The Synod of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine approved the transition to the New Julian calendar from September 1, Reuters reports.
This means that the Church will now celebrate Christmas on December 25th instead of January 7th. Other fixed-date holidays will also be moved, but the change will not apply to Easter, as its date varies.
The Church points out that regardless of the Synod’s decision, parishes and monasteries can continue to use the old calendar.
Although the transition to the new calendar must be approved by the local council of the church on July 27 with the participation of the laity, Metropolitan Epiphanius and a number of other bishops clarified that the matter has in fact been resolved and the change will take place from the beginning of September.
It was previously reported that the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church also intends to switch to another calendar.
In the past, Zelensky’s government has been hesitant to oppose the Moscow-backed church in Ukraine, lest it cross any boundaries of freedom of religious expression or violate European or international norms protecting religious rights. Zelensky did not want to offend the adherents of this church, clearly realizing that in the ranks of its priests and worshipers there are many patriotic Ukrainians, some of whom are fighting on the front lines against the Russians.
But evidence that church leaders were acting to varying degrees as proxies for the enemy caused a shift in opinion amid public pressure for action.
More than 50 priests, according to the latest data, are under investigation for cooperation with Russian forces. One of the most famous is Father Mykola Yevtushenko, who is said to have collaborated with the Russians during their savage 33-day occupation of Bucha, offering blessings to the occupying soldiers and urging his parishioners to welcome the invading forces. As well as trying to support the invasion on behalf of his church, he has also named local residents most likely to resist the occupation of Bucha, a town northwest of Kiev that has become a byword for Russian war crimes.
In September and November, police actions in the buildings of the UOC found pro-Russian literature and Russian passports. Earlier this month, Metropolitan Pavel, abbot of the Lavra, was placed under house arrest ahead of hearings to determine whether he incited religious divisions and praised the Russian invasion. Paul says that the actions against him and the expulsion of the monks from the monastery were politically motivated.
The Kremlin is trying to use as a weapon the actions of the Ukrainian authorities against the UOC for propaganda purposes. In April, Western media outlets, including Politico, and human rights organizations were bombarded by thousands upon thousands of spambot emails purporting to come from ordinary Russian citizens expressing deep concern that Ukraine was “provoking an inter-religious war.” Spam messages from fake accounts claim that the Ukrainian president is throwing monks out into the street in violation of international norms and freedom of religious belief.
US President Joe Biden announced yesterday a new initiative to fight anti-Semitism, consisting of more than 100 measures that can be taken by the US government and its partners, the Associated Press reported.
Biden pointed out that this is the first US National Strategy to combat anti-Semitism and that it sends a clear message that “evil will not win in America.”
The strategy, months in the making, has four main goals: to understand the causes of anti-Semitism and how it threatens America, to strengthen the security of Jewish communities, to take measures to combat discrimination based on anti-Semitism, and building solidarity and taking common action from different communities in the name of fighting anti-Semitism.
Jewish organizations welcomed the initiative of the American government, notes AP.
At the same time, the US president announced his nomination for the chairmanship of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Armed Forces, Reuters reported.
This is the head of the US Air Force, General Charles Brown.
“General Brown has built a reputation as an unwavering and highly effective leader, a man of teamwork and trust who carries out with distinction” the tasks set, Biden said when announcing the nomination.
Information about Biden’s nomination was announced already on Wednesday. If confirmed by the US Senate, Brown would succeed current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley and become the second black man to hold the post since Colin Powell (who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1989 to 1993. ).
Biden urged the Senate to approve Brown’s nomination. So far, however, the timetable for the process of approving Brown’s candidacy is not entirely clear, notes Reuters.
Illustrative Photo by Ksenia Chernaya: https://www.pexels.com/photo/candles-burning-3730952/
Less than 10 per cent of schools and universities follow formal guidance on using wildly popular artificial intelligence (AI) tools, like the chatbot software ChatGPT, according to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which hosted more than 40 ministers at an groundbreaking online meeting on Thursday.
The ministers exchanged policy approaches and plans while considering the agency’s new roadmap on education and generative AI, which can create data and content based on existing algorithms, but can also make alarming factual errors, just like humans.
“Generative AI opens new horizons and challenges for education, but we urgently need to take action to ensure that new AI technologies are integrated into education on our terms,” said Stefania Giannini, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Education. “It is our duty to prioritize safety, inclusion, diversity, transparency and quality.”
Institutions are facing myriad challenges in crafting an immediate response to the sudden emergence of these powerful AI apps, according to a new UNESCO survey of more than 450 schools and universities.
At the same time, governments worldwide are in the process of shaping appropriate policy responses in a rapidly evolving education landscape, while further developing or refining national strategies on AI, data protection, and other regulatory frameworks, according to UNESCO.
