Book Presentation - NICK MARVEL and the war with the BEAST


Book Presentation

 Greek-Orthodox books Publications

If you have grown weary of the morbid clime of magic and occultism in children’s spectacles and literature…

NICK MARVEL
…whose adventures will give you an entirely new dimension to what is nowadays considered to be a story for children.

Imagination in children’s literature does not always have to be a bridge linking to magic and occultism – a phenomenon that is all too frequent in our day and age.  Nor does it have to be an escape from a “tough” and “unbearable” reality. Imagination can be an opportunity for discovery, knowledge and adventure, within a healthy, entertaining and pleasant environment. Nicholas Maravelias, an average, modern youngster, lives within the reality, the adventure and the miracle of… life. By having apposed his optimism and his hope for personal progress to God’s Providence, the certain love of his family – but also without shirking any personal effort – every moment of Nick’s day brims with intriguing experiences. A veritable adventure. Nicholas Maravelias – to his friends and fellow students “Nick Marvel” on account of his liveliness, his patience and his good nature – has no need for “magic” in order to live intensely, honestly and responsibly. His is a life filled with marvels!

A series of books for “children” between the ages of 9 and... 99!

From Athens and Moscow to Essex and Constantinople: an exciting and adventure-packed journey, whose only unchanging element is Faith !

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Our day and age is characterized by a turn towards an occultism of assorted hues, which is projected universally and by every means, from within the young generation’s magazines, books and music, and primarily through Hollywood movies, with results being manifested in present-day social life. The philosophy of occultism and neo-Satanism - which has culminated in man’s desire for self-deification, a generalized moral relativism and the survival by every possible means of the more powerful – has gradually permeated broad masses of mankind. Within this general apostasy, the Kingdom of Christ, His Uncreated Divinity, continue to be the omnipotent remedy for every form of evil; an omnipotent Light in the deep spiritual darkness – a Light that is reflected in the rays of repentance, of purity, of mercy, of humility, of love, of eternal in-Christ salvation. This is the eternal and divine reality that Nick Marvel’s adventures also aspire to project.

The Nick Marvel series of books –written and translated by specialists on matters of para-religions– provide readers with explanatory keys to many occult practices and meanings, as well as their related terminology, by means of which the “underground globalization” has unfortunately familiarized vast populations, but which also points out and teaches them how to protect themselves from all opposition. Young Nick Marvel has already amassed “fanatic” readers in Greece, because his story is also the story of every youngster who – with God’s help – confronts the various forms of occultism in our time. His adventures therefore essentially comprise a “prophetic” eschatological narration and not essentially a fictitious story.

It is our hope that the present translation in the English language will render the young hero a familiar character to a broader reading public and through him, reveal the true Christian “phronema” (conscience) and the way that he struggles in the contemporary flood of anti-Christian threats.

Nick Marvel’s victory is the victory of man –the real man– over the Sirens of occultism’s “sub-humanity”; it is for this reason that we rejoice and bestow our blessing on the present publication.

The Abbott of the Sacred Monastery of the Pantokrator at Melissochori

† Archimandrite Kyrillos

In our day and age, we are becoming witnesses to the dramatic climax of a historical paradox: never before has mankind’s “mainstream” science seemed in the eyes of the broader spectrum of the civilized world so alienated from the idea of a personal God, Creator and Provider, nor more certain of its capability to guide man to the apogee of his potential, along with a “self-deification”; not only that, but in parallel –and entirely to the contrary– the dynamic onset of all kinds of occultism in people’s lives has been returning mankind back to the moral and spiritual morass of pre-Christian times, including the return of superstition…

Deniers of the loving, Crucified God of Christianity are the modern-day worshippers of “extraterrestrial intelligence” and the various “mystics” who are dedicated to ancient magical rites, which –shockingly– are being promoted as the “science” of mystical powers belonging to a supposed “alternative dimension” of this world. One can discern the kind of tree by its fruits: science sacrifices everything (including man himself) for the sake of acquiring knowledge that is often unfortunately used to the detriment of mankind (as is -for example- the war industry), while all the new “religious” practices have given rise to a rekindling of the most extreme forms of animism, shamanism, even the various luciferian practices such as vampirism, cannibalism and human sacrifices. Irrefutable witnesses to this new reality are the related spectacles provided by Hollywood’s film industry: spectacles, which not only have nurtured an uncomplaining modern mankind, but have actually made it relish them.

