Venerable Anastasios of Sinai on Islam

Venerable Anastasios of Sinai on Islam[1]

Priest George Maksimov

From the Life

Little is known about the life of the Venerable Anastasios. He was born in Alexandria, according to other information on Cyprus, around 640. The Venerable Anastasios was abbot of Mount Sinai. From there he more than once traveled through Syria, Arabia, and into Egypt, with polemical and missionary purposes. He was a prominent theologian and exegete, an active opponent of the Monophysites and Monothelites; his contemporaries called him “a new Moses.” He died after 700.

Works

The principal work of the Venerable Anastasios is the “Guide” (Hodegos). It is composed of separate chapters and letters in which Anastasios examines general and particular objections of the Monophysites of various tendencies, on the basis of Scripture and according to the testimony of the ancient Fathers. Of the same character is also the book “Questions and Answers.”

Closures of Holy Sites in Jerusalem During the 2026 Iran War

The war involving Israel, the United States, and Iran in early 2026 has affected far more than just military targets. One of the most striking consequences has been the closure of Jerusalem’s major holy sites, including Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Western Wall. What makes this situation especially significant is the timing: Ramadan, Easter, and Passover all fall around the same period, meaning that under normal circumstances, large numbers of worshipers from three different religions would be gathering in the city. Instead, these spaces have been shut down, showing how deeply the war has disrupted everyday religious life.

Israeli authorities have explained these closures as necessary security measures. Police statements emphasized that all holy sites were closed “in accordance with national emergency guidelines” and that the goal was to “safeguard public safety and human life.” These decisions were also linked to instructions from the Home Front Command, which coordinates civilian safety during wartime. In other words, the official position is that the closures are not about restricting religion, but about preventing harm during a dangerous and unpredictable situation.

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow More Comfortable With the Mullahs of Iran Than Christians of the West

The Ideal Russia Is Based on “Orthodox” Iran

By Panagiotis Andriopoulos

March 4, 2026

The warm condolences of the Patriarch of Moscow, Kirill, for the death of the religious leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei, do not surprise us (see here). They simply remind us emphatically of reality.

The ideal Russia, which is based on “traditional values,” is an “Orthodox” Iran. In this model, the head of state is not merely an administrator, but an ayatollah who interprets everything, while the Church acts as a transmitter.

“Once, when our president Vladimir Putin was asked by journalists about the attitude of Orthodoxy toward Catholicism and Islam, he replied that we are closer to Islam — this is what I believe as well,” the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church had previously admitted during a visit to Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan. “Both Islam and Orthodoxy,” the Patriarch explained, “belong to the same eastern group. Moreover, among the immediate priorities of the dialogue of the Church of Russia with Islam, Iran occupies the first place.”

There is a significant… prehistory. Indicatively we mention the following:

The Imperial Sacred Decree of Sultan Selim Concerning the Renovation of the Monastery of Xeropotamou (Issued After He Saw the Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebaste in a Vision)

 

INTRODUCTION

The Xeropotamou Monastery, whose katholikon (main church) is dedicated to the memory of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste (9/22 March), experienced abandonment three times in its long history: in the 14th, 16th, and 18th centuries, and an equal number of times it was rebuilt.

The reconstruction of the 16th century came about in one of the most unexpected ways: through Selim I (1512–1520), known as Yavuz (“the Grim,” meaning harsh or unyielding). In the monastery’s archive there exists a ḥatt-i şerif (imperial sacred decree) of Selim. Its date and content are Muslim, but its conclusion is Christian.

“It is written,” the document says, “that the Muslim who persists in overturning this present ḥatt-i şerif of ours we consign to eternal anathema.”

In the document of 1517, Selim grants large donations and many privileges to the monastery.

