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Philoumenos (Hasapis) of Jacob's Well

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[[Image:Neomartyr PhiloumenosAgios-ieromartys-filoumenos-parekklision-panagoias-pantanassis-porto-lagos.jpg|right|thumb|260px|New Martyr Archimandrite Philoumenos (+1979†1979), keeper of the Greek Orthodox monastery of [[Jacob's Well]] in Samaria (Nablus, West Bank).]] [[New Martyrs|New martyr]] Archimandrite '''Philoumenos (Hasapis)'''<ref group="note">Of Father Philoumenos' surname, his spiritual son Monk Yeghia Yenovkian writes that he was ''"[http://www.roca.org/OA/94/94k.htm Born to the pious Cypriot family of Hasapis]."''. In a [http://www.scribd.com/doc/9195929/- Greek source], published in August 2004 which deals with modern saints of the Orthodox Church, Fr. Philoumenos is referred to in a brief biographical entry as ''"Orountiotis"'' however; this latter term in the Greek refers to his place his origin (i.e. "of the village of [[w:Orounta|Orounta]]") and not to his surname.</ref> (Greek: Π. ''' ''Φιλουμενος ο Κυπριος'' ''', also Π. ''' ''Φιλουμενος Ορουντιωτης'' '''), [[October 15]], 1913 - [[November 16]], 1979, was the [[Igumen]] of the [[Greek Orthodox]] [[Monasticism|monastery]] of [[Jacob's Well]] near the city of Samaria, now called Nablus (Neapolis), in the West Bank.
In a Synodal decision the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem classified him in its [[Hagiography|Hagiologion]] at its 50th Session on September 11, 2009.<ref>Jerusalem Patriarchate - News Gate.''[http://www.jp-newsgate.net/en/2009/11/29/656/ CLASSIFICATION TO THE HAGIOLOGION OF THE MARTYR FILOUMENOS, SUPERIOR OF JACOB’S WELL].'' 29/11/2009.</ref> He was officially glorified by the the [[Church of Jerusalem|Patriarchate of Jerusalem]] on [[November 29]], 2009 (''Old Style''), and is commemorated by the Church on [[November 1629]].<ref name=SYNAX>Great Synaxaristes {{el icon}}: ''[http://synaxarion.gr/gr/sid/1318/sxsaintinfo.aspx Ὁ Ἅγιος Φιλούμενος ὁ νέος Ἱερομάρτυρας].'' 29Νοεμβρίου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.</ref><ref group="note">.Father Philoumenos' was martyred on his [[Name day]], November 29th ''(Old Style),'' which is also the feast of the 3rd century [[martyrs]] [http://oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?SID=4&ID=1&FSID=103442 Paramon ] and [http://oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?SID=4&ID=1&FSID=103444 Philoumen ] (ca. AD 270).</ref> His Beatitude Patriarch [[Theophilus III (Giannopoulos) of Jerusalem|Theophilus III]] presided at the [[Divine Liturgy]], along with the bishops of the Patriarchal see of Jerusalem and a number of bishops from the [[Church of Cyprus]], in addition to a delegation from the [[Church of Russia|Russian Church]].
The life of Father Philoumenos is an example that [[Martyr|martyrdom]] for [[Jesus Christ|Christ]] is not of the past from the Roman Empire or Communist times, but is a reality even in our own day.<ref name="ACROD">Very Rev. Fr. Edward Pehanich. ''[http://www.acrod.org/assets/files/PDFS/Messenger/CM%20-%201-08_Web.pdf Father Philoumenos of Jacobs Well 1913-1979].'' In: '''The Church Messenger''', American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of the U.S.A. Volume LXIV, Number 1, January 27, 2008. Page 7.</ref>
==Life==
[[Image:Hieromartyr of Jacob's Well Philoumenos.gif|right|thumb|Hieromartyr Saint Philoumenos of [[Jacob's Well]].]]
