Saint Athanasius Parios. Heavenly Judgment or a terrible miracle performed by the wonderworker Spyridon (Part I)

Translation from Greek, Introduction and Notes by Dmitry S. Chepel

Abstract

St. Athanasius Parios (1721–1813) is a famous Greek saint, ascetic, theologian, Church writer, scientist, teacher and rector of several christian educational institutions, an active participant in the Kollyvades movement. His treatise entitled «Heavenly Judgment or a Terrible Miracle Performed by the Wonderworker Spyridon» conveys the story of the wonderful and terrible event of the appearance of St. Spyridon of Trimythous on the island of Corfu in 1718, during which there happen an explosion of the fortress’s powder magazine and the death of the Venetian admiral Andrea Pisani (1662–1718), who encroached on the sanctity of the temple with the relics of St. Spyridon. The text was first published by St. Athanasius Parios in 1805 in Leipzig. The proposed translation is performed based on the publication: Αθανασίου τοῦ Παρίου, Οὐρανοῦ Κρίσις, ἤτοι Θαῦμα Φρικτὸν καὶ ἐξαίσιον τοῦ θαυματουργικωτάτου θείου Σπυρίδωνος, δι᾿οὗ τὰς βουλὰς τῶν Παπιστῶν ἐματαίωσε, μὴ συγχωρήσας αὐτοῖς νὰ ἐγείρουν᾿ Αλτάριον. Ορθόδοξον Κέντρον Πατερικών Μελετών «Ὁ Ἅγιος Μᾶρκος ὁ Εὐγενικός». Εκδ. Μαριος Ι. Πηλαβακης. Μεθώνη — Πιερίας — Κέντρον Μελετών και Έρευνας «Άγιος Κοσμάς ο Αιτωλός». Εργάτες Λευκοσίας, 2010.