What exactly happened with Sultan Selim I — whose donations and concessions gave the monastery “breathing space” for a century and a half — is described by Gerasimos Smyrnakis in his book The Holy Mountain (1903):

The Christian Commandment of Love Is a “New” Commandment: Chapter 1 - Comparison With Pittacus, Solon and Thales

Mosaic of the Seven Sages of Ancient Greece

...Chapter One: A)

Chapter One: B) Comparing the Christian Commandment of "Love" With Pittacus, Solon and Thales

a) Pittacus of Mytilene died in 570 BC. This "sage" from among the famous "seven" is credited with many edifying sayings, instructive for any time. Among these are, for example, are the following: "forgiveness is better than revenge", "do not slander not only a friend, but also an enemy", "do not do what you condemn in others", "love your neighbor, even if he slightly oppresses you", "forgiveness is better than repentance", "even the thought of evil will not be hidden from the gods", "know thyself" and many others.[28][29] Honor to this pagan thinker, who rises against revenge, against slander, against even evil thoughts. This is a profound sermon! Honor to him, who preaches forgiveness, love for one’s neighbor (even if one does not reciprocate love in return), self-knowledge, and an equal standard for evaluating one’s own and others' actions.

All of this is remarkable, provided that the aforementioned sayings truly belong to Pittacus,[30] and not to a later period, as some suppose — namely, not to any other individuals (for instance, the saying 'know thyself' is also attributed to Chilon, 560–556 B.C.).[31] However, what is interesting for us is the very content of the sayings, which we will now turn to.

The Christian Commandment of Love Is a “New” Commandment: Chapter 1 - Comparison With Confucianism

Introductory Remarks

Chapter One: A) Comparing the Christian Commandment of "Love" With Confucianism

So, what do we find in Confucius (551–479 BC)? A great deal of commendable insight. According to Confucius, "We must love others as ourselves; we must wish for them what we wish for ourselves." With the presence of such love, "the entire world will resemble one family, all people will embody one person." Such phrases and thoughts fill the moralistic Chinese texts: “Xiao,” “Lunyu,” “Mencius,” “Zhongyong,” “Daxue,” “Xiaojing,” “I Ching,” “Wujing,” “Shijing,” “Chunqiu,” “Zhu Xi,” “Liji”.[9] When reading such reflections on love, one cannot help but recall the New Testament sayings: "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Gal. 5:14; Matt. 22:35–40; Luke 10:27; James 2:8; 1 John 13:34–35; 1 Cor. 13; Eph. 5:2; Col. 3:14; Gal. 6:2; 1 Tim. 1:5; 1 John 4:7–9, 11, 12, 16, 20, 21, 2:10, 11; 1 Pet. 1:22, 3:8–9; 2 Pet. 1:7; Heb. 13:1…), "Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them" (Matt. 7:12; Luke 6:31; Acts 15:20). If the word of God commands us to "do good to all" (Gal. 6:10), then we also read in Confucian texts that "one must love all"[10] and similar sentiments.

The Christian Commandment of Love Is a “New” Commandment: Introductory Remarks

Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Bronzov

The Christian Commandment of Love Is a “New” Commandment: 

(Againse Haeckel, Saladin, etc.)

By Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Bronzov (1858—1919/1937)

Content

Introductory Remarks 

I. Comparison with the Christian Commandment of "Love" in the Teachings of A) Confucius, B) Pittacus, Solon, Thales, C) Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, D) Sextus the Pythagorean, E) Aristippus of Cyrene, F) Isocrates.

II. Comparison with the Christian Commandment of "Love" in the Teachings of A) Buddhism, B) Vedaism, C) Brahmanism, D) Peripatetics, E) Stoics, F) Essenes-Therapeutae, G) Hillel

III. “Babylon” and the Christian Commandment About “Love”

IV. Moses and Christianity on the Question of "Love" - The Christian Commandment of "Love" is a "New" Commandment, "Practically Feasible," "Reasonable, True"

Concluding Words

Introductory Remarks

The commandment of Christ regarding love, referred to as "new" in the Gospel (John 13:34), is indeed such. The pre-Christian world truly did not know it. This is what I will reply to my correspondents who ask me about this point, and I hope to support my response with concise but documentary evidence.

It is true that Ernst Haeckel, to whom correspondents refer, considers this commandment to be pre-Christian, calling its proponents "Confucius, Thales, Pittacus, Solon, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Isocrates, Aristippus, Sextus"1 – but it is also true that this professor is grossly mistaken in this case (as well as in many others). The "merit of Christ"2 thus remains undeniable, even after Haeckel's assertions. It will undoubtedly remain so in the future – always.