Saint Philoumenos came from the village of [[w:Orounta|Orounta]] in the province of [[w:Morphou|Morphou]], [[Church of Cyprus|Cyprus]]. The neomartyr was born in 1913 to George and Magdalene Hasapis, along with his twin brother Archimandrite Elpidios. Even though his parents came from the village of Orounta, they lived at the [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Agios_Savvas_Church,_Nicosia.jpg parish of St. Savvas in Nicosia], since his father had his own inn and bakery there.<ref name="NOCTOC">''[http://noctoc-noctoc.blogspot.com/2008/11/1979-cypriot-saint-philoumenos-who-was.html NOCTOC: Ο Κύπριος Άγιος Φιλούμενος που κατακρεούργησαν οι σιωνιστές Εβραίοι το 1979-The Cypriot Saint Philoumenos who was massacred by Zionist Jews in 1979].'' Saturday, November 29, 2008.</ref>
===In the Holy Land===
[[Image:29 nov philoumenos of jacobs wellNeomartyr Philoumenos.jpg|right|thumb|St. PhiloumenusNew Martyr Archimandrite Philoumenos (+1979), Newmartyr keeper of the Greek Orthodox monastery of [[Jacob's wellWell]] in Samaria (Nablus, November 16/29West Bank).]]Afterwards, they both left for Jerusalem, where they attended High School. Upon finishing High School in 1939, Father Elpidios served as a priest in different places, eventually leaving for [[Mount Athos]],<ref group="note">Archimandrite Elpidios died on November 29, 1983.</ref>, while Father Philoumenos joined the monastic [[w:Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre|Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher]] in Jerusalem.<ref name="ACROD"/>
His spiritual son, the Monk Yeghia<ref group="note">Rev. Fr. Hiero[[schemamonk]] Elia (Yenovkian) ([[Holy Synod of Milan|Synod of Milan]]), [[Igumen]] of [http://burningbushmonastery.org/ Paradise Palestinian Hermitage], Ellisville, Mississippi.</ref> wrote these reminiscences of his father in Christ:
In 1979 Saint Philoumenos was appointed guardian of the Monastery of Saint [[Jacob's Well]].<ref name="NOCTOC"/>
===Martyrdom=Death== [[Image:Hieromartyr of Jacob's Well Philoumenos.jpggif|right|thumb|]]The crowning moment of Father Philoumenos’ earthly [[pilgrimage]] came St. Philoumenos was murdered on [[29 November 16]]/291979. His assailant, Asher Raby (spelled "Rabi" in some newspaper accounts), a mentally ill 37-year-old resident of Tel Aviv, had intruded the monastery, threw a hand grenade inside, 1979 at which caused substantial damage. Philoumenos is said by investigators to have been fleeing the explosion and fire caused by the grenade when he was pursued by Raby and hit multiple times with an axe. Investigators stated that Philoumenos appeared to have been trying to protect his face with his hands when a blow to his face or head severed the shrine built one finger on each hand. Raby escaped the scene of the site crime undetected.Raby was subsequently found to have acted alone, "without any connection to a religious or political entity."<ref name=Gurevich> David Gurevich, and Yisca Harani. “Philoumenos of [[Jacob's Well]]: The Birth of a Contemporary Ritual Murder Narrative.” Israel Studies, vol. 22, no. 2, 2017, pp. 26–54. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.2979/israelstudies.22.2.02. </ref>  The body of the Saint experienced a martyric death at was handed over to the Orthodox 6 days after his massacre, but retained its flexibility and was buried in the hands cemetery of extremist Jewish Zionists who massacred him with an ax Mount Zion.<ref name="NOCTOC"/> Saint Philoumenos served in the evening, while he was performing [[VespersHoly Land]] for 46 years (1933-1979). An investigation launched by the Israeli police initially failed to identify the killer. Raby was arrested on 17 November 1982 as he again attempted enter the Monastery at Jacob's Well illicitly by climbing over a wall; he was carrying hand grenades. Raby supplied the police with accurate details of his earlier, previously unsolved, crimes. These were the Well murder of Fr. Philoumenos; a March 1979 murder of Jacob where he lived as a loyal guardian Jewish gynecologist in Tel-Aviv; the murder of the family of a woman in Lod, Israel in April 1979 who claimed to have clairvoyant powers; and an assault on a nun at the Jacob's Well holy site in April 1982.<ref name=Gurevich/> The nun was seriously wounded in the Holy Places attack. Both she and centuries old way of lifethe gynecologist were attacked by axe, according to prosecutors.<ref name="NOCTOCJPost 15 Dec 82">"Charges Filed in Nablus Axe Murder Case". Jerusalem Post. 15 December 1982.</ref>
The week before his martyrdomRaby, a group of fanatical Zionists had come newly religious Jew,<ref name="JPost 2 Dec 82">"TA eccentric 'confesses' to the monastery at Jacob's Well1979 murders, claiming it as a Jewish holy place and demanding that all crosses and icons be removedpolice say". Of course, the Saint pointed out that the floor upon which they were standing had been built by [[Constantine I|Emperor Constantine]] before 331 AJerusalem Post.D2 December 1982. and had served </ref> was described as an Orthodox Christian holy place for sixteen centuries before the Israeli State was createdunwashed, dressed in worn-out clothing, and had been audibly muttered passages of scripture in Samaritan hands eight centuries before a strange manner. Psychiatric evaluations found thathe was mentally incompetent to stand trial; he and committed to a mental hospital; details of his subsequent whereabouts are restricted by privacy regulations.<ref groupname="note"Gurevich/>The rest of At a court hearing after his arrest, an Israeli prosecutor told the court that Raby was convinced that the original church had been destroyed by monastery was the invasion site of Shah the ancient [[w:Khosrau IITemple in Jerusalem|Khosran ParvisJewish Temple]] in the early seventh century, at which time the Jews [http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/antiochus_strategos_capture.htm massacred all and that he made an attempt on the Christians of Jerusalem].</ref> The group left with threats, insults and obscenities life of the kind which local Christians suffer regularlynun "in response to a divine command."<ref name="NOCTOCJPost 17 Dec 82">"Psychiatric Test for Confessed Slayer". The Jerusalem Post. 17 December 1982.</ref>
After a few days, on November 16/29, 1979, during a torrential downpour, a group broke into the [[Monasticism|monastery]]. The saint had already put on his [[epitrachelion]] for [[Vespers]].
:"They burst into the monastery and with a hatchet butchered Archimandrite Philoumenos in the form of a [[cross]]. With one vertical stroke they clove his face, with another horizontal stroke they cut his cheeks as far as his ears. His eyes were plucked out. The fingers of his right hand were cut into pieces and its thumb was hacked off. These were the fingers with which he made the [[sign of the Cross]]. The murderers were not content with the butchering of the innocent monk, but proceeded to desecrate the church as well. A crucifix was destroyed, the sacred vessels were scattered and defiled, and the church was in general subjected to sacrilege of the most appalling type."<ref name="ALL SAINTS">All Saints of North America Russian Orthodox Church. ''[http://www.allsaintsofamerica.org/martyrs/nmphilou.html Holy Hieromartyr Philoumenos].''</ref>
The piecemeal chopping ===Erroneous accounts===Initial accounts depicted the murder as an anti-Christian hate attack carried out by a group of Jewish settlers, the three fingers with which he made the result was what ''[[Sign of the CrossMaariv]] showed '' described as "a wave of hatred" in Greece. Reports indicating that he was “radical Jews” had tortured Philoumenos and "cut off the fingers of his hand" before killing him had appeared in Greek newspapers. ''Maariv'' also quoted an attempt to make him renounce his official in the Greek Orthodox Christian Faith.<ref group="note">It was later determined Patriarchate in Jerusalem asserting that the person that did the actual “the murder was an American Jew. Instead of being imprisioned for this criminal act carried out by the Israeli government, he was merely deported back radical religious Jews” claiming that “the Well does not belong to Christians but to the U.S. where he freely walks the streets. ([http://www.orthodoxchristianity.net/forum/index.php/topic,322.msg2891.html#msg2891 OrthodoxChristianity.net]. December 04, 2002. ''(Online Forum)''Jews”.</ref><ref name="NOCTOC"Gurevich/>[[Image:Philoumenos.jpg|left|thumb|]]
