St. Gabriel was born in 1929 with the name Goderdzi Urgebadze to a father who was an official in the Communist party but was murdered in 1931. Goderzi came to faith in Christ on his own while still a young child. One day he overheard neighbors fighting and one shouted “You have crucified me like Christ”. Goderdzi did not know what “crucified” meant or who Christ was. The neighbors were afraid to answer his questions so they sent him to the local church. The local church had been closed by the Communists but a guard who worked there showed him an icon of the Crucifixion and told him to read the life of Christ. Saving his money, he bought a copy of the New Testament which he read day and night as he learned for the first time about this Jesus who was crucified because of His love for him. His new-found faith and constant prayer and Bible reading worried his mother. She repeatedly scolded him and wished he were like “normal” children his age. She threw his Bible into the garbage shouting “It’s ruined your life”. Goderzi retrieved his beloved book from the trash and knew he had no choice but to leave home. He walked for a day and a night until he reached a monastery where he was taken under the care of two holy monks: St. John Maisuradze and St. George-John Mkheidze. After three months of searching for her son, his mother promised that she would not interfere with his spiritual life if he returned home. He remained obedient to her, but continued his daily prayer and study of the Gospels, also helping his stepfather in his bread shop.

In 1949 Goderdzi was called up to complete his compulsory military service but even surrounded by militant atheists he never abandoned his faith. He visited churches near his deployment whenever he could sneak away. His religious faith was eventually discovered and upon discharge from the army was labeled as mentally ill because only such people believed in God, angels and demons. Returning home after his military duty he began building a small chapel in the yard of his home. He would scour the local landfills to search for icons for his chapel which people had discarded under the influence of the atheistic Communists. While he desired to enter a monastery, the Communist authorities made it extremely difficult for any young man to pursue a religious vocation.

Finally in 1954, upon the recommendation of the Patriarch of Georgia-Melchizedek, Goderzi entered the monastery in Motsameta and was tonsured as a monk with the name Gabriel in honor of St. Gabriel of Athos. After a period of probation he was ordained deacon and then priest.

Persecution

May 1 is a major Communist holiday, “International Workers’ Day”, and in 1965 the Communists held a parade and rally in a major square, which also happened to be Holy Saturday, the day before Pascha. Father Gabriel was returning from serving the Divine Liturgy and saw a 26-foot picture of Lenin decorating a side of a building with the caption “Glory to Great Lenin!” Unnoticed by the guards, Father Gabriel went up to the portrait and set it on fire. As the flames devoured the portrait he cried to the crowd: “Why are you bowing down before idols? Glory is due not to this corpse but to Jesus Christ Who trampled down death and gave us eternal life!”

The mob descended on him, beating and kicking him and would certainly have killed him if not for the intervention of the police. He was in a coma for a month with eighteen broken bones. The Communists sentenced him to be executed but the story of the incident became known to Western news media. Instead of killing him, Father Gabriel was sent to a psychiatric hospital where he was drugged, beaten and tortured. He was classified as a schizophrenic psychopath whose belief in God was part of his mental illness.

Interestingly, his official medical diagnosis chart from the Communist doctors has the official number “666”, which happen to be the number of the antichrist in the Book of Revelation.

He was released from the hospital under one condition: that the Patriarch of Georgia suspend him from his priestly ministry. St. Gabriel became a pariah; even his former friends and fellow priests avoided him. He continued attending church services, humbly receiving Communion while standing in line with the lay people. Finally, in 1971 the Patriarch of Georgia lifted his suspension, restored his priestly ministry and appointed him the priest of the convent of Samtavro. Here he lived simply, fasting severely and praying, living for a time in a wooden hut which was an abandoned chicken coop.

Fool for Christ

Before his return to ministry, Father Gabriel took upon himself the difficult ministry of that of a “fool for Christ”. He purposely acted as if he were insane in order to avoid the praise, honor and esteem of others. The most difficult sinful passion to overcome is that of pride. It has been said that people will turn away from money and riches, will avoid lust and sexual pleasure but no one will turn away from honor, glory and recognition. He is an example of holy men and women like him throughout history who outwardly acted absurd in order to challenge people’s worldly opinions.

Father Gabriel lived the words of the Holy Bible:

“For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your call, brethren; not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth; but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God”. (1 Corinthians 1:25-29)

He explained his often-bizarre behavior very simply to one of his spiritual children:

“When it seemed to me that I was an important person or that I was better than others, I would act that way (foolishly); and when people would laugh at me I’d be humbled and see that I’m garbage.”

While his behavior attracted laughter and ridicule, he had a clear purpose: to save someone’s soul and place them on the right path. One day he was walking through the courtyard of the monastery. Several priests were seated on a bench outside the church. Father Gabriel went up to them and began dancing wildly in front of them. The onlookers where horrified and the priests quickly got up to get away from the “mad monk”. However, the priests all secretly knew why Father Gabriel was dancing in front of them. yesterday, they had all taken off their cassocks and were drinking and dancing in a nightclub. On another occasion, a man came to him for confession and for his penance Father Gabriel instructed him to go out and buy a pornographic magazine. The penitent was outraged by this request and complained to the abbot about the “mad monk”. However, he soon remembered that he had hidden in his office several indecent photographs but had failed to mention it in confession. Father Gabriel, through his gift of clairvoyance, saw into the man’s soul and was trying to lead him to complete repentance.

