Fr. Costa

The Feast Day of Sts. Constantine and Helen, Equal to the Apostles, May 21st

Wed, 16 May 2012 13:28:09 GMT

"The Church calls St Constantine (306-337) "the Equal of the Apostles," and historians call him "the Great." He was the son o the Caesar Constantius Chlorus (305-306), who governed the lands of Gaul and Britain. His mother was St Helen, a Christian of humble birth. At this time the immense Roman Empire was divided into Western and Eastern halves, governed by two independent emperors and their corulers called "Caesars." Constantius Chlorus was Caesar in the Western Roman Empire. St Constantine was born in 274, possibly at Nish in Serbia. In 294, Constantius divorced Helen in order to further his political ambition by marrying a woman of noble rank. After he became emperor, Constantine showed his mother great honor and respect, granting her the imperial title "Augusta." Constantine, the future ruler of all the whole Roman Empire, was raised to respect Christianity. His father did not persecute Christians in the lands he governed. This was at a time when Christians were persecuted throughout the Roman Empire by the emperors Diocletian (284-305) and his corulers Maximian Galerius (305-311) in the East, and the emperor Maximian Hercules (284-305) in the West. After the death of Constantius Chlorus in 306, Constantine was acclaimed by the army at York as emperor of Gaul and Britain. The first act of the new emperor was to grant the freedom to practice Christianity in the lands subject to him. The pagan Maximian Galerius in the East and the fierce tyrant Maxentius in the West hated Constantine and they plotted to overthrow and kill him, but Constantine bested them in a series of battles, defeating his opponents with the help of God. He prayed to God to give him a sign which would inspire his army to fight valiantly, and the Lord showed him a radiant Sign of the Cross in the heavens with the inscription "In this Sign, conquer." [The following night, our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to him in a dream and declared to him the power of the Cross and its significance. When he arose in the morning, he immediately ordered that a labarum be made (which is a banner or standard of victory over the enemy) in the form of a cross, and he inscribed on it the Name of Jesus Christ. On the 28th Of October, he attacked and mightily conquered Maxentius, who drowned in the Tiber River while fleeing. The following day, Constantine entered Rome in triumph and was proclaimed Emperor of the West by the Senate, while Licinius, his brother-in-law, ruled in the East. But out of malice, Licinius later persecuted the Christians. Constantine fought him once and again, and utterly destroyed him in 324, and in this manner he became monarch over the West and the East.] After Constantine became the sole ruler of the Western Roman Empire, he issued the Edict of Milan in 313 which guaranteed religious tolerance for Christians. St Helen, who was a Christian, may have influenced him in this decision. In 323, when he became the sole ruler of the entire Roman Empire, he extended the provisions of the Edict of Milan to the Eastern half of the Empire. After three hundred years of persecution, Christians could finally practice their faith without fear. Renouncing paganism, the Emperor did not let his capital remain in ancient Rome, the former center of the pagan realm. He transferred his capital to the East, to the city of Byzantium, which was renamed Constantinople, the city of Constantine (May 11). Constantine was deeply convinced that only Christianity could unify the immense Roman Empire with its diverse peoples. He supported the Church in every way. He recalled Christian confessors from banishment, he built churches, and he showed concern for the clergy. The emperor deeply revered the victory-bearing Sign of the Cross of the Lord, and also wanted to find the actual Cross upon which our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified. For this purpose he sent his own mother, the holy Empress Helen, to Jerusalem, granting her both power and money. Patriarch Macarius of Jerusalem and St Helen began the search, and through the will of God, the Life-Creating Cross was miraculously discovered in 326. (The account of the finding of the Cross of the Lord is found under the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, September 14). The Orthodox Church commemorates the Uncovering of the Precious Cross and the Precious Nails by the Holy Empress Helen on March 6. While in Palestine, the holy empress did much of benefit for the Church. She ordered that all places connected with the earthly life of the Lord and His All-Pure Mother, should be freed of all traces of paganism, and she commanded that churches should be built at these places [at the sites of the Crucifixion and Resurrection, in Bethlehem at the cave where our Saviour was born, another on the Mount of Olives whence He ascended into Heaven, and many others throughout the Holy Land, Cyprus, and elsewhere.] The emperor Constantine ordered a magnificent church in honor of Christ's Resurrection to be built over His tomb. St Helen gave the Life-Creating Cross to the Patriarch for safe-keeping, and took part of the Cross with her for the emperor. After distributing generous alms at Jerusalem and feeding the needy (at times she even served them herself), the holy Empress Helen returned to Constantinople, where she died in the year 327. Because of her great services to the Church and her efforts in finding the Life-Creating Cross, the empress Helen is called "the Equal of the Apostles." The peaceful state of the Christian Church was disturbed by quarrels, dissensions and heresies which had appeared within the Church. Already at the beginning of St Constantine's reign the heresies of the Donatists and the Novatians had arisen in the West. They demanded a second baptism for those who lapsed during the persecutions against Christians. These heresies, repudiated by two local Church councils, were finally condemned at the Council of Milan in 316. Particularly ruinous for the Church was the rise of the Arian heresy in the East, which denied the Divine Nature of the Son of God, and taught that Jesus Christ was a mere creature. By order of the emperor, the First Ecumenical Council was convened in the city of Nicea in 325. 318 bishops attended this Council. Among its participants were confessor-bishops from the period of the persecutions and many other luminaries of the Church, among whom was St Nicholas of Myra in Lycia. (The account about the Council is found under May 29). The emperor was present at the sessions of the Council. The heresy of Arius was condemned and a Symbol of Faith (Creed) composed, in which was included the term "consubstantial with the Father," confirming the truth of the divinity of Jesus Christ, Who assumed human nature for the redemption of all the human race. One might possibly be surprised by St Constantine's grasp of theological issues during the discussions at the Council. The term "consubstantial" was included in the Symbol of Faith at his insistence. [Falling ill near Nicomedia, he requested to receive divine Baptism, according to Eusebius (The Life of Constantine. Book IV, 61-62), and also according to Socrates and Sozomen; and when he had been deemed worthy of the Holy Mysteries, he reposed in 337, on May 21 or 22, the day of Pentecost, having lived sixty-five years, of which he ruled for thirty-one years. His remains were transferred to Constantinople and were deposed in the Church of the Holy Apostles, which had been built by him (see Homily XXVI on Second Corinthians by Saint John Chrysostom).]" (taken from: http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?SID=4&ID=1&FSID=101452, and quotes in brackets taken from: http://goarch.org/chapel/saints_view?contentid=62&type=saints&date=5/21/2009&D=TH)

The Feast of Mid-Pentecost

Wed, 09 May 2012 20:56:27 GMT

The information below is taken from the website of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America: goarch.org After the Saviour had miraculously healed the paralytic, the Jews, especially the Pharisees and Scribes, were moved with envy and persecuted Him, and sought to slay Him, using the excuse that He did not keep the Sabbath, since He worked miracles on that day. Jesus then departed to Galilee. About the middle of the Feast of Tabernacles, He went up again to the Temple and taught. The Jews, marvelling at the wisdom of His words, said, "How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?" But Christ first reproached their unbelief and lawlessness, then proved to them by the Law that they sought to slay Him unjustly, supposedly as a despiser of the Law, since He had healed the paralytic on the Sabbath. Therefore, since the things spoken by Christ in the middle of the Feast of Tabernacles are related to the Sunday of the Paralytic that is just passed, and since we have already reached the midpoint of the fifty days between Pascha and Pentecost, the Church has appointed this present feast as a bond between the two great feasts, thereby uniting, as it were, the two into one, and partaking of the grace of them both. Therefore today's feast is called Mid-Pentecost, and the Gospel Reading, "At Mid-feast"--though it refers to the Feast of Tabernacles--is used. It should be noted that there were three great Jewish feasts: the Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles. Passover was celebrated on the 15th of Nisan, the first month of the Jewish calendar, which coincides roughly with our March. This feast commemorated that day on which the Hebrews were commanded to eat the lamb in the evening and anoint the doors of their houses with its blood. Then, having escaped bondage and death at the hands of the Egyptians, they passed through the Red Sea to come to the Promised Land. It is also called "the Feast of Unleavened Bread," because they ate unleavened bread for seven days. Pentecost was celebrated fifty days after the Passover, first of all, because the Hebrew tribes had reached Mount Sinai after leaving Egypt, and there received the Law from God; secondly, it was celebrated to commemorate their entry into the Promised Land, where also they ate bread, after having been fed with manna forty years in the desert. Therefore, on this day they offered to God a sacrifice of bread prepared with new wheat. Finally, they also celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles from the 15th to the 22nd of "the seventh month," which corresponds roughly to our September. During this time, they live in booths made of branches in commemoration of the forty years they spent in the desert, living in tabernacles, that is, tents (Ex. 12:10-20; Lev. 23). Apolytikion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone Mid-way in the feast, refresh my thirsty soul with the flowing waters of piety. For You cried out to all, O Savior, "Let him who thirsts come to me and drink." You, O Christ our God, are the Fountain of Life, glory to You. Kontakion in the Fourth Tone O sovereign Master and Creator of all things, O Christ our God, Thou didst cry unto those present at the Judaic Mid-feast and address them thus: Come and draw the water of immortality freely. Wherefore, we fall down before Thee and faithfully cry out: Grant Thy compassions unto us, O Lord, for Thou are truly the Wellspring of life for all. The content on this page is under copyright and is used with permission, all rights reserved: Reading � Holy Transfiguration Monastery - Brookline, MA Apolytikion � Narthex Press Kontakion � Holy Transfiguration Monastery - Brookline, MA Icon compliments of St. Isaac of Syria Skete

Orthodoxy 101: Vesting of the Clergy

Mon, 07 May 2012 19:57:49 GMT

Before the "Orthros" or Matins (morning prayer), the Priest prepares himself for the Divine Liturgy by special prayers recited outside the Iconostasion (Altar Screen) before the Royal Doors. After paying his respects by kissing the Holy Icons of the Iconostasion, he enters the Sanctuary through the North Door saying: "I will enter Thy House, and in Thy fear, I will worship toward Thy Holy Temple." Having entered the Sanctuary, the Priest wears his Vestments. The Liturgical vestments come from the days of the first priests in the old testament. The purpose of vestments were "for glory and for beauty (Ex 28:2 & 40), to enable the leaders for "ministering in the holy place (Ex 35:19, 39:1, 41), "that they may serve Me as priests" (Ex 28:4, 41). Decorating our vestments comes from Old Testament time as well where the garments were bejeweled and made of beautifully colored "fine linen" skillfully worked" and embroidered with needlework (Ex 28:6, 36, 39). with bells of gold (Ex 28:33), and with a plate of gold engraved "Holy is the Lord" (Ex 28:36). They also prefigure our deification(2 Peter 1:4) where we "put off this lowly body and shine brighter than the sun as revealed in Christ's divine light at the Transfiguration" (Philippians 2:20-21). For each of the five (5) pieces he recites a special prayer as follows: 1. STICHARION: The Sticharion is the inner garment, reaching to the floor. It signifies the purity of heart, that should be inseparable from the Priestly Office. It states Christ's purity and illumination as well as the purity and brightness of the Holy Angels. Worn as the undermost vestment by bishops and priests, it is usually made from a simple white or gold fabric. It is worn as an outer vestment by deacons and subdeacons when it is usually more decorated. It is open down the sides but held shut with baubles or buttons. Some jurisdictions still call the sticharion which the deacon wears a dalmatikon in accordance with the terminology the universal Church used at the time of its introduction in the fourth century. It is also worn as the outer garment by acolytes. It usually has a cross embroidered or appliqu�d to the center of the back, between the shoulder blades. "My soul shall exalt in the Lord, for He has endued me with the robe of salvation, and with the garment of joy has He clothed me. He has set a crown on my head like a bridegroom, and like a bride He has adorned me with comeliness." (Isaiah Chapter 61, Verse 10) 2. EPITRACHELION: The Epitrachelion (stole: meaning "on the neck") signifies the outpouring of Grace from Above on the Priest. It also symbolizes the Cross carried by our Lord upon His shoulders. A church service cannot be celebrated without it. It denotes the balance, weight and responsibility that priests have for all our souls. The tassels that hang at the lower part of the Stole represent our souls that hang on the Spiritual Fathers neck. "Blessed is God, Who pours His grace on His Priests, like the balm on the head, that ran down the beard, even Aaron's beard, down to the skirts of his garment." (Psalm 133, Verse 2) 3. ZONE (Belt): The Zoni is worn over the Sticharion and Epitrachelion.This girding shows a Priest's readiness for service and the strength he receives from the Holy Spirit to succeed in his mission. "Blessed is God Who girds me with strength, and makes my way perfect." (Psalm 133, Verse 2) 4. EPIMANIKA (2 Pieces - Cuffs): The Epimanika symbolize God's creative hands and His omnipotence. The cords which tie them represent the rope with which the Lord was tied. (Wearing first Epimanika - right cuff) "Thy right hand, O Lord, is glorified in strength. Thy right hand, O Lord, hast shattered the enemy, and through the multitude of Thy glory Thou hast crushed Thine adversaries." (Exodus Chapter 15, Verses 6-7) (Wearing second Epimanika - left cuff) "Thy hands have made me and molded me; given me understanding, and I will learn Thy Commandments." (Psalm 119, Verse 73) 5. PHELONION (Chasuble - The outer vestment in form of cape): The Phelonion signifies the crimson Robe, with which the soldier clothed our Lord Jesus to mock Him while he was in the Praetorium.. "Let Thy Priest be clothed with righteousness; and let Thy Saints shout for joy, always, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen." (Psalm 132, Verse 9) Preparing to wear each of these parts of his Vestments, the Priest blesses them with the sign of the cross and kisses them. He then washes his hands to signify his cleanliness, reciting: "I will wash my hands among the innocent, and so will I go round Thine Altar, O Lord." (Psalm 26, Verse 6) Vested and completing the Proskomide, the Priest is prepared to begin the Divine Liturgy.

Leo the Great of Rome, Homily 71: On the Lord's Resurrection, I

Tue, 01 May 2012 13:32:29 GMT

http://www.monachos.net/content/patristics/patristictexts/175 I. We must all be partakers in Christ's Resurrection life In my last sermon, dearly beloved, not inappropriately, as I think, we explained to you our participation in the cross of Christ, whereby the life of believers contains in itself the mystery of Easter, and thus what is honored at the feast is celebrated by our practice. And how useful this is you yourselves have proved, and by your devotion have learnt, how greatly benefited souls and bodies are by longer fasts, more frequent prayers, and more liberal alms. For there can be hardly any one who has not profited by this exercise, and who has not stored up in the recesses of his conscience something over which he may rightly rejoice. But these advantages must be retained with persistent care, lest our efforts fall away into idleness, and the devil's malice steal what God's grace gave. Since, therefore, by our forty days' observance we have wished to bring about this effect, that we should feel something of the Cross at the time of the Lord's Passion, we must strive to be found partakers also of Christ's Resurrection, and 'pass from death unto life' while we are in this body. For when a man is changed by some process from one thing into another, not to be what he was is to him an ending, and to be what he was not is a beginning. But the question is, to what a man either dies or lives: because there is a death which is the cause of living, and there is a life which is the cause of dying. And nowhere else but in this transitory world are both sought after, so that upon the character of our temporal actions depend the differences of the eternal retributions. We must die, therefore, to the devil and live to God: we must perish to iniquity that we may rise to righteousness. Let the old sink, that the new may rise; and since, as says the Truth, 'no one can serve two masters', let not him be Lord who has caused the overthrow of those that stood, but Him Who has raised the fallen to victory. II. God did not leave His soul in Hell, nor suffer His flesh to see corruption Accordingly, since the Apostle says, 'the first man is of the earth earthy, the second man is from heaven heavenly. As is the earthy, such also are they that are earthy; and as is the heavenly, such also are they that are heavenly. As we have borne the image of the earthy, so let us also bear the image of Him Who is from heaven', we must greatly rejoice over this change, whereby we are translated from earthly degradation to heavenly dignity through His unspeakable mercy, Who descended into our estate that He might promote us to His, by assuming not only the substance but also the conditions of sinful nature, and by allowing the impossibility of the Godhead to be affected by all the miseries which are the lot of mortal manhood. And hence that the disturbed minds of the disciples might not be racked by prolonged grief, He with such wondrous speed shortened the three days' delay which He had announced, that by joining the last part of the first and the first part of the third day to the whole of the second, He cut off a considerable portion of the period, and yet did not lessen the number of days. The Savior's Resurrection therefore did not long keep His soul in Hades, nor His flesh in the tomb; and so speedy was the quickening of His uncorrupted flesh that it bore a closer resemblance to slumber than to death, seeing that the Godhead, which quitted not either part of the human nature which He had assumed, reunited by its power that which its power had separated. III. Christ's manifestation after the Resurrection showed that His person was essentially the same as before And then there followed many proofs, whereon the authority of the Faith to be preached through the whole world might be based. And although the rolling away of the stone, the empty tomb, the arrangement of the linen cloths, and the angels who narrated the whole deed by themselves fully built up the truth of the Lord's Resurrection, yet did He often appear plainly to the eyes both of the women and of the Apostles, not only talking with them, but also remaining and eating with them and allowing Himself to be handled by the eager and curious hands of those whom doubt assailed. For to this end He entered when the doors were closed upon the disciples and gave them the Holy Spirit by breathing on them, and after giving them the light of understanding opened the secrets of the Holy Scriptures, and again Himself showed them the wound in the side, the prints of the nails, and all the marks of His most recent Passion, whereby it might be acknowledged that in Him the properties of the divine and human nature remained undivided, and we might in such sort know that the Word was not what the flesh is, as to confess God's only Son to be both Word and flesh. IV. But though it is the same, it is also glorified The Apostle of the Gentiles, Paul, dearly. beloved, does not disagree with this belief, when he says, 'even though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now we know Him so no more'. For the Lord's Resurrection was not the ending, but the changing of the flesh, and His substance was not destroyed by His increase of power. The quality altered, but the nature did not cease to exist: the body was made impassible which it had been possible to crucify: it was made incorruptible, though it had been possible to wound it. And properly is Christ's flesh said not to be known in that state in which it had been known, because nothing remained passable in it, nothing weak, so that it was both the same in essence and not the same in glory. But what wonder if Saint Paul maintains this about Christ's body, when he says of all spiritual Christians 'wherefore henceforth we know no one after the flesh'. Henceforth, he says, we begin to experience the resurrection in Christ, since the time when in Him, Who died for all, all our hopes were guaranteed to us. We do not hesitate in diffidence, we are not under the suspense of uncertainty, but having received an earnest of the promise, we now with the eye of faith see the things which will be, and rejoicing in the uplifting of our nature, we already possess what we believe. V. Being saved by hope, we must not fulfill the lusts of the flesh Let us not then be taken up with the appearances of temporal matters, neither let our contemplations be diverted from heavenly to earthly things. Things which as yet have for the most part not come to pass must be reckoned as accomplished: and the mind intent on what is permanent must fix its desires there, where what is offered is eternal. For although 'by hope we were saved' and still bear about with us a flesh that is corruptible and mortal, yet we are rightly said not to be in the flesh, if the fleshly affections do not dominate us; and we are justified in ceasing to be named after that flesh, the will of which we do not follow. And so, when the Apostle says, 'make not provision for the flesh in the lusts thereof', we understand that those things are not forbidden us which conduce to health and which human weakness demands, but because we may not satisfy all our desires nor indulge in all that the flesh lusts after, we recognize that we are warned to exercise such self-restraint as not to permit what is excessive nor refuse what is necessary to the flesh, which is placed under the mind's control. And hence the same Apostle says in another place, 'For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it', in so far, of course, as it must be nourished and cherished not in vices and luxury, but with a view to its proper functions, so that nature may recover herself and maintain due order, the lower parts not prevailing wrongfully and debasingly over the higher, nor the higher yielding to the lower, lest if vices overpower the mind, slavery ensues where there should be supremacy. VI. Our Godly resolutions must continue all the year round, not be confined to Pascha only Let God's people then recognize that they are a new creation in Christ, and with all vigilance understand by Whom they have been adopted and Whom they have adopted. Let not the things, which have been made new, return to their ancient instability; and let not him who has 'put his hand to the plough' forsake his work, but rather attend to that which he sows than look back to that which he has left behind. Let no one fall back into that from which he has risen, but, even though from bodily weakness he still languishes under certain maladies, let him urgently desire to be healed and raised up. For this is the path of health through imitation of the Resurrection begun in Christ, whereby, notwithstanding the many accidents and falls to which in this slippery life the traveler is liable, his feet may be guided from the quagmire on to solid ground, for, as it is written, 'the steps of a man are directed by the Lord, and He will delight in his way. When the just man falls he shall not be overthrown, because the Lord will stretch out His hand'. These thoughts, dearly beloved, must be kept in mind not only for the Easter festival, but also for the sanctification of the whole life, and to this our present exercise ought to be directed, that what has delighted the souls of the faithful by the experience of a short observance may pass into a habit and remain unalterably, and if any fault creep in, it may be destroyed by speedy repentance. And because the cure of old-standing diseases is slow and difficult, remedies should be applied early, when the wounds are fresh, so that rising ever anew from all downfalls, we may deserve to attain to the incorruptible Resurrection of our glorified flesh in Christ Jesus our Lord, Who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.

St. John of Kronstadt: Sermon on the All-Joyous Day of Pascha

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:04:24 GMT

http://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2012/04/st-john-of-kronstadt-sermon-on-all.html I am the first and the last; I am He that liveth, and was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen, and have the keys of hell and of death. (Apoc. 1:17-18) These things saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth, and no man shutteth, and no man openeth. (Apoc 3:7) I congratulate you all on the Bright Resurrection of Christ, and on such a great and holy day I wish to talk to you, dear brothers and sisters, on these words of Holy Scripture; and I call you dear because you are very dear to our Lord Jesus Christ, Who redeemed us at an infinitely precious price-His most pure Blood, poured out on the Cross for our salvation. Remember this and do not forget; do not forget from what you have been redeemed at such a precious price: from sin, the curse, and death, both temporal and eternal. Guard yourselves with all your strength from sin, which has caused such misfortunes in the world, and even now causes every kind of misfortune. And so, I repeat: Christ is risen! In truth He is risen! I wish to explain to you the words from the Apocalypse of the Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian which are quoted at the beginning: "I am the first and the last; I am He that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen, and have the keys of hell and of death." By these mighty words the Lord indicates that He is the Unoriginate and Almighty Creator of everything visible and invisible, or the angelic world; that all creation received its beginning from Him, including Lucifer himself, cast down from heaven and become satan and the devil, the chief of the fallen angels. who dared to oppose God and enter into battle with his Creator and introduce sin and death into God's world. The Lord says: I am the first and the last; from Me all the created spirits received their beginning--the angels and the demons, who before were good and holy spirits; by My word heaven and earth and the whole human race were called into existence and given the laws of existence and life; by Me are accomplished and will be accomplished all births of creatures and, through Me will be the end of heaven and earth and all earthly creatures; through Me will be the universal resurrection and the judgment of all; through Me will be conquered and put under foot all My enemies and the whole kingdom of satan; by Me the final enemy---death is destroyed and annihilated. Since the Apocalypse of the Apostle John is the last book of the Holy Scripture and the first book is the Genesis of the world and the human race, written by inspiration of the Holy Spirit by the Prophet Moses, the Lord, indicating this, says that through Him the world and the account of its existence began: through Him also there will follow the end of the visible world, which is declared in special detail in the Apocalypse, which speaks Also of the final battle of the serpent or satan with the Lamb, Who was slaughtered and tasted death for the salvation of the World. Therefore the Lord says to John: I am the first and the last, that is through Me everything received its beginning, through Me it will end; through Me there will be the end of the world, the end of the kingdom of satan and the beginning of his eternal torment, the end of the battle of good with evil--the end of death, the end of dying--and righteousness will reign. From Me good and evil will receive their just reward; unrepentant sinners will go into eternal torment, and the righteous into eternal life. "Behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his word shall be" (Apoc. 22:12), the Lord says many times in the Apocalypse. Indicating that He endured death for us, and that without doubt the general resurrection will be through Him, the Conqueror of death, He says: "I was dead, and behold, I am alive for, evermore, amen;" and you also will be alive forever. This is the meaning of the words of Him Who arose: "I am the first and the last; I am He that liveth and was dead" for you, for your redemption from death, and I; that is: I conquered your death by My innocent death for your sake, and behold, I am also forever and will sit with My Father on His throne; I was not separated from Him, even though I was on earth accomplishing My great work for you who are subject to sin and death. Therefore, do you also, My followers, work and struggle against sin and do righteous deeds, and where I am, there shall My servant be also--that is, in the eternal Kingdom. Remarkable also are the Lord's words: "I have the keys of hell and of death;" and, in another place in the same book: "these things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no many shutteth; and shutteth and no man openeth." Just as the conquerors of cities in ancient times, as a sign of their victory, took the keys of the city gates and entered triumphantly into the conquered city, so also our Lord, having conquered hell and death for us by His own death, as Conqueror took from Satan the keys by which he had ruled for whole thousands of years, the keys of hell and death, and destroyed Hell, that eternal place of bonds for the earthborn, and liberated the eternal captives and led them out into the light of the Kingdom of Heaven.

St. John Chrysostom on the Resurrection of Christ

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 00:08:21 GMT

http://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2011/05/st-john-chrysostoms-homily-on-cemetery.html "For what cause did our fathers, leaving their houses of prayer in the city, establish the practice of assembling outside the city on this day and in this very place? In as much as here rests a multitude of the departed, today Jesus Christ went down to the dead; thus we also gather here. Why, this very place is called a place of sleep (cemetery), that you might know that they [who] have died and lie here have not died, but rest and sleep." "I will tell you something even more remarkable. Learn now [how Christ triumphed over the devil] and you will be even more amazed, for using the very weapons that the devil used to conquer us, Christ vanquished him! Once He seized his weapons, He triumphed over him, and listen now to how He did it: A virgin, wood, and death were the symbols of our defeat. The virgin was Eve, for she knew not man. The wood was the tree [in Paradise], and death was Adam's epitimion [penance]. But behold, a virgin, wood and death � the symbols of our defeat � became the symbols of our victory. For instead of Eve, we have Mary; instead of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, we have the tree of the Cross; instead of Adam's death, we have Christ's death. Do you see how the devil is vanquished by the very weapons wherewith he vanquished us? By the tree, the devil vanquished Adam; by the Cross Christ conquered the devil. That tree led to Hades, whereas the Cross led back from thence those that had been led there. And again, that tree hid the captive's nakedness, whereas the Cross revealed to all the naked Victor from on high. Adam's death condemned his descendants, whereas Christ's death raised all that had preceded Him. 'Who shall tell of the mighty acts of the Lord' [Ps. 105:2]? Out of death, to which we were subject, we became immortal. These are the accomplishments of the Cross! Have you learned what manner of victory this was? Have you learned how the victory was won? Learn also that this achievement was painless. We did not stain our weapons with blood. We did not stand in battle array. We received no wounds. We saw not war and yet we gained the victory. The battle was the Lord's, yet the crown was ours. Since, therefore, the victory is ours, let us shout jubilantly, exactly as soldiers do, and let us all chant the hymn of victory today, praising the Master: 'Death is swallowed up in victory! O death, where is thy victory? O Hades, where is thy sting?' [I Cor. 15:54]. These things has the Cross accomplished for us! The Cross is the trophy of victory against the demons, the sword against sin, the blade wherewith Christ smote the serpent. The Cross is the goodwill of the Father, the glory of the Only-begotten Son, the joy of the Holy Spirit, the ornament of the Angels, the safeguard of the Church, the boast of the Apostle Paul, the rampart of the Saints, the light of the whole world!" "By His death, Christ bound the chief of robbers and the prison guard, that is, the devil and death, and transferred their treasures, that is, the entire human race, to the royal treasury. ... The King Himself came to the prisoners ... and broke the doors, crushed the bars, vanquished Hades, and stripped the prison.

Dating Pascha in the Orthodox Church

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 20:02:36 GMT

The long-awaited common celebration of Pascha on April 15, 2001 by all Christians has come and gone. It was in 1990 when this coincidence last occurred and will be in 2004 when it occurs again. In anticipation of this common observance by all Christians, much was said and written. What was stressed was the need to keep alive the momentum of the occasion. Unless we all understand the significance of this event, it will remain nothing more than a peculiarity of the calculations related to the date of Pascha. In one sense, that is what it is. But in another sense, it is the convergence of all that we as Christians in the East and West profess regarding the centrality of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ as the cornerstone of our faith. Nothing challenges the credibility of this fact to non-believers more than the scandal of our division on this point of celebration. In the ardent desire to address this problematic and troubling reality, the following contribution is offered..... Almost from the very beginning of the existence of the Christian Church, the issue regarding the date of our Lord's death and resurrection presented variations. Although the New Testament relates these events to the Jewish Passover, the details of this relationship are not clear. On the one hand, the tradition of the synoptic gospels identifies the Lord's last supper with His disciples as a passover meal. This would place the death of our Lord on the day after Passover. On the other hand, the tradition of the gospel of St. John situates the death of our Lord at the very hour the paschal lambs were sacrificed on the day of Passover itself. This variation in the interpretation of the scriptures led to two different practices. The one observed Pascha on the day of Passover, regardless of the day of the week. The other observed it on the Sunday following Passover. By the 4th century, the latter practice prevailed throughout the Church universally; nevertheless, differences continued to exist. In response to this ongoing problem, the First Ecumenical Council convened at Nicaea in 325 took up the issue. It determined that Pascha should be celebrated on the Sunday which follows the first full moon after the vernal equinox-the actual beginning of spring. If the full moon happens to fall on a Sunday, Pascha is observed the following Sunday. The day taken to be the invariable date of the vernal equinox is March 21. Hence, the determination of the date of Pascha is governed by a process dependent on the vernal equinox and the phase of the moon. Another factor which figures prominently in determining the date of Pascha is the date of Passover. Originally, Passover was celebrated on the first full moon after the vernal equinox. Christians, therefore, celebrated Pascha according to the same calculation-that is, on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox. The correlation between the date of Pascha and the date of Passover is clear. Our Lord's death and resurrection coincided with Passover, thereby assuring a secure point of reference in time. This assurance lasted, however, only for a short time. Events in Jewish history contributing to the dispersion of the Jews had as a consequence a departure from the way Passover was reckoned at the time of our Lord's death and resurrection. This caused the Passover to precede the vernal equinox in some years. It was, in fact, this anomaly which led to the condemnation reflected in Canon 1 of Antioch (ca. 330) and Canon 7 of the Holy Apostles (late 4th century) of those who celebrate Pascha "with the Jews." The purpose of this condemnation was to prevent Christians from taking into account the calculation of Passover in determining the date of Pascha. Most Christians eventually ceased to regulate the observance of Pascha by the Jewish Passover. Their purpose, of course, was to preserve the original practice of celebrating Pascha following the vernal equinox. Thus, the Council of Nicaea sought to link the principles for determining the date of Pascha to the norms for calculating Passover during our Lord's lifetime. Despite the intervention of Nicaea, certain differences in the technicalities of regulating the date of Pascha remained even thereafter. This resulted occasionally in local variations until, by the 6th century, a more secure mode of calculation based on astronomical data was universally accepted. This was an alternative to calculating Pascha by the Passover and consisted in the creation of so-called "paschal cycles." Each paschal cycle corresponded to a certain number of years. Depending upon the number of years in the cycle, the full moon occurred on the same day of the year as at the beginning of the cycle with some exceptions. The more accurate the cycle, the less frequent were the exceptions. In the East, a 19-year cycle was eventually adopted, whereas in the West an 84-year cycle. The use of two different paschal cycles inevitably gave way to differences between the Eastern and Western Churches regarding the observance of Pascha. A further cause for these differences was the adoption by the Western Church of the Gregorian Calendar in the 16th century. This took place in order to adjust the discrepancy by then observed between the paschal cycle approach to calculating Pascha and the available astronomical data. The Orthodox Church continues to base its calculations for the date of Pascha on the Julian Calendar, which was in use at the time of the First Ecumenical Council. As such, it does not take into account the number of days, which have since then accrued due to the progressive loss of time in this calendar. Practically speaking, this means that Pascha may not be celebrated before April 3, which was March 21, the date of the vernal equinox, at the time of the First Ecumenical Council. In other words, a difference of 13 days exists between the accepted date for the vernal equinox then and now. Consequently, it is the combination of these variables which accounts for the different dates of Pascha observed by the Orthodox Church and other Christian Churches. Specifically with regard to this year's date of Pascha, the following observations are made. The invariable date of the vernal equinox is taken to be April 3 (March 21 on the Julian Calendar). Pascha must therefore be observed on the Sunday following the full moon which comes after that date. According to the 19-year Paschal cycle, the first full moon which comes after April 3 this year is on May 1 (April 18 on the Julian Calendar) - the day assigned to the Jewish Passover as calculated originally. In reality, this full moon falls on April 27, a discrepancy left uncorrected in the paschal cycle. As already stated, the provision of the First Ecumenical Council calls for Pascha to be observed on the Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox. Since May 1, for the reasons stated above, is taken to be the date of that full moon, the following Sunday, May 5, is the day on which Pascha is observed this year. If anything, this review of the complexities surrounding the issue of the date of Pascha underscores the compelling need to revisit it with patience and openness. This was the spirit which predominated at the most recent consultation on the matter held in Aleppo, Syria in 1997. One of its conclusions was that the present differences in the calendars and lunar tables (paschal cycles) employed rather than to differences in fundamental theological outlook. In view of the fact that both the Julian and Gregorian modes of calculation diverge from the astronomical data, it behooves us to return to the norms determined by the Council of Nicaea. Although the council did not itself undertake a detailed regulation of the paschal calculation, it did in fact respect available contemporary science regarding the vernal equinox and the phase of the moon. We can do no less today. October, 2001 Dr. Lewis J. Patsavos, Professor of Canon Law Holy Cross School of Theology Copyright: 2002 Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, Department of Internet Ministries goarch.org

The Resurrection of Lazarus by Saint John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of Saint John, Homily 62.

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 18:35:41 GMT

http://orthodoxmetropolisportland.org/hf_chrysostom_lazarus.html John xi. 1, 2. "Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, of the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment."(1) [1.] MANY men, when they see any of those who are pleasing to God suffering anything terrible, as, for instance, having fallen into sickness, or poverty, and any other the like, are offended, not knowing that to those especially dear to God it belongeth to endure these things; since Lazarus also was one of the friends of Christ, and was sick. This at least they who sent said, "Behold, he whom Thou lovest is sick." But let us consider the passage from the beginning. "A certain man," It saith, "was sick, Lazarus of Bethany." Not without a cause nor by chance hath the writer mentioned whence Lazarus was, but for a reason which he will afterwards tell us. At present let us keep to the passage before us. He also for our advantage informeth us who were Lazarus' sisters; and, moreover, what Mary had more (than the other), going on to say, "It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment." Here some doubting(2) say, "How did the Lord endure that a woman should do this?" In the first place then it is necessary to understand, that this is not the harlot mentioned in Matthew (Matt. xxvi. 7), or the one in Luke (Luke vii. 37), but a different person; they were harlots full of many vices, but she was both grave and earnest; for she showed her earnestness about the entertainment of Christ. The Evangelist also means to show, that the sisters too loved Him, yet He allowed Lazarus to die. But why did they not, like the centurion and the nobleman, leave their sick brother, and come to Christ, instead of sending? They were very confident in Christ, and had towards Him a strong familiar feeling. Besides, they were weak women, and oppressed with grief; for that they acted not in this way as thinking slightly of Him, they afterwards showed. It is then clear, that this Mary was not the harlot. "But wherefore," saith some one, "did Christ admit that harlot?" That He might put away her iniquity; that He might show His lovingkindness; that thou mightest learn that there is no malady which prevaileth over His goodness. Look not therefore at this only, that He received her, but consider the other point also, how He changed her. But, (to return,) why doth the Evangelist relate this history to us? Or rather, what doth he desire to show us by saying, Ver. 5.(3) "Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus." That we should never be discontented or vexed if any sickness happen to good men, and such as are dear to God. Ver. 3.(4) "Behold, he whom thou lovest is sick." They desired to draw on Christ to pity, for they still gave heed to Him as to a man. This is plain from what they say, "If thou hadst been here, he(5) had not died," and from their saying, not, "Behold, Lazarus is sick," but "Behold, he whom thou lovest is sick." What then said Christ? Ver. 4. "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby." Observe how He again asserteth that His glory and the Father's is One; for after saying "of God," He hath added, "that the Son of God might be glorified." "This sickness is not unto death." Since He intended to tarry two days where He was, He for the present sendeth away the messengers with this answer. Wherefore we must admire Lazarus' sisters, that after hearing that the sickness was "not unto death," and yet seeing him dead, they were not offended, although the event had been directly contrary. But even so they came to Him,(6) and did not think that He had spoken falsely. The expression "that" in this passage denotes not cause, but consequence; the sickness happened from other causes, but He used it for the glory of God. Ver. 6. "And having said this, He tarried two days."(7) Wherefore tarried He? That Lazarus might breathe his last, and be buried; that none might be able to assert that He restored him when not yet dead, saying that it was a lethargy, a fainting, a fit,(8) but not death. On this account He tarried so long, that corruption began, and they said, "He now stinketh." Ver. 7. "Then saith He to his disciples, Let us go into Judea."(9) Why, when He never in other places told them beforehand where He was going, doth He tell them here? They had been greatly terrified, and since they were is this way disposed, He forewarneth them, that the suddenness might not trouble them. What then say the disciples? Ver. 8. "The Jews of late sought to stone Thee, and goest Thou thither again?" They therefore had feared for Him also, but for the more part rather for themselves; for they were not yet perfect. So Thomas, shaking with fear, said, "Let us go, that we also may die with Him" (ver. 16), because Thomas was weaker and more unbelieving(1) than the rest. But see how Jesus encourageth them by what He saith. Ver. 9. "Are there not twelve hours of the day?"(2) He either saith this,(3) that "he who is conscious to himself of no evil, shall suffer nothing dreadful; only he that doeth evil shall suffer, so that we need not fear, because we have done nothing worthy of death"; or else that, "he who 'seeth the light of this world' is(4) in safety; and if he that seeth the light of this world is in safety, much more he that is with Me, if he separate not himself from Me." Having encouraged them by these words, He addeth, that the cause of their going thither was pressing, and showeth them that they were about to go not unto Jerusalem, but unto Bethany. Ver. 11, 12. "Our friend Lazarus," He saith, "sleepeth, but I go that I may awake him out of sleep." That is, "I go not for the same purpose as before, again to reason and contend with the Jews, but to awaken our friend." Ver. 12. "Then said His disciples, Lord, if he sleep he shall do well." This they said not without a cause, but desiring to hinder the going thither. "Sayest Thou," asks one of them, "that he sleepeth? Then there is no urgent reason for going." Yet on this account He had said, "Our friend," to show that the going there was necessary. When therefore their disposition was somewhat reluctant, He said, [2.] Ver. 14.(5) "He is dead." The former word He spake, desiring to prove that He loved not boasting; but since they understood not, He added, "He is dead." Ver. 15. "And I am glad for your sakes." Why "for your sakes"? "Because I have forewarned you of his death, not being there, and because when I shall raise him again, there will be no suspicion of deceit." Seest thou how the disciples were yet imperfect in their disposition, and knew not His power as they ought? and this was caused by interposing terrors, which troubled and disturbed their souls. When He said, "He sleepeth," He added, "I go to awake him"; but when He said, "He is dead," He added not, "I go to raise him"; for He would not foretell in words what He was about to establish certainly by works, everywhere teaching us not to be vainglorious, and that we must not make promises without a cause. And if He did thus in the case of the centurion when summoned, (for He said, "I will come and heal him--Matt. viii. 7,) it was to show the faith of the centurion that He said this. If any one ask, "How did the disciples imagine sleep? How did they not understand that death was meant from His saying, 'I go to awake him?' for it was folly if they expected that He would go fifteen stadia to awake him"; we would reply, that they deemed this to be a dark saying, such as He often spake to them. Now they all feared the attacks of the Jews, but Thomas above the rest; wherefore also he said, Ver. 16. "Let us go, that we also may die with Him." Some say that he desired himself to die; but it is not so; the expression is rather one of cowardice. Yet he was not rebuked, for Christ as yet supported his weakness, but afterwards he became stronger than all, and invincible.(6) For the wonderful thing is this; that we see one who was so weak before the Crucifixion, become after the Crucifixion, and after having believed in the Resurrection, more zealous than any. So great was the power of Christ. The very man who dared not go in company with Christ to Bethany, the same while not seeing Christ ran(7) well nigh through the inhabited world, and dwelt in the midst of nations that were full of murder, and desirous to kill him. But if Bethany was "fifteen furlongs off," which is two miles, how was Lazarus "dead four days"?(8) Jesus tarried two days, on the day before those two one had come with the message,(9) (on which same day Lazarus died,) then in the course of the fourth day He arrived. He waited to be summoned, and came not uninvited on this account, that no one might suspect what took place; nor did those women who were beloved by Him come themselves, but others were sent. Ver. 18. "Now Bethany was(1) about fifteen furlongs off." Not without cause doth he mention this, but desires to inform us that it was near, and that it was probable on this account that many would be there. He therefore declaring this adds, Ver. 19. "Many of the Jews came(2) to comfort them."(3) But how should they comfort women beloved of Christ, when(4) they had agreed, that if any should confess Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue? It was either because of the grievous nature of the calamity, or that they respected them as of superior birth, or else these who came were not the wicked sort, many at least even of them believed. The Evangelist mentions these circumstances, to prove that Lazarus was really dead. [3.] But why did not [Martha,] when she went to meet Christ,(5) take her sister with her? She desired to meet with Him apart, and to tell Him what had taken place. But when He had brought her to good hopes, she went and called Mary, who met Him while her grief was yet at its height. Seest thou how fervent her love was? This is the Mary of whom He said, "Mary hath chosen that good part." (Luke x. 42.) "How then," saith one, "doth Martha appear more zealous?" She was not more zealous, but it was because the other had not yet been informed,(6) since Martha was the weaker. For even when she had heard such things from Christ, she yet speaks in a groveling manner, "By this time he stinketh, for he hath been dead four days." (Ver. 39.) But Mary, though she had heard nothing, uttered nothing of the kind, but at once believing,(7) saith,(8) Ver. 21. "Lord, if Thou hadst been here, my brother had not died." See how great is the heavenly wisdom of the women, although their understanding be weak. For when they saw Christ, they did not break out into mourning and wailing and loud crying, as we do when we see any of those we know coming in upon our grief; but straightway they reverence their Teacher. So then both these sisters believed in Christ, but not in a right way; for they did not yet certainly know(9) either that He was God, or that He did these things by His own power and authority; on both which points He taught them. For they showed their ignorance of the former, by saying, "If thou hadst been here, our brother had not died"; and of the latter, by saying,(10) Ver. 22. "Whatsoever(11) thou wilt ask of God, He will give it thee." As though they spoke of some virtuous and approved mortal. But see what Christ saith; Ver. 23. "Thy brother shall rise again." He thus far refuteth the former saying, "Whatsoever thou wilt ask"; for He said not, "I ask," but what? "Thy brother shall rise again." To have said, "Woman, thou still lookest below, I need not the help of another, but do all of Myself," would have been grievous, and a stumblingblock in her way, but to say, "He shall rise again," was the act of one who chose a middle mode of speech.(12) And by means of that which follows, He alluded to the points I have mentioned; for when Martha saith, Ver. 24. "I know that he shall rise again(13) in the last day," to prove more clearly His authority, He replieth, Ver. 25. "I am the Resurrection and the Life." Showing that He needed no other to help Him, if so be that He Himself is the Life; since if He needed another,(14) how could He be "the Resurrection and the Life"? Yet He did not plainly state this, but merely hinted it. But when she saith again, "Whatsoever thou wilt ask," He replieth, "He that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." Showing that He is the Giver of good things, and that we must ask of Him. Ver. 26. "And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me, shall never die." Observe how He leadeth her mind upward; for to raise Lazarus was not the only thing sought; it was necessary that both she and they who were with her should learn the Resurrection. Wherefore before the raising of the dead He teacheth heavenly wisdom by words. But if He is "the Resurrection," and "the Life," He is not confined by place, but, present everywhere, knoweth how to heal. If therefore they had said, as did the centurion, "Speak the word, and my servant shall be healed" (Matt. viii. 8), He would have done so; but since they summoned Him to them, and begged Him to come, He condescendeth in order to raise them from the humble opinion they had formed of Him, and cometh to the place. Still while condescending, He showed that even when absent He had power to heal. On this account also He delayed, for the mercy would not have been apparent as soon as it was given, had there not been first an ill savor (from the corpse). But how did the woman know that there was to be a Resurrection? They(1) had heard Christ say many things about the Resurrection, yet still she now desired to see Him. And observe how she still lingers below; for after hearing, "I am the Resurrection and the Life," not even so did she say, "Raise him," but, Ver. 27. "I believe that Thou art the Christ, the Son of God." What is Christ's reply? "He that believeth on Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live,"(2) (here speaking of this death which is common to all.(3)) "And whosoever liveth and believeth on Me, shall never die" (ver. 26), signifying that other death. "Since then I am the Resurrection and the Life, be not thou troubled, though thy brother be already dead, but believe, for this is not death." For a while He comforted her on what had happened; and gave her glimpses of hope, by saying, "He shall rise again," and, "I am the Resurrection"; and that having risen(4) again, though he should again die, he shall suffer no harm, so that it needs not to fear this death. What He saith is of this kind: "Neither is this man dead, nor shall ye die." "Believest thou this?" She saith, "I believe that Thou art the Christ, the Son of God." "Which should come into the world." The woman seems to me not to understand the saying; she was conscious that it was some great thing, but did not perceive the whole meaning, so that when asked one thing, she answered another. Yet for a while at least she had this gain, that she moderated her grief; such was the power of the words of Christ. On this account Martha went forth first, and Mary followed. For their affection to their Teacher did not allow them strongly to feel their present sorrow; so that the minds of these women were truly wise as well as loving. [4.] But in our days, among our other evils there is one malady very prevalent among our women; they make a great show in their dirges and wailings, baring(5) their arms, tearing their hair, making furrows down their cheeks. And this they do, some from grief, others from ostentation and rivalry, others from wantonness; and they bare their arms, and this too in the sight of men. Why doest thou, woman? Dost thou strip thyself in unseemly sort, tell me, thou who art a member of Christ, in the midst of the market-place, when men are present there? Dost thou pluck thy hair, and rend thy garments, and wail loudly,(6) and join the dance, and keep throughout a resemblance to Bacchanalian women, and dost thou not think that thou art offending God? What madness is this? Will not the heathen(7) laugh? Will they not deem our doctrines fables? They will say, "There is no resurrection--the doctrines of the Christians are mockeries, trickery, and contrivance. For their women lament as though there were nothing after this world; they give no heed to the words engraven in their books; all those words are fictions, and these women show that they are so. Since had they believed that he who hath died is not dead, but hath removed to a better life, they would not have mourned him as no longer being, they would not have thus beaten themselves,(8) they would not have uttered such words as these, full of unbelief, 'I shall never see thee more, I shall never more regain thee,' all their religion is a fable, and if the very chief of good things is thus wholly disbelieved by them, much more the other things which are reverenced among them." The heathen(9) are not so womanish, among them many have practiced heavenly wisdom; and a woman hearing that her child had fallen in battle, straightway asked, "And in what state are the affairs of the city?" Another truly wise, when being garlanded(10) he heard that his son had fallen for his country, took off the garland, and asked which of the two; then when he had learnt which it was, immediately put the garland on again. Many also gave their sons and their daughters for slaughter in honor of their evil deities; and Lacedaemonian women exhort their sons either to bring back their shield safe from war, or to be brought back dead upon it. Wherefore I am ashamed that the heathen show true wisdom in these matters, and we act unseemly. Those who know nothing about the Resurrection act the part of those who know; and those who know, the part of those who know not. And ofttimes many do through shame of men what they do not for the sake of God. For women of the higher class neither tear(11) their hair nor bare their arms; which very thing is a most heavy charge against them, not because they do not strip themselves, but because they act as they do not through piety, but that they may not be thought to disgrace themselves. Is their shame stronger than grief, and the fear of God not stronger? And must not this deserve severest censure? What the rich women do because of their riches, the poor ought to do through fear of God; but at present it is quite the contrary; the rich act wisely through vainglory, the poor through littleness of soul act unseemly. What is worse than this anomaly? We do all for men, all for the things of earth. And these people utter words full of madness and much ridicule. The Lord saith indeed, "Blessed are they that mourn" (Matt. v. 4), speaking of those who mourn(1) for their sins; and no one mourneth that kind of mourning, nor careth for a lost soul; but this other we were not bidden to practice, and we practice it.(2) "What then?" saith some one, "Is it possible being man not to weep?" No, neither do I(3) forbid weeping, but I forbid the beating yourselves, the weeping immoderately.(4) I am neither brutal nor cruel. I know that our nature asks(5) and seeks for its friends and daily companions; it cannot but be grieved. As also Christ showed, for He wept over Lazarus. So do thou; weep, but gently, but with decency, but with the fear of God. If so thou weepest, thou dost so not as disbelieving the Resurrection, but as not enduring the separation. Since even over those who are leaving us, and departing to foreign lands, we weep, yet we do this not as despairing. [5.] And so do thou weep, as if thou wert sending one on his way to another land. These things I say, not as giving a rule of action, but as condescending (to human infirmity). For if the dead man have been a sinner, and one who hath in many things offended God, it behooveth to weep (or rather not to weep only, since that is of no avail to him, but to do what one can to procure(6) some comfort for him by almsgivings and offerings;(7)) but it behooveth also to rejoice at this, that his wickedness hath been cut short. If he have been righteous, it again(8) behooveth to be glad, that what is his is now placed in security, free from the uncertainty of the future; if young, that he hath been quickly delivered from the common evils of life; if old, that he hath departed after taking to satiety that which is held desirable. But thou, neglecting to consider these things, incitest thy hand-maidens to act as mourners, as if forsooth thou wert honoring the dead, when it is an act of extreme dishonor.(9) For honor to the dead is not wailings and lamentings, but hymns and psalmodies and an excellent life. The good man when he departeth, shall depart with angels, though no man be near his remains; but the corrupt, though he have a city to attend his funeral, shall be nothing profited. Wilt thou honor him who is gone? Honor him in another way, by alms-deeds, by acts of beneficence and public service.(10) What avail the many lamentations? And I have heard also another grievous thing, that many women attract lovers by their sad cries, acquiring by the fervor of their wailings a reputation for affection to their husbands. O devilish purpose! O Satanic invention!(11) How long are we but dust and ashes, how long but blood and flesh? Look we up to heaven, take we thought of spiritual things.(12) How shall we be able to rebuke the heathen,(13) how to exhort them, when we do such things? How shall we dispute with them concerning the Resurrection? How about the rest of heavenly wisdom? How shall we ourselves live without fear? Knowest not thou that of grief(14) cometh death? for grief darkening(15) the seeing part of the soul not only hindereth it from perceiving anything that it ought, but also worketh it great mischief. In one way then we offend God, and advantage neither ourselves nor him who is gone; in the other we please God, and gain honor among men. If we sink not down ourselves, He will soon remove the remains of our despondency; if we are discontented, He permitteth us to be given up to grief. If we are thankful, we shall not despond. "But how," saith some one, "is it possible not to be grieved, when one has lost a son or daughter or wife?" I say not, "not to grieve," but "not to do so immoderately." For if we consider that God hath taken away, and that the husband or son which we had was mortal, we shall soon receive comfort. To be discontented is the act of those who seek for something higher than their nature. Thou wast born man, and mortal; why then grievest thou that what is natural hath come to pass? Grievest thou that thou art nourished by eating? Seekest thou to live without this?(16) Act thus also in the case of death, and being mortal seek not as vet for immortality. Once for all this thing hath been appointed. Grieve not therefore, nor play the mourner, but submit to laws laid on all alike. Grieve for thy sins; this is good mourning, this is highest wisdom. Let us then mourn for this cause continually, that we may obtain the joy which is there, through the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Homily 63. John xi. 30, 31. "Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met Him. The Jews then which were with her," and what follows.(1) [1.] A great good is philosophy; the philosophy, I mean, which is with us. For what the heathen have is words and fables only; nor have these fables anything truly wise(2) in them; since everything among those men is done for the sake of reputation. A great good then is true wisdom, and even here(3) returns to us a recompense. For he that despises wealth, from this at once reaps advantage,(4) being delivered from cares which are superfluous and unprofitable;(5) and he that tramples upon glory from this at once receives his reward, being the slave of none, but free with the real freedom; and he that desires heavenly things hence receives his recompense, regarding present things as nothing, and being easily superior to every grief. Behold, for example, how this woman by practicing true wisdom even here received her reward. For when all were sitting by her as she mourned and lamented, she did not wait that the Master should come to her, nor did she maintain what might have seemed her due, nor was she restrained by her sorrow, (for, in addition to the other wretchedness, mourning women have this malady, that they wish to be made much of on account of their case,) but she was not at all so affected; as soon as she heard, she quickly came to Him.(6) "Jesus was not yet come into the town."(7) He proceeded somewhat slowly, that He might not seem to fling Himself upon the miracle, but rather to be(8) entreated by them. At least, it is either with an intention of implying this that the Evangelist has said the, "riseth up quickly," or else he showeth that she ran so as to anticipate Christ's arrival. She came not alone, but drawing after her the Jews that were in the house. Very wisely did her sister call(9) her secretly, so as not to disturb those who had come together, and not mention the cause either; for assuredly many would have gone back, but now as though she were going to weep, all followed her. By these means again it is proved(10) that Lazarus was dead. Ver. 32. "And she fell at His feet."(11) She is more ardent than her sister. She regarded not the multitude, nor the suspicion which they had concerning Him, for there were many of His enemies, who said, "Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?" (ver. 37); but cast out all mortal things in the presence of her Master, and was given up to one thing only, the honor of that Master. And what saith she? "Lord, if Thou hadst been here, my brother had not died." What doth Christ? He converseth not at all with her for the present, nor saith to her what He said to her sister, (for a great multitude was by, and this was no fit time for such words,) He only acteth measurably and condescendeth; and to prove His human nature, weepeth in silence, and deferreth the miracle for the present. For since that miracle was a great one, and such as He seldom wrought, and since many were to believe(12) by means of it, lest to work it without their presence should prove a stumbling-block to the multitude, and so they should gain nothing by its greatness, in order that He might not lose the quarry,(13) He draweth to Him many witnesses by His condescension, and showeth proof of(14) His human nature. He weepeth, and is troubled; for grief is wont to stir up the feelings. Then rebuking those feelings, (for He "groaned(15) in spirit" meaneth, "restrained His trouble,") He asked, Ver. 34. "Where have ye laid him?" So that the question might not be attended with lamentation. But why doth He ask? Because He desired not to cast Himself on (the miracle), but to learn all from them, to do all at their invitation, so as to free the miracle from any suspicion. "They say unto Him, Come and see." Ver. 35. "Jesus wept." Seest thou that He had not as yet shown any sign of the raising, and goeth not as if to raise Lazarus, but as if to weep? For the Jews show that He seemed to them to be going to bewail, not to raise him; at least they said, Ver. 36, 37. "Behold how he loved him! And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?" Not even amid calamities did they relax their wickedness. Yet what He was about to do was a thing far more wonderful; for to drive away death when it hath come and conquered, is far more than to stay it when coming on. They therefore slander Him by those very points through which they ought to have marveled at His power. They allow for the time that He opened the eyes of the blind, and when they ought to have admired Him on account of that miracle, they, by means of this latter case, cast a slur upon it, as though it had not even taken place. And not from this only are they shown to be all corrupt, but because when He had not yet come, nor exhibited any action, they prevent Him with their accusations without waiting the end of the matter. Seest thou how corrupt was their judgment? [2.] He cometh then to the tomb; and again(1) rebuketh His feelings. Why doth the Evangelist carefully in several places mention that "He wept," and that, "He groaned"?(2) That thou mayest learn that He had of a truth put on our nature. For when this Evangelist is remarkable for uttering great things concerning Christ more than the others, in matters relating to the body, here he also speaketh much more humbly than they.(3) For instance, concerning His death he hath said nothing of the kind; the other Evangelists declare that He was exceedingly sorrowful, that He was in an agony; but John, on the contrary, saith, that He even cast the officers backwards. So that he hath made up here what is omitted there, by mentioning His grief. When speaking of His death, Christ saith "I have power to lay down My life"(c. x. 18), and then He uttereth no lowly word; therefore at the Passion they(4) attribute to Him much that is human, to show the reality of the Dispensation. And Matthew proves this by the Agony, the trouble, the trembling,(5) and the sweat; but John by His sorrow. For had He not been of our nature, He would not once and again have been mastered by grief. What did Jesus? He made no defense with regard to their charges; for why should He silence by words those who were soon to be silenced by deeds? a means less annoying, and more adapted to shame them. Ver. 39. "He saith, Take ye away the stone." Why did not He when at a distance summon Lazarus, and place him before their eyes? Or rather, why did He not cause him to arise while the stone yet lay on the grave? For He who was able by His voice to move a corpse, and to show it again endowed with life, would much more by that same voice have been able to move a stone; He who empowered by His voice one bound and entangled in the grave-clothes to walk, would much more have been able to move a stone; why then did He not so? In order to make them witnesses of the miracle; that they might not say as they did in the case of the blind man, "It is he," "It is not he." For their hands(6) and their coming to the tomb testified that it was indeed he. If they had not come, they might have deemed that they saw a vision, or one man in place of another. But now the coming to the place, the raising the stone, the charge given them to loose the dead man bound in grave-clothes from his bands; the fact that the friends who bore him from the tomb, knew from the grave-clothes(7) that it was he; that his sisters were not left behind; that one of them said, "He now stinketh, for he hath been dead four days"; all these things, I say, were sufficient to silence the ill-disposed, as they were made witnesses of the miracle. On this account He biddeth them take away the stone from the tomb, to show that He raiseth the man. On this account also He asketh, "Where have ye laid him?" that they who said, "Come and see," and who conducted Him, might not be able to say that He had raised another person; that their voice and their hands might bear witness, (their voice by saying, "Come and see," their hands by lifting the stone, and loosing the grave-clothes,) as well as their eyes and ears, (the one by hearing His voice, the other by seeing Lazarus come forth,) and their smell also by perceiving the ill-odor, for Martha said, "He now stinketh, for he hath been dead four days." Therefore I said with good reason, that the woman did not at all understand Christ's words, "Though he were dead, yet shall he live." At least observe, that she speaketh as though the thing were impossible on account of the time which had intervened. For indeed it was a strange thing to raise a corpse which had been dead four days, and was corrupt. To the disciples Jesus said, "That the Son of Man may be glorified," referring to Himself; but to the woman, "Thou shalt see the glory of God," speaking of the Father. Seest thou that the weakness of the hearers is the cause of the difference of the words? He therefore remindeth her of what He had spoken unto her, well nigh rebuking her, as being forgetful. Yet He did not wish at present to confound the spectators, wherefore He saith,(8) Ver. 40. "Said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?" [3.] A great blessing truly is faith, great, and one which makes great those who hold it rightly with (good) living.(1) By this men (are enabled) to do the things of God in His(2) name. And well did Christ say,(3) "If ye have faith ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove, and it shall remove" (Matt. xvii. 20); anti again, "He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do." (c. xiv. 12. ) What meaneth He by "greater"? Those which the disciples are seen after this to work. For even the shadow of Peter raised a dead man; and so the power of Christ was the more proclaimed. Since it was not so wonderful that He while alive should work miracles, as that when He was dead others should be enabled to work in His name greater than He wrought. This was an indisputable proof of the Resurrection; nor if (that Resurrection) had been seen by all, would it have been equally believed. For men might have said that it was an appearance, but one who saw that by His name alone greater miracles were wrought than when He conversed with men, could not disbelieve unless he were very senseless. A great blessing then is faith when it arises from glowing feelings, great love,(4) and a fervent soul; it makes us truly wise, it hides our human meanness, and leaving reasonings beneath, it philosophizes about things in heaven; or rather what the wisdom of men cannot discover,(5) it abundantly comprehends and succeeds in. Let us then cling to this, and not commit to reasonings(6) what concerns ourselves. For tell me, why have not the Greeks been able to find out anything? Did they not know all the wisdom of the heathen?(7) Why then could they not prevail against fishermen and tentmakers, and unlearned persons? Was it not because the one committed all to argument, the others to faith? and so these last were victorious over Plato and Pythagoras, in short, over all that had gone astray; and they surpass those whose lives had been worn out in(8) astrology and geometry, mathematics and arithmetic, and who had been thoroughly instructed in(9) every sort of learning, and(10) were as much superior to them as true and real philosophers are superior to those who are by nature foolish and out of their senses.(11) For observe, these men asserted that the soul was immortal, or rather, they did not merely assert this, but persuaded others of it. The Greeks, on the contrary, did not at first know what manner of thing the soul was, and when they had found out, and had distinguished it from the body, they were again in the same case, the one asserting that it was incorporeal, the other that it was corporeal and was dissolved with the body. Concerning heaven again, the one said that it had life and was a god, but the fishermen both taught and persuaded that it was the work and device(12) of God. Now that the Greeks should use reasonings is nothing wonderful, but that those who seem to be believers, that "they" should be found carnal,(13) this is what may justly be lamented.(14) And on this account they have gone astray, some saying that they know God as He knoweth Himself, a thing which not even any of those Greeks have dared to assert � others that God cannot beget without passion, not even allowing Him any superiority over men;(15) others again, that a righteous life and exact(16) conversation avail nothing. But it is not the time to refute these things now. [4.] Yet that a right faith availeth nothing if the life be corrupt, both Christ and Paul declare, having taken the more care for this latter part; Christ when He teacheth,(17) "Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. vii. 21); and again, "Many will say unto Me in that day, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy Name? And I will profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from Me, ye that work iniquity"(18) (Matt. xxii. 23); (for they who take not heed to themselves, easily slip away(19) into wickedness, even though they have a right faith;) and Paul, when in his letter to the Hebrews he thus speaks and exhorts them; "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." (Heb. xii. 14.) By "holiness," meaning chastity, so that it behooved each to be content with his own wife, and not have to do with(20) any other woman; for it is impossible that one not so contented should be saved; he must assuredly perish though he have ten thousand right actions, since with fornication it is impossible to enter into the kingdom of heaven. Or rather, this is henceforth(21) not fornication but adultery; for as a woman who is bound to a man, if she come together with(22) another man, then hath committed adultery, so he that is bound to a woman, if he have another, hath committed adultery. Such an one shall not inherit the kingdom of heaven, but shall fall into the pit. Hear what Christ saith concerning these,(1) "Their worm shall not die,(2) and the fire shall not be quenched." (Mark ix. 44.) For he can have no pardon, who after (possessing) a wife, and the comfort of a wife, then acts shamelessly towards another woman; since this is henceforth wantonness.(3) And if the many abstain even from their wives when it be a season of fast or prayer, how great a fire doth he heap up for himself who is not even content with his wife, but mingleth with another; and if it is not permitted one who has put away and cast out his own wife to mingle with another, (for this is adultery,) how great evil doth he commit who, while his wife is in his house, brings in another. Let no one then allow this malady to dwell in his soul; let him tear it up by the root. He doth not so much wrong his wife as himself. For so grievous and unpardonable is this offense, that if a woman separate herself from a husband which is an idolater without his consent, God punisheth her; but if she separate herself from a fornicator, not so. Seest thou how great an evil this is? "If," It saith, "any faithful woman have(4) a husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him." (1 Cor. vii. 13.) Not so concerning a harlot; but what? "If any man(5) put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, he causeth her to commit adultery." (Matt. v. 32.) For if the coming together maketh one body, he who cometh together with a harlot must needs become one body with her. How then shall the modest woman, being a member of Christ, receive such an one, or how shall she join to herself the member of an harlot. And observe the excess of the one (fornication) over the other (idolatry). The woman who dwelleth with an unbeliever is not impure; ("for," It saith, "the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife"--1 Cor. vi. 15;) not so with the harlot; but what? "Shall I then make the members of Christ the members of an harlot?" In the one case sanctification remains, and is not removed though the unbeliever dwelleth with his wife; but in the other case it departeth. A dreadful, a dreadful thing is fornication, and an agent for(6) everlasting punishment; and even in this world it brings with it ten thousand woes. The man so guilty is forced to lead a life of anxiety and toil; he is nothing better off than those who are under punishment, creeping(7) into another man's house with fear and much trembling, suspecting all alike(8) both slave and free. Wherefore I exhort you to be(9) freed from this malady, and if you obey(10) not, step not on the sacred threshold.(11) Sheep that are covered with the scab, and full of disease, may not herd with those that are in health; we must drive them from the fold until they get rid of the malady. We have been made members of Christ; let us not, I entreat, become members of an harlot. This place is not a brothel but a church; if then thou hast the members of an harlot, stand not in the church, lest thou insult the place. If there were no hell, if there were no punishment, yet, after those contracts, those marriage torches, the lawful bed, the procreation of children, the intercourse, how couldest thou bear to join(12) thyself to another? How is it that thou art not ashamed nor blushest? Knowest thou not that they who after the death of their own wife, introduce another into their own house, are blamed by many? yet this action hath no penalty attached to it: but thou bringest in another while thy wife is yet alive. What lustfulness is this! Learn what hath been spoken concerning such men, "Their worm," It saith, "shall not die, and the fire shall not be quenched." (Mark ix. 44.) Shudder at the threat, dread the vengeance. The pleasure here is not so great as the punishment there, but may it not came to pass that any one (here) become liable to that punishment, but that exercising holiness they may see Christ, and obtain the promised good things, which may we all enjoy, through the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost be glory, for ever and ever. Amen. Homily 64 John xi. 41, 42. "Jesus lifted up His eyes, and said, Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard Me; and I knew that Thou hearest Me always, hut because of the people which stand by, I said it." And what follows. [1.] WHAT I have often said, I will now say, that Christ looketh not so much to His own honor as to our salvation; not how He may utter some sublime saying, but how something able to draw us to Him. On which account His sublime and mighty sayings are few, and those also hidden, but the humble and lowly are many, and abound(1) through His discourses. For since by these men were the rather brought over, in these He continueth; and He doth not on the one hand utter these(2) universally, lest the men that should come after should receive damage, nor, on the other hand, doth He entirely withhold those,(3) lest the men of that time should be offended. Since they who have passed from lowmindedness unto perfection,(4) will be able from even a single sublime doctrine to discern the whole, but those who were ever lowminded, unless they had often heard these lowly sayings,(5) would not have come to Him(6) at all. In fact, even after so many such sayings they do not remain firm, but even stone and persecute Him, and try to kill Him, and call Him blasphemer. And when He maketh Himself equal with God, they say, "This man blasphemeth" (Matt. ix. 3); and when He saith, "Thy sins be forgiven thee" (c. x. 20), they moreover call Him a demoniac. So when He saith that the man who heareth His words is stronger than death, or, "I am in the Father and the Father in Me" (c. viii. 51), they leave Him; and again, they are offended when He saith that He came down from heaven. (c. vi. 33, 60.) If now they could not bear these sayings, though seldom uttered, scarcely, had His discourse been always sublime, had it been of this texture, would they have given heed to Him? When therefore He saith, "As the Father commanded Me, so I speak"(7) (c. xiv. 31); and, "I am not come(8) of Myself" (c. vii. 28), then they believe. That they did believe then is clear, from the Evangelist signifying this besides, and saying, "As He spake these words, many believed on Him." (c. v. 30.) If then lowly speaking drew men to(9) faith, and high speaking scared them away,(10) must it not be a mark of extreme folly not to see at a glance how to reckon(11) the sole reason of those lowly sayings, namely, that they were uttered because of the hearers. Since in another place when He had desired to say some high thing, He withheld it, adding this reason, and saying, "Lest we should offend them, cast a hook into the sea." (Matt. xvii. 27.) Which also He doth here; for after saying, "I know that Thou hearest Me always," He addeth. "but because of the multitude which standeth around I said it, that they might believe." Are these words ours? Is this a human conjecture? When then a man will not endure to be persuaded by what is written, that(12) they were offended at sublime things, how, when he heareth Christ saying that He spake in a lowly manner that they might not be offended, how, after that, shall he suspect that the mean sayings belonged to His nature, not to His condescension?(13) So in another place, when a voice came down from heaven, He said, "This voice came not because of Me, but for your sakes." (c. xii. 30.) who is exalted may be allowed to speak lowly things of himself, but it is not lawful for the humble to utter concerning himself anything grand or sublime. For the former ariseth from condescension, and has for its cause the weakness of the hearers; or rather (it has for its cause) the leading them to(14) humblemindedness, and His being clothed in flesh, and the teaching the hearers to say nothing great concerning themselves, and His being deemed an enemy of God, and not being believed to have come from God, His being suspected of breaking the Law, and the fact that the hearers looked on Him with an evil eye, and were ill disposed towards Him, because He said that He was equal to God.(15) But that a lowly man should say any great thing of Himself, hath no cause either reasonable or unreasonable;(16) it can only be folly, impudence, and unpardonable boldness. Wherefore then doth Christ speak humbly, being of that ineffable and great Substance? For the reasons mentioned, and that He might not be deemed unbegotten; for Paul seems to have feared some such thing as this; wherefore he saith, "Except Him who did put all things under Him." (1 Cor. xv. 27.) This it is impious even to think of. Since if being less than Him who begat Him, and of a different Substance, He had been deemed equal, would He not have used every means that this might not be thought? But now He doth the contrary, saying, "If I do not the works of Him that sent Me,(1) believe Me not." (c. x. 37.) Indeed His saying, that "I am in the Father and the Father in Me" (c. xiv. 10), intimateth to us the equality. It would have behooved, if He had been inferior, to refute this opinion with much vehemence, and not at all to have said, "I am in the Father and the Father in me" (c. x. 30), or that, "We are One," or that, "He that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father." (c. xiv. 9.) Thus also, when His discourse was concerning power, He said, "I and the Father are One"; and when His discourse was concerning authority, He said again, "For as the Father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom He wilt" (c. v. 21); which it would be impossible that He should do were He of a different substance; or even allowing that it were possible, yet it would not have behooved to say this, lest they should suspect that the substance was one and the same. Since if in order that they may not suppose Him to be an enemy of God, He often even uttereth words unsuited to Him, much more should He then have done so; but now, His saying, "That they should honor the Son even as they honor the Father" (c. v. 23); His saying, "The works which He doeth, I do also" (c. v. 19); His saying that He is "the Resurrection, and the Life, and the Light of the world" (c. xi. 25; c. viii. 12), are the expressions of One making Himself equal to Him who begat Him, and confirming the suspicion which they entertained. Seest thou(2) how He maketh this speech and defense, to show that He broke not the Law, and that He not only doth not remove, but even confirmeth the opinion of His equality with the Father? So also when they said, "Thou blasphemest, because thou makest thyself God" (c. x....

