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Русский Спасо-Вознесенский женский монастырь на Елеоне
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"…why are you Galileans standing here looking into the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come back in the same way as you have seen him go to heaven.' So from the Mount of Olives, as it is called, they went back to Jerusalem, a short distance away, no more than a Sabbath walk".(Acts of Apostles, ch.1, verses 9-12)
The Mount of Olives is located east of Jerusalem and has three peaks. The middle peak is associated with the history of the life of our Lord Jesus Christ and His Holy Ascension. This history is first mentioned in the Bible 1,100 years before the birth of Christ and is written in the 2nd Book of Kings, which states that King David was exiled from Jerusalem and went to the Mount of Olives to pray (Genesis XV, 23-30). This history is also mentioned in the books of the Prophets Zacharias (14) and Ezekiel (11) regarding the end of the world.
All four evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) narrate the main events of the life of Christ on earth and all are linked with the Mount of Olives, such as the Entrance of the Lord to Jerusalem (Matt:21), the prophecy about the last days of Jerusalem (Luke: 19), the Last Judgment (Matt: 24), the farewell guidance to the disciples, the prophecy about the apostle Peter's denial, the night after the Last Supper (Matt:26, Mark 14), Christ's promise to meet with the apostles in Galilee after His Holy Resurrection and, finally, His Holy Ascension mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles 1-12.
Ascetics began to populate the Mount of Olives since the first centuries of Christianity. Archeologists found ruins from the buildings of the first three centuries because they were trying to restore the past of the mountain.
Evidence goes back to the times of Queen Helen, Equal-To-The-Apostles, who built the basilica "Eleon" above the cave where Christ the Saviour talked to the disciples. It is now a monastery of the Carmelites. In 385 AD Silvia Eteria, a pilgrim, described ADifferent building directly above the place of the Ascension as a round church chapel, which was later turned into a mosque. For centuries a footprint of the foot is Christ is kept here. Around 375 AD Melania the Elder built a monastery here and also the House of Mercy. The Mount of Olives was the first home for monasticism in Palestine.
In 432 AD another monastery was built by Melania the Younger. History clearly details the life of the great ascetic of those times, St. Pelagia, the recluse, who lived on Eleon and reposed in the Lord in 457 AD. The readings from the Menaion for February 25th mention the holy event of finding the head of St. John the Baptist in the 2nd and 4th centuries; first by the ascetic Innocent and then by two monks who were travelling to Constantinople.
In the 5th and 6th centuries AD monasticism was blooming in the Holy Land as evidenced by the discovery of many graves of monks. The Lausiac book also mentions the strict ascetics who lived on the Mount of Olives. Twenty-four churches existed during those times on Eleon. All of them were destroyed by invaders many times but were once again rebuilt, Glory to God! These churches existed until the year 614 AD and again were destroyed by the barbarians from Persia. 1,207 Christians were martyred on Eleon after Jerusalem was destroyed. "Eleona" basilica was considered the main shrine until the 10th century. In the beginning of the 11th century Khakim, who occupied the Holy Land, destroyed everything.
In the 12th century destroyed churches were once again rebuilt with the Crusaders' invasion. After Jerusalem was occupied by Saladin in 1187, the Mount of Olives was given to a Muslim sheikh who destroyed monasteries and other buildings. The churches that were left untouched became degraded and religious life on Eleon stopped. Before the Russian Ecclesiastical mission started to develop in the 1960's, no people lived here.
In 1847 the Most Holy Synod of the Church of Russia sent its Ecclesiastical Mission to the Holy Land with the goal to represent the Russian Orthodox Church before the eastern Patriarchs, thereby promoting orthodoxy and assisting Russian pilgrims. The Crimean War (1853 – 1856) terminated the activity of the Mission. But soon after its end, in 1858, a new Mission of eleven members headed by Bishop Cyril (Naumov), arrived to Jerusalem. This new Mission was active in many fields and was able to significantly improve the situation and conditions of Russian pil¬grims in the Holy Land. In 1864, Bishop Cyril was called back to Russia. A year later he was replaced by Hieromonk Leonid (Kavelin). Soon afterwards he was replaced by Archimandrite Antonin (Kaspustin), previous rector of the embassy church in Constantinople. Archimandrite Antonin's role in the history of the Mission would prove paramount.
Archimandrite Antonin (Kapustin)
His task was to care for the needs of the huge number of Russian pilgrims arriving to the Holy Land right up to World War I, up to 10,000 people every year.
Russian pilgrims in Holy Land
Fr. Antonin with pilgrims
When Fr. Antonin arrived in Palestine, the only standing building was the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. It stood in the middle of the new construction of the so-called "Russian Compound", which was intended for the lodging of pilgrims. It was then that Fr. Antonin conceived of the idea of buying pieces of land to build Russian Churches, where Russian pilgrims could pray in their native language.
For 29 years of his activity, Fr. Antonin bought 13 plots with a total area of about 425,000 sq. meters, which became the property of the Mission. In fact, he was personally responsible for the acquisition of almost all the Russian property in the Holy Land: Gorni, Gethsemane, the Caves of the Prophets, the Oak of Mamre, the gardens in Jericho, and the area around the grave of St. Tabitha, including her actual tomb. His inexhaustible energy aston¬ished his contemporaries.
In 1870, Archimandrite Antonin (Kapustin) purchased several pieces of land on the Mount of Olives and was able to build a church in Byzantine style dedicated to the feast of the Ascension of the Lord. A 64-meter bell tower was erected and other various buildings to accommodate pilgrims who came from all over Russia, eager to visit the Holy Land.
While excavating, in order to lay down the Convent's foundation, beneath the present chapel, the builders found the site where the precious head of St. John the Baptist was hidden. Floors were uncovered and they found well-preserved mosaics depicting fish, birds and ornamental designs, sim¬ilar to the mosaics of the Monastery of the Holy Cross in Katamon (Jerusalem), which dated back to the 5th-7th centuries. In addition, in the so-called "Residence of the Archimandrites", they revealed decorated floors with Byzantine-style mosaics, possibly of the 6th century. Many burial caves were also discovered, some with mosaic decorations.
Not far from the site of the discovery of the precious head of St. John the Baptist, a stone was found, on which, according to old history, the Mother of God stood during the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ into the heavens.
Before proceeding with the construction of the Church on Mount of Olives, Fr. Antonin built a pilgrim's hotel, where Russian pilgrims could stay for rest.
The construction of the Church on Mt. of Olives began in the 1870s. However, it was delayed by couple of years because of the lack of money and the Russo-Turkish War of 1877. In 1885, 14 years after the beginning of the construction, the Church was ready for consecration. The bell tower construction was happening alongside the Church construction. As often as his workload allowed, Fr. Antonin visited the Mount of Olives to supervise the construction. When he was occupied with other matters, he observed the construction from his Mission residence through a telescope.
When construction of the bell tower was finished, the big bell arrived by steamship to Jaffa port. It weighed 11,123 pounds and measured nearly seven feet in diameter. It was donated to the Mt. of Olives bell tower by a close friend of Fr. Antonin, A. B. Riazantsev, a merchant of Solikamsk. In August of 1885 this bell, thanks to funds provided by countess O. E. Putiatina, was delivered from the wharf to the Russian garden in Jaffa, near the tomb of St. Tabitha. But no one knew how to bring it to the Mount of Olives. Fr. Antonin issued a cry to the Russian people: "Are there any loving Christians who will help transport Jerusalem's "Ivan Velikyi" to the Mount of Olives? It is very much desired here."
"And behold," writes Fr. Antonin, "105 people (two-thirds of them women) arrived to Jaffa on Tuesday and started the work. Despite great difficulty, but due to enormous enthusiasm, seven days later the bell was successfully delivered (by hand!) to the Mount of Olives. In the evening on February 5th, there was a great ringing of the bell which resounded throughout the entire city. Like out of nowhere, the big crowd of the pilgrims arrived and dragged the bell to Eleon, to the place where it was appointed."
The magnificent bell-tower of the Russian Church of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives, known as the "Russian candle," is now visible from all points in the area of Jerusalem. From its pinnacle one can clearly see the Dead Sea and the region beyond the Jordan River; and with the aid of binoculars, on a clear day one can even see the Mediterranean Sea. Its largest bell is audible for miles, loudly bearing witness before the heterodox to the successes of the Russian activity in Palestine, and causing incomparable spiritual delight for the Russian orthodox people. Fr. Antonin had a particular fond for the deep, "dense" ring.
In 1907, construction of the chapel, named after the feasts of the First and the Second Findings of the Head of St. John The Baptist, was finished. The ancient mosaic floor has a cavity, marking the actual place where His precious Head was found. The feast day of the chapel is on February 24th (March 9th), when the Church celebrates the First (IV century) and Second (452) findings.
The church in the refectory (trapeza) was built later and it is dedicated to the Righteous Philaret the Merciful. Services here are conducted once a month. The feast day is on December 1st (14th).
Overall, the convent's area is 54,000 square meters, surrounded by a wall, a kilometer and half in length. It has a large olive grove which provides Monastery with olives and oil.
Fr. Antonin reposed in the Lord on March 24, 1894 and, according to his will, was buried in the Church of Ascension on Mount of Olives. Thus, the ever-memorable Fr. Antonin lived in the Holy Land for 29 years, laboring day after day without rest.
Grave of Fr. Antonin (Kapustin)
Father Parthenius (Nartsissov +1909), a close friend of Father Antonin, continued the foundation of the Russian Convent on Mount of Olives. It was Father Parthenius's wish to establish a monastic community on the site.
With this in mind, he started performing services twice a week. A trusted friend in his labor was the monk Pambo (+1890), who served as watchman. It was his responsibility to let pilgrims in through the eastern gate when they came up to the Mount of Olives from Bethany. While a male community for the monastery life could not be formed, there were many women, who desired monastic life and were helping churches with their own means. Gradually, a lot of pious girls and rich women, who had Russian citizenship and lived in Jerusalem and its surroundings, began to gather on the Mount of Olives. Among them was Maria Melovidova, who had property in Jerusalem. She was a friend of Fr. Antonin and helped him in his activities.
Her name is mentioned in Fr. Antonin's diary in 1881. Maria Melovidova was a daughter of the Kostroma priest, she started her monastic life first in the Kostroma Women's Convent and then in the Moscow Alekseevsky Women's Convent. She arrived in Jerusalem a year after Father Parthenius and was specially "discharged" from the Moscow monastery at the request of Father Antonin to organize a choir in the Gornenskiyi Convent. As a choir director, her skills in music helped arrange splendor Divine Services in the newly built Russian Church on Mt. of Olives – Eleon. But it is only after the death of Father Antonin when Maria Melovidova was tonsured a nun. She was tonsured by Archimandrite Leonid (Sentzov), the next chief of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission after Father Antonin. She was tonsured as nun Evpraxia. In 1906, Eleon Women's Convent was established officially by the Holy Synod, and on August 12, 1906, on the birthday of Archimandrite Antonin Kapustin, the opening of a female monastic community at the Church of Ascension took place, consisting initially of 15 sisters. Father Parthenius was appointed as an Abbot and nun Evpraxia as an Abbess. Within only 1 year, i.e. by the end of 1907, the number of nuns at the convent had increased to 100 people! Glory to God!
