Cyprus/Christian Art Plundered
nick cobb
April 1, 1998
NY Times
Massive Plundering of Early Christian Art
Exposed
By JUDITH MILLER and STEPHEN KINZER
ALOGREA, Cyprus -- Nestled among rugged hills overlooking
the sea near this ancient village, the Monastery of
Antiphonitis once
held some of the world's finest Orthodox frescoes and icons.
But today
the monastery is deserted, and there is no trace of the
masterpieces that
once graced its walls.
To the northeast, at the Church of the Virgin of Kanakaria in
the village of
Lythrangomi, the scene is even more stark. Almost every window
has
been broken, and as a result rain and dust have poured into a
building that
once possessed some of the most important and beautiful works
of early
Christian art. Pigeons and rodents now make their homes where
the
faithful worshiped for centuries amid works of mystic beauty.
These scenes reflect what European police investigators now
say is one of
the most systematic art-looting operations since the Nazis
plundered the
countries they occupied during World War II. The looting of
Greek
Orthodox churches in northern Cyprus, since the region was
placed
under Turkish military occupation in 1974, has brought
hundreds of
magnificent artworks onto the international art market and, in
recent
months, resulted in a series of spectacular raids by the
police in Germany.
For years, the whereabouts of many stolen artifacts from
northern
Cyprus has been a subject of rumor and speculation. The answer
to
some of these mysteries may now be found in a locked room
behind the
antique statuary and Renaissance paintings that fill the
salons of the
Bayerischer Landesmuseum in Munich.
That room holds one of the world's most impressive collections
of stolen
Greek Orthodox icons. Some are less than a foot square, while
others are
nearly life-size images of Jesus, the apostles, saints and
other holy figures.
All reflect the spiritual beauty that has made such pieces
treasured not
only by the Orthodox clergy and faithful, but also by art
collectors around
the world.
This collection was recovered in October by the Bavarian
police in the
course of arresting Aydin Dikman, a 60-year-old Turkish
citizen who has
lived in Germany since 1961. German authorities say he is one
of
Europe's most prolific art thieves. The trove includes more
than 140
icons, as well as 10 fragments of Byzantine frescoes depicting
Jesus'
disciples, carved wooden portals, silver crosses, prayer books
and 250
other treasures from Orthodox churches on Cyprus.
The Munich collection, which the German police showed to a
reporter, is
part of a hoard of art treasures that officers found when they
closed in on
Dikman, who is accused of systematically plundering the
churches'
heritage. Appraisers have told the police that the fresco
fragments alone
would bring several million dollars each on the open market.
The icon
collection has been appraised at $3 million.
"This is the most spectacular case we have seen in Germany or
perhaps
all of Europe in many years," said Peter Kitschler, chief of
the art-theft
unit of the Bavarian police.
The Conquered Island: Disputes Wrapped in Ancient Hatreds
Although Dikman, who is in prison, refused to be interviewed
by
reporters for The New York Times who conducted a monthlong
investigation of the Cypriot art thefts, the case being built
against him by
the German police sheds new light on the lucrative trade. It
may also have
effects beyond the art world, straining the already tense
relations between
Greece and Turkey and their respective allies on Cyprus. Greek
Cypriots
accuse Turkish Cypriot officials who rule the north of aiding
and abetting
Dikman's thefts.
"The Turks are waging a war against our cultural patrimony,"
said
Demetrio Michaelides, associate professor of the University of
Cyprus
and head of its archaeological research unit. "They are trying
to erase
Greek and Christian heritage from the now largely Turkish,
Muslim north."
Turkish Cypriots deny such charges and accuse Greek Cypriots
of
working to deprive them of the resources needed to protect
their mutual
cultural heritage.
Since time immemorial, Cyprus has been a prize sought by
contesting
nations, empires and religions. It was a center of early
Christianity, and
Ottoman Turks captured it from the Venetians in 1572 after a
series of
bloody sieges and mass killings.
Later Cyprus became a British colony and remained so until
1960. When
the British left, they turned it over to what proved to be an
unstable
Greek-Turkish partnership. Since then it has been caught in
the age-old
conflict between those two nations, which is also a conflict
between Islam
and Orthodox Christianity.
