secsh (SSH client) is a program for logging into a remote machine and for executing commands on a remote a machine. You can also call this program as ssh. secsh is intended to replace rlogin and rsh, and provide secure encrypted communications between two untrusted hosts over an insecure network. X11 connections, arbitrary TCP/IP ports and Unix-domain sockets can also be forwarded over the secure channel.
secsh connects and logs into the specified hostname. The user must prove his/her identity to the remote machine using one of several methods depending on the protocol version used.
First, if the machine the user logs in from is listed in $ROOTDIR/etc/hosts.equiv or $ROOTDIR/etc/shosts.equiv on the remote machine, and the user names are the same on both sides, the user is immediately permitted to log in. Second, if .rhosts or .shosts exists in the user's home directory on the remote machine and contains a line containing the name of the client machine and the name of the user on that machine, the user is permitted to log in. This form of authentication alone is normally not allowed by the server because it is not secure.
The second authentication method is the rhosts or hosts.equiv method combined with RSA-based host authentication. It means that if the login would be permitted by ~/.rhosts, ~/.shosts, $ROOTDIR/etc/hosts.equiv, or $ROOTDIR/etc/shosts.equiv, and if additionally the server can verify the client's host key (see $ROOTDIR/etc/ssh_known_hosts and ~/.ssh/known_hosts in the FILES section), only then login is permitted. This authentication method closes security holes due to IP spoofing, DNS spoofing and routing spoofing. [Note to the administrator: $ROOTDIR/etc/hosts.equiv, ~/.rhosts, and the rlogin/rsh protocol in general, are inherently insecure and should be disabled if security is desired.]
As a third authentication method, secsh supports RSA based authentication. The scheme is based on public-key cryptography: there are cryptosystems where encryption and decryption are done using separate keys, and it is not possible to derive the decryption key from the encryption key. RSA is one such system. The idea is that each user creates a public/private key pair for authentication purposes. The server knows the public key, and only the user knows the private key. The file ~/.ssh/authorized_keys lists the public keys that are permitted for logging in. When the user logs in, the secsh program tells the server which key pair it would like to use for authentication. The server checks if this key is permitted, and if so, sends the user (actually the secsh program running on behalf of the user) a challenge, a random number, encrypted by the user's public key. The challenge can only be decrypted using the proper private key. The user's client then decrypts the challenge using the private key, proving that he/she knows the private key but without disclosing it to the server.
secsh implements the RSA authentication protocol automatically. The user creates his/her RSA key pair by running secsh-keygen This stores the private key in $USERPROFILE/.ssh/identity and the public key in $USERPROFILE/.ssh/identity.pub in the user's home directory. The user should then copy the identity.pub to ~/.ssh/authorized_keys in his/her home directory on the remote machine (the authorized_keys file corresponds to the conventional ~/.rhosts file, and has one key per line, though the lines can be very long). After this, the user can log in without giving the password. RSA authentication is much more secure than rhosts authentication.
A variation on public key authentication is available in the form of certificate authentication: instead of a set of public/private keys, signed certificates are used. This has the advantage that a single trusted certification authority can be used in place of many public/private keys. See the CERTIFICATES section of secsh-keygen for more information.
The most convenient way to use public key or certificate authentication may be with an authentication agent. See secsh-agent for more information.
If other authentication methods fail, secsh prompts the user for a password. The password is sent to the remote host for checking; however, since all communications are encrypted, the password cannot be seen by someone listening on the network.
When a user connects using the protocol version 2 different authentication methods are available. Using the default values for PreferredAuthentications, the client will try to authenticate first using the public key method; if this method fails password authentication is attempted, and finally if this method fails keyboard-interactive authentication and password authentication are tried.
The public key method is similar to RSA authentication described in the previous section and allows the RSA, DSA, ECDSA, or ED25519 algorithm to be used: The client uses his private key, $USERPROFILE/.ssh/id_dsa, $USERPROFILE/.ssh/id_ecdsa, $USERPROFILE/.ssh/id_ed25519 or $USERPROFILE/.ssh/id_rsa, to sign the session identifier and sends the result to the server. The server checks whether the matching public key is listed in ~/.ssh/authorized_keys and grants access if both the key is found and the signature is correct. The session identifier is derived from a shared Diffie-Hellman value and is only known to the client and the server.
If public key authentication fails or is not available a password can be sent encrypted to the remote host for proving the user's identity.
Additionally, secsh supports hostbased or challenge response authentication.
Protocol 2 provides additional mechanisms for confidentiality (the traffic is encrypted using AES, 3DES, Blowfish, CAST128, or Arcfour) and integrity (hmac-md5, hmac-sha1, hmac-sha2-256, hmac-sha2-512, umac-64, umac-128, hmac-ripemd160). Note that protocol 1 lacks a strong mechanism for ensuring the integrity of the connection.
When the user's identity has been accepted by the server, the server either executes the given command, or logs into the machine and gives the user a normal shell on the remote machine. All communication with the remote command or shell will be automatically encrypted.
If a pseudo-terminal has been allocated (normal login session), the user may use the escape characters noted below.
If no pseudo tty has been allocated, the session is transparent and can be used to reliably transfer binary data. On most systems, setting the escape character to none will also make the session transparent even if a tty is used.
The session terminates when the command or shell on the remote machine exits and all X11 and TCP/IP connections have been closed.
When a pseudo terminal has been requested, secsh supports a number of functions through the use of an escape character.
A single tilde character can be sent as ~~
or by following the tilde by a character other than those described below.
The escape character must always follow a newline to be interpreted as
The escape character can be changed in configuration files using the
configuration directive or on the command line by the
The supported escapes (assuming the default ~) are:
List forwarded connections
Background secsh at logout when waiting for forwarded connection / X11 sessions to terminate
Display a list of escape characters
Send a BREAK to the remote system (only useful for SSH protocol version 2 and if the peer supports it).
Open command line. Currently this allows the addition of port forwardings using the
-L, -Rand -Doptions (see above). It also allows the cancellation of existing port-forwardings with -KL[bind_address:]portfor local, -KR[bind_address:]portfor remote and -KD[bind_address:]portfor dynamic port-forwardings. !command allows the user to execute a local command if the PermitLocalCommand option is enabled. Basic help is available, using the -h option.
Request rekeying of the connection (only useful for SSH protocol version 2 and if the peer supports it)
Decrease the verbosity (LogLevel) when errors are being written to stderr.
Increase the verbosity (LogLevel) when errors are being written to stderr.
If the ForwardX11 variable is set to yes
(or, see the description of the
The DISPLAY value set by secsh will point to the server machine, but with a display number greater than zero. This is normal, and happens because secsh creates a proxy X server on the server machine for forwarding the connections over the encrypted channel.
secsh will also automatically set up Xauthority data on the server machine. For this purpose, it will generate a random authorization cookie, store it in Xauthority on the server, and verify that any forwarded connections carry this cookie and replace it by the real cookie when the connection is opened. The real authentication cookie is never sent to the server machine (and no cookies are sent in the plain).
If the ForwardAgent variable is set to yes
(or, see the description of the
Forwarding of arbitrary TCP/IP connections over the secure channel can be specified either on the command line or in a configuration file. One possible application of TCP/IP forwarding is a secure connection to an electronic purse; another is going through firewalls.
secsh automatically maintains and checks a database containing identifications for all hosts it has ever been used with. Host keys are stored in $USERPROFILE/.ssh/known_hosts in the user's home directory Additionally, the $ROOTDIR/etc/ssh_known_hosts file is automatically checked for known hosts. Any new hosts are automatically added to the user's file. If a host's identification ever changes, secsh warns about this and disables password authentication to prevent a trojan horse from getting the user's password. Another purpose of this mechanism is to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks which could otherwise be used to circumvent the encryption. The StrictHostKeyChecking option (see below) can be used to prevent logins to machines whose host key is not known or has changed.
Disables forwarding of the authentication agent connection.
Enables forwarding of the authentication agent connection. This can also be specified on a per-host basis in a configuration file.
Agent forwarding should be enabled with caution. Users with the ability to bypass file permissions on the remote host (for the agent's UNIX-domain socket) can access the local agent through the forwarded connection. An attacker cannot obtain key material from the agent, however they can perform operations on the keys that enable them to authenticate using the identities loaded into the agent.
Specifies the interface to transmit from on machines with multiple interfaces or aliased addresses.
Requests compression of all data (including standard input, standard output, standard error, and data for forwarded X11, TCP/IP, and Unix-domain connections). The compression algorithm is the same used by gzip and the compression level can be controlled by the CompressionLevel option (see below) for protocol version 1. Compression is desirable on modem lines and other slow connections, but will only slow down things on fast networks. The default value can be set on a host-by-host basis in the configuration files; see the Compress option below.
Selects the cipher specification for encrypting the session.
Protocol version 1 allows specification of a single cipher. The supported values are 3des, blowfish, and des.
For protocol version 2, cipher_spec is a comma-separated list of ciphers listed in order of preference. See the Ciphers keyword for more information.
Specifies a local "dynamic" application-level port forwarding. This works by allocating a socket to listen to port on the local side, optionally bound to a specified bind_address. Whenever a connection is made to this port, the connection is forwarded over the secure channel, and the application protocol is then used to determine where to connect to from the remote machine. Currently the SOCKS4 and SOCKS5 protocols are supported, and secsh will act as a SOCKS server.
IPv6 addresses can be specified by enclosing the address in square brackets. Only the superuser can forward privileged ports. By default, the local port is bound in accordance with the GatewayPorts setting. However, an explicit bind_address may be used to bind the connection to a specific address. The bind_address of localhost indicates that the listening port be bound for local use only, while an empty address or * indicates that the port should be available from all interfaces.