At first, the monastery was cenobitic. The services were established and a common meal and obediences were organized. Workshops such as sewing, embroidery (including gold embroidery), painting, beading, chasing, and icon painting were started. Father Parthenius continued his labors in construction, archaeological excavations and gardening, encouraging everyone to work with the example of his tirelessness. In the same years, the chapel of St. John the Baptist was completed at the place where his holy head was found (1907). The foundation was laid for a new cathedral in honor of the Last Judgment over the refectory church of St. Philaret the Merciful. However, it was not destined to be completed. Funds for the construction of the chapel were given by the benefactress Irina Grigorievna Silaeva, who lived in Jerusalem, in her own house not far from the Russian quarter. She rested in the Lord on the Feast of the Nativity of the Mother of God in 1927. As a benefactor, she was buried near the southern wall of the chapel where every year a memorial service is held.
Grave of Irina Silayeva by the Chapel of St. John the Baptist
On the night of January 14-15, 1909, the ascetic life of the Abbot Parthenius was crowned with a martyr's death. After a hard day of labor, Father Parthenius retired to his secluded home. In the morning he was found lying on the floor covered in blood with a deep wound on his neck. Bloody footprints of bare feet were visible on the floor, things were scattered and boxes were open, as if the murderers were searching for something. The investigation did not reveal the reasons for this tragic atrocity and his culprit. The deeply revered and beloved elder, mourned not only by Russians, but also by foreign friends. He was buried outside the Church of the Ascension of the Lord, near its northern wing at the feet of his beloved elder Father Antonin. "I am a novice of Father Antonin and I want to lie at his feet," said the ever-memorable Father Parthenius during his lifetime. His wish was granted.
Grave of Fr. Parthenius by the Ascension Church on Mt. of Olives
In August 1914, there were already 150 sisters in the community. Any of them could be seen performing completely different works: both behind the laying of the walls of the next building, in the kitchen, in the garden, and at handiwork… Some handicraft works of that time are kept in the monastery to this day, including the embroidery of Mother Evpraxia, who was known among the sisters as a skilled embroiderer.
Handicraft workshops continue to work to this day, decorating the services of the church.
Soon the Convent had its own goats, chickens, and cows. The Mission site in Jericho, with its famous banana and citrus plantations, was turned into forage meadows. The sisters sowed grass between the trees, and when it grew, they mowed, dried and fed the animals. Abbott Parthenius and Mother Evpraxia created a special legacy for Eleon, which includes the numerous construction of buildings both large and small, residential and household. There was a great need for these buildings since the number of sisters of the monastery at that time increased significantly.
In September 1914, World War I began. The Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem, which at that time was under the rule of Turkey, suffered severe difficulties. The declaration of war meant the entry to Jerusalem from Russia was closed. The arrival of pilgrims and clergymen stopped, which did not resume even after the war, because of the bolshevik revolution in the Russian Empire. All the clergy of the Mission and some of the sisters from Eleon and Gornensky Convents, as well as some Russian pilgrims who lived at the Mission were taken to Egypt, to the city of Alexandria. Most of the Eleon sisters remained on their own. The time of hunger and need came. Russian buildings, gardens and farmsteads in Palestine were occupied by Turkish troops, and property was plundered and destroyed. Monastic life on the Mount of Olives ceased, the workshops and the refectory were closed, and services ceased due to the absence of clergy. The abbess of the Eleon monastery, nun Evpraxia, who had serious heart sickness of late, reposed in the Lord in those troubling days for the monastery. The sisters – young nuns and novices – remained as orphans without any help, both spiritual and material. They turned their sorrows to the one Mother – the Heavenly Queen, and many tears were shed by them in prayer to Her in front of Her image of the "Quick to Hear" icon. The sisters of the monastery fell in love with Her splendid, somewhat mournful Face, and they began to resort to it in their prayers.
The icon of the Mother of God of Chernigov "Quick to Hear"
The icon of the Mother of God of Chernigov "Seeking of the Lost"
The icon of the Mother of God of Chernigov "Quick to Hear" was donated from Russia to the Ascension Convent shortly before World War I. Initially, it was not placed in the main Ascension Church but instead it was placed in the Altar of the unfinished refectory church of St. Righteous Philaret the Merciful. It was in this church that the remaining sisters of the monastery began to gather and read the church and monastic rules, since the Ascension Church was sealed and there were no priests. In the monastery of the Ascension, next to the icon of the Mother of God "Quick to Hear", there is also another especially revered icon of the Mother of God, called "Seeking of the Lost".
The story of the icon of the Mother of God "Seeking of the Last" is as follows: "in 1911, a group of pilgrims sailed from Russia to the Holy Land to worship holy places. Among them was an elder, who handed out leaflets on the ship with the history and miracles of the icon of the Mother of God "Seeking the Lost". There were three pilgrims in the group, who later lived among the nuns of the Ascension Convent on the Mount of Olives – schema nun Feodulia, schema nun Fevronia and nun Daria. During the voyage, a storm broke out. It began to threaten the small ship on which the pilgrims sailed so much that they started to pray to the Mother of God with all their hearts and promised Her to paint the icon in Her honor. The ship sailed safely to Jaffa and the pilgrims ordered a large icon of the Mother of God "Seeking the Lost", which they donated to the Convent of Ascension. To this day, on February 5, an all-night vigil is served in honor of this icon of the Mother of God."
In March 1915, a new sorrow fell on the Mouth of Olives and Jerusalem: a black cloud of locusts flew in from the west and flew east across the Dead Sea. This was repeated twice, the first time the locusts were not harmful, but in May the wingless locust appeared. This invasion severely damaged trees and fruits. "Billions were noisily walking on the ground, – wrote one of the monastery sisters, – a clear visible punishment from God, which we had never seen before. We fought the all-devouring locust all day long for a month, beat and burned it and read the akathist… ". The sisters endured all the difficulties with courage. The only consolation in their half-starved and anxiety filled life they found was in prayer and communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ in the nearest Greek church "Little Galilee." At that time, Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Damian, a great friend of Russia, provided great support to the monastery by giving the sisters bread and flour. After the death of the abbess nun Evpraxia, the rassaphore nun Maria (Sushkova), who knew the Arabic language and was at that time the head of the Russian section in Jericho, was appointed the head of the Mt of Olives Convent. Suddenly, the Turkish military authorities demanded the removal of every single sister from the monastery to accommodate their soldiers. The Greek Patriarchate, represented by the Patriarch of Jerusalem Damian, accommodated Eleon sisters in the buildings of several Greek unoccupied monasteries in Jerusalem. The sisters gratefully accepted this offer but still kept a close eye on what was happening in their monastery. Having learned from the Arabs of the village that the soldiers were robbing the monastery property and their belongings, they asked the Jerusalem Patriarchate to intercede for them. His Beatitude Patriarch was not slow to report to the Sultan about what was happening in the monastery, expressing his protest to what was happening. Soon the soldiers, by order of the Turkish authorities, were removed and the sisters were able to gradually return to their native monastery. The exile of the Russian nuns lasted 17 days, after which they were allowed to return to the Convent and pray at the Holy Sepulchre. Upon their return, the sisters found the monastery in a terrible mess: the crosses were removed, the paintings in the chapel of St. John were smeared with lime, and the iconostasis in the refectory was broken. It took a lot of effort to return things to order and times were hard, the country was plagued by hunger and epidemics.
Finally, on November 1918, Jerusalem was taken by British troops. English soldiers were stationed on the Mount of Olives. They lived for a whole month, helping the sisters of the monastery, supplying them with bread, tea and sugar.
On January 1919, the elder sisters and clergy returned to Jerusalem from Alexandria, they had not left Egypt for those long five years. They lived in hardship, but, as if on duty, were awaiting an order to return to Palestine at any moment. With their return, a peaceful life on the Mount of Olives gradually began to settle. Knowing about the plight of the sisters, the new government tried to help them with food, clothing and medicine. Young and physically stronger nuns got jobs on the construction of the road leading from Jerusalem to Jericho. The sisters with weaker health were forced to work as cleaners in the city, mostly in the apartments of the Brits and in the monasteries of the Greeks. Contact with the outside world and engaging in non-monastic business led to sorrows, tears and temptations.
In 1924, the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia appointed Archbishop Anastassy (Gribanovsky) to travel to Jerusalem as an observer of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission.
Archbishop Anastassy (Gribanovsky)
Bishop Anastassy held this position for 11 years until 1935. It remains amazing the energy, foresight, enterprise, patience, endurance, and love for the homeland and the people this man possessed. He managed to establish the life of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission during that difficult time, and he preserved many places in Russian Palestine and Russian monasteries in the Holy Land.
As a spiritual pastor, Bishop Anastassy, fulfilled all the administrative duties assigned to him by the Synod in good conscience, always putting spiritual matters first. One of them he considered was the preservation and nourishment of our monasteries in the Holy Land (including the Eleon monastery, which had a high number of sisters at that time) – these living keepers of monastic traditions. The Bishop not only closely followed the spiritual life of the monastics, but also personally knew all of them, their spiritual growth and shortcomings. He set the divine services in monasteries to a high level, and often served and preached in all our ten churches in the Holy Land, performing tonsure of monks and nuns worthy of this rank. Bishop Anastassy always emphasized the fact that monasticism was the guardian of piety at all times of Christianity.
In 1924, Eleon convent, numbering about 200 nuns, received the official status of a monastery and its superior nun Elisaveta (Vinogradova), became its Abbess. She was elevated to the rank of Abbess with the presentation of the baton by the Bishop Anastassy (Gribanovsky) in 1924. She started to supervise the monastery in 1919.
Abbess Elisaveta (Vinogradova)
During her rule of the monastery, an ordeal occurred – an earthquake in Jerusalem and its environs in 1927. The church, the bell tower, the abbot's house and many sisters' buildings were damaged, and the hard work of restoring the monastery lay ahead. Mother Elizabeth, after everything she experienced, suffered a serious illness and could no longer find the strength to address these concerns. It became necessary to appoint a new abbess. Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovisky), chairman of the ROCOR Synod, chose the nun Pavla (Klyueva) of the Lesninsky Monastery, whom His Eminence knew personally.
Abbess Pavla (Klyueva)
In October 1929, Mother Superior Pavla arrived at the Holy Mount of Olives Convent and took up her duties. Thanks to her wise management, the monastery gradually returned to a normal monastic life, having been shaken during the war. The work of the sisters outside the monastery was partially stopped, and the beginning of the revival of true monastic obediences, namely handicrafts, was laid, which in the future contributed to the restoration of the monastery. Abbess Pavla even organized exhibitions and sales of handicraft works of the sisters for the English-speaking population of Jerusalem. After that, the monastery began to receive orders from everywhere for church handicrafts and icons which funded monastery buildings and structure repairs.