However, they are proceeding with caution. Risks to using these tools can see students exposed to false or biased information, some ministers said at the global meeting.
The debate revealed other common concerns, including how to mitigate the chatbots’ inherent flaws of producing glaring errors. Ministers also addressed how best to integrate these tools into curricula, teaching methods, and exams, and adapting education systems to the disruptions which generative AI is quickly causing.
Many highlighted the vital role teachers play in this new era as learning facilitators.
But, teachers need guidance and training to meet these challenges, according to UNESCO.
Adding to existing frameworks
Teachers need guidance and training to meet these challenges. — UNESCO
UNESCO is also developing policy guidelines on the use of generative AI in education and research, as well as frameworks of AI competencies for students and teachers for classrooms.
These new tools will be launched during Digital Learning Week, to be held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 4 to 7 September, the agency said.
Learn more about UNESCO’s work in digital learning and education here.
Humanitarians reached 5.4 million people in Ukraine with desperately needed aid by April this year, including cash assistance, food, health services, and medicines, the UN said on Friday.
Volker Türk was issuing a clarion call to protect and expand civic space, arguing that it’s the only way to enable us all “to play a role in political, economic, and social life, at all levels, from local to global.”
He said with more and more decision-making migrating online, “with private companies playing an outsized role, having an open, safe digital public square has never been more important”.
And yet, States are struggling and “often failing” to protect online space for the common good, “swinging between a laissez-faire approach that has allowed violence and dangerous hate speech to go unchecked, and overbroad regulations used as a cudgel against those exercising their free speech rights, including journalists and human rights defenders,” he added.
Invest in multilingual markets
He called on big business to step up and increase investment in preventing and responding to online harms, especially in the non-English language environment, stressing that “doing business in any location requires making sure you can do so safely, in line with the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.”
The UN rights chief said that carving out civic space was key to human rights, to peace, development, and for “sustainable and resilient societies”, but coming under more and more pressure from undue restrictions, and laws.
This includes crackdowns on peaceful assembly, internet shutdowns and bullying and harassment online.
Expand space as a ‘precondition’
“States must step up efforts to protect and expand civic space as the precondition for people to be able to sustainably enjoy all other entitlements enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, from access to healthcare and clean water and quality education to social protection and labour rights”, Mr. Türk argued.
Pressure on civil space continues despite the inspiring commitment of civil society groups, he continued.
“Civil society is a key enabler of trust between governments and the populations they serve and is often the bridge between the two. For governments to reduce barriers to public participation, they must protect this space, for the benefit of all – both online and offline”.
The US National Hurricane Center acts as WMO’s Regional Specialized Meteorological hub, based in Miami, Florida.
There is a 40 per cent chance of a near-normal season, 30 per cent possibility of an “above-normal season”, and also 30 per cent of a below-normal season, according to forecasters with the Climate Prediction Center.
The hurricane season covering the Atlantic region, including the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and US east coast, lasts from 1 June to 30 November.
NOAA forecasts between 12 and 17 total named storms, which means winds of at least 63 kilometres per hour, or 39 miles per hour.
Among the potential hurricanes, it forecasts one to four “major hurricanes” – categories three to five – with winds of at least 178kmh, or 111mph.
WMO said that NOAA has “a 70 per cent confidence in these ranges.
“It is expected to be less active than recent years, due to competing factors – some that suppress storm development and some that fuel it – driving this year’s overall forecast for a near-normal season, according to NOAA”, WMO reported in a press release.
The agency reminded however, that it takes just one landfalling major hurricane to set back years of growth and development.
Statistics presented to the ongoing World Meteorological Congress showed how Small Island Developing States suffer disproportionately in terms of both economic impact and the human toll.
Early warning imperative
For instance, Hurricane Maria in 2017, cost the Caribbean island nation of Dominica, a staggering 800 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product.
“Between 1970 and 2021 tropical cyclones (the generic term which includes hurricanes) were the leading cause of both reported human and economic losses worldwide, accounting for more than 2,000 disasters”, said WMO. However, the death toll from deadly storms has fallen from around 350,000 in the 1970s to less than 20,000 in 2010-2019. Reported economic losses in 2010-2019 were at $573.2 billion.
‘Major killers’
“Tropical cyclones are major killers and a single storm can reverse years of socio-economic development. The death toll has fallen dramatically thanks to improvements in forecasting, warning and disaster risk reduction. But we can do even better,” said WMO Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas.
“The UN Early Warnings for All initiative seeks to ensure that everyone has access to warnings of life-threatening winds, storm surge and rainfall in the next five years, especially in Small Island Developing States which are on the frontlines of climate change,” he said.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts near-normal hurricane activity in the Atlantic for the 2023 season.
