Vol. 55, No. 4 (327) July-August, 2019

The Holy Twenty-six Monk-martyrs of Zographou, Mount Athos

This issue of The Orthodox Word begins with a transcription of a weekly television talk given by Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine, “Endure, Repent, and Pray!” In this talk, the wise archpastor speaks of the Covid-19 pandemic as a result of sin, and as a chastisement by God to bring mankind to his senses. Thus, the best medicine is endurance, repentance, and prayer.

This article is followed by the narrative of the martyrdom of twenty-six monks of the monastery of Zographou, Mount Athos, which took place during the late thirteenth century. The Byzantine emperor of that time, Michael Paleologos, resolved, for political reasons, to bring the Orthodox Church of Constantinople into union with the pope of Rome. Not trusting the emperor, Rome sent an army against Paleologos. On the way, they stopped at Mount Athos with the aim of forcibly converting the Orthodox monks to Roman Catholicism. The valiant defense of the true Faith by monks of Zographou, which led to their martyrdom, is a lesson to present-day Orthodox Christians to remain true to their Faith, no matter the cost.

The issue ends with the conclusion of the Life of St. Dionysius of Glushitsa, a fifteenth-century saint of Russia’s northwest region of Vologda. This Life is another chapter of the upcoming second volume of The Northern Thebaid.