In 1934, due to ill health, Abbess Pavla retired, taking monastic schema vows with the name of Antonia. The newly appointed abbess of the monastery was nun Margarita. She ruled the monastery for only a few days and died on July 15, 1934 in a German hospital in Jerusalem from pneumonia.
In 1934, nun Melania (Nenyukova) became the abbess of the Russian Convent of Ascension. She arrived to Eleon from Yugoslavia two years before, on the recommendation of His Holiness Patriarch Barnabas of Serbia, who personally knew her as a wise nun with high spiritual qualities. With the blessing of Vladyka Anastassy, she carried out difficult and costly renovation of the Church of Ascension, which had suffered greatly from dampness and from the earthquake of 1927.
Abbess Melania (Nenyukova)
The overhaul of the church and the renewal of the painting lasted four years (1937-1941) and were carried out by the nuns themselves and the artist G.A. Aleev. Due to a lack of funds, the temple could not be completely renovated – the dome remained intact. Due to the circumstances, after the death of Abbess Melania, for a relatively long period from 1944 to 1951, the former Abbess Pavla was forced to bear the abbess's cross again – from already 10 years ago as she retired and became schema-abbess Antonia over the years.
From 1951 until 1975, the monastery was headed by Abbess Tamara (Tatiana Konstantinovna Romanova), a princess of imperial blood, daughter of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich Romanov (the court poet "K.R.") and great-granddaughter of Emperor Nicholas I.
Abbess Tamara (Romanova)
Due to her name and connections, Matushka Tamara financially improved the life of the monastery and strengthened the status of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. During her times, a 100th anniversary of the Russian Spiritual Mission was celebrated in 1958 with the presence of the representative of the King of Jordan Hussein. With her active participation, Russian pilgrims from abroad (Europe and USA) resumed their pilgrimage to the Holy Land, which also contributed to the flow of funds to the monastery and made it possible to carry out a number of household works to improve the life of the Convent. Matushka Tamara renewed the monastery's coenobitic way of life and, finally, forbade work outside the monastery for sisters, and arranged a common meal in monastery refectory. She was able to renovate the bell tower, the dome of the Ascension Church, sisters' buildings, water cisterns, and install the electricity and water supply. A great merit of Matushka Tamara was the admission of the Arab Christian girls, many of whom later dedicated their lives to Christ and became nuns in the monastery.
Archimandrite Dimitri (Biakai), the missionary leader and a spiritual father of the monastery, helped Matushka Tamara greatly. Archimandrite Dimitri accepted the Mission in a very sad state. There were almost no sources for its existence, for all sources of income remained in Israel. From the male monastic staff of the Mission, only a few people remained, and at the same time it was necessary to serve three monasteries and a number of Mission churches. After all, even in the Arab zone there are about 25 land plots in very important ecclesiastically-historical localities.
Archimandrite Dimitri (Biakai) with Abbess Tamara
There is information that at first, upon his arrival in Jerusalem, Father Dimitri settled in Gethsemane and served as the confessor of the Gethsemane women's monastery and the Bethany community of the Resurrection of Christ. He was also the rector of the church of St. Mary Magdalene.
After his appointment as Head of the Mission, Father Dimitri, probably around 1952, moved to the Mount of Olives Convent, where other members of the Mission, expelled from the main building near the Trinity Cathedral in Jerusalem, also lived. The Ascension Monastery of Olives, which had vacant rooms and cells after the war, officially became the residence of Archimandrite Dmitry (Biakai) and the headquarters of the Mission headed by him. He received an office and a cell in the "House of the Head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission", called by the sisters "Archimandrite's House".
In the last years of his life, Fr. Dimitri was very sick, lost his sight and therefore wore dark glasses. Back in the 1950s, doctors discovered that he had progressive diabetes mellitus and later – glaucoma, which struck the optic nerve, which caused his vision to fall sharply, and blindness came. Doctors failed to restore vision to Fr. Dimitri. According to the expertise of several independent doctors, his blindness was irreversible. Due to a serious illness, Father Dimitri could no longer manage the affairs of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission. In 1968 he handed over the matters and all the documents to the mission to Archimandrite Anthony (Grabbe) who had arrived to Eleon. Fr. Dimitri himself remained as a member of the brotherhood of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem.
Archimandrite Dimitri (Biakai) with sisters' of the Ascension Convent
Despite his infirmities, Father Dimitri never missed the services in the church, where his cell attendant – nun Apollinaria and other sisters took care of him. At the end of his life he became seriously ill and the services were read to him in his cell.
Father Dimitri died in 1985 at the age of 77, he dedicated 34 years to the ministry of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia in the Holy Land. His grave is located a few meters from the altar of the main temple.
Archimandrite Modest (┼1984) was a long-term confessor of the Ascension Convent.
Among the spiritual fathers of the Eleon, one cannot but mention the Archimandrite Methodius (Popovich, ┼1997). Father Methodius lived in Palestine for 63 years. He led an ascetic life for 49 years on Eleon, in the skete on Pharan (Judean desert) and in the monastery of Sts. the Forefathers at the oak of Mamre.
Archimandrite Methodius (Popovich)
Archimandrite Nectarius (Chernobyl) left abroad during World War II. In Soviet Russia, he was subjected to imprisonment and exile for his faith. Once in Germany, he joined the brotherhood of St. Job of Pochaev. After which he re-located to Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville (USA). In the monastery, he bore many obediences – a choir director, a mechanic, a gardener, a bookbinder and a typesetter in a printing house. By the decree of the Holy Synod in 1966, Abbot Nektarios was transferred to Mt. Athos, to the Ilyinsky skete. And in 1968 Abbot Nektariy was sent to the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem for a period of 1 year. The trip was the last and Fr. Nektarios, having stayed in Jerusalem for 33 years, becoming the most memorable spiritual father for both Mt. of Olives and Gethsemane monasteries, peacefully reposed on July 31, 2000 on the Mount of Olives, where he was buried in the monastery cemetery.
Archimandrite Nectarius (Chernobyl)
From 1975 until 1984 the Monastery was headed by Abbess Theodosia (Baranova). Between 1977 and 1978 the second minor renovation of the Ascension Church was done, during which the murals were restored by nun Taisia (Ostryakova), who was already 80 years old, with the help of other sisters. The overhaul of the church and the restoration of the dome were carried out at the expense of the benefactress from Switzerland Ekaterina Sergeevna Fisher (┼1991). In 1984, Abbess Theodosia was transferred as an abbess to the Gethsemane monastery.
Abbess Paraskeva (Zelberkrein) was appointed, from among her Eleon sisters, as an abbess and headed the monastery from 1984 until 1989. During her times, the 100th anniversary of the consecration of the Holy Ascension Church (1886-1986) was celebrated with the participation of Metropolitan Vitaly, Archbishop Anthony of Geneva and Archbishop Paul of Australia.
Abbess Paraskeva (Zelberkrein)
From 1989 to 1993, the Eleon Monastery was ruled by Abbess Barbara (Epova ┼2003) from Australia. The head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission (REM) in Jerusalem (ROCOR) was then her compatriot, Archimandrite Alexei (Rosentul). Since then an active pilgrimage of "Russian Australians" began to support the Holy Land, giving their material support to monasteries, and replenishing nuns and priests.
From 1993 to 1997, Abbess Juliana (Zarzar) was appointed as an Abbess, an Arab by nationality and a native of Bethlehem, who was raised in the Gorny monastery from infancy. She was the headmistress of an Orthodox missionary school in Chile, where she later returned after her almost five-year abbess obedience.
Nun Rafaila (Abu Lel)
From 1996 to 2021, the nun Raphaela (Abu Lel), an Arab by nationality, carried the obedience of the abbess of the monastery. During 3 months in 1997, she was at the head of the monastery in the absence of an abbess (Mother Juliana left to Chile, and a new abbess had not yet been appointed). Mother Raphaela joined the monastery at the age of 13, in 1954, on the feast of the Three Holy Hierarchs. She performed various obediences as a church choir-singer, reader, embroiderer. She also sewed and knitted beads, etc. Nun Raphaela mastered embroidery of several mitres which are still used during divine church services. She perfectly knew the liturgical rules, and spoke Arabic, Russian and English languages. Nun Raphaela was called the "peacemaker" because she always knew how to mitigate various conflicts between people. In 1997, Archbishop Hilarion (Corporal – the future First Hierarch of ROCOR), after the appointment of Abbess Moissea, awarded nun Raphaela the right to wear the pectoral cross for the excellent performance of her service as a leader, as well as for many years of conscientious service on Mt of Olives Convent.
For quite an extensive period of time, i.e. from 1997 until 2017, Abbess Moisea (Bubnova ┼2021) was the Abbess of the Ascension Convent on the Mount of Olives.
Abbess Moisea (Bubnova)
During her management of the monastery, in 2007 the "Act of Canonical Communion" was signed between the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. Matushka was very fond of Russia and often visited it, she also participated in the work of the Inter-Council Presence Commission of the Moscow Patriarchate on the organization of the life of monasteries and monasticism. After the unification and the establishment of a visa-free regime between Israel and Russia and Ukraine, the state of the monastery improved significantly. Abbess of Moses undertook costly restoration and renovation work in both churches and the chapel. During her time managing the Convent, the bell tower "Russian Candle" was completely renovated, mainly at the expense of benefactors from Russia. New bells were installed, a new cross was erected on the Ascension Church, the hotel and the refectory were renovated, the kitchen was refurbished, roofs were covered, and repairs were made in many cells and buildings. Many sisters from Russia, Ukraine, Romania and other countries also joined the monastery at that time.
In 2017, Abbess Moissea retired for health reasons and the monastery was headed by one of the oldest and most respected nuns of the Eleon Monastery, nun Varvara (Novikova), a native of Odessa. Matushka Varvara took part in the construction and repair works of the monastery and continues this work, already being the Abbess of the monastery.
From 2017 to this day, Abbess Varvara (Novikova) is the abbess of the Russian Convent of Ascension on Mount of Olives. The head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission of the ROCOR is Archimandrite Roman (Krasovsky). The head office of the Mission itself is located on the territory of the Convent of Ascension on Mt. of Olives.
The monastery nowadays consists of many sisters from the USA, Russia, Ukraine, France, Germany, Romania, Estonia, and Belarus.
And finally, the chronology of the abbesses of the monastery for more than 100 years of history:
Nun Evpraxia (1904-1914),
Abbess Elizabeth (1919-1929),
Abbess Pavla (Kluyeva) (1929-1934),
Nun Margarita (1934),
Abbess Melania (Nenukova) (1934-1944),
Schema-Abbess Antonia (Kluyeva) (Abbess Pavla) – 2nd time: 1944-1951,
Abbess Tamara (Romanova) (1951-1975),
Abbess Feodosia (Baranova) (1975-1984),
Abbess Paraskeva (Zelberkrein) (1984-1989),
Abbess Varvara (Epova) (1989-1993),
Abbess Juliana (Zarzar) (1993-1997),
Nun Rafaila (Abu-Lel) (1997 (3 months)),
Abbess Moisseia (Bubnoff) (1997 – 2017),
Abbess Varvara (Novikova) from 2017 up to date.
This is, in short, the history of our monastery! With deep gratitude, we will always remember the builder and founder, Archimandrite Antonin (Kapustin), and his faithful companion, Abbot Parthenius. We will never forget prayerfully all the subsequent workers of our monastery. Our monastery gives us inexpressible happiness and it is where we are called to serve and work. Memory eternal to them!
Glory to Thee, our God!
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Для паломников/For pilgrims