Haeckel is not independent. He refers to the well-known "most frivolous" work of Saladin (= William Stewart Ross), Jehova's gesammelte Werke (Jehovah's Collected Works),3 the extreme lack of scientific rigor of which has already been sufficiently established in science by such authoritative figures as Dr. Friedrich Loofs,4 Dr. E. Dennert,5 Dr. Vitus Biander,6 Dr. Jos Engeit,7 and many others.8 However, since Haeckel's ideas are quickly spreading, including among us in Russia through Russian translations of his works (between 1906 and 1908), and since they confuse, as mentioned above, some, and perhaps even a very large number of individuals, the exposure of the falsity of these ideas is undoubtedly an important and urgent task.

Of the ten sages listed above, indicated by Haeckel, Confucius stands out, three (from among the famous “seven”) sages Pittacus, Solon and Thales stand out, Socrates, his student Plato and the latter’s student Aristotle stand out, and Sextus the Pythagorean, Aristotle and Isocrates stand out each.

Notes:

 

1. E. Haeckel "World Riddles". St. Petersburg. 1906, p. 184.

 

2. Ibid. 

 

3.  We have in our hands 2 Auflage, Zürich (year of publication not indicated).

 

4. In his work "Anti-Haeckel" (5th Aufl Halle, 1906), see especially pp. 27–39, etc.

 

5.  In his book, Die Wahrheit uber Ernst Haeckel und seine Welt rátsel (Halle, 1908), see pp. 149 et seq.

 

6.  In his research "The Naturalistic Monism of Neutrality or Haeckel's Weltanschauung". Paderborn, 1907, pp. 334–335.

 

7.  In his works: "The Naturalistic Monism of Haeckels". Vienna, 1907, pp. 314, 316, 317.

 

8.  Read, for example, Prof. T.I. Butkevich’s “Philosophy of Monism” (Kharkov 1900), pp. 64, 63.

 

Chapter 1

 

The First Anniversary of the Tragic War in the Middle East (October 7, 2023)

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

As we all remember, on October 7th 2023 Hamas gunmen entered the Jewish Kibbutz and the cities of southern Israel and spread death, abuse and rape at a Festival where young people danced for peace! That day 1,200 Israelis were killed and 250 were kidnapped.

From that day, a horrible war began in the Middle East between Israelis, Hamas and Hezbollah of Lebanon; other countries, such as Iran and Yemen, also got involved in it. In a central newspaper article on October 7, 2024, one year after the start of the war, the results of this horrible war were written.

"Since this day last year (October 7, 2023) 1.9 million Palestinians, 1 million Lebanese and 60 thousand Israelis have been displaced. Hamas has launched 12,000 rockets at Israel and Hezbollah 8,000. Iran 500 missiles and drones. Israel has already spent 67 billion dollars on the conflict and the economy of Gaza has shrunk by 86%" (TA NEA, p. 2, Monday 10/7/2024).

Elder Hieronymos of Aegina and the Good Turkish Judge

Elder Hieronymos was from Cappadocia and was a renowned spiritual father from his monastery in Aegina. He reposed in 1966.

Shortly before World War I, a Turk visited Fr. Hieronymos' humble hermitage. The Turk told the Elder that his master, a Judge, had sent him to invite the Elder to his house.

The Elder became a little worried. He was not accustomed to receiving invitations to "social receptions" and his mind began to suspect that he might experience some evil or temptation. However, he prayed to God and followed the Turkish servant.

On their arrival at the Judge's large home, the Judge himself welcomed him – with much warmth, as a matter of fact. They sat on a large divan and the judge began the conversation:

Muslim Turks Who Venerate Saint Panteleimon

By Nikos Chiladakis

Kuzguncuk is a suburb of Istanbul on the Asian side, which before 1956 had a number of Romaioi residents.

The most impressive event of the area was the great festival of Saint Panteleimon that took place every summer on July 26, the day before the Saint's feast day. The amazing thing about this festival was that thousands of Turks came to honor and venerate the Saint. But even today this temple gathers many Turkish Muslim pilgrims, usually with some health problems who ask the Saint for the grace of healing.

According to an impressive survey by the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet with the title, "Hangi kiliseye hangi umutla gidiyolar", that is, "To Which Church Do They Go With Some Hope", a place of pilgrimage for the Turks is the Church of Saint Panteleimon in Kuzguncuk.

