Categories
political

Activity on Hagia Sophia heats up

Patriarch Kyrill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church issued a public statement that was highly critical of the Turkish Government’s plans to convert Hagia Sophia into a Mosque. In addition, a group of scholars from around the world have signed a petition calling on the Turkish government to maintain the status quo in Hagia Sophia. This is on top of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s letter to President Erdogan of Turkey asking him to maintain the status quo of Hagia Sophia last week.

I have to say this is more like it. For too long there has been a silence in response to Turkish policies, and not just Hagia Sophia. As I have suggested on a previous post Hagia Sophia is going to create problems for Turkey. As I have written before, Hagia Sophia is hallowed ground. Violating that hallowed ground is creating serious problems for the Turkish government.

The wording in the petition was rather disappointing. There was too much emphasis on the Ottoman background of Hagia Sophia and not enough on the Byzantine-Greek Orthodox background. Still, it is a petition that is proving helpful in the opposition to the Turkish government’s plans for Hagia Sophia.

If President Erdogan remains committed to converting Justinian’s Church, he will be bringing much attention not only on Hagia Sophia, but on Turkey in general. He will be bringing more attention to the authoritarian nature of his regime. He will also be causing the further deterioration of Turkey’s image throughout the world.

Furthermore, Turkish-Russian relations may suffer should Erdogan persist in altering the status of the Great Church. It should be remembered that Turkish-Russian relations were good until Erdogan ordered the downing of a Russian plane over Syria. That nearly destroyed relations with Russia. Furthermore, the assassination of the Russian Ambassador in Ankara demonstrated the fervent anti Russian sentiment in Turkey because of Russian-Turkish differences in Syria.

Erdogan offered apologies to Russia over the downing of the Russian plane in order to repair relations with Moscow. It is uncertain what will happen if Turkish-Russian relations are diminished once again.

In any case, here are the relevant links. The Russian Patriarch’s statement is very strong.

https://mospat.ru/en/2020/07/06/news185298/
https://greekcitytimes.com/2020/07/06/more-than-300-scholars-across-the-world-appeal-to-turkey-not-to-convert-hagia-sophia-into-a-mosque/

Categories
political

Hallowed ground and the Revolution

“The greatest symbol of Christianity’s endless suffering at jihadi hands stands in Istanbul, a city I still prefer to call “Constantinople”. The greatest surviving monument of the first thousand years of Christianity is the Cathedral of Saint Sophia-Hagia Sophia- in the city’s compelling heart. Its magnificence is haunted and haunting even today, though profaned as a museum- after the humiliation of being used as a mosque for almost five centuries, until Ataturk secularized the building.”

Ralph Peters on National Review Online February 6, 2015

Revolutions that usher in a new era of government in a particular country are defined by their excesses. The Iranian Revolution was defined by the seizure of the American embassy in November 1979. The Nazi regime was largely defined by the book burning campaign organized by Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels in May 1933.

The Turkish Revolution may come to be defined by the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Hagia Sophia should Ankara actually convert the now dormant Church (technically a Museum) into a Mosque. The Turkish Government has attracted a good deal of attention from western media over its announced plans to make Hagia Sophia a Mosque. Under the leadership of President Erdogan, the Revolutionary government has had no hesitation in glorifying itself.

On May 29 (the anniversary of the Fall of Constantinople) Turkey celebrated the conquest of the City. Former Turkish President Abdullah Gul has said that Hagia Sophia is the personal property of the conquering Sultan Mehmet II. Indeed, Mehmet II seems to have been rehabilitated in Turkey while the founder of the secular Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal has been displaced as Turkey’s national hero and founding father.

By claiming Hagia Sophia as part of the heritage of the Ottoman Empire and claiming it as a Mosque, Ankara is playing with fire. Hagia Sophia has brought negative attention upon Turkey. Ankara already has an image problem owing to its recent collaboration with, and support for the genocidal ISIS . Furthermore, President Erdogan attracted widespread condemnation when on a visit to Washington his bodyguards assaulted peaceful Armenian and Kurdish protesters.

President Erdogan has proven to be a highly disciplined individual when he needed to be. He could not have outmaneuvered the Generals, heirs of the Kemalist legacy had he not been capable of patience and self restraint. Regardless, the leader of Turkey’s Revolution has a tendency for poor judgement. Ordering the assault on those demonstrators in Washington was just one example. He has also nearly triggered wars in the past ten years with Israel, Russia, and the United States.

By insisting that Hagia Sophia belongs to the Ottoman legacy rather than the Greek Orthodox heritage of Byzantium, Erdogan is solidifying the image of Turkey as a center of Jihadism. The conversion of Hagia Sophia, should it eventually proceed will complete the unravelling of the last Revolution carried out by Kemal one century ago.

While Turkey continues to possess a certain strategic importance for both the United States and Russia, Ankara will be badly miscalculating if the regime believes that it can continue to carry the kind of uncritical and unconditional support that its Kemalist predecessors did. For example, Erdogan has destroyed Turkish relations with Israel. The Kemalist Generals worked hard over time to establish a strong working relationship with Israel.

The perception of Turkey in the west has changed dramatically in recent years. During the apogee of the reign of the Kemalists, western media was mostly uncritical of Turkey. With the advent of the Revolution media outlets that were once highly reliable allies of Turkey such as National Review and the Wall Street Journal now publish articles on the genocide of the Armenians, Greeks, and Assyrians.

