#St. Ephraim the New

[godlovesyousoiloveyou]

[pangtasias-atelier]

Innes' Growing Viewpoint

Had like 200 words and then just had extreme lack of motivation so then just didn't touch this wip until I forced myself and well I guess that works lol so here's this and hopefully there's more eventually instead of waiting 2 months for a new story.

Really craved more Sac/red St/ones since been playing it so have my favorite character who I legit like never use lmao. Hope you enjoy some mind warping and hopefully it came out decent.

Warning: This is a fetish story!

Flapping pegasus wings sound off in the distance, the customary noise hard to frighten the chirping of Frelia’s scattered birds in the safety of the sparse trees amongst the grunts of the training soldiers in the courtyard. The sun manages to hold off on torturing everyone in its rays with the day rather cloudy. Frelia’s gray atmosphere perfectly matches its King.

“I’m a fool to allow this,” Innes adjusts the final portion of his outfit, the miniscule wrinkle in his cuffs irritating him much like the small bit of belly fat he now sports—the additional pale sliver of pudge had not been there the day before, but his hard work ethic has him immediately blaming himself—and even presses against the silky fabric of his clothes. Innes’ grip on his door handle slips upon the sound of shock and surprise coming from the courtyard. A quick trip to his balcony, and an even quicker glance outside shows him the cause for the commotion.

Despite the distance, the mop of cerulean blue hair is all too hard to miss. Along with the wide silhouette. The wave from Renais’ King and their slightly hurried pace as he enters the castle is also hard for Innes to miss, decorum hard to follow between the two grown men when having known each other for far too long. 

“Tch, he’s still allowing himself to be an utter slob,” Huffing in disapproval of Ephraim’s size, able to see he’s gained some weight despite the large distance, he can’t help but grumble as he glances down at his own bit of pudge. With nothing to be done at this exact moment, he igores his current state of affairs and takes a seat on his ornate couch, the slender curves of each leg along with its armrests indicative of Innes’ highbrow tastes. As he awaits his visitor, the small bit of pudge on his figure slowly bulges out; the leather strap of fabric meant to hold his coat together ever so slightly begins to strain further, more and more of Innes fat ending up pressed against the material. His thighs slowly widen, two barely pudgy legs thickening outward and taking up more space on the furniture. Fattening up, Innes pays no attention to any of it, even as his weight begins to wind down and crest at a noticeable 300 pounds. 

Instead, Innes waits patiently. As patiently as he can while his stomach grumbles, his early waking hours usually filled with some level of hunger. Glancing down, the small frown that frames his pudgy face is only alleviated by the faint smirk of satisfaction that crosses his mind when all alone. He gives his portly belly a small few pats; the pale flabby stomach jiggles, the slightly snug fabric meant to show off his curves following every slight yet noticeable bounce of his heft. The gesture only eggs his stomach on, the grumbling noise only intensifying. 

“Hmmph,” Innes waits all alone in his lavish room. The only accompaniment he has is his grumbling belly, a feature he’s grown accustomed to from always having such a stocky figure—a fact that comes so naturally for him to recall despite the ever so slight fuzz he feels in the back of his mind. His still growing stomach interrupts that minor train of thought; his impatience gets the better of him as his rising weight only worsens his morning hunger. “To think I held off breakfast for Ephraim. When he gets here I’ll…” With a quick tsk, Innes stands up from his spot.

But not before he reaches for the belt that digs into his aching, wobbling gut like the harsh scales from the few times he’s ridden a wyvern—all with complete expertise over the mount despite the initial irritation from having such a hefty rider. Innes’ thick fingers, still firm and sturdy from all his years of archery, barely brush against the leathery adornment before they graze nothing besides the silky fabric of his clothes. His outfit changing before his very eyes, he pays no attention to it, even as his thighs widen and fatten up, each thickened limb becoming much more cumbersome to maneuver with each slow, meticulous step. Innes’ belly blossoms into a mound of a gut; the empty tank’s incessant grumbling only grows more uproarious as it sags further down his obese figure. Slowly, the flabby roll of fat descends past Innes’ fattened crotch and fat pad. His gut slaps against his fattened thighs as his gait turns even more awkward and cumbersome. His clothes change little in their appearance despite his growing size—and the widening state of his clothes—larger and larger amounts of expensive fabric needed to accommodate all of his girth. Innes’ decadent tastes remain the same even as he grows fatter. His arms grow more rotund, the two plump arms becoming much less likely to pull back on his string than to lift up a fork and stuff himself. His breasts fill out, the two moobs swiftly turning into full blown breasts as more plush lard gets slapped onto his ever growing body. 

Innes’ waddling that only continues to come ever closer to a crawl ends up finally put on halt with a massive hand outstretched against the wall. Furiously red, the crimson hue on his face is only half from hunger. The other half from exhaustion, all too clearly displayed by the beads of sweat that stream down his porcine cheeks that bulge out and jiggle with each heaping gulp of air he breathes, Innes' massive body forces him to stop his fruitless waddling. Innes pays little attention as to why or even how he stood up, the massively fat royal always needing assistance to get up everyday now before being fed his daily feast for breakfast. 

“Haah, I’ll get you for this Ephraim,” Innes mutters under his breath in between his heavy, tired wheezes. His still growing body presses further against the wall. Always so damn jealous of how much bigger I am. Innes thinks. The previous memories of his entire existence are fully altered to match his corpulent state. 

Ephraim’s finesse to battle equally matched by his appetite, the azure haired royal stood out from his twin by his stocky figure. A figure that only grew as Innes gave extra treats and passive aggressive remarks, the slightly older male—who had also been rail then back then—unable to properly hide his fascination with Ephraim’s plumper than above average body. A bet from Ephraim had been all it took for Innes to start indulging himself. The excess calories that left him always so satiated and content, the constant gorging that helped his swelling waistline, Ephraim’s firm, demanding attitude that could all too easily goad Innes into stuffing more food down his throat all mingled with his own unabashed enjoyment of his increasing size, plus his naivety in believing that he truly was besting Ephraim at his own game, led to Innes ever growing heftiness that now leaves him teetering on immobility. 

As Innes tries his best to regain his stamina, his bulging body that resembles more of a mattress continues to ache with hunger. 

Fortunately for Innes, Ephraim finally makes his way to his room.

Ephraim rather portly as well, the obese man fills out his attire all too generously. His clothes seem painted on, fabric and buttons just loose enough to come close enough to where they strain but with still enough room to not immediately be in danger of tearing. Ephraim’s large, portly gut bounces with each heavy step he takes. His large stomach is outlined by his tight clothes, the beast of a gut well past his crotch. His breasts follow a similar motion, the upper portion of his torso straining his clothes with his engorged nipples visibly pressing against the material. His doughy arms are strangled by his sleeves; fat bulges out the sides. Ephraim’s lower half isn’t as well endowed as the rest of him, leaving him with a rather noticeable apple shaped figure. But his ass still has some heft to it, the two hefty cheeks for a rear wobbling while he waddles up to Innes. 

Despite his own heavy breathing, Ephraim’s size and exhaustion only a fraction of Innes’, Ephraim supports himself with a cart of food. Ephraim’s rounded out fat appears even rounder with the addition of stubble. “You should be in bed, lardass,” Tucked in between his large, fat biceps and his breasts is a tome—not that Innes pays attention to it with food now near him.

“I hnnghh…” Already out of breath, Innes still growing ever larger and fatter, Innes has no response with his brain muddied by his impossible logistics of getting up by himself with his newfound reality at such an immense size.

Ephraim spares no delicacy as he manhandles and fondles Innes’ enormity. “Let’s make this quick, we don’t have much time left,”

Innes doesn’t bother asking what he means, food and comfort much more pressing.

“A pig like you really just can’t help but stuff himself,” Ephraim pushes into Innes to get him moving, lard sloshing against lard. He practically humps Innes to get him moving, the nearly immobile man’s pathetic movements still managing to slow further down. Ephraim thankfully manages to get him onto his bed, what used to be a canopy is now reduced to nothing but a massive mattress. 

“Haaahhh… you’re jusshht hnnggh jeahloussh…” Innes weakly retorts even while Ephraim gets him comfortable and perched up by a multitude of pillows that still end up squashed underneath his titanic girth. His speech grows more difficult as he ends up even fatter, more and more of the mattress obscured by his immensity.

“Sure thing. I mean, it is impressive that just one of your tits alone is bigger than my gut. And I’m already fat as hell,” Ephraim hefts himself up atop Innes’ gut. Making himself comfortable, he parks his fat ass right atop Innes’ dining table of a gut. “All you do is gorge the entire day away. How are you going to make people respect you when you’re on your way to being fatter than a manakete?” Ephraim holds back his snickering the best that he can, gleefully grinning down at Innes while grabbing the first of many plates from the cart. 

Innes’ eyes never stray from the plate of food Ephraim holds. Even as his memories focus on Ephraim’s words the best that they can, the words Ephraim tells him Innes’ very own the last time the two had seen each other—before Ephraim had cast his spell on the unwitting Innes. “Whaaht?” Is all Innes asks before Ephraim shovels rich, buttery lobster pasta down his mouth. 

“If you want more, you’re going to have to ask for it. Unless you want me to catch up and pass you? Not that I’d ever become such a useless slob such as yourself,” Clearly enjoying himself, Ephraim leans closer to Innes, the tome holding the incantation that caused this left right beside it lest it get lost somewhere in between Iness’ numerous rolls of lard. He has Innes still growing, the gargantuanly obese man still managing to fatten up.

Innes lacks any semblance of shape to his enormity. Immense all around, the immobile man resembles a pile of lard more than the slim sniper and strategician he used to be. His massive stomach envelops everything around it, the pool of lard for a gut spreading out further. His ass cheeks that rival couches rest far behind him, the shapeless ass cheeks constantly jiggling with each deep breath he takes. His arms and legs are sunken into his enormity; the once slender limbs lack anything remotely near flexibility with hundreds and hundreds of pounds of fat crammed onto them. Innes can’t even move his digits with how fat he is. All he can do is eat and moan, the sudden changes forced onto him clearly enjoyed. 

And despite all his pride, the immobile blob’s starving hunger wins out, that and his eagerness to grow even larger, to upstage Ephraim even further in the two’s nonexistent bet that he believes. “Pleeasshee…. Ihh’m… urrrp… sshtarhvin’ hhnnnggg…”

“You got it, pig. I’ll make sure you never be left wanting more,” Before going to feed the moaning Innes more, Ephraim reaches a portly hand for his tome. But he stops himself, making Innes smother the mattress in its entirety and watch as furniture disappears from his room to accommodate his even larger, more absurd size. “And since your fatass is enjoying how much of a blob you are, I guess I’ll keep us both nice and happy,”

[thexfridax]

'Perry Mason' reboot's leading ladies discuss the show's fan-favorite lesbian romance

Actors Juliet Rylance and Jen Tullock discuss their characters’ sweet 1930s love story and the HBO reboot’s gritty noir appeal.

Juliet Rylance and Jen Tullock in "Perry Mason."

Merrick Morton / HBO

April 26, 2023, 6:55 PM CEST

By Elaina Patton

After their clandestine meeting in a restaurant powder room at the beginning of season two, “Perry Mason” protagonists Della Street and Anita St. Pierre, played by Juliet Rylance and Jen Tullock, became television’s favorite well-tailored sapphic duo. And from then on, fans tuned in to see the whip-smart aspiring lawyer and free-spirited Hollywood screenwriter try to beat the odds to find love in 1930s Los Angeles. That’s until the sophomore season of HBO’s gritty adaptation of Erle Stanley Gardner’s Perry Mason crime novels came to a quiet close Monday, leaving more questions than answers — as perhaps is always the fate of romance in noir.

“I love that first meeting in the powder room between us, because Della doesn’t come across that many women that are as quick-witted, if not more quick-witted, than she is. And Anita is so feisty and exciting and liberated,” Rylance told NBC News on a video call with Tullock before the season finale.

Juliet Rylance and Jen Tullock in "Perry Mason."

Merrick Morton / HBO

Della, who evolves from Perry Mason’s secretary in season one to his right-hand woman in season two, has had to “hide huge aspects of who she is to carve out a role in her chosen profession,” Rylance added.

“She’s been fighting to be seen and heard, but also trying desperately to hide. She’s created a world that is safe, dependable, reliable,” Rylance said, referring to her character’s season one arc. “Anita just comes in and changes everything for her.”

The electric encounter, which disarms Rylance’s perpetually composed Della, gave an early indication that the new season, helmed by showrunners Jack Amiel and Michael Begler, was going to give more time to what happened behind closed doors than the grittier, more crime-focused first chapter. And that’s partially because Rylance and her character didn’t have much time for romance when the new take on “Perry Mason” debuted in 2020.

The show — which is a reboot of the TV classic that ran from the late-1950s to the mid-‘60s and starred Raymond Burr — framed its first season as an origin story, via an infanticide case that transforms its eponymous hero from low-rent private eye into a quick-study criminal defense lawyer. So alongside Matthew Rhys, who plays the hard-boiled protagonist, Rylance spent most of that first chapter reintroducing audiences to her character, a reinvention of Mason’s secretary made famous in the original by Barbara Hale.

Matthew Rhys in "Perry Mason."

Merrick Morton / HBO

Despite having more scenes in law offices than not, Rylance brought to life the series creators Rolin Jones and Ron Fitzgerald’s reimagining of Della as a card-carrying, if rather careful, lesbian. And with the help of her season one love interest, a much-younger boarding housemate named Hazel, played by Molly Ephraim, she delivered a fitting tribute to the original show and its star’s place in queer history.

The popularity of the series’ debut season then opened the door for an even bigger love story in the latest one, which sees a more established Della building her courtroom career in partnership op-turned-investigator Paul Drake, played by Chris Chalk. In season two, the trio take on a challenging case defending two Mexican American men — Mateo (Peter Mendoza) and Rafael (Fabrizio Guido) Gallardo — who are accused of murdering a Los Angeles golden boy. And an over-burdened Della finds herself increasingly craving the company of Anita, who then sweeps her off her feet.

“I got a couple of hate messages on Instagram, regarding Della and Hazel,” Tullock said with mock seriousness, referring to fans who were upset about Anita coming between the season one couple.

“I appreciated that, because I think it was just evidence that people were already invested in Della’s personal life from the first season,” she added, jokingly warning Rylance not to check her messages. “Watching that season, I remember feeling like you wanted more for them. There was such a sadness about these two women having to find private spaces in which to even communicate romantically, let alone be intimate.”

While Anita’s quick dispatching of Della and Hazel’s romance may have disgruntled a few fans, Tullock’s character faced her own hurdles to happily ever after in season two. Not least of all, there’s Della’s public, lavender relationship with her old friend, the closeted district attorney, Hamilton Burger, played by Justin Kirk, which gets even more complicated when he’s blackmailed while prosecuting the Gallardo case.

Between Della, Anita, Hazel and Hamilton, the second season ended up being a cornucopia of complicated queer storylines, which Tullock said is thanks to her co-stars’ pushing for the portrayal of different types of people’s experiences in the era and for storytelling that wasn’t exploitative or cliched.

“Chris and Juliet advocated for those storylines, consistently and with such love and care,” Tullock said, referring to Rylance and Chalk, whose character, in particular, deals with police corruption, racism and classism.

Tullock and Rylance — who said they immediately hit it off when they first met over martinis and whose chemistry is apparent even over a video call — said they were committed to portraying their onscreen relationship in a way that felt both historically accurate and true to their characters’ formative personalities. That meant researching the difficulties of having a queer relationship in the 1930s and adopting the coded body language people used to communicate in public. But it also meant thinking about how their connection would play out in more intimate moments.

When the women share their first kiss in episode three, for example, the bohemian Anita seems caught off guard by the sincerity of the moment. And yet, she’s totally at ease when introducing Della to novel experiences, from a boxing match to a packed evening at an underground lesbian bar, or whisking her off to a romantic Palm Springs escape.

Notably, the season ends with a moment in which neither Della nor Anita seem fully in control of their faculties. Having secured a courtroom win, Della celebrates with an evening out, flanked on either side by Anita and Hamilton. And, in a moment that Rylance said left both her and her character feeling conflicted, a photographer offering to take a picture “of the happy couple” prompts the deep-in-the-closet district attorney to cuddle up to Della and land an intimate kiss on her shoulder for effect. The look of foreboding on each woman’s face that follows says it all.

“There’s so much that’s unanswered — the idea that Della might, in the future, have to make a choice about whether she publicly says that she’s marrying Burger, for instance. If that’s where it’s heading, what does that mean, and does Anita have to do something like that, too? And is that a betrayal or is that survival?” Rylance said. “They’re such big questions — questions that people ask today on a regular basis, too.”

To Rylance’s point, while much has changed in the United States for gay couples since the 1930s, homosexuality is still illegal in nearly 70 countries. And even in countries where it is legal, many people fear the repercussions of coming out.

If there’s a next chapter, Rylance said, she’d like to explore more about the world Anita — who was modeled after the real-life writer of “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” Anita Loos — inhabits and how liberated Hollywood truly was in the ‘30s.

“How hard is it being a queer woman writer in that world?” Rylance said, referring to a time when most queer creatives and stars, like Burr, needed to stay in the closet to protect their careers. “Della’s thinking all the time, ‘Oh, she’s from this liberated strata of society that I have no access to.’ And, actually, it’s not.”

Although a third season hasn’t yet been confirmed, based on calls on social media to renew the show after the finale aired on Monday, fans agree that there’s much more to see from the series. That could mean even more fervor around Della and Anita’s relationship, which inspired all kinds of internet tributes throughout the season.

“I did say to Juliet, like, ‘Watch, they’re going to put our character names together’ — because I have been on the generating end of that before,” Tullock said, joking that the most popular, “Dellita,” sounds like an erectile dysfunction medication.

The series newcomer, who describes herself as a “gay nerd,” also foresaw the two being featured in perhaps the most coveted of tributes to an onscreen sapphic romance: the compilation video.

“Unfortunately, I think this is a product of queer people being starved for representation. But, oftentimes, when there are sapphic storylines, you will end up getting these really amazing fan videos on YouTube, where people will cut all of their scenes together to, like, a Robin song,” Tullock said.

After Rylance inquired about whether their characters have any fan videos, Tullock enthusiastically replied, “Oh, we have many.”

“There have been several that people have sent me that were in other languages,” Tullock added. “There was one from Brazil, where people had cut our scenes together to a Brazilian love song. That part is really special and satisfying, because we love them so much, these characters.”

For Rylance, who tends to avoid reading much about herself and the show, the highlight of Dellita’s fame came in the form of a text message from her married aunts.

“I got a text in March saying, ‘Oh, my God, you’ve made Les Video Channel. Just give up now. You’ve peaked!’” Rylance said, referring to a popular YouTube channel that posts about onscreen sapphic romances. “That was my favorite thing all year.”

[jennawynn]

Chronotrek: Short Treks

Q&A

I'm not... entirely sure that this is in the right order, but this is what I was told!

Yeah, I still don't like 'sir' for women.

That turned weirdly innuendo-filled? And then she busts out in song. lol it's like they're hiding some sexual tryst they had but it's really just Gilbert and Sullivan. Also why doesn't she have a safety harness if she's just gonna one-handed ride out of there?

I'm thinking maybe this should have come before Disco 2.

The Trouble with Edward

I've heard of tribbles. They like... reproduce really fast, right?

OH. It's his fault they breed fast. _They're born pregnant??_

"He was an idiot." lmao I can't imagine saying that at my captain's mast.

Ask Not

You know... I had a feeling. That was one hell of a test and she did great. It was too convenient that all the stars aligned against her perfectly.

The Girl Who Made The Stars

This animation is... jarringly not good.

This story was referenced by Michael... I'm glad they're sharing more. Is it real? Or made up for ST?

Her indignance on behalf of the girl in the story :joy: _Go play?!_

....how were they the first people if there was an alien, and how did the alien have a galaxy to show, a place to come from, or a way to navigate if there were no stars before? There's some plot holes in your creation myth, ST.

Ephraim and Dot

omg it's adorable. Aaaand the people look terrible lol.

Robots doing a double take will never not be funny.

The Flintstones and Looney Tunes of it all :joy:

I uh... feel like maybe I wasn't supposed to see this yet and these are references to TOS episodes. d'aww. what happened to not hatching for years? and why did the enterprise self-destruct? wtf just happened lol.

On to Strange New Worlds!!

[cassianus]

O Christ my Savior, before your glory, I will proclaim all my inequities and profess your infinite mercies, which You pour upon me according to your loving-kindness.

From the womb of my mother I began to trouble You, for I have completely neglected Your grace, because I have disregarded my life.

O my Master, through the abundance of Your mercies You have looked upon all my evil doings with patience and care.

Your grace has raised my head, although daily it is brought low through my sins.

Wicked habits ensnare me as a trap, and I delight in being bound.

I descend to the depths of wickedness and I take joy in this.

Daily the foe provides me new bonds, because he observes how this diversity of shackles delights me.

On account of my being chained to my own lusts I should grieve and mourn in disgust and shame.

But still more horrible is the fact that I chain myself with the bonds that the foe puts on me, and I kill myself with the passions that delight him.

Even though I understand how awful these bonds are, I conceal them under a regal countenance from everybody who might see them.

I seem to be clothed in the splendid apparel of reverence, but my soul is caught up with deprived ideas.

In front of everyone, I am devout, but within I am full of all forms of filth.

My conscience condemns me through all of this, but I behave as though I desire to be free from my bonds.

Daily I am anxious and groan about it, but I continue to be ensnared by the same traps.

How pathetic I am, and how pathetic is my daily repentance.

It has no steadfast foundation.

Daily I put down a foundation for the edifice and then I destroy it with my hands.

I have not yet made a good start with my repentance, and there is no end to my evil neglect.

I have become enslaved in the passions and to the wicked desires of the foe who ruins me.

Who will provide water for my head, and fountains for my weeping, so that I will always weep in front of You?

O merciful God, send forth Your grace and pull me, a sinner, from the sea, violent with the waves of sin, which hourly trouble my soul.

Because my lusts are more grievous than wounds that cannot be treated.

I await repentance and trick myself with this empty promise until my end.

I always say, "I will repent," but I never repent.

My words appear to offer deep repentance, but my deeds are far from it.

What will I endure in the day of sentencing, when God reveals everything in His court.

Surely I will be condemned to torture, if I have not found mercy through my tears with You, O my Judge.

O Lord, I depend on Your mercies.

I fall before Your feet and entreat You.

Give me a spirit of repentance and guide my soul from the dungeon of lawlessness.

May a beam of light illuminate my mind before I am led to the fearful judgment which waits for me, where there is no possibility of repenting for one's evil doings.

St. Ephraim the Syrian

[thesynaxarium]

Today marks the repose of the Holy Elder Joseph of Vatopedi. Elder Joseph was a disciple of the Elder Joseph the Hesychast, was a noted monastic of twentieth century Mount Athos. He has been regarded as one of the few remaining true Athonite elders before his repose. The Elder was born on July 1, 1921. He came to Mount Athos in 1946 from Cyprus, to the Skete of St. Anne where he joined Elder Joseph the Hesychast. As a member of the Brotherhood of the Elder Joseph the Hesychast, Joseph of Vatopedi lived at the cell of the Annunciation at New Skete and served at the Brotherhood's Church of the Sacred Forerunner John the Baptist. Elder Joseph of Vatopedi remained at the skete after the reposed of Elder Joseph the Hesychast in 1959. Though he was the Elder of his Brotherhood, he did not consider himself above everyone and worked just as hard as they did. Elder Joseph remained at the skete until 1987. After Pascha, he moved to the Monastery of Vatopaidi where he remained until his repose on July 1, 2009. Abbot Ephraim of Vatopedi noted Elder Joseph of Vatopedi as a man of God whose mind was so fortified in God that he did not speak about anything which is of this world. May he intercede for us always + Source: https://orthodoxwiki.org/Joseph_of_Vatopedi (at Holy Great Monastery Vatopedi - Ιερά Μεγίστη Μονή Βατοπαιδίου) https://www.instagram.com/p/CfcUDKJvWI0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 12.25 (before 1900)

36 – Forces of Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han, under the command of Wu Han, conquer the separatist Chengjia empire, reuniting China. 274 – A temple to Sol Invictus is dedicated in Rome by Emperor Aurelian. 333 – Roman Emperor Constantine the Great elevates his youngest son Constans to the rank of Caesar. 336 – First documentary sign of Christmas celebration in Rome. 350 – Vetranio meets Constantius II at Naissus (Serbia) and is forced to abdicate his imperial title. Constantius allows him to live as a private citizen on a state pension. 508 – Clovis I, king of the Franks, is baptized into the Catholic faith at Reims, by Saint Remigius. 597 – Augustine of Canterbury and his fellow-labourers baptise in Kent more than 10,000 Anglo-Saxons. 800 – The coronation of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor, in Rome. 820 – Eastern Emperor Leo V is murdered in a church of the Great Palace of Constantinople by followers of Michael II. 1000 – The foundation of the Kingdom of Hungary: Hungary is established as a Christian kingdom by Stephen I of Hungary. 1013 – Sweyn Forkbeard takes control of the Danelaw and is proclaimed king of England. 1025 – Coronation of Mieszko II Lambert as king of Poland. 1046 – Henry III is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Clement II. 1066 – William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy is crowned king of England, at Westminster Abbey, London. 1076 – Coronation of Bolesław II the Generous as king of Poland. 1100 – Baldwin of Boulogne is crowned the first King of Jerusalem in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. 1130 – Count Roger II of Sicily is crowned the first king of Sicily. 1261 – Eleven-year-old John IV Laskaris of the restored Eastern Roman Empire is deposed and blinded by orders of his co-ruler Michael VIII Palaiologos. 1492 – The carrack Santa María, commanded by Christopher Columbus, runs onto a reef off Haiti due to an improper watch. 1553 – Battle of Tucapel: Mapuche rebels under Lautaro defeat the Spanish conquistadors and executes the governor of Chile, Pedro de Valdivia. 1559 – Pope Pius IV is elected, four months after his predecessor's death. 1758 – Halley's Comet is sighted by Johann Georg Palitzsch, confirming Edmund Halley's prediction of its passage. This was the first passage of a comet predicted ahead of time. 1766 – Mapuches in Chile launch a series of surprise attacks against the Spanish starting the Mapuche uprising of 1766. 1776 – George Washington and the Continental Army cross the Delaware River at night to attack Hessian forces serving Great Britain at Trenton, New Jersey, the next day. 1793 – General "Mad Anthony" Wayne and a 300 man detachment identify the site of St. Clair's 1791 defeat by the large number of unburied human remains at modern Fort Recovery, Ohio. 1809 – Dr. Ephraim McDowell performs the first ovariotomy, removing a 22-pound tumor. 1814 – Rev. Samuel Marsden holds the first Christian service on land in New Zealand at Rangihoua Bay. 1815 – The Handel and Haydn Society, oldest continually performing arts organization in the United States, gives its first performance. 1826 – The Eggnog Riot at the United States Military Academy concludes after beginning the previous evening. 1831 – The Great Jamaican Slave Revolt begins; up to 20% of Jamaica's slaves mobilize in an ultimately unsuccessful fight for freedom. 1837 – Second Seminole War: American general Zachary Taylor leads 1,100 troops against the Seminoles at the Battle of Lake Okeechobee. 1868 – Pardons for ex-Confederates: United States President Andrew Johnson grants an unconditional pardon to all Confederate veterans.

[amicidomenicani]

Question Father Angelo, I apologize again  but I would like to ask you some more questions. First of all I thank you for the exhaustive answer you sent me last year concerning a question of mine, it was really helpful.  Now I am writing to you for a possible clarification regarding chapter 7 of the Acts of the Apostles. Here is the first question: why in Acts 7:14 does St. Stephen say that all the kinship of the Apostles is related to him? Why does St. Stephen say in Acts 7:14 that Joseph's entire family consisted of 75 people, while in Exodus 1:5 it says there were 70 in all? The Jerusalem Bible says that St. Stephen quotes the Septuagint where the number 75 is written (I do not understand why there is such a numerical difference) instead of 70, but I wonder how it is possible that a Jew (even if Hellenized) in front of the Sanhedrin quotes the Bible in Greek instead of the Torah in Hebrew. Does this mean that he could not read Hebrew? The New Testament has come down to us entirely in Greek, yet it tells of events that happened to Jews, so how are these inconsistencies possible? Did the Sanhedrin also accept the Bible translated into Greek instead of the original Hebrew?  The second question regards  Acts 7,16 where S. Stephen tells about the field which Abraham bought in  Shechem. In Gn 33,18-20 it is written that the field in  Shechem was bought by Jacob for a hundred denarii, not by Abraham.  Abraham in fact is reported in Gen 23:17-18 to have purchased Machpelah, not Shechem. Why this error? How is it possible that St. Stephen did not know the history of his own people and that the Sanhedrin (composed of Jews) said nothing? I asked you these two questions because some Jews use them as statements to say that the New Testament was composed entirely by Greeks who knew little or nothing about Judaism. I do not understand why the Septuagint is always quoted instead of the original Hebrew text.  I hope I have not digressed too much, I await your welcome replies and in the meantime I thank you again for all the time you dedicate to us.  I wish you a good day Father, I hope to hear from you soon.  Answer Dear Matteo, In the commentary of the Acts of the Apostles by the Dominican biblical scholar Mark Sales, regarding the number of Jews who went down to Egypt, he wrote: "In the Hebrew text and in the Vulgate, Genesis 40:27 speaks only of 70, but the Alexandrian version reports 75. The Greek translators added to the 70 of the Hebrew text the five descendants of Joseph born of Ephraim and Manasseh, mentioned in chapter 26, 28 of the book of Numbers". Carlo Maria Martini, a member of the Society of Jesus who was later Archbishop of Milan, writes in his Commentary of the Acts of the Apostles: "In composing his book St Luke often used expressions taken from the Greek version of the Old Testament, known as the 70. This is true not only for the explicit quotations from Scripture, which are very numerous, but also for the language used in the narrations. By using words and formulas that the venerable version had already endowed with a certain sacred character, the narrative was given the flavor and the course of a religious story, in which the continuation of that divine intervention in the life of the people that had been recounted in the Old Testament Bible is described" (Acts of the Apostles, Introduction, pp. 26-27). Dealing with the second question about the author of the purchase of the field at Shechem, I must underline that there have been discussions among Catholic interpreters. This discussion is also analyzed by the above-mentioned biblical scholar Marco Sales. He wrote: "Nowhere does the Scripture speak of this purchase. Abraham did buy a tomb where he was buried with Sarah, Isaac and Jacob, but this tomb was in Hebron and not in Shechem, and he bought it from Ephrom Hephteus and not from the sons of Hemor (Gen 23:16-29). It was Jacob, however, who bought a fiel

d in Shechem from the sons of Emor (Gen 33:19-10). Here again St Stephen is accused of contradicting Genesis. Various ways were tried to reconcile Genesis with the words of St. Stephen. Some resorted to a copyist's distraction, who wrote Abraham instead of Jacob: but this solution is not sufficient, since it is not possible that the error of one copyist could have passed through all the codices. Others, however, thought that St. Stephen himself in the heat of speaking had confused Abraham with Jacob, and attributed to the former what belonged to the latter. Saint Stephen, they say, was not inspired when he spoke, and therefore could well have been the victim of an error. St Luke objectively reports his speech without, however, pronouncing on its truthfulness. This solution, too, must be rejected, since, even leaving aside the praise that the Acts give to Stephen, it is not likely that the Saint Deacon could have deceived himself in a matter so well known to all the Jews, and have spoken a historical falsehood before the Sanhedrin without provoking reprimands and protests from anyone. Most Catholic interpreters therefore believe that St. Stephen is speaking here of Abraham's purchase of a field prior to the purchase of the cave in Hebron. Although Genesis does not explicitly mention this first purchase of a field at Shechem, it is presupposed by chapter 12:6-7 where it says that Abraham built an altar to the Lord at Shechem. For how could Abraham have  built an altar and protect it from defilement if he had not first become the owner of the land on which the altar stood? So he had to buy the field, and the news of this event, though not explicitly recorded in Scripture, was passed down by tradition from father to son. Saint Stephen appealed to this tradition, and no one can raise any difficulty with it. This solution is much more probable than the others, and is to be preferred". Carlo Maria Martini writes instead: "Two data are merged here, that of the tomb by Abraham in Hebron and that of the purchase of a field by Jacob from the sons of Emor in Shechem. Since Jas 24:32 speaks of Joseph's burial in Shechem, this tradition may have drawn the others together in a kind of narrative simplification". Carlo Maria Martini's hypothesis is an abstract one. The solution given by Marco Sales seems more conjectural and adherent to reality. I am pleased with your critical and careful reading of the sacred text.  With the hope that it will become your daily nourishment for eternal life, I bless you and accompany you with my prayers. Padre Angelo

[edwardianbookwhore]

Ain’t Too Proud OBCR: A Mini Review

Normally, I don’t particularly love jukebox musicals; they’re dumb, boring, and typically come across as lazy. But Dominique Morisseau’s arrangement of this musical is fantastic. Its storytelling reminds me of A Bronx Tale from a couple years back. While I was not really fond of A Bronx Tale--those type of musicals are a dime a dozen on Broadway nowadays--I thought that Ain’t Too Proud came across as a much more sophisticated version of it. This show has much better vocals, plot, actors, and design all together. 

I’ve been following the majority of these actors for months now, ever since I got my hands of the Choir Boy script, and I fully expect Jeremy Pope to win a Tony for his performance in this musical. Every single actor brought their a-game for this recording. If you love Motown, Choir Boy, Black rights, or just damn good music, I highly recommend giving this cast recording a listen. It’s definitely a great lazy afternoon or finals week listen.  

[guiltywisdom]

hey! I was wondering if you had any reading recommendations for someone who’s new to Orthodoxy? thank you 💛

The Bible? I’m joking, kind of; some people have said that reading the Bible is what made them an atheist, weirdly enough I credit an atheist reading the Bible with renewing my faith but I digress. I think it really depends on how new you are to religion, Christianity or Orthodoxy but here are some of my favorites, most if not all exist in physical form but links provided to eBooks/online when I can find them!

A forewarning, my definition of “beginner” might be a bit broad so I’ll BOLD the ones I think are very easy and the rest are...probably not for beginners but I still would recommend to everyone.  

The Orthodox Way by Kallistos Ware (this one is praised a lot on Orthodox Reddit for bringing beginners into the fold; it’s a great starting point)

Introducing Eastern Orthodox Theology by Andrew Louth

Orthodox Prayer Book (just good to know prayers!)

The Orthodox Study Bible (a book not written fully by Orthodox, more written for people trying to get into Orthodoxy. Not bolded because it IS the Bible; it’s got lots of little notes and essays but it’s only really good for beginners, I grew past it pretty fast, so it has to go here!)

Pearl of Great Price by Sergei Hackel (NOT the book by the LDS church, this is a different one)

The Writings of Mother Maria Skobtsova

Everyday Saints and Other Stories by Archimandrite Tikhon

On Acquisition of the Holy Spirit by St. Seraphim of Sarov

The Philokalia (very difficult but foundational)

The Longer Catechism of The Orthodox, Catholic, Eastern Church

The Art of Salvation by Elder Ephraim

The Triads by Gregory Palamas (We learned a little about Palamas today in catechism, he’s a very important thinker)

The Spiritual World Of Isaac The Syrian (I very much adore the writings of St. Isaac of Syria so if you can, check him out). 

I wish I had some “modern” books, with theology I tend to look towards the Church Father’s first meaning I end up reading a lot of theology written by monks in the 1300s. 

Honestly if anyone else has some recommendations for anon or me I’d love to hear them!

Also sorry for the late reply. When I started typing this it was asked seven hours ago but then I had to stop to cook dinner, then eat and etc. so it has been a all day thing apparently. I hope that helps!

[orthodoxydaily]

Visite of the monastery of St John of Shangaï and San Francisco 

About the monastery in their own words....

The Monastery of St John of San Francisco was founded in 1996 in Point Reyes Station, Marin County, California, in the Diocese of the West of the Orthodox Church in America, under Bishop Tikhon of San Francisco.  The initial location of the Monastery was at St Eugene’s Hermitage, which had been established by Archimandrite Dimitry (Egoroff) in the early 1950’s.

The Point Reyes property was in deep forest, on the ridge between the San Andreas Rift Valley with Tomales Bay, and the Pacific Ocean.  Fr. Dimitry built two small cottages on the property, one with a chapel in the traditional Athonite monastic form of a “kellion,” for one monk; and a second building for guests, with a kitchen and reception area.  The elder lived there as a hesychast for almost twenty years. His holy prayers permeate the place.  In 1988, a beautiful but tiny church was built on the property. Due to local politics, it has been virtually impossible to expand the facilities there.

There were several interim occupants after Fr. Dimitry.  In 1983 Abbess Barbara and her nuns from Calistoga took refuge there, and remained until they could no longer care for the property.  The Brotherhood of St John’s Monastery was established to provide a monastery for men in the Diocese of the West at the end of October 1996, and continued there until it completely outgrew the facilities, acquiring a retreat house in Manton in July 2006.

St John (Maximovitch) of Shanghai and San Francisco The patronage of St John of Shanghai and San Francisco was chosen by Bishop Tikhon for the Brotherhood. St John is a contemporary saint, and is a great wonderworker and healer, whose relics repose in San Francisco.  He was an ascetic like those of old, who cared tirelessly for the poor, orphans and the ill and afflicted.  Canonized by the Russian Church Abroad, St John’s sanctity has been recognized throughout the whole Orthodox community.  His designation as Patron of our Brotherhood is an offering and sign of unity of the Orthodox overcoming all jurisdictional and ethnic divisions, and reflecting a fundamental vocation of our Monastery.

The Spiritual Foundation: The Blessing from Valaam and Elder Ephraim The Monastery was founded by Hieromonk Jonah (Paffhausen) as its spiritual father and confessor, in obedience to his spiritual father Abbot (now Bishop) Pankratiy of the Valaam Monastery of the Transfiguration, in Russia.  This direction was given following a meeting between Abbot Pankratiy and Elder Ephraim of Philotheou, where they blessed Fr. Jonah with the obedience to establish a monastery in California. Fr. Jonah then requested the Diocese to establish a monastery.  At this same time, Elder Ephraim was beginning the establishment of St Anthony Monastery in Arizona, and the many other communities under his guidance throughout the Greek Archdioceses of America and Canada. The first brother at Pt. Reyes was sent from Arizona, by Hieromonk Gregory who was then at St Anthony, to help Fr. Jonah.

Our new home: Manton As the Brotherhood grew, the Point Reyes property became completely inadequate for its needs, having been designed to be a hermitage for one or two monks.  In addition, the buildings had deteriorated to a state beyond repair due to poor construction and an adverse climate, and an infestation of black mold.

Following years of searching for an adequate site for the Brotherhood, up and down the Pacific Coast from Monterey to Washington State, we were able to acquire a retreat house in Manton, California, near Red Bluff and Redding on the slopes of Mount Lassen.

The new facility was built in 1999 as a healing retreat, with 18 bedrooms and 12,000 square feet; plus a 4-bedroom guesthouse and freestanding workshop/garage, on 42 acres.  It has all the space necessary for our community to grow and prosper, both in terms of living space as well as work space, and appropriate room for hospitality.  Very little modification was necessary to make the building immediately usable, albeit with a temporary chapel and kitchen-dining facilities.  Tehama County was very helpful in expediting the Use Permit.

The property was purchased at the end of June, 2006, and we began to move in immediately. Through the generosity of our friends, we were able to raise $500,000 in cash for the downpayment.  This leaves $750,000 in a mortgage yet to be paid off.

The first service was held on our Patronal Feast of St John of San Francisco, with the Vigil on July 1, and the Liturgy the following day.  We have since had our regular cycle of services, daily matins and vespers, and the Divine Liturgy several times per week.

On the Feast of the Protection of the Mother of God, October 1/14, 2006, His Grace Bishop Benjamin tonsured two brothers, one to the Small Schema, the other as Rasophore.  With the sacrament of Monastic Profession, and the vows of poverty, chastity, obedience and stability, our new home has already been fulfilled as a monastery by the grace of that Mystery.

The Brotherhood We currently have 8 full-time members in our community, including two priests; others come from time to time to discern God’s will for their lives. We come from many different backgrounds, both in religion and in education. Most of us are converts to the faith. We also represent whole spectrum of Orthodox communities in America: the OCA, Greek Archdiocese, Antiochian Archdiocese, and the Russian Church Abroad. This pan-jurisdictional character of our Brotherhood reflects our vision to be a point of unity for all Orthodox Christians.

Our vision as a monastic brotherhood is to incarnate the Gospel in our lives through our work and prayer and love for one another. We strive to be faithful to holy tradition while adapting to the realities of contemporary America. The aim of our life is simple obedience to the commands of Christ in the Scriptures. We earn our living by candle-making, publishing, and operating a bookstore, and we also grow some of our own food. As God works in us His miracle of salvation, our hope is that our light will so shine forth that others may see our good works and glorify God in heaven.

Source: OCA Orthodox Church of America

[bantarleton]

The Battle of Lake George

Today, September 8 1755, the battle of Lake George takes place between a force of French regulars, militia and Natives and a similarly-sized army of British American Provincials and Iroquois tribesmen. The battle, really a series of three running fights, allowed British forces to seize an early advantage during the French and Indian theatre of the Seven Years War.

William Johnson, who had recently been named the British agent to the Iroquois, arrived at the southern end of Lac du Saint Sacrement on 28 August 1755, and renamed it "Lake George" in honor of his sovereign, George II. His intention was to advance via Lake George and Lake Champlain to attack French-held Fort St. Frédéric at Crown Point, which was a keystone in the defense of Canada.

With a view to stopping Johnson's advance, Dieskau had already left Crown Point for an encampment situated between the two lakes (later to be built into Fort Carillon, the precursor of Fort Ticonderoga.) On 4 September, Dieskau decided to launch a raid on Johnson's base, the recently constructed Fort Edward (at the time called "Fort Lyman") on the Hudson River. His aim was to destroy the boats, supplies and artillery that Johnson needed for his campaign. Leaving half his force at Carillon, Dieskau led the rest on an alternate route to the Hudson by landing his men at South Bay and then marching them east of Lake George along Wood Creek. Dieskau arrived near Fort Edward on the evening of 7 September 1755, with 222 French regular grenadiers from the Régiment de la Reine and the Régiment de Languedoc, 600 Canadian militia and 700 Abenaki and Caughnawaga Mohawk allies.

Johnson, camped 14 miles (23 km) north of Fort Edward at the southern end of Lake George, was alerted by scouts to the presence of enemy forces to the south, and he dispatched a messenger to warn the 500-man garrison at Fort Edward. However, the messenger was intercepted, and soon afterward a supply train was captured. As a result, the disposition of all of Johnson's forces became known to Dieskau. The Indians in the French party, after holding council, declined to assault Fort Edward because they expected it to be defended with cannons; so in the morning, Dieskau gave the order to march north toward the lake.

At 9:00 a.m. on 8 September, Johnson sent Colonel Ephraim Williams south to reinforce Fort Edward with 200 Mohawk allies and 1,000 troops from Williams' Massachusetts Regiment and Colonel Nathan Whiting's Connecticut Regiment. Dieskau, warned by a deserter of Williams' approach, blocked the portage road with his French grenadiers and sent his Canadians and Indians to ambush the British from both sides of the road. They lay in wait in a ravine three miles south of the present-day village of Lake George.

The Bloody Morning Scout

Williams' column marched straight into the trap and was engulfed in a blaze of enemy musketry. In an engagement known as the "Bloody Morning Scout", Williams and Hendrick were killed along with many of their troops. At this point, the French regulars, brought forward by Dieskau, poured volleys into the beleaguered colonial troops. Most of the New Englanders fled toward Johnson's camp while about 100 of their comrades under Whiting and Lt. Col. Seth Pomeroy and most of the surviving Mohawks covered their withdrawal with a fighting retreat. The British rearguard was able to inflict substantial casualties on their overconfident pursuers. Pomeroy noted that his men "killed great numbers of them; they were seen to drop like pigeons". One of those killed in this phase of the battle was Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre, the highly respected commander of Dieskau's Canadian and Indian forces. His fall caused great dismay, particularly to the French Indians.

Assault on Johnson's Camp

Dieskau ordered his Canadians and Indians to follow up their success with an attack on Johnson's camp. However, with their morale already shaken by the loss of their leader, the Caughnawagas "did not wish to attack an entrenched camp, the defenders of which included hundreds of their Mohawk kinsmen. The Abenakis would not go forward without the Caughnawagas, and neither would the Canadians". Hoping to shame the Indians into attacking, Dieskau formed his 222 French grenadiers into a column, six abreast, and led them in person along the lake road. The grenadiers marched toward the clearing where Johnson's camp was, around which Johnson had hurriedly constructed defensive barricades of "wagons, overturned boats and hewn-down trees". Once the grenadiers were out in the open ground, the British gunners crewing Johnson's three cannons loaded them with grapeshot and cut "lanes, streets and alleys" through the French ranks. When Johnson was wounded and forced to retire to his tent for treatment, General Phineas Lyman took over command. When Dieskau went down with a serious wound, the French attack was abandoned.

After the French withdrawal, the British found about 20 severely wounded Frenchmen who were lying too close to the British artillery's field of fire for their comrades to retrieve them. They included Baron Dieskau, who had paid the price of leading from the front with a shot through the bladder.

Bloody Pond

Meanwhile, Colonel Joseph Blanchard, commander of Fort Edward, saw the smoke from the battle in the distance and sent out Nathaniel Folsom's 80-strong company of the New Hampshire Provincial Regiment and 40 New York Provincials under Captain McGennis to investigate.

Hearing the report of guns in the direction of the Lake, they pressed forward, and when within about two miles of it, fell in with the baggage of the French army protected by a guard, which they immediately attacked and dispersed. About four o'clock in the afternoon, some 300 of the French army appeared in sight. They had rallied, and retreating in tolerable order. Capt. Folsom posted his men among the trees, and as the enemy approached, they poured in upon them a well directed and galling fire. He continued the attack in this manner till prevented by darkness, killing many of the enemy, taking some of them prisoners, and finally driving them from the field. He then collected his own wounded, and securing them with many of the enemy's packs, he brought his prisoners and booty safe into camp. The next day the rest of the baggage was brought in, thus securing the entire baggage and ammunition of the French army. In this brilliant affair, Folsom lost only six men, but McGennis was mortally wounded, and died soon after. The loss of the French was very considerable.

The bodies of the French troops who were killed in this engagement (actually Canada-born French colonials and their Native American allies, not French regulars) were thrown into the pool "which bears to this day the name of Bloody Pond".

Aftermath

The Battle of Lake George, comprising three parts, eventually ended in a British victory. Johnson's expedition eventually stopped short of Fort St. Frédéric and the strategic result at Lake George was significant. Johnson was able to advance a considerable distance down the lake and consolidated his gains by building Fort William Henry at its southern end. Historian Fred Anderson writes that had Dieskau succeeded in halting Johnson at Fort Edward, it would have not only ended the threat to Fort St. Frédéric but would also "roll back New York's and New England's defenses to Albany itself".

[dramoor]

“Set aside half an hour out of the twenty-four to say the Prayer. Whenever you are able; but the evening is best. Say it without using the prayer rope - in supplication, pleading, and with tears. ‘Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.’ Cultivate this, and you’ll see what fruit it brings. From half an hour, it will become an hour. And guard this hour. Whether the phone is ringing, or you have this task you need to do now, or you’re sleepy, or some blasphemy is confronting you. Nothing. Turn off the phone. Finish your tasks. Do this half hour and you’ll see. You’ve planted a little tree, and tomorrow or the day after it will bear fruit. St. John Chrysostom and St. Basil both began like this and became luminaries for the whole world. St. Symeon the New Theologian had experiences of the Uncreated Light while still a layman. He was a layman. How many laymen appear as such exteriorly, but deep down are monastics!”

~Elder Ephraim of Katounakia

(Photo © dramoor 2017 Montserrat Abbey, Catalonia, Spain)

[cassianus]

A time will come, the hour will strike, the moment will arrive for these eyes to close and for the soul’s eyes to open. Then we shall see a new world, new beings, a new creation, a new life without end. Its title is: “Infinite Immortality,” the great homeland, incorruptible and everlasting—the heavenly Jerusalem, the mother of the firstborn, where redeemed souls, which have been washed of their impurity by the blood of the innocent Lamb, will dwell! Who is able to express in words or with a pen the joy, the exaltation, the bliss of those blessed saved souls?

St. Ephraim of Arizona

[thesynaxarium]

Today we celebrate the Venerable Ephraim the Syrian. Saint Ephraim was born around the year 306, in the city of Nisibis. It is thought that both his parents were part of the growing Christian community in the city. It was a time of great religious and political tension. The savage persecution and martyrdom of Christians under the Roman Emperor Diocletian were an important part of church heritage as St. Ephraim grew up. St. Ephraim grew up under the leadership of St. James (Mar Jacob), the first bishop of Nisibis. St. James is recorded as a signatory at the First Ecumenical Councilin 325. St. Ephraim was baptised as a youth, and James appointed him as a teacher, a title that still carries great respect for Syriac Christians). He was ordainedas a deacon either at this time or later. He began to compose hymns and write biblical commentaries as part of his educational office. In his hymns, he sometimes refers to himself as a "herdsman", to his bishop as the "shepherd" and his community as a "fold". St. Ephraim is popularly credited as the founder of the School of Nisibis, which in later centuries was the centre of learning of the Assyrian Church of the East. In 337 Emperor Constantine I, who had established Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Empire, died. Years of Christian persecution followed, the cities around Nisibis were destroyed one by one, and their citizens killed or deported. Eventually Nisibis was conceded to Persia, and the city's Christian community was forced to leave. St. Ephraim found himself among a large group of refugees that fled west eventually settling in Edessa (modern Sanli Urfa) in 363. St. Ephraim, in his late fifties, applied himself to ministry in his new church, and seems to have continued his work as a teacher (perhaps in the School of Edessa). In the midst of this city full of rival philosophies and religions, St. Ephraim wrote a great number of hymns defending Orthodoxy. After a ten-year residency in Edessa, in his sixties, St. Ephraim reposed in peace, according to some in the year 373. May he intercede for us always + Source: https://www.uncutmountainsupply.com/icons/of-saints/by-name/d-f/st-ephraim-the-syrian (at Şanlıurfa) https://www.instagram.com/thesynaxarium/p/CZPvOjvv25o/?utm_medium=tumblr

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 12.25

36 – Forces of Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han, under the command of Wu Han, conquer the separatist Chengjia empire, reuniting China. 274 – A temple to Sol Invictus is dedicated in Rome by Emperor Aurelian. 333 – Roman Emperor Constantine the Great elevates his youngest son Constans to the rank of Caesar. 336 – First documentary sign of Christmas celebration in Rome. 350 – Vetranio meets Constantius II at Naissus (Serbia) and is forced to abdicate his imperial title. Constantius allows him to live as a private citizen on a state pension. 508 – Clovis I, king of the Franks, is baptized into the Catholic faith at Reims, by Saint Remigius. 597 – Augustine of Canterbury and his fellow-labourers baptise in Kent more than 10,000 Anglo-Saxons. 800 – The coronation of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor, in Rome. 820 – Eastern Emperor Leo V is murdered in a church of the Great Palace of Constantinople by followers of Michael II. 1000 – The foundation of the Kingdom of Hungary: Hungary is established as a Christian kingdom by Stephen I of Hungary. 1013 – Sweyn Forkbeard takes control of the Danelaw and is proclaimed king of England. 1025 – Coronation of Mieszko II Lambert as king of Poland. 1046 – Henry III is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Clement II. 1066 – William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy is crowned king of England, at Westminster Abbey, London. 1076 – Coronation of Bolesław II the Generous as king of Poland. 1100 – Baldwin of Boulogne is crowned the first King of Jerusalem in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. 1130 – Count Roger II of Sicily is crowned the first king of Sicily. 1261 – Eleven-year-old John IV Laskaris of the restored Eastern Roman Empire is deposed and blinded by orders of his co-ruler Michael VIII Palaiologos. 1492 – The carrack Santa María, commanded by Christopher Columbus, runs onto a reef off Haiti due to an improper watch. 1553 – Battle of Tucapel: Mapuche rebels under Lautaro defeat the Spanish conquistadors and executes the governor of Chile, Pedro de Valdivia. 1559 – Pope Pius IV is elected, four months after his predecessor's death. 1758 – Halley's Comet is sighted by Johann Georg Palitzsch, confirming Edmund Halley's prediction of its passage. This was the first passage of a comet predicted ahead of time. 1766 – Mapuches in Chile launch a series of surprise attacks against the Spanish starting the Mapuche uprising of 1766. 1776 – George Washington and the Continental Army cross the Delaware River at night to attack Hessian forces serving Great Britain at Trenton, New Jersey, the next day. 1793 – General "Mad Anthony" Wayne and a 300 man detachment identify the site of St. Clair's 1791 defeat by the large number of unburied human remains at modern Fort Recovery, Ohio. 1809 – Dr. Ephraim McDowell performs the first ovariotomy, removing a 22-pound tumor. 1814 – Rev. Samuel Marsden holds the first Christian service on land in New Zealand at Rangihoua Bay. 1815 – The Handel and Haydn Society, oldest continually performing arts organization in the United States, gives its first performance. 1826 – The Eggnog Riot at the United States Military Academy concludes after beginning the previous evening. 1831 – The Great Jamaican Slave Revolt begins; up to 20% of Jamaica's slaves mobilize in an ultimately unsuccessful fight for freedom. 1837 – Second Seminole War: American general Zachary Taylor leads 1,100 troops against the Seminoles at the Battle of Lake Okeechobee. 1868 – Pardons for ex-Confederates: United States President Andrew Johnson grants an unconditional pardon to all Confederate veterans. 1914 – A series of unofficial truces occur across the Western Front to celebrate Christmas. 1915 – The National Protection War breaks out against the Empire of China, as military leaders Cai E and Tang Jiyao proclaim the independence of Yunnan and begin a campaign to restore the Republic. 1927 – B. R. Ambedkar and his followers burn copies of the Manusmriti in Mahad, Maharashtra, to protest its treatment of Dalit people. 1932 – A magnitude 7.6 earthquake in Gansu, China kills 275 people. 1941 – Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, appointed commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet on December 17, arrives at Pearl Harbor. 1941 – World War II: Battle of Hong Kong ends, beginning the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong. 1941 – Admiral Émile Muselier seizes the archipelago of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, which become the first part of France to be liberated by the Free French Forces. 1946 – The first European self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction is initiated within the Soviet Union's F-1 nuclear reactor. 1950 – The Stone of Scone, traditional coronation stone of British monarchs, is taken from Westminster Abbey by Scottish nationalist students. It later turns up in Scotland on April 11, 1951. 1951 – A bomb explodes at the home of Harry T. Moore and Harriette V. S. Moore, early leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, killing Harry instantly and fatally wounding Harriette. 1962 – The Soviet Union conducts its final above-ground nuclear weapon test, in anticipation of the 1963 Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. 1963 – Turkish Cypriot Bayrak Radio begins transmitting in Cyprus after Turkish Cypriots are forcibly excluded from Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation. 1968 – Apollo program: Apollo 8 performs the first successful Trans-Earth injection (TEI) maneuver, sending the crew and spacecraft on a trajectory back to Earth from Lunar orbit. 1968 – Kilvenmani massacre: Forty-four Dalits (untouchables) are burnt to death in Kizhavenmani village, Tamil Nadu, a retaliation for a campaign for higher wages by Dalit laborers. 1976 – EgyptAir Flight 664, a Boeing 707-366C, crashes on approach to Don Mueang International Airport, killing 71 people. 1977 – Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin meets in Egypt with its president Anwar Sadat. 1986 – Iraqi Airways Flight 163, a Boeing 737-270C, is hijacked and crashes in Arar, Saudi Arabia, killing 63 people. 1989 – Romanian Revolution: Deposed President of Romania Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife, Elena, are condemned to death and executed after a summary trial. 1991 – Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as President of the Soviet Union (the union itself is dissolved the next day). Ukraine's referendum is finalized and Ukraine officially leaves the Soviet Union. 1999 – Cubana de Aviación Flight 310, a Yakovlev Yak-42, crashes near Bejuma, Carabobo State, Venezuela, killing 22 people. 2003 – UTA Flight 141, a Boeing 727-223, crashes at the Cotonou Airport in Benin, killing 141 people. 2003 – The ill-fated Beagle 2 probe, released from the Mars Express spacecraft on December 19, stops transmitting shortly before its scheduled landing. 2004 – The Cassini orbiter releases Huygens probe which successfully landed on Saturn's moon Titan on January 14, 2005. 2012 – An Antonov An-72 plane crashes close to the city of Shymkent, killing 27 people. 2012 – Air Bagan Flight 011, a Fokker 100, crashes on approach to Heho Airport in Heho, Myanmar, killing two people. 2016 – A Russian Defence Ministry Tupolev Tu-154 carrying members of the Alexandrov Ensemble crashes into the Black Sea shortly after takeoff, killing all 92 people on board. 2019 – Twenty people are killed and thousands are left homeless by Typhoon Phanfone in the Philippines. 2020 – An explosion in Nashville, Tennessee occurs, leaving three civilians in the hospital. 2021 – The James Webb Space Telescope is launched.