St. John Chrysostom Prepares Us for Holy and Great Week and Sacred Pascha

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 14:25:09 GMT

St John Chrysostom on Matthew 27:45-54 Homily 88 in Vol 10, NPNF Matthew Chapter 27, Verse 45-Matthew Chapter 27, Verse 48: "Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, and said, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, my God my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Some of them that stood there, when they heard that said, this man calleth for Elias. And straight way one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave Him to drink." This is the sign which before He had promised to give them when they asked it, saying, "An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas; " meaning His cross, and His death, His burial, and His resurrection. And again, declaring in another way the virtue of the cross, He said, "When ye have lifted up the Son of Man, then shall ye know that I am He." And what He saith is to this purport: "When ye have crucified me, and think ye have overcome me, then, above all, shall ye know my might." For after the crucifixion, the city was destroyed, and the Jewish state came to an end, they fell away from their polity and their freedom, the gospel flourished, the word' was spread abroad to the ends of the world; both sea and land, both the inhabited earth and the desert perpetually proclaim its' power. These things then He meaneth, and those which took place at the very time of the crucifixion. For indeed it was much more marvellous that these things should be done, when He was nailed to the cross, than when He was walking on earth. And not in this respect only was the wonder, but because from heaven also was that done which. they had sought, and it was over all the world, which had never before happened, but in Egypt only, when the passover was to be fulfilled. For indeed those events were a type of these. And observe when it took place. At midday, that all that dwell on the earth may know it, when it was day all over the world; which was enough to convert them, not by the greatness of the miracle only, but also by its taking place in due season. For after all their insulting, and their lawless derision, this is done, when they had let go their anger, when they had ceased mocking, when they were satiated with their jeerings, and had spoken all that they were minded; then He shows the darkness, in order that at least so (having vented their anger) they may profit by the miracle. For this was more marvellous than to come down from the cross, that being on the cross He should work these things. For whether they thought He Himself had done it, they ought to have believed and to have feared; or whether not He, but the Father, yet thereby ought they to have been moved to compunction, for that darkness was a token of His anger at their crime. For that it was not an eclipse, but both wrath and indignation, is not hence alone manifest, but also by the time, for it continued three hours, but an eclipse takes place in one moment of time, and they know it, who have seen this; and indeed it hath taken place even in our generation. And how, you may say, did not all marvel, and account Him to be God? Because the race of man was then held in a state of great carelessness and vice. And this miracle was but one, and when it had taken place, immediately passed away; and no one was concerned to inquire into the cause of it, and great was the prejudice and the habit of ungodliness. And they knew not what was the cause of that which took place, and they thought perhaps this happened so, in the way of an eclipse or some natural effect. And why dost thou marvel about them that are without, that knew nothing, neither inquired by reason of great indifference, when even those that were in Judaea itself, after so many miracles, yet continued using Him despitefully, although He plainly showed them that He Himself wrought this thing. And for this reason, even after this He speaks, that they might learn that He was still alive, and that He Himself did this, and that they might become by this also more gentle, and He saith, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that unto His last breath they might see that He honors His Father, and is no adversary of God. Wherefore also He uttered a certain cry from the prophet, even to His last hour bearing witness to the Old Testament, and not simply a cry from the prophet, but also in Hebrew, so as to be plain and intelligible to them, and by all things He shows how He is of one mind with Him that begat Him. But mark herein also their wantonness, and intemperance, and folly. They thought (it is said) that it was Elias whom He called, and straightway they gave Him vinegar to drink. But another came unto Him, and "pierced His side with a spear." What could be more lawless, what more brutal, than these men; who carried their madness to so great a length, offering insult at last even to a dead body? But mark thou, I pray thee, how He made use of their wickednesses for our salvation. For after the blow the fountains of our salvation gushed forth from thence. "And Jesus, when He had cried with a loud voice, yielded up the Ghost." This is what He said, "I have power to lay down my life, and I have power to take it again," and, "I lay it down of myself." So for this cause He cried with the voice, that it might be shown that the act is done by power. Mark at any rate saith, that "Pilate marvelled if He were already dead:" and that the centurion for this cause above all believed, because He died with power. This cry rent the veil, and opened the tombs, and made the house desolate. And He did this, not as offering insult to the temple (for how should He, who saith, "Make not my Father's house a house of merchandise," but declaring them to be unworthy even of His abiding there; like as also when He delivered it over to the Babylonians. But not for this only were these things done, but what took place was a prophecy of the coming desolation, and of the change into the greater and higher state; and a sign of His might. And together with these things He showed Himself also by what followed after these things, by the raising of the dead. For in the instance of Elisha; one on touching a dead body rose again, but now by a voice He raised them, His body continuing up there, on the cross. And besides, those things were a type of this. For that this might be believed, therefore is that all done. And they are not merely raised, but also rocks are rent, and the earth shaken, that they might learn, that He was able to strike themselves blind, and to rend them in pieces. For He that cleft rocks asunder, and darkened the world, much more could have done these things to them, had it been His will. But He would not, but having discharged His wrath upon the elements, them it was His will to save by clemency. But they abated not their madness. Such is envy, such is jealousy, it is not easily stayed. At that time then they were impudent in setting themselves against the actual appearances; and afterwards even against the things themselves, when a seal being put upon Him, and soldiers watching Him, He rose again, and they heard these things from the very guards; they even gave money, in order both to corrupt others, and to steal away the history of the resurrection. Marvel not therefore if at this time also they were perverse, being thus altogether prepared to set themselves impudently against all things; but observe this other point, how great signs He had wrought, some from Heaven, some on earth, some in the very temple, at once marking His indignation, and at the same time showing that what were unapproachable are now to be entered, and that Heaven shall be opened; and the work removed to the true Holy of Holies. And they indeed said, "If He be the King of Israel, let Him come down now from the cross," but He shows that He is King of all the world. And whereas those men said, "Thou that destroyest this temple, and buildest it in three days," He shows that it shall be made forever desolate. Again they said, "He saved others, Himself He cannot save." but He while abiding on the cross proved this most abundantly on the bodies of His servants. For if for Lazarus to rise on the fourth day was a great thing, how much more for all those who had long ago fallen asleep, at once to appear alive, which was a sign of the future resurrection. For, "many bodies of the saints which slept, arose," it is said, "and went into the holy city, and appeared to many." For in order that what was done might not be accounted to be an imagination, they appear, even to many, in the city. And the Centurion too then glorified God, saying, "Truly this was a righteous man. And the multitudes that came together to that sight, returned beating their breasts." So great was the power of the crucified, that after so many mockings, and scoffs, and jeers, both the centurion was moved to compunction, and the people. And some say that there is also a martyrdom of this centurion, who after these things grew to manhood in the faith.

Man Was Created For Incorruption

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 13:49:38 GMT

(by Archpriest Vasily Demidov) http://orthodoxinfo.com/general/relics.aspx "God made not death: neither hath He pleasure in the destruction of the living" (Wisdom 1:13). "God created man for incorruption and made him to be an image of His own eternity" (Wisdom 2:23). Corruption appeared after the fall. "Through the hatred of the devil death entered he world" (Wisdom 2:24). "Righteousness is immortal, but injustice causeth death" (Wisdom 1:15). "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom. 6:23). As a result of the fall, the fate of man was altered. After death, his dust returned to the earth from which it had been taken, and his spirit returned to God Who had bestowed it (Eccl. 12:7). Therefore, the bodies of all men, both righteous and sinful, are interred in the earth. But the bodies of certain "friends of God," in accordance with His will, escape the universal corruption and remain, at times whole, at times partially intact. Death is the common rule for all that live. However, the words of the Bible point out to us the exceptions to this law. Enoch and Elias, born on earth and subject to the common law of death, did not die; but having conquered the law of death, they were transported to the Kingdom of Heaven while yet in the body. The accounts of their translation and present state are recorded in Genesis 5:4 and III Kings 2. In the course of so great a time these righteous men have remained in that degree of growth in which they were taken up, in accordance with the special Providence of God. They have teeth, a stomach, reproductive members, even though they have no need of food or wives. Who can comprehend or explain this mystery? The kingdom of death, the dominion of the Queen of terrors, was overcome by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the firstfruits from among the dead. And "if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature" (II Cor. 5:17) and incorruption is given unto him. "Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord... Jesus Christ, Who hath abolished death and hath brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel" (II Tim. 1:8, 10). At the Resurrection of Christ "many bodies of the Saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after His Resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many" (Mt. 7:52). Tradition bears witness that several of these resurrected Saints survived until the beginning of the second century and were known amongst the Christian societies as living witnesses to the Resurrection of Christ.

THE ANNUNCIATION OF THE VIRGIN MARY by Metropolitan Hierotheos (Vlachos) of Nafpaktos

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 14:06:49 GMT

The feast of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary is a feast of the Lord and of the Mother of God (Theotokos). It is a feast of the Lord because Christ who was conceived in the womb of the Theotokos. It is a feast of the Theotokos because it refers to the person who aided in the conception and Incarnation of the Word of God, that is, the All Holy Virgin Mary. Mary (the Theotokos) has great value and an important position in the Church, precisely because she was the person whom all generations awaited, and she gave human nature to the Word of God. Thus the person of the Theotokos is associated closely with the Person of Christ. Furthermore, the value of the Virgin Mary is not only due to her virtues, but also mainly to the fruit of her womb. For this reason, Theotokology is very closely associated with Christology. When we speak of Christ we cannot ignore her who gave Him flesh. And when we speak of the Virgin Mary, we simultaneously refer to Christ, because from Him she draws Grace and value. This shows clearly in the service of the Salutations, in which the Theotokos is hymned, but always in combination with the fact that she is the mother of Christ: "Rejoice, for you are the throne of the king. Rejoice for you bear Him Who bears all things". This connection of Christology and Theotokology shows in the lives of the Saints as well. A characteristic mark of the Saints, who are the real members of the Body of Christ, is that they love the Virgin Mary. It is impossible for there to be a Saint who does not love her. The Annunciation of the Theotokos is the beginning of all feasts of the Lord. In the dismissal hymn of the feast we chant: "Today is the beginning of our salvation and the revelation of the mystery from the ages..." The content of the feast refers to the Archangel Gabriel�s (the angel associated with all events having to do with the Incarnation of Christ) visit to the Virgin Mary (with God's command) informing her that the time of the Incarnation of the Word of God had arrived, and that she would become His mother (see Luke 1:26-56). The word "annunciation" is comprised of two words, good and message, and denotes the good notification, the good announcement. This refers to the information that was given through the Archangel that the Word of God would be incarnated for man's salvation. Essentially this is the fulfilment of God's promise, given after the fall of Adam and Eve (see Gen. 3:15), which is called the proto-evangelion (i.e., the first gospel). For this reason the information of the Incarnation of the Word of God is the greatest notification in history. According to St. Maximos the Confessor, the gospel of God is the intercession of God and the comforting of men through His incarnate Son. Simultaneously it is the reconciliation of men with the Father, Who gives the unborn theosis as a reward to those who obey Christ. Theosis is called unborn because it is not born but rather is revealed to those who are worthy. Consequently, the theosis that is offered through the incarnate Christ is not a birth, but a revelation of the enhypostatic illumination to those who are worthy of this revelation. The good announcement, the gospel, the Annunciation, is a correction of the events, which occurred at the beginning of man's creation, in the sensorial Paradise of Eden. There, from a woman the Fall and its results began; here, from a woman all good things began. Thus, the Virgin Mary is the new Eve. There was the sensorial Paradise; here, the Church. There, Adam; here, Christ. There, Eve; here Maria. There, the snake; here, Gabriel. There, the whispering of the dragon-snake to Eve; here the greeting of the angel to Mary (Joseph Vryenios). In this manner the transgression of Adam and Eve was corrected. The Archangel Gabriel called the Virgin Mary "full of grace." He told her: "Rejoice, O thou who art full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women" (Luke 1:28-29). The Virgin Mary is called "full of grace" and is characterised as "blessed" since God is with her. According to Saint Gregory Palamas and other holy Fathers, the Virgin Mary had already been filled with grace, and was not just filled with grace on the day of the Annunciation. Having remained in the holy of holies of the Temple, she reached the holy of holies of the spiritual life, theosis. If the courtyard of the Temple was destined for the proselytes and the main Temple for the priests, then the holy of holies was destined for the high priest. There the Virgin Mary entered, a sign that she had reached theosis. It is known that in the Christian age, the narthex was destined for the catechumens and the impure, the main church for the illumined, the members of the Church, and the holy of holies (altar) for those who had reached theosis. Thus, the Virgin Mary had reached theosis even before she received the visitation of the Archangel. Toward this goal, she used a special method of knowing God and communing with God, as Saint Gregory Palamas interprets in a wonderful and divinely inspired manner. This refers to stillness, the hesychastic way. The Virgin Mary realised that no one can reach God with reasoning, with the senses, with imagination or human glory, but rather only through the intellect. Thus she deadened all the powers of the soul that came from the senses, and through noetic prayer she activated the intellect. In this manner she reached illumination and theosis. And for this reason she was granted to become the Mother of Christ, to give her flesh to Christ. She didn't have simply virtues, but the god-making Grace of God. The Virgin Mary had the fullness of God's Grace, in comparison to (other) people. Of course, Christ, as the Word of God, has the whole fullness of Graces, but the Virgin Mary received the fullness of Grace from the fullness of Graces of her Son. For this reason, in relation to Christ she is lower, since - Christ had the Grace by nature, whereas the Virgin Mary had it through participation. In relation to people, however, she is higher. The Virgin Mary had the fullness of Grace, from the fullness of Graces of her Son, prior to the conception, during the conception and after the conception. Prior to the conception the fullness of Grace was perfect, during the conception it was more perfect, and after the conception it was very perfect (St. Nikodemos the Haghiorite). In this manner the Virgin Mary was a virgin in body and a virgin in soul. And this physical virginity of hers is higher and more perfect than the virginity of the souls of the Saints, which is achieved through the energy of the All-holy Spirit. No human is born delivered of the original sin. The fall of Adam and of Eve and the consequences of this fall were inherited by the whole human race. It was natural that the Virgin Mary would not be delivered from the original sin. The word of the Apostle Paul is clear: "all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23). In this apostolic passage it shows that sin is considered to be a deprivation of the glory of God, and furthermore that no one is delivered from it. Thus, the Virgin Mary was born with the original sin. When, though, was she delivered from it? The answer to this question must be freed from scholastic viewpoints. To begin with we must say that the original sin was the deprivation of the glory of God, the estrangement from God, the loss of communion with God. This also had physical consequences, however, because in the bodies of Adam and of Eve corruption and death entered. When in the Orthodox Tradition there is talk of inheriting the original sin, this does not mean the inheriting of the guilt of the original sin, but mainly its consequences, which are corruption and death. Just as when the root of a plant dies, the branches and the leaves become ill, so it happened with the fall of Adam. The whole human race became ill. The corruption and death which man inherits is the favourable climate for the cultivation of passions and in this manner the intellect of man is darkened. Precisely for this reason the adoption by Christ through His Incarnation of this mortal and suffering body, without sin, aided in correcting the consequences of Adam's sin. Theosis existed in the Old Testament as well, just as the illumination of the intellect also did, but death had not been abolished; for this reason the god-seeing Prophets all went to Hades. With Christ's Incarnation and His Resurrection, human nature was deified and thus the possibility was given to each person to be deified. Because with holy Baptism we become members of the deified and resurrected Body of Christ, for this reason we say that through holy Baptism man is delivered from the original sin. When we apply these things to the case of the Virgin Mary we can understand her relationship with the original sin and her being freed from it. The Virgin Mary was born with the original sin; she had all the consequences of corruption and death in her body. With her entrance into the holy of holies, she reached theosis. This theosis though was not enough to deliver her from its consequences, which are corruption and death, precisely because the divine nature had not yet united with the human nature in the hypostasis of the Word. Thus, at the moment when, through the power of the Holy Spirit, the divine nature was united with human nature in the womb of the Virgin Mary, the Virgin Mary first tasted her freedom from the so-called original sin and its consequences. Furthermore, at that moment that which Adam and Eve failed to do with their free personal struggle, occurred. For this reason, the Virgin Mary at the moment of the Annunciation reached a greater state than that in which Adam and Eve were prior to the fall. She was granted to taste the end of the goal of creation, as we will see in other analyses. For this reason for the Virgin Mary Pentecost did not have to happen, it was not necessary for her to be baptised. That which the Apostles experienced on the day of Pentecost, when they became members of Christ's Body through the Holy Spirit, and that which happened to all of us during the mystery of Baptism, occurred for the Virgin Mary on the day of Annunciation. Then she was delivered from the original sin, not in the sense that she was delivered from the guilt, but that she obtained the theosis in her soul and body, due to her union with Christ. In these frameworks Saint John of Damascus' saying that on the day of the Annunciation the Virgin Mary received the Holy Spirit, which cleansed her and gave her power receptive of the Word's divinity, simultaneously a birth-giving power, should be interpreted. That is the Virgin Mary received from the Holy Spirit a cleansing grace, but also a grace receptive and able to give birth to the Word of God as a man. The response of the Virgin Mary to the information of the archangel that she would be granted to give birth to Christ was expressive: "Behold the handmaiden of the Lord. Let it be to me according to thy word" (Luke 1:38). Here the obedience of the Virgin Mary to the saying of the archangel shows, but also her obedience to God, for an event that was odd and strange for human logic. Thus her logic is submitted to God's will. Some maintain that during that moment all the righteous people of the Old Testament, but also all of humanity awaited with anxiousness to hear the Virgin Mary's response, fearing that she might refuse and not obey God's will. They maintain that because every time when man is in such a dilemma, precisely because he has freedom, he can say the yes or no, as furthermore occurred in the case of Adam and Eve, the same thing could occur with the Virgin Mary. However it was not possible for the Virgin Mary to refuse, not because she didn't have freedom, but because she had real freedom. Saint John Damascus makes a distinction between a natural and an opinionated will. One has an opinionated will when he is distinguished by the ignorance of a thing, by the doubt and in the end the incapability of selection. This refers to a wavering as to what to do. One has a natural will when he is lead in a natural manner, without wavering, without ignorance, to the realisation of the truth. So it seems, that the natural will is associated with "wanting", whereas the opinionated will with the "how to want", and furthermore when it is done with doubts and wavering. Consequently the natural will comprises the perfection of nature, whereas the opinionated will comprises the imperfection of nature, since it presupposes a person who does not have knowledge of the truth, is not certain about what he must decide. So even though Christ had two wills, due to the two natures, the human and divine nature, nevertheless he had a natural will, from the viewpoint we are studying here and of course, He did not have an opinionated will. As God He always knew the will of God the Father and there was no doubt and no wavering in Him. The Saints experience this by grace also, especially by the Virgin Mary. Because the Virgin Mary had reached theosis, for this reason it was impossible for her to reject God's will and not yield to the incarnation. She had perfect freedom, and for this her freedom always acted naturally and not unnaturally. We because we have not reached theosis have an imperfect freedom, the so-called opinionated will, for this reason we waver as to what to do. Her question "how shall this be to me, because I know no man" (Luke 1:34), shows humility, the weakness of the human nature, but also the strangeness of the matter, because there were miraculous conceptions in the Old Testament, however not seedless ones. On the day of Annunciation we have a direct conception of Christ with the power and energy of the All-holy Spirit. In one theotokion we chant: "At Gabriel announcing to you the rejoice O virgin, with the voice the Master all was incarnated". This means that several hours and days for the conception to occur did not intervene, but it occurred precisely at that moment. The archangel Gabriel told Joseph, the betrothed of the Most Holy Theotokos. "Do not fear to take Mariam your wife. For that which is born in her is of the Holy Spirit" (Math. 1:20). The Virgin Mary gave birth to Christ as a human, but the conception was of the Holy Spirit. Basil the Great interpreting this phrase, and mainly the "is born of the Holy Spirit", says that every thing which comes from something else, id denoted by three words. The one is "by creation", just as the whole of creation was created by God with His energy. The other one is "by birth", as the Son was born before all ages of the Father. The third is "naturally", just as energy comes out of every nature, that is brilliance from the sun, and more generally the action from the one doing the action. As regards the conception of Christ in the Holy Spirit the true expression is that Christ was conceived with the energy of the Holy Spirit "by creation", and not by birth or naturally. Saint John of Damascus teaches that the Son and Word of God conjoined for Himself, with the pure and most clean bloods of the Theotokos, flesh which is alive with a logical and noetic soul, not by seed, but created by the Holy Spirit. Of course, when we speak of the conception of Christ in the Theotokos' womb with the power and creative energy of the Holy Spirit, we should not isolate the Holy Spirit from the Holy Trinity. It is known from patristic teaching that the energy of the Trinitarian God is common. The creation of the world and the recreation of man and of the world occurred and occurs with the common energy of the Trinitarian God. Consequently, not only did the Holy Spirit create the master's body of Christ, but also the Father Himself and the Son, that is the whole Holy Trinity did. The formulation of this truth is that the Father favoured the incarnation of His Son, the Son and the Word of God Himself worked His incarnation and the Holy Spirit effected it. The conception of Christ in the womb of the Theotokos occurred with silence and secrecy and not with noise and disturbance. No one, neither of the angels nor of men was able to understand at that moment these great things which were performed. The Great Prophet David prophesied this event saying: "May he be like rain that falls on a fleece, like showers that water the earth!" (Psalm 71:6). Just as rain that falls on a fleece of wool does not cause noise or any corruption, the same thing occurred also during the annunciation and the conception. Christ with His conception did not cause noise or any corruption in the virginity of the Virgin Mary. For this reason the Virgin Mary was and remained a Virgin before the birth, during the birth and after the birth. These are the three stars, which the iconographer forms always on the forehead and the two shoulders of the Virgin Mary. The union of the divine with the human nature in the hypostasis of the Word, in the womb of the Theotokos, comprises the direct theosis of the human nature. That is, from the first moment when the divine united with the human nature there is the theosis of the human nature. The saying of Saint John Damascene is characteristic: "at the moment of flesh, at that moment the flesh of God the Word". This means that a duration of time did not intervene after the conception for the human nature* to be deified, but this happened immediately at the time of the conception. A consequence of this event is that the Virgin Mary must be called Theotokos, since she gave birth truly to God, Whom she bore for nine months in her womb, and not a man who had the Grace of God. For this reason the Virgin Mary is called Theotokos, precisely because she conceived Christ in the Holy Spirit. This must be stressed because in times of old a great theological conversation occurred as to if the Virgin Mary ought to be called Theotokos and not Christotokos. The Christological dogma has a consequence in the theotokological discussion. The Virgin Mary is a Theotokos, precisely because she conceived Christ in the Holy Spirit. This must be stressed, because in times of old a large theological discussion occurred as to whether the Virgin Mary should be called Theotokos, due to the existence of heretical teachings. In addition, the final validation of the teaching that the Virgin Mary gave birth to God, and that immediately with the adoption of the human nature there exists its theosis, occurred in the 3rd Ecumenical Synod. The heretic Nestorios, using philosophical terms and human pondering, supported that the Virgin Mary was a human and for this reason it was impossible for her to give birth to God. The babe who was in her was not God, but a human. God simply "passed through" or "passed along with" through the Theotokos. Of course, there was a problem in his theology about the relationship between the two natures of Christ. Nestorios believed that the flesh of Christ was imply united with the nature of the Godhead. The Word was not God, but was united with man and dwelt inside him. With such presuppositions he named the Virgin Mary Christotokos and not Theotokos. However Christ is a God-man, perfect God and perfect man, and every nature acted "with the other communion" in the hypostasis of the Word. We will see this topic when we will speak of the birth of Christ. Here though it must be underlined that human nature was deified immediately with its union with the divine nature in the hypostasis of the Word, in the womb of the Theotokos. For this reason the Virgin Mary is and is called Theotokos, since she gave birth to God humanly. The direct theosis of human nature by the divine nature of the Word does not mean that the qualities of human nature are abolished. This shows that the conception and carrying in the womb, but also the birth of Christ occurred by nature and supernaturally. Supernaturally, because it occurred creatively by the All-holy Spirit and not by seed. Naturally, because the carrying in the womb occurred in the manner in which the infant is carried in the womb. There is however one point which must be underlined. In every infant there are a few stages, until the time for birth comes. To begin with there is the conception, subsequently after a period of time the depiction of the members of his body, afterwards little by little they are developed, and according to the level of his development movement follows. Finally, when it is completed, he comes out of the womb of his mother. Whereas in the divine infant we do have an increase little by little, nevertheless a period of time did not intervene between the conception and the depiction of the members. Basil the Great literally says: "immediately what was conceived was perfect in the flesh, not the shape formulated little by little". We must see this from the viewpoint that the members of His body were depicted immediately, he was created a perfect man, but nevertheless he was not found in the formulation of the nine months. He was developing little by little, although His body had been comprised from the beginning. The conception of Christ occurred by the All Holy Spirit in the womb of the Theotokos creatively and not by seed, because Christ had to undertake the pure nature that Adam had before the transgression. Of course, Christ adopted a possible and mortal flesh, as it became after Adam's transgression, to defeat corruption and death, but it was however utterly pure and spotless, as it was prior to the transgression. Thus, Christ's flesh from a viewpoint of purity was as Adam's body was prior to the transgression, while from a viewpoint of mortality and corruption it was the body of Adam after the transgression. Consequently the conception occurred through the Holy Spirit, because the manner in which man is born today (through the seed) is after the transgression. According to Saint Gregory Palamas, the movement of the flesh towards birth is not completely delivered from sin, because, whereas God has placed the intellect to rule over man, it acts "unsubmittedly" in the duration of the movement of the flesh. Thus, the pure nature of Christ has a relationship with the creative and not the conception by seed. Precisely this event is very closely associated with the fact that the conception, carrying in the womb and birth of Christ by the Virgin Mary was effortless, painless and without pleasure. So Christ, was conceived, carried in the womb as a babe and was born without pleasure, without toil and without pain. He was conceived seedless for two basic reasons. Firstly, to undertake the pure human nature, and secondly, to be born without corruption and painlessly. The Virgin Mary as she conceived Christ without pleasure, in the same way held Him for nine months in her womb without toil and without weight. She did not feel weight, despite the fact that the divine infant was developing naturally and had the weight of a developing embryo. Thus the prophecy of the Prophet Isaiah was fulfilled: "Behold the Lord is sitting upon a hollow cloud" (Is. 19:1). With the term "hollow cloud" is meant the human flesh, which was so very light that it did not cause any weight and toil to the Virgin Mary during the time of the nine month carrying in the womb. The seedless and 'pleasureless' conception of the Virgin Mary and the effortless carrying in the womb is closely associated with the incorrupt and painless birth of Christ. According to Saint Gregory Nyssa there is a close relationship between pleasure and pain, since every pleasure has pain connected with it. Adam felt pleasure and pain followed to the whole human race. Thus also now through freedom from pleasure joy comes to the human race. The birth of Christ did not corrupt the virginity of the Theotokos, precisely as the conception did not occur with pleasure, and the carrying in the womb did not occur with weight and toil. There where the All-holy Spirit acts "the order of nature is overcome". The duration of the carrying in the womb of the Virgin Mary is a foreshadowing of the ceaseless communion that the Saints will have in the Kingdom of God. It is known and a given fact that the mother who has a babe in the womb has a close and organic relationship with him. Contemporary scholars have proven that the infant is very much influenced not only by the physical state of his mother, but also from her psychological make up. And because the divine infant was conceived of the Holy Spirit, but grew up in the natural manner, that is He had a communion with the Virgin Mary's body, for this reason there exists a close relationship between Christ and the Theotokos. Naturally, we must see this from the viewpoint that the Virgin Mary gives her blood to Christ, but also Christ gives His Grace and blessing to her. So Christ being carried in the womb did not cease simultaneously being at God's throne united with His Father and the Holy Spirit. The human nature was united with the divine nature without alteration, unconfusedly, indivisibly, inseparably, immediately from the moment of conception. This means that first the Virgin Mary tasted the goods of the divine incarnation, theosis. That which the Disciples of Christ tasted during Pentecost, and we during Baptism, at the time of the mystery of the divine Eucharist, when we commune of the Body and Blood of Christ, and that which the Saints will live in the Kingdom of the Heavens., the Virgin Mary lived from the first moment of the conception and carrying in the womb. Consequently Christ for nine whole months, day and night, nourished with His sanctified blood the Virgin Mary. This is a foreshadowing of the ceaseless divine Communion and of the ceaseless relationship and communion of the Saints with Christ which will occur mainly in the next life. For this reason the Virgin Mary is a foreshadowing of the future age. From this viewpoint she is Paradise. Saint Nikodemos the Haghiorite, speaking of the Annunciation of the Theotokos proceeds to a personal and existential approach of this event. Because, it does not suffice for us to celebrate only externally the events of the divine incarnation, but we should approach them existentially and spiritually. For this reason he gathered many passages of Saints in which mainly there is speech about this existential approach. The saying of the Prophet Isaiah is characteristic "we were with child, we writhed, we have given birth. We have brought forth a spirit of salvation upon the earth" (Is. 26: 18). According to the interpretation of the holy Fathers the seed is the word of God and the intellect is the womb and the heart of man. Through faith the word of God is sewn in the heart of man and makes it pregnant with the fear of God. This is the fear that man not remain far from God. Through this fear the struggle for cleansing the heart and the obtaining of virtues begins, which resembles a pain, childbearing pains. In this manner the spirit of salvation is born, which is theosis and sanctification. The forming of Christ in us happens with spiritual pains. The Apostle Paul says: "My little children, with whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you!" Gal. 4:19). Travails are the ascetical struggle, and formation is theosis and sanctification. According to the holy Fathers (Saint Gregory Nyssa, Saint Maximos the Confessor, Saint Symeon the New Theologian, Saint Niketas Stethatos etc.) that which happened physically in the Virgin Mary, this happens spiritually to each one whose soul is virginal, that is, is cleansed of the passions. Christ, who was born once in the flesh, wants to be born, always in the spirit, by those who wish, and thus He becomes a babe, forming Himself in them through the virtues. The spiritual conception and birth becomes understood from the fact that the flow of blood stops, that is the desires to commit sin cease, passions are not active in man, man hates sin and constantly wants to do God's will. This conception and birth is obtained with the implementation of the divine commandments, mainly with the return of the intellect in the heart and with the ceaseless monologistic prayer. Then man becomes a temple of the All-holy Spirit. The Annunciation of the Theotokos is an annunciation of the human race, an information that the Son and Word of God incarnated. This universal feast must aid in a personal feast, in a personal annunciation. We must accept the preludes of our salvation, which is the greatest notification in our life.