One Turkish Minister has suggested that at least some mosaics within Hagia Sophia should be painted over. Reports indicate that rugs have been ordered that will fit on the ground of Hagia Sophia. In 2016, Koranic prayers were heard within Hagia Sophia but now with the plans to make Hagia Sophia a Mosque, it appears that the Church will be altered in very significant ways.

This is bound to invite widespread condemnation. Even UNESCO which has been asleep since 2013 (when Ankara demonstrated it was serious about Hagia Sophia having converted the Church-Museum of Trebizond that has the same name) has now protested Turkish plans. The predatory designs on Hagia Sophia are an attack not only on Christianity and on Greece specifically, but an attack on itself.

The image of Turkey as a secular country granted Turkey immunity from real scrutiny of its appalling history of genocide and crimes against humanity. The Ottomanization of Hagia Sophia will eradicate any mistaken impressions left over in the west that Turkey is secular or capable of ever reforming and becoming a part of Europe.

Hagia Sophia is hallowed ground. Whether it is a Museum or a Mosque, it will always be in essence a Greek Orthodox Cathedral. The Church of the Holy Wisdom of God. Hagia Sophia is named for Christ the second person of the Holy Trinity. This is what has made its defense so urgent and so necessary.

It also appears that the Russians are not disinterested observers in Hagia Sophia. The General Secretary of the Russian Orthodox Church (and right hand man of the Russian Patriarch) has publicly opposed changing the status of Hagia Sophia rightly recalling the influence the Great Church had on the decision of the Russians to accept Christianity. In 2015, when Turkey shot down a Russian plane over Syria, several members of the Russian Duma wrote to President Erdogan asking him to permit Hagia Sophia to become a Church.

Like the Kemalist regime it has overthrown, the Revolutionary government is arrogant and self confident. The displays of triumphalism and chauvinism of May 29 and the potential fate of Hagia Sophia may serve to frighten the western world. The conversion of THE Hagia Sophia and the conversions of other former Church-Museums in Trebizond, Iznik (Nicea), and Edirne (Adrianople) that preceded this conversion are indicative that the re Ottomanization of Turkey is irreversible.

Having slaughtered the Christian populations between 1914 and 1923, and having ethnically cleansed the last Greeks in Constantinople and the islands of Imbros and Tenedos the Turks are waging war on the last vestige of Byzantine Christianity in the City of Constantine. Hagia Sophia the faithful believe is not an empty building. It is a house of God and a house of prayer.

There will be consequences should the Revolution desecrate Hagia Sophia. Certainly in the spiritual realm, but also in the political realm of the world. Symbolism has meaning. In the final analysis the conversion of Hagia Sophia will symbolize the descent of the world into a very dark void. I say the world rather than just Turkey because the world will eventually have to deal with the consequences of Turkish fanaticism and extremism.

Turkey may end up very badly as it become increasingly aggressive and confrontational with the world. Turkey has already crossed the line into the irrational, but the conversion of Hagia Sophia will symbolize a symbolic line.

Categories
faith

An Orthodox view of current events

“Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God”

Matthew 5:9

“and now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love”.

I Corinthians 13:13

Orthodox Christians are obligated before God to resist evil. We see two forms of evil that are manifesting in America today. These are the evils of racism and Marxism.

One can condemn racism and the injustices suffered by the African American community without supporting the Marxist pseudo academics and other elements encouraging the massive riots in America. Christianity has always rejected racism as can be seen by the command of Jesus Christ, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and of The Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). Christ and the Apostles were all Jewish so when the risen savior instructed his disciples to go and convert the gentiles he was emphasizing that all people are welcome into the Kingdom of God pending their repentance and baptism.

According to the teachings of the Orthodox Church, all people today are the descendants of Adam and Eve. In the Orthodox Church there is the icon of the harrowing of hell depicting Christ having descended into hell where he has liberated Adam and Eve. Christ suffered and rose from the tomb in order to bestow life to all of humanity.

There is no message that is more beautiful than that which is taught by the Holy Gospel. The Orthodox Church teaches its faithful to see the image of God in the face of every human being. Unfortunately, Christianity is perceived by many radicals in America and Europe as being a racist religion. This is because of the behavior of western Christians over the centuries as well as by the fact that radical leftists have very small and closed minds and have simply associated Christianity with evils such as slavery and racism.

The fact remains however that that there are two forms of Christianity. Eastern Orthodoxy is quite distinct from Western Christianity. The sins in previous centuries of Western Christianity do not reflect on Orthodoxy. While Roman Catholic countries such as Spain and Portugal were complicit in the slave trade, most Orthodox Christians in Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, Rumania, and other Eastern Christians such as the Armenians, Copts, and Assyrians were suffering under the yoke of the Ottoman Empire.

A major difference in the attitude toward humanity between the Christian East and the Christian West can be seen by the differing attitudes of the Orthodox Greeks of Constantinople and the Western Crusaders to the people of Islam. When the Knights of the First Crusade were passing through Constantinople they mentioned to the Greeks that they were embarking on a “holy war”. The Greeks responded that their wars were imperial wars fought for defensive purposes and rejected the misuse of Christianity for the purposes of waging war.

