#Lebanon St. George

[hayarthun]

Նացիստ սիոնիստական վերաբնակիչների ահաբեկչական բանակի հարձակումներից տուժում են ոչ միայն մահմեդականները։

Լիբանանի հարավում ռմբակոծությունների հետեւանքով ավերվել է 1867 թվականին կառուցված, բայց այս տարի չփրկված քրիստոնեական Սուրբ Գեորգի եկեղեցին։

[gods-blade]

A Christmas tree stands among the fallen stones of what remains of St. George Melkite Catholic Church in southern Lebanon. Once a vibrant community center, the 18th-century church is in ruins after an Israeli airstrike in October.

[whencyclopedia]

Interview: Medieval Christian Art in the Levant

Medievalists retain misconceptions and myths about Oriental Christians. Indeed, the fact that the Middle East is the birthplace of Christianity is an afterthought for many. During the Middle Ages, Christians from different creeds and confessions lived in present-day Lebanon, Syria, Israel, and Palestine. Here, they constructed churches, monasteries, nunneries, and seminaries, which retain timeless artistic treasures and cultural riches.

James Blake Wiener speaks to Dr Mat Immerzee to clarify and contextualize the artistic and cultural heritage of medieval Christians who resided in what is now the Levant.

Dr Immerzee is a retired Assistant Professor at Universiteit Leiden and Director of the Paul van Moorsel Centre for Christian Art and Culture in the Middle East at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

Saint Bacchus Fresco

James Gordon (CC BY)

JBW: ​​The largest Christian community in what is present-day Lebanon is that of the Maronite Christians – they trace their origins to the 4th-century Syrian hermit, St. Maron (d. 410). The Maronite Church is an Eastern Catholic Syriac Church, using the Antiochian Rite, which has been in communion with Rome since 1182. Nonetheless, Maronites have kept their own unique traditions and practices.

What do you think differentiates medieval Maronite art and architecture from other Christian sects in the Levant? Due to a large degree of contact with traders and crusaders from Western Europe, I would suspect that we see “Western” influence reflected in Maronite edifices, mosaics, frescoes, and so forth.

MI: Especially in the 13th century, the oriental Christian communities enjoyed an impressive cultural flourishing which came to expression in the embellishment of churches with wall paintings, icons, sculpture, and woodwork and the production of illustrated manuscripts, but what remains today differs from on one community or region to another. In Lebanon, several dozens of decorated Maronite and Greek Orthodox churches are encountered in mountain villages and small towns in the vicinity of Jbeil (Byblos), Tripoli, the Qadisha Valley, and by exception in Beirut, but only a few still preserve substantial parts of their medieval decoration programs. Most churches fell into decay after the Christian cultural downfall in the early 14th century when the pressure to convert became stronger. While many church buildings were left in the state they were, others were renovated in the Ottoman period or more recently.

Christian Pilgrimage in the Middle Ages, c. 1000

Simeon Netchev (CC BY-NC-ND)

Remarkably Oriental Christian art displays broad uniformity with some regional and denominational differences. Cut off from the East Roman (Byzantine) Empire after the Arab conquest, it also escaped from the Byzantine iconoclastic movement (726-843 CE), which allowed the Middle Eastern Christians to develop their artistic legacy in their own way. An appealing subject is the introduction of warrior saints on horseback such as George and Theodore from about the 8th century. The West and the Byzantine Empire had to wait until the Crusader era to pick up this oriental motif and make it a worldwide success. But the borrowing was mutual. Mounted saints painted in Maronite, Melkite (Greek Orthodox), and Syriac Orthodox churches would increasingly be equipped with a chain coat and rendered with their feet in a forward thrust position, a battle technique developed within Norman military circles. Moreover, the Syrian equestrian saints Sergius and Bacchus were rendered holding a crossed ‘crusader’ banner, an attribute usually associated with Saint George, as if they were Crusader knights. Apart from these examples, there is little evidence of Oriental susceptibility to typically Latin subjects. We find Saint Lawrence of Rome represented in the Greek Orthodox Monastery of Our Lady near Kaftun, but this is exceptional.

Normally, one cannot tell from wall paintings in Lebanon to which community the church in question belonged. They all represented the same subjects and saints whose names are written in Greek and/or Syriac and may have recruited painters from the same artistic circles. Regarding architecture, the last word has not been said on this matter, because the documentation of medieval Lebanese church architecture is still in progress. Nevertheless, the build of some churches undeniably displays Western architectural influences; for example, the Maronite Church of Saint Sabas in Eddé al-Batrun is even plainly Romanesque in style.

JBW: Following my last question, is it then correct to assume that the Crusader lands – Edessa, Antioch, Tripoli, and Jerusalem – were quite receptive to Eastern Christian styles?

MI: That is difficult to tell because there is next to nothing left in the former County of Edessa and the Principality of Antioch. We do have some decorated churches in the former Kingdom of Jerusalem (Abu Gosh, Bethlehem), and here we see a strong focus on Byzantine craftsmanship and Latin usage. Apart from the preserved church embellishment in the Lebanese mountains, there are some fascinating, stylistically and thematically comparable instances across the border with Syria.

Saint Peter in Sinai

Wikipedia (Public Domain)

Although situated within Muslim territory, the Qalamun District between Damascus and Homs stands out for its well-established Greek Orthodox and Syriac Orthodox populations; and from the 18th century onwards, also Greek Catholics and Syrian Catholics. Interestingly, stylistic characteristics confirm that indigenous Syrian painters were also involved in the decoration inside Crusader fortresses such as Crac des Chevaliers and Margat Castle in Syria. It was obviously easier to contract local manpower than to find specialists in Europe.

JBW: The Byzantine Empire exuded tremendous political, cultural, and religious sway across the Levant throughout the Middle Ages; a sizable chunk of the Christian population in both Syria and Lebanon still adheres to the rituals of the Greek Orthodox Church even today.

MI: Leaving aside the cultural foundations laid before the Arab conquest, the contemporary Byzantine influences can hardly be overlooked. In the 12th and 13th centuries, itinerating Byzantine-trained painters worked on behalf of any well-paying client within Frankish and Muslim territory, from Cairo to Tabriz, irrespective of their denominational background. This partly explains the introduction of some ‘fashionable’ Byzantine subjects and the Byzantine brushwork of several mural paintings and icons. Made in the 1160s, the Byzantine-style mosaics in the Church of the Nativity at Bethlehem are believed to be the result of Latin-Byzantine cooperation at the highest levels; they exhale the propagandistic message of Christian unity. In 1204, however, the Crusaders would conquer Constantinople and substantial parts of the Byzantine Empire. The Venetians brought the bounty to Venice, and, surprisingly, also to Alexandria with the consent of the sultan in Cairo, intending to sell the objects in the Middle East. So much for Christian unity…

The Eastern Greek Orthodox Church has its roots in the Chalcedonian dispute about the human and divine nature of Christ in 451, which resulted in the dogmatic breakdown of the Byzantine Church into pro- and anti-Chalcedonian factions. Like the Maronites, the Melkites (‘royalists’) remained faithful to the former, official Byzantine standpoint, except for their oriental patriarchs in Antioch, Alexandria, and Jerusalem were officially allowed autonomy without direct interference from Constantinople. On the other hand, the Syriac Orthodox became dogmatically affiliated with the identically ‘Miaphysite’ Coptic, Ethiopian, and Armenian Churches. To complicate matters even more, part of the Greek Orthodox and Syriac Orthodox communities joined the Church of Rome in the 18th century. This resulted in the establishment of the Greek Catholic and Syriac Catholic Churches.

The Church of Nativity, Bethlehem

Konrad von Grünenberg (Public Domain)

JBW: Could you tell us a little bit more with regard to the Syriac Orthodox Church? If I’m not mistaken, there was a flourishing of the building of churches and monasteries by Syriac Orthodox communities once they fell under Muslim rule around 640.

