Events unfolded rapidly then.
Turkey invaded Greece after years of
threats.
Russia refused to watch the destruction
Of a sister Orthodox country
And counter-attacked within Turkey.
The Western Powers saw their opportunity
And pounced, joining with Turkey against
Rus’.
Soon many more countries had joined the
war,
And a great slaughter came to pass –
Hundreds of millions, as foreseen by
Joseph,
Elder of Vatopedi on Athos.
Here at the South, many of our men,
Who have always loved a rough fight,
And who had been indoctrinated
To worship the flag of America,
Were annihilated in those battles.
Through this, the Southern remnant became
The Southern majority once more.
The recusants from the faith of Americanism
In Dixie had grown into a sizeable number
By this time, and all were jailed, for fear
Of dangerous acts of disloyalty
Against the federal government by them.
Many Protestants and Roman Catholics
Were amongst them, but Orthodox Christians
Made up the greater share. But nearly all
Accepted the Faith of the latter upon
release,
For an angel came down from the heavens,
Whose dazzling countenance and thunderous
voice
Commanding an end to the war,
As God’s emissary, caught the attention
Of the whole world. He anointed and crowned
A new Orthodox emperor,
Who would rule jointly from Constantinople
And from Moscow, and preached repentance
And salvation in the Orthodox Church
For several days. Overwhelming
Was the response of the world’s peoples.
Orthodox churches and monasteries
Sprang up rapidly, like clover
In the springtime. Those were blessèd times,
Happy times, under the mild reign
Of the Emperor, the bishops,
And the other rulers of the nations.
But those years did not last long. Antichrist rose,
And like his serpent-master deceived many.
The Tsardom was overthrown, the liar
crowned,
And the churches taken captive.
Yet not all of them. Our clergy
In Atlanta fell away grievously,
So we left their churches and worshipped
In hidden places: an attic, a hunting camp,
Wherever we could. Communication
With other parishes proved difficult.
Nearly all technology is tethered
To Antichrist, but we managed –
Sometimes through secret digital channels,
More often through pre-modern means,
A written note or a message spoken
From mouth to ear. And now a weighty word
Has come.
Resistance is forming.
In McComb, Mississippi, faithful Southrons
Have chosen a king to lead us.
He shall be called Paterfamilias.
His lineage is of the honorable Hamptons
Of South Carolina. Jonathan Hampton
He was called until recent times.
Now we are sure he will be known
By many names – Pater Jon, Father Jon –
So fond are Southerners of nicknames.
Metropolitan Anthony of Memphis
Will preside at the sacred service
Establishing his God-ordained rule.
We are hastening to McComb,
To be present at the service if possible.
If not, then at least to join our kindred
In forming a defensive force.
The journey from Georgia has taken months.
The spies of Antichrist are thickly spread
about,
Both machine and man; stealth has become
Like our breath, as familiar as prayer.
And there are other perils. The demons
Have killed some of our number, who strayed
Too far from the body of our people
And were thrown down steep hillsides
Or into rivers with ravenous beasts.
Both demons and animals are stronger,
wilder.
The plant life is devastated.
Chemicals used on the genetically enhanced
Farm crops, introduced by Antichrist
With so much promise and applause,
Drifted and poisoned much, near and far.
What greenery remains, the Lord sustains us
with:
A few leaves, a few blades of grass,
Are enough to keep us marching
For many days. And when a patch of earth
Appears that is uncorrupted,
We are able, through the Sign of the Cross,
To make it into a bit of bread.
This is according to the word spoken
By Saint Gabriel of Samtavro.
But now, by God’s Grace, we are drawing
near
Our destination, where we will be united
With our Orthodox brothers and sisters.
And who can say what will happen as we
prepare
For our final battle with Antichrist,
With the Jesus Prayer on our lips,
And the All-Pure Body and Blood of Christ
Brightly shining in the chalice of our
hearts?
