The drought situation in many regions of Europe remains severe, according to the Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) latest ‘Drought in Europe – August 2022‘ report, an update of the assessment of Europe’s drought situation based on the data and analyses of the European Drought Observatory.
The evolution and impacts of the prolonged drought in the EU confirms the worrying situation of July 2022: 47% of the EU is still under warning conditions, meaning that precipitation has been less than usual and soil moisture is in deficit, and 17% of the EU is in alert, meaning that also vegetation and crops show the negative effects of drought. Cumulatively, 64% of Europe is under warning or alert, which is also contributing to spread widely the areas of fire danger across the EU.
Commissioner for innovation, research, culture, education and youth, Mariya Gabriel, said: “The combination of a severe drought and heatwaves has created an unprecedented stress on water levels in the entire EU. We are currently noticing a wildfires season sensibly above the average and an important impact on crops production. Climate change is undoubtedly more noticeably every year; the European Commission and its scientists are working tirelessly to map and study this crisis with the best technology available, from the space and on the ground, and are leading the efforts to protect our environment and our citizens from emergencies.”
Drought in Europe – August 2022 Soil Moisture – Anomaly beginning of August 2022. JRC Global Drought Observatory (GDO) of the Copernicus Emergency
Water and heat stresses worsen significantly previous negative outlook on yields for summer crops, as reported in the JRC MARS Bulletin of August 2022. Current yield forecasts for grain maize, soybeans, and sunflowers at the EU level are, respectively: 16%, 15%, and 12% below the 5-year average. The severe precipitation deficit has affected almost all rivers across Europe, affecting the energy sector for both hydropower generation and cooling systems of other power plants, as well as river transport. Several EU Member States took measures to restrict water as supplies may still be compromised in the coming weeks. Warmer and drier than usual conditions are likely to occur in the western Euro-Mediterranean region in the coming months, until November 2022.
In the last days, precipitation events have alleviated drought conditions in some regions of Europe. However, they brought new challenges as in some areas they occurred in the form of severe thunderstorms. According to JRC experts, the current drought still appears to be the worst since at least 500 years. Final data at the end of the season will confirm this preliminary assessment. The Joint Research Centre produces real-time drought information through the European and Global Drought Observatories (EDO and GDO), which are part of the Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS).
Matter is represented in the human body, no doubt, in the most enigmatic, mysterious and complex way. Brain?! What marvelous mysteries are performed between his matter and soul! No matter how much experience the human race has, these mysteries can neither be understood nor comprehended. Only a few of them are accessible to human sensory-rational knowledge. In the same way, the human heart is all woven from heavenly and earthly secrets. Every cell in the human body, and every molecule, and every atom are woven in the same way. Everything and everything is on its mysterious path to God, to the God-man. After all, matter was created by the God Logos, and thus it is God-centered. By his coming into our earthly world and by his chain-like divine-human economy of saving the world, the Lord Christ clearly showed that not only the soul, but also matter was created by God and for God; showed that there is a God-man. After all, the matter created by the God Logos with all its inner nerve is God-striking and Christ-centered.
The obvious proof of this is that God the Word became flesh, became man (John 1:14). Thus, matter was awarded divine majesty and entered into the gracious and virtuous feat of deification and Christification. God became flesh, became human, so that, having become a man, the whole body would receive God into itself, be filled with His miraculous powers and might, supracherubic glory and eternity. And all this happens, and all this comes true through the divine-human body of the Church, which is the God-man Christ in the fullness of his divine-human personality, the fullness of “He who fills all in all” (Eph. 1:23). By this divine-human life in the church, the body as matter, as substance, is sanctified by the Holy Spirit and thereby is trinified by the Most Holy Trinity. Thus, matter comprehends its highest divine meaning and purpose, its eternal bliss and its divine-human immortal joy.
The holiness of the saints, the holiness of their souls and their bodies, has its source in their zealous grace-virtuous life in the divine-human body of the Church of Christ. Thus, holiness embraces the entire personality of a person: the whole soul and body, everything that enters into the mysterious structure of a human being. The holiness of the saints is not contained only in their soul, but inevitably extends to their body, the saints have both soul and body, and we, piously honoring the saints, honor their whole personality, without dividing them into a holy soul and a holy body. Hence the pious veneration of the relics of the saints – a natural component of the pious veneration and prayerful invocation of the saints. All this makes up a single indivisible feat, just as the soul and body make up a single indivisible personality of a saint. During his life on earth, the saint achieves the holiness of his personality by the unceasing and concordant gracious-virtuous cooperation of his soul and body, fills his soul and body with the grace of the Holy Spirit, and thus transforms them into vessels of holy mysteries and holy virtues. Therefore, it is quite natural to give pious veneration to both vessels of God’s grace. After all, the grace-filled power of Christ permeates and blesses all the constituent parts of the human personality and the whole personality as a whole. By their unceasing evangelical deeds, the saints are gradually filled with the Holy Spirit, so that their holy bodies also become temples of the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 6:19; 3:17). By faith instilling Christ in their hearts (Eph. 3:17), by active love and fulfillment of the commandments (cf. II Cor. 13:13; Gal. 5:6; John 14:28) — God the Father, by feats of grace (cf. Eph 3:16; 3:3; I Cor. 2:12) being established in the Holy Spirit, the saints trinify themselves, become the abode of the Most Holy Trinity (cf. John 14:23; 17:21-23), the temple of the living God ( II Cor. 6:16), and their whole life flows from the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit. And graciously venerating the holy relics of the saints, the Church venerates the temples of the Holy Spirit, the temples of the living God, in which God lives by his grace even after the bodily death of the saint, and, according to his wise good will, works miracles – from them and through them. And those miracles that happen from holy relics testify that their pious veneration by people is pleasing to God.
The pious veneration of holy relics, based on their miraculous work, originates in Divine Revelation. “Even in the Old Testament, God deigned to glorify the relics of some of his saints with miracles. So, from touching the holy relics of the prophet Elisha, the deceased was resurrected (IV Kings 13, 21; Sir. 48, 14-15). 18; compare III Kings 13:32). Patriarch Joseph left a testament to the sons of Israel that they keep his remains in Egypt and take them to the promised land at the Exodus (Gen. 50, 25).