The attitude of the Greek East was heavily influenced by the Canons of Saint Basil found in Orthodox Canon Law. Saint Basil had prescribed that a Christian soldier who had killed an enemy soldier in war would be denied communion for three years. It was not that the soldier had committed a sin by fighting for his country (in this case the Byzantine Empire) but in recognition of the fact that enemy soldiers were human beings who were also God’s creatures. When the Orthodox Greeks at Constantinople had heard of the genocide against Muslims and Jews that were committed by the Crusaders they were appalled and disgusted (The Crusaders can be seen as the forerunners of the neo conservatives).

As such, Christianity has always rejected racism and violence against any and all groups of people. The present difficulties in America are above all spiritual, and this is what the Marxist academics do not understand. The antidote to the social problems of America lies in the truth of the Holy Gospel and not in the writings of the long dead Karl Marx.

A righteous cause can never divorce itself from morality. All morality emanates from God. The systemic destruction that has engulfed American cities should be condemned by all Christians, Eastern and Western. Just as racism is evil in its essence, so is anarchy which has been further enflamed by the abdication of responsibility by various Mayors and political officials of the Democratic Party who have permitted the violence to continue.

Saint Paul writes, “For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). Every organization should be judged on the basis of substance and not on the basis of its appearance and outward claims of good works. The destruction and hysteria that has arisen in the wake of the horrific murder of George Floyd has revealed that the substantive nature of this movement is based on Marxist revolutionary ideology and not on moral opposition to racism.

The Christian denunciation of racism is based on dogmatic and spiritual truths emanating from the morality of the Triune God. The supposed opposition to racism by Marxist ideologues is motivated by the fervent desire for violent revolution and the forcible imposition of the dictatorship of the proletariat on American society. For the Marxists, there are no moral precepts at stake here only the opportunity for self promotion and a pathetic attempt to replicate in America what failed in Russia, Eastern Europe, China, Cuba, and North Korea.

Any movement lacking in moral precepts and principles is in opposition to the Holy Gospel of the Lord. Any movement that engages in the dehumanization of any person (for example, the Police) or is willing to sacrifice innocent people (those whose property is being destroyed) is without morality. The fight against corruption and racism cannot be waged without the morality that originates from God alone.

Categories
political

More anti Russian hysteria

That laughable rag of political correctness, the New York Times has published a report indicating that the Russian Government put a bounty on American troops! This very same newspaper whose editorial staff revolted because the paper published an op-ed by Senator Tom Cotton (R) of Kansas that they did not agree with. Just recently, the Times published an op ed that called for the complete abolition of the Police.

The Russians have been blamed for Hillary Clinton’s election loss in 2016. Former National Security Advisor Susan Rice blamed the Russians for the riots that broke out in the United States. In 2017, Clinton ally Paul Begala called for the bombing of Russia!

The Democratic establishment continues to remind sane people why they are too dangerous to be entrusted with political power. Dangerous rhetoric and scapegoating could easily get out of hand in the event of a Biden victory in November. It has also become very clear that Joe Biden will not complete his term in office should he actually be elected President in November. Which ever extreme left wing sociopath is chosen for Vice President will become the actual President before 2024.

Most Democrats know nothing about Russia, history, or world affairs. The base of the Democratic Party became familiar with Russia and its President Vladimir Putin only after Hillary Clinton and the Democrats began demonizing Moscow in the run up to the 2016 elections. Most of the media failed to adopt any sort of objectivity regarding Russia since at least the 2016 elections. One could also argue that the anti Russia hysteria began with the Russian seizure of Crimea (after the Russians were provoked by Washington and NATO who overthrew the democratic government in Ukraine) in 2014 but I believe the real hatred of Russia erupted in 2016.

The left prides itself on its commitment to “diversity”, “tolerance”, and “multiculturalism”. If the left was genuinely committed to such concepts they would be better educated and informed about Russia and they would be establishing both Russian and Byzantine studies departments at Universities. I was watching a left wing Professor on Youtube a couple of weeks ago who referred to Putin as a “gangster”.

He also called Trump a “gangster”. So there we have it. Trump wanted better relations with Russia, and since the Democrats think Trump is evil, well then so are the Russians. There really is no logic to this anti Russian racism. Of course, there is no logic to any form of racism or bigotry.

The lives of everyone in the world have been disrupted because of the Chinese Communist Party’s initial refusal to contain the Wuhan Virus. The Chinese Communist Party caused the deaths of innocent people around the world (especially the elderly and the vulnerable), devastated economies everywhere, and took away everyone’s freedom. But the news media is not interested in China and the devastation it has caused.

The media sees Russia, not China as a threat. The Times and other media outlets do not cover events. They are working to influence events and to make them happen.They have minimized the hostile actions of China while depicting Russia as a major threat.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is suggesting the Russians have something on Donald Trump and is supposedly outraged by the supposed “bounty” that the Russians have put out. This is where one needs to go back and reread “No One Left to Lie To” by the late Christopher Hitchens. Hitchens was a first class journalist who investigated the Clinton administrations bombing of Sudan and Afghanistan in 1998 and the bombing of Iraq in December of that year.

Hitchens did not hesitate to accuse Clinton of “war crimes” for bombing those countries at times when he was either compelled to give a deposition or when the process of impeachment was reaching its conclusion in December of that year. Clinton bombed a factory in Sudan on the grounds that it was manufacturing “chemical weapons” when it was simply manufacturing aspirins! It is true that Al Quada bombed two American embassies in Africa and retaliation was in order, but the President’s behavior made it impossible for anyone not to suspect that he ordered the bombings to take attention away from his legal problems.

