Orthodixie

The “Prophecy of St Nilus,” thanks to the Internet, has had quite a shelf life. And, like Chick tracts on toilet backs, I’ve even found stacks of xeroxed copies of the St Nilus Prophecy, in death-to-the-world “zine” form, lying around on tables at Orthodox church conferences. Alas, if memory serves me, I believe I even printed it in a parish newsletter once. Oops?

I was recently reminded of the Prophecy when poking around on the Canadian Classical Anglican site (an otherwise excellent forum). It was strange to see St Nilus Prophecy sandwiched between traditional Anglican polemics. Then again, if I were an orthodox Anglican these days I’d be waxing apocalyptic too.

Here’s the text of the Prophecy; commentary to follow:

The Prophecy of Saint Nilus

The Plight of the World and the Church during the 20th Century

By SAINT NILUS (d. circa AD 430)

After the year 1900, toward the middle of the 20th century, the people of that time will become unrecognizable. When the time for the Advent of the Antichrist approaches, people’s minds will grow cloudy from carnal passions, and dishonor and lawlessness will grow stronger. Then the world will become unrecognizable.

People’s appearances will change, and it will be impossible to distinguish men from women due to their shamelessness in dress and style of hair. These people will be cruel and will be like wild animals because of the temptations of the Antichrist. There will be no respect for parents and elders, love will disappear, and Christian pastors, bishops, and priests will become vain men, completely failing to distinguish the right-hand way from the left.

At that time the morals and traditions of Christians and of the Church will change. People will abandon modesty, and dissipation will reign. Falsehood and greed will attain great proportions, and woe to those who pile up treasures. Lust, adultery, homosexuality, secret deeds and murder will rule in society.

At that future time, due to the power of such great crimes and licentiousness, people will be deprived of the grace of the Holy Spirit, which they received in Holy Baptism and equally of remorse. The Churches of God will be deprived of God-fearing and pious pastors, and woe to the Christians remaining in the world at that time; they will completely lose their faith because they will lack the opportunity of seeing the light of knowledge from anyone at all. Then they will separate themselves out of the world in holy refuges in search of lightening their spiritual sufferings, but everywhere they will meet obstacles and constraints.

And all this will result from the fact that the Antichrist wants to be Lord over everything and become the ruler of the whole universe, and he will produce miracles and fantastic signs. He will also give depraved wisdom to an unhappy man so that he will discover a way by which one man can carry on a conversation with another from one end of the earth to the other.

At that time men will also fly through the air like birds and descend to the bottom of the sea like fish. And when they have achieved all this, these unhappy people will spend their lives in comfort without knowing, poor souls, that it is deceit of the Antichrist.

And, the impious one! — he will so complete science with vanity that it will go off the right path and lead people to lose faith in the existence of God in three hypostases. Then the All-good God will see the downfall of the human race and will shorten the days for the sake of those few who are being saved, because the enemy wants to lead even the chosen into temptation, if that is possible… then the sword of chastisement will suddenly appear and kill the perverter and his servants.

Obviously, the text is spot on concerning our own times. But, speaking of time, the above text has been altered for in some earlier versions it read “toward the middle of the 19th century“. Since what began in 1900, was the 20th century, not the 19th century, it was necessary to change the text. You may be able to google “St Nilus” and find earlier versions still littering the Net. Secondly, the century began in 1901, not 1900.

Quoting Fr Dimitri Cozby from the Indiana List:

In the second place, the practice in the 4th century was to date from the Creation, from the founding of Rome, from the accession of the current emperor, or from the Era of Diocletian and according to the Indiction. The practice of dating from the birth of Christ was introduced by Dionysius Exiguus (“the Short”), a Roman monk, in the 6th century. It did not enter into general use in the West for a couple of centuries. Orthodox countries did not generally date things from the Nativity until after the Fall of Constantinople. The practice did not become official in Russia until Peter the Great.

Thus, IF the writing is by St Nilus (a big IF), then he certainly was not referring to the century just past. Or, IF the writing is by St Nilus, whoever did the translation has monkeyed with the text.

OCA Bishop Tikhon, on the same List enters the fray:

After all, this is by no means the first time the “Prophecy” of Pseudo-Nilus (that appellation is used to distinguish the creator(s) of the “Prophecy” from St. Nilus himself) has been discussed on this panel or elsewhere in the Church. I remember in the days before anyone thought of an Internet how a very conservative Republican Priest and friend of mine used to brandish that prophecy about in order to show that Hippies were evil and predicted by a Saint (long hair, don’t you know) but, most serious of all, a clear sign of the end times. How many times was the 20th century held up as being clearly depicted in not only such dubious “Prophecies” but even in the Apocalypse of St. John!! Now, here we are in the 21st century…

Another problem is, there being more than one “St Nilus,” who wrote it? The above text purports to have been authored by St Nilus of the 4th-5th century. You can read about him on, of all places, the Opus Dei site:

But others claim that the Prophecy was written by St Nilus the Myrrhstreamer of Mt Athos in the year 1651.

