sicilia calabria... mythologia, istoria: May 2020

VATICAN. THE GREEK POPES. (From Calabria, Sicilia, Athens, Efesos, Damascos and Jerusalem).

VATICANO. I PAPI GRECI, dalla Calabria, Sicily, Athens, Efesos, Damascos & Jerusaleme.

Biographical elements

Austrian Academy of Sciencs “OAW”.

INTRODUCTION

The founder of Christianity is Jesus Christ himself, and the Apostle Paul is the one who spread His teachings and laid the first foundations for the establishment of the Church. The Church of Christianity was founded by the Greeks. From the Greek spirit, the Greek language, and Greek Neoplatonic philosophy. We should point out that the Hebrews were never Monotheists, but rather Enotheists (ENA in greek=ONE = ENOTHEISM= ONE GOD. Not the MONO= ONLY=MONOTHEISM).

This means they believed that many gods existed, but their own ONE—the Hebrew god—was the most powerful, and they made a covenant only with him. Monotheism is a deep philosophical quest that did not exist among the Hebrews; it was instead devised by the Pre-Socratic philosopher (6^th century bC) Xenophanes of Colophon (Asia Minor), who lived a large part of his life and taught in Elea (Velia) and Catania in Magna Graecia (South Italia )

Theology states this was by the command of Christ, who chose the Greeks! Indeed, when Christ saw the Greeks coming to hear him, he exclaimed the famous: "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified!" (Gospel, John 12:23).

The sacred books of Christianity are 27. They were all written in the Koine Greek language. Later, they were translated into Latin.

The Christian churches were divided into five ancient Patriarchates (the Pentarchy):

1) Rome, which was the capital of the Roman State.

2) Constantinople, which became the new capital of the Roman State.

3) Alexandria, where Christianity was scientifically grounded and separated from the Judeo-Christianity of the first centuries.

4) Jerusalem.

5) Antioch.

The Church of Rome (Vatican) was deeply influenced by and in harmonic operation with the Greek spirit of Christianity. As Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger) mentioned in his 2005 inaugural speech, “without the Greek spirit, the existence of Christianity would not have been possible”!.

The ideology of the Greco-Roman world at that time was: "There is one King-Emperor of the Oikoumene (world) and one representative of God who crowns and grants divine authority to the Emperor." Thus, the Patriarch of Constantinople became the "first in order" because he was the one who crowned the Roman Emperor. (The term "Byzantium" was applied retrospectively by the German historian Hieronymus Wolf in 1557 in his work Historiae Byzantinae).

The Germans and The Vatican

In the 9th century, we observe the rise and peak of the Germanic tribes. Many of them had settled in Northern Italy (Cisalpine Gaul) and mixed with the Latinized Celts of the region.

With Charlemagne being crowned (by threatening the Pope with violence, of course) by the Pope of Rome as "Emperor of the Roman State"—But which Roman State?

The Roman State already existed with its capital in Constantinople! Immediately, the first usurpation of Roman authority was created. The Vatican fell entirely into the hands of the Germans and moved away from the influence of the Greco-Roman spirit.

This marked the beginning of the great ideological-political-religious conflict in Europe—the largest to date—between Hellenism and the Germans. Although the Protestant Reformation followed later, that conflict (Catholic vs. Protestant) was between Germans—a people with "Impetus but superficial education," as the leading German thinker Friedrich Nietzsche characterized them.

The Great Schism between the four ancient Patriarchates and the Pope of Rome occurred in 1054. In 1059, the Norman conqueror of Magna Graecia, Robert Guiscard, made the famous Concordat of 1059 with Pope Nicholas II. Guiscard handed Magna Graecia over to the religious jurisdiction of the Vatican, and in return, the Vatican recognized the Normans as the sovereign owner-kings of Magna Graecia.

In 1070, the Vatican installed Catholic bishops for the first time in history, Franks, Germans, and Anglo-Saxons. The goal and result were the violent Latinization of the Greeks of Magna Graecia. The Crusades of the Vatican and its Frankish-German vassals against Byzantium exhausted it and delivered it, impoverished, into the hands of the Turks.

Thus, the people who founded the Christian faith in Italy and the throne of the Vatican itself found themselves hunted, tortured, and persecuted by the Inquisition of the Pope and his German vassals. (Read: SOUTH ITALY, MEZZOGIORNO: The Violent Latinization/Catholicization of Sicily, Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, and Campania).

Link in the sources below.

