Hilltop Monasteries The caves in Meteora, Greece, had inhabitants for fifty millennia, but due to raids, “hermit monks” moved to the safety of sandstone rock pinnacles in the 9th century and began building monasteries. More monks and nuns came, building more monasteries perched high upon the cliffs. Wikipedia reports, “Access to the monasteries was originally (and deliberately) difficult, requiring either long ladders lashed together or large nets used to haul up both goods and people. This required quite a leap of faith — the ropes were replaced, so the story goes, only ‘when the Lord let them break.’” UNESCO World Heritage says, “The net in which intrepid pilgrims were hoisted up vertically alongside the 1,224 ft. cliff where the Varlaam monastery dominates the valley symbolizes the fragility of a traditional way of life that is threatened with extinction.” A view of Meteora monasteries in Greece. The Holy Monastery of Varlaam is the second largest monastery in Meteora, Greece.
Extraordinary Claims Lawyer tells of agonising scenes as doctors forced to let a Jehovah's Witness who wanted to live, die - Health News - Health & Families Robert Tobin, a partner in the London law firm Kennedy’s, was called in by an unnamed NHS Trust when the man, a Jehovah’s Witness who was critically ill with sickle cell anaemia, refused a blood transfusion which could have saved his life. Over three weeks the man gradually deteriorated as the crisis progressed, before eventually dying. “Medical staff were understandably upset at seeing a patient deteriorate before their eyes knowing a simple procedure could have been provided that would have saved his life,” Mr Tobin said. The man’s mother, also a Jehovah’s Witness, was at her son’s bedside, and an elder from the man’s church also attended. The trust was concerned that they were unduly influencing him but a doctor from a neighbouring trust who was called in to assess him said he had full capacity and was making the decision on his own. Mr Tobin said: “I don’t know what his mother was thinking as she sat by and watched him die.
Vocations Here is the complete collection of online comics I have produced, with the exception of the (extremely occasional) ongoing comics that I publish to Friendly Atheist. Cectic: The user manual for your brain, in comic form. 2007-2011. Cectic Bonus: Originally only available to people who had donated. Psience: I used to be a believer. Then I wasn't. This was the result.