of spiritual children, love for God with love for neighbor, hidden tears with pain of heart for disciples.

Elder Paisie in the ancient Transfiguration Church at Sihla Skete At his cell, you felt happy and peaceful, you found hope for salvation, you began to feel a thirst for life, and everything became wonderful, because he himself so loved the creation of God, from the starry sky to the flowers and birds in the mountains, from angels and monks to mothers with children.

On the night of October 18, 1990, at four in the morning, the venerable 93-year-old confessor Hieroschemamonk Paisie (Olaru), surrounded by his closest disciples, The Repose of Hieroschemamonk Paisius (Olaru)The relationship that existed between the renowned spiritual fathers of Romania during the latter part of the 20th century was truly a bond of spiritual love.

“>gave his soul into the hands of Christ.

Fr. Paisie’s funeral service, on Saturday, October 20, was served by a great synaxis of abbots, spiritual fathers, and lay priests, headed by His Eminence Metropolitan Daniil of Moldova and Bukovina, now the Patriarch, and His Grace Bishop Ioachim of Vaslui, vicar of Roman and Huși. Hundreds of monks and nuns and more than a thousand laymen, spiritual children of Fr. Paisie, flocked to the funeral. Everyone saw Elder Paisie off with lit candles in their hands, tears in their eyes, and a majestic farewell chant on their lips:

“With the saints give rest, O Christ, to the soul of Thy departed servant Hieroschemamonk Paisie, where sickness and sorrow are no more, neither sighing, but life everlasting.”

In his monastic labors, Hieroschemamonk Paisie (Olaru) was a hesychast, who had a hard time giving up silence, his secluded skete life, and his simple wooden cell in the bosom of nature, on the edge of the forest. Living in large monasteries with many monks, a common daily routine, noise, and various cares was a burden to him.

Grave of Elder Paisie at the Sihăstria Monastery cemetery Fr. Paisie was a spiritual confessor. He appealed to the heart rather than to the mind. He humbled himself and even wept for his spiritual children, that they might also be humbled and weep for their sins.

In a few words, Fr. Paisie managed to encourage everyone who knocked on his door, bring them out of hopeless despair, and implant in everyone the hope of receiving forgiveness in Paradise. Out of his great love and pity for everyone, the Elder never once scolded anyone, never sternly rebuked, never raised his voice, but applied balm to people’s open spiritual wounds with great skill.

Fr. Paisie was an invaluable confessor of our times. He managed to win more souls for Christ than others, because he tried harder and worked deeper with the human soul, and loved more.

From Părintele Paisie Olaru, povăţuitor spre poarta Raiului. Iaşi: Doxologia, 2010. Pp. 106–110. (Fr. Paisie (Olaru), Guide to the Gates of Paradise)

Pope Francis is breathing easier after undergoing intravenous antibiotic treatment for pulmonary inflammation, the director of the Vatican press office said.

“The pope’s condition is good and stable; he has no fever, and his respiratory situation is clearly improving,” Matteo Bruni, the director, said in a statement Nov. 27.

Early Nov. 25 Pope Francis canceled his day’s meetings because of “flu-like” symptoms and that afternoon he went to Rome’s Gemelli Isola Hospital for a CT scan of his lungs.

“The CT scan ruled out pneumonia, but showed pulmonary inflammation that was causing some respiratory difficulties,” Bruni said Nov. 27. “For more effective treatment, a needle cannula was placed for the infusion of intravenous antibiotic therapy.”

The IV access was visible on the pope’s right hand Nov. 26 as he sat next to an aide in the chapel of his residence for the midday recitation of the Angelus.

In a direct broadcast to St. Peter’s Square, where thousands of people were waiting for the customary Sunday appointment, the 86-year-old Pope Francis told them, “Today I cannot come to the window because I have this inflammation problem in my lungs.”

The aide, Msgr. Paolo Braida, read the pope’s commentary on the Sunday Gospel reading and the pope’s appeals for peace and greetings to groups of pilgrims present in the square.

But the pope led the recitation of the Angelus prayer and took the microphone back at the end to wish people a happy Sunday and to ask for their prayers.

In the text read by Msgr. Braida, Pope Francis also asked for prayers for his trip to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Dec. 1-3 to address COP28, the U.N. climate change conference.

Bruni said that “to facilitate the pope’s recovery, some important engagements scheduled for these days have been postponed” to a date when he can “devote the desired time and energy to them.”

Other appointments, “of an institutional nature or easier to support given his current health condition, have been maintained,” Bruni said.

And, in fact, Pope Francis met early Nov. 27 with Paraguay’s President Santiago Peña Palacios, his wife and entourage. The pope and president spent 25 minutes speaking privately in the Domus Sanctae Marthae, the pope’s residence. Vatican Media photos of the pope blessing the president show that the IV access had already been removed.

The pope, who will celebrate his 87th birthday Dec. 17, had undergone surgery in 1957 to remove part of one of his lungs after suffering a severe respiratory infection. He has insisted the operation has had no lasting impact on his health.

Pope Francis was hospitalized March 29-April 1 for what doctors said was a “respiratory infection.” He tested negative for COVID-19 at the time.