Image adapted from the cover of “Great Lent” by Fr. Alexander Schmemann, SVS Press.

FASTING: 7 Questions and 7 Answers from Ken James Stavrevsky on Vimeo.

Featured Image on Home Page Carousel:

Jan de Heem, Still life with ham, lobster and fruit, c. 1653, Museum Bolijman Van Beuninjen

Fr. Joseph’s Answer:  A wonderful question which deserves a more extensive answer than just the name.

1^st:  What is the antimension, and why is there a relic in it?

It was a practice of the earliest Christians to celebrate the Eucharist over the tombs of the martyrs.  So many of the earliest altars for the early Christians where the tombs of their martyred brothers and sisters in the faith, and this catacombs containing these tombs were the gathering places for the celebration of the Divine Liturgy.  After the legalization of the Church under Emperor Constantine, the practice then became to erect churches over the tombs of the saints and the altars were placed directly over those tombs. As an extension of this practice, as churches were built in places other than directly over the martyr’s tombs, a small portion of the relics of a martyr would be placed within the new altar at its consecration.

The antimension (Greek: “instead of the table”) is a rectangular piece of cloth usually decorated with an image of the Taking Down of Christ from the Cross, as well as the four Evangelists, and scriptural texts related to the Passion of Christ and the Eucharist.  A small relic of a martyr is sewn into it.  It also bears the signature of the bishop.  With that signature the presence of the antimension is, in effect, the license of the bishop for the priest to celebrate the Divine Liturgy in his absence, under his authority.

The antimension sits in the center of the altar table and is unfolded during the Divine Liturgy in preparation for the Anaphora, the eucharistic prayer of offering and consecration.  When folded, the antimension sits in the center of slightly larger cloth, the eileton , which protects it. When they are folded, the Gospel Book is laid on top of them.  When they are unfolded, the Gospel Book stands in front of the Tabernacle.

The antimension acts as a substitute for the altar table and the Divine Liturgy may be celebrated upon it in the absence of a consecrated altar table, as might be the case in a temporary chapel or in an emergency situation. In current practice the priest always uses the antimension, even on a consecrated altar that has its own relics sealed into it.

2^nd:  Whose relic is sewn into our antimension?

Our antimension contains a relic of St. Vincent, the deacon martyr of Saragossa, Spain, who is commemorated on November 11.

According to the short biography on oca.org:

The Holy Martyr Vincent of Spain from his childhood was the disciple of a wise pastor Valerian, the bishop of the city of Augustopolis (now Saragossa, Spain). When he reached mature age, the virtuous, educated and eloquent Vincent was ordained deacon by Bishop Valerian. Since the bishop himself was not adept in speech, he gave a blessing to his deacon, an eloquent orator, to preach in church and among the people.

Diocletian (284-305) sent the governor Dacian to the city of Valencia, Spain with full authority to find and execute Christians. People denounced the wise bishop and his deacon to the governor, who arrested them. The soldiers, mounted on horses, dragged the Elder and his disciple behind them in chains from Augustopolis to Valencia, and there they cast them into prison beaten and tortured, giving them neither food nor water.

They subjected the bishop to the first interrogation. The Elder spoke quietly, but seemed tongue-tied and uncertain. Then St Vincent came forward and made the most eloquent speech of his life before the judges and assembled people. After he sent the bishop back to prison, the persecutor gave orders to torture the holy deacon.

The martyr underwent many torments: while nailed to a cross, he was whipped and burned with red-hot rods. When he was removed from the cross, he then himself joyfully climbed back upon it, saying that the executioners were lazy and had not fulfilled their master’s orders. They became angry and tortured him again, until they were all exhausted.

After the tortures they threw the martyr back into prison. That night the astonished guard heard him singing Psalms, and saw an unearthly radiant light in the prison. The next morning the holy martyr was condemned to be burned on a gridiron. Christians took the saint’s body and buried it with reverence. This occurred in the year 304.

Martyr Deacon Vincent of Saragossa

The monastery is that of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco in Manton, CA.

Stick with it all the way through, it will be worth it.

Meditations on Monasticism from SEEfilms on Vimeo.

The Real Meaning of Sex with Frederica Mathewes-Green from Ashley Wooten on Vimeo.

The exhibition that’s currently in the “House of Icons” (Moscow, Russia) is for all. Regardless of the way they read information – by vision or by touch. The exhibits there may be touched. They SHOULD be touched.

The exhibition’s aim is to familiarize visitors with the world of iconography, from the very beginning, the creation of paint, to the finished icon.

This process starts from minerals – malachite, lazurite, hematite – out of which pigments are made.

Our visitors can also see mortars, in which iconographers grind paints, brushes that they use, and boards, on which the icons are created. Moreover, represented boards illustrate the process of icon creation: there are boards with linen, boards with priming, and boards with imprints.

“The exhibition also shows materials used in iconography: wood, ceramics, plaster, smalt, and metal”, explained Ekaterina Vasina, Head of PR-department of the “House of Icons”.

So then can you please explain, is an «icon for the blind» something peculiar? “Not at all. It’s just an embossed icon that can be perceived by touch”.

“The tradition of embossed icons is a very ancient one” told Orthodoxy and the World Aleksey Lidov, a recognized fine art expert, director of the research centre for Eastern Christianity culture, and associate member of the Russian Academy of Fine Arts. “There were even statues with images of Christ and disciples in Early Christian fine arts. Then they were rejected due to fear of being accused of idolatry”.

Embossed iconic works of art always existed in Byzantium. Some were wooden, though more often either marble or carved bone was used. There also existed a tradition of creating embossed icons from wax paste – mastic, which resembled clay or modeling clay. A piece of a relic was always added. This made the material itself sacred. The entire icon became holy. In order to truly experience an icon, we need to abandon our vision, our secular, mundane, and earthly vision. Blind people do not need to do this.. Their sole way of experiencing an icon is to evoke it in their mind.

Who rehabilitates who?

One of my acquaintances, an iconographer, was bothered when she heard about icons for the blind: “How can you touch a holy face! Isn’t this blasphemous?”

“No one, including the Patriarchate, had any doubt. Everybody has a different path, and goes his or her own way in order to understand the world and faith. To prohibit someone from touching holy faces and thus possibly preventing them perceive art, faith, and God?! I don’t think that’s right” commented Ekaterina Vasina.

While Oleg Nikolaevich Smolin, a State Duma deputy, deputy chairman of the Committee for Education, noted: “I think not only disabled people need rehabilitation, but people need to rehabilitate their personal relation  to the disabled. So we also have to periodically rehabilitate them.

At this exhibition I was able to truly see icons for the first time in my life. Inside church it’s usually impossible. Even if an icon is not under the glass and you can touch it, you don’t feel anything apart from what your imagination tells you. So today’s exhibition is very important; it enriches one’s concept of the world. I attend church primarily for cultural purposes. But inside a church everyone feels something special” explained Oleg Nikolaevich to Orthodoxy and the World.

For many blind people who came to the exhibition’s opening ceremony, it was the first substantive encounter with icons. It was so even for Ivan, a son of a priest who has frequented church almost from birth. Ivan is a bell-ringer at the Holy Mother of God church in Dubna. While studying English, he also studies ancient Greek and has twice been to Greece to attend Modern Greek language courses. Every year at the Easter service he reads the Gospel in ancient Greek.

As a child, Ivan studied music– he played the piano. “I’m also keen on sports”, he says.  “I’ve learnt to drive with an instructor at practice grounds near Moscow. I dream that one day will be invented a car for blind people and I will be able to drive on my own. In Crimea I drove to an altitude of 1000 meters on a quad-bike with an instructor’s help. I sailed a yacht with my friends. It’s a very powerful experience, when you feel you are able and can manage to do such difficult things!”

Natalya works at a library for blind people. For her, icons are only works of art. “The exhibition is interesting and informative; you can envision the icons, and also read about them in Braille.

In general it is always a problem to visit a museum. You can’t just go, because no one will take you for an excursion. You always need an assistant. I wish other museums were like the “House of Icons”: you can touch everything with your hands, and moreover, you are told interesting things. Working in a library, Natalya is fond of reading very much. She chooses books depending on her mood: it can be a light romantic novel, a history book, a philosophic tract, or a work on psychology.

Larisa is a teacher: “I can’t say I’m a very religious person. Though here at this exhibition it’s not important whether or not you are a believer. Any educated person should be familiar with the art of orthodox icons. Another problem is that it is difficult to get around the city to simply come here, though it all depends on your wish.

And then you adapt, you learn the itinerary. But again, it is not physically possible to go everywhere, because not everything is accessible”.  Larisa has been studying practical psychology and applies professional tricks, sometimes to herself, to cope with a bad mood. I asked Larisa to give some psychological advice to those who unexpectedly lost sight.

“It’s a long conversation, a couple of phrases won’t help”, she says.  “A person starts to feel opposition between him and the sighted, thus often closing in on himself. He needs to get out of such seclusion, to extend his boundaries. Certain boundaries will stay and will become a task of rehabilitation and psychological orientation.  My story is different. My eyesight was very poor since childhood and I lost it gradually. So I didn’t feel it as a sharp change and I didn’t experience the problems that people do who unexpectedly lose their eyesight”.

Irina is an attractive woman who came to the exhibition with her two daughters, 16 and 13 years of age. The girls look very much like their mother. Irina shared her impressions: “Embossed icons are very well perceived and read”.

Irina is an Orthodox Christian. However, at home she has common, not embossed icons. “I attend church and this greatly supports me. The Church and faith are guides in my life. Of course, it is better to go to church with somebody sighted. But even if a blind person comes unaccompanied, people at church will help him. People usually understand. If I have no one to accompany me, it is still better to go on my own than stay at home”. After the last words Irina smiles, emphasizing the importance of attending church.

Irina is a massage therapist. She works in pediatrics and has the same problems as any working mom:  devoting adequate time and attention to her kids. “Unfortunately, I don’t always have enough time for them”, she says. The girls smile as charmingly, as their mother does, and, as if unintentionally, hug her. “Of course it’s more difficult to bring up children for a blind person”, says Irina.  “You need strong support either from your husband (morally, financially, and physically, sometimes simply to go for a walk or to visit a doctor) or from relatives and friends.

I receive a lot of help from my parents and sister. Now the kids have grown up and they start to help me themselves especially when we need to go somewhere”. When Irina goes on a pilgrimage tour organized by the All-Russian Association of the Blind both daughters certainly accompany her.

Singer Diana Gurskaya is also one of the visitors of the exhibition.

After the excursion, Diana almost bursts with joy: “After having envisioned everything, and felt it with my own hands, I began to understand icons differently. This exhibition is important for all of us. Of course, I travel a lot, but I learn about icons in churches and museums only from other people’s words. It’s so great that here I was able to feel any icon myself, to perceive images of depicted saints. I will definitely bring my child here and explain to him who is pictured on each icon. This exhibition is a true miracle”.

Moscow know-how

“An exhibition of sculptured icons for the blind, the ‘House of Icons’ project, can be regarded as a know-how” says Alexey Lidov.  “But if we take other pieces of art and their exposition to blind people, this started in Europe in the 1990-s.

I’ve seen a wonderful exposition at the Royal Museum in Brussels; I’ve seen what an immense impact it had on kids. I’ve seen the whole class of blind kids allowed to touch and explore original pieces of arts, such as ancient Egyptian sculptures, and small pieces of ancient Greek indoor sculpture (things that were difficult to damage or break). I remember the expression of delight and a kind of insight on their faces that were transfigured by this spiritual experience. They saw pieces of art with a different kind of vision.

In this respect the idea to make bring the art of the icon to blind people is praiseworthy and should be supported by all means. The icon as an art form relates to the concept of vision. It is an image-mediator that connects worlds. In the true experience of an icon the major role is played not just by sight, the contemplation of a flat picture, but by a certain communication with the image that transfers the beholder to the world of another reality. The moment of vision that is open to the blind as well is very strong in the art of icon”.

The idea of such an exhibition occurred to the deputy director of the “House of Icon” museum Nadezhda Gubina. “I wanted as many people as possible to visit the museum” -she explains.“From time to time we have had disabled people coming, including blind people. They came to ask for  some advice in what icons to pray to in different  circumstances. And I was  bewildered, for people came to the museum, willing to listen, to follow, to comprehend, and we can show them nothing.

Unfortunately, today the slogan of any museum is: “Do not touch!” It is written everywhere, in each hall of every museum sits an old lady who from the very beginning sees a criminal in you, and if you dare to make half a step in the wrong direction, she will start to shout. We, on the contrary, decided not to have wardens, museum supervisors, as I call them. It took us a year to develope the exposition, and to calculate on how to form the optimal composition so it would be easy and convenient for blind people to conceive.

Who might be interested in visiting the exhibition:

• Blind grown-ups. Reasons are clear enough. • Sighted grown-ups. Because it is great to understand the process of iconography , to touch minerals out of which pigments are made, to see the icons. • Kids – regardless whether they are blind or sighted. Kids are used to being prohibited to touch anything anywhere. While here in the museum, the most prohibitive place of all, they are allowed to touch everything!

What’s next

At the moment we are preparing an audio guide for the exhibition. Not all blind people read Braille. Sighted people will benefit from it as well. Further plans include expanding the exposition and incorporating in it more pieces of art that can be touched. The next step is to have visually impaired children from specialized schools come and study in the “House of Icons”. They will come for  various lessons, to those related to religion and history of art, and to those totally unrelated. This will provide the kids with a chance to get to know icons, and to ask the museum staff questions they will answer with pleasure.

Translated from Russian by Olga Antonova Edited by Sophia Moshura and Isaac (Gerald) Herrin

Source

(AOB) – The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America, which is comprised of the 65 canonical Orthodox bishops in the United States, Canada and Mexico, join their voices with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and all those who adamantly protest the recent decision by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and call upon all the Orthodox Christian faithful to contact their elected representatives today to voice their concern in the face of this threat to the sanctity of the Church’s conscience.

In this ruling by HHS, religious hospitals, educational institutions, and other organizations will be required to pay for the full cost of contraceptives (including some abortion-inducing drugs) and sterilizations for their employees, regardless of the religious convictions of the employers.

The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the free exercise of religion. This freedom is transgressed when a religious institution is required to pay for “contraceptive services” including abortion-inducing drugs and sterilization services that directly violate their religious convictions. Providing such services should not be regarded as mandated medical care.  We, the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops, call upon HHS Secretary Sebelius and the Obama Administration to rescind this unjust ruling and to respect the religious freedom guaranteed all Americans by the First Amendment.

Thursday, February 02, 2012

Why do we ask God to “judge us by His strength”? (Ask Father)

By Fr. Joseph Bittle

Question:  In the Vesperal Prokeimenon for Wednesday evening, we sing “Save me, O God, by Thy name, and judge me by Thy strength.”   My reaction is to think that I don’t want to be judged by God’s strength but by God’s mercy.  What should we make of that psalm verse?

Fr. Joseph’s Answer:  When first asked this question, my ‘off the cuff’ answer was to think about how God’s mercy might be shown in His strength.  So, I said that the attitude that I wanted to cultivate in myself was one that desired God, in His mercy, to use His strength to root out from me every sin, every tendency toward rebellion toward Him.

I also remarked that I knew that I wasn’t giving an answer that was taking into account the fuller context of Prokeimenon verse within its Psalm.  My answer was spiritually good, but not exegetically accurate.  The verse is from Psalm 53 (54).  What is this psalm originally about?  What does it mean for the Psalmist to ask to be judged by the strength of God?

First, the entire psalm as found in the King James Version:

¹Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me by thy strength.

²Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth.

³For strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek after my soul: they have not set God before them.

⁴Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul.

⁵He shall reward evil unto mine enemies: cut them off in thy truth.

⁶I will freely sacrifice unto thee: I will praise thy name, O LORD; for it is good.

⁷For he hath delivered me out of all trouble: and mine eye hath seen his desire upon mine enemies.

 The title given to the psalm in the ancient manuscripts gives the context: “A Maskil of David, when the Ziphites went and told Saul, “David is in hiding among us.”  ( see 1 Sam. 23: 14-20).  It is a psalm in which David, having been betrayed, cries out to God for help.  It is a psalm about being vindicated before one’s enemies by the might and power of God, to be shown as approved by God.  As a matter of fact, certain modern translations have chosen to render the first verse as “vindicate me by thy strength” instead of “judge me by thy strength.”

In this conflict with King Saul and the Ziphites who have betrayed him to Saul, David doesn’t suggest that he himself has no sin; rather, he simply relies on the reality of his relationship with God.  Unlike the strangers who have risen up against him, who have “not set God before them,” he both knows God and knows God to be his helper.  Because of the reality of this relationship, he will make sacrifice and will praise the name of the Lord.

For ourselves, when we pray the Prokeimenon asking “Save me, O God, by Thy name, and judge me by Thy strength,” we are placing our trust not in our own righteousness but in God’s desire that His own Name be vindicated by bringing salvation to those who trust in Him, who have entered into covenant relationship with Him through baptism, and who maintain and deepen that covenant bond through partaking in the sacrificial banquet of the New Covenant in the Holy Eucharist by receiving the Body and Blood of Christ.  We trust that through this relationship, through the forgiveness of sin and the strengthening in virtue that this relationship brings, we will be vindicated before our own enemies. What enemies? Those demons and men that would assail us with both temptation and accusation – the temptation to sin anew, and the accusation that would suggest that our sins have not been forgiven, suggesting that we are cut off from the grace of God.

by Hieromonk Tikhon, Abbot of Stavronikita Monastery (Mount Athos)

All that happens within the Divine Liturgy are not ideas, but they are a reality, an experience. Once we offer everything to God, He, humbly and philanthropically, sends us the Grace of His All-Holy Spirit and transforms the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of His Son, really and truly, which He in turn offers back to us to receive it and to be sanctified by it, to become sharers of His Body, to savor the Grace of the Resurrection, to begin to live from now eternal life, the enjoyment of heavenly things.

The Divine Liturgy is a work to restore God’s will in our life, and this work is performed by the priest and the faithful. All the believers are actively involved in the Divine Liturgy by being involved in the acts and words of the Divine Liturgy, as represented by the priest and the sacred chanters, since practically it is not possible any other way. It is characteristic that the Orthodox priest never celebrates the Divine Liturgy alone, individually, but only in service to the Church, as a leader and representative of the congregation of believers. For this reason he proclaims: “Thine own of Thine own…” and “The Holy Things for the Holy Ones”; and we say: “We who mystically iconize the Cherubim…”, that is, in the plural. We all iconize the Cherubim, offering everything while glorifying God, accepting the Holy Things which are foreseen for the Holy Ones. The Divine Liturgy is a creation of all of us. It is the greatest creation of man which allows for the eternal meaning and salvation of life. Whoever feels and participates even a little in this truth and lives it, then he loves the Divine Liturgy more than anything in the world. In this he finds himself, God, and his salvation. He encounters truly his fellow man, loves everybody, and learns what is the meaning of creation and what is creations true value. He is freed from the slavery and oppression of the passions and the devil and acquires the freedom of the children of God.

On Mount Athos the Divine Liturgy is celebrated every day in the Monasteries following Matins. And even though we follow the same Divine Liturgy every day, we do not feel burdened, nor are we bored, nor do we tire of it. When someone lives the Divine Liturgy, its sacred words become a door which open to a personal encounter with a personal God, personal Truth. All our life becomes a prepared offering to God, conscious of our participation in the Divine Liturgy. It is also a glorification to God, and an effort and a struggle to be aware and participate throughout our life our personal experience and participation in the Theanthropic Body of the Savior. We liturgize our life and our life becomes a perpetual Divine Liturgy, which begins with the sacred Mystery of the Divine Eucharist and ends and is completed again with this. With the Divine Liturgy we offer to God all our thoughts, our acts, our struggles and our agonies, our fears and our hopes, everything that is ours, in order for Him to transform them and save them. The Divine Liturgy leads us and introduces us to the Land of the Living, to communion with the Holy Spirit, to the blessed Kingdom of the Holy Trinity.

When we are bored with the Divine Liturgy and it seems monotonous and tiresome to go every Sunday to church, it is not the liturgical language or something else that is to blame, but rather it is our ignorance of this philanthropic Mystery. How different it would be if we consciously participated in the Divine Liturgy as if it were a personal event in our lives!

Source of Translation & Icons

Original Source: «Ή χώρα των ζώντων» (Αγ. Ορος 1991). Translated by John Sanidopoulos.

Visiting an icon of St. Tatiana (Photo: RIA Novosti)

(scroll down past this article for life of St. Tatiana)

by Mikhail Aristov

On January 25 (Jan. 12 New Style), the Orthodox Christian Church celebrates the day of Saint Martyr Tatiana.

Every year, thousands gather in the District of Columbia, the nation’s capitol in Washington, DC for the annual March for Life. It’s been deemed the largest and longest-running peaceful human rights demonstration for the unborn, with more than 100,000 in attendance. As marchers gathered in Washington, D.C., for the March for Life, pro-life marches and commemorations around the country have already taken place in solidarity with the main event. Many were held on Saturday and a few Sunday, while others took place the week before.

The Orthodox Christian Clergy Association of Greater Chicago sponsored and hosted the 4th Annual Prayer Vigil for Life on Sunday, January 22, 2012 at Holy Apostles Greek Orthodox Church in Westchester, IL with His Grace Bishop Demetrios, a chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago delivering a key-note address, titled “Executing Death”.

Clergy and parishioners of almost very Orthodox parish in Chicago Metropolitan area attended the Prayer Vigil. Representing the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA were His Grace Bishop Daniel, the Ruling Hierarch of the Western Eparchy of the UOC of the USA, accompanied by Archimadrite Pankratiy of St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in Chicago, IL; Rev. Fr. Vasyl Sendeha and Deacon John Charest of Sts Peter and Paul Ukrainian Orthodox parish in Palos Park, IL, and Subdeacon Vasyl Pasakas of St. Sophia Ukrainian Orthodox Theological Seminary.

The prayers were unspeakably beautiful, in large part due to the parish Chorus, who lead the chanting of a number of Psalms and singing responses in all of the languages of the various Orthodox jurisdiction of Chicago metropolitan area. His Grace Bishop Daniel delivered a prayer during the Vigil, stating: “…Seeking to fulfill Your teaching o Lord, we as Your followers, turn to You in fervent prayer on this “Sanctity of Life Sunday”. O God, Who knows each of us from our mother’s womb, protect the fragile lives of our unborn little brothers and sisters, granting blessed repose to those whose tiny lives were terminated, as well as repentance and forgiveness to those who have participated in their termination… O Life-Giving Christ, the Prince of peace, through the intercession of our Holy Mother, the Birth-Giver of God and all he Saints, grant us and all people the will to treat life as sacred. By protecting the Sanctity of Life, may we ever more glorify You, its Source – together with your eternal Father and Your all-Holy Good and Life-Giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages.”

Following the Vigil, His Grace Bishop Demetrios reflected upon the historical and moral complications of pregnancy and abortion as well as Capital Punishment and the evil that such actions take against the creation of God. “The founders of our nation understood that religion and morality are essential to the survival of a freedom-loving society. John Adams expressed this conviction, stating: “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Our Constitution was made for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other.”
During the coffee hour, sponsored by the Holy Apostles Greek Orthodox parish community, Bishop Daniel reflected that “…Orthodox Christians must not shrink from the obligation to assert the values and principles we hold essential to the common good, beginning with the right to life of every human being…”

In conclusion, the representatives of Orthodox Christian Clergy Association of Greater Chicago shared long-awaited news with those in attendance about the opening of Martha and Mary Hospitality House in Chicago Metropolitan area, helping young women through pregnancy and offering a child for adoption.

Hat Tip

Priest-monk Dimitry Pershin, research fellow at Bioethics chair of Russian
Medical University  tells about the efforts of the Russian Orthodox Church to
fight abortions. Father Dimitry warns against the detrimental spiritual and
mental consequences of the ‘operation’.

This interview at The Voice of Russia can be listened to at
http://english.ruvr.ru/radio_broadcast/52447006/58456463.html

The most recent threat to Georgia’s religious traditions came during the decades living under Soviet Union’s state-enforced atheism. However, since Georgia’s independence in 1992, Orthodox Christianity is experiencing a flourishing revival…one that I couldn’t help but get swept up in.

Dutifully following my guidebook’s walking tour, I slipped into a small cathedral famed to be the oldest in Tbilisi. Now, I enjoy a good European cathedral as much as the next traveler. But after many years of travel, church fatigue has set in. Another church is worth a peek, but not much more. Plus, I find myself feeling sorry for the few worshippers: Would you want to be photographed by hordes of tourists while conversing with your Lord and Savior? Heck, no! So my intention was to step inside, poke around, read about its history, and continue on my walking tour. But instead I ended up staying for hours.

What first struck me was how busy the church was. Despite it being a Wednesday afternoon, it was packed. Mothers chased unruly toddlers. Husbands wandered arm-in-arm with their wives. Neighbors waved at each other from across the nave. Believers of all ages meandered from icon to icon — pausing to delicately touch the glass, whisper a prayer, light a candle, kiss the corner of the frame, and rest their foreheads lovingly where they had kissed…all with the tenderness they would show a beloved grandmother.

A half-dozen priests busily performed ceremonies for small clusters of followers. On the right, a baptism for three babies: Priests-in-practice shuttled in holy water with large, green-plastic buckets. In the center, a casual wedding: Wearing street clothes, a young couple took their vows. During our trip, we even saw an open-casket funeral — dead body and all.

Nothing was private. Nothing closed to the public. It was community in its truest form.

The pure, sweet love these believers had for their God was palpable. As I watched quietly from the corner, I was moved to tears by their tender devotion and strong faith.

In every single church we visited, we found a similar scene. If you ever found Georgia’s streets empty, you could safely assume everyone was at church. In fact, there’s such a demand for church space that in 2005, Tbilisi opened one of the largest Eastern Orthodox cathedrals in Christendom. It’s grand and beautiful, but its interior walls are still bare. They’ve started a collection to pay for a brand-new set of frescoes.

Many people try to explain away this spiritual revival: Pent-up religious fervor being released after years of Soviet rule. A show of Christian religious strength in an Islamic world. An exhibition of national pride. They may be right. But above all else, what I saw was a deep and real love of God.

The above blog entry (photos and text) is from Rick Steves’ travel blog and there seems to be ascribed to:

Ashley Sytsma, Rick’s publicist, is a guest writer this week. She’s reporting on her travels to Georgia (the one over by Russia). She and her husband were there to scout the wine industry for their side business, People’s Wine Market.

As I went along the road called Maizonos, I saw an iron door. I opened it, walked into the courtyard which was full of tangerine, orange and lemon trees, and proceeded to the stairs. It was an outdoor staircase that went up, and below it was the basement. I climbed the stairs, knocked on the door, and a lady appeared. Since she opened I began my common practice singing, “In Jordan, You were baptized O Lord….” She stopped me abruptly. Meanwhile, girls began to emerge from their rooms after hearing me from the left and right of the hallway. “I see that I fell into a brothel,” I said to myself. The woman walked in front of me to stop.

“Leave”, she told me. “It is not right for them to kiss the Cross. I will kiss the Cross and then you should leave, please.”

I took seriously her disapproving attitude and said: “I cannot leave! I am a priest, I cannot go! I came here to sanctify.”

“Yes, but it is not right for them to kiss the Cross.”

“But we don’t know if it is right for them or you to kiss the Cross. Because if God asks me for whom it is more right to kiss the Cross, the girls or you, I probably would say: ‘It is right for the girls to kiss and not you. Their souls are much better than yours.’”

With that she became a bit red in the face, so I said: “Leave the girls to come kiss the Cross.” I signalled for them to come forward. I began to chant more melodically than before: “In Jordan, You were baptized O Lord…” because I had such joy within me, that God had ordained things so that I may also come to these souls.

They all kissed the Cross. They were all made-up, with colourful skirts, etc. I told them: “My children, many years! God loves us all. He is very good and allows the rain to fall on the righteous and the unrighteous’ (Matt. 5:45). He is the Father of everyone and God cares for everyone. Let us make sure to come to know Him and for us to also love Him and to become good. May you love Him, and then you will see how happy you will be.”

They looked at me, wondering. Something took a hold of their tired souls.

Lastly I told them: “I rejoice that God has made me worthy to come here today to sanctify you. Many years!”

“Many years!” they also said, and I left.

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Hat Tip

November 4, 2011, on the feast of the Kazan icon of the Mother of God, the tenth annual Church and community forum entitled, “Orthodox Russia”, opened at the central Moscow Manezh exhibition hall, just outside the Kremlin. The exhibition is intended to acquaint visitors with the results of twenty years of the Orthodox Church’s work to restore church life in Russia, the Ukraine, Belorussia, Moldavia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Estonia, and other countries that make up the canonical territory of the Moscow Patriarchate. It is therefore entitled, “The Russian Orthodox Church—a Summary of Twenty Years: 1991–2011”. The exhibition tells the story of over 30,000 churches and monasteries raised from ruins or newly constructed in 191 dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church on seven continents; of the multi-faceted social service of Orthodox Christians; of the rebirth of theological education and publishing; of flourishing iconography and other ecclesiastical arts; in short, of work on an unprecedented scale by millions of Orthodox Christians.At the beginning of the exhibition is the Tikhvin miracle-working icon of the Mother of God, placed in a special shrine for veneration by the faithful. After the Bolshevik revolution, this icon was located in Chicago, and returned in 2004 to the newly restored Tikhvin monastery in Russia.The exhibition program will include various conferences, round table discussions, presentations, and master classes relating to the exhibition’s theme. After its close in Moscow on November 7, 2011, the exhibition will travel to other major cities in Russia and abroad from the years 2012–2014. Admission in Moscow is free.

Also unprecedented for this annual event is the level of technology used. From the multi-media display telling the story of Russia’s New Martyrs and the years of persecution against the church, to the dynamically transforming church dome over the touch-screen monitor room, where you can pull up diocesan information from a rotating globe, to a back-lit photography exhibition—a visitor of any age will not be bored.

There is also a collection of painting and sculpture, much of it in the classic Russian historical style, which captures the heart of Orthodox Russia. Other museum exhibits of vestry art and metal craft are also on display.

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia presided over the exhibition’s opening on Friday. Also present were the Vice Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, Alexander Zhukov, exhibition organizer Sergei Trofimov, responsible secretary of the Patriarchal Cultural Council, Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov), and many other hierarchs and clergy. A group of children from the Ukraine greeted the Patriarch with a song.

Patriarch Kirill locates a Russian Orth Church on Antarctica (Proslavie.ru)

We have just been given an icon of St. Lawrence of Rome.  It has been place near the northern end of the back wall of the nave.  Learn more about this saint:

The Martyrs Archdeacon Laurence, Pope Sixtus, Deacons Felicissimus and Agapitus, the Soldier Romanus were citizens of Rome, and suffered in the year 258 under the emperor Valerian (253-259). Holy Pope Sixtus, born at Athens, received a fine education, preached in Spain and was made bishop in Rome following the martyr’s death of Holy Pope Stephen (253-257, commemorated on August 2). These were times when a pope occupying the Roman throne, was known to choose death for the faith. In a short while St Sixtus also was arrested and put in prison together with his deacons Felicissimus and Agapitus.

When the holy archdeacon Laurence visited Pope Sixtus, whom they held in prison, he cried out with tears: “Whither art thou gone, father? Why hast thou forsaken thine archdeacon, with whom always thou hast offered the Bloodless Sacrifice? Take thy son with thee, that I may be thy companion in having blood shed for Christ!” St Sixtus answered him: “I have not forsaken thee, my son. I am old and go to an easy death, but yet greater sufferings await thee. Know, that after three days upon our death thou shalt follow after me. And now go, take the church treasury and distribute it to the poor and needy Christians.” St Laurence zealously did the bidding of the holy hierarch.

Having heard, that Pope Sixtus had been taken to trial with the deacons, St Laurence went there so as to witness their deed, and he said to the holy bishop: “Father, I have already fulfilled thy command, and distributed by hand thine treasury; forsake me not!” Hearing something about treasure, soldiers put him under guard, and the other martyrs were beheaded (+6 August 258). The emperor locked up St Laurence in prison and ordered the chief jailer Hyppolitus to keep watch over him. In prison St Laurence with prayer healed the sick gathered together with him and he baptized many.

Astonished by this, Hyppolitus himself believed and accepted Baptism from St Laurence together with all his household. Soon the archdeacon Laurence was again brought to the emperor and commanded to produce the hidden treasure. St Laurence answered: “Give me a period of three days, and I shalt show thee this treasure”. During this time the saint gathered up a crowd of the poor and the sick, who ate only because of the charity of the Church, and bringing them he explained: “Here are the vessels in which is contained the treasure. And everyone, who puts their treasure in these vessels, will receive them in abundance in the Heavenly Kingdom”.

After this they gave St Laurence over to fierce tortures, urging him to worship idols. The martyr was scourged (with a fine iron flail with sharp needles), they burned his wounds with fire, and struck at him with metal switches. At the time of the martyr’s suffering, the soldier Romanus suddenly cried out: “St Laurence, I behold a bright youth, who standeth about thee healing thy wounds. Beseech thy Lord Christ not to forsake me!” After this they stretched St Laurence on a rack and returned him to prison to Hyppolitus. Romanus brought there a waterpot with water and besought the martyr to baptize him. And immediately after the Baptism of the soldier, he was beheaded (+9 August). When they took St Laurence to his final torture, St Hyppolitus wanted to declare himself a Christian and die together with him, but the confessor said: “Conceal for now thy confession in thy heart.

After some length of time I shall summon thee, and thou shalt hear and come unto me. Weep not for me, but rather rejoice, for I go to receive a glorious crown of martyrdom.” They placed him in an iron cage, under which they set an intense fire, and the flames of the fire flicked towards the body of the martyr. St Laurence, glancing at the governor, said: “Here now, you burn only but one side of my body, turn over the other and do my whole body”. Dying, he uttered: “I thank Thee, Lord Jesus Christ, that Thou hast accounted me worthy to enter into Thy gates” — and with these words he gave up the spirit.

St Hyppolitus took the body of the martyr by night, he wrapped it in a shroud with ointments and gave it over to the priest Justin. Over the relics of the martyr in the home of the widow Kyriake they made an all-night vigil and Divine Liturgy. All the Christians present partook of the Holy Mysteries and with honor they buried the body of the holy martyr Archdeacon Laurence in a cave on 10 August 258. St Hyppolitus and other Christians suffered three days after the death of St Laurence (13 August), as he had foretold them of this.

Text Source

Image Source: Holy Trinity Icon Studio, where you can purchase the icon in various sizes.

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by Fr. Sergei Sveshnikov

The Orthodox Church teaches that we do not have two separate lives–a secular one and a spiritual one–but one human life, and that all of it must be holy.  We must not be Christians for just a few hours on Saturday and Sunday, spending the rest of our life godlessly, that is to say, without God.  The person who has united with Christ in the sacrament of baptism cannot be a part-time Christian, but must be faithful to Christ everywhere and at all times–in church, at work, at home, in relationships with other Christians, and in those with non-Christians–we must be faithful to Christ in the fullness of our life.

The Holy Orthodox Church teaches us that a temple is not only a building in which we worship, but that we are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 3:16); that the Body of Christ is not only that of which we partake at the Divine Liturgy, but that we are the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:27).  And just as the Gifts of the Eucharist are treated with reverence and kept in sanctified vessels in the altar, so should every Christian’s life be full of reverence and sanctity not only during a church service, but likewise outside the walls of the temple.  A Christian’s home must become a small temple, work–labor for the glory of God, and family–a small Church.

The Orthodox Church helps her children strive for holiness in their lives and brings sanctification to every Christian home–a small temple.  The Church blesses the very foundation of a home in the same way that it blesses the foundation of a church, it blesses a new Christian home in the same way that it blesses a new temple, and yearly, after the blessing of a parish temple with the water of Theophany, the Church brings this holy water into the homes of the faithful.  The prayers for the blessing of a temple are different from those for the blessing of a home, because the function of a home is different from that of a temple, but the sanctifying action of the Holy Spirit is one.  And just as in the baptism of our Lord all of creation is washed clean and sanctified, every year after the feast of the Baptism of the Lord (January 19, according to the secular calendar) Christians sanctify themselves and their homes with the water of Theophany.

The Church teaches us to sanctify everything: dwellings, places of work, all our pursuits, and the fruits of our labor.  And just as a temple and sacred vessels, once sanctified and set aside for sacred use, can no longer be used for anything profane, in the same way a Christian washed in the baptismal waters, and his home, and all his works can no longer be the dwelling of sin and the works of satan, but only and always–the temple of the Holy Spirit and the fulfillment of the will of our Heavenly Father.  This is why the Church blesses everything that can be found in a Christian home; and if something is not worthy of being blessed, then there should not be a place for it in the home of a Christian. (1)

How Much Does It Cost?

The prayer of the Church is priceless; it can be neither sold nor bought.  The Church equally blesses the home of every Christian, regardless of his financial situation.  However, we must note the obvious: it is not only angels who come to bless our homes, but together with them come the ministers of the altar–people very much like the rest of us, who also must take care of their families, and to whom petrol is dispensed only for money, just like to all of us.  Thus, it is customary to make a donation to the clergy for their time and work.  The amount of this donation is determined solely by each family’s individual circumstances and considerations.

The Blessing of a Home

In order to have your home blessed for the first time or to arrange for a yearly Theophany blessing, you must personally contact the Rector of your parish church.  Historically, clergy could walk to every home in their parish and bless it on the very day of Theophany.  In our current situation in the United States, when many parishioners live tens of miles from the church, it is important to approach the Rector in advance and arrange for an appropriate time for his visit.

For a yearly Theophany blessing of a home prepare a small table in your icon corner covered with a clean cloth, candles, and a vessel with holy water.  For a first-time blessing of a home it is also necessary to prepare a very small amount of pure olive oil.

Although parishioners often wish for the priest to stay for dinner or supper after the blessing of their home, it is necessary to remember that the priest may be blessing several homes in one day and cannot physically eat several dinners and/or suppers in a row.  Do not be offended if the priest must hurry away to another home.  Long spiritual talks over a cup of tea are very important, but it is equally as important to find for them a proper time on a different day, or to ensure in advance that the priest has time after the blessing of your home.

____________________________________________________

(1) Customarily, the water closet is not blessed, because traditionally the toilet was not located inside a human dwelling, but in a separate outhouse away from it.

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Featured Image Source

Archpastoral Message of His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah

To the Very Reverend and Reverend Clergy, Venerable Monastics, and God-fearing Faithful of the Orthodox Church in America:

The new year arrives at the great meeting point of the Old and New Covenants. Throughout December, the Church bade us remember the righteous and prophets of the Old Covenant, beginning with Nahum, Habbakuk, and Zephaniah, continuing with Haggai, Daniel, and the Three Youths, and culminating with the two Sundays before the Nativity, the memory of that long and great ancestry of our Savior according to the flesh.

That for which the prophets kept vigil was experienced and proclaimed by the fathers and monks celebrated throughout January: beginning today with St. Basil, throughout this month we remember a throng of holy theologians and monastics: Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom, Athanasius and Cyril, Gregory of Nyssa, Maximus the Confessor, Mark of Ephesus, and Ephrem the Syrian, as well as Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, Theophan the Recluse, Paul of Thebes, Theodosius and Euthymius, Anthony and Macarius, and Isaac the Syrian.

Thus, December brought us the Prophets as an icon of mankind awaiting redemption, while January presents to us the holy Fathers and venerable Monastics as an icon of mankind responding to the redemption wrought through the Flesh of the eternal Word of God.

Christ has come in the flesh! This requires of us also a categorical response. The saints show us what this response must look like.

The prophets who awaited His coming are our models of watchfulness: they were ready at any time for the visitation of the grace of God. The fathers who expressed this mystery in carefully chosen words give us an example of intellectual honesty: nothing could induce them to waver from the truth that God revealed to them. The monastics who abandoned everything in pursuit of Christ show us an image of detachment: no one but the Lord could occupy the throne of their heart.

But none of these virtues can grow unless they are planted in the soil of obedience and humility. The prophets obeyed the voice of the Lord in their hearts; the fathers obeyed the Tradition they received from the Apostles; and the monks obeyed their spiritual fathers and abbots. We too must learn obedience in whatever context God has placed us in, and our model for this virtue is none other than the Lord Himself.

Today, on the eighth day after his birth, our Savior showed us the path of obedience by submitting to the Old Covenant through circumcision. And in a few days, we will behold the Lord at Jordan as a full-grown man, modelling the path of humility for us when, though sinless, He submits to a public rite of repentance for guilty sinners.

Christ, so the Scriptures say, learned obedience through what He suffered (Heb. 5:8). What is true of the Master must also be true of us His disciples. There can be no genuine deepening of spiritual life without fulfilling the basic Gospel commandments in our deeds and conforming our weak understanding to the doctrinal and moral tradition of the Church. It is not only bishops who must uphold and defend the Church’s teaching; it is not only monks and nuns who must give themselves over to the pursuit of godliness. Through Baptism, we have all entered into the New Covenant in Christ’s blood, and we must all live, speak, and think in a manner worthy of the abudant grace of which we have become stewards.

“Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).

This is my New Year prayer for you: that you be renewed in repentance, in love of truth and godliness, in zeal for watchfulness and prayer, and in detachment from those things which become idols in place of God.

Christ has come in the flesh! In the next twelve months the number 2012 will be a constant reminder of the boundless and universal magnitude of the Incarnation. Let us offer this year to God, making it truly “anno Domini” – the acceptable year of the Lord.

Faithfully yours in Christ,

+JONAH
Archbishop of Washington
Metropolitan of All America and Canada

St. Basil from Randy Sturgill on Vimeo.

"Christmas", Vasili Nesterenko, 2004

Christ is born!  Glorify Him!

A very Merry Christmas to all of our parish family at Holy Trinity!

In Christ,

Fr. Joseph and Kh. Johanna

Michael, Justin, Catherine, Aidan, and Abigail

Parents: Watch it with your children and discuss in your own words the theology given in the Kontakion.

All: Forward the page link to other.  This might be an excellent way to share our Orthodox imagery and hymnography with our non-Orthodox friends and relatives.

Featured Image for this post found at the site of iconographer Dn. Matthew D. Garrett.  Visit him here.

Video of the consecration service is now available online from Noursat.

View a YouTube video of consecration service excerpts.

Fr. Thomas Zain writes:

On Sunday, December 11, 2011, three new auxiliary bishops were consecrated for the Self-Ruled Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America at the Church of the Dormition of the Theotokos in the Patriarchal Monastery of Our Lady of Balamand, Balamand, Lebanon. Their Graces, JOHN, ANTHONY and NICHOLAS were consecrated as bishops of Worcester, Toledo, and Brooklyn and will serve as auxiliaries to His Eminence, Metropolitan PHILIP.

His Beatitude, IGNATIUS IV, Patriarch of the Great City of God, Antioch, and all the East, presided at the liturgy and was assisted by 12 bishops including several Metropolitans from Lebanon and Syria. His Grace, Bishop JOSEPH represented His Eminence, Metropolitan PHILIP at the consecrations and was accompanied by more than 60 clergy and laity from throughout the Archdiocese including many archdiocesan board members. The group was organized and led by the Vice-Chairman of the Archdiocesan Board of Trustees, Mr. Fawaz El-Khoury with assistance from Archpriest Thomas Zain.  Orthros began at 8:30 and the divine liturgy followed. The monastery church was packed to capacity and the entire service was broadcast live by Noursat Television in Lebanon and throughout the world. Just before the little entrance the three candidates were led before the Patriarch to give their confession of faith, affirming and promising to uphold the teachings of the Holy Orthodox faith and pledging obedience to the Patriarch of Antioch, the Holy Synod and the Metropolitan of the Archdiocese of North America.

Following the chanting of the Phimi, the three candidates were presented by their sponsors for consecration to the holy and sacred episcopacy. Bishops led the three candidates around the altar as the clergy chanted the troparia and the Patriarch invoked the Holy Spirit to descend upon them as the other bishops held the open Gospel book above their heads. After the prayers were complete, the new bishops rose and were vested to the shouting and chanting of AXIOS! MUSTAHIK!  WORTHY! many times as they doned their new episcopal vestments. They then took their places around the holy table next to their brother bishops as the liturgy continued. Prior to Holy Communion, while the numerous clergy were communing, the Patriarch addressed the new bishops and, one by one, each responded with dignity and graceful words. They were then presented with their mitres (crowns) and pastoral staffs. At the same time, the Patriarch also made a surprise announcement elevating Bishop JOSEPH to the rank of Archbishop in honor of his many years of service as a bishop both in the archdiocese and in the patriarchate. May God grant him many years!

At the conclusion of the divine liturgy, the three candidates had a chance to receive the good wishes of the hundreds of people present and then the entire group, along with invited guests, enjoyed a wonderful meal and celebration at a local restaurant.

On Saturday evening, then Archimandrite Anthony was received in his ancesteral home of Qalhat. The entire villlage awaited his arrival and rang the church bell as the village priest welcomed the three bishops-elect and the group, and we then processed to the village church for prayers of thanksgiving and a small reception prior to proceeding to the Balamand for great vespers. Likewise, on Sunday afternoon, following the banquet, the entire group went to Douma, the ancesteral home of Bishop JOHN, and was treated to a similar experience.

On Sunday evening, the group attended a wonderful concert at St. George Cathedral in Beirut. The concert is part of a Christmas concert series in many different Christian Churches in Beirut. We were fortunate as the timing for St. George Orthodox Cathedral coincided with our visit. We were treated to a wonderful concert of byzantine music by the Orthodox choir (both the adult and children’s choir) of the Archdiocese of Beirut under the direction of Father Romanos Joubran.

In addition to all the offical activities, the group has had the chance to visit many sacred and other historical sights around Lebanon. We are grateful to Mr. Fawaz El-Khoury for all his hard work in planning this sacred pilgrimage to witness this holy event.

Art Source (slightly cropped)

Many Christians struggle to balance their faith with the increasing emphasis on consumerism and material goods in today’s society. In a keynote address Tuesday evening at AEI, the Orthodox Church in America’s Metropolitan Jonah, Archbishop of Washington and Metropolitan of All America and Canada, discussed how Christians should respond to these societal pressures. He began by emphasizing the battle between consumerism and materialism, defining the former as the ultimate fruit of secularism. Fr. Jonah stressed the dehumanizing nature of a consumerist society and the moral dangers associated with reducing human life to a monetary value. He strongly emphasized the tension between the spiritual world and the material world and how Christians should maintain a healthy relationship with materialism. Ultimately, he concluded that no one can serve two masters, so Christians need to focus on their personal relationship with Christ to effectively confront the challenges of the consumerist age. Following the presentation, Metropolitan Jonah answered audience questions that further delved into the materialistic tension in today’s culture.

