Freemasonry
Freemasonry or Masonry consists of fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local fraternities of stonemasons, which from the end of the fourteenth century regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities and clients. The degrees of Freemasonry retain the three grades of medieval craft guilds, those of Apprentice, Journeyman or fellow, Master Mason; the candidate of these three degrees is progressively taught the meanings of the symbols of Freemasonry, entrusted with grips and words to signify to other members that he has been so initiated. The initiations are part allegorical morality part lecture; the three degrees are offered by Craft Freemasonry. Members of these organisations are known as Masons. There are additional degrees, which vary with locality and jurisdiction, are administered by their own bodies; the basic, local organisational unit of Freemasonry is the Lodge. The Lodges are supervised and governed at the regional level by a Grand Lodge or Grand Orient.
There is no worldwide Grand Lodge that supervises all of Freemasonry. Modern Freemasonry broadly consists of two main recognition groups. Regular Freemasonry insists that a volume of scripture is open in a working lodge, that every member profess belief in a Supreme Being, that no women are admitted, that the discussion of religion and politics is banned. Continental Freemasonry is now the general term for the jurisdictions which have removed some, or all, of these restrictions; the Masonic lodge is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. The Lodge meets to conduct the usual formal business of any small organisation. In addition to business, the meeting may perform a ceremony to confer a Masonic degree or receive a lecture, on some aspect of Masonic history or ritual. At the conclusion of the meeting, the Lodge might adjourn for a formal dinner, or festive board, sometimes involving toasting and song; the bulk of Masonic ritual consists of degree ceremonies. Candidates for Freemasonry are progressively initiated into Freemasonry, first in the degree of Entered Apprentice.
Some time in a separate ceremony, they will be passed to the degree of Fellowcraft, they will be raised to the degree of Master Mason. In all of these ceremonies, the candidate is entrusted with passwords and grips peculiar to his new rank. Another ceremony is officers of the Lodge. In some jurisdictions Installed Master is valued as a separate rank, with its own secrets to distinguish its members. In other jurisdictions, the grade is not recognised, no inner ceremony conveys new secrets during the installation of a new Master of the Lodge. Most Lodges have some sort of social calendar, allowing Masons and their partners to meet in a less ritualised environment. Coupled with these events is the obligation placed on every Mason to contribute to charity; this occurs at both Grand Lodge level. Masonic charities contribute to many fields, such as disaster relief; these private local Lodges form the backbone of Freemasonry, a Freemason will have been initiated into one of these. There exist specialist Lodges where Masons meet to celebrate events, such as sport or Masonic research.
The rank of Master Mason entitles a Freemason to explore Masonry further through other degrees, administered separately from the Craft, or "Blue Lodge" degrees described here, but having a similar format to their meetings. There is little consistency in Freemasonry; because each Masonic jurisdiction is independent, each sets its own procedures. The wording of the ritual, the number of officers present, the layout of the meeting room, etc. varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The officers of the Lodge are appointed annually; every Masonic Lodge has two Wardens, a secretary and a treasurer. There is a Tyler, or outer guard, always present outside the door of a working Lodge. Other offices vary between jurisdictions; each Masonic Lodge exists and operates according to a set of ancient principles known as the Landmarks of Freemasonry. These principles have thus far eluded any universally accepted definition. Candidates for Freemasonry will have met most active members of the Lodge they are joining before they are initiated.
