The cult of the saints is a phenomenon that expanded rapidly in the fourth century, and John Chrysostom's homilies are important witnesses to its growth. Until now, the majority of john's homilies on the saints and martyrs have been ignored. However, in this volume, Wendy Mayer investigates the liturgical, topographical, and pastoral aspects that marked the martyr cult at Antioch and Constantinople in John's time. The cult's original point of focus was the Christian martyrs--those followers of the Jesus-movement who died in confession of their faith, either at the hands of other Jews or at the hands of the Roman administration. Mayer pinpoints several conceptual shifts that identified and shaped this cult: the imitation of Christ's own death; the creedal declaration "I am a Christian," the sense of privilege bestowed upon martyrs; the ritual purity of relics; public veneration of the departed; and places made holy by martyrs' blood. This rich collection includes homilies on martyrs Meletius, Eustathius, Lucian, Phocas, Juventinus and Maximinus, Ignatius, Eleazar (and the seven boys), Bernike, Prosdoke and Domnina, Barlaam, Drosis, and Romanus. It also includes encomia on Egyptian martyrs and on all the martyrs. To round out the volume, a letter written by John from exile concerning the use of martyr rclics in a mission context and a letter in Latin in which Vigilius, Bishop of Tridentum, offers fresh Italian relics to John have been included. The cult of the saints is still very much alive in Roman Catholic and Eastern Christian piety. There are still parts of the world where the cult is observed in ways that differ little from those which were established at its very beginning. In thisrespect, the homilies that John Chrysostom preached on the feast days of his local saints and martyrs remain fresh and alive for us today.

A unique and major contribution to the scholarly and policy debate on American foreign and economic policy toward the Islamic Republic of Iran. A volume that will be of interest to scholars and policy makers who struggle to understand the complex rivalry between these two nations and wish to analyze the Iranian/American relationship since 1979. Authors frame the conflicted relationship between Iran and the United States as a low intensity conflict, embodying elements of superpower gamesmanship, insurgent tactics and economic warfare. Revolutionary Iran and the United States is unique in its approach by exploring how diplomatic, military, and economic weapons are employed to bolster each nation's strategic and tactical advantage. This analysis encompasses the political, military, and economic facets of the rivalry.

Each of us has already experienced 5D: Think about your most memorable and uplifting experiences of the recent past - where everything went well, interactions were harmonious and loving, and all felt blissful and happy - that's 5D. For some, the shift is sudden and permanent, but for many of us, the change is gradual, coming in fleeting moments and waves. In this ascension manual, spiritual teacher Maureen J. St. Germain explains how to shift your energetic patterns and choose to permanently anchor yourself in the joy, love, and kindness of 5D. Guiding you through the opportunities the Fifth Dimension has to offer, the author reveals how to develop a Higher Self connection, increase your sensitivity to dimensional signatures, and consciously choose 5D, where love is the governing force. She shows how 5D relates to 3D as well as to 4D, the transitional dimension between the two, and explains how to read the energy patterns that distinguish one dimension from the next as well as how to experience multiple dimensions simultaneously. She explores how to identify the differences between "good vs. evil" polarized 3D linear thinking and dynamic 5D multidimensional thinking and how to turn 3D viewpoints around to expand your perception of what is possible.

A guide to anchoring yourself in 5D consciousness * Reveals how you no longer need to "heal" emotional wounds to be fifth dimensional and shares practices to transform and transmute emotions instantly * Explores many spiritual tools and transformative shortcuts, such as activating meditations, sound healing, and crystals, along with channeled wisdom and advanced insights from angels and other higher beings * Shares meditations to clear out old emotional wounds, activate the pineal gland, manifest with crystals, discover your sixth sense, and open yourself to communication with higher intelligence, as well as a new chakra meditation based on the Divine Feminine spiral Humanity is shifting into the fifth dimension, but the transformation will not be a linear process. Our evolution follows a sine wave, moving from ideal expressions back to old familiar ones then on to even higher ideal expressions. It is the same with the shift to 5D. In this guide to anchoring yourself in 5D consciousness, Maureen St. Germain explores many tools and shortcuts to help you understand and master your own circumstances. She explains how to identify the progress you have made on the path of ascension and looks at ways to detach from the old paradigms of 3D reality. She reveals how you no longer need to "heal" emotional wounds through long processes in order to be fifth dimensional, and she shares practices to transform and transmute emotions instantly so they can be released and resolved into their highest expression. Maureen addresses concerns such as the electrification of the planet, showing how you can work around EMFs and other kinds of unseen toxicity. She also shares a revolutionary new chakra meditation based on the Divine Feminine spiral, which progresses from the heart chakra outward. With this book you can learn fluid ways of thinking, doing, and vibrating to open the portals of light within yourself as well as in the fifth dimension.

In AD 726, the Byzantine emperor ordered the destruction of all icons, or religious images, throughout the empire, and icons were subject to an imperial ban that was to last, with a brief remission, until AD 843. A defender of icons, St John of Damascus wrote three treatises against "those who attack the holy images." He differentiates between the veneration of icons, which is a matter of expressing honor, and idolatry, which is offering worship to something other than God.