There’s even a site claiming the Prophecy comes from the 14th century.

The Prophecy has been discussed on various boards, here’s an example:

It’s also, as they pointed out, a fake prophecy.

When you get a “prophet” who writes only one prophecy and it concerns YOUR century, it’s time to haul out the “skeptic-o-meter.” When you get a prophecy that’s a rip-off of another faked prophecy (Mother Shipton), it’s time to get out your “skeptic-o-meter”.

When you get a saint who howls warnings about the 20th century and very conveniently forgets the Middle Ages when the rule of the robber barons was widespread and sex and licentousness (in the church as well as in the secular world) was widespread, when men openly kept mistresses, when there were two classes (the rich and the slaves), when men sinned as they liked and bought penance on Sunday… when a prophet has no problems with behaviors like those and rails against the 20th century (where such practices are frowned on), then you can bet your booties that you’ve got a Faked Prophecy.

Either that — or you’ve got a prophet of a diety who wants to see the humans dragged back to the time when there were only the rich and the serfs (so you who are not rich better start looking for a wealthy person to sell yourself to as a slave); a deity who will excuse a wealthy man who contributes to the deity’s temples; a deity who condones land-grabbing and killing off villages and towns in the name of religion. A deity who condemns abortion but approves of babies and children and old people being thrown out on the hillsides to be starved to death and eaten by the wild beasts (yep. common practice then.)

A prophet of a deity who condones all the above… and gets bent out of shape when women cut their hair and wear trousers.

Golly. That’s quite a set of ethics.

A little research will show that this “prophecy” didn’t exist before 1950.

And finally, according to that “prophecy” the Antichrist should already be here… and about 70 years old. Getting kinda late for him to make a move, eh?

Poking around on Google, I even found someone on an e-board who incorporated St Nilus prophecy into the mysteries of the Tsunami tragedy!

It’s obvious, thanks to Google, that Roman Catholics of the Marian Visions stripe love them some St Nilus. But, other RCs doubt it no matter what:

Then why would Inside the Vatican, along with a traditionalist website print it?

It would be better to ask them that. But I’ve seen this in several trad and neo-Cat places. No one ever provides where the source document is, though.

You don’t have to be a lit crit to realize that no fifth-century author would ever say “After the year 1900, toward the middle of the 20th century.” They just wouldn’t.

So even if there is some sort of sermon castigating sinners, or even Nilus’ actual prophecy, you know the text has been tampered with, at the very least.

But to me the whole thing sounds contrived. When I first saw it, I tried to search out a source, any shred of a textual source, behind it, and came up empty-handed. Everyone just repeated the whole thing verbatim. Some said it was approved by Pope So-and-so, but that thread led nowhere.

It also started circulating fairly recently (late-80s or mid-90s, I think), and does not appear in, say, Catholic end-time books from the ’50s.

I’m even a bit suspicious of the use of the name “Nilus.” It sounds to me like whoever invented it was making an “inside joke” about the Protocols of the Elders of Sion, published by Sergei Nilus in 1905.

Even Lutherans are captivated by the little Prophecy of St Nilus.

Folks, it just goes on and on … here’s the ROCA positing an e-worry from someone in 1986.

If you wanna get really spooky, there’s even a site that incorporates the Prophecy into Fatima and other visions.

All of this is to say … what?

First of all, I think there’s a segment of folks that really major in this kind of Spooky-Doxy. I must confess it gives me the willies. Makes me, an Orthodox priest, wonder: What would Jesus do?

Secondly, the Prophecy is popular, no doubt, because it seems factual, real. Right? I mean it contains elements of foresight — even if it’s hindsight — that ring true to modern ears.

But, to my mind, it portrays God as just sitting there waiting till we invent the proper number of gizmos and wear the wrong hair styles and clothes … and then WHAMO! Spanking time!

Gosh.

I best go make my bed and clean my room. No time to waste.

Better still, I think I’ll say my prayers … to the Good God who lovest mankind. Cuz, you know, that’s often harder to believe than fiction. But at least we know it is true.

And, just in case there’s any Anglicans reading this: Beloved! It shouldn’t take a dubious prophecy to help you in your plight! As an old friend and seminary mate stated as he was leaving ECUSA … “What constitutes proper health care changes entirely when the hospital is on fire.”

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. [Phil.4:8]

It was COLD. Though I remember one year when it was only 9 degrees, the relentless wind and approaching precipitation made it bitter this morning, for sure. From Midnight till 1:00 AM, we stood in front of the abortion place: 6 adults and 2 children (with one, the youngest, asleep in the van).