The New Testament raised the body to an unprecedented divine height and glorified it with a glory that does not exist with cherubim and seraphim. The gospel of the New Testament: the meaning and purpose of the human body is that it, together with the soul, achieve and inherit eternal life in eternal bliss, the Lord Christ came to save-christify-deify-deify the whole person, that is, both soul and body, so that by the resurrection provide them with victory over death and eternal life. And no one has ever glorified the human body as the Lord Christ did with his resurrection in the body, his ascension in the body to heaven and eternal sitting in the body at the right hand of God the Father.
Thus, the resurrected Lord introduced the pledge of resurrection into the nature of the human body and — “created the way of all flesh to the resurrection from the dead” (liturgy of St. Basil the Great, Prayer during “Holy, holy, holy …”). From that time on, man knows that the body was created for eternity through God-manhood, and that his divine calling on earth is to fight together with the soul for eternal life (cf. I Tim. 6:12; II Cor. 4:18), to fight with the help of all gracious and virtuous means and thereby grace oneself, be filled with the grace of God, transform oneself into the temple of the Holy Spirit, into the temple of the living God (cf. 1 Cor. 3:16-17; 6:19; II Cor. 6:16).
Bearing in mind that this New Testament goal of the human body has been achieved and realized in the personality of a saint, Christians also render pious veneration to the bodies of saints, their holy relics, as holy temples of the Holy Spirit who dwells in them with his grace. But the Holy Revelation shows that, due to its immeasurable love for mankind, the Holy Spirit abides by His grace not only in the bodies of the saints, but also in their clothes. Thus, the handkerchiefs and aprons of the holy Apostle Paul heal the sick and cast out unclean spirits (Acts 19:12); the prophet Elijah strikes the water with his mantle, dividing the waters of the Jordan, and the Jordan crosses the dry bed with his disciple Elisha (2 Kings 2:8); the prophet Elisha himself does the same with the same mantle after the ascension of Elijah to heaven (2 Kings 2, 1 4). And all this has its divine confirmation and explanation in the divine power that dwelt in the clothes of the Savior, which wrapped around His most pure divine body (cf. Mt. 9, 20-23). And even more – out of His unspeakable philanthropy, the Divine Lord makes it so that the servants of His Divinity work miracles not only with their bodies and clothes, but also with the shadow of their body, as evidenced by the case of the Apostle Peter: his shadow heals the sick and casts out unclean spirits (Acts 5, 15-16).
The immortal gospel of the Holy Revelation about the holy relics and their pious veneration has been witnessed and is unceasingly witnessed by Holy Tradition from the Apostolic age to our days. Countless are the holy relics of the holy saints of God throughout the Orthodox world. Their miracles are innumerable. Their pious veneration on the part of Orthodox Christians is ubiquitous. And this is undoubtedly because the most holy relics by their miracle-working induce us to pious veneration of them. From the very beginning, back in the apostolic age, Christians piously venerated the honest relics of the holy Forerunner and the holy apostles, and so their relics were able to reach us, and during persecutions they hid, hid in their homes the sacred remains of the holy martyrs. And from that time until the present day, the holy relics of the holy saints of God, with their miracles, pour the immortal joy of our God-human faith into the hearts of Orthodox Christians. The evidence for this is countless, let us recall only a few.
How touchingly St. Chrysostom describes the festive transfer and meeting of the holy relics in his Eulogy to St. Ignatius (Patr. gr. t. 50, col. 594): You, inhabitants of Antioch, dismissed the bishop, and accepted the martyr; they let him go with prayers, but received him with a crown, and not only you, but also the inhabitants of the cities that lay on his way. Think how they must all have felt at the return of his holy remains! what sweetness they enjoyed! what admiration they were! how happy they were! what praises were showered from everywhere on the crowned bearer! Like a brave warrior who defeated the enemy and returns triumphantly from the battle, the inhabitants admiringly greet him, not even letting him set foot on the ground, but they lift him up and carry him home in their arms, showering him with countless praises – in the same way, the inhabitants of all cities , starting from Rome, they carried one after another on their shoulders and handed it over to our city, glorifying the crowned bearer, praising the winner … During this time, the holy martyr bestowed grace on all those cities, confirmed them in piety; and ever since then he has enriched your city.
Narrating the miraculous power of the holy relics, Saint Ephraim of Syria speaks to the holy martyrs: even after death they act as if they were alive, heal the sick, cast out demons, and by the power of the Lord repel their every evil attack. After all, the miraculous grace of the Holy Spirit is always present in holy relics (A eulogy to the martyrs all over the world who have suffered. – Creations, part II, p. 497, M., 1881).
At the opening of the holy relics of Sts. Gervasius and Protasius, Saint Ambrose addresses the audience and says with reverent admiration: You have heard and even seen many who have been freed from demons, and even more of those who have just touched the clothes of the saints with their hands and were immediately healed of their illnesses. Miracles of ancient times have been revived since the coming of the Lord Jesus poured out abundant grace on the earth: you see with your own eyes how many people were healed only by the shadow of the saints. How many handkerchiefs do believers pass from hand to hand! how many different clothes that were laid on the sacred remains and only from touching them were filled with healing power, they ask each other. Everyone tries to touch them at least a little, and whoever touches them is healed. (Episi. 22; Patr. lat. 16, col. 1022).
Justifying the pious veneration of holy relics by Christians, Saint Ambrose proclaims: In the body of a martyr, I venerate the wounds taken for the name of Christ, I venerate the one who lives by the immortality of virtue; I venerate the dust sanctified by the confession of the Lord; I honor in the dust the seed of eternity; I honor the body that teaches me to love the Lord and not be afraid of death for him … Yes, I honor the body that Christ honored with martyrdom and which will reign with Christ in heaven (Serm. 55,1.11; Patr. lat. 17, col- 718 and 719).
Narrating about miracles from holy relics, Blessed Augustine says: What else do these miracles testify to, if not about the faith that preaches that Christ was resurrected in the flesh and with the flesh ascended to heaven? For the martyrs themselves were martyrs, i.e. witnesses of this faith… They laid down their lives for this faith, being able to ask it from the Lord, for whose name they tasted death. For the sake of this faith, they first discovered extraordinary patience, so that later such strength would be manifested in these miracles (On the City of God, book 22, ch. IX, Kyiv, 1910).