The process varies between jurisdictions, but the candidate will have been introduced by a friend at a Lodge social function, or at some form of open evening in the Lodge. In modern times, interested people track down a local Lodge through the Internet; the onus is on candidates to ask to join. Once the initial inquiry is made, an interview follows to determine the candidate's suitability. If the candidate decides to proceed from here, the Lodge ballots on the application before he can be accepted; the absolute minimum requirement of any body of Freemasons is that the candidate must be free, considered to be of good character. There is an age requirement, varying between Grand Lodges, capable of being overridden by a dispensation from the Grand Lodge; the underlying assumption is that the candidate should
Nikolaos Skoufas
Nikolaos Skoufas was a founding member of the Filiki Eteria, a Greek conspiratorial organization against the Ottoman Empire. Skoufas was born in 1779 in the village of Kompoti near Arta, his fathers surname was "Koumparos". He worked at various times as a commercial secretary and a hatter. Skoufas left as a merchant for Russia for business purposes. While there, he became acquainted with Emmanuil Xanthos; the three men came up with the idea of founding a secret organisation to prepare the ground for Greek independence. So, the Filiki Eteria was founded in 1814 in Odessa. Skoufas dedicated the rest of his life to the cause. For this purpose he went to Moscow but his ideas did not meet with the approval of many people of the local Greek community. In 1818, the three partners moved to Constantinople to further their cause, but in July of that same year Skoufas fell ill and died
Hretska Ploshcha
Hretska Square, or Hretska Ploshcha is one of the main squares of Odessa. It is on the crossing of Oleksandrivskyi Prospekt. At different times it has been called Martynovskogo; this is one of the biggest squares of Odessa. It is rectangular, with the oval building of Mayurov House in the center with semi-round houses on the sides; this is the oldest square in Odessa. It survived from the Market square of the town of Khadzhibey. Down by Hretska Street, between Hretska Ploshcha and Katerynynska Street, was a Muslim cemetery. After the capture of the Khadzhibey Fortress the square was free of buildings; the building construction started from the part close to Hretska Street from Deribasivska Street. The buildings were built by Greeks in Ukraine of the families Ioannopulos, Papakhadzhis and Maraslis; the Greek secret society Filiki Eteria was in one of the buildings on the square since 1814. The main market of the city was in the square for a long time; the garden square was in the centre of the square.
But the church building was not finished, its foundations were re-used for building Mayurov House known as the Roundhouse. The last construction was a mall. In the Soviet period the square was an important transport centre. Here was the tram station the bus terminal; the semi-round house which separated the square from the Bunina Street, was demolished during World War II. The place was used as a garden in the 1950s and 1960s, but the modern restaurant building was constructed. Mayurov House was demolished in 1996 and rebuilt with significant changes. Греческая площадь Про Греческую площадь и не только Греческая площадь Греческая площадь Из воспоминаний об Одессе
Serbian Revolution
The Serbian Revolution was a national uprising and constitutional change in Serbia that took place between 1804 and 1835, during which this territory evolved from an Ottoman province into a rebel territory, a constitutional monarchy and modern Serbia. The first part of the period, from 1804 to 1817, was marked by a violent struggle for independence from the Ottoman Empire with two armed uprisings taking place, ending with a ceasefire; the period witnessed a peaceful consolidation of political power of the autonomous Serbia, culminating in the recognition of the right to hereditary rule by Serbian princes in 1830 and 1833 and the territorial expansion of the young monarchy. The adoption of the first written Constitution in 1835 abolished feudalism and serfdom, made the country suzerain; the term Serbian Revolution was coined by a German academic historiographer, Leopold von Ranke, in his book Die Serbische Revolution, published in 1829. These events marked the foundation of modern Serbia; the period is further divided as follows: First Serbian Uprising, led by Karađorđe Petrović Hadži Prodan's revolt Second Serbian Uprising, led by Miloš Obrenović Official recognition of the Serbian state The Proclamation by Karađorđe in the capital Belgrade represented the apex of the first phase.
It called for national unity, drawing on Serbian history to demand the freedom of religion and formal, written rule of law, both of which the Ottoman Empire had failed to provide. It called on Serbs to stop paying taxes to the Porte, deemed unfair as based on religious affiliation. Apart from dispensing with poll tax on non-Muslims, the revolutionaries abolished all feudal obligations in 1806, only 15 years after the French revolution and serf emancipation thus representing a major social break with the past; the rule of Miloš Obrenović consolidated the achievements of the Uprisings, leading to the proclamation of the first constitution in the Balkans and the establishment of the oldest Balkan institution of higher learning still in existence, the Great Academy of Belgrade. In 1830 and again in 1833, Serbia was recognized as an autonomous principality, with hereditary princes paying annual tribute to the Porte. De facto independence came in 1867, with the withdrawal of Ottoman garrisons from the principality.