Name that storm
An average Atlantic hurricane season has 14 named storms, seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes.
In total, the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season produced 14 named storms, of which eight became hurricanes and two were major hurricanes (Ian and Fiona). Both 2020 and 2021 were so active that the regular list of rotating names was exhausted.
After three hurricane seasons with a La Niña, there is a high potential for El Nino to develop this summer, which can suppress Atlantic hurricane activity. El Nino’s potential influence on storm development could be offset by favorable conditions local to the tropical Atlantic Basin.
New model boosts prep time
“With a changing climate, the data and expertise NOAA provides to emergency managers and partners to support decision-making before, during and after a hurricane has never been more crucial,” said NOAA Administrator, Rick Spinrad.
“To that end, this year we are operationalizing a new hurricane forecast model and extending the tropical cyclone outlook graphic from five to seven days, which will provide emergency managers and communities with more time to prepare for storms.”
“The United Nations and its partners made strides in rolling back the worst food insecurity last year, but these gains remain fragile, and 17 million people are still food insecure in Yemen,” said David Gressly, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for the country.
Compared to the same period in 2022, the levels of acutely malnourished people rose in 2023, indicating a need for more funding to stave off extreme hunger, according to the latest findings of a new report by three UN agencies that are closely monitoring the situation, following eight years of intense warfare.
Yemen remains one of the most food insecure countries globally, mainly driven by the impact of conflict and economic decline, according to the report from the UN food agency, FAO, the World Food Programme (WFP), and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
The integrated phase classification (IPC) analysis provides an outlook for the period between now until the end of this year, indicating the need for more programme investments, as the modest improvements may be eroded, the agencies said.
Their report showed that the people of Yemen continue to require attention, with hunger stalking millions. The agencies cautioned that the situation could worsen if nothing is done to address the key drivers of food insecurity.
The new report showed that between January and May 2023, about 3.2 million people experienced high levels of acute food insecurity in government-controlled areas, representing a 23 per cent reduction from the period between October and December 2022.
During the June to December 2023 period, the report estimated that the number of people likely to experience high levels of acute food insecurity could increase to 3.9 million, out of which 2.8 million people are projected to reach crisis levels of hunger.
Life-saving interventions
FAO Yemen representative Hussein Gadain, said the agency is focused, through various interventions, on improving household food security and income by strengthening agricultural production practices, increasing labour opportunities, and diversifying livelihoods in a sustainable way that fosters peaceful coexistence.
There are women, men, and children behind these IPC statistics, whose lives straddle the fine line between hope and utter devastation. – Richard Ragan, WFP Country Director
We are working directly with farmers on the ground to enable them to maintain their livelihoods,” he said. “We make sure that smallholder farmers in Yemen will withstand any shocks which impact food security.”
UNICEF and partners reached around 420,000 children suffering from severe and acute malnutrition with life-saving interventions in 2022, said the agency’s Yemen representative, Peter Hawkins.
“This is the highest ever reached in Yemen, thanks to the scale-up of nutrition services,” he said, adding that despite this, malnutrition levels remain critical in many areas of the southern governorates.
“A multisectoral approach to address all forms of malnutrition is essential and together with partners UNICEF is strengthening the provision of primary health care, including early detection and treatment of severe acute malnutrition”, he said.
Averting famine
The UN food agency’s assistance is critical for getting people to firmer ground, for averting crisis and famine, said WFP Country Director, Richard Ragan. Yemen’s food insecurity situation remains fragile, and the hard-won gains of the past 12 months will be lost without continued and urgent support, he said.
“There are women, men, and children behind these IPC statistics, whose lives straddle the fine line between hope and utter devastation,” he said, urging donors to renew their commitment to supporting the most vulnerable Yemenis. “We simply cannot take our foot off the gas now.”
Learn more about what the UN is doing to help the people of Yemen here.
Ahead of World No Tobacco Day on Wednesday 31 May, WHO deplored that 3.2 million hectares of fertile land across 124 countries are being used to grow deadly tobacco – even in places where people are starving.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that governments across the world “spend millions supporting tobacco farms”, and that choosing to grow food instead of tobacco would allow the world to “prioritize health, preserve ecosystems, and strengthen food security for all”.
The agency’s new report, “Grow food, not tobacco”, recalls that a record 349 million people are facing acute food insecurity, many of them in some 30 countries on the African continent, where tobacco cultivation has increased by 15 per cent in the last decade.
According to WHO, nine of the 10 largest tobacco cultivators are low and middle-income countries. Tobacco farming compounds these countries’ food security challenges by taking up arable land. The environment and the communities which rely on it also suffer, as the crop’s expansion drives deforestation, contamination of water sources and soil degradation.