St. John Chrysostom on The Holy Cross of Christ

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 12:43:48 GMT

http://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2011/03/st-john-chrysostom-on-holy-cross.html "The Cross of the Lord is unpleasant and sorrowful to the ear, but it consists of joy and gladness. It is the originator not so much of suffering as much as of passionlessness. For Jews the Cross is temptation, for pagans it is madness, but for us believers it reminds us of our salvation. When in church one reads about the Cross and one is reminded of the sufferings on the Cross, the faithful are indignant at the Cross and let out a plaintive wail and murmur not at the Cross but at the crucifiers and unbelievers. For the Cross is the salvation of the Church, the Cross is the praise of those who hope on it. The Cross has released us from the evil that possessed us and is the beginning of the blessings received by us. The Cross is the reconcilement of His enemies with God, the promise of sinners to Christ. For by the Cross we were freed from enmity and through the Cross we have become amiable to God. The Cross delivered us from the authority of the devil, the Cross saved us from death and destruction. The Cross changed human nature to the angelic, having released it from all that is corruptible, and have found lives worthy of immortality." "How great is the power of the Cross! How great is the change made by it in the human race! How from the deep darkness it has led us to the boundless light, from death it has restored us to eternal life, from corruption it has transferred us to incorruption. What good is not accomplished for us by means of the Cross? Through the Cross we learned piety and learned the properties of the Divine essence. Through the Cross we learn the truth about God, through the Cross we who were far from Him are united to Christ, and we become worthy of the grace of the Holy Spirit. Through the Cross we learn the power of love and we are taught to die for others. Through the Cross we are scorned and all what we do is not temporal, we search the blessings of the future and we accept the invisible as if seen. The Cross is preached, and the faith in God is confessed, His truth is spread throughout the universe. The Cross is preached, and the faith in the resurrection, the life and the kingdom of heaven is made without a doubt. What is more precious than the Cross and what is more saving for the soul? The Cross is the triumph over demons, the armor against sin and the sword with which the Lord has struck the snake. The Cross is the will of the Father, the glory of the Only-begotten, the joy of the Holy Spirit, the ornament of angels, the protection of the Church, the praise of St. Paul, the protection of the Saints, the lamp of all the world." "See, however desired and deservedly amiable the Cross is made today, it was the most terrible and shameful sign of the cruelest execution in antiquity! And the Cross makes the best ornament on the imperial crown, the most precious in all the world. The image of the Cross is now found on you, both masters and servants, both wives and husbands, both maidens and married, both slaves and free. All place the sign of the Cross on the noblest part of their body, daily carrying this sign on their forehead, as on a depicted pillar. It shines on a sacred meal, on the clothes of the priest and together with the Lord's body at the mystical supper. You see it lifted everywhere: on houses, in market-places, in the deserts, on the paths, on mountains and hills, on the sea, on ships, on islands, on boxes, on clothes, on armor, in the halls, on golden and silver vessels, in pictures, on the bodies of sick animals, on the bodies of the demon-possessed, in war, in the world, in the afternoon, at night, in festal assemblies and in the cells of the ascetics. Already no one is ashamed and does not blush at the thought that the Cross is a sign of a shameful death. To the contrary, all of us honor this as an adornment for ourselves, which has surpassed crowns and diadems and precious stones. Let us not run, let us not be frightened, but let us kiss and honor it as an invaluable treasure."

Psalm 50 (Septuagint Version of the Old Testament): The Liturgical Psalm of Repentance

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 13:31:51 GMT

Have mercy on me, O God; according to the multitude of Thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity and cleanse me from my sin, for I acknowledge my transgression, and my sin is ever before me. Against Thee, Thee only have I sinned and done this evil in Thy sight, that Thou mightest be justified when Thou speakest and prevail when Thou art judged. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquities and in sin did my mother bear me. But behold, Thou desirest truth in my innermost parts, and in my hidden parts Thou shalt make me to understand wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than the snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness, that the bones which Thou hast broken may rejoice. Turn Thy face from my sin and put out all mine iniquities far from me. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence, and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation, and uphold me with Thy steadfast Spirit. Then shall I teach transgressors Thy ways, and sinners shall be converted unto Thee. Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing aloud of Thy righteousness. Open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Thy praise. For shouldest Thou desire sacrifice, I would give it Thee; but Thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifice of God is a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart -- these, O God, shalt Thou not despise. Do good in Thy good pleasure to Sion; buildest Thou up the walls of Jerusalem. Then shalt Thou be pleased with the sacrifice of righteousness, with oblation and whole-burnt offerings. Then shall they offer young bullocks upon Thine altar.

Advice for Holy and Great Lent from St. John Chrysostom

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 14:28:54 GMT

The true spirit of Lent lies not in giving up chocolate and soda, but in giving up the things that prevent us from seeing Christ as he truly is: present in the world, present in others. St. John Chrysostom teaches: Do you fast? Give me proof of it by your works. If you see a poor man, take pity on him. If you see a friend being honored, do not envy him. Do not let only your mouth fast, but also the eye and the ear and the feet and the hands and all the members of our bodies. Let the hands fast, by being free of avarice. Let the feet fast, by ceasing to run after sin. Let the eyes fast, by disciplining them not to glare at that which is sinful. Let the ear fast, by not listening to evil talk and gossip. Let the mouth fast from foul words and unjust criticism. For what good is it if we abstain from birds and fishes, but bite and devour our brothers? May He who came to the world to save sinners, strengthen us to complete the fast with humility, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.

Forgiveness Sunday (the Sunday before Holy and Great Lent)

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 14:29:31 GMT

Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann on Forgiveness Sunday Introduction to the DRE/OCA 1975-1982 Forgiveness Sunday Vespers. http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/forgivenesssunday.html In the Orthodox Church, the last Sunday before Great Lent � the day on which, at Vespers, Lent is liturgically announced and inaugurated � is called Forgiveness Sunday. On the morning of that Sunday, at the Divine Liturgy, we hear the words of Christ: "If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses..." (Mark 6:14-15) Then after Vespers � after hearing the announcement of Lent in the Great Prokeimenon: "Turn not away Thy face from Thy child for I am afflicted! Hear me speedily! Draw near unto my soul and deliver it!", after making our entrance into Lenten worship, with its special memories, with the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian, with its prostrations � we ask forgiveness from each other, we perform the rite of forgiveness and reconciliation. And as we approach each other with words of reconciliation, the choir intones the Paschal hymns, filling the church with the anticipation of Paschal joy. What is the meaning of this rite? Why is it that the Church wants us to begin Lenten season with forgiveness and reconciliation? These questions are in order because for too many people Lent means primarily, and almost exclusively, a change of diet, the compliance with ecclesiastical regulations concerning fasting. They understand fasting as an end in itself, as a "good deed" required by God and carrying in itself its merit and its reward. But, the Church spares no effort in revealing to us that fasting is but a means, one among many, towards a higher goal: the spiritual renewal of man, his return to God, true repentance and, therefore, true reconciliation. The Church spares no effort in warning us against a hypocritical and pharisaic fasting, against the reduction of religion to mere external obligations. As a Lenten hymn says: In vain do you rejoice in no eating, O soul! For you abstain from food, But from passions you are not purified. If you persevere in sin, you will perform a useless fast. Now, forgiveness stands at the very center of Christian faith and of Christian life because Christianity itself is, above all, the religion of forgiveness. God forgives us, and His forgiveness is in Christ, His Son, Whom He sends to us, so that by sharing in His humanity we may share in His love and be truly reconciled with God. Indeed, Christianity has no other content but love. And it is primarily the renewal of that love, a return to it, a growth in it, that we seek in Great Lent, in fasting and prayer, in the entire spirit and the entire effort of that season. Thus, truly forgiveness is both the beginning of, and the proper condition for the Lenten season. One may ask, however: Why should I perform this rite when I have no "enemies"? Why should I ask forgiveness from people who have done nothing to me, and whom I hardly know? To ask these questions, is to misunderstand the Orthodox teaching concerning forgiveness. It is true, that open enmity, personal hatred, real animosity may be absent from our life, though if we experience them, it may be easier for us to repent, for these feelings openly contradict Divine commandments. But, the Church reveals to us that there are much subtler ways of offending Divine Love. These are indifference, selfishness, lack of interest in other people, of any real concern for them -- in short, that wall which we usually erect around ourselves, thinking that by being "polite" and "friendly" we fulfill God�s commandments. The rite of forgiveness is so important precisely because it makes us realize � be it only for one minute � that our entire relationship to other men is wrong, makes us experience that encounter of one child of God with another, of one person created by God with another, makes us feel that mutual "recognition" which is so terribly lacking in our cold and dehumanized world. On that unique evening, listening to the joyful Paschal hymns we are called to make a spiritual discovery: to taste of another mode of life and relationship with people, of life whose essence is love. We can discover that always and everywhere Christ, the Divine Love Himself, stands in the midst of us, transforming our mutual alienation into brotherhood. As l advance towards the other, as the other comes to me � we begin to realize that it is Christ Who brings us together by His love for both of us. And because we make this discovery � and because this discovery is that of the Kingdom of God itself: the Kingdom of Peace and Love, of reconciliation with God and, in Him, with all that exists � we hear the hymns of that Feast, which once a year, "opens to us the doors of Paradise." We know why we shall fast and pray, what we shall seek during the long Lenten pilgrimage. Forgiveness Sunday: the day on which we acquire the power to make our fasting � true fasting; our effort � true effort; our reconciliation with God � true reconciliation.

Commentary of St. John Chrysostom on Matthew 25 (Gospel reading for Meatfare Sunday / Sunday of the Last Judgment)

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:20:42 GMT

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf110.iii.LXXV.htm "And do not account the saying to be rash. For the Lord is loving to man, and the gift cometh of His goodness. It is rash to have a mouth like the devil, to have a tongue resembling that of an evil demon, especially for him that partakes of such mysteries, and communicates of the very flesh of the Lord. Reflecting then on these things, become like Him, to the utmost of thy power. No longer then will the devil be able so much as to look thee in the face, when thou art become such a one as this. For indeed he recognizes the image of the King, he knows the weapons of Christ, whereby he was worsted. And what are these? Gentleness and meekness. For when on the mountain Christ overthrew and laid low the devil who was assaulting him, it was not by making it known that He was Christ, but He entrapped him by these sayings, He took him by gentleness, he turned him to flight by meekness. Thou also must do this; shouldest thou see a man become a devil, and coming against thee, even so do thou likewise overcome. Christ gave thee also power to become like Him, so far as thy ability extends. Be not afraid at hearing this. The fear is not to be like Him. Speak then after His manner, and thou art become in this respect such as He, so far as it is possible for one who is a man to become so. Wherefore greater is he that thus speaks, than he that prophecies. For this is entirely a gift, but in the other is also thy labor and toil. Teach thy soul to frame thee a mouth like to Christ�s mouth. For it can create such things, if it will; it knows the art, if it be not remiss. And how is such a mouth made? one may ask. By what kind of colorings? by what kind of material? By no colorings, indeed, or material; but by virtue only, and meekness, and humility. Let us see also how a devil�s mouth is made; that we may never frame that. How then is it made? By curses, by insults, by envy, by perjury. For when any one speaks his words, he takes his tongue. What kind of excuse then shall we have; or rather, what manner of punishment shall we not undergo; when this our tongue, wherewith we are allowed to taste of the Lord�s flesh, when this, I say, we overlook, speaking the devil�s words? Let us not overlook it, but let us use all diligence, in order to train it to imitate its Lord. For if we train it to this, it will place us with great confidence at Christ�s judgment seat. Unless any one know how to speak thus, the judge will not so much as hear him. For like as when the judge chances to be a Roman, he will not hear the defense of one who knows not how to speak thus; so likewise Christ, unless thou speak after His fashion, will not hear thee, nor give heed. Let us learn therefore to speak in such wise as our Judge is wont to hear; let it be our endeavor to imitate that tongue. And shouldest thou fall into grief, take heed lest the tyranny of despondency pervert thy tongue, but that thou speak like Christ. For He too mourned for Lazarus and Judas. Shouldest thou fall into fear, seek again to speak even as He. For He Himself fell into fear for thy sake, with regard to His manhood. the other sheep, that He might indicate the unfruitfulness of the one, for no fruit will come from kids; and the great profit from the other, for indeed from sheep great is the profit, as well from the milk, as from the wool, and from the young, of all which things the kid is destitute. But while the brutes have from nature their unfruitfulness, and fruitfulness, these have it from choice, wherefore some are punished, and the others crowned. And He doth not punish them, until He hath pleaded with them; wherefore also, when He hath put them in their place, He mentions the charges against them. And they speak with meekness, but they have no advantage from it now; and very reasonably, because they passed by a work so much to be desired. For indeed the prophets are everywhere saying this, �I will have mercy and not sacrifice,� and the lawgiver by all means urged them to this, both by words, and by works; and nature herself taught it. But mark them, how they are destitute not of one or two things only, but of all. For not only did they fail to feed the hungry, or clothe the naked; but not even did they visit the sick, which was an easier thing. And mark how easy are His injunctions. He said not, �I was in prison, and ye set me free; I was sick, and ye raised me up again;� but, �ye visited me,� and, �ye came unto me.� And neither in hunger is the thing commanded grievous. For no costly table did He seek, but what is needful only, and His necessary food, and He sought in a suppliant�s garb, so that all things were enough to bring punishment on them; the easiness of the request, for it was bread; the pitiable character of Him that requesteth, for He was poor; the sympathy of nature, for He was a man; the desirableness of the promise, for He promised a kingdom; the fearfulness of the punishment, for He threatened hell. The dignity of the one receiving, for it was God, who was receiving by the poor; the surpassing nature of the honor, that He vouchsafed to condescend so far; His just claim for what they bestowed, for of His own was He receiving. But against all these things covetousness once for all blinded them that were seized by it; and this though so great a threat was set against it. For further back also He saith, that they who receive not such as these shall suffer more grievous things than Sodom; and here He saith, �Inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye did it not unto me.� What sayest Thou? they are Thy brethren; and how dost Thou call them least. Why, for this reason they are brethren, because they are lowly, because they are poor, because they are outcast. For such doth He most invite to brotherhood, the unknown, the contemptible, not meaning by these the monks only, and them that have occupied the mountains, but every believer; though he be a secular person, yet if he be hungry, and famishing, and naked, and a stranger, His will is he should have the benefit of all this care. For baptism renders a man a brother, and the partaking of the divine mysteries. Then, in order that thou mayest see in another way also the justice of the sentence, He first praises them that have done right, and saith, �Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you before the foundation of the world. For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat,� and all that follows. For that they may not say, we had it not, He condemns them by their fellow-servants; like as the virgins by the virgins, and the servant that was drunken and gluttonous by the faithful servant, and him that buried his talent, by them that brought the two, and each one of them that continue in sin, by them that have done right. And this comparison is sometimes made in the case of an equal, as here, and in the instance of the virgins, sometimes of him that hath advantage, as when he said, �The men of Nineveh shall rise up and shall condemn this generation, because they believed at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here;� and, �The queen of the south shall condemn this generation, because she came to hear the wisdom of Solomon;� and of an equal again, �They shall be your judges;� and again of one at advantage, �Know ye not, that we shall judge angels, how much more things that pertain to this life?� And here, however, it is of an equal; for he compares rich with rich, and poor with poor. And not in this way only doth He show the sentence justly passed, by their fellow-servants having done what was right when in the same circumstances, but also by their not being obedient so much as in these things in which poverty was no hindrance; as, for instance, in giving drink to the thirsty, in looking upon him that is in bonds, in visiting the sick. And when He had commended them that had done right, He shows how great was originally His bond of love towards them. For, �Come,� saith He, �ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.� To how many good things is this same equivalent, to be blessed, and blessed of the Father? And wherefore were they counted worthy of such great honors? What is the cause? �I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink;� and what follows. Of what honor, of what blessedness are these words? And He said not, Take, but, �Inherit,� as one�s own, as your Father�s, as yours, as due to you from the first. For, before you were, saith He, these things had been prepared, and made ready for you, forasmuch as I knew you would be such as you are. And in return for what do they receive such things? For the covering of a roof, for a garment, for bread, for cold water, for visiting, for going into the prison. For indeed in every case it is for what is needed; and sometimes not even for that. For surely, as I have said, the sick and he that is in bonds seeks not for this only, but the one to be loosed, the other to be delivered from his infirmity. But He, being gracious, requires only what is within our power, or rather even less than what is within our power, leaving to us to exert our generosity in doing more. But to the others He saith, �Depart from me, ye cursed,� (no longer of the Father; for not He laid the curse upon them, but their own works), �into the everlasting fire, prepared,� not for you, but �for the devil and his angels.� For concerning the kingdom indeed, when He had said, �Come, inherit the kingdom,� He added, �prepared for you before the foundation of the world;� but concerning the fire, no longer so, but, �prepared for the devil.� I, saith He, prepared the kingdom for you, but the fire no more for you, but �for the devil and his angels;� but since ye cast yourselves therein, impute it to yourselves. And not in this way only, but by what follows also, like as though He were excusing Himself to them, He sets forth the causes. �For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat.� For though He that came to thee had been thine enemy, were not His sufferings enough to have overcome and subdued even the merciless? hunger, and cold, and bonds, and nakedness, and sickness, and to wander everywhere houseless? These things are sufficient even to destroy enmity. But ye did not these things even to a friend, being at once friend, and benefactor, and Lord. Though it be a dog we see hungry, often we are overcome; and though we behold a wild beast, we are subdued; but seeing the Lord, art thou not subdued? And wherein are these things worthy of defense? For if it were this only, were it not sufficient for a recompense? (I speak not of hearing such a voice, in the presence of the world, from Him that sitteth on the Father�s throne, and of obtaining the kingdom), but were not the very doing it sufficient for a reward? But now even in the presence of the world, and at the appearing of that unspeakable glory, He proclaims and crowns thee, and acknowledges thee as His sustainer and host, and is not ashamed of saying such things, that He may make the crown brighter for thee. So for this cause, while the one are punished justly, the others are crowned by grace. For though they had done ten thousand things, the munificence were of grace, that in return for services so small and cheap, such a heaven, and a kingdom, and so great honor, should be given them."

