I am fascinated by the various oracles on the Holy King, and I believe Saint Paisios is explicitly referring to this Great Monarch and not, as to the former King Constantine II, as can be seen by the explicit reference above.
The confusion arises from the reference to “King Constantine.” And…
I am fascinated by the various oracles on the Holy King, and I believe Saint Paisios is explicitly referring to this Great Monarch and not, as to the former King Constantine II, as can be seen by the explicit reference above.
The confusion arises from the reference to “King Constantine.” And indeed, there is classic apocalyptic literature identifying him as “Constantine” or “Constans,” some explicitly as the final Byzantine Emperor, Constantine XI Palaiologos, who, after the fall of Byzantium, remains in an occult state to rise at the end of time, like the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus.
Some identify the Great Monarch, as you stated, as Ioannis, whether a historical figure, a present one (King Juan Carlos I, see Helen Tzimi Otto's “Their Earthshaking News”), or a future King Ioannis to rise at the appointed time.
Others, such as Elder Joseph of Vatopedi, identify him as a Hidden Saint, whose name is known only to God, to be summoned at the zero hour:
“And now sleeps one who is a political leader… we do not know who he is. However, he is a friend of God. He is a saint! Nevertheless he is a political leader who will take over leadership in God’s command. He will be miraculous. The earth will show its treasures. The poor will become rich. God will dwell with the people. There will be so much tranquility, so much peace, so much happiness, for about 3 - 4 decades so Christians to be well organized after all these, the Antichrist for the end of the world.”
I am inclined toward this latter position, and find classical correlates to be very intriguing. I also find Revelation 19:11-16 to be of interest, although I understand that the Rider on the White Horse is classically interpreted as Christ, the sequence of events is very telling – War, a falling Star on Mystery Babylon (many have identified as the US), the Angelic Court, the Rider on the White Horse, who “has a name written that no one knows but himself.”
There are many traditions that establish the rise of the Great King immediately after the Falling Star (Comet), which comes in the second-half of the World War, we have now just begun.
Very fascinating. You mentioned his surrendering his power at Jerusalem, and the Antichrist's reign beginning shortly after this? Is he defeated by the Antichrist, or is it more that he passes away and somewhere in the aftermath the Antichrist makes his appearance?
Also, how do correlated prophecies of other countries, such as Russian prophecies about the Tsar who will come and rule, German legends about the King under the Mountain, or British legends about the return of Arthur, fit into all this?
this conversation thread is great! this is exactly the discussions we want in our comments. are you a Greek speaker by chance? if so please message me on twitter or telegram! 👀
Unfortunately, my knowledge of Greek is is not strong enough to be of service to you. I can understand spoken Greek, and I can make myself understood, but reading I'm not good enough at, definitely not for translation purposes. Twitter, I don't have, but TG, I do.
Most of the traditions I am familiar with grant him 30 - 40 years of reign before the Antichrist in a post-WW3 world. After having seen great horrors and catastrophe, the Holy Emperor establishes great peace and wealth amongst the people.
I believe there are some traditions having him surrender the crown to Christ at Jerusalem, which seems to suggest his reign is continuous with Christ and will witness the Parousia. The Antichrist, as you know, will possess “otherworldly“ power (perhaps techno-occult) and overrun the world, none can defeat him except Christ.
I would anticipate the Holy Emperor to be the primary center of resistance but there are certain traditions that indicate an alliance between the Holy Emperor and other Kings, such as a new Tsar of Russia, anointed after the war, who will also reject and resist the Antichrist. This needs further study.
I am not familiar with any of the German or British legends. If you have sources, would you kindly share them?
I am not especially familiar with them either. I simply know that there are similar traditions in the West. The Germans used to say, apparently, that Frederick Barbarossa was asleep and would return, or Charlemagne. The British apparently had similar accounts about King Arthur - though where exactly all of these come from; the source materials and such, idk. I'd have to do more research into the matter. The question is, do these tales come from older Orthodox traditions in the West, or, are they merely copycats on the East Roman tradition, done later on by the Papists? Hard to say.