The body of In a 2017 article in the Saint was handed over to journal Israel Studies, researchers David Gurevich and Yisca Harani found that false accounts blaming the Orthodox 6 days slaying on "settlers" and "Zionist extremists" persisted even after the arrest of the assailant and his massacreconfinement in a mental institution, but retained its flexibility and that there were "patterns of [[Blood libel|ritual murder]] accusation in the popular narrative." The same theme was buried echoed in parts of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] community and by some secular sources, including ''Blackwell's Dictionary of Eastern Christianity'', the cemetery ''Encyclopedia of Mount Zionthe Israeli-Palestinian Conflict'', ''[[The Spectator]]'' and ''[[The Times Literary Supplement|Times Literary Supplement]],'' as well as Wikipedia.<ref name=Gurevich/><ref>[https://www.rienner.com/title/Encyclopedia_of_the_Israeli_Palestinian_Conflict "Lynne Rienner Publishers | Encyclopedia of the Israeli Palestinian Conflict".] www.rienner.com. Retrieved 2016-02-24. "NOCTOC... a radical Rabbi settler and his followers came to the monastery ... the extremists came back and tortured and killed ... no one was ever arrested or tried for the crimes."</ref> Saint Philoumenos served <ref>Dalrymple, William. [http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/22nd-october-1994/14/if-i-forget-thee-0-jerusalem The Spectator]. "...a settler had poisoned his dogs, attacked him with an axe, then incinerated his remains with a grenade."</ref><ref> Ken Parry; David J. Melling; Dimitri Brady; Sidney H. Griffith; John F. Healey (2001). [http://www.blackwellreference.com/public/tocnode?id=g9780631232032_chunk_g978063123203220_ss1-39 The Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern Christianity.] ISBN 9780631232032. "was murdered by Zionist extremists determined to remove Christians entirely from this sacred Jewish site" "was murdered by Zionist extremists determined to remove Christians entirely from this sacred Jewish site"</ref>  Gurevich and Harani contended that a 1989 account of the murder, published in ''Orthodox America'', a publication of the [[Holy LandRussian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]] for 46 years (1933, became the basis of an anti-Semitic [[Blood libel|ritual murder]] narrative, according to which a group of anti-1979)Christianity Jews first harassed Philoumenos and destroyed Christian holy objects at the monastery, then murdered him.<ref name=Gurevich/>
==Glorification==
[[Image:Relics of Fr Philoumenos of Jacobs Well.jpg|right|thumb|The Relics of New Hieromartyr Philoumenos of Jacobs Well.]]
After four years his body was exhumed, as is customary among Greek monks. It was found to be substantially incorrupt and had the smell of a beautiful scent. Then the tomb was closed and was reopened during the [[Nativity|Christmas]] season of 1984.<ref name="NOCTOC"/>
[[Image:Relics of Fr Philoumenos of Jacobs Well.jpg|right|thumb|The Relics of New Hieromartyr Philoumenos of Jacobs Well.]]On November 17/30, Patriarch [[Diodoros I (Karivalis) of Jerusalem|Diodorus of Jerusalem]], accompanied by various Greek bishops, archimandrites, clergymen and monastics, opened the grave. The coffin was reverently removed from its grave in the cemetery of the [[w:Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre|Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher]] on Mount Sion, and, when the shroud was lifted off, the [[relics]] were found to be substantially incorrupt. The remains were rinsed with wine, and then wrapped in a sheet. A short [[Memorial Services|requiem service]] was then chanted.<ref name="ALL SAINTS"/> His body was then placed in a glass shrine in the northern part of the sacred Holy Altar in Mount Zion.<ref group="note">In the seminary chapel of the [[Church of Jerusalem|Patriarchate of Jerusalem]].</ref><ref name="NOCTOC"/>