The Democratic Party began transforming into the lunatic party that it has become today under the Clinton administration. The Democrats have established a political cult around the Clintons. Bill Clinton dragged America (and the world to an extent) into his sex life. The behavior of the outgoing Clinton administration in 2001 has been long forgotten. The sleazy pardons at the last minute by Clinton and the vandalism of public property at the White House should have confirmed these two people had no business ever holding the reigns of power.

The Clintons refused to leave office with any sense of class or dignity in 2001. Likewise in 2016, Hillary could not concede defeat in the Presidential election and so the Democrats blamed the Russians. Except Russia is not Afghanistan, Sudan, or Iraq. The Russia of 2016 was also not the Russia of 2001.

It has also been forgotten that the Clinton administration intervened in Russian internal affairs when it tried to influence the outcome of the Russian elections of 1996. It should also be kept in mind that neoconservatives established a think tank in Washington that promoted independence from Russia for Chechnya. The Democrats are probably still harboring hard feelings because the Russians undermined the Obama administrations support for Jihadists in Syria.

Forgotten is the support that Russia gave to the United States after 9/11. Russia did not object to the use of American bases in the Central Asian Republics for use against the Taliban in Afghanistan. Russia also warned the FBI about the older brother who went on to bomb the Boston Marathon in 2013.

Joe Biden has accepted the allegations about a Russian “bounty”. No one in the Democratic Party is even waiting for more information to come out. A political party that is this ignorant and reckless has no business accumulating political power.

Donald Trump is the better candidate by far. Trump is the anti war candidate.

Categories
political

Aghia Sophia and UNESCO

Updated December 5, 2020

https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/2197

https://greekcitytimes.com/2020/06/26/unesco-sent-letter-to-turkey-regarding-turning-hagia-sophia-into-a-mosque/

Finally, it appears that UNESCO has protested Turkish plans to turn Aghia Sophia into a Mosque. I suppose one can say better late than never. At this late date, any and all protests are welcome in order to save Justinian’s Church.

There are some good articles that are presently making the rounds regarding Aghia Sophia. Archeology magazine has a cover story on Aghia Sophia involving the latest activities of archeologists, and the Wall Street Journal has an excellent article. This past Wednesday, the Washington Post also had an article on Aghia Sophia.

The attention being given to Aghia Sophia is very welcome at this point. Aghia Sophia has a special meaning for Greek Orthodox faithful. What Saint Peter’s is to Roman Catholics and what the Wailing Wall is to Judaism, Aghia Sophia is to Orthodoxy.

The most welcome support for Aghia Sophia came from his eminence Metropolitan Hilarion Alfayev who is the General Secretary of the Russian Orthodox Church. His Eminence noted that a visit to Aghia Sophia where the liturgy was being celebrated one thousand years ago led to the conversion of the Russians to Christianity. Russian support is especially crucial at this point.

The State Department has made clear its own opposition to the conversion of Aghia Sophia into a Mosque. Despite the intentions of the Erdogan government, the decision to convert Aghia Sophia must be made a by a Turkish Court. Since the failed Coup of 2016, President Erdogan has taken complete control of Turkey. We will soon see if the Courts in Turkey have maintained any independence from the Government.

Categories
books

Recalling Hagia Sophia

Book Review

Hagia Sophia

Sound, Space, and Spirit in Byzantium by Bissera V. Pentcheva 2017.

A project took place in recent years by a Cappella group of singers to recapture the sound of the Great Church in Hagia Sophia and to imagine as much as possible what the Christian attending the divine liturgy in Justinian’s Church experienced and heard. Bissera V. Pentcheva (who is Russian Orthodox) has written about the project in this fine book entitled “Hagia Sophia, Sound Space and Spirit in Byzantium”. On Amazon there is also a wonderful CD and DVD available called “Lost Voices of Hagia Sophia” which is the outcome of the group’s experiments within Hagia Sophia.

The book is absolutely fascinating. It is wonderful that this group had access to Hagia Sophia. Considering that Hagia Sophia is no longer a Church, the activities undertaken Ms. Pentcheva and her associates are a wonderful way of giving glory to God. Indeed, these activities may have served as an alternative means for using the Great Church in service to Greek Orthodoxy.

The book describes the edifice of Hagia Sophia and the manner in which modern technology was utilized to capture the sound and acoustics in Hagia Sophia. Using modern recording devices and a wonderful choir the group produced an excellent recording on the aforementioned CD that allows the listener to hear as closely as possible what worshippers in Hagia Sophia heard before 1453.

In addition, the book is wonderful for educating the reader on the Divine Liturgy and worship of the Greek Orthodox Church. The reader will learn the detailed significance of the services of worship, and specifically how the Patriarch conducted services in Hagia Sophia. This book could and should be used for liturgics classes in Orthodox seminaries.

This book is a wonderful contribution to the study of Hagia Sophia and a terrific recollection on the historically and spiritually important activities that took place during this time. At a time when Turkey is threatening to convert Hagia Sophia into a Mosque, it is refreshing to see that it it still serves (albeit indirectly) as a house of Christian worship.

Both the book and CD-DVD “Lost Voices of Hagia Sophia” are available for purchase on Amazon.

Categories
cinema

America America (1963)

Film Review

“America America” was Directed by Greek American Director Elia Kazan. Kazan was a legend who directed Marlon Brando in “On the Waterfront” and was an influence on Martin Scorcese. “America America” was nominated for several Oscars and Golden Globe Awards. The Oscar nominations were for Best Picture, Director, and Screenplay. It took one Oscar for Best Art Direction.