I appreciate this detailed historical rendition.
I am fascinated by the various oracles on the Holy King, and I believe Saint Paisios is explicitly referring to this Great Monarch and not, as to the former King Constantine II, as can be seen by the explicit reference above.
The confusion arises from the reference to “King Constantine.” And indeed, there is classic apocalyptic literature identifying him as “Constantine” or “Constans,” some explicitly as the final Byzantine Emperor, Constantine XI Palaiologos, who, after the fall of Byzantium, remains in an occult state to rise at the end of time, like the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus.
Some identify the Great Monarch, as you stated, as Ioannis, whether a historical figure, a present one (King Juan Carlos I, see Helen Tzimi Otto's “Their Earthshaking News”), or a future King Ioannis to rise at the appointed time.
Others, such as Elder Joseph of Vatopedi, identify him as a Hidden Saint, whose name is known only to God, to be summoned at the zero hour:
“And now sleeps one who is a political leader… we do not know who he is. However, he is a friend of God. He is a saint! Nevertheless he is a political leader who will take over leadership in God’s command. He will be miraculous. The earth will show its treasures. The poor will become rich. God will dwell with the people. There will be so much tranquility, so much peace, so much happiness, for about 3 - 4 decades so Christians to be well organized after all these, the Antichrist for the end of the world.”
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bon6umAl7MY)
I am inclined toward this latter position, and find classical correlates to be very intriguing. I also find Revelation 19:11-16 to be of interest, although I understand that the Rider on the White Horse is classically interpreted as Christ, the sequence of events is very telling – War, a falling Star on Mystery Babylon (many have identified as the US), the Angelic Court, the Rider on the White Horse, who “has a name written that no one knows but himself.”
There are many traditions that establish the rise of the Great King immediately after the Falling Star (Comet), which comes in the second-half of the World War, we have now just begun.
Very fascinating. You mentioned his surrendering his power at Jerusalem, and the Antichrist's reign beginning shortly after this? Is he defeated by the Antichrist, or is it more that he passes away and somewhere in the aftermath the Antichrist makes his appearance?
Also, how do correlated prophecies of other countries, such as Russian prophecies about the Tsar who will come and rule, German legends about the King under the Mountain, or British legends about the return of Arthur, fit into all this?
this conversation thread is great! this is exactly the discussions we want in our comments. are you a Greek speaker by chance? if so please message me on twitter or telegram! 👀
Unfortunately, my knowledge of Greek is is not strong enough to be of service to you. I can understand spoken Greek, and I can make myself understood, but reading I'm not good enough at, definitely not for translation purposes. Twitter, I don't have, but TG, I do.
Most of the traditions I am familiar with grant him 30 - 40 years of reign before the Antichrist in a post-WW3 world. After having seen great horrors and catastrophe, the Holy Emperor establishes great peace and wealth amongst the people.
I believe there are some traditions having him surrender the crown to Christ at Jerusalem, which seems to suggest his reign is continuous with Christ and will witness the Parousia. The Antichrist, as you know, will possess “otherworldly“ power (perhaps techno-occult) and overrun the world, none can defeat him except Christ.
I would anticipate the Holy Emperor to be the primary center of resistance but there are certain traditions that indicate an alliance between the Holy Emperor and other Kings, such as a new Tsar of Russia, anointed after the war, who will also reject and resist the Antichrist. This needs further study.
I am not familiar with any of the German or British legends. If you have sources, would you kindly share them?
I am not especially familiar with them either. I simply know that there are similar traditions in the West. The Germans used to say, apparently, that Frederick Barbarossa was asleep and would return, or Charlemagne. The British apparently had similar accounts about King Arthur - though where exactly all of these come from; the source materials and such, idk. I'd have to do more research into the matter. The question is, do these tales come from older Orthodox traditions in the West, or, are they merely copycats on the East Roman tradition, done later on by the Papists? Hard to say.