—Greg Lane

H/T:  AOI

Interviewer:

The Catholic Church this year celebrates the hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. How does the Eastern Christian and Byzantine Tradition celebrate the Conception of Mary and her full and immaculate holiness?

Bartholomew I:

The Catholic Church found that it needed to institute a new dogma for Christendom about one thousand and eight hundred years after the appearance of the Christianity, because it had accepted a perception of original sin – a mistaken one for us Orthodox – according to which original sin passes on a moral stain or a legal responsibility to the descendants of Adam, instead of that recognized as correct by the Orthodox faith – according to which the sin transmitted through inheritance the corruption, caused by the separation of mankind from the uncreated grace of God, which makes him live spiritually and in the flesh. Mankind shaped in the image of God, with the possibility and destiny of being like to God, by freely choosing love towards Him and obedience to His commandments, can even after the fall of Adam and Eve become friend of God according to intention; then God sanctifies them, as He sanctified many of the progenitors before Christ, even if the accomplishment of their ransom from corruption, that is their salvation, was achieved after the incarnation of Christ and through Him.

In consequence, according to the Orthodox faith, Mary the All-Holy Mother of God was not conceived exempt from the corruption of original sin, but loved God above all things and obeyed his commandments, and thus was sanctified by God through Jesus Christ who incarnated Himself of her. She obeyed Him like one of the faithful, and addressed herself to Him with a Mother’s trust. Her holiness and purity were not blemished by the corruption, handed on to her by original sin as to every man, precisely because she was reborn in Christ like all the saints, sanctified above every saint.

Her reinstatement in the condition prior to the Fall did not necessarily take place at the moment of her conception. We believe that it happened afterwards, as consequence of the progress in her of the action of the uncreated divine grace through the visit of the Holy Spirit, which brought about the conception of the Lord within her, purifying her from every stain.

As already said, original sin weighs on the descendants of Adam and of Eve as corruption, and not as legal responsibility or moral stain. The sin brought hereditary corruption and not a hereditary legal responsibility or a hereditary moral stain. In consequence the Panagia participated in the hereditary corruption, like all mankind, but with her love for God and her purity – understood as an imperturbable and unhesitating dedication of her love to God alone – she succeeded, through the grace of God, in sanctifying herself in Christ and making herself worthy of becoming the house of God, as God wants all us human beings to become. Therefore we in the Orthodox Church honor the All-Holy Mother of God above all the saints, albeit we don’t accept the new dogma of her Immaculate Conception. The non-acceptance of this dogma in no way diminishes our love and veneration of the All-Holy Mother of God.

“She who was barren bore the Theotokos, nurturer of our life.” (Kontakion on the Birth of the Theotokos)

Saint Anna, the ancestor of God, is the precious vessel chosen by the Holy Spirit. The good and blessed tree that is the standard of natural development, which our Lord Himself confirmed, saying: “Are grapes harvested from thorns, or figs from thistles?” (Matt. 7.16) Every good tree brings forth good fruit, but the bad tree brings forth bad fruit. “A sound tree cannot bear unsound fruit, nor can an unsound tree bear sound fruit” (Matt. 7.18). Saint Anna is the good tree and her lovely and most sweet fruit is our Panagia. The most beautiful fruit of human production. What the Evangelist Luke says of the parents of St. John the Forerunner pertains also to Saint Anna and her husband Joachim: “They were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless” (Luke 1.6). Saint Anna was virtuous in the eyes of God, and, of course, her life was pure. She walked always in accordance with the will of the Almighty, in accordance with His soul-nurturing commandments. Saint Anna, who bore the all-holy Theotokos, she who was barren and without creative power, whose womb was opened in advanced age by the Lord, to transform the disgrace of barrenness to the joy of a unique fertility, was a descendant of the tribe of David. Her parents, the priest Mathan and Anna, were pious and god-fearing and lived in Bethlehem. Mathan was a priest at the time of Cleopatra and the Persian King Soporus, before Herod Antipater, and had three daughters, Maria, Sovi, and Anna. Of these, Maria married in Bethlehem and bore the midwife Salome, Sovi also married in Bethlehem and bore Elisabeth. Anna was married in Galilee and bore the Lady Theotokos. This honor was bestowed upon her by the gift-granting Lord as a reward for her piety and her charitable works toward orphans and the poor.

But what does the name Anna mean? It means “grace.” When the Archangel Gabriel greeted the Virgin Mary in the Annunciation, he gave her the epithet “full of grace:” “Hail, you who are full of grace, the Lord is with you” (Luke 1.28). As a daughter of grace, the Virgin Mary had bestowed upon her that element which is lacking in the Old Testament: grace. The Old Testament represents the age of law. The New Testament represents the era of grace, since it is the “Gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20.24) and all of the faithful “are not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6.15). That is why when our Panagia reacted to the words of the archangel with modesty and simplicity, the great Archangel Gabriel hastened to explain to her: “Do not fear, Mary, for you have found grace with God” (Luke 1.30).

And so this maiden, full of grace, was born of a mother whose name means “grace.” That name was not granted to Anna by accident, nor was it by chance that Anna bore the Theotokos. We know that Saint Anna was elderly and barren. She could not conceive. The field of her female nature was barren, dry and infertile. No seed could take root and grow within it. The field of the barren Anna resembles the field of the pre-Christian world. The world had grown old in sinfulness and the law of God was not observed. A solution had to come from heaven. And the solution was the rightful reward of evil works and eternal death or forbearance and grace—salvation and liberation. But there was no salvation in the ancient world. Men lived in the shadow of original sin, in the darkness of curse, the dark threat of disintegration and death. They could not enjoy grace and the joy which that grace brings generously to all of us. Saint Anna, by the grace of God, dispelled the disgrace of her barrenness, and also the disgrace of the curse upon those living before Christ. That is why the Kontakion on the feast of the birth of our Theotokos says: “Joachim and Anna were freed of the disgrace of childlessness, while Adam and Eve were freed of the corruption of death through your holy birth.”

My dear brethren, the blessing of God caused the barren Anna to bear fruit, in order to open the path for the grace of God to bear fruit and for the fragrant flower of salvation to blossom in the field of His creature made of dust, which was poisoned by sin. That connection between the fertility of the barren Saint Anna, and the pre-Christian world which was barren of grace is also made by the sacred hymnographer in a troparion of the Vesper Service: “Today barren gates are opened and a sacred virgin gate comes forth. Today grace begins to bear fruit.”

Anna and her husband Joachim lived a godly life and strictly observed the divine commandments. Yet, unfortunately, for many years the couple remained childless and accepted the shame of childlessness with patience and faith, having placed their hope in God, to whom, despite their advanced age, they continued to pray for offspring. And God heard their prayers and sent to Saint Anna an angel who announced to her the will of God, which was precisely to answer her desire for a child. She was then 58 years of age and Joachim was 69. Excited and joyful, Saint Anna shouted: “The Lord my God lives! Whether the child I bear be a girl or a boy, I will bring it as an offering to my God, to serve Him all its life.

And indeed she conceived, and when our Lady Theotokos reached the age of three, her mother brought her—like a three-year-old heifer—to the temple of God, “to be nourished by the angels,” as the sacred hymnographer tells us.

The reversal of the barrenness of Saint Anna was the fruit of prayer. It was impossible for her to conceive and give birth at such an advanced age. But “what is impossible with men is possible with God” (Luke 18.27). In our own lives, as well, many things seem impossible to us. We find ourselves in a state of powerlessness from which only prayer can remove us. Our unique armament in all difficult moments is prayer and humility before the Lord. And I say with certainty that the miracle will occur. The barren earth will bear fruit, and God will send down the rain of His grace, to soften our hearts so that the seeds of soul-saving success in Christ may take root.

Let us therefore invoke Saint Anna, who experienced the disgrace and sadness of childlessness and be certain that she will transform our worries into joy, our indolence into cheerfulness, our sadness into unending joyfulness and exultation.

Source

H/T: Mystagogy Blog

Jordanville, N.Y. —

Archimandrite Luke Murianka, the abbot of Holy Trinity Monastery, was presented a certificate commemorating the monastery’s addition to the National Register of Historic Places during a ceremony Saturday. The monastery was added to the National Register on July 15.

It was the culmination of over four years of work by the monastery, local preservation groups, including the Preservation League of New York State and Otsego2000, and the New York State Historic Preservation Office.

To qualify for the National Register, the historic place must meet one of four primary criteria, in this case, the monastery’s unique architecture, design and construction.  “Properties owned by religious institutions or used for religious institutions or used for religious purposes are not ordinarily considered eligible for National Registry status, however there are exceptions,” said Protodeacon Victor Lochmatow in a news release.

The monastery qualified, he said, because the Byzantine-style architecture of the buildings has its own importance. Receiving the status is significant because the church is now eligible for federal grant money and investment tax credits on rehabilitation work. Tania Werbizky, regional director of the Preservation League of New York State, called Holy Trinity Monastery “one of the state’s most important landmarks.” In 2008, the Preservation League of New York State placed the monastery on its “Seven to Save” list of endangered properties. “We took this action not only because the property faced threats from unsympathetic, industrial-scale development proposed nearby, but also because we were certain of its extraordinary significance,” Werbizky said. The proposal of a wind farm nearby threatened the serenity of the monastery Murianka said, adding that the noise, shadows and industrial feeling of the wind farm would be particularly harmful to the 10,000 visitors who come to the monastery each year.

“They come to the monastery for spiritual refreshment in the context of the country,” Murianka said.Fred Miller, former executive director of the Mohawk Valley Heritage Corridor Commission, and Assemblyman Marc Butler also spoke at the ceremony. “In closing, let me suggest that we stay vigilant and aware of the treasure that is Holy Trinity Monastery,” Miller said. “Today’s celebration should be a beginning, not an ending.”

H/T: Again and Again Blog

But, due to the hospital stay of baby Abigail Bittle, the Divine Liturgy scheduled for Tuesday morning is cancelled.

Fr. Joseph looks forward to seeing everyone tonight!

These icons are by the hand of Fr. Andrew Tregubov.

We blessed them on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and they are now mounted on the iconostasis.

Archangel Michael on the north door of iconostasis.

Archangel Gabriel on the south door of iconostasis.

“Unless the Lord comes to us, we are completely helpless.”
–St. Maximos, Greek ascetic, the 4^th Century

It is November 16 as I write this. My mailbox is now brimming every day with glossy catalogs proclaiming the virtues of the triumphant, capitalistic existence of comfort and indulgence that we have all imbibed to one degree or another.

Yet on this second day of the Orthodox Advent season, I am acutely aware of my spiritual poverty. I have charged through my days heedless, as the mellowed northern California fall sun has illumined a fiery display of gold and magenta, flaming orange and russet red. Glory to God! the colors have shouted, but most of the time I have been too busy to stop and notice. My cell phone rings, my car needs gas, my errand list is a mile long, my work beckons, and my children need rides or tutoring or food. Squeezing in morning prayers here and there and attending church on Sunday, I nod to God before getting back to the “real” business at hand.

Sometimes I am running from Him, burying myself with my busyness because I don’t want to be alone with Him. I’m avoiding the silence of prayer and time spent before our icons, because it is there that I confront myself stripped away of any false pretense of piety. This confrontation with my sin and hard heartedness is painful; indeed, trying to practice the disciplines of the Church in the midst of Christmas season is definitely an uphill climb! I don’t want to think about fasting, or almsgiving, or being more consistent in prayer. When I first turned over my calendar this year and saw the November 15 date, my first thought was that I simply didn’t have the strength or the desire to enter into the fast this year.

Yet mercifully, the longing for God’s presence regularly surfaces despite the noise and distractions. Oftentimes I am acutely aware of the void within, as was the Psalmist when he plaintively penned, “As a deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God,” (Ps. 42).

It always seems that, just when I need it, the holy season of Advent arrives. Rather than being burdensome, the spiritual habits and proscriptions given to us in the Church are a lifeline. Certainly, there have been times when I have struggled to understand why we approach Christmas with such sobriety. This is a season for parties! For gifts! For happy celebrations! For family! What’s this fasting in the midst, this remembrance of His death, these extra services that mirror the somber services of Holy Week?

Father Thomas Hopko explains in his book, The Winter Pascha:

“The Lord’s birth and baptism are directly connected to His dying and rising. He was born in order to die…the harmony between the events is overwhelming…Jesus lay as an infant in the cavern in the reign of Caesar Augustus that He might lay in the tomb under Pontius Pilate. He was hounded by Herod that He might be caught by Caiaphas…He was worshipped by wise men that the whole of creation might adore Him in His triumph over death.”

Christ comes to us, then, and we do rejoice, for we are indeed helpless and have no life apart from Him. But the shadow of a cross falls over the tender and peaceful scene at the stable. His suffering life, His sacrifice, the weight of the world’s sins; all are implicit in, and present at, His birth. So our Advent celebrations should be tempered by this reality; in a sense, the bright Lenten sadness is there at the manger, too.

Some years, I have had no trouble entering into sober Advent reflection during the 40 days of preparation prior to the Nativity Feast. The year my father died, for instance, the quiet, reflective spirit of Orthodox Advent was a comfort. Anyone who has suffered a deep loss or sorrow through illness or death knows about the “bright sadness” that accompanies Christmas, and the shadow of the cross is indeed long for those grieving hearts.

Yet even in my most sanguine years, I must prepare my heart if I hope to receive “the King of All,” and this inner struggle is my cross which is present at the manger. Somehow I must find ways to screen out the sentimental, saccharine messages daily delivered via TV, radio, Internet, social gatherings, the printed page, and the billboard. Just as the waning winter light bids me flee the cold and light a fire in the sanctuary of my home, Advent is a time to for me to enter into the sanctuary of my soul, stoking the fires of my heart through repentance, cleaning out the cobwebs in preparation for the birth of God in the center of my being.

How can we prepare for Christ’s arrival?

*By increasing our prayer. Says Fr. Anthony Coniaris, “The two great movements of the soul have always been withdrawal and return…withdrawal into God’s presence through prayer for strength…without prayer, the quality of our service deteriorates. Without prayer we forget the world; with prayer we remember.” Advent is a time to remember that in God, we move and breathe and have our being, and we must be with Him and consciously in Him before we can have authentic love and relationship with others.

*By giving alms. There is something almost poetic about giving money and perhaps even more important in these busy times, our time, to others who are in need at Christmas time. We can battle our self indulgence with self sacrifice, by giving freely, with joy and gratitude to God for His good gifts to us. St. John Chrysostom writes, “It is not enough to help the poor. We must help them with generosity and without grumbling. And it is not enough to help them without grumbling. We must help them gladly and happily. When the poor are helped there ought to be these two conditions: generosity and joy.”

*By going to Church more often. The Advent season provides extra opportunities to be in the atmosphere of worship. Isn’t it true that when we walk into the doors of our parishes, and those doors swing shut behind us, the flickering candles and the sights and smells of icons and incense before us, aid us in our seasonal preparations? Sometimes it is so hard to get there and so many things crowd our calendars but the rewards are always great. As Fr. Alexander Schmemann writes,“There is no need to preach constantly on ‘sin,’ to judge and condemn. It is when a man is challenged with the real contents of the Gospel, with its Divine depth and wisdom, beauty and all embracing meaning, that he becomes ‘capable of repentance,’ for true repentance is precisely the discovery by the man of the abyss that separates him from God and from His real offer to man. It is when the man sees the bridal chamber adorned that he realizes that he has no garment for entering it.”

*By remembering some of the unique and remarkable saints of the Advent season, reading about their lives and celebrating their days of remembrance. Of course, we remember St. Nicholas (December 6) as he is commonly honored at this time of year, but what about some of the others? St. Herman of Alaska (December 13) exemplified the spirit of this time of year to perfection, and he belongs to us here in America, so let’s not let the day go by without reading about him and recalling his sacrificial life with the people of Alaska. St. Stephen the protomartyr is remembered on December 26, immediately following the Nativity service, and he too can be venerated for his godly example. On New Year’s Day, we can speak of the brilliant St. Basil, who spoke with erudition and intelligence to the issues of his day in a manner which transformed the Church.

*By going to confession. If there is any act out of step with the vain and glib holiday atmosphere presented to us by the spirit of this age, it is act of the repentant Christian confessing his or her sins. Said Dorothy Day, “Going to confession is hard, hard when you have sins to confess, hard when you haven’t, and you wrack your brain for even the beginnings of sins against charity, chastity, sins of distraction, sloth or gluttony. You do not want to make too much of your constant imperfections and venial sins, but you want to drag them out to the light of day as the first step in getting rid of them….I have sinned. These are my sins. That is all you are supposed to tell; not the sins of others, or your own virtues, but only your ugly, gray, drab, monotonous sins.” Blessed are those who mourn, for it is precisely in this mourning that we receive comfort. These are the tidings of comfort and joy that the Christmas carol songwriter celebrates—redemption from guilt and the weight of sin!

*By incorporating the Church’s traditions in ways that make sense for us here and now. Though we are not perfect fasters by any means, our family eats more simply in the season of Advent. We decorate our tree just before Christmas and then leave it up through Theophany. We celebrate St. Nicholas’ Feast Day by putting out shoes on the night of December 5^th so that “St. Nicholas” can fill them with gold coins while the children sleep. We read about his life, marveling at his overflowing love and goodness. We listening to Orthodox Christmas music via the Internet (try Ancient Faith Radio) or CD’s, and we keep an Advent wreath and calendar for six Sundays instead of four. We have invented our own traditional Christmas Eve dinner that is a variation of old country traditions. In other words, we have adapted, albeit imperfectly, our own cultural traditions to incorporate the spirit of Orthodox worship and emphasis at this time of year.

Author Matthew Gallatin has said that we in America have traditionally celebrated the Christmas season in backwards fashion. “Just as the guest of honor walks through the door, it’s all over,” he notes. This year, may we embrace the Orthodox vision of holy preparation, so that when December 25^th dawns, we will be ready to receive Christ in the feast, the “Winter Pascha” of Nativity!

Source on Antiochian.org, originally published in OrthodoXCircle—Return Ezine; reprinted with the author’s permission.

Featured Image Source

St. Nicholas from Randy Sturgill on Vimeo.

Featured Photo Source

Our Mother the Church, dear reader, has the custom of preparing her children, well in advance of the actual holy day, for extraordinary events which the central axle of both earthly and eternal existence. Beyond a doubt, the feast of Nativity of Christ, the appearance of God in the flesh, belongs to this very category.

The whole history of humankind, which began with the fall of our forefather and mother, Adam and Eve, the continuation of history through their descendants, the history of peoples and kingdoms (especially the history of ancient Israel), all led up to and arrived at Bethlehem, to the mysterious cave, where Christ the Savior of the world manifested His wondrous infant countenance to us.

It is no surprise that even two thousand years later, we, the children of Christ’s Church, do not suddenly or immediately celebrate the Lord’s Nativity, but rather embark upon a forty-day fast (as the holy fathers have ordained of old), so that we might be gradually illuminated by the wondrous light of the Nativity night.

This period of fasting begins directly after the commemoration of the Holy Apostle Philip, on the 15th November (new style, November 28) according to the Church calendar, and concludes with the Feast itself, on Christmas night, December 25. … The rubrics of this labor of fasting are not so strict as those of Great Lent or the Dormition fast: fish can be eaten on every Saturday and Sunday, as well as on festal days of the Church calendar that do not fall on Wednesday or Friday (if the All-night Vigil is not served the evening before). The fast becomes stricter with the onset of the Forefeast of the Nativity on December 20 (on which day we also commemorate the Holy Martyr Ignatius the God-bearer), when fish is completely
excluded from the table of those who strive to observe the Church rubrics in all strictness.

We should also speak a little about the Eve (in Russian, Sochelnik) of the Feast (December 24). From ancient times on this day, Christians ate sochiva (this is where the name Sochelnik comes from)—vegetables cooked in their own juice.[1] The table is laid after the clergy have placed a lighted candle on the candle stand and sung the Troparion and Kontakion of the Feast, directing our gaze toward the icon of the Nativity of Christ, which has been carried out [from the altar] to the center of the church. Pious Russian people have always deferred eating until the first star has appeared in the sky, in remembrance of the star of Bethlehem as symbolized by the lighted candle placed before the Nativity icon. But enough about “meals”…

Let us place our attention, dear reader, upon the essential aspect of fasting; or, as they used to say in olden times, govenie, that is, the “preparation” for receiving the Holy Mysteries of Christ (and not only once) during the course of the Nativity fast. What thoughts and feelings shall we encounter if we might open our minds and hearts (if only they might obey the
desire of our spirit), enlightened by grace?

We can find support for these thoughts and feelings in the Gospels, in the writings of the Holy Apostles Matthew (chapters 1 and 2) and Luke (chapter 2), which contain the substantial basis of the text of the Nativity service. Having read and re-read these Gospel chapters beforehand, together with the daily practice of fervently reading and fulfilling the morning and evening prayer rule (which the Church requires of a Christian), and zealously attending the pre-Nativity services, we are now called to lift up our minds “to the unseen regions,” having taught our own hearts to immerse and satiate us with these luminous contemplations. We shall not forget, our reader, that a sincere confession of sins, and communion “with fear and trembling” of the Most Pure Body and Blood of Christ, united with an earnest attempt to correct our lives, marks a Christian’s entire life with Divine power. Grace makes possible the
impossible, and changes a dark-minded, hard-hearted sinner into a bright and meek child of God. New thoughts and feelings enter into the mind and heart, and a new world opens up before the true, sincere disciple of Christ…

Thus, casting aside and leaving behind all wavering and doubt, trustingly give me your hand, dear reader; and guided invisibly by the holy fathers, we shall step into the sacred world of Gospel Revelation, hidden from the wearying din of vain activity around us…

I will by no means show you everything, but you will see the most important thing. Having seen it, strive to remember it, so that later in solitude you might contemplate on all else that is included in the history of Our Lord Jesus Christ’s Nativity.

Here before you are the wise men of the East, who have left their homes, family, and native lands—to follow the mysterious star which shone upon them from Jacob… How many dangers did they overcome, what courage they revealed, such firmness of purpose, until they reached the cherished aim of their wandering and finally placed the wondrous gift of gold, frankincense, and myrrh before the Divine Christ Child, Who created the stars they once worshipped! Are you ready, are we ready to reject all service to those deceitful idols which destroy us—our own passions of pride, lust, and love of money—in order to leave nothing in our souls other than golden faith in the Redeemer, fragrant with the hope in His care for us and His love, strong as death, conquering death itself? Will we be found to be as strong as Caspar, Balthasar, and Melchior,[2] so that we might not fear the punishments of Harod—the world which lies in evil—and depart from him by another way to “our own country,” to the country of holy silence and heartfelt prayer, which is the greatest adornment of a soul that loves
God?…

And now turn your gaze, gracious reader (I hope that I do not insult you with this name or evoke an ironic smile), towards the place well-known to any modern pilgrim of the Holy Land called the “shepherds’ field.” There they are: the humble and guileless shepherds; pure in heart like children, heartily and vigilantly watching the cold, winter night… To them, to them, and not to the envying Pharisees or the self-righteous Scribes, hardened in their cold academia that gave nothing to the minds or heart of the people of Israel, did the Angel of God appear with the words, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger (Luke 2:10–12).

Can you or I boast of such purity of heart and clearness of mind as did allow the Bethlehem shepherds not only to receive the revelation, but even to fulfill the Angel’s bidding straightway, not hesitating a moment? Can we find in ourselves the shepherds’ saving self-denial, which did not allow them to fall into the deep and heavy sleep enveloping the entire city—the city which neither knew nor heeded the time of its visitation? Learn, O reader, from the example of the shepherds, how important for the soul’s salvation it is to “attend to yourself,” that is, to always direct your spiritual gaze at the field of your heart, never allowing wolves (vicious and evil thoughts) into the sheepfold. Meek sheep are the peace and quiet of the heart, balanced emotional powers, which the enemy of our salvation, the soul-destroying devil, unceasingly seeks to disrupt.

If you have the strength and fortitude, behold the horrifying scene of the murder of the innocent Bethlehem children, the first martyrs for Christ, who spilled their infant blood because of Harod’s truly satanic guile… Killed without having ever sinned; they finished their earthly life that had not even begun! Believe with the whole Church in the mysterious, providential, prophetic meaning of these sufferings which cannot be rationally understood… And we shall say with the nineteenth century poet:[3]

The wisdom of Our God Above
Is not for us to
search and measure:
With humble heart and trusting love
We patiently await
the treasure…

Like the stars in the sky, the eternal souls of the Bethlehem infants shine to us who live in the night of this age (“in which righteousness is often lacking”), and testify that “righteousness lives in the heavens,”[4] where “there is neither sickness, nor sorrow, nor sighing, but life everlasting”[5]… May our faith be strengthened in the all-good and all-powerful Divine Providence, which turns even the most horrifying acts by criminal human hands into beneficial consequences for their innocent victims…

The closer we come to the end of the fast, the brighter the wondrous Bethlehem star is enkindled above our heads, proclaiming to the Magi the time of the Infant’s birth, and the place where He lay… The rays of this rational star (according to the holy fathers, this star was actually an angelic power, and not a dead astronomical body) illumine with their incorruptible, unfading light the twilight in the cave—the rib cage encasing each of our hearts… The rays of this star bring the soul, which has but scarcely touched it, to inexplicable trembling and heavenly joy, the likes of which we shall not find here on this sinful world with its sensuous, quickly passing pleasures, disappearing like smoke. I am … the bright and morning star (Rev. 22:16), testifies the Lord. And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give … the morning star. He that hath an ear [to hear], let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches (Rev. 2:26, 28–29). Ye do well, repeats the Apostle Peter, that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts (2 Pet. 1:19).

The morning star is hidden prayer of the heart! It is made not with lips or fingers, but with the mind and heart; it turns all of man’s existence to the Lord, and places the disciple before the most radiant face of his Teacher…

Illumined by the unwaning light of the Nativity star, let us pass, obedient reader, under the canopy of the very cave in Bethlehem… and let us timely stop, that we might not overstep the bounds laid for us sinners, and be scorched by that radiance from the Divine Child, Who rests in the oxen manger…

There He is, the Angel of Great Counsel, the King of the world, the Father of the age to come, as the “Old Testament Evangelist,” the holy Prophet Isaiah, exclaimed in prophetic, sober inebriation. There He is, the Yearning of the nations, the Expectation of all peoples, the Great Light that has come into the world to enlighten those sitting in darkness! Already celebrating the Forefeast of the Nativity night that is bright as day, let us sing, O reader, with the whole Church, “Christ is born, give ye glory… Christ is on earth, let us be exalted. Sing unto the Lord all the earth…” [6]

Concluding this narrative, I leave you, beloved reader, and entrust you to the action of God’s grace, which, according to the words of the Apostle, can instruct its friends more aptly than feeble human words, though they be pronounced from the heart…

Notes:

[1] Sok in Russian means “juice.” Sochiva is what the Russians have called the boiled grains and fruit mixed with honey that are served on the Eves of the Nativity and Theophany. We also know this preparation as koliva. —Trans.

[2] Sacred history has preserved their names for us, as well as the actual relics of the Magi, which are in the famous Gothic cathedral of Koln, Germany

[3] From the poem entitled, “Faith and Unbelief,” by Evgeny Abramovich Baratynsky.

[4] These quotes are taken from the Old Testament

[5] From the Pannikhida, or requiem service. —Trans.

[6] From the katavasia of the Nativity (the Nativity canon Irmoi), sung for the canon each Sunday during Advent. —Trans.

Source

Delivered at St. Botolph’s Parish, 6th Sunday after Pentecost, 4 July 2010

“You have kept the good wine until now”. (John 2.10)

If we had eyes to see, these four walls would disappear. The Church of Christ is not to be found within these four walls. The Church founded by Christ, which has come to be called ‘Orthodox’, was born in the Middle East seventeen centuries before the stone and mortar and wood went into making these walls and columns. If our enemies, visible and invisible, drove us into the desert, into the woods, into caves beneath the earth, and we offered the Divine Liturgy on any stone in the forest, we would be no less the Church of Christ. If we had eyes to see, we would see that the Church is us: the body of disciples, first gathered in Galilee and Jerusalem, first called ‘Christians’ in Antioch. We are not a part of a remote past. We are the eternal present. If we had eyes to see, we could never mistake this Divine Liturgy for a folk custom, staged Sunday by Sunday. It is not simply ‘going to church’. It is nothing less than the worship of the Cherubim, the angels, offered perpetually before the throne of God. But, because our eyes are clouded, we merely dip in, dip out. If our eyes are clouded, all that we see is an irrelevant old ritual in memory of a dead rabbi called Jesus who worked a few miracles two thousand years ago. Because our eyes are clouded, we figure that we have come to see just another man get married to just another woman on our weekly day off. That is what churches are for, aren’t they? But if we had eyes to see, we would realise that this is the day of Resurrection. A day that weds time and eternity, heaven and earth.

What better day for a wedding? Not Saturday but Sunday. Not a private affair, discreetly tucked away on a quiet afternoon; but the holy mystery of the Church, proclaimed loudly and clearly from the rooftops. Not a ‘family gathering’ but the gathering of our family in God. If we looked on this wedding with clouded eyes, we could ask: ‘Where is the organ playing “Here comes the bride”? Where is the bridal veil, the father of the bride, all the pretty bridesmaids and grooms? Where is the vow “Till death do us part”? Isn’t this ritual just part of the laws of nature: birth, marriage, death – “hatched, matched, dispatched”?’ But if we have eyes to see, we realise that Mother Nature is not in charge. Nature, and death, have no power – no authority – to part those that we unite this day. This is no private affair, in a quaint old historic church or a chapel in the valley. This is the cosmic union of heaven and earth. If our eyes are clouded, all that we can see is nature: a man and a woman. But if we have eyes to see, we see the living icon of Christ, the eternal Bridegroom, and the icon of his Bride, our Holy Mother the Church. If all that we see is ‘just another wedding’, all that we can offer is the cheap wine, the poor wine that all too quickly runs out. But if we have eyes to see, we toast them in the good wine, the rarest of all wines: the Blood of Christ, conqueror of death, who unites himself this day to his eternal Bride.

‘Pretty far-fetched’, you say. How can an ordinary man and woman be the icon of Christ and the Church? But then again, how can Jesus Christ be God who has become a man of flesh and blood? Isn’t he just a teacher, who spins out a few miracles? Where does a teacher get the authority to wed heaven and earth? This day, Christ shows his authority: his authority over nature; his authority over death.

Those who have eyes to see bring him a paralytic, a man confined to his bed, lying like a corpse in his own filth. To those who think only of his natural condition, this man might as well be dead. We do not know anything about him, except that he is paralysed. Does he even believe that anyone can cure him? So, instead of performing the ‘natural’ cure, Jesus tells the sick man: ‘Your sins are forgiven’. How absurd! Why does he not simply heal him? ‘Who does he think he is – God?’ ask the academics, with their clouded eyes.
‘What gives him the authority to defy the law of nature?’ Jesus reads their thoughts. ‘Tell me’, he says, ‘which is easier to say: “Your sins are forgiven” or “Stand up on paralysed legs and walk!” What I do’, he says, ‘I do, not because “nature” demands it. Here, now, I defy the laws of nature. I say: “Rise, take up your bed and walk” only so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority over nature, authority over life and death’. And, in spite of every natural law, the man walks. Christ has not come to confirm the laws of nature. He has come to conquer death.

Beloved in Christ: all these miracles of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ are only one, all-encompassing conquest of death. To make the blind see, the lame walk, or the dead rise from the grave is no more miraculous than changing water into wine – if you have eyes to see. If we see ‘just another marriage’ today, we see ‘just another paralytic lying on his bed. We see with the eyes of the world, not the eyes of the Church. Not one of the miracles is a private affair, discreetly tucked away on a quiet afternoon. All are the same holy mystery of the New Covenant, shouted from the housetops: eternity breaking into time, changing ordinary water into extraordinary wine. If our eyes are clouded, what can we see but a quaint old custom, a little private ceremony in a pretty old church? We cannot see the glory of God. But lift the scales, drive away the clouds from your eyes of flesh, and you will see: Mother Nature has no dominion here. She has no authority. All authority in heaven and earth belongs to the One who descended from heaven to earth, so that he can lift us up from earth to heaven.

Like the steward of the feast at that first miracle in Galilee, I say to the bridegroom and the bride: ‘You have kept the good wine until now’. Never exchange it for the poor wine. Never exchange your faith in God, and in each other, for that barren desert of unbelief. You are not ‘just another couple’. You are icons of Christ the Bridegroom and his Bride, the Holy Orthodox Church.

May the word that turns water into wine and makes a paralytic walk fill your life together.

May the prayers of our Holy Mother the Church be more ‘natural’ to you than the breath in your lungs.

And may you always have eyes to see.

Source

St. John Chrysostom Video from Randy Sturgill on Vimeo.

Icon similar to the one now in the Holy Trinity nave.

Our parish has been given an icon of St. Luke of Simferopol.  It can be found on the south nave wall in the lower bay closest to the altar. 

To help us know this saint better, we reproduce a talk given by  Archimandrite Nektarios Antonopoulos regarding the wondrous and martyric life of St. Luke at the Monastery of the Pantocrator near Thessaloniki. It is a strong and touching text. The talk was presented on the occasion of the reception of the relics St. Luke.  (Note that no effort has yet been made to correct the minor errors in the English translation.)

The life of this great saint has a lot to teach us about the life in Christ. Also, it is of great importance that through his life’s vivid martyrdom, a resonant answer is given to two controversial views. First, his two positions – renown doctor and bishop – rejects the premise that science is in conflict with religion. Second, the unjust, cruel torture he suffered and the shameless disdain for this great scientist, his discoveries, his studies and progressive practices – to a point that he had been considered a “second category citizen” – unveil the atrocity of atheistic totalitarian regimes. St. Luke’s life ought to be studied not only from a religious and medical point of view – as is already the case – but also socially, politically and historically. It can provide multiple answers to
ignorance and propaganda.

***

If anybody finds themselves on Mount Athos or anywhere with other ancient
churches, they will notice that many of the churches are painted red. And if
one were to ask the monks, they would reply that this red color symbolizes
Christ’s blood, as well as that of His Saints’. It reminds people, that even
though various religions or ideologies were spread through propaganda, violence
and oppression, Christ’s Church won over people’s hearts through meekness,
Christ’s and His Saints’ blood, torture and martyrdom. There is no Orthodox
Church that did not pass through martyrdom. Neither has there been a saint who
did not go through his personal furnace of sorrows, temptations and martyrdom.

During the twentieth century, the Russian church went through her own cruel martyrdom.
For seven decades a countless multitude of martyrs and confessors went through
their own personal “crucifixion,” offering their own blood.

One such moving martyrdom is that of Archbishop Luke, professor of
Topographic Anatomy and Surgery. This man with rare talents and gifts, who
served people as a pastor and as a doctor, with admirable love and self-denial,
continued the traditions of the great Holy Unmercenary Doctors of our Church.
This incredible figure and his divine greatness is the cause of astonishment,
admiration, and divine consolation.

In today’s presentation, we will try to briefly draw near this individual,
and make a diagram of his journey.

Before we do that, let us travel together to the holy land of Russia, to
examine the physical, social and spiritual environment in which St. Luke lived.
We find ourselves in the nineteenth century, a difficult and troubled era. The
standards of living for the Russian people were very low. Their living
conditions were repulsive. It was of no surprise that new nihilistic ideologies
and theories found fertile ground, and gradually affected a large part of the
Russian people.

During this difficult time, the role of counterbalancing the spiritual
erosion of the Russian people was played by a number of Russian monasteries and
great “starets (elders).” Let us first visit the monasteries of Sarov
and Diveevo, where the figure of St. Seraphim of Sarov is prominent. A
countless number of people went there, longing to see him. He received everyone
with love, addressing them sweetly: “My joy, Christ is Risen.”

Near the monastery in Sarov, a women’s monastery was built in Diveevo, which
the saint greatly helped. A little before he “fell asleep” he foresaw
and forewarned about all the distressful things that were to follow. He said
that there would be such great sorrow and so many martyrs, that the angels
would not have time to collect all the souls.

However, he foresaw that 70 years later, the Church would again shine. In
1990, his relics and personal items were found in Petersburg and were brought
to Diveevo. Today, 250 nuns live in Diveevo, who practice the sleepless prayer,
just as of St. Seraphim directed.

Another renown monastery is Valaam, located on the evergreen islands of Lake
Ladoga. Monastic life began there during the twelfth century. Initially, the
central monastery was built and around it many sketes. It’s a quiet and
beautiful place.

Another very important one is the monastery of Optina, which played a
catalytic role in Russia’s spiritual life during the nineteenth century. Within
100 years, it unveiled 15 saints; they are the famous starets. Thousands of
people went to them, including intellectuals and scientists of that era.

In Western Ukraine lies the Pochaev monastery, a blessed spot, where the
Virgin Mary appeared and where her footprint remains on a rock. This monastery
was a bulwark for the Orthodox and against the Uniates.

We now come to 1877. St. Luke was born on April 14, known in the world as
Valentin Voino-Yasenetsky. His earthly motherland was Kerch, the ancient
Greek-Pontian area in Crimea. During the ninth century in this area, the Greeks
built the famous church of St. John the Baptist, one of Crimea’s most important
monuments. Today, St. Luke’s bust also sits in front of the Church.

The saint’s father was a pharmacist. However, the pharmacy was not doing
well so he decided to leave it. He then worked as a civil servant. The saint’s
mother was Maria Kudrim, distinguished for her philanthropic works. Apart from
St. Luke, the couple Voino-Yasenetsky had four other children, three boys and
two girls in total.

Because the family’s financial situation was worsening, the parents decided
to move to Kiev, the cradle of Russian Christianity. It is a very beautiful and
exceedingly green city, with the Dnieper River running through it. The first
Christian prince, St. Vladimir, baptized his people in this river in the year
988, and established the Orthodox faith in the Russian land. The
Voino-Yasenetsky family lived in a house in the city centre, on Kresatic
Street. Young Valentin did not seem to be unique as a child. They all
considered him average and said, “nobody can expect this child to do
anything significant with his life.” However, he did stand out due to his
seriousness, honesty, morals, and sensitivity. From a very early age, he
manifested his talent in art. While in secondary school, he also studied in
Kiev’s academy of fine arts. At the age of 15, he took part in an art contest
and won first prize.

Within his soul two worlds were at constant battle, those of doubt and of
faith. The key factor to affect his soul was the illustrious monastery of
Pechersk Lavra – the Lavra of the Caves. The monastery lies on a very green 28
hectares (about 70 acres) within the city of Kiev, right on the Dnieper River.
It has been home to thousands of monks and produced numerous saints. Other than
the archeological value and interest which it has for visitors, the Lavra holds
unique spiritual treasures. The ancient ascetics dug their cells underground
and lived a confined life, practicing ceaseless prayer.

As the years passed by, two big intricate catacombs were created, and on
each side of the pathways they built their cells. The confined ascetics filled
in the doorway and left only a window. Everyday a monk would pass by and leave
them some bread and water. They lived on that. When someone did not take this
meager sustenance for 3 to 4 days, they knew that he had died. Then, the other
monks would close up the window and the cell would become their grave. When,
after years, these cells were opened, all the ascetics’ relics were found
incorrupt. It is a unique phenomenon in the world, one place consisting of 118
incorrupt holy relics.

There, in the catacombs, the skulls of other saints are kept that smell of
myrrh. The skulls strangely become wet. Every now and then, the monks collect
this myrrh and give it to the pilgrims. Pechersk Lavra is truly a blessed
place. The entire life, motion and vivid monastic tradition, which had
continued for centuries, had a decisive effect on young Valentin, who used to
visit it and draw the pilgrims and monks.

During the same period, he was influenced by the ideas of the great Russian
writer Tolstoi’s, with whom he exchanged letters on a personal basis. However,
he soon understood his errors in matters of faith and stopped communication. At
the same time, he did not seize to diligently read the Holy Scriptures.

When he finished school, he was indecisive on what path he should take.
Initially, he signed up at law school, but a year later he left it. After that,
he left for Munich to study at the School of Fine Arts next to the famous
professor Knir but soon returned to Kiev. Within him he had realized the
intense interest in serving others, his fellow man. At this difficult turning
point, he discussed his concerns with a professor, who encouraged him to study
medicine. In this way, he would be able to render his assistance to the
villagers who had poor medical care.

In year 1898, he began his studies at the Medical School of the University
of Kiev, famous for its excellent educational level. Right from the start his
interest turned towards anatomy.

He finished his studies with honors and a specialization in surgery. He
immediately began operating, especially on ophthalmologic illnesses. At that
time, trachoma was widespread, a terrible disease of the eyes and many people
became blind. The young doctor implemented a difficult method, Cheiloplasty,
and granted sight to thousands of people.

Before he had the time to work in rural areas, the Russian-Japanese War
broke out and Valentin volunteered to serve with the Red Cross. Together with
other doctors they took the train to the Far East. The trip lasted a month.
They settled in the city of Chita and he, despite the fact that he was young,
took up managing one of the surgical departments of the military hospital. He
operated on the injured soldiers and performed operations from the simplest to
the most difficult with incredible ease.

In Chita, he met Anna Vasilevna, a volunteer nurse, exemplary for her
morals. They got married and had four children.

From 1905 to 1910 he worked in various provincial hospitals. The needs were
great. He needed to be a surgeon and a gynecologist, a pathologist and a
pediatrist, a hygienist and a dentist.

At that time he came across the problem of general anesthesia. It had just
started to be applied, but because there were no anesthesiologists and the
right means were missing, general anesthesia was more dangerous than the
operation itself. That’s why he attempted to find new ways of local anesthesia.
Indeed soon enough, at 29 years old, he discovered a new method of local
anesthesia in the sciatic nerve. He later presented this report as his
dissertation and was approved with honors. Very often he would go up to Moscow
to prepare his dissertation.

In 1910, he moved to the city of Pereslav Zalesky. He found himself in a
pretty and scenic city, but working conditions were bad. The hospital was
composed of 50 beds, but its operational equipment was primitive. There was
neither electricity, nor an X-ray machine. Water was brought in daily by the
water-seller in a barrel.

Every morning, a carriage would take him to the hospital. He took advantage
of this time as well. During the journey, he read about methods in foreign
languages and managed to learn seven languages. He performed surgical
operations for long hours, while at nights he shut himself in his office, and
under the dim light of a petrol lamp he continued his scientific studies.

In Pereslav Zalesky, he performed 650 – 1000 operations a year while on his
own. He was one of the first doctors in Russia who dared to perform difficult
surgeries on the kidneys, stomach, gallbladder, even the heart or the brain
with great success.

Towards the end of his stay in Pereslav Zalesky, he thought of giving
attention to the surgery of purulent infections, for the which very few things
were taught in university. And then something strange happened. He describes:
“I put together the draft of the book, I wrote the prologue, and then suddenly,
the following strange thought came to my mind. When this book is completed, the
name of a bishop will be on it.”

1917 was a very difficult year, not only for himself, but also for Russia.
The country was in turmoil. The Tsarist system fell. Multiple temporary
governments followed, political destabilization and the October Revolution. At
that time, St. Luke’s wife contracted tuberculosis. So, they were forced to
leave Pereslav Zalesky and move to Tashkent.

They settled into a spacious house and St. Luke was immediately assigned as
the director of the

surgical department of the state hospital which he diligently organized.

Nevertheless, the political situation worsened. Right after the October
Revolution, civil war broke out, lasting for four years and disrupting the vast
country.

Millions of people died; many say 20 million and, of course, many more were
injured. There were however, other unfortunate victims: children, deprived of
their parents, trying to survive by eating garbage. St. Luke went to the hospital
day and night risking his life. The few hours that he had back at home, he had
to take care of his sick wife and see his children, cook, clean and wash.

In 1918, he became the leader for the Foundation of the University of
Tashkent and was voted professor of topographic anatomy and surgery.

The political situation was uncontrollable. Civil war rampaged everywhere.
The Tsar’s family was held under confinement, in Yekaterinburg. In July 1918,
the royal family was executed without a trial.

This murder heightened passions and savagery. People were in despair. For
the slightest thing, you could be arrested. A small lie was enough. Something
similar happened to St. Luke. Because he told off a problematic and drunkard
worker of the hospital, the man slandered him to the authorities. One morning,
while he was entering the operating room, they arrested him and lead him to
Tashkent’s railway station. They had then arrested 2000 soldier rebels. They
brought them to trial briefly, condemned them to death and executed them on the
spot. St. Luke queued and waited for his execution. The hours seemed endless.
Late at night, after 16 hours of waiting, a partisan recognized him. He learned
how he had been “framed” and intervened. They set him free. And here
his heart’s grandeur and his self-denial are evident. Instead of returning
home, he went back to the hospital. Like nothing had happened, he entered the
operating room at midnight and begun to operate.

However, this dreadful event aggravated his wife Anna’s already deteriorating
health. A few days later she died in the saint’s arms. She was only 38 years
old and St. Luke was 43. They buried her in Tashkent’s cemetery. He wrote on
her grave: “Anna Vasilevna, 38 years old. A pure heart, which passionately
sought truth.”

St. Luke had been left a widow with four small children. Right at this very
difficult moment God provided the solution. A very faithful nurse, who had been
left a widow, took up raising his children and became their second
mother.”

At this point we should say a few words on his medical and surgical skills.
Today, in Russia, he is considered the top surgeon of the twentieth century. As
the academic professor Kasisrky writes, “…his name and skills had become
a legend. He could perform the most difficult operations without any
problems.” He himself would say, “A surgeon must have the eyes of an

eagle, the heart of a lion and the hands of woman,” (that is, have a fine
sense of touch). Once, he took a stack of twenty sheets of thin paper and a
lancet. He told his children to tell him how many sheets to cut through in only
one movement. His children told him seven, and in one go he cut through seven sheets,
astonishing everyone.

Apart from his scientific training, he was distinguished for his deep faith
in God. Inside the operating room he would ask God for help. On the wall he had
hung an icon of Christ and

the Virgin Mary and in front placed an oil lamp. He would light it, pray for a few
minutes and after that he would make a cross on the patient’s body, using the gauzes
and iodine, where the operation was to take place. Only then would he proceed
with the surgery.

Even though St. Luke was always close to the church, during that period he
took part more actively in Tashkent’s church life. This gave the faithful particular
joy. One day, in the cathedral church, there was place a clergy-laity tribunal,
with the aim of prosecuting the Archbishop of Tashkent, Innocent. Valentin,
then a doctor, was also called to the hearing, and he vigorously defended the
archbishop. Archbishop Innocent was acquitted and particularly moved by the
doctor’s stance. When the session was over, the archbishop waited for the
doctor at the door. They walked around the church two or three times, while the
archbishop thanked him for his defense. Suddenly the archbishop stopped, looked
the doctor in the eyes and said, “Doctor, you must become a priest.”
The saint, with no hesitation replied, “Your Eminence, if it is God’s will
that I should be a priest, then I will.”

Indeed, in January 1921, he was ordained a deacon and then a priest. This
occasion of the ordination of a famous university professor, was to be like a
bolt of lightning for Tashkent. The saint took up daily duties and preached God’s
word on every occasion. He also confronted the mockery of his colleagues and
students who thought that he was now “finished with science.”
However, he contradicted them.

Let’s digress to look at the political situation dominating the Soviet
Union. The civil war ended in 1921. The winners gave themselves to a merciless
persecution of all the people they believed to be suspects, counter-revolutionists,
etc. The prisons were filled up and the revolutionary courts were working
nonstop. An unexpected event would worsen the situation. Lenin got sick. In a
period of two years he succumbed to multiple strokes that would finally confine
him to a wheelchair. Then the battle for succession started. Despite predictions,
Stalin prevailed – a ruthless man, who not only drove millions of citizens to
their death, but even his comrades and friends.

During 1920s, “reformatory” military camps for were founded, that
is, forced labour camps under the name “Gulag.” Within a few years gulags
spread across the huge country. They started from Solovki Monastery. It was
built during the fourteenth century on the Solovki Islands in the White Sea. It
was a large monastic center, with the central monastery and many sketes on all
the islands. The winter cold is harsh there, lasting 8-9 months. Because it’s
impossible for anyone to escape, Solovki became the perfect place for a military
prison.

The detainees worked sixteen hours a day and if they underperformed, they
were executed as saboteurs. If they wished to punish someone, he was sent to Sekirnaya
Skete, which was on a hill. There, they took their clothes and tortured them
naked in the snow and ice. As food, they only gave them daily a soup made of
rotten potatoes. After a few months, when the detainees were exhausted, they
took them to the edge of the hill, where wooden steps had been set up with 365
steps. They tied them up with ropes like small barrels and threw them off the iced
steps. The detainees found tragic death. There were so many dead that a tree
formed the sign of the cross with its branches.

All the other camps started from Solovki. The detained worked as slaves, and
countless died from torture, sicknesses and hardship.

At the same time a merciless war started against the Church. Using various
legislations, the Church was chained up. Many churches and artistic monuments
were closed down, blown up,

transformed into gymnasiums, military camps and entertainment centers. The holy
icons were burned. Numerous churches were plundered, while saints’ holy relics were
desecrated.

Three hours from St. Petersburg, close to the Svir River, is the Monastery
of St. Alexander of Svir. St Alexander was a great figure, he was granted to
see the Holy Trinity and after his death, his relics remained incorrupt.

In 1918, the revolutionaries entered the monastery and executed all the
monks. After that, they took St Alexander’s relic and threw it in fire.
However, the relic did not get burned. They then transferred it to a museum for
mummies in St. Petersburg. In 1997, the monastery reopened and the fathers
asked for the holy relic back, but the museum’s administrative body would not
give it back as they considered it a mummy. Upon the fathers’ insistence, the
museum’s administrative body brought in an X-ray machine and performed a radiography
on the saint’s body and realized that it was not embalmed, but incorrupt. In
this way, they were forced to return it to the fathers and the saint returned
to his home.

The people demonstrated their heroic spirit on many occasions defending the
churches. I will only bring up one touching case. In the city of Olonets, in 1927,
they tried to destroy a church. A young girl, about 25 years old at the time,
was informed of it. She ran to the church, entered and locked herself in and
yelled at the workers, “Demolish the church and kill me with it.”

The workers waited for her to come out, since they didn’t want to kill her.
Finally, after a few days they left. And this girl remained the guard of the
church for 25 years. She cleaned it and took care of it, while the people
brought her food. The church was saved. At the end of her life she became a nun
and took the name Varvara. She “fell asleep” at the age of 96 and was
buried next to the church. They all honor her as a saint.

Among the victims were clerics and monks. Throughout Russia, only in the
year 1922, 8100 clerics and monks were executed. In St. Petersburg, on the wall
you see, over 40 fathers of

St. Alexander Nevsky monastery were executed. On one Sunday, again in St. Petersburg,
they arrested 40 priests while they were performing the liturgy. They took them
to Smolensk cemetery close to Saint Xeni’s grave. They provided them with the
tools to dig a big hole. After that they threw them in and buried them alive.
In this way, the blood of many neo-martyrs spilt, and today the Russian Church
can boast for her countless new holy martyrs.

Lets return to Tashkent. At this difficult time, St. Luke chose to be ordained
a priest. However, new responsibilities awaited him. Archbishop Innocent was
exiled in 1923 and the people proposed that Father Valentin take his place. He
humbly accepted God’s new calling, knowing all too well the dangers. At that
time, there was an exiled bishop in Tashkent, who initially tonsured him a
monk. As there was no church, his tonsure took place in his children’s bedroom.
It was there he gave his monastic vows and Valentin was named Luke. Because the
bishop was not able to ordain him a bishop on his own, he suggested he go to
Penjikent, where two exiled bishops remained. He left during the night, cutting
through Uzbekistan with the travel means available at that time, confronting
many dangers. His first stop was Samarkand. From then on, things were even more
dangerous because of rebel combatants. With a much of difficulty he continued
for Tajikistan. In the city of Penjikent he found the two bishops who ordained
him an archpriest in complete secrecy, during the night. The date was May 31,
1923. Afterwards he

returned to Tashkent.

His anointment brought about new disturbances in Tashkent. The partisans
started to slander him and undermine him through the press. It was a short while
after, on Saturday June 9, 1923 when he was arrested and led to Tashkent’s prison.
This is how eleven years of imprisonment and exile began. He remained imprisoned
for two months and then he was sent to Moscow, where he visited the martyr
Patriarch Tikhon twice, who was placed under confinement in Donskoy Monastery.
Patriarch Tikhon encouraged him not to stop his medical and surgical activities
because in this way he could help people. Patriarch Tikhon, after bearing the
great burden of persecution, “fell asleep” on May 25, 1925. His words
were very prophetic: “The night will be

very long and very dark.” He has recently been classified among the saints.

A week later St. Luke was taken to terrible Lubianca, the building of CK-KGB.
In this building he was interrogated with the interrogators’ harsh methods,
with a spotlight in his face. Millions of people were interrogated and condemned
in this building, while many were lead underground where they were executed
with a bullet through the neck.

After his interrogations and his condemnation they put him in the awful
“Black Crow,” the CK’s police van. The “Black Crow” was a
Russian’s worst nightmare. It transported the arrested and was always full.
Many of the detainees suffocated. St. Luke was taken to Moscow’s worst prison,
Butyrka. The chambers were overfilled. Most of the detainees slept on frozen
floors. The blinds on the windows were shut. An electrical lamp was constantly
on and the detainees never knew whether it was night or day. Sleep was a real
torture. They did not fit on the floor and to turn over they had to work
together. There could have been 30-40 people in a chamber for six. In those
prisons, the saint became aware of his first symptoms of heart failure, which
would worsen during his exile and accompany him for the rest of his life.

Two months later they transferred him together with two other detainees to
the prison of Taganka, on foot. One day they gave him a fur coat from the Red
Cross as a present. He didn’t keep it for too long. He gave it away to a young
detainee that was shivering from the cold.

In December of 1923 and during the harsh cold, despite the fact that he was
sick, he was sent into exile to Siberia. The train trip lasted a month. For
food each day, they gave them half a herring, a piece of bread and a glass of
water. The train compartments did not differ from prison cells. They were also
full of prisoners and each stole from the other.

A month later, they reached the town of Krasnoyarsk in the heart of Siberia.
Later he was exiled to the city of Yeniseisk, 430 kilometers northwards. The trip
took place inside a ship’s dark hull; today, it’s a museum. In midwinter, he
reached Yeniseisk. Its quarters were more humane. A room in the house of a
wealthy inhabitant. With him were two other priests. The house was converted into
a chapel and a clinic where he examined patients.

A little later he asked to be employed at the hospital of Yeniseisk. The doctors
were surprised but also happy to have a famous surgeon with them. They gave him
permission, so he started operating. The needs there were also many. Waiting
lists extended up to two months. In 1924 he attempted to perform an innovative
and extremely difficult operation. A man with a serious kidney failure was
brought in, and St. Luke attempted and succeeded in doing the world’s first
animal to human kidney transplant.

As a reward, the local authorities sent him far away to a forgotten village,
Hayia, which barely had eight homes and was stranded by snow. Despite all the
difficulties there and very little equipment he possessed, he did not seize to
operate. Among other operations, he operated on a patient suffering from
cataracts with great success. We should note that he would sterilize his
equipment in a samovar.

In the summer, he was taken back to Yeniseisk. The saint was
“hosted” in the prison’s isolation ward that was full of bugs and
would not let him rest. Afterwards, they set him free and he was able to
perform operations and serve the liturgy in an old monastery of Yeniseisk.

He operated endlessly. The inhabitants loved him exceedingly. Nonetheless, as
love for him grew, so did the authorities’ hate for him. So they decided to
send him to the freezing north. In

the port of Yeniseisk, they loaded him onto a barge and via the River Yenisei, he
traveled approximately 2000 km (about 1240 miles) further north. The trip was endless,
monotonous, boring, tiresome and tormenting. The food was minimal, or rather,
the prisoners had become food for lice.

At some point they reached the city of Turukhansk. Here, climate conditions
render life unbearable. The winter is dark and never ending. Everything is
frozen. In the small summer

season swarms of mosquitoes make the inhabitants’ life torture. St. Luke worked
at the small hospital. There was no other doctor, nor was there the right equipment.
The only thing he found was a bottle of alcohol and a small pocket knife. He
operated using them and tied the wounds with the patients’ hair.

On the Yenisei’s banks there was also a small monastery, with a relic of
Saint Vasilios Magaseisk. Saint Luke would perform the liturgy there. In his
face people found the real

shepherd and doctor of souls and bodies. But again, the people’s love bothered the
local authorites. He was invited to give an explanation for his operations, liturgies
and preaching. One night, they notified him to get ready and leave quickly for
the North.

At this point we will again open a parenthesis. At that time, millions of
prisoners were taken to the tundra, the frozen north. There, snow doesn’t melt
away completely, not even in the summer, which lasts for two to three weeks.
The prisoners had to build new towns, factories, streets, railways from nothing
in the middle of nowhere. Temperatures there can reach -60°C (-76°F) and when
it’s windy the situation is unbearable. Detainees died in heaps. The area is
sown with the bodies of prisoners. To this day, when the snow melts and water
flows from the mountains where there had been mines, human bones come out from
the earth. The dead were innumerable, nobody can calculate the number. In the
city of Norilsk, built by prisoners in the 1930s, they have erected “the
Golgotha of Norilsk,” with many crosses and monuments of different
nationalities, a reminder of the torments of these people. And in the
surrounding cities, a few small museums take us back to that tragic era.

St. Luke almost followed this same path. The trip of over 400 km (250 miles)
had to be done in a sleigh. It was a painful trip, in the heart of winter. The
cold was terrible. Darkness awful. The first stop was Selivanikha, a small
village. He continued the trip over the Yenisei River. Having passed the northern
polar circle, they reached the village of Plahin, consisting of 15 people. He
was given a room in a wooden small house. There was ice all around. So tremendous
is the cold there that birds are unable to live. The small wooden stove was not
inadequate. The water in the bucket froze. When it was windy the situation was
desperate. He remained in Plahin for about two and a half months. Only God’s
grace kept him alive.

In March, the director of the CK sent another sleigh to bring him back. In
Turukhansk, a patient died helpless. The people revolted and demanded that their
bishop and doctor return. This is how he again found himself in Turukhansk, and
undisturbed, continued his work in the hospital and the monastery.

His sentence was nearing its end. He waited in agony. He saw riverboats leaving
with the prisoners but he was not called. At the end of August, boat lines
seized because the river froze

and so he need to wait for the next summer. Finally, he was freed in November 1925.
Now he would be forced to travel by means of a sleigh over the frozen Yenisei.
The trip was difficult and dangerous. Altogether, they traveled approximately
2000 kilometers (1240 miles). He reached Krasnoyarsk and from there traveled by
train to Tashkent.

He again took up his archbishop’s duties. He was not given a position in the
university so he

received patients at home. Many young adults gathered around him, whom he
helped as a father and they helped him at his work. They would run around
finding poor patients and notify him. The people loved him very much.

Not much time passed when new problems arose. A mentally ill patient and professor
committed suicide. His suicide was characterized as murder and they started
accusing the Saint as an

accomplice. For a whole year they slandered him through the newspapers. They even
wrote theatrical plays about the bishop murderer. Finally, in 1930, he was arrested.
Again, he was imprisoned in Tashkent, again cruel interrogations, threats,
blackmail. Everyone defended his innocence in vain. He remained in the prisons
of Tashkent for a whole year and then condemned into exile in Northern Russia.
They took him to the railway station. They behaved inhumanely. Someone who was
present at the time recounts: “we gathered many people.. We saw him from

afar. They dragged him by his beard, as if he were a bum. They spat in his
face. At that moment, I suddenly thought how Jesus Christ was scoffed at the
same way.”

He himself writes about the train trip: “The wagon was so full of lice
that I had to take off my clothes morning and night, and daily I found hundreds
of them. Among them were also some huge black lice that I had never seen
before.”

Days later they reached the city of Kotlas. It was also built by prisoners inside
endless forests and many of them died in martyrdom. St. Luke was initially
brought to the prisons of Kotlas and after that was taken three kilometers further
to Makariha. They lived in miserable makeshift shacks. Many of the prisoners
were sent off to the woods to cut trees and make shacks. They were forced to
sleep on the terrain facing cold weather and humidity. Many committed suicide.
In Makariha at the time, a typhoid epidemic and other sicknesses broke out. The
detainees died helpless. Everyday they dug a huge pit in Makariha and buried
around 70 dead. Today in Makariha many monuments are placed reminding about the
tragedy of those people.

St. Luke witnessed this drama, the carnage of the dead, without being able
to offer anything. A little later, they transported him to Kotlas’ hospital and
allowed him to operate because the needs were so great. It was not long when he
was again transferred. On a riverboat on the Dvina River, he was taken to
Arkhangelsk. It is one of Russia’s most northern cities. They had sent
thousands of prisoners at the time so he had a very difficult time finding a
house. The exiled shivered in the

streets, there were not enough houses. He finally found a room in a big house where
other exiles were staying. The authorities allowed him to operate in the hospital
but he faced jealousy from his colleagues. He went to church in the church
cemetery, but even there they looked at him suspiciously.

In 1932, a tumor appeared so he went to St. Petersburg, where he was
operated by an oncologist.

Fortunately, the tumor was benign. In St. Petersburg he was invited to see Kirov,
a high ranking executive partisan. He proposed that they give him the greatest
surgical centre of the country, the only term being, to throw away his religious
vestment and deny Christ. He did not accept and returned to the place of his
exile.

In 1933, his famous book was published Treatise on the Surgery of Purulent
Infections and was signed Bishop Luke. This book was accepted enthusiastically
and has been repeatedly published. Professor Polianoff stated: “There is
no other book in our country with so much knowledge on surgery and so much love
for the human being.”

From 1933 to 1937 he remained in Tashkent. He lived quiet family moments
with his children, which he had been deprived of for so long. He worked mainly
in the scientific research field, which really pleased him. He needed to learn
every detail about pus. He wrote to his son: “I am making extraordinary
discoveries. I am working endlessly. I want to write a lot of things. I fear
that I won’t have the time. I am at the culminate point of my age. I need to
get the time…”.

He was one step away from discovering penicillin. He did not do so in time.

The thirties were the age of Stalin’s omnipotence. The Gulag Archipelago was
at its peak. Millions of people were sent to concentration camps and worked in
forced labor. In Belomor

canal more than 300,000 people worked to open up a 280 kilometer canal, digging
with primitive means in granite. At least 100,000 died while others were
maimed. In 1936, terrorism had reached its peak. In Moscow the famous Moscow
trials were taking place, where the leaders of the revolution were exterminated.
Arrests of innocent people had taken the form of an epidemic. And, of course,
Bishop Luke was assumed a suspect.

A night, in 1937, commissioners entered his house and arrested him. Outside
awaited the “Black

Crow” to take him to Tashkent’s prisons. The charges were that as a doctor
he was killing patients, that he was preparing a counterrevolution and a plan
to murder Stalin. Many of his collaborators were also arrested, who succumbed
to torture and testified against him. Himself, so as to be forced to sign, was
put to the cruel, torturous chained interrogation. Set on a chair under a
strong spotlight, he was interrogated night and day, by different interrogators
for thirteen days and nights.

They wouldn’t let him eat or sleep. He often fainted, and they would throw
at him cold buckets of water to bring him back to his senses. Because he did not
sign the accusation, he was sentenced for another thirteen days and nights to
chain interrogation. His body was filled with wounds from the blows. They left him
for two years in the Tashkent prisons in continuous threats and torture.

In 1939, they charged him again with another three years of exile to
Siberia. New torment with the train voyage for Krasnoyarsk and after that, a
riverboat to the town of Great Murta. There he went to the hospital and asked
to be allowed to operate. They did hire him, but because there was no other
position available they hired him as the hospital’s custodian. They gave him a
small room within the hospital quarters where he lived in poverty. There too,
he developed a large surgical activity despite the very poor working circumstances.

There was no church inside the village. St Luke went every morning to a small
nearby forest to pray. He placed an icon on a log, kneeled in the mud or on ice
and prayed. But even this place was defiled by young atheist komsomols. God was
exiled from everywhere.

Today, people still living in Great Murta remember him with much love. There
still isn’t a church in the town. The people, though, have started its construction
and it will be dedicated to St Luke. In fact, the day the cornerstone was added,
a woman was miraculously healed by the saint. There, they placed the cross, a
reminder of the saints miraculous intervention, while in front, they have left
the rock on which the sick woman was seated. On that day, the world scenery was
reigned by war. Hordes of Germans entered Russia and caused huge disasters and
countless victims. The whole country was placed under trial.

In Krasnoyarsk the trains arrived full of wounded soldiers, in complete
purulent traumas. Many of them died helpless. The doctors were very few. St
Luke, touched by this sad situation, sent a letter to the president of the high
Soviet Kalinin and asked that he be allowed to operate on the soldiers. The
answer came immediately. Soon enough, he was transferred to Krasnoyarsk, hired
as the head doctor of the military hospital 1515 and advisor of all military
hospitals of the area.

There too he faced his colleagues’ suspicions, constant monitoring by the
KGB. His residence was a narrow, humid room in the hospital. He also faced
contempt from superiors. They considered him a secondary class citizen and forbade
him to eat in the military hospital’s restaurant. On many days he remained
unfed. Some nurses, who felt sorry for him, secretly brought him some food. They
never heard him complain. He endured everything with great faith in God. In one
of his letters to his son he wrote, “I loved martyrdom, which so strangely
cleanses the soul.”

Every now and then he went to the train station and choose the most heavily
wounded to operate on. All the soldiers, loved him extensively, because they
felt he had saved their lives. The intensive work had also affected his health.
Fatigue overtook him. Still, he always thought about those suffering and served
them in incredible self-denial.

No church was to be found anywhere. They were all closed. But now Stalin
needed the Church. And in 1943 he gave the Church a breath of freedom. He freed
many priests that were detained and allowed some churches to be opened. St.
Luke was employed as Archbishop of Krasnoyarsk. In the city, they allowed the
opening of a small church of St. Nicholas in a suburb, 7 kilometers

away from the centre. On February 28, 1943, the Saint served the first Divine Liturgy.
In this humble church, church life was reinitiated in Siberia. But to get there
he would have to walk seven kilometers in the mud and ice. Often, he sunk and
was unable to continue.

Today, in Krasnoyarsk a church is being built in honor of Saint Luke within
the general hospital.

Contemporary doctors are thankful to him and feel benefited from the tradition he
passed on. A big statue of the saint has been placed on a central spot of the city.
Passers by will always stop, say a couple of words as a prayer and leave him
some flowers.

In 1944, they transferred him to Tabof as a head doctor and archbishop.
There too, everything had been destroyed. With much effort, he rebuilt the
ruined church of Holy Protection and started liturgies and preaching with a lot
of joy, because as he said in his first homily, “For fifteen years my
mouth was closed.” At the same time he worked at the city’s two hospitals,
the general and military, while he lectured in the Medical School and in
medical conferences.

Within the ecclesiastical sphere, he committed great effort to reorganize his
province. He preached God’s word in the churches. People ran to hear him speak
and were deeply affected.

Authorities were alarmed. They recognized his enormous scientific, social and
patriotic contribution, but they could not accept his preaching and pastoral
contribution. Often he was

invited to scientific conferences or to the university, with the requirement
not to walk in his religious cassock and bishop’s pendant. He did not give in
to these demands, and it seems he was no longer afraid. Within two years,
Tabof’s people grew to extremely love him. And here, the traces he left endure.

Today, the city’s general hospital bares his name. His bust has been placed
in the front courtyard, while close by, in the Medical History museum, a large
section is dedicated to St. Luke.

Despite his great work load, he took part in the Moscow Patriarchate’s
Councils. In 1946, he was

finally recognized. Some partisans slandered the saint to Stalin and demanded
his execution. Stalin angrily swore at them vulgarly and concluded: “We
cannot execute those people any longer, but we need to honor them.” And
indeed, St. Luke was honored with the state’s greatest public award, the 1st
Stalin award out of fifteen scientists. The ceremony took place in Moscow.
Everyone was present. The only one missing was St. Luke, as he could not afford
the train ticket. The prize was accompanied by 200,000 rubles. He then sent a
telegraph to Stalin, asking that this money be given to the war orphans.

That same year, by order of Stalin, they constructed the saint’s bust, that
up to this day exists in the Klenofsky Museum in Moscow, among other great scientists’
busts. Many foreign journalists arrived to interview him and special broadcasts
were made. But his health was deteriorating and in 1946 he lost his sight in
one eye. The Church transferred him to the Archdiocese of Simferopol and
Crimea.

Crimea is a beautiful area, with intense Greek colors, but also hardship.
The catastrophes left by the war were numerous there too, the Church ruined.
And St. Luke fought a titanic battle to revive it. In this effort he faced the
reactions of the local authorities, who continuously created difficulties and
undermined him. The poor were many so he organized administering food rations
in his house. Many times he remained unfed, so as not to deprive the poor from
food. There too, he was invited to conferences and to teach lessons in the
Medical School. At times, authorities

demanded that he did not show up in his cassock. He refused, hence some conferences
were cancelled.

His daily life was full. He woke up very early and did his prayers for 2-3
hours. After that he read an excerpt from the Old and New Testament. Following
that, he went to his office and occupied himself with the matters of the Archdiocese.
In the afternoon he would always accept patients free of charge.

Different people would come to his medical office: atheists, those of different
religions and of different nationalities. He offered his help without
discriminating.

In 1956, he lost his sight from his other eye as well. Despite being blind
now, he continued to work tirelessly, to preach and serve the liturgy. In 1957,
in Simferopol, they celebrated his 80th birthday.

And when Stalin died in 1953, Chruchstschow attempted de-Stalinization. Most
of the prisoners were freed and military camps closed. This positive development
is overshadowed by a new war against the Church. Chruchstschow reopens the
counter-church front. Churches are seized, closed and blown up. Priests are persecuted.
St. Luke faced many problems and fought to keep the churches open. Agonizing
through letters he writes to his children:

“It keeps getting harder for someone to manage church affairs. It’s a
martyrdom. I cannot bear it at my age of 80. But with the Lord’s help I will
continue my difficult work.”

The authorities seek his exemplary punishment because he refused to close
the churches. But they did not dare jail or exile him.

In another letter to his son, he wrote: “I am much more deeply sorrowful
than you are for their hastening my end…In general the situation in the
church is becoming unbearable.”

The archbishop’s earthly life approached its end. On Christmas 1960, he
performed the liturgy for the last time, while on Lent Sunday he gave his last
homily. From then on he stayed at home. He prepared himself for the great
voyage by prayer. A little before his “falling asleep” he baptized
his great granddaughter Tatiana, today a doctor in Odessa.

One day he said to his niece, “I wonder, will they allow you to sing the
‘Trisagion” at my funeral?” His niece did not understand what he told
her. She understood at his funeral.

Sunday of All Saints of Russia came on June 11, 1961. It was a quarter to
seven in the morning when Saint Luke took his last breath and his soul flew to
heaven. He left so that he could have the time to perform the divine liturgy at
the heavenly altar. The sad fact was spread as fast as lightning. For three
days, thousands of people came to venerate his relics. In front of his casket
they broke out into burning tears and shouted: “Our father has left, our
saint” and told about his benefactions and miracles.

All those people wanted to have a grandiose funeral and to carry his relics
in Simferopol’s central avenue. But on the day of the funeral, an urgent
telegraph came from Moscow that forbid carrying the dead in the central
streets.

The ones that wanted to take part, had to take free buses free which
travelled on outlying roads all the way to the cemetery. No chanting was
allowed. Within three minutes everything had to be concluded and the deceased
had to be already in the grave.

The ceremony was watched by many police officers to make sure this order was
observed. But right after the funeral procession the people revolted. Fights
and conflicts with the police followed. At some point the road cleared and the
vehicle carrying the casket tried to leave. A few women broke through, grabbed
ahold of the car, while three heroines fell in front of the vehicle’s wheels
and got it to stop, screaming: “Only over our dead bodies will you go
where you want.”

At that point, a big flock of pigeons appeared in the sky, circled over and followed
the procession. In the end the policemen retreated. The procession went into
the main avenue that was filled with a crowd and there were roses covering the
ground for approximately two kilometers. All the people sang the “Trisagion”
with one voice for three and a half hours.

He was buried in the All Saints cemetery, and from then on, his grave became
the Pool of Siloam. His miracles are countless. And so, in 1996 the Russian
Church went on to place him

in the official list of saints. In March of 1996, the Archbishop of Crimea Lazarus
and his priests recovered his relics. During the recovery, a sweet aroma spread
across the area. In his relics, his heart, his brain his eyes and lungs were
found incorrupt.

On the March 20, 1996 his relics, together with the participation of thousands
of people were taken to the Church of the Holy Trinity in Simferopol. In 2001,
they was placed inside a beautiful silver reliquary, donated by Greece.

In 1997, in front of the hospital of Simferopol, his statue was placed by
Archbishop Lazarus, while in 2005 his bust was placed at the Medical School, where
the church of St. Luke is being built.

He is commemorated on the June 11. Every year thousands of people come to
the celebration from all parts of Ukraine, Russia and abroad.

In the
morning on the feast’s eve, the Medical School with the dean leading
them, sing the Akathist Hymn to the Saint and place their medical
shirts in front of the reliquary to bless them.

On the day of the Saint’s commemoration they perform the Divine Liturgy and
a procession of his holy relic.

His miracles are countless. Not only in Crimea, but in Greece as well. His
appearances and interventions are many. He has appeared to many people in their
sleep wearing his hierarchical

vestments and medical uniform. He holds surgical tools in his hands, gauzes, syringes,
etc. And after he presents himself to the patients, he tells them that he has
come to operate on them. Many find an incision or blood on their bodies when
they wake up in the morning.

Really, what was it that glorified Saint Luke and gave him so much grace? He
had many virtues. But I believe that what distinguished him the most was love,
the crown of virtues. Love towards God and fellowman. A genuine offering of
love, sacrifice, self-denial.

In the land of Palestine there are two lakes and a river. The first is a
small lake, that of Tiberia.

Even though its a small lake, it’s alive, has many fish and there Christ’s apostles
fished. The second lake found in the South is the Dead Sea and is four times
bigger than the first. But it is dead. It has no trace of life. The two lakes
are joined through the Jordan river. It starts from Tiberia and goes on to the
Dead Sea. And this is the paradox. For centuries now, Tiberia offers its waters,
gives and remains constantly alive. And it does become empty. For centuries now
the Dead Sea endlessly receives those waters, but it does not liven up. It
takes the waters and remains dead. This is the nature of love. We don’t ask for
love, we don’t demand it from others. We only offer it, without retaining,
without calculating and only then we are alive. The person who from a young age
has learned to take and not to offer, is disabled, dead, unhappy. The person
who learned to love, to sacrifice, to offer and be offered is alive and happy.

This was St Luke – a man of love, offering, sacrifice, self-denial. That is
why he received so much grace from God and continues to live, to perform miracles,
to be so close and console us.

May his life inspire us and may we have his blessing.

Source, with minor adaptation of the introduction.

The first ever Orthodox International spiritual-academic symposium dedicated to women’s monasticism has now been held in Serbia, in the famous and ancient Zhicha Monastery, which is celebrating its eight-hundredth anniversary.

There is a proverb which is the same even across the most different of Orthodox nations: “If you want to find out if someone loves Christ, find out in he loves monasticism.” Truly, monasticism is the nervous system of the Church, Her hope and expectation. Therefore the spiritual health of the nation depends very much on the health and strength of its monasticism.

It is not surprising then that the recent symposium in Serbia was recognized as having great spiritual significance not only for the Serbian Church, but also for Universal Orthodoxy.

Zhicha Monastery

Representative from almost all of the local Orthodox Churches took part in the symposium: from Greece, Serbia, Russia, France, Georgia, Romania, Syria and other countries. Opening the symposium, His Holiness Patrirach Irenaeus of Serbia said that monasticism has been the greatest force in the Church during all eras. The greatest Christian minds were reared in monasticism. At the present time it is reviving in many countries, but is also passing through formidable temptations; and this requires discernment and conciliar thinking.

“It makes us very happy,” the Patriarch noted, “that both academics and monastics, representatives from various Orthodox Churches, are taking part in this grace-filled gathering. Thanks to this fact, we will be able to examine not only the history of Orthodox monasticism, but also its contemporary state, its problems and needs.”

In the course of the symposium’s work the most urgent questions facing leaders and members of today’s monastic communities. The titles of the presentations and the names of the participants speak for themselves: “The Abbess as Spiritual Mother,” “The Bishop and the Church,” “The Role of the Spiritual Father and the Clergyman in a Women’s Monastery,” “Women’s Monasticism and its Pastoral Role in the Church.” …

Nine hierarchs gave presentations, including Metropolitan Amphilochius of Montenegro and Primorsk, Metropolitan Afanassy of Limassol, Metropolitan Nikolai of Lavreot, Bishop Afanassy (Evtich) of Zakholmsk and Herzegovina, and others. Also presenting were seven abbots, abbesses, and spiritual fathers of monasteries, including Archimandritev Ephrem of Vatopedi, Archimandrite Elisseus of Simonopetra, Abbess Theoxenia of Chrysopighi Monastery in Crete, Archimandrite Ilia (Rago), spiritual father of a women’s monastery in France which is a dependency of Simonopetra.

We offer an excerpt from the brilliant lecture of Bishop Nikolai of Lavreot. In response to the question of how a women’s monastery might serve the world, he established a few fundamental positions.

****

1. In the wise book of St. John of the Ladder we read: “Angels are the light of monks, and the monastic life is a light to people living in the world.” This means that the monastic form of life is itself an example for members of the Church who are struggling in the world. The monastic life offers a measure for the life of any Christian. The Church, in essence, is guided by a monastic way of thinking.

2. The life of the faithful is supported by the prayers of the monks. This is elucidated by the very fact that the faithful take refuge in such prayers. Just as Moses stretched out his hands and the Israelites conquered the Amalekites, so the monastics life up their hands to God and we, the faithful who are struggling in the wilderness of this world, conquer the noetic Amalek.

When human strength and even the advice and counsel of spiritual fathers bears no result, then the prayers of the Church, the prayers of the monastic order, which stand unceasingly before God, the prayers of ascetical monastics can bear fruit. The Church is guided more by prayer than by words and sermons. She gains more peace from the prayers of monastics than from the words of even the most talented teachers.

3. The third element of the monastic life that can truly benefit the struggle of the faithful is the quiet and silence of the monasteries.

In such a time in the world that is ruled by great hurry, powerful unrest, competition, many worries, uncontrollable stress, lack of certainty about tomorrow — in such a time the atmosphere of a monstery, where everything happens at its own time, according to a pre-appointed order, where the tenderness of quietude and the dialect of silence establish themselves as the natural and appropriate language of life, where life is untroubled, free from unnecessary information and mindless strivings, the greatest constancy presents itself; In place whose law says that material and bodily goods are not as absolutely necessary as the true and spiritual presence of God, where there is a waiting for the Kingdom of God — this is the most important thing in life; and so, in a such a time in the world as the one we live in, only visiting a monastery can restore the orientation of our lives and bring rest to the heart of the most disturbed man.

4. According to tradition, monasteries are distinguished by voluntary poverty, meekness and simplicity of life. It is true that this tradition has declined somewhat in our times. But where it exists, it gives the best answer to all the perversions of hyper-consumption  and hedonistic materialism. A minimum of earthly comforts, absence of multifarious worldy ambitions, colors and subjects, a limited number of words, smiles, no tempestuous flow of joys and other feelings, always one and the same order of actions — all this establishes very fine borders for life, exclusively estranged from agitation of the feelings.

This is encountered rarely today and offers a special kind of rest. There is not enough of this is today’s way of life, so that every visit to a monastery affords a man rare relaxation and a spiritual foothold: silence of the feelings awakens the inner activity of the soul.  Communication with the world works in the opposite way: it awakens external feelings, while deadening the inner ones.  The atmosphere of life in a monastery awakens the inner world and gives vigor to the nature of man.

5. Monastic life is founded on the renunciation of the world, and so presents itself as the renunciation of nature for the sake of surpassing it, in order to find what is above nature. In other words, monasticism contains in itself a deep element of exalted heroism, of real, genuine life. At the same time, the more estranged one is from this world, the more he is able to help this world.

A monk knows the secrets of the human soul, the activity of the passions and the image of the activity of the grace of God, the mysteries and difficulty of the spiritual path. The monk is one has himself struggled and learned much. He is the best psychologist. He understands the weak, the antagonistic, the grieved, the burdened and the betrayed, the hungry and the thirsty, the persecuted and unjustly insulted. Is this not the work of a pastor?

*****

One of the most impressive and memorable moments of the symposium was the discussion, when all of the participants were able to ask their interesting questions. Some of these, briefly, were: How can we struggle against the contentious quality of the feminine psychology? How can we avoid excessive attachment to the spiritual father? How should we relate to a pyschological ill person in the brotherhood or sisterhood?

We present to you a few more photographs of the symposium at Zhicha in Serbia.

Abbess Elena of Zhicha Monastery

Zhicha Monastery, founded at the beginning of the thirteenth century by Stefan the First-crowned and St. Sabbas the Serb. The monastery suffered under the Turkish yoke, during World War II, and during the NATO bombings of 1999. Nevertheless, today the Zhicha monastery is one of the strongest in Serbia, inhabited by forty-five people.

Abbess Nikodima is the head of Ormilia Monastery in Greece, a dependency of Simonopetra on Athos.

Thanks to the labors of Abbess Nikodima and the joyfully ascetical life of her sisterhood, the lives of many women’s monasteries have been renewed, both in Greece itself and in other countries.

The venerable hierarchs and abbots, giving exclamations in various languages and styles of chant, the ancient frescos — all of this gave a feeling of universal Orthodoxy here and now, in our life.

And this spiritual unity, salted with common prayer, made even a greater impression that all of the lectures and discussions.

A common table was set for three-hundred people. On the tables were nametags written in four languages.

Prayers before and after the meal were also said or sung in various languages: Serbian, Greek, Russian, English. Participants from Romania, Syria and France were united in a language known to them all.

Simultaneous translation was done in four languages. There were booths in the conference hall for translators, who reacted immediately to all the lectures. For example, one kind-hearted and pious Serb who was translating for the Russian participants, at the end of a certain difficult lecture, commented exhaustedly: “It would be good if they all spoke Russian, so that it would be easy to translate.”

With the blessing of Patriarch of Russia, the following Russians took part: Abbess Victorina (Moscow Monastery of the Nativity of the Theotokos), Abbess Juliana (Moscow Monastery of the Conception), Abbess Nikolaya (St. Nicholas Monastery in Lesser Yaroslav), Abbess Domnica (New Tikhvin Monastery in Ekaterinburg), Abbess Nina (Monastery of the Nativity of the Theotokos and St. Ilya in Tumen).

The heads of the Russian monasteries tried to converse with the lecturers between sessions, to ask for their prayers and edification.

Translated from Russian by Jeremy Boor.

Source
 

At the end of the nineteenth century, two distinguished academics, one at Oxford and the other at Cambridge, made enduring contributions to the popular conception of Samhain. The former was the philologist Sir John Rhys, who suggested that it had been the ‘Celtic’ New Year… Rhys’s theory was further popularized by the Cambridge scholar, Sir James Frazer. At times the latter did admit that the evidence for it was inconclusive, but at others he threw this caution overboard and employed it to support an idea of his own: that Samhain had been the pagan Celtic feast of the dead. He reached this belief by the simple process of arguing back from a fact, that 1 and 2 November had been dedicated to that purpose by the medieval Christian Church, from which it could be surmised that this was been a Christianization of a pre-existing festival. He admitted, by implication, that there was in fact no actual record of such a festival, but inferred the former existence of one from a number of different propositions: that the Church had taken over other pagan holy days, that ‘many’ cultures have annual ceremonies to honour their dead, ‘commonly’ at the opening of the year, and that (of course) 1 November had been the Celtic New Year. He pointed out that although the feast of All Saints or All Hallows had been formally instituted across most of north-west Europe by the Emperor Louis the Pius in 835, on the prompting of Pope Gregory IV, it had already existed, on its later date of 1 November, in England at the time of Bede. He suggested that the pope and emperor had, therefore, merely ratified an existing religious practice based upon that of the ancient Celts.

The story is, in fact, more complicated. By the mid-fourth century Christians in the Mediterranean world were keeping a feast in honour of all those who had been martyred under the pagan emperors; it is mentioned in the Carmina Nisibena of St Ephraim, who died in about 373, as being held on 13 May. During the fifth century divergent practices sprang up, the Syrian churches holding the festival in Easter Week, and those of the Greek world preferring the Sunday after Pentecost. That of Rome, however, preferred to keep the May date, and Pope Boniface IV formally endorsed it in the year 609. By 800 churches in England and Germany, which were in touch with each other, were celebrating a festival dedicated to all saints upon 1 November instead. The oldest text of Bede’s Martyrology, from the eighth century, does not include it, but the recensions at the end of the century do. Charlemagne’s favourite churchman Alcuin was keeping it by then, as were also his friend Arno, bishop of Salzburg, and a church in Bavaria. Pope Gregory, therefore, was endorsing and adopting a practice which had begun in northern Europe. It had not, however, started in Ireland, where the Felire of Oengus and the Martyrology of Tallaght prove that the early medieval churches celebrated the feast of All Saints upon 20 April. This makes nonsense of Frazer’s notion that the November date was chosen because of ‘Celtic’ influence: rather, both ‘Celtic’ Europe and Rome followed a Germanic idea….

Hat Tip 

The much needed ‘return to the Fathers’, Fr. Alexander Schmemann said, “means, above all, the recovery of their spirit, of the secret inspiration which made them true witnesses of the Church” (quoted in Liturgy and Tradition, p. 84f). That is, what is needed is a return to the mind-set, the inner attitude and spiritual world-view of the Fathers.

This return to the Fathers is nowhere needed more than in a return to their view and veneration of the Divine Scriptures. The Church is now suffering from a low and deficient view of the Scriptures, one gained from the liberal world of western Academia, one which feels itself free to dissent from the received meaning and interpretation of the Scriptures in favor of more modern and politically-correct views.

In the writing of ostensibly Orthodox authors, in casual conversations with some clergy, in letters to the editor in our Orthodox journals, one can often find evidence of this alienation from the attitude of the Fathers. In one article, supporting references to the Scriptures are pilloried as “biblical literalism”, in another, Pauline use of the Old Testament is discounted as “rabbinic exegesis”, in yet another, one is warned against “the hazards of appealing too quickly to patristic testimony”. Anyone who is a convert from liberal Protestantism can easily identify the common disease which produced all the above citations: a low view of the Scriptures in which they are praised as sources and authorities but ultimately discounted as products of their age rather than as living oracles of Truth.

When one steeps oneself in the literature of the Fathers, one is aware of entering a different world, of breathing a different air. For the Fathers, the Scriptures spoke with the voice of God and an apt citation of a Scriptural text (read and interpreted, of course, through the Tradition of the Church) was seen as bringing all godly controversy to an end. This was not “proof-texting” (which involves the use of Scripture separated from Holy Tradition). Rather, it was an awareness of Scripture as a locus and carrier of that Holy Tradition and therefore as a reliable arbiter in all Christian disputes.

A casual reading of the Fathers will confirm that this was their approach. Consider the words of St. Clement of Rome: “You well know that nothing unjust or fraudulent is written in the Scriptures”. Or the words of St. Irenaeus: “the Scriptures of certainly perfect, since they were spoken by the Word of God and by His Spirit”. Or the words of St. Hippolytus: “those who not believe that the Holy Scriptures were spoken by the Holy Spirit…are unbelievers”. Or Origen: “With complete and utter precision the Holy Spirit supplied the very words of Scripture through His subordinate authors…according to which the wisdom of God pervades every divinely-inspired writing, reach out to each single letter”. The Fathers did not adhere to a view of dictation, which would reduce the human authors of Scripture to merely passive conduits of the Divine Word. They knew full well that these were human documents, subject to the normal human variants of style and didactic purpose. Nonetheless, they were also very aware that these same human documents were vehicles for the Spirit of God, containing, as Divine Oracles, God’s timeless and transcendent Truth, and thus not subject to error.

According to the Fathers, how should we read the Scriptures today? I would point out two components of an Orthodox and patristic approach to the Divine Scriptures.

We should read the Scriptures in the Church. That is, we should interpret the Scriptures guided by our Holy Tradition as preserved in the interpretations of the Fathers. As Origen expresses it, “That alone is to be believed as the truth which is in no way at variance with ecclesiastical and apostolic Tradition”. This does not mean a rejection of all the fruit of modern commentary and criticism. It does mean a selective use of such modern work. The plumb-line of Tradition is to be hung against new work: only such as is consistent with Tradition is be accepted.

We should read the Scriptures on our knees. That is, we should come to the Scriptures as humble learners to be taught, not as judges to teach and correct. Humility is the pre-condition for everything in the Christian life, especially in our reading of the Scriptures. In this as in all things, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).

We are often exhorted to be diligent in reading the Scriptures. This is a valuable exhortation—but one that must be supplemented with another: read the Scriptures as the Fathers read them. We must open our Bibles as opening the oracles of God—reading, as it were, over the shoulders of the Fathers. Only then can we gain true and eternal benefit for our souls.

Source

By the mid-16th century, the city of Vologda had become the major trading and administrative center in northern Russia. It served as the primary distribution point for Moscow’s rapidly increasing trade with England and Holland by way of the Dvina River and the river’s new port located at the site of the Monastery of the Archangel Michael, a settlement subsequently known as Arkhangelsk.

Vologda was still built entirely of wood until Ivan IV (the Terrible) decided in 1565 to include the town in his private domain, his oprichnina. With this decision, he initiated construction of a masonry fortress, or kremlin, intended to serve as his northern residence. After 1571 this enterprise was abandoned, and the walls were eventually dismantled. But one important monument remained: the Cathedral of Saint Sophia.

Vologda’s cathedral is an excellent example of 16-century church architecture based on Aristotle Fioravanti’s Dormition Cathedral (1475-1479) in the Moscow Kremlin, Russia’s Holy of Holies. The Sophia Cathedral was intended to serve as the seat of the Vologda bishopric, enlarged in 1571. For various political reasons, however, the cathedral was not consecrated until 1588, four years after Ivan’s death.

Fortunately, the Saint Sophia Cathedral has largely preserved its 16th-century form. Its whitewashed brick walls are segmented and lead to a roofline of semicircular gables, or zakomary, restored after World War II. The onion domes, which provide a striking
culmination to the structure, were rebuilt in their present form during the 17th century. The elaborate iron crosses above the cupolas were added in 1687.

The monumental simplicity of the exterior is imposing, but the St. Sophia Cathedral reveals its true grandeur on the interior, which contains some of the best-preserved examples of 17-century frescoes. In 1686, the archbishop of Vologda, Gavriil, commissioned the painting of the enormous interior space by a group of some 30 artists from the city of Yaroslavl. Among them were experienced masters such as Dmitrii Grigorev Plekhanov, who had supervised the painting of the Dormition Cathedral at the Trinity-St. Sergius Monastery near Moscow in 1684. In an era when the Western view of art as an occupation was entering Russia, the artists painted an elaborate inscription on the lower part of the interior with a list of their names and a proclamation on the beginning and end of their work, from July 1686 to summer 1688.

The frescoes include symbols of the faith, major church festivals, scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary, as well as the life and parables of Christ. In the main cupola, Christ Ruler of All is depicted, while the four smaller cupolas portray John the Baptist; the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Ghost); Mary and the Christ Child; and Christ Emanuel. Martyred warriors and Russian princes are on the great piers that support the ceiling vaults. Elsewhere are apostles, Old Testament prophets and patriarchs, the four Evangelists. In contrast to earlier medieval art, these wall paintings demonstrate a greater attention to background detail – a process attributed in part to 17th-century engravings in the so-called Piscator Bible, published in Amsterdam, known in Russia and used by artists from Yaroslavl. The apse, which contains the altar, is also covered with frescoes, although lay worshipers are not generally permitted in this space. It is not even visible from the center of the cathedral because of the iconostasis, the wooden screen containing icons that separate the nave from the altar.

Indeed, the Sophia Cathedral’s painterly art is not limited to its frescoes. The east side of the interior contains an icon screen that is among the largest in the Russian north, over 190 feet in height. The frame of this towering structure was completed in 1737 by Arsenii Borshchevskii, a local monk of Polish extraction, to replace a late 17th-century iconostasis badly damaged by fire in 1724. With the exception of the Local Row of ancient icons at the bottom, the new icons were completed a year later by Maksim Kalinin Iskritskii – also of Polish descent. Painted in oil on pine boards, these icons show a mannered Western style favored by Russia’s
church hierarchs and by the Russian court.