Kazan won a Golden Globe for Best Director and the star of the film, Stathis Giallelis won a Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer. With summer here, there will be more posts on Movies, especially since the theaters are still closed.

“America America” is the greatest Greek themed movie that Hollywood has ever created. Most people have seen “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”. While that movie had humor and was embraced by the public it was not a film about the Greek experience and unfortunately (through no fault of its makers) it is the film that most people associate with Greeks.

“America America” is not only a Greek themed film. It is an American film through and through. It is about the land of opportunity and the immigrant experience.

The film is a fictionalized version of the journey of Kazan’s Uncle who was born in Anatolia. The film is set in the year 1896 and the story centers around a Greek family living under worsening political conditions under the Ottoman Turks. The main character is Stavros (played by Giallelis) the oldest son in the family.

Stavros is friends with an Armenian named Vartan. The film is beautifully shot (much of it was filmed in Greece and Turkey) and the second class status of Christians under the Turks is accurately depicted. The film takes place during the period when there was unrest as the Ottomans were becoming increasingly brutal toward the Armenian Christians. Benny Morris and Dror Ze’evi who published last year’s masterpiece, “The Thirty Year Genocide” about the Armenian, Greek, and Assyrian Genocide dated the beginning of the mass slaughter to the year 1894.

The humiliation of Christians is expressed by the father of Stavros who tells his son “I keep my honor inside where it is safe”. This after a scene where the old man had to grovel in humiliation before a Turkish official. The film includes a scene where Stavros and Vartan are humiliated by Turkish officials while going about their business.

There is also a difficult scene to watch in which Armenians are massacred by the Turks. The film successfully captures the political atmosphere that surrounds the plight of Stavros and his family. Isaac, the father of Stavros is portrayed by Harry Davis who is excellent in the role.

My favorite scene in the movie is that which depicts family life. Isaac calls together his wife and children for prayer. He leads the family in prayer and gets irritated when his wife speaks when she should be praying. During the difficult centuries of Ottoman rule (referred to as Turkocratia by the Greeks) the Greeks survived because of the Greek Orthodox Church and the institution of the family.

The brutality and humiliation of living under Ottoman rule ended at the doors of the house. Even Isaac who had no choice but to accept humiliation at the hands of the Turks was a strong and good father who watched out for his family. In one scene, Stavros kissed the hand of his father.

The scene where the family is praying together has great significance because today the family in Greece has been largely decimated. Secularism, along with social media and other intrusions have done enormous harm to the institution of the family. Under the Ottomans, even the authority of the Turks had its limits. The home was a genuine sanctuary from outside oppression. The Greeks then were able to maintain their Orthodox faith and their national consciousness, something that has become less possible today as a result of the intrusions of modern technology and other sources.

Isaac is intent on sending Stavros on a mission. He is going to send him to live with his brother in Constantinople. This is the first step in the family’s efforts to make their way to America. Having already divulged too much for anyone who has not seen the film, I must stop any further discussion of the plot.

Stavros has read about America. He already loves America and desires to be an American. This is a brilliant immigrant movie and this is the film that should be embraced by the Greek American community as it depicts both the Greek national experience and America as a land of opportunity.

“America America” was released on VHS in 1994. It was released on DVD in 2011. Every Greek home should have a copy.

Categories
books

Constantinople victorious

Book Review

The Avar Siege of Constantinople in 626 by Martin Hurbanic

Palgrave Macmillan. 2019

“The Avar Siege of Constantinople in 626” is an outstanding and very well researched book about the attack on the City by the Persians and the Avars in 626 AD. While the Emperor Heraclius was waging war on the Persians in the East in defense of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, the Avars were trying to take Constantinople by the Sea.

The book is an excellent recollection of the events as they transpired from contemporaneous accounts of the siege of Constantinople. There are numerous historical sources from later centuries that were likewise cited in the recounting of events that transpired. This assault on Constantinople remains in the memory and consciousness of the Orthodox Church up to the present time.

“The Akathist “Hymn” which is sung during the first five weeks of Great Lent is attributed to the victory over the Avars at this time. Certainly, the Christians of Constantinople believed that the victory over the Avars was a miracle. The Author cites numerous ecclesiastical sources who attributed the victory to the intercessions of the Holy Theotokos (Mother of God).

Sources cited from both Byzantines and Avars include eyewitness testimony that a woman appeared over the walls near the Blachernae section of the City. This was considered by the faithful to be the Mother of God who interceded to save the City as there was (and still is) a Church at Blachernae that was not only built in her honor, but which contained a holy garment that belonged to the Theotokos. Most interesting are the eyewitnesses among the Avars who claimed to have seen a mysterious woman over the walls.

The Byzantines interpreted the victory as a miracle. In addition, the Avars were compared to the Egyptians who drowned in the Red Sea. Sergius, the Patriarch of Constantinople at the time was considered a new Moses.

This is indeed an excellent book on the history of Byzantium and the city of Constantinople. The author has done great research into when the inhabitants of the Empire considered their capital to be under the protection of the Theotokos. It appears that with the victory over the Avars after the appeals made to the Mother of God that Constantinople was considered to be under the protection of the Most Holy Theotokos.

That protection lasted until 1453 when Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks. During that final and fateful siege, the last inhabitants of Christian Constantinople feared that the Theotokos withdrew her protection from the City when her Icon which was being carried in a procession fell down.

