Saint Demetrios was born in Thesaloniki, Greece in 270 AD. He came from a wealthy family and because he was athletic in appearance and heroic in spirit, he became a high-ranking officer in the Roman Army at a very young age. (This is why he is depicted in Byzantine icons in military dress, either standing or riding a horse.) He considered himself a soldier of Christ first, and a military soldier second. He spent most of his time as a devout missionary, preaching the Gospel at secret meetings and converting pagans to the Christian faith.

At one of these meetings, he was captured and placed in front of the Emperor Maximian, who wanted to learn the truth about the conversions. Saint Demetrios proclaimed his faith by saying: “…only in Christ do I believe.” With that proclamation, Maximian ordered that Saint Demetrios be sent to prison and subjected to the cruelest tortures.

Even though Saint Demetrios was imprisoned, he did not stop preaching the gospel to those who came to see him. In jail, he was visited by his follower, Nestoras. Nestoras was a man of small stature and had come to ask for his beloved teacher’s blessing to fight in the upcoming gladiator games. The emperor had decided to use the games as a duel between Christianity and paganism by challenging any Christian to a fight against the athletic giant, Leo.

With the blessing of Saint Demetrios, Nestoras fought and killed Leo. Enraged at the loss of his favorite gladiator, the emperor commanded that Nestoras be beheaded on the spot. Recognizing that Saint Demetrios was the inspiring power behind Nestoras, the emperor ordered that Saint Demetrios be executed by spear on October 26, 306 AD Christians buried the body of Saint Demetrios at the place of his execution and because of the beautiful scent that emanated from his tomb, he was named Mirovlitis or “The Myrrh Gusher”.

The most ancient icons of Saint Demetrios may be found in his temple in Thessaloniki where he is the patron saint. This is not just because he was born and died there, but because the people believe it was his intervention that saved the city during many attacks by Slavic nations, the Bulgarians, Arabs, Saracens and others. Even the liberation of Thessaloniki during the Balkan wars of 1912 coincide with the feast day of Saint Demetrios on October 26th.

Troparion – Tone 3

The world has found you to be a great defense against tribulation
and a vanquisher of heathens, O Passion-bearer.
As you bolstered the courage of Nestor,
who then humbled the arrogance of Lyaios in battle,
Holy Demetrius, entreat Christ God to grant us great mercy.

]]> http://biblicalink.wordpress.com/2009/10/13/first-look-at-third-john/ Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:46:07 +0000 Jerry Jacques http://biblicalink.wordpress.com/2009/10/13/first-look-at-third-john/

Preliminaries on Third John:

THE THIRD EPISTLE OF JOHN

SUMMARY

John writes this third epistle “to the beloved Gaius” [1] whom he considers to be as one of his “children” [4]. John expresses his joy upon hearing of how Gaius is a man that is “walking in the truth” [3] and so he prays that Gaius may prosper in all aspects of life and be in good health, just as his soul prospers [2]. Not only is Gaius walking in the truth, but the testimony that John have heard also speaks about his treatment of the visiting brethren [5-6]. This is very important to John because he speaks of the reason that these brethren went out, and that is “for the sake of the Name” [7]. Therefore in supporting these men, those who contribute are “fellow workers with the truth” [8].

Then John turns his attention to someone else. Addressing this person must be very important since John finds the need to discuss him in such a small letter. The person’s name is Diotrephes, who is apparently a leader because he “does not receive the brethren” and he “forbids those who desire to do so and puts them out of the church” [10]. This doesn’t sound like someone of small magnitude but a very important church official. Only one in a leading position can have that much power. This is an individual that when John gets over there, he is going to deal with personally and reveal to the people what he is truly like [10]. Before moving on to the third person mentioned in the epistle, John admonishes Gaius not to “imitate what is evil, but what is good” [11] and that that is what one who has seen and is of God does.