On the Parable of the Prodigal Son

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:23:04 GMT

by St. Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of St. Luke, Sermon 108. I hear one of the holy prophets trying to win unto repentance those who are far from God, and saying, "Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God: for you have become weak in your iniquity. Take with you words, and return to the Lord our God." What sort of words then did he, under the influence of the Spirit, command them to take with them? Or were they not such as become those who wish to repent; such namely, as would appease God, Who is gentle, and loves mercy. For He even said by one of the holy prophets, "Return you returning children, and I will heal your breaches." And yet again by the voice of Ezekiel, "Return you altogether from your wickednesses, O house of Israel. Cast away from you all your iniquities which you have committed, that they be not to you for a punishment of iniquity. For I have no pleasure in the death of the sinner, as that he should turn from his evil way and live." And the same truth Christ here also teaches us, by this most beautifully composed parable, which I will now to the best of my ability endeavor to discuss, briefly gathering up its broad statements, and explaining and defending the ideas which it contains. It is the opinion then of some, that by the two sons are signified the holy angels, and we the dwellers upon earth: and that the elder one, who lived soberly, represents the company of the holy angels, while the younger and profligate son is the human race. And there are some among us who give it a different explanation, arguing that by the elder and well conducted son is signified Israel after the flesh: while by the other, whose choice it was to live in the lust of pleasures, and who removed far from his father, is depicted the company of the Gentiles. With these explanations I do not agree: but I would have him who loves instruction, search after that which is true and unobjectionable. What then I say is as follows, "giving occasions to the wise, and to the just offering knowledge," as Scripture commands: for they will examine for a fitting meaning the explanations proposed to them. If then we refer the upright son to the person of the holy angels, we do not find him speaking such words as become them, nor sharing their feelings towards repentant sinners, who turn from an impure life to that conduct which is worthy of admiration. For the Savior of all and Lord says, that "there is joy in heaven before the holy angels over one sinner that repents." But the son, who is described to us in the present parable as being acceptable unto his father, and leading a blameless life, is represented as being angry, and as even having proceeded so far in his unloving sentiments as to find fault with his father for his natural affection for him who was saved. "For he would not, it says, go into the house," being vexed at the reception of the penitent almost before he had come to his senses, and because there had even been slain the calf in his honour, and his father had made for him a feast. But this, as I said, is at variance with the feelings of the holy angels: for they rejoice and praise God when they see the inhabitants of the earth being saved. For so when the Son submitted to be born in the flesh of a woman at Bethlehem, they carried the joyful news to the shepherds, saying, "Fear you not: for behold I bring you glad tidings of great joy that shall be to all the people, that there is born to you today in the city of David a Savior Who is Christ the Lord." And crowning with lauds and praises Him Who was born, they said, "Glory to God in the highest, and upon earth peace, and among men good will." But if any one say, that Israel according to the flesh is meant by the virtuous and sober son, we are again prevented from assenting to this opinion by the fact, that in no way whatsoever is it fitting to say of Israel that he chose a blameless life. For throughout the whole of the inspired Scripture, so to say, we may see them accused of being rebels and disobedient. For they were told by the voice of Jeremiah, "What fault have your fathers found in Me, that they have wandered far from Me, and have gone after vanities, and become vain?" And in similar terms God somewhere spoke by the voice of Isaiah, "This people draws near unto Me; with their lips they honor Me, but their heart is very far from Me: but in vain do they fear Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men." And how then can any one apply to those who are thus blamed the words used in the parable of the virtuous and sober son? For he said, "Lo! all these years do I serve you, and never have I transgressed your commandment." But they would not have been blamed for their mode of life, had it not been that transgressing the divine commandments, they betook themselves to a careless and polluted mode of life. And yet again, for I think it right to mention this also, some would refer to the person of our Savior that fatted calf which the father killed when his son was called unto conversion. But how then could the virtuous son, who is described as wise and prudent, and constant in his duty, and whom some even refer to the person of the holy angels, treat it as a reason for anger and vexation that the calf was slain? For one can find no proof of the powers above being grieved when Christ endured death in the flesh, and, so to speak, was slain in our behalf. Rather they rejoiced, as I said, in seeing the world saved by His holy blood. And what reason too had the virtuous son for saying "you never gave me a kid." For what blessing is wanting to the holy angels, inasmuch as the Lord of all has bestowed upon them with bounteous hand a plentiful supply of spiritual gifts? Or of what sacrifice stood they in need as regards their own state? For there was no necessity for the Emmanuel to suffer also in their behalf. But if any one imagine, as I have already said before, that the carnal Israel is meant by the virtuous and sober son, how can he say with truth "you never gave me a kid?" For whether we call it calf or kid, Christ is to be understood as the sacrifice offered for sin. But He was sacrificed, not for the Gentiles only, but that He might also redeem Israel, who by reason of his frequent transgression of the law had brought upon himself great blame. And the wise Paul bears witness to this, saying, "For this reason Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people by His blood, suffered outside the gate." What then is the object of the parable? Let us examine the occasion which led to it; for so we shall learn the truth. The blessed Luke therefore had himself said a little before of Christ the Savior of us all, "And all the publicans and sinners drew near unto Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and Scribes murmured saying, This man receives sinners and eats " with them." As therefore the Pharisees and Scribes made this outcry at His gentleness and love to man, and wickedly and impiously blamed Him for receiving and teaching men whose lives were impure, Christ very necessarily set before them the present parable, to show them clearly this very thing, that the God of all requires even him who is thoroughly steadfast, and firm, and who knows how to live holily, and has attained to the highest praise for sobriety of conduct, to be earnest in following His will, so that when any are called unto repentance, even if they be men highly blamable, he must rejoice rather, and not give way to an unloving vexation on their account. For we also sometimes experience something of this sort. For some there are who live a perfectly honorable and consistent life, practicing every kind of virtuous action, and abstaining from every thing disapproved by the law of God, and crowning themselves with perfect praises in the sight of God and of men: while another is perhaps weak and trodden down, and humbled unto every kind of wickedness, guilty of base deeds, loving impurity, given to covetousness, and stained with all evil. And yet such a one often in old age turns unto God, and asks the forgiveness of his former offences: he prays for mercy, and putting away from him his readiness to fall into sin, sets his affection on virtuous deeds. Or even perhaps when about to close his mortal life, he is admitted to divine baptism, and puts away his offences, God being merciful unto him. And perhaps sometimes persons are indignant at this, and even say, 'This man, who has been guilty of such and such actions, and has spoken such and such words, has not paid unto the judge the retribution of his conduct, but has been counted worthy of a grace thus noble and admirable: he has been inscribed among the sons of God, and honored with the glory of the saints.' Such complaints men sometimes give utterance too from an empty narrowness of mind, not conforming to the purpose of the universal Father. For He greatly rejoices when He sees those who were lost obtaining salvation, and raises them up again to that which they were in the beginning, giving them the dress of freedom, and adorning them with the chief robe, and putting a ring upon their hand, even the orderly behavior which is pleasing to God and suitable to the free. It is our duty, therefore, to conform ourselves to that which God wills: for He heals those who are sick; He raises those who are fallen; He gives a helping hand to those who have stumbled; He brings back him who has wandered; He forms anew unto a praiseworthy and blameless life those who were wallowing in the mire of sin; He seeks those who were lost; He raises as from the dead those who had suffered the spiritual death. Let us also rejoice: let us, in company with the holy angels, praise Him as being good, and loving unto men; as gentle, and not remembering evil. For if such is our state of mind, Christ will receive us, by Whom and with Whom, to God the Father be praise and dominion with the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever, Amen.

Food for Thought for Great and Holy Lent 2012

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 02:13:48 GMT

http://theodorakis.net/orthodoxquotescomplete.html �Do not be irritated either with those who sin or those who offend; do not have a passion for noticing every sin in your neighbor, and for judging him, as we are in the habit of doing. Everyone shall give an answer to God for himself. Everyone has a conscience; everyone hears God's Word, and knows God's Will either from books or from conversation with other people. Especially do not look with evil intention upon the sins of your elders, which do not regard you; �to his own master he standeth or falleth.� Correct your own sins, amend your own life.� (St. John of Kronstadt)

Sayings of St. John Chrysostom in Preparation for Holy and Great Lent 2012

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:30:18 GMT

http://www.sprint.net.au/~corners/Nov02/StJohnChrysostom.htm Although it be with truth that you speak evil, this is also a crime. You are a man, and yet you spit the venom of a poisonous serpent. You are a man and yet you become like a raging beast. You have been given a mouth not to wound but to heal. Enter into the Church and wash away your sins. For here there is a hospital and not a court of law. Do not be ashamed again to enter the Church, be ashamed when you sin, but not when you repent. When partaking of the Eucharist you bury your teeth in Christ�s flesh and drink of the same blood that came from His side � He did not say, �This is the symbol of my body � of my blood,� but �This is my body and blood.� Even if others make war against us, it is right for us to remain in peace. Feeding the hungry is a greater work than raising the dead. The primary goal in the education of children is to teach, and to give the example of a virtuous life. �Why,� you ask, do we see evil doers thriving and healthy and enjoying great prosperity? Let us weep for them, because their not having to suffer in this world is a guarantee of greater punishment in the next! To show this, St. Paul said, �But when we are judged, we are being chastised by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with this world.� Afflictions here are a form of reproof, while this in the other world are a form of punishment for those who were evil in their lives. I would like to have a voice strong enough to make myself heard from the four corners of the world. I would climb the ugliest mountain in the universe and I would cry out to all men, �save, save your soul!� The fast of Lent has no advantage to us unless it brings about our spiritual renewal. It is necessary while fasting to change our whole like and practice virtue. Turning away from all wickedness means keeping our tongue in check, restraining our anger, avoiding all gossip, lying and swearing. To abstain from these things � herein lies the true value of the fast. Sins that are easiest to amend bring the greatest punishment. Anger is a strong fire, consuming all things its path; it wastes the body and corrupts the body, and renders a man base and odious to look upon. And if it were possible for the angry man to see himself at the time of his anger he would not need any other admonition, for there is nothing less pleasing than an angry countenance. Anger is an intoxicant and more wretched than God does not insist or desire that we should mourn in agony of heart: Rather, it is His wish that out of love for Him we should rejoice with laughter in our soul. Take away sin, and tears become superfluous; where there is no bruising, no ointment is required. Before the fall, Adam shed no tears and in the same way there will be no more tears after the resurrection from the dead, when sin has been destroyed. For pain, sorrow and lamentation will then have fled away. After death no unrepentant person can escape the consequences of his sins, but just as prisoners are led out of their cell bound in chains and brought before the court, so are all souls when they depart hence; they bring with themselves their chains of sins before the dread judgement seat. Lift up and stretch out your hands, not to heaven, but to the poor; for if you stretch forth your hands to the poor, you have reached the summit of heaven, but if you lift up your hands in prayer without sharing with the poor, it is worth nothing. Every family should have a room where Christ is welcome in the person of the hungry and thirsty stranger. Let none fear death, for the death of the Saviour has set us free. Christ is risen and the demons have fallen. Christ is risen and the angels rejoice. The belief in stars is a foolish disbelief against God�s omnipotence and creativity, for God is subjected to the star�s power. In ancient times, many Christians received the Holy Mysteries at random and without discrimination, especially on the day of their institution (ie Holy Thursday). Seeing the great harm that comes from careless reception of Communion, the Fathers have set aside forty days (of Lent) for prayer, listening to God�s word and attending services, in order that after proper purification of our heart by prayer, fasting, almsgiving, night-vigils and confession, we may receive Holy Communion with a clear conscience as many times as possible. What the Lord did not endure on the Cross (the breaking of His legs), He submits to now in His sacrifice for His love for you. He permits Himself to be broken into pieces that all may be filled. What is in the chalice is the same as that which flowed from Christ�s side. What is the Bread? Christ�s Body. Not only ought we to see the Lord, we ought to take Him and unite ourselves with Him in the closest union. It is folly to abstain all day long from food, but fail to abstain from sin and selfishness. Let your prayer be completely simple for both the Publican and the Prodigal Son were reconciled to God by a single phrase.

Self-examination by St. Maximos the Confessor

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:14:33 GMT

http://theodorakis.net/orthodoxquotescomplete.html �He who busies himself with the sins of others, or judges his brother on suspicion, has not yet even begun to repent or to examine himself so as to discover his own sins...� �God, Who is by nature good and dispassionate, loves all men equally as His handiwork. But He glorifies the virtuous man because in his will he is united to God. At the same time, in His goodness he is merciful to the sinner and by chastising him in this life brings him back to the path of virtue. Similarly, a man of good and dispassionate judgment also loves all men equally. He loves the virtuous man because of his nature and the probity of his intention; and he loves the sinner, too, because of his nature and because in his compassion he pities him for foolishly stumbling in darkness.�

Timeline of Church History (continued)

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:24:06 GMT

http://orthodoxwiki.org/Timeline_of_Church_History Communist era (1917-1991) � 1917 Bolshevik Revolution throws Church of Russia into chaos, effectively stranding the fledgling Russian Orthodox mission in America; restoration of Moscow Patriarchate with Tikhon as patriarch; Church of Georgia's autocephaly restored de facto by political chaos in Russia. � 1917-40 Persecution of the Orthodox Church in Russia begins, with 130,000 priests arrested, 95,000 of whom were executed by firing squad. � 1918 Tsar Nicholas II of Russia murdered together with his wife Alexandra and children. � 1919-1922 Greco-Turkish War; a million refugees flee to Greece joining half a million Greeks who had fled earlier; Pontic Greek Genocide eliminates the Christian population of Trebizond. � 1920 Death of Nektarios of Aegina; publication of Encyclical Letters by Constantinople on Christian unity and on the Ecumenical Movement. � 1921 Constantinople renounces all claims to jurisdiction in any part of Africa, with Alexandrian primate thenceforth known as Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa; Greek Archdiocese of America formed ; Abp. Tikhon (Belavin) elected Patriarch of Moscow; Gorazd (Pavlik) consecrated as bishop for Western Rite Diocese of Moravia and Silesia; an all-Ukrainian Synod is called in Kyiv and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC) (as yet unrecognized) is declared independent from the Moscow Patriarchate (MP). � 1922 Church of Albania declares autocephaly from Constantinople; formation of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia; Solovetsky Monastery converted by Lenin's decree to the "Solovki Special Purpose Camp", one of the earliest forced-labor camps of the Gulag where 75 bishops died, along with tens of thousands of laity; the predominatly Christian city of Smyrna is destroyed, ending 1900 years of Christian civilization. � 1923 Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia granted autonomy by Church of Constantinople; Treaty of Lausanne affirmed the international status of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, with Turkey guaranteeing respect and the Patriarchate�s full protection. � 1924 Church of Constantinople recognizes autocephaly of Church of Poland. � 1925 Church of Romania becomes a patriarchate; first Africans in sub-Saharan Africa baptized in Tanganyika by Fr. Nikodemos Sarikas; death of Tikhon of Moscow. � 1926 Polish Catholic National Church received as a Western Rite diocese in Poland of Church of Russia under Bp. Alexis of Grodno; John Maximovitch tonsured by ROCOR Metr. Anthony (Khrapovitsky) of Kiev. � 1927 Bishops of Russian church in America authorize formation of American Orthodox Catholic Church, including a Western Rite missionary outreach. � 1929 Kingdom of Italy and Papacy ratify Lateran Treaty, recognizing sovereignty of Papacy within the new state of the Vatican City. � 1931 Reception of Patriarchal Exarchate for Orthodox Parishes of Russian Tradition in Western Europe into the Ecumenical Patriarchate, led by Metr. Eulogius (Georgievsky) of Paris. � 1932 Daniel William Alexander travels to Uganda to meet Reuben Spartas, establishing African Orthodox Church there. � 1933 Church of Greece bans Freemasonry. � 1934 Daniel William Alexander travels to Kenya, establishing African Orthodox Church led by Arthur Gathuna; episcopal consecration of John Maximovitch. � 1935 Critical edition of Septuagint published in Gottingen Germany by Alfred Rahlfs at the Septuaginta-Unternehmens (Institute); Old Calendar schism when three bishops declared their separation from the official Church of Greece stating that the calendar change was a schismatic act. � 1935-40 Italian forces occupy Ethiopia and begin intermittent persecutions of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. � 1936 Ukase of Moscow Patriarchate establishes Western Orthodox Church in France using Western Rite. � 1936-37 Many Russian Orthodox Clerics die in Joseph Stalin's Great Purge. � 1937 Church of Constantinople recognizes autocephaly of Church of Albania. � 1938 Death of Silouan the Athonite; American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese founded, when a group of 37 Carpatho-Russian Eastern Catholic parishes, under the leadership of Fr. Orestes Chornock, were received into the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. � 1941 Martyrdom of Gorazd (Pavlik) of Prague by Nazis. � 1941-45 Croatian Ustasa terrorists kill 500,000 Orthodox Serbs, expel 250,000 and force 250,000 to convert to Catholicism. � 1943 Church of Russia recognizes autocephaly of Church of Georgia; first constitution of the African Orthodox Church in East Africa signed by Reuben Spartas and Arthur Gathuna; Joseph Stalin meets with hierarchs of Russian Orthodox Church to establish a "patriotic union," granting concessions to the church, including the gathering of the holy synod and the election of Sergius I as patriarch of Moscow. � 1943-44 Hundreds of Orthodox priests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church eliminated, tortured and drowned by Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists - Ukrainian Rebel Army, aided by Uniate Metr. Josyf Slipyj who was a spiritual leader of Nazi military units that were later condemned by the Nuremberg tribunal, and who was imprisoned by Soviet authorities for aiding the UPA. � 1944 Fr. Evgraph (Kovalevsky) completes restoration of Liturgy of St. Germaine de Paris. � 1945 Church of Bulgaria's autocephaly generally recognized; library of early Christian texts discovered at Nag Hammadi in Egypt; Soviet Union annexes Czechoslovakia; Church of Russia claims jurisdiction over the Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia. � 1945-90 Persecution of the Orthodox Church in Albania. � 1946 Reuben Spartas of the African Orthodox Church visits Alexandria; Holy Synod of the Church of Alexandria officially recognizes and accepts the African Greek Orthodox Church in Kenya and Uganda; state-sponsored synod is held at Lviv, Ukraine in March, which officially dissolves the Union of Brest-Litovsk and integrates the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church into the Russian Orthodox Church, Soviet authorities arresting resisters or deporting them to Siberia. � 1947 Death of Alexei Kabalyiuk, who played a major role in reviving Orthodoxy in Transcarpathia in the early 20th century. � 1948 Church of Russia re-grants autocephaly to the Church of Poland (after having revoked it in the aftermath of World War II); World Council of Churches is founded; Council of Moscow is held on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the independence of the Russian Church from Constantinople, with representatives of the local Orthodox Churches rejecting all participation in the World Council of Churches. � 1949 Soviet authorities revoke the Union of Uzhhorod of 1646, creating the Orthodox Eparchy of Mukachiv-Uzhhorod, under the Patriarch of Moscow. � 1950 Pope Pius XII proclaims the Bodily Assumption of the Virgin Mary as a dogma. � 1951 Church of Russia grants autocephaly to the Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia; 1500th anniversary celebration of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem. � 1952-60 With the Mau-Mau Movement in Kenya (British East Africa Protectorate), the Orthodox Church is banished by the Colonial Government. � 1953 Metr. Antony (Bashir) accepts three Western Rite parishes into Syrian Metropolitanate in America. � 1957 Church of Russia grants autonomy to Church of China. � 1958 Patriarch of Antioch adopts provisions of Russian synods of 1879 and 1907 for use by Western Rite in America; Western Orthodox Church of France comes under Abp. John Maximovitch, who authorizes the use of the restored Gallican rite. � 1959 Abp. Anastasios (Yannoulatos) of Albania establishes inter-Orthodox mission agency Porefthentes to revive the church's mission activities; autocephaly granted to the Church of Ethiopia by Coptic Pope Cyril VI (Atta) of Alexandria. � 1961 Creation of Western Rite Vicariate in the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America; death of Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky) of Simferopol and Crimea; consecration of first Orthodox Church in Uganda; first Pan-Orthodox Conference in Rhodes. � 1962-1965 Second Vatican Council held in Rome, initiating major liturgical and theological reforms for the Roman Catholic Church, including restriction of ancient Tridentine Mass and introduction of the Novus Ordo. � 1963 Second Pan-Orthodox Conference in Rhodes; 1000th anniversary celebration of founding of Mount Athos. � 1964 Meeting of Pope Paul VI of Rome and Patr. Athenagoras I (Spyrou) of Constantinople in Jerusalem; third Pan-Orthodox Conference in Rhodes; Synaxis of the Saints of Rostov established by resolution of His Holiness Patriarch Alexis I and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. � 1965 Pope Paul VI of Rome and Patriarch Athenagoras I (Spyrou) of Constantinople mutually nullify the excommunications of 1054. � 1966 The Cultural Revolution almost totally destroyed the young Chinese Orthodox Church. � 1967 Church of Macedonia unilaterally declares its autocephaly, making it independent of the Church of Serbia (as yet unrecognized); Albania is declared an atheist state, closing all religious institutions and forbiding any religious practices. � 1968 Visit to Patriarchate of Alexandria by Vatican representatives; fourth Pan-Orthodox Conference in Chambesy, Switzerland. � 1970 Russian-American Metropolia reconciles with Church of Russia and is granted autocephaly, renamed as the Orthodox Church in America, returning control of Church of Japan to Moscow, which grants it autonomy; Abp. Makarios III (Mouskos) of Cyprus baptizes 10,000 into the Orthodox Church in Kenya. � 1971 Halki Seminary closed by Turkish authorities. � 1975 Division in the Antiochian church in North America overcome by the uniting of the two Antiochian archdioceses into one by Metr. Philip (Saliba) of New York and Abp. Michael (Shaheen) of Toledo; Joint Commission of Orthodox and Old Catholic theologians is established. � 1976 First Pre-Synodal Pan-Orthodox Conference at Orthodox Centre of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Chambesy, Switzerland. � 1979 Pope John Paul II visits Ecumenical Patriarchate. � 1979 Joint Commission of Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches for Theological Dialogue established by Pope John Paul II and Patr. Demetrius I (Papadopoulos) of Constantinople. � 1981 Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Commission meets for the first time in Espoo, Finland. � 1982 Orthodox-Roman Catholic Joint Commission publishes in Munich first official common document, "The Mystery of the Church and of the Eucharist in Light of the Mystery of the Holy Trinity"; second Pre-Synodal Pan-Orthodox Conference in Chambesy, Switzerland. � 1985 Founding of Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC) as Greek Archdiocesan Mission Center; Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Commission issues statement "Divine Revelation." � 1986 Third Pre-Synodal Pan-Orthodox Conference in Chambesy, Switzerland. � 1987 Orthodox-Roman Catholic Joint Commission issues common document "Faith, Sacraments and the Unity of the Church"; visit by Patr. Demetrius I (Papadopoulos) of Constantinople to Vatican. � 1987 Group of twenty parishes of the Evangelical Orthodox Church, originally formed by former Campus Crusade for Christ leaders Peter Gillquist and Jon Braun, are received into Antiochian Archdiocese in US, becoming the Antiochian Evangelical Orthodox Mission; Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Commission issues the statement "Scripture and Tradition." � 1988 1000th anniversary of Orthodoxy in Russia; Orthodox-Roman Catholic Joint Commission publishes common document "The Sacrament of Order in the Sacramental Structure of the Church"; Indonesian Muslim convert to Orthodoxy Fr. Daniel Byantoro begins his mission in Indonesia, sparking the rebirth of Orthodoxy there. � 1989 Church of Constantinople recognizes autocephaly of the Church of Georgia; Elder Ephraim begins founding Athonite-style monasteries in North America; Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Commission issues statement "The Canon and the Inspiration of the Holy Scripture"; glorification in Russia of Tikhon of Moscow; Uniate Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church legalized, with Greek Catholics beginning seizure of property from Russian Orthodox Church, which they claimed as theirs prior to the synod of 1946. � 1990 Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kiev Patriarchate (UOC-KP) self-proclaims its independance from the UAOC (both groups unrecognized). Post-Communist era (1991-Present) � 1991 Representatives of Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches meet in Chambesy, Switzerland, discussing relations with World Council of Churches. � 1992 Synaxis of primates of Orthodox churches in Constantinople. � 1993 Orthodox-Roman Catholic Joint Theological Commission meets in Balamand, Lebanon, issuing common document "Uniatism: Method of Union of the Past, and Present. Search for Full Communion" (the "Balamand document"); Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Commission issues statement "The Ecumenical Councils." � 1993 Church of Cyprus condemns Freemasonry; Orthodox Study Bible: New Testament and Psalms published; Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church becomes autocephalous. � 1994 Ligonier Meeting in Western Pennsylvania at Antiochian Village held by the majority of Orthodox hierarchs in North America votes to do away with the notion of Orthodox Christians in America being a "diaspora". � 1995 Patr. Bartholomew I visits Vatican; Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Commission issues statement "Understanding of Salvation in the Light of the Ecumenical Councils"; Pope John Paul II issues encyclical Orientale Lumen, encouraging reunion between East and West. � 1996 Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America reorganized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, dividing the administration of the two continents into four parts. � 1998 Church of Constantinople, not recognizing Russia's right to issue a tomos of autocephaly in 1951, issues its own tomos for the Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia; Thessaloniki Summit held to discuss Orthodox participation in WCC; Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Commission issues statement "Salvation: Grace, Justification and Synergy." � 1999 Numerous Serbian Orthodox sites in Kosovo and Metohia destroyed and desecrated during NATO peacekeeping presence. � 2000 Orthodox-Roman Catholic Joint Theological Commission meets in Baltimore, discusses text on "The Ecclesiological and Canonical Implications of Uniatism," but is suspended; Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Commission issues statement "Word and Sacraments (Mysteria) in the Life of the Church". � 2001 Pope John Paul II of Rome apologizes to Orthodox Church for Fourth Crusade; Chalcedonian and Non-Chalcedonian Patriarchates of Alexandria agree to mutually recognize baptisms and marriages performed in each other's churches. � 2002 Patr. Bartholomew I (Archontonis) of Constantinople and Pope John Paul II co-sign Venice Declaration of Environmental Ethics; Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Commission issues statement "Mysteria/Sacraments as Means of Salvation." � 2003 Orthodox Churches in Europe commemorated the 550th anniversary of the fall of Constantinople in May; Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America granted "self-rule" (similar but not identical to autonomy) by Church of Antioch; Coptic priest Fr. Zakaria Botros begins his television and internet mission to Muslims in North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and western countries, resulting in thousands of conversions. � 2004 Pope John Paul II returns relics of John Chrysostom and Gregory the Theologian to Church of Constantinople; Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Commission statement "Baptism and Chrismation as Sacraments of Initiation into the Church." � 2006 Pope Benedict XVI visits Ecumenical Patriarchate, drawing criticism from Mount Athos; Abp. Christodoulos (Paraskevaides) of Athens visits Vatican; Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Commission issues statement "The Holy Eucharist in the Life of the Church." � 2007 Restoration of full communion between Moscow Patriarchate and ROCOR; synod of over 50 bishops of the Church of Ukraine announce that the UOC-MP is "an autonomous, historical part of the Russian Orthodox Church"; Orthodox-Roman Catholic Joint Commission meets in Ravenna, Italy, 10th plenary, led by co-presidents Cardinal Walter Kasper and Metr. John (Zizioulas) of Pergamon, agreeing upon a joint document consisting of 46 articles providing an ecclesiastical road map in discussing union; Russian delegation walks out of Ravenna talks in protest of presence of Estonian delegation (EP). � 2008 Orthodox Study Bible (with Septuagint) published; Pan-Orthodox meeting in Constantinople in October of the Primates of the fourteen Orthodox Churches, signing a document calling for inter-orthodox unity and collaboration and "the continuation of preparations for the Holy and Great Council". � 2009 The 4th Pan-Orthodox pre-conciliar consultation was held in Chamb�sy on June 6-13; Death of popular Elder Joseph of Vatopedi, July 1.

