With the Lutheran Bishop of Oslo, Gunnar Stålsett. Holy Saturday, 1999

TO HIS ALL-HOLINESS BARTHOLOMEW, PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE,
11 August 1999.

"…During the Orthodox Easter this year I brought 42 of my pastors for a visit to Greece ‘in the footsteps of St. Paul’. One of the highlights of the visit was being received at the Exaltation of the Holy Cross Monastery, Thebes Boeotias. I was deeply impressed by the young, well-educated sisters who witnessed to their faith through the Divine Liturgy and in our conversations. One of the sisters is from Norway and my office has had contact with her for years. She has informed me about the plans of creating a monastery in Norway – in fact two, one for nuns in Western Norway – and one for monks in Mid-Norway. With this letter I want to express my spiritual support of these plans. It would be a very meaningful ecumenical sign and symbol if these plans could materialize under Your blessing and authority by the Grace of God.

Yours in Christ. Gunnar Stålsett,
Lutheran Bishop of Oslo"

 

August, 2000

1 T Procession of the Precious Cross.
(Dormition Fast begins.) The Seven Maccabees. 		17 T Myron, Paul & Juliana, Martyrs.
2 W Transfer of the relics of the First Martyr Stephen. 18 F Blessed Arsenios of Paros. Martyrs Phlorus, Lavros & Leon.
3 T Salome the Myrrhbearer. Theodora. 19  S Andrew the Commander & his 2693 soldiers, Martyrs.
4 F Seven Holy Youths of Ephesus. Eudocia. 20 S + 9TH SUNDAY OF MATTHEW. Prophet Samuel. Martyr Lucius.
5 S Eusignius. Nonna, mother of St. Gregory. 21 M Apostle Thaddaeus. Vassa & three sons, Martyrs.
6 S + TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR LORD. 22 T Martyr Agathonicus.
7 M Hieromartyr Dometius of Persia. Narcissus. 23 W + Apodosis of the Dormition. Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons.
8 T + Aemilianos, Bishop of Cyzicos. Myron of Crete. 24 T + Dionysios of Aegina. Cosmas the Aetolos.
9 9 W Apostle Matthias. Maria the Patrician. 25 F Apostles Bartholomaeus & Titus, Bishop of Crete.
10 T Archdeacon Lawrence. Hippolytus. 26 S Martyrs Adrianos, Natalia & 23 companions of Nicomedia.
11 F Deacon Euplus. Miracle of St. Spyridon. 27 S + 10TH SUNDAY OF MATTHEW Blessed Pimen. New-martyr Anthousa. Martyr Phanourios.
12 S Photius, Akinetos & Pamphilos the Martyrs. 28 M Moses the Ethiopian. Diomedes. Martyr Laurentius.
13 13 S + 8th SUNDAY OF MATTHEW. Maximus the Confessor. Eudocia & Irene, Empresses. 29 T + Beheading of John the Baptist. (Fast.)
14 M Prophet Micah. Hieromartyr Marcellos. 30 W Alexander, John, & Paul, Patriarchs of Constantinople.
15 T + DORMITION OF THE MOST HOLY THEOTOKOS. 31 T The Honorable Sash of the Most Holy Theotokos.
16 W Holy Mandelion. Timothy.
 
 

Let us keep working together, giving way and not selling the faith, not betraying her, but giving way in the sense of forgiveness. And not only forgiving, but also leaving. Let us go away, the hour that we are before the other, and immediately, after that, he is disarmed. Because, what does the other person want, at the time that he is chasing us with the pistol and the knife? He wants to see if we can not only seize his hand and turn the knife back upon him, but if, even when we have all the power, we can relax and stretch out our arms for him to crucify us. And then, instead of burying us, he will adore us.

Thus we must intensively cultivate the element of cooperation; and wherever and however much we failed at this, or even if we have never yet achieved this at all, let this also become one of our aims for the year 2000.


EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS MONASTERY
322 00 THEBES BOEOTIA, GREECE.
email: ypsosis@fhc.org
Telephone: 30.226.2062265
Fax: 30.226.2062004
To send e-mail to the monastery, click the mailbox below:

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