After Turkish soldiers landed on northern Cyprus in 1974,
following a
coup engineered by the military junta then ruling Greece,
Greek clergymen
and custodians of Orthodox holy sites fled southward. A
process of
"ethnic cleansing" began on both sides of the border, with the
southern
two-thirds becoming almost completely Greek and the northern
third
nearly all-Turkish.
Turkish Cypriots evidently felt little obligation to preserve
Orthodox
churches, which many viewed as remnants of rulers who had
oppressed
them. Some churches were converted into mosques and others to
nonreligious uses. Still others were allowed to decay; most
were left
unguarded. In the next 10 years, Greek Cypriot officials say,
the churches
were looted of more than 20,000 religious artifacts.
The Remorseful Client: Guiding Officers to Their Quarry
The trail of the artifacts in which Dikman dealt stretches
through Europe
and the United States. It may extend to the Museum of Beaux
Arts in
Antwerp, Belgium, which may have unwittingly displayed several
Byzantine icons stolen by Dikman.
That assertion came from Michel van Rijn, a central figure in
the unfolding
drama, who says he was once Dikman's principal client. Since
he fell out
with Dikman, van Rijn, 47, a burly Dutch art dealer, has been
trying to
help the Orthodox and Greek Cypriot authorities reclaim some
of the
plundered items he helped sell to art dealers throughout the
world.
One of the dealers with whom van Rijn says he worked is
Serafim
Dritsoulas, a Greek citizen who lives in Munich. In a raid on
Dritsoulas'
home several weeks ago, the German police found what they
believe to
be several more stolen icons from Dikman's collection.
Dritsoulas, who did not respond to several requests for
comment, was a
member of the "expert committee" that helped organize the
Antwerp
exhibition. Museum officials there, citing Belgian privacy
laws, refused to
say whether he had lent any of the allegedly stolen icons they
displayed.
Police investigators said they expected to charge Dritsoulas
with
possessing stolen art.
In a series of interviews, van Rijn said that he never stole
any Cypriot
artifacts himself, but that he did help Dikman sell icons and
frescoes that
police said Dikman systematically plundered from Cypriot
churches and
monasteries.
Van Rijn said some Turkish military officers and local
officials knew what
Dikman was doing. With their knowledge, he said, Dikman hired
and
trained a team of sophisticated thieves; sent the team into
northern
Cyprus soon after the 1974 Turkish intervention with lists of
precious
frescoes and mosaics to be removed from church and monastery
walls;
stored his loot in Kyrenia Castle, a popular tourist site in
the northern
Cypriot port of Kyrenia, and finally sent it to Munich.
The Growing Evidence: Artworks Return to Loving Hands
In 1988, van Rijn and Dikman sold four mosaics that had been
stolen
from the sixth-century Church of Kanakaria in Lythrangomi, one
of the
most heavily looted churches in northern Cyprus. The buyer,
Peg
Goldberg, an Indianapolis art dealer, paid $1.2 million for
the mosaics
and then tried to sell them for $20 million to the Getty
Museum in Los
Angeles. A curator there recognized them and called the
police. In 1989
an Indianapolis court, ruling that Ms. Goldberg had not tried
hard enough
to determine whether the mosaics were stolen, ordered their
return to
Greek-controlled Cyprus.
After that deal, a stint in a Spanish prison on fraud charges
that van Rijn
said were later dropped, and further quarrels with Dikman, van
Rijn said,
he decided to abandon his world of art theft and work to
recover the
objects he had helped fence. Last fall, he approached Tasoula
Georgiou-Hadjitofi, the honorary Greek Cypriot consul in The
Hague,
and offered to recover three mosaics stolen from the Kanakaria
church
plus some 40 frescoes also in Dikman's possession. The Cypriot
government raised $500,000 from private sources and bought the
items
from intermediaries working for Dikman.
"I wept with joy when I recognized them," said Athanasios
Papageorgiou,
a former director of antiquities for Cyprus who flew from
Nicosia to
identify the objects.
Van Rijn's bodyguard videotaped this and several similar
transactions and
turned his tapes over to the German police. In October, police
teams
raided the apartment where Dikman lived and two others he used
as
warehouses.
Within secret compartments behind walls, under ceilings and in
basements, Kitschler of the German police said, were more than
4,000
objects from an array of ancient civilizations. It is that
dazzling collection
-- including Hellenic pottery, Roman coins, Mayan objects,
ceramics from
east Africa and a Coptic prayer shawl from Egypt -- that now
sits locked
in the Bayerischer Landesmuseum.