Though English is considered an international language, many of us view music as the true language of intercultural communication. In this lesson students write their responses to selected pieces of music while listening to music soundtracks. Afterwards, they discuss their answers in English. This enjoyable lesson enables the students to express their likes, dislikes, and opinions in English, and exposes them to other cultures.
Materials needed are a compilation of music from around the world, a CD or cassette tape player, a World Music Quiz Handout Sheet & Answer Sheet, and a world map.
If you happen to be a world music buff, ransack your own collection. Most CD shops carry a variety of world music compilations such as "The Pocket Womad" by WOMAD Productions, "Global Celebrations" by Ellipsis Arts, and "The Real World Sampler" by Real World. We played all tracks for a maximum of 3 minutes; however, this may be adjusted to accommodate the level of the class.
The countries and languages categories selected depend on the music that is chosen. In some cases, the language may be unknown even to the teacher. In that situation you can generalize and say "an Indian language," "a Chinese language," or "an African language." After the vocabulary content of the boxes is decided, set up the "Quiz Sheet" by making a grid with the song numbers listed vertically on the left and the categories running horizontally along the top of the page.
Make an explanatory sheet stating the track numbers, artist's name, song title, country/continent and language. This information is interesting for many students. They can refer to it if they are particularly interested in a piece of music.
The number of pre-lessons on vocabulary and background knowledge required will depend on the students' level. If your focus is on geography or cultures, more in-depth preparation may be needed.
In the classroom, hand out the "Quiz Sheet" and explain to the students that as they listen to each track they should fill in the correct spaces from the options in the box. Next, turn on the music.
After the first step is finished, elicit answers from the students yourself, or pair them up to discuss in English where the music comes from, their opinions of the music, and their reasons for choosing their answers. Next, hand out the answer sheet. This could lead to a more in-depth discussion of countries and cultures.
To focus on writing, play the music with no handout, allow time between songs so the students can take notes in Japanese, and for homework have them write English paragraphs which reflect their images, feelings, impressions and so on.
If you wish to explore cultural comparisons, more time should be given to discussing the similarities and differences of music and the uses of music within cultures. Some of the above-mentioned compilation CDs come with booklets or short explanations of the purpose of the song (for example, festivals, weddings, funerals, etc.). It's very interesting to include a range of Japanese music like Okinawan and Ainu music to show students the cultural variety of music in Japan.
This activity lends itself to a variety of follow-up activities.
Students choose one of the countries, research it, and do either a written or oral report.
Students write about an imaginary trip to one of the countries.
Give students an outline map and have them fill in the names of the appropriate countries.
Not only is this lesson simple and fun, but it is also extremely versatile. It can be adapted to all levels of students and to all kinds of classes. Whether you use it in a conversation, writing or culture class it will enhance the student's English, creativity and global understanding. The music exposes students to a variety of cultures and languages, increases their geographical knowledge and in the process helps to break down racial/cultural stereotypes. The discussion afterwards allows students to express themselves in English.