We live in interesting times today. The Turks are planning to turn the Great Church of Aghia Sophia into a Mosque. May the protection of the Holy Theotokos be restored over the Church of Aghia Sophia and over the Church of Constantinople itself which has badly stumbled and estranged itself from the Orthodox Church owing to the tragic events in Ukraine.

In the Akathistos Hymn, we sing,

“To you the champion leader, do I your city, ascribe thank offerings of victory,

For you O Mother of God, have delivered me from terrors; but as you have invincible power, do you free me from every kind of danger, so that to you I may cry: hail, o bride unwedded”

Categories
cinema

Star Wars (1977)

Film Review

PROLOGUE

The following review mentions only the original Star Wars film and makes no direct mention of ANY of the other films in the series and makes references only to the original film and the context of the times in which it appeared and its subsequent evolution over the decades.

In a previous post “The Absence of the Cinematic Experience”, I wrote about movies and I mentioned that I would write about Star Wars as I listed it as the best movie ever made. This is also the right time I think to break from politics as I spent a good deal of time writing many political posts. What can be said about Star Wars that has not already been written?

I saw Star Wars for the first time when I was seven years old in a movie theatre that no longer exists. I had already had a knowledge of the idea and the characters. I became a Star Wars fan at school and read the comic versions before I had seen the movie.

Those were the days when there were no DVD’s and blu rays. Home video was still a long way off. Even betamax had still not arrived. Forget anything like Netflix. Cable television was still something that would arrive later.

If you wanted to see a movie you had to go the theatre to see it. Then you would have to wait for it to show up on network television, or local television channels. Star Wars was so successful that having been released in 1977, it would not be on aired on cable television until 1983, and network television in 1984.

The film would be rereleased in the theaters from time to time, so if you wanted to see it you had to wait for it to return to the theater. This was why the infamous “Star Wars holiday special” was aired in 1979. More on that below.

Whenever it returned to the theater, it was always a fun experience. A great time always.

The plot of the film centers around Luke Skywalker, a farm boy who lives on the planet tatooine. He is a dreamer and an idealist. He lives with his Aunt and Uncle. Well, everybody knows the story,

It is a great movie that has aged very well. It is very well written and directed by George Lucas. The cast includes Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Alec Guiness, Peter Mayhew, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, and Peter Cushing. The movie has plot and adventure.

The movie has drama. From the beginning of the film when we see the Star Destroyer up to the end with the ceremony at the throne room, we have seen a true adventure. Believe me, you could not see this movie enough times in the late 1970’s when it came back to the theater.

As mentioned above, “The Star Wars Holiday Special” was shown during the holiday season of 1979. I still remember watching this but I always remembered it as being shown for thanksgiving, and not Christmas as many online reviews have stated. If you were a Star Wars fan you would watch anything Star Wars even crap like the Holiday Special.

I remember being disappointed that the main cast from the film appeared in only a few minutes of the special. I always remembered this special and the fact that the cast appeared only briefly. In 1999, I came across a VHS copy of somebody’s old tape in a used video and CD store.

I knew what it was, I remembered seeing it but did not actually remember much else. I bought it, took it home, and watched it. Yeah, the real cast was only briefly shown and the rest was this really stupid variety show typical of the 1970’s. The only thing that made this interesting was the appearance of Boba Fett. I had forgotten that. I still remember the TV commercial advertising the Boba Fett action figure in the run up to the “Empire Strikes Back”. I thought that was the first appearance of Boba Fett.

The Holiday Special was put together by morons who apparently never took the time to actually go see “Star Wars”. Why bring in other celebrities for this thing? They had the cast of the film which is why this thing is historically important and is in the collection of Star Wars fans.

If they could not commit the cast to more than a few minutes they could have made a thirty minute (with commercials twenty two minutes) special with a plot involving stormtroopers and a guy to wear a Darth Vader mask. It would not have had to be as good as the film (no one would have expected it to) but it would have been watchable.

In any case, Star Wars was a unique phenomenon. At the time, one assumed that Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia were going to become a couple (the subsequent revelation that Luke and Leia were brother and sister began to ruin the whole story.) That is how it should have been played over the long term.

Han Solo was the best character in my opinion. Total jerk but the guy who does the right thing in the end. And quite frankly, he is the real hero of the movie. If Han Solo did not return and bump off Darth Vader’s tie fighter when the latter was going to blow away Luke’s X wing fighter, the death star would not have been blown up and the rebel base at Yaavin might have been completely destroyed.

Obi Wan Kenobi is a superb character. A mixture of priest and warrior. The Jedi remind me so much of the Emperors of the Byzantine Empire who were honorary priests. Obi Wan is a hermit living a monastic life in complete solitude. His mission is to wait for the day when Luke will be ready to train to become a jedi and to teach him the ways of the force, a mystical energy.

The story begins when a rebel ship is sucked up by the imperial star destroyer and the rebels are annihilated by the stormtroopers who over power them when they enter the rebel ship. Princess Leia puts plans with the details of the Empire’s Death Star into R2 D2. The droid along with c3po are put in an escape pod and escape where they fall to the planet tattoonie.

The two droids subsequently are captured by Jawas, a small group of hooded aliens who resell captured droids. The two droids are purchased by Luke’s Uncle Owen. R2D2 not only carries the Death Star plans with him, but a message from Princess Leia for Obi Wan Kenobi. R2D2 sneaks out to find the retired Jedi master who lives on Tattooine.