After the Schism, there were no more Sicilian or Calabrian Popes. Although they were Latinized—massively and completely during the 13th–16th centuries—the mere suspicion that they were Sicilians of Greek descent was a deterrent to making them Popes. Magna Graecia, the soul of Greece for 3,000 years, ceased to speak Greek and be Orthodox between the 13th and 16th centuries. Thus, the Sicilians, Calabrians, Apulians, etc., are today the Latinized Greeks of Magna Graecia who once bore names like Demetrios, Dionysios, Sibylla Calliope, Phebos and Orpheus, but today carry Germanic names like Bruno, Manfredi, Alfonso, Roberta, Francesca and Guillermo…

All the Popes from Southern Italy are of Greek ethnicity, as shown by their biographical data! In fact, Greeks are the second-largest ethnicity of Popes after Italians, followed by the French.

Β:

THE GREEK POPES

Nine (9) of them are Saints of the One, Holy, Apostolic, Catholic Church ("Catholic" is not the same as Roman Catholic, as is commonly believed by the general public and those unfamiliar with the subject). There are 22 popes + 4 antipopes (26 total) Greek originating from Calabria, Sicily, Rome, Athens, Ephesus, Antioch, and Jerusalem.

1. Anacletus (Ανάκλητος). Saint Pope Anacletus (also known as Cletus or Anencletus) was one of the first bishops of Rome (the 3rd in succession). He was likely Athenian and served in the late 1st century (approx. 77–88 or 78–91 AD). He is recognized as a saint by the United Church (feast day April 26) and later the Romancatholic Church change it, in July 13.

· Origin: He was Athenian, the son of a philosopher mathematician named Antiochos.

2. Hyginus (Υγίνος, 138–142 AD): According to the Liber Pontificalis, Hyginus was a Greek born in Athens. The source further states he was previously a philosopher.

3. Pope Telesphorus (Τελέσφορος): Greek from Thurio, Calabria. Elected in 125 AD, died a martyr in 136 AD. He is the 9th Pope after St. Peter.

4. Eleutherius (Eλευθέριος): According to the Liber Pontificalis, he was of Greek origin, born in Nicopolis, Epirus.

5. Saint Anterus ( Αντέρως): Greek from Petilia, Calabria. Elected Nov 21, 235 AD, died Jan 3, 236 AD. He is the 20th Pope after St. Peter.

6. Pope Stephen I Στέφανος (254–257 AD): From Roma , of Greek descent, according to the Liber Pontificalis, origin somewhere from Magna Grecia.

7. Sixtus II (Σίξτος, 257–258 AD): Considered an Athenian. However, some modern historians suggest he may have been from Magna Graecia, likely Calabria.

According to the Liber Pontificalis, he was born on balkan Greek soil and is even considered to have been an Athenian. However, this fact is uncertain and is disputed by modern historians, who believe that the author of the Liber Pontificalis confuses the Pope with a Greek Neopythagorean contemporary named Xystus. They suggest that he actually originated from the Apennine Greek soil, Magna Graecia, most likely Calabria.

8. Saint Dionysius (Διονύσιος) from Thurio (259–268 AD)

· Origin: Thurio, Terranova di Sibari (CS). Details: Elected on July 22, 259; died on December 26, 268. He is the 26th Pope after St. Peter.

9. Saint Eusebius (Eυσέβιος) (310–311 AD)

· Origin: Casegghiano, a titular city near the castle of San Giorgio Morgeto (RC).

· Details: Elected on April 18, 310; died a martyr on August 17, 311. Emperor Maxentius decreed his exile, and he died martyred in Sicily. He is the 32nd Pope after St. Peter.

10. Saint Zosimus (Zώσιμος) (417–418 AD)

· Origin: Reatio (Mesurgo), modern-day Mesoraca (Mεσοράχη) (CZ).

· Details: Elected on March 18, 417; died on December 26, 418. He is the 42nd Pope after St. Peter.

11. Pope Boniface III (Βονιφάτιος), (607 AD)

· Origin: Magna Graecia.

· Details: His papacy was very brief (Feb 19 – Nov 12, 607) but significant for the Roman Church. He was of Greek descent, the son of John Kataadoke (the Cappadocian), born in Magna Graecia.

12. Pope John IV (Ιωάννης, 640–642 AD)

· Born: Dalmatia (specifically Salona/Solin, modrn Croatia).

· Details: While born in Dalmatia, his family originated from Epirus (Western Greece).

13. Pope Theodore Ι (Θεόδωρος Α’) or Saint Theodore the Greek (642–649 AD)

· Origin: Jerusalem. · Details: According to the Liber Pontificalis, Theodore was of Greek origin. He was born in Jerusalem, where his father served as the city's bishop. His reign was dominated by his opposition to Monothelitism.

14. Saint Agatho (Agathon- Αγάθων) (678–681 AD)

· Origin: Palermo, Sicily. Details: Born around 577 AD to a wealthy Greek family. Before becoming Pope, he was a monk at the Greek Monastery of St. Hermes in Palermo. Tradition holds that he was 100 years old when elected!

