see Vissarion (disambiguation)

Vissarion (disambiguation)

Vissarion is the Russian variant of Bessarion.*Vissarion, a charismatic religious figure in Siberia.*Vissarion Belinsky, literary critic.*Vissarion Korkoliacos, Greek Orthodox monk, 20th Century*Vissarion Shebalin, 20th century Russian composer...

 for other people called Vissarion.

Vissarion Korkoliacos , also spelled as Visarion or Vissarion Korkoliakos, (1908–1991), was a Greek Orthodox monk

Monk

A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...

 of the Agathonos Monastery

Monastery

Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...

, close to Lamia

Lamia (city)

Lamia is a city in central Greece. The city has a continuous history since antiquity, and is today the capital of the regional unit of Phthiotis and of the Central Greece region .-Name:...

, Central Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

. He became a monk in his teen years and was regarded by those who knew him as an especially good-hearted cleric with humanitarian spirit.

The opening of Vissarion's tomb

Vissarion (Bessarion) became famous after the opening of his tomb

Tomb

A tomb is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes...

 in March 2006, during which Monks and coroner

Coroner

A coroner is a government official who* Investigates human deaths* Determines cause of death* Issues death certificates* Maintains death records* Responds to deaths in mass disasters* Identifies unknown dead* Other functions depending on local laws...

s found his body in pristine condition. The event caused sensation and amazement not only in the local Community of Fthiotida but also to the whole of Greece, especially after exposure of the event on Greek television.
The relics of Vissarion were inspected for first time by the retired professor and famous Athens

Athens

Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

 coroner Panayiotis Yamarelos

Panayiotis Yamarelos

Panayiotis Yamarelos , also called as Panos Yamarelos/Giamarelos, is a Greek retired university professor of medical jurisprudence and arguably the most famous coroner in Greece, based in Athens. He was for many years the Head of the Medical Examiners of Greece...

, who spoke on television about an extraordinary and inexplicable event. More specifically, the phrases of Yamarelos about Vissarion's extremely well preserved body and his statement regarding the face being in such pristine condition that it "was ready to talk to you", caused a commotion.

The Bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

 of Fthiotida, Nickolaos, said that the Church should not be in a hurry to announce any kind of sanctity of the monk Vissarion, and that the issue should be discussed at the Iera Sinodhos (Holy Synod

Synod

A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...

) of the Orthodox

Eastern Orthodox Church

The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...

 Church of Greece in Athens.
However, after the publication of this extraordinary event by the Greek media, hundreds of believers from the area of Fthiotida and other parts of Greece, arrived at the Agathonos Monastery in order to venerate the body of Vissarion.

Reaction

The issue of the incorruptibility

Incorruptibility

Incorruptibility is a Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox belief that supernatural intervention allows some human bodies to avoid the normal process of decomposition after death as a sign of their holiness...

 of Vissarion's remains caused a tumult within the scientific community in Greece. The coroner, Nikos Karakoukis, spoke about the possibility of a natural mummification

Mummy

A mummy is a body, human or animal, whose skin and organs have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme coldness , very low humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs, so that the recovered body will not decay further if kept in cool and dry...

 because of the place in which Vissarion's body was buried. More specifically, as Karakoukis and other medical examiners said, the lack of oxygen in the place of burial, as well as the dry condition which existed in the tomb, could cause mummification of the body.

The retired coroner, Panayiotis Yamarelos, proposed to Bishop Nickolaos that the body should remain in a feretory, in a specific place inside the monastery for another two or three years; in order to give a better idea to the medical examiners and Church depending on its preservation in pristine condition or its decomposition

Decomposition

Decomposition is the process by which organic material is broken down into simpler forms of matter. The process is essential for recycling the finite matter that occupies physical space in the biome. Bodies of living organisms begin to decompose shortly after death...

 in the future.

After the publication of photographs of Vissarion's relics in a daily Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

 tabloid, the president of coroners Nikos Karakoukis asked from the Bishop of Fthiotida to permit scientific research

Research

Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...

 of a team of medical examiners on Monk's body in order to publish a conclusion for the case. Moreover, coroner Karakoukis denied the opinion of his colleague Panayiotis Yamarelos and spoke about a case which could have a logical explanation

Explanation

An explanation is a set of statements constructed to describe a set of facts which clarifies the causes, context, and consequencesof those facts....

 through the science of medical jurisprudence.

Media Sources & Links

• http://news.rnn.gr/gr/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=387&Itemid=6 - in Greek
• http://news.antenna.gr/articleDetail/0,3091,128235,00.html - ANT1
  ANT1
  Antenna, better known as ANT1, is a television network airing in Greece and Cyprus. The alternate spelling is play on words in Greek; ena is the Greek number 1, thus ANT1 is pronounced the same as Antenna . It launched on 31 December 1989, the same year as rival Mega Channel, and is owned by...
  
   Television channel / website - in Greek
• http://news.kathimerini.gr/4dcgi/_w_articles_ell_1_14/03/2006_177120 - "Kathimerini
  Kathimerini
  I Kathimerini is a daily morning newspaper published in Athens. It is published in the Greek language, as well as in an abridged English-language edition. The English edition is sold separately in the United States and as a supplement to the International Herald Tribune in Greece and Cyprus. On 2...
  
  " Newspaper - in Greek
• http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100023_14/03/2006_67435 - "Kathimerini" Newspaper - English
  English language
  English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
  
  edition
• http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-2084311,00.html - Timesonline, March 14, 2006