The police also found albums of photographs that appear to
show how
Dikman obtained some of the Cypriot treasures. Photos show
workers
standing on scaffolding and removing frescoes from walls.
There are also drawings of elaborate frescoes that disappeared
from
northern Cypriot churches during the 1970s and '80s. The
drawings are
bisected with lines that the police say showed workers where
to cut the
frescoes to preserve the faces of apostles and other figures.
The albums will be critical evidence in Dikman's trial later
this year.
Prosecutors said they planned to charge him with possession
and
attempted sale of stolen goods, which carries a penalty of up
to 10 years
in prison.
"This was professional work," Kitschler said. "It involved
making
sketches, erecting scaffolding and bringing in specialized
equipment. This
kind of thing must have taken days to complete. It wasn't a
matter of
slipping into a church at night and sneaking out with
something under your
coat."
The Enduring Hostility: Progress Mired in Political Strife
From his stronghold in Nicosia, Europe's last divided city,
the president of
the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which
is
recognized only by Turkey, denied that his government had in
any way
encouraged or tolerated looting of Orthodox sites.
"We only learned about Dikman's activities after his arrest,"
said the
president, Rauf Denktash. "He's not a part of us; he has
nothing to do
with us."
Denktash said that his government was eager to protect Greek
Cypriot
monuments and churches, and was doing its best, "given our
limited
resources." He complained that foreign governments refused to
provide
aid for preservation work because they did not recognize his
authority.
"They told us to apply through the Greek Cypriot government,"
he said,
"which is unacceptable to us."'
Two days of visits to Greek Cypriot monuments and Orthodox
churches
in the north confirmed that the Denktash government has taken
some
steps to preserve religious sites. It has spent thousands of
dollars turning
the Monastery of St. Baranabas near Famagusta into an
exquisite icon
museum, and has handsomely restored the giant gothic Cathedral
of St.
Nicholas also in Famagusta, which has been known to Turkish
Cypriots
since 1571 as the Lala Mustapha Pasha Mosque.
But the Turkish military barred a reporter from visiting two
revered sites
that were reported to be heavily looted, the monasteries of
Chrystosomos
and of Akhiropietos. And visits to the normally closed
churches of
Antiphonitis and Kanakaria revealed empty, dilapidated
structures that no
longer contained a single icon and were in desperate need of
repair.
Several figures in the case agreed in interviews that
hostility between the
Greek and Turkish Cypriot authorities, and their desire to use
charges and
countercharges for political purposes, helped make the thefts
possible and
now complicated efforts to protect remaining treasures.
"We could work together to protect our cultural patrimony were
it not for
politics," a Cypriot cultural official complained. "But if you
quote me by
name, I'll lose my job."
Copyright 1998 The New York Times Company
Robert Peters
nick cobb wrote in message <3523137B...@cris.com>...
> April 1, 1998
>
> NY Times
>
> Massive Plundering of Early Christian Art
> Exposed
>
> By JUDITH MILLER and STEPHEN KINZER
This story reminds me of what a priest once told me when I mentioned
admiring some old Russian icon s that were for sale in a store in NYC. He
said, "They're all stolen." And you know, he's probably right. Yet old
icons are very desirable items, going on sale in expensive auction houses on
a regular basis. I think it's so sad.
My question is, does anybody here own any "old" icons (pre-revolutionary)
and how do you feel about them and the posibility that they may probably
been taken from another Orthodox Christian without their consent?
And/or do you pray for the former owners of such icons?
tad...@adsnet.com
"Robert Peters" <hoodp...@worldnet.att.net>
>This story reminds me of what a priest once told me when I mentioned
admiring some old Russian icon s that were for sale in a store in NYC. He
said, "They're all stolen." And you know, he's probably right. Yet old
icons are very desirable items, going on sale in expensive auction houses on
a regular basis. I think it's so sad.
>My question is, does anybody here own any "old" icons (pre-revolutionary)
and how do you feel about them and the posibility that they may probably
been taken from another Orthodox Christian without their consent?
