The Heir to the Byzantine Throne in Barbados (VIDEO)

Priest George Maximov

Byzantium, or the Eastern Roman Empire, “the centerpiece of wisdom,“ was a great state with its capital in Constantinople that existed for more than a thousand years, from the fourth to the fifteenth century. It had an immense impact on the development of Christian civilization, enjoying even a certain influence over the West after it had separated from the true Orthodox faith in the eleventh century.

Barbados is an island state in the Caribbean. The first British settlers, together with the ancestors of the present-day black population, appeared there only in the seventeenth century, nearly two centuries after the fall of the Byzantine Empire. So what could connect Byzantium and Barbados?

This video tells the fascinating story of how the heir to the Byzantine throne, Ferdinand Paleologos, the great-great grandson of the brother of the last Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI, made his way from England to faraway Barbados, where he spent the last twenty years of his life on his Ashford Plantation.

The video, full of beautiful scenes from churches and cities once within the Byzantine Empire, and from the island nation of Barbados, was written and directed by Fr. George Maximov, who traveled to Barbados in 2017 and visited the site of the Paleologos' plantation, as well as the grave of Ferdinand Paleologos. Fr. George is a missionary priest from Moscow who travels throughout the world, preaching the Gospel of Christ and baptizing thousands into the holy Orthodox Church. He is also the host of popular television show “My Path to God,“ in which he interviews people from various backgrounds who have found their way home to the Orthodox Church.

Priest George Maximov

Priest George Maximov (YouTube)

5/16/2017

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Rarely does a documentary film about Medieval history evoke such heated discussion and growing polemic in society as did the film, The Fall of an Empire—the Lesson of Byzantium, the latest work by Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov), the Superior of Moscow’s Sretensky Monastery.
Comments
Paok5/19/2017 7:00 pm
John Smith, I'm not sure whether that's what happens at your church, but I can assure you that historically women were not even allowed to chant in church at all, unless of course we are speaking of a women's monastery. What happens today in 21st century America is not an exact replica of what the church of Christ until the late 19th century in all orthodox countries was practicing. The canons of the church and the Bible forbid women to chant, since chanting is deeply theological, and full of the teachings of the holy fathers, therefore women should not be chanting at all since chanting is teaching (and St. Paul forbids women to teach in the church) let alone boldly leading the choir!
John Smith5/19/2017 12:29 am
Beautiful video. I wonder if there are any Paliologos's left in the world. By the way, Paok, women do lead certain parts of the service. The left-hand stand is usually led by a woman. Only during parts of the service, though. And the original thing with the woman chanting isn't an actual church hymn.
Paok5/17/2017 11:56 pm
Pretty interesting! I think the main problem was that the west has been and is today against true Christianity. Even today the west, including the US is helping countries like turkey and saudi arabia, two nations that should be considered purely evil, are being called allies, by western nation states who see Russia as the true threat because of its Christian faith.

The one real problem I have with this documentary is the woman chanting! What she is doing is against the teachings of the Orthodox Church. A woman should never be chanting as the lead voice, and a woman should not change the tones, melodies and music of the Church. The woman is doing both. Why will God bless the Orthodox Church and revive it when it is in a constant state of rebellion? I do not understand why her solo performance is even acknowledged as legitamet chanting, since it most certainly is not. She is an innovator.
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