The Sophia Cathedral frescoes rank among the highest examples of 17-century Russian art. The most spectacular display is on the west wall, which contains a vivid “Last Judgment,” with Christ enthroned and Satan seated in hell at the bottom right. In the middle are souls being weighed; the righteous are being separated from the condemned sinners. Among the latter are elegantly dressed foreigners, infidels who threaten Orthodoxy – a view of the world formed during Russia’s long isolation and its incessant border wars. Especially notable is a Protestant man in a tall-crowned hat known as a capotain (or in America, the Pilgrim’s Hat), worn in northwestern Europe in the 17th century.

The revealing irony here is that in the early 1690s, shortly after these magnificent frescoes were painted, the young Tsar Peter Alekseevich (later Peter the Great) would eagerly keep company with Protestant Europeans in Moscow’s “German Quarter,” created by the Orthodox Church in the mid-17th century to restrict foreign influence. During the formative 1690s, Peter would come to see the advanced technology and well-governed states of Protestant Europe as a model for Russia. Thus the world view vividly portrayed in Vologda’s Sophia Cathedral was on a collision course with a modern, secular view of Russia’s place in the world, a vision so forcefully represented by Tsar Peter. One could indeed argue that the fallout from that collision lingers to this day.

The clergy of Mississippi Valley Deanery will be meeting at Holy Trinity Monday and Tuesday.
Come and worship with them at the special services on those days.
Note also, that the usual Wednesday evening activities have been cancelled.

Monday, Oct. 24   

5:30 pm           9^th Hour and Vespers

Tuesday, Oct. 25 

8:00 am           Orthros
5:30 pm           9^th  Hour and Vespers

Wednesday,  Oct. 26

►  Usual Wed. night services cancelled.

Thursday, Oct. 27         

6:30 pm           Men’s Group Meeting (Nash home)

(Be certain not to miss 6:45 to 8:12)

H/T: Mystagogy

Featured Image Source (not an image from this video/visit)

There is life!  There is beauty!  There is worship!

Addressing the worshippers after the service, Metropolitan Hilarion said in particular:

We have celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Roman catacombs which remind us of the life of the early Christian Church in this city called eternal. It was sanctified with the feet of Sts Peter and Paul and became the capital of the Christian Church as early as the 1st century. During the Divine Liturgy today, we recalled how the first Christians prayed in these catacombs at a time when the Church was still small and persecuted, when to be a Christian meant to perform the feat of confession and to be ready to assume suffering and death every day.

Many thousands of Christians were buried in these catacombs, and celebrating the liturgy here we feel their presence and their prayer. At the same time, we feel the link between the past centuries and the present century because the Church which exists today is the same Church which existed almost two thousand years ago; and the Holy Spirit Who worked at that time, works today too, and the Divine Liturgy celebrated today is the same liturgy which was celebrated at that time. And the Body and Blood of Christ of which we partake today are the same Body and Blood which our Saviour Himself offered to His disciples during the Last Supper.

As St. Paul, who ended his days in this sacred city, has reminded us today, As we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith (cf. Gal. 6:10), that is, to those who share the Christian faith. Having prayed in these underground walls, let us leave with the thought that the Lord gives us an opportunity to do good, especially to those who are of the household of faith, and to all people around us’.

Source: DECR Communication Service

What is the “Lukan Jump”?

The annual cycle of the Gospels is composed of four series:

1. The Gospel of St. John (read from Pascha until Pentecost Sunday);

2. The Gospel of St. Matthew (divided over seventeen weeks beginning with the Monday of the Holy Spirit – from the twelfth week, it is read on Saturdays and Sundays while the Gospel of St. Mark is read on the remaining weekdays);

3. The Gospel of St. Luke (divided over nineteen weeks beginning on the Monday after the Elevation of the Holy Cross – from the thirteenth week, is is only read on Saturdays and Sundays, while St. Mark’s Gospel is read on the remaining weekdays);

4. With the exception of the Sunday of Orthodoxy, the Gospel of St. Mark is read during the Lenten period on Saturdays and Sundays.

Why, after the Feast of the Elevation of the Holy Cross, is the reading of the Gospel of St. Matthew suddenly interrupted and why do we start then with the reading of St. Luke?  At first glance, this jump appears to be arbitrary, more especially as there is no parallel in the reading of the Epistles.

To be sure, there is nothing arbitrary, although throughout the centuries the rationale has been forgotten.  First, let us keep in mind that the fact that the reading of the Gospel of St. Luke follows the Feast of the Elevation of the Holy Cross is merely coincidental and the theological reason lies elsewhere.  Actually, the change is related to the chronological proximity of the commemoration of the Conception of St. John the Baptist celebrated on September 23rd.  In later Antiquity, this feast marked the beginning of the ecclesiastical New Year.  Thus, the reason for starting the reading of the Lukan Gospel toward the middle of September can be understood. This is based on a vision of Salvation History:  the Conception of the Forerunner constitutes the first step of the New Economy, as mentioned in the stikhera of the matins of this feast.  As we know, the Evangelist Luke is the only one to mention this Conception (Lk. 1:5-24).  Later on, the introduction of new feasts, especially that of the Nativity of the Theotokos (September 8th), contributed to the downgrading of the significance of the Conception of St. John.

The Orthodox in the East have always observed the “Lukan Jump.”  In Russia, this tradition vanished, obviously because its rationale was not known.  However, some decades ago, on the advice of the great liturgical specialist, the late Professor Uspensky, the Russian Church decided to come back to the old practice of the “Lukan Jump.”

Since this action implies a connection between the cycle of the “Sanctorale” (Menaia) and the cycle of the feast, the date of which is determined by the date of Pascha, there is a practical difference between the Churches following the Julian Calendar and those using the Revised Julian Calendar with regard to the timing of the “Jump.”  Let us finally notice that
the calendars published by the “Russian Church Abroad” continue to ignore the jump re-established recently by the Moscow Patriarchate.

Source:  Fall 1992 issue of Jacob’s Well

H/T to Fr. John Peck at PrescottOrthodox

St. Joseph’s Men’s Fellowship

Purpose: To provide a monthly venue of fellowship, spiritual equipping and community outreach.

September Meeting:  Thursday, 22nd, 7:00 pm

Place:  Chuck Nash’s home at 3 Glenridge Road

Fellowship: A time for snacks, refreshments, sharing

Spiritual Equipping: To promote spiritual growth through reading of the
teachings of Church Fathers and contemporary elders. We will start with a two
month study of “The Way of The Ascetics.”  Copy of materials for first session will be
provided.

it does not, however, attempt to illustrate the breakaways from the Orthodox faith that occured before the Great Schism of 1054.

Source

The largest portion of the True Cross can be found on Mount Athos (870,760 cubic millimeters).

According to pious tradition, the size of the Cross of Christ was fifteen feet in height and eight feet in length. St. Cyril of Jerusalem (444 AD) writes: “The whole world has now been filled with pieces of the wood of the Cross” (Catachesis 4:10). He makes this statement no less than three times in his lectures to the catechumens of Jerusalem. St. John Chrysostom in the same century tells us that fragments of the True Cross were kept in golden reliquaries, which men reverently wore upon their persons. In 1889 two French archaeologists, Letaille and Audollent, discovered in the district of Sétif an inscription of the year 359 in which, among other relics, is mentioned the sacred wood of the Cross. Another inscription, from Rasgunia (Cape Matifu), somewhat earlier in date than the preceding, mentions another relic of the Cross.

St. Paulinus of Nola, some years later, sent to Sulpicius Severus a fragment of the True Cross with these words: “Receive a great gift in a little [compass]; and take, in [this] almost atomic segment of a short dart, an armament [against the perils] of the present and a pledge of everlasting safety” (Epistle 31). About 455 Juvenal, Patriarch of Jerusalem, sent to Pope St. Leo a fragment of the Precious Wood (Epistle 139). Later, under St. Hilary (468 AD) and under Symmachus (514 AD) we are again told that fragments of the True Cross are enclosed in altars. About the year 500 Avitus, Bishop of Vienne, asks for a portion of the Cross from the Patriarch of Jerusalem (P.L., LIX, 236, 239).

In the Catholic Encyclopedia, the following is written to refute the Protestant and Rationalist argument that the amount of distributed relics of the Holy Cross throughout the world could be compared to the size of a battleship:

The work of Rohault de Fleury, “Mémoire sur les instruments de la Passion” (Paris, 1870), deserves more prolonged attention; its author has sought out with great care and learning all the relics of the True Cross, drawn up a catalogue of them, and, thanks to this labour, he has succeeded in showing that, in spite of what various Protestant or Rationalistic authors have pretended, the fragments of the Cross brought together again would not only not ‘be comparable in bulk to a battleship’, but would not reach one-third that of a Cross which has been supposed to have been three or four metres in height, with transverse branch of two metres, proportions not at all abnormal (op. cit., 97-179). Here is the calculation of this savant: Supposing the Cross to have been of pine-wood, as is believed by the savants who have made a special study of the subject, and giving it a weight of about seventy-five kilograms, we find that the volume of this Cross was 178,000,000 cubic millimetres. Now the total known volume of the True Cross, according to the finding of M. Rohault de Fleury, amounts to above 4,000,000 cubic millimetres, allowing the missing part to be as big as we will, the lost parts or the parts the existence of which has been overlooked, we still find ourselves far short of 178,000,000 cubic millimetres, which should make up the True Cross.

Today the largest portion of the True Cross can be found on Mount Athos (870,760 cubic millimeters; pictured above), followed by Rome (537,587), Brussels (516,090), Venice (445,582), Ghent (436,456) and Paris (237,731).

Source

Panegyric upon the building of the churches:

… when one comes within the gates he does not permit him to enter the sanctuary immediately, with impure and unwashed feet; but leaving as large a space as possible between the temple and the outer entrance, he has surrounded and adorned it with four transverse cloisters, making a quadrangular space with pillars rising on every side, which he has joined with lattice-work screens of wood, rising to a suitable height; and he has left an open space in the middle, so that the sky can be seen, and the free air bright in the rays of the sun. Here he has placed symbols of sacred purifications, setting up fountains opposite the temple which furnish an abundance of water wherewith those who come within the sanctuary may purify themselves. This is the first halting-place of those who enter; and it furnishes at the same time a beautiful and splendid scene to every one, and to those who still need elementary instruction a fitting station. But passing by this spectacle, he has made open entrances to the temple with many other vestibules within, placing three doors on one side, likewise facing the rays of the sun. The one in the middle, adorned with plates of bronze, iron bound, and beautifully embossed, he has made much higher and broader than the others, as if he were making them guards for it as for a queen.

In the same way, arranging the number of vestibules for the corridors on each side of the whole temple, he has made above them various openings into the building, for the purpose of admitting more light, adorning them with very fine wood-carving. But the royal house he has furnished with more beautiful and splendid materials, using unstinted liberality in his disbursements. It seems to me superfluous to describe here in detail the length and breadth of the building, its splendor and its majesty surpassing description, and the brilliant appearance of the work, its lofty pinnacles reaching to the heavens, and the costly cedars of Lebanon above them, which the divine oracle has not omitted to mention, saying, ‘The trees of the Lord shall rejoice and the cedars of Lebanon which he hath planted.’ (Ps. 103/104:18) Why need I now describe the skillful architectural arrangement and the surpassing beauty of each part, when the testimony of the eye renders instruction through the ear superfluous? For when he had thus completed the temple, he provided it with lofty thrones in honor of those who preside, and in addition with seats arranged in proper order throughout the whole building, and finally placed in the middle holy of holies, the altar, and, that it might be inaccessible to the multitude, enclosed it with wooden lattice-work, accurately wrought with artistic carving, presenting a wonderful sight to the beholders. And not even the pavement was neglected by him; for this too he adorned with beautiful marble of every variety.

Then finally he passed on to the parts without the temple, providing spacious exedrae and buildings on each side, which were joined to the basilica, and communicated with the entrances to the interior of the structure. These were erected by our most peaceful Solomon, the maker of the temple of God, for those who still needed purification and sprinkling by water and the Holy Spirit, so that the prophecy quoted above is no longer a word merely, but a fact; for now it has also come to pass that in truth ‘the biter glory of this house is greater than the former.’ (Hag. 2:9)

For it was necessary and fitting that as her shepherd and Lord had once tasted death for her [the Church], and after his suffering had changed that vile body which he assumed in her behalf into a splendid and glorious body, leading the very flesh which had been delivered from corruption to incorruption, she too should enjoy the dispensations of the Saviour. For having received from him the promise of much greater things than these, she desires to share uninterruptedly throughout eternity with the choir of the angels of light, in the far greater glory of regeneration, (Matt. 19:28) in the resurrection of an incorruptible body, in the palace of God beyond the heavens, with Christ Jesus himself, the universal Benefactor and Saviour. But for the present, she that was formerly widowed and desolate is clothed by the grace of God with these flowers, and is become truly like a lily, as the prophecy says, (Isa 35:1) and having received the bridal garment and the crown of beauty, she is taught by Isaiah to dance, and to present her thank-offerings unto God the King in reverent words. Let us hear her saying, ‘My soul shall rejoice in the Lord; for he hath clothed me with a garment of salvation and with a robe of gladness; he hath bedecked me like a bridegroom with a garland, and he hath adorned me like a bride with jewels; and like the earth which bringeth forth her bud, and like a garden which causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth, thus the Lord God hath caused righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.’ (Isa 61:10,11) In these words she exults. And in similar words the heavenly bridegroom, the Word Jesus Christ himself, answers her. Hear the Lord saying, ‘Fear not because thou hast been put to shame, neither be thou confounded because thou hast been rebuked; for thou shalt forget the former shame, and the reproach of thy widowhood shalt thou remember no more.’ (Isa 54:4)) ‘Not as a woman deserted and faint-hearted I hath the Lord called thee, nor as a woman hated from her youth, saith thy God. For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercy will I have mercy upon thee; in a little wrath I hid my face from thee, but with everlasting mercy will I have mercy upon thee, saith the Lord that hath redeemed thee.’ (Isa 54:6-8) ‘Awake, awake, thou who hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury; for thou hast drunk the cup of ruin, the vessel of my wrath, and hast drained it. And there was none to console thee of all thy sons whom thou didst bring forth, and there was none to take thee by the hand.’ (Isa 51:17,28) ‘Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of ruin, the vessel of my fury, and thou shalt no longer drink it. And I will put it into the hands of them that have treated thee unjustly and have humbled thee.’ (Isa 51:22-23) ‘Awake, awake, put on thy strength, put on thy glory. Shake off the dust and arise. Sit thee down, loose the bands of thy neck.’ (Isa. 52:1-2) ‘Lift up thine eyes round about and behold thy children gathered together; behold they are gathered together and are come to thee. As I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt clothe thee with them all as with an ornament, and gird thyself with them as with the ornaments of a bride. For thy waste and corrupted and ruined places shall now be too narrow by reason of those that inhabit thee, and they that swallow thee up shall be far from thee. For thy sons whom thou hast lost shall say in thine ears, The place is too narrow for me, give place to me that I may dwell. Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these? I am childless and a widow, and who hath brought up these for me? I was left alone, and these, where were they for me?’ (Isa 49:18-21).

“These are the things which Isaiah foretold; and which were anciently recorded concerning us in sacred books; and it was necessary that we should sometime learn their truthfulness by their fulfillment. For when the bridegroom, the Word, addressed such language to his own bride, the sacred and holy Church, this bridesman, — when she was desolate and lying like a corpse, bereft of hope in the eyes of men, — in accordance with the united prayers of all of you, as was proper, stretched out your hands and aroused and raised her up at the command of God, the universal King, and at the manifestation of the power of Jesus Christ; and having raised her he established her as he had learned from the description given in the sacred oracles. This is indeed a very great wonder, passing all admiration, especially to those who attend only to the outward appearance; but more wonderful than wonders are the archetypes and their mental prototypes and divine models; I mean the reproductions of the inspired and rational building in our souls. This the Divine Son himself created after his own image, imparting to it everywhere and in all respects the likeness of God, an incorruptible nature, incorporeal, rational, free from all earthly matter, a being endowed with its own intelligence; and when he had once called her forth from non-existence into existence, he made her a holy spouse, an all-sacred temple for himself and for the Father. This also he clearly declares and confesses in the following words: ‘I will dwell in them and will walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.’ (2 Cor. 6:16) Such is the perfect and purified soul, so made from the beginning as to bear the image of the celestial Word.

… Building therefore in righteousness, he divided the whole people according to their strength. With some he fortified only the outer enclosure, walling it up with unfeigned faith; such were the great mass of the people who were incapable of bearing a greater structure.

Others he permitted to enter the building, commanding them to stand at the door and act as guides for those who should come in; these may be not unfitly compared to the vestibules of the temple. Others he supported by the first pillars which are placed without about the uadrangular hall, initiating them into the first elements of the letter of the four Gospels. Still others he joined together about the basilica on both sides; these are the catechumens who are still advancing and progressing, and are not far separated from the inmost view of divine things granted to the faithful. Taking from among these the pure souls that have been cleansed like gold by divine washing, he then supports them by pillars, much better than those without, made from the inner and mystic teachings of the Scripture, and illumines them by windows. Adorning the whole temple with a great vestibule of the glory of the one universal King and only God, and placing on either side of the authority of the Father Christ, and the Holy Spirit as second lights, he exhibits abundantly and gloriously throughout the entire building the clearness and splendor of the truth of the rest in all its details. And having selected from every quarter the living and moving and well-prepared stones of the souls, he constructs out of them all the great and royal house, splendid and full of light both within and without; for not only soul and understanding, but their body also is made glorious by the blooming ornament of purity and modesty.

And in this temple there are also thrones, and a great number of seats and benches, in all those souls in which sit the Holy Spirit’s gifts, such as were anciently seen by the sacred apostles, and those who were with them, when there ‘appeared unto them tongues parting asunder, like as of fire, and sat upon each one of them.’ (Act 2:3) But in the leader of all it is reasonable to suppose that Christ himself dwells in his fullness, and in those that occupy the second rank after him, in proportion as each is able to contain the power of Christ and of the Holy Spirit. And the souls of some m of those, namely, who are committed to each of them for instruction and care — may be seats for angels. But the great and august and unique altar, what else could this be than the pure holy of holies of the soul of the common priest of all? Standing at the right of it, Jesus himself, the great High Priest of the universe, the Only Begotten of God, receives with bright eye and extended hand the sweet incense from all, and the bloodless and immaterial sacrifices offered in their prayers, and bears them to the heavenly Father and God of the universe. And he himself first worships him, and alone gives to the Father the reverence which is his due, beseeching him also to continue always kind and propitious to us all. “Such is the great temple which the great Creator of the universe, the Word, has built throughout the entire world, making it an intellectual image upon earth of those things which lie above the vault of heaven, so that throughout the whole creation, including rational beings on earth, his Father might be honored and adored. But the region above the heavens, with the models of earthly things which are there, and the so-called Jerusalem above, (cf Gal. 4:26) and the heavenly Mount of Zion, and the supramundane city of the living God, in which innumerable choirs of angels and the Church of the first born, those names are written in heaven, (cf. Heb. 12:22-23) praise their Maker and the Supreme Ruler of the universe with hymns of praise unutterable and incomprehensible to us,–who that is mortal is able worthily to celebrate this? ‘ For eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of men those things which God hath prepared for them that love him.’ (1 Cor. 2:9) Since we, men, children, and women, small and great, are already in part partakers of these things, let us not cease all together, with one spirit and one soul, to confess and praise the author of such great benefits to us, ‘Who for-giveth all our iniquities, who healeth all our diseases, who redeemeth our life from destruction, who crowneth us with mercy and compassion, who satisfieth our desires with good things.’ (Ps. 102/103: 3-5) ‘For he hath not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities;’ (Ps. 102/103: 10) ‘for as far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our iniquities from us. Like as a father pitieth his own children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.’ (Ps. 102/103: 12-13)

Rekindling these thoughts in our memories, both now and during all time to come, and contemplating in our mind night and day, in every hour and with every breath, so to speak, the Author and Ruler of the present festival, and of this bright and most splendid day, let us love and adore him with every power of the soul. And now rising, let us beseech him with loud voice to shelter and preserve us to the end in his fold, granting his unbroken and unshaken peace forever, in Christ Jesus our Saviour; through whom be the glory unto him forever and ever. Amen.

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Volume 1.

The text is addressed to Paulinus, Bishop of Tyre, Book X, Chapter 4:39-72

His Eminence was born Robert R. Royster on November 2, 1923, into a Baptist family in the town of Teague, Texas. He often credited his mother for providing him and his sister with a strong, initial faith in Christ.  After discovering Orthodoxy as teens they asked their mother for a blessing to convert, whereupon she asked one basic yet predictive question:  “Does the Orthodox Church believe in Christ as Lord and Savior?”  As it turned out, a specific emphasis on the person and work of Jesus Christ became the hallmark of the future hierarch’s ministry, profoundly influencing his preaching and writing.  Additionally the Archbishop would later recall that an Orthodox clergyman and mentor advised him early on in his priesthood to include always the name of Christ in every conversation; to make Him the focus of every sermon.

Having received their desired blessing, and after a period of inquiry and study, brother and sister were received together as Orthodox Christians at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Dallas, Texas in 1941. It was at that point that the two received the names of Dmitri and Dimitra.

Dmitri was drafted into the US Army  in 1943, after which he underwent intensive training in Japanese and linguistics in Ann Arbor, Michigan and the Military Intelligence Service Language School in Fort Snelling, Minnesota. Following this he served as a Japanese interpreter at the rank of Second Lieutenant on the staff of General Douglas MacArthur.  Dmitri was
required to undergo the usual training given to all soldiers and was recognized, interestingly enough, as an expert marksman. He was blessed with a strong constitution and good physical abilities: as a teenager he represented his Dallas high school during the tennis state semi-finals.  Later as hierarch he would comment that good health and physical strength should also be used in service to Christ.  Following his own advice he pushed himself physically, traveling repeatedly by car for years, from one end of his fourteen state Diocese to the other in the early stages of its inception, visiting parishes and founding missions.

After his military service Dmitri completed his education, receiving a Bachelor’s Degree from the (now) University of North Texas in Denton, just outside of Dallas, and a Master’s Degree in Spanish in 1949 from Southern Methodist University.  He completed two years of post graduate studies at Tulane University in New Orleans whereupon he returned to his home in Dallas.

In 1954, as a subdeacon with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under Constantinople, Dmitri worked with the Mexican Orthodox Community of Our Lady of San Juan de Los Lagos, at which time he began translations of Orthodox liturgical services into Spanish.  In April of 1954 Subdeacon Dmitri, his sister Dimitra and their priest, Fr. Rangel sought permission of the local hierarch, Bishop Bogdan, to establish an English language Orthodox mission in Dallas, the future St. Seraphim Cathedral.  Dmitri was ordained to the diaconate and priesthood that same year and assigned as rector of St. Seraphim’s. In 1958 permission was sought and given to bring both Fr. Dmitri and the parish into the Russian Metropolia, predecessor to the
Orthodox Church in America. During his pastorate Fr. Dmitri served as an instructor of Spanish at Southern Methodist University.  He functioned in this capacity for a number of years.  Dmitri also taught at Tulane University in New Orleans for a brief period during his tenure as student.   While serving in the military, and afterward, particularly in New Orleans, he cultivated a taste for strong, chicory coffee, which became a characteristic trademark throughout his life.  Years later, out of great respect for their hierarch, and with a certain sense of satisfaction, parishes would seek to make the perfect pot of Cafe Du Monde or Community Club Coffee upon a visit from His Eminence.

During the early years of St. Seraphim’s Fr. Dmitri continued his missionary activities among the Mexican Americans but was intent on developing the new community placed in his care. As a direct result of his desire that people from all walks of life hear the message of Orthodox Christianity, the Cathedral remains to this day, a multi-ethic parish, consisting of both cradle Orthodox and converts.

While functioning as both priest and university instructor Fr. Dmitri found time to help his sister with her local restaurant.  As children, responsibilities in the family restaurant provided an appreciation for the art of cooking.  As adults, the two came to be regarded as gourmet chefs.  Not surprisingly celebrations at the Archbishop’s home in honor of specific religious holidays were awaited with great anticipation by members of the Church and local Dallas clergy.  Following the teaching of St. Paul, His Eminence was enthusiastically “hospitable” (1 Timothy 3:2).

At such gatherings the Archbishop on rare occasions would recall in passing, certain struggles of the Depression.  He did not dwell on the subject, but it seemed that the experience of going without, of laboring to put food on the table, was never far from his consciousness.  He lived modestly and was generous to a fault, not only giving beyond the tithe to his Cathedral, but donating to seminaries, charities, diocesan missions, and persons in need.

While working outside the Church and tending to priestly responsibilities, Fr. Dmitri found time to print his own original articles in a weekly Church bulletin. In the 1950′s and 60′s Orthodox theological works in English were scarce, particularly on a popular level of reading.  Fr. Dmitri saw a need and sought to address it.  Later, his curriculum for catechumens used at St. Seraphim’s would be published by the Department of Christian Education of the Orthodox Church in America, with the title: Orthodox Christian Teaching. The Dallas community grew steadily;  Fr. Dmitri had a unique gift for relating to all people. Both young and old looked to him as a loving father.

From 1966 to 1967 Fr. Dmitri attended St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Seminary in New York while concurrently teaching Spanish at Fordham University. He studied with people like Fr. Alexander Schmemann, Fr. John Meyendorff, and Professor Serge Verhovskoy.  In 1969 Fr. Dmitri was elected to the episcopate.  On June 22 of that year he was consecrated Bishop of Berkeley, California as an auxiliary to Archbishop John (Shahovskoy) of San Francisco.  The consecration of Bishop Dmitri is regarded by some historians as the first consecration of a convert to the episcopate in America (though Ignatius (Nichols) was consecrated in 1932 but subsequently left the Church).

In 1970 Bishop Dmitri was given the title, Bishop of Washington, auxiliary to Metropolitan Ireney. He would later recall the helpful training he received as an auxiliary under both
Archbishop John and Metropolitan Ireney, particularly the many periods of instruction in Church Slavonic.

On October 19, 1971, Bishop Dmitri was elected Bishop of Hartford and New England.  In 1972 the Holy Synod of Bishops brought Mexico under the auspices of the Orthodox Church in America, which had received its autocephaly (the right to govern itself) in 1970 from the Moscow Patriarchate.  Given his knowledge of and fondness for Mexican culture and the Spanish language, Bishop Dmitri took on additional responsibilities from the Holy Synod  as Exarch of Mexico.  He was as much beloved by the Mexican people as by those in his own Diocese.

In 1977 at the 5th All American Council convened in Montreal, Bishop Dmitri received a majority of popular votes in an election for a new Metropolitan of the Orthodox Church in
America. For the sake of continuity — a cradle Orthodox occupying the Primatial See was viewed as more in keeping with the contemporary challenges of a young territorial Church — the Holy Synod chose instead The Right Reverend Theodosius (Lazor), Bishop of Alaska who became an advocate and supporter of missionary work in the southern United States.

In 1978 the Synod of Bishops took an important step by creating the Diocese of Dallas and the South.   His Eminence became its first ruling hierarch, taking St. Seraphim Church as his
Episcopal See.  Christ the Saviour Church in Miami, Florida, a prominent Orthodox community in the South, became the second Cathedral of the newly formed Diocese.  The Archpriest George Gladky, a veteran missionary and rector of Christ the Saviour, was named Chancellor.  He and Bishop Dmitri worked admirably with others to establish Churches and teach Orthodoxy in a region of America where Orthodox Christianity was relatively unknown.  The first Diocesan Assembly of the South was convened in Miami, August 25-26, 1978.

In 1993 the Holy Synod elevated Bishop Dmitri to the rank of Archbishop. During his tenure as hierarch the Archbishop chaired various departments of the Orthodox Church in America.  Early on he was instrumental in speaking with representatives of the Evangelical Orthodox Church seeking entrance into canonical Orthodoxy.  His understanding of Christ as central to
the Faith, helped guide these discussions.  As an example, an episode occurred in which members of the EOC wanted to focus on particulars of worship during initial dialogues.  It is said they were cautioned by the Bishop:  “Let’s first discuss our approach to Jesus Christ, since everything that we have in Orthodoxy proceeds from that core set of teachings.”

On September 4, 2008, following the retirement of Metropolitan Herman, the Holy Synod named Archbishop Dmitri as the locum tenens. Archbishop Seraphim (Storheim) assisted him as administrator.  In November of 2008, Archbishop Dmitri’s role as OCA locum tenens ended with the election of Bishop Jonah (Paffhausen) of Fort Worth as Metropolitan.  On March 22, 2009, the Archbishop requested retirement from active duty as a Diocesan Bishop effective March 31, 2009.  Under his leadership the Diocese of the South grew from approximately twelve communities to over seventy at the present time and remains one of the most vibrant Dioceses in the OCA.

During the past two years the Archbishop has lived quietly at his home, writing, making occasional visits to Diocesan communities, and maintaining a quiet involvement with the life of St. Seraphim Cathedral.  He was blessed in his last days to have many parishioners who visited and cared for him at home twenty-four hours a day as well as medical professionals who came to his bedside to treat and evaluate his condition.  The community in turn received a great blessing from the love and courage with which the Archbishop welcomed them and approached his illness. He remained courteous, hospitable and dignified throughout, even attending Church when his strength allowed.  These unexpected visits to the Cathedral by the Archbishop were sources of joy and inspiration to the faithful.

For his former Diocese and the Orthodox Church in America, His Eminence leaves behind a progressive vision of evangelism and ecclesial life, a solid foundation upon which to develop future communities and schools. He leaves the faithful the experience of having had a compassionate father whose enthusiasm was contagious, inspiring many to look profoundly at
their own vocations in the Church.

Archbishop Dmitri’s greatest joys as well as sorrows were connected to his episcopal ministry. The establishment of new missions, the ordinations of men to the priesthood or
diaconate, and the reception of others into Orthodoxy were continual sources of delight.  In addition he patiently dealt with clergy and laymen during his tenure who needed correction.  In fact, it would be difficult to recall an instance where he strongly reprimanded anyone, at least publicly.  Private, gentle advice when needed was more “his style.”  At times his approach confused and frustrated some who believed that his manner of oversight should be stricter; that he should be more demanding in his expectations.  Again, this was never the Archbishop’s way.  It was not in his character to remind people bluntly of their responsibilities. The Archbishop chose to lead by example rather than by decree.  Ultimately and personally this became a source of his extraordinary influence and popularity.  Mere suggestions were readily received as directives because of people’s fondness for His Eminence.  More than once the comment was made:  “you cannot buy that kind of authority,” authority that proceeds from integrity and proven dedication, from a loving relationship between a father and his children.

As stated, Archbishop Dmitri’s episcopacy was strongly characterized by a single-minded devotion to the person and work of Jesus Christ.  His publications are testimony to this dedication.  They include commentaries on: The Sermon on the Mount, The Parables of Christ, The Miracles of Christ, St. Paul’s Epistles to the Romans and to the Hebrews,  The Epistle of St. James, and the Gospel of St. John.  His works also include the aforementioned Introduction to Orthodox Christian Teaching, as well as A Layman’s Handbook on The Doctrine of Christ.  Some of these have been translated into other languages, enthusiastically received as instructional tools by the faithful abroad.  When asked to document his personal thoughts concerning evangelism or American Orthodoxy the Archbishop consistently hesitated, preferring instead to dwell on the teachings of the fathers regarding Scripture and Church doctrine.

For many years His Eminence was the editor of the first diocesan newspaper in the Orthodox Church in America:  The Dawn.  This modest publication was a primary means of education and an instrument of unity amongst members of a Diocese spanning over one million square miles. One full page in The Dawn was regularly devoted to making available his translations of Orthodox Spanish material.  Later the Archbishop included a Russian page as well to minister to the needs of new immigrants.

The dignity that he brought to his episcopacy was well known.   People commented on his bearing, the way he carried himself as a bishop of the Orthodox Church.  Some found it surprising that such an august figure possessed great love and respect for others, that he presented himself as one of the people.

Without exaggeration it can be said that His Eminence was a rarity, a unique combination of faith, talent, intelligence and charisma. For the Diocese of the South, indeed for the Orthodox Church in America, he was the right person at the right time.

Forty- two years a bishop, each day offered in service to Christ with Whom he now enjoys the blessedness of the Kingdom.  We pray for his continued prayers and we thank the Lord for having given His flock the gift of Archbishop Dmitri. May his Memory Be Eternal.

“Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the Word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct” (Hebrews 13:7).

“For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel…” (I
Corinthians 4: 15)

Text Source

Update on 9/2/11   There have been a number of articles and internet posts giving personal memories of Archbishop Dmitri.  The most touching (and they are all touching and powerful) to me (Fr. Joseph Bittle)  has been from Katherine at Evlogia.  Read it here.

Images Source with additional photos.

Story and Photos by Dn. James Bozeman

Why would a small group of Orthodox Christian clergy and laity, college-age and up, rent a vendor’s booth at the famed Cornerstone Music Festival—basically a Christian rock music event? Perhaps, to evangelize? Or, to minister to youth and young adults? Maybe, to recruit students for the seminaries that participated (i.e., St. Vladimir’s and St. Tikhon’s)?

The answer is complex, and before I reflect on our group’s experience, let me explain what Cornerstone Music Festival is. Created in 1984 by an independent evangelical group known as “Jesus People USA,” the festival now ranks as one of the largest Christian Music fests in the world: sort of a Christian version of Woodstock. Tens of thousands of people travel to Cornerstone Farm in Bushnell, Illinois each year to hear more than 300 bands play many styles of music, including rock, metal, punk, folk, hardcore, and pop. Guest speakers, independent/foreign film screenings, writers’ seminars, and art workshops are featured as well.

Cornerstone draws many Christians on the fringes of culture, folks hungry to learn more about their faith. Although not typically “suit and tie” Christians (it’s difficult to find a person without a tattoo there), they exhibit extreme fervor for Christ. Many seek to understand God in a deeper way, and the festival provides an opportunity for them to share ideas and meet other like-minded, “hungry” Christians from the world over.

While primarily attended by Evangelicals, Cornerstone has in recent years attracted the involvement of both Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians. During this past year, several students from both St. Tikhon’s Seminary and St. Vladimir’s Seminary (unbeknown to each other) contemplated making a trip to Cornerstone, to present Orthodox Christianity to festival-goers.

During a missiology class presentation at St. Vladimir’s in fall 2010, I had proposed the idea, which was not original: many students over the last few years had the same vision, and prior to us, a group representing the “punk zine” Death to the World had rented a festival booth and conducted Orthodox liturgical services there, which passers-by could observe. Much to my surprise, following my class presentation, I was immediately inundated with volunteers who wanted to resurrect an Orthodox presence in this rather unusual setting. The idea reached fruition through the efforts of some of my fellow students and by way of the Department of Youth, Young Adult, and Campus Ministry of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). Our brothers at St. Tikhon’s, who shared in the same vision, joined in and carried the weight of the endeavor. This was one of the greatest blessings to all of us: a unique opportunity for “SVOTS” and “STOTS” to work together.

Fr. Christopher Foley and I represented St. Vladimir’s; Fr. Joel Weir and Christopher Patton represented St. Tikhon’s Seminary; and Subdeacon Luke Beecham represented the Youth, Young Adult, and Campus Ministry. Stephen Wendland and Reid Broadstreet were both volunteers who helped out with the booth and liturgical services.

For some of us, Cornerstone had once been a Christian music “Mecca,” which had played an intrinsic part in our developing lives as Christians. Some of us had performed in bands at the festival, while others were simply devotees. This year, we had a ministry—in the midst of seeming cacophony.

Picture us singing “Gladsome Light” while not-so-distant multiple rock bands each played a different song simultaneously. The hymns of daily vespers competed with a wall of disharmonious noise, akin to serving vespers in a war zone. And yet, God was praised, and the gospel was preached. Many who had never before seen an Orthodox service were quite moved, despite the noise and distractions. To our delight, we also met several young Orthodox Christians, who were equally delighted to attend services and to meet their brethren in the “wilds” of the event. In the quiet of each early morning, we celebrated Divine Liturgy, and the service provided a beautiful counterpoint to the noise and chaos of the ensuing day.

Incredibly, though our booth featured neither music nor food, a constant stream of visitors flowed through. Between services, we offered Orthodox books and pamphlets, which afforded us a wonderful opportunity for ministry and outreach. Through the generosity of St. Tikhon’s Seminary Press, St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, Conciliar Media, Templegate Publishers, Lampost Books, and others, we gave out well over 300 books and pamphlets to inquirers. Out of the constant flow of people walking past, many stopped to ask questions. Some folks knew a little something about Orthodoxy, while others had no clue. We had many wonderful conversations and made many new friends. A number of people came back multiple times to ask more questions and to open up their hearts. Amazingly, some even shed tears as we shared our faith in Christ in a way never before experienced by them. Clearly God was blessing our feeble attempt to serve Him.

So, why did we go to Cornerstone? The answer became clear only after we had taken the risk to go, only after we had made an effort to serve. An image of our effort endures, frozen in my mind’s eye: Three members of our group stand behind the little table in our booth, each talking to an individual about the Orthodox faith, while another stands in the walkway talking to yet another couple about the Orthodox Church. Two more of us are busy gathering more books to re-supply stacks, since our stock keeps disappearing into the hands of inquirers.

Truly, people were seeking something fuller than what they had found within their Evangelical, “seeker-sensitive” churches. At the very least, they were curious and had questions. Dealing with our visitors reminded me of Isaiah 55:1, where it says, “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money come, buy and eat.”

And, that’s why we went: to shine our light into the world without fear, and with love for all human beings, so that they, too, may find Christ in His fullness, in the Orthodox Christian faith.

Originally titled: Band of Brothers: Sharing the Fullness of Christ at Cornerstone Music Festival

Source

The Church of the Panagia Paramythia, or “Panagia of the Palace”, in
Constantinople was the location of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
from 1587 to 1597. It was here that the autocephaly of the Russian Church was
proclaimed in 1589. In the past the princes of Moldovlachia (Romania) were
crowned here also, since in this area of Constantinople the rulers of
Wallachia had palaces, and so the church came to be called Vlach Saray (Palace
of Wallachia).

In the 1970′s the church suffered severe damage from
various fires.

At the event, the Ecumenical Patriarch stated: “It is our
duty to deliver to the younger generation the buildings of our ancestors.”

It is hoped that this church will soon be restored to resume parish
activities in the area.

  Source

The Transfiguration of Our Savior has a central place in the Orthodox Church and in Orthodox theology.

It is the event that reveals the glory of the Church and of the faithful. It is a witness to the new reality introduced by the coming of Christ in history.

During His Transfiguration, Christ revealed the Uncreated Glory of His Divinity within His human nature. At the same time, He took up those surrounding Him into His Uncreated Divine Glory. Moses and Elias participated in the same radiance as Christ. The only difference is that Christ is the Source of Divine radiance, whereas the others are recipients thereof.

The reason why Christ was transfigured before His Disciples was that the day of His Crucifixion was approaching: “That when they should see Thee crucified, they might know Thy Passion to be voluntary….”1

By His Transfiguration, Christ, on the one hand, bears witness to His Divinity, which His Disciples had confessed shortly before through the mouth of the Apostle Peter; and, on the other hand, He offers an initial experience of the coming of His Kingdom.

The fact that we celebrate the Transfiguration on August 6 perhaps does not help us to remember its direct relationship with the Cross of Christ. Only when we consider that a few weeks later, on September 14, we celebrate the Universal Exaltation of the Precious Cross — which is reminiscent of Great Friday — do we find its historical connection with the Feast.

In other words, as an historical event, the Transfiguration took place a few weeks before the Passion. From an historical standpoint, we would place it in the ecclesiastical Calendar a few weeks before Pascha — perhaps as many weeks as now separate it from the Exaltation of the Precious Cross.

And we should not reckon it fortuitous that the Church has instituted another Feast in this place: the Feast of the Theologian of the Light of Mt. Tabor, St. Gregory Palamas. Thus, the Second Sunday of Great Lent, five weeks before Pascha, is dedicated to St. Gregory Palamas.

Moreover, it is significant that in all three Synoptic Gospels the event of the Transfiguration is related immediately after Christ’s declaration that “there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the Kingdom of God come with power.”2 Hence, as Patristic Tradition also emphasizes, the Transfiguration of Christ comes as a revelation of the Kingdom of God “with power.”

By His Transfiguration, Christ confirms and strengthens faith in His Divinity, which His Disciples had already confessed.

During His Transfiguration, Christ did not assume something that He did not previously possess; rather, He reveals — once again, according to the measure that His Disciples could receive it — the Glory that He always possessed as God-Man. In other words, the Glory that His Disciples saw on Mt. Tabor was not some transitory phenomenon, but rather the eternal Light of the Divine Nature of Christ. One of the hymnographers of our Church declares this when he says: “Thou wast transfigured on the mountain, O Christ our God, showing to Thy Disciples Thy Glory as each one could bear it.”3

The Light of the Transfiguration is the Uncreated Light of the Kingdom of God, which came into the world with the coming of Christ. Of course, the Kingdom of God, being without beginning or end, is not limited by time; rather, it transcends and transforms time. It does not begin at the end of history, but rather already exists within and above it, and it will continue to exist beyond history.

In reality, that is, the coming of the Kingdom of God “with power” is nothing other than its revelation “with power.” This is not the arrival of something that did not previously exist; instead, that which existed and will always exist is revealed.

Just as the Uncreated Light, which was revealed during the Transfiguration to the Disciples, existed from before the ages and abides eternally in the Theanthropic Hypostasis of Christ, so also the Kingdom of God, which came into the world with Christ, is sometimes revealed to the faithful as a precursor of the Age to Come.

The Christian Faith is not based on some moral principle or ideology; rather, it is founded on the revelation of the Kingdom of God in Christ within history. The testimony of the Apostle Peter, in which he makes precise reference to his experience of the Transfiguration in order to proclaim the truth of the Christian message, is striking: “For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.”4

Without experience of the Heavenly, man is not freed from earthly temptations. The Apostles of Christ, Martyrs, Saints, and ascetics of the Church would not have been able to gain victory over the world and to offer everything to Christ had they not had some taste of Heavenly bliss.

One obtains adoption in Christ in the present life. “Now are we the children of God,” writes the Apostle John the Evangelist, “and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.”5

Man acquires a sense of adoption in Christ in his life by keeping the Divine commandments. By self-abnegation and offering oneself to God and to the Will of God — which constitutes a form of death — the believer becomes a participant of the Divine Life and Kingdom.

The taste of eternity does not begin after the Cross, but rather with the Cross. Obedience to the Will of God “unto death” already constitutes participation in the resurrection. Just as the Glory of Christ begins with the Cross, which crushes the powers of the Evil One, so also the glory of Christians begins with voluntary acceptance of death for Christ, Who crushes the old man and reveals the new.

The Transfiguration of Christ is preparation for the Cross. And the Cross of Christ is the commencement of His Glory as man. By His Transfiguration, Christ does not acquire anything new; rather, He strengthens His Disciples in view of His Crucifixion. His Disciples are in need of this strengthening, in order to face the Cross of their Teacher, as well as their own cross, later, for the Name of their Teacher.

The gate of the Kingdom of God is the Cross, and the Glory of God in the world begins with the Cross. Every revelation of the Glory of God within history, whether before or after the coming of Christ, constitutes a model or an extension of the Cross of Christ. Every experience of the Glory of God during this present life presages or accompanies an experience of the Mystery of the Cross.

___________

1. Kontakion for the Feast.
2. St. Mark 9:1; cf. St. Matthew 16:28, St. Luke 9:27.
3. Apolytikion for the Feast.
4. II St. Peter 1:16.
5. I St. John 3:2.

Source: Orthodoxe Martyria, (Cyprus) No. 49 (Spring-Summer 1996), pp. 8-10.

Hat Tip to Mystagogy

From the window of the Boeing 737 I could see the equatorial jungle below, shrouded in its misty cloak like a green, endless sea.  I brought to mind all of God’s beautiful creations – rational and irrational – that live inside it.  After about a one-hour and fifteen minute flight we landed – almost brushing against the tops of mighty, tall trees – when the Impfondo (Republic of Congo) airstrip suddenly appeared before us.

Among the crowd that was waiting I could discern a tall figure wearing a cassock:  it was the Deacon Sergius. At the temple we were welcomed with flowers by several of our faithful.  I enjoyed some wonderful hours of prayers with them, during the Great Lent.

Theirs was a lively daily participation in Matins and Great Vespers.  During the Divine Liturgy of the Annunciation and the Veneration of the Cross, the house we had rented was filled with the neophytes, inside and out.  Their souls were likewise filled with the truths of our Faith that pertained to our Holy Mother and the Precious Cross, during the catechesis that followed.  Whatever the Lord inspired us to say, they heard in three different languages: in French, for those who went or were going to school; in Lingala, for many of the women and the illiterate, and in the language of the Baâka Pygmies, as the locals call them. Pygmies are numerous among our faithful, and are very punctual churchgoers. They are many in number among the inhabitants of Impfondo, having created two districts at the edges of the town.

In mid March, the government organized a different kind of forum for the Pygmies. Camps and gathering spots were created outside the city, as well as an amphitheater for the official events.  Many visitors arrived and huge expenses were made.  The theme:  the recognition of the rights of the Pygmies and their acceptance as equal members in local communities.  They were also allotted a section of the jungle next to the river, where they built their huts. In that way their position amidst the Bandu, the other Africans, was officially ameliorated, however, not their finances, as nothing was left over from the money that had been plentifully dedicated.  They continued coming to Church wearing dirty rags.  That was the reason we organized a committee of the faithful and purchased and distributed (intact, albeit second-hand) garments from the bazaar. They were the clothes that they wore to their Baptism also.

On the 26th of March, on the banks of the River Ubangi, I performed the third group Baptism at Impfondo. Among the catechumens, twenty-seven were prepared, of whom the twelve were little children. The seventeen were Bandu, of which the ten were Pygmies – four men and six women.

Once again, a pirogue was used as a platform, so that the water would be deep enough at the point of Baptism (immersion). Quite a number of faithful had come and several of our Pygmy catechumens were also present, observing the Baptism Sacrament and rejoicing together with those being baptized. They sat under the shade of the huge trees on the banks of the river.  We, however, were being observed by the scorching hot gaze of the equatorial sun, as well as by the fishermen who passed by us with their pirogues.