In 1995 his health was declining and he prepared himself for death. His final words were “I have been following You from the age of twelve, Lord, and now I am ready. Take me to Yourself ”. He breathed his last on November 2, 1995, just as the Archbishop read the final words of the “Canon for the Departure of the Soul”.

Father Gabriel was glorified as a saint on December 20, 2012 by the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church of Georgia. His memory is kept each year on October 20 / November 2.

Saint Paul was from Thessalonica. He became the secretary of Alexander, Patriarch of Constantinople (see Aug. 30), a deacon, and then the successor of Saint Alexander in about 337. Because of his virtue, his eloquence in teaching, and his zeal for Orthodoxy, the Arians hated and feared him. When the Arian Emperor Constantius, who was in Antioch, learned of Paul's election, he exiled Paul and proclaimed the Arian Eusebius Patriarch. Saint Paul went to Rome, where he found Saint Athanasius the Great also in exile. Provided with letters by Pope Julius, Paul returned to Constantinople, and after the death of Eusebius in 342, ascended again his rightful throne; the Arians meanwhile elected Macedonius, because he rejected the Son's con-substantiality with the Father (and the divinity of the Holy Spirit besides). When Constantius, yet at Antioch, learned of Paul's return, he sent troops to Constantinople to drive Paul out. The Saint returned to Rome, where Saint Athanasius also was again in exile. Constans, Emperor of the West, Constantius' brother, but Orthodox, wrote to Constantius that if Athanasius and Paul were not allowed to return to their sees, he would come with troops to restore them him-self. So Paul again returned to his throne. After the death of Constans, however, Constantius had Paul deposed. Because of the love of the people for Saint Paul, Philip the Prefect, who was sent for him, was compelled to arrest him secretly to avoid a sedition. Paul was banished to Cucusus, on the borders of Cilicia and Armenia; a town through which his most illustrious successor, Saint John Chrysostom would also pass on his way to Comana in his last exile. In Cucusus, about the year 350, as Saint Paul was celebrating the Divine Liturgy in the little house where he was a prisoner, the Arians strangled him with his own omophorion, so much did they fear him even in exile. His holy relics were brought back to Constantinople with honour by the Emperor Theodosius the Great.

Saint George Karslides was born in Argyroupolis, Pontos in 1901. He became an orphan very young, so it was his pious grandmother, who raised the young Athanasios (St. George's baptismal name) to have a "holy fear of God and a fervent love for the Church's divine services". The region of Pontos in Asia Minor has historically been a great seat of Orthodoxy and more recently was also the site of such spiritually important monasteries of Panagia Soumela, Peristereota and St. John Vazelonos. At the age of five Athanasios began tending his family's flocks, all while bearing the harsh treatment of his older brother, who made life difficult for him and for his younger sister Anna. They bore this with love, perseverance and holiness. In fact, when Anna died at a young age, light emanated from her grave. Three years later, when her remains were exhumed, her bones had the same yellow hue as the Saints of God.

Because of the extremely difficult situations he was facing, at the age of seven Athanasios decided to run away, and was sheltered for a while by some crypto-Christians. St. George the Great-martyr was a great protector of Athanasios, and he appeared to him, told him to mount his horse and helped him travel to Tiflis, Georgia, where a pious priest took care of him. The priest was impressed by his spirituality and maturity, and clothed him in a cassock from age nine. In 1919 Athanasios was tonsured a monk with the name Symeon, and during his tonsure the bells of the monastery began to run by themselves. Fr. Symeon still faced many difficulties, however, as his monastery was soon closed by the communists, and the monks were humiliated, imprisoned and threatened with execution.

Once released from prison, he was ordained by Metropolitan John Tsiaparaski of Grouzia Scheta in 1925, and was given the new name, George. He was recognized by many as being a God-bearing elder. Despite his difficult situations, he was constant in his ascetical struggles, eating mostly wild greens, sleeping little and pursuing voluntary poverty (for example, refusing a new cassock to replace his old one, which was falling apart). His service of the sacraments was filled with his love, care and attention.

In 1929, most likely because of his failing health (not quite thirty years old and semi-paralyzed), St. George moved to Greece, and settled in the town of Sipsa near Drama in northern Greece. He gradually recovered with the help of the local inhabitants, who became aware of his holiness and sought his help. In 1936, the Elder went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Lands, where he met his uncle, who was a monk and urged him to return to serve in the world, where there was a great need for spiritual guidance. Later, the Elder was given a plot of land by the Greek government, and in the year 1939 he founded a monastery and dedicated it to the Ascension of Christ was consecrated.

