St Euphemia the Martyr and Paul the Octopus

The gist of a sermon preached at St Nicholas of Japan Orthodox Church in Brixton, Johannesburg on Sunday 11 July 2010 [1:]

Most people in South Africa who have been following the football World Cup know about Paul the Octopus, who lives in an aqarium in Germany and is said to predict the winners of the football matches. He is given his lunch in two boxes, each marked with the colours of one of the teams playing, and the first box he opens is said to be the team that will win. In this way he...