Vicious cycle of dependence
The report also exposes the tobacco industry for trapping farmers in a vicious cycle of dependence and exaggerating the economic benefits of tobacco as a cash crop.
Speaking to reporters in Geneva on Friday, Dr. Rüdiger Krech, WHO’s Director for Health Promotion, warned that tobacco’s economic importance is a “myth that we urgently need to dispel”.
He said that the crop contributes less than 1 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in most tobacco-growing countries, and that the profits go to the world’s major cigarette-makers, while farmers struggle under the burden of debt contracted with the tobacco companies.
‘Smokers, think twice’
Dr. Krech also explained that tobacco farmers find themselves exposed to nicotine poisoning and dangerous pesticides. The broader impact on communities and whole societies is devastating, as some 1.3 million child labourers are estimated to be working on tobacco farms instead of going to school, he said.
“The message to smokers is, think twice”, Dr. Krech said, as consuming tobacco came down to supporting an iniquitous situation in which farmers and their families were suffering.
Workers at a tobacco factory in Malawi fill processing machinery with coal. (file)
Breaking the cycle
WHO, along with the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have joined forces around the Tobacco Free Farms initiative, to help thousands of farmers in countries like Kenya and Zambia to grow sustainable food crops instead of tobacco.
The programme provides farmers with microcredit lending to pay off their debts with tobacco companies, as well as knowledge and training to grow alternative crops, and a market for their harvest, thanks to WFP’s local procurement initiatives.
Dr. Krech said that the programme was a “proof of concept” of the power of the UN system to enable farmers to break free from harmful tobacco cultivation. He outlined ambitious plans to expand the programme, as countries in Asia and South America were already requesting support.
“We can help every farmer in the world to get out of tobacco farming if they wish,” he said.
Photo credit: UK Lords and Commons & Greek National Women’s Teams
By every measure available, football is Europe’s favourite sporting pastime. This isn’t just due to the historical roots, with the sport taking hold in most regions in the 19th century. It was propelled by national rivalries, professional leagues, and passionate fans who bring a vibrant atmosphere to matches, as well as its accessibility in terms of facilities.
It’s true that it can be played almost anywhere, from small local pitches to large stadiums. It also has the advantage of being fundamentally simple.
Cricket, on the other hand, has all the quirks and complexities that reflect its English provenance. Its rules are seen as complex. Yet while it is true that the sport requires specific, often expensive equipment and a marked area for formal competitive play, recreational versions can be played almost anywhere with a bat, ball, and a few players.
European Cricket is on the rise, and it’s good news for us all 4
Earlier this April, this vision of community-based cricket came to life in Corfu, Greece, on the historic green in the centre of the city, to mark the 200th anniversary of Greek cricket on the island.
The Greek Cricket Federation (GCF), hosted the UK Parliament, the British Army Development XI, The Gurkha Regiment, The Lord’s Taverners, The Royal Household CC and the Greek National Women’s teams in Corfu, Greece, for the good of the sport and in aid of mental health.
Cricket is not a traditional sport in most of Europe but is growing due to a combination of dedicated organizers such as the GCF and immigrants from the Indian subcontinent, where the sport is the most popular.
34 countries in Europe play cricket
Germany, for instance, now has more than 10,000 cricket players, making cricket the fastest-growing sport. Indeed, 34 countries around the continent now have fully recognised ICC (International Cricket Council) status. Europe is no longer the outlier, now that the world’s second most popular sport – cricket – is taking hold here in earnest. This is very good news for Europe.
Playing cricket regularly can help improve agility, coordination, cardiovascular health, stamina, balance, fine and gross motor skills, weight loss, and muscle strength. Cricket requires quick reactions, alertness, and sharp hand-eye coordination, which can help in other areas of life.
Additionally, the sport can help build physical and mental stamina, as well as promoting weight loss and muscle strength. Cricket is also conventionally played in summer sun, which is itself strongly associated with calm and focus via the release of the neurotransmitter serotonin.
Besides physical health, cricket offers opportunities to learn more about the sport, develop tactical knowledge and build concentration skills. Building tactical knowledge can help individuals to think more deeply and develop an understanding of patterns of play. Cricket players must also concentrate for long periods, and a lack of concentration can result in costly mistakes during a game.
Playing cricket can also help individuals to work as a team, developing social skills and encouraging collaboration. These benefits can lead to improved mental health, reduced stress, and a better overall sense of well-being.
More sport, less stress
By directly addressing issues of loneliness, and self-esteem, and by promoting socialisation and cooperation, sport has been shown to be strongly associated with sound mental and physical health both in childhood and adulthood and with lower rates of stress. When people play, that is often taken as the first sign of recovery from trauma.
