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Persian Wars In the mid 6th century B.C. the Persians took over many of the Greek cities along the coast of Asia Minor and threatened to take over all of the Greek cities.  About 480BC was when King Leonides, the hero in the movie 300, delayed the Persians’ assault by Xerxes at the battle of Thermopylae. Xerxes attacked Athens, but Themistocles evacuated the city by sea and defeated the Persian fleet at the battle of Salmis. It was a year later when the Greeks led by a Spartan named Pausanius defeated the Persian army at Plataea. The Athenians then chased the Persians out of the Aegean and captured Byzantium forming a strong alliance with City and Island states.. Athens became a commercial power at this time.
Greek Alphabet Greek was the first alphabet that
used a separate symbol for each vowel and consonant. It is also
the oldest alphabet in use today. Greek - a common language even in Rome. While Latin
remained the main written language of the Roman Empire, Greek came
to be the language spoken by the well-educated elite, as most of
the literature studied by Romans was written in Greek. In the eastern
half of the Roman Empire, which later became the Byzantine Empire,
Latin was never able to replace Greek, and after the death of Justinian,
Greek became the official language of the Byzantine government.
The title “Ecumenical Patriarch”
dates from the sixth century and historically belongs to the Archbishop
of Constantinople exclusively. As Archbishop of Constantinople-New
Rome, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew occupies the First Throne
of the Orthodox Christian Church worldwide, presiding in historical
honor and fraternal spirit among all Orthodox Primates. |
Hellenic FoundationWhat role did the Greeks play in the establishment of Christianity?At the time of Jesus, Greek was the preferred language of the civilized world. It was the common language of trade and intellectual writings. It was in the 8th century BC that the influence of Greece began to be felt throughout the Mediterranean. This is when the Greek alphabet was created. They began to expand and to establish colonies. The Aegean coast of Asia Minor was first colonized. This was followed by Cyprus and the coasts of Thrace, the Sea of Marmara and the south coast of the Black Sea. Then they extended West to the west coasts of Illyria, Sicily and southern Italy. By the 6th century BC the Greeks had spread over a large geographical area. They organized themselves into independent communities. They thrived in commerce. It reached an economic hight in the 4th century BC where Ancient Greece was clearly the most advanced economy in the world.
Alexander the Great
One of the features of the Greek society was the differing roles of men and women and the lack of distinction based on birth. The way of life of the Athenians was spread. The Greek language was the official language in trade, administration and literature. Where did Paul Journey? Paul’s first Journey was to Antioch, which was established after the conquest of Alexander the Great as a Greek city. This is where the followers of Christ were first called Christians. Paul went on to Cyprus which is still a Greek speaking nation, and then into what is now Turkey. His second journey Paul visited Antioch and then headed up through the middle of Asia Minor and then into Macedonia, which is now part of Modern Greece. He visited Neapolis, Phillipi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens and Corinth. From there he went back to Aisa Minor to the city of Ehpesus and then back to Israel and Caesarea. His third journey started in Antioch and then through Asia Minor to Ephesus, over to Greece and Thessalonica then to Corinth and back to Thessalonica , Phillipi and back along the coast of Asia Minor. Returning to Caesarea. Finally Paul went to Rome.
The Roman world was one that was heavily influenced by the Hellenic culture and language. Saint Andrew
Today, our Ecumenical Patriarch is Bartholomew. He is the 270th Patriarch . Our Bishop Metropolitan Alexios in Atlanta can trace his ordination directly back to Saint Andrew. Apostolic succession is a major point
for Orthodoxy. The first Christians had no doubts about how to determine
which was the true Church and which doctrines were the true teachings
of Christ. The test was simple: Just trace the apostolic succession
of the claimants. The role of apostolic succession in preserving true doctrine is illustrated in the Bible. To make sure that the apostles’ teachings would be passed down after the deaths of the apostles, Paul told Timothy, "What you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" (2 Tim. 2:2). In this passage he refers to the first three generations of apostolic succession - his own generation, Timothy’s generation, and the generation Timothy will teach. In the Epistle of St. Clement to the Church at Corinth, written around 96 AD, Clement defends the authority and prerogatives of a group of "elders" or "bishops" in the Corinthian Church which had, apparently, been deposed and replaced by the congregation on its own initiative. In this context, Clement explicitly states that the apostles both appointed bishops as successors and had directed that these bishops should in turn appoint their own successors; given this, such leaders of the Church were not to be removed without cause and not in this way. |
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Living
the Orthodox Life
Saint
Andrew is the first called of the Apostles. He is also the Apostle
that we trace our Apostolic tradition back to. He is also the brother
of Peter. Historian Eusebius tells us that Andrew preached in Asia
Minor and along the Black Sea as far as Volga and Kiev. He is, therefore,
also the patron saint of Romania and Russia. In 38 AD he founded
the See at Byzantium, which later became the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
He traveled through Greece and was martyred in Patras.