· Depiction: No contemporary photographs exist. His earliest depiction is in the Menologion of Basil II (a Byzantine manuscript from 1000 AD), showing him in classic Byzantine vestments.

· Note: The Monastery of San Giovanni degli Eremiti in Palermo is considered the place where he lived as a monk.

15. Pope Saint Leo II- Λέων (682–683 AD)

· Origin: Messina or Catania, Sicily. Details: The son of a Greek man named Paul. He was renowned for his beautiful singing voice and his fluency in translating directly from Greek to Latin.

16. Pope Conon, Κόνων (686–687 AD)

· Origin: Thrace or Sicily. Details: His father was a Byzantine army officer in Thrace, but Conon was born and educated in Sicily. For this reason, he is considered Sicilian. He was nicknamed "The Handsome" due to his noble and imposing appearance.

17. Pope Saint Sergius I Σέργιος Α’ , (687–701 AD)

· Origin: Palermo, Sicily. Details: His family were Greeks from Antiochia, Syria. They were merchants who settled in Palermo to escape Arab raids. He was raised and educated in Sicily before moving to Rome.

18. Pope John VI - Ιωάννης ΣΤ’ (701–705 AD)

· Origin: Ephesus, Asia Minor.

19. Saint Leo (Leon) II (Λέων Β΄) from Reggio Calabria (682–683 AD)

· Origin: Reggio Calabria . Details: While Sicilian Greeks claim him (Messina), the people of Calabria identify him as a native of Reggio. It is certain he was a monk at the Monastery of Bagnara. He was later made a Cardinal by his fellow countryman, Pope Agathon.

20. John VII (Iωάννης Ζ’ ) (705–707 AD)

· Origin: Rossano, Calabria (CS). Details: Elected on March 1, 705; died on October 17, 707. He is the 87th Pope after St. Peter.

21. Saint Zachary (Zαχαρίας) (741–752 AD)

· Origin: Siberene (modern-day Santa Severina), Calabria (CZ). Details: Elected on December 10, 741; died on March 22, 752. He is the 92nd Pope after St. Peter.

22. Stephen III (Στέφανος Γ’) (768–772 AD)

· Origin: Reggio Calabria. Details: According to tradition, he was born in S. Stefano d’Aspromonte, RC. Elected on August 7, 768; died on January 24, 772. He is the 96th Pope after St. Peter.

ANTIPOPES

John XVI (Ioannes Philagathos- Φιλάγαθος )

· Origin: Born in Rossano Calabria on June 19, 921.

· Details: He was an antipope from 997 to 998. He was elected in opposition to Pope Gregory V (cousin of Emperor Otto III). Philagathos suffered horrific torture and mutilation at the hands of Otto’s soldiers and was condemned as a traitor by a council. He died in prison after months of intense suffering.

Alexander V (Petros Philargos- Πέτρος Φίλαργος/ Peter of Candia)

· Origin: Born in Crete (Candia) circa 1339. Details: He was a leader of the Catholic Church during the Western Schism, claiming the throne from 1409 until his death in 1410. Although elected to end the schism, his election resulted in three simultaneous claimants to the papacy. Though properly elected by his faction, he is today classified as an "antipope" by the Roman Catholic Church.

Innocent VIII (Giovanni Battista Cybos- Cyvos) Ιωάννης Μπατίστα Κύβος.

· Origin: Republic of Genoa. Details: His father belonged to the Cybo (Kyvos) family, which was of Greek origin. His father served as Viceroy of Naples and a member of the Roman Senate.

Julius II (Giuliano della Rovere - Ιούλιος) (1503–1513 AD)

· Origin: Albisola Superiore, Genoa. Details: Known as the "Warrior Pope," he was the son of Raffaello della Rovere and a Greek woman, Theodora Manarola.

CONCLUSION

It is no exaggeration to state that the Greeks contributed substantially to the establishment of Christianity in Italy and Europe through the Vatican. Its expansion there is literally owed to Magna Graecia.

This region of magna Grecia spoke Greek continuously from the first Mycenaean colonization (approx. 1300–1100 BC until 13-15 centuury) and was the first to embrace Christianity. As the sacred books were written in Greek, the teachings were familiar and accessible to them.

SOURCES

· Austrian Academy of Sciences (Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften)

· Liber Pontificalis

· Historiae Byzantinae (Hieronymus Wolf, 1557)

· Biographical archives of the Holy See (Sancta Sedes)

sicilia calabria... mythologia, istoria

VATICAN. THE GREEK-ITALIAN POPES - MEDIEVAL MEZZOGIORNO - MEZZOGIORNO MEDIEVALE -- SICILIA, CALABRIA, APULIA, BASILICATA CAMPANIA (MEDIEVAL MAGNA GRAECIA)

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SOUTH ITALY, MEZZOGIORNO. The Violent Latinization/Catholicization of Sicily, Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata and Campania).

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