We prayed the Office for the Victims of Abortion and the Akathist to Saint Nicholas, patron of children. In the past, our parish had volunteered for the 5-6 AM slot. Due to my secular job, that was not possible this year.

When we arrived there was a group of folks just ending their stint in front of the killing place. They were loud, laughing, socializing. It seemed odd to hear such chatter out front of such a horrid place. The noise was a source of temptation for me. The Enemy. He never lets you alone, ya know?

They eventually left after we were about 10 minutes into our service. I couldn’t help but imagine that the woman who kept laughing loudly, tempting, was probably a much more faithful Pro-lifer than I. And here I come, for my once a year prayer at the abortuary, and mentally demand quiet. Lord have mercy!

Frigid and facing a bitter wind, we persevered and, eventually, sounded pretty good singing together. We usually hold beeswax candles. No hope, that, this year. The choir sang by flashlight.

The building we faced, FemCare, is a sterile looking place, fenced in, camera ever vigilant. It’s hard to imagine the agony enveloped therein: the emplyoees’ hardness of heart, the horror of the procedure, and the eternal scars borne by the girls and women who exit. Peculiar, ain’t it, how incarnate evil can, on the outside, look so benign and boring.

The slowly cruising police car was a silent reminder that we were being watched. The second time they passed by was timeless … slowly. It seemed to take forever. Probably due to nerves, I sang louder. God bless ’em. They’re just doing their job. Protecting an abortion mill.

Before leaving, we all greeted the organizer of the annual vigil, Mick Hunt of Life Advocates. Mick’s a serious and pious man. I’ve always felt a spirit of serenity in his presence. I wish I were more like him. I selfishly wish he were Orthodox. My conscience convicts me that I should help him, the movement, more. I’ve attended the annual March for Life in DC a half dozen times. I’ve prayed out front of local abortion mills a dozen times. And in between, what? Yeah, I feel a spirit of serenity … and guilt.

Knowing that Mick was hoping to fill the early morning with prayer volunteers, I asked if all the slots were filled. He said, “Yep, we only have one opening … now … till 6 am.” God bless him. He and his family will be there through the night, tending the sidewalk milkjug candles and struggling to stay warm, awake.

Seeing my disappointment that others had not come forth to pass the wee hours, he said, “But it’s all right. I believe it’s important to be here. We’re here for the children. I mean those are our children that are being killed in there … And if we really believed that, that those were our children, wouldn’t we be here for them? At least praying? So, I’m glad we’re here.”

I am too, Mick.

I am, too.

This is a question often asked of Orthodox by those outside the Church. “What Bible do y’all use?” I’m sure there’s a better answer, but I usually start by informing them that in many parts of the Orthodox world they use the Greek version; however in Russia they use the Slavonic translation of the Greek scriptures. “No, I mean, what VERSION do you use?”

See the delimma? For the majority of American Christians, particularly here in the South, what VERSION you use helps to define what you believe. It’s a label folks can understand.

[For Southerners it’s a big deal. Here in Asheville we even have an AM Christian radio station whose call letters are: WKJV (The King’s Radio). And, no, they’re not referring to King James.]

Yet there’s a big contemporary Bible translation squabble now playing out in Prot circles. It seems that Zondervan, the nation’s largest publisher of Bibles, has gone and done what they swore off doing a while back. They’ve produced a new hip inclusive language translation, Today’s New International Version (TNIV), in order, so they say, to reach the youth.

They even wanted to market the new translation in Rolling Stone magazine. Have you SEEN recent issues of Rolling Stone? This is a magazine that praises every vice known to be condemned in older translations of the Bible. I mean, really.

Well, anyway, Rolling Stone has standards, too, you know … and they rejected the advertisement.

In a way, good for them. The NIV — much moreso I guess, the TNIV — is not a TRANSLATION of the Scriptures at all — but a Protestant gloss of the sacred text. All right-believing Christians should avoid it, new version or not. But, of course, that’s not why the magazine rejected it. An exec for the parent company said:

The copy is a little more than an ad for the Bible. It’s a religious message that I personally don’t disagree with,” Brownridge said, citing “a spiritual message in the text.” But, he said, “we are not in the business of publishing advertising for religious messages.

Again, please avoid the translation. But the logic in the above quote is misleading. I guarantee you that you will find Rastafarian messages in Rolling Stone. I promise you that you will, from time to time, find images of Stone Henge. What do you think? Satanist symbols as well? Duh. Please.

But again, AVOID the new translation.