Append debug logs to log_file instead of standard error.
Sets the escape character for sessions with a pty (default: ~). The escape character is only recognized at the beginning of a line. The escape character followed by a dot () closes the connection, followed by control-Z suspends the connection, and followed by itself sends the escape character once. Setting the character to none disables any escapes and makes the session fully transparent.
Specifies an alternative per-user configuration file. If a configuration file is given on the command line, the system-wide configuration information in the registry is ignored. The default for the per-user configuration file is stored in the registry.
Requests secsh to go to background just before command execution. This is useful if secsh is going to ask for passwords or passphrases, but the user wants it in the background. This implies -n. The recommended way to start X11 programs at a remote site is with something like ssh -f host xterm.
Allows remote hosts to connect to local forwarded ports. If used on a multiplexed connection, then this option must be specified on the master process.
Selects the file from which the identity (private key) for RSA, DSA, ECDSA, or ED25519 authentication is read. Default is $USERPROFILE/.ssh/identity in the user's home directory. Identity files may also be specified on a per-host basis in the configuration file. It is possible to have multiple
-ioptions (and multiple identities specified in configuration files).
secsh will also try to load certificate information from the filename obtained by appending -cert.pub to identity filenames.
Specifies which smartcard device to use. The argument is the device secsh should use to communicate with a smartcard used for storing the user's private RSA key.
Enables GSSAPI-based authentication and forwarding (delegation) of GSSAPI credentials to the server.
Disables forwarding of GSSAPI credentials to the server.
Specifies that the given port on the local (client) host is to be forwarded to the given host and port on the remote side. This works by allocating a socket to listen to port on the local side, and whenever a connection is made to this port, the connection is forwarded over the secure channel, and a connection is made to host port hostport from the remote machine. Port forwardings can also be specified in the configuration file. IPv6 addresses can be specified by enclosing the address in square brackets. Only root can forward privileged ports.
Specifies the user to log in as on the remote machine. This also may be specified on a per-host basis in the configuration file.
Additionally, for protocol version 2 a comma-separated list of MAC (message authentication code) algorithms can be specified in order of preference. See the MACs keyword for more information.
Redirects stdin from /dev/null (actually, prevents reading from stdin). This must be used when secsh is run in the background. A common trick is to use this to run X11 programs on a remote machine. For example, ssh -n shadows.cs.hut.fi emacs & will start an emacs on shadows.cs.hut.fi, and the X11 connection will be automatically forwarded over an encrypted channel. The secsh program will be put in the background. (This does not work if secsh needs to ask for a password or passphrase; see also the
Does not execute a remote command. This is useful for just forwarding ports (protocol version 2 only).
Control an active connection multiplexing master process. When the
-Ooption is specified, the ctl_cmd argument is interpreted and passed to the master process. Valid commands are: check (check that the master process is running), forward (request forwardings without command execution), cancel (cancel forwardings), exit (request the master to exit), and stop (request the master to stop accepting further multiplexing requests). -ooption
Specifies options in the format used in the configuration file. This is useful for specifying options for which there is no separate command-line flag.
Specifies the port to connect to on the remote host.
-Qcipher | cipher-auth | mac | kex | key
Queries ssh for the algorithms supported for the specified version 2. The available features are: cipher (supported symmetric ciphers), cipher-auth (supported symmetric ciphers that support authenticated encryption), mac (supported message integrity codes), kex (key exchange algorithms), key (key types).
Quiet mode. Causes all warning and diagnostic messages to be suppressed. Only fatal errors are displayed.
Specifies that the given port on the remote (server) host is to be forwarded to the given host and port on the local side. This works by allocating a socket to listen to port on the remote side, and whenever a connection is made to this port, the connection is forwarded over the secure channel, and a connection is made to host port hostport from the local machine. Port forwardings can also be specified in the configuration file. Privileged ports can be forwarded only when logging in as root on the remote machine. IPv6 addresses can be specified by enclosing the address in square brackets.
By default, the listening socket on the server will be bound to the loopback interface only. This may be overridden by specifying a bind_address. An empty bind_address, or the address `*', indicates that the remote socket should listen on all interfaces. Specifying a remote bind_address will only succeed if the server's GatewayPorts option is enabled (see secshd.
If the port argument is 0, the listen port will be dynamically allocated on the server and reported to the client at run time. When used together with
-Oforward the allocated port will be printed to the standard output. -Sctl_path
Specifies the location of a control socket for connection sharing, or the string none to disable connection sharing. Refer to the description of ControlPath and ControlMaster for details.
May be used to request invocation of a subsystem on the remote system. Subsystems are a feature of the SSH2 protocol which facilitate the use of SSH as a secure transport for other application (eg. sftp). The subsystem is specified as the remote command.
Force pseudo-tty allocation. This can be used to execute arbitrary screen-based programs on a remote machine, which can be very useful, for example, when implementing menu services. Multiple
-toptions force tty allocation, even if secsh has no local tty. -T
Disable pseudo-tty allocation.
Verbose mode. Causes secsh to print debugging messages about its progress. This is helpful in debugging connection, authentication, and configuration problems. Multiple
-voptions increases the verbosity. Maximum is 3. -Whost:port
Requests that standard input and output on the client be forwarded to host on port over the secure channel. Implies
-N, -T, ExitOnForwardFailure and ClearAllForwardings. Works with Protocol version 2 only. -x
Disables X11 forwarding.
Enables X11 forwarding. This can also be specified on a per-host basis in a configuration file.
X11 forwarding should be enabled with caution. Users with the ability to bypass file permissions on the remote host (for the user's X authorization database) can access the local X11 display through the forwarded connection. An attacker may then be able to perform activities such as keystroke monitoring.
Enables trusted X11 forwarding. Trusted X11 forwardings are not subjected to the X11 SECURITY extension controls.
Writes log information to the application event log. By default, this information is sent to the standard error stream.
Forces secsh to try protocol version 1 only.
Forces secsh to try protocol version 2 only.
Forces secsh to use IPv4 addresses only.
Forces secsh to use IPv6 addresses only.
secsh obtains configuration data from the following sources in the following order: command line options, user's configuration in the Windows registry, and system-wide configuration (stored in the Windows registry and configured with the PTC MKS Toolkit control panel applet). For each parameter, the first obtained value will be used. The configuration files contain sections bracketed by Host specifications, and that section is only applied for hosts that match one of the patterns given in the specification. The matched host name is the one given on the command line.
Since the first obtained value for each parameter is used, more host-specific declarations should be given near the beginning of the file, and general defaults at the end.
The configuration file has the following format:
Empty lines and lines starting with # are comments.
Otherwise a line is of the format keyword arguments.
Configuration options may be separated by whitespace or optional whitespace
and exactly one =; the latter format is useful to avoid the
need to quote whitespace when specifying configuration options using the
secsh, scp, and sftp
The possible keywords and their meanings are as follows (note that the configuration files are case-sensitive):
Restricts the following declarations (up to the next Host keyword) to be only for those hosts that match one of the patterns given after the keyword. * and ? can be used as wildcards in the patterns. A single * as a pattern can be used to provide global defaults for all hosts. The host is the hostname argument given on the command line (that is, the name is not converted to a canonicalized host name before matching).
Specifies which address family to use when connecting. Valid arguments are any, inet (use IPv4 only), or inet6 (use IPv6 only).
If set to yes, passphrase/password querying will be disabled. This option is useful in scripts and other batch jobs where you have no user to supply the password. The argument must be yes or no. The default is no.
Specifies the interface to transmit from on machines with multiple interfaces or aliased addresses. Note that this option does not work if UsePrivilegedPort is set to yes.
When CanonicalizeHostname is enabled, this option specifies the list of domain suffixes in which to search for the specified destination host.
Specifies whether to fail with an error when hostname canonicalization fails. The default, yes, will attempt to look up the unqualified hostname using the system resolver's search rules. A value of no will cause secsh to fail instantly if CanonicalizeHostname is enabled and the target hostname cannot be found in any of the domains specified by CanonicalDomains.
Controls whether explicit hostname canonicalization is performed. The default, no, is not to perform any name rewriting and let the system resolver handle all hostname lookups. If set to yes then, for connections that do not use a ProxyCommand, secsh will attempt to canonicalize the hostname specified on the command line using the CanonicalDomains suffixes and CanonicalizePermittedCNAMEs rules. If CanonicalizeHostname is set to always, then canonicalization is applied to proxied connections too.
If this option is enabled and canonicalisation results in the target hostname changing, then the configuration files are processed again using the new target name to pick up any new configuration in matching Host stanzas.
Specifies the maximum number of dot characters in a hostname before canonicalization is disabled. The default, 1, allows a single dot (i.e. hostname.subdomain).
Specifies rules to determine whether CNAMEs should be followed when canonicalizing hostnames. The rules consist of one or more arguments of source_domain_list:target_domain_list, where source_domain_list is a pattern-list of domains that may follow CNAMEs in canonicalization, and target_domain_list is a pattern- list of domains that they may resolve to. For example, *.a.example.com:*.b.example.com,*.c.example.com will allow hostnames matching *.a.example.com to be canonicalized to names in the *.b.example.com or *.c.example.com domains.
Specifies whether to use challenge-response authentication. The argument to this keyword must be yes or no. The default is yes.
If this flag is set to yes, secsh will additionally check the host IP address in the known_hosts file. This allows secsh to detect if a host key changed due to DNS spoofing. If the option is set to no, the check will not be executed. The default is yes.