And/or do you pray for the former owners of such icons?<
I do have several pre-revolution Russian icons, two I bought here in town from
a woman who said they belonged to her uncle which I believe is true. This
woman's uncle immigrated from Estonia. The other icon I have is most likely
has been stolen. I bought it from a Russian guy who had a kiosk in our local
mall, he only brought them out because I asked if he had any? On the back of
the icon is carved with a dedication to their four daughters named after the
Virgin Mary but of four of her icons; Theotokos of the un-burnt bush, Seeker
of the Lost, Sooth My Sorrows, and Theotokos of the Passion and is dated 1703.
I feel I liberated it from an obvious un-believer. Ikons here in America are
also stolen from churches and monasteries. Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox
Monastery in Jordanville, New York had 40 very old icons many with riza's
stolen from an unsecured chapel that was under construction. Later found out
they were sold in New York by some zhids, who got half the price they were
worth. Only three were recovered. One can never be too sure of what to buy,
many fakes, stolen, lost recovered icons out there. Stolen art and antiques is
a very profitable business by many unscrupulous sellers, even those who feign
to be religious parting with such family heirlooms. I do not collect icons,
just because they are old, but because by their age, many prayers have been
said to them and venerated by Orthodox believers.
Reader Timothy Tadros
-----== Posted via Deja News, The Leader in Internet Discussion ==-----
http://www.dejanews.com/ Now offering spam-free web-based newsreading
Romanos777
When I was in Jerusalem last November, one of the (many) things that struck me
was that the stores were full of old Russian icons which I presumed were
stolen. One store in particular seemed to be selling nothing but these old
Russian icons. It's sad.
--Romanos Emmert
Miami, Florida, USA
Robert Peters
Romanos777 wrote in message
<199804051245...@ladder03.news.aol.com>...
I think I heard that many a pilgrim from Russia would have to pawn or sell
their icons which they had brought to the Holyland with them, in order to
get back home. So maybe those in Jerusalem aren't totally stolen.
Stolen or not, it pains an Orthodox Christian to see icons treated as just
so much "pretty commodity". Sad too that hand-painted icons are expensive
and hard to come by, but I cannot say enough for encouraging as many of you
as possible to support the small cadre of iconographers who labor today
around the US and a growing number in Russia.
Here in NYC one can take classes with a number of working icon painters and
with the grace of God and patience, paint an icon. I have been blessed to
have done this, and in a way, it is an act of love for all those old icons -
stolen, destroyed or desecrated - ie: the prototypes, that have gone before.
Of course we are also blessed in this day to have affordable mounted prints,
but a painted icon is a very special 'heavenly window'.
Peace, John
Z and ALTR
Dear John: You mention that there are iconographers in the US. Do you have
information whereby I can contact one. (Name, address, phone #, e-mail, etc.)
Would appreciate any help you can give.
Thank you.
Zoe
>Subject: Re: Stolen Icons
>From: "Robert Peters" <hoodp...@worldnet.att.net>
>Date: Sun, Apr 5, 1998 15:42 EDT
>Message-id: <6g8n35$g...@bgtnsc03.worldnet.att.net>
sp...@erols.com
Romanos777 wrote:
> When I was in Jerusalem last November, one of the (many) things that struck me
> was that the stores were full of old Russian icons which I presumed were
> stolen. One store in particular seemed to be selling nothing but these old
> Russian icons. It's sad.
>
> --Romanos Emmert
> Miami, Florida, USA
There used to be , maybe still is, a store in New york during the cold war
filled with icons. The place was run by a Jewish guy and he also sold incredible
Turkish hanging lamps. Someone said that the icons wee mostly form diplomats
pouches and the lamps as well. In some cases, ust have been pretty large
pouches. I too have seen the icons in the kiosks of malls in my area. The
icons are expensive, from 500-2000 dollars. Although I succumbed to purchasing
two not very pretty Greek icons, but have some spiritual value (One is related to
Pantassa, other is Elousa), these were picked up in an estate sale by someone.
And the person whose estate it was was in their 90s although I do not think the
icons so very old, who knows. But these i thought all right to purchase . The
ones in the malls I will not purchase, even if I had the money, becuase I think to
do so would be ot encourage more of the same. One guy running one of the kiosks,
will ask me when he sees me what the icon is. He says he gets literally all of
them form relatives who comb the outdoor market bazaars in Moscow and Saint
Petersburg.
I think you have to use your sense in these things. Which reminds me I ow Evan a
phone number. Evan, are you there? I lost your email address.
Galina
sp...@erols.com
Robert Peters wrote:
> Of course we are also blessed in this day to have affordable mounted prints,
> but a painted icon is a very special 'heavenly window'.