New circumstances, such as the Austrian occupation of Serbia, rise of the Serbian elite across the Danube, Napoleon's conquests in the Balkans, reforms in the Russian Empire, exposed Serbs to new ideas. They could now compare how their compatriots made progress in Christian Austria, the Illyrian provinces and elsewhere, while the Ottoman Serbs were still subjects to a religion-based tax that treated them as second class citizens. During the Austrian occupation of Serbia, many Serbs served as soldiers and officers in Habsburg armies, where they acquired knowledge about military tactics and weapons. Others were employed in the occupied zone, they began to travel in search of trade and education, were exposed to European ideas about secular society, politics and philosophy, including both rationalism and Romanticism. They met with the values of the French Revolution, which would affect many Serbian merchants and educated people. There was an active Serbian community in the southern Habsburg Empire, from where ideas made their way southwards.
Another role model was the Russian Empire, the only independent Slavic and Orthodox country, which had reformed itself and was now a serious menace to the Turks. The Russian experience implied hope for Serbia. Other Serbian thinkers found strengths in the Serbian nation itself. Two top Serbian scholars were influenced by Western learning to turn their attention to Serbia's own language and literature. One was a former priest who left for Western Europe. Shocked that his people had no modern secular literature, he assembled grammars and dictionaries to create a modern Serbian language, wrote some books himself and translated others. Others followed his lead and revived tales of Serbia's medieval glory, he became the first Minister of Education of modern Serbia. The second figure was Vuk Karadžić. Vuk was less influenced by Enlightenment rationalism like Dositej Obradović and more by Romanticism, which romanticized rural and peasant communities. Vuk collected and published Serbian epic poetry, work that helped to build Serbian awareness of a common identity based in shared customs and shared history.
This kind of linguistic and cultural self-awareness was a central feature of German nationalism in this period, Serbian intellectuals now applied the same ideas to the Balkans. During the First Serbian Uprising, Serbia perceived itself as an independent state for the first time after 300 years of Ottoman and short-lasting Austrian occupations. Encouraged by the Russian Empire, the demands for self-government within the Ottoman Empire in 1804 evolved into a war for independence by 1807. Combining patriarchal peasant democracy with modern national goals the Serbian revolution was attracting thousands of volunteers among the Serbs from across the Balkans and Central Europe; the Serbian Revolution became a symbol of the nation-building process in the Balkans, provoking peasant unrest among the Christians in both Greece and Bulgaria. Following a successful siege with 25,000 men, on 8 January 1807 the charismatic leader of the revolt, Karađorđe Petrović, proclaimed Belgrade the capital of Serbia.
Serbs responded to Ottoman brutalities by establis
Patmos
Patmos is a small Greek island in the Aegean Sea, most famous for being the location of the vision given to the disciple John in the Book of Revelation in the New Testament, where the book was written. One of the northernmost islands of the Dodecanese complex, it has a population of 2,998 and an area of 34.05 km2. The highest point is 269 metres above sea level; the municipality of Patmos, which includes the offshore islands of Arkoi and several uninhabited islets, has a total population of 3,047 and a combined land area of 45.039 square kilometres. It is part of the Kalymnos regional unit. Patmos' main communities are Chora, Skala, the only commercial port. Other settlements are Kampos; the churches and communities on Patmos are of the Eastern Orthodox tradition. The mayor of Patmos is Gregory Stoikos. According to a legend in Greek mythology, the island's original name was "Letois", after the goddess and huntress of deer Artemis, daughter of Leto, it was believed. The myth tells. Artemis paid visits to Caria, the mainland across the shore from Patmos, where she had a shrine on Mount Latmos.
