It's Begun!

Breaking news - we have our first martyr. A teenage boy shot and killed the Italian Roman Catholic priest of a church in the Black Sea port city of Trabzon on Sunday, shouting "God is great" as he escaped, according to police and witnesses.

The priest was Fr Andrea Santaro, on secondment to Trabzon (Trebizond/Τραπεζούντα in Byzantine times) from the Diocese of Rome, and had just celebrated Mass. To think the Holy See made a statement supporting the just right for respect of the religious feelings of the Muslim world not long ago.

SANCTE ANDREA, NEO-MARTYR TRAPEZUNTINAE, ORA PRO NOBIS
Αγιε Ανδρεα, Νεο-ιερομαρτυρε Τραπεζούντης, ευχων υπερ ημων

Perhaps it's time to send in a formal petition to Pope Benedict for a new line to be added to the Litaniae Sanctorum - 'a tyrannide Hagarenorum, libera nos Domine'? The whole petition to be written in flawless Latin, of course, with signatures collected from around the world.

On the other side of the Bosphorus, we could also petition our hierarchs to add extra petitions to the litanies at Divine Liturgy, Vespers and Orthros (Matins): 'That the Lord our God may be mindful of our suffering brothers living under bitter tyranny and break the power of the fierce Hagarenes, let us pray to the Lord - Lord have mercy'.

From In principio erat Verbum - Εν αρχη ην ο Λογος, a great blog by Edward Yong!