Yes, because of the prayers said during its creation
>
>
> Peace, John
sp...@erols.com
Z and ALTR wrote:
> Dear John: You mention that there are iconographers in the US. Do you have
> information whereby I can contact one. (Name, address, phone #, e-mail, etc.)
> Would appreciate any help you can give.
> Thank you.
>
> Zoe
>
Me too.
Alban Mosher
To whom it may ocncern:
There is a very good iconographer living in the St. Louis area. His name is Paul
Azkoul and he paints in the Byzantine tradition and his rates are very reasonable.
His telephone number is (314) 353-7696.
Your unworthy servant,
Reader Alban Mosher
St. Catherine of Sinai Greek Orthodox Church (HOCNA)
St. Louis, Missouri
Matanna
Fr. Alexis Duncan, now in Atlanta, is a very good iconographer. Fr. George and
I have an icon of St. Phanourios by him (we keep losing things and finding them
again, so I figured if we're going to keep praying to this saint, we should
have an icon. My daughter now knows how to make St. Phanourios cake for trapeza
when she loses something important, and it ALWAYS turns up. I know she's lost
something when I see the notation on the calendar for Saturday, "Make St.
Phanourios cake.")
Fr. Alexis can be reached at:
Joy of All Who Sorrow Church
6728 Campground Rd
Cumming, GA 30130-5630
Mailing Address:
2810 Napa Valley
Cumming, GA 30041
and I can send you his e-mail address via private mail.
He was referred to us by Fr. Luke, at Jordanville, who wasn't able to do the
icon himself.
Jordanville has a small stable of amazing iconographers. They can be reached
at:
Holy Trinity Monastery
PO Box 36
Jordanville, NY 13361-0036
Fr. Luke would be the best person to write to, as he can farm out assignments.
Matushka Ann Lardas
sp...@erols.com
Alban Mosher wrote:
> To whom it may ocncern:
>
> There is a very good iconographer living in the St. Louis area. His name is Paul
> Azkoul and he paints in the Byzantine tradition and his rates are very reasonable.
> His telephone number is (314) 353-7696.
>
Is he related to Father Michael?
sp...@erols.com
Dear Matushka,
Matanna wrote:
> My daughter now knows how to make St. Phanourios cake for trapeza
> when she loses something important, and it ALWAYS turns up.
>
What is Saint Phanarios cake?
> Jordanville has a small stable of amazing iconographers. They can be reached
> at:
>
Stable??
Oh, by the way, staple Lenten lunch around here is red, yellow and black bean Hopia
Mongo, purchasable in a roll of five or six from Korean and Chinese grocers. They
fulfill the dry foods of Lent nicely, kind of look like a lunch thing and are about
1.50-2.00 for the package. We like the black bean ones.
Other things to pick up from the oriental grocers include dried yam and melon
strips, which, mixed with a few dried nuts like almonds or peanuts or whatever and
some raisons, dried pineapple, etc. make a kind of trail mix. I often also put in
some soy nuts from the health food store or sunflower seeds.
Oriental grocers sell packets of instant soy milk form mainland China. These are
handy to mix a drink for lunch or to make up to have with breakfast cereal instead
of milk. COmes in almond flavor and regular and does not taste like milk but
something else.
It is time for asparagus in America, probably elsewhere, too, so is good to make
the best of it. Save a few of the steamed stalks and do as follows:
1. Make up two or three cups of sticky sweet rice (Vietnamese or Chinese,
Vietnamese sweet rice is black rice and quite good), to which you add a little
vinegar that has been heated with a little sugar.
2. Lay out a sheet of sushi nori (seaweed sheet) and cover it with about a half
inch of sticky rice. If you cannot find sushi nori, flat (only) spinach leaves
will do or grape leaves that come from a jar (fresh do not work, they must be
soft). Along one edge of the long length, put a couple cooked asparagus, then a
layer of cut carrot strips (about 1/3 inch diameter), strips of sweet pickle (like
gherkins), thin slivers of horseradish. This become the center. Roll it up
tightly as you can.
3. WIth a sharp serrated knife, or if you do not have this, a piece of fishing
line (always keep handy for cutting cakes perfectly , too) cut into pieces about a
inch cylinder.