MI: As a Miaphysite community, the Syriac Orthodox enjoyed the same protected status as other non-Muslim communities under Muslim rule. This allowed them to establish an independent Church hierarchy headed by their patriarch who nominally resided in Antioch, which covered large areas in Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Syria. Some of their oldest churches, with architectural sculpture and occasionally a mosaic, are situated in the Tur Abdin region in Southeast Turkey. Remarkably, around the year 800, a group of monks from the city of Takrit (present-day Tikrit in Iraq) migrated to Egypt to establish a Syriac ‘colony’ within the Coptic monastic community. Their ‘Monastery of the Syrians’ (Deir al-Surian) still exists and is one of Middle Eastern Christianity’s key monuments for its architecture, wall paintings, icons, wood- and plasterwork ranging in date from the 7th to the 13th centuries. The monastery also houses an extensive manuscript collection. Another decorated monastery is the Monastery of St Moses (Deir Mar Musa; presently Syriac Catholic) near Nebk to the north of Damascus, where paintings from the 11th and 13th-centuries can still be seen. The Monastery of St Behnam (Deir Mar Behnam; presently Syriac Catholic) near Mosul is reputed for its 13th-century architectural sculpture and unique stucco relief, but unfortunately, a lot has been destroyed by ISIS warriors.

The Syriac Orthodox presence in Lebanon remained limited to a church dedicated to Saint Behnam in Tripoli, and the temporary use of a Maronite church dedicated to St Theodore at the village of Bahdeidat by refugees from the East who were on the run from the Mongols during the 1250s. This church still displays its complete decoration program from this period. It is impossible to tell which community arranged the refurbishment, but the addition of a donor figure in Western dress testifies to support from a (probably) local Frankish lord. Finally, the Syriac Orthodox also excelled in manuscript illumination, examples of which can be found in Western collections and the patriarchal library near Damascus.

JBW: As the Lebanese and Syrian Greek Orthodox Churches had fewer dealings with Western Europeans than the Maronite Church, does medieval Christian Orthodox art in Lebanon and Syria reflect and maintain the designs and styles of medieval Byzantium? If so, in what ways, and where do we see deviation or innovation?

MI: As I said before, Byzantine-trained artists have been surprisingly active in the Frankish states and beyond, especially during the 13th century. I prefer to label them as “Byzantine-trained” instead of “Byzantine,” because it is not always clear where they came from. To mention an example, painters from Cyprus still worked in the Byzantine artistic tradition but no longer fell under the authority of the emperor after the Crusader conquest of the island in 1291. Culturally they were still fully Byzantine, but, speaking in modern terms, they would have had the Frankish-Cypriot nationality. The little we can say from the preserved paintings is that some Cypriot artists traveled to the Levant in the aftermath of the power change in search of new clientele. It is unknown if they stayed or returned after the accomplishment of their tasks, but around the mid-13th century we see the birth of a ‘Syrian-Cypriot’ style which combines Byzantine painting techniques with typically Syrian formal features and designs; for example, in the afore-mentioned Monastery at Kaftun in Lebanon. Typically, instances of this blended art are not only encountered in Lebanon and Syria but also in Cyprus.

The Virgin and Child Mosaic, Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia Research Team (CC BY-NC-SA)

Focusing on the shared elements in Oriental Christian and Byzantine art, the example of apse decorations illustrates the resemblances and often also subtle differences. From the Early Christian period, the common composition in the apse behind the altar consisted of the mystical appearance of Christ (Christ in Glory) between the Four Living Creatures in the conch and the Virgin between saints, such as the apostles and Church fathers, in the lower zone. However, an early variant encountered in Egypt renders the biblical Vision of Ezekiel: here, Christ in Glory is placed on the fiery chariot the prophet saw. Recent research has brought to light that this variant was also applied in Syriac Orthodox churches in Turkey and Iraq as late as the 13th century. Medieval oriental conch paintings often combine Christ in Glory with the Deesis, that is, the Virgin and St John the Baptist pleading in favour of mankind. Whereas the Byzantines kept these subjects separated, the ‘Deesis-Vision’ is encountered from Egypt to Armenia and Georgia in churches of all denominations

JBW: One cannot discuss medieval Christian art in the Near East without making some mention of Armenians and Georgians. The first recorded Armenian pilgrimage occurred in the early 4th century, and Armenian Cilicia (1080-1375) flourished at the time of the Crusades. During the reign of Queen Tamar (r. 1184-1213), Georgia assumed the traditional role of the Byzantine crown as a protector of the Christians of the Middle East. Armenians and Georgians intermarried not only with one another but also with Byzantines and Crusaders.

Where is the medieval Armenian and Georgian presence the strongest in the Levant? Is it discernible?

Tomb of Saint Hripsime in Armenia

James Blake Wiener (CC BY-NC-SA)

MI: Medieval Armenian and Georgian art can be found in their homelands, but there are also surviving works testifying to their presence in the Levant and Egypt. Starting with the Armenians, they have always lived in groups dispersed throughout the Middle East, whereas in Jerusalem they have their own quarter. A 13th-century wooden door with typically Armenian ornamentation and inscriptions in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem testify to the interest Armenians took in the Holy Land. Further to the south, a 12th-century mural painting with Armenian inscriptions in the White Monastery near Sohag reminds us of the strong Armenian presence in Egypt under Fatimid rule during the 11th to 12th centuries. They had arrived in the wake of the rise of power of the Muslim Armenian warlord and later Vizir Badr al-Jamali, who seized all power in the Fatimid realm during the 1070s. He not only brought his own army consisting of Christian and Muslim Armenians but also made Egypt a safe home for Armenians from more troubled areas.

The Christian Armenians had their own monastery and used a number of churches in Egypt. However, these were appropriated by the Copts at the downfall of Fatimid power and the subsequent expulsion of all Armenians during the 1160s. The Armenian catholicos or head of Egypt is known to have left for Jerusalem taking with him all the church treasures.

At the White Monastery, a mural was made by an artist named Theodore originating from a village in Southeastern Turkey on behalf of Armenian miners who were apparently allowed to use the monastery’s church. It is hard to believe that Theodore came all the way to accomplish just one task in this remote place. There can be no doubt that he decorated more Armenian churches during his stay in Egypt, but the Copts thoroughly wiped out all remaining traces of their previous owners.

The Georgian presence was limited to Jerusalem, where they owned the Monastery of the Holy Cross until it was taken over by the Greek Orthodox in the 17th century. In the monastery’s church, a series of 14th-century paintings with Georgian inscriptions are a reminder of this period. In addition, an icon representing St George and scenes of his life painted during the early 13th century, and kept in the Monastery of Saint Catherine in the Sinai, was a gift from a Georgian monk, who is himself depicted prostrating at the saint’s feet.

St. Catherine's Monastery, Sinai

Marc!D (CC BY-NC-ND)

JBW: Because we touched upon the incorporation of outside artistic influences coming from Western Europe and Byzantium to the Levant, I wondered if you might offer a final comment or two on those architectural or artistic influences coming from the Arab World or even the wider Islamic world.

To what extent did Levantine Christians – who often lived near their Muslim neighbors – adopt or assimilate Islamic styles of art and architecture?

MI: The earliest examples of Islamic art from the Umayyad era display strong influences of Late Antiquity, which in turn had also been the source of inspiration to early Christian art. Over the course of time, these artistic relatives would gradually grow apart to meet again on specific occasions. The earliest example of Islamic-inspired Christian art is the purely ornamental stucco reliefs in the Monastery of the Syrians in Egypt. Constructed during the early 10th century by the Abbot Moses of Nisibis. Its plastered altar room exudes the same atmosphere as houses in the 9th-century Abbasid capital of Samarra and the similarly decorated Mosque of Ibn Tulun (an Abbasid prince who came to Egypt as its governor) in Cairo.

The Mosque of Ibn Tulun, Cairo Egypt

Berthold Werner (CC BY)

The decoration of Fatimid-era sanctuary screens in Coptic churches and woodwork from Egyptian Islamic, Jewish, and secular contexts are fully interchangeable; likewise, 13th-century architectural sculpture, manuscript illustrations, and metalwork from the Mosul area display the same shared stylistic and iconographic artistic language. Broadly speaking, we are obviously dealing with craftsmen working on behalf of different parties at the local level regardless of their religious backgrounds. Occasionally, one comes across ‘Islamic’ ornaments in wall paintings, but the overall impression is that Christian painting was subject to blatant conservatism when compared to more fashionable, ‘neutral’ items of interior decoration. The only Arabic inscriptions found in mural paintings concern texts commemorating building or refurbishment activities, or graffiti left by visitors. There obviously was a difference in status between the vernacular spoken language and the Church’s Greek and Syriac.