Hieromartyr Philoumenos was ranked among the [[Saints]] of the [[Church of Jerusalem]] on [[August 17]]/30, 2008, and from that time, his incorrupt body was transferred to the pilgrimage site of Saint [[Jacob's Well]] where he had found martyrdom for the love of [[Jesus Christ|Christ]].<ref name="NOCTOC"/><ref group="note">''Notes on Arab Orthodoxy (blogspot). "[http://araborthodoxy.blogspot.com/2009/12/new-hieromartyr-philomenos.html The New Hieromartyr Philoumenos]." Sunday, December 6, 2009.'')<br>
:Nablus (30.11.2009)—Yesterday, at the Orthodox Church of Jacob’s Well in Nablus the beatification of the martyr Philoumenos and the placing of his name in the Synaxarion of saints of the Orthodox Church was officially announced by the Holy Synod. His Beatitude the Patriarch [[Theophilus III (Giannopoulos) of Jerusalem|Theophilus III]] presided at the Divine Liturgy, along with the bishops of the [[Church of Jerusalem|patriarchal see of Jerusalem]] and a number of bishops from the [[Church of Cyprus]], in addition to a delegation from the [[Church of Russia|Russian Church]]. The relics of the saint are preserved in the church in which he was martyred. During the [[Divine Liturgy]], the decision of the Holy Synod to place the martyr Archimandrite Philoumenos in the [[w:Synaxarium|Synaxarion]] was officially announced. His annual commemoration will be [[November 29]], the anniversary of his martyrdom.</ref>
His memory is honored on [[November 1629]],<ref name=SYNAX/29, > especially in the Holy [[Metropolis of Morphou]] of the [[Church of Cyprus]], and the community of Orounta, which observes an all-night long church service in memory of the martyr Saint Philoumenos the New.<ref name="NOCTOC"/>
The Lord has seen fit to allow our generation of Christians to have [[martyrs]] of its own. It is without a doubt that the blood of murdered Orthodox Christians such as Archimandrite Philoumenos in the Holy Land, Hieromonk [[New Martyrs of Optina Pustyn|Vasily and the two Optina monks]] in Russia and Brother [[Jose Muñoz-Cortes|Jose Munoz]] in the West, is today’s "seed", which is ripening and will produce a harvest in Christ's Vineyard.<ref>Western American Diocese: Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (News Archive). ''[http://www.wadiocese.com/enews.php?id=C10_82_14 The 10th Anniversary of Brother Jose's Repose is Marked in San Francisco].'' October 31, 2007.</ref>
==Troparia==
[[Image:Agios-ieromartys-filoumenos-parekklision-panagoias-pantanassis-porto-lagos29 nov philoumenos of jacobs well.jpg|right|thumb|St. Philoumenus, Newmartyr of Jacob's well, November 29.]]
:'''TROPARION (Tone 3)'''<br>
:Vanquisher of daemons,
:Being faithful in small things you were set over great.
:Worshipping in Spirit and in Truth,
:you are now Guardian of the [[Holy Land|Holy Places ]] forever.<ref name="ACROD"/>
== Apolytikion, Kontakion, Megalynarion (Greek)==
[[File:Icon -- St Philoumenos -- Jacob's Well Church in Palestine.jpeg|right|thumb|''"The martyrdom of Philoumenos"'', wall icon from the Church of Jacob's Well (Nablus, West Bank).]]
:'''Απολυτίκιο. Ήχος α΄. Της ερήμου πολίτην.'''<br>
:Της Ορούντης τον γόνον,
==Sources==
* David Gurevich and Yisca Harani ''[http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2979/israelstudies.22.2.02 Philoumenos of Jacob's Well: The Birth of a Contemporary Ritual Murder Narrative]''
* All Saints of North America Russian Orthodox Church. ''[http://www.allsaintsofamerica.org/martyrs/nmphilou.html Holy Hieromartyr Philoumenos].''
* Blackwell Reference Online. ''[http://www.blackwellreference.com/public/tocnode?id=g9780631232032_chunk_g978063123203220_ss1-39 Philoumenos].''
[[pt:Filomeno do Poço de Jacó]]
[[ro:Filumen (Hasapis) de la Puțul lui Iacov]]
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