4. On non fast days, you can add strips of scrambled egg to the centers.
5. Arrange cut side down on a plate, lunch container, etc. put a tablespoon of
hot mustard (green is best) for dipping purposes, or send along a soy sauce packet
left over from take out Chinese
Dessert item:
Grind some sesame seeds in a coffee grinder to a paste. Mix with peanut butter
until it is thick and pliable like dough. FIll half a mold of some small kind (I
use an Indian ball maker, but a petit fours tin works nicely, half full with dough,
put some preserve that is not runny not quite to the edge of the mold then put
another layer of the peanut sesame dough on top. Tap out of the mold and press
together somewhat. Easier to tap out if you have oiled the mold first. Can be
made by filling a tablespoon with dough, slipping out of tablespoon wiht another
tablespoon, putting the fruit in the center, making another one on the tablespoon,
sticking together the two halves.
Galina
Robert Peters
Z and ALTR wrote in message
<199804052238...@ladder01.news.aol.com>...
>Dear John: You mention that there are iconographers in the US. Do you have
>information whereby I can contact one. (Name, address, phone #, e-mail,
etc.)
>Would appreciate any help you can give.
>Thank you.
>
>Zoe
Dear Zoe et.al,
I am most familiar with iconographers around NYC area.
The person I took a class with is Dmitri Andreyev, he can be contacted at
212-533-3279 or you can e-mail through his priest's e-mail TR...@Aol.Com ,
Fr. Christopher, at the Protection Cathedral in NYC. , his classes are great
and his icons beautiful. He accepts commissions.
Dmitri's father, Vladislav, is also a master-iconographer and does traveling
classes around the country, usually in the form of a retreat type thing. I
hear it can be an intense experience. His icons are also exquisite. Dmitri
might know of when his father's next "retreat" will be. Both father and son
paint in the 'traditional' way, egg tempera on gesso-panels and gold-leaf
halos.
A student of Vladislav, Marek Czarnecki, also paints icons of any saint or
Theotokos by commission. His studio is in Connecticut, and can be contacted
at 860-582-6759. He is a good friend of mine and is trying to support
himself solely through his art, so he tries hard to please!
I've also heard about a married couple, Nicholas and Olga Polukhine who live
in upstate NY. I've only seen pictures of their work but it looks very
nice. Their phone is 914-454-3206, and they also give lessons and
workshops.
Someone mentioned Jordanville and I love icons painted in the 'Jordanville
style', there is a 'school of iconography' there and I would also recomment
that possibility. Call the monastery.
In the Church directories (I know this is true for ROCOR) there are a
listing of iconographers. Many can send you a picture sample of their work
on request I would imagine.
As is apparent, I am for as many Orthodox Christians as feel able to, called
to, or blessed by one's spiritual father - to paint icons for themselves,
with the proper training of course. As somebody posted, it is a prayer to
paint an icon, and that prayer continues for as long as the icon 'breathes'
it's spirit upon those who pray and venerate it with love and devotion.
As to prices, it is up to the painter and usaully depends on the size, the
intricacy of the icon - aka: how much work and how long will it take to
finish. I would think $300-500 for a hand-painted icon (8 X 10) would be in
the ball-park.
My philosophy has been to spend that amount on the classes, retreat or
workshop and then paint away!
Through the grace of God I am now working on my son's baptismal icon of the
Holy Prophet Samuel, please pray for us, he is to be baptized on Holy
Saturday! (pray I finish the icon in time also, as it's a slow thing!!)
Like I said, even though it is expensive to have either an old or a new
hand-painted icon, it is very important (I think) to support the small
number of icon-painters at work for the Orthodox faith here.
Sincerely, John
Alban Mosher
Yes, he is Fr. Michael's son.
Reader Alban Mosher
Matanna
Dear Galina,
Thank you for the recipes!
St. Phanourios cake is the cake that you make when you lose something. You pray
to St. Phanourios, the thing shows up someplace previously unimaginable, and
you make a cake to bring to church or to give to the poor.
I have two recipes, one fasting, the other elaborate.
The fasting version:
Modified from a recipe in Greek Tradtions and Customs in America, by Marilyn
Rouvelas
Easy St. Phanourios Bread
Preheat oven to 350 (F).
1 cup sugar
1 cup oil
2 cups orange juice
3/4 cup raisins
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 tsp. baking soda
4 cups flour
Mix oil and sugar, and beat until it's a creamy yellow.