The third person mentioned is Demetrius. The purpose for his name being mentioned is not specified. Other than the fact that “everyone, the truth,” and John testifies of him [12], nothing else is mentioned. Finally John closes, as he does in 2 John by saying that “I had many things to write to you, but I am not willing to write them to you with pen and ink; but I hope to see you shortly, and we will speak face to face” [13-14]. John had a desire to see his beloved friend. He wishes him peace, sends greetings from the friends, and asks that the friends that are with Gaius be greeted “by name” [14].

PERSONAL REFLECTION

As much as the apostle John spoke about love, it seems that there were some times, when love needed to take some tough actions. We are not to sit around and take it likely when wickedness is being done. When people are being mistreated and thrown out of the church, it is our responsibilities as leaders to stand up and say this has to end.

The problem that John was facing was coming from an individual named Diotrephes who was speaking evil about John (and those that were with him). With all these letters of love that John wrote, you would think that no one would have anything bad to say about him, but that wasn’t the case. Diotrephes found it necessary to speak ill of the elder. The thought that comes to my mind is, how hard must it have been to do such a thing? John was not one who got baptized recently, but one who was personally called and walked with Jesus throughout his earthly ministry. John was one of the three that drew nearer to Christ.

If Diotrephes had the courage to rise up against someone like that, then he was well respected by the church. There may have also been some envy on his part. Verse 9 says that Diotrephes “loves to be first among” the church. This phrase can indicate two things, the first is that Diotrephes was used to being in a high position (past tense), and the second is that he intends on being in a high position (future tense). I would argue that the major problem that John had with Diotrephes was that he was not accepting the brethren and that he did not accept what John wrote to the church. John certainly was not happy about being spoken ill of, but I believe that his primary concern was not for himself but for the people of that church that he sent a message to and the brethren that were working for the Lord and were treated with disrespect.

Want to name your baby boy after an Earth goddess?

Thanks to Laney McDonald for suggesting Dimitri as Name of the Day.

There are plenty of names with multiple variant spellings, from the classic Katherine to the flock of Aidan spinoffs.  Dimitri seems like a special challenge.  In addition to the spelling used in this post title, there’s:

• Demetri, as in comedian Demetri Martin, known for his Comedy Central series Important Things and Taking Woodstock, the latest Ang Lee flick;
• Dmitri, as in Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich and Russian chemist and inventor of the periodic table Dmitri Mendeleev;
• Dmitry and Dmitriy, two common spellings used for early Russian rulers;
• You’ll also find Dmetrei, Dmitrii and other versions here and there.

That first Dmitry was not only a fourteenth century ruler, but is remembered as a saint, too.  He was the first to challenge the Tatars in Moscow.  After he defeated them in the 1380 Battle of Kulikovo, on the Don River, he became known as Dmitry Donskoy.

Princes aplenty have worn the name since, including Dmitry Pozharsky, who helped Russian overthrow a Polish-Lithuanian invasion and eventually ushered in the Romanov Dynasty.  The entire period was known as the Time of Troubles – while a heroic Dmitry helped wrap things up, a number of pretenders to the throne wore the name, too.

With his multiple appearances throughout Russian history, Dmitry in all spellings leans Slavic.  Today we’re less apt to think of princes and more likely to think ice hockey or Dmitry Medvedev, current president of Russia.  It remains in heavy use.

And yet the name does hearken back to a Greek goddess – Demeter, part Mother Earth, part agricultural goddess.  Demetrios would’ve been the original male version, Latinized as Demetrius.  Several early saints wore those two names, and they also remain popular worldwide.

At first glance, none of the variants are doing well in the US.  Dmitri last appeared in 2007, at a mere #995.  Demetri hasn’t ranked for more than a decade.  Feminine form Demetria is equally rare, despite the nickname potential of Demi.  Demetrius ranked #520 last year – a respectable spelling, and the -us ending does evoke fashion-forward picks like Atticus.