Having retrospectively examined in depth the historical evolution as well as the future prospects of nihilism –after his conversion to the Church- the formerly Nietzschean admirer, later a Buddhist and philosopher, with an excellent knowledge of oriental and New Age religiosity and thought –Eugene (fr. Seraphim) Rose– very accurately points out that there is not a single perceptive observer who does not admit that people who lived in times of nihilists had –above everything else– portrayed the earth as an image of Hell. Nihilism’s god is nothing more than an expectation –a void that seeks to be filled with the revelation of a “new god”, according to Nietzsche’s Zarathustra: “Dead are all the gods; now do we desire the Super man (Übermensch) to live.” Thus, nihilism has necessarily linked its historical termination to the Kingdom of the Antichrist: “He who cannot believe in Christ must –and will- believe in Antichrist”, according to Eugene Rose[1].

So, what will be the Christian’s place in the future reality, which we are already having a foretaste of?

The prophetic and eschatological “narrative” (or, if you prefer to unduly refer to it as “fiction”), “NICK MARVEL AND THE WAR WITH THE BEAST”, takes our imagination to a time in the future, on the eve of the final establishment of the currently evolving, meta-modern religious “New Age” and the financial-political “New World Order”.

Arranged by specialists on matters of heresies, para-religions and occultism, the scenario of this narrative depicts a society of the future where everything has been shaped in accordance with the directives –already familiar to us– of the New Age: meditation, sorcery, alternative therapies, the predominance of the religion of secret societies and their unification under one, leading personage belonging to the worldwide “spiritual” and “secular” authority -with the exception of a few enclaves of Christianity. All of these together comprise a backdrop with an orientation directly associated to Orwell’s “prophetic” novel “1984”, Huxley’s “BRAVE NEW WORLD” and to Ferguson’s “THE AQUARIAN CONSPIRACY” – and, with far more direct references – to the world of Harry Potter (aka “Larry Rotten” in the present narrative).

In the midst of all this apostasy, Nicholas Maravelias –or, “Nick Marvel” as his friends call him– along with his benevolent family, all struggle for the Truth; that is, for the Person of the God-Human Christ and for the love of God and one’s fellow-man, with the aid of the invincible weapons of the Christian Faith and Church. In the person of the young hero, God’s spiritual strength and grace of the first Christian Martyrs and Confessors shines forth – the kind that eventually crushed the almighty, idolatrous Roman Empire. In the person of the teenager Nick Marvel are embodied and hypostatized the pure, struggling, prayerful and vigilant young saints of the ancient Church. Notwithstanding, the coherence of the narrative is contemporary and exceptionally gripping: the author has masterfully combined in the artfully futuristic picture of this narrative all those elements of the para-culture that is being systematically fostered by globalization over the past few decades, in the direction of the “New World Order”, with the anticipated “Big Brother” as trainer and global ruler. Only a well-versed conversant of the multi-dimensional yet uniform occultist sphere can appropriately evaluate the innuendos, the references and the deductions indicative of the development of new age religiosity from its beginning to its end, as embedded in the narration.

But Nick Marvel is not only a fictitious character! He is not just the product of literary fantasy like Harry Potter, who is steeped in the heavy, black essence of the welter of universal occultism; Nick Marvel is every Christian who is struggling nowadays – and every Christian who will be struggling, through to the end of time and the Second Coming of the ultimate Philanthropist and our most righteous Saviour and Judge, given that “we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing…”[2] and are strengthened by divine power and the promise that “when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near”[3], because the God-Man Jesus Christ “went out conquering and to conquer”[4]. Harry Potter is a hoax and a delusion of self-evolution and self-realization through (not-so-white) magic, as its very victims come to realize. Nick Marvel’s entire struggle is that tried and true (by the Saints) recipe for victory of good over evil, which will be fulfilled at the End of Time, upon the extermination of the devil, the beast and the false prophet, as well as the abolition of Hades and of death[5]. The forthcoming development of worldwide events is not unfamiliar to us Christians, who heed the prophetic word as “a lamp that shines in an arid place”[6]; Whatever is to pass during the reign of the Antichrist – the “pangs”[7] that the saints will suffer and their final relief; the eternal realm and glory for those who do not give in to the Antichrist –everything- is recorded in detail in the Holy Bible –both the Old and the New Testament– as well as in the writings of the Holy Fathers of the Church. Thus, Nick Marvel is not in essence an “anti-Potter”, but an actual person, with the eternal prospect that his Creator has implanted in him. Potter is a gloomy and condemned-to-failure hubris of yet another Icarus, who insists on ignoring both the bottomless misanthropy of the hypostatised and intelligent Evil[8], as well as his own ontological boundaries, thus rendering himself anti-human and as such, a demonic character.