Many of the accounts of the counsels and miracles of St. George come from this later period of his life as the shepherd of the community of Drama. He gad foreseen both World War II and the Greek Civil War. During the civil war, three different groups of fighters went to slaughter the inhabitants of Sipsa, and they each felt intense remorse and apprehension and repented beforehand without harming the villagers. The saint had foreseen this danger and instructed the inhabitants to have a procession around the village with the icon of Panagia. Thus, the village was saved from certain destruction.

There are many other stories of St. George's discernment and spiritual gifts: "On another occasion a woman visited him and before she even managed to greet him he told her, "Your hands are on fire. They are burning, but we don't see the fire. What work do you do?" She told him that she was a midwife. "How many children have you killed?" he then asked. She denied having killed any. "Shall I tell you? Five" He went on to tell her in which villages and of which mothers the children were whom she had aborted. Speechless, the lady wept and through active repentance was reconciled to God."

In early 1959, St. George foresaw his upcoming death. As the day approached, he gave instructions to his spiritual children on his departure. "On the eve of his repose he asked to be helped to go into the monastery church. There, he venerated the icons and partook of the Holy Mysteries one last time. A few hours after midnight on November 4th, 1959, St. George reposed near Lord.

The canonization of Saint George Karslidis was carried out by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in 2008 in Drama and his feast day is on November 4 of each year.

Saint Raphael Hawaweeny was born on November 8, 1860 A.D., in Damascus, Syria, to pious Christian parents. He studied Arabic grammar and mathematics at the Antiochian Patriarchate parochial school where he was tonsured a reader in 1874. His strong academics served him well throughout his life, providing for him numerous opportunities to succeed and grow. He accepted a position in 1877 as an assistant teacher of Arabic and Turkish, which became full time in 1879. In 1879 he was tonsured a monk while working with Patriarch Hierotheos at the patriarchate, traveling with him on pastoral visits and serving as his personal assistant.

Longing to continue his theological studies, Raphael petitioned the Patriarch for permission to study at Halki Theological School, which was the only option for students of the Antiochian Patriarchate as the Balamand Seminary in Lebanon had been closed since 1840. After much persistence, Raphael received the blessing of the Patriarch and enrolled in Halki Seminary where he was ordained a deacon in 1885. After completing his degree at Halki, the young Deacon Raphael studied at the Kiev Theological Academy, working as a liaison between the Moscow and Antiochian patriarchates. Deacon Raphael was ordained to the holy priesthood in 1889 while in Kiev, continuing to serve that community for many years.

The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 led to the subsequent collapse of the silk industry in the Middle East, causing many Syrians and others to immigrate to the United States. These new citizens desired to have their religion present in their new homeland and sent letters to their mother churches for pastoral help. A few priests were sent, but none lasted, and so the people asked for Father Raphael Hawaweeny to come to America and serve. Both the Antiochian and Moscow Patriarchs agreed to this idea, and Father Raphael left for America where the people greeted him with great love. Father Raphael then spent many years serving the Syrians in Brooklyn, New York, but he desired to scan the continent for Syrians and other Orthodox Christians who were without spiritual leadership. He traveled by train and carriage across the nation, finding Orthodox Christians, recording their location, and performing liturgies, baptisms, and weddings. Upon his return to Brooklyn, Father Raphael worked to find clergy to send to these dispersed communities, giving them a full time pastor to minister to their needs.

In 1904, by the hands of Bishops Tikhon and Innocent of the Moscow Patriarchate, he was the first bishop consecrated in the New World. The now Bishop Raphael continued his ministry to the Christians throughout America. Bishop Raphael worked tirelessly in Brooklyn to mediate disputes between the Orthodox Christians from Syria and Maronite Catholic Christians who often fought violently with one another. Despite numerous outbursts and setbacks, Bishop Raphael continued his ministry serving the Orthodox throughout his vast diocese. One such incident was when an influential leader of the Maronite group was killed and many people accused Bishop Raphael of ordering his murder. This led to many people attempting to harm the bishop, but he endured it all willingly. He was arrested under attempted murder charges, but was eventually cleared and let go after much time and money was spent in his defense.

Throughout his time in North America, Bishop Raphael founded 36 parishes to bring the Church to the faithful who were without a priest to guide them. Bishop Raphael truly lived out the Gospel in all aspects of his life, striving tirelessly for the people in his care, even to the point of sacrificing his own physical health in order to maintain the spiritual health of his people. Bishop Raphael died on February 27, 1915, at his home in Brooklyn. His funeral was attended by hundreds of people, including clergy from all ethnic backgrounds, illustrating his love for all of the people of God regardless of where they came from. The sacred relics of Saint Raphael, “the good shepherd of the lost sheep in North America,” were first interred in a crypt beneath the holy table at his Saint Nicholas Cathedral in Brooklyn on March 7, 1915, before being moved to the Syrian section of Mount Olivet Cemetery in Brooklyn on April 2, 1922. They were finally translated to the Holy Resurrection Cemetery at the Antiochian Village near Ligonier, Pennsylvania, on August 15, 1988. His sanctity was officially proclaimed by the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in America on March 29, 2000, and his glorification was celebrated on May 29 of that year at the Monastery of Saint Tikhon in Pennsylvania.