JBW: Dr. Mat Immerzeel, thanks so much for your time and consideration.

MI: You are welcome; it is my pleasure to contribute to your magazine.

Mat Immerzeel has been active in the Middle East since 1989, first in Egypt, then in Syria and Lebanon, and recently in Cyprus. His main field of study is the material culture of Oriental Christian communities from the 3rd century to the present. In particular, he studies wall paintings, icons, stone and plaster sculpture, woodwork, and manuscript illustrations. He has participated in research projects focusing on the formation of religious communal identity, the training of local collection curators, and restoration and documentation campaigns. He is the Director of the Paul van Moorsel Centre for Christian Art and Culture in the Middle East and editor-in-chief of the journal Eastern Christian Art (ECA) published by Peeters Publishers in Leuven, the Netherlands.

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[girlactionfigure]

🟩  Saturday late night - events from Israel  

ISRAEL REALTIME - Connecting to Israel in Realtime

( VIDEO - Israelis in Dimona celebrating the death of Hezbollah leader Nasrallah after 32 years of attacking Israel. )

⭕BALLISTIC MISSILE fired by the HOUTHIS (Yemen) at Eilat, missed and HIT Aqaba, Jordan.  The echoes of the explosions were heard in Eilat.

⭕SUICIDE DRONE BARRAGE from HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON at the Nahariya area.  

⭕Reports of a fire or possibly shrapnel hitting the St. George hotel, East Jerusalem. No additional info, but video confirmation (not shared here).

⭕Iraqi Shia Resistance fires a Suicide Drone at Eilat, hits JORDAN east of Amman.

♦️Russian reports of heavy explosions in the city of Homs in Syria.  

♦️Syrian sources: targeted elimination - car in the Kosair area, Syria-Lebanon border region.

🔹BEIRUT, report of power outages.

🔹IRAQ has raised their national alert status to maximum, “for fear of Israeli attacks.”

🔹The New York Times, quoting senior American officials: the damage to civilians will be greater than in Gaza if Netanyahu decides to attack Hezbollah's arsenal (in Lebanon).

🔹GERMANY.. Germany's foreign minister claims: eliminating Nasrallah - does not help Israel's security at all.

🔹US.. Biden: Right now is the time for a ceasefire.

🇺🇸All US bases in the Middle East have been raised to the highest alert level due to the developments taking place in the region per Arab sources.

.. Initial reports of a surface-to-surface missile attack from Iraq to the American Azrak base in Jordan.

.. Arab report: American bases in Syria under attack from Shia militias. 

.. According to the Iraqis, they hit the Ain al-Assad base in Anbar and the al-Harir base in Erbil.

[auresdz]

Murdered by Israel 💔

Father Gregorius Saloum,

the priest of St. George’s Greek Orthodox Parish,

along with his entire family, in South Lebanon.

[falloutboylyricss]

Fall Out Boy and Names

note: this post includes only specific names of people or groups of people (such as band names), both real and fictional

Evening Out With Your Girlfriend

"I can be your John Cusack" - Honorable Mention

"Obscured by the stand-up arcade and the sound of the Descendants" - Switchblades and Infidelity

"And listen to the Misfits 'Where Eagles Dare' to swallow whole" - Growing Up

"And we're all in the back singing 'Roxanne'" - The World's Not Waiting (For Five Tired Boys In A Broken Down Van)

"A simple contradiction could shake my whole foundation, Parker Lewis can't lose" - Parker Lewis Can't Lose (But I'm Gonna Give It My Best Shot)

Take This to Your Grave

Tell That Mick He Just Made My List of Things to Do Today (title only)

"Pete and I attacked the laws of Astoria with promise and precision" - Saturday

"Me and Pete in the wake of Saturday" - Saturday

"Hey, Chris, you were our only friend" - Saturday

From Under The Cork Tree

7 Minutes In Heaven (Atavan Halen) (title only)

I Slept With Someone In Fall Out Boy And All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me (title only)

Infinity On High

none

Folie à Deux

She's My Winona (title only)

What A Catch, Donnie (title only)

"Miss Flack said, 'I still want you back'" - What A Catch, Donnie

Tiffany Blews (title only)

Save Rock And Roll

"We're all fighting growing old in the hopes of a few minutes more to get, get on St. Peter's list" - Rat A Tat

PAX AM Days

none

American Beauty/American Psycho

"She wants to dance like Uma Thurman" - Uma Thurman

"I got those jet pack blues, just like Judy" - Jet Pack Blues

"Do you remember when we drove, we drove, drove through the night and we danced, we danced to Rancid" - Favorite Record

"I can't remember just how to forget, forget the way that we danced, we danced to Danzig" - Favorite Record

MANIA

"I'm 'bout to go Tonya Harding on the whole world's knee" - Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea

Wilson (Expensive Mistakes) (title only)

"And if death is the last appointment, then we're all just sitting in the waiting room (Mr. Stump?)" - Church

"I think that God is gonna have to kill me twice, kill me twice like my name was Nikki Sixx" - Young And Menace

So Much (For) Stardust

"We were a hammer to the Statue of David" - Love From The Other Side

"I can't stop, can't stop 'til we catch all your ears, though, somewhere between Mike Tyson and Van Gogh" - Flu Game

"It breaks your heart, but four of the Ramones are dead" - The Kintsugi Kid (Ten Years)

Misc.

"Yeah, streets are full of seasons, saw what they did to Jesus" - Dear Future Self (Hands Up)

"'Cause everyone loves Bob Dylan, I just want you to love me like that, yeah / Would you bury me next to Johnny Cash? I'm obsessed" - Bob Dylan

"Captain Planet, Arab Spring, L.A. riots, Rodney King" - We Didn't Start The Fire

"Oklahoma City bomb, Kurt Cobain, Pokémon / Tiger Woods, MySpace, Monsanto, GMOs / Harry Potter, Twilight, Michael Jackson dies" - We Didn't Start The Fire

"Kim Jong Un, Robert Downey Jr., Iron Man" - We Didn't Start The Fire

"Obama, Spielberg, explosion, Lebanon / Unabomber, Bobbitt, John, bombing, Boston Marathon" - We Didn't Start The Fire

"Trump gets impeached twice, polar bears got no ice / Fyre Fest, Black Parade, Michael Phelps, Y2K / Boris Johnson, Brexit, Kanye West and Taylor Swift" - We Didn't Start The Fire

"Sandy Hook, Columbine, Sandra Bland and Tamir Rice / ISIS, LeBron James, Shinzo Abe blown away / Meghan Markle, George Floyd, Burj Khalifa, Metroid / Fermi paradox, Venus and Serena / Michael Jordan, 23, Youtube killed MTV / SpongeBob, Golden State Killer got caught / Michael Jordan, 45, Woodstock '99 / Keaton Batman, Bush v. Gore, I can't take it anymore" - We Didn't Start The Fire

"Elon Musk, Kaepernick, Texas failed electric grid / Jeff Bezos, climate change, white rhino goes extinct / Great Pacific garbage patch, Tom DeLonge and aliens" - We Didn't Start The Fire

"SSRIs, Prince and The Queen die" - We Didn't Start The Fire

[thepastisalreadywritten]

SAINT OF THE DAY (April 23)

St. George was a soldier of the Roman army who was tortured and beheaded for his Christian faith in the year 303 in Lydda (in modern day Palestine). 

He was likely born in Cappadocia, of a Cappadocian father and a Palestinian mother of noble rank.

At the death of his father (possibly martyrdom), he moved to Palestine with his mother where he joined the military and apparently served with some distinction, meriting several promotions in rank.