Timeline of Church History

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:13:30 GMT

http://orthodoxwiki.org/Timeline_of_Church_History � ca. 27 BC - AD 180 Pax Romana. � ca. 4 BC Christ is born in Bethlehem; 14,000 Holy Innocents slain in Bethlehem. � ca. 25-26 Death of Joseph the Betrothed. � ca. 28 John the Baptist begins ministry. � ca. 28-30 Three year ministry of Jesus Christ. � ca. 30 Martyrdom of Stephen the deacon, first Christian martyr. � 30 Conversion of Apostle Paul. Apostolic era (33-100) � ca. 30-33 Holy Spirit descends on the day of Pentecost. � 34 Apostle Peter founds See of Antioch. � 35 Name Christian first used in Antioch. � 37 Joseph of Arimathea travels to Britain and lands in Glastonbury. � 40 Apostle Barnabas sent from Jerusalem to Antioch. � ca. 42 Apostle Paul's ecstasy to the third heaven (2 Cor.12:2-4). � ca. 46-48 Apostle Paul's first missionary journey, with Apostle Barnabas. � 49 Apostolic Council of Jerusalem rules that Gentiles do not have to become Jews before becoming Christians. � ca. 49-52 Apostle Paul's second missionary journey, with Apostle Silas. � 50 Apostle Matthew finishes the Gospel of Matthew in Aramaic. � 52 Apostle Thomas arrives in Kerala, introducing Christianity to India. � ca. 53-57 Apostle Paul's third missionary journey (Acts 18:23 - 21:16). � ca. 59-62 Apostle Paul's fourth missionary journey, voyage to Rome. � 62 Martyrdom of Apostle James the Just; crucifixion of Apostle Andrew in Patras. � 63 Aristobulus consecrated as first bishop of Britain. � 64-68 First of ten major persecutions of the early Church, under Emperor Nero. � 66 Flight of the Christian community in Jerusalem to Pella and other places in the Decapolis, and Antioch. � 67 Martyrdom of Apostles Peter and Paul in Rome; Apostle Linus elected first bishop of Rome. � 69 Ignatius of Antioch consecrated bishop of Antioch. � 70 Apostle Mark writes Gospel; Temple in Jerusalem is destroyed by the Romans; expulsion of Christians from synagogues. � 71 Apostle Mark introduces Christianity to Egypt. � 80 Gospel of Luke written by the Apostle Luke; Titus dedicates Colosseum, site of the martyrdom of many early Christians. � ca. 80-90 Didache written. � 85 Acts of the Apostles written by Apostle Luke. � 90 Council of Jamnia (Javneh) marks final separation and distinction between the Jewish and Christian communities, including rejection of the Septuagint widely then in use among the Hellenized Jewish diaspora. � 95 Apostle John writes Book of Revelation. � ca. 90-96 Persecution of Christians under Emperor Domitian (2nd). � 96 Gospel of John written by Apostle John. � ca. 100 Emergence of Christian Catacombs. � 100 Death of Apostle John. Ante-Nicene era (100-325) � 107 Martyrdom of Ignatius of Antioch; death of Apostle Symeon. � 108-124 Persecution under Emperor Trajan, continuing under Emepror Hadrian (3rd). � 120 Beginning of time of the Apologists: Justin Martyr, Aristides, Tatian, Athenagoras of Athens, Theophilus, Minucius Felix, Tertullian and Quadratus. � 124 Apostles Quadratus and Aristides present Christian apologies to Emperor Hadrian at Athens. � 128 Aquila's Greek translation of the Old Testament. � 130 Conversion of Justin Martyr. � 132 Jews, led by Bar Kochba, whom some identify as the Messiah, revolt against Rome. � 135 Christmas instituted as a feast day in Rome. � 136 Emperor Hadrian crushes Jewish resistance, forbids Jews from returning Jerusalem, and changes city name to Aelia Capitolina; first recorded use of title Pope for the bishop of Rome by Pope Hyginus. � 144 Excommunication of Marcion. � 150 Justin Martyr describes Divine Liturgy. � 155 Martyrdom of Polycarp of Smyrna. � 156 Beginning of Montanism. � 165 Martyrdom of Justin. � 166 Pope Soter inaugurates in Rome a separate annual feast for Pascha, in addition to the weekly Sunday celebrations of the Resurrection, which is also held on a Sunday, in contrast to the Quartodecimans. � ca. 175 Tatian's Diatessaron harmonizes the four canonical gospels into single narrative. � 177-180 Persection under Emperor Marcus Aurelius (161-180) (4th). � 180 Irenaeus of Lyons writes Against Heresies; Dyfan first martyr in British Isles. � 180-192 Theodotion's Greek translation of the Old Testament. � 193-211 Symmachus' Greek translation of the Old Testament. � 197 Quartodeciman controversy. � 200 Martyrdom of Irenaeus of Lyons. � 202 Emperor Septimus Severus issues edict against Christianity and Judaism; Martyrdom of Haralampus of Magnesia. � 202-210 Persecution under Emperor Septimius Severus (193-211) (5th). � 206 King Abgar IX converts Edessa to Christianity. � ca. 209 Martyrdom of Alban in Britain. � 210 Hippolytus of Rome, bishop and martyr and last of Greek-speaking fathers in Rome, writes Refutation of All Heresies (Philosophumena), and Apostolic Tradition. � 215 Conversion of Tertullian to Montanism. � 225 Death of Tertullian. � ca. 225-250 Didascalia Apostolorum written. � 227 Origen begins Commentary on Genesis, completes work on First Principles. � 235-238 Persecution under Emperor Maximinus Thrax (6th); martyrdom of St. Hippolytus of Rome. � 238 During reigns of Gordian and Philip the Arab Church preaches openly and increasingly attracts well-educated converts. � ca. 240 Origen produces Hexapla. � 244 Plotinus founds Neoplatonist school in Rome in opposition to Church. � 246 Paul of Thebes becomes in Egypt first Christian hermit. � 247 Rome celebrates thousandth anniversary, witnessing a period of increased persecution of Christians. � 248 Origen writes Against Celsus that the Roman Empire was ordained by God. � 249-251 Persecution under Emperor Decius (7th). � 257-260 Persecution under Emperor Valerian (253-260) (8th). � 258 Martyrdom of Cyprian of Carthage. � 260 Paul of Samosata begins preaching against the divinity of Christ; Synod in Rome condemns Sabellianism and Subordinationism. � 264 Excommunication of Paul of Samosata. � 265 Homoousios used for first time by Modalist Monarchians of Cyrene. � 274-275 Persecution under Emperor Aurelian (9th). � 270 Death of Gregory Thaumaturgus; Porphyry of Tyre writes Against the Christians. � 284 Diocletian becomes Roman emperor, persecutes Church and martyrs an estimated one million Christians; martyrdom of Cosmas and Damian, Andrew Stratelates ("the General") and 2,593 soldiers with him in Cilicia. � 285 Anthony the Great flees to desert. � 300 Christian population reaches about 6,200,000, or 10.5% of the population of the Roman Empire. � 301 Gregory the Enlightener converts King Tiridates I of Armenia to the Christian faith. � 302 20,000 Martyrs burned at Nicomedia. � 303 Outbreak of the Great Persecution (303-311) (10th); martyrdom of George the Trophy-bearer. � ca. 305-311 Lactantius writes Divinae Institutiones. � ca. 306 Synod of Elvira requires clerical celibacy and sets severe disciplinary penalties for apostasy and adultery, becoming the pattern in the West. � 308 Pope Marcellus opposes leniency for Christians who lapsed under persecution. � 310 Armenia becomes first Christian nation; persecution of Christians under Persian King Shapur II (310-379). � 311 Galerius issues Edict of Toleration, ending persecution of Christians in his part of the Roman Empire; Donatist rebellion in Carthage. � 312 Vision and conversion of Constantine the Great; defeat of Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge, making Constantine Emperor of the West; martyrdom of Lucian of Antioch. � 313 Edict of Milan issued by Constantine the Great and co-emperor Licinius, officially declaring religious freedom in the Roman Empire. � 314 Council of Ancyra held; Council of Arles condemns Donatism. � 315 Council of Neo-Caesaria held. � 318 Publication of On the Incarnation by Athanasius the Great; beginnings of Arian Controversy. � 318 Pachomius the Great organizes a community of ascetics at Tabennis in Egypt, founding cenobitic monasticism. � 320 Expulsion of Arius by Alexander of Alexandria; martyrdom of Forty Martyrs of Sebaste. � 320-21 Licinius' measures against Christians in the East enforced. � 321 Constantine declares Sunday a holiday in honor of the Resurrection. � 323 Constantine the Great builds church on the site of the martyrdom of Peter in Rome. � 324 Constantine defeats Licinius and becomes sole emperor. Nicene era (325-451) � 325 First Ecumenical Council held in Nicea, condemning Arianism, setting the Paschalion, and issuing the first version of the Nicene Creed, also establishing the supremacy of honor of the Apostolic Sees as Rome, followed by Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. � 326 Discovery of the True Cross by the Empress Helena; King Miraeus of Georgia becomes Christian. � 328 Athanasius the Great becomes bishop of Alexandria. � 329 Athanasius ordains Frumentius (Abba Selama) to priesthood and commissions him to evangelize Ethiopia. � 330 Byzantium refounded as Constantinople / New Rome, Christian capital of the Roman Empire, and is dedicated to the Theotokos by Emperor Constantine; Amoun and Macarius the Great found monasteries in the Egyptian desert. � 336-338 Athanasius the Great goes into exile in Treves, telling Europeans about the monastic rule of Pachomius the Great, awakening interest in monasticism in Europe. � 337 Death of Constantine. � 340 Conversion of Wulfila to Arianism. � 341 Council of Antioch held; Emperor Constans bans pagan sacrifices and magic rituals under penalty of death. � 345 Death of Nicholas of Myra. � 348 Death of Pachomius the Great and Spyridon of Trimythous. � 350 Ninian establishes the church Candida Casa at Whithorn in Galloway, Scotland, beginning the missionary effort to the Picts. � 351 Apparition of the Cross over Jerusalem. � 355 Death of Nino of Cappadocia. � 356 Death of Anthony the Great. � 357 Council of Sirmium issues Blasphemy of Sirmium. � 358 Basil the Great founds monastery of Annesos in Pontus, the model for Eastern monasticism. � 359 Councils of Seleucia and Rimini. � 360 Martin of Tours founds first French monastery at Liguge; first church of Hagia Sophia inaugurated by Emperor Constantius II. � 362 Antiochian schism (362-414). � 361-63 Julian the Apostate becomes Roman emperor and attempts to restore paganism. � 363 Emperor Jovian reestablishes Christianity as the official religion of the Empire. � 364 Council of Laodicea held. � 367 Athanasius of Alexandria writes Paschal letter, listing for the first time the canon of the New Testament; death of Hilary of Poitiers. � 373 Death of Athanasius the Great and Ephrem the Syrian. � 374 Election of Ambrose as bishop of Milan. � 375 Basil the Great writes On the Holy Spirit. � 376 Visigoths convert to Arian Christianity. � 379 Death of Basil the Great; Emperor Gratian's rescript Ordinariorum Sententias extends power of Bishop of Rome by allowing him authority over bishops within his own jurisdiction. � 380 Christianity established as the official faith of the Roman Empire by Emperor Theodosius the Great; Council of Saragossa condemns Priscillianism. � 381 Second Ecumenical Council held in Constantinople, condemning Macedonianism/Pneumatomachianism and Apollinarianism, declaring the divinity of the Holy Spirit, confirming the previous Ecumenical Council, and completing the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed; Council of Aquileia led by Ambrose of Milan deposes Arian bishops. � 382 Pope Siricius of Rome first to bear title Pontifex Maximus. � 383 Death of Frumentius of Axum, bishop of Axum and Apostle to Ethiopia. � 384 Council of Bordeaux condemns Priscillian. � 385 Death of Gregory of Nyssa. � 386 Death of Cyril of Jerusalem. � 387 Augustine baptized by Ambrose of Milan. � 391 Death of Gregory the Theologian. � 391-92 Closing of all non-Christian temples in the Empire; Theodosius the Great ends pagan Eleusinian Mysteries by decree and causes surviving pagan sacrifices at Alexandria and Rome to cease. � 392 Death of Macarius the Great. � 393 Council of Hippo publishes Biblical canon; Emperor Theodosius bans Olympic Games as a pagan festival. � 394 Epiphanius of Salamis attacks teachings of Origen as heretical; Council of Constantinople held; Donatist Council of Bagai in Africa held. � 395 Augustine becomes bishop of Hippo in North Africa; placing of the cincture of the Theotokos in the Church of the Virgin in Halkoprateia-Constantinople. � 395 Re-division of Empire with death of Emperor Theodosius the Great. � 397 Council of Carthage publishes Biblical canon; death of Martin of Tours and Ambrose of Milan. � 398 John Chrysostom becomes Archbishop of Constantinople. � ca. 398 Martyrdom of 10,000 Fathers of the Scetis by Patriarch Theophilus of Alexandria. � 399 Anastasius of Rome and other bishops condemn doctrine of Origen. � 401 Augustine of Hippo writes Confessions; Pope Innocent I of Rome supports John Chrysostom and condemns pelagianism. � 402 Porphyry of Gaza obtains imperial decree ordering closing of pagan temples in Gaza. � 403 Abduction of Patrick to Irelande; visit of Victricius of Rouen to Britain; Synod of the Oak held near Chalcedon, deposing and exiling John Chrysostom. � 404 Martyrdom of Telemachus, resulting in Emperor Honorius' edict banning gladiator fights. � 405 Translation of Holy Scriptures into Latin as the Vulgate by Jerome. � 407 Death of John Chrysostom in exile. � 410 Fall of Rome to the Visigoths under Alaric I; escape of Patrick back to Britain; Emperor Honorius tells Britain to attend to its own affairs, effectively removing the Roman presence. � 410 Council of Seleucia declares Mesopotamian Nestorian bishops independent of Orthodox bishops. � 411 Pelagius condemned at council in Carthage; Rabbula becomes bishop of Edessa. � 412 Cyril succeeds his uncle Theophilus as Pope of Alexandria; Honorius outlaws Donatism; Bishops Lazarus of Aix-en-Provence and Herod of Arles expelled from sees on a charge of Manichaeism; Alexandrian Creation Era date finalized at 25 March, 5493 BC. � 414 Resolution of Antiochian division. � 415 Pelagius cleared at synod in Jerusalem and a provincial synod in Diospolis (Lydda); John Cassian founds convent at Marseilles. � 416 Councils in Carthage and Milevis condemn Pelagius and convince Pope Innocent I of Rome to excommunicate him. � 418 Foundation of the Arian Visigothic Kingdom, as Emperor Honorius rewards Visigoth federates by giving them land in Gallia Aquitania on which to settle. � 418-24 Council in Carthage anathematizes Pelagianism by way of endorsing Augustinian anthropology. � 426 Augustine of Hippo writes The City of God. � 428 Nestorius becomes patriarch of Constantinople. � 429 Pope Celestine I dispatches prominent Gallo-Roman Bishops Germanus of Auxerre and Lupus of Troyes to Britain as missionary bishops and to combat the Pelagian heresy; death of Sisoes the Great. � 430 Peter the Iberian founds Georgian monastery near Bethlehem. � 431 Third Ecumenical Council held in Ephesus, condemning Nestorianism and Pelagianism, confirming the use of the term Theotokos to refer to the Virgin Mary, and confirming autocephaly of Church of Cyprus; Pope Celestine sends Palladius to Ireland. � 432 Return of Patrick to Ireland to begin missionary work; death of Ninian, Apostle to the Picts. � 433 Formulary of Peace completes work of Third Ecumenical Council by reconciling Cyril of Alexandria with John of Antioch. � 435 Death of John Cassian and Acacius of Melitene; Nestorius exiled by imperial edict to a monastery in a Sahara oasis. � 438 Codex Theodosianus published. � 439 Carthage falls to Vandals. � 444 Death of Cyril of Alexandria; Pope Leo the Great abolishes Gallican vicariate. � 445 Founding of monastery at Armagh in northern Ireland; Emperor Valentinian III issues decree recognizing primacy of the bishop of Rome. � 447 Earthquake in Constantinople, when a boy was lifted up to heaven and heard the Trisagion. � 449 Robber Synod of Ephesus, presided over by Dioscorus of Alexandria, with an order from the emperor to acquit Eutyches the Monophysite. � 450 First monasteries established in Wales; death of Peter Chrysologus. Byzantine era (451-843) � 451 Fourth Ecumenical Council meets at Chalcedon, condemning Eutychianism and Monophysitism, affirming doctrine of two perfect and indivisible but distinct natures in Christ, and recognizing Church of Jerusalem as patriarchate. � 452 Proterios of Alexandria convenes synod in Alexandria to reconcile Chalcedonians and non-Chalcedonians; second finding of the Head of John the Forerunner. � 457 Victorius of Aquitania computes new Paschalion; first coronation of Byzantine Emperor by patriarch of Constantinople. � 459 Death of Symeon the Stylite. � 461 Death of Leo the Great and Patrick of Ireland. � 462 Indiction moved to September 1; Studion Monastery founded. � 466 Church of Antioch elevates bishop of Mtskheta to rank of Catholicos of Kartli, rendering the Church of Georgia autocephalous; death of Shenouda the Great, abbott of White Monastery in Egypt, considered the founder of Coptic Christianity. � ca. 471 Patr. Acacius of Constantinople first called Oikoumenikos ("Ecumenical"). � 473 Death of Euthymius the Great. � 475 Emperor Basiliscus issues letter to bishops of empire, supporting Monophysitism. � 477 Timothy Aelurus of Alexandria exiles Chalcedonian bishops from Egypt. � 482 Byzantine emperor Zeno I issues Henoticon. � 484 Acacian Schism. � 484 Founding of Mar Sabbas Monastery by Sabbas the Sanctified; Synod of Beth Lapat in Persia declares Nestorianism as official theology of Assyrian Church of the East, effectively separating the Assyrian church from the Byzantine church. � 489 Emperor Zeno I closes Nestorian academy in Edessa, which was then transferred under Sassanian Persian auspices to Nisibis, becoming the spiritual center of the Assyrian Church of the East. � 490 Brigid of Kildaire founds monastery of Kildare in Ireland. � 494 Pope Gelasius I of Rome delineates relationship between Church and state in his letter Duo sunt, written to Emperor Anastasius I. � 496 Remigius of Rheims baptizes Franks into Orthodox Christianity. � ca. 500 Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite writes The Mystical Theology. � 506 Church of Armenia separates from Chalcedonian Orthodoxy. � 507 Clovis I defeats the Arian Visigoths at Battle of Vouill� near Poitiers, ending their power in Gaul. � 518 Severus of Antioch deposed by Emperor Justin I for Monophysitism; Patr. John II of Constantinople is addressed as Oikoumenikos Patriarches ("Ecumenical Patriarch"). � 519 Eastern and Western churches reconciled with end of Acacian Schism. � 521 Birth of Columba of Iona. � 527 Dionysius Exiguus calculates the date of birth of Jesus incorrectly; foundation of St. Catherine's Monastery on the Sinai peninsula by Justinian the Great. � 529 Pagan University of Athens closed and replaced by Christian university in Constantinople; Benedict of Nursia founds monastery of Monte Cassino and codifies Western monasticism; Council of Orange condemns Pelagianism; death of Theodosius the Great. � 529-534 Justinian's Corpus Juris Civilis issued. � 530 Brendan the Navigator lands in Newfoundland, Canada, establishing a short-lived community of Irish monks. � 532 Justinian the Great orders building of Hagia Sophia; death of Sabbas the Sanctified. � 533 Mercurius elected Pope of Rome and takes the name of John II, first pope to change name upon election. � 534 Roman Empire destroys the Arian kingdom of Vandals. � 536 Mennas of Constantinople summons a synod anathematizing Severus of Antioch. � 537 Construction of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople completed. � 538 Emperor Justinian the Great, via deportations and force, manages to get all five patriarchates offcially into communion. � 539 Ravenna becomes exarchate of Byzantine Empire. � 541 Jacob Baradeus organizes the Non-Chalcedonian Church in western Syria (the "Jacobites"), which spreads to Armenia and Egypt. � 543 Doctrine of apokatastasis condemned by Synod of Constantinople. � 544 Jacob Baradeus consecrates Sergius of Tella as bishop of Antioch, opening the lasting schism between the Syriac Orthodox Church and the Chalcedonian Church of Antioch; founding of the monastery at Clonmacnoise in Ireland by Ciaran. � 545 David of Wales moves primatial see of Britain from Caerleon to Menevia (St. Davids's). � 546 Columba founds monastery of Derry in Ireland. � 547 David of Wales does obeisance to the Patriarch of Jerusalem. � 553 Fifth Ecumenical Council held in Constantinople in an attempt to reconcile Chalcedonians with non-Chalcedonians� Three Chapters of Theodore of Mopsuestia, Theodoret of Cyrrhus, and Ibas of Edessa are condemned for their Nestorianism, and Origen and his writings are also condemned. � 553 Bishops of Aquileia, Milan, Venetia and the Istrian peninsula in Italy all refuse to condemn the Three Chapters, causing Schism of the Three Chapters in those areas, leading to independence of Patriarch of Venice from Patriarch of Aquileia; Ostrogoth kingdom conquered by the Byzantines after the Battle of Mons Lactarius. � 554 Church of Armenia officially breaks with West in 554, during the second Council of Dvin where the dyophysite formula of Chalcedon was rejected. � 556 Columba founds monastery of Durrow in Ireland; death of Roman the Melodist. � 557 Brendan the Navigator founds monastery at Clonfert, Ireland. � 563 Columba arrives on Iona and establishes monastery there, founding mission to the Picts. � 569 Final schism between Chalcedonians and non-Chalcedonians in Egypt; David of Wales holds Synod of Victoria to re-assert anti-Pelagian decrees of Brefi. � 576 Dual hierarchy henceforth in Alexandria, Chalcedonian (Greek) and Monophysite (Coptic). � 577 Patr. John III Scholasticus is responible for the first collection of Canon Law, the Nomocanon, of the Orthodox Church. � 579 400 Martyrs slain by Lombards in Sicily. � 580 Monte Cassino sacked by Lombards, sending its monks fleeing to Rome; Slavs begin to migrate into the Balkans and Greece. � 587 Visigoth King Reccared renounces Arianism in favor of Orthodoxy. � 589 Council of Toledo adds Filioque to Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed in an attempt to combat Arianism. � 590 Columbanus founds monasteries in France. � 593 Anastasius the Sinaite restored as Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch. � 596 Gregory the Dialogist sends Augustine along with forty other monks to southern Britain to convert pagans. � 597 Death of Columba of Iona. � 598 Glastonbury Abbey founded. � ca. 600 The Ladder of Divine Ascent written by John Climacus; Gregory the Dialogist inspires development of Gregorian Chant through his liturgical reforms. � 601 Augustine of Canterbury converts King Ethelbert of Kent and establishes see of Canterbury. � 602 Augustine of Canterbury meets with Welsh bishops to bring them under Canterbury. � 604 Mellitus becomes first bishop of London and founds first St. Paul's Cathedral; death of Gregory the Dialogist. � 605 Death of Augustine of Canterbury. � 610 Heraclius changes official language of the Empire from Latin to Greek, already the lingua franca of the vast majority of the population. � 612 Holy Sponge and Holy Lance brought to Constantinople from Palestine. � 614 Persians sack Jerusalem under Chosroes II of Persia; Church of the Holy Sepulchre damaged by fire, True Cross captured, and over 65,000 Christians in Jerusalem massacred. � 615 Death of Columbanus in Italy. � 617 Persian Army conquers Chalcedon after a long siege. � 626 Akathist Hymn to the Virgin Mary written. � 627 Emperor Heraclius defeats Sassanid Persians at Battle of Nineveh, recovering True Cross and breaking Sassanid power. � 630 Second Elevation of the Holy Cross. � 633 Death of Modestus of Jerusalem. � 635 Founding of Lindisfarne Monastery by Aidan; Cynegils, king of Wessex, converts to Christianity. � 636 Capture of Jerusalem by Muslim Arabs after Battle of Yarmuk. � 640 Muslim conquest of Syria; Battle of Heliopolis between Arab Muslim armies and Byzantium opens door for Muslim conquest of Byzantine Exarchate of Africa. � 641 Capture of Alexandria by Muslim Arabs. � 642 Muslim conquest of Egypt. � 646 Alexandria recaptured by Muslim Arabs after Byzantine attempt to retake Egypt fails, ending nearly ten centuries of Greco-Roman civilization in Egypt. � 648 Pope Theodore I of Rome excommunicates patriarch Paul II of Constantinople. � 649 Arabs invade and conquer Cyprus. � 650 Final defeat of Arianism as Lombards convert to Orthodoxy. � 653 Pope Martin the Confessor arrested on orders of Byzantine Emperor Constans II. � 654 Invasion of Rhodes by Arabs. � 655 Martyrdom of Martin the Confessor. � 657 Founding of Whitby Abbey in Yorkshire, England. � 662 Death of Maximus the Confessor. � 663 Emperor Constans II is last Eastern emperor to set foot in Rome; Constans II declares Pope of Rome to have no jurisdiction over Archbishop of Ravenna, since that city was the seat of the exarch, his immediate representative. � 664 Synod of Whitby held in northern England, adopting Roman calendar and tonsures in Northumbria; Ionian monk Wilfrid appointed as Archbishop of York. � 669-78 First Arab siege of Constantinople; at Battle of Syllaeum Arab fleet destroyed by Byzantines through use of Greek Fire, ending immediate Arab threat to eastern Europe. � 670 Composition of Caedmon's Hymn by Caedmon of Whitby. � 672 First Synod of Hertford called by Theodore of Tarsus, adopting of ten decrees paralleling the canons of the Council of Chalcedon. � 673 Second Council of Hatfield upholds Orthodoxy against Monothelitism. � 680-681 Sixth Ecumenical Council held in Constantinople, condemning Monothelitism and affirming Christology of Maximus the Confessor, affirming that Christ has both a human will and a divine will; Patr. Sergius I of Constantinople and Pope Honorius of Rome are both explicitly anathematized for their support of Monothelitism. � 682 Foundation of Monkwearmouth-Jarrow Abbey in England. � 685 First monastics come to Mount Athos; death of Anastasius of Sinai. � 685 John Maron elected first Maronite patriarch, founding the Maronite Catholic Church, which embraced Monothelitism, rejected the teaching of the Fifth Ecumenical Council, and separated from the Orthodox Church. � 687 Destruction of Whitby Abbey by Danish Vikings; death of Cuthbert of Lindisfarne. � 688 Emperor Justinian II and Caliph al-Malik sign treaty neutralizing Cyprus. � ca. 690 Witenagamot of England forbids church appeals to Rome. � 691 Dome of the Rock completed in Jerusalem. � 692 Quinisext Council (also called the Penthekte Council or Council in Trullo) held in Constantinople, issuing canons completing the work of the Fifth and Sixth Ecumenical Councils, and declaring the Church of Jerusalem to be a patriarchate. � 694 Byzantine army of Justinian II defeated by Maronites, who became fully independent. � 697 Council of Birr accepts Roman Paschalion for northern Ireland; at this synod, Adomn�n of Iona promulgates his C�in Adomn�in. � 698 Muslim conquest of Carthage; at Synod of Aquileia, bishops of the diocese of Aquileia end the Schism of the Three Chapters and return to communion with Rome. � ca. 700 Death of Isaac of Syria. � 707 Death of John Maron. � 710 Pope Constantine makes last papal visit to Constantinople before 1967. � 712 Death of Andrew of Crete. � ca. 715 Lindisfarne Gospels produced in Northumbria (Northern England). � 715 Grand Mosque of Damascus built over the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist; Al-Aqsa Mosque constructed over site of Church of St. Mary of Justinian; Pictish King Nechtan invites Northumbrian clergy to establish Christianity amongst the Picts. � 716 Monastery at Iona conforms to Roman liturgical usage; Boniface's first missionary journey to Frisia. � 717 Pictish king Nechtan expels monks from Iona. � 717-18 Second Arab siege of Constantinople. � 719 Nubian Christians transfer allegiance from Chalcedonian church to Coptic church. � 723 Boniface fells Thor's Oak near Fritzlar. � 726 Iconoclast Emperor Leo the Isaurian starts campaign against icons. � 730 Leo the Isaurian orders destruction of all icons, beginning the First Iconoclastic Period. � 731 Bede completes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. � 732 Muslim invasion of Europe stopped by Franks at Battle of Tours, establishing a balance of power between Western Europe, Islam and the Byzantine Empire. � 733 Byzantine Emperor Leo the Isaurian withdraws the Balkans, Sicily and Calabria from the jurisdiction of the Pope in response to Pope Gregory III of Rome's support of a revolt in Italy against iconoclasm. � 734 Egbert becomes bishop of York, founding a library and making the city a renowned centre of learning. � 735 Death of Bede; See of York achieves archepiscopal status. � 739 Emperor Leo III (717-41) publishes his Ecloga , designed to introduce Christian principle into law; death of Willibrord. � 742 After a forty-year vacancy, Stephen IV becomes Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, at the suggestion of Umayyad caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik. � 747 Witenagamot of England again forbids appeals to the Roman Pope; Council of Clovesho I adopts Roman calendar, observance of the feasts of Gregory the Great and Augustine of Canterbury, and adopts the Rogation Days. � 749 Death of John of Damascus. � 750 Donation of Constantine accepted as a legitimate document, used by Pope Stephen II to prove territorial and jurisdictional claims. � 751 Lombard king Aistulf captures Ravenna and the Romagna, ending Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna. � 752 Death of Pope Zacharias of Rome. � 754 Iconoclastic Council held in Constantinople under the authority of Emperor Constantine V Copronymus, condemning icons and declaring itself to be the Seventh Ecumenical Council; Constantine begins dissolution of monasteries. � 754 Death of Boniface. � 756 Donation of Pepin cedes lands including Ravenna that became basis of Papal States. � 768 Wales adopts Orthodox Paschalion and other decrees of the Synod of Whitby at teaching of Elfoddw of Gwynedd. � 769 Pope Stephen III of Rome holds a council changing papal election procedure and confirming veneration of icons. � 772 Charlemagne starts fighting Saxons and Frisians; Saxony is subdued and converted to Christianity. � 781 King Charlemagne of the Franks summons Alcuin of York to head palace school at Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle) to inspire revival of education in Europe. � 785 Synod of Cealchythe erects the Archbishopric of Lichfield. � 787 Seventh Ecumenical Council held in Nicea, condemning iconoclasm and affirming veneration of icons; two councils held in England, one in the north at Pincanhale, and the other in the south at Chelsea, reaffirming the faith of the first Six Ecumenical Councils (the decrees of the Seventh having not yet been received), and establishing a third archbishopric at Lichfield. � 792 Synod of Regensburg condemned Adoptionism. � 793 Sack of Lindisfarne Priory, beginning Viking attacks on England. � 794 Charlemagne convenes council in Frankfurt-in-Main, rejecting decrees of Seventh Ecumenical Council and inserting Filioque into Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed. � 800 Charlemagne crowned as Holy Roman Emperor by Leo III of Rome on Christmas day, marking the break of Frankish civilization away from the Orthodox Christian Roman Empire; Book of Kells produced in Ireland. � 800 Ambassadors of Caliph Harunu al-Rashid give keys to the Holy Sepulchre to Charlemagne, acknowledging some Frankish control over the interests of Christians in Jerusalem ; establishment of the Western Rite Monastery of Saint Mary in Jerusalem. � 801 Controversy in Jerusalem over Frankish pilgrims using Filioque. � 803 Council of Clovesho II abolishes archbishopric of Lichfield, restoring the pattern of the two metropolitan archbishoprics (Canterbury and York) which had prevailed before 787, and requires the use of the Western Rite amongst the English speaking peoples. � 810 Pope Leo III bans use of Filioque. � 814 Conflict between Emperor Leo V and Patr. Nicephorus over iconoclasm; Leo deposes Nicephorus, Nicephorus excommunicates Leo. � 826 Ansgar arrives in Denmark and begins preaching; King Harald Klak of Denmark converts to Christianity. � 828 Death of Patr. Nicephorus I of Constantinople. � ca. 829-842 Icon of the Panagia Portaitissa appears on Mount Athos near Iviron Monastery. � 836 Death of Theodore the Studite. Late Byzantine era (843-1054) � 843 Triumph of Orthodoxy occurs on first Sunday of Great Lent, restoring icons to churches. � 850 Third Finding of the head of John the Forerunner. � 852 Ansgar founds churches at Hedeby and Ribe in Denmark. � 858 Photius the Great becomes patriarch of Constantinople. � ca. 860 Christianization of the Rus' Khaganate. � 861 Cyril and Methodius depart from Constantinople to missionize the Slavs; Council of Constantinople attended by 318 fathers and presided over by papal legates confirms Photius the Great as patriarch and passes 17 canons. � 862 Rastislav of Moravia converts to Christianity. � 863 First translations of Biblical and liturgical texts into Church Slavonic by Cyril and Methodius. � 863 Venetians steal relics of Apostle Mark from Alexandria. � 864 Baptism of Prince Boris of Bulgaria; Synaxis of the Theotokos in Miasena in memory of the return of her icon. � 865 Bulgaria under Khan Boris I converts to Orthodox Christianity. � 866 Vikings raid and capture York in England. � 867 Council in Constantinople held, presided over by Photius, which anathematizes Pope Nicholas I of Rome for his attacks on work of Greek missionaries in Bulgaria and use by papal missionaries of Filioque; Pope Nicholas dies before hearing news of excommunication; Basil the Macedonian has Emperor Michael III murdered and usurps Imperial throne, reinstating Ignatius as patriarch of Constantinople. � 867 Death of Kassiani, Greek-Byzantine poet and hymnographer, who composed the Hymn of Kassiani, chanted during Holy Week on Holy Wednesday. � 869-870 Robber Council of 869-870 held, deposing Photius the Great from the Constantinopolitan see and putting the rival claimant Ignatius on the throne, declaring itself to be the "Eighth Ecumenical Council." � 870 Conversion of Serbia; death of Rastislav of Moravia; martyrdom of Edmund, King of East Anglia. � 877 Death of Ignatius of Constantinople, who appoints Photius to succeed him. � 878 King Alfred the Great of Wessex defeats Vikings; the Treaty of Wedmore divides England between the Anglo-Saxons and the Danes (the Danelaw). � 879-880 Eighth Ecumenical Council held in Constantinople attended by 383 fathers passing 3 canons, confirms Photius as Patriarch of Constantinople, anathematizes additions to the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, and declares that the prerogatives and jurisdiction of the Roman pope and the Constantinopolitan patriarch are essentially equal; the council is reluctantly accepted by Pope John VIII of Rome. � 885 Mount Athos gains political autonomy. � 885 Death of Methodius. � 886 Glagolitic alphabet, (now called Old Church Slavonic) adopted in Bulgarian Empire; St Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, captures London from the Danes. � 910 Benedictine Abbey of Cluny founded in France. � 899 Death of Alfred the Great. � 911 Holy Protection of the Virgin Mary. � 912 Normans become Christian; Nicholas I Mysticus becomes Patriarch of Constantinople. � 927 Church of Bulgaria recognized as autocephalous by Constantinople. � 931 Abbott Odo of Cluny reforms monasteries in Aquitaine, northern France, and Italy, starting the Cluniac Reform movement within the Benedictine order, focused on restoring the traditional monastic life, encouraging art and caring for the poor. � 935 Martyrdom of Wenceslas, prince of the Czechs. � 944 City of Edessa recovered by Byzantine army, including Icon Not Made By Hands. � 945 Dunstan becomes Abbot of Glastonbury. � 957 Olga of Kiev baptized in Constantinople. � 960 Emperor Nicephorus II Phocas re-captures Crete for Byzantines; Dunstan becomes Archbishop of Canterbury, reforming monasteries and enforcing rule of Benedict. � 962 Denmark becomes Christian nation with baptism of King Harald Blaatand ("Bluetooth"); Holy Roman Empire formed, with Pope John XII crowning Otto I the Great Holy Roman Emperor. � 963 Athanasius of Athos establishes first major monastery on Mount Athos, the Great Lavra. � 965 Emperor Nicephorus II Phocas gains Cyprus completely for the Byzantines. � 969 Death of Olga of Kiev; Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas captures Antioch and Aleppo from Arabs. � 972 Emperor John I Tzimiskes grants Mount Athos its first charter (Typikon). � 973 Moravia assigned to the Diocese of Prague, putting the West Slavic tribes under jurisdiction of German church. � 975 Emperor John I Tzimiskes in a Syrian campaign takes Emesa, Baalbek, Damascus, Tiberias, Nazareth, Caesarea, Sidon, Beirut, Byblos and Tripoli, but fails to take Jerusalem. � 978 Death of King Edward the Martyr. � 980 Revelation of the Axion Estin (the hymn "It Is Truly Meet"), with the appearance of the Archangel Gabriel to a monk on Mount Athos. � 980-5 The Western Rite Monastery of Amalfion is founded on Mount Athos. � 987 Sixth Rus-Byzantine War, where Vladimir of Kiev dispatches troops to the Byzantine Empire to assist Emperor Basil II with an internal revolt, agreeing to accept Orthodox Christianity as his religion and bring his people to the new faith. � 988 'Baptism of Rus' begins with the conversion of Vladimir of Kiev who is baptized at Chersonesos, the birthplace of the Russian and Ukrainian Orthodox churches; Vladimir marries Anna, sister of Byzantine emperor Basil II. � 992 Death of Michael, first Metropolitan of Kiev. � 995 Olaf of Norway proclaims Norway to be a Christian kingdom. � 1000 Conversion of Greenland and Iceland. � 1008 Conversion of Sweden. � 1009 Patr. Sergius II of Constantinople removes name of Pope Sergius IV of Rome from diptychs of Constantinople, because the pope had written a letter to the patriarch including the Filioque. � 1009 Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem destroyed by the "mad" Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, founder of the Druze. � 1012 Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah issues oppressive decrees against Jews and Christians including the destruction of all Christian and Jewish houses of worship. � 1014 Filioque used for first time in Rome by Pope Benedict VIII at coronation of Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor. � 1015 Death of Vladimir of Kiev. � 1017 Danish king Canute converts to Christianity. � 1022 Death of Simeon the New Theologian. � 1027 Frankish protectorate over Christian interests in Jerusalem is replaced by a Byzantine protectorate, which begin reconstruction of Holy Sepulchre. � 1034 Patriarch Alexius I Studites writes the first complete Studite Typikon, for a monastery he established near Constantinople; this was the Typikon introduced into the Rus' lands by Theodosius of the Kiev Caves. � 1036 Byzantine Emperor Michael IV makes a truce with the Caliph of Egypt to allow rebuilding of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre by Byzantine masons; Varangian Guard of the Byzantine Emperor sent to protect pilgrims. � 1043 Edward the Confessor crowned King of England at Winchester Cathedral. � 1045-50 Cathedral of Saint Sophia in Novgorod built, the oldest Orthodox church building in Russia, executed in an architectural style more austere than the Byzantine, reminiscent of the Romanesque. � 1048 Re-consecration of Holy Sepulchre. � 1051 Monastery of the Kiev Caves founded. Post-Roman Schism (1054-1453) � 1054 Cardinal Humbert excommunicates Michael Cerularius, patriarch of Constantinople, a major centerpoint in the formation of the Great Schism between East and West; First Letter of Michael Cerularius to Peter of Antioch. � 1059 Errors of Berengar of Tours condemned in Rome; term transubstantiation begins to come in to use, ascribed to Peter Damian. � 1064 Seljuk Turks storm Anatolia taking Caesarea and Ani, conquering Armenia. � 1066 Normans invade England flying banner of Pope of Rome, defeating King Harold of England at Battle of Hastings. � 1066-1171 Beginning reformation of English church and society to align with Latin continental ecclesiology and politics. � 1071 Seljuk Turks defeat Byzantines at the Battle of Manzikert, beginning Islamification of Asia Minor; Norman princes led by Robert Guiscard capture Bari, the last Byzantine stronghold in Italy, bringing to an end over five centuries of Byzantine rule in the south. � 1073 Hildebrand becomes Pope Gregory VII and launches the Gregorian reforms (celibacy of the clergy, primacy of papacy over empire, right of Pope to depose emperors); Seljuk Turks conquer Ankara. � 1074 Death of Theodosius of the Kiev Caves. � 1075 Dictatus Papae document advances Papal supremacy. � 1077 The Seljuk Turks capture Jerusalem and kill 3,000 citizens; Seljuks capture Nicea. � 1084 Antioch is captured by the Seljuk Turks. � 1088 Founding of monastery of John the Theologian on Patmos; election of Pope Urban II, a prominent member of the Cluniac Reform movement . � 1095 Launching of the First Crusade. � 1098 Anselm of Canterbury completes Cur Deus homo, marking a radical divergence of Western theology of the atonement from that of the East. � 1098 Crusaders capture Antioch. � 1099 Crusaders capture Jerusalem founding the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem and other crusader states known collectively as "Outremer." � 1108 Death of Nicetas of Kiev Caves, Bishop of Novgorod. � ca. 1131-45 Coptic Pope of Alexandria Gabriel II initiates addition of Arabic as a liturgical language with his Arabic translation of the Liturgy. � 1144 Second Crusade; Muslims take Christian stronghold of Edessa. � 1149 Crusaders begin to renovate Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Romanesque style, adding a bell tower. � 1159 John of Salisbury authors Policraticus, a treatise on government drawing from the Bible, the Codex Justinianus, and arguing for Divine Right of Kings. � 1170 Miracle of the weeping icon of the Theotokos "of the Sign" at Novgorod; Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland; city of Dublin captured by the Roman Catholic Normans. � 1176 Sultanate of Rum defeats Byzantine Empire in the Battle of Myriokephalon, marking end of Byzantine attempts to recover Anatolian plateau; Al-Adil I, Muslim ruler of Egypt, suppresses a revolt by Christian Copts in city of Qift, hanging nearly 3,000 of them. � 1180 Last formal acceptance of Latins to communion at an Orthodox altar in Antioch. � 1182 Maronites, who assisted the Crusaders during the Crusades, reaffirm their affiliation with Rome in 1182; dedication of Monreale Cathedral in Sicily, containing the largest cycle of Byzantine mosaics extant in Italy. � 1186 Byzantine Empire recognizes independence of Bulgaria and Serbia. � 1187 Saladin retakes Jerusalem after destroying crusader army at Battle of Hattin, and returns Christian holy places to Orthodox Church. � 1189 Third Crusade led by King Richard the Lion-Hearted of England, King Philip Augustus II of France, and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. � ca. 1189 Ethiopian Emperor Gebre Mesqel Lalibela orders construction of Lalibela. � 1204 Fourth Crusade sacks Constantinople, laying waste to the city and stealing many relics and other items; Great Schism generally regarded as having been completed by this act; Theodore I Lascaris establishes the Empire of Nicaea. � ca.1207 Stephen Langton divides the Bible into the defined modern chapters in use today. � ca.1220 English Bp. Richard Le Poore is said to have been responsible for the final form of the "Use of Sarum", which had the sterling reputation of being the best liturgy anywhere in the West. � 1228 Sixth Crusade results in 10-year treaty starting in 1229 between Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and Egyptian sultan; Jerusalem ceded to Franks, along with a narrow corridor to the coast, as well as Nazareth, Sidon, Jaffa and Bethlehem. � 1231 Papal Inquisition initiated by Pope Gregory IX, charged with suppressing heresy. � 1235 Death of Sava of Serbia. � 1237 Golden Horde begin subjugation of Russia. � 1240 Mongols sack Kiev; Prince Alexander Nevsky defeats Swedish army at Battle of the Neva. � 1242 Alexander Nevsky's Novgorodian force defeats Teutonic Knights in Battle of Lake Peipus, a major defeat for the Catholic crusaders. � 1244 Jerusalem conquered and razed by Khwarezmian mercenaries (Oghuz Turks) serving under the Ayyubid ruler of Egypt Salih Ayyub, triggering Seventh Crusade. � 1247 Ayyubids conquer Jerusalem, driving out the Khwarezmian Turks. � 1258 Michael VIII Palaiologos seizes the throne of the Nicaean Empire, founding the last Roman (Byzantine) dynasty, beginning reconquest of Greek peninsula from Latins. � 1259 Byzantines defeat Latin Principality of Achaea at the Battle of Pelagonia, marking the beginning of the Byzantine recovery of Greece. � ca. 1259-80 Martyrdom by Latins of monks of Iveron Monastery. � 1260 Subjugation of Church of Cyprus to the Roman Catholic Church. � 1261 End of Latin occupation of Constantinople and restoration of Orthodox patriarchs; Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos makes Mystras seat of the new Despotate of Morea, where a Byzantine renaissance occurred. � 1268 Egyptian Mamelukes capture Antioch. � 1269 Orthodox patriarch returns to Antioch after a 171-year exile and usurpation by Latin patriarch. � 1274 Second Council of Lyons held, proclaiming union between the Orthodox East and the Roman Catholic West, but generally unaccepted in the East. � 1275 Unionist Patriarch of Constantinople John XI Beccus elected to replace Patriarch Joseph I Galesiotes, who opposed Council of Lyons; 26 martyrs of Zographou monastery on Mt. Athos, martyred by the Latins. � ca. 1280 Kebra Nagast ("Book of the Glory of Kings") compiled, a repository of Ethiopian national and religious feelings. � 1281 Pope Martin IV authorizes a Crusade against the newly re-established Byzantine Empire in Constantinople, excommunicating Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos and the Greeks and renouncing the union of 1274; French and Venetian expeditions set out toward Constantinople but are forced to turn back in the following year due to the Sicilian Vespers. � 1291 Fall of Acre; end of crusading in Holy Land. � 1298 Ambrose, Augustine, Jerome, and Pope Gregory I are named collectively as the first Great Doctors of the Western Church. � 1302 Papal Bull Unam Sanctum issued by Pope Boniface VIII proclaims Papal supremacy. � 1326 Metr. Peter moves his see from Kiev to Vladimir and then to Moscow. � 1332 Amda Syon, Emperor of Ethiopia begins his campaigns in the southern Muslim provinces, allowing for the spread of Christianity to frontier areas. � 1336 Meteora in Greece established as a center of Orthodox monasticism. � 1338 Gregory Palamas writes Triads in Defense of the Holy Hesychasts, defending the Orthodox practice of hesychast spirituality and the use of the Jesus Prayer. � 1340 Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra founded by Sergius of Radonezh. � 1341-51 Three sessions of the Ninth Ecumenical Council held in Constantinople, affirming hesychastic theology of Gregory Palamas and condemning rationalistic philosophy of Barlaam of Calabria. � 1342 Patriarchate of Antioch transferred to Damascus under Ignatius II. � 1349 Prince Stephen Dushan of Serbia assumes the title of Tsar (Caesar); principality of Galicia (Halitsh) comes under Polish control. � 1354 Ottoman Turks make first settlement in Europe at Gallipoli. � 1359 Death of Gregory Palamas. � 1360 Death of John Koukouzelis the Hymnographer. � 1379 Western Great Schism ensues, including simultaneous reign of three Popes of Rome. � ca. 1380 English Church reformer John Wyclif writes that the true faith is preserved only in the East, "among the Greeks." � 1382-95 First English Bible translated by John Wyclif. � 1383 Stephen of Perm, missionary to Zyrians, consecrated bishop; appearance of Theotokos of Tikhvin icon. � 1385 Kreva Agreement provides for conversion of Lithuanian nobles and all pagan Lithuanians to Roman Catholicism, joining Grand Duchy of Lithuania with the Kingdom of Poland through a dynastic union. � 1387 Lithuania converts to Roman Catholicism, while most Ruthenian lands (Belarus and Ukraine) remain Orthodox. � 1389 Serbs defeated by Ottoman Turks of Sultan Murad I at the battle of Kosovo Polje; death of Lazar, prince of Serbia. � 1390 Ottomans take Philadelphia, last significant Byzantine enclave in Anatolia. � 1391-98 Ottoman Turks unsuccessfully besiege Constantinople for the first time. � 1410 Iconographer Andrei Rublev paints his most famous icon depicting the three angels who appeared to Abraham and Sarah, the angels being considered a type of the Holy Trinity. � 1414-18 Council of Constance in Roman Catholic Church represents high point for Conciliar Movement over authority of pope. � 1417 End of Western Great Schism at the Council of Constance. � 1418 Latin monk Thomas � Kempis authors The Imitation of Christ. � 1422 Second unsuccessful Ottoman siege of Constantinople. � 1423-24 Council of Siena in the Roman Catholic Church was the high point of conciliarism, emphasizing the leadership of...