There she met the moon goddess Selene, who cast her light on the ocean, revealing the sunken island of Patmos. Selene was always trying to get Artemis to bring the sunken island to the surface and hence to life. Selene convinced Artemis, who, in turn, gained her brother Apollo's help to persuade Zeus to allow the island to arise from the sea. Zeus agreed, the island emerged from the water; the sun brought life to it. Inhabitants from the surrounding areas, including Mount Latmos, settled on the island and named it "Letois" in honour of Artemis. Patmos is mentioned by ancient writers; therefore little can be conjectured about the earliest inhabitants. In the Classical period, the Patmians prefer to identify themselves as Dorians descending from the families of Argos and Epidaurus, further mingling with people of Ionian ancestry. During the 3rd century BC, in the Hellenistic period, the settlement of Patmos acquired the form of an acropolis with an improved defence through a fortification wall and towers.
Patmos is mentioned in the Book of the last book of the Christian Bible. The book's introduction states that its author, was on Patmos when he was given a vision from Jesus. Early Christian tradition identified this writer John of Patmos as John the Apostle. For this reason, Patmos is a destination for Christian pilgrimage. Visitors can see the cave where John is said to have received his Revelation, several monasteries on the island are dedicated to Saint John. After the death of John of Patmos around 100, a number of Early Christian basilicas were erected on Patmos. Among these was a Grand Royal Basilica in honour of Saint John, built c. 300–350 at the location where the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian stands today. Early Christian life on Patmos, however survived Muslim raids from the 7th to the 9th century. During this period, the Grand Basilica was destroyed. In the 11th century, the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos gave Christodoulos the complete authority over the island of Patmos, as well as the permission to build a monastery on the island.
The construction of the monastery started in 1101. Population was expanded by infusions of Byzantine immigrants fleeing the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, Cretan immigrants fleeing the fall of Candia in 1669; the island was controlled by the Ottoman Empire for many years, but it enjoyed certain privileges related to tax-free trade by the monastery as certified by Ottoman imperial documents held in the Library. Ottoman rule in Patmos was interrupted by Venetian occupation during Candian War between 1659 and 1669 Russian occupation during Orlov Revolt between 1770 and 1774 and during Greek War of Independence. In 1912, in connection with the Italo-Turkish War, the Italians occupied all the islands of the Dodecanese, including Patmos; the Italians remained there until 1943. Around 1930, Elijah Muhammad of the Nation of Islam initiated the claim that, while residing on Patmos 6,600 years ago, an evil scientist named Yakub initiated the creation of the white race through a process of selective breeding.
In 1945, the Germans left and the island of Patmos remained autonomous until 1948, together with the rest of the Dodecanese Islands, it joined the independent Greece. In 1999, the island's historic center Chora, along with the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian and the Cave of the Apocalypse, were declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO; the monastery was founded by Saint Christodulos. Patmos is home to the Patmian School, a notable Greek seminary. In September 2008, the municipality of Patmos refused landing to a group of undocumented refugees from Afghanistan and Iraq. On the weekend of September 19, 2008, about 134 refugees were rescued at sea; the refugees were taken to the nearest municipality, for processing and care. The administration refused, they were sent to the island of Leros where they were processed and given humanitarian aid. Local authorities justified their action by contrasting it to alleged practices elsewhere in the EU: "Malta sinks their boats and Italy lets them drown", local leaders claimed.
Forbes magazine, in 2009, named Patmos "Europe's most idyllic place to live", writing that "Patmos ha
Karađorđević dynasty
The Karađorđević is a Serbian dynastic family, founded by Karađorđe Petrović, the Veliki Vožd of Serbia in the early 1800s during the First Serbian Uprising. The short-lived dynasty was supported by the Russian Empire and was opposed to the Austria-Hungary supported Obrenović dynasty. After Karađorđe's assassination in 1817, Miloš Obrenović founded the House of Obrenović; the two houses subsequently traded the throne for several generations. Following the assassination of Alexander in 1903, the Serbian Parliament chose Karađorđe's grandson, Peter I Karađorđević living in exile, for the throne of the Kingdom of Serbia, he was duly crowned as King Peter I, shortly before the end of World War I, representatives of the three peoples proclaimed a Kingdom of the Serbs and Slovenes with Peter I as sovereign. In 1929, the Kingdom was renamed Yugoslavia, under Alexander I, the son of Peter I. In November 1945, the throne was lost when the League of Communists of Yugoslavia seized power, during the reign of Peter II.
