July 4: Saint Michael of Choniatis celebratestranslated

Today, July 4, the Church honors the memory of Saints Andrew, Archbishop of Crete, the poet, and Michael Choniatos, Archbishop of Athens (†1220). We also celebrate the finding of the Relic of Saint Anisia, which is kept in the church of Saint Demetrius in the queen of Thermaikos, Thessaloniki.

By LAMBROS K. SKONTZOU, Theologian - Professor

Saint Michael Choniatis or Acominatos: The learned Bishop of Athens Through the modern spiritual Babel and the dense darkness of the compulsive fanaticism against the Christian faith, the all-illuminated figures of the saints of our Church appear to remind us that faith in Christ is light, because the "leader and finisher" of our faith, Jesus (Heb. 12:2), is Himself "the true light" (John 1:9), and the "light of the world" (John 8:12). The saints and their work are the strong historical bulwarks against the various Christian fighters, who, by mudslinging, want to present our Church as darkness.

One of the myriad enlightened figures of our Church is Michael Choniatis or Akominatos, bishop of Athens. He was born in 1138 in the city of Chones in Asia Minor. As a teenager he went to Istanbul to…