The moment arrives when Obi wan saves luke after the latter has been attacked by the sand people. Obi wan sees the message that Princess Leia has put in R2D2 and comes out of retirement. When Luke finds his Aunt and Uncle have been killed by stormtroopers looking for the droids, he embarks with Obi Wan to Mos Eisley Space port where they meet up with Han Solo and Chewbacca.

The six of them escape the stormtroopers after a shoot out and subsequently find that the planet Alderaan (where Obi Wan is supposed to meet Princess Leia’s father) has been blown up by the Empire’s Death Star. The Millenium Falcon (the ship they are traveling on gets sucked into the Death Star by the tractor beam.

The group gets split up and Han, Luke, and Chewbacca rescue Princess Leia. They eventually make their way back to the ship except they are now witnessing a dual between Obi Wan and Darth Vader.

The lightsaber dual with Darth Vader is brief but highly dramatic. The expression on Obi Wan’s face when he sees Vader is great acting. Alec Guinness played this part brilliantly. Obi Wan is a man of faith above all and like the early Christians under the Romans allows himself to be killed in anticipation of eternal life.

Vader slays him and then finds his body is gone. Obi wan had faith in resurrection like Christians do. After a space battle in the falcon and the heroes have escaped they make their way to the rebel base on Yavin. The rebels will dissect the death star plans that R2 D2 has carried and they launch an offensive against the Death Star.

Great action scenes and outstanding special effects. When Luke is the last fighter left fighting the Death Star he hears the voice of Obi Wan, He turns off the computer. Again, the power of faith over reason and technology.

At the last minute before Darth Vader is about to finish off Luke, the Millenium Falcon is back and Han Solo knocks off Vader. Han Solo had taken off with his reward money after refusing to participate in the fight against the Death Star. His heroic action redeems him and makes him a hero.

Luke takes the final shot and blows up the Death Star. The final scene of the throne room where Han, Luke, and Chewbacca get their medals is great drama.

The film is a masterpiece and represents all that is good about movies.

As noted above, Star Wars made its initial premiere on cable television in 1983, and network television in 1984. I am not sure when Star Wars was first released on home video.

Like any other film, Star Wars (and its sequals) was released on betamax, laser disc, and VHS formats. The last version of the original theatrical cut was released in the fall of 1995. I always found it strange that these releases were advertised as the original “one last time”.

I am a classic fan of Star Wars having been there from the beginning but I was never a nerd or a fanatic. I never understood what the “one last time” was supposed to mean”. In 1997, on the twentieth anniversary of the release of Star Wars, George Lucas rereleased the film and its sequals as “special editions” featuring both restored footage and newly filmed footage that were inserted into the films.

Further changes were made when Star Wars was released on DVD for the first time in 2004, and yet even further changes were made when Star Wars was released on blu ray for the first time in 2011. As it is the original theatrical versions have become unavailable.

It is true that the theatrical versions of the film were released in 2006 on DVD but George Lucas basically cheated the fans with these releases. At the time, video stores advertised that the original theatrical version of Star Wars were going to be released on DVD. This was misleading.

The final product was a rerelease of the 2004 special editions in which the theatrical versions were included as bonuses. The transfer was garbage as it was an outdated transfer from 1993 laser disks. The quality of the picture and sound was terrible and the film does not fit on widescreen televisions.

No other artist hates his fans as much as George Lucas does. All that Star Wars fans want (especially those of us who were there from the beginning) is a blu ray high definition transfer of the original film and its sequals. Lucas could have had as many special editions out there as possible, but he could have at least had the original theatrical versions available for film afficionados.

Many Directors have used the technology of DVD and blu ray to release several versions of their films. Some Directors have to cut their films for length of time, or to avoid a rated X or NC-17 because of too much violence or sex. The availability of technology enabled them to bring back their original films but they did NOT eradicate the original theatrical versions.

Star Wars has to be the only cinematic masterpiece that is not available to film fans. Yes, the various special editions are available but that is not quite the same thing. Considering the phenomenal success of Star Wars, one would think it would be available forever.

Without the availability of the original theatrical cut(s) Star Wars no longer exists for viewing.

Alas, Star Wars is a matter of nostalgia.

Categories
political

The intellect and ideology

As far as ideological leanings go, it is best to be in the center and to examine both the right and the left very carefully and cautiously. My two favorite intellectuals are Patrick Buchanan and the late Christopher Hitchens. The former is right wing while the latter was a man of the left.

Buchanan supports the old fashioned non interventionism regarding foreign wars. Buchanan opposed the Gulf War, the bombing of Serbia, the invasion of Iraq in 2003, intervention in Syria, and opposed expanding NATO to the Russian border which antagonized the Russians. I have also admired his devotion to his Catholic faith and his conservatism on social issues.

Christopher Hitchens was an old fashioned liberal. His atheism and some of his left leaning positions on social issues were contrary to my views. Regardless, Hitchens was a superb journalist and writer, and even when he was wrong he was worth reading. He was right on many things such as his support for the freedom of Cyprus, his support for the impeachment of Bill Clinton, and his denunciation of Henry Kissinger as a war criminal.

It is important to have a thorough appreciation of and understanding for both sides of the political spectrum. I started out as a conservative but I generally wandered away from partisan politics and preferred to distance myself from politics. Much of that had to do with the Bush administration’s war on Iraq as well as the right’s traditional pro Turkish foreign policy. As a Greek American, I am unequivocally opposed to Turkey with its legacy of genocide and territorial conquest.