Specifies the cipher to use for encrypting the session in protocol version 1. Currently, blowfish, 3des, and des are supported. des is only supported in the secsh client for interoperability with legacy protocol 1 implementations that do not support the 3des cipher. Its use is strongly discouraged due to crytographic weakness. The default is 3des.
Specifies the ciphers allowed for protocol version 2 in order of preference. Multiple ciphers must be comma-separated. The supported ciphers are
3des-cbc, aes128-cbc, aes192-cbc, aes256-cbc, aes128-ctr, aes192-ctr, aes256-ctr, firstname.lastname@example.org, email@example.com, arcfour, arcfour128, arcfour256, blowfish-cbc, cast128-cbc, firstname.lastname@example.org
The default is
aes128-ctr,aes192-ctr,aes256-ctr, email@example.com,firstname.lastname@example.org, email@example.com, arcfour256,arcfour128, aes128-cbc,3des-cbc,blowfish-cbc,cast128-cbc, aes192-cbc,aes256-cbc,arcfour
The list of available ciphers may also be obtained using the
-Qoption of secsh.
Specifies that all local, remote and dynamic port forwardings specified in the configuration files or on the command line be cleared. This option is primarily useful when used from the secsh command line to clear port forwardings set in configuration files, and is automatically set by scp and sftp. The argument must be yes or no. The default is no.
Specifies whether to use compression. The argument must be yes or no. The default is no.
Specifies the compression level to use if compression is enabled. The argument must be an integer from 1 (fast) to 9 (slow, best). The default level is 6, which is good for most applications. The meaning of the values is the same as in gzip Note that this option applies to protocol version 1 only.
Specifies the number of tries (one per second) to make before falling back to rsh or exiting. The argument must be an integer. This may be useful in scripts if the connection sometimes fails. The default is 1.
Specifies the timeout (in seconds) used when connecting to the SSH server, instead of using the default system TCP timeout. This value is used only when the target is down or really unreachable, not when it refuses the connection.
Enables the sharing of multiple sessions over a single network connection. When set to yes, secsh will listen for connections on a control socket specified using the ControlPath argument. Additional sessions can connect to this socket using the same ControlPath with ControlMaster set to no (the default). These sessions will try to reuse the master instance's network connection rather than initiating new ones, but will fall back to connecting normally if the control socket does not exist, or is not listening.
Setting this to ask will cause ssh to listen for control connections, but require confirmation using the SSH_ASKPASS program before they are accepted (see secsh-add for details). If the ControlPath cannot be opened, ssh will continue without connecting to a master instance.
X11 and secsh-agent forwarding is supported over these multiplexed connections, however the display and agent forwarded will be the one belonging to the master connection i.e. it is not possible to forward multiple displays or agents.
Two additional options allow for opportunistic multiplexing: try to use a master connection but fall back to creating a new one if one does not already exist. These options are: auto and autoask. The latter requires confirmation like the ask option.
Specify the path to the control socket used for connection sharing as described in the ControlMaster section above or the string none to disable connection sharing. In the path, `%L' will be substituted by the first component of the local host name, `%l' will be substituted by the local host name (including any domain name), `%h' will be substituted by the target host name, `%n' will be substituted by the original target host name specified on the command line, `%p' the destination port, `%r' by the remote login username, `%u' by the username of the user running secsh, and `%C' by a hash of the concatenation `%l%h%p%r'. It is recommended that any ControlPath used for opportunistic connection sharing include at least %h, %p, and %r (or alternatively `%C'). This ensures that shared connections are uniquely identified.
When used in conjunction with ControlMaster, specifies that the master connection should remain open in the background (waiting for future client connections) after the initial client connection has been closed. If set to no, then the master connection will not be placed into the background, and will close as soon as the initial client connection is closed. If set to yes, then the master connection will remain in the background indefinitely (until killed or closed via a mechanism such as the secsh -O exit option). If set to a time in seconds, or a time in any of the formats documented in secshd, then the backgrounded master connection will automatically terminate after it has remained idle (with no client connections) for the specified time.
Specifies that a TCP/IP port on the local machine be forwarded over the secure channel, and the application protocol is then used to determine where to connect to from the remote machine. The argument must be a port number. Currently the SOCKS4 protocol is supported, and ssh will act as a SOCKS4 server. Multiple forwardings may be specified, and additional forwardings can be given on the command line. Only the superuser can forward privileged ports.
Setting this option to yes in the global client configuration enables the use of the helper program secsh-keysign during host-based authentication. The argument must be yes or no. The default is no. This option should be placed in the non-host-specific section. See the secsh-keysign reference page for more information.
Sets the escape character (default: ~). The escape character can also be set on the command line. The argument should be a single character, ^ followed by a letter, or none to disable the escape character entirely (making the connection transparent for binary data).
Specifies whether secsh should terminate the connection if it cannot set up all requested dynamic, tunnel, local, and remote port forwardings. The argument must be yes or no. The default is no.
Specifies whether the connection to the authentication agent (if any) will be forwarded to the remote machine. The argument must be yes or no. The default is no.
Specifies whether X11 connections will be automatically redirected over the secure channel and DISPLAY set. The argument must be yes or no. The default is no.
Specify a timeout for untrusted X11 forwarding using the format described in the TIME FORMATS section of secshd. X11 connections received by secsh after this time will be refused. The default is to disable untrusted X11 forwarding after twenty minutes has elapsed.
When this option is set to yes, remote X11 clients have full access to the original X11 display.
When this option is set to no, remote X11 clients are considered untrusted and prevented from stealing or tampering with data belonging to trusted X11 clients. Furthermore, the xauth token used for the session are set to expire after 20 minutes. Remote clients are refused access after this time.
The default is no.
See the X11 SECURITY extension specification for full details on the restrictions imposed on untrusted clients.
Specifies whether remote hosts are allowed to connect to local forwarded ports. By default, secsh binds local port forwardings to the loopback address. This prevents other remote hosts from connecting to forwarded ports. GatewayPorts can be used to specify that secsh should bind local port forwardings to the wildcard address, thus allowing remote hosts to connect to forwarded ports. The argument must be yes or no. The default is no.
Specifies a file to use for the host key database instead of $ROOTDIR/etc/ssh_known_hosts.
Specifies whether user authentication based on GSSAPI is allowed. The default is no. This option applies to protocol version 2 only.
Forwards (delegates) credentials to the server. The default is no. This option applies to protocol version 2 only.
Indicates that secsh should hash host names and addresses when they are added to $USERPROFILE/.ssh/known_hosts. These hashed names may be used normally by secsh and secshd, but they do not reveal identifying information should the file's contents be disclosed. The default is no. Existing names and addresses in known hosts files are not converted automatically, but may be manually hashed using secsh-keygen.
Specifies whether to try rhosts based authentication with public key authentication. The argument must be yes or no. The default is yes. This option applies to protocol version 2 only and is similar to RhostsRSAAuthentication.
Specifies the protocol version 2 host key algorithms that the client wants to use in order of preference. The default for this option is:
firstname.lastname@example.org, email@example.com, firstname.lastname@example.org, email@example.com, firstname.lastname@example.org,email@example.com, firstname.lastname@example.org,email@example.com, ecdsa-sha2-nistp256,ecdsa-sha2-nistp384,ecdsa-sha2-nistp521, ssh-ed25519,ssh-rsa,ssh-dss
Specifies an alias that should be used instead of the real host name when looking up or saving the host key in the host key database files. This option is useful for tunneling ssh connections or if you have multiple servers running on a single host.
Specifies the real host name to log into. This can be used to specify nicknames or abbreviations for hosts. If the hostname contains the character sequence `%h', then this will be replaced with the host name specified on the command line (this is useful for manipulating unqualified names). The character sequence `%%' will be replaced by a single `%' character, which may be used when specifying IPv6 link-local addresses.
Default is the name given on the command line. Numeric IP addresses are also permitted (both on the command line and in HostName specifications).
Specifies that secsh should only use the authentication identity files configured in the secsh_configuration, even if secsh-agent offers more identities. The argument to this keyword must be yes or no. This option is intended for situations where secsh-agent offers many different identities. The default is no.
Specifies the IPv4 type-of-service or DSCP class for connections. Accepted values are af11, af12, af13, af21, af22, af23, af31, af32, af33, af41, af42, af43, cs0, cs1, cs2, cs3, cs4, cs5, cs6, cs7, ef, lowdelay, throughput, reliability, or a numeric value. This option may take one or two arguments, separated by whitespace. If one argument is specified, it is used as the packet class unconditionally. If two values are specified, the first is automatically selected for interactive sessions and the second for non-interactive sessions. The default is lowdelay for interactive sessions and throughput for non-interactive sessions.
Specifies the file from which the user's RSA, DSA, ECDSA, or ED25519 authentication identity is read (default $USERPROFILE/.ssh/identity in the user's profile directory for protocol version 1 and $USERPRFILE/.ssh/id_dsa, $USERPRFILE/.ssh/id_ecdsa, $USERPRFILE/.ssh/id_ed25519 and $USERPRFILE/.ssh/id_rsa for protocol version 2). Additionally, any identities represented by the authentication agent will be used for authentication unless IdentitiesOnly is set. secsh will try to load certificate information from the filename obtained by appending -cert.pub to the path of a specified IdentityFile.
The file name may use the tilde syntax to refer to a user's home directory or one of the following escape characters: %d (local user's home directory), %u (local user name), %l (local host name), %h (remote host name) or %r (remote user name).
It is possible to have multiple identity files specified in configuration files; all these identities will be tried in sequence. Multiple IdentityFile directives will add to the list of identities tried (this behaviour differs from that of other configuration directives).