It is these advantages that motivate the Lord’s Taverners, a sports accessibility charity which uses cricket to positively impact young and disadvantaged lives across the EU and beyond. The charity, led by David Gower, a former England cricket captain and an iconic figure in cricket, has a mission to provide “a sporting chance” to disadvantaged young people through their ‘Wicketz’ programme. The programme offers coaching and sports opportunities to young people from communities with limited opportunities, both economically and in sports. The programme teaches young people about teamwork, camaraderie, and purpose.
Cricket, a new opportunity for life and health
Many young people, including Mohammed Malik from Luton, joined the programme for the promise of free coaching and sport. Malik joined at the age of 12 and found himself enjoying the sport, the community, and the competition. Now, at the age of 19, he is a qualified cricket coach, has played county cricket for Bedfordshire, and is giving back to the programme that introduced him to the sport.
Community sport provides a positive outlet for young people to improve their mental/emotional well-being and focus on hope, purpose, and community, as stated by Gower.
Photo credit: UK Lords and Commons Cricket & Lord’s Taverners teams
Having emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic, Europeans are now enduring mental health difficulties to an unparalleled extent. The way in which various governments handled the pandemic and its aftermath has also brought home that we cannot rely only on governments to remedy mental problems.
Furthermore, it is widely recognised that state-provided care in the mental health space is in many ways inadequate (when not dangerous). Local and charitable initiatives are however uniquely situated to improve the life quality of citizens. For example, by providing spaces for people to play sports such as cricket.
Indeed, outdoor sports activities have for a long time been a part of life in Britain, and the hope is that this vision can spread to Europe. Communities gathering together during the weekend or bank holiday to take part in or observe a game of tennis, football, or cricket; sipping Pimm’s and Lemonade, consuming nibbles and sandwiches, and catching up with friends and family.
Cricket is also a formidable spectator sport. Those watching from the boundaries can also do other things alongside the game, such as have a barbeque. Others can watch alone, with some chewing gum, an activity which has been shown time and again by mental health experts to aid relaxation and enhance the effectiveness of relaxation techniques.
Bringing this English tradition to Europe is likely to have a noticeable impact not only on physical, but also on mental health. In an era where tackling loneliness in our increasingly atomised society is ever higher on the agenda, providing facilities for people to spontaneously meet up and engage in healthy activities will prove to be a key feature of a broader project to improve mental health, especially for young children.
Nigel Adams MP, present with the UK Lords and Common’s team, reiterated this point, saying that “more time for activity in the school day is so essential and this fact has been borne out by lockdown”. In particular, there is emerging evidence that socialisation helps to deal effectively with what is known as depression in modern life. One expert notes that one of the leading causes of depression is isolation, loneliness and lack of social support.
She writes that if people can get some degree of social and emotional support, they will get through difficult times more easily and smoothly. This in turn will improve one’s social confidence, which often takes a blow during depressive episodes, leading to a virtuous cycle whereby social interaction generates more social interaction and potentially a route out of emotional difficulties.
If one adds the social element of sport to the opportunity to exercise, with the attendant release of endorphins, offering facilities to engage in these activities presents a venue to tackle the depression and anxiety epidemic, without having to “medicate” and hide every emotional difficulty or problem in life.
by Gregory, Bishop of Russia (Metropolitan of Kiev and Western Russia Grigory Tsamblak, 1364 – c. 1420*)
Today’s holiday is the fulfillment of the providence that the Only Begotten Son of God carried out for the human race, sent not servilely, but divinely, as fulfilling the will of the Father; He did not appear to the world in appearance, but actually: in our infirmity, when he took on human form and took human form, he became like the flesh of our nothingness, as the wise teacher Paul says. And not only through the cross, the nails and the stabbing with a spear in the ribs, the truth about Himself proved, but also through the death, the grave, the Resurrection, the touch of the disciple, and – lastly – today through His divine Ascension He convinced everyone. The ascension, by which He lifted up the old Adam and He became the New Adam, because it was fitting that the old should be renewed by the new, the sick should be healed by the physician, the fallen should be raised by the strong, the dead should be raised by life, the condemned by sin – from the sinless to be justified, the corruptible from the imperishable to become incorruptible, the earthly from the heavenly to be exalted. And after He became related to us, slaves, to our flesh and blood (apart from slavery!), we also joined His glory and honor (apart from dominion!). And because Jesus was foremost among the many brothers, he was also the first from the dead (resurrected). Through the name of adoption, he honored those who believed in his name, and through immortality he favored them, paving the way for the Resurrection, so that those dying because of the old Adam would be revived because of the New. And at the same time, there will be no descent into hell, as there was because of the one, but an ascent to the heavens, as today, because of the New. And since man, having grown old in all things because of crimes and then become useless, perished, having damaged reason through the error of deification, turned the reasonable of the soul into unreasonable (from this he became completely unreasonable, differing only in appearance from speechless animals), the Word he becomes flesh, he grows fat, so that he may heal the unreasonable through himself; he accepts the intelligent and soulful man, so that he can heal the damaged mind and restore the seduced soul, and renew the man in everything completely complete and perfect through himself. For not for angels, not for archangels, not for cherubim and seraphim, not for any other creature was this work appropriate, but only for Him who in the beginning created man. Because having renewed him completely and having put on the newness (according to Col. 3:10), as we said, suffering, he freed him from sufferings; dying, he immortalized him; resurrecting, him resurrected; and then ascending, he also ascends with Himself and places him at the right hand of God and the Father, from whom He never departed. He will send His Holy Spirit in the form of tongues of fire to enlighten the world, comfort the grieving disciples, bestow gifts on them, baptize them, make them wise, arm them with divine power and send them to preach, their tongues as forges and sharpened like tongues of fire. Since the Son appeared in the world and lived with men, it was fitting that the Spirit should also descend, showing His actions. You stay – he said – in the city of Jerusalem until you are clothed with power from above (Luke 24:49). And when he had said this, as they looked on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him before their eyes. And while they were looking up to heaven, two men stood before them in white clothes and said: Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up to heaven? (Acts 1:9-11).
Tell me, how much must the disciples have suffered then, who spent so much time with the Master, experienced His sufferings, and when, after so much sorrow, they had just seen the joy of the Resurrection, for it to be immediately taken away from them? So they stood still, looking up at the sky, overcome with sadness. And as if in awe, they thought that they did not see Him, but angels who appeared to announce that He was coming again. And they are in white clothes, so that from these clothes they can turn sorrow into joy. Galilean men said, because the Jews called the Lord a Galilean, insulting Him. That is why the male angels of Galilee call them, and to the same name, by joining them, they inspired courage and comfort. This Jesus, Who ascends from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven (Acts 1:11). This Jesus, not another – he said – but this one. Not whom the Jews are waiting for as a savior (loser themselves!), but the One of Whom you are witnesses: crucified, buried, called a deceiver, resurrected, and now from among you ascending to heaven – he said – so that they do not think Him to be was carried in the air like Elijah, because it is written about him: and Elijah was carried in a whirlwind as if in heaven (according to 4 Kings 2:11), and here not as if in heaven, but in heaven. This Jesus, ascending from you to heaven, will come again in the same way. How so! In the form in which you saw Him ascending into heaven, so He will come in the flesh to judge all flesh! Thus, on the clouds of heaven, arriving with glory, every human being will see Him! Let the impure mouths of the heretics be shut, for God ascends in the flesh, but remains unchanged in both: in one being two natures bearing unmixed.
Not only Thomas, touching Him, confessed God and man, but the angels also taught the apostles thus, saying: so it will come, for God is not naked, nor is it an ordinary man, but God and man, man united with God. Why do you stand looking to heaven, as if to say: Why do you mourn while He goes to the Father, as if you were forsaken? Don’t you remember that before the crucifixion, making a will, he spoke to you: I will not leave you (John 14:18), and on the mountain in Galilee he promised to be with you, saying: I am with you all the days until the end of the world ( Matthew 28:20). And because he chose you out of the world and called you his friends (according to John 15:19; 15:15), he goes to prepare a place for you with the Father, so that you may be with him (according to John 14:2-3) and see His glory, existing eternally with the Father and the Holy Spirit, which they have from before the creation of the world, and the Comforter to be sent to you from the Father – the Spirit of truth (John 15:26), not in the flesh, as He was incarnate, but Himself will be He descends because He is God and appears as He wills (according to John 14:16-17).
Oh glorious deeds! Oh, unknowable mysteries! Because once upon a time, from the very beginning, great and saving gifts were sent from heaven to the earth below, and then from above to the lower place, as in Exodus: a pillar of cloud during the day, and a pillar of fire at night (Ex. 14:24) , and in the wilderness manna and quails (Ex. 16:13), and a Covenant given on the mountain, and a cloud overshadowing the tabernacle of the congregation (Ex. 33:7-11) when Aaron and his sons ministered, and fire descending on the sacrifice offered (Lev. 9:24), and the various appearances of angels, as well as with Jesus (Isa. Nav. 5:14), Manoah (Judg. 13:3), Daniel (Dan. 9:21), Zechariah (Luke 1:11-13) and Ezekiel, when in one night the angel slew one hundred and seventy-five thousand of the Assyrian army (2 Kings 19:35; Is. 37:36), and the standing of the lamps and the reverse movement, as it was in Jericho under Jesus (Is. Nav. 10:13) and in Jerusalem under Isaiah (Is. 38:8) and many others. Today the heavens benefit from the earth, divine and great gifts are sent from below – above (supernaturally!) and their beginning is the Ascension of the Lord from the Mount of Olives. Today the prophecy from the psalm was fulfilled, which says: God ascended with shouts, the Lord ascended with the sound of a trumpet (Ps. 46:6). And it was more appropriate, because it is appropriate for the King to ascend with an exclamation, because the exclamation is an announcement and glorification by the people, given to kings and conquerors, and our King as a conqueror ascended to the Father, leading the universe for His service.