The reader may be puzzled to see the frequent repetition of the short prayer “Lord Jesus Christ (Son of God), have mercy upon me the sinner” by the Christian heroes in the Nick Marvel narrative; it should be noted that this is not just any mechanically repeated chant reminiscent of a Hindu-style “mantra”; it is the long-familiar prayer which incorporates the simple evangelical and apostolic confessions of faith and prayers as far back as the time of the ancient Church, utilized by the Monks of the Holy Land even before the 6th century. The Apostle Paul’s prerequisite that “«no one can say that Jesus is Lord except in the Holy Spirit»[9]; Saint John the Theologian’s declaration that «Every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ come in the flesh is of God»[10]; the Apostle Peter’s divinely-inspired confession that «You are the Christ, the Son of the living God»[11]; the sincere supplications of the Canaanite woman and the blind Bartimaeus’ exclamation of «Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!»[12] and the humble admission that «I am a sinful man, O Lord!»[13] - all of the above are embodied in the aforementioned, all-familiar prayer : a veritable panacea for Nick Marvel. This tiny prayer – albeit omnipotent, given that Christ Himself had ordained that «whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son»[14] - is also a summary of Christology, inasmuch as it confesses the Divinity of the God-Man (“Lord”); His humanity (“Jesus”); the Hypostatic union of His two natures (“Christ”) – in the One Person - as well as the fact that this union is distinctly unconfused, since His hypostatic characteristic as Son (“Son of God”) is preserved intact, even after that union. Perseverance in this prayer complies with the Lord’s command, to «be watchful therefore, praying always»[15] and the Apostle Paul’s admonition to «pray without ceasing»[16]. And what are the results of that prayer? They go beyond all description, but are very familiar to those who resort to it with faith and perseverance, because «at the name of Jesus», which is «above every name», every kind and every intensity of demonic and magical energy is eliminated, and «every knee should bend, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father »[17].

It is our hope that our dear readers of the reading public –especially the youngsters– will enjoy Nick Marvel’s Christ-centered adventures, with their mind, their imagination and their heart, and become firmly established in the love of the Holy Trinity of our God and of «Christ, Who has loved us, even to the Cross and death», the first and final and only true Christ.

We would firstly like to express our sincere thanks to our Spiritual Father, Archimandrite Cyril, Abbot of the Sacred Retreat of the Pantokrator, with whose blessings our Friends Association was founded and operates. Special thanks are also befitting to the Pan-Hellenic Parents’ Union and especially to Mr. John Milionis, for his gracious permission to translate his book. Warm thanks are also extended to the translator of this work, Mrs. K.N., with the certainty that she will receive from God the reward for her labour, which aspires to the benefit of our brethren.

«Finally, brethren, rejoice, become complete, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you»[18].

«The darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining»[19].

 

The Sacred Retreat of the Pantokrator of Melissohori Friends Association

« Saint Gregory Palamas»

 

[1]. Eugene (fr. seraphim) rose, “Nihilism: the APOSTASY IN MODERN TIMES” Myriobiblos Publications 2007, pp.151.143.149. (Title of original book: “Nihilism, the root of the revolution of the modern age”).

[2]. 2 Cor. 2:15

[3]. Luke 21:28

[4]. Revel. 6:2

[5]. Revel. 20:10,14

[6]. 2 Peter 1:19

[7]. Cmp. Mark 13:8

  [8]. Cmp. 2 Cor. 2: 11

  [9]. 1 Cor. 12: 3

[10]. 1 John 4:2

[11]. Matth. 16:16

[12]. Mark 10:47; cmp. Matth. 15:22

[13]. Luke 5: 8

[14]. John 14:13

[15]. Luke 21:36

[16]. 1 Thess. 5:17

[17]. Philipp. 2:9-11

[18]. 2 Cor. 13:11

[19]. 1 John 2:8

IN PLACE OF A PROLOGUE

PART ONE
Chapter 1: "Kill Her, Ivan!"
Chapter 2: Graffiti
Chapter 3: "From the Centre, Where the Will of God Is Known
Chapter 4: The Prisoner

PART TWO
Chapter 5: The Lecture
Chapter 6: School Exercises
Chapter 7: The Underground Cities
Chapter 8: The Miracle

PART THREE
Chapter 9: Yes or No to Larry Rotten?
Chapter 10: The Flight
Chapter 11:The Ouroboros
Chapter 12: On the Road to the Monastery

PART FOUR
Chapter 13: An impressive Finale
Chapter 14: Larissa Rottencroft
Chapter 15:The Holy Monastery of Damasta
Chapter 16: An Ordinary Cement Corridor

EPILOGUE

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Publisher and Central Distributor :

© Christian Orthodox Philanthropical Society
of Friends of the Pantokrator Sacred Retreat of Melissohorion
“Saint Gregory Palamas”

3, Κ. Karamanli Street 57200 Liti – Thessaloniki

Phone-Fax : (30) 2394072744 Mobile : (30) 6907364372

URL : www.greekorthodoxbooks.com

Email: [email protected]




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