Put the baking soda IN the orange juice, and stir until dissolved. [NB: this
can be spectaculary dramatic if you use a two cup measuring cup with two cups
of o.j. in it. (Please don't ask how I found out.) It might be easier to hold a
two cup measuring cup OVER the bowl full of oil and sugar and pour in *one* cup
of o.j., mix in 1/2 tsp. baking soda, watch the fireworks, pour it into
the bowl, and again mix *one* cup of o.j. with 1/2 tsp. baking soda, stir and
pour again. If you don't dissolve the baking soda completely, you get lumps of
it in the cake. So, stir well.]
Add the flour, then the raisins and nuts. Pour the batter into an ungreased
9"x13" pan and bake at 350 degrees F. for 45 minutes (or until a clean
toothpick dipped in the cake emerges clean.)
I use a bundt pan instead of one 9" x 13", and my kids prefer this with
chocolate chips in the place of the raisins and nuts. It doesn't really need a
frosting, but if you wanted to drizzle a stiff glaze made out of, say,
powdered sugar and lemon juice and a little water over it, that would be okay,
too.
===========================
The non-fasting version:
This recipe originally came from a cookbook for a Greek parish in Chicago, but
I've tampered with it, mostly by editorializing.
St. Phanourisos Bread
(Fanouropita)
Doubles well; the recipe given is for one loaf pan worth, but doubled it makes
a bundt pan's worth.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
In a large, heavy bottomed saucean, combine:
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup brandy
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups golden raisins
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for exactly ten minutes -- any longer,
and you'll have a good carmelized smelling door stop instead of a cake.
Set pot in cold water to cool mixture completely.
Sift into cooled syrup:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda.
Beat vigorously for eight to ten minutes (Takes muscles! We use a wooden spoon
for this. It will burn out the motor of a cheap mixer!) or until batter is
smooth and bubbly.
Stir in:
2 Tablespoons grated orange peel
Turn into well greased 7 " fluted pan or 8" loaf pan.
Sprinkle with 1/2 cup sesame seeds (optional; skip if you like). Bake for 1 to
1 1/2 hours, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Sprinkle
with 1/4 cup brandy
and cool cake in pan. Bring to church to have blessed, and then share with
parishioners or the poor.
Smells amazingly wonderful while cooking.
Matushka Ann Lardas
Z and ALTR
Thank you all for the information about iconographers. I've made a print of
all the posts so I can contact them.
Zoe
tad...@adsnet.com
To All:
We must also realize during the Bolshevik, Stalin Lenin pogroms/purges,
murder martyrdom of many Clergy and laypeople their possesions were
confiscated by the state or local militia. Churches and monasteries destroyed,
blown up. Does one realize how many churches existed before the godless
assault on Holy Russia. Good estimantes say there were over 100,000 churches
5,000 monasteries
in Russia, today less than a 1/4 of those figures. Their are many stories of
pious Orthodox Faithful rescuing holy objects from churches that were about to
be destroyed. Those that still remembered their faith anyway. During
perestroika, these little children remembering their grandparents who buried
the holy objects, to have such objects ment death for anyone. Those little
children now grandparents themselves bringing back those holy objects to the
church. One story was a local church was turned into the local garbage dump
the roof exposed so that the garbage could be heaped in the building, was
turned over to the local priest. The priest started taking out the 75 year old
decayed garbage, his parishoners started to help, it took them two years but
they completed their task.The wooden iconostasis decayed and fell apart. When
it came time to thank God with a moleban and of course the church was stripped
before it was turned into the garbage dump and the priest asked for his people
to bring their icons to the church and this little old woman who remembered
where her grandparents had hidden the icons that hung on the iconostasis asked
people to help her bring them to the church, of course everyone was over joyed
with the original icons.
I am sure this is the case for many families who didn't wish to be exposed as
a Christian, thier icons were hidden out of public view. Portable icons were
the easiest to hide. Many of which are on sale in todays icon markets. Jackson
Auction House in Iowa specilaizes in Russian icons. I cannot afford old icons
but what I have boughten I feel fortunate in having, and Thank God they are in
my possesion.