In English, it is spelled Karadjordjevic while pronunciation is anglicized as Karageorgevitch, was in previous times rendered as Kara-Georgevitch. According to some researchers, Karađorđe's paternal ancestors most migrated from the Highlands to Šumadija during the Second Great Serb Migration in 1737–39 under the leadership of Patriarch Šakabenta, as a result of the Austrian-Turkish War. Serbian historiography accepted the theory; some conjecture has arisen about. According to Radoš Ljušić, Karađorđe's ancestors most hailed from Vasojevići, but he has said there is no certain historical information on Karađorđe's ancestors or where they came from, folklore being the only real source. Most Karađorđe's ancestors hailed from Vasojevići. Grigorije Božović claimed. Contributing to Srbljak theory is the fact that the family celebrated St Clement as their Slava until 1890, while the patron saint of Vasojevići, i.e. Vaso's descendants is Archangel Michael. King Peter I was allowed to change his Slava to St Andrew the First-called by Belgrade Metropolitan Mihailo in 1890, following the death of his wife, Princess Zorka, thus honoring the date by Julian calendar when Serbian rebels liberated Belgrade during the First Serbian Uprising.
Furthermore, King Peter chose Duke of Vasojevići Miljan Vukov Vešović to be his bridesman during his wedding to princess Zorka in 1883. Upon being asked by his future father-in-law prince Nicholas why he chose Miljan amongst various Dukes of Montenegro, he replied that he chose him because of heroism and relation describing him as Vojvode of my own blood and kin, his son, born in Cetinje was nicknamed Montenegrin The Vasojevići tribe claim descent from Stefan Konstantin of the Nemanjić dynasty. The Vasojevići were proud of Karađorđe, saw him as their kinsman. Montenegrin politician and Vasojević Gavro Vuković, supported this theory. Accordingly, Alexander Karađorđević was given the title "Voivode of Vasojevići" by Petar II in 1840. Other theories include: Montenegrin historian Miomir Dašić claimed that Karađorđe's family originated from the Gurešići from Podgorica in Montenegro. Folklorist Dragutin Vuković believed that Tripko Knežević–Guriš was Karađorđe's great-grandfather; the family claimed descent from the Vasojevići tribe and had emigrated in the late 1730s or early 1740s.
The family lived in Mačitevo, from where grandfather Jovan moved to Viševac, while Jovan's brother Radak moved to Mramorac. According to some famous Serbian historian like Dimitrije Tucović and Miroslav Ćosovic, the ancestors of Karađorđević are part of the Vasojevići tribe, which according to them is of Albanian origin; the Karađorđevićs are active in Serbian society in various ways. There is a view that constitutional parliamentary monarchy would be the ultimate solution for stability and continuity. In addition, they support Serbia as a democratic country with a future in the European Union; the last crown prince of Yugoslavia, has lived in Belgrade in the Dedinje Royal Palace since 2001. As the only son of the last king, Peter II, who never abdicated, the last official heir of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia he claims to be the rightful heir to the Serbian throne in the event of restoration. Prior to the fall of Slobodan Milošević, he united the parliamentary opposition in several major congresses.
In the palace, he receives religious leaders and strives, as opportunity permits, to demonstrate his commitment to human rights and to democracy. The Karađorđevićs are much engaged in humanitarian work. Crown Princess Katherine has a humanitarian foundation while Crown Prince Alexander heads the Foundation for Culture and Education, whose activities include student scholarships, summer camps for children, etc; the Karađorđevićs are prominent in national sports activities. The Karadjordjević family was a Serbian Royal House the Royal House of the Serbs and Slovenes and the Royal House of Yugoslavia; when they last reigned they were called the Royal House of Yugoslavia. Crown Prince Alexander was born in London but on property temporarily recognised by the United Kingdom's government as subject to the sovereignty of the Yugoslav crown, on which occasion it was publicly declared that the Crow
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital city of the Roman Empire, of the Byzantine Empire, of the brief Crusader state known as the Latin Empire, until falling to the Ottoman Empire. It was reinaugurated in 324 from ancient Byzantium as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Emperor Constantine the Great, after whom it was named, dedicated on 11 May 330; the city was located in what is now the core of modern Istanbul. From the mid-5th century to the early 13th century, Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest city in Europe; the city was famed for its architectural masterpieces, such as the Greek Orthodox cathedral of Hagia Sophia, which served as the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the sacred Imperial Palace where the Emperors lived, the Galata Tower, the Hippodrome, the Golden Gate of the Land Walls, the opulent aristocratic palaces lining the arcaded avenues and squares. The University of Constantinople was founded in the fifth century and contained numerous artistic and literary treasures before it was sacked in 1204 and 1453, including its vast Imperial Library which contained the remnants of the Library of Alexandria and had over 100,000 volumes of ancient texts.