IdentityFile may be used in conjunction with IdentitiesOnly to select which identities in an agent are offered during authentication.
Specifies a pattern-list of unknown options to be ignored if they are encountered in configuration parsing. This may be used to suppress errors if the configuration contains options that are unrecognised by secsh.
Specifies wheter to use keyboard-interactive authentication. The argument to this keyword must be yes or no. The default is yes.
Specifies the list of methods to use in keyboard-interactive authentication. Multiple method names must be comma-separated. The default is to use the server specified list. The methods available vary depending on what the server supports. For an OpenSSH server, it may be zero or more of: bsdauth, pam, and skey.
Specifies the available KEX (Key Exchange) algorithms. Multiple algorithms must be comma-separated. The default is:
firstname.lastname@example.org, ecdh-sha2-nistp256,ecdh-sha2-nistp384,ecdh-sha2-nistp521, diffie-hellman-group-exchange-sha256, diffie-hellman-group14-sha1, diffie-hellman-group-exchange-sha1, diffie-hellman-group1-sha1
Specifies a command to execute on the local machine after successfully connecting to the server. The command string extends to the end of the line, and is executed with the user's shell. The following escape character substitutions are performed: %d (local user's home directory), %h (remote host name), %l (local host name), %n (host name as provided on the command line), %p (remote port), %r (remote user name), %u (local user name), or %C by a hash of the concatenation %l%h%p%r.
The command is run synchronously and does not have access to the session of the secsh that spawned it. It should not be used for interactive commands.
This directive is ignored unless PermitLocalCommand has been enabled.
Specifies that a TCP/IP port on the local machine be forwarded over the secure channel to ths specified host and post from the remote machine. The first argument must be a port number, and the second must be host:port. Multiple forwardings may be specified, and additional forwardings can be given on the command line. Only the superuser can forward privileged ports.
Gives the verbosity level that is used when logging messages from secsh. The possible values are: QUIET, FATAL, ERROR, INFO, VERBOSE and DEBUG. The default is INFO.
Specifies the MAC (message authentication code) algorithms in order of preference. The MAC algorithm is used in protocol version 2 for data integrity protection. Multiple algorithms must be comma-separated. The default is
email@example.com,firstname.lastname@example.org, email@example.com,firstname.lastname@example.org, email@example.com,firstname.lastname@example.org, hmac-sha2-256,hmac-sha2-512, email@example.com,firstname.lastname@example.org, email@example.com, firstname.lastname@example.org,email@example.com, hmac-md5,hmac-sha1,hmac-ripemd160, hmac-sha1-96,hmac-md5-96
This option can be used if the home directory is shared across machines. In this case localhost will refer to a different machine on each of the machines and the user will get many warnings about changed host keys. However, this option disables host authentication for localhost. The argument to this keyword must be yes or no. The default is to check the host key for localhost.
Specifies the number of password prompts before giving up. The argument to this keyword must be an integer. Default is 3.
Specifies whether to use password authentication. The argument to this keyword must be yes or no. The default is yes.
Allows local command execution via the LocalCommand option or using the !command sequence in secsh. The argument must be yes or no. The default is no.
Specifies the port number to connect on the remote host. Default is 22.
Specifies the order in which the client should try protocol 2 authentication methods. This allows a client to prefer one method (for example keyboard-interactive) over another method (for example password) The default for this option is: hostbased,publickey,password,keyboard-interactive
Specifies the protocol versions secsh should support in order of preference. The possible values are 1 and 2. Multiple versions must be comma-separated. The default is 2,1. This means that secsh tries version 2 and falls back to version 1 if version 2 is not available. The default is 2.
Specifies the command to use to connect to the server. The command string extends to the end of the line, and is executed using the user's shell exec directive to avoid a lingering shell process.
In the command string, %h will be substituted by the host name to connect and %p by the port, and %r by the remote user name. The command can be basically anything, and should read from its standard input and write to its standard output. It should eventually connect an secshd server running on some machine, or execute sshd -i somewhere. Host key management will be done using the HostName of the host being connected (defaulting to the name typed by the user). Note that CheckHostIP is not available for connects with a proxy command.
Specifies that ProxyCommand will pass a connected file descriptor back to secsh instead of continuing to execute and pass data. The default is no.
Specifies whether to try public key authentication. The argument to this keyword must be yes or no. The default is yes. This option applies to protocol version 2 only.
Specifies the maximum amount of data that may be transmitted before the session key is renegotiated, optionally followed a maximum amount of ! time that may pass before the session key is renegotiated. The first argument is the number of bytes, with an optional suffix of K, M, or G to indicated Kilobyes, Megabytes, or Gigabytes, respectively. The default is between 1G and 4G, depending on the cipher. The optional second value is specified in seconds and may use any of the units documented in the TIME FORMATS section of secshd. The default value for RekeyLimit is default none, which means that rekeying is performed after the cipher's default amount of data has been sent or received and no time based rekeying is done. This option applies to protocol version 2 only.
Specifies that a TCP/IP port on the remote machine be forwarded over the secure channel to the specified host and port from the local machine. The first argument must be a port number, and the second must be host:port. IPv6 addresses can be specified with an alternative syntax: host/port. Multiple forwardings may be specified, and additional forwardings can be given on the command line. Only the superuser can forward privileged ports.
Specifies whether to request a pseudo-tty for the session. The argument may be one of: no (never request a TTY), yes (always request a TTY when standard input is a TTY), force (always request a TTY) or auto (request a TTY when opening a login session). This option mirrors the
-tand -Tflags for secsh.
Specifies whether to try rhosts based authentication with RSA host authentication. The argument must be yes or no. The default is yes. This option applies to protocol version 1 only.
Specifies whether to try RSA authentication. The argument to this keyword must be yes or no. RSA authentication will only be attempted if the identity file exists, or an authentication agent is running. The default is yes. Note that this option applies to protocol version 1 only.
Specifies what variables from the local environment should be sent to the server. Environment passing is only supported for protocol 2. The server must also support it, and the server must be configured to accept these environment variables. Refer to AcceptEnv in secshd for how to configure the server. Variables are specified by name, which may contain wildcard characters. Multiple environment variables may be separated by whitespace or spread across multiple SendEnv directives. The default is not to send any environment variables.
Sets the number of server alive messages (see below) which may be sent without secsh receiving any messages back from the server. When this threshold is reached while server alive messages are being sent, secsh disconnects from the server, terminating the session. The use of server alive messages is very different from TCPKeepAlive (below). The server alive messages are sent through the encrypted channel and therefore are not spoofable. The TCP keepalive option enabled by TCPKeepAlive is spoofable. The server alive mechanism is valuable when the client or server depend on knowing when a connection has become inactive. The default value is 3. If, for example, ServerAliveInterval (see below) is set to 15 and ServerAliveCountMax is left at the default, and the server becomes unresponsive, secsh disconnects after approximately 45 seconds. This option applies to protocol version 2 only.
Sets a timeout interval in seconds after which if no data has been received from the server, secsh sends a message through the encrypted channel to request a response from the server. The default is 0, inidicating that these messages are not sent to the server. This option applies to protocol version 2 only.
Specifies which smartcard device to use. The argument to this keyword is the device secsh should use to communicate with a smartcard used for storing the user's private RSA key. By default, no device is specified and smartcard support is not activated.
Sets the octal file creation mode mask (umask) used when creating a Unix-domain socket file for local or remote port forwarding. This option is only used for port forwarding to a Unix-domain socket file.
The default value is 0177, which creates a Unix-domain socket file that is readable and writable only by the owner. Note that not all operating systems honor the file mode on Unix-domain socket files.
Specifies whether to remove an existing Unix-domain socket file for local or remote port forwarding before creating a new one. If the socket file already exists and StreamLocalBindUnlink is not enabled, ssh will be unable to forward the port to the Unix- domain socket file. This option is only used for port forwarding to a Unix-domain socket file.
The argument must be yes or no. The default is no.
If this flag is set to yes, secsh will never automatically add host keys to the $USERPROFILE/.ssh/known_hosts and $USERPROFILE/.ssh/known_hosts2 files, and refuses to connect to hosts whose host key has changed. This provides maximum protection against trojan horse attacks. However, it can be somewhat annoying if you don't have good $ROOTDIR/etc/ssh_known_hosts and $ROOTDIR/etc/ssh_known_hosts2 files installed and frequently connect to new hosts. This option forces the user to manually add all new hosts. If this flag is set to no, secsh will automatically add new host keys to the user known hosts files. If this flag is set to ask, new host keys will be added to the user known host files only after the user has confirmed that is what they really want to do, and secsh will refuse to connect to hosts whose host key has changed. The host keys of known hosts will be verified automatically in all cases. The argument must be yes, no, or ask. The default is ask.
Specifies whether the system should send TCP keepalive messages to the other side. If they are sent, death of the connection or crash of one of the machines will be properly noticed. However, this means that connections die if the route is down temporarily, and some people find it annoying.
The default is yes (to send TCP keepalive messages), and the client notices if the network goes down or the remote host dies. This is important in scripts and many users want it too.
To disable TCP keepalive messages, the value should be set to no.
Specifies whether to use a privileged port for outgoing connections. The argument must be yes or no. The default is no. Note that you need to set this option to yes if you want to use RhostsAuthentication and RhostsRSAAuthentication with older servers.
Specifies the user to log in as. This can be useful when you have a different user name on different machines. This saves the trouble of having to remember to give the user name on the command line.
Specifies a file to use for the user host key database instead of $USERPROFILE/.ssh/known_hosts.
Specifies whether to verify the remote key using DNS and SSHFP resource records. When this option is set to yes, the client implicitly trusts keys that match a secure fingerprint from DNS. Insecure fingerprints are handled as if this option was set to ask. When this option is set to ask, information on fingerprint matches is displayed, but the user stills need to confirm new host keys according to the StrictHostKeyChecking option. The argument must be yes, no, or ask. The default is no. This option applies to protocol version 2 only.
When this flag is set to yes, an ASCII art representation of the remote host key fingerprint is printed in addition to the hex fingerprint string at login and for unknown host keys. If this flag is set to no, no fingerprint strings are printed at login and only the hex fingerprint string are printed for unknown host keys. The default is no.
Specifies the location of the xauth program. The default is /usr/X11R6/bin/xauth.
secsh will normally set the following environment variables:
The DISPLAY variable indicates the location of the X11 server. It is automatically set by secsh to point to a value of the form hostname:n where hostname indicates the host where the shell runs, and n is an integer >= 1. secsh uses this special value to forward X11 connections over the secure channel. The user should normally not set DISPLAY explicitly, as that will render the X11 connection insecure (and will require the user to manually copy any required authorization cookies).
Is set to the path of the user's home directory.
Is a synonym for USER; is set for compatibility with systems that use this variable.
Is set to the path of the user's mailbox.
Is set to the default PATH, as specified when compiling secsh.
If secsh needs a passphrase, it reads the passphrase from the current terminal if it was run from a terminal. If secsh does not have a terminal associated with it but DISPLAY and SSH_ASKPASS are set, it executes the program specified by SSH_ASKPASS and open an X11 window to read the passphrase. This is particularly useful when calling secsh from a .Xsession or related script. (Note that on some machines it may be necessary to redirect the input from /dev/null to make this work.)
Identifies the path of a unix-domain socket used to communicate with the agent.
Identifies the client and server ends of the connection. The variable contains four space-separated values: client ip-address, client port number, server ip-address, and server port number.
Contains the original command line if a forced command is executed. It can be used to extract the original arguments.
Is set to the name of the tty (path to the device) associated with the current shell or command. If the current session has no tty, this variable is not set.
Is set to indicate the present timezone if it was set when the daemon was started (that is, the daemon passes the value on to new connections).
Is set to the name of the user logging in.
Is set to the location of the user's Windows NT/2000/XP profile. In the user's profile is a roaming profile, this will be saved and restored as the user logs in and out of machines within the domain.
Additionally, secsh reads $HOME/.ssh/environment, and adds lines of the format VARNAME=value to the environment.
Records host keys for all hosts the user has logged into that are not in $ROOTDIR/etc/ssh_known_hosts. See secshd.
Contains the private key for authentication. These files contain sensitive data and should be readable by the user but not accessible by others (read/write/execute). secsh will simply ignore a private key file if it is accessible by others. It is possible to specify a passphrase when generating the key which will be used to encrypt the sensitive part of this file using 3DES.
Contains the public key for authentication (public part of the identity file in human-readable form). The contents of the $USERPROFILE/.ssh/identity.pub file should be added to ~/.ssh/authorized_keys on all machines where you wish to log in using protocol version 1 RSA authentication. The contents of the $USERPROFILE/.ssh/id_dsa.pub, $USERPROFILE/.ssh/id_ecdsa.pub, $USERPROFILE/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub, and $USERPROFILE/.ssh/id_rsa.pub file should be added to ~/.ssh/authorized_keys on all machines where the user wishes to log in using protocol version 2 DSA/RSA authentication. These files are not sensitive and can (but need not) be readable by anyone. These files are never used automatically and are not necessary; they are only provided for the convenience of the user.
Lists the public keys (RSA/DSA/ECDSA/ED25519) that can be used for logging in as this user. The format of this file is described in the secshd reference page. In the simplest form the format is the same as the .pub identity files (that is, each line contains the number of bits in modulus, public exponent, modulus, and comment fields, separated by spaces). This file is not highly sensitive, but the recommended permissions are read/write for the user, and not writable by others.
Systemwide list of known host keys. This file should be prepared by the system administrator to contain the public host keys of all machines in the organization. This file should be world-readable. This file contains public keys, one per line, in the following format (fields separated by spaces): system name, public key, and optional comment field. When different names are used for the same machine, all such names should be listed, separated by commas. The format is described on the secshd reference page.
The canonical system name (as returned by name servers) is used by secshd to verify the client host when logging in; other names are needed because secsh does not convert the user-supplied name to a canonical name before checking the key, because someone with access to the name servers would then be able to fool host authentication.
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Mortice Kern Systems/etc/ssh_config
System-wide configuration. This provides defaults for those values that are not specified in the user's configuration file, and for those users who do not have a configuration file. The values here are normally configured from the PTC MKS Toolkit control panel applet.
These files contain the private parts of the host keys and are used for RhostsRSAAuthentication and HostbasedAuthentication. Since they are readable only by root, secsh must be setuid root if these authentication methods are desired.
This file is used in .rhosts authentication to list the host/user pairs that are permitted to log in. (Note that this file is also used by rlogin and rsh, which makes using this file insecure.) Each line of the file contains a host name (in the canonical form returned by name servers), and then a user name on that host, separated by a space. On some machines this file may need to be world-readable if the user's home directory is on a NFS partition, because secshd reads it as root. Additionally, this file must be owned by the user, and must not have write permissions for anyone else. The recommended permission for most machines is read/write for the user, and not accessible by others.
Note that by default secshd will be installed so that it requires successful RSA host authentication before permitting .rhosts authentication. If the server machine does not have the client's host key in $ROOTDIR/etc/ssh_known_hosts, you can store it in ~/.ssh/known_hosts. The easiest way to do this is to connect back to the client from the server machine using secsh; this will automatically add the host key to $USERPROFILE/.ssh/known_hosts.
This file is used during .rhosts authentication. It contains canonical hosts names, one per line (the full format is described on the secshd reference page). If the client host is found in this file, login is automatically permitted provided client and server user names are the same. Additionally, successful RSA host authentication is normally required. This file should only be writable by root.
Commands in this file are executed by secsh when the user logs in just before the user's shell (or command) is started. See the secshd reference page for more information.
Commands in this file are executed by secsh when the user logs in just before the user's shell (or command) is started. See the secshd reference page for more information.
Contains additional definitions for environment variables, see section ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLES above.
OpenSSH is a derivative of the original and free ssh 1.2.12 release by Tatu Ylonen. Aaron Campbell, Bob Beck, Markus Friedl, Niels Provos, Theo de Raadt and Dug Song removed many bugs, re-added newer features and created OpenSSH. Markus Friedl contributed the support for SSH protocol versions 1.5 and 2.0.
All UNIX systems. Windows 7. Windows Server 2008 R2. Windows 8. Windows Server 2012. Windows 10. Windows Server 2016.
When you are using the MKS secure shell client on a Windows NT machine,
the default user name will be of the form
Should you be connecting to the secure shell server on another Windows machine,
this may well be exactly what you want.
In the event that you are connecting to a UNIX machine, you must specify
the UNIX username with the
The secsh utility, by default, loads keys from the $USERPROFILE directory on 7/2008R2/8/2012/10/2016 platforms instead of ~/. This is done because the ~/ directory might not be available for the case of a domain machine that cannot contact a domain controller. Note that the secure shell service continues to use the ~/.ssh directory to store configuration files. In particular, note that there are effectively two known_hosts files: one under $USERPROFILE/.ssh/known_hosts, and a second one under ~/.ssh/known_hosts. There is no guarantee that the directory to which the USERPROFILE environment variable points is on an NTFS partition, and thus there is no guarantee that the keys in this location can be properly secured.
Using the secure shell client in a console window where the screen buffer width is larger than the window (that is, the console window has a horizontal scrollbar) does not work well. It is recommended that the secure shell client be used from console windows where these two widths are the same. This limitation may be lifted in a future release.
Password prompting using the program specified in the SSH_ASKPASS environment variable does not work. The application creates a console window in which you are prompted for the password. This will be corrected in a future release.
To use X11 forwarding, you must have an X server running on your client machine.
When you are not using Kerberos authentication (GSSAPI), to enable passwordless logon to machines running the PTC MKS Toolkit version of secshd on a Windows NT machine, you must enable your account for rhosts access. This can be done with the rsetup utility or from the PTC MKS Toolkit control panel applet. There is no requirement that the rhosts or rshd service be running. The only requirement is that you enable your account. In the event that your password expires, the passwordless authentication fails and you are prompted for a password.
To use Kerberos authentication, see the PTC MKS Toolkit Connectivity Solutions Guide for more information about the capabilities and limitations of Kerberos with secure shell.
When connecting to secshd, you may find that neither the backspace or delete key work correctly to erase characters. You can correct this by using either:
stty erase ^H
stty erase ^?
to set the erase character to either backspace or delete, respectively.
PTC MKS Toolkit for System Administrators
PTC MKS Toolkit for Developers
PTC MKS Toolkit for Interoperability
PTC MKS Toolkit for Professional Developers
PTC MKS Toolkit for Professional Developers 64-Bit Edition
PTC MKS Toolkit for Enterprise Developers
PTC MKS Toolkit for Enterprise Developers 64-Bit Edition
PTC MKS Toolkit Connectivity Solutions Guide
T. Ylonen, T. Kivinen, M. Saarinen, T. Rinne, and S. Lehtinen, SSH Protocol Architecture, draft-ietf-secsh-architecture-09.txt, July 2001, work in progress material.
PTC MKS Toolkit 10.1 Documentation Build 15.


chromosome (krōˈməsōmˌ) [key], structural carrier of hereditary characteristics, found in the nucleus of every cell and so named for its readiness to absorb dyes. The term chromosome is usually reserved for the structure when it is condensed and readily visible during cell division (see mitosis). At other times the chromosome appears as a fibrous structure, called the chromonema, consisting of accumulations (called chromomeres) of chromatin, the dye-absorbing material. During nuclear division, when each chromosome splits, each of the duplicate chromosomes is called a chromatid. A certain number of chromosomes is characteristic of each species of plant and animal; e.g., the human has 46 chromosomes, the potato has 48, and the fruit fly Drosophila has 8. Each of these chromosome numbers is the so-called diploid number, i.e., the number found in the somatic (body) cells and in the germ cells that give rise to the gametes, or reproductive cells. When the germ cells divide in the two-step process of meiosis, the chromosomes are separated in such a way that each daughter cell receives a haploid (half the diploid) number of chromosomes. Fusion of the male and female gametes in fertilization restores the diploid number in the fertilized egg, or zygote, which thus contains two sets of homologous chromosomes, one from each parent. The principal constituents of the chromosomes are nucleoproteins containing deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA (see nucleic acid). Chromosomes appear microscopically as a linear arrangement of genes, the factors that determine the inherited characteristics of all living organisms. The very large chromosomes in the salivary gland cells of Drosophila and other insects have furnished valuable material for the study of genetics.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.


Latvian Folk Dress
Courageous Latvian riflemen known as latviešu strēlnieki fought on the Tsarist Russian aspect throughout this warfare, and earned recognition for his or her bravery throughout Europe. Post-war confusion enabled professional-independence forces to consolidate their efforts and pursue their dream.
In the early fifties it was clear that planet`s political, economic and also army order after the World War II had changed significantly as the two opposite systems became stronger. They maintained a rapid pace of industrial improvement additionally within the second half of the 20 th century, however, the colonies were gradually lost. In the first half of the century, after 1917, some international locations such because the USSR and the People`s Republic of China with a very completely different financial mannequin have been additionally established. They additionally underwent industrialization, nonetheless, they had a centrally deliberate economy and their dominant and only official ideology was communistic. After the World War II a range of USSR`s satellite international locations joined this method which officially had been known as “socialistic republics” or “folks`s republics”.
Learn more about education in Latvia:
By 1945, Latvia was as soon as once more beneath total Soviet occupation and pre-warfare Soviet rule was reinstated. By the late 1100s, Latvia was increasingly visited by traders from western Europe who used Latvia’s longest river, the Daugava, as a commerce path to Russia. At the shut of the twelfth century, German traders arrived, bringing with them missionaries who tried to convert the pagan Baltic and Finno-Ugrian tribes to the Christian religion. Out of loyalty to their historical pantheistic beliefs, the Balts resisted the imposition of a international religion, particularly the ritual of christening. When information of this reached the Pope in Rome, he ordered a army Crusade against the Baltic peoples.
The Roman creator Tacitus remarked upon the “Aestii” peoples, thought to be inhabitants of the trendy Baltic lands, suggesting that they had been abound with formidable, yet peaceable and hospitable folks. The Latvian peoples remained comparatively undisturbed until Papal intervention via the Germanic, Teutonic Order colonized Kurzeme (Courland in English, Kurland in German), starting in the latvian women first half of the 13th century. Papal decrees ordered the Teutonic Order to unfold the “Word of the Lord” and the Gospel of Christianity all through “uncivilized”, “Pagan lands”. Though these attempts to Christianize the population failed, and the Teutonic Order ultimately redeployed southward, to the area of what was as soon as known as East Prussia.
As a part of the independence course of in the early Nineties, Latvia (as well as Estonia) introduced language laws to guard the language from extinction. It belongs to the Indo-European family of languages, and shares a distinct trait with Lithuanian dialect, within the sense that additionally it is non-Slavic and non-Germanic. Due to its previous association with the Soviet era, Russian is the most-extensively used minority language. The concept of an independent Latvia became a reality firstly of the 1900s. As the First World War spread to Latvian territory and instantly engaged the entire Latvian population, a strong professional-independence motion developed.
Meinhard, a monk from Holstein, landed there in 1180 and was named bishop of Üxküll (Ikskile) in 1186. The third bishop, Albert of Buxhoevden, with Pope Innocent III’s permission, founded the Order of the Brothers of the Sword in 1202. Before they merged in 1237 with the Knights of the Teutonic Order, they’d conquered all of the Latvian tribal kingdoms. Latvian is one of two extant Baltic languages, a gaggle of its personal within the household of Indo-European languages.
More than hundred and forty thousand took refuge from the Soviet army by fleeing to the West. On March 25, 1949, greater than forty thousand rural residents had been deported to Siberia in a sweeping repressive motion. An in depth Russification campaign started in Latvia and many administrative obstacles were created to hinder using the Latvian language. Latvia’s longstanding strategic importance to the USSR was underlined with the signing of the so-referred to as ‘Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact’ on August 23, 1939.
In Europe, they’re burning witches once more
Thirty-five thousand individuals suffered Soviet repression within the first yr of Soviet occupation. At the beginning of the 1700s, the Great Northern War broke out, largely on account of the Russian Empire’s want to expand its territorial claims to the strategically important lands of Latvia.
Latvia nonetheless among poorest in EU
In the primary 12 months of Soviet occupation about 35,000 Latvians, particularly the intelligentsia, were deported to Russia. The multiplicity of parties within the Saeima (22 in 1922 and 24 in 1931) made it inconceivable to type a steady authorities; and in 1934 Ulmanis, prime minister for the fourth time since 1918, proposed a constitutional reform. This was angrily opposed by the Social Democrats, the communists, and the nationwide minorities.
But Liepaja was nonetheless occupied by German troops, who the Allies wished to defend East Prussia and Courland (Kurzeme) in opposition to the advancing Red Army. Their commander, General Rüdiger von der Goltz, intended to construct a German-controlled Latvia and to make it a German base of operation in the struggle against the Soviets.
Only Latgale remained in Red arms; but this province was quickly thereafter cleared of Red troops. After the conquest, the Germans fashioned a so-known as Livonian confederation, which lasted for greater than three centuries. This feudalistic group was not a contented one, its three elements–the Teutonic Order, the archbishopric of Riga, and the free metropolis of Riga–being in fixed dispute with one another.


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We have known about the perils of climate change for more than two decades. But global efforts to slow it down by reducing greenhouse-gas emissions have largely failed. Even if we could stop producing greenhouse gases tomorrow, the high concentration of carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere will cause the climate to continue to change. As a result we must not only intensify our efforts to reduce climate change but start preparing for its inevitable effects.
In this report, the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) addresses how we should adapt to climate change in the Bay Area, including which tools and strategies will make us resilient to its most severe impacts, including drought, higher temperatures and sea level rise. We recommend more than 30 strategies for local and regional agencies to begin minimizing the region’s vulnerabilities to these long-term but potentially catastrophic effects.
By Sandy Van Sant
this is actually included in the CAKE website also. Very good example of what other cities could do regarding planning re CC in a multidisciplinary manner. You can use this and just apply your specific local issues to it.
Describes and promotes an “adaptive management” approach to planning and includes planning recommendations for Public Health and Safety, Transportation, Ecosystems and Biodiversity, Energy, Water Management, and Sea Level Rise.


Fishing, or to fish means any activity, other than scientific research conducted by a scientific research vessel, that involves:
(1) The catching, taking, or harvesting of fish;
(2) The attempted catching, taking, or harvesting of fish;
(3) Any other activity that can reasonably be expected to result in the catching, taking, or harvesting of fish; or
(4) Any operations at sea in support of, or in preparation for, any activity described in paragraphs (1), (2), or (3) of this definition.
50 CFR § 600.10
Unless defined otherwise in other parts of Chapter VI, the terms in this chapter have the following meanings:


People often associate the word “vandalism” with teens and youth and may think of vandalism as “pranks” or “kids just being kids.” In truth, vandalism is a serious crime. Parents need to ensure that their children and teens understand the serious and potentially life-altering consequences of vandalizing property.
Under Georgia law, vandalism charges generally fall into one of three categories.
The crime of criminal trespass includes intentionally defacing or destroying property without the owner’s consent. Acts of vandalism that cause less than $500 in damage fall into this category. Criminal trespass is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail plus fines.
Second-degree criminal damage
Acts of vandalism that cause property damage of $500 or more fall under second-degree criminal damage. This is a felony, punishable by one to five years in prison plus fines. This section also applies if a person willfully and maliciously uses fire or explosion to damage property, regardless of the cost of the damage.
First-degree criminal damage
First-degree criminal damage includes malicious acts of vandalism which endanger human life, without regard to the monetary value of the damage. This crime is a felony, punishable by one to ten years in prison and fines.
Georgia has special rules for vandalism to certain types of property, regardless of the value of the damage. These include military monuments and markers, mailboxes and/or mail, places of worship, government property and public utility property or equipment.
To a teen, a little spray paint may seem like a harmless joke. However, especially in neighborhoods with high property values and expensive vehicles, $500 in damage happens in the blink of an eye. A felony charge is no laughing matter for a teen’s future.