The group Baptism lasted more than two hours, and the hearts and faces of the newly-baptized shone, like their white candles and white shirts – as many as we could find in the market. The angels had also embraced them joyfully, protecting them from the fury of the demons: on our departure, we heard a loud crashing sound behind us, as a huge branch broke away from a gigantic tree, falling exactly on the spot where – only three minutes before – were seated the families of the Pygmies who were observing the Sacrament. When we arrived near our Church, a scooter hit little Rebecca as she was crossing the road.  She too had been watching the Baptism together with her mother, both of them being Orthodox.  We took her to the hospital immediately. Thankfully, she only had a few bruises on her feet: her Angel had been holding her by the hand…

During the Divine Liturgy of the Veneration of the Precious Cross, the twenty-seven newly baptized took Holy Communion first, and afterwards, almost all of the faithful. Refreshments were offered, and a homily on the Precious Cross was delivered.  The Pygmies sang their joy and danced, in their own distinct tradition.

However, my own joy was made complete with the postponement of my flight the next day, giving us the opportunity for a further, 4-day stay in that traditional African town, where a primitive bicycle helped me to become better acquainted with it, but also for conditions to mature for the purchase that same day of the property on which the church of Saint Mark will be erected.

Africa’s protector-Saint, the Evangelist Mark, will hereafter look after the new Orthodox community, securing its continuity and ensuring that the dreams of our brethren there will be materialized.

Translation:  K. N.

Source Trackback:  S1, S2

Used by permission of Ancient Faith Radio.

________

How powerful are your thoughts? For better or worse, they are affecting every relationship you have.

I am reading for the second time a wonderful book about the life and teachings of a Serbian monk, Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica, called Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives. It covers many topics, but the central theme is, as Elder Thaddeus says, that “Our life depends on the kind of thoughts we nurture.”

“If our thoughts are kind, peaceful, and quiet, turned only toward good, then we . . . influence ourselves and radiate peace all around us,” he explains. But when our thoughts are evil, “we radiate it among our family members and wherever we go.”

“The Kingdom of God creates within us an atmosphere of heaven,” he says, “as opposed to the atmosphere of hell that is radiated by a person when hades abides in his heart.” That phrase, “the atmosphere of heaven,” forms a useful image. Thoughts after the heart of God enrich our atmosphere, while others sour the air.

It is easy enough to see that the light or dark within us radiates and affects those around us. “From the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” is but one example. Our thoughts and intentions toward others affect our manners, moods, and more. And they have an effect beyond our minds—for good or ill. We live in a world with a lot of the latter, mostly because we harbor uncharitable, ungracious, and unkind attitudes. I can think of several relationships like this in my life right now.

Throughout the book, Elder Thaddeus gives examples of coworkers who struggle and spouses who have fallen out of love. He sources the difficulty and distance they suffer to the negative and sinful thoughts they cultivate.

“In our country and all over the world, people are reaping the fruits of their thoughts and wishes,” he says. “Our desires are not good; neither are our thoughts. How then can the fruits of such thoughts and desires be good?” Our thoughts and desires foul us up far more often than we realize—at work and home and elsewhere.  Only by repenting (changing our minds, as the word actually implies) can we put a stop to the unnecessary suffering that comes as a result.

“We are the sons of light and love,” he says, “the sons of God, His Children. As such we must have His qualities and His attributes of love, peace, and kindness toward all.”

The good news is that this is possible. Elder Thaddeus provides many examples of people who have turned around seemingly impossible situations once they began to cultivate charitable, gracious, and kind thoughts about others. Something shifts in the heart. Something better and sweeter radiates when the fruit of the Spirit grows within.

“The role of Christians in the world,” says Elder Thaddeus, “is to filter the atmosphere on earth and expand the atmosphere of the Kingdom of Heaven.”

How would our lives, families, churches, and companies—even our politics—change if we took that role more seriously?

Source

by St. Symeon the New Theologian

Let us therefore put aside every vain and unprofitable disputation, and let us not seek ahead of time to learn what is proper to that hour, i.e., the Second Coming, but instead let us be persuaded by the Master Who says: “Search the Scriptures” (Jn. 5:39). Search, that is, and not meddle! Search the Scriptures and do not busy yourselves with disputes which lie outside the sacred writings. Search the Scriptures so that you may learn about faith, and hope, and love. About faith, so that you may not be tossed about by every wind which comes from the trickery of unstable men, but are rather rooted in the true dogma of the apostolic and catholic Church and “rightly divide” the word of her truth (2 Tim. 2:15). And not only this, but you should be taught as well to seek out the fruits of faith and the profit which derives from them through the practice of the commandments. When you have been enabled to find them, then indeed you shall be in possession of hope unashamed, and in the latter you shall possess the entirety of love for God. For it is impossible for anyone to possess perfect love for God otherwise than by grace of an unalloyed faith and a hope which is secure and unshakable. Why then do we abandon the examination of ourselves concerning these matters? And, if in fact we have that faith in God which He Himself – Who will judge us – says He will demand of us, why should we busy ourselves with matters which are beyond us, in particular when in truth we fail to see things which lie at our very feet.

From the First Ethical Discourse, translated by Fr. Alexander Golitzin.

Hat tip.

“Sanctity is not just a virtue. It is an attainment of such spiritual height, that the abundance
of God’s grace which fills the saint overflows on all who associate with him. Great is the saint’s state of bliss in which they dwell contemplating the Glory of God. Being filled with love for God and man, they are responsive to man’s needs, interceding before God and helping those who turn to them.”

Characterizing with such words the ancient Saints, Vladika John simultaneously summarized his
own spiritual attitude which made him one of the greatest Saints of our time.

Childhood

ARCHBISHOP JOHN was born on June 4, 1896, in the village of
Adamovka in the province of Kharkov in southern Russia. He was a member of the
Little Russian noble family of Maximovitch, to which St. John of Tobolsk also
had belonged. He received at baptism the name of Michael, his heavenly protector
being the Archangel Michael. He was a sickly child and ate little.

He received his secondary education in the Poltava Military
School, which he attended from 1907 to 1914. Upon completing military school he
entered Kharkov Imperial University in the faculty of law, from which he
graduated in 1918, before it was seized by the Soviets.

Kharkov, where Vladika spent his formative years, was a true
town of Holy Russia, and the young Michael, impressionable to revelations of
holiness, acquired there the pattern of his future life. There were two
miraculous Icons of the Mother of God, the Oseryanskaya and Eletskaya, which
were carried in a religious procession twice a year from the monasteries where
they were treasured to the Dormition Cathedral. In the Protection Monastery, in
a frescoed grotto underneath the altar, lay the remains of the holy Archbishop
Melety Leontovitch, who after his death in 1841 rendered miraculous help to
those who served a panikhida for him at his coffin. Even during his lifetime the
Archbishop was venerated for his severe asceticism, especially for the ascetic
feat of abstaining from sleep. He was known to spend nights on end standing
motionless, with lifted arms, deep in prayer. He foreknew the day and the hour
of his own death. The young Maximovitch was known to have a veneration for this
holy hierarch.

Today Archbishop John may be seen to resemble the holy man of
Kharkov in at least three respects: he was known not to have slept in a bed for
forty years; he knew beforehand of his death; and before his glorification in
1994 his relics rested under a cathedral in a special grave-chapel where
panikhidas were sung almost daily and the Psalter read over his coffin by those
asking for his help. This is a unique case of the transplanting, as it were, of
a part of Holy Russia to contemporary America.

While at Kharkov University, Vladika spent more time reading
the lives of the saints than attending classes; nonetheless he was an excellent
student. Evidently his emulation of saints was apparent even at that age, since
Archbishop Anthony of Kharkov, one of the great Church figures of that time
(later Metropolitan Anthony Hrapovitsky, the first Chief Hierarch and founder of
the Russian Church Abroad) took special pains to become acquainted with him, and
then kept the youth close to him and guided his spiritual formation.

Belgrade

IN 1921, DURING THE RUSSIAN CIVIL WAR, Vladika, together with
his parents, his brothers, and his sister, was evacuated to Belgrade, where he
and his brothers entered the University of Belgrade. One brother graduated in
the technical faculty and became an engineer, the other graduated in law and
served in the Yugoslav police. Vladika himself graduated in 1925 in the faculty
of theology. While he was a student he worked for his living by selling
newspapers.

In 1924 Vladika was ordained reader in the Russian church in
Belgrade by Metropolitan Anthony, who continued to exert great influence over
him; and Vladika in his turn showed the utmost respect and devotion to his
superior. In 1926 Metropolitan Anthony tonsured him a monk and ordained him
hierodeacon in the Milkov Monastery, giving him the name John, after Vladika’s
own distant relative, Saint John (Maximovitch) of Tobolsk. On November 21 of the
same year Vladika was ordained hieromonk.

The city of Bitol was in the diocese of Okhrida. At that time
the ruling bishop of this diocese was Nicholas Velimirovich — a noted preacher,
poet, writer, and inspirer of the popular religious movement. He, as much as
Metropolitan Anthony, valued and loved the young Hieromonk John, and himself
exerted a beneficial influence upon him. More than once he was heard to say, “If
you wish to see a living saint, go to Bitol to Father John.”

For, indeed, it began to become evident that this was an
entirely extraordinary man. It was his own students who first discovered what
was perhaps Vladika’s greatest feat of asceticism. They noticed at first that he
stayed up long after everyone else had gone to bed; he would go through the
dormitories at night and pick up blankets that had fallen down and cover the
unsuspecting sleepers, making the Sign of the Cross over them. Finally it was
discovered that he scarcely slept at all, and never in a bed, allowing himself
only an hour or two each night of uncomfortable rest in a sitting position, or
bent over on the floor praying before icons. Years afterward he himself admitted
that since taking the monastic vows he had not slept lying in a bed. Such an
ascetic practice is a very rare one; and yet it is not unknown to Orthodox
tradition.

Archbishop Averky of the Jordanville Holy Trinity monastery,
then a young hieromonk in Carpatho-Russia, witnessed the deep impression
Hieromonk John made upon the seminary students. When they returned home on
vacations they would speak of their extraordinary instructor who prayed
constantly, served the Divine Liturgy or at least received Holy Communion every
day, fasted strictly, never slept lying down, and with true fatherly love
inspired them with the high ideals of Christianity and of Holy Russia.

In 1934 it was decided to raise Hieromonk John to the rank of
bishop. As for Vladika himself, nothing was farther from his mind. A lady who
knew him relates how she met him at this time on a streetcar in Belgrade. He
told her that he was in town by mistake, having been sent for in place of some
other Hieromonk John who was to be consecrated bishop! When she saw him the next
day he informed her that the situation was worse than he had thought: it was him
they wished to make bishop! When he had protested that this was out of the
question, since he had a speech defect and could not enunciate clearly, he had
only been told that the Prophet Moses had the same difficulty.

The consecration occurred on May 28, 1934. Vladika was the last
bishop of the very many to be consecrated by Metropolitan Anthony, and the
extraordinarily high esteem in which that venerable hierarch held the new bishop
is indicated in a letter which he sent to Archbishop Dimitry in the Far East.
Himself declining an invitation to retire to China, he wrote: “Dear friend! I am
very old and unable to travel … But in place of myself, as my soul, as my heart,
I am sending you Bishop John. This little, frail man, looking almost like a
child, is in actuality a miracle of ascetic firmness and strictness in our time
of total spiritual enfeeblement.” Vladika was assigned to the Diocese of
Shanghai, China.

VLADIKA ARRIVED IN SHANGHAI in late November, on the Feast of
the Entrance of the Mother of God into the Temple, and found a large cathedral
uncompleted and a jurisdictional conflict to resolve. The first thing he did was
to restore Church unity. He established contact with Serbs, Greeks, Ukrainians.
He paid special attention to religious education and made it a rule to be
present at the oral examinations of the catechism classes in all the Orthodox
schools in Shanghai. He at once became a protector of various charitable and
philanthropic societies and actively participated in their work, especially
after seeing the needy circumstances in which the majority of his flock,
refugees from the Soviet Union, were placed. He never went visiting for tea to
the rich, but he was to be seen wherever there was need, regardless of times and
weather. He organized a home for orphans and the children of needy parents,
entrusting it to the heavenly protection of a Saint he highly venerated, St.
Tikhon of Zadonsk, who loved children. Vladika himself gathered sick and
starving children off the streets and dark alleys of Shanghai’s slums. Beginning
with eight children, the orphanage later housed up to a hundred children at one
time, and some 1500 in all. When the Communists came, Vladika evacuated the
whole orphanage, first to an island in the Philippines, and then to America.

It soon became apparent to his new flock that Vladika was a
great ascetic. The core of his asceticism was prayer and fasting. He ate once a
day at 11 p.m. During the first and last weeks of Lent he did not eat at all,
and for the rest of this and the Christmas fast he ate only bread from the
altar. His nights he spent usually in prayer, and when he finally became
exhausted he would put his head on the floor and steal a few hours of sleep near
dawn. When the time would come to serve Matins, someone would knock on the door,
to no avail; they would open the door and find Vladika huddled on the floor in
the icon-corner, overcome by sleep. At a tap on the shoulder he would jump up,
and in a few minutes he would be in church for services — cold water streaming
down his beard, but quite awake.

Vladika officiated in the cathedral every morning and evening,
even when sick. He celebrated the Divine Liturgy daily, as he was to do for the
rest of his life, and if for some reason he could not serve, he would still
receive Holy Communion. No matter where he was, he would not miss a service.
Once, according to a witness, “Vladika’s leg was terribly swollen and the
concilium of doctors, fearing gangrene, prescribed immediate hospitalization,
which Vladika categorically refused. Then the Russian doctors informed the
Parish Council that they released themselves of any responsibility for the
health and even the life of the patient. The members of the Parish Council,
after long pleas for mercy and threats of taking him by force, compelled Vladika
to agree, and he was sent to the Russian Hospital in the morning of the day
before the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. By six o’clock, however,
Vladika came limping to the cathedral on foot and served. In a day all the
swelling was gone.”

Vladika’s constant attention to self-mortification had its root
in the fear of God, which he possessed in the tradition of the ancient Church
and of Holy Russia. The following incident, told by 0. Skopichenko and confirmed
by many from Shanghai, well illustrates his daring, unshakable faith in Christ.
“Mrs. Menshikova was bitten by a mad dog. The injections against rabies she
either refused to take or took carelessly … And then she came down with this
terrible disease. Bishop John found out about it and came to the dying woman. He
gave her Holy Communion, but just then she began having one of the fits of this
disease; she began to foam at the mouth, and at the same time she spit out the
Holy Gifts which she had just received. The Holy Sacrament cannot be thrown out.
And Vladika picked up and put in his mouth the Holy Gifts vomited by the sick
woman. Those who were with him exclaimed: `Vladika, what are you doing! Rabies
is terribly contagious!’ But Vladika peacefully answered: `Nothing will happen;
these are the Holy Gifts.’ And indeed nothing did happen.”

By now it had become known that Vladika not only was a
righteous man and an ascetic, but was also so close to God that he was endowed
with the gift of clairvoyance and there were healings by his prayers. A striking
account told by an eyewitness, Lidia Liu, testifies to Vladika’s spiritual
height. “Vladika came to Hong Kong twice. It’s strange, but I, not knowing
Vladika then, wrote him a letter asking him to help a widow with children, and I
also asked him about some personal spiritual matter, but I never received an
answer. A year passed. Vladika came to Hong Kong and I was in a crowd that went
to meet him in church. Vladika turned to me and said, `It is you who wrote me
the letter!’ I was astonished, since Vladika had never seen me before.”

“A moleben was sung, after which Vladika, standing before a
lectern, was delivering a sermon. I was standing next to my mother, and we both
saw a light surrounding Vladika down to the lectern — a radiance around him a
foot wide. This lasted a rather long time. When the sermon was over, I, struck
by such an unusual phenomenon, told what we had seen to our friend, who replied
to us: `Yes, many faithful saw it.’ My husband, who was standing a little way
off, also saw this light.”

A similar event occured in 1939, when certain parishioner began
to lose her faith due to many tribulations which had befallen her. Once, upon
entering the Church during Vladika’s service, she witnessed during the
transubstantiation of the Holy Sacraments a little flame in the form of a large
tulip descended into the Chalice. After this miracle her faith returned, and she
began repenting of her faint-heartedness.

Vladika visited prisons and celebrated the Divine Liturgy for
the convicts. On one occasion in Shanghai, Vladika John was asked to give
communion to a dying man in a Russian hospital. This time he took another priest
with him. On his arrival he spotted a gregarious young man in his twenties,
playing a harmonica. This lad was to be discharged the next day. Vladika John
called to him and said: “I want to give you communion right now.” The young man
immediately confessed his sins and received communion. The astonished priest
asked Vladika why he did not go to the one dying, but tarried instead with an
obviously healthy young man. Vladika answered: “He will die tonight, and the
other, who is seriously ill, will live many years.” It happened just as he
foretold.

Vladika loved to visit the sick and did it every single day,
hearing confessions and giving Holy Communion. If the condition of a patient
should become critical, Vladika would go to him at any hour of the day or night
to pray at his bedside. Here is one undoubted miracle among the many worked by
Vladika’s prayers; it was recorded and placed in the archives of the County
Hospital in Shanghai.

L. D. Sadkovskaya was very much taken by the sport of horse
racing. Once she was thrown off her horse; she hit her head on a rock and lost
consciousness. She was brought to the hospital unconscious. A concilium of
doctors agreed that her condition was hopeless and it was not likely that she
would live until morning. The pulse was almost gone; the skull was fractured in
places so that small pieces of the skull were pressing on the brain. In such a
condition she would die on the operating table. Even if her heart would tolerate
surgery and the result were successful, she would still remain deaf, dumb, and
blind.

Her sister, after hearing all this, rushed to Bishop John in
despair and begged him to save her sister. Vladika agreed. He came to the
hospital and asked everyone to leave the room and prayed there for about two
hours. Then he called the chief doctor and asked him to examine her again. How
surprised the doctor was to discover that her pulse was normal! He agreed to
perform the operation immediately, but only in the presence of Bishop John. The
operation was successful, and the doctors were amazed when, after the operation,
the patient regained consciousness and asked to drink. Soon she was released
from the hospital and lived for many years a normal life.

Vladika visited the prison also, and celebrated the Divine
Liturgy for the convicts on a primitive little table. But the most difficult
task for a pastor is to visit the mentally ill and the possessed — and Vladika
sharply distinguished between the two. Outside Shanghai there was a mental
hospital, and Vladika alone had the spiritual power to visit these terribly sick
people. He gave them Holy Communion, and they, surprisingly, received it
peacefully and listened to him. They always looked forward to his visits and met
him with joy.

Vladika possessed great courage. During the Japanese occupation
the Japanese authorities tried in every way possible to bend the Russian colony
to their will. Pressure was directed through the heads of the Russian Emigrant
Committee. Two presidents of this Committee strove to maintain its independence,
and as a result both were killed. Confusion and terror seized the Russian
colony, and at that moment Vladika John, in spite of warnings from the Russians
who were collaborating with the Japanese, declared himself the temporary head of
the Russian colony.

During the Japanese occupation it was extremely dangerous to
walk on the streets at night, and most people took care to be home by dark.
Vladika, however, paying no heed to the danger, continued to visit the sick and
needy at any hour of the night, and he was never touched.

In Shanghai, a voice teacher, Anna Petrovna Lushnikova, taught
Vladika the proper method of breathing and pronunciation of words, thus helping
him to better his diction. At the end of each lesson Vladika paid her 20
dollars. In 1945, during the war, she was gravely wounded and chanced to be in a
French hospital. On a very stormy night, feeling that she might die, Anna
Petrovna began asking the nurses to call Vladika John, who was in France, so
that he would give her communion. The nurses refused since the hospital was
locked up during the night due to war-time conditions. Anna Petrovna was beside
herself and kept calling upon Vladika. Suddenly, around eleven o’clock in the
evening, Vladika appeared in the ward. Unable to believe her eyes, Anna Petrovna
asked Vladika, weather this was a dream or did he really come to her. Vladika
smiled, prayed and administered communion to her. Following this she calmed down
and slept. The next morning she felt cured. No one believed Anna Petrovna that
Vladika visited her that night since the hospital was tightly secured. However,
her ward neighbor substantiated the fact that she also saw Vladika. The greatest
surprise was that under Anna Petrovna’s pillow was found a 20 dollar bill. Thus
Vladika left a material evidence of his visit.

A former Shanghai altar boy of Vladika’s and presently
Archpriest George Larin, relates: “Notwithstanding Vladika’s strictness, all the
altar boys loved him very much. To me, Vladika was an ideal whom I wished to
emulate in every way. Thus, during Lent, I stopped sleeping in bed and lay on
the floor, I stopped eating the usual meals with the family, but partook of
bread and water in solitude … My parents became worried and took me to Vladika.
Hearing them out, the prelate asked the guard to go to the store and bring a
sausage. To my tearful outcries to the fact that I did not wish to break Lent,
the wise prelate admonished me to eat the sausage and to remember always that
obedience to parents is more important than personal accomplishments. “How then
shall I go on Vladika?’ — I asked wishing albeit to “especially” apply myself. —
“Go to Church as you always did, and at home do what your mother and father
ask.’ I remember how grieved I was then that Vladika did not assign to me some
“special’ deeds.”

With the coming of the Communists, the Russians in China were
forced once again to flee, most of them through the Philippine Islands. In 1949
approximately 5000 refugees from the Chinese mainland were living in an
International Refugee Organization camp on the island of Tubabao in the
Philippines. This island is located in the path of the seasonal typhoons which
sweep through that part of the Pacific. During the 27-month period of the camp’
s occupancy, the island was threatened only once by a typhoon, and it changed
course and bypassed the island.

When the fear of typhoons was mentioned by one Russian to the
Filipinos, they replied that there was no reason to worry, because “your holy
man blesses your camp from four directions every night.” They referred to
Vladika John; for no typhoon struck the island while he was there. After the
camp had been almost totally evacuated and the people resettled elsewhere
(mainly in the USA and Australia), it was struck by a terrible typhoon that
totally destroyed the camp.

Paris

VLADIKA HIMSELF went to Washington, D. C., to get his people to
America. Legislation was changed and almost the whole camp came to the New World
— thanks again to Vladika. The exodus of his flock from China accomplished,
Archbishop John was given in 1951 a new field for his pastoral endeavor: he was
sent by the Synod of Bishops to the Archdiocese of Western Europe, with his see
first in Paris, and later in Brussels. He was now one of the leading hierarchs
of the Russian Church, and his attendance was frequently required at the
sessions of the Synod in New York City.

In Western Europe Vladika took a deep interest not only in the
Russians in the diaspora, for whom he exerted himself tirelessly in labors
similar to those for which he had been known in Shanghai, but also in the local
inhabitants. He received under his jurisdiction local Dutch and French Orthodox
Churches, protecting them and encouraging their Orthodox development. He
celebrated the Divine Liturgy in Dutch and French, as before he had served in
Greek and Chinese, and as later he was to serve in English.

Vladika’s interest in and devotion to the Church’s Saints, of
whom his knowledge was already seemingly limitless, was extended now to Western
European Saints dating from before the schism of the Latin Church, many of whom,
venerated only locally, were included in no Orthodox calendar of Saints. He
collected their lives and images of them, and later submitted a long list of
them to the Synod.

From this period of Vladika’s presence in Western Europe, Mrs.
E. G. Chertkova reminisces: “On several occasions I visited Vladika when he
lived in the Cadet Corps building near Paris. He had a small cell on the top
floor. In the cell were a table, an armchair and several chairs and in the
corner — icons and a lectern with books. There was no bed in the cell since
Vladika did not lie down to sleep, but prayed by leaning on a tall stick with a
cross-bar on top. Sometimes he prayed on his knees; most likely when he
prostrated himself he would then fall asleep for a little while in that position
on the floor. That is how he exhausted himself! Sometimes during our
conversation it seemed to me that he dozed. But when I stopped, he would
immediately say: “Continue, I hear you.’”

“Since for a long time our church did not have a permanent
priest, once a priest from another parish came to us to celebrate Vespers. The
whole service lasted only 45 minutes (usualy it takes 2 and a half hours)! We
were horrified! So many parts of Vespers were skipped that we decided to tell
about this to Vladika. We hopped that he will influence the priest to follow the
established order of Orthodox services. But Vladika pleasently smiling said to
us: `How difficult is to please you people. I celebrate too long and he too
short!’ With such kindness and meeknes he taught us not to judge.”

Vladika’s reputation for holiness, too, spread among the
non-Orthodox as well as the Orthodox population. In one of the Catholic churches
of Paris, a priest strove to inspire his young people with these words: “You
demand proofs, you say that now there are neither miracles nor saints. Why
should I give you theoretical proofs, when today there walks in the streets of
Paris a Saint — Saint Jean Nus Pieds (Saint John the Barefoot).” Many people
testify to the miracles worked by the prayers of Archbishop John in Western
Europe.

V. D. recounts: “Many were aware that it was not necessary to
ask Vladika to visit someone. The Lord Himself inspired him where and to whom to
go. Vladika John was known to many in the French hospitals and was admitted
therein at any time. Besides, Vladika unerringly directed himself where he was
needed. My brother, when wounded in the head, was taken to the hospital. The
x-ray revealed a large fracture of the skull. His eyes swelled and became
sanguinous; he was in critical condition. Vladika, who did not know my brother,
somehow found him in the hospital, prayed over him and gave him communion. When
my brother underwent a follow up of head x-rays, there was no fracture to be
found. My brother recuperated very fast. The doctor was dumbfounded!”

IN SAN FRANCISCO, WHOSE cathedral parish is the largest in the
Russian Church Abroad, a life-long friend of Vladika, Archbishop Tikhon, retired
because of ill-health, and in his absence the construction of a great new
cathedral came to a halt as a bitter dispute paralyzed the Russian community. In
response to the urgent request of thousands of Russians in San Francisco who had
known him in Shanghai, Archbishop John was sent by the Synod in 1962 as the only
hierarch likely to restore peace in the divided community. He arrived at his
last assignment as bishop twenty-eight years to the day after his first arrival
in Shanghai: on the feast of the Entrance of the Mother of God into the Temple,
November 21, 1962.

Under Vladika’s guidance a measure of peace was restored, the
paralysis of the community was ended, and the cathedral finished. Yet even in
the role of peacemaker Vladika was attacked, and accusations and slanders were
heaped upon his head. He was forced to appear in public court — in flagrant
violation of church canons — to answer to preposterous charges of concealing
financial dishonesty by the Parish Council. All involved were completely
exonerated; but thus Vladika’s last years were filled with the bitterness of
slander and persecution, to which he unfailingly replied without complaint,
without judging anyone, with undisturbed peacefulness.

Vladika remained true to the end to his path of faithful
service to the Church. To those who knew him in his last years perhaps two
aspects of his character stood out. First was his strictness in what regarded
the Church and the Law of God.

At the end of October the Roman Catholic Church celebrates the
feast of All Saints. There is a tradition that during the preceding night the
dark spirits celebrated their own festival of disorder. In America this
“celebration” called Halloween has become an occasion on which children make
mischief dressed in costumes of witches, devils, ghosts, as if calling on the
dark powers — a diabolic mockery of Christianity. A group of Russians organized
on this night a Halloween Ball. In the San Francisco Cathedral at this time was
the All-night Vigil celebrated, and a number of people were absent, to the great
sorrow of Vladika. After the service Vladika went to the place where the ball
was still in progress. He climbed the steps and entered the hall, to the
absolute astonishment of the participants. The music stopped and Vladika, in
complete silence, glared at the dumbfounded people, slowly and deliberately
making the round of the entire hall, staff in hand. He spoke not a word, and
none was necessary; the mere sight of Vladika stung the conscience of all, as
was evident from the general consternation. Vladika left in silence; and the
next day in church he thundered his holy indignation and his flaming zeal
calling all to the devout Christian life.

Yet Vladika is not best remembered by his flock for his
sternness, but rather for his gentleness, his joyfulness, even for what is known
as “foolishness for Christ’s sake.” The most popular photograph of him captures
something of this aspect of his character. It was especially noticeable in his
conduct with children. After services he would smile and joke with the boys who
served with him, playfully knocking the refractory on the head with his staff.
Occasionally the Cathedral clergy would be disconcerted to see Vladika, in the
middle of a service (though never in the altar), bend over to play with a small
child! And on feast days when blessing with holy water was called for, he would
sprinkle the faithful, not on the top of the head as is usual, but right in the
face (which once led a small girl to exclaim, “he squirts you”), with a
noticeable glint in his eye and total unconcern at the discomfiture of some of
the more dignified. Children were absolutely devoted to him, despite his usual
strictness with them.

Anna Hodyriva recounts: “My sister Xenia Yarovoy, who lived in
Los Angeles, suffered for a long time with a painful hand. She sought
physicians, tried home remedies, yet nothing helped. She finally decided to turn
to Vladika John and wrote to him in San Francisco. Some time went by and the
hand was healed. Xenia began to forget about the previous pain in her hand. On
one occasion, when she visited San Francisco, she went to the Cathedral for
services. At the end of the service Vladika John held the cross to be kissed. On
seeing my sister he asked: `How is your hand?’ Vladika saw my sister for the
first time! How then did he recognize her and know that it was she who had a
painful hand?”

Anna S. recollects: “My sister Musia and I got into an
accident. A drunken young man was traveling towards us. He struck with great
force the door on the side where my sister was sitting. The ambulance was called
and she was taken to the hospital. Her condition was very serious — a lung was
punctured and a rib broken, which caused her great pain. Her eyes were invisible
in her swollen face. When Vladika visited her, she lifted her eyelid with her
finger and upon seeing him took his hand and kissed it. She could not speak
since she had a tracheotomy, but tears of joy flowed from her eyes. After that
Vladika visited her several times and she began to get better. Once Vladika
entered the ward and announced: `Musia is feeling very poorly now.’ He then went
to her and, closing the drape around her bed, he prayed for a long time. During
his prayer we were approached by two physicians and I asked them how serious was
my sister’s condition and if I should summon her daughter from Canada? (we kept
from the daughter the fact that her mother was in an accident). The physicians
answered: `To call or not to call the family is your problem — we cannot
guarantee that she will survive until the morning.’ Thank God that she not only
survived that night, but was completely cured and returned to Canada … My family
and I believe that Musia was saved by the prayers of Vladika John.”

Vladika’s life was governed by the standards of the spiritual
life, and if this upset the routine order of things it was in order to jolt
people out of their spiritual inertia and remind them that there is a higher
judgment than the world’s. A remarkable incident from Vladika’s years in San
Francisco (1963) illustrates several aspects of his holiness: his spiritual
boldness based on absolute faith; his ability to see the future and to overcome
by his spiritual sight the bounds of space; and the power of his prayer, which
beyond all doubt worked miracles. The incident is related by the woman who
witnessed it, Mrs. L. Liu; the exact words of Vladika were confirmed by the Mr.
T. who is mentioned.

“In San Francisco my husband was involved in an automobile
accident and was seriously injured; he lost control of balance and suffered
terribly. At this time Vladika had many troubles. Knowing the power of Vladika’s
prayers, I thought: “If I ask Vladika to come to my husband, my husband would
recover;” But I was afraid to do this because Vladika was so busy then. Two days
passed, and suddenly Vladika came to us, accompanied by Mr. B. T., who had
driven him. Vladika stayed with us about five minutes, but I believed that my
husband would recover. The state of his health was at its most serious point
then, and after Vladika’s visit there was a sharp crisis and then he began to
recover and lived four more years after this. He was quite aged. Afterwards I
met Mr. T. at a Church meeting and he told me that he had been driving Vladika
to the airport. Suddenly Vladika had said to him: “Let’s go now to the Liu’s.”
He had objected that they would be late for the plane and that he could not turn
around at that moment. Then Vladika had said: “Can you take the life of a man
upon yourself?” He could do nothing but drive Vladika to us. Vladika, as it
turned out, was not late for the plane.”

The Death of a Saint

AMONG THOSE WHO KNEW and loved Vladika, the first response to
the news of his sudden death was: it cannot be! And this was more than a
reaction to the suddenness of the event; for among those who were close to him
there had unaccountably developed the notion that this pillar of the Church,
this holy man who was always accessible to his flock — would never cease to be!
There would never be a time when one would not be able to turn to him for advice
and consolation! In one sense, in a spiritual sense, this has since turned out
to be true. But it is also one of the realities of this world that every man who
lives must die. Vladika was prepared for this reality.

To the manager of the orphanage where he lived, who had spoken
in the spring of 1966 of a diocesan meeting to be held three years later, he
indicated, “I will not be here then.” In May, 1966, a woman who had known
Vladika for twelve years and whose testimony, according to Metropolitan
Philaret, is “worthy of complete confidence” was amazed to hear him say, “I will
die soon, at the end of June — not in San Francisco, but in Seattle.”

Again, on the evening before his departure for Seattle, four
days before his death, Vladika astonished a man for whom he had just served a
moleben with the words, “You will not kiss my hand again.” And on the day of his
death, at the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy which he celebrated, he spent
three hours in the altar praying, emerging not long before his death, which
occurred on July 2, 1966. He died in his room in the parish building next to the
church. He was heard to fall and, having been placed in a chair by those who ran
to help him, breathed his last peacefully and with little evident pain, in the
presence of the miracle-working Kursk Icon of the Sign.

Before the of canonization of Archbishop John his relics
reposed in a chapel in the basement of the San Francisco cathedral (after the
canonization in July of 1994 the relics of Archbishop John were moved to the
main floor of the cathedral). Soon after his repose, a new chapter began in the
story of this holy man. Just as St. Seraphim of Sarov told his spiritual
children to regard him as living after his death, and to come to his grave and
tell him what was in their hearts, so our Vladika also has proved to be hearing
those who revere his memory. Soon after his death a one-time student of his, Fr.
Amvrosy P., saw one night a dream or a vision: Vladika, clad in Easter
vestments, full of light and shining, was censing the cathedral and joyfully
uttered to him just one word while blessing him: “happy.”

Later, before the end of the forty-day period, Fr. Constantine
Z., long Vladika’ s deacon and now a priest, who had lately been angry at
Vladika and had begun to doubt his righteousness, saw Vladika in a dream all in
light, with rays of light shining around his head so brightly that it was
impossible to look at them. Thus were Fr. Constantine’s doubts of Vladika’s
holiness dispelled.

The manager of the St. Tikhon Zadonsky Home and long a devoted
servant of Vladika, M. A. Shakmatova, saw a remarkable dream. A crowd of people
carried Vladika in a coffin into St. Tikhon’s Church; Vladika came to life and
stood in the royal doors anointing the people and saying to her, “Tell the
people: although I have died, I am alive!”

As during his life time, Vladika continues to be very active in
helping those who need him. Here are just two of the thousands of cases of
Vladika’s miracles. Victor Boyton, who witnessed the healing of his friend by
Vladika John, recounts: “The miracle occurred after I had received the copyright
to the English publication of Orthodox Life from Jordanville, N.Y., which
included photos of Vladika John. I had a friend, a Moslem from Russia, who was
suffering from cancer of the blood and was losing his sight. The doctors
concurred that in three months time he would be blind. Placing the picture of
Vladika John by my vigil light, I began to pray daily for my friend. After a
short period of time my friend was healed from the blood cancer and began to see
normally. The eye doctors were amazed at this occurrence. From then on, my
friend has lead a normal life and reads without impediment.”

The archpriest Stephan Pavlenko recollects: “My brother Paul,
although not in the military, lived for some years in Vietnam. There he sought
children who were wounded or orphaned due to the then continuing war. He placed
them either in orphanages or hospitals. Thus he became close with his future
wife, a certain Vietnamese Kim En who was also involved with helping the
unfortunate children. My brother introduced Kim to the Christian faith and to
the lives of many of God’s Saints. She told my brother that during her very
difficult times there appeared to her in her dreams a certain monk who consoled
her and told her what to do. Once, towards Easter time, I sent my brother some
cassettes of monastic songs as well as some books and journals of a spiritual
context. Having received my parcel and having shown the spiritual literature to
Kim he was surprised, when upon seeing the cover of a certain journal she
exclaimed: `This is the monk who appears to me in my sleep!’ She pointed to a
well known picture of Vladika John, taken among the graves of the Novo Diveevo
monastery in Spring-Valley. In suit, Kim was baptized in the Orthodox Church
with the name Kyra.”

Epilogue

THE BLESSED ARCHBISHOP JOHN of Shanghai and San Francisco was
canonized as a Saint by the Russian Church on July 2 1994. It was a wonderfull
and unforgettable event to which hundreds of clergy and many thousands of laymen
came from all over the world!

The importance of St. John for the people of the 20th Century
cannot be underestimated. Those who knew him personally or have read about his
life and miracles have learned of the tremendous spiritual power embodied in
this frail little man. God was drawn to the burning, loving heart of Vladika
John, which became a vessel of His grace. He entrusted the Saint with heavenly
secrets and the ability to transcend physical laws, making him a point of
contact between Himself, the Creator, and us, His creatures.

There can be no doubt that Vladika John has been sent by God as
a gift of holiness to the people of the last days. At a time when imitation has
become the norm in all aspects of life, when the authentic spirit of the
Christian Faith has been so hidden that most are oblivious of its very
existence, he can be seen as a model of genuineness.

Vladika John has set the right “tone” of true apostleship in
the modern world. As more people are drawn into the Orthodox Church of Christ
before the final unleashing of evil, may they look to him as their loving guide
and a pastor who knows no death. He is a kind of “measuring stick” that
indicates who and what is real in our confusing times. The unit of measure is
nothing else than pure Christian love, which he possessed and distributed in
abundance. With this love, the intense struggle of spiritual life becomes worth
the effort.

By the prayers of Saint John may God bless and save us. Amen!

Source

Wednesday, August 13, 2003 As members of the Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA), representing more than 5 million Orthodox Christians in the United States, Canada and Mexico, we are deeply concerned about recent developments regarding “same sex unions.” The Orthodox Christian teaching on marriage and sexuality, firmly grounded in Holy Scripture, 2000 years of church tradition, and canon law, holds that marriage consists in the conjugal union of a man and a woman, and that authentic marriage is blessed by God as a sacrament of the Church. Neither Scripture nor Holy Tradition blesses or sanctions such a union between persons of the same sex. Holy Scripture attests that God creates man and woman in His own image and likeness (Genesis 1:27-31), that those called to do so might enjoy a conjugal union that ideally leads to procreation. While not every marriage is blessed with the birth of children, every such union exists to create of a man and a woman a new reality of “one flesh.” This can only involve a relationship based on gender complementarity. “God made them male and female… So they are no longer two but one flesh” (Mark 10:6-8). The union between a man and a woman in the Sacrament of Marriage reflects the union between Christ and His Church (Ephesians 5:21-33). As such, marriage is necessarily monogamous and heterosexual. Within this union, sexual relations between a husband and wife are to be cherished and protected as a sacred expression of their love that has been blessed by God. Such was God’s plan for His human creatures from the very beginning. Today, however, this divine purpose is increasingly questioned, challenged or denied, even within some faith communities, as social and political pressures work to normalize, legalize and even sanctify same-sex unions. The Orthodox Church cannot and will not bless same-sex unions. Whereas marriage be-tween a man and a woman is a sacred institution ordained by God, homosexual union is not. Like adultery and fornication, homosexual acts are condemned by Scripture (Rom 1:24-27; 1 Cor 6:10; 1 Tim 1:10). This being said, however, we must stress that persons with a homosexual orientation are to be cared for with the same mercy and love that is bestowed by our Lord Jesus Christ upon all of humanity. All persons are called by God to grow spiritually and morally toward holiness. As heads of the Orthodox Churches in America and members of SCOBA, we speak with one voice in expressing our deep concern over recent developments. And we pray fervently that the traditional form of marriage, as an enduring and committed union only between a man and a woman, will be honored. August 13, 2003 †Archbishop DEMETRIOS, Chairman Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America †Metropolitan HERMAN Orthodox Church in America †Metropolitan PHILIP, Vice Chairman Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese †Archbishop NICOLAE Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of North America America and Canada †Metropolitan CHRISTOPHER, Secretary Serbian Orthodox Church in the USA and Canada †Metropolitan JOSEPH Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Church †Metropolitan NICHOLAS of Amissos, Treasurer Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese in the USA †Metropolitan CONSTANTINE Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the USA †Bishop ILIA of Philomelion Albanian Orthodox Diocese of America

Saints Peter and Paul: Both the East and the West, from the earliest centuries, have celebrated this double feast day of those two apostles, who are linked in a special way by their both being martyred in the city of Rome. Even though there seem to have been Roman Christians right from the day of Pentecost (cf. Acts 2:10), the origins of that local church were always associated with the two great men who there shed their blood for the name of Christ. Writing to the Christians at Rome in the year 107, Ignatius, the bishop of Antioch in Syria, could say to them: “I do not give you commands, as did Peter and Paul.” With respect to the ministry and martyrdom of Peter and Paul at Rome, the evidence from the dawn of Christian history is overwhelming, nor was there any dissenting voice on this matter from any source in ancient history.

With respect to Paul, of course, we have the Book of Acts and the Second Epistle to Timothy. With respect to Peter, we are not entirely sure when he did reach Rome, but it must have been in the early 60s. If he were at Rome in the late 50s, it is impossible to understand why he was not mentioned among that long list of Christians who are named in Romans 16.

However, we do know quite a bit about the place, time, and circumstances of Peter’s death. The fourth century historian, Eusebius, cites testimonies from the second and early third centuries to bolster his thesis that the chief of the Apostles was crucified in Rome during Nero’s persecution (mid-60s): Tertullian in North Africa, Gaius of Rome, Dennis of Corinth. From another writer of about 200, Clement of Alexandria, we learn that Peter’s wife was also martyred and that the apostle was a witness to it. The African Tertullian speaks even more boldly of that crucifixion at Rome, “where Peter equals the Lord’s passion,” he treats the information as though it were common knowledge.

Indeed, the early Christians seem to have been so familiar with the circumstances of Peter’s martyrdom that Clement of Rome (writing from that city) and Ignatius of Antioch (writing to that city) had not felt the need to elaborate on the place and circumstances. The story of the Apostle’s crucifixion was so widely reported among the churches that the Gospel of John, probably written at Ephesus, could simply refer to the stretching out of Peter’s hands as “signifying by what death he was to glorify God” (John 21:18f). John did not have to explain the point; everyone knew exactly how Peter had died. That this Johannine passage (“thou shalt stretch forth thy hands . . . signifying by what death he was to glorify God”) did in fact refer to Peter’s crucifixion in Rome was perfectly obvious to Tertullian. Citing that Johannine verse, he wrote: “Then was Peter ‘bound by another,’ when he was fastened to the cross” (Scorpiace 15.3). Moreover, the symbolic extension of the hands as signifying crucifixion is attested to in early Christian and even pagan writings (Pseudo-Barnabas, Justin Martyr Irenaeus, Cyprian of Carthage, Epictetus).

The Christians at Rome, however, have never clung to this special two-fold grace in any jealous or exclusive fashion. Throughout the years they have shared this feast day of the two apostles with all other Christians, and this feast day is observed with equal solemnity throughout the Christian East. Indeed, in recent years it has become customary for Rome and Constantinople to exchange special delegations and greetings on this day, with the intention of maintaining those cordial relationships of charity that may, in God’s time and by God’s grace, bring the Christians of the East and the West back to full communion one with another.

From Bishop Michael of New York and New Jersey (OCA) after the recent vote in the state of New York allowing for same-sex marriage:

(OCA-NYNJ) – ARCHPASTORAL LETTER
RE-AFFIRMING THE SANCTITY OF MARRIAGE

June 24, 2011 Feast of the Nativity
of Saint John the Baptist

Beloved Fathers and Mothers, Brothers and Sisters in the Lord:
Christ is in our midst! – He is and ever shall
be!

On this very day, we have witnessed the successful efforts of public
officials in the State of New York to legally re-define the meaning of marriage
to include unions between two persons of the same gender. It is important for
us, as Christians of the Orthodox Church, preserving the Tradition of teaching
the truth handed down by the Lord Himself, “the faith which was once for all
delivered to the Saints” (Jude 3), to re-affirm the meaning of marriage given to
us in His Sacred Scripture.

In the document, Affirmations on Marriage,
Family, Sexuality, and the Sanctify of Life, written and adopted by the Holy
Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America in 1992, we read (in part)
the following summary of the teaching of our Faith on this matter:

1) God
wills that men and women marry, becoming husbands and wives. He commands them to
increase and multiply in the procreation of children, being joined into “one
flesh” by His divine grace and love. He wills that human beings live within
families (Genesis 1:27; 2:21-24; Orthodox Marriage Service).

2) The Lord
went even further to declare that people who look at others to lust after them
in their hearts have “committed adultery” (cf. Matthew 5:27-30).

3)
Christ’s apostles repeat the teachings of their Master, likening the unique
marriage between one man and one woman to the union between Christ and His
Church which they experience as the Lord’s very body and His bride (Ephesians
5:21-33; 2 Corinthians 11:2).

4) Marriage and family life are to be
defended and protected against every open and subtle attack and
ridicule.

5) Sexual intercourse is to be protected as a sacred expression
of love within the community of heterosexual monogamous marriage in which alone
it can be that for which God has given it to human beings for their
sanctification.

As children of God, we are called to conform our sexual
behavior to the commandments of Christ. As Christians, whether single or
married, we are called to a life of chastity, pleasing to the Lord. This means
struggling against those passions that incline us to “fall short of the glory of
God” (Romans 3:23) – fornication, homosexual activity, or adultery. A
heterosexual person has to overcome his or her inclination toward multiple
partners of the opposite sex outside of the blessed union of marriage; a
homosexual person has to overcome his or her inclination toward others of the
same sex. We are all called to live our lives according to the will of God and
thereby partake of the way of salvation.

No matter what the prevailing
pressure of the culture or the legislation of the state may proclaim, the
timeless teaching of the Church echoes the rule of marriage revealed to us by
the Lord, written in the Scripture, and re-affirmed by the wisdom and examples
of the Saints. Gay marriage or any other unblessed sexual activity is not the
love that the Lord extols. Because “we have the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16),
no matter what the government or society may say, like St. Peter and the
Apostles, “we must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). We need not be afraid
to stand in opposition to prevailing trends, as the early Christians stood
bravely and boldy, upholding heterosexual monogamous marriage in the
non-Christian empire of their time.