One account of the martyrdom of St. George is Eusebius´ Ecclesiastical History, which relates that when the emperor Diocletian issued an edict:

"to tear down the churches to the foundations and to destroy the Sacred Scriptures by fire… a certain man, of no mean origin but highly esteemed for his temporal dignities, stimulated by a divine zeal and excited by an ardent faith, took it as it was openly placed and posted up for public inspection, and tore it to shreds as a most profane and wicked act." 

This act of instransigence and holy audacity enraged the emperor who had the man tortured and killed.

This man “of no mean origin,” i.e. of nobility, has been identified by more than one ancient source including Eusebius as St. George, though most modern historians of the period state that this is unlikely.

St. George is usually depicted in Christian art as a soldier on horseback killing a dragon with a lance.

This image is a representation of a popular legend of St. George, which first appeared in 1265 in a romance titled "The Golden Legend" in which he saved a town terrorized by a dragon with one blow of his lance.

However, the image is also, and more significantly, a powerful symbol of the victory of Christian faith over evil (sometimes interpreted more contextually in the early Church as “paganism”), personified by the devil who is symbolized by the dragon according to the imagery in Revelations.

St. George is invoked as a patron of military causes, not only because he was a soldier but also due to his appearance to the Christian armies before the battle of Antioch in which they were victorious, then to King Richard the Lionheart of England during his crusade against the Saracens.

The cult of St.George, while universal, remains strongest in the Eastern Church where he is venerated as “The Great Martyr.”

Accounts of early pilgrims identify the seat of the cult of St.George at his burial site in Lydda.

The cult has been in existence since the 4th century, soon after his death.

St. George is the patron of soldiers and the patron of many nations, including Palestine, Lebanon, England, Georgia, and Malta.

He is also the patron of Palestinian Christians and of Boy Scouts. 

He is invoked by sufferers of herpes, skin diseases, skin rashes, syphilis, and snakebites.

[marsellabarsoum]

St. George Bay, Beirut, Lebanon

[opencommunion]

Hey, I have lebanese heritage and recently found out my family was maronite. I don't know anything about maronites, though, besides some basic history, and I want to learn more as part of my reconnecting journey. Do you have any tips on how I can do that? God bless you, thanks in advance

welcome!!! I'm so happy you asked because I had a somewhat similar experience -- I was aware we were maronite but only a few members of my extended family were active churchgoers, so I didn't know much until I started researching on my own as an adult first and foremost, if you're lucky enough to live near a maronite church, don't hesitate to drop by for a service and introduce yourself!! for maronite clergy in the diaspora, helping people reconnect is like 90% of the job lol. and the liturgy is the heart of our tradition, it's what differentiates us from other churches in the catholic communion, so immersing yourself in it brings an understanding of aspects of the faith and culture that can't fully be conveyed otherwise. but if you don't live near a church, no worries!! a lot of churches livestream services and have youtube channels where you can watch past streams: Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral St. Anthony of the Desert Church St. George Church ... and many others

my #1 book recommendation is Captivated by Your Teachings: A Resource Book for Adult Maronite Catholics by Anthony J. Salim. sadly I can't find a pdf but if you can only buy one book it should be this one imo the essays linked here, especially Seely Beggiani's series on the sacraments, are also a great place to start Seely Beggiani's Early Syriac Theology: With Special Reference to the Maronite Tradition is another personal fav of mine bc it goes deep into the early theological underpinnings of our liturgy. Beggiani also wrote a more straightforward breakdown of the liturgy in The Divine Liturgy of the Maronite Church: History and Commentary The Hidden Pearl is an academic organization for syriac studies in general, but with a strong maronite slant. their website is kind of a pain to navigate but worth the trouble -- lots of free books, articles, and videos. they also have lectures up on youtube

Beth Mardutho is another syriac studies group with a massive digital library and an online journal the Maronite Servants of Christ the Light, a monastic community in the US, also have a YT channel. a couple years ago they hosted a webinar series for lent that I really enjoyed. my favorite was the session on the divine office learning about our saints can also be fruitful. the most famous are st maron (of course), st charbel, and st rafqa (my fav). some saints that weren't maronite themselves but are particularly revered in our tradition are st ephrem the syrian, st isaac of nineveh, and st jacob of serugh. this directory of syriac saints is also fun to browse

the version of the bible we use is the peshitta. I often refer to this site which lets you compare the peshitta NT side by side with various other translations. I especially love the lexicon search function

have fun, and hmu if you have any more questions or just want to chat!

[negirahul9090]

Here is a list of country names along with their capitals:

Country    -   capital

Afghanistan - Kabul

Albania - Tirana

Algeria - Algiers

Andorra - Andorra la Vella

Angola - Luanda

Antigua and Barbuda - St. John's

Argentina - Buenos Aires

Armenia - Yerevan

Australia - Canberra

Austria - Vienna

Azerbaijan - Baku

Bahamas - Nassau

Bahrain - Manama

Bangladesh - Dhaka

Barbados - Bridgetown

Belarus - Minsk

Belgium - Brussels

Belize - Belmopan

Benin - Porto-Novo

Bhutan - Thimphu

Bolivia - La Paz (administrative capital), Sucre (constitutional capital)

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Sarajevo

Botswana - Gaborone

Brazil - Brasília

Brunei - Bandar Seri Begawan

Bulgaria - Sofia

Burkina Faso - Ouagadougou

Burundi - Bujumbura

Cabo Verde - Praia

Cambodia - Phnom Penh

Cameroon - Yaoundé

Canada - Ottawa

Central African Republic - Bangui

Chad - N'Djamena

Chile - Santiago

China - Beijing

Colombia - Bogotá

Comoros - Moroni

Congo (Democratic Republic of the) - Kinshasa

Congo (Republic of the) - Brazzaville

Costa Rica - San José

Croatia - Zagreb

Cuba - Havana

Cyprus - Nicosia

Czech Republic - Prague

Denmark - Copenhagen

Djibouti - Djibouti

Dominica - Roseau

Dominican Republic - Santo Domingo

East Timor - Dili

Ecuador - Quito

Egypt - Cairo

El Salvador - San Salvador

Equatorial Guinea - Malabo

Eritrea - Asmara

Estonia - Tallinn

Eswatini - Mbabane (administrative), Lobamba (royal and legislative)

Ethiopia - Addis Ababa

Fiji - Suva

Finland - Helsinki

France - Paris

Gabon - Libreville

Gambia - Banjul

Georgia - Tbilisi

Germany - Berlin

Ghana - Accra

Greece - Athens

Grenada - St. George's

Guatemala - Guatemala City

Guinea - Conakry

Guinea-Bissau - Bissau

Guyana - Georgetown

Haiti - Port-au-Prince

Honduras - Tegucigalpa

Hungary - Budapest

Iceland - Reykjavik

India - New Delhi

Indonesia - Jakarta

Iran - Tehran

Iraq - Baghdad

Ireland - Dublin

Israel - Jerusalem

Italy - Rome

Jamaica - Kingston

Japan - Tokyo

Jordan - Amman

Kazakhstan - Nur-Sultan

Kenya - Nairobi

Kiribati - South Tarawa

Korea (North) - Pyongyang

Korea (South) - Seoul

Kosovo - Pristina

Kuwait - Kuwait City

Kyrgyzstan - Bishkek

Laos - Vientiane

Latvia - Riga

Lebanon - Beirut

Lesotho - Maseru

Liberia - Monrovia

Libya - Tripoli

Liechtenstein - Vaduz

Lithuania - Vilnius

Luxembourg - Luxembourg City

Madagascar - Antananarivo

Malawi - Lilongwe

Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur

Maldives - Male

Mali - Bamako

Malta - Valletta

Marshall Islands - Majuro

Mauritania - Nouakchott

Mauritius - Port Louis

Mexico - Mexico City

Micronesia - Palikir

Moldova - Chisinau

Monaco - Monaco

Mongolia - Ulaanbaatar

Montenegro - Podgorica

Morocco - Rabat

Mozambique - Maputo

Myanmar (Burma) - Naypyidaw

Namibia - Windhoek

Nauru - Yaren

Nepal - Kathmandu

Netherlands - Amsterdam (capital), The Hague (seat of government)

New Zealand - Wellington

Nicaragua - Managua

Niger - Niamey

Nigeria - Abuja

North Macedonia - Skopje

Norway - Oslo

Oman - Muscat

Pakistan - Islamabad

Palau - Ngerulmud

Panama - Panama City

Papua New Guinea - Port Moresby

Paraguay - Asunción

Peru - Lima

Philippines - Manila

Poland - Warsaw

Portugal - Lisbon

Qatar - Doha

Romania - Bucharest

Russia - Moscow

Rwanda - Kigali

Saint Kitts and Nevis - Basseterre

Saint Lucia - Castries

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines - Kingstown

Samoa - Apia

San Marino - San Marino

Sao Tome and Principe - Sao Tome

Saudi Arabia - Riyadh

Senegal - Dakar

Serbia - Belgrade

Seychelles - Victoria

Sierra Leone - Freetown

Singapore - Singapore

Slovakia - Bratislava

Slovenia - Ljubljana

Solomon Islands - Honiara

Somalia - Mogadishu

South Africa - Pretoria (administrative), Cape Town (legislative), Bloemfontein (judicial)

South Sudan - Juba

Spain - Madrid

Sri Lanka - Colombo (executive), Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (legislative)

Sudan - Khartoum

Suriname - Paramaribo

Sweden - Stockholm

Switzerland - Bern

Syria - Damascus

Taiwan - Taipei

Tajikistan - Dushanbe

Tanzania - Dodoma

Thailand - Bangkok

Togo - Lomé

Tonga - Nuku'alofa

Trinidad and Tobago - Port of Spain

Tunisia - Tunis

Turkey - Ankara

Turkmenistan - Ashgabat

Tuvalu - Funafuti

Uganda - Kampala

Ukraine - Kyiv

United Arab Emirates - Abu Dhabi

United Kingdom - London

United States - Washington, D.C.

Uruguay - Montevideo

Uzbekistan - Tashkent

Vanuatu - Port Vila

Vatican City - Vatican City

Venezuela - Caracas

Vietnam - Hanoi

Yemen - Sana'a

Zambia - Lusaka

Zimbabwe - Harare

Abkhazia - Sukhumi

Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) - Stepanakert

Cook Islands - Avarua

Kosovo - Pristina

Niue - Alofi

Northern Cyprus - North Nicosia

Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic - El Aaiún

Somaliland - Hargeisa

South Ossetia - Tskhinvali

Transnistria - Tiraspol

Catalonia - Barcelona

Kurdistan - Erbil

Scotland - Edinburgh

Tibet - Lhasa

West Papua - Manokwari

Please note that the status and recognition of some of these regions may vary, and they may not be universally recognized as independent countries or have widespread international recognition.

[darkmaga-returns]

Two weeks ago, it was widely reported across all the Western legacy media that Israel had fire-bombed a hospital leaving patients to burn to death in their beds.

A few days later, we were told by the same Western legacy media that Israeli strikes inside Lebanon had destroyed a 2000-year-old village.

Today, CNN’s front page hosts an IDF soldier describing Israel’s practice of using civilians as human shields in Gaza, while the Guardian details an Israeli strike on school-turned-bomb shelter in Gaza.

Now, it’s not at all unusual that Israel should be committing war crimes, they’ve been doing so unchecked for decades.

But what is less usual is seeing these war crimes appearing on front pages and  in headlines in the controlled media.

We’ve all been doing this long to have dispelled any idea the MSM cares about truth.

They don’t care about truth. Not at all. In fact these days their internal structures barely permit them to recognize truth as a concept.

Nothing – nothing –  is so true the media have to report it, no crimes are so brutal they can’t be ignored.

Case in point, in Odessa in 2014 civilians protesting the NATO-backed coup in Ukraine were chased inside the Trade Union building by pro-coup neo-Nazis.

The building was barricaded and set on fire. People climbing out of the windows to escape the flames were shot at.

Forty people died, shot or burned to death. The neo-Nazis responsible celebrated by showing pictures of beetles being set alight (their disparaging term for ethnic Russians was “Colorado beetles” in reference to the orange and black ribbon of St George they wore).

How did the legacy media respond to this murder?

Well, they just lied.

[christianpureofficial]

Lebanon’s Christians also affected by Israel’s attacks

St. George Maronite cathedral beside the Mohammad Al-Amin mosque in Beirut, the Lebanese capital. / Credit: Patrick Donovan via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0) ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 25, 2024 / 18:25 pm (CNA). The large-scale bombings Israel unleashed this week against Hezbollah in Lebanon are affecting all of Lebanon’s residents, including Christians, according to the pontifical foundation Aid to the…

[brookston]

Holidays 9.12

Holidays

Alligator Awareness Day

Amilcar Cabral Day (Guinea Bissau)

Bass Tuba Day

Battle of Vienna Anniversary Day

Burlesque Day

Cedar Tree Day (Lebanon)

Cinema Day (Iran)

Cleopatra’s Needle Day (UK)

Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Appreciation Day

Day of Conception (a.k.a. Procreation Day; Russia)

Day of the Land Forces (Poland)

Day of the Programmer

Defender's Day (Maryland)

Diocletian New Year

Disability Awareness Day (UK)

Eleven Days of Global Unity, Day 2: Interdependence

End Digital Poverty Day (UK)

Enkutatash (Ethiopia, Rastafari) [Leap Years; 1st Day of Mäskäräm]

European Migraine Day of Action

Family Contact Day (Russia)

Goldenrod Day (French Republic)

Hey, Hey, It’s The Monkees Day

International Cinema Day

International Crochet Day

International Day for South-South Cooperation (UN)

Investigative Committee Day (Belarus)

Jesse Owens Day (Ohio)

Keddus Johannes (Geez New Year; Eritrea)

Lomia Asteroid Day

Marathon Day

Mindfulness Day

National Day (Cape Verde)

National Day of Civic Hacking

National Day of Encouragement

National Dementia Carers Day (UK)

National Flexible Working Day

National Hug and High Five Day

National Ink and Toner Day

Nationality Day (Cape Verde Islands)

National Just One Human Family Day

National Police Woman Day

National Programmers Day

National Reading Group Day

National Report Medicare Fraud Day

National Taylor Day

National Video Games Day

912 Day (Savannah)

Olympia Asteroid Day

Pioneers Day (Rhodesia)

Porsche 912 Day

Ruhnama Day (Book of the Soul; Turkmenistan)

Riglametha (Elder Scrolls)

Saint Patrick’s Battalion Mass Hanging Commemoration (Mexico)

Saragarhi Day (India)

Stand Up Against Bullying Day (Nova Scotia)

Steve Biko Day (South Africa)

Thank a Programmer Day

World Dolphin Day

World Goalball Day

World Rubber Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Chocolate Milkshake Day

National Blackberry Day (UK)

National Juicy Lucy Day

Popcorn Day

Independence & Related Days

ISTER Princedom (Declared; 2019) [unrecognized]

Revolution Day (Ethiopia)

2nd Thursday in September

MPN Awareness Day [2nd Thursday]

National Day of the Working Parent [2nd Thursday]

National School Picture Day [2nd Thursday]

R U OK? Day (Australia) [2nd Thursday]

Stop a Suicide Today [Thursday of the Week including the 10th]

Thirsty Thursday [Every Thursday]

Thoughtful Thursday [2nd Thursday of Each Month]

Three for Thursday [Every Thursday]

Thrift Store Thursday [Every Thursday]

Throwback Thursday [Every Thursday]

Toast Thursday [2nd Thursday of Each Month]

United Tribes International PowWow begins (Thru Sunday; North Dakota) [Thursday after 1st Monday]

Weekly Holidays beginning September 12 (2nd Full Week of September)

National Write Your Book in a Weekend Weekends [thru 9.15] (also in Feb, Apr & Nov)

Festivals Beginning September 12, 2024

Agricultural Fair (New Portland, Maine) [thru 9.15]

Annapolis Songwriters Festival (Annapolis, Maryland) [thru 9.15]

Atlanta Food & Wine Festival (Atlanta, Georgia) [thru 9.15]

Bandon Cranberry Festival (Bandon, Oregon) [thru 9.13]

Blair Cheese Festival (Blair, Wisconsin) [thru 9.15]

Budapest Wine Festival (Budapest, Hungary) [thru 9.15]

Chicago Jazz Getaway (Chicago, Illinois) [thru 9.15]

Feast of San Gennaro (New York, New York) [thru 9.22]

GOGBOT (Enschede, Netherlands)

GrapeFest (Grapevine, Texas) [thru 9.15]

Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony (Cambridge, Massachusetts)

Kyiv International Short Film Festival (Kyiv, Ukraine) [thru 9.18]

Lodi Grape Festival (Lodi, California) [thru 9.15]

Odesa Classics (Ghent, Belgium)

Oklahoma State Fair (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) [thru 9.22]

Saint George's Annual Middle Eastern Food Festival (Birmingham, Alabama) [thru 9.14]

Seymour Apple Festival (Seymour, Missouri) [thru 9.14]

St. John Parish Applefest (Fenton, Michigan) [thru 9.15]

Tunbridge World's Fair (Tunbridge, Vermont) [thru 9.15]

viennacontemporary (Vienna, Austria) [thru 9.15]

Vintage & Vine (Portsmouth, New Hampshire)

Wormtown Music Festival (Greenfield, Massachusetts) [thru 9.15]

Feast Days

Ailbe (a.k.a. Elvis or Eilfyw) of Emly (Christian; Saint)

Anselm Feuerbach (Artology)

Athanasius (Christian; Saint)

Bassian of Tikhsnen in Vologda (Christian; Saint)

Ben Shahn (Artology)

Buzz Crescendo (Muppetism)

Carl Eytel (Artology)

Charles Dudley Warner (Writerism)

Daniel of Thassius (Christian; Saint)

Day of Ishtar and TammuzI (Pagan)

Ebontius (Christian; Saint)

Eanswide (Christian; Saint)

Feast of Atabei (Goddess Mother; Tainos, West Indies)

The Feast of the Holy Name of Mary (14th century Christian)

Freymóður Jóhannsson (Artology)

Gahambar Paitishahen begins (Zoroastrian)

Guy of Anderlecht (Christian; Saint)

Hieromartyr Autonomous, Bishop of Iconium (Christian; Saint)

H.L. Mencken (Writerism)

The Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Christian)

John Henry Hobart (Episcopal Church (USA))

Julian of Galatia and His 40 Martyrs (Christian; Martyrs)

Laisrén mac Nad Froích (Christian; Saint)

Macedonios, Tatian, and Theodoulos (Christian; Martyrs)

Martyrdom of Imam Hasan Askari (Iran)

Michael Ondaatje (Writerism)

Milo Manara (Artology)

Nakedness Appreciation Day (Pastafarian)

Personal Harvest Day (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Robert Irwin (Artology)

Rojas (Positivist; Saint)

Rush to Judgement Day (Church of the SubGenius)

Saragarhi Day (Sikhism)

Sacerdos of Lyon (Christian; Saint)

Stanisław Lem (Writerism)

The 3 Things Kings Don’t Share Day (Treasure, Hawk & Thief (a.k.a. His Taxman) Celtic Book of Days)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Lucky Day (Philippines) [50 of 71]

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Premieres

The Archaeology of Knowledge and The Discourse on Language, by Michel Foucault (Science Book; 1969)

Birds in Love (Color Rhapsody Cartoon; 1936)

Black Sea, by XTC (Album; 1980)

Bonanza (TV Series; 1959)

Bony Marine, recorded by Larry Williams (Song; 1957)

Burgled Bullwinkle or The Moose Nappers (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S3, Ep. 107; 1961)

Burn After Reading (Film; 2008)

The Busy Barber (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Cartoon; 1932)

The Case of the Cockeyed Canary (Noveltoons Cartoon; 1958)

The Cat in the Hat Comes Back, by Dr. Seuss (Children’s Book; 1958)

Charlie Chan in London (Film; 1934)

Chips Off the Old Block (MGM Cartoon; 1942)

Circus, by Lenny Kravitz (Album; 1995)

A Crown for Bullwinkle or Monarch Moose (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S3, Ep. 108; 1961)

Death Magnetic, by Metallica (Album; 2008)

Donald and Pluto (Disney Cartoon; 1936)

Family Affair (TV Series; 1966)

Feast and Furious (Noveltoons Cartoon; 1958)

A Fly Went By, by Mike McClintock (Children’s Book; 1958)

FutureSex: LoveSounds, by Justin Timberlake (Album; 2006)

Hope, by Klaatu (Album; 1977)

I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, by Hannah Green (Novel: 1963)

I Put a Spell on You, recorded by Screaming’ Jay Hawkins (Song; 1956)

Jack the Giant Killer (Ub Iwerks Laugh-O-Grams Cartoon; 1922)

Lost in Translation (Film; 2003)

Love Is a Battlefield, by Pat Benatar (Song; 1983)

Malice Aforethought, by Francis Iles (Novel; 1931)

Maroon, by Barenaked Ladies (Album; 2000)

Mastering the Art of French Cooking, by Julia Child (Cookbook; 1961)

Millennium Actress (Anime Film; 2003)

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, by Lauryn Hill (Album; 1998)

The Monkees (TV Series; 1966)

The Mystery of the Lizard Men (Animated TV Show; Jonny Quest #1; 1964)

Never Bug An Ant (And & the Aardvark Cartoon; 1969)

North, by Matchbox Twenty (Album; 2012)

Old MacDonald Duck (Disney Cartoon; 1941)

Once Upon a Time in Mexico (Film; 2003)

Party of Five (TV Series; 1994)

Peaky Blinders (TV Series; 2013)

Popeye and the Pirates (Fleischer/Famous Popeye Cartoon; 1947)

Porky’s Moving Day (WB LT Cartoon; 1936)

Protector (Known Space), by Larry Niven (Novel; 1973)

Pump, by Aerosmith (Album; 1989)

Rabbit Is Rich, by John Updike (Novel: 1981) [Rabbit #3]

The Rat Patrol (TV Series; 1966)

The Royal Four-Flusher (Fleischer/Famous Popeye Cartoon; 1947)

Showtime at the Apollo (TV Series; 1987)

The Skeleton Twins (Film; 2014)

The Smurfs (Animated TV Series; 1981)

Symphony No. 8 in E-Flat Major (a.k.a. Symphony of A Thousand), by Gustav Mahler (Symphony; 1910)

Tarzan of the Apes (Radio Series; 1932)

Taxi (TV Series; 1978)

Through the Past, Darkly, by The Rolling Stones (Album; 1969)

The Try Guys (YouTube Show; 2014)

Tweety’s High-Flying Adventure (WB Animated Film; 2000)

The Village Specialist (Ub Iwerks Flip the Frog MGM Cartoon; 1931)

Walkin’ on Wall Street (Money Rock Cartoon; Schoolhouse Rock; 1996)

Welcome to the Black Parade, by My Chemical Romance (Song; 2006)

Wish You Were Here, by Pink Floyd (Album; 1975)

The World of Atom Ant and Secret Squirrel (Hanna Barbera Animated TV Special; 1965)

+, by Ed Sheeran (Album; 2011)

Today’s Name Days

Eberhard, Gerfried, Guido, Maria (Austria)

Dubravko, Marija (Croatia)

Marie (Czech Republic)

Guido (Denmark)

Meeli, Meelike, Meila, Meili, Melanie, Mella, Melli (Estonia)

Valma, Vilja (Finland)

Apollinaire (France)

Gerfried, Maria Manen (Germany)

Mária (Hungary)

Cesarea, Maria (Italy)

Albins, Erna, Eva, Evita, Selga (Latvia)

Gvidas, Marija, Tolvaldas, Vaidmantė (Lithuania)

Jofrid, Jorid (Norway)

Amadeusz, Amedeusz, Cyrus, Gwidon, Maria, Piotr, Radzimir, Sylwin (Poland)

Autonóm (Romania)

Mária (Slovakia)

Estíbaliz, María (Spain)