And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented." Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him." But the centurion said, "Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, 'Go!' and he goes, and to another, 'Come!' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this!' and he does it."Those who read this passage may immediately be wondering, So...where is homosexuality in all of that? The key in the argument is the original Greek of verse 6:
Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, "Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." And Jesus said to the centurion, "Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed that very moment. [Matthew 8:5-13; NASB]
καὶ λέγων κύριε ὁ παῖς μου βέβληται έν τῇ οἰκίᾳ παραλυτικός δεινῶς βασανιζόμενοςThe centurion refers to his "servant" with ὁ παῖς (shown in bold). The argument is that the Greek word refers to a homosexual lover. To quote one presentation on this argument:
In the most common English translations, we read this passage and have no idea the context of this encounter between the Roman centurion and Jesus. The key word is "pais", which is often translated as "servant" or "boy". However, most scholars believe that the term pais in the ancient world was a well-known idiom referring to a male concubine (often younger) and an explicitly homosexual relationship.Let's review the problems with this argument in two parts...
Kenneth J. Dover, noted authority on ancient Greece, in his book, Greek Homosexuality, tells us the younger partner in a homosexual relationship is called pais or paidika.
Dr. Robert Gagnon, arguably the foremost anti-gay scholar of our day, writes that pais can refer to a partner in a homosexual relationship. He writes:
“boy” (pais) could be used of any junior partner in a homosexual relationship, even one who was fullgrown.” Dr. Robert Gagnon (The Bible And Homosexual Practice, p. 163, footnote 6.)
In fact, the overwhelming historical evidence (and perhaps, the implication of Luke 7:2, which literally translates as "had much love for") is that the Centurion and his "pais" were likely involved in a homosexual relationship that was very common in the ancient world. It is worth noting that this kind of relationship is one that today, we would almost universally condemn since it was between and older man and a young pubescent boy. However, these relationships were very common. [source]
1) The Lexical Game
The "lexical game" is what I refer to when a person takes the various definitions of a word, finds the one they like best, and essentially ignores the context or use of the word in the individual passage. While παῖς is indeed the word used here in Matthew's account of the faithful centurion, it is not the only time the word is used in the Gospels. Some other times the exact form of παῖς is found:
- In Matthew 12:38, in reference to Christ
- In Matthew 17:18, in reference to the young man whom Christ expelled a mute demon from for the boy's father
- In Luke 2:43, in which it talks of "the boy Jesus" staying behind in Jerusalem
- In Luke 8:54, in reference to the young girl whom Christ raises from the dead
- In John 4:51, in reference to the nobleman's child rising at Christ's command
Does the word even mean a "young homosexual lover"? I'm sure in some parts of ancient Greece it might have been written to refer to such a person, but the question is whether or not it could be understood here. Some comments from various concordances and lexicons regarding the word:
child, maiden, servant, young man. - Perhaps from paio; a boy (as often beaten with impunity), or (by analogy), a girl, and (genitive case) a child; specially, a slave or servant (especially a minister to a king; and by eminence to God) -- child, maid(-en), (man) servant, son, young man. [Strong's Exhaustive Concordance]As we can see, most basic Biblical sources point to it referring to a young man or "boy." John Gill and A.T. Robertson likewise say that the word παῖς is used here in reference simply to a youth, with no sexual connotations.
Definition - a child, boy, youth [NAS Exhaustive Concordance]
Definition: (a) a male child, boy, (b) a male slave, servant; thus: a servant of God, especially as a title of the Messiah, (c) a female child, girl. [biblos.com]
The Greek term here is παῖς (pais), often used of a slave who was regarded with some degree of affection, possibly a personal servant... [from the NET notes on Matthew 8:6]
2) Does Luke 7:2 mean anything?
The author of the quoted article states that there is "implication" in Luke 7:2, as it says the Centurion "had much love for" his παῖς. However, this is just one translation - in fact, I couldn't find a translation that bore those exact words. The closest translation that comes to it is the KJV with "who was dear unto him."
The Greek word used in Luke 7:2 which the author translates as "have much love for" is actually ἔντιμος, which means "to regard or value highly." Many translations - such as the NASB, NIV, NRSV and ESV - translate the word in Luke 7:2 in such a manner. Various cases of the word are used across the New Testament, including 1 Peter 2:4 and 6, Luke 14:8, and Philippians 2:29. A quick examination of the context of all these passages will show that it does not refer to the kind of eros love which the article's author is trying to promote. When the passage says that the Centurion had much ἔντιμος for his servant, it meant that the Centurion had much respect and care for those who worked under him - not that the Centurion had any kind of sexual interest in him.
One notable factor about Luke 7:2 that those who make the παῖς argument seem to miss is that Luke has the Centurion refer to the boy as δοῦλος. He then uses παῖς in verse 7 in reference to the same person. What does this mean? That δοῦλος and παῖς are being used interchangeably (as some Greek words often are), and therefore the true context of παῖς is a young male servant...not a young homosexual concubine.
All in all, there are no homosexual connotations in this passage. Anyone who argues so is either playing lexical games or reading too much into the text.


“Do not worry about your difficulties in mathematics. I can assure you mine are still greater”
Our aim is to educate and enthuse students in maths so they are prepared for future life. In adult life it is essential that we have good numeracy skills and an ability to problem solve using deductive reasoning. At Coombe Girls’ School Mathematics Department we have a team of hard working and dedicated teachers who endeavour to see our students develop the skills required to be successful in their future life.
what to expect in year 7
In Year 7, students study a variety of topics of work based on the four main sections of maths: number, data, shape, and algebra. In Key Stage 3 some students are selected to participate in our 1-1 numeracy scheme where they are mentored by an older student in mathematics, this is designed to develop confidence and ability. Over the course of the year, Year 7 and 8 tutor groups compete in a times table competition as a tutor time activity, designed to consolidate learning from primary school and earn ever important merits for their house.
what to expect in year 8
In Year 8, students deepen their knowledge on the four main sections of maths: number, data, shape and algebra. They have the opportunity to research and complete project work on the Golden Ratio as part of the My World project. This is designed to extend and challenge those who have a developing interest in mathematics. In all years, groups of students have the chance to partake in the Maths Challenge qualification. Alongside this in Year 8 a team of 8 students is selected to compete in the inter school Maths Challenge contest against other local schools.
what to expect in year 9
In Year 9, students begin more rigorous preparations for the commencement of their GCSE course. We ensure all students are fully confident with the core skills required to access the GCSE course such as algebra, negative numbers and BIDMAS. Throughout Key Stage 3 all students have access to Maths Club, which is a weekly drop in service to support and extend our students. Every year the Maths Department celebrate Number Day, where the aim is to make maths fun and instigate a positive “can do” attitude through various activities such as a Number Hunt and a building task.
why study maths gcse?
What does studying Maths involve?
Maths is a highly valued subject from all areas including colleges, universities and employers. At GCSE level students are equipped with the skills and knowledge required to cope mathematically when they leave education. Students develop deductive reasoning skills and tackle challenging problems designed to make them apply their knowledge in different contexts. At Coombe Girls’ School we have a history of highly successful Maths GCSE results which we expect to continue. Students are given access to various resources that they can use at home to further support their learning such as Maths Watch accounts and online textbooks.
what to expect in year 10 & 11
In Year 10 and 11 students are begin studying for the EdExcel GCSE Mathematics (9-1). Alongside the traditional Mathematics GCSE, some groups of Year 10 and 11 students are also given the opportunity to sit the Statistics GCSE. Our more able students also have the exciting opportunity to study for the Additional Maths qualification. Throughout Key Stage 4 we offer a multitude of additional support including a Walking Talking Mock, revision classes, Year 11 parent meeting and breakfast revision, amongst others. As a reward for progress some Year 11s are taken on a trip to Nandos.


We need to look at the volatility of any investment and understand what factors influence it. When investing in the stock market or other financial instruments, the volatility must be calculated and predicted. How to predict market volatility?
The more volatile a market is, the riskier it will be to invest in it and the less predictable. Some strategies work well in volatile markets, while others are useless.
There are a lot of factors that affect an instrument’s volatility. In this article, we’ll look at the most important ones.
Even when you buy a real asset like a house, you should evaluate how volatile the investment is.
Related article: Inflation and real estate: should you buy a home?
Liquidity affects volatility
The biggest thing that affects a financial instrument’s volatility is its liquidity. The general rule is that the more liquid an asset, the less volatile it is.
There will be times when some very liquid instruments become highly volatile. But most of the time, very liquid stocks tend to be more stable and move slower. We’ll look at other factors that can cause violent movements later.
When an instrument is liquid, big investors buy and sell, so supply and demand are balanced. Stocks such as bluechip stocks have a lot of trading throughout the day.
Related article: Small-cap stocks vs. blue-chip: two different approaches
Blue-chip stocks have a very high capitalization compared to so-called small-cap stocks. Banks, hedge funds, brokers, and big traders will be interested in buying and selling blue chips every day.
A heavily capitalized stock is more liquid and less volatile. Apple or Microsoft are examples of large capitalized stocks, and you can find these in thousands of other financial products like ETFs or investment funds.
Liquidity affects the spread between the bid and ask
A large blue-chip sell order from a broker will undoubtedly find a counterparty and not cause the price to move quickly.
Let’s take a simple example. A trader placed a large sell order at $ 100, but the stock was barely traded, and there were only a few buy orders at $ 90.
A large spread between the bid and ask has just been created in the stock book. If the trader needs to sell, he’ll have to lower the selling price to $ 90, where the few interested buyers are. In this way, the share will rapidly drop by $10 in a few seconds, losing 10% of its value.
This is an example of pure fantasy, but it serves to understand why low liquidity makes prices move quickly.
By analyzing the stock’s book, you can predict the volatility. When a stock has a lot of big orders at different price levels, it usually trades slowly. The market will absorb each order; it will be liquid and stable.
Some news can create a lot of volatility.
Since liquidity and capitalization are the most important factors, other elements influence volatility.
Every day there are news and analyses about the stock market or a particular company. Some of this news has no impact; it serves only to entertain the public. But some of them are real market movers.
Global news that influences volatility
Some news can make a national or even global stock market move massively. A natural disaster, a diplomatic incident that can lead to a world war, a pandemic are just a few examples.
The more sudden and unexpected the news is, the more violently the stock market will react and the greater the volatility. In finance, the terrible news is called “black swan”.
Some black swans are sudden, like the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in 2011. Other news is more predictable, as the generalized lockdowns in the covid emergency. Bad news creates more volatility as markets tend to drop very quickly and then rise slowly.
After the news, the stock market will try to settle down and absorb the loss or continue in its direction. The tsunami in Japan will have a different impact than Covid. The more unpredictable the effects of an event are, the longer the period of high volatility.
Related article: Thoughts on COVID-19 Global Financial Management
Say there’s a natural disaster, and we can figure out how it’ll affect the economy and the stock market. Stock prices will fall, and they’ll keep falling until they get to a point where the price will balance out and settle down.
If an event has multiple implications and no one can predict what will happen, it’ll be a different story. We will see rapid declines and then equally rapid rises over long periods. Each new piece of information will lead the market to rise or fall, creating uncertainty and, therefore, volatility.
Central banks’ monetary policies and volatility
News that could increase volatility relates to the choices on monetary policies by large central banks such as the Fed or the ECB.
Analysts usually do their homework before announcing anything, so it’s rare to see any real surprises. But sometimes, the market can get nervous about specific things. Investment banks often use these movements to take advantage of large sell and buy orders, artificially creating volatility.
Earnings and volatility
American stocks report earnings every quarter, and the news is highly anticipated. Again, earnings are preceded by hundreds of financial analyst forecasts and analyses. The rule is that the more earnings deviate from analysts’ forecasts, the more volatility is likely to be created.
Some stocks always react nervously to their earnings, so we can easily predict their volatility and trade with options. In addition to earnings, any news can come out on equities and increase volatility.
Again, the more surprising the news, the more volatility it will create. Furthermore, the smaller the share, the more its price will be influenced by news.


Skinner was the great Universalist social prophet of the twentieth century. He was born in Brooklyn, New York on March 23, 1881. He grew up in a family of actors and theater people. His father, who was a reporter, also wrote plays and was a drama critic. Young Clarence took part in plays at Erasmus Hall High School, and also at St. Lawrence University, where he started in the fall of 1900. Skinner was also active in the Universalist Church in Canton, New York, where his classmate Clara Ayres played the organ. After they graduated in 1904, Skinner was leaning towards the ministry as a career, and he went to work at the Universalist Church of the Divine Paternity in New York. He was in charge of the Sunday School and youth programs. He also attended programs at the University Settlement, and eventually taught classes there in current events. Skinner was ordained in New York on April 8, 1906, and accepted a call that summer to the Universalist Church in Mt. Vernon, New York. That fall he and Clara were married.
Skinner’s ministry in Mt. Vernon was a success, as a building was erected, and the church school prospered. He continued to be involved in the University Settlement, and also finished an M.A. from St. Lawrence. Soon thereafter John Haynes Holmes was settled in New York, and he and Skinner became friends. They agreed that the church must broaden its orientation toward reforming all of society. At this time congregations were taught about many of the social injustices of the day, and public forums became popular. Christians across the country were applying Christ’s teachings to the social problems of the day calling it the Social Gospel. This reform impulse was spearheaded in the Universalist denomination by Skinner. In 1910 Skinner helped form the Universalist Social Service Commission, and served as secretary for six years. The following year he left Mt. Vernon to accept a call to Grace Universalist Church in Lowell, Massachusetts. Here, in a community where the industrial revolution had started, Skinner had more first hand experience in dealing with social problems. He tried to bring labor and management together for discussions and sponsored many forums. He was also named president of the Massachusetts Universalist Sunday School Association. Then in 1914 he was appointed to the new position of Professor of Applied Christianity at Crane Theological School at Tufts. This was the beginning of a long relationship with Tufts. Although some were concerned about Skinner’s social radicalism, he was a popular teacher with the students. After he was there for only a year, his major work on The Social Implications of Universalism, was published (1915). Here Skinner wrote, “The true social objective is the perfecting of human character by the progressive improvement of those conditions and environments which are within the social control.” (Skinner, Social Implications, p. 33)
In 1917 the denomination approved a Declaration of Social Principles that Skinner had written. That year was a difficult one for Skinner, as his stand against World War I and his avowed pacifism was unpopular with much of the campus. After the war he once again joined forces with Holmes, when together they formed a Community Church of Boston, similar to Holmes’s venture in New York. Both believed that the church must move beyond sectarian boundaries, and serve the broader community with a ministry that addresses social problems in the world. Organized in 1920, Skinner remained there for seventeen years as leader.
During the 1920’s Skinner was especially active in the defense of Sacco and Vanzetti, who he felt were unjustly convicted of murder based on their political radicalism. In 1929 Skinner was made vice-dean of Crane, and then Dean Lee McColllester resigned three years later. There was some opposition to Skinner taking the position, but finally he received the appointment. He continued to teach during his term of twelve years as dean. The school also continued to grow and improve academically. After the stresses of World War II, and ill health, Skinner decided to resign from his position. He died four years later on August 26, 1949. After his death many of his ideas on worship and spirituality were gathered from previously unpublished material in Worship and the Well-Ordered Life (1955). His teaching and writing in addition to his concern for social justice, also contained a vision for a new Universalism as a religion of universals transcending all particulars, and some of this was articulated in Religion for Greatness (1945). Like his famed nineteenth century predecessor Hosea Ballou, Skinner saw salvation as only possible when the entire world is saved, and not isolated individuals.


Grey-sided Bush-warbler (Cettia brunnifrons) - HBW 11, p. 595
French: Bouscarle à couronne brune
Spanish: Cetia Capirotado
Taxonomy: Prinia brunnifrons Hodgson, 1845, Nepal.
Race whistleri intergrades with nominate in N India (Uttaranchal Pradesh); variation throughout range possibly clinal, and species sometimes treated as monotypic. Birds from NE India described as race muroides, considered inseparable from umbratica. Three subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution:
- whistleri (Ticehurst, 1923) - NW Himalayas from N Pakistan (Kaghan Valley) and Kashmir E to N India (Uttaranchal Pradesh).
- brunnifrons (Hodgson, 1845) - Himalayas from N India (Uttaranchal Pradesh) E to Bhutan and S China (SE Xizang).
- umbratica (Stuart Baker, 1924) - NE India (Arunachal Pradesh), S China (SE Tibet, W Sichuan, NW Yunnan) and N Myanmar.
- Least Concern Enlarge map
Found many of them in a small area and very vocal ..
Locality East Sikkim District, Sikkim, India
Jainy Kuriakose 10 June 2014 37 weeks ago 4.8
Grey-sided Bush-warbler - frequently heard all over the place
Locality Hilley, West Sikkim District, Sikkim, India
Jainy Kuriakose 27 June 2013 1 year ago 4.3
Grey-sided Bush-warbler (Cettia brunnifrons)
Locality Mandala Road, Dirang, West Kameng District, Arunachal Pradesh, India
Jacques Erard 15 April 2013 1 year ago 3.8
Locality Mandala Road, Dirang, West Kameng District, Arunachal Pradesh, India (ssp brunnifrons)
Niels Poul Dreyer 11 April 2013 1 year ago 3.8


Today, we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. It’s fun to wear green and color shamrocks, but do you know much about St Patrick, the man? I bet not, so here is the real story of who he was and why we have a holiday named after him.
Many, many years ago, there was a young boy named Patrick who lived in the country of Wales. His parents took Patrick to church and tried to bring him up to love God and be a good person. One day though while Patrick was outside, he saw some bad men come into their town. They were mean and cruel, and that night they set fires to some of the town’s people’s homes. But even worse, these were Irish pirates, and they kidnapped some of the people in the town and took them to Ireland as slaves. Patrick was one of them.
Can you imagine what it was like for Patrick to be taken away at the age of 16 from his parents, family, community and become a slave? Patrick was sold to an Irish king. He had to work in the pasture tending sheep for no pay and very little food. Patrick prayed to God for help. One day, Patrick heard God’s voice in his head, and God told him to just walk off from where was, go to the town, get on a ship, and sail back to his homeland. Patrick wasn’t sure about this, but he decided he had better do what God said, so he just left the field of sheep, found a ship sailing to Wales, got on it, and with no problem was soon back home. Patrick had been a slave for six years.
He decided that he wanted to become a Priest, so he studied hard and committed himself to God. Then do you know what God told him to do? God told Patrick to go back to Ireland and preach the good news of Jesus to those people that were so mean to him. God gave Patrick the courage to return and forgive those people, and even though he was almost killed several times, God always kept Patrick safe. Because of Patrick’s work and preaching in Ireland, slavery was ended there, and Christianity spread across the whole country. Patrick lived to be a very old man. He lived to see Ireland transformed by God’s message of love and forgiveness. After his death, Patrick was honored for his work by becoming St. Patrick, and that is why we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day even now.
God saw and heard Patrick in his darkest times just like He sees and hears us when we are sad, scared, or feel helpless. God answered Patrick’s prayers, and Patrick had the courage to do what God told him to do. God blessed him for that. Remember to ask God for His help and not be afraid to do what He says. God will never leave or forsake you and will bless you too for doing His will.
Let’s say a prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us the example of St. Patrick. Through Your direction and his courage, many people were brought to believe in You. Help us to be like St. Patrick and ask for Your help and direction when we need it as well. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Ann Moody is pastor of Wilkesville First Presbyterian Church.