Now I identify once again with conservatism. The Democratic Party and its extremism has made it impossible to remain politically non aligned. The extremism of the left and its embrace of neo pagan ideology (transgender ideology, infanticide) and now the hideous hatred directed at Police and the utterly insane idea of defunding and/or abolishing the Police!

I did not vote between 2000 and 2012. In 2000, I voted for Patrick Buchanan who was running on the Reform Party ticket. I detested Bush and Gore. In hindsight, I think it might have been better had Gore won. At least then we would have been spared the Iraqi invasion and the subsequent interventions in Libya and Syria which were sequels to the Iraqi invasion.

When I resumed voting, I voted for Ron Paul in the Republican Primary in 2012. His non interventionist foreign policy views appealed to me. In November however I voted for Barack Obama. I believed Obama was preferable to Mitt Romney who had called Russia America’s greatest enemy and who had said he would bomb Iran.

Unfortunately, Obama intervened in Syria and exacerbated tensions with Russia under the influence of neoconservatives such as Victoria Nuland. In 2016, I was for Trump on the basis of his public statements criticizing the wars in Iraq and Syria, and a desire for reconciliation with Russia.

I have been all over the map when it comes to voting. I believe that the intellect is more important than ideology. Historical knowledge and understanding is very important. Donald Trump understands this and has for the most part guided the United States away from war. He needs to back off Iran, I will say that. His view four years ago that ISIS was a menace and that Russia is a potential ally was a very farsighted and enlightened foreign policy stance.

Donald Trump has a good deal of historical knowledge and understanding of history and world affairs. He also understands and appreciates freedom of religion. Many will scoff at this post should they read it, but the fact is that the Trump administration is an administration that relies on the intellect.

Contrast this with the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party is an ideological Party. That is it. Intellectual discourse and knowledge have been purged. The Democrats believe that it is an act of bigotry to suggest that men should not use the ladies room. If one were to state that it is a fact that there are in fact only two genders one will be denounced as a bigot and “transphobe” in the Democratic Party.

The rank and file of the Democratic Party is demanding the defunding of the Police. In fairness, most Democrats have rejected this. Democratic Presidential Candidate Joe Biden has rejected this demand. The question is, how long until the Democrats succumb to their angry constituency and adopt this insane position?

The Democrats succumbed to the pressure of Planned Parenthood and other pro abortion groups to support abortion right up until the ninth month of pregnancy. They purged their ranks of any critics of gay marriage and transgender ideology. Having proven that they have no moral backbone, it is a certainty that the hysterical demand to defund the Police will make its way to the platform of the Democratic Party at some point.

The number one reason for my contempt for the Democratic Party is because of that ideological movements utter rejection of knowledge. That Party has sacrificed the intellect for ideology. Take for example its mad anti Russian (I know I am sounding like a broken record regarding Russia on this post and several others on this blog but be patient) agenda.

Russia is a great power with a glorious history and has made clear that it will defend its sovereignty and its interests abroad (as in Syria). Russia has been invaded countless times throughout history going back to the Teutonic Knights in 1242. Since then, the Russians have been invaded by Sweden, Lithuania. Poland, Napolean, the German Kaiser, and Hitler.

The Democrats in their devotion to their own ideology and hunger for power do not seem to comprehend the danger that is manifest in their blaming the Russians for the outcome of the 2016 elections. Paul Begala, a former Clinton official openly said in 2016 that the United States should bomb Russia!

Yes, a prominent Democrat suggested bombing a country that is a nuclear power! The country that lost twenty million people in the Second World War and still crushed Hitler! After the fall of the Third Reich, the world regretted not taking Hitler seriously when his memoir “Mein Kamp” was published in 1925 eight years before his seizure of power.

If history has taught us anything it is to take seriously what politicians say. The Democratic Party has not only blamed Russia for the outcome of the 2016 elections, former National Security Advisor Susan Rice has blamed the Russians for the riots in the United States. We should be very fearful of what could happen should the Democrats win November’s Presidential election.

With regard to the insane demand by the American left that Police should be defunded. It is very clear that these ideologues do not know what the hell a failed state is. Remember Somalia and Afghanistan! A country becomes a failed state when there is no more authority.

Perhaps my comparison with Somalia and Afghanistan is extreme and unlikely. Maybe, but do we really want to find out what will happen if the Police are either defunded or abolished? The intellect is dead in the Democratic Party.

This is too bad because liberals have been right on some issues in the past. For example, liberals were right to condemn the torture and abuses that took place at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Someone in the Bush administration having read a book called “The Arab Mind” thought it would be useful to sexually humiliate Iraqi prisoners. Anyone with human decency who has seen photographs or videos of the abuses at Abu Ghraib was sickened. Liberal Democrats were right to condemn the Bush administration for that sickening affair.

Liberals were also correct to criticize the Reagan administration for funding the death squads in El Salvador during the 1980’s. The Salvadoran death squads murdered civilians and were responsible for the murders of several Catholic nuns and Archbishop Oscar Romero in 1980. Liberals have had their moments.

Unfortunately, they became completely unhinged by political correctness and institutions of higher learning have become left wing versions of madrassas. The Democratic Party has now been take over by extremists. Left wing ideology at the expense of everything. Reason and the intellect have no home in the Democratic Party.