Despite his spelling challenges, the pronunciation is straightforward – deh MEE tree.  With boys called the French Andre and Italian Dante, Dimitri seems perfectly reasonable.

But that spelling!  It almost invites creative (and not terribly sophisticated) approaches like D’Metri.

I’ll admit that I’m partial to Dmitri, but the best bet might be to stick with Demetri – and hope that the comedian’s career flourishes.  As for whether this is wearable for a boy without Russian heritage?  That’s harder to say, but given his roots in antiquity, it seems like this one might work – even if your last name is Murphy or D’Agostino.

Quem disse
que por de trás daquela barba
que nos arranha o rosto
não tem um coração moleque
querendo brincar?

Quem disse
que por detrás daquela voz grossa
não tem um menino criativo querendo falar?

Quem foi que falou
que aquelas mãos grandes
não sabem fazer carinho se o filho chorar?

Quem foi que pensou,
que aqueles pés enormes,
não deslizam suaves na calada da noite,
para o sono do filho velar?

Quem é que achou
que no fundo do peito largo e viril
não tem um coração de pudim,
quando o filho amado,
com um sorriso largo se põe a chamar?

Quem foi que determinou
que aquele coroa,
de cabelos brancos não sabe da vida
para querer me ensinar?

Pai, você me escolheu filho, eu te fiz exemplo! Feliz dia dos pais, meu PAI.

Do seu Genro TchucSM para o DemétriusSM Um Exemplo de pai que sentimos falta! E Especialmente para todos Os Pais !

Votos da Família SM!

Existe algo ilimitado no ♥AMOR♥ de um pai,

algo que não pode falhar, algo no qual acreditar

mesmo que seja contra o mundo inteiro.
Nos dias da nossa infância,

gostamos de pensar que nosso pai tudo pode;
mais tarde,
acreditaremos que seu amor pode compreender tudo.

FELIZ DIA DOS PAIS!!

São os votos de todos da FAMILIA SM!!

Bjocas ;*******************************

Vejam esse video….

Ei irmãs, irmãos, primos, subrinhos, tias, piriquito, cachorro, papagaio e por ai vai…..(bobalhona MODE ON) kkkkkk

Eu passei por aqui hoje só para dizer, q tenho boas novas sobre nosso PAPI!!! \O/

HURRUL!!! VIVA!!!!  \o/

Bom resumindo ele está em Rosário Oeste como vcs sabem, e está passando uma temporada na praia com irmão (praia ai q inveja =/  )….. mas daki 30 dias certinho ele está de volta!!!!

Hurrul!!! \o/

Ele está bem pessoas.. e está com saudades….

ps: notícias dadas pela mamy dele…. amo vcs família!!!

Oieee

Papai DemSM aki denovooo

hoho¹

Intão… Venho para dar Boas Novas

Ja tem link para acessar a nossa sala “SM” pela net

Para entrar na sala clique…

——> “AQUI” <——

Bom Chat e até mais

=* Pai AmucÊs Familia

Oioi Leitores

Este será o meu curto “Primeiro Post”…

(tecnicamente é o segundo porque o primeiro foi o “Significado de “SM’s Family“)

Enfim…
Hoje irei falar/comentar) sobre um assunto sério …
Estaremos nós (a humanidade) próximos do fim dos tempos???

É… Vejam só…

• Tempestades começam a destruir cidades…
• Aviões começam a cair aos montes…
• Uma doença começa a tomar conta do mundo…
• Os servers dos chats começam a ficar loucos… ‘
• O Michal Jackson Morre…

…

E como disse minha filha Lidy em uma conversa particular
“Se a Madonna morrer (coisa que óbviamente não desejamos) temos que ficar preparados, porque o fim estará proximo”.

Então, vamos começar a pensar em nossos atos…

O que estamos fazendo para melhorar nossos últimos momentos??

Cuidem-se e até a proxima !!!