Åsa, Åslög (Sweden)

Aloise, Aloysia, Guido, Guy (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 256 of 2024; 110 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 4 of Week 37 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Muin (Vine) [Day 12 of 28]

Chinese: Month 8 (Guy-You), Day 10 (Ji-Mao)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 9 Elul 5784

Islamic: 8 Rabi I 1446

J Cal: 16 Gold; Twosday [16 of 30]

Julian: 30 August 2024

Moon: 65%: Waxing Gibbous

Positivist: 4 Shakespeare (10th Month) [Otway]

Runic Half Month: Ken (Illumination) [Day 6 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 85 of 94)

Week: 2nd Full Week of September

Zodiac: Virgo (Day 22 of 32)

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 9.12

Holidays

Alligator Awareness Day

Amilcar Cabral Day (Guinea Bissau)

Bass Tuba Day

Battle of Vienna Anniversary Day

Burlesque Day

Cedar Tree Day (Lebanon)

Cinema Day (Iran)

Cleopatra’s Needle Day (UK)

Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Appreciation Day

Day of Conception (a.k.a. Procreation Day; Russia)

Day of the Land Forces (Poland)

Day of the Programmer

Defender's Day (Maryland)

Diocletian New Year

Disability Awareness Day (UK)

Eleven Days of Global Unity, Day 2: Interdependence

End Digital Poverty Day (UK)

Enkutatash (Ethiopia, Rastafari) [Leap Years; 1st Day of Mäskäräm]

European Migraine Day of Action

Family Contact Day (Russia)

Goldenrod Day (French Republic)

Hey, Hey, It’s The Monkees Day

International Cinema Day

International Crochet Day

International Day for South-South Cooperation (UN)

Investigative Committee Day (Belarus)

Jesse Owens Day (Ohio)

Keddus Johannes (Geez New Year; Eritrea)

Lomia Asteroid Day

Marathon Day

Mindfulness Day

National Day (Cape Verde)

National Day of Civic Hacking

National Day of Encouragement

National Dementia Carers Day (UK)

National Flexible Working Day

National Hug and High Five Day

National Ink and Toner Day

Nationality Day (Cape Verde Islands)

National Just One Human Family Day

National Police Woman Day

National Programmers Day

National Reading Group Day

National Report Medicare Fraud Day

National Taylor Day

National Video Games Day

912 Day (Savannah)

Olympia Asteroid Day

Pioneers Day (Rhodesia)

Porsche 912 Day

Ruhnama Day (Book of the Soul; Turkmenistan)

Riglametha (Elder Scrolls)

Saint Patrick’s Battalion Mass Hanging Commemoration (Mexico)

Saragarhi Day (India)

Stand Up Against Bullying Day (Nova Scotia)

Steve Biko Day (South Africa)

Thank a Programmer Day

World Dolphin Day

World Goalball Day

World Rubber Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Chocolate Milkshake Day

National Blackberry Day (UK)

National Juicy Lucy Day

Popcorn Day

Independence & Related Days

ISTER Princedom (Declared; 2019) [unrecognized]

Revolution Day (Ethiopia)

2nd Thursday in September

MPN Awareness Day [2nd Thursday]

National Day of the Working Parent [2nd Thursday]

National School Picture Day [2nd Thursday]

R U OK? Day (Australia) [2nd Thursday]

Stop a Suicide Today [Thursday of the Week including the 10th]

Thirsty Thursday [Every Thursday]

Thoughtful Thursday [2nd Thursday of Each Month]

Three for Thursday [Every Thursday]

Thrift Store Thursday [Every Thursday]

Throwback Thursday [Every Thursday]

Toast Thursday [2nd Thursday of Each Month]

United Tribes International PowWow begins (Thru Sunday; North Dakota) [Thursday after 1st Monday]

Weekly Holidays beginning September 12 (2nd Full Week of September)

National Write Your Book in a Weekend Weekends [thru 9.15] (also in Feb, Apr & Nov)

Festivals Beginning September 12, 2024

Agricultural Fair (New Portland, Maine) [thru 9.15]

Annapolis Songwriters Festival (Annapolis, Maryland) [thru 9.15]

Atlanta Food & Wine Festival (Atlanta, Georgia) [thru 9.15]

Bandon Cranberry Festival (Bandon, Oregon) [thru 9.13]

Blair Cheese Festival (Blair, Wisconsin) [thru 9.15]

Budapest Wine Festival (Budapest, Hungary) [thru 9.15]

Chicago Jazz Getaway (Chicago, Illinois) [thru 9.15]

Feast of San Gennaro (New York, New York) [thru 9.22]

GOGBOT (Enschede, Netherlands)

GrapeFest (Grapevine, Texas) [thru 9.15]

Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony (Cambridge, Massachusetts)

Kyiv International Short Film Festival (Kyiv, Ukraine) [thru 9.18]

Lodi Grape Festival (Lodi, California) [thru 9.15]

Odesa Classics (Ghent, Belgium)

Oklahoma State Fair (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) [thru 9.22]

Saint George's Annual Middle Eastern Food Festival (Birmingham, Alabama) [thru 9.14]

Seymour Apple Festival (Seymour, Missouri) [thru 9.14]

St. John Parish Applefest (Fenton, Michigan) [thru 9.15]

Tunbridge World's Fair (Tunbridge, Vermont) [thru 9.15]

viennacontemporary (Vienna, Austria) [thru 9.15]

Vintage & Vine (Portsmouth, New Hampshire)

Wormtown Music Festival (Greenfield, Massachusetts) [thru 9.15]

Feast Days

Ailbe (a.k.a. Elvis or Eilfyw) of Emly (Christian; Saint)

Anselm Feuerbach (Artology)

Athanasius (Christian; Saint)

Bassian of Tikhsnen in Vologda (Christian; Saint)

Ben Shahn (Artology)

Buzz Crescendo (Muppetism)

Carl Eytel (Artology)

Charles Dudley Warner (Writerism)

Daniel of Thassius (Christian; Saint)

Day of Ishtar and TammuzI (Pagan)

Ebontius (Christian; Saint)

Eanswide (Christian; Saint)

Feast of Atabei (Goddess Mother; Tainos, West Indies)

The Feast of the Holy Name of Mary (14th century Christian)

Freymóður Jóhannsson (Artology)

Gahambar Paitishahen begins (Zoroastrian)

Guy of Anderlecht (Christian; Saint)

Hieromartyr Autonomous, Bishop of Iconium (Christian; Saint)

H.L. Mencken (Writerism)

The Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Christian)

John Henry Hobart (Episcopal Church (USA))

Julian of Galatia and His 40 Martyrs (Christian; Martyrs)

Laisrén mac Nad Froích (Christian; Saint)

Macedonios, Tatian, and Theodoulos (Christian; Martyrs)

Martyrdom of Imam Hasan Askari (Iran)

Michael Ondaatje (Writerism)

Milo Manara (Artology)

Nakedness Appreciation Day (Pastafarian)

Personal Harvest Day (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Robert Irwin (Artology)

Rojas (Positivist; Saint)

Rush to Judgement Day (Church of the SubGenius)

Saragarhi Day (Sikhism)

Sacerdos of Lyon (Christian; Saint)

Stanisław Lem (Writerism)

The 3 Things Kings Don’t Share Day (Treasure, Hawk & Thief (a.k.a. His Taxman) Celtic Book of Days)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Lucky Day (Philippines) [50 of 71]

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Premieres

The Archaeology of Knowledge and The Discourse on Language, by Michel Foucault (Science Book; 1969)

Birds in Love (Color Rhapsody Cartoon; 1936)

Black Sea, by XTC (Album; 1980)

Bonanza (TV Series; 1959)

Bony Marine, recorded by Larry Williams (Song; 1957)

Burgled Bullwinkle or The Moose Nappers (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S3, Ep. 107; 1961)

Burn After Reading (Film; 2008)

The Busy Barber (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Cartoon; 1932)

The Case of the Cockeyed Canary (Noveltoons Cartoon; 1958)

The Cat in the Hat Comes Back, by Dr. Seuss (Children’s Book; 1958)

