THIS FOLLOWING MATERIAL THAT HAS BEEN GLEANED
FROM
THE MASS MEDIA OF TURKEY
The Turks say to Greek visitors:
“This land is your land.” The fanaticism
of the Islamists in Turkey does not allow discussion about religion. But that which it has not succeeded with
zembekika and relationships is being affected by the Orthodox Church since it has
become very evident amongst many Turks that their religious roots are based on Orthodox
Christianity. This is a reality even
though a few Seljuk Turks changed the ethno-religious character of millions of
Greeks in Asia Minor, Thrace, Pontos and other places of Turkey when they were
forced to accept Islam. Many accepted Islam superficially to save their necks;
today Orthodox religiosity is being expressed by their descendants. The crypto—Christians make up for the
Patriarchate of Constantinople a hidden flock of tragic victims of an
autocratic rule of many centuries. These
people live everywhere in Turkey, especially in the Pontos area where there are
possibly two million of them. Remote Churches are functioning again and they
are being filled by crypto—Christians who receive communion reverently and they
fast even from olive oil for five days every week during the Great Lent. Graffiti
is being written on the walls of the City by young people who say: “We do not
want to be Muslims anymore. We want to
become Christians.” The Turks say to visiting Greeks: “This land is your land.”
Even the guards at museums tell the Greeks not to pay entrance fees because
“these museums belong to you.”
The Turks do not consider it a blessing from
God that they unjustly stole the land from the Romans (Greeks) and banished
them from it. They consider this
injustice the reason for their not being able to progress as a people. They understand that they live in a land where
all things are Hellenic; the history, the monuments, the cities, the
civilization and the most significant of all, they believe that Greek blood
flows in their veins. The circumstances
that lead to this understanding are many.
In the Church of the Holy Trinity at an intersection in Constantinople,
Father Dositheos encounters a young Turkish girl who makes an offering to his
Church, lights a candle, reverences an icon and then explains to the priest why
she did this: “I am fond of what you people do.” Every Friday when the Monastery of the
Transfiguration has services, it is filled with many Turks. On the Island of Antigoni, the Turks honor
Saint George by giving gifts to the Monastery of olive oil, candles, and money
in thanksgiving for the many miracles that the Saint performs. Many Turks virtually stream to one of the
forty holy places of the City, one of them in Baloukli, seeking help for the
many problems that afflict their lives. For
example, on the first day of every month at the Church of the Holy Mother in
Befa, hundreds of Turks come to get Holy Water. And on New Year’s Day, this
Church is overwhelmed with thousands of worshippers. Every Monday near Saint Sophia, at the Church
of Saint Therapon, a priest continuously reads prayers for Muslims who wish to
confess. The Shrine at the cave of Saint Demetrius is filled with crutches and
offerings from Turks who have been healed.
They attend Church services, they ask to receive Holy Communion, they
venerate the Cross, and they thank the priest for blessing their sick
child. They especially love Saint
Nicholas. Of special interest is that a
Turkish woman has kept the votive light burning in the Church of the Archangels
in Moshoshoninon for fifty years.
The Turkish paper Sampah writes: “The
reopening of the Patriarchal School of Halki is a request that is very logical.” The author of the article Tsanar supports the
title ecumenical for the Patriarchate which was promulgated at the Fourth Ecumenical
Council in 451 AD. Mr. G. Tzibaoglou
writes that the hanging of the Patriarch Gregory V was a fatal mistake. A Turkish bank published a magazine about the
Byzantine Empire which contains a message of Saint Basil to the youth. The Turkish Academy of Scientists organized a
conference on the world of the Byzantine Empire. The Orthodox Churches in Turkey do not pay
for electricity as they do in Greece.
The Churches are exempt. Turkish
sources in a study prepared by N. Hiladakis reveals that there is a Monastery
of the Pantocrator (The Sovereign Christ), where the tombs of the Emperors of
the Komninion and the Paleologian dynasties are located. This area is known as
Fatih and it is a center of Muslim fanaticism.
It is an area where many Turks light candles and toss money into a tomb in
spite of a posted sign that strictly forbids Muslims from doing this.
In this same area there was a
Byzantine Church of the Holy Apostles. A mosque was built upon the ruins of
this Church and following a number of renovations, the tomb of Mohammad the Conqueror
was opened. This Mohammad had a Christian mother. It was also determined that there is a trap
door that leads to an underground room of the old Church. This indicates that Mohammad had been buried
in an Orthodox Church amongst Byzantine Emperors. There are witnesses that say that at the end
of his life, Mohammed had embraced Christianity and that next to his grave were
found a Cross and an icon of the Holy Mother.