Feast of the Holy Theophany of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ (January 6)

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:33:01 GMT

http://www.goarch.org/special/listen_learn_share/epiphany Introduction The Feast of the Holy Theophany (Epiphany) of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ is celebrated each year on January 6. The Feast commemorates the Baptism of Christ and the divine revelation of the Holy Trinity. At the Baptism of Christ, all three Persons of the Holy Trinity�Father, Son, and Holy Spirit�were made manifest. Thus, the name ofthe Feast is Epiphany, meaning manifestation, or Theophany, meaning manifestation of God. Biblical Story The Biblical story of the Baptism of Christ is recorded in all four of the Gospels: Matthew 3, Mark 1:1-9, Luke 3:21-22, and John 1:31-34. John the Baptist, the cousin of Jesus and the one chosen by God to proclaim His coming, was preaching in the wilderness and was baptizing all who would respond to his message calling for repentance. As he was doing this, John was directing the people toward the one who would baptize them with the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:11). The Scriptures tell us that Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. Initially, John would not do this, saying that Jesus should baptize him. Jesus said to John, �Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness (3:15). John consented and baptized Jesus. When Jesus came up from the water, the heavens opened suddenly, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him. The Bible records that the Spirit descended like a dove and alighted on him. When this happened, a voice came from heaven and said, �This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.� This was the voice of God the Father. Christ�s baptism in the Jordan was �theophany,� a manifestation of God to the world, because it was the beginning of our Lord�s public ministry. It was also a �theophany� in that the world was granted a revelation of the Holy Trinity. All three Persons were made manifest together: the Father testified from on high to the divine Sonship of Jesus; the Son received His Father�s testimony; and the Spirit was seen in the form of a dove, descending from the Father and resting upon the Son. The theme of �manifestation� or �revelation� is also expressed in Scripture with the symbolism of light. In the hymn of the Feast we sing, �Christ has appeared and enlightened the world.� Thus, January 6 is also known as the Feast of Lights. The Church celebrates on this day the illumination of the world by the light of Christ. The Orthodox Celebration of the Feast of Epiphany The celebration of this Feast of our Lord begins on January 5, a day known as the Forefeast of Theophany. Depending on the day of the week, this could be an evening service with Vespers followed by the Liturgy of Saint Basil or a morning service with Matins and the Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom. Following the service on January 5, the service of the Blessing of the Waters is conducted. Prior to the evening or morning service the Royal Hours with the Typika are said. On January 6, the day of the Feast, the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom is conducted preceded by Matins and followed by the second Blessing of the Waters. The Blessing of the Waters is conducted in the church; however in many places throughout the world services are conducted near open bodies of water. As a sign of blessing as Christ blessed the Jordan, holy water is poured into the body of water. An associated tradition has been the tossing of a cross into the water to be retrieved by divers. The holy water from the church is given to the faithful to consume and to use in blessing their homes. In the weeks following the Feast, clergy visit the homes of parishioners and conduct a service of blessing using the holy water that was blessed on the Feast of Theophany. Scripture readings for the Feast are the following: At the Vespers/Divine Liturgy on January 5: 1 Corinthians 9:19-27; Luke 3:1-18. At the Divine Liturgy on January 6: Titus 2:11-14, 3:4-7; Matthew 3:13-17. Hymns of the Feast Apolytikion: (First Tone) Lord, when You were baptized in the Jordan, the worship of the Trinity was made manifest. For the voice of the Father gave witness to You, calling You Beloved; and the Spirit, in the form of a dove, confirmed the certainty of His words. Glory to You, Christ our God, who appeared and enlightened the world. Kontakion: (Fourth Tone) Today You appeared to the world, and Your light, O Lord, has left its mark upon us as in fuller understanding we sing to You: �You came, You were made manifest, the unapproachable light.� Resources The Festal Menaion. Translated by Mother Mary (South Canaan, PA: St. Tikhon�s Seminary Press, 1969) pp. 55-59. The Incarnate God: The Feasts of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary, Catherine Aslanoff, editor and Paul Meyendorff, translator (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir�s Seminary Press, 1995). Festival Icons for the Christian Year by John Baggley (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2000).

Discourse on the Day of the Baptism of Christ

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 14:47:11 GMT

by St John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople http://www.orthodox.net/theophany/theophany-chrysostom.html We shall now say something about the present feast. Many celebrate the feast days and know their designations, but the cause for which they were established they know not. Thus concerning this, that the present feast is called Theophany -- everyone knows; but what this is -- Theophany, and whether it be one thing or another, they know not. And this is shameful -- every year to celebrate the feast day and not know its reason. First of all therefore, it is necessary to say that there is not one Theophany, but two: the one actual, which already has occurred, and the second in future, which will happen with glory at the end of the world. About this one and about the other you will hear today from Paul, who in conversing with Titus, speaks thus about the present: "The grace of God hath revealed itself, having saved all mankind, decreeing, that we reject iniquity and worldly desires, and dwell in the present age in prudence and in righteousness and piety" -- and about the future: "awaiting the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ" (Tit 2:11-13). And a prophet speaks thus about this latter: "the sun shalt turn to darkness, and the moon to blood at first, then shalt come the great and illuminating Day of the Lord" (Joel 2:31). Why is not that day, on which the Lord was born, considered Theophany -- but rather this day on which He was baptized? This present day it is, on which He was baptized and sanctified the nature of water. Because on this day all, having obtained the waters, do carry it home and keep it all year, since today the waters are sanctified; and an obvious phenomenon occurs: these waters in their essence do not spoil with the passage of time, but obtained today, for one whole year and often for two or three years, they remain unharmed and fresh, and afterwards for a long time do not stop being water, just as that obtained from the fountains. Why then is this day called Theophany? Because Christ made Himself known to all -- not then when He was born -- but then when He was baptized. Until this time He was not known to the people. And that the people did not know Him, Who He was, listen about this to John the Baptist, who says: "Amidst you standeth, Him Whom ye know not of" (Jn.1:26). And is it surprising that others did not know Him, when even the Baptist did not know Him until that day? "And I -- said he -- knew Him not: but He that did send me to baptize with water, about This One did tell unto me: over Him that shalt see the Spirit descending and abiding upon Him, This One it is Who baptizeth in the Holy Spirit" (Jn. 1:33). Thus from this it is evident, that -- there are two Theophanies, and why Christ comes at baptism and on whichever baptism He comes, about this it is necessary to say: it is therefore necessary to know both the one and equally the other. And first it is necessary to speak your love about the latter, so that we might learn about the former. There was a Jewish baptism, which cleansed from bodily impurities, but not to remove sins. Thus, whoever committed adultery, or decided on thievery, or who did some other kind of misdeed, it did not free him from guilt. But whoever touched the bones of the dead, whoever tasted food forbidden by the law, whoever approached from contamination, whoever consorted with lepers -- that one washed, and until evening was impure, and then cleansed. "Let one wash his body in pure water -- it says in the Scriptures, -- and he will be unclean until evening, and then he will be clean" (Lev 15:5, 22:4). This was not truly of sins or impurities, but since the Jews lacked perfection, then God, accomplishing it by means of this greater piety, prepared them by their beginnings for a precise observance of important things. Thus, Jewish cleansings did not free from sins, but only from bodily impurities. Not so with ours: it is far more sublime and it manifests a great grace, whereby it sets free from sin, it cleanses the spirit and bestows the gifts of the Spirit. And the baptism of John was far more sublime than the Jewish, but less so than ours: it was like a bridge between both baptisms, leading across itself from the first to the last. Wherefore John did not give guidance for observance of bodily purifications, but together with them he exhorted and advised to be converted from vice to good deeds and to trust in the hope of salvation and the accomplishing of good deeds, rather than in different washings and purifications by water. John did not say: wash your clothes, wash your body, and ye will be pure, but what? -- "bear ye fruits worthy of repentance" (Mt 3:8). Since it was more than of the Jews, but less than ours: the baptism of John did not impart the Holy Spirit and it did not grant forgiveness by grace: it gave the commandment to repent, but it was powerless to absolve sins. Wherefore John did also say: "I baptize you with water...That One however will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire" (Mt 3:11). Obviously, he did not baptize with the Spirit. But what does this mean: "with the Holy Spirit and with fire?" Call to mind that day, on which for the Apostles "there appeared disparate tongues like fire, and sat over each one of them" (Acts 2:3). And that the baptism of John did not impart the Spirit and remission of sins is evident from the following: Paul "found certain disciples, and said to them: received ye the Holy Spirit since ye have believed? They said to him: but furthermore whether it be of the Holy Spirit, we shall hear. He said to them: into what were ye baptized? They answered: into the baptism of John. Paul then said: John indeed baptized with the baptism of repentance," -- repentance, but not remission of sins; for whom did he baptize? "Having proclaimed to the people, that they should believe in the One coming after him, namely, Christ Jesus. Having heard this, they were baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus: and Paul laying his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them" (Acts 19:1-6). Do you see, how incomplete was the baptism of John? If the one were not incomplete, would then Paul have baptized them again, and placed his hands on them; having performed also the second, he shew the superiority of the apostolic Baptism and that the baptism of John was far less than his. Thus, from this we recognize the difference of the baptisms. Now it is necessary to say, for whom was Christ baptized and by which baptism? Neither the former the Jewish, nor the last -- ours. Whence hath He need for remission of sins, how is this possible for Him, Who hath not any sins? "Of sin, -- it says in the Scriptures, -- worked He not, nor was there deceit found in His mouth" (1 Pet 2:22); and further, "who of you convicteth Me of Sin?" (Jn 8:46). And His flesh was privy to the Holy Spirit; how might this be possible, when it in the beginning was fashioned by the Holy Spirit? And so, if His flesh was privy to the Holy Spirit, and He was not subject to sins, then for whom was He baptized? But first of all it is necessary for us to recognize, by which baptism He was baptized, and then it will be clear for us. By which baptism indeed was He baptized? -- Not the Jewish, nor ours, nor John's. For whom, since thou from thine own aspect of baptism dost perceive, that He was baptized not by reason of sin and not having need of the gift of the Spirit; therefore, as we have demonstrated, this baptism was alien to the one and to the other. Hence it is evident, that He came to Jordan not for the forgiveness of sins and not for receiving the gifts of the Spirit. But so that some from those present then should not think, that He came for repentance like others, listen to how John precluded this. What he then spoke to the others then was: "Bear ye fruits worthy of repentance"; but listen what he said to Him: "I have need to be baptized of Thee, and Thou art come to me?" (Mt 3:8, 14). With these words he demonstrated, that Christ came to him not through that need with which people came, and that He was so far from the need to be baptized for this reason -- so much more sublime and perfectly purer than Baptism itself. For whom was He baptized, if this was done not for repentance, nor for the remission of sins, nor for receiving the gifts of the Spirit? Through the other two reasons, of which about the one the disciple speaks, and about the other He Himself spoke to John. Which reason of this baptism did John declare? Namely, that Christ should become known to the people, as Paul also mentions: "John therefore baptized with the baptism of repentance, so that through him they should believe on Him that cometh" (Acts 19:4); this was the consequence of the baptism. If John had gone to the home of each and, standing at the door, had spoken out for Christ and said: "He is the Son of God," such a testimony would have been suspicious, and this deed would have been extremely perplexing. So too, if he in advocating Christ had gone into the synagogues and witnessed to Him, this testimony of his might be suspiciously fabricated. But when all the people thronged out from all the cities to Jordan and remained on the banks of the river, and when He Himself came to be baptised and received the testimony of the Father by a voice from above and by the coming-upon of the Spirit in the form of a dove, then the testimony of John about Him was made beyond all questioning. And since he said: "and I knew Him not" (Jn 1:31), his testimony put forth is trustworthy. They were kindred after the flesh between themselves "wherefore Elizabeth, thy kinswoman, hath also conceived a son" -- said the Angel to Mary about the mother of John (Lk. 1: 36); if however the mothers were relatives, then obviously so also were the children. Thus, since they were kinsmen -- in order that it should not seem that John would testify concerning Christ because of kinship, the grace of the Spirit organized it such, that John spent all his early years in the wilderness, so that it should not seem that John had declared his testimony out of friendship or some similar reason. But John, as he was instructed of God, thus also announced about Him, wherein also he did say: "and I knew Him not." From whence didst thou find out? "He having sent me that sayeth to baptize with water, That One did tell me" What did He tell thee? "Over Him thou shalt see the Spirit descending, like to a dove, and abiding over Him, That One is baptized by the Holy Spirit" (Jn 1:32-33). Dost thou see, that the Holy Spirit did not descend as in a first time then coming down upon Him, but in order to point out that preached by His inspiration -- as though by a finger, it pointed Him out to all. For this reason He came to baptism. And there is a second reason, about which He Himself spoke -- what exactly is it? When John said: "I have need to be baptized of Thee, and Thou art come to me?" -- He answered thus: "stay now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill every righteousness" (Mt 3:14-15). Dost thou see the meekness of the servant? Dost thou see the humility of the Master? What does He mean: "to fulfill every righteousness?" By righteousness is meant the fulfillment of all the commandments, as is said: "both were righteous, walking faultlessly in the commandments of the Lord" (Lk 1:6). Since fulfilling this righteousness was necessary for all people -- but no one of them kept it or fulfilled it -- Christ came then and fulfilled this righteousness. And what righteousness is there, someone will say, in being baptized? Obedience for a prophet was righteous. As Christ was circumcised, offered sacrifice, kept the sabbath and observed the Jewish feasts, so also He added this remaining thing, that He was obedient to having been baptized by a prophet. It was the will of God then, that all should be baptized -- about which listen, as John speaks: "He having sent me to baptize with water" (Jn 1:33); so also Christ: "the publicans and the people do justify God, having been baptized with the baptism of John; the Pharisees and the lawyers reject the counsel of God concerning themselves, not having been baptized by him" (Lk 7:29-30). Thus, if obedience to God constitutes righteousness, and God sent John to baptize the nation, then Christ has also fulfilled this along with all the other commandments. Consider, that the commandments of the law is the main point of the two denarii: this -- debt, which our race has needed to pay; but we did not pay it, and we, falling under such an accusation, are embraced by death. Christ came, and finding us afflicted by it -- He paid the debt, fulfilled the necessary and seized from it those, who were not able to pay. Wherefore He does not say: "it is necessary for us to do this or that," but rather "to fulfill every righteousness." "It is for Me, being the Master, -- says He, -- proper to make payment for the needy." Such was the reason for His baptism -- wherefore they should see, that He had fulfilled all the law -- both this reason and also that, about which was spoken of before. Wherefore also the Spirit did descend as a dove: because where there is reconciliation with God -- there also is the dove. So also in the ark of Noah the dove did bring the branch of olive -- a sign of God's love of mankind and of the cessation of the flood. And now in the form of a dove, and not in a body -- this particularly deserves to be noted -- the Spirit descended, announcing the universal mercy of God and showing with it, that the spiritual man needs to be gentle, simple and innocent, as Christ also says: "Except ye be converted and become as children, ye shalt not enter into the Heavenly Kingdom" (Mt 18:3). But that ark, after the cessation of the flood, remained upon the earth; this ark, after the cessation of wrath, is taken to heaven, and now this Immaculate and Imperishable Body is situated at the right hand of the Father. Having made mention about the Body of the Lord, I shall also say a little about this, and then the conclusion of the talk. Many now will approach the Holy Table on the occasion of the feast. But some approach not with trembling, but shoving, hitting others, blazing with anger, shouting, cursing, roughing it up with their fellows with great confusion. What, tell me, art thou troubled by, my fellow? What disturbeth thee? Do urgent affairs, for certain, summon thee? At this hour art thou particularly aware, that these affairs of thine that thou particularly rememberest, that thou art situated upon the earth, and dost thou think to mix about with people? But is it not with a soul of stone naturally to think, that in such a time thou stand upon the earth, and not exult with the Angels with whom to raise up victorious song to God? For this Christ also did describe us with eagles, saying: "where the corpse is, there are the eagles gathered" (Mt 24:28) -- so that we might have risen to heaven and soared to the heights, having ascended on the wings of the spirit; but we, like snakes, crawl upon the earth and eat dirt. Having been invited to supper, thou, although satiated before others, would not dare to leave before others while others are still reclining. But here, when the sacred doings are going on, thou at the very middle would pass by everything and leave? Is it for a worthy excuse? What excuse might it be? Judas, having communed that last evening on that final night, left hastily then as all the others were still reclining. Here these also are in imitation of him, who leave before the final blessing! If he had not gone, then he would not have made the betrayal; if he did not leave his co-disciples, then he would not have perished; if he had not removed himself from the flock, then the wolf would not have seized and devoured him alone; if he had separated himself from the Pastor, then he would not have made himself the prey of wild beasts. Wherefore he (Judas) was with the Jews, and those (the apostles) went out with the Lord. Dost thou see, by what manner the final prayer after the offering of the sacrifice is accomplished? We should, beloved, stand forth for this, we should ponder this, fearful of the coming judgment for this. We should approach the Holy Sacrifice with great decorum, with proper piety, so as to merit us more of God's benevolence, to cleanse one's soul and to receive eternal blessings, of which may we all be worthy by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, to with Whom the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, power, and worship now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