In this lesson you will review the present tense verb forms you have seen so far and add all of the others found in Hellenistic Greek.
You will expand your understanding of how the present tense was used in Hellenistic Greek.
English has separate ways of expressing the simple present and the present progressive.
I eat lunch in the cafeteria. . . [almost every day].
I am eating lunch in the cafeteria. . . [right now].
Hellenistic Greek used the same present tense forms listed above to express both of these ideas. You must use the larger context to determine the precise meaning.
I am eating in the cafeteria. . . [right now].
I am eating in the cafeteria. . . [next Tuesday].
It is the larger context ("right now" versus "next Tuesday") that tells us one statement is intended as present while the other is intended as future. It is not the verb form itself that conveys this information.
Using Context Clues. Context is crucial in determining the precise meaning of any part of a text. Hellenistic Greek verb forms distinguished more clearly than English between present and future tense, but less clearly than English between simple and progressive aspect in these two tenses. You must always examine the context to determine whether simple or progressive aspect is intended with the Greek present and future tenses.
Context is also crucial in determining whether to translate a Hellenistic Greek present as an English present or as an English simple past. In both English and Greek it is possible to use a present tense verb form to talk about something that happened in the past.
We went to the mall yesterday. James buys a new bike, and within ten minutes he's in trouble for riding it inside the mall.
The present tense verb forms "buys" and "he's" (short for "he is") are used here to refer to something that happened "at the mall yesterday." This same strategy of using the present tense to make a discussion about the past sound more immediate and exciting was used in Hellenistic Greek. Scholars call this the historical present. When you encounter a present tense form, you cannot assume that it refers to the present. You must examine the context to be sure.
What you can know for sure when you encounter a Greek present form is that the focus is not on when the action begins or ends. The Greek present form indicates imperfective verbal aspect. That is, it conveys a focus on the ongoing action, not on the beginning or end of the process.
You have already seen many of the forms used for the present tense. Some were introduced in lesson 8. Others have shown up in the reading and translation exercises since then. In this lesson you will review those forms and learn the rest.
The present and future of Ω Conjugation verbs (like ἀκού-ω) use the same set of endings.
The difference between the present and future verb forms is the stem they use. You will learn to recognize the future tense stem in the next lesson. The present tense uses the stem you see in the lexical form of each verb.
Compare the list of endings above to the forms of the verb ἀκούω below. When you are confident that you can recognize all six of these endings, you are ready to complete the exercises below and move on to the discussion of μι conjugation verbs.
She hears, He hears, It hears, etc.
Practice recognizing the person and number of present tense forms of ω conjugation verbs.
Practice distinguishing between present and aorist forms of ω conjugation verbs.
Μι Conjugation verbs (like δίδω-μι) use a different set of endings in the present tense, and you have only seen a few of these so far.
Take a few minutes to study these endings and compare them to the forms for the present tense of δίδωμι below.
She gives, He gives, It gives, etc.
Stem vowel quality. The singular forms of μι conjugation verbs have a long stem vowel (δίδωμι) while the plural forms have its short equivalent (δίδομεν). This difference in vowel quality is characteristic of the present tense of μι conjugation verbs.
Reduplication. The present tense stem of most μι conjugation verbs is formed through a process called reduplication. Reduplication is a doubling of the first syllable. The form of the reduplicated syllable depends on the first sound of the basic stem.
If the basic stem begins with a stop (a consonant that stops the flow of air for an instant), that consonant is repeated, as with δί-δω-μι.
If the stem begins with a fricative (a consonant that does not stop the air flow, but restricts it), the fricative consonant is repeated by a non-fricative equivalent, as with τί-θη-μι.
In both of these cases, the vowel used to separate the reduplicated consonant from the original is ι.
If the stem begins with σ (a sibilant), the redupication takes a quite different form. The σ itself is not doubled, but the ι is written with a rough breathing mark, as with ἵ-στη-μι.
A sibilant is a consonant produced by placing the tongue close to the roof of the mouth, just behind the teeth, and forcing air between the tongue and the roof of the mouth.
If the first sound of the basic stem is a vowel, reduplication does not occur. There is no reduplication in the verb ἀπόλλυμι, for example (ἀπό + ὄλλυμι = ἀπόλλυμι, I ruin, destroy).
Practice recognizing the present tense person and number of μι conjugation verbs.
Practice distinguishing between present and aorist forms of μι conjugation verbs.
Look over the following vocabulary list, but do not try to memorize all of the words yet. Just read through the list of Greek words and English translation suggestions. Then complete the reading and translation exercise. After completing that exercise, return to this list and try to memorize any words you still do not recognize.
Verbs are listed with their lexical form followed by their aorist indicative first singular form.
In a specifically religious context, ἀμήν can be translated as "amen," but you should keep in mind that at the time of the Greek New Testament, the word did not have a specifically religious meaning. That developed later.
if When εἰ is used to introduce a question, it is often necessary to leave εἰ untranslated. In printed Greek texts, questions end with a question mark (;). When you see that mark at the end of a clause introduced by εἰ, leave εἰ untranslated.
Λέγω appears in the present tense 656 times in the Greek New Testament. That's more than any other ω conjugation verb.
1. Based on your knowledge of the words βασιλεία and βασιλεύς, guess at the meaning of the verb βασιλεύω in the following sentence.Ἀρχέλαος = Archelaus (a person's name).
The word Ἰουδαίας is feminine singular here. It is being used as the name of a geographical place: Judea. It does not mean "Jewish" in this context.
7. [ἐπερωτάω = I ask. While this verb is spelled ἐπερωτάω in all lexica, you will never find it spelled exactly that way in any actual Greek text. Instead, you will find ἐπερωτῶ.
I ask you, is it lawful?
I ask you, is it necessary?
Notice that the only difference between the statement in number 8 and the question in number 9 is the question mark (;) at the end.
10. Based on your knowledge of the words ἀγαθός and ποιέω, guess the meaning of ἀγαθοποιῆσαι in the sentence below. If you don't recognize the ending -σαι review lesson 14 (Infinitives).
I ask you if it is right to destroy on the Sabbath.
The good person produces what is good from the good treasure of his heart.
Thank You. You have completed the reading and translation exercise for this lesson. Now return to the vocabulary list and work on memorizing any words you still do not recognize. The vocabulary games and exercises below can help you with this task.