Charlie Chan in London (Film; 1934)

Chips Off the Old Block (MGM Cartoon; 1942)

Circus, by Lenny Kravitz (Album; 1995)

A Crown for Bullwinkle or Monarch Moose (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S3, Ep. 108; 1961)

Death Magnetic, by Metallica (Album; 2008)

Donald and Pluto (Disney Cartoon; 1936)

Family Affair (TV Series; 1966)

Feast and Furious (Noveltoons Cartoon; 1958)

A Fly Went By, by Mike McClintock (Children’s Book; 1958)

FutureSex: LoveSounds, by Justin Timberlake (Album; 2006)

Hope, by Klaatu (Album; 1977)

I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, by Hannah Green (Novel: 1963)

I Put a Spell on You, recorded by Screaming’ Jay Hawkins (Song; 1956)

Jack the Giant Killer (Ub Iwerks Laugh-O-Grams Cartoon; 1922)

Lost in Translation (Film; 2003)

Love Is a Battlefield, by Pat Benatar (Song; 1983)

Malice Aforethought, by Francis Iles (Novel; 1931)

Maroon, by Barenaked Ladies (Album; 2000)

Mastering the Art of French Cooking, by Julia Child (Cookbook; 1961)

Millennium Actress (Anime Film; 2003)

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, by Lauryn Hill (Album; 1998)

The Monkees (TV Series; 1966)

The Mystery of the Lizard Men (Animated TV Show; Jonny Quest #1; 1964)

Never Bug An Ant (And & the Aardvark Cartoon; 1969)

North, by Matchbox Twenty (Album; 2012)

Old MacDonald Duck (Disney Cartoon; 1941)

Once Upon a Time in Mexico (Film; 2003)

Party of Five (TV Series; 1994)

Peaky Blinders (TV Series; 2013)

Popeye and the Pirates (Fleischer/Famous Popeye Cartoon; 1947)

Porky’s Moving Day (WB LT Cartoon; 1936)

Protector (Known Space), by Larry Niven (Novel; 1973)

Pump, by Aerosmith (Album; 1989)

Rabbit Is Rich, by John Updike (Novel: 1981) [Rabbit #3]

The Rat Patrol (TV Series; 1966)

The Royal Four-Flusher (Fleischer/Famous Popeye Cartoon; 1947)

Showtime at the Apollo (TV Series; 1987)

The Skeleton Twins (Film; 2014)

The Smurfs (Animated TV Series; 1981)

Symphony No. 8 in E-Flat Major (a.k.a. Symphony of A Thousand), by Gustav Mahler (Symphony; 1910)

Tarzan of the Apes (Radio Series; 1932)

Taxi (TV Series; 1978)

Through the Past, Darkly, by The Rolling Stones (Album; 1969)

The Try Guys (YouTube Show; 2014)

Tweety’s High-Flying Adventure (WB Animated Film; 2000)

The Village Specialist (Ub Iwerks Flip the Frog MGM Cartoon; 1931)

Walkin’ on Wall Street (Money Rock Cartoon; Schoolhouse Rock; 1996)

Welcome to the Black Parade, by My Chemical Romance (Song; 2006)

Wish You Were Here, by Pink Floyd (Album; 1975)

The World of Atom Ant and Secret Squirrel (Hanna Barbera Animated TV Special; 1965)

+, by Ed Sheeran (Album; 2011)

Today’s Name Days

Eberhard, Gerfried, Guido, Maria (Austria)

Dubravko, Marija (Croatia)

Marie (Czech Republic)

Guido (Denmark)

Meeli, Meelike, Meila, Meili, Melanie, Mella, Melli (Estonia)

Valma, Vilja (Finland)

Apollinaire (France)

Gerfried, Maria Manen (Germany)

Mária (Hungary)

Cesarea, Maria (Italy)

Albins, Erna, Eva, Evita, Selga (Latvia)

Gvidas, Marija, Tolvaldas, Vaidmantė (Lithuania)

Jofrid, Jorid (Norway)

Amadeusz, Amedeusz, Cyrus, Gwidon, Maria, Piotr, Radzimir, Sylwin (Poland)

Autonóm (Romania)

Mária (Slovakia)

Estíbaliz, María (Spain)

Åsa, Åslög (Sweden)

Aloise, Aloysia, Guido, Guy (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 256 of 2024; 110 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 4 of Week 37 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Muin (Vine) [Day 12 of 28]

Chinese: Month 8 (Guy-You), Day 10 (Ji-Mao)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 9 Elul 5784

Islamic: 8 Rabi I 1446

J Cal: 16 Gold; Twosday [16 of 30]

Julian: 30 August 2024

Moon: 65%: Waxing Gibbous

Positivist: 4 Shakespeare (10th Month) [Otway]

Runic Half Month: Ken (Illumination) [Day 6 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 85 of 94)

Week: 2nd Full Week of September

Zodiac: Virgo (Day 22 of 32)

[bbcultivation]

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Jefferson, Maine Hallowell, Maine Bethel, Maine Harrison, Maine Buckfield, Maine Hancock, Maine Eddington, Maine Manchester, Maine Deer Isle, Maine Albion, Maine Whitefield, Maine Lincolnville, Maine Leeds, Maine Damariscotta, Maine Dayton, Maine Canaan, Maine West Bath, Maine Milo, Maine Dixfield, Maine Palmyra, Maine Boothbay Harbor, Maine Machias, Maine Van Buren, Maine Sebago, Maine West Paris, Maine Phippsburg, Maine Orland, Maine Mapleton, Maine Unity, Maine Lamoine, Maine Corinna, Maine Wales, Maine Cornish, Maine Livermore, Maine Trenton, 

[thepastisalreadywritten]

SAINT OF THE DAY (April 23)

St. George was a soldier of the Roman army who was tortured and beheaded for his Christian faith in the year 303, in Lydda (in modern day Palestine). 

He was likely born to a Cappadocian father and a Palestinian mother of noble rank in Cappadocia.

At the death of his father (possibly martyrdom), he moved to Palestine with his mother where he joined the military and apparently served with some distinction, meriting several promotions in rank.

One account of the martyrdom of St. George is Eusebius´ Ecclesiastical History, which relates that when Emperor Diocletian issued an edict "to tear down the churches to the foundations and to destroy the Sacred Scriptures by fire, a certain man of no mean origin but highly esteemed for his temporal dignities, stimulated by a divine zeal and excited by an ardent faith, took it as it was openly placed and posted up for public inspection and tore it to shreds as a most profane and wicked act." 

This act of instransigence and holy audacity enraged the emperor who had the man tortured and killed.

This man “of no mean origin,” i.e. of nobility, has been identified by more than one ancient source, including Eusebius, as St. George, though most modern historians of the period state that this is unlikely.

St. George is usually depicted in Christian art as a soldier on horseback killing a dragon with a lance.

This image is a representation of a popular legend of St. George, which first appeared in 1265 in a romance titled "The Golden Legend" in which he saved a town terrorized by a dragon with one blow of his lance.

However, the image is also a powerful symbol of the victory of Christian faith over evil (sometimes interpreted more contextually in the early Church as “paganism”), personified by the devil who is symbolized by the dragon according to the imagery in Revelations.

St. George is invoked as a patron of military causes, not only because he was a soldier, but also due to his appearance to the Christian armies before the battle of Antioch in which they were victorious and to King Richard the Lionheart of England during his crusade against the Saracens.

The cult of St.George, while universal, remains strongest in the Eastern Church where he is venerated as “The Great Martyr.”

Accounts of early pilgrims identify the seat of the cult of St. George at his burial site in Lydda. The cult has been in existence since the 4th century, soon after his death.

In hagiography, as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers and one of the most prominent military saints, he is immortalized in the legend of Saint George and the Dragon.

His memorial, Saint George's Day, is traditionally celebrated on 23 April.

St. George is the patron of soldiers and the patron of many nations, including Palestine, Lebanon, England, Georgia, and Malta.

He is also the patron of Palestinian Christians and Boy Scouts.  He is invoked by sufferers of herpes, skin diseases, skin rashes, syphilis, and snakebites.