Having said this, we must never
forget the Lord’s greatest commandment of love, which includes, after loving God
above all else, the imperative, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark
12:31). This means we must never condemn anyone, but reach out to everyone with
the living, healing, saving love of God in Christ Jesus. It means to walk in
truth toward all, to do what is right for all, and to affirm what is good and
holy on behalf of all.

Let us bear witness to the truth taught by Our
Lord, and lived by His Saints, in our daily conversations with our families, our
fellow Christians, our neighbors and co-workers. Let us teach the Orthodox
Christian vision of marriage, as a path to salvation shared by husband and wife,
to our children, godchildren, and all those who come under our care as parents,
godparents, pastors, and Christian educators.

Let us join in prayer that
the people of faith across the states of New York and New Jersey will continue
to stand fast in the divinely revealed truth of what marriage means. And let us
by our example witness to the life of chastity to which every human person, made
in the image and likeness of God, is called.

With my humble prayers and
love in Christ, I remain

Devotedly yours in His service,

+ M I C H
A E L
Bishop of New York and the Diocese of New York and New Jersey

A conference participant once asked the speaker, “What is the best way for a father to love his children?” The speaker replied, “The best way for a father to love his children is to love their mother.” I reflect often upon that superbly accurate statement. And I think the reverse is equally true: the best way a mother can love her children is to love their father.

More than anything else in the world, children need a loving family and parents who support each other, even if the parents are apart through separation or divorce.

Christ challenges us to love one another, and that challenge becomes even more compelling within our own families. Even in the best of families, there is brokenness. And that is why the man’s call to fatherhood is so important. We fathers are called to show our families strong, manly love and forgiveness, virtues modeled powerfully in the father of the prodigal son (Lk 11:32).

This father is stable, loving, and generous. In his fairness, he avoids violating the freedom of either of his sons. When the prodigal demands his inheritance and decides to leave, the father does not attempt to withhold the money. He does not pressure the son to stay by trying to make him feel guilty. And the father is wise enough not to send care packages to relieve the son’s distress. The father allows both of his adult sons to make their own mistakes and to learn from their failures, an appropriate form of discipline for older adolescents and young adults.

The prodigal’s father demonstrates manly leadership by taking loving initiatives, and he takes many such initiatives. He maintains a thriving business to provide the generous inheritance. He creates and supports a loving family for the prodigal to run from and for the older son to remain with. And there is his last generous, joyful initiative as he runs out to embrace the returning son, kiss him, and put on him the best robe, ring, and shoes. He celebrates the return of his son with a feast. And in a scene all of us fathers can recognize, he opens up the conversation with the sulking older son.

The father takes the initiative in bringing about forgiveness and reconciliation in the whole family. He is a model for us in responding to our call to follow the Spirit of Jesus in taking many initiatives in our families, especially that of boundless forgiveness for our children.

When a father takes responsibility for his own spiritual life, for the way he prays, goes to church, and practices virtue in the family, he gives a good example. Then, his leadership in the family is authentic, based on his own solid relationship with God, and he is less likely to be concerned about any resistance his children may give him. He can lead family prayer. When I suggest that we stand in the living room and pray before a trip or that we pray in a restaurant, I often feel an initial resistance in my children.

But quiet cooperation and peacefulness soon follow. Sometimes the children will even tell me that they prayed in a restaurant when I wasn’t there.

At times the father’s role of leading the family to great forgiveness and prayerfulness is an unpopular one. But as a man grows in his own spiritual life, he becomes more sturdy and willing to accept responsibility. Although all this is impossible for us fathers to do alone, God can do all things. God can even bestow the awesome spiritual power of fatherhood upon us.

Dr. Albert Rossi is a tenured Associate Professor of Psychology, Pace University, Pleasantville, NY (since 1976) and has a private practice in family counseling. He is a member of the Department of Lay Ministries. He is lecturer in Pastoral Theology and director of the Doctor of Ministry Program at St. Vladimir’s Seminary.

Source: Orthodox Observer – June 2011, Vol. 76, No. 1266

Boris Kustodiev- Trinity Day! (1920)

by Fr. Alexander Schmeman

In the Church’s annual liturgical cycle, Pentecost is “the last and great day.” It is the celebration by the Church of the coming of the Holy Spirit as the end – the achievement and fulfillment – of the entire history of salvation. For the same reason, however, it is also the celebration of the beginning: it is the “birthday” of the Church as the presence among us of the Holy Spirit, of the new life in Christ, of grace, knowledge, adoption to God and holiness.

This double meaning and double joy is revealed to us, first of all, in the very name of the feast. Pentecost in Greek means fifty, and in the sacred biblical symbolism of numbers, the number fifty symbolizes both the fulness of time and that which is beyond time: the Kingdom of God itself. It symbolizes the fulness of time by its first component: 49, which is the fulness of seven (7 x 7): the number of time. And, it symbolizes that which is beyond time by its second component: 49 + 1, this one being the new day, the “day without evening” of God’s eternal Kingdom. With the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ’s disciples, the time of salvation, the Divine work of redemption has been completed, the fulness revealed, all gifts bestowed: it belongs to us now to “appropriate” these gifts, to be that which we have become in Christ: participants and citizens of His Kingdom.

from the Vespers of Pentecost:

The liturgical peculiarity of Pentecost is a very special Vespers of the day itself. Usually this service follows immediately the Divine Liturgy, is “added” to it as its own fulfillment. The service begins as a solemn “summing up” of the entire celebration, as its liturgical synthesis. We hold flowers in our hands symbolizing the joy of the eternal spring, inaugurated by the coming of the Holy Spirit. After the festal Entrance, this joy reaches its climax in the singing of the Great Prokeimenon:

“Who is so great a God as our God?”

Then, having reached this climax, we are invited to kneel. This is our first kneeling since Easter. It signifies that after these fifty days of Paschal joy and fulness, of experiencing the Kingdom of God, the Church now is about to begin her pilgrimage through time and history. It is evening again, and the night approaches, during which temptations and failures await us, when, more than anything else, we need Divine help, that presence and power of the Holy Spirit, who has already revealed to us the joyful End, who now will help us in our effort towards fulfillment and salvation.

All this is revealed in the three prayers which the celebrant reads now as we all kneel and listen to him. In the first prayer, we bring to God our repentance, our increased appeal for forgiveness of sins, the first condition for entering into the Kingdom of God.

In the second prayer, we ask the Holy Spirit to help us, to teach us to pray and to follow the true path in the dark and difficult night of our earthly existence. Finally, in the third prayer, we remember all those who have achieved their earthly journey, but who are united with us in the eternal God of Love.

The joy of Easter has been completed and we again have to wait for the dawn of the Eternal Day. Yet, knowing our weakness, humbling ourselves by kneeling, we also know the joy and the power of the Holy Spirit who has come. We know that God is with us, that in Him is our victory.

Thus is completed the feast of Pentecost and we enter “the ordinary time” of the year. Yet, every Sunday now will be called “after Pentecost” – and this means that it is from the power and light of these fifty days that we shall receive our own power, the Divine help in our daily struggle. At Pentecost we decorate our churches with flowers and green branches – for the Church “never grows old, but is always young.” It is an evergreen, ever-living Tree of grace and life, of joy and comfort. For the Holy Spirit – “the Treasury of Blessings and Giver of Life – comes and abides in us, and cleanses us from all impurity,” and fills our life with meaning, love, faith and hope.

Source

We have recently added an icon of St. Feofil the Fool-for-Christ of the Kiev Caves.  It has been placed on the north side of the back wall of the nave.  Here is a brief life of the saint:

The Blessed One was named Foma at baptism. He was the eldest of twins born in 1788 into the family of a priest in the district of Kiev. His mother was a simple woman, and when the infant Foma refused to be breast-fed or to accept milk in any form, she gave credence to some superstitious gossip and began to regard him as some kind of freak. Finally, she became so possessed with loathing for the baby that she persuaded a servant to throw him into the river to drown. The fact that he was miraculously saved from three such attempts only confirmed her impression of his being abnormal. In despair over the child’s safety, his father entrusted him to the care of a wet-nurse. Shortly thereafter his father died, and the orphaned Foma spent his childhood in being passed from one household to another until he was settled with a widowed uncle in the Bratsk Monastery. The boywas enrolled in the school attached to the Theological Academy, but he considered his true education to be what he absorbed in church, where he “disciplined his mind to constant spiritual thought and prayer.” His schooling was discontinued when his uncle died leaving him no means of support and, after some difficult years in the world, Foma entered the Bratsk Monastery as a novice.

His exemplary conduct and spiritual fervor impressed his brethren and superiors dike, and in 1821 he was tonsured with the name Feodorit. Striving yet more to imitate the angelic life, he was found worthy to b ordained to the priesthood in 1827, and in 1834, as a sign of complete renunciation of the world, he was clothed in the great schema and received the name Feofil. When his request to withdraw to the monastery cave was denied, he concentrated himself on the supremely difficult struggle of foolishness for Christ’s sake, concealing in his feigned eccentricity the high valor of his character.

Feofil’s ragged appearance presented a: queer picture indeed; he often wore a boot on one foot, a slipper on the other; he sewed bits of old cloth to his cowl; his cassock was, patched and spotted and he sometimes tied an old towel around his head. His cell presented a similarly untidy impression, though it contained little besides a narrow bench on which he slept, a table and an analogion. When asked how he could tolerate such mess he would reply: “It serves as a reminder of the disorder in my soul·” Similarly, he mixed all his food together for, he explained, such is life; the sweet is mixed with the bitter.

Feofil was never idle; he knit stockings and wove canvas which he gave away to iconographers. With his hands thus occupied, he would recite the Psalter which he knew by heart. But his primary occupation was prayer. He was given a bullock which he hitched up to a small cart. Sitting at the back of the cart with his back to the bullock, he would read the Psalter as he journeyed, leaving the unharnessed beast to take him to his destination. And why should anyone wonder at this, for such was the relation of man and beast before the Fall. Through obedience to God’s commandments, God’s holy ones restored the image of God in themselves, and “the animals sensing in man the fragrance of original purity, become obedient to him.”

Through his utter self-abasement, the Blessed One drew upon himself the abundant grace of God. He received the gift of healing, of fore vision and discernment of thoughts. “It was strange to see,” witnesses said, “how the Blessed One heard the confessions of the people who came to him. He did not ask for their sins as spiritual fathers usually do, but having placed his saintly hands on the head of the person confessing,., he himself listed all the secret and known sins. At this, not only , did the penitent shed tears of emotion, but from fear and shame, even the hair of his head would stand up on end.”

The Elder never spoke in vain but always used his gifts for the spiritual welfare of a souls. One spring day the Elder met a certain Nikolai walking in the woods. This young man was so troubled by lustful thoughts that he was considered possessed. Seeing Feofil approaching, Nikolai tried to turn aside to avoid conversation.

“Haloo, Nikolai, wait up. Where are you going Come here to me. We will delight in lascivious thoughts together.”

Nikolai felt that he had been accused and wept sorrowfully before the Elder.

“Well, that’s nothing. The Lord is merciful,” the Elder said to him in consolation. “Let’s go and pray to Him.”  He knelt and began to pray. In half an hour he rose and, with a tender face, turned to the sufferer: “Well, go. Lascivious thoughts will no longer disturb you.” And immediately after this the youth was healed of his ailment.

To cite just one example of his fore-vision: once at a very narrow place in the road leading from the Lavra to the Kitayevskaya Hermitage where the Elder lived, Blessed Feofil drivingin his cart, met the Metropolitan in his carriage driving from the Lavra. There was no room to pass. The Blessed One refused to budge. The Archpastor became rather agitated: “Will you stop trying my patience? …. No,” replied Feofil, “I won’t stop, because it is you and not I who must turn back.” Just then someone rode up to Vladika with a message that an artisan at the Lavra had fallen from some scaffolding and had been killed. The shaken Archpastor ordered his coachman to return to the Lavra at once.

One might, of course, say that the Blessed One had been chosen from his mother’s womb to be a lamp of the Faith, and therefore the attainment of such gifts was only natural. Tog peasant who asked how it was that he knew everything and could foretell the future of people’s lives, the Elder replied: “There is nothing difficult about it. Do you want to be able to do the same? Then pull a small hair from your eyelash and tie two knots in it. When you do that you will be as wise as I am.” The naive peasant tried to make use of this advice but no matter how hard he tried, he could not even tie one knot in the eyelash. “That is how difficult it was for me to attain my present condition,” said the Blessed One,

Elder Feofil was constantly besieged by people asking his blessing and his advice. To those who came out of curiosity he did not hesitate to be rude and sent them away, or he would deliberately set them at some unpleasant or dirty task. Once he emptied a bowl of soup onto the silk dress of a visiting landowner, at the same time openly revealing her adultery. But while he did not fear to sternly rebuke those who needed it, he was kind and compassionate towards the simple and God-fearing. Those who humbly and obediently followed his advice, even if it were stern and uncomfortable, never failed to benefit their souls.

Elder Feofil’s popularity, together with his bizarre behavior, evoked much jealousy and slander from those dose by. The higher meaning of his actions escaped them and all they could see was a “little capable, disrespectful, self-willed, stubborn” monk who could not “correctly and ceremoniously conduct a service.” His extremely peculiar behavior while serving in the altar fired a hostof complaints and a request for his dismissal. Little did his slanderers suspect that while celebrating the Divine Liturgy, the Blessed One would be transported in seeing “a strange dew descending on the Holy Gifts and shining angels soaring above the altar-table, saying, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of Sabaoth, heaven and earth are full of Thy glory!’”

Blessed Feofil meekly bore his persecution, and when vexed or rebuked he would calmly say to his cell-attendant, “Ah, Ivan, Ivan. it is better to endure injustice than to commit it oneself …. [Besides], we are ill in soul and body, and bitter medicine is useful for the ill.” He would say, “We must pray for our enemies …. Indeed, they are our benefactors; they force us to strengthen our will towards what is good; they humble us here on earth, and weave crowns For us in heaven.”

Even after his death on October 28, 1853, Blessed Feofil is “still quick and incessant in giving help in illness and grief to all who call to him.” He is particularly known to give help in finding lost or misplaced articles, as many, including the writer of these lines, can abundantly testify.

Edited slightly from original at Orthodox America.

Fr. Pavlos of St. Catherine's Monastery on Mt. Sinai

(SVOTS) – When our campus guest, Fr. Pavlos, a monk of the famed St. Catherine’s Monastery on Mount Sinai, spoke last evening, his words evoked the collective wisdom of dozens of spiritual fathers across the ages. Radiantly humorous and joyfully somber, Fr. Pavlos—a graduate of the School of Theology of the University of Athens, and a Sinai ascetic for four decades—began his address to the community with an illuminating talk about the “grave” vice of being judgmental. He ended it with a Q&A session with the audience that covered everything from child rearing to the practice of the Jesus Prayer.

Peppered throughout his talk were the sayings of the fathers (apophthegmata patrum)— pithy stories and phrases by spiritual sages within the centuries-old Orthodox Christian tradition, which proffer ethical, moral, and religious advice. For example, said Fr. Pavlos:

“St. Isaac the Syrian said, ‘On the day that you judge your brother, consider that a “lost day,” even if you’ve done many other good deeds.’ ”

“St. John of the Ladder told the story of a monk who visited an unkempt cell of a brother monk, and he said to himself, ‘My brother prays and fasts so much, he has no time to tidy his cell.’ Then the same monk visited the spotless cell of another brother monk, and he said to himself, ‘Just as my brother’s soul is clean inside, so is his cell.’ You see, in neither situation did the monk judge his brother.”

Fr. Pavlos also gave some background to St. Catherine’s Monastery, the oldest Orthodox Christian monastery in existence. The monastery was built by order of Emperor Justinian I (reigned AD 527–565), enclosing the Chapel of the Burning Bush ordered to be built by St. Helena, the mother of Constantine I, in the fourth century, at the site where Moses encountered the burning bush (Exodus 3.1–21). The monastery houses, said Fr. Pavlos, the second most treasured collection of ancient manuscripts in the world, and the first most treasured collection of icons in the world. It also “houses” the spiritual tradition of revered ascetics such as St. Gregory of Sinai and St. John of the Ladder, who, said Fr. Pavlos, “wrote the ‘Gospel for monks,’ that is, his work The Ladder of Divine Ascent.

The vibrant monk also described the liturgical rhythm of life at the monastery, the peaceful and mutually respectful relationship between the monks and their Bedouin neighbors—”Who are not Christians”—and the daily duties of the monks. “My favorite place to work is the garden,” he mused. “Trees are ‘man’s best friend’!”

Our Dean, Fr. John Behr, in welcoming Fr. Pavlos, remarked, “In the midst of this very busy time on campus, as we near final exams and Commencement, in the midst of all this ‘chaos,’ we are deeply blessed to have with us someone from a monastery that has cultivated the ‘heartbeat’ of hesychastic spirituality—someone who can teach us how to encounter God in the midst of silence.”

If you were unable to be with us and Fr. Pavlos during his visit, you can listen to his talk here. Note: Fr. Pavlos’ remarks, in the Greek language, are being translated by Fr. Nathanael Symeonides of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in New York City.

May 12, 2011 • Campus Event • By Deborah (Malacky) Belonick

A Religious Procession (Boris Kustodiev, 1915)

by Fr. Paul Jannakos

Anyone the least bit familiar with the Orthodox Church knows that repetition is a key feature of its worship. We do things over and over again, and then, we do it yet again – one more time. As we find in the Little Litany, “Again and again in peace, let us pray to the Lord.”

For many Americans, this seems excessively pedantic, if not outright silly. As one protestant visitor to my Church asked, “Why do you people say ‘Lord have mercy’ so many times? Don’t you believe that God hears you?” The answer, of course, is that we do believe that God hears and accepts the prayer of all those who offer their prayer in faith and in purity of heart. But, because repentance is not an instantaneous event, (though some would like to think so), and because we are so slow to learn the deeper meaning of the prayer, “Lord have mercy,” (which is the essential prayer of the Church), we are required by the Holy Spirit to continue saying it until our dying breath. The testimony of the Holy Fathers bears this out. This is the reason why we repeat so many other things within the life of Church, not only its prayers, but its gestures too.

We make the sign of the Cross and bless ourselves by doing so an infinite number of times. Can we ever sign ourselves with the Cross enough? Obviously not, at least for those who are truly serious about picking up and carrying their crosses. We venerate the icons by bowing before them and kissing them with tender lips and hearts. Will there ever be a time when we have kissed them “enough?” No, of course not. Because it is kind of like saying, “Will there ever be a time when mothers and fathers can kiss their children enough?” Or, “Will there ever be a time when husbands and wives have kissed each other enough?” One need not even answer such a question because it is plain for everyone to see. Examples of this sort are plentiful even in the so called real world.

We human beings do things on a repeated basis not only because it is practical, but because these repeated things convey value and meaning. Which just happens to be what a “ritual” is. Rituals are words, gestures, and motions (very often combined together all at once) that convey worth and significance. Let us illustrate. Young men who court the women they love offer them flowers – a ritual of admiration. Those who are about to prepare themselves for a job interview dress up in their very best (“for men, no slip on shoes, laces only!) – a ritual of self-worth. At graduation, students dress up in cap and gown and receive a diploma from the hands of their instructors – a ritual of completion and transition. When the President of the United States enters into a room, those in attendance stand up from their chairs – a ritual of respect for the office (not the person) of the presidency. As a child in elementary school, I remember beginning each day in class by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance – a Jeffersonian ritual of absolute faith in the principles of democratic government. Examples of this are numerous. Yet, over the years, I have noticed that when it comes to the rites of the Church, many people are unfairly prejudiced. “It looks like spiritual robotics to me,” is what they say, or “You’re just going through the motions, along with all that religious mumbo-jumbo.” Excuse me? Did I hear that right? Going through the motions? Religious mumbo-jumbo?

I think it is high time to set the record straight. First by saying that anyone, religious or not, can go through the motions and make it all just a bunch of mumbo jumbo. Because it is not the ritual that is dead, but the heart and motive that lie behind it. I’ve been to many baseball games where the singing of the National Anthem (yet another ritual!) is performed in an utterly dreary, perfunctory manner. “Hurry up and get on with it will you, this ain’t no opera!” So, just because there are some who fail to understand the meaning of the Church’s rites doesn’t mean that the rites themselves are wrong. On the contrary, it is the human beings themselves that are “wrong.” Isaiah the prophet spoke well about this when he said, speaking for the Lord Himself, “These people, they honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” (Isaiah 29:13).

The Church bids us to do many things over and over only because “repetition is the mother of learning.” In the gospel, Christ, too, taught his followers how to pray, not by saying, “pray what ever you like, and in your own words,” but by saying, “When you pray, say (these words), ‘Our Father, Who art in heaven.’” (Matthew 6:5). As we take this all to heart, we learn how to humble ourselves to the gestures, practices and disciplines that belong to the Church’s being and life. Because the little things we do are important. We respond to the prayers at the Holy Liturgy by saying “Amen,” not just once, but over and over. We make prostrations before the icon of Christ, not just once, over and over. We receive the holy sacrament from the cup of the Lord, not just once, but over and over. We do so because all of these repeated things add up to inner cleansing, healing, and perfection. Are we anymore ritualistic than the rest of the human race? I don’t think so. Its just that the rites we practice have a far more nobler purpose.

© 2011, Preachers Institute. All rights reserved.

Note that the division of the text into paragraphs for this posting was done by Fr. Joseph Bittle, not by Preachers Institute.

Artists reconstruction of Bascilia of St. John the Theologian built by Justinian

“The feast day of this great apostle and evangelist is celebrated on September 26. This day, May 8th, commemorates the miracle which appeared at his grave. When John was over one hundred years old, he took seven of his disciples, went outside the town of Ephesus and ordered them to dig a grave in the form of a cross. After that, the elder went down into this grave and was buried. Later on, when the faithful opened John’s grave, they did not find his body. On May 8 of every year, dust [also called 'manna'] is raised from his grave from which the sick are healed of various diseases.”

- St. Nikolai Velimirovich

Each year, for about a thousand years, from the grave of the holy Apostle John on May 8th, there came forth a fine ash-dust, which believers called “manna”, and gathered it up after an All-Night Vigil and were healed of sicknesses by it. Therefore the Church celebrates the memory of the Apostle John the Theologian still on May 8 to commemorate this annual miracle, even though his main feast is on September 26.

Many pilgrims of medieval times made note of this extraordinary annual miracle. Both Augustine and Gregory of Tours make reference to it. Anglo-Saxon Willibald, later a bishop and a saint, visited Ephesus in 724 and marvelled at the miracle of the manna that bubbled from the tomb of the Apostle. Symeon Metaphrastes in the tenth century writes of the festival on May 8th being of such great magnitude that it seemed there were more people in attendance to take part in the miracle and receive a portion of its distribution than there were stars in the sky. For the unhappy Metropolitan George Tornikes (1155–56), the tomb with its inexhaustible dust was his sole consolation for having to live in what he considered a barbarous place with a dilapidated church.

Abbot Daniel, a Russian pilgrim of the early 12th century, visited the Basilica of St. John that was built over his tomb, and described the feast celebrated on May 8th as well as the shrines and relics surrounding the area:

“It is 60 versts from the isle of Chios to Ephesus; and at this latter place is seen the tomb of St. John the Evangelist. On the anniversary of his death, holy dust rises from this tomb, which believers gather as a remedy against every kind of disease; the garment which John wore is also here. Quite near is the cave in which rest the bodies of the Seven Sleepers who slept for 360 years, having fallen asleep in the reign of the Emperor Decius, and awakened in the time of the Emperor Theodosius. In this same cavern are the (remains of the) three hundred Holy Fathers and of St. Alexander; the tomb of Mary Magdalene is also here, as well as her head; and the holy Apostle Timothy, the disciple of St. Paul, reposes in his ancient coffin. In the old church the picture of the Holy Virgin is preserved; it was with this that the holy (fathers) refuted the heretic Nestorius. Here, too, one sees the Bath of Dioscorides, where St. John the Evangelist laboured with Prochorus in the house of Romana. We saw, also, the harbour, named the ‘Marble Port’, where St. John the Evangelist was cast up by the sea.”

According to one author, the most elaborate description of the miracle dates to 1304 by Catalan Muntaner who arrived in a mercenary force:

“On Saint Stephen’s day, every year, at the hour of Vespers, it comes out of the tomb (which is four-cornered and stands at the foot of the altar and has a beautiful marble slab on the top, full twelve palms long and five broad), and in the middle of the slab there are nine very small holes, and out of these holes, as Vespers are being sung on St. Stephen’s day, (on which day the Vespers are of St. John), manna like sand comes out of each hole and rises a full palm high from the slab, as a jet of water rises up. And this manna issues out . . . and it lasts all night and then all Saint John’s day until sunset. There is so much of this manna, by the time the sun has set and it has ceased to issue out, that, altogether, there are of it full three cuarteras of Barcelona [about 120 quarts]. And this manna is marvelously good for many things; for instance he who drinks it when he feels fever coming on will never have fever again. Also, if a lady is in travail and cannot bring forth, if she drinks it with water or with wine, she will be delivered at once. And again, if there is a storm at sea and some of the manna is thrown in the sea three times in the name of the Holy Trinity and Our Lady Saint Mary and the Blessed Saint John the Evangelist, at once the storm ceases. And again, he who suffers from gall stones, and drinks it in the said names, recovers at once. And some of this manna is given to all pilgrims who come there; but it only appears once a year.”

Tomb of St. John the Theologian in ruins of the bascilica built by Emperor Justinian

Regarding the Basilica of St. John the Theologian built by the Emperor Justinian, originally it had been in a cruciform shape with six massive domes. More recently they have uncovered a baptistry and and a small chapel to the side. The tomb of the Apostle is today exposed to the elements, but originally it was located under the main central dome of the church. Unfortunately three relics which were still in the church during Ottoman times are now lost to us – a piece of the True Cross worn by the Apostle John around his neck, a garment of the Apostle made by the Theotokos, and most significantly for biblical scholarship today was the original manuscript of the Apocalypse (Book of Revelation) which was authored by this apostle.

Today the Basilica is in ruins.

Text Source from Fr. John Peck
Image 1 Source
Image 2 Source

20 April 2010

Source

Part 1:

Part 2:

Translation:

People rejoice, nations hear:
Christ is risen, and brings the joy!
Stars dance, mountains sing:
Christ is risen, and brings the joy!
Forests murmur, winds hum:
Christ is risen, and brings the joy!
Seas bow*, animals roar:
Christ is risen, and brings the joy!
Bees swarm, and the birds sing:
Christ is risen, and brings the joy!

Angels stand, triple the song:
Christ is risen, and brings the joy!
Sky humble yourself, and elevate the earth:
Christ is risen, and brings the joy!
Bells chime, and tell to all:
Christ is risen, and brings the joy!
Glory to You God, everything is possible to You,
Christ is risen, and brings the joy!

Children Rolling Easter Eggs (Nikolai Koshelev, 1855)

Christ is risen!  Indeed, He is risen!

A blessed Pascha to all our Holy Trinity family!

In the love of the risen Christ,
Fr. Joseph and Kh. Johanna
Michael, Justin, Catherine, Aidan, and Abigail

From “A Pastoral Guide to the Holy Mysteries”, Orthodox Christian Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, 2001

Repentance and Confession

56 The Institution of the Holy Mystery

The Lord Jesus Christ Himself instituted the Holy Mystery of Repentance after his resurrection from the dead when He appeared to his disciples and said to them: ”’Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” And when He had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’” (John 20:21-23). The Lord gave to his Apostles and to their successors his divine power to remit and absolve sins by the power and action of the Holy Spirit. The pastors of the Church exercised this authority and they examined the cases of sinners and advised the penitent. ‘I entreat you, beloved brethren, that each one confess his own sin, while he who has sinned is still in this world, while his confession may be received, while the satisfaction and remission made by the priests are pleasing to the Lord’ (Cyprian, Treatise 3: ‘To the Lapsed’, para. 29).

57 The Meaning of the Holy Mystery and its Effects

57.1 The Holy Mystery of Repentance is a divine mystery in which the penitent receives, by the power of the Holy Spirit and through the priest, remission of all sins committed since baptism that have been confessed. The penitent is renewed in his or her justification, sanctified again, and reconciled with God once more. For this reason the Mystery of Repentance is regarded as a second Baptism: that is, the mystery of re­conciliation of man with God after Baptism.

57.2 Man belongs to Jesus Christ and is joined to the Church through the three Mysteries of Baptism, Holy Chrism and the Eucharist. We are required to activate this belonging in our lives and through it to arrive at our perfection: we have to transform our whole being into God by continually putting off the old man and being confirmed in the new man, until we attain, through the grace of God, to the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13). But we fall short of this requirement and lapse into sin. And so all those ‘who did not keep the grace of the new birth [Baptism] without blemish, and who fell from the divine grace because of their sins, can obtain the mercy of God and his love again when they go back to the priests and confess all their sins to them and become worthy of for­giveness’ (Pope Leo, Letter 85, 32).

71 Preparation for Confession

71.1 The faithful prepare themselves for Confession by prayers, fasting, spiritual reading and also by a serious and precise self-examination. It is important for the faithful to come to Confession in a spirit of repentance and hope and with determination to amend their lives by the grace of God.

71.2 Self-knowledge has an important place in the spiritual growth of man and in our direction toward the stature of the fullness of Christ. Hence, the faithful are encouraged to use all spiritual means that may help them to know themselves.

72 The Confidentiality of Confession

The substance of confession is never to be divulged. A father confessor has no right to reveal anything that he has heard in the course of Confession by the faithful and he must never use such information in a manner that harms the penitent, whatever the circumstances and whatever the reasons. The Church Canons prescribe excommunication for any priest who, whatever the circumstances, divulges such information. Moreover, a priest has no right to reveal any information given to him outside Confession, if it was given to him in his capacity as a priest.

73 The Place for Effecting the Mystery of Repentance

In normal circumstances, a confession is heard in church. Where a person is sick or there are other legitimate reasons, a confession may be heard outside church or in the place where the penitent resides.

Brief Version – click here.

Longer Version – click here.

What is Confession? Confession is the oral avowal of one’s sins which lie heavy upon the conscience. Repentance cleanses the soul and makes it ready to receive the Holy Spirit, but confession, so to speak, only empties the soul of sins.

Let us present a simple analogy and comparison to confession. For example, suppose you had only one vessel of some kind, which you through negligence or laziness let reach a stage where little by little it accumulated all sorts of dirt so that your vessel became not only unusable but even unbearable to look at without repugnance.

But what if a king wanted to give you as a gift some sort of fragrant and precious balm, one drop of which could heal all infirmities and protect – what then? Would you refuse such a valuable gift only because you had no other clean vessel in which to put it? No! It would be very natural for you to accept such a gift and you would try to clean your vessel. How would you begin to clean your vessel? No doubt, before anything else, you would rid it of all uncleanness; you would begin by washing it with water and, perhaps would even burn it out so that it no longer retained any of its former odors. Isn’t that so?

Now let the vessel represent the soul given to you by God, which you have brought to such a state that it has been filled with all kinds of transgression and iniquities; let the sweet-smelling balm, given by the king, signify the Holy Spirit, Who heals all infirmities and afflictions, Whom the King of heaven and earth, Jesus Christ, freely bestows upon us.

To examine your vessel signifies feeling your guilt before God and recalling all sins, which have stolen into your heart.

To clean out the vessel typifies the confession of your sins before your spiritual father, and washing with water and burning with fire signifies a sincere and even tearful repentance and a voluntary resolve to endure all unpleasantness, needs, afflictions, misfortunes, and even calamities that befall us.

Now tell me: Is Confession profitable or needful? Certainly it is profitable and even essential; because, just as it is impossible to cleanse a vessel without ridding it of all uncleanness, so it is impossible to purge your soul of sins without confession.

But tell me, is confession alone enough for the reception of the Holy Spirit? Certainly not, because in order to receive the sweet-smelling and precious balm into a defiled vessel it is not enough to just empty it, but it is necessary to wash it with water and refine it with fire. Just so, in order to receive the Holy Spirit, it is not enough just to confess or recite your sins before a spiritual father, but it is necessary together with this to purge your soul with repentance or contrition and grief of soul, and burn it out with voluntary endurance of afflictions. So then, this is what confession and repentance mean!

What does a true and correct confession consist of?

When we wish to cleanse our conscience of sins in the Mystery of Repentance: Before everything else it is necessary to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and firmly hope that He is ready to forgive all sins, no matter of what magnitude, if only the sinner repents open-heartedly; it is necessary to believe and hope that the God of all wants and seeks our return.

Of this He assures us through the prophet thus: “As I live, saith the Lord,” i. e., I assure and swear by My life, “In desiring I do not desire”, i.e., I do not at all desire, “the death of a sinner, but entirely desire his conversion.”

It is necessary to have a broken heart. Who is God? And who are we? God is the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth; He is the awful and righteous Judge. And we? We are weak and insignificant mortals. All people, even the greatest people, are less than dust before God, and we can never imagine how disgusting to God is any sin and how any transgression offends Him.

And we, insignificant and weak, we mortals endlessly benefited by our God, dare to offend Him – the All-Good One? Oh! This is so horrible! We are such debtors before God, such transgressors, that not only should we not dare to call ourselves His children, but are not even worthy of being His lowliest servants.

Therefore, picturing all this, you see what contriteness, what lamentation it is necessary to have then, when we want to purge ourselves of sins. And such a feeling must be had not only before confession and during confession, but also after confession. And even more important, do you want to offer a sacrifice to God such as will be acceptable to Him? Naturally we all gladly want this and as far as possible we offer it. But what can we offer Him really acceptable? A broken heart. A sacrifice unto God is a broken spirit; a heart that is broken and humbled, here is an offering to God more priceless than all offerings and oblations!

It is necessary to forgive all our enemies and offenders all the harmful and offensive things they have done to us. Forgiveness—what does it mean to forgive? To forgive means never to avenge, neither secretly nor openly; never to recall wrongs but rather to forget them and, above all, to love your enemy as a friend, a brother, as a comrade; to protect his honor and to treat him right-mindedly in all things. This is what it means to forgive.

And who agrees that this is difficult? So, it is a hard matter to forgive wrongs, but he who can forgive wrongs is for this reason great – truly great, both before God and before man. Yes, it is a hard matter to forgive your enemies; but it is necessary to forgive, otherwise God Himself will not forgive. Jesus Christ said: If ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will forgive you also your trespasses. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father forgive you yours.

On the contrary to this, though you pray to God every hour, though you have such faith that you can move mountains, even though you give away all of your belongings to the needy, and give your body to be burned, if you do not practice forgiveness and do not wish to forgive your enemy, then all is in vain, for in such circumstances neither prayer, nor faith, nor charity, will save you, in short, nothing will save you.

But if it is needful to forgive our enemies, so likewise it is indispensable to ask also forgiveness of those people whom we have offended. Thus, if you have offended anyone by word, ask forgiveness of him, come and bow down at his feet and say, “Forgive me.” Have you offended by deed? Endeavor to expiate your guilt and offenses and recompense his damage, then be certain that all of your sins, no matter how heavy they be, will be forgiven you.

It is necessary to reveal your sins properly and without any concealment. Some say, “For what reason should I reveal my sins to Him Who knows all of our secrets?” Certainly God knows all of our sins, but the Church, which has the power from God to forgive and absolve sins, cannot know them, and for this reason She cannot, without confession, pronounce Her absolution.

Finally, it is necessary to set forth a firm intention to live prudently in the future. If you want to be in the kingdom of heaven, if you want God to forgive your sins – then stop sinning! Only on this condition does the Church absolve the penitent of his sins. And he who does not think at all about correcting himself confesses in vain, labors in vain, for even if the priest says, “I forgive and absolve,” the Holy Spirit does not forgive and absolve him!

From Orthodox Life, vol. 38, no. 4 (July-August, 1988), pp. 20-22.

This extensive list of the  passions may be of assitance
 in self-examination before confession.  No definitions are given,
but a good dictionary and consultation with your spritual father should help.

by Saint Peter of Damaskos

The passions are:

These, then, are the passions which I have found named in the Holy Scriptures. I have set them down in a single list, as I did at the beginning of my discourse with the various books I have used. I have not tried, nor would I have been able, to arrange them all in order; this would have been beyond my powers, for the reason given by St. John Klimakos: ‘If you seek understanding in wicked men, you will not find it.’ For all that the demons produce is disorderly. In common with the godless and the unjust, the demons have but one purpose: to destroy the souls of those who accept their evil counsel. Yet sometimes they actually help men to attain holiness. In such instances they are conquered by the patience and faith of those who put their trust in the Lord, and who through their good actions and resistance to evil thoughts counteract the demons and bring down curses upon them.

A LIST OF THE PASSIONS, Saint Peter of Damaskos
The Philokalia; The Complete Text compiled by St. Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain and St. Makarios of Corinth, Volume Three
Translated from the Greek and edited by G.E.H. Palmer, Philip Sherard, Kallistos Ware faber and faber, 1984

Since its inception, FOCUS has steadily added partner ministries ranging from homeless shelters to medical and counseling centers. On April 3, FOCUS Orange County was awarded the Community of Faith Award, an honor endorsed by the California State Assembly. By the end of 2011, the organization hopes to increase its number of directors, partner ministries, and student volunteers in the Youth Equipped to Serve (YES) program.

Executive Director Fr. Justin Mathewes studied business as an undergraduate and subsequently earned a masters degree and was ordained at St. Vladimir’s Seminary. Chrismated in an Antiochian parish, Fr. Justin currently serves at a Serbian parish near FOCUS headquarters. With the Lenten season as a backdrop, we asked Fr. Justin to reflect on his first two years at the helm.

1. Since 2009 you’ve working to make FOCUS a reality and not just a list of organizational goals. What is the most important thing you’ve learned?

The most important thing I am learning through our ministry together is that the only person we can attempt to change is ourselves. In these last two years I have kept the basic Orthodox Christian spiritual principle before me of St. Seraphim of Sarov: “Acquire the Spirit of peace and thousand around you shall be saved.” We cannot change the behavior of others or “save” anyone. Therefore, FOCUS NA is not a ministry FOR the poor but WITH the poor. In other words, we “commend ourselves, each other and our whole life unto Christ our God” and the order of this prayer is important, say the Fathers and the Scriptures. First I commend and entrust myself to God and His mercy and strive to grow in His likeness, then I become a ready instrument of His healing and mercy. It is only in being united to Christ myself and struggling against my impoverished, selfish nature that I become willing to be WITH the poor and the neighbor in need . And it is then that God extends his mercy through us to bless and touch others around us. Throughout this Lenten season we have prayed fervently, fasted, given alms not so that others might benefit from our sacrifices but so that we might have a stronger relationship with God and be more surely grafted to His Body and His ministry, for the life of the world and its salvation.

2. There are so many ways to minister to the poor and marginal of our society. How did you come up with your five pronged approach (Food, Occupation, Clothing, Understanding, Shelter), and how has this actually worked out for you “on the ground?”

In Matthew 25 the Lord admonishes us to consider others as Christ in our midst—the stranger. In hunger, thirst, nakedness, sickness, loneliness, and imprisonment we find the stranger, our neighbor and our Lord. Motivated by the Orthodox Christian tradition, we work to establish FOCUS NA ministries, especially FOCUS Centers, to live out this mandate in a way greater than may be possible by any one parish. A FOCUS Center is a local office of FOCUS NA run by a full-time Director with the support of a dedicated ministry leadership team that mobilizes volunteers, resources and partnerships within a community to provide vital services to working poor and homeless people in a given area.

FOCUS Centers provide:

• Food—hot, nutritious meals served family style, food pantries in conjunction with the USDA and other food banks, nutrition services, emergency supplies and community gardens

• Occupational Training—job preparedness, employee assistance services, computer skills, resume writing workshops, social-entrepreneurial initiatives, and community re-entry services

• Clothing—working clothes wardrobes, clothing closets, care kits and material aid

• Understanding—clinical social work counseling, mentoring, fatherhood initiatives, life-recovery classes, drug and alcohol recovery programs, Orthodox Christian spiritual life classes, community building activities, and money management workshops

• Shelter—home repair for the elderly and disabled, domestic service and discipleship retreats, rapid transition to housing referrals, and rent/utilities assistance

Traditionally charities have picked one of these critical categories and focused all their efforts in that area. But life recovery is never about one issue. It is complex and requires hard work because each area affects another. That is why FOCUS NA has intentionally structured its centers to approach life recovery holistically, choosing to walk hand-in-hand with a single person over many miles of life recovery, rather than walking with a crowd a short distance to the next stepping stone.

3. Does it make any difference to you or to the people you serve, that you are an Orthodox organization? 

It matters that we are an Orthodox organization but perhaps in ways not always obvious at first. Following the model established in FOCUS Kansas City-Reconciliation Services and that of Archbishop Anastasios in Albania, our approach is to expose people to our faith, not impose it upon them. Therefore, we serve anyone who comes through our doors without partiality and our approach is shaped strongly by the Orthodox Christian tradition of hospitality. Those we serve are not our “clients” they are our “guests.” Calling someone a guest assumes that there is a relationship, even a friendship. So much of Christ’s ministry was done across a table with ample food and good conversations. So rather than a “soup kitchen” where people walk through a long line to get a plate of food and move on, we serve our hot nutritious meals family style and train our volunteers to sit, eat, listen to and talk with our guests. This “being with” our guests provides us all with an opportunity to learn from each other, walk together and establish meaningful relationships that can lead to life-recovery. We strive to treat each person as a living icon of Jesus Christ himself and treat the poor especially, the living icons that adorn the church of the world, with the same profound and authentic veneration that we treat the icons of paint and wood inside our churches. Those we serve tell us that all of this makes a difference to them and that is why they often return to our FOCUS Centers for the help they need.

We are also excited to create opportunities for the Church and the faithful, especially those called to social ministry vocations, to apply our ancient and rich faith and theology to modern complex social problems and to discover new facets of an emerging authentic North American Orthodox social-praxis.

FOCUS NA is nothing innovative in the 2000 years of Orthodox Christian tradition (St Basil’s monastery rule, St. Nicholas’ care for poor children, Mother Maria’s hospitality houses in Paris, St. John of Kronstadt’s House of Industry, etc). Although the significant needs of the thousands of people we now serve daily demands the more robust scope and scale only possible in a FOCUS Center where Orthodox Christians can unite together to serve, FOCUS NA’s ministry is not unlike that already undertaken by so many Orthodox parishes. With the blessing of the hierarchs who invited us to establish FOCUS ministries in their regions, FOCUS NA is a tool the Churches in many cities are using to create opportunities for Orthodox Christians to live out their faith together by meaningfully addressing the needs of the poor in their local communities as the Orthodox together; and in many places the city and others are taking note.

Lastly, just as a home owner always cares more for his own home and neighborhood than a renter, so also FOCUS NA donors and volunteers feel it is important for Orthodox Christians to establish and operate our own ministries for the poor in North America. Truly, it is a good and proper thing for us to volunteer and donate to other ministries not operated by the Orthodox Church. However, many have experienced great spiritual growth personally, in their families and in their communities by working with FOCUS NA to establish and operate a FOCUS Center.

4. You started in the midst of the biggest American economic downturn since the Great Depression. How has that impacted your work?

There was and still is a note of urgency; faced with the worst economic environment since the hard times that forged the “greatest generation” and in spite of all the difficulties and objections to starting in that season, it became clear that there was no other choice. The Orthodox Church and faithful could do more to help our needy neighbors in this difficult time and FOCUS NA was born out of the earnest desire of faithful from all Orthodox Christian jurisdictions to do all we could to help the poor especially given the times.

Here are some hard facts:

• American leaders, policy makers and social action groups received a wake-up call last year when the Department of Agriculture reported a record high 49 million Americans “who lived in households that lack consistent access to adequate food.”

• In July 2010 the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty revealed a 26% increase in the need for food assistance, with 25% of those needs going unmet.

• Although the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that for the first time since 2007 there were more job gains than losses at the end of 2010, the unemployment rate for the United States as of March 15, 2011, was a shocking 9.5%. And unfortunately many working people still can’t afford to pay their bills.

• The Working Poor Families Project estimates that one out of three families in the U.S. is considered “low income.” And, according to the Project, the number of working poor families continues to increase at a staggering pace, with 45 million people, including 22 million children, living in low-income working families. That is an increase of 1.7 million people since 2008.

A recent “60 Minutes” broadcast revealed the great difficulties facing people who have found themselves flung into poverty—hungry, without work, no money for basic needs including clothing and school supplies, alienated, misunderstood and homeless. This video is a reminder to us here at FOCUS of why we exist, why we do what we do, and how great a calling it is. 

5. You are functioning as an umbrella for ministries around the US. Who can become a FOCUS partner? What kind of support do you provide, and how does this further the work of Orthodox philanthropy in local communities?

The primary thrust of the ministry of FOCUS NA is to establish operational ministries to serve the poor by mobilizing the Orthodox Christian volunteers, resources and other partnerships needed within a community to provide vital life-recovery services to working poor and homeless people in a given area in North America. But FOCUS NA also supports,as we are able, existing Orthodox Christian ministries serving the poor in parishes and other settings. FOCUS NA provides technical assistance, best practices, ministry models and resources to help build the capacity of existing ministries and to initiate new Orthodox social action ministries. These ministries are called FOCUS Partners. In the last two years FOCUS NA has given away $50,000 per year to FOCUS Partner ministries serving the poor effectively. Each FOCUS NA ministry shares in the ministry of the whole, including FOCUS ministries in around the country and helping to support existing FOCUS partners. FOCUS NA never wants to replace existing parish ministries but rather to augment, undergird and support them such that more poor are served by the Orthodox Church in North America and more faithful are engaged in life transforming ministry with the poor together.

6. Highlight for us one initiative that is particularly near to your heart.

The need for occupational assistance is especially great and we consider it a core goal of FOCUS NA to offer our guests an opportunity to move from a place of great need to a place of life recovery and self-sufficiency. This ultimately means jobs and job readiness. The newly launched FOCUS ReEngage Program provides a comprehensive job readiness and workforce development initiative through FOCUS Centers. FOCUS ReEngage is built upon proven social work principles and a strong Orthodox Christian foundation with the goal of those who complete the program being ready to get a job, with the skills to keep a job, and with the necessary life skills to further their own life development

7. If you could hang one sentence in the fellowship hall of every Orthodox parish in America, which would tell us something we really need to hear, what would that sentence say?

Jesus Christ came to our streets for our salvation and commands us to “depart in peace” to the same streets “for the life of the world and its salvation.

Source

     Click here for March 27, 2011 Bulletin.