They called forth the angelic hosts, and announced with great fear and haste. Their trumpet voice was similar. What did the heavenly powers say, exclaiming: they glorified, they sang, they praised, they offered the three-holy song as a gift, they marveled at such a descent, seeing Him with the Father, sitting on the cherubim and sung by the seraphim, in the flesh as the Lord ascending from the earth. And overcome with trepidation, they commanded the superior forces to raise the door. When they asked in bewilderment, “Who is this?”, they learned that he was strong and mighty in armor, the King of glory and the Lord of hosts. He is indeed the one who trampled down death through death, and the one who united the divided. “And why are his clothes red,” he said. “That it may be known that he is our King, but we never saw him in purple.” And they said again: “He comes from Vosor” (according to Is. 63:1). “Flesh carries – he said – which for the sake of humanity he accepted” (according to Is. 63:9), because in Syrian flesh is called vosor. It seems that even the heavenly powers are questioning Him with horror and amazement. “And why are Your clothes red like one who has trodden a furrow?” (according to Is. 63:2). Looking at Him with wounded arms, legs and ribs, they come to this question. “And if because of His great goodness – He said – He clothed Himself in flesh through grace, then why do You wear bloody and pierced limbs, if You do not feel pain because of Your divinity?”. “He stood – he spoke – I trampled alone, I shed my blood alone for all, and there was not a man with me among the nations (according to Is. 63:3). And not among the nations – he said – I trod this stand of My blood, but among the beloved vineyard, among Judea, outside the city of Jerusalem, which I expected to bear grapes, but it bore thorns. That is why My clothes are red” (according to Is. 63:3). And what about them: “Glory to You, Lord, glory to Your suffering, Resurrection and Ascension!”.
His holy feast was called from afar by the Godfather, saying: “Ascend to the heavens, O God, and let Your glory be on the whole earth!”. Since He ascended, all over the earth the cross is worshiped, because everywhere the cross is called glory. And Habakkuk: The Lord ascended to heaven and thundered; will judge the ends of the earth, being righteous (1 Kings 2:10). There David says: The Lord ascended at the sound of a trumpet (Ps. 46:6), and here Habakkuk thundered and said: The Lord ascended to heaven and thundered. And what’s more: when He ascended, the gospel trumpets sounded everywhere. Moreover, the divine John, called by the Lord Himself the son of thunder, as if from some heaven of theology, proclaims from above to the ends of the earth with a voice clearer than thunder: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. All things were made through Him, and without Him not one thing was made that was made (John 1:1; 1:3).
Let us go again to the evangelist Luke and see how, after the Savior’s Resurrection, He accompanied the disciples in (their) exhaustion, repeatedly lifting their fallen spirit and directing their thoughts to the heights. And so it was for many days: he appeared to them for forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3). He did not say “For forty days he appears to them”, but in forty days. Not as before the Resurrection, when he was always with them, so then, sometimes he appeared, sometimes he went away. When he appeared, he often joined them at the table, reminding them of their former habits and informing them that they would not be abandoned. The main point of all this is the Resurrection to prove. Thus, joining the table, he ordered them not to go far from Jerusalem (according to Acts 1:4), because, fearing and trembling, he had led them to Galilee, because of the free space and the silence of the mountain with much silence and freedom to hear the things he speaks. When they heard them and received them and spent forty days, he ordered them from Jerusalem not to go far. Why? For if a few war against many, no one allows them to go out until they are armed, so those before the descent of the Holy Spirit are not allowed to appear in battle, so that they may not be easily caught and captured by the many. Not only that, but because many would believe from what was happening there. And thirdly, so that some may not say that they have abandoned the Jerusalemites they know and have come here to be proud. Wait for the promise of the Father, about which you have heard from Me (Acts 1:4). When did they listen to it? Then when he said: And when the Comforter comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, he will testify about me (John 15:26). And more: If I do not go away, the Comforter will not come to you (John 16:7).
