I HOPE ALL OF YOU HAD A JOYOUS 4TH OF JULY AND AMERICA'S INDEPENDENCE DAY!
KOMBOLOI!
Throughout the world different countries and societies have adapted and borrowed many ideas and innovations from each other if they possess some intrinsic value to them. These borrowed items serve two purposes; first is to improve the lot of its citizens and second is monetary gain. Improving and updating the item to fit into the culture or society is a major consideration. However, sometimes using the original item may work best as long as it fits within their societal norms. Others must be reworked to fit a desired result, while still maintaining their usefulness.
One such item is the Abacus. This counting device was and continues to be in use in many countries throughout the world even though it has evolved into far superior calculating devices. The hand held calculators of today can do miraculous things, and very quickly.
When I was in high school, I watched tubes turn into transistors, transistors into diodes, and diodes into semiconductors. This was truly a metamorphoses and evolutionary development, but always improving upon what it superseded. We were one of the first high schools to have a Univac Computer installed in a classroom for our use. I will never forget the noise it made when calculating something as simple as 1+1=2. All the noise came from ten mechanical relays opening and closing on order to calculate using two binary digits 0 - 1. Today we are in a different world of personal electronic devices that my schoolmates and I would have never foreseen.
Moreover, our own Greek culture and many of the Middle Eastern Countries have developed something very unique. It all started in the Church with a device that you use to count how many times a day you said the Jesus Prayer. At St. Catherine’s Monastery in Egypt, I was given a 500-knot Komboskini. It took me almost all day to complete one round on the prayer rope. This is a good practice to help you focus your mind on prayer and not to just count how many times you have repeated it. There is great spiritual value in using the Komboskini and it can relieve the stresses of life through the repetition of the Jesus Prayer.
Furthermore, Greek culture took this idea of the Komboskini and modified it into what we call a Komboloi. Instead of praying the Jesus Prayer on every knot a person only swings the beads in a certain pattern in order to relieve the tension that builds up within you throughout life. It is a more secular understanding and practice that can be seen all over the coffee shops and other various places around the Mediterranean. There is no connection to prayer when using the Komboloi, only tension release.
Taking these two ideas, the Komboskini and Komboloi, and melding them into a purely secular product and device and called it Fidget Spinners. This new phenomenon is said to relieve tension by spinning it when tensions arise. By spinning a two or three winged wheel with a ball bearing center stress is relieved by spin it. Once it stops or slows down one must strike one of the wings and it spins faster. These things are selling like hotcakes, and it proves helpful to those who are stressed.
Finally, what started as a way of asking God for forgiveness through the mercy of the Jesus Prayer has now become a secular stress eliminator. The true and original idea that the Komboskini was invented to produce was a union with God the Son, and not just a stress reliever. It is like cutting your hand when making a sandwich, while you have a gaping hole in your chest. Imagine cleaning the windows on the Titanic while it is going down. This is what these imitations are doing; they never really get to the doctor of our souls, but put a bandage on some very deep wounds. AMEN!
The Holy Eparchial Synod of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America convened today July 6, 2017, at the Synodal Chamber of the Holy Archdiocese, under the chairmanship of His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America and with all its members in attendance.
Our annual commemoration of the 4th of July, Independence Day in the United States of America, provides us with an opportunity to reflect on the blessings of liberty and to express our gratitude to our forbearers for the freedom that has been advanced and sustained throughout the history of this country. We have and experience a multitude of social, political and economic freedoms because many sacrificed courageously to protect the highest ideals, others engaged in challenging debate and decisions over the shape of governance and society, and countless more have cherished freedom by respecting the rights and liberties of others.