The Church of Saint Irene which is next to Saint Sophia was never turned
into a mosque. Mohammed allowed it to function as a Christian Church in honor
of his Christian mother. All of these
issues, at certain times, occupy the Turkish mass media. The periodical Aktoul printed by the
newspaper Sampah headlined in one of its issues: “Mohammed the Conqueror was a
Christian.” The Weekly Turkish Review of
events says: “They are returning to their religious roots.” It also reports that in three years eight
million copies of the Gospels were distributed in the Turkish language. It also
reported that many Muslims are openly being baptized. These are descendents of
Islamized Christians of Greek origin who uncover their Christian roots.
The paper Sampah headlines: “The Church of the
Panagia (The Holy Mother) in Constantinople is the last hope for the
Turks.” They characterize it as The Door
of Hope, a place of pilgrimage and a place of prayer for the problems that
afflict the Turks.” On the first day of
every month the Turks gather at this Church in great numbers. The fame of the Holy Mother has spread
everywhere amongst the Turks and even well-known Turks come to light candles
and kiss the hand of an Orthodox priest.
They proclaim that is where the House of God is and that is why so many
miracles are happening there.
At the Church of the Archangel
Michael in Sebastia, it is written in the annals of the lives of the Saints
that little fish that swam in the Holy Water used to lick the bodies of the
sick and they were miraculously cured.
This Church was destroyed in the fifteenth century but today the Holy Water
is still there and continues to heal people.
This phenomenon attracts many Europeans.
The newspaper Star writes: “Turkish girls with head scarves attend the
Churches, light candles, and make offerings. They even ask for a blessing from
the astonished priest. They venerate the icons and ask for the intercessions of
the Saints.” All of these things are
forbidden by the teachings of Islam. It is observed that there is a return to the
Greek Orthodox Churches and the holy shrines where the Turks find spiritual refuge. The
newspaper Miliet reports that a Turkish mayor celebrated piously the memory of
Saint Nektarios in Silyvria along with many Muslims.
During the last few years, the
celebration of the Feast of Epiphany has been allowed by the Turkish
authorities. The blessing of the waters takes place at the Bosporus and the
Cross is thrown into the waters. The
Turks are very happy about this happening again because the fishermen thought their
catches of fish had become poor because the Romans (Greeks) were no longer
throwing the Cross into the Bosporus during the Feast of Epiphany. The Turkish newspapers reported that during
this feast a young Turkish girl jumped into the water with all her cloths on in
order to retrieve the Cross. She did this with the Christians. She reported to
the newspaper that she wanted to honor the feast of the Romans (Greeks) and
that she would do it again to receive a blessing. The newspaper Houriet, a paper with the
largest circulation in Turkey, published a few years ago that a Turkish
candidate for mayor, who was the leader of an Islamic party, asked for a
blessing from the Orthodox Patriarch. He
did this while being in attendance at the Divine Liturgy in the Church of the
Annunciation on the 25th of March.
He spoke publicly to the Turkish press about the holiness of the leader
of the Orthodox Church and he offered him a rose.
Turkish TV channels regularly show
programs about the monastic community of Meteora in Greece, Mistra, Orthodox
chanting, and the lives of the Saints etc.
They present Turkish iconographers and they report that pilgrims flock
to an ancient Christian catacomb outside of Ankara believing that their lives
will be blessed by their pilgrimage.
They light candles in the area where the Christians used to gather. Outside of Adana, in a catacomb where seven
Christians were sanctified, young Turks gather to incense the area. This again is strictly forbidden by
Islam. These people believe these areas
are holy because many miracles happen there.
In Tarsus, the Church of the Apostle Paul has become a place of
pilgrimage. Here people light candles,
kiss the icons, and drink Holy Water for their health and well-being. They consider all these things to be
holy. On the 24th of
September, on Princess Island, the people honor Saint George. Tens of thousands of pilgrims come from all
parts of Turkey including old people. They walk barefooted from the shore where
they land and continue up to the top of the hill where the Church is located. There they join in a festival that is like no
other. They make offerings, they tie sweet cookies on the trees, and they wait
in endless lines for five hours in order to receive some Holy Water and to have
an Orthodox priest bless them with a Cross.
They light candles; they caress the icons believing in the power of the
Cross. The Turks even write literary pieces which say: “Constantinople was your name, with your pious people, with your
Churches, with your Monasteries, with your shrines, with your icons, with your
monks and angels. You were the capital
of an Empire. Constantinople is your
name.”
The
author of this article says: “Pay attention to what is happening here in
Turkey. Let those in Greece who war
against the Church take notice.
Translated
from the Greek text by:
+Fr.
Constantine J. Simones, February 22, 2013, USA
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