Begarin provides technical services to the industries of Engineering, Education, Scientific Research, Casino Gaming, Government, and Social Enterprise. We are experienced with domestic and overseas project work with a number of customers located in other countries.
A summary of key CYBER SECURITY related news.
Bristol Airport has blamed a ransomware attack for causing a blackout of flight information screens.
Endian – a powerful and easy-to-use Open Source Unified Threat Management system.


"I have always used this seed, the birds love it, but found it hard to get. This will not last me very long so I will be back in touch for more. Thank you."
"Great service and great price.."
"Easy to order with .Easy payment.Delivery really good .All round a good buy .I will be using them again .Many Thanks Primrose."
"Birds love the food. I'll be back"


text:
<?php

namespace LooplineSystems\CloseIoApiWrapper\Library\Exception;

class UrlNotSetException extends \Exception {

    /**
     * {@inheritdoc}
     */
    public function __construct()
    {
        parent::__construct('Url not set');
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Join Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic's St. Mary Medical Center as a full-time Gastroenterologist and help build its in-house GI team in Langhorne, Pennsylvania. In this role, you will be given both system-wide support and plenty of autonomy to develop a practice that successfully fills the needs of both patients and GI providers. This role also involves a mix of inpatient and outpatient clinical work and candidates can expect to see 15 to 20 patients per day. Become a key driver of innovation at a facility that's promotes excellence, quality, and compassion throughout the healthcare industry.
Opportunity to lead and build an in-house GI team
Mix of inpatient and outpatient care
Opportunity to build your own patient panel
Generous PTO and dedicated CME with professional allowance
Base salary plus incentive opportunity
On-site lab and diagnostic services
Must be board-certified or board-eligible
2+ years' of experience is preferred, but new graduates will also be considered
Situated on 53 acres in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, St. Mary Medical Center is a 371-bed hospital staffed by more than 700 physicians, 3,000 colleagues and over 1,000 dedicated volunteers. It serves a largely underserved population and provides advanced non-invasive treatments, adult and pediatric emergency services, inpatient medical and rehabilitation facilities, along with supportive health and wellness programs €" earning the America's 100 Best Hospitals award for three years in a row.
Langhorne is a small but highly diverse and friendly community 30 minutes northeast of Philadelphia. For families, it's one of the best areas to live while remaining close to the big city. Langhorne boasts excellent schools, has a robust transit system and a low crime rate. The beautiful Lake Luxembourg is a common recreational spot. With its mild climate, you'll be able to enjoy hiking, biking, boating and fishing nearly every month of the year.
Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic is the largest Catholic healthcare system serving the greater Philadelphia area. Comprised of four acute care facilities and their LIFE and Home Health programs, Trinity's hospitals, medical offices, specialized facilities, affiliated institutions and foundations employ more than 9,000 colleagues. This mission-driven health system is dedicated to serving as a compassionate, transforming and healing presence within its communities.
Job ID Number: 16630
Facility Name: St. Mary Medical Center
Location Name: Langhorne
Brand Name: Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic
Provider Profession: Physician/Surgeon
Medical Specialty: Gastroenterology
Job Setting: Hospital
Type of Role: Clinical
Email: nathan.reed@psdrecruit.org
CP: Yes
CB: Yes
NP:
PA:
HC: Yes
IS: No
YM: No
J1: No
H1B: No
Let's get in touch If you have questions about this specific job or others, I'm all ears. Send me a note and we'll be one step closer to the right opportunity.
Nathan P Reed Provider Recruiter
nathan.reed@psdrecruit.org
Posted: 2021-11-11 Expires: 2022-02-04
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
TV RECAP: Agent Carter – Episode 7: "Snafu"
NOTE: I was recapping AGENT CARTER episodes for The Escapist, and it seemed to have a decent following. Since I hate leaving things undone (and because I want to show all you wonderful folks donating to the Patreon that you're going to see a steady run of work) I'll post the remaining two here.
At this point, AGENT CARTER has turned out to be so solid that all it will need to do in it's eighth and final episode is not end on a note of total disaster and it'll immediately assume a position among the very best of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's not many TV shows that can fit a riot, an explosive self-sacrifice suicide, an indoor parkour battle, creepy hypnotism and a slapstick almost-jailbreak around the edges of what remains both a cracking good spy story and an extended metaphor for the invisibility of women in post-WWII America.
After a cold-open featuring some of that aforementioned creepy hypnotism (revealing that, as suspected, the evil Russian psychiatrist is indeed Doctor Faustus), "Snafu" dives right into the setpiece teased last time: Carter's interrogation at the hands of Chief Dooley, Agent Thompson and Agent Sousa. This quickly turns into an opportunity for Peggy to finally come clean – not about her double-agent duty for Stark, but about how she really feels about her male colleagues and the way they've all treated her as a projection of their own issues (Dooley is patronizing, Thompson is all macho bluster and Sousa is a resentful spurned-"nice guy.")
She's sidetracked, though, when Jarvis turns up with a plan of his own: Buy time with a fake confession from Howard Stark. Given the ongoing themes of the show, it's not exactly surprising that his grand heroic gesture only makes things more difficult; and Carter has to reveal the entire sequence of events up to this point including that last vial of Captain America's blood. Refreshingly, Thompson and Sousa believe her right away and set off for a confrontation with Dottie (aka Black Widow '46) that doesn't go especially well.
Ultimately, everything comes down to a main character being forced to make the ultimate sacrifice, after having been fitted with a malfunctioning suit of electrified Stark armor (heh) refitted into a suicide-bomb. More troublingly, it turns out Leviathan has no interest in Cap's blood (or doesn't know it exists): They're after another item. Part of me was hoping that it was The Winter Soldier's bionic arm, but it turns out to be a gas weapon that can turn anyone exposed to it (in this case a movie theater audience) into feral killers driven to murder eachother.
Where's this all going? Well, with the reveal of the poison gas (which, it must be said, loses something by virtue of being so similar to an impossible-to-top plot device in KINGSMAN) and the still-unanswered questions in the central mystery (who wiped-out a squad of Russian soldiers without using any weapons during the war, why was Howard Stark on the site of that massacre a day later and why did Stark stop doing business with the Military) I think a basic outline can be surmised: The army used Stark's gas on the Russians, Stark saw what it did and withdrew from weapons-making and Leviathan is actually out for revenge against the U.S.
If that's where they're going, it's pretty dark; but it certainly fits in with the series' secondary theme of Peggy watching the clean-cut good vs evil clash of WWII morph into the amoral morass of the Cold War right before her eyes. It also provides – along with S.S.R HQ being blown to hell after they failed rather decisively to do the one thing they're supposed to do by being a backwards-looking boy's club – a potential reason for why it might be scrapped and replaced with the more forward-looking (at least in theory), globalized idea of S.H.I.E.L.D; which we already know Carter is a co-founder of (a note which I imagine will be the punchline of the series.)
It's also interesting because it ups the ante on how the series plans to utilize what's now been revealed as a red herring: Captain America's blood.
We know the blood can't survive into the present, because if it did someone would've successfully duplicated the Super Soldier Serum well before THE AVENGERS. It's looking like there's no room for my pet-theory of Sousa becoming an MCU version of William Burnside, so I'm guessing instead it'll be something more like having to use the blood's restorative properties to save someone whose been gravely wounded, maybe Sousa or Thompson. (Or, alternate theory, it'll be stolen and used to create/maintain Winter Soldier, since I'm not done hoping that plot-point doesn't crop up in here somewhere.)
The MovieBob Post-Escapist FAQ (UPDATED with Patreon info!)
Whelp Of Wall Street


We are taking a quick break from professional tax software to tell you about the most popular topic here in Iowa today – SNOW!
Each year, an average of 105 snow-producing storms affect the continental United States. A typical storm will have a snow-producing lifetime of two to five days and will bring snow to portions of several states.
Chionophobia is a fear of snow. (stumped spellcheck on that one).
A blizzard occurs when you can't see for ¼ mile. The winds are always 35 miles an hour or more. The storm must last at least 3 hours to be classed as a blizzard. If any of these conditions are less, it is only a snowstorm.
The average snowflake falls at a speed of 3.1 miles per hour (5 kilometers).


text:
Q: Using variable as a LIKE statement for SQL query in Python Attempting to obtain certain information from columns in a database to create .csv files. Created code to successfully query for a single row, but have to obtain the same information for each row in the database. Each category has multiple rows, therefore I have to use LIKE statement.
#code in python for querying and printing multiple rows for a category
data = c.execute("SELECT x,y, CAST( (direction*180/3.142)as INT),CAST(quality*100 as INT) from UTS_6_fingerprints where finger like 'lt_94' ")
for row in data:
    print row

A: Just use parameters.  For instance:
data = c.execute("""
SELECT x, y
       CAST( (direction*180/3.142)as INT) as col3,
       CAST(quality*100 as INT) as col4
FROM UTS_6_fingerprints
WHERE finger LIKE :pattern
""", {'pattern', 'lt_94'})

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


THE THALIAN HALL EXPERIENCE OFFERS MORE THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE!
For the first time ever, the grandson of President Harry S. Truman protays the 33rd President on stage.
Clifton Truman Daniel is in the news!
Click HERE For the Star News Review!
And HERE For the Encore Magazine Review!
WGNI: Thunder Strikes at Thalian Hall!


She's back. After appearing as a supporting character in Metroid Prime: Federation Force, the legendary bounty hunter Samus Aran once again makes landfall on SR388 to carry out a mission to exterminate the mysterious Metroid organisms.
The Internet collectively swooned and combusted when Metroid: Samus Returns was revealed at E3 2017, developer MercurySteam "honoured" to have had the chance to work with Nintendo to break down 1991 Game Boy action-adventure Metroid II: Return of Samus, to rebuild it entirely from scratch for a new generation to experience on Nintendo 3DS.
After misreading what the loyal fan base was longing for with Metroid: Other M and Metroid Prime: Federation Force, it wouldn't be an overstatement to say that this reboot is wholly needed. Not only in heralding a return to the intense, side-scrolling gameplay that veteran players have missed for far too long, but in lending a clearer reason as to why newcomers should start to become invested in the bounty hunter's escapades as Metroid Prime 4 on Nintendo Switch draws ever closer.
Those that have already tackled the particularly punishing Metroid II: Return of Samus will know that the game's story presents a critical moment in Samus Aran's tale that leads straight into the events that unfold in Super Metroid. That chance to revisit and retouch such a pivotal point was, therefore, understandably irresistible, but MercurySteam has been given enough leeway to modernise the somewhat aged 26-year old foundation.
I was lucky enough to spend just over another hour with the Nintendo 3DS exclusive, exploring Area 1, as I was told is how Samus uncreatively labels it, that lies immediately after the tutorial section shown at E3 2017. This area hides four Metroids, and our challenge was to hunt them out and defeat them in the time given.
Choosing to play in stereoscopic 3D on a New Nintendo 3DS, what readily impresses is the concerted effort to nail the visual style. There will be some that will miss the classic 8-bit pixels, but Samus stands defiantly in intricately layered and interwoven environments that breathe far more life into the Metroid home planet.
That won't come as a surprise to anyone that wandered the gothic world that MercurySteam created for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate, and it's clear that lessons and visual trickery learned with the hardware then have been put into practice once more.
It results in a far more immersive experience, made all the more engaging by the freedom that you are given to explore your surroundings. Whether wall jumping, morphing into a ball to roll around a restrictive tunnel or grabbing on to ledges as you clamber around, there is a tremendous fluidity to your exploration. And surprises, too, that make SR388 feel all the more hostile, and Samus an unwelcome guest.
The best example of that was when I ran into a room filled with molten lava, dashed out when I noticed that it was sapping my energy, and continued to explore the labyrinthine corridors, only to end up entering the same room from the other side. I laughed that off, but there is a helpful mapping system on the touchscreen that will plot out all the rooms you have been to as you explore, as well as letting you mark anything that you have spotted.
Aeion abilities, powered by a mysterious new resource called, well, Aeion, will also help you on your mission, although at such an early point in the game I only had access to Scan Pulse. It briefly reveals any breakable objects in your immediate vicinity, and what lies in the rooms around you on the map – an optional hint system that will help to point you in the right direction when needed.
The planet feels all the more inhospitable thanks to the alien creatures that call it home. They're everywhere. The new 360-degree aiming makes taking them down all the more gratifying, Samus planting her feet firmly on the ground as the player targets their enemy. If you get too close, enemies will readily lunge at you, but, there is a new melee counterattack move that can see you knock them back to then unload your plasma cannon into them – if your timing's good enough.
Weapon and suit upgrades, as always, will let you explore more freely, with Area 1 hiding the Bombs for the Morph Ball, the Ice Beam, and the Spider Ball. Everyone that was in the same session as me all discovered these in a different order, so, that should give you some idea as to how loose the structure is in each area. There are still rooms that will require certain upgrades to access – whether that be using the Ice Beam to freeze enemies in place as makeshift ledges – but you're largely left to your own curiosity.
There are more menacing enemies that likely lie deeper below SR388's surface, but, in Area 1, the toughest enemies were the Alpha Metroid. These enemies flat around above you dropping bombs of electricity, and, after slamming them with a melee counterattack when they eventually lunge at you, defeating them only requires a missile barrage to their squidgy bellies. I'm far more excited to see what tougher bosses MercurySteam will throw at us, though.
Metroid: Samus Returns, so far, promises to be everything that you could ever want from a Metroid game: hauntingly atmospheric, brutally action-packed, riddled with secrets, and unpredictable, even. With the four Alpha Metroid eradicated to activate the second Chozo Seal, I can't wait to discover what comes next.
Metroid: Samus Returns will release exclusively for Nintendo 3DS worldwide on September 15th.