\o Pai DemSM Amucês Fiarada…

Ei pessoas!!  I have News!

Apresento-lhes agora o novo brasão da Família SM!!!!

Lindo não?!

Feito por nosso pai DemetriusSM, meu papictho mais amado do mundo,tem como significado a chama que é a Vida da nossa família, o Amor entre a mesma; o Yin Yang (símbolo chinês), significa o Equíbrio, a Harmonia, e as Asas que nos permitem ser livres, fazendo com que nada, nem mesmo a distância se oponha entre o carinho e o amor verdadeiro dessa família.

Eu ameiii esse brasão e vocês o que acharam?

Leider heut wieder kein ToHeSeLü-Video, aber dafür ein kleiner Crash-Kurs zum Thema “Wie bereite ich mich auf eine Rolle” vor. Sorry für die störenden Hintergrundgeräusche Fragen gerne an mail@toheselue.com

Heute Abend Generalprobe

Spotlight:   Chris Ivens-Brown

VP Culinary Development & Corporate Executive Chef, Eurest Dining Services

Chris Ivens-Brown is Vice President of Culinary Development and Executive Chef for Compass Group, Eurest Dining Services, as well as a local celebrity in the city of Charlotte. Chef Chris’s passion for advocating culinary sustainability has been very apparent over the past six years. Chris’s dedication to raising awareness and promoting sustainable solutions for both sea and land based food supplies has led Compass Group, one of the largest food service companies in the world to adopt sustainable food practices. Chris has made it his mission to educate the food industry, as well as the home cook, about simple and effective methods for cooking and eating fresh, seasonable, and sustainable foods.

Education: Graduated from the Academy of Culinary Arts program at London’s Academie de Culinaire de France in 1991; additional training with Anton Adelman, Albert Roux, Michel Roux, Peter Kromberg and Richard Shepard.

Culinary experience: Apprenticed with Roux Restaurant Group and Academie de Culinaire de France, 1985 to 1994; spent 1993-1994 with Albert Roux in Amsterdam at the Grand Restaurant Hotel/Café Roux; executive chef at The Restaurant at Hurlingham Club in London, 1994-1995; moved to Charlotte, NC in 1995 as executive chef manager of Bank of America’s Roux Fine Dining Restaurant, Roux’s first in the United States; named vice president of culinary development of Compass Group in 2002. 

In his spare time, Chris has hosted two successful seasons of Cooking at Home with Chef Chris, with a guest line-up including sports, government and media celebrities. Chris has also had the honor of cooking for a myriad of celebrities and public figures, including Phil Collins, Martha Stewart and Queen Elizabeth. In the community, Chris donates considerable time and culinary talent to numerous fundraising events and charitable organizations including; Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch, The Make-A-Wish Foundation, The American Heart Association, Loaves and Fishes, and Classroom Central. 

Chef Chris has recently been named as the 149^th Distinguished Visiting Chef for Johnson & Wales, Providence, RI. In April, 2009, he was recognized as the 9^th DVC at Johnson & Wales University Charlotte. Chris is in the process of completely his book “Planet to Plate, Cooking for Change”and  developing a National TV show that promotes sustainability. Chris travels to his hometown in the UK, every six weeks to spend time with his amazing daughter, Sophie.

Featured Menu:

 A Mid Spring Night’s Dream

April 24^th, 2009

The Duke Mansion – www.dukemansion.com/

Passed Hors d’oeuvres

The Confused Lovers

Helena - Sumac roasted lamb, pea puree and eucalyptus foam

Lysander - Cucumber crowns, blue cheese and bacon

Demetrius - Chef Chris’s Maryland Crab Cakes

Hermia - Baby chicken Boudran, avocado puree

Sokol Blosser, Evolution #9, 12^th Edition

White Blend, Dundee Hills Oregon

 Dinner

Whispering Woodland Mushroom Elixir

Provencal and Goat Cheese Tortellini

Sokol Blosser, Meditrina, 5^th Edition

Syrah, Zinfandel, Pinot Noir Blend, Dundee Hills, Oregon

Oberon’s Crown of Asparagus

Spring Truffle Salad, Prosciutto Rose

B.R. Cohn Chardonnay, 2007

Sonoma County, California

Grilled Rainbow Trout

Pucks Enchanted Zucchini Flower

B.R. Cohn Chardonnay, 2007

Sonoma County, California

Elderflower Sorbet

Fruits of the Forest, laced in rieling

Braised ‘Bottom’ of New Season milk fed Veal Cannelloni

Crushed new season Potatoes and Olives, celery root

B.R. Cohn Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006

North Coast, California

Pineapple Titania Pot-Pourri

Spicy Lavender Sauce, Jeweled Stoli Doli ice-cream, Chocolate Malt shot

Vanfi Rosa regale Brachetto d’acqui

Italy NV

Triple Certified coffee by Pura Vida and Artisan teas by Mighty Leaf tea available upon request.

For more information on Christopher Ivens-Brown, visit www.chefcib.com or

Contact Kimberly Consolo –  kimberly.consolo@compass-usa.com

Ancient Warfare III.2

“Alexander’s Funeral Games” is the (not very original) title of the last issue of Ancient Warfare. Its theme is warfare among the Successors. It is introduced by Bob Bennett and Mike Roberts, who give an overview of the endless campaigning that is remarkable for its clarity. Duncan Campbell tells essentially the same story, although he focuses on Demetrius Poliorcetes; it is a fine piece, as I have come to expect from this author.

Konstantin Nossov and Joseph Pietrykowski describe how the Successors fought. The first describes Hellenistic fortifications in an article about Philo of Byzantium, who dedicated a manual on poliorcetics to Ptolemy III Euergetes; the second deals with armies and tactics. Michael Park focuses on the battle of Gabiene, while, concentrating on an even smaller subject, Christian Koepfer describes the sarissa, the heavy lance of the Macedonian phalanx.

Demetrius Poliorcetes (Antikensammlung, Berlin)

There are some splendid illustrations in this issue: Vladimir Golubev made several beautiful drawings of Hellenistic fortifications, and Hellenistic soldiers were painted by Igor Dzis and Johnny Shumate. I was unable to discover who made the frontispiece – it is not even mentioned in the “On the cover” series. (It’s Shumate, BTW.)

Was there something I missed? Yes: the economy. Scholars like Košelenko, Galataÿ, and Golenko (below) have proved that the amount of precious metal that Alexander had captured in Susa and Persepolis was exactly sufficient to pay for the armies of the Successors until 301. In other words, Ipsus was the final battle not because it was decisive, but because all money had been spent. In the next years, Seleucus Nicator declined to go to war to Ptolemy Soter and things appear to have become a bit more quiet, the only dynamic element being the adventurer Demetrius.

Seleucus Nicator

Personally, I would like to know more about the economic base of ancient warfare and social attitudes towards violence. Some of the articles in Ancient Warfare have in the past addressed this subject (e.g., an article on the portrayal of mercenaries in Greek comedies), but in my opinion, this may be a bit more. But that’s just a minor point of criticism; this issue was, as always, nice to read.

As always, Ancient Warfare has some articles unrelated to the main theme. This time, Svenja Grosser has a fine article on amphitheaters for gladiatoral shows near military bases, while Raffaele D’Amato describes a navy carpenter, whose dead body was found near Herculaneum (beautiful drawing by Graham Sumner). Murray Dahm continues his series “Be a General” with his second article on Vegetius, and this issue ends with five pages of reviews.

All in all, I greatly enjoyed this issue; and if you haven’t got a subscription yet, you can go here.

Literature

• François de Callataÿ, “Les trésors achéménides et les monnayages d’Alexandre” in Revue des Études Anciennes 91 (1989) 259-276
• V.K. Golenko, “Notes on the coinage and currency of the early Seleucid state,” in: Mesopotamia 28 (1993) 71-167

Yesterday I install ubuntu 9.04 in my laptop dell 1310, it is cool

Hi,

Today is my first post, I worked a lot today, I started to work at 1:00 pm and I will working  unitl 1:00 am, I’m tired

It feels like it has been forever since I updated this site and with good reason. First, I was in Las Vegas at the Catersource/Event Solutions conference at the Las Vegas Hilton and then I had tech week for A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Needless to say, it was a exhausting 2 weeks which I am only now recovering from.

Midsummer has gone exceptionally well and in many cases better than exceptionally well. It had a better opening weekend than any show over the last two seasons. Normally, I would be doing jumping jacks and cheering, but I’m actually not very surprised. See, I have realized something very interesting about this show

The Universe has been working for the last 20 years to get this show in place.

No, I’m not crazy. Yes, I realize I sound like a New Age crazy person, but just go with me for a second……

So, orginally I was to direct Accomplice by Rupert Holmes which was to open on March 6 of this year. We had everything in place (except actors) but it just didn’t feel right. Our theater needed a hit and something low cost and Accomplice was probably not going to be that (especially not with the BEAST of a set that it required). My wife came up with a great idea to do A Midsummer Night’s Dream and I approached my Artistic Director with it….and she said yes. So, 100 days ago, we completey changed the show.

That required a whole new list of designers, adding a dramaturg, figuring out how to fit 18 actors into our little space (we eventually dropped it down to 15) and a whole other slew of problems which, with some creativity, we solved. We cast the show, it opened to a great audience, it was a hit….and cheap to do.

But looking at all the crazy things that happened…I can’t help feel that the Universe set this show into motion YEARS ago.

Have you ever had a show like that? I mean all shows have some feeling of comraderie attached to them, but it’s usually a, “Hey this is pretty cool! I’m sure glad I got to work with you!” kind of feeling. Not so here. Everything fell into place and I often wonder if I’ll ever have a show like this again.

I think we all work to ward having that feeling, where everyone gets along and everyone looks forward to going to rehearsal. Where you almost don’t want to open because that means the end of play time with the director and the actors. Where people you cast have random connections to each other that you didn’t even know was possible.

For example:

- I asked my wife to co-costume design and help me cast. I asked a friend of mine to do the set design. The set designer was in a show at his college. He told a fellow cast member about the auditions and that gentlemen came to read for the part of Lysander. The guy who came to read Lysander went to high school with my wife and they hadn’t seen each other in years.

- My producer found my dramaturg who was in Romeo and Juliet with me year prior. My producer had no knowledge of that…and my dramaturg and I both forgot the other one was in that show until midway through auditions

- I was in Romeo and Juliet with another person who founded a Shakespeare only troupe with the gentleman I cast as Oberon. Had no idea they knew each other

- The gentleman I cast as Oberon works in the same department I used to work in at a local Casino….we know the same people but never worked together

- The lovely lady I cast as Titania went to the same church in Chula Vista I went to as a kid….never met each other.

-The guy I cast as Lysander (the one who knew my wife) has a best friend who was my wife’s high school boyfriend….is now “hanging out” with girl who plays Titania

- My dramaturg brought me my awesome Assistant Director, who also randomly is an acquaintance of my set designer….and I hadn’t met her until auditions

- 2 of my actors started dating (not unusual, but still pretty cool)

I’m sure there are more, but the amazing coincidence are just astounding. Which makes me realize the power that theatre has. Everyone got along, everyone is friends with everyone else. We hang out outside of rehearsal, for fun. The creativity was astounding….every element just perfectly fit and got what we were doing. I have never worked in any other medium where that has happened.

Theatre truly is more than the sum of its parts and this show proves it. This is why we do it and I know I will spend the rest of my life trying to find another show that works like this one does.