Saint Damascene, summing up the life-giving teaching of Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition about the pious veneration of holy relics, cherubically proclaims from the altar of his God-bearing Christ-like soul: The saints became by grace (hariti) what the Lord Christ is by nature (fusei). That is, they became gods by grace: pure and living abodes of God. For God said: I will dwell in them and walk in them; and I will be their God (II Cor. 6:16; Lev. 26:12). At the same time, Holy Scripture says: The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and torment will not touch them (Wisdom 3:1). After all, the death of a saint is more like a dream than death. And: The death of His saints is dear in the sight of the Lord (Pel. 115:6). Their same, what could be more precious than being in the hand of God!? For God is Life and Light, and those who are in the hand of God are in Life and Light, and God through the mind (dia tou vou) dwells also in the bodies of the saints, as the apostle testifies: Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and Does the Spirit of God live in you? (I Cor. 3:16), the Lord is Spirit (II Cor. 3:17). And one more gospel truth: If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will punish him “for the temple of God is holy; and this temple is you (I Cor. 3, 17). Therefore, how not to honor the spiritualization of God, spiritualized bodily dwellings of God? “Being alive, they boldly stand before God. The Lord Christ gave us the relics of the saints as saving springs that exude various good deeds and pour out fragrant myrrh. Let no one doubt this! After all, by the will of God, water flowed in the desert from a solid rock for a thirsty people (Ex. 17, 6), and from the jaw of a donkey – for the thirsty Samson (Jud. 15, 14-19) Is it really more incredible that the relics of the holy martyrs abundantly exude fragrant myrrh? honoring and respecting the saints.According to the Old Testament law, whoever touches a dead body is considered unclean for seven days (Num. 19, 11).
But the saints are not dead. Since He Who Himself is Life and the Author of Life was numbered among the dead, we no longer call dead those who fell asleep, reposed in the hope of the resurrection and with faith in Him — we do not call them dead. And how a dead body could work miracles. And then – how do demons are cast out by the action of holy relics, illnesses pass away, the sick are healed, the blind receive their sight, lepers are cleansed, temptations and troubles end, and every good gift from the Father of lights (James 1:17) descends on those who pray with strong faith (de fide, IV 15).
The ecumenical faith of the church about the pious veneration of holy relics was confirmed by the God-bearing fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council by their resolution: Our Lord Jesus Christ has given us the relics of the saints as a saving source, pouring out various blessings on the weak. Therefore, those who dared to reject the relics of the martyr: if the bishops – let them be deposed, if the monks and laity – are deprived of communion (AcL Vll, BiniiConcil. l.V, p.794, 1636 – Translated from Serbian). Rule 7 of the same Ecumenical Council says: If the honorable churches are consecrated without the holy relics of the martyrs, we determine: let the position of the relics be completed in them with the usual prayer. (Book of Rules of the Holy Apostle, Holy Councils of the Universe and Local and Holy Fathers. Canada, 1971, p. 177),
The fact that the pious veneration of holy relics is an integral part of the Divine-human economy of salvation is also evidenced by the following fact: according to all the most ancient testimonies of Holy Tradition, churches were built on the tombs and relics of saints, and the holy liturgy is performed only on the antimension, in which there are particles of holy relics. At the same time, the liturgical books, especially the Menaion, are full of prayers and hymns that speak of the pious veneration of holy relics. And the lives of the saints are replete with testimonies of their miracles, pouring into the hearts of Orthodox Christians the immortal joy of our Orthodox-God-human faith.
Everything is in everything: the mystery of holy relics is in the heart of the New Testament all-mystery: the Incarnation of God (cf. I Tim. 3:16). After all, the whole mystery of the human body is explained by the incarnation and incarnation of God: the God-man of the Lord Jesus Christ. Hence the gospel, the all-gospel about the body: The body … for the Lord and the Lord for the body (1 Cor. 6:13). And through the human body and all creation, all matter acquired its divine meaning, the divine-human universal meaning (cf. Rom. 8:19-23). After all, a person sanctified in the church with holy mysteries and holy virtues, both creature and matter are sanctified, Christified. And hence such joy: the myrrh-streaming relics of many saints. This precious miracle was given to the holy relics to show that Christians really are “Christ’s fragrance to God” (II Cor. 2:15), they are censing incense to God, heaven. The gospel truth is this: human sin is a stench before God; and every sin is a foul incense to the devil. Through the cooperation of the holy mysteries and holy virtues, Christians become “Christ’s fragrance to God.” Hence the holy myrrh-streaming relics of the saints.
NEWS PROVIDED BY EINPRESSWIRE – MADRID, MADRID, SPAIN, August 24, 2022 / EINPresswire.com / — The Church of Scientology of Spain and the MEJORA Foundation—Foundation for the Improvement of Life, Culture and Society— have just announced the celebration of the upcoming 9th edition of the Religious Freedom Awards.
The Foundation for the Improvement of Life, Culture and Society, in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations since 2019 and founded by the Church of Scientology in 2015, will be in charge of presenting these pioneering awards in Spain, which have now reached their 9th edition.
Ivan Arjona-Pelado, President of the Church of Scientology European Office for Public Affairs and Human Rights, will host this ceremony on September 23rd 2022, near the Spanish Parliament, at the headquarters of the Church of Scientology of Spain that was inaugurated by Mr David Miscavige, ecclesiastical leader of the Scientology religion.
The awards ceremony, organised by the Church of Scientology Fundacion MEJORA, will be held in person and via streaming and will be attended by experts and professors in religious freedom, as well as high-ranking officials of the public administration.
Last year, in an event where the Spain Prime Minister’s Office Director of Religious Freedom congratulated the Church and the initiative, it was three women who got the award Ms Zoila Combalía, Ms Mercedes Vidal and Ms Isabel Cano (all three top experts on Freedom of Religion or Belief) and they have proposed the candidates (2 each) and the Board of Trustees of the Foundation will study who of the candidates will receive the already famous replica of La Tizona, the sword of the legendary Spanish hero El Cid. Long a symbol of the honour and dignity of the knight who defends light against darkness, representing the virtues of common sense, strength, moderation, and justice.
The ceremony this year will be preceded by an introduction to the interactions that L. Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology, had in Spain, which will be delivered by a high-ranking official of the Church in Europe who will be specifically for this occasion.
______________
From its beginnings, the Church of Scientology has recognized that freedom of religion is a fundamental human right. In a world where conflicts are often traceable to intolerance of others’ religious beliefs and practices, the Church has, for more than 50 years, made the preservation of religious liberty an overriding concern.
The Church publishes this blog to help create a better understanding of the freedom of religion and belief and provide news on religious freedom and issues affecting this freedom around the world.
The Founder of the Scientology religion is L. Ron Hubbard and Mr. David Miscavige is the religion’s ecclesiastical leader. For more information, visit the Scientology website or Scientology Network.
American historian Nick Wilding has discovered that Galileo Galilei’s manuscript from the University of Michigan library is a forgery. It is believed to have been made by the famous forger Tobias Nicotra in the 1930s. This was reported in a press release from the University of Michigan. For nearly a century, the University of Michigan Library has held a one-page document attributed to the famous Italian physicist and astronomer Galileo Galilei. The manuscript first became known in 1934, when artifacts collected by a wealthy collector of manuscripts and old books were put up for auction. It then states that the authenticity of Galileo’s manuscript was established by the Italian cardinal and archbishop of Pisa, Pietro Maffi, who lived 1858 – 1931. University of Michigan In 1938, the manuscript was donated to the University of Michigan. The text of this manuscript consists of two parts. In the first, on behalf of Galileo, the Doge of Venice was informed about a newly built telescope. The second contains notes on observations of Jupiter and its moons. The original letter to the Doge is preserved in the State Archives of Venice.
American historian Nick Wilding of the University of Georgia, who gained notoriety after the discovery of a fake copy of Galileo Galilei’s Siderei Nuncius, has been working on a new book about the Italian physicist. He became interested in a draft of the scientist’s letter, which is kept in the library of the University of Michigan, so he approached the curator of the library, Pablo Alvarez, expressing doubts about the authenticity of the document. Wilding drew attention to the fact that the watermark on the paper contained the monograms of its manufacturer – AS, and the place of production – BMO. The latter monogram indicates the Italian city of Bergamo, but scholars are not aware of any other documents with such a watermark written before 1770 (Galileo died in 1642). The historian came to the conclusion that the preserved manuscript of Galileo is a forgery from the 20th century (presumably from the 1930s), probably created by the famous forger Tobias Nicotra. An independent review by the University of Michigan confirmed Wilding’s conclusion. Last year, another forged historical document came to light.
Then scientists from Yale University proved that the Vineland map, presented as an ancient map of America before its discovery by Columbus, was a forgery made in the 20th century. (Vinland is the name given to North America by the Scandinavian peoples at the beginning of the 11th century – AD) Yale University Scientists found that the forgery was made on parchment from the 15th century, but all the lines and inscriptions on the map were made in ink , appeared at the beginning of the last century, which is clear from the traces of titanium. Vinland’s map, showing America as a large island west of Greenland, first appeared in a Geneva bookstore in 1957 and was soon acquired by an American benefactor for Yale University. The general public first learned about it from a book published in 1965. This happened shortly after the discovery of an 11th-century Viking settlement in Newfoundland, so scientists assumed that the pre-Columbian map was authentic and belonged to the Scandinavians.
“Everything is poison, everything is medicine. Both are determined by the dose.” These words are attributed to the famous Swiss physician, alchemist and forerunner of modern pharmacology, Paracelsus. When people talk about the “most dangerous substance”, in most cases they think of the poisons cyanide, arsenic or tetrodotoxin. Although these are quite strong poisons, they are not the most dangerous.
The most lethal substance is botulinum toxin. It is the strongest organic poison known to science. It takes 1 nanogram per kilogram of mass, or one billionth of a gram per kilogram of mass, to produce a lethal dose. Although botulinum toxin is lethal to humans, it is used medically to treat neurological disorders. Also, this substance is widely used in cosmetology to fight wrinkles. Of course, in these cases a purified and weakened toxin is used, which is administered to a person in microdoses.
How the most dangerous poison became the elixir of youth
In December 2021, one of the creators of Botox – the ophthalmologist Alan Scott – died. He was looking for a cure for squint, but the world fell in love with his medicine not because of that. How was the deadly botulinum toxin tamed, and why is it not just to fight wrinkles? The word “Botox” has long since become a household word. And only 30 years ago, people thought the very idea of injecting a bit of poison straight into their face was crazy. After all, Botox is actually made up of the same toxin that accumulates in puffy jars and other spoiled products.
The Sausage Plague
In the 18th century, a wave of outbreaks of a mysterious disease engulfed Germany. Patients’ vision deteriorates, their eyelids droop, it becomes difficult for them to speak and swallow. Many suffer from great weakness. In particularly severe cases, paralysis of the respiratory muscles leads to death. At first, out of habit, the residents blame the witches. But there are those who do not accept this explanation. Germany at that time was conquered by the ideas of the Enlightenment. Universities train doctors who seek to rationally explain observed phenomena. One of them is Justinus Kerner. After graduating from university, he worked as a doctor in a small town and, as befits an enlightened person, wrote poetry and played music. But he goes down in history thanks to botulism research. Kerner became interested in the mysterious poisonings and began collecting information about them. Justinus works like a true modern scientist: after describing dozens of cases, he suggests that the fault lies in a toxic substance in unfresh sausage. Then he conducted experiments on animals, isolated and described the “sausage toxin” (the name of the disease – botulism – comes from the Latin word botulus, “sausage”). Kerner found that the toxin did not affect the cognitive abilities and sensory systems of the patients, but weakened their muscles, which was the cause of the paralysis. Through painstaking experiments, he concluded that the poison blocked signals in the nervous system, thereby disrupting what he called the chemical process of life. “This poison disrupts the conduction of nerves in the same way that rust destroys the properties of an electrical conductor,” he wrote. But Kerner doesn’t stop there. He was the first to propose a medical application of the toxin – for the treatment of diseases associated with involuntary movements. Kerner writes, for example, that in very small doses the toxin can alleviate the symptoms of the so-called dance of Saint Vitus (rheumatic chorea). Kerner’s conjectures were brilliantly confirmed many years later – but were simply ignored in his day.
The failed weapon
In the 20th century, botulinum toxin attracted the attention of the military. Laboratory experiments show that it is the most powerful organic poison known to mankind. According to research by the American Medical Association, just 1 g of the substance in crystalline form is enough to kill a million people. If dispersed from the air in the form of an aerosol, it can neutralize an entire army. In the 1930s, Japan built an extensive research complex to study biological weapons in Manchuria. Director Shiro Ishii admits to exposing Chinese, Korean and American prisoners to botulinum toxin.
Anti-Hitler intelligence had serious (but as it turns out, groundless) suspicions that the Nazis were also studying this poison and planned to use it against infantry. After the end of World War II, it was American military chemists who learned how to synthesize botulinum toxin type A. Ironically, type A was the most lethal, but it would later be used for facial rejuvenation because it worked best on motor neurons. A few decades later, the UN General Assembly banned the development, production and stockpiling of toxic weapons, including botulinum toxin. But the specialists remain. One of these specialists, Ed Shantz, who was involved in the purification of the toxin, got a job at the University of Wisconsin. In the 1970s, ophthalmologist Alan Scott, who was working on a drug for strabismus, wrote to him. At that time, the only effective treatment was eye muscle surgery. Scott was looking for a less invasive method and came across an article about botulinum toxin. In search of the substance itself, he comes across Shantz, who, without much thought, sends him powder with the deadly poison in a metal box by regular mail. Fortunately, no one was injured.
From Oculinum to Botox
Initially, there is no hint of its toxic nature in the name of the drug. Scott registered it in the late 1970s under the brand name Oculinum to treat blepharospasm, a condition in which the eyelids freeze in a half-closed position. Oculinum contains precisely calculated microdoses of botulinum toxin. When injected into a muscle, it disrupts nerve conduction and the spasm disappears. At the same time, patients immediately notice the side effect of the preparation: smoothing of “crow’s feet” around the eyes. But Scott himself does not attach any importance to this – and perhaps misses the chance to become a billionaire. Just two years after registering the drug, he sold it to the Allergan Corporation, which makes contact lenses and other eye care products. But Botox appeared thanks to the persistence of patients. Once an angry patient came to Canadian ophthalmologist Jane Carruthers. “You didn’t fix what I have here,” she says, pointing to the crease between her eyebrows. Carruthers doesn’t immediately understand what’s going on. “When you inject the drug, I get this beautiful, calm look on my face,” the patient explains. Carruthers told her dermatologist husband about the experience and quietly began practicing “beauty injections” on her patients and herself. According to legend, Ronald Reagan himself was among the first connoisseurs of such procedures. But this is unlikely. By 1990, Carruthers had only ten regular patients. At this time it is very difficult to find volunteers even for research. “The typical reaction from people was, ‘What? What do you want to inject into my wrinkles? Isn’t it a deadly poison?” shares Carruthers. The pair presented the first results at a meeting of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery in 1991, but their colleagues dismissed it as a “crazy idea” that would lead nowhere. But the information about the rejuvenating effect leaked to the press. In 1997, The New York Times published an article with the eloquent headline: “The Drought is Over, Botox Has Arrived.” Botox (as Allergan gives it its name) did not receive official approval for cosmetic use until 2002, when the company managed to convince regulatory authorities that the injections were safe.By this time, Botox had already unofficially treated dozens of conditions, albeit related to muscle spasms: from migraines to bedwetting.
The paradoxes of pharmaceuticals
Today, Botox is primarily known for its application for aesthetic rather than medical purposes. It is often associated with the unnaturally young faces of stars and politicians, specific facial expressions and sometimes with news about victims of unscrupulous cosmetologists, and the procedure itself is offered not only in clinics, but also in spa centers, manicure salons and even in commercial centers. Since the botulinum toxin penetrates all the muscles it can “reach”, the result can be unpredictable if the needle is not inserted correctly or the dosage is not calculated. Side effects occur in one in six customers. Among them – retraction of the eyelids, a feeling of freezing, a “flowing” smile, difficulty swallowing and speech, headache and nausea. In 2003 and 2004, the FDA even sent Allergan a requirement to reduce the risk of side effects. There is also evidence that the risk of side effects increases with frequent use. But the demand is only growing – according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the number of Botox injections has increased by a third since 2010 among young people aged 20 to 29. Meanwhile, new healing properties of botulinum toxin have been discovered in recent years. In 2010, they approved the injection of Botox into the neck and head for the prevention of chronic migraines. And recently, an international group of scientists confirmed its antidepressant effect (this was also suggested earlier). In patients who received Botox injections for various purposes, symptoms of anxiety and depression were reduced by 22-72%. The exact mechanism is not fully understood, but one hypothesis states that when the brain does not receive a signal from “tense muscles”, the processing of negative emotions in the brain is disrupted. Ironically, in the same years that the Carruthers were touting the cosmetic benefits of Botox, scientists discovered an unexpected effect of another already popular drug. In 1992, sildenafil, which was tested as a heart drug, was found to improve blood flow in the pelvic area. This is how our familiar Viagra appears.
“Life is a mystery – says Alan Scott in one of his rare interviews. – Anything can happen and that’s fascinating.”
Photo: Landjäger German sausage by cottonbro / pexels.
Although the likelihood of being struck by lightning is small, it is important to know how to stay safe during a thunderstorm. Globally, about 24,000 people are killed by lightning each year and another 240,000 are injured.
Most people are familiar with basic thunderstorm safety rules, such as avoiding standing under trees or near a window and not talking on a corded phone (cell phones are safe).
If we are in nature during a thunderstorm, under no circumstances should we stand next to trees or use mobile phones. The best advice is to stay home during a thunderstorm.
As a rule, lightning is attracted to higher parts – trees, poles. If the storm has overtaken us in the forest, the mountain, the field, the best solution is to retract both legs, crouch, and thus the chances of survival are greater. If you do have to go out, it’s best to travel by car.
But did you know that during a thunderstorm you should avoid taking a shower or washing dishes?
To understand why, you first need to know a little about how thunderstorms and lightning work explains “Science Alert”.
Two main elements trigger the development of a thunderstorm: moisture and rising warm air, which of course go hand in hand with summer. High temperatures and humidity create large amounts of moist air that rises into the atmosphere where a thunderstorm can form. Clouds contain millions of water and ice droplets and their interaction leads to the formation of lightning. The rising water drops collide with the falling ice drops, imparting a negative charge to them, and they themselves remain positively charged. In a thunderstorm, the clouds act as huge generators that separate the positive and negative charges to create huge charge separations inside the clouds. When thunderclouds move over the Earth, they generate an opposite charge in the ground, and this is what attracts the lightning strike to the ground. The thunderstorm wants to balance its charges and does so by discharging between the positive and negative areas. The path of this discharge is usually the path of least resistance, so things that are more conductive (like metal) are more likely to be struck during a storm.