Intro from Fr. Joseph:  I came across this on the internet the other day.  I can’t vouch for the overall content  of the website (which I haven’t examined at length), but this free e-book does look like a helpful fasting resource.  In her blog post, the author makes suggestions for less than fully vegan Lenten alternatives.  Naturally, my purpose is to point you toward the e-book to help you keep the full Orthodox fast of Great Lent.

And the post from the blog Vegan Joy:

_______________________________________

Introducing Vegan for Lent: A Guide to 40 Days of Plant Based Eating.

This e-book has everything you need to eat vegan for the Lenten season, including over 50 recipes, full menus for Sunday Feasts, ingredient guides, and daily scripture meditations.

Download and distribute it as you like; the guide is free and available to all. Just click here:

Special thanks to the amazing Ron Tienzo for his speedy and competent design skills. Imagine a tall Filipino hunched over a computer, doing page layout while wrangling a teething infant and letting a three-year-old smear him with food. This is my new standard for male hotness.

Thanks also to Art Heffron, for several beautiful food photographs featured in the guide.

If you’re not up for eating vegan, but still want to shift your food habits, try the following to make a difference in your body and in our world:

Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. Lots more. Focus on adding greens, smoothies, and fresh fruit, and there won’t be as much room for less desirable stuff. Your body will feel amazing, and it’s easy to do: have a salad with dinner, add a green smoothie to your afternoon snack, or take a bunch of ripe bananas along to work.

Eat less meat. Skip the unsustainable free-range and grass-fed options, and simply consume less. Cows are the largest contributor to Co2 emissions, and every animal raised for food uses water and creates pollution. If everyone on the planet decreased their meat consumption by even one third, we would conserve a staggering amount of resources. And in a world where people die of famine, saving land and water could mean saving lives.

Give up dairy. Want to clear your skin, simplify your digestion, and prevent ear infections in your children? Quit the milk, yogurt, and cheese (or replace them with vegan versions), and you’ll see a dramatic improvement in your health. And if you care about animals, giving up dairy is probably the kindest thing you can do.

Source

St. David the King, Prophet, Psalmist

by Archimandrite Vassilios Papavassiliou

The only psalm that is prescribed to be recited in its entirety at every Divine Liturgy is (in the Orthodox Old Testament), Psalm 50 (Psalm 51 in the Hebrew text). During the Cherubic Hymn, just before the Great Entrance when the gifts of bread and wine are brought to the altar as the Church prepares for the Holy Oblation, the priest censes the altar, the sanctuary and the people, and quietly recites the psalm (and is expected to know it by heart): “Have mercy on me, O God, in accordance with your great mercy…” The priest recites the psalm up until verse 17: “A sacrifice to God is a broken spirit; a broken and a humbled heart God will not despise”, and concludes the psalm after the solemn procession with the holy gifts when he places the bread and wine upon the altar: “Do good to Sion, Lord, in your good pleasure; and let the walls of Jerusalem be rebuilt. Then you will be well pleased with a sacrifice of righteousness, oblation and whole burnt offerings. Then they will offer calves upon your altar”.

It is within this liturgical context that I should like to examine this remarkable prayer of repentance.

Psalm 50 was written by the Prophet King David after he acknowledged and confessed his sin before the Prophet Nathan (2 Samuel 12). David’s sin was a terrible two-fold sin. He committed adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Bathsheba became pregnant and David sent for Uriah, who was with the Israelite army at the siege of Rabbah, so that he may lie with his wife and conceal the identity of the child’s father. Uriah refused to do so while his companions were in the field of battle and David sent him back to Joab, the commander, with a message instructing him to abandon Uriah on the battlefield, “that he may be struck down, and die.”

It is therefore the prayer of a murderer and adulterer that the celebrant of the Liturgy recites (and makes his own in prayer) as he prepares for the Holy Oblation. For sin lies not only in our actions, but also in the corruption and evil desires of the heart. Indeed, if the priest has actually committed murder or adultery, he is, according to canon law, to be defrocked and can not celebrate the Liturgy at all. And yet the priest is here expected to identify himself with a murderer and adulterer – murder and adultery being two of the most grievous sins against God and man. In His sermon on the mount, our Lord states: ‘You have heard that it was said, “Do not commit adultery”. But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.’ (Matt. 5:27-28). In the case of murder, St Basil the Great and St John Chrysostom put it very strongly to the rich in regard to helping the poor, claiming that those who refuse to share with others in time of urgent need, when starvation and disease pose an immanent threat to human life, may be accounted guilty of murder. As St Basil writes in the homily, In Time of Famine and Drought, “Whoever has the ability to remedy the suffering of others, but chooses rather to withhold aid out of selfish motives, may properly be judged the equivalent of a murderer.” And St John Chrysostom, in his Homily on 1 Thessalonians, states that he who denies alms to the starving is as much his brother’s murderer as was Cain.

While the priest recites the psalm, the choir chants the Cherubic Hymn: “We who in a mystery represent the cherubim and sing the thrice-holy hymn to the life-giving Trinity, let us now lay aside every care of this life. For we are about to receive the King of all….” In laying aside our worldly concerns, we are also to lay down before God our sins, to ‘cast our troubles on the Lord’ (Psalm 54:22), and having thus unburdened our hearts we may offer the Holy Oblation in peace. This applies not only to the clergy but to the whole congregation. For it is the clergy and people together who are to offer the Holy Oblation, and not the clergy alone. But it is the priest’s particular cross to bear, his special calling and service to the Church, to take on the sins of the people as his own and to bring them before God and ask for His mercy. This is made clear in the prayers of the clergy at the Divine Liturgy: “…enable us to offer you gifts and spiritual sacrifices for our sins and those committed in ignorance by the people…”

At the Great Entrance, we are not far from hearing the hymn of the Seraphim, which the Prophet Isaiah and the beloved disciple John heard (Isaiah 6:1, Rev. 4:8): “Holy, holy, holy, Lord of hosts; heaven and earth are full of your glory…” And our response to this holiness is that of Isaiah: “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty”. Our sense of sinfulness does not come from measuring the distance between our conduct and some sort of morality or law; it is only in the presence of God Himself, the only Holy One, that we come to know how sinful we are. And, indeed, in that moment we feel like murderers and adulterers. For the deeper we enter into the infinite holiness and presence of God, the more sinful we feel by comparison. This is why we identify with a murderer and adulterer in Psalm 50.

The psalm is not merely an expression of penitence and self-disgust. It is the overwhelming holiness of God that is the source of profound repentance, and it is particularly related to the coming of the Holy Spirit. The recitation of Psalm 50 is a preparation for the epiclesis, when we call on the Holy Spirit to change the bread and wine into Christ’s Body and Blood. And so in Psalm 50 the priest says, “Create a clean heart in me, O God, and renew a right Spirit within me. Do not cast me out from your presence, and do not take your Holy Spirit from me.” In the Liturgy of St Basil the Great, the priest prays that God will not, because of his own sins, “withhold the grace of the Holy Spirit from the Gifts here spread forth”.

It is because of this sense of being in the presence of holiness that Psalm 50 is far from being morbid and morose. We are reminded that repentance finds its fulfilment not in looking back on our sins in despair, but in looking forward with hope and faith; not in looking down into the pits of hell, but in looking up to God in heaven. We are called to become what God wants us to be: holy. God says to His people: ‘Be holy, because I am holy’ (Lev. 11:44). And St Peter writes, ‘just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do’, and goes on to quote Leviticus: ‘for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy”.’ (1 Peter 1:15-16). St Paul calls the Christians ‘holy ones’ or ‘saints’ (ἅγιοι). We are reminded of this calling to be holy just before Communion when the priest elevates the Body of Christ and exclaims: “the Holy Things for the holy”.

Psalm 50 is a prayer not of despair but of hope: “You will sprinkle me with hyssop and I shall be cleansed. You will wash me and I shall be made whiter than snow. You will make me hear of joy and gladness; the bones which have been humbled will rejoice… Give me back the joy of your salvation, and establish me with your sovereign Spirit. I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn to you again…”. And we are reminded that God hears the prayer and contrition of the heart: “if you had wanted a sacrifice, I would have given it. You will not take pleasure in burnt offerings. A sacrifice to God is a broken spirit; a broken and a humbled heart God will not despise”.

Thus, as the Liturgy of the Faithful begins, we are to unburden our hearts in confession before God as we lay aside every care of this life, that we may “Stand with awe…stand with fear” and “pay heed to the Holy Oblation, that we may offer…. mercy and peace: a sacrifice of praise”. Apart from humility of heart, God desires mercy and peace from us. That is the sacrifice God asks of us. But to offer this, we must acknowledge first that we have fallen short of God’s mercy and peace. We must turn to God in repentance, put aside all hatred and animosity, all pride and injustice, and be reconciled with one another. For we cannot offer mercy and peace if we have none. Without love, peace and humility, our Liturgy is not acceptable to God. The Prophet Isaiah puts it very strongly: “What do I care for the number of your sacrifices? says the Lord. I have had enough of whole-burnt rams and fat of fatlings. I take no pleasure in the blood of calves, lambs and goats. When you come in to visit me, who asks these things of you? Trample my courts no more! Bring no more worthless offerings; your incense is loathsome to me. New moon and sabbath, calling of assemblies, octaves with wickedness: I cannot bear them. I detest your new moons and festivals; they weigh me down, I am tired of the load. When you spread out your hands, I close my eyes to you. Though you pray even more, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood! Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; stop doing evil; learn to do good. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow.” (Isaiah 1:11-17)

This is why the celebrant of the Liturgy, identifying himself with the worst of sinners, prays for God’s mercy for himself and for the people as the Church begins to prepare for the Holy Oblation and to receive Christ in Holy Communion: “Wash me thoroughly from my wickedness, and cleanse me from my sin… Turn away your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. Create a clean heart in me, O God, and renew a right Spirit within me”. For only when we are at peace – with God, with one another, and with ourselves – can we worthily offer our liturgy to God and, in so doing, be made worthy to receive the Body and Blood of Christ for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Then ‘we will hear of joy and gladness; the bones which have been humbled will rejoice’, and we can return to the world to ‘tell what great things God has done for us’ (Luke 8:38). And being thus filled with that divine joy and gladness, we can “teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn to you again”.

Source

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March 01, 2006, 8:10 a.m.
Getting Serious for 40 Days
An introduction to the Great Canon of St. Andrew.

An NRO Q&A by Kathryn Jean Lopez

Frederica Mathewes-Green, frequent National Review Online movie reviewer, is author of many books, on a variety of topics. Also a columnist for Beliefnet.com, her latest book comes just in time for the Christian holy season of Lent. It’s called First Fruits of Prayer: A Forty-Day Journey Through the Canon of St. Andrew. Frederica had a pre-Ash Wednesday conversation about the book with NRO editor Kathryn Lopez.

Kathryn Jean Lopez: What is “the Great Canon of St. Andrew” and what’s so great about it?

Frederica Mathewes-Green: This complex poem (actually a chanted hymn) was written in the early 700′s, and it picked up the adjective “Great” for two reasons: it’s extra-long (about 250 verses), and it’s majestic. The Great Canon was written by St. Andrew of Crete, a bishop who was initially a monk in Jerusalem. My new book, First Fruits of Prayer, divides the Great Canon into 40 readings; this way readers can explore it as a spiritual retreat, during Lent or at any time.

The whole Canon is a kind of “Walk Through the Bible.” St. Andrew begins with Adam and Eve and goes all the way through, exhorting himself by applying the stories and characters of the Bible. Because it is so densely packed I provide a commentary each day on the facing page, which supplies the Scripture references, explains unfamiliar ideas, and suggests questions for reflection.

Reading the Canon helps us see how Christians in the Holy Land, 1,300 years ago, understood the Scriptures. It’s a way to time-travel, and actually join them in these ancient Christian devotions.

Lopez: Who was the Canon written for?

Mathewes-Green: Some people think St. Andrew wrote it for himself, for his own private use. Throughout, he is challenging himself personally, comparing his life and behavior to that of the Bible’s heroes and villains. It’s pretty intimate. When the Canon became known it spread through the churches of the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Asia.

The Canon is still offered as a worship service by most Eastern Orthodox Churches every year during Lent. In the first week of Lent (March 6, 7, 8, 9) one-fourth of the hymn is offered each night. In the fifth week (April 6 or 7), the whole Canon is chanted in its entirety — about four hours of singing!

Lopez: Who was St. Andrew?

Mathewes-Green: He was born in Damascus about 660, and joined the Monastery of St. Saba, outside Jerusalem, at age 15. His intelligence and holiness were evident, and he soon became secretary to the patriarch of Jerusalem. He was a representative at the Sixth Ecumenical Council, and then manager of ministries to the poor, elderly, and orphans in Constantinople, and by the end of his life was Bishop of Crete.

But what he was most known for was inventing a new form of hymn, a canon. It’s composed of 9 sections, or “Canticles.” Each canticle begins by referencing one of the songs in the Bible — for example, the song of Moses when the Hebrews crossed the Red Sea (Exodus 15:1-18), or the Song of the Virgin Mary when the angel announced the conception of Jesus (Luke 1:46-55). Each canticle starts with a verse based on the biblical canticle and then takes off from it, almost like a jazz riff, developing the overall theme of the canon.

Lopez: What does St. Mary of Egypt have to do with Andrew and his canon?

Mathewes-Green: St. Mary lived about 200 years before St. Andrew, dying perhaps in 522. Her story was very popular in Jerusalem, and it was probably St. Andrew who introduced it to the larger church. On the night the entire canon is chanted, her story is read aloud as a kind of framing device.

The story of St. Mary of Egypt begins, actually, with a monk who is spending the Lenten fast in the desert beyond the Jordan. For 20 days he has seen neither man nor beast. Then he spots a human figure, which flees from him. It turns out to be a very aged, white-haired woman, completely naked. She wraps herself in the monk’s cloak, and tells him her story. It’s a corker. It’s in the book.

Lopez: Who is your book written for?

Mathewes-Green: First Fruits of Prayer is for anyone who wants to be stretched and challenged spiritually. It’s tough stuff. It seems to me that so much of contemporary Christianity is squishy and sentimental. It presents the faith like a consumer product, and is desperate to please. But go back 1,000 or 1,500 years, to a work like the Great Canon, and you don’t get that at all. There is a sense of awe and mystery here — a sense of seriousness — that you won’t find in a so-called “praise chorus.”

The Great Canon is demanding, no doubt about it. But maybe what we’re dealing with — life, death, evil, forgiveness, God’s compassion, our joy and gratitude — is serious, too.

Lopez: Are there aspects of the Canon that are peculiar to the Eastern Orthodox?

Mathewes-Green: There are places where the theological understanding is different than it has historically been in Western Christianity. For example, sin is not seen so much as bad deeds which make God angry, and which require a payment (Christ’s blood) in order to be forgiven. Instead, St. Andrew speaks of sin as something that arises from deep inside, from a darkened and confused mind. It is like a self-inflicted wound. He speaks of God as all-compassionate, rushing toward us with healing love, like the Good Samaritan or the father of the Prodigal Son.

So there’s no sense that God’s justice or honor have to be satisfied by Christ’s suffering before we can be forgiven. Christ’s suffering, instead, is the “battle scars” of his fight to free us from Death and the Evil One.

The concepts are more extreme on both sides. Sin is not just the breaking of external laws; it’s a poison that infiltrates our whole being and mind. Salvation is not just a “legal fiction” that imputes righteousness we don’t really have; it is life “in Christ,” saturation in the lightbearing presence of God.

Lopez: Is this the kind of spiritual writing that makes converts, or do you have to be pretty intensely prayerful already to get into it?

Mathewes-Green: I think there was a time when this kind of writing made converts — when hard-edged challenges broke through defenses, and led from sudden tears to joy. Recently, we’ve been in a culture where “Pal Jesus” was mostly in the business of emotional reassurance. I see a new interest, however, in “grown-up” spirituality, that grapples honestly with the unspoken loneliness, despair, and fear right under the smiley-face surface. This is especially true of people younger than the Baby Boomers. I hope that the Great Canon will surprise some readers by confronting them with a side of Christianity they don’t often see these days, one that is simultaneously tough and healing.

Lopez: Can you “read” a book like this?

Mathewes-Green: It would be pretty dense to get through in a single sit-down reading, pretty emotionally draining. Also, St. Andrew is so exhaustive in his selection from the Scriptures that many references will be unfamiliar. That’s one of the reasons why I provide a verse-by-verse commentary on the facing page each day. Orthodox Christians do experience the entire Canon all at once when it is offered that evening in the fifth week of Lent. But I think it’s actually more absorbable when you’re singing and praying your way through, aloud, in the company of other people, than when you’re sitting reading a book.

Lopez: Uh, so “Forty Days,” did you really write this for Lent?

Mathewes-Green: Yes, that’s what I had in mind. I didn’t think of the parallel to Rick Warren’s book, Forty Days of Purpose, until a reviewer mentioned it. But I also hoped people might use it any time they want to tackle a serious spiritual discipline; it doesn’t have to be Lent.

Lopez: For folks who aren’t into Lent, they might know it as the time when some of their friends don’t drink — something along those lines. Do you “give up” stuff during Lent? How do you look at the 40 days? How do you tend to describe it to the uninitiated?

Mathewes-Green: For Eastern Orthodox, all spiritual exercises are designed to heighten our perception of basic reality: Sin is much more serious than we think, and God’s forgiveness is much more vast than we think. Left to ourselves, we go around with Playskool impressions of what’s at stake. So the goal of all spiritual disciplines are to cultivate charmolypi — to use a Greek term coined by the 6th-century abbot of the monastery on Mt Sinai, St. John of the Ladder. Charmolypi means the kind of penitence that flips into joyous gratitude, “joy-making sorrow,” repentance shot through with gold.

Orthodox don’t have a tradition so much of individually choose things to give up. Instead, we all take part in a common fast from meat, dairy, eggs, and fish; basically, a vegan diet. This recalls Daniel’s fast from rich foods in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. It’s a strenuous discipline, and can be adapted for health or spiritual reasons.

The fast is not self-punishment or payment for sin. It’s an exercise like weightlifting, designed to strengthen the willpower muscle. If you can resist a slice of pizza, you can resist the urge to yell at someone in traffic.

Lopez: What got you interested enough to write this book?

Mathewes-Green: Every year I would go to the service of the Great Canon, and it’s quite an experience: the darkened candle-lit church, incense smoke twining overhead, golden light glinting off the icons, and chanters singing the verses to ancient Byzantine melodies. After each verse everyone responds, “Have mercy on me, O God,” and bows to touch the ground. It’s serious, and timeless, and piercingly beautiful, and kindles humility and a yearning to be healed from all the poison within. In every way it contrasts with the image Christians (often deservedly) have in today’s culture. I wanted to make it available to more people.

The Great Canon is part of the Eastern Orthodox tradition, but really, it’s part of every Christian’s tradition; we all go back to first-century Jerusalem. The Canon makes more sense when you experience it in context, as part of the continuous flow of Orthodox prayer, liturgy, fasting, and sacraments. But I wanted to offer this introductory taste in hopes that it will leave some readers hungry for more.

Lopez: Besides your own book, of course, what will you be reading this Lent?

Mathewes-Green: I’m reading Fr. Sophrony’s life of a contemporary saint, St. Silouan the Athonite and also Fr. Irenee Hausherr’s study of how early Christians attempted to “pray without ceasing,” a 1960 work titled The Name of Jesus. The latter because I am thinking about making my next book about the ancient spiritual discipline of habitually repeating the “Jesus Prayer”.

I have a bad habit of starting too many books at once. At present I have bookmarks in Jan de Hartog’s 1957 novel, The Spiral Road, as well as The Paradox of Choice (Barry Schwartz), Orality and Literacy (Walter Ong), Pictures and Tears (James Elkins), Perpetration-Induced Traumatic Stress (Rachel MacNair), and am always receiving a steady IV drip of PG Wodehouse.

Source

Gates of Repentance by Fr. Apostolos Hill

Chant of Great Lent, from the first Sunday of the Triodion through Great Friday. Sung in English, the hymn selections are taken from each major service of Great Lent to constitute a cohesive whole taking the listener on an auditory tour through the high points of Lent and to Good Friday in Holy Week.  Byzantine Orthodox chant at its best!  Purchase as mp3 download here, or as CD here.

Attend, O Heaven: Hymns of the Great Lent and Pascha by St. Seraphim Orthodox Choir

Hymns from Great Lent and Pascha includes a total of 32 tracks. Beginning with “Waters of Babylon,” the recording moves through the season (mostly Great Lent but ending with a few Paschal hymns) presenting many hymns which are not included in typical recordings. Music and text of the recording is available from the producer. Sung in English.  A blending of Russian/Slavic and harmonized Byzantine styles.   This recording is getting regular play in Fr. Joseph’s iPod already in these pre-Lenten weeks.  Purchase as mp3 download here, or as CD here.

Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts by St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary Choir

The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts and other Lenten hymns as sung by the St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary Choir, directed by David Drillock.  Purchase CD here.

He came to me with the question, “I do not pray very much lately. I think I’m falling into negligence. What should I do to bring my prayer back?”

If you truly want to bring your prayer back, then you are able to do this in an instant. Through prayer you acquire prayer. Prayer is an act of will. Pray regularly. A little or a lot? It doesn’t matter. With feeling or without feeling? That doesn’t matter either. You begin with the body, with words and motions. What’s important is that you do it attentively. Don’t be hasty and don’t be slow. Don’t raise your voice and don’t hush it. Be moderate. Put your mind on what you are saying, on each word. Understand what you are saying. Whenever your mind wanders, even a little bit, bring yourself back. Prayer with the body, with the tongue, the hand, the fingers, bending the body in bows and prostrations, keeping attention and understanding the meanings, all of this and similar things, is the introduction to the prayer of the heart. In prayer, the motion is from the outside towards the inside, and upwards. Prayer through control of the body enters one into tranquility. Tranquility enters him into humility, and humility raises up within him the fragrance of peace. Everything else follows after this.

Prayer is not an issue of temperament. This is why it only comes by force. A person forces himself, and it is given to him. Indeed, it is given to him as a gift from above! Likewise, if one waits to be overcome with a desire for prayer in order to pray, then he will never pray. Prayer with desire is in general psychological prayer with no spiritual value. The basic desire for prayer, or you could say spontaneous prayer, only comes with strength and grace from the Most High. The beginning of prayer is not like this. Zeal for prayer might arise in the soul after encountering a person praying or after hearing or reading words about prayer that move the heart, and then when he begins to pray his interest quickly ceases and he finds prayer monotonous and dry. If he goes back, he loses it and if he stays firm and constant then he arrives at true prayer that spreads its roots in his soul, little by little, until it reaches its depths!

Usually the Lord God comforts one who prays at the beginning of the path, in order for him to stay firm. However, the comfort does not come when watched. You do not know when it will come to you. Pay attention that you do not wander off into imagination. Do not make room for images and feelings to slander you. That will lead you astray! Just the opposite, once you become familiar with prayer, beware of fantasies, images, and feelings because in that is a departure from prayer. Likewise be careful about sentimentality and mental laxity. Prayer is something calm and firm! Standing before God in prayer is something very serious. Naturally, God is not harsh, but He is not indulgent either. Prayer has its own special characteristics. Its joy is tranquil and its peace is alert. Its solace is mixed with thanks, a sense of unworthiness, and repentance.

Prayer connects you to God, to the Holy Trinity, to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Prayer is God’s language to man so that he will rise up to Him and enter into a relationship with Him. Thus, Prayer teaches prayer and what comes before in it leads you to what comes after, just as the number one leads you to the number two and on to three and so forth. You do not needs techniques in prayer. It comes to you of itself when you insist on standing in the presence of God and when your Lord gives you what you ask. God seeks communion and calls you to Him and when you take a step in His direction, He leads you to Him, just as a father takes the hand of his child or a guide walks ahead of a traveler. Nothing is closer to the human heart than prayer. Man is put together to be a being of prayer. At the deepest level, man realizes his humanity in which God created him in prayer. Why does the heart not incline to it spontaneously from the very beginning? Because the passions of the soul and the body have murdered man’s heart and taken control of it. For this very reason at the beginning a person needs to force himself to prayer, and then his heart will welcome it and take joy in it because it matches what is deeply rooted in him, even if it was hidden at first.

So prayer is the greatest gift to man, not only because it connects man to God, but because it is also the need and the solution for all things that man faces. People imagine that their problems and worries can be solved on the horizontal level, through human capacities. No doubt something of this is necessary, but everything without exception, all the cares and difficulties should first be faced with prayer, that is on the vertical level, by casting them at the feet of Jesus. It is no surprise that the Lord said, “Come to me all who are burdened and heavy-laden and I will give you rest.” Our rational solutions and initiatives are not always correct, but the Lord God knows exactly what we need. This is why through prayer, through putting the matter in God’s hands, through giving oneself and one’s concerns over, one finds the appropriate solution to all one’s problems!

However, if you correctly practice prayer, it draws you to the divine commandments, to repentance, to faith, to gentleness, and especially to love. Then if you practice the divine commandments, God’s presence will become deeper in your life and the commandments will then nourish your prayer and press you on to prayer. But if you disregard the commandments, then prayer will quickly wither. If the commandments cause the relationship with God to grow, then prayer does too. For this reason, the commandments and prayer support each other so that the faithful will grow and attain the fullness of stature of Christ, love. This support is also accompanied. One prays and one works. One strives to lift his heart upwards at every moment and in every occasion. This is with regard to ordinary believers. But there are those for whom prayer becomes their work. Such people reach the end of prayer and the goal of work at the same time!

The truth is that prayer invites prayer. As long as one is engrossed in prayer, as long as one makes a habit of it, it rules his heart. At the end of the day, it is not as prayer that it satisfies man’s being. The way is open for man to drink from prayer as much as he wants. Prayer is the goal of man’s path on earth. A person who does not pray and who does not lift his heart and his mind upwards remains just the outline of a person, no matter what he has accomplished! “What use is it for a man if he has gained the whole world but lost his soul?”

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by Fr. Patrick Reardon

Anger is troublesome. Among Christians striving seriously to live the mandates of the Gospel, I wager, anger is the sin most often mentioned in the Sacrament of Confession. Alas, it also has a remarkably long shelf life.

High among the problems attending anger is this: In the classical inventories of the passions, anger is the only one with no opposite impulse. Each of the other passions is paired with a reciprocal antithesis: love is matched by hatred, desire by aversion, hope by despair, fear by boldness, and joy by sorrow. Only anger stands by itself, with no corresponding emotive pull in the opposite direction (cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica Ia IIae q. 25, art. 3). If you get angry, you’re just stuck with it until it goes away!

Another problem with anger is that it is not, in every instance, a thing to be avoided. This is hardly surprising, since the morally proper object (finis) of anger is justice. Indeed, life in this world presents occasions when the refusal to become angry is likely a moral defect.

Another problem with anger, I believe, is that some Christians entertain unreasonable expectations with respect to it. For instance, in Confession they repent of

“correcting children in anger.”

I admit, of course, that children can be (and often are) emotionally harmed by parental displays of anger, and none of us would say that it a good thing. On the other hand, it would hardly be preferable for children to grow up with no experienced memory of anger as an expected response to bad behavior.

One of the most common misunderstandings about anger is the assumption that at some point in our experience of irritation it is morally permissible to blow our stacks: some kind of righteous “boiling point,” as it were. We differ among ourselves about where that point should be placed, but most of us implicitly conjecture that such a point does exist. That is to say, we presume that nobody—not even God—should require us to tolerate an unlimited amount of provocation. At some notch in our strained endurance, we presume, anger becomes a righteous response.

This presumption is illusory. The righteousness of righteous anger is qualitative, not quantitative: It is determined by its formal and final cause, which is justice, not by the measure of irritation that arouses it. Anger does not become righteous by reason of its accumulated provocations. I know it is painful to hear this—and it is no less painful to say it—but there is no point in our cultivation of patience where “I’ve had enough” becomes the rallying cry of righteousness.

Offhand I think of two biblical stories that demonstrate this point:

The first concerns Moses, about whom the Psalmist said that the Israelites

“became provocative at the waters of Meribah, and it went badly for Moses on their account.”

What, exactly, did Moses do?

“He spoke rashly with his lips” (Psalms 106 [105]:32).

Having endured the ceaseless murmurings of the Israelites for forty years, Moses finally declared, “I’ve had enough!”

Commanded by the Lord to

“speak to the rock before their eyes,”

Moses

“said to them, ‘Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?’ Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod” (Numbers 20:7-11).

That was it—the single offense that kept Moses from entering the Holy Land. If ever a man might be excused for blowing his stack, I would have imagined, it was certainly Moses at the waters of Meribah. Obviously, however, the Lord took a different view.

The second example concerns David, when he was sorely provoked by Nabal (1 Samuel 25). Having used up his entire stock of patience with Saul in the previous chapter, David suddenly found himself without inner spiritual resources when confronted with the moral obtuseness of a man whose own wife described him as a worthless fool.

In this particular case, the Lord used that wife, Abigail, to prevent David from following through with his rash and angry threat. Otherwise, surely, David would have sinned like Moses, and like Moses he would have been punished. As the anger of Moses kept him from leading Israel into the Promised Land, David’s anger might have kept him from occupying Israel’s throne.

This lesson about anger is a hard one to hear: At no point does grievous provocation become a righteous cause.

by Fr. Stephen Freeman

There has been a tendency in much teaching about the notion of salvation by grace to ground the image in a legal or forensic metaphor. Thus, we are saved by grace in the sense that someone else’s goodwill and kindness (God’s) has now freed us from the consequences of our actions. Thus we speak of grace as the “free gift” of God.

There is no denying that grace is a free gift and that it is the true means of our salvation. But what if our problem is not to be primarily understood in legal terms? What if that which needs saving about us is not our guilt before the law of God, but the ravages worked within our heart and life from the presence of sin and death? This is probably the point where many discussions about salvation fall apart. If one person has in mind primarily a forensic salvation (I go to heaven, I don’t go to hell), while the other is thinking primarily in terms of an ontological change (I am corrupted and dying and were I to go to heaven I’d still be corrupted and dying). The debate comes down to a question of whether we need a change of status (forensic) or a change within our very heart. Of course, there are varying shades within this debate and I have surely not done justice to the full understanding of either point.

Orthodox theology, has largely been nurtured in the understanding of salvation as a healing of our heart and a transformation of the whole of our life. Others have sometimes referred to these elements as belonging to “sanctification,” but there has never been a distinction between sanctification and justification or salvation within the Eastern Tradition.

It is from within that understanding that my comments on grace are shaped. It is difficult for Christians of any sort in our modern world to grasp what it means to be saved by grace, if grace is indeed the very life of God given to us to transform and transfigure us – to change us into conformity with the image of Christ (Roman 8:29). The difficulty with this understanding is that, unlike a change in status, a transformation is slow work. We do not live in a culture that is particularly patient about anything. The political world thrives on repeated campaigns for “change,” though change is always a relatively slow thing (except in revolutions when it is usually not a change for the better).

There is a saying from the desert fathers: “Stay in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything.” It is a recognition thatstability is an inherent virtue in the spiritual life, and in the constancy and patience of our prayers and labors with God, grace has its perfect work.

In the modern parish setting, particularly with my catechumens, I have translated the desert saying into a more modern statement: “Ninety percent of Orthodoxy is just showing up.” We do not live in cells nor is our stability marked by sitting quiety through the day reciting the Jesus Prayer. There certainly should be times of the day set aside for prayer – but one of the primary locations of our life of grace – as Christians living in the world – is to be found within the life of the parish Church – particularly within its life of sacraments, prayers, and patience (there is equally as much patience to be practiced in the parish as in any monastery). One mark of our struggle for stability is “just showing up.”

The life of grace is central to our existence as Christians and must not become secularized. In a secular understanding, the Church has a role to play in a larger scheme of things (the secular world). Thus the Church becomes useful to me and at the same time takes on a diminished role in my life and in the culture of my life. Secularism is the dominant form of American culture. It is not hostile to Church attendance – but sees it as having a diminished importance. Church becomes just one of many programs in which we may be involved. In some families, choices are made between a child’s participation in a Sunday soccer league and a child’s participation in Church. Adults make similar choices for themselves. But the transformation that is occurring in such choices is the transformation of the Church and the gift of God’s life (grace) into a secular program which exists to meet my religious needs or interests. Such an approach is a contradiction of the life of grace.

Our submission to the salvation of Christ is a submission of our life to the life of grace – a recognition that there is no salvation apart from Christ and the life of grace. In cultural terms, it means a renunciation of the secular life – a life defined by my needs as a consumer within the modern experience – and an acceptance of my life as defined by the Cross of Christ. If the Cross is to be taken up with integrity – it must be taken up daily and more often still than that.

The life of grace means that I have given myself to Christ and to the means He has provided for my salvation. I will confess my sins and embrace the life of repentance. I will approach the Cup of His Body and Blood with faith and with trust in His promise of Life. I will be patient as I await His coming to me – as forgiveness – as healing – as transformation from the death of Adam into the Life of Christ. All of which requires that we “show up” – not in the casual sense of the term – but in the sense that we truly struggle to make ourselves available to God.

How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? (Hebrews 2:3)

Text Source

Image Source

The Banner of Orthodox Christians for Life

Christ the Savior seminarians and American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese clergy surrounded by fellow Orthodox Christians preparing to march for life.

Icon: Theotokos of the Sign

Metropolitan Jonah of the Orthodox Church in America and a seminarian from St. Tikhon's Seminary with icon of Meeting of Theotokos & St. Ellizabeth with thier preborn babies.

Egle-Ekaterine Potamitis interviewed by Svetlana of My Sears Catalog Life:

Interview Source

A procession at St. Tikhon's Monastery.

 (Monastery of St. Tikhon) – St. Tikhon’s Bookstore is going on-line with a new website! Greater convenience, easier navigation, better categories, and much more! Please visit our new website at http://tikhonbooks.anthology.com/ which will be ready for purchases by December 1st!

And also…

SOUTH CANAAN, PA (OCA) – With the blessing of His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah, the new web site of Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk Monastery here recently made its debut at http://sttikhonsmonastery.org/.

In addition to general information about the monastery, the site provides a wealth of interesting information, news, historic photographs, galleries, and other resources highlighting the life and legacy of “America’s oldest Orthodox monastery.” Of special interest is a link featuring the lives of saints associated with the monastery.

Individuals who may have specific questions about the monastery, the Orthodox faith, or monastic life are invited to send enquiries to monasteryinfo1@gmail.com.

Hat Tip: Byzantine, Texas

by Tara McNeely

“Let the little children come to Me and do not forbid them;
for such is the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 19:14

It’s about 8:30 at night in our home and a book has been read, prayers have been said, and everyone is settling down to sleep. All of a sudden I hear a little voice singing in a bedroom. Now to many parents the thought may cross their mind (as it does mine many times), “it’s almost 9:00 and she is still awake!” However as I listen closer I realize she is singing the Trisagion hymn: Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, Have mercy on us. In Liturgy this is sung three times, but to our little soprano Autumn, it is never-ending and she sings it until she is lulled to sleep by her prayer.

My husband and I and our little family of four children are Catechumens in the Orthodox Church. We attended our first service together about two years ago and began catechism last summer. We have many reasons for wanting to become Orthodox and one of the primary reasons focused on our children. We want our children to fully participate in and to enjoy their Faith.

I was raised in a traditional Protestant church and spent my college years in a more modern evangelical church. In my experience, children do not participate in the worship of the Church. Instead, they are whisked away to be baby-sat in the nursery or in children’s church so that the adults can enjoy a little “time off” and focus on the sermon. Depending on the denomination, children may or may not be baptized as infants (most evangelicals do not baptize infants). Children are not permitted to receive the body and blood of Christ in Holy Communion. Many churches have bare walls, which leaves the child’s eyes and mind to wander in imagination and boredom until they start to misbehave. All that is left in worship for the child’s senses is hearing.

It doesn’t take much for a parent to understand that children don’t hear very well. It may take me telling the children three times (very Orthodox ?) that their shoes belong in the shoe basket before they understand what to do with their footwear. For a child, going to a church where hearing is the only sense they can use in worship is flat out boring. Maybe they get their eardrums rattled by some loud music for the first twenty minutes (my children don’t like Evangelical praise music – they say it hurts their ears and gives them a headache), but then either they have to listen to a boring grown up drone for thirty minutes or maybe they get to go color pictures to pass the time in children’s church. In the Orthodox Church, there is no praise team dressed in the latest fashion and performing for an audience. We sing the entire Liturgy with no guitar, drums, piano, or organ. There is little variation in the hymns we sing. Most of our Liturgy is the same each week. Children need repetition-they thrive on it. They need and want to know what to expect because then they feel secure. Also, the Liturgy is packed with Scripture and what better thing is there to repeat every Sunday? A few years from now my children will know a lot of Scripture simply because we sing it in Church each week. Except for Lent, there are bells on the censer (which I will talk about in a bit) which is used quite frequently during Liturgy. Whenever the censer is used, its bells jingle and draw attention from adults and children alike back to the worship of the Church.

What does your church smell like? I never thought that a church could have a certain smell to it, that is, until I first visited an Orthodox Church. My oldest daughter Grace, age four, has a very keen sense of smell. After we had been visiting an Orthodox parish on a regular basis we bought some incense to use at home. The first time we lit it, Grace came into the room, put her nose in the air and took a big whiff. My husband asked her what it smelled like and her simple reply was “Jesus.” Orthodox worship uses incense which is placed in a censer that has bells on it and the incense symbolizes our prayers ascending to God as in Revelation 5:8 and 8:3-4. The altar, the holy gifts (communion), icons, Gospel book, and the worshippers themselves are censed by the priest. One of the reasons for doing this is to recognize and honor the icon of Christ in each person. When you smell your favorite food cooking what do you think of? Your stomach! What do you think of when you smell smoke? Fire! What does a child, or perhaps even a blind or deaf person think of when they enter an Orthodox Church and catch its inviting fragrance? They become aware that they have entered a holy place filled with sacred things.

Orthodox Churches are very beautiful to me. When I entered one for the first time I was astounded by all of the beautiful things that were held inside. A child could never get bored with so many wonderful things to look at. Beautiful icons adorn much of the wall space. The priest is wearing vestments which are beautifully sewn and decorated. There is a gold or silver Gospel book on the altar. And of course there are lots and lots of candles. There are so many things to see that a child could stand captivated by all of the beauty that he would forget about misbehaving. Children are very visual-especially boys! It saddens me when I visit other churches to see that they have stripped their walls bare, leaving children to find other things to do. Instead of bringing beauty back into their churches they sweep these precious souls away from where they most need to be: in church!

As a parent, I am responsible for the spiritual well-being of my children. As I said early on, one of the primary reasons for our wanting to enter the Orthodox Church is for the sake of our children. If you have children and are tired of them being pushed to the backburner in church, then take them to an Orthodox Church where children are full members. Watch them grow in Christ right along with you.

Source

“Twelfth Night, Act II, Scene IV”, a painting by Walter Howell Deverell

Make His Paths Straight

By Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick, pastor of St. Paul Orthodox Christian Church, Emmaus, PA

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. amen.

More than 400 years ago in Tudor England, there was a custom of celebrating a holiday called “Twelfth Night,” which took place on January 5th. Twelfth Night was so named because it was the twelfth day of Christmas, beginning with December 25th as the first day.

During this celebration, a lowly servant would be chosen to be the Lord of Misrule, and all the norms of life would be turned upside down. The Lord of Misrule would preside over this bizarre festival, and his word was law. The masters would serve the servants, and the servants would live like kings. All sorts of strange things would take place, often including a good bit of immorality. Twelfth Night was a time for merrymaking, but it was also a time for twisting everything around. The normal order of life would be abandoned, and all that was improper became proper.

Some of you may be familiar with William Shakespeare’s play, Twelfth Night. In the play, there are cases of mistaken identity, cross-dressing, and people pretending to be what they’re not. Just like the holiday of Twelfth Night, Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is focused on a world turned inside-out, where people are not what they seem to be.

Our world today is an endless Twelfth Night. What God created to be the normal order of things has been turned upside-down. The culture is filled with merrymaking, but it is not filled with the joy that comes from being who and where we’re meant to be. The messages we receive through advertising and the media are that we need to relax more, take more “me time,” attend to our own needs more, have more fun, and keep buying more and more stuff.

And yet with all this attention we’re paying to ourselves, modern man feels more and more alienated. Even with the possibility for instant communication with people on the other side of the earth, mankind feels disconnected. What was supposed to be a global village has become for many of us a global prison, a set of cells which keep people from each other, barricaded by our possessions and pretensions.

In this cultural Twelfth Night, our identities have become distorted and twisted. Many of us are pretending to be someone we’re not, trying on various masks. Our culture in particular is obsessed with a sexual Twelfth Night, trading identities, reversing roles, and delighting in what is outside the boundaries.

We have each become our own Lord of Misrule, servants who pretend to be masters, and in our inside-out worlds, our word is law. The right of the individual to determine everything in his life is the most sacred thing in our society. Yet how many of us sit alone in the dark at times and wonder, “Who am I? What am I supposed to be? Where am I going?” No one who lives in the endless Twelfth Night can know who he is, because the whole world is designed to deny it and keep it hidden.

In our celebration of Theophany, the Lord’s baptism, we also celebrate St. John the Baptist, called John the Forerunner. In the Gospel account, John is baptizing people in the River Jordan when he sees Jesus approaching him. As soon as he sees Him, he proclaims, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

John the Baptist was not a man who suffered from a Twelfth Night identity crisis. He knew who he was. His whole life is summed up in these words: “Behold the Lamb of God!” John’s purpose was to point the way to the Messiah, Jesus Christ. He is the voice crying in the wilderness, prophesied by Isaiah, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord!”

In the Great Feast of Theophany, we see the climax of John’s ministry. He has prepared the way for Jesus, and when Jesus comes, John baptizes Him in the Jordan. The Virgin Mary gave birth to God in the flesh, and John the Forerunner baptizes God in the flesh. For this reason, on most Orthodox iconostases, we see the Theotokos on His right and John on His left. And Jesus Himself calls John “great.”

Why is John great? His greatness is not merely in the physical act of baptizing Christ, just as the Virgin Mary’s greatness is not in the physical act of giving birth to Him. Rather, John’s greatness is precisely because of his obedience to the Word of God which came to him and told him who he was and what he was supposed to do, just like Mary.

People like the Theotokos and John the Baptist live outside the world’s Twelfth Night precisely because of what occurs at Theophany, the day after Twelfth Night, the day when all the games and foolishness come to an end, when the curse of the previous day’s darkness is lifted. At Theophany, those who look with the eyes of faith see the first clear and unmistakable revelation of the Holy Trinity. The voice of the Father bears witness, the Son in the flesh is baptized, and the Holy Spirit descends on Him as a dove.

What was previously hidden has now been uncovered. For thirty years, the secret of Jesus’ identity was known only to a few, and for many centuries, the people of Israel had hoped for His coming. But now, uncovered before us is the revelation of the identity of the Son of God, revealed as both God and man. There is no hinting or cryptic suggestion at Theophany. There is only the in-your-face, fullout, no-mistake revelation of the Almighty Creator of the universe as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And it is Jesus Who reveals this to us.

For those of us who find ourselves trapped in Twelfth Night, following after meaningless merrymaking and denying ourselves true joy, the feast of Theophany is precisely the way out. As we have seen, there is nothing in Theophany that even remotely resembles Twelfth Night. It is utter denial of that whole way of life.

If we want to find our true identities, it can only be in Christ, Who created us. If we want to know who we really are and where we’re going, it can only be in union with the Holy Trinity, the communion for which we were made. The first step is baptism. In being baptized, we identify ourselves with Christ, Who was baptized at Theophany in order to make our baptism possible. When He entered the water of baptism, He made it holy and filled it up with Himself. When we enter that same water of baptism, we receive Christ and put on Christ.

If you have not been baptized and received into the Church, then know that the grace of Christ’s baptism in the Jordan is available to you. You can escape the instability and meaninglessness of the world’s Twelfth Night by entering into the revelation of the Son of God.

If you are an Orthodox Christian today, then you have the grace of that same baptism which happened almost 2000 years ago in the Jordan. You have put on Christ. But many of us nevertheless wander back toward Twelfth Night. We can renew our baptism by the holy mystery of confession, which the Fathers tell us is like a “second baptism.”

The power of Theophany is not limited only to human beings, however. The whole world finds itself in Theophany, which is why the Church blesses water for this feast, the element which runs throughout all creation and gives it life. The cosmic effect of sin is undone by the cosmic power of the uncreated God becoming one with His creation.

Ultimately, our identities find their completion and revelation in the same way that John the Baptist’s did. We know who we are by looking for Jesus and then by declaring, “Behold the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world!” Like the Virgin Mary, we give birth to Christ in our hearts by hearing the word of God and keeping it. And then we bring that birth to its full revelation in us by baptism, identifying with Christ in the Jordan.

And now, like John, we must point the world to Christ, loudly proclaiming the coming of the Messiah, the hope of all the nations. With John, we must say: “I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.” The only way we can find ourselves is by finding Him.

To Him therefore be all glory, honor, power and worship, to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Text Source

Written by His Eminence, Metropolitan Irenaius of Kisamou and Selinou, Crete

The Greek Orthodox ecclesiastical year (Indiction), begins in September, and is marked with events and holidays of our religious history. In addition to the annual cycle, the seven-day week has its own cycle of events, because each day of the week commemorates a particular Saint or an event of our religion. This gives significance to each day with a distinct identity of holiness and festivity. In the following an explanation of this weekly holiday cycle is given as a practical guide for one’s spiritual edification. Bleared are they who can see, even within the turmoil of our materialistically consuming society, another positive meaning to their lives so as to live life like a prayer and a celebration.

Monday: The Day honoring the Angels.

Tuesday: The Day honoring the Forerunner, St. John the Baptist.

Wednesday: The Betrayal by Judas is remembered.

Thursday: The Day honoring the Holy Apostles.

Friday: The Day honoring the Cross

Saturday: The Day honoring those who have fallen asleep.

Sunday: The Day of the Resurrection.

Monday: The Day honoring the Angels.
The angels are “attending spirits” who serve God and His will. In the Bible we often meet them (Michael, Gabriel, etc.) as they carry messages to persons whom God calls to a particular mission related to His Providence and to our salvation. In our popular Christian tradition every person has his Guardian Angel. Everything which is beautiful and pure in this world we call “Angelic.” And every care and protection given to us by others, we consider at the presence of a “Good Angel”. By the same token, on the contrary, those who bring hate and darkness become infernal and diabolic. It is a beautiful thing for everyone of us to start on every Monday morning of each week like an Angel on a mission of goodwill. Each one of us should be like an angel with wings to fly over the chaotic moments of the week, like an angel who brings messages of love and salvation to his house, to his neighborhood and to the greater world around him. “Through the intercessions of the Bodiless Powers, Lord, save us.”