You know what's great about making a salad?
The possibilities are ENDLESS! Sure when you go to a restaurant the ingredients are pretty set, but that doesn't have to be the case at home. Even better, adding in super sweet, ripe fruits can be a wonderful way to introduce children to a salad they won't turn their nose up at.
Right now is a great time for peaches! Picking the right peaches is easy. Look for fruits that are fragrant and soft but not mushy. Skin near the stem should be yellow or cream colored, but not green.
Let's mix salty and sweet flavors with peaches this summer.
Of course, start by washing your hands. But also wash all the produce. For this recipe, created by San Francisco Rubicon chef Stuart Brioza, we'll be using peaches, arugula and basil.
Try the ingredients before putting it all together so you and your little one can talk about how combining these flavors and cooking them changes each piece. Do the peaches become sweeter after grilling? How does adding pancetta change the peach's flavor?
Halve and pit two medium freestone peaches. Then cut into 8 wedges. Use 16 slices of pancetta — a cured meat similar to bacon. It's pork belly that has been salt cured and spiced.
Lay the pancetta slices out on a work surface. Set a peach wedge at the edge of each slice. Have your little one season with salt and pepper and top with a basil leaf. Roll up the pancetta covering the peaches.
In a medium skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add half of the wrapped peaches and cook over moderate heat, turning occasionally, until the pancetta is browned and crisp, about four minutes. Transfer to a plate and repeat until all the peaches are cooked.
Then, lightly drizzle the peaches with aged balsamic vinegar.
These can be eaten now, but let's add a little more green.
Place the peaches atop arugula salad with blue cheese crumbles and toasted walnuts. Blue cheese may be too strong for your little one's palette. If that's the case, add a mellower cheese like feta and enjoy!
Try to work fast. The peaches are best when still warm.


text:
package main

import (
	"encoding/json"
	"fmt"
	"html/template"
	"net"
	"net/http"

	"github.com/Shopify/sarama"
	log "github.com/Sirupsen/logrus"
	"golang.org/x/net/websocket"
)

type flowbro struct{}

func (f *flowbro) onConnected() func(ws *websocket.Conn) {
	return func(ws *websocket.Conn) {
		log.Println("Opened WebSocket connection!")

		var configJSON configJSON
		err := websocket.JSON.Receive(ws, &configJSON)
		if err != nil {
			ws.Close()
			log.Println("Didn't receive config from WebSocket!", err)
			return
		}

		config, err := processConfig(&configJSON)
		if err != nil {
			sendError(fmt.Sprintf("Closing WebSocket connection due to: %v\n", err), ws)
			ws.Close()
			return
		}

		c, bookieCounts, cluster, ok := setupKafka(ws, config)
		if !ok {
			return
		}

		process(ws, c, sender{}, configJSON.Rules, configJSON.FSMId, configJSON.HeartbeatUUID, bookieCounts)

		if !config.tutorial {
			cluster.close()
		}
		ws.Close()
	}
}

func setupKafka(ws *websocket.Conn, config *config) (chan *sarama.ConsumerMessage, map[string]int64, *cluster, bool) {
	bookieCounts := map[string]int64{}
	bookie, f := bookie{}, fsm{}
	var err error
	if config.bookieUrl != "" {
		bookie = newBookie(config.bookieUrl)
		f, err = bookie.fsm(config.fsmId)
		if len(config.fsmId) > 0 && err != nil {
			log.WithFields(log.Fields{"err": err, "fsmId": config.fsmId, "url": bookie.url}).Warn("Failed to fetch FSMId from Bookie.")
		}
	}

	if config.tutorial {
		sendSuccess("Starting tutorial. Flowbro is not really connected to a Kafka broker; messages are being mocked.", ws)
		return tutorial(), bookieCounts, &cluster{}, true
	}

	cluster := setupCluster(config, f)
	if len(cluster.es.errors) > 0 {
		sendError(fmt.Sprintf("Closing WebSocket connection due to errors while setting up partition consumers: %v", cluster.es.errors), ws)
		cluster.close()
		ws.Close()
		return nil, bookieCounts, nil, false
	}

	c := joinMessages(cluster.chs)

	for _, t := range config.bookieCountOnly {
		if len(config.fsmId) == 0 {
			sendError(fmt.Sprintf("Note that, since fsmId is not set, you won't see any events coming from topic %v", t), ws)
			continue
		}

		if ti, ok := f.Topics[t]; ok {
			bookieCounts[t] = ti.Count
			continue
		}
		sendError(fmt.Sprintf("Didn't find message count for topic %v for fsmID %v on Bookie", t, f.Id), ws)
	}

	return c, bookieCounts, &cluster, true
}

func sendError(error string, ws *websocket.Conn) {
	log.Printf(error)

	byt, err := json.Marshal([]event{{EventType: "log", Text: error, Color: "error"}})
	if err != nil {
		log.Printf("Error while marshalling error: err=%v\n", err)
		return
	}

	websocket.Message.Send(ws, string(byt))
}

func sendSuccess(text string, ws *websocket.Conn) {
	log.Printf(text)

	byt, err := json.Marshal([]event{{EventType: "log", Text: text, Color: "happy"}})
	if err != nil {
		log.Printf("Error while marshalling error: err=%v\n", err)
		return
	}

	websocket.Message.Send(ws, string(byt))
}

func (f *flowbro) baseHandler(template *template.Template) func(http.ResponseWriter, *http.Request) {
	return func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
		if r.URL.Path == "/" && r.URL.RawQuery == "" {
			if err := serveBaseHTML(template, w, r); err != nil {
				log.Printf("Loading base page failed; ignoring. err=%v\n", err)
			}
		} else {
			http.FileServer(http.Dir("webroot")).ServeHTTP(w, r)
		}
	}
}

func serve(f *flowbro, baseTemplate *template.Template, listener *net.TCPListener) {
	mux := http.NewServeMux()
	mux.Handle("/ws", websocket.Handler(f.onConnected()))
	mux.HandleFunc("/", f.baseHandler(baseTemplate))

	err := http.Serve(listener, mux)
	if err != nil {
		log.Println("Flowbro server went down: ", err)
	}
}