The most useful advice in a thunderstorm is: When the thunder moves, go indoors. However, this does not mean that you are completely protected from the storm. There are some activities inside that can be almost as risky as staying outside during the storm.
Unless you’re sitting in a bathtub outside or showering in the rain, it’s incredibly unlikely that you’ll be struck by lightning. But if lightning strikes your house, electricity will follow the path of least resistance to ground. Things like metal wires or water in pipes provide a convenient conduit for electricity to reach the ground.
The shower offers both (water and metal), making it an ideal path for electricity. This can turn a nice relaxing shower into something much less relaxing. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention strongly recommends that people avoid all water activities during a thunderstorm — even washing dishes — to reduce the risk of shock.
There are other risks to be aware of during a thunderstorm. One of them, which may not seem obvious, is leaning against a concrete wall. Although concrete itself is not that conductive, if it is reinforced with metal beams (called “rebar”), they can provide a conductive path for lightning.
Also, avoid using anything plugged into an electrical outlet (computers, TVs, washing machines, dishwashers) as these can all provide paths for lightning to travel.
As a general rule, if you hear thunder in the distance, you are close enough to the storm to be struck by lightning, even if there is no rain.
Lightning strikes can occur up to 15 km away from the main storm.
Usually half an hour after you hear the last bang is a safe time to venture back into the shower. Thunderstorms usually like to leave their crown number for last, and you certainly don’t want to be part of the fireworks!
Jupiter’s moon Europa is perhaps the most interesting celestial body in the Solar System for astrobiologists. Europa is slightly smaller than our Moon, but unlike it, it has a surface of ice, under which lies an ocean of liquid water about a hundred kilometers deep. The existence of an ocean beneath Europa’s ice sheet can be considered fairly reliably confirmed. The surface is almost devoid of meteorite craters, but it is abundant with cracks, faults, and patches of “chaotic landscape” consisting of fractured, mixed, and frozen ice blocks. Europa’s interior receives powerful tidal heating (like that of neighboring moon Io, though to a lesser extent), which means that volcanoes must erupt on the ocean floor, supplying the ocean with nutrients and energy sources – the necessary conditions for habitability . On the surface of Europa, cold reigns from minus 160 to minus 220 degrees, which is why the thickness of the ice cover is at least several kilometers. Exploring the last ocean will be a very difficult task, and as a first step, scientists will send the Europa Clipper probe into the Jupiter system, which will study Europa and other moons of the gas giant through multiple close flybys. One of the mission’s goals will be to probe Europa’s icy shell using radar. The possibilities of this method depend significantly on the composition of the ice. An impurity of salt will make it difficult for radio waves to penetrate, and if the shell is not very thick and consists of pure ice, the apparatus may be able to shine through it. University of Texas scientists led by Natalie Wolfenbarger suggest that the mantle may contain less salt than expected, and the reason for this is underwater snow, which in Europa’s ocean can move from the bottom up.
On Earth, the ice sheet over the seas grows mainly due to the freezing of the water below, at the ice-water interface. In the Antarctic seas, another mechanism that increases the thickness of the ice has been observed – “snow” of supercooled water that accumulates under the ice. What phenomena could be the cause of such an underwater “snowfall”? The freezing point of water decreases under pressure – by about a degree for every 130 atmospheres. In the Earth’s oceans, this corresponds to an increase in depth of 1,300 meters, and under the ice of Europe – to about 10 kilometers. At the bottom of the Mariana Trench and the Europa ocean, the pressure is almost the same – the depth of the former is ten times less, but the Earth’s gravity is seven times greater than that of Europa. Therefore, the salt water at the very bottom freezes at a temperature of almost ten degrees below zero. In addition, the water is subjected to adiabatic heating and cooling – temperature change during pressure jumps and lack of heat exchange with the environment. Due to the smaller compressibility, its temperature does not change as much as that of air in pumps and compressors, but with large changes in pressure this process becomes noticeable: the coefficient is about one degree per 400 atmospheres (4 kilometers on Earth, 30 kilometers on Europe). Large volumes of water rising or sinking fail to mix with the surrounding water and change its temperature, and water rising from great depth can become supercooled for two reasons: due to adiabatic cooling during decompression; and the outlet temperature if it was below the freezing point of the surface.
Some of the supercooled water freezes, forming very pure acicular ice. This ice floats up and joins the ice sheet at the surface. Scientists have found that the ice crust formed during a uniform freeze, for example due to the gradual cooling of the moon’s interior, will consist mainly of frozen ice. If the ice sheet is subject to thinning, such as by tectonics, volcanic eruptions, or uneven solar heating, new ice will form in the thinned area due to “inverted snowfall.” In Europe, the ice sheet is very dynamic.
Among other things, it has completely overturned several times, sliding along the ocean, and the equatorial regions with a little more solar heating and thin ice ended up near the poles. Therefore, “underwater snowfall” can contribute significantly to the formation of new ice. Thus, part of Europa’s ice sheet may contain many times less salt than previously thought. This complicates the scientists’ task: on the one hand, pure ice is easier to “enlighten” with radar at a greater depth, and on the other hand, the salt content on Europa’s surface is high. It may simply be a consequence of sublimation of ice from the surface, or it may reflect the composition of ice formed by the direct freezing of water that rose to the surface in crevasses and chaotic landscapes. Europa’s ice sheet is likely to be very patchy – some thick, some thin, some salty and some clean – and may require more powerful and flexible radars to study it in detail. On the other hand, it makes the work of future astrobiologists easier: turbulent processes in the ice crust may transport freshly frozen water from the ocean to the surface itself, where its samples will be much easier to study.
Specialists from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna investigated whether four-legged dogs would prefer a generous trainer to one that does not reward them with treats
Dogs don’t bond more when they receive rewards because they don’t remember the generosity and don’t build an image based on what they received, the Daily Mail reported.
Specialists from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna investigated whether four-legged dogs would prefer a generous trainer to one that does not reward them with treats. They found that neither the dogs nor the wolves showed preferences after seeing the human give or keep the treat.
The conclusion of the specialists is that “creating a reputation may be more difficult than expected among animals”.
According to some research, patterners cooperate with people because they form an image of them by watching them interact with others. Dr. Hoi-Lam Jim examines this ability and whether it evolved through domestication or existed in wolves as well.
She has worked with nine wolves and six dogs. Experiments show that most animals do not have preferences after observation or direct experience. Three dogs and two wolves, however, showed some inclination towards the more generous one.
The further life of man, as we have seen above, consists in the development of that seed of eternal life which is laid in baptism. A person is gradually cleansed from sin, gradually perfected and strengthened in goodness, and ascends to the perfect age of a husband. However, even then “the beginning of his life” (Isaac the Syrian), that “salt that keeps a person intact,” continues to be faith. “Faith is the mother of every good deed, and with it a person achieves the fulfillment on himself of the promise of the Lord and Savior of our Jesus Christ, according to what is written:” without faith it is impossible to please God “(Ephraim the Syrian). Even if a person happened to fall: let him only keep his faith – the broken harmony of his soul will be restored, his disparate forces will again be gathered and rush against sin with new energy. “Faith,” says St. I. Chrysostom, – there is a head and a root; if you keep it, then, even though you have lost everything, you will gain everything again with greater glory. “Faith is power for salvation and power for eternal life” (Clement of Alexandria).
On the other hand, it is clear what happens if faith is lost by a person. “Without oil the lamp cannot burn,” without the root every tree will wither. “Without Me,” said the Lord, “you can do nothing.” Once faith is taken away, every meaning of life and every power to do good is taken away. There is no center that would bind the efforts of a person and comprehend them. A person does not feel the closeness of God, he cannot understand His goodness, God again for him is only a punisher of untruth. Will such a person turn to God? And if he does not turn, then he cannot accept God’s help, His grace. So, having lost this “eye that enlightens every conscience” (Cyril of Jerusalem), his faith, a person loses all his spiritual property – and perishes. Remarkable in this regard are the features with which the Lord depicts the righteous and sinners at the last judgment. Meanwhile, how the righteous, who have kept their faith, marvel at the mercy of God: “When did you see thee hungry, and drink?” – For sinners, God’s sentence seems unfair: “when did I see you hungry, and not serve you?” God appears either as hostile to them, wanting, looking for an excuse to condemn them, to deprive them of eternal bliss. The first lived in faith, and therefore their whole soul is filled with a feeling of the undeserved mercy of God, and now they confess their unworthiness. The latter, however, have lost their faith, they do not recognize the mercy of God, they lived only for themselves, and therefore they are now rising to the defense of their “I”. The first in their faith always saw the way to God open to themselves, because they saw the mercy of God. Seeing this, they always aspired to God and were constantly in spiritual unity with Him: this unity, of course, becomes their lot even after leaving this life. The latter, having lost their faith, naturally also lost their strength for spiritual union with God, alienated themselves from God: therefore, even after their transition to the future world, they do not have the ability to surrender to God, their lot is in the gloomy realm of selfishness, which gnashes its teeth about its death. , not finding the strength to come to terms with this, even if, like a righteous man, in the thought that he suffered according to the will of God (Rom. 9:3).
So, faith revived a person, faith developed and educated him in spiritual life, faith will lead him to eternal bliss. By believing, a person accepted here the grace of God and could accept communion with God, despite the fact that until then he had lived in sin. The same faith in the love of God will enable a person to maintain this fellowship with God in the coming kingdom. “On the day of judgment,” says St. Neil of Sinai, “we ourselves will be our own accusers, convicted by our own conscience. Therefore, in this extreme case, will we find any other protection or help, except for one faith in the most philanthropic Lord Christ? This faith is our great defense, great help, security, and boldness, and an answer for those who have become unanswerable because of an inexpressible multitude of sins.”
Faith that saves is free and active
In order to avoid misunderstandings, it must be repeated here once again that the Orthodox Church, assuming in faith all the blessedness of man and considering faith as the cause of man’s spiritual growth, never imagines this faith in the form of some kind of self-acting force, which, as something extraneous, would almost force man to a virtuous life and to communion with God. Of course, a believing person perceives the grace of God, with which he goes to fight against sin. However, the instrument for receiving this grace is not the knowledge or contemplation of the mercy of God and His readiness to forgive and help, but certainly the free desire and decision of a person. In the same way, faith is “a worker of goodness, the basis of righteous conduct” only because it “is the free consent of the soul” (Clement of Alexandria). Faith only inspires the will of a person, but by no means frees him from efforts on himself. “You should not only believe in Christ,” said St. Macarius of Egypt, “but also suffer, according to what is written: “as it was given to you … not only believe in Christ, but also suffer for Him” (Phil. 1, 29 ) To believe only in God is characteristic of those who think earthly, even, I would not say, and unclean spirits who say: “We know Thee, who art the Son of God” (Mk. 1.24; Mt. 8.29)”. Faith requires the free choice of good and the decision to do it.
Not by its contemplative side, not as a state of perceiving, faith saves a person, so that a person can only inactively experience his salvation, Faith saves with its active side, the constant participation of good will in it (John 7:17). The believer in his faith finds the boldness to turn to God and, thus, enters into communion with God, accepts this communion. The believer, strengthened by the power of God, aspires to the life of a saint and thereby begins it. Faith in this sense is “the beginning of our hope and the beginning of Divine mercy towards us, like a door and a way” (Cyril of Alexandria).
Faith and deeds
In order to bring into view precisely this vital (and not formal) meaning of salvation, and precisely where it is necessary to protect itself from Protestant fabrications, our Church chooses from two formulas worked out in the West the one that ascribes salvation not to faith alone, but to faith with works. . “We believe,” says the 13th member of the Epistle of the Eastern Patriarchs, “that a person is justified not simply by faith alone (i.e., as will be seen later, not by its theoretical, perceptive side), but by faith, aided by love (faith, as active force, by the fact that it produces love), i.e. through faith and deeds “… “Not a ghost, – the fathers explain even more specifically, – only faith, but the faith that exists in us through deeds justifies us in Christ.” Thus, it is undoubtedly faith that justifies a person, but only real, true faith, that which leads a person to true life, makes him work out his salvation. The teaching of the Rev. Theophan that faith saves by deeds. “Salvation,” says the Saint, “from good deeds; but it is impossible to succeed in good deeds, as it should be, without faith. Faith inspires good deeds, faith points them out, faith also leads to obtaining strength for doing good deeds. Therefore, faith is an accomplice to good deeds. The main thing is deeds, and she is a benefit.” Salvation, therefore, lies in the fact that a person creates it himself, but he does not come to this creation except by faith.
The Orthodox should not understand this definition in the Catholic way, i.e. so that by deeds a man earns his salvation. Deeds in themselves, as outward acts or separate deeds, have no meaning in Christianity. Behavior is valued here only as an expression of the corresponding mood of the soul, a certain direction of the will, although, in turn, it influences the formation of this mood. The entire Conversation on the Mount is built on the thought of the insufficiency of one external good deed and the need for an internal change, which actually assimilates the Kingdom of Heaven to a person. Therefore, the mercy shown to a prophet or disciple is only appreciated when it is rendered “in the name of the prophet or disciple”, in the name of faith (Matthew 10:41-42). “If,” says St. Apostle Paul, “I give away all my possessions, and give my body to be burned, but I do not have love, it does not profit me at all” (1 Corinthians 13:3). You can’t look at the outside. The apostle explains in more detail: the essence of salvation is not in ascetic labors, as such, not in outward zeal; and exploits, and zeal should flow from a regenerated, changed soul; otherwise they are nothing before God (Rom. 4:2). Therefore, it may happen that two mites brought by a widow will outweigh the entire multitude of offerings from the rich, and a sinner-publican will be closer to God than a righteous Pharisee; those who come at the eleventh hour and do nothing will receive an equal reward with those who worked all day and endured the heat of the day. From a legal point of view, this cannot be explained: more work requires more rewards (unless we generally deny the possibility of any kindness on the part of a person). With the Orthodox, this does not require explanation: the Lord wants to save everyone equally and the whole aspires to everyone equally, but one has more aspiration for God, the ability to perceive His communion more, the other has less. In such a case, it may happen that the newly converted and who has done nothing will be equal or even higher in reward than the one who has grown old in faith and accomplished feats. The kingdom of God is not a reward for labors, but a mercy offered to the tun and assimilated according to the acceptability of each.
The question, therefore, is where the soul is directed, what it wants, how it lives. If its aspiration is towards God, if it does not live for itself, then it, in addition to its external deeds, is justified; this is the guarantee of future pardon, and deeds and labors are important only for the return and strengthening of this aspiration. “Recompense,” says St. Isaac the Syrian, “is no longer for virtue, and not for labor for its sake, but for humility born from them. If it is lost, then the former will be in vain.”
The soul is saved not from its external deeds, but because its inner being is renewed, that its heart is always with God. Of course, at the last judgment the book of everyone’s life will be opened, and everyone will give an answer for every deed and word, for every thought, no matter how insignificant and fleeting it may be: the perfect cannot be called imperfect. But this revelation of life for some will only be a source of humility, it will only lead them to the realization of the undeserved pardon, and will bind them even more closely to God; for others, the conviction of conscience at the judgment will bring despair, and finally tear them away from God and the Kingdom. “And these go into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Whoever directed his soul where he goes, goes there.
Thus, in faith – all the blessedness of a Christian. Faith is not only the cause, the driving force in the spiritual development of man, it is rather the focus, the very heart of spiritual life. As faith grows, love grows, as love grows, faith grows: the moral development of a person finds both its expression and its fruit in the strengthening and growth of faith. Faith promotes deeds, and faith is perfected by deeds (James 2:22). Faith is truly the alpha and omega of moral life, just like the Lord Himself, Whom it reveals to man*. Leading to love, in which the essence of eternal life (1 John 3:14; John 17:26), faith thus gives a person the opportunity here on earth to begin eternal bliss. Upon passing into the next world, faith turns into knowledge, and love, which connected a person with God, continues into eternity.
By the word invisible in the first article of the Creed we must understand the invisible or spiritual world to which the angels belong.
Angels are spirits, disembodied beings, endowed with mind, will and feeling. They are ministering spirits (Heb. 1:14), who are more perfect than man in mind, power, and might, but are still limited.
The word angel is Greek and means messenger. The disembodied spirits are so called because God sends them to inform men of His will. For example, Archangel Gabriel was sent by God to the Holy Virgin Mary to inform her that she would give birth to the Savior of the world (Luke 1:26-35).
Divine Revelation indicates that the number of angels is too great. Thus, in one of his visions, the prophet Daniel observes:
“Thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days sat down… a thousand thousands served Him, and tens of thousands by ten thousands stood before Him; judges sat down, and books were opened” (Dan. 7:9-10)
At the capture of Jesus Christ, when one of His disciples took out a knife to protect Him, He said to him:
“Put your knife back in its place…or do you think I cannot now ask My Father, and He will present me with more than twelve legions of Angels?” (Matt. 26:52-53).
Guardian angels
According to the teaching of the Orthodox Church, every person has his own guardian angel (Angel-franititel, Guardian angel), who invisibly stays with him from the cradle to the grave, helps him in good and protects him from evil. We can be sure of this truth from the words of Jesus Christ Himself:
“See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for, I say to you, their Angels in heaven always behold the face of My Heavenly Father” (Matt. 18:10).
“Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven” (KJV Mat 18:10).
“Look, do not despise one of these little ones; for I say to you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my heavenly Father” (Mat. 18:10)
By little we must first understand children, and then all true Christians, who in their gentleness and humility resemble children. That the Angels always look at the face of the heavenly Father means that they are especially close to God, and their closeness is determined by their moral purity.
Apparently, believers in the early Christian Church also believed in the real existence of the guardian angel. After the Angel of the Lord delivered St. Ap. Peter from prison, he went to the home of John Mark and his mother “where many were gathered and praying”.
“When Peter knocked on the road enemy, a servant girl named Rhoda went to listen. And, recognizing Peter’s voice, she did not open the door for joy, but ran and called that Peter was standing at the door. And they said to her: you you are out of your mind! But she claimed that it was so. And they said: this is his Angel. At that time Peter kept knocking. And when they opened it, they saw him and were amazed” (Acts 12:13-15).
That they used the possessive pronoun “his” certainly indicates their belief that St. Peter had his personal angel.
Photo: Icon of the Synaxis of the Angels (E. Tzanes, 1666)