Tuesday: The Day honoring the Forerunner, St. John the Baptist.
On this particular day our Church honors a saint who made a great contribution to Christianity. St. John the Baptist the Forerunner prepared the way for the teachings of Jesus Christ. He is a Saint whose message, “Repent”, reminds all of us in our life. We must put aside our failures and frustrations and take on new hopes and the new courageous initiatives. A man of faith always becomes a forerunner and a pioneer even if a thousand misfortunes befall him. “Through the prayers, Lord, of the Forerunner, save us.”

Wednesday: The Betrayal by Judas is remembered. (Fast Day).
Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus Christ on Wednesday and for this reason this day is considered somber and sorrowful. We fast on this day and we mediate on our betrayed Lord. The two words betrayer and betrayal are resentful and abominable in any language. If on this day we find time to think of our Lord’s betrayal, we ourselves could avoid our daily betrayals. We could avoid, in other words the little betrayals with which we choke off our conscience in order to be accepted by the world, and also bigger betrayals when we betray innocent, just, and good people. We would avoid betraying our faith and our conscience for worldly riches and for daily power for glory. For we all know very well that the betrayed sooner or later are resurrected and become heroes, martyrs and saints. The betrayers, however, remain marked and stained forever. “Through the Power of Your Cross, Lord, save us from every betrayal.”

Thursday: The Day honoring the Holy Apostles.v The number of Apostles in our Christian tradition has been accounted as twelve. Besides the Twelve, however, there are more who are known as the Seventy. There are still more who are hidden, unknown, the disciples in Galilee, and many more. Then there are the successors of the Apostles, the successors to the successors, and on in an unbroken chain to the present day. This chain will continue on into tomorrow and on into the future. Isn’t it so that every Christian is an apostle, no matter where he lives in this world? Isn’t it so that every man or woman who takes his job or profession as a mission, is included among the Apostles and becomes the “salt of the earth” and of goodness and truth will always be few. But many are they who show the way and call attention to the desires for this world. But whoever follows the highly chosen can reach great heights. You also can if you contemplate on every Thursday, be aware of your mission, your spiritual walk, your place in the world, and your responsibility. “Through the prayers, Lord, of the Apostles, save us”.

Friday: The Day honoring the Cross. (Fast Day)
Because Jesus was crucified on a day like this on Golgotha, our Christian tradition considers this day as the day of the Cross and observes it as a day of fasting and prayer, and reminds us of the Voluntary Sacrifice and the love for mankind of the Bridegroom of the Church. This day of the Cross has been properly placed before the last day of the week for those who are leading a good and decent life and who struggle in the “good fight”. This day of the week must be replete with crosses and labors. And whoever walks with some cross of his fate or a cross given to him by malevolent people, it is good for him to think of the Crucified One. Who walks ahead reminding him, “Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Obviously, many people in our times find it easier to avoid the toil and the crosses of life. However, this means that we would reject life itself which is, in essence, a labor of creating or a cross in itself. But you, dear reader, live your cross twice every Friday. Lift up your cross and sing with joy: “By the Power of Your Cross, Lord, save us.”

Saturday: The Day honoring those who have fallen asleep.
God rested on the seventh day after His six-day work of creation; thus our Church has dedicated this day to those who have “fallen asleep”, those who finished their struggle of this life and have entered into their eternal rest. Every Saturday our Church opens the Book of Life and reads to us the names of our ancestors, grandparents, parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends who have fallen asleep, in order to remind us of humanity and of death: humanity which has since passed and has left us her heritage, a heritage which cannot be ignored or washed; and death, which one day will surely come to all of ignored or wasted, and death, which one day will surely come to all of us. Thus our church remembers all those whom our memory has forgotten, and reminds us of all our loved ones, those treated unjustly, and all the unknowns whom history has completely ignored. Remember therefore, the deceased every Saturday and do not be afraid of death because on the next day will be the Resurrection. “Through the prayers of all Your Saints, Lord, save us.”

Sunday: The Day of the Resurrection.
“This is the day which the Lord has made…” when He was resurrected from the Passion of the Cross and death. Our Christian tradition calls it Kyriaki (Sunday), the day of the Lord. She adorned it with the Eucharistic Liturgy and gave it joy and rest from our daily and work ladened life. Indeed this day comes so appropriately, after our weekly struggle which oftentimes crucifies our life: Sunday, the day of the Resurrection. Not only does this day remind us of the general resurrection and the Second Coming but for those who know how to celebrate it, it resurrects our hope and our life from the daily deaths we experience. The Saturday and Sunday rest are a foretaste of this general Resurrection. However, together with the weekly resurrection, it is necessary to contemplate on the descent of our souls regarding our fallen state and the ascent of them toward the Risen Lord. Sunday: Remember the Lord of the living and of the dead Discard the black garments of despair, and rise with joy and strength for the struggle which begins on Monday. “On this day of the Resurrection let all people shine forth.”

Source: Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church Tulsa, OK, Calendar 2002, back cover.

Translated by The Very Rev. Isaiah Chronopoulos
Presently His Eminence, Metropolitan Isaiah of Proikonisos
The Presiding Hierarch of the Greek Orthodox Diocese of Denver

Compiled By Archimandrite Nektarios Serfes
Boise, Idaho
USA
August 14 2002

You can also find it on Fr. Nektarios Serfes website here

To our parish family:

A warm ‘Merry Christmas’  from Fr. Joseph and Kh. Johanna,

Michael, Justin, Catherine, & Aidan.

It is our prayer that your celebration of our Lord’s Nativity,

built on the foundation of woship with the Church,

 is safe, cozy, and full of love and laughter.

Slavic Cross Ornament and photo by Richard P. Kittle, used by permission.

Star marking place of Christ's birth.

The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is one of the oldest continuously operating churches in the world. The structure is built over the cave that tradition marks as the birthplace of Jesus.

The antiquity of this tradition is attested by the Christian apologist St. Justin Martyr (c. 100 – 165), who noted in his Dialogue with Trypho that Mary and Joseph had taken refuge in a cave outside of town:

“Joseph took up his quarters in a certain cave near the village; and while they were there Mary brought forth the Christ and placed Him in a manger, and here the Magi who came from Arabia found Him.” (chapter LXXVIII).

Origen of Alexandria (185 AD–ca. 254) also records this tradition:

“In Bethlehem the cave is pointed out where He was born, and the manger in the cave where He was wrapped in swaddling clothes. And the rumor is in those places, and among foreigners of the Faith, that indeed Jesus was born in this cave who is worshipped and reverenced by the Christians.” (Contra Celsum, book I, chapter LI).

The first basilica on this site was begun by St. Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine I. Under the supervision of Bishop Makarios of Jerusalem, the construction started in 327 and was completed in 333. That structure was burnt down in the Samaritan Revolt of 529.

The current basilica was rebuilt in its present form in 565 by the Emperor Justinian I. When the Persians under Chosroes II invaded in 614, they unexpectedly did not destroy the structure. According to legend, their commander Shahrbaraz was moved by the depiction inside the church of the Three Magi wearing Persian clothing, and commanded that the building be spared. The Crusaders made further repairs and additions to the building during the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem with permission and help given by the Byzantine Emperor.  Over the years, the compound has been expanded, and today it covers approximately 12,000 square meters.

The church is administered jointly by Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic authorities.

The structure is actually a combination of two churches, with the Grotto of the Nativity beneath.

Door of Humility

The main Basilica of the Nativity is maintained by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. It is designed like a typical Roman basilica, with five aisles (formed by Corinthian columns) and an apse in the eastern end, where the sanctuary is. The church features golden mosaics covering the side walls, which are now largely decayed.

The basilica is entered through a very low door, called the “Door of Humility.”

Church of Nativity with trap doors opened so visitors can see orignal flooring beneath.

The original Roman style floor has since been covered over, but there is a trap door in the modern floor which opens up to reveal a portion of the original mosaic floor. The church also features a large gilded iconostasis, and a complex array of lamps throughout the entire building. The wooden rafters were donated by King Edward IV of England. The same king also donated lead to cover the roof; however, this lead was later taken by the Ottoman Turks, who melted it down for ammunition to use in war against Venice. Stairways on either side of the Sanctuary lead down by winding stairs to the Grotto.

The adjoining Church of St. Catherine, the Roman Catholic Church, was built in a more modern Gothic revival style, and has since been further modernized according to the liturgical trends which followed Vatican II.

Original mosaic flooring.

The Grotto of the Nativity, an underground cave located beneath the basilica, enshrines the site where Jesus is said to have been born. The exact spot is marked beneath an altar by a 14-point silver star set into the marble floor and surrounded by silver lamps. This altar is denominationally neutral, serving the Eastern Orthdox, Roman Catholic, and Armenian communities.  Another altar in the Grotto, which is maintained by the Roman Catholics, marks the site where traditionally Mary laid the newborn Baby in the manger.

The basilica was placed on the 2008 Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites by the World Monuments Fund:

The present state of the church is worrying. Many roof timbers are rotting, and have not been replaced since the 19th century. The rainwater that seeps into the building not only accelerates the rotting of the wood and damages the structural integrity of the building, but also damages the 12th-century wall mosaics and paintings. The influx of water also means that there is an ever-present chance of an electrical fire. If another earthquake were to occur on the scale of the one of 1834, the result would most likely be catastrophic. … It is hoped that the listing will encourage its preservation, including getting the three custodians of the church – the Greek Orthodox Church, the Armenian Orthodox Church, and the Franciscan order – to work together, perhaps also with the assistance of the political authorities.

Grotto of the Nativity painted in 1833 by Maxim Nikiforovich Vorobiev

In creating the new feast, he intended the beginning of the lengthening of the daylight, and the arresting of the lengthening of darkness, on December 25th to be a symbol of the hoped-for “rebirth,” or perpetual rejuvenation, of the Roman Empire, resulting from the maintenance of the worship of the gods whose tutelage (the Romans thought) had brought Rome to greatness and world-rule. If it co-opted the Christian celebration, so much the better.

A By-Product

It is true that the first evidence of Christians celebrating December 25th as the date of the Lord’s nativity comes from Rome some years after Aurelian, in A.D. 336, but there is evidence from both the Greek East and the Latin West that Christians attempted to figure out the date of Christ’s birth long before they began to celebrate it liturgically, even in the second and third centuries. The evidence indicates, in fact, that the attribution of the date of December 25th was a by-product of attempts to determine when to celebrate his death and resurrection.

How did this happen? There is a seeming contradiction between the date of the Lord’s death as given in the synoptic Gospels and in John’s Gospel. The synoptics would appear to place it on Passover Day (after the Lord had celebrated the Passover Meal on the preceding evening), and John on the Eve of Passover, just when the Passover lambs were being slaughtered in the Jerusalem Temple for the feast that was to ensue after sunset on that day.

Solving this problem involves answering the question of whether the Lord’s Last Supper was a Passover Meal, or a meal celebrated a day earlier, which we cannot enter into here. Suffice it to say that the early Church followed John rather than the synoptics, and thus believed that Christ’s death would have taken place on 14 Nisan, according to the Jewish lunar calendar. (Modern scholars agree, by the way, that the death of Christ could have taken place only in A.D. 30 or 33, as those two are the only years of that time when the eve of Passover could have fallen on a Friday, the possibilities being either 7 April 30 or 3 April 33.)

However, as the early Church was forcibly separated from Judaism, it entered into a world with different calendars, and had to devise its own time to celebrate the Lord’s Passion, not least so as to be independent of the rabbinic calculations of the date of Passover. Also, since the Jewish calendar was a lunar calendar consisting of twelve months of thirty days each, every few years a thirteenth month had to be added by a decree of the Sanhedrin to keep the calendar in synchronization with the equinoxes and solstices, as well as to prevent the seasons from “straying” into inappropriate months.

Apart from the difficulty Christians would have had in following—or perhaps even being accurately informed about—the dating of Passover in any given year, to follow a lunar calendar of their own devising would have set them at odds with both Jews and pagans, and very likely embroiled them in endless disputes among themselves. (The second century saw severe disputes about whether Pascha had always to fall on a Sunday or on whatever weekday followed two days after 14 Artemision/Nisan, but to have followed a lunar calendar would have made such problems much worse.)

These difficulties played out in different ways among the Greek Christians in the eastern part of the empire and the Latin Christians in the western part of it. Greek Christians seem to have wanted to find a date equivalent to 14 Nisan in their own solar calendar, and since Nisan was the month in which the spring equinox occurred, they chose the 14th day of Artemision, the month in which the spring equinox invariably fell in their own calendar. Around A.D. 300, the Greek calendar was superseded by the Roman calendar, and since the dates of the beginnings and endings of the months in these two systems did not coincide, 14 Artemision became April 6th.

In contrast, second-century Latin Christians in Rome and North Africa appear to have desired to establish the historical date on which the Lord Jesus died. By the time of Tertullian they had concluded that he died on Friday, 25 March 29. (As an aside, I will note that this is impossible: 25 March 29 was not a Friday, and Passover Eve in A.D. 29 did not fall on a Friday and was not on March 25th, or in March at all.)

Integral Age

So in the East we have April 6th, in the West, March 25th. At this point, we have to introduce a belief that seems to have been widespread in Judaism at the time of Christ, but which, as it is nowhere taught in the Bible, has completely fallen from the awareness of Christians. The idea is that of the “integral age” of the great Jewish prophets: the idea that the prophets of Israel died on the same dates as their birth or conception.

This notion is a key factor in understanding how some early Christians came to believe that December 25th is the date of Christ’s birth. The early Christians applied this idea to Jesus, so that March 25th and April 6th were not only the supposed dates of Christ’s death, but of his conception or birth as well. There is some fleeting evidence that at least some first- and second-century Christians thought of March 25th or April 6th as the date of Christ’s birth, but rather quickly the assignment of March 25th as the date of Christ’s conception prevailed.

It is to this day, commemorated almost universally among Christians as the Feast of the Annunciation, when the Archangel Gabriel brought the good tidings of a savior to the Virgin Mary, upon whose acquiescence the Eternal Word of God (“Light of Light, True God of True God, begotten of the Father before all ages”) forthwith became incarnate in her womb. What is the length of pregnancy? Nine months. Add nine months to March 25th and you get December 25th; add it to April 6th and you get January 6th. December 25th is Christmas, and January 6th is Epiphany.

Christmas (December 25th) is a feast of Western Christian origin. In Constantinople it appears to have been introduced in 379 or 380. From a sermon of St. John Chrysostom, at the time a renowned ascetic and preacher in his native Antioch, it appears that the feast was first celebrated there on 25 December 386. From these centers it spread throughout the Christian East, being adopted in Alexandria around 432 and in Jerusalem a century or more later. The Armenians, alone among ancient Christian churches, have never adopted it, and to this day celebrate Christ’s birth, manifestation to the magi, and baptism on January 6th.

Western churches, in turn, gradually adopted the January 6th Epiphany feast from the East, Rome doing so sometime between 366 and 394. But in the West, the feast was generally presented as the commemoration of the visit of the magi to the infant Christ, and as such, it was an important feast, but not one of the most important ones—a striking contrast to its position in the East, where it remains the second most important festival of the church year, second only to Pascha (Easter).

In the East, Epiphany far outstrips Christmas. The reason is that the feast celebrates Christ’s baptism in the Jordan and the occasion on which the Voice of the Father and the Descent of the Spirit both manifested for the first time to mortal men the divinity of the Incarnate Christ and the Trinity of the Persons in the One Godhead.

A Christian Feast

Thus, December 25th as the date of the Christ’s birth appears to owe nothing whatsoever to pagan influences upon the practice of the Church during or after Constantine’s time. It is wholly unlikely to have been the actual date of Christ’s birth, but it arose entirely from the efforts of early Latin Christians to determine the historical date of Christ’s death.

And the pagan feast which the Emperor Aurelian instituted on that date in the year 274 was not only an effort to use the winter solstice to make a political statement, but also almost certainly an attempt to give a pagan significance to a date already of importance to Roman Christians. The Christians, in turn, could at a later date re-appropriate the pagan “Birth of the Unconquered Sun” to refer, on the occasion of the birth of Christ, to the rising of the “Sun of Salvation” or the “Sun of Justice.”

The author refers interested readers to Thomas J. Talley’s The Origins of the Liturgical Year (The Liturgical Press).

William J. Tighe is Associate Professor of History at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and a faculty advisor to the Catholic Campus Ministry. He is a Member of St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Church in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He is a contributing editor for Touchstone.

“Calculating Christmas” first appeared in the December, 2003 issue of Touchstone, and is used here by permission.

]]> http://www.orthodoxarkansas.com/2010/12/17/calculating-christmas/feed/ 0 http://www.orthodoxarkansas.com/2010/12/13/473/ http://www.orthodoxarkansas.com/2010/12/13/473/#comments Mon, 13 Dec 2010 20:01:41 +0000 Holy Trinity Orthodox Church http://www.orthodoxarkansas.com/?p=473

Fr. Joseph and a number of our parishioners had the opportunity to venerate the Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God when it visited All Saints of America Mission in DeQueen, AR.   A new book is coming out which may be of interet to all of us.

(ROCOR-EAD) – With the blessing of His Eminence, Metropolitan Hilarion, a new book on the Wonderworking Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God has been published by the Eastern American Diocese, in connection with the icon’s visitation to parishes on the east coast of the United States in December 2010 and January and February 2011.

The book has been published separately in Russian and English and is fully illustrated with 66 color photographs on 53 pages. The contents includes a history of the icon, photographs of the icon’s historic return to Russia, photographs of the visitation to the Eastern American Diocese and a general akathist to the Mother of God.

The cost of each book is $15.00 and they will be available for purchase during the icon’s visit to parishes, or by filling out the order form located here. Orders should be mailed with payments to:

Eastern American Diocese
55 East Third Street
Howell, NJ 07731

For orders and questions please contact eadwebmaster@gmail.com. Order form available here.

Who is Father Frost?

Father Frost (Russian: Ded Moroz / Дед Мороз) is a character of Slavic culture who comes in person to bring presents to children around the time of Christmas or New Year.  He is often accompanied by Snow Maiden, his granddaughter.

The traditional appearance of Father Frost somewhat resembles Santa Claus, with his coat, boots and long white beard, but unlike Santa, Father Frost does not say “Ho, ho, ho,” and drives not reindeer but a troika or just walks to make his visit.

Initially Father Frost used to be a wicked and cruel sorcerer who liked to freeze people. However, under the influence of Orthodox traditions, Father Frost reformed, became kind and started to give presents to children.  In this way, Father Frost is a powerful image of the reception of the light of the Gospel of Christ and the fruits of repentance.

Image Source:  Farther Frost figures made in Russia, found here.

Community of Grace by Mary Alice Cook

Publisher’s Description: Throughout the Christian world and beyond, people are beginning to recognize the need for community—the need to belong to a close and caring group of people who provide each other with physical, material, emotional, and spiritual support on a daily basis. But many are floundering in their attempts to create this kind of community. Community of Grace is not a textbook for creating community. Rather, it’s the story of one successful community, made up of the stories of the people who made it happen, and told in the context of the Orthodox worship that binds them all together. Join in the lives of the parishioners of St. John’s Orthodox Cathedral in Eagle River, Alaska, as they experience the joys and sorrows, struggles and triumphs of being an intentional community dedicated to life in Christ.

Bread and Water, Wine and Oil by Archimandrite Meletios Webber

Publisher’s Description: Worry, despair, insecurity, fear of death . . . these are our daily companions, and even though we attempt to ignore them or try to crowd them out, they are there, waiting for us in our quieter moments.It is precisely where we hurt most that the experience of the Orthodox Church has much to offer. The remedy is not a pep talk, or any simple admonitions to fight the good fight, cheer up, or think positively. Rather, the Orthodox method is to change the way we look at the human person (starting with ourselves).  According to two thousand years of experience, Orthodoxy shows us how to “be transformed by the renewing of our mind”—a process that is aided by participation in the traditional ascetic practices and Mysteries of the Church.  In this unique and accessible book, Archimandrite Meletios Webber first explores the role of mystery in the Christian life, then walks the reader through the seven major Mysteries of the Orthodox Church, showing the way to a richer, fuller life in Christ.   About the Author:  Archimandrite Meletios Webber is an Orthodox priest. He was received into the Orthodox Church by Bishop Kallistos Ware in 1971. He was educated at Dulwich College and Oxford University, and has a doctorate in psychological counseling. Fr. Meletios has served the Orthodox Church in Greece, Great Britain, Montana, and California, and is currently the abbot of Saint John Monastery in Manton, California. He is the author of Steps of Transformation: An Orthodox Priest Examines the Twelve Steps (Conciliar Press, 2003).

Christian Faith and Same-Sex Attraction by Fr. Thomas Hopko

Publisher’s Description: Father Thomas Hopko draws on the wisdom of the Orthodox Christian Church and the Holy Scriptures to help us understand same-sex attraction, with both compassion and clarity. Combining theological and pastoral insights, this small gem will aid pastors, those who experience same-sex desires, and anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the nature of our identity and our sexuality. This book is in reality a primer on how to overcome the passions through the traditional Christian ascetic struggle, which of course applies to everyone.  About the Author:  Thomas Hopko is Dean Emeritus of St Vladimir’s Seminary and a retired professor of dogmatic theology. He has authored numerous works on all aspects of the Orthodox Church’s faith and practice. His writings have been translated into 15 languages. He has also produced countless CDs and audiocassettes. Fr. Hopko is a world-renowned lecturer at various Orthodox and ecumenical forums. Reviews:  ”… In a winsomely accessible manner, he draws on the treasures of Orthodoxy to invite all of us to move from disputation to reflection, and from there to the wholeness for which we are created by God.” –Richard John Neuhaus, Editor-in-Chief of First Things “… The argument is closely reasoned and touches on many aspects of this issue that are often ignored in popular presentations… A provocative book that will surely help everyone who reads it!” –Timothy George, dean of Beeson Divinity School of Samford University and an executive editor of Christianity Today.

The Gospel of Matthew: Torah for the Church by Fr. Lawrence R. Farley

Publisher’s Description:  The New Testament is a Jewish book, and no part of it is more Jewish than the Gospel of Matthew—the story of how God fulfilled His word to Israel and sent them His Messiah, who in turn carried out the work of redemption. The Gospel of Matthew was written to prove to the Jews that Jesus of Nazareth is indeed the Christ, the fulfillment of their Scriptures. It contains the most thorough and organized presentation of Christ’s teaching anywhere in Scripture. Thus the Gospel of Matthew is like the Christian Torah, the record of God’s words and deeds through Christ. Matthew’s Gospel also stresses the Church, since it is the true Israel, the holy remnant, whose message is to be taken to Jews (and Gentiles) everywhere .  About the Author:  Archpriest Lawrence Farley currently pastors St. Herman of Alaska Orthodox Mission (OCA) in Langley, B.C., Canada. He received his B.A. from Trinity College, Toronto, and his M.Div. from Wycliffe College, Toronto. A former Anglican priest, he converted to Orthodoxy in 1985 and studied for two years at St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Seminary in Pennsylvania.

The Gospel of Mark: The Suffering Servant by Fr. Lawrence R. Farley

Publisher’s Description: Christ’s journey to the cross. Popular book in the Orthodox Bible Study Companion Series. Israel expected the Messiah to be a conquering hero who would liberate the Jews from their Roman servitude. But instead, Christ came as a suffering servant to liberate all mankind from slavery to sin. The Gospel of Mark records Christ’s public ministry as a journey to the Cross, yet-paradoxically again-as a time of vigorous action when His miracles astounded the multitudes, and His boldness infuriated His foes.  About the Author:  Archpriest Lawrence Farley currently pastors St. Herman of Alaska Orthodox Mission (OCA) in Langley, B.C., Canada. He received his B.A. from Trinity College, Toronto, and his M.Div. from Wycliffe College, Toronto. A former Anglican priest, he converted to Orthodoxy in 1985 and studied for two years at St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Seminary in Pennsylvania.

Mary, Worthy of All Praise by Fr. David R. Smith

Publisher’s Description: In the Gospel of Luke, we hear the angel’s timeless proclamation to Mary, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women” (Luke 1:28). Every generation of Christians must contemplate these angelic words, for Mary is the Theotokos and Mother of Our Lord. Every culture must confront her mystery. Through its worship services, the Church gives us many opportunities to consider the place of the Mother of Jesus Christ in our lives. The beautiful Paraclesis service, sung every day during the Virgin’s Lent, offers the perfect vehicle to do just that. Sung from the first to the fifteenth of August, and at other times of illness and distress, the Paraclesis is a supplicatory song, a canon of praise, a collection of eight odes of love, a series of poems celebrating with honor the mother of God. Father David Smith shares with us his own personal meditations on Mary, based upon his reflections on the Paraclesis service. If you have a longing to make the Theotokos a greater part of your life—to bless her, as commanded by Gabriel— these thoughtful contemplations will encourage and profit you immensely.  About the Author:  Fr. David Smith and his wife, Donna, have four children and live in Utica, NY where he is the pastor of St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church.

At the Corner of East and Now by Frederica Mathewes-Green

Publisher’s Description: Acclaimed author Frederica Mathewes-Green takes us through a typical Divine Liturgy in her little parish of Holy Cross in Baltimore, setting of her well-loved book Facing East. Interspersed with reflections on the liturgy and the Orthodox faith are accounts of adventures around the country. In all the places she visits and all the people she meets, Frederica finds insights about faith, American life, and what it means to be human, and she shares these insights with the wit, pathos, and folksy friendliness that have made her one of the most beloved spiritual writers in America.

Becoming Orthodox by Fr. Peter Gillquist

Publisher’s Description: New Edition. After a long and difficult journey, 2000 weary evangelical Protestants finally found their way home. This is the story of a handful of courageous men and their congregations who risked stable occupations, security, and the approval of lifelong friends to be obedient to God’s call. It is also the story of every believer who is searching for the Church. Where Christ is Lord. Where holiness, human responsibility, and the Sovereignty of God are preached. Where fellowship is more than a covered-dish supper in the church basement.  And where fads and fashion take a back seat to apostolic worship and doctrine. This is a book for Christians looking for ways to bring new life to their own churches. It’s also a book for those completely dissatisfied—those on their own search. And it’s a book for Orthodox Christians looking for renewal. This revised edition includes a new epilogue, “Coming up on Twenty-Five Years” since the entry of the Evangelical Orthodox into the Holy Orthodox Church.

Fr. Mark Sietsema

Traveling as I have so much over the last three months, and being one who sleeps poorly in hotel rooms, I have seen lately more than my share of television at what I call the “Magic Pill Hour.”

You might know yourself, those wee hours of the morning when you can flip channels and find infomercial after infomercial touting the miracle solution to every problem in our American life.

There is a magic pill to help you stop smoking, a magic pill to help you have clearer skin, and above all, there are magic pills to make you lose weight. You don’t need prescription drugs, you don’t need will-power, you don’t need the slow, steady work of diet and exercise. You only need three easy payments of $19.95 … if you call right now, operators are standing by.

Are there really that many gullible people out there? I would like to think that we as a society are a little more educated, a little more sophisticated, a little less sleep–deprived than to fall for that. But apparently I’m wrong. There’s a real market for magic pills … and not just for matters of health.

We don’t want to sweat. We don’t want to strive. We don’t want to wait patiently for results. We want results in six weeks or less. Wars should last a month. Coach hasn’t won the World Series in seven years? Find a new guy who will win it this year!

We are a society that is addicted to quick fixes.

But quick fixes are rarely good fixes. We had a meeting recently of the youth leaders of the parish to talk about what we could do to keep our children in the church as they moved into the college years and beyond, for that is ultimately the goal of our youth ministries.

I did some research on the subject: what programs work best? What style of ministry proves effective? Do you know what I learned? There is no magic pill.

There are groups that have done scientific surveys on these issues. Do you know what they showed? The prescription for growing young people who are actively involved in church in their adulthood is this: you raise them in a family where the parents love each other and where the father and the mother are weekly churchgoers, all four seasons of the year.

There is no program, no sports league, no summer camp, no retreat, no revival that can match this combination for making lifelong church-goers out of our kids.

Today I have been asked to speak to you about stewardship. Stewardship of our church is really one of those areas where we have indulged the fantasy of magic pills. Why do we have this community, with this building and this staff and these activities?

In a word, salvation. This whole business of church – and it behooves us to use the word “business” in this discussion – this whole business of church exists for one reason and one reason only. To bring you to salvation in Christ Jesus our Lord. You are here because you understand yourself to be perishing and you seek from God the salvation that you need.

Now, who should pay for your salvation? You? Or someone else?

The costs associated with spiritual development: who should bear them? You? Or some non-parishioners with a taste for souvlaki and baklava? Churches have budgets: too often churches try to meet that budget in ways that involve other people’s money.

We make plans to get salvation and to have someone else foot the bill. Often such plans don’t work so well. And even when the fund-raising projects succeed, they fail–because they give the parishioners a sense that the working out of their salvation falls to a third party and not utterly on themselves.

There is no magic pill to replace stewardship. Only dedicated, regular, sacrificial giving of your treasures, proportional to the blessings you receive–only this in the long run serves to fund churches adequately.

It’s a lot to ask. And the church wouldn’t ask it of you … except it’s the only way. Nothing else works. Like diet plans that call for no “carbs” or no meat or only salads before 3 pm, quick fixes don’t work for very long. If you want to lose weight, the only proven approach is the slow steady lifetime approach of diet and exercise, of sweat and self-discipline.

If you want to have a church, a community with a building to house its worship and its activities, you have to ante up. You have to give – and give a lot.

And you have to give up things you might otherwise like. You have to make your church the top priority in your charitable giving, and not number two or three on the list.

There are lots of other worthy causes out there–the museum, the symphony, Doctors without Borders–but spiritual health starts with a healthy local church.

No other organization in history has been the seedbed for human compassion like the Christian Church. It is the soil in which most other humanitarian movements have sprouted.

And to be a good steward you also have to balance your spending on creature comforts. You have to weigh the pleasures of life against the good of your soul.

It is problematic when a Christian spends more in a year on the country club than he gives to his church, or spends more on concerts or season tickets or cable TV than he gives to his church.

There is a problem there, a profound problem of spiritual wellness.

Here’s the bottom line: good stewardship is hard. We fool ourselves when we fail to say that out loud. It’s really a burden to keep a church going, a burden on the families that hope to find salvation through the church.

A lot of churches advertise stewardship like something fun and easy. It isn’t. It won’t be. And if it is, then whatever you’re doing isn’t really stewardship.

There is no magic pill.

And yet … there is. If you really do commit yourself to the hard work of good stewardship, you will find that your sacrificial giving is itself the magic pill.

Faithful, sacrificial stewardship is the amoxicillin that helps clear up the infection of materialism.

Faithful, sacrificial stewardship is the Motrin that relieves the pain and swelling of selfishness and hedonism.

Faithful, sacrificial stewardship is the Ritalin that helps us stay focused on the life of the Kingdom of God.

It is the Xanax that relieves us of the worries that we have about the fate of our children and grandchildren in our present society.

Stewardship is the Valtrex that suppresses outbreaks of covetousness.

It is the Celebrex that helps us breathe freely the air of joyful, grateful living.

It is the Prozac that alleviates the depression of feeling like our lives aren’t making a difference in the world, because as faithful members of the church, we become part of God’s inexorable plan to redeem the entire universe.

When we give up on looking for magic pills to solve our church’s financial problems, paradoxically, we discover God’s miraculous medicine for so many of our spiritual ills: namely, faithful, meaningful, generous, committed, proportional, regular sacrificial stewardship.

The time has come to adjust your meds for the year to come. I come to you like Morpheus before Neo in the Matrix, with two pills. What will you choose? The magic pill of wishful thinking? Or the miraculous medicine of giving back to God according to the measure with which He has blessed you?

May our one true God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, enlighten you as you declare your commitment to the Lord in your act of stewardship.

 Fr. Mark Sietsema serves as pastor of the Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity in Lansing, Mich. 

Source:  Orthodox Observer Oct/Nov 2010

by St. John of Damascus

Anna was to be the mother of the Virgin Mother of God, and hence nature did not dare to anticipate the flowering of grace. Thus nature remained sterile, until grace produced its fruit. For she who was to be born had to be a first born daughter, since she would be the mother of the first-born of all creation, in whom all things are held together.

Joachim and Anna, how blessed a couple! All creation is indebted to you. For at your hands the Creator was offered a gift excelling all other gifts: a chaste mother, who alone was worthy of him.

And so rejoice, Anna, that you were sterile and have not borne children; break forth into shouts, you who have not given birth. Rejoice, Joachim, because from your daughter a child is born for us, a son is given us, whose name is Messenger of great counsel and universal salvation, mighty God. For this child is God.

Joachim and Anna, how blessed and spotless a couple! You will be known by the fruit you have born, as the Lord says: By their fruits you will know them. The conduct of your life pleased God and was worthy of your daughter. For by the chaste and holy life you led together, you have fashioned a jewel of virginity: she who remained a virgin before, during and after giving birth. She alone for all time would maintain her virginity in mind and soul as well as in body.

Joachim and Anna, how chaste a couple! While safeguarding the chastity prescribed by the law of nature, you achieved with God’s help something which transcends nature in giving the world the Virgin Mother of God as your daughter. While leading a devout and holy life in your human nature, you gave birth to a daughter nobler than the angels, whose queen she now is. Girl of utter beauty and delight, daughter of Adam and mother of God, blessed the loins and blessed the womb from which you come! Blessed the arms that carried you, and blessed your parents’ lips, which you were allowed to cover with chaste kisses, ever maintaining your virginity. Rejoice in God, all the earth. Sing, exult and sing hymns. Raise your voice, raise it and do not be afraid.

Source: Homily on the Nativity of the Theotokos (PG 96:663)

by Metropolitan of Nafpatkos Hierotheos Vlachos

I suspect that the custom of decorating a tree at Christmas time is not simply a custom which came to us from the West and which we should replace with other more Orthodox customs. To be sure, I have not gone into the history of the Christmas tree and where it originated, but I think that it is connected with the Christmas feast and its true meaning.

First, it is not unrelated to the prophecy of the Prophet Isaiah:
 ‘There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots’ (Is. 11:1). St. Cosmas the poet had this prophecy in mind when he wrote of Christ as the blossom which rose up out of the Virgin stem from the stump of Jesse. The root is Jesse, David’s father, the rod is King David, the flower which came from the root and the rod is Theotokos. And the fruit which came forth from the flower of the Panagia is Christ. Holy Scripture presents this wonderfully. Thus the Christmas tree can remind us of the genealogical tree of Christ as Man, the love of God, but also the successive purifications of the Forefathers of Christ. At the top is the star which is the God-Man (Theanthropos) Christ.

Then, the Christmas tree reminds us of the tree of knowledge as well as the tree of life, but especially the latter. It underlines clearly the truth that Christ is the tree of life and that we cannot live or fulfill the purpose of our existence unless we taste of this tree, ‘the producer of life’. Christmas cannot be conceived without Holy Communion. And of course as for Holy Communion it is not possible to partake of deification in Christ without having conquered the devil when we found ourselves faced with temptation relative to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, where our freedom is tried. 

We rejoice and celebrate, because ‘the tree of life blossomed from the Virgin in the cave’.

Excerpt from:

“The Feasts of the Lord: An Introduction to the 12 Feasts and Orthodox Christology” 

by Fr. Stephen Freeman

Forgive me if this offers any offense.

There is a conception of what it means to be human, rooted in Medieval thought and refined in the furnace of modernity. This conception views each person as a “free moral agent.” Each of us is a unique individual. Our choices are our own and set our path for good or ill. Moral decisions may be submitted to varying forms of ethical tests. The choices each individual makes may effect others around him, but does not impinge on the free moral agency of others. Salvation, in this conception, is an individual matter – between each of us and God. The Church, in this conception, is a free association of free moral agents, who gather together for worship and praise and other matters of mutual benefit.

This conception of humanity runs counter to the Tradition of the Church, substituting much later definitions and understandings for the thought of those who wrote Scripture, and those who, following them faithfully, propounded the Christian faith over the subsequent centuries. (A suggestion for reading – Charles Taylor’s Sources of the Self: The Making of the Modern Identity.)

When this matrix of a human as an individual moral agent is used as a lens through which Scripture is read – the result is often a distortion of Scripture (which was never meant to be a book for individuals). Such a lens all too easily ignores verses that clearly teach a different conception of what it means to be human and thus distorts the role of choice and free will as well as the account of salvation.

Were this distortion confined to an abstract debate then it would simply remain a matter of debate. But since it is actually based on flawed assumptions about the very nature of our existence – it goes far beyond mistaken thought and becomes positively harmful as a basis for human living, especially human life as a Christian.

We are created in God’s image – the image of the Triune God. This is not the same thing as saying each individual is created in the image of the Triune God (pace St. Augustine). All that God creates is pronounced “good.” The first thing described as “not good” is man alone. “It is not good for the man to be alone” (Gen. 2:18). We are created in the image of God – persons of  one essence – our existence is inherently a common existence. It is this reality that ultimately provides the ground for understanding our life in Christ and the path of salvation.

St. Paul offers these admonitions:

None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s (Romans 14:7-8).

So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another (Romans 12:5)

If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together (1 Cor. 12:26).

Within St. Paul’s statements is an understanding of what it means to be human – and particularly what it means to be persons who are members of the one body of Christ – in which individuality (as it stands alone) is the antithesis of the Christian understanding. Why should it be true that if one member of the body of Christ suffers, I should suffer as well? Does this not impinge on my freedom and reality as an individual moral agent? Of course it does – because I am not merely an individual moral agent. What each of us does effects all of us. Were it not so, Christ could not have taken upon Himself the sins of the world.

The forensic (legal) account of salvation, popular within many modern Christian circles, is easily misused, making our salvation extrinsic, a transaction offered on our behalf, but a transaction that only touches us as individual moral agents. We are forgiven as a man could be forgiven for a crime he has committed. He remains a criminal. This account of salvation is extremely well-suited to a world view in which man is seen primarily as an individual moral agent. He has been offered a forensic forgiveness. All that remains is for him to make a choice, accepting this boon with gratitude.

But such an account ignores the bulk of Christian Tradition (including large amounts of Scripture itself). Christ took the sins of the world upon Himself when He took upon Himself our human nature (at the Incarnation). He carried that burden to the Cross, into Hades, and raised it forgiven and healed in His Pascha. He remains united to us, having carried our humanity with Him in His glorious Ascension. Such an understanding of the Incarnation is consonant with the commonality of our existence.

“If one member suffers, all suffer together,” including the Head of the Body, Christ Jesus.

The truth of our existence is revealed in our life within the Church. The Church is the restoration of humanity to the truth of its existence. In the garden of Eden, human beings chose to act as individuals. Eve makes a choice – apart from Adam as Adam does apart from Eve. That rupture is perhaps more significant than the eating of the forbidden fruit itself.

The eating and drinking which are given in the life of the Church are a participation in a common life – the common life of God, given to us in Christ. “Whosoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him” (John 6:56). We are also told, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you” (John 6:53). All of the sacraments of the Church (indeed the whole of everything of the Church) have this same character.

The disruption of our common humanity is the result of sin. Such a disruption can be seen in the first murder (Cain kills Abel) and is writ large in the story of the tower of Babel. Our common life has been shattered by sin – and it is not healed by becoming more fully what sin made of it. We do not find our salvation as individuals, but as members of the Body of Christ. “Christ is our life” (Col. 3:4). The Church reveals the truth of human existence, indeed, the Church is what salvation looks like (as troubling as that thought may be). The life of the Church is a true union, a common life in Christ.

Prayer (as well as the whole of our Christian praxis) is properly understood in the context of our common life – and not within the confines of existence imagined as single and individual. Thus Christ teaches us to pray, “Our Father….” That prayer which is understood to be the most perfect – is a common prayer – the cry of our common heart in Christ.

Nor do we pray apart from Christ. “…God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’” (Gal. 4:6). Our prayer is the cry of Christ through the Spirit to the Father. In is in this way that we can pray, “Our Father.”

Prayer is the offering of our common life before God. Whether or not we ourselves enter into this common prayer, the prayer remains. In the Tradition we begin our prayers: “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” What follows is thus not our own individual existence but the voice of our common life given in Christ Jesus through the Spirit to the glory of God the Father.

In the matrix of humanity conceived as individual – prayer – at best – is conversation. It obviously does not inform God of what He does not know – nor does it convince Him to do what He does not will to do. As such, prayer is reduced to the sound of our own ego.

There are times when such a sound is all that we can manage – indeed there are times when we cannot manage even a sound. Such times are all the more reason to become increasingly familiar with the ceaseless prayer of the Son to the Father through the Spirit. It is also reason to become familiar with the voice of the whole Church (in heaven and on earth) as it prays in union with Christ.

The anxieties of those who refuse to understand the communion of saints, and the prayer which ascends ceaselessly from the Church, is, I think, largely born of an individualism – the hallmark of most forms of modern Christianity. Christ alone saves us (apart from Him we can do nothing), and yet it pleases Him to share His life with us (it is our true existence). There is not a life of Christ that is not also a saving life. Salvation is part of our common life, even though it be solely the work of Christ.

Many are scandalized when they first visit and Orthodox Church and hear the prayer, “Most Holy Theotokos, save us!” What they think they are hearing is Mary put in the place of Christ. In the Tradition there is no such thought. The prayer is a recognition of the one salvation in Christ of which the Mother of God is intimately a part.

The shift from individualistic thought to the understanding of life as communion is perhaps among the most difficult undertakings in the modern world. It runs counter to modern culture and asks us to enter a world that can seem quite foreign. But this strange world is nothing other than the Kingdom of God – life in Christ – communion in the life of Christ and the life of one another. May God hurry the day of our transformation!

Source

by Fr.  Joseph Bittle

Per a special request from one of our inquirers, two Orthodox Christmas music recommendations:

Christ is born! Give Glory!  Hymns, Chants, and Carols from my favorite Orthodox choral group, Archangel Voices.    Both the choral quality and the musical sellection are always excellent from this group.

Orthodox Hymns of Christmas  by the Choir of St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVS), my alma mater.  The recordings from the variuos SVS groups (mixed choir, male choir, male octet) are always of excellent quality and well directed.

These two are a good place to start.  Their are others available, but an Orthodox music collectionis built over time. 

Each of these should be available from places like Conciliar Press, SVS Bookstore, iTunes, eMusic, and/or Amazon.

On a non-liturgical, not specifically Orthodox note, I will share that my favorite Christmas CD picked up last year was A Christmas Celebration by Celtic Woman.

Enjoy!

By Father Daniel Daly

Several years ago during the Christmas season, a religious program on television caught my attention. The program featured a discussion on the dangers of cults, especially to young people. I found myself agreeing with the panelists as they warned young people about the hazards of involvement in occult or “new age” spirituality.

During the interview, however, one participant made a statement that shocked me: “…and the Christmas tree is pagan too…,” he asserted. The Christmas Tree? Pagan? Could it be that something most of us enjoy so much might be actually pagan in origin? Despite its growing commercialization, the Christmas tree is still associated with the fondest memories of our early childhood. Who does not remember approaching the tree on Christmas morning?

Today people are so captivated by it that some even put it up in November! It finds a place in the homes of believers and unbelievers alike.

Most people are aware that the Christmas tree came to America with immigrants from Germany, but just where did the Christmas tree originate? Are its origins to be found in paganism, as the speaker suggested?

The Christmas tree does not date from early Germanic times. Its origins are to be found in a tradition that has virtually disappeared from Christianity, the Liturgical Drama. In the Middle Ages liturgical plays or dramas were presented during or sometimes immediately after the services in the churches of Western Europe. The earliest of these plays were associated with the Mysteries of Holy Week and Easter. Initially they were dramatizations of the liturgical texts. The earliest recorded is the Quem quaeritis (“Whom do you seek?”) play of the Easter season. These plays later developed into the Miracle and Morality plays. Some were associated with events in the lives of well-known saints. The plays were presented on the porches of large churches. Although these liturgical dramas have now virtually disappeared, the Passion Play of Oberammergau, Germany is a recent revival of this dramatic form.

One mystery play was presented on Christmas Eve, the day which also commemorated the feast of Adam and Eve in the Western Church. The “Paradise Play” told the well-known story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Paradise. The central “prop” in the play was the Paradise Tree, or Tree of Knowledge. During the play this tree was brought in laden with apples.

The Paradise Tree became very popular with the German people. They soon began the practice of setting up a fir tree in their homes. Originally, the trees were decorated with bread wafers commemorating the Eucharist. Later, these were replaced with various kinds of sweets. Our Christmas tree is derived, not from the pagan yule tree, but from the paradise tree adorned with apples on December 24 in honor of Adam and Eve. The Christmas tree is completely biblical in origin.

The first Christmas tree dates from 1605 in Strasbourg. By the 1700s the custom of the Christmas tree was widespread among the German people. It was brought to America by early German immigrants, and it became popular in England through the influence of Prince Albert, the German husband of Queen Victoria.

The use of evergreens at Christmas may date from St. Boniface of the eighth century, who dedicated the fir tree to the Holy Child in order to replace the sacred oak tree of Odin; but the Christmas tree as we know it today does not appear to be so ancient a custom. It appears first in the Christian Mystery play commemorating the biblical story of Adam and Eve.

How legitimate is it to use a fir tree in the celebration of Christmas? From the very earliest days of the Church, Christians brought many things of God’s material creation into their life of faith and worship, e.g., water, bread, wine, oil, candles and incense. All these things are part of God’s creation. They are part of the world that Christ came to save. Man cannot reject the material creation without rejecting his own humanity. In Genesis man was given dominion over the material world.

Christmas celebrates the great mystery of the Incarnation. In that mystery God the Word became man. In order to redeem us, God became one of us. He became part of His own creation. The Incarnation affirms the importance of both man and the whole of creation. “For God so loved the world…”

A faith which would seek to divorce itself from all elements of the material world in search for an absolutely spiritual religion overlooks this most central mystery of Christmas, the mystery of God becoming man, the Incarnation.

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

Enjoy your Christmas tree.

Originally published in “The Word” magazine, December 2002. The Very Rev. Daniel Daly is pastor of St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, Grand Rapids, MI.

Hat tip with a hat tip.