The fragrance of the soul

We used to smell the scent of a flower, inhale the smell of the earth after the rain, or the smell of the sea, remaining on the skin after bathing. It is a pity that no one told us that the soul also has its own fragrance. It also smells, and how it depends on what it lives for and how it fills every day ... 

St. Luke the Blessed Surgeon

https://apantaortodoxias.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-fragrance-of-soul.html

MIRACLES PERFORMED BY SAINT LUKE THE PHYSICIAN OF THE CRIMEA

On the 28^th of May, 2014, during the construction of the Church of Saint Luke the Physician, at the Monastery of the Holy Mother in Dovra, Veria, Greece, a festal Hierarchical Vesper was being celebrated.  The purpose of the Vesper was to honor the arrival of the relics of St. Luke the Physician from Simferopol, Crimea, Russia.  Bishop Theodoritos of Nazianzus was the celebrant and the homilist.  The following day a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy was celebrated by Metropolitan Panteleimon of Veria, Greece.  Bishops Theoridoritos and Dimitrius and many priests were concelebrants at the Divine Liturgy.  They had all come together in order to honor the Saint and to receive the blessing of the Saint.   Shortly before the end of the service, Archimandrite Sosipratos Pitoulias was asked by the Metropolitan of Veria to speak to the congregation about the recent miracle that was performed by Saint Luke for his nephew.

            Father Sosipatros, who was visibly emotional, began to tell the faithful about the miracle that was performed by the Saint.  Fr. Sosipatros said the following:

"I Loved Martyrdom..."

"I Loved Martyrdom, Which so Strangely Cleanses the Soul"*

ST. LUKE THE DOCTOR AND ARCHBISHOP OF CRIMEA

1877-1961

*This is a talk given by Archimandrite Father Nektarios Antonopoulos regarding the wondrous and martyric life of St. Luke, Archbishop of Simferopol and Crimea – a doctor, miraculous person and confessor of the faith. It is a strong and touching text, rich with photographs. The talk was presented along with a slideshow of photographs in our monastery's reception area on Tuesday, November 23, after the having received the relics St. Luke.

The life of this great saint has a lot to teach us about the life in Christ. Also, it is of great importance that through his life's vivid martyrdom, a resonant answer is given to two controversial views. First, his two positions – renown doctor and bishop – rejects the premise that science is in conflict with religion. Second, the unjust, cruel torture he suffered and the shameless disdain for this great scientist, his discoveries, his studies and progressive practices – to a point that he had been considered a "second category citizen" – unveil the atrocity of atheistic totalitarian regimes. St. Luke's life ought to be studied not only from a religious and medical point of view – as is already the case – but also socially, politically and historically. It can provide multiple answers to ignorance and propaganda.