Misha1967
>This story reminds me of what a priest once told me when I mentioned
admiring some old Russian icon s that were for sale in a store in NYC. He
said, "They're all stolen." And you know, he's probably right. Yet old
icons are very desirable items, going on sale in expensive auction houses on
a regular basis. I think it's so sad.<
I am a Russian Orthodox Old Believer. It is our belief that stolen and
improperly held icons should be liberated from the hands of the heterodox at
any and all cost through whatever means. There are many museums, private
collectors and non-Christians in possession of Orthodox spiritual items ranging
from platins to icons to tabrinacles. We are taught that it is not theft nor a
sin to take these items backs by whatever means necessary. It is a shame the
rest of Orthodoxy does not view holy items and relics as being so valued and
important. The most tearful time for me was seeing an icon of the Theotokos on
display in a Chicago art gallery hanging next to an erotic nude painting. I
broke into tears, inquired as to the previous owner of the icon, and I was
basically told that there was no documentation. I returned the next day in my
kaftan with prayer book in hand and began to venerate the icon through prayer.
I did this act daily until the gallery donated the icon to a local Orthodox
parish.
Robert Peters
Misha1967 wrote in message
<199804132302...@ladder01.news.aol.com>...
>I am a Russian Orthodox Old Believer. It is our belief that stolen and
>improperly held icons should be liberated from the hands of the heterodox
at
>any and all cost through whatever means. We are taught that it is not
theft nor a
>sin to take these items backs by whatever means necessary
Misha - I share your profound sorrow over the sacrilegious and profane use
and abuse of the Holy Icons but:
"Liberated...any and all costs through whatever means...by whatever means
necessary..."
Is this an "Orthodox" way of dealing with this? I'm not so sure we should
call for a jihad nor start paraphrasing Malcolm X as the right way to deal
with these (probably) stolen icons (and shouldn't they be returned to their
lawful owner?)
John
sp...@erols.com
Misha1967 wrote:
> I am a Russian Orthodox Old Believer. It is our belief that stolen and
> improperly held icons should be liberated from the hands of the heterodox at
> any and all cost through whatever means. There are many museums, private
> collectors and non-Christians in possession of Orthodox spiritual items ranging
> from platins to icons to tabrinacles. We are taught that it is not theft nor a
> sin to take these items backs by whatever means necessary. It is a shame the
> rest of Orthodoxy does not view holy items and relics as being so valued and
> important. The most tearful time for me was seeing an icon of the Theotokos on
> display in a Chicago art gallery hanging next to an erotic nude painting. I
> broke into tears, inquired as to the previous owner of the icon, and I was
> basically told that there was no documentation. I returned the next day in my
> kaftan with prayer book in hand and began to venerate the icon through prayer.
> I did this act daily until the gallery donated the icon to a local Orthodox
> parish.
Dear Misha,
Your story of the praying for the ikon is very beautiful. I recently saw two ikons
in a thrift shop (an expensive one), and was worried about them. I didn't have
half the money for them and the proprietesses just said that they got them at an
estate sale. They are not fabulous works of art but theologically they are great.
and may even be inexpensive tourist items. But I knew at once they were ikons that
had been venerated. I have them now becuase I said to the shop that if I buy them
to use for prayer, how much would they be and they saved them for me. One is like
Pantassa but Christ when blessing is putting his thumb and ring finger to the
blessing with his tiny finger loose.. He is barely held in the lap of the
BOgoroditsa as her left hand is loose and her right hand lightly rests on Christ's
garment near his right leg, as if He had no need to be supported. It may be
something new painted on an old board. On the back is some kind of stamp of which
i can only read on the top perimeter of the stamp "?Nikh ?Dhm??" and in the inner
circle Upourguio Poli???? Overpainted it is for sure. Still it says to me that
CHrist, as a child, had wisdom and strength and the dynamism of his hand in the act
of forming the blessing is felt. The other is Alousa and looks like a fresco.
Here too some of the paint is coming from the plaster and there is on this one
newer gold background put on. Both are flaking badly but stable. This one has a
different stamp and i cannot read that at all. Both were hanging somewhere to put
water damage on the wood in the back.
But now I pray every day near them
sp...@erols.com
Robert Peters wrote:
>
>
> Is this an "Orthodox" way of dealing with this? I'm not so sure we should
> call for a jihad nor start paraphrasing Malcolm X as the right way to deal
> with these (probably) stolen icons (and shouldn't they be returned to their
> lawful owner?)
>
> John
He did handle this in an Orthodox way by praying.