Date Set for the Reopening of the Chora Church as a Mosque

The Monastery of Chora, known today in Turkish as Kariye Camii, was an 11th century Orthodox Christian monastery in Constantinople that was converted by the Ottomans into a mosque in the 16th century. It operated as a museum since 1958, though after the decision of the Turkish Supreme Court in 2019 and a presidential decree on August 21, 2020, it was reconverted into a mosque as was nearby Hagia Sophia before it, despite Istanbul having already 3,113 mosques. However, soon after this decree was issued, the reconverted mosque closed in order to make preparations for its regular use as a house of worship for Muslims, with an undetermined date for its reopening. While the restoration process was continuing, Kariye Camii was kept open to visitors as a museum.

What Was Paidomazoma (Devshirme) and Who Were the Janissaries?

 

By Marios Novakopoulos, Internationalist

Paidomazoma, or the mass kidnapping of children. This word resonates to this day as one of the most painful memories of the Turkish occupation, which both as a human tragedy and as a tool of biological oppression haunts the conscience of the Greeks.

Paidomazoma, Devshirme in Turkish, is the compulsory recruitment of the children of the Christian subjects of the Ottoman Empire, to staff the army and administration of the sultan. The most famous body that absorbed the victims of paidomazoma was the famous Janissary guard.

The system of paidomazoma was introduced around 1430 by Sultan Murat I, but individual conscriptions had started since the time of Sultan Bayezid in 1395. But why did the Ottomans implement such a policy? The answer lies in the deepest needs of Sultanate politics.

Young Muslim Man Baptized Orthodox Christian in Victoria, Australia

 

On Monday, 13 February 2023, with the blessing of His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia, His Grace Bishop Evmenios of Kerasounta, Archiepiscopal Vicar of Northcote in Victoria, welcomed into the Orthodox Church, through the Mystery of Holy Baptism, a young man who comes from the Islamic faith.

The 28-year-old Ahmad Khodr, who after his baptism received the name Angelos, was born and raised in Lebanon. From a young age, but also after his migration to Australia, he was constantly searching for the truth about faith and the true God, without resting on what he had been taught in the early years of his life.

Saint Paisios the Athonite and the Japanese Buddhist

In May 1990, during one of my visits to Elder Paisios, we were about twenty pilgrims in his outdoor guesthouse.

Among us was a Japanese man, a chemical engineer of a large pharmaceutical company, who did not know Greek.

On this occasion, the Elder spoke about the Buddha and, addressing the Japanese man, told him that the Buddha was just a wise and intelligent man of his time. And how the world, admiring his wisdom, made him almost a god.

A Christian Miracle to a Muslim in Mecca (From the Life of St. John the Russian)

Icon depicting an angel transporting a platter of hot pilaf from St. John to his master in Mecca.

Saint John the Russian (+ May 27, 1730) was a soldier who was taken as a slave and sold to a Turkish master who was a cavalry officer in Prokopion of Asia Minor. The Saint, though treated with contempt and abuse, with his kindness and gentle nature he had an effect on the souls of both the master and the other slaves. Saint John brought a blessing to his master simply by living in his household. The cavalry officer became rich, and was soon one of the most powerful men in Prokopion. He knew very well why his home had been blessed, and he did not hesitate to tell others.

One day the officer, being cheerful at his unanticipated success, left Prokopion and went to Mecca on pilgrimage with a great retinue to fulfill his religious duty as a Muslim. A few weeks later, his wife gave a banquet and invited her husband's friends and relatives, asking them to pray for her husband's safe return. Saint John served at the table, and he put down a dish of pilaf, his master's favorite food. The hostess said, "How much pleasure your master would have if he could be here to eat this pilaf with us." Saint John asked for a dish of pilaf, saying that he would send it to his master in Mecca. The guests laughed when they heard his words. The mistress, however, ordered the cook to give him a dish of pilaf, thinking he would eat it himself, or give it to some poor family as he was accustomed to do.

How Saint Raphael Brought a Muslim Man Back to Life

 

 

In late August (around 2014), Mrs. Alkestis called the Monastery of Saint Raphael at Ano Souli, Marathon from Mykonos Island, asking for information regarding access and accommodation nearby, in order to be present at Saint Raphael’s, during the celebrations of the Monastery’s feast day on the 2nd of September.

