HONEY AND HEMLOCK: 2024

Saturday, December 21, 2024

The Fundamentalism of “Political Correctness”

The Fundamentalism of “Political Correctness”

December 15, 2024

By Metropolitan Amphilochios of Kissamos and Selino

I read somewhere and I agree that in our times we are experiencing a form of “democratic” dictatorship against thought and expression. It is about the one-sided interpretation, according to one's whim, of the term “politically correct”. It is obvious, commonplace and self-evident that no one has the right and can insult or commit wrongdoing against diversity (political, social, gender, religion, origin, language, etc.), as any form of legitimacy of the different that leads to racism which is reprehensible and unacceptable. After all, the rejection of the different, because it is different, is a manifestation of racist behavior and mentality.

And while we agree on the need to protect the correct everyday behavior of citizens, within the framework of the favored state, what is strange and difficult to understand, much less accept, and raises many questions, is the fact that, as far as Christianity is concerned, the term "politically correct" seems to be unknown or rather not applicable by all those who defend its correctness and necessity. When, for example, works of art, films, posters, cartoons and everything else are employed by modern bad craftsmen of our times, who disrespect and ridicule the sacred symbols of the faith of Christ (the symbol of the Cross, the sacred face of the Virgin Mary, the face of Christ, etc.), with the aim and goal of deconstructing the faith, then not only is the logic of "political correctness" not applied, but anyone who raises a different discourse, point of view, opinion and voice, from that which serves "political correctness", is targeted and attacked as an alleged "dark-minded", "homophobic", "Christian Talibanist", etc., by all its defenders.

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Monday, November 4, 2024

Actress Juliette Binoche Acclaims Saint Paisios the Athonite and Byzantine Iconography In Award Speech

The 65th Thessaloniki Film Festival welcomed two of the most prolific stars of contemporary cinema, Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes, on Friday, November 1st 2024, at the Olympion theater. The two renowned actors received the Festival’s honorary Golden Alexander award prior to the screening of the monumental film The English Patient (1996), which marked their second collaboration (their first was in 1992's Wuthering Heights) and garnered Juliette Binoche an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and Ralph Fiennes a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor.

The thank you speech of Juliette Binoche was particularly interesting for Greek Orthodox Christians, because she opened with the following words:

"Your skies and seas are an inspiration in my life - in our lives. Your words and thoughts through Sophocles, Homer, the great philosophers and the saints, especially Saint Paisios, are feeding my path and heart. Thank you for what you give to the world (applause). I had the most amazing day today in Thessaloniki (applause). Visiting your monasteries, walking in your streets, feeling your stones and trees and eating your bread, fish and vegetables and admiring your Byzantine Treasures, like icons. What a beautiful journey!"

A few years ago in Greece a former MP Petros Tatsopoulos caused a major uproar when he publicly mocked a Greek tv series based on the life of Saint Paisios the Athonite as a work of fiction, since it portrays him working miracles and having visions, which he does not believe in, and he criticized such depictions as keeping Greeks in the Middle Ages. Now, just a few days ago, a renowned foreign actress from France received a prestigious award in Greece, and not only acclaimed Saint Paisios, but put him and other Orthodox Christian saints in succession with Sophocles and Homer, and with them spoke of her admiration for the monasteries of Thessaloniki and the treasures of Byzantium, especially its iconography. Essentially she sees the ancient Greek spirit and Orthodox Christianity are an unbroken historical continuity that proclaims the greatness of Greece to the world. And this isn't just an ordinary actress saying this, but Juliette Binoche is the first actress to win the European "Best Actress Triple Crown" (winning the Best Actress awards at the Berlin, Cannes & Venice film festivals), as well as the previously mentioned Academy Award, among many others.

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Sunday, October 13, 2024

Movie: "Saint Chryse - A Ray of Light in the Years of Slavery" (2023)

Saint Chryse - A Ray of Light in the Years of Slavery

Directed by Nikos Katsoulis

Produced by the Metropolis of Edessa, Pella and Almopia

Released in 2023

In Greek with English subtitles

"Saint Chryse - A Ray of Light in the Years of Slavery" is the true story of the martyrdom of Saint Chryse, a young girl who lived in Slatena, Almopia (present-day village of "Chryse") in the late 18th century.

The plot of the movie takes place in 1795, in the village of Slatena. It is winter, so the young Chryse, a devout Orthodox Christian, goes to get firewood. Chryse is abducted by a local Muslim man who is infatuated with her. The young woman endures terrible suffering over the following nine months. She consistently undergoes physical and mental abuse since she won't accept Islam and wed her kidnapper. On October 13, 1795, she is horrifyingly murdered for her refusal to compromise her faith in Christ.

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Monday, October 7, 2024

The "Policing" of our Lives (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

Society needs the police to impose order and balance on it, but man is uncomfortable with the policing of his personal life. Unfortunately, however, policing is increasingly moving into the private and internal areas of man, not necessarily by the police, but by modern technology.

We all know that phones, mobile and fixed, are monitored for social and national security. Also, various voices are heard about the chips that are inserted everywhere, even in ID cards.

However, the policing is done in ways that we do not suspect, since the mobile "smart" phones determine at least the place of our stay, and the GPS that we use for our path to the exact destination, tracks us with precision.

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Friday, July 19, 2024

The Final Days of the Iconic Fashion Designer Billy Bo

Billy Bo (Vasilis Kourkoumelis) was a famous fashion designer in Greece in the 1980's, and the first well-known casualty of AIDS in Greece, passing away on the 13th of June 1987 at the age of 33. He catapulted to fame at a very young age, becoming the go-to fashion designer of the elite, and was referred to in the Greek press as an Adonis or Apollo due to his beauty. He was headquartered in Kolonaki with a couture salon and a network of boutiques all over Greece, including one in Mykonos attracting ultra-famous visitors from throughout the world. Before his death he even managed to open a boutique in Manhattan, with plans of opening dozens more throughout the United States.

What is not really known however is what happened to Billy Bo in his final days, faced with the prospects of an early demise due to his lifestyle. Father George Schinas shared not long ago what the spiritual father of Billy Bo revealed to him about the salvation of this famous fashion designer before his untimely death. Below is a translation of the transcript of what he said:

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Monday, March 4, 2024

Autobiography of Alexandros Papadiamantis

The short autobiography that the prose writer Alexandros Papadiamantis made for himself at the request of Giannis Vlachogiannis states the following:

I was born in Skiathos on March 4, 1851. I left the Greek School in 1863, but only in 1867 I was sent to the Halkidos High School, where I attended the 1st and 2nd years. The 3rd I studied in Piraeus, then I stopped my studies and stayed in my homeland. In July 1872, I went to the Holy Mountain for a pilgrimage, where I stayed for a few months. In 1873 I came to Athens and studied at Varvakeio for the 4th year. In 1874 I enrolled in the Philosophical School, where I took a few philological courses by choice, but I personally studied foreign languages.

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