I would guess that the news story of the rejection is a cheaper form of advertising than the one million they’d planned to spend. Believe me, surf the Net, the publicity is in full (free) swing. There’s even a site you can visit to add your name to a petition against the new translation. I wish they had a petition to boycott the old one!

As World’s blog states, we live in curious times. I mean, there’s a teenage girl version of the Bible called “Revolve” — and a teen guy issue entitled “Refuel.” Hats off to Dave Barry, I am not making this up. Oops! I did forget to mention that these are much hipper than your Daddy’s ol’ Good Book … these are Bible ZINES.

Managing editor of Sightings, Jeremy Biles, writes:

What are we to make of an ostensibly religious artifact that so blatantly mixes the sacred with the secular? Focusing on American religious life, Colleen McDannell, author of Material Christianity, points out that while today’s vigorous Christian retailing campaigns have reached new heights in merchandising religious paraphernalia, this kind of thing is really nothing new. “American religious life” has always exhibited a thoroughly “material dimension”; the sacred has never been rigorously ‘set apart’ from the profane. Indeed, refuting Durkheim’s claim that “the religious life and the profane life cannot exist in the same place,” McDannell insists that religious devotional practices are largely characterized by the “scrambling” of the sacred and the profane. Religion and popular culture are not separate realms; they are thoroughly enmeshed in American life.

I hope the nice folks at Touchstone will forgive my stealing this quote from the wonderful Anthony Esolen:

If American culture prizes sports, then it is a worthy enterprise for the Christian missionary to show that the spirit of sport, the willingness to embrace danger, the sacrifice of oneself for one’s team, is but a shadow of the spirit of adventurous brotherhood that breathes in the army of Christ. It is not a worthy enterprise to reduce Christianity to the blaring brainless marketing of narcissistic and overpaid giants, or to whip up the Exodus Bowl, or produce a sitcom called My Twelve Sons, or to draw cartoon versions of Bible stories that are so oozingly saccharine that they would make any redblooded American boy want to smash the screen with a hatchet, or maybe a couple of slingshot pebbles from the Kidron brook.

Second, she does not understand that we have NO popular culture. What she is talking about is mass entertainment, and that is a caustic solvent that eats away the last traces of culture. We have no culture to speak of, because we inculcate nothing; we till no fields; we do not gather in celebratory worship of anyone or anything; we can hardly remember our own dead, let alone heed their wisdom. For Christian publishers, musicians, and artists to hawk their wares as part of that ectoplasm, that all-homogenizing and all-flattening blob, is not only to sell out Christianity but to squander what small chance we have of reviving something like a culture, popular or otherwise.

What’s next, centerfolds of Bathsheba?

(Ain’t that great? Sort of like throwing rocks with commas; sane sentiments, nonetheless.)

So if you’re indeed wondering what translation the Orthodox use … I’d say stick with the KJV or the RSV. Soon, we hear, there’ll be a full version of the Orthodox Study Bible, Old & New Testaments (NKJV). The Oxford Study Bible – RSV with Apocrypha is a good find.

Better still, if able, stick with the Greek.

The Orthodox, Roman Catholics, and Protestants do disagree on the number of books in the Old Testament Canon, however. But that’s a topic for a different day.

NEWS FLASH! NEWS FLASH! $9.99 $9.99 $9.99 NEWS FLASH! NEWS FLASH!

Good heavens! I wouln’t normally pass on such gossip, but this is obviously an upcoming issue — at least a book. Heck, I didn’t know that this is the reason the homosexual lobby within the GOP was called the Log Cabin Rebublicans. I guess, thank God, I don’t get out much.

Here’s a review from Amazon:

“Hiding Lincoln’s sex life has been an American tradition, but sexuality should never be an embarrassing secret. Dr. Tripp, who learned his research methods from Alfred Kinsey, has brought together amazing data about Lincoln, never before assembled. Finally, the secret can be revealed.”

— George Weinberg, clinical psychologist and author of The Heart of Psychotherapy: A Journey into the Mind and Office of a Therapist at Work

Yes, well, if you read the article in the Weekly Standard, Dr Tripp may have accumulated more than just data (aka facts) about his subject.

God save us!

Think of the standard theological debates in Western Christianity: Is conversion a matter of divine grace or human free will? Are theological disputes to be arbitrated by appeals to the Bible or to church tradition? Do the church’s authority and unity cohere in the pope, in a set of bishops, or in assemblies of the faithful?

These sorts of questions expose a traditional line of demarcation from which Catholics and Protestants generally break in opposite directions. Yet in none of these cases do Eastern Orthodox Christians feel obliged to choose sides. That’s a key reason why theologians in the West have recently been looking to Orthodox theology for help in getting beyond their theological impasses.

From an article, “Looking East: The impact of Orthodox theology,” by Jason Byassee. Read it H E R E.

THX: Brad