ON THE BIRTHDAY (NATIVITY) OF CHRIST

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 14:45:47 GMT

http://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2010/12/patristic-understanding-of-virgin-birth.html Where God Wills The Order Of Nature Is Overruled "And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered" (Lk. 2:6). Concerning the birth of Christ, the Prophet Isaiah spoke thus: "Behold she that travailed brought forth, before the travail-pain came on, she escaped it and brought forth a male" (Is. 66:7). Saint John of Damascus adds to this saying that: "After the normal nine-month gestational period, Christ was born at the beginning of the tenth, in accordance with the law of gestation. It was the birth that surpassed the established order of birthgiving, as it was without pain; for, where pleasure had not preceded, pain did not follow. And just as at His conception He had kept her who conceived Him virgin, so also at His birth did He maintain her virginity intact, because He alone passed through her and kept her shut. While the conception was by 'hearing', the birth was by the usual orifice through which children are born, even though there are some who concoct an idle tale of His being born from the side of the Mother of God. For it was not impossible for Him to pass through the gate without breaking its seals. Hence, the Ever-Virgin remained virgin even after giving birth and never had converse with a husband as long as she lived."(1) Saint Ambrose in his Synodal Letter 44 writes: "Why is it hard to believe that Mary gave birth in a way contrary to the law of natural birth and remained a virgin, when contrary to the law of nature the sea looked at Him and fled, and the waters of the Jordan returned to their source (Ps. 113:3). Is it past belief that a virgin gave birth when we read that a rock issued water (Ex. 17:6), and the waves of the sea were made solid as a wall (Ex. 14:22)? Is it past belief that a Man came from a virgin when a rock bubbled forth a flowing stream (Ex. 20:11), iron floated on water (4 Kings 6:6), a Man walked upon the waters (Mt. 14:26)? If the waters bore a Man, could not a virgin give birth to a man? What Man? Him of Whom we read: '...the Lord shall be known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day; and they shall offer sacrifices, and shall vow vows to the Lord, and pay them' (Is. 19:20). In the Old Testament a Hebrew virgin (Miriam) led an army through the sea (Ex. 15:21); in the New testament a king's daughter (the Virgin Mary) was chosen to be the heavenly entrance to salvation." In the Resurrection Theotokion of Saturday Vespers (Plagal of the First Mode), we chant: "Then, the deep was trodden dry-shod by Israel, now, Christ is born seedlessly of the Virgin. The sea, after the passage of Israel, remained untrodden: the blameless one, after the birth of Emmanuel, remained undefiled." Saint Ambrose also writes in another letter that: "A virgin carried Him Whom this world cannot contain or support. And when He was born of Mary's womb, He yet preserved the enclosure of her modesty, and the inviolate seal of her virginity."(2) Where God so wills the order of nature is overcome. Is anything too hard for Him Who called heaven, earth and the sea into being by His word alone? Nature and the elements are creations of the Creator. Their laws and properties are immediately subject to their Lord Fashioner. Adam and Eve were given dominion over the fish of the sea, the flying creatures of heaven, and over the reptiles and cattle and all the earth (Gen. 1:26); all were subject to them before the fall. Saint Gregory Palamas comments that when the Logos of God took on human nature, He bestowed on it the fullness of grace and delivered it from the bonds of corruption and death. The consequence of hypostatic union in Christ of the two natures was the deification of the human nature He assumed.(3) The regeneration of man in Christ was the restoration of Adam and Eve. The saints, having put on Christ, have often resumed the authority and dominion that our first parents had. Thus, the Prophet Habakkum instantly traversed vast expanses of land, with no effort, and brought food to Daniel in the lion's den. The Holy Apostles, too, were transported on clouds to be at the Theotokos' repose in Jerusalem, and their bodily weight proved not to hamper their flight, in defiance to gravity. Our Savior and the saints performed those things outside the created laws of physics and medicine. By a word, straightway, long and terminal illnesses vanished, limbs that were palsied became sound, those without orbs received the power of vision, and many were raised from the dead. Some of the saints could go long periods without food, water or changes of clothing as St. Paisios the Great of Egypt or St. Mary Golinduc the Persian. Others, by their mere grace-filled presence, tamed wild and ferocious animals. Thus, why should it be difficult to imagine that the Christ infant could not pass through that virginal orifice through which children are delivered without incurring damage or the slightest discomfort to His Mother, despite His newborn height and weight? Later, in life, He would pass through the midst of the mob unscathed as though bodiless and, after His Resurrection, His body would pass through solid and shut doors to meet and greet His anxious disciples (Jn. 20:19). Concerning the mystery of the incarnation, St. Gregory of Nyssa wrote the following: "When God became known to us in the flesh, He neither received the passions of human nature, nor did the Virgin Mary suffer pain, nor was the Holy Spirit diminished in any way, nor was the power of the Most High set aside in any manner, and all this was because all was accomplished by the Holy Spirit. thus the power of the Most High was not abased, and the child was born with no damage whatsoever to the mother's virginity."(4) Saint Hesychios (c. 451), a learned priest-monk of Jerusalem, expressed the same truth, writing that: "The Theotokos was a woman, yet she did not suffer the pangs of childbirth because the field of marriage had not experienced the plow; the virginal vineyard was not tilled." (5) Notes: 1. Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Bk. 4, Ch. 14. 2. Letter 59, To the Church at Vercelli. 3. Georgios L. Mantzarides, The Deification of Man: St. Gregory Palamas and the Orthodox Tradition, p. 29. 4. "Against Eunomius, Hom. II", PG 45, 492. 5. "Sermon On the Presentation", PG 93, 1469. Source: The Life of the Virgin Mary, the Theotokos by Holy Apostles Convent, pp. 176-179.

On the Theophany or Birthday of Christ (Oration 38)

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 14:29:23 GMT

by St. Gregory of Nazianzus (the Theologian) http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/310238.htm I. Christ is born, glorify Him. Christ from heaven, go out to meet Him. Christ on earth; be ye exalted. Sing unto the Lord all the whole earth; and that I may join both in one word, Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad, for Him Who is of heaven and then of earth. Christ in the flesh, rejoice with trembling and with joy; with trembling because of your sins, with joy because of your hope. Christ of a Virgin; O you Matrons live as Virgins, that you may be Mothers of Christ. Who does not worship Him That is from the beginning? Who does not glorify Him That is the Last? II. Again the darkness is past; again Light is made; again Egypt is punished with darkness; again Israel is enlightened by a pillar. Exodus 14:20 The people that sat in the darkness of ignorance, let it see the Great Light of full knowledge. Isaiah 9:6 Old things are passed away, behold all things have become new. 1 Corinthians 5:17 The letter gives way, the Spirit comes to the front. The shadows flee away, the Truth comes in upon them. Melchisedec is concluded. He that was without Mother becomes without Father (without Mother of His former state, without Father of His second). The laws of nature are upset; the world above must be filled. Christ commands it, let us not set ourselves against Him. O clap your hands together all you people, because unto us a Child is born, and a Son given unto us, Whose Government is upon His shoulder (for with the Cross it is raised up), and His Name is called The Angel of the Great Counsel of the Father. Isaiah 9:6 Let John cry, Prepare ye the way of the Lord: Matthew 3:3 I too will cry the power of this Day. He Who is not carnal is Incarnate; the Son of God becomes the Son of Man, Jesus Christ the Same yesterday, and today, and for ever. Hebrews 13:8 Let the Jews be offended, let the Greeks deride; 1 Corinthians 1:23 let heretics talk till their tongues ache. Then shall they believe, when they see Him ascending up into heaven; and if not then, yet when they see Him coming out of heaven and sitting as Judge. III. Of these on a future occasion; for the present the Festival is the Theophany or Birth-day, for it is called both, two titles being given to the one thing. For God was manifested to man by birth. On the one hand Being, and eternally Being, of the Eternal Being, above cause and word, for there was no word before The Word; and on the other hand for our sakes also Becoming, that He Who gives us our being might also give us our Well-being, or rather might restore us by His Incarnation, when we had by wickedness fallen from wellbeing. The name Theophany is given to it in reference to the Manifestation, and that of Birthday in respect of His Birth. IV. This is our present Festival; it is this which we are celebrating today, the Coming of God to Man, that we might go forth, or rather (for this is the more proper expression) that we might go back to God� that putting off the old man, we might put on the New; and that as we died in Adam, so we might live in Christ, 1 Corinthians 15:22 being born with Christ and crucified with Him and buried with Him and rising with Him. Colossians 2:11 For I must undergo the beautiful conversion, and as the painful succeeded the more blissful, so must the more blissful come out of the painful. For where sin abounded Grace did much more abound; Romans 5:20 and if a taste condemned us, how much more does the Passion of Christ justify us? Therefore let us keep the Feast, not after the manner of a heathen festival, but after a godly sort; not after the way of the world, but in a fashion above the world; not as our own but as belonging to Him Who is ours, or rather as our Master's; not as of weakness, but as of healing; not as of creation, but of re-creation. V. And how shall this be? Let us not adorn our porches, nor arrange dances, nor decorate the streets; let us not feast the eye, nor enchant the ear with music, nor enervate the nostrils with perfume, nor prostitute the taste, nor indulge the touch, those roads that are so prone to evil and entrances for sin; let us not be effeminate in clothing soft and flowing, whose beauty consists in its uselessness, nor with the glittering of gems or the sheen of gold Romans 13:13 or the tricks of colour, belying the beauty of nature, and invented to do despite unto the image of God; Not in rioting and drunkenness, with which are mingled, I know well, chambering and wantonness, since the lessons which evil teachers give are evil; or rather the harvests of worthless seeds are worthless. Let us not set up high beds of leaves, making tabernacles for the belly of what belongs to debauchery. Let us not appraise the bouquet of wines, the kickshaws of cooks, the great expense of ointments. Let not sea and land bring us as a gift their precious dung, for it is thus that I have learned to estimate luxury; and let us not strive to outdo each other in intemperance (for to my mind every superfluity is intemperance, and all which is beyond absolute need)�and this while others are hungry and in want, who are made of the same clay and in the same manner. VI. Let us leave all these to the Greeks and to the pomps and festivals of the Greeks, who call by the name of gods beings who rejoice in the reek of sacrifices, and who consistently worship with their belly; evil inventors and worshippers of evil demons. But we, the Object of whose adoration is the Word, if we must in some way have luxury, let us seek it in word, and in the Divine Law, and in histories; especially such as are the origin of this Feast; that our luxury may be akin to and not far removed from Him Who has called us together. Or do you desire (for today I am your entertainer) that I should set before you, my good Guests, the story of these things as abundantly and as nobly as I can, that you may know how a foreigner can feed the natives of the land, and a rustic the people of the town, and one who cares not for luxury those who delight in it, and one who is poor and homeless those who are eminent for wealth? We will begin from this point; and let me ask of you who delight in such matters to cleanse your mind and your ears and your thoughts, since our discourse is to be of God and Divine; that when you depart, you may have had the enjoyment of delights that really fade not away. And this same discourse shall be at once both very full and very concise, that you may neither be displeased at its deficiencies, nor find it unpleasant through satiety. VII. God always was, and always is, and always will be. Or rather, God always Is. For Was and Will be are fragments of our time, and of changeable nature, but He is Eternal Being. And this is the Name that He gives to Himself when giving the Oracle to Moses in the Mount. For in Himself He sums up and contains all Being, having neither beginning in the past nor end in the future; like some great Sea of Being, limitless and unbounded, transcending all conception of time and nature, only adumbrated by the mind, and that very dimly and scantily...not by His Essentials, but by His Environment; one image being got from one source and another from another, and combined into some sort of presentation of the truth, which escapes us before we have caught it, and takes to flight before we have conceived it, blazing forth upon our Master-part, even when that is cleansed, as the lightning flash which will not stay its course, does upon our sight...in order as I conceive by that part of it which we can comprehend to draw us to itself (for that which is altogether incomprehensible is outside the bounds of hope, and not within the compass of endeavour), and by that part of It which we cannot comprehend to move our wonder, and as an object of wonder to become more an object of desire, and being desired to purify, and by purifying to make us like God; John 10:15 so that when we have thus become like Himself, God may, to use a bold expression, hold converse with us as Gods, being united to us, and that perhaps to the same extent as He already knows those who are known to Him. The Divine Nature then is boundless and hard to understand; and all that we can comprehend of Him is His boundlessness; even though one may conceive that because He is of a simple nature He is therefore either wholly incomprehensible, or perfectly comprehensible. For let us further enquire what is implied by is of a simple nature. For it is quite certain that this simplicity is not itself its nature, just as composition is not by itself the essence of compound beings. VIII. And when Infinity is considered from two points of view, beginning and end (for that which is beyond these and not limited by them is Infinity), when the mind looks to the depth above, not having where to stand, and leans upon phenomena to form an idea of God, it calls the Infinite and Unapproachable which it finds there by the name of Unoriginate. And when it looks into the depths below, and at the future, it calls Him Undying and Imperishable. And when it draws a conclusion from the whole it calls Him Eternal (�ἴ��). For Eternity (�ἵ��) is neither time nor part of time; for it cannot be measured. But what time, measured by the course of the sun, is to us, that Eternity is to the Everlasting, namely, a sort of time-like movement and interval co-extensive with their existence. This, however, is all I must now say about God; for the present is not a suitable time, as my present subject is not the doctrine of God, but that of the Incarnation. But when I say God, I mean Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. For Godhead is neither diffused beyond these, so as to bring in a mob of gods; nor yet is it bounded by a smaller compass than these, so as to condemn us for a poverty-stricken conception of Deity; either Judaizing to save the Monarchia, or falling into heathenism by the multitude of our gods. For the evil on either side is the same, though found in contrary directions. This then is the Holy of Holies, which is hidden even from the Seraphim, and is glorified with a thrice repeated Holy, meeting in one ascription of the Title Lord and God, as one of our predecessors has most beautifully and loftily pointed out. IX. But since this movement of self-contemplation alone could not satisfy Goodness, but Good must be poured out and go forth beyond Itself to multiply the objects of Its beneficence, for this was essential to the highest Goodness, He first conceived the Heavenly and Angelic Powers. And this conception was a work fulfilled by His Word, and perfected by His Spirit. And so the secondary Splendours came into being, as the Ministers of the Primary Splendour; whether we are to conceive of them as intelligent Spirits, or as Fire of an immaterial and incorruptible kind, or as some other nature approaching this as near as may be. I should like to say that they were incapable of movement in the direction of evil, and susceptible only of the movement of good, as being about God, and illumined with the first rays from God� for earthly beings have but the second illumination; but I am obliged to stop short of saying that, and to conceive and speak of them only as difficult to move because of him, who for his splendour was called Lucifer, but became and is called Darkness through his pride; and the apostate hosts who are subject to him, creators of evil by their revolt against good and our inciters. X. Thus, then, and for these reasons, He gave being to the world of thought, as far as I can reason upon these matters, and estimate great things in my own poor language. Then when His first creation was in good order, He conceives a second world, material and visible; and this a system and compound of earth and sky, and all that is in the midst of them� an admirable creation indeed, when we look at the fair form of every part, but yet more worthy of admiration when we consider the harmony and the unison of the whole, and how each part fits in with every other, in fair order, and all with the whole, tending to the perfect completion of the world as a Unit. This was to show that He could call into being, not only a Nature akin to Himself, but also one altogether alien to Himself. For akin to Deity are those natures which are intellectual, and only to be comprehended by mind; but all of which sense can take cognisance are utterly alien to It; and of these the furthest removed are all those which are entirely destitute of soul and of power of motion. But perhaps some one of those who are too festive and impetuous may say, What has all this to do with us? Spur your horse to the goal. Talk to us about the Festival, and the reasons for our being here today. Yes, this is what I am about to do, although I have begun at a somewhat previous point, being compelled to do so by love, and by the needs of my argument. XI. Mind, then, and sense, thus distinguished from each other, had remained within their own boundaries, and bore in themselves the magnificence of the Creator-Word, silent praisers and thrilling heralds of His mighty work. Not yet was there any mingling of both, nor any mixtures of these opposites, tokens of a greater Wisdom and Generosity in the creation of natures; nor as yet were the whole riches of Goodness made known. Now the Creator-Word, determining to exhibit this, and to produce a single living being out of both� the visible and the invisible creations, I mean� fashions Man; and taking a body from already existing matter, and placing in it a Breath taken from Himself Genesis 2:7 which the Word knew to be an intelligent soul and the Image of God, as a sort of second world. He placed him, great in littleness on the earth; a new Angel, a mingled worshipper, fully initiated into the visible creation, but only partially into the intellectual; King of all upon earth, but subject to the King above; earthly and heavenly; temporal and yet immortal; visible and yet intellectual; half-way between greatness and lowliness; in one person combining spirit and flesh; spirit, because of the favour bestowed on him; flesh, because of the height to which he had been raised; the one that he might continue to live and praise his Benefactor, the other that he might suffer, and by suffering be put in remembrance, and corrected if he became proud of his greatness. A living creature trained here, and then moved elsewhere; and, to complete the mystery, deified by its inclination to God. For to this, I think, tends that Light of Truth which we here possess but in measure, that we should both see and experience the Splendour of God, which is worthy of Him Who made us, and will remake us again after a loftier fashion. XII. This being He placed in Paradise, whatever the Paradise may have been, having honoured him with the gift of Free Will (in order that God might belong to him as the result of his choice, no less than to Him who had implanted the seeds of it), to till the immortal plants, by which is meant perhaps the Divine Conceptions, both the simpler and the more perfect; naked in his simplicity and inartificial life, and without any covering or screen; for it was fitting that he who was from the beginning should be such. Also He gave him a Law, as a material for his Free Will to act upon. This Law was a Commandment as to what plants he might partake of, and which one he might not touch. This latter was the Tree of Knowledge; not, however, because it was evil from the beginning when planted; nor was it forbidden because God grudged it to us...Let not the enemies of God wag their tongues in that direction, or imitate the Serpent...But it would have been good if partaken of at the proper time, for the tree was, according to my theory, Contemplation, upon which it is only safe for those who have reached maturity of habit to enter; but which is not good for those who are still somewhat simple and greedy in their habit; just as solid food is not good for those who are yet tender, and have need of milk. Hebrews 5:12 But when through the Devil's malice and the woman's caprice, to which she succumbed as the more tender, and which she brought to bear upon the man, as she was the more apt to persuade, alas for my weakness! (for that of my first father was mine), he forgot the Commandment which had been given to him; Genesis 3:5 he yielded to the baleful fruit; and for his sin he was banished, at once from the Tree of Life, and from Paradise, and from God; and put on the coats of skins...that is, perhaps, the coarser flesh, both mortal and contradictory. This was the first thing that he learned� his own shame; Romans 1:22-31 and he hid himself from God. Yet here too he makes a gain, namely death, and the cutting off of sin, in order that evil may not be immortal. Thus his punishment is changed into a mercy; for it is in mercy, I am persuaded, that God inflicts punishment. XIII. And having been first chastened by many means (because his sins were many, whose root of evil sprang up through various causes and at sundry times), by word, by law, by prophets, by benefits, by threats, by plagues, by waters, by fires, by wars, by victories, by defeats, by signs in heaven and signs in the air and in the earth and in the sea, by unexpected changes of men, of cities, of nations (the object of which was the destruction of wickedness), at last he needed a stronger remedy, for his diseases were growing worse; mutual slaughters, adulteries, perjuries, unnatural crimes, and that first and last of all evils, idolatry and the transfer of worship from the Creator to the Creatures. As these required a greater aid, so also they obtained a greater. And that was that the Word of God Himself� Who is before all worlds, the Invisible, the Incomprehensible, the Bodiless, Beginning of Beginning, the Light of Light, the Source of Life and Immortality, the Image of the Archetypal Beauty, the immovable Seal, the unchangeable Image, the Father's Definition and Word, came to His own Image, and took on Him flesh for the sake of our flesh, and mingled Himself with an intelligent soul for my soul's sake, purifying like by like; and in all points except sin was made man. Conceived by the Virgin, Luke 1:35 who first in body and soul was purified by the Holy Ghost (for it was needful both that Childbearing should be honoured, and that Virginity should receive a higher honour), He came forth then as God with that which He had assumed, One Person in two Natures, Flesh and Spirit, of which the latter deified the former. O new commingling; O strange conjunction; the Self-Existent comes into being, the Uncreate is created, That which cannot be contained is contained, by the intervention of an intellectual soul, mediating between the Deity and the corporeity of the flesh. And He Who gives riches becomes poor, for He assumes the poverty of my flesh, that I may assume the richness of His Godhead. He that is full empties Himself, for He empties Himself of His glory for a short while, that I may have a share in His Fulness. What is the riches of His Goodness? What is this mystery that is around me? I had a share in the image; I did not keep it; He partakes of my flesh that He may both save the image and make the flesh immortal. He communicates a second Communion far more marvellous than the first, inasmuch as then He imparted the better Nature, whereas now Himself partakes of the worse. This is more godlike than the former action, this is loftier in the eyes of all men of understanding. XIV. To this what have those cavillers to say, those bitter reasoners about Godhead, those detractors of all that is praiseworthy, those darkeners of light, uncultured in respect of wisdom, for whom Christ died in vain, those unthankful creatures, the work of the Evil One? Do you turn this benefit into a reproach to God? Will you deem Him little on this account, that He humbled Himself for you; because the Good Shepherd, John 10:11 He who lays down His life for His sheep, came to seek for that which had strayed upon the mountains and the hills, on which you were then sacrificing, and found the wanderer; and having found it, Luke 15:4, sq took it upon His shoulders� on which He also took the Wood of the Cross; and having taken it, brought it back to the higher life; and having carried it back, numbered it among those who had never strayed. Because He lighted a candle� His own Flesh� and swept the house, cleansing the world from sin; and sought the piece of money, the Royal Image that was covered up by passions. And He calls together His Angel friends on the finding of the coin, and makes them sharers in His joy, whom He had made to share also the secret of the Incarnation? Because on the candle of the Forerunner there follows the light that exceeds in brightness; and to the Voice the Word succeeds; and to the Bridegroom's friend the Bridegroom; to him that prepared for the Lord a peculiar people, cleansing them by water in preparation for the Spirit? Do you reproach God with all this? Do you on this account deem Him lessened, because He girds Himself with a towel and washes His disciples' feet, and shows that humiliation is the best road to exaltation? Because for the soul that was bent to the ground He humbles Himself, that He may raise up with Himself the soul that was tottering to a fall under a weight of sin? Why do you not also charge upon Him as a crime the fact that He eats with Publicans and at Publicans' tables, Luke 5:29 and that He makes disciples of Publicans, that He too may gain somewhat...and what?...the salvation of sinners. If so, we must blame the physician for stooping over sufferings, and enduring evil odours that he may give health to the sick; or one who as the Law commands bent down into a ditch to save a beast that had fallen into it. XV. He was sent, but as man, for He was of a twofold Nature; for He was wearied, and hungered, and was thirsty, and was in an agony, and shed tears, according to the nature of a corporeal being. And if the expression be also used of Him as God, the meaning is that the Father's good pleasure is to be considered a Mission, for to this He refers all that concerns Himself; both that He may honour the Eternal Principle, and because He will not be taken to be an antagonistic God. And whereas it is written both that He was betrayed, and also that He gave Himself up and that He was raised up by the Father, and taken up into heaven; and on the other hand, that He raised Himself and went up; the former statement of each pair refers to the good pleasure of the Father, the latter to His own Power. Are you then to be allowed to dwell upon all that humiliates Him, while passing over all that exalts Him, and to count on your side the fact that He suffered, but to leave out of the account the fact that it was of His own will? See what even now the Word has to suffer. By one set He is honoured as God, but is confused with the Father, by another He is dishonoured as mere flesh and severed from the Godhead. With which of them will He be most angry, or rather, which shall He forgive, those who injuriously confound Him or those who divide Him? For the former ought to have distinguished, and the latter to have united Him; the one in number, the other in Godhead. Stumblest Thou at His flesh? So did the Jews. Or do you call Him a Samaritan, and...I will not say the rest. Do you disbelieve in His Godhead? This did not even the demons, O thou who art less believing than demons and more stupid than Jews. Those did perceive that the name of Son implies equality of rank; these did know that He who drove them out was God, for they were convinced of it by their own experience. But you will admit neither the equality nor the Godhead. It would have been better for you to have been either a Jew or a demoniac (if I may utter an absurdity), than in uncircumcision and in sound health to be so wicked and ungodly in your attitude of mind. XVI. A little later on you will see Jesus submitting to be purified in the River Jordan for my Purification, or rather, sanctifying the waters by His Purification (for indeed He had no need of purification Who takes away the sin of the world) and the heavens cleft asunder, and witness borne to him by the Spirit That is of one nature with Him; you shall see Him tempted and conquering and served by Angels, and healing every sickness and every disease, and giving life to the dead (O that He would give life to you who are dead because of your heresy), and driving out demons, sometimes Himself, sometimes by his disciples; and feeding vast multitudes with a few loaves; and walking dryshod upon seas; and being betrayed and crucified, and crucifying with Himself my sin; offered as a Lamb, and offering as a Priest; as a Man buried in the grave, and as God rising again; and then ascending, and to come again in His own glory. Why what a multitude of high festivals there are in each of the mysteries of the Christ; all of which have one completion, namely, my perfection and return to the first condition of Adam. XVII. Now then I pray you accept His Conception, and leap before Him; if not like John from the womb, Luke 1:41 yet like David, because of the resting of the Ark. 2 Samuel 6:14 Revere the enrolment on account of which you were written in heaven, and adore the Birth by which you were loosed from the chains of your birth, Luke 2:1-5 and honour little Bethlehem, which has led you back to Paradise; and worship the manger through which thou, being without sense, wast fed by the Word. Know as Isaiah bids you, your Owner, like the ox, and like the ass your Master's crib; if you be one of those who are pure and lawful food, and who chew the cud of the word and are fit for sacrifice. Or if you are one of those who are as yet unclean and uneatable and unfit for sacrifice, and of the gentile portion, run with the Star, and bear your Gifts with the Magi, gold and frankincense and myrrh, Isaiah 1:3 as to a King, and to God, and to One Who is dead for you. With Shepherds glorify Him; Matthew ii with Angels join in chorus; with Archangels sing hymns. Let this Festival be common to the powers in heaven and to the powers upon earth. Luke 2:14-15 For I am persuaded that the Heavenly Hosts join in our exultation and keep high Festival with us today. ..because they love men, and they love God just like those whom David introduces after the Passion ascending with Christ and coming to meet Him, and bidding one another to lift up the gates. XVIII. One thing connected with the Birth of Christ I would have you hate...the murder of the infants by Herod. Matthew 2:16 Or rather you must venerate this too, the Sacrifice of the same age as Christ, slain before the Offering of the New Victim. If He flees into Egypt, joyfully become a companion of His exile. It is a grand thing to share the exile of the persecuted Christ. If He tarry long in Egypt, call Him out of Egypt by a reverent worship of Him there. Travel without fault through every stage and faculty of the Life of Christ. Be purified; be circumcised; strip off the veil which has covered you from your birth. After this teach in the Temple, and drive out the sacrilegious traders. John 2:15 Submit to be stoned if need be, for well I know you shall be hidden from those who cast the stones; you shall escape even through the midst of them, like God. If you be brought before Herod, answer not for the most part. Luke 23:9 He will respect your silence more than most people's long speeches. If you be scourged, John 19:1 ask for what they leave out. Taste gall for the taste's sake; Matthew 27:34 drink vinegar; John 19:29 seek for spittings; accept blows, be crowned with thorns, that is, with the hardness of the godly life; put on the purple robe, take the reed in hand, and receive mock worship from those who mock at the truth; lastly, be crucified with Him, and share His Death and Burial gladly, that you may rise with Him, and be glorified with Him and reign with Him. Look at and be looked at by the Great God, Who in Trinity is worshipped and glorified, and Whom we declare to be now set forth as clearly before you as the chains of our flesh allow, in Jesus Christ our Lord, to Whom be the glory for ever. Amen.

Christ�s Birth in the Flesh by St. John Chrysostom

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 16:45:36 GMT

(http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf110.iii.v.html) �The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.� Do ye indeed remember the charge, which we lately made you, entreating you to hearken unto all the things that are said with all silence, and mystical quietness? For we are to-day to set foot within the holy vestibule, wherefore I have also put you in mind of the charge. Since, if the Jews, when they were to approach �a mountain that burned, and fire, and blackness, and darkness, and tempest;� �or rather when they were not so much as to approach, but both to see and to hear these things from afar;�were commanded for three days before to abstain from their wives, and to wash their garments, and were in trembling and fear, both themselves and Moses with them; much more we, when we are to hearken to such words, and are not to stand far from a smoking mountain, but to enter into Heaven itself, ought to show forth a greater self-denial; not washing our garments, but wiping clean the robe of our soul, and ridding ourselves of all mixture with worldly things. For it is not blackness that ye shall see, nor smoke, nor tempest, but the King Himself sitting on the throne of that unspeakable glory, and angels, and archangels standing by Him, and the tribes of the saints, with those interminable myriads. For such is the city of God, having �the Church of the first-born, the spirits of the just, the general assembly of the angels, the blood of sprinkling,� whereby all are knit into one, and Heaven hath received the things of earth, and earth the things of Heaven, and that peace hath come which was of old longed for both by angels and by saints. Herein standeth the trophy of the cross, glorious, and conspicuous, the spoils won by Christ, the first-fruits [see Heb. vii. 4.�R.] of our nature, the booty of our King; all these, I say, we shall out of the Gospels know perfectly. If thou follow in becoming quietness, we shall be able to lead thee about everywhere, and to show where death is set forth crucified, and where sin is hanged up, and where are the many and wondrous offerings from this war, from this battle. Thou shalt see likewise the tyrant here bound, and the multitude of the captives following, and the citadel from which that unholy demon overran all things in time past. Thou wilt see the hiding places, and the dens of the robber, broken up now, and laid open, for even there also was our King present. But be not thou weary, beloved, for if any one were describing a visible war, and trophies, and victories, wouldest thou feel no satiety at all; nay, thou wouldest not prefer either drink or meat to this history. But if that kind of narrative be welcome, much more this. For consider what a thing it is to hear, how on the one side God from Heaven, arising �out of the royal thrones, leaped down (Wisd. xviii. 15)� unto the earth, and even unto hell itself, and stood in the battle array; and how the devil on the other hand set himself in array against Him; or rather not against God unveiled, but God hidden in man�s nature. And what is marvelous, thou wilt see death destroyed by death, and curse extinguished by curse, and the dominion of the devil put down by those very things whereby he did prevail. Let us therefore rouse ourselves thoroughly, and let us not sleep, for lo, I see the gates opening to us; but let us enter in with all seemly order, and with trembling, setting foot straightway within the vestibule itself. 2. But what is this vestibule? �The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, Son of David, Son of Abraham... Think not, therefore, it is of small things thou art hearing, when thou hearest of this birth, but rouse up thy mind, and straightway tremble, being told that God hath come upon earth. For so marvelous was this, and beyond expectation, that because of these things the very angels formed a choir, and in behalf of the world offered up their praise for them, and the prophets from the first were amazed at this, that �He was seen upon earth, and conversed with men (Baruch iii. 37). Yea, for it is far beyond all thought to hear that God the Unspeakable, [or Unapproachable], the Unutterable, the Incomprehensible, and He that is equal to the Father, hath passed through a virgin�s womb, and hath vouchsafed to be born of a woman, and to have Abraham and David for forefathers. �

St. Athanasius of Alexandria On the Incarnation of the Word

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 16:38:17 GMT

St Athