On Astrology, Fortune-Tellers and Mediums

By Archimandrite Vasilios Bakoyiannis

ASTROLOGY

This can be divided into two categories: a) The Zodiac: this has to do with the month in which we are born and b) Horoscopes: these are our everyday almanacs that depend on the position of the stars.

The Zodiac

Description: There are twelve signs (one for each month). They are called Libra, Scorpio, Aries and so on. People who concern themselves with these believe that: depending on the month in which you were born, you will belong to a certain zodiac sign. And depending on the sign you belong to, you’ll have the particular character that goes with it. In other words, what you are doesn’t depend on you but on your zodiac sign. The influence of each sign begins on the 21st of each month and runs through to the 20th of the following month. Scorpio, for example, belongs to November. Its “reign” begins on October 21st and ends on November 20th. So if you were born during that period (even at one minute past twelve on the morning of October 21st), then you’ll have the character associated with Scorpio, the main feature of which is treachery! Naturally, it’s hardly your fault that you’re like this. You’re the victim! Your sign is to blame, the moment of your birth. If only your mother had gone into labor a bit earlier and you would have been born at one minute before 12 on October 20th, and you would have been a Libra. Then you would have been different as a person and had a different character. You would have been straightforward and kind, all because of your good zodiac sign.

The Occult and Saints Cyprian and Justina

Sts. Cyprian and Justina (Feast Day - October 2)

By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas

On October 2nd the Church celebrates the memory of the Hieromartyr Cyprian and the Virgin-martyr Justina. Cyprian was a magician, a persecutor of Christians and a servant of demons. "A healer by means of demons and a most bitter persecutor of Christ" (St. Gregory the Theologian). However he did not do this work consciously, but out of ignorance, because he thought there was no higher power than that of the devil. When he later realized, due to an incident we will narrate below, that Christ is more powerful and has defeated and shamed the devil, then he burned his books of magic, was baptized, and then ordained from Deacon to Priest and finally a Bishop. Furthermore, he was made worthy to spill his blood for Christ and be called a Hieromartyr. From a servant of darkness and falsehood he became a preacher of the Light and "a great struggler for the truth".

On Dreams, Superstitions and the Evil Eye

By Archimandrite Vasilios Bakoyiannis

A Greek proverb says “The devil has lots of legs.” He can walk many paths, some of them very torturous. So he is perfectly capable of trapping you at any time.

Mediums, the occult, astrology and so on, are paths that the devil treads. Just how and why, we will have a look at now.

DREAMS

Should we believe in dreams? If you have a dream that suggests something bad is going to happen to you, should you take it seriously or not pay any attention to it? There are human, diabolical and God-sent dreams. The only ones that are valid are those sent by God.

The Exorcism of a Greek-American Immigrant

Elder Ignatios the Confessor (+ 1927)

By Archimandrite Cherubim Karambelas

It is a sad thing that many Greeks outside their country fall victim through carelessness to anti-Christian ideas and heresies, losing the priceless treasure of the Orthodox faith. This happened to a man named Angelis Kioussis.

He had set out from the Lion of Thebes, his fatherland, for distant America, hoping for a good career. As he was clever and enterprising, he not only managed to succeed professionally but he even became very rich.

At the age of forty he wanted something novel to play with. Blinded by his wealth and darkened by arrogance, he became entangled in the nets of a satanic sect. His soul was so poisoned that he forswore Christianity in a solemn ceremony, and defiled the icons of Christ and the Theotokos. Others had performed this wicked deed, and nothing had happened to them.

Scientific Evidence Proves Why Healers See the 'Aura' of People

May 4, 2012

Medical Express

Researchers in Spain have found that many of the individuals claiming to see the aura of people –traditionally called "healers" or "quacks"– actually present the neuropsychological phenomenon known as "synesthesia" (specifically, "emotional synesthesia"). This might be a scientific explanation of their alleged "virtue". In synesthetes, the brain regions responsible for the processing of each type of sensory stimuli are intensely interconnected. This way, synesthetes can see or taste a sound, feel a taste, or associate people with a particular color.

How Are We To Understand the Casting of Lots in Scripture?

By John Sanidopoulos

"The lots are cast into the lap, but they are disposed of by the Lord" (Prov. 16:33).

St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite writes: "Some believe that by lots and raffles is meant that the divine Apostles followed what is irrational and according to chance, as those people who are of the flesh and worldly. This is not acceptable to the divine Dionysius the Areopagite. Rather he says that by lots is meant divine words, a divine gift, which revealed to the choir of Apostles what has been chosen by God. He says: 'Now concerning the divine lot, which fell as a divine decree upon Matthias, others have expressed another view, not clearly, as I think, but I will express my own sentiment. For it seems to me that by lot is meant a certain thearchic gift, pointing out to that Hierarchical Choir him who was designated by the divine election; more particularly, because the divine Hierarch must not perform the sacerdotal acts of his own motion, but, under God, moving him to do them as prescribed by the Hierarchy and Heaven' (Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, Ch. 5). Clement Canonicus says about lots: 'It was common to regard lots as superstitious, when they were used without divine command or calling. When God therefore appointed their use, then lots were used in obedience to God. In other circumstances, we tempt Him.' Apolinarius interprets the text, 'But the land shall be divided by lot' (Numb. 26:55), saying: 'Nothing happens by lot, but by the will of God.' The sacred Theophylact interprets the passage from Jonah, 'Then the crew cast lots' (Jon. 1:7), as follows: 'Do not think that he was chosen by lot, but God had elected him through it.'"

Was the Resurrected Jesus a Zombie?

It has become quite common, and a bit overstated, these days to refer to the post-resurrected Jesus as "Zombie Jesus", thinking that there is a comparison between the features of the risen Jesus with that of Zombies as depicted in popular culture, both said to rise from the dead. Usually such comparisons are not based on any compelling intellectual arguments, but it is worth examining nonetheless. Does the resurrected Jesus display Zombie-like characteristics to warrant such a comparison? The folks at ZombieTheology.com examined both features and characteristics in a neutral fashion to give us the answer. After an analysis of the resurrected Jesus as described in the Gospels and the traditional pop culture Zombie depicted by George Romero (of Night of the Living Dead fame), here is what they found: