So, How Cool Are You?

By Archimandrite Paul Papadopoulos

Unbelief, is not cool.

Sin, is not cool.

To simply exist for your desires, is not cool.

To talk without doing, is not cool.

To live in the shell of your "ego", is not cool.

To do something because "most do it", is not cool

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The Science (Fiction) of the 10 Percent Brain Myth

Science Fiction movies hardly ever employ valid or good science, but lately a string of movies have come out of Hollywood that build off the myth that we only use ten percent of our brains. A few years ago Limitless played off this myth, and more recently Transcendence and Lucy. However the complexity of the brain is based on the fact that it is a vast network that works as a whole to be able to do what it does. One could just pass this myth over as silly if it wasn't for the fact that the majority of Americans actually believe it to be true. A study last year from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research concluded that 65 percent of Americans accepted the 10 percent myth as fact. Unfortunately, even when Mythbusters proved this myth was not true, they still conceded by saying we only use 35% of our brain, which is also not true. No doubt the internet has done much to spread this myth, along with the equally mythical right brain/left brain dichotomy, but one could also point out that a common feature in all the films mentioned is that when we are able to use all the functioning of our brain, we almost have god-like qualities. It is a secularists dream of self-deification realized. It is no wonder that the origins of this myth lie in thinkers who are popular among New Agers, which is a belief system centered on self-deification and realizing the god within us all.

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"The Internet Over Us!"

By His Eminence Metropolitan Hierotheos

of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

The Internet has firmly entered our lives, since a lot of people are using it, but especially all modern young people are users to such an extent that to talk about dependence is identical to talking about addictive substances - drugs, alcohol - and assistance is needed for rehabilitation by a psychologist.

The word Internet indicates "an international network of computer systems, created by connecting multiple networks worldwide for immediate information sharing for scientific, commercial, educational and recreational purposes" (George Babiniotis).

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Byzantine Frescoes of Ancient Philosophers

During the Ottoman occupation (15th-19th cent.) many churches and monasteries throughout Greece served as "secret schools" (Gr. "κρυφό σχολειό") where the writings of the ancients were studied in a private environment and taught by either monastics or clergy. Often these schools were in the narthex of churches, which is why these frescoes are often found in this area of the church. Because many ancient philosophers are said to have foretold the coming of Christ as well, they were revered by Christians for their wisdom, though not as saints (hence their depiction without halos).

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The Iconography of Musical Instruments on Mount Athos

By Maria Voutsa

In Post-Byzantine iconographic representations on Mount Athos we encounter the artistic representation of musical instruments. Examples include the representations in the Sacred Monastery of Koutloumousiou, and we will mention others in our future posts. This shows a percussion instrument, probably of Persian origin. The nakers appear in Byzantine iconography from the 12th century onwards, a pair of kettle-like percussion drums of the same size hemispherically, with the open side covered by a membrane attached usually with ropes. They are struck with two thin keys that are called "xyliphia" (wooden sticks).

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When James Bond Went To Meteora

By John Sanidopoulos

For Your Eyes Only (1981) is the twelfth spy film in the James Bond series, and the fifth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It marked the directorial debut of John Glen, who had worked as editor and second unit director in three other Bond films.

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Big Brother or Big Father? : An Analysis of a Reality Show

The following article was published in January of 2002 in Greece and gives a brief yet interesting analysis following the conclusion of the first season of the Greek version of the popular television reality show Big Brother, which aired in the fall of 2001 and in the U.S. is shown every Summer.

By His Eminence Metropolitan Hierotheos 

of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

The "television game show" Big Brother which was aired as a "reality show" and considered a risk to a known television channel has now completed. There have been many reviews by accredited journalists and other scholars on the new phenomenon, which, of course, we are not going to mention here.

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The Eyrie of "Game of Thrones" Modeled After Meteora

Fans of Game of Thrones no doubt are familiar with the Eyrie from seasons one and four. The Eyrie is the principal stronghold of House Arryn. It is located in the Vale of Arryn near the east coast of Westeros. The Eyrie straddles the top of a peak in the Mountains of the Moon several thousand feet above the valley floor below. It is approached by a narrow causeway and road. Those who would approach the Eyrie must pass through three way-castles guarding the ascent - and then, must proceed in single file, making them very vulnerable to archers. For these reasons, the Eyrie is considered impregnable to any attack that does not involve dragons.

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Nikola Tesla's Father - Fr. Milutin Tesla

Milutin Tesla was born in Raduc, county Medak, Lika, on February 19 (OS), 1819. The Serbs came to Raduc from around Knin in the 1690s, having arrived there from western Serbia, via Hercegovina. The name Tesla denotes either a trade, as tesla is Serbian for adze - a small axe with a blade at right angles to the handle - or a physical characteristic, such as protruding teeth, prevalent in the Tesla family. The name Tesla is also found in Ukraine.

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The Foundations of Orthodox Psychotherapy

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos

I have examined the subject of Orthodox Psychotherapy early in my life and published at least six books, which have been translated to other languages, and I have also examined it in other books of mine. In today’s presentation I will focus on some points of relevance to the present Conference.

1. THE TERM “ORTHODOX PSYCHOTHERAPY”

The term I used in my first book, published in 1986, caused considerable reactions – positive and negative – and thus I have had to explain it on various occasions. I will present some of these explanations here.

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