text:
Sonification/audification of Data?
Might you be willing to share your thoughts on the appropriate sonification/audification of multidimensional data, vis a vis facilitating researchers' ability to navigate and "mine" complex and otherwise hard-to-comprehend data?
(The following book might be a Volume I of such an investigation. Schafer, R. M. The Tuning of the World. New York: Knopf, 1977. )
With Gratitude and Interest,
Ross Mohan
-- Ross Mohan (email)
Response to Next Steps, If Any, in Sonification/Audification of Data?
Perhaps there are opportunities to extend sound as content: adding sound to electrocardiograms, making voice annotations to photographs, having data points when selected speak their names, and so on. We have to be alert, though, to the sources of failure of talking refrigerators (which proved highly irritating to people).
A different matter is the use of sound as a code to represent data variation--that is, sound as a glyph. It sure adds a different mode to data analysis, but a convincing demo is needed to make the case. Just now I tried downloading several sonification examples but their software didn't seem to like my software; perhaps the sonification researchers could work on their communication skills.
Color and motion also represent opportunities for displaying multivariate information. Some impressive efforts at color and motion have not caught on.
I should see some good demos before saying anything else. Any suggestions?
Perhaps an interesting place to spur your consideration of this topic would be "video" games for the blind. The ways that they convey information that is otherwise rendered visually can be very interesting. And what a visceral impact!
-- Madhu Sudana (email)
An interesting article regarding helping the blind with visualizations:
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20021024-034855-5479r
This article provides an interesting approach to finding programming bugs ... code is translated into "music", and one apparently catches bugs by hearing discrepancies in the sounds - from what one expects to hear.
http://www.trnmag.com/Stories/2002/080702/Programming_tool_makes_bugs_sing_080702.html
Michael Round
-- Michael Round (email)
Victor Neiderhoffer tells an interesting story in "The Education of a Speculator". He had some sort of computer voice system reading currency exchange rates over the public address system at his trading house. He had the programmers calculate how much each move in exchange rates lost for his company, and insert an appropriately strong obscenity or profanity into the stream of announcements.
Eventually, they took the system out, as the traders found it unnerving when the computer took the words right out of their mouths.
The Education of a Speculator Victor Niederhoffer ISBN: 0-471-24948-3
-- Jim Landis (email)
An interesting footnote, re: the blind and the auditory-visual information continuum: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/11/magazine/11ideas_section3-14.html?ex=1135054800&en=ff2c8dda1e02cbd3&ei=5070
-- Ryan Blum (email)
The composer/architect Xenakis was able to pass off sonic representations of data as some of the most challenging music (for music's sake) in the post-war period. From Wiki:
"[Xenakis] is particularly remembered ... for the use of stochastic mathematical techniques in his compositions, including probability (Maxwell-Boltzmann kinetic theory of gases in Pithoprakta, aleatory distribution of points on a plane in Diamorphoses, minimal constraints in Achorripsis, Gaussian distribution in ST/10 and Atrees, Markovian chains in Analogiques), game theory (in Duel and Strategie), group theory (Nomos Alpha), and Boolean algebra (in Herma and Eonta). In keeping with his use of probabilistic theories, many of Xenakis' pieces are, in his own words, "a form of composition which is not the object in itself, but an idea in itself, that is to say, the beginnings of a family of compositions." Unlike most of his contemporaries(i.e. Milton Babbitt, Schoenberg), Xenakis did not want the listener to be aware of the forms and theories used to produce his compositions."
Probably not the best way to TEACH boolean algebra or the kinetic theory of gases, but an absorbing way to enjoy these topics' form.
There's a startup out of Hanover, NH (Dartmouth College) called Accentus that is selling high-end sonification systems to financial firms: http://www.accentus.com/
"Accentus offers you leading-edge, world-class science packaged in the first commercial auditory display product. And we created it from the ground up for Sales & Trading. The Accentus Auditory Display software transforms market data into music-based sound to convey market data to trading pros, complementing existing visual displays, improving multi-tasking, reducing visual data overload, so you can realize new trading profits."
-- Michael Yacavone (email)
Response to Sonification/audification of Data? "Audio Charts"
Recent reports on National Public Radio provided "audio charts" of funds raised in the first quarter of 2007 by candidates for US President in the 2008 election.
Reporting on Democratic candidates on April 2, 2007, NPR used snippets of the song "Staying Alive" by the BeeGees, playing 0.5 second of the song per million dollars raised by each candidate. The "audio chart" begins at 01:27 in the recording.
Reporting on Republican candidates on April 3, 2007, NPR revised their charting method. They played "one beat" of "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor, per million dollars raised by each candidate. In this case, they also restarted the song for each candidate, giving a common "baseline", whereas the previous "chart" played successive sequences of the song.
-- Janet Swisher (email)
Sparkline sonification
We have been experimenting with sound-enhanced graphics for a while. In 2000, we added sound to time series analysis. Each time series value is expressed as a tone from a 20 tone scale. The mapping between tones and values is done individually for each series. Thus, multiple time series may be depicted on one identical scale, but can be heard with individual scales. This is particularly helpful when the data series are of different magnitudes. In this case, the 'lower' series will look flat, but you can still listen to how the values vary. The difference between what is seen and what is heard is slightly puzzling. Ideally the perceived discrepancy reminds one of using a second scale.
Here is an example of sound animation for sparklines:
If your browser cannot display inline frames, please click here to see the example.
Some more examples are on http://www.bella-consults.com/sound-pattern
-- Nicolas Bissantz (email)
Can our Kindly Contributor also post the sparkline sonifications to our thread Sparklines: theory and practice?
Perhaps a virtue of tying sound to the data is that it induces the viewer to track visually through the data more closely than usual. There is also a bit of Music Animation Machine to these images.
Blaufuss Multimedia has some very good instructional flash productions for heart sounds, probably the best this medical student has seen, short of Harvey. Try to look and listen for the synchronicity of pulses and beats in the Blaufuss tutorial's various disease state sequences. I dare say the analysis of heart sounds sets a worthy standard for those seeking to sonify data.
Now if someone would put an eccentric roller or pusher under the rubberized surface of the computer's mouse, we could feel the surface distension of pulses as well.
-- Niels Olson (email)
A most interesting thread. A musical score and the resulting playing of it is the ultimate relationship of sound and data. In my work I use simple sung notes to accompany an explanation of rows, rhythm, emphasis and dynamic exposition in creating work posters. With this thread, new work is apparent. Many thanks
-- Roger Daventry (email)
The Blaufuss heart music is wonderful. Thump, slosh, thumpy-do.
It might be useful to hear the sounds first at a pulse rate of 20 in order to appreciate the full structural details-- and then speed it up to 40, 60, and then to tachycardia rates.
Also good names to the sound are very helpful, such as the dog bark followed by a click. We should be careful about metaphors but they are helpful for recognition of complex sounds.
A link from Andy James:
Regarding the housing price animation submitted by Andy, I keep coming back to the idea with video or animation that time can create resolution (somewhat similar to the ideas of small multiples). For me, the animation provided greater emphasis to the points of change in housing prices than a traditional line graph does.
This led me to the observation that the tempo of the animation (specific to this style) becomes similar to the scale of a line chart. Changes in the tempo therefore change the emphasis towards specific events in the animation and almost becomes like changing the scale of the line chart midway through graph. In the housing market video the first 100 years took 1 minute 53 seconds while the last 20 years took 1 minute 8 seconds; three times longer than it should have if it kept to the same tempo as the first 100 years.
-- Ken Beegle (email)
The roller-coaster graphic lacks the comparative visual persistence of a conventional time- series plot; a change briefly appears and goes away. The roller-coaster is dequantified; the core message is that there have been some ups and downs, along with a recent long-run up. The RC data display is briefly intriguing because it is different.
Viewers would learn and remember a lot more about housing prices by devoting the RC-viewing time to a conventional time- series. A conventional graphic would accommodate many different ways of looking at the data. Will a Kindly Contributor post the time-series for the monthly data shown in the RC?
There's a brief flash of the original graphic at the end of the roller-coaster video. I believe this is it:
http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2006/08/26/weekinreview/27leon_graph2.html
-- Drew (email)
Thought this was worth sharing to reflect upon "The ear tends to be lazy, craves the familiar, and is shocked by the unexpected: the eye, on the other hand, tends to be impatient, craves the novel and is bored by repetition." - The Dyer's Hand W.H.Auden.
Hello Mr. Tufte,
Responding to your request from February 2, 2002 for good sonification demos to represent data variation, please go to my heart rate variability sonification site at: http://www.michaelfalkner.de/herzmusik/heartmusicproject.html, and click on "extra systole".
You will hear a spectral frequency analysis of heart beat intervals which sonifys activity in the autonomic nervous system regulating heart rate variability. There are three layers of sound, corresponding to sympathetic, sympathetic/parasympathetic and parasympathetic activity. Volume equals intensity. You can hear the system activity building up, "prepareing" for the extrasystol, the sudden jump in pitch. This is new because it shows that extrasystoles are not immediate aberrations in heart regulation but an intrinsic part of that regulation.
And as such, an example of sonification adding to our understanding of the world.
Michael Falkner Paracelsus Clinic CH-9062 Lustmuehle
-- Michael Falkner (email)
Threads relevant to interface design:
Analog gauges and the user interface
Analytical design and human factors
Choice of colors in print and graphics for color-blind readers
Excessively hierarchical organization of information
Executive decision support systems
Google Chrome platform
Informed consent without words
Instructions at the point of need
Interface Hall of Fame/Shame
Interfacing with voice mail menu systems vs. humans
Medical information exchange: The patient, doctor, computer triangle
Not everyone knows what quote marks mean in a search entry
Resolution and dimensional compression
Scroll bars
Space-Time Joiner Photographs
The IBM Glass Engine: Interface design reviews
The loupe in user interfaces
White House e-mail communication
Why producing good software is difficult
Windows Phone 7 Series (WP7S)
Your thoughts on Information Display Design in Dynamic Environment
iPhone interface design
Threads relevant to music:
Display of musical structure
Explanations accompanying classical music and other live performances
Music Animation Machine
Music videos with information design material
Public performances: music always too loud?
Visual notation of bird songs
Visualizing song structure to maximize studio productivity


As smartphones grow more powerful than the PCs used just a decade ago, they increasingly become the target of scams.
With that increased utility, though, comes more vulnerability. Having a wealth of information--personal and otherwise--in your device makes your phone a target, and as the bad guys ramp up their efforts to infiltrate it, the good guys are gearing up their efforts to keep the bad guys out.
This may seem like a no-brainer, but don't put your phone down on a bar (especially if you work for Apple and have a prototype that no one is supposed to see). If you're in a public area, don't put it in a pocket or an open bag where it's visible and could be grabbed easily. Obvious suggestions, sure, but these kinds of on-the-street situations account for most cases of phone theft.
You'll want your password to be something hard for you to forget and easy to type since you'll enter it frequently throughout the day, yet difficult for someone else to guess. Anything containing your name, information found on a driver's license, or a number as simple as "1234," for example, are not good passwords.
Android: Previously, Android supported only pattern unlock (in which you draw a pattern to access the phone), but with version 2.2 of the OS, it now supports PINs and passwords. From the home screen, press Menu, Settings, Location & Security, and under Screen Unlock you'll find many options for setting passwords. To set the screen time-out, however, you must go back to the Settings menu and this time click Display. (Hint: If you decide to go with the pattern unlock, create a complex one that crosses over itself, or someone might deduce your pattern from the repeated smudge marks on your screen).
BlackBerry: From the home screen click Options, Security Options, General Settings. There you'll see options to enable the password, set or change the password, and set the security time-out options.
iOS: Earlier versions of iOS allow only for a four-digit PIN unlock code (which isn't ideal). Luckily iOS 4 introduced the option to set a longer password. Open the Settings app, and then select General, Passcode Lock. Just above Passcode Lock is the Auto-Lock option, which controls the time-out.
Windows Phone 7: Open Settings, and then select Lock and Wallpaper. From there you can set or change the password, and also set the screen time-out.