While He was here, the Comforter did not come, but when He left, He came immediately, but after ten days. And why, you will say, did not the Holy Spirit descend immediately after He ascended? That they may desire Him greatly, that they may grieve at the expectation, and with great zeal receive Him. For if one had descended and the other had ascended, (the Comforter) would have remained and the consolation would not have been so great. Therefore he delays and does not come down immediately, so that they grieve a little and thirst for the promised, pure delight to experience the promise. And since they all praised the baptism of John, lest they themselves think something humanly because of simple-heartedness which, shows how great the difference is between Him and John and emphasizes that John baptizes with water, and you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5). And not only that, but they themselves were shown to be greater than John, because by the Holy Spirit they would baptize others (people). And he did not say until I baptize you, but until you are baptized, in everything leaving examples of humble wisdom for us. And look, after so many words, after so many instructions, after so many visits, how unreasonable and curious they were. And he appropriately added: and a cloud covered Him (Acts 1:9), because a cloud once covered the temple (according to Ex. 33:9-11).
And in (the book of the prophet) Daniel shows the vision of the Lord on a cloud: I looked, he said, and behold, on the clouds of heaven there came as it were the Son of Man, he came to the Ancient of Days (Dan. 7:13). And since he will come on the clouds with glory (according to Acts 1:11), it was fitting that he should also ascend in this way. The spectacle was wonderful: a man carried on a cloud, flying through the air and reaching the heavenly circles, and leaving the heavens below Himself, and sitting above the seraphim with the Father on the throne. Enoch was transported, but in another, unknown way (Heb. 11:5); Elijah ascended, but on a fiery chariot and fiery horses, which are signs of earthly things, and not (he ascended) on a cloud (according to 4 Kings 2:11): therefore Elijah, as a slave, through himself prefigured the Ascension of his Master. Like Moses, translating the people, he was an image of Him who brought us out of darkness and the shadow of death (Ps. 106:14). Because the divine prophets not only predicted everything about Christ with words, but also with material things. Others through themselves prefigured Him. So also the mantle of Elijah, which fell on Elisha, foreshadowed the descent of the Spirit on the apostles, because after receiving the mantle, which fell on him, he had a double grace and with him the Jordan parted. They, having clothed themselves with the power of the Spirit, cut through the error and covered the universe with the gospel net. Let us also be part of his inheritance, so that we may receive eternal benefits in the name of Christ Jesus our Lord. To Him and to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, power, splendor and worship, now and forever and to the ages without end. Amen.
* Note about the author: The emblematic figure of Grigoriy Tsamblak will never cease to be one of the granite foundations of Bulgarian medieval culture. And in his own way, to be a part of the history of many other countries and peoples, as well as of the time in which he lived and worked. By his wise international actions combined with timeless literary creativity, Tsamblak showed that he preferred common sense to prejudice, empiricism to scholasticism. and that in politics he was more a realist than a theorist. That’s why, with every contact with his work, we will constantly discover the life path inseparable from him, which he follows as a significant writer and a brilliant strategist. He was simply ahead of his time, grasping the new geopolitical realities in Europe. Born in the capital of Medieval Bulgaria – the city of Tarnovo, a student of St. Patriarch Evtimii Tarnovski. He received an excellent education in Constantinople, in 1390 he accepted monasticism and ascended to St. Mount Athos. In 1401, he was sent by the Patriarch of Constantinople to Moldova, in whose capital he remained to serve and develop a stormy ecclesiastical-diplomatic activity. In order to strengthen the role of the Orthodox Church in the Lithuanian state, in 1415 he was ordained by a council of Western Russian bishops as metropolitan of the Moldavian Church, which separated from Moscow; the following year he was ordained as the first Metropolitan of Kyiv and Lithuania (1413-1420; later Metropolitan of Moldo-Wallachia). Because of this, he was excommunicated from both Constantinople and Moscow, but always remained faithful to Orthodoxy. He was for a short time abbot of the Dečani Monastery in Serbia, and from 1430 he moved to Moldavia, where he played an extremely important role in spreading the Romanian alphabet and strengthening the authority of Slavic liturgical books.
At the request of the prince of Lithuania, he participated in the Council of Constance (held from 1414 to 1418), aiming to overcome the so-called Papal schism, but refused to sign the union with the Catholics, which was humiliating for Orthodoxy, on behalf of Lithuania. With this he incurred the prince’s hatred and left his lands. Soon after, Metropolitan Gregory died.
Author of many sermons, lives and words of praise, which were copied throughout the Orthodox world for centuries – from Moscow to Ohrid and Constantinople, which is why many samples and copies of them have been preserved. Already from the 15th century, his sermons were included in collections of church teachings alongside the sermons of St. John Chrysostom and other holy fathers, including in “Cheti-Minei” by Metropolitan Macarius.