It was instrumental in the advancement of Christianity during Roman and Byzantine times as the home of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople and as the guardian of Christendom's holiest relics such as the Crown of Thorns and the True Cross. Constantinople was famed for its complex defences; the first wall of the city was erected by Constantine I, surrounded the city on both land and sea fronts. In the 5th century, the Praetorian Prefect Anthemius under the child emperor Theodosius II undertook the construction of the Theodosian Walls, which consisted of a double wall lying about 2 kilometres to the west of the first wall and a moat with palisades in front; this formidable complex of defences was one of the most sophisticated of Antiquity. The city was built intentionally to rival Rome, it was claimed that several elevations within its walls matched the'seven hills' of Rome; because it was located between the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara the land area that needed defensive walls was reduced, this helped it to present an impregnable fortress enclosing magnificent palaces and towers, the result of the prosperity it achieved from being the gateway between two continents and two seas.
Although besieged on numerous occasions by various armies, the defences of Constantinople proved impregnable for nearly nine hundred years. In 1204, the armies of the Fourth Crusade took and devastated the city, its inhabitants lived several decades under Latin misrule. In 1261 the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos liberated the city, after the restoration under the Palaiologos dynasty, enjoyed a partial recovery. With the advent of the Ottoman Empire in 1299, the Byzantine Empire began to lose territories and the city began to lose population. By the early 15th century, the Byzantine Empire was reduced to just Constantinople and its environs, along with Morea in Greece, making it an enclave inside the Ottoman Empire. According to Pliny the Elder in his Natural History, the first known name of a settlement on the site of Constantinople was Lygos, a settlement of Thracian origin founded between the 13th and 11th centuries BC; the site, according to the founding myth of the city, was abandoned by the time Greek settlers from the city-state of Megara founded Byzantium in around 657 BC, across from the town of Chalcedon on the Asiatic side of the Bosphorus.
The origins of the name of Byzantion, more known by the Latin Byzantium, are not clear, though some suggest it is of Thraco-Illyrian origin. The founding myth of the city has it told that the settlement was named after the leader of the Megarian colonists, Byzas; the Byzantines of Constantinople themselves would maintain that the city was named in honour of two men and Antes, though this was more just a play on the word Byzantion. The city was renamed Augusta Antonina in the early 3rd century AD by the Emperor Septimius Severus, who razed the city to the ground in 196 for supporting a rival contender in the civil war and had it rebuilt in honour of his son Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, popularly known as Caracalla; the name appears to have been forgotten and abandoned, the city reverted to Byzantium/Byzantion after either the assassination of Caracalla in 217 or, at the latest, the fall of the Severan dynasty in 235. Byzantium took on the name of Kōnstantinoupolis after its refoundation under Roman emperor Constantine I, who transferred the capital of the Roman Empire to Byzantium in 330 and designated his new capital as Nova Roma'New Rome'.
During this time, the city was called'Second Rome','Eastern Rome', Roma Constantinopolitana. As the city became the sole remaining capital of the Roman Empire after the fall of the West, its wealth and influence grew, the city came to have a multitude of nicknames; as the largest and wealthiest city in Europe during the 4th–13th centuries and a centre of culture and education of the Mediterranean basin, Constantinople came to be known by prestigious titles such as Basileuousa and Megalopol
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small}