While on the phone with one of the fathers, she asked him to light a candle to Saint Raphael for the brother of the cleaning lady that she had at her place to help with the housework, as he had suffered a stroke and eventually fallen into a coma. She had learnt that the doctors had said that it was almost impossible for the patient to recover and had recommended that the relatives be prepared for the inevitable. They all feared that even if he did survive –which was highly unlikely- he would not be able to move his hands and legs, nor would he be able to speak properly and coordinate his thoughts, due to extensive brain damage. As a result, all of the patient's relatives (of the Muslim faith, as was the patient) were extremely upset, as was Mrs. Alkestis, as she shared their pain.

Indian Muslims React to the Chanting of a Popular Greek Orthodox Hymn (video)

In the video below, Indian Muslims react to the chanting of a popular Greek Orthodox prayer known as Agni Parthene (Αγνή Παρθένε).

The popular Common Man Show YouTube channel, with over 20 million views, records the reactions of Indian Villagers and Tribal People trying new food, new songs and other interesting tasks.

In this particular episode, four Indian Muslims are emotionally moved and spiritually uplifted by listening to Agni Parthene. Currently there are nearly 170,000 views.

A Muslim Testimonial Describing How Elder Jonah of Kiev Saved a Muslim Village from Cholera

Elder Jonah (ca. 1794-1902) was a disciple of Saint Seraphim of Sarov who experienced many remarkable visions of the heavenly realm, was visited by Christ Himself, and quite frequently by other Saints, including the Theotokos, who instructed him to found the Holy Trinity Monastery in Kiev.

A Muslim named Medzid Hanzibiev wrote the following for The Russian Pilgrim in 1892:

Near the city of Ekaterinodar in Kuban (a region in southern Russia) is the village of Tokhtomukai, home to more than two thousand Muslims of the Caucasus.

A terrible cholera epidemic broke out in this village.

Every day 20-25 people died. The panic was indescribable. All hopes were lost because there was no medical help.

I am a resident of this village and a Muslim. I had heard from some of my acquaintances who are Russians about the holiness and power of the prayers of the abbot of the Monastery of the Holy Trinity in Kiev, Elder Jonah, and I had seen with my own eyes several cases of healing in Ekaterinodar done with his prayers.

That is why on July 29, I sent a telegram to Kiev describing our drama, and asked Father Jonah for his prayers for our salvation from cholera.

I received very quickly a warm and consoling answer, that he accepted my request and prayed before the throne of God for the salvation of the village.

The telegram was followed by a blessing.

I was closely following the events in the village and every day I learned all the relevant developments regarding the cholera epidemic.

That is why I am able to assure you that from the day I sent the telegram, the death toll has dropped significantly and the disease has subsided.

In fact, no new cases of the disease have appeared since August, and not a single case of death.

Source: This letter originally appeared in The Russian Pilgrim, issue 35, in 1892. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.

 

Proof That God Is One and Not Many (St. John of Damascus)

 

 By St. John of Damascus

We have, then, adequately demonstrated that there is a God, and that His essence is incomprehensible. But that God is one and not many is no matter of doubt to those who believe in the Holy Scriptures.

For the Lord says in the beginning of the Law: "I am the Lord your God, which have brought you out of the land of Egypt. You shall have no other gods before Me" (Exodus 20:2-3).

And again He says, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord" (Deuteronomy 6:4).

And in Isaiah the prophet we read, "For I am the first God and I am the last, and beside Me there is no God. Before Me there was not any God, nor after Me will there be any God, and beside Me there is no God" (Isaiah 43:10).

And the Lord, too, in the holy Gospels speaks these words to His Father, "And this is life eternal, that they may know You the only true God" (John 17:3).

A Linguistic Distinction Between Orthodoxy and Religions

In Greek grammar, we use the word γένος (gender), therefore there are three genders, which are: αρσενικό (arsenikó) meaning “masculine,” θηλυκό (thilikó) meaning “feminine,” and ουδέτερο (udétero) meaning “neuter.” These genders characterize nouns, adjectives, articles, and some pronouns and participles.

All the religions in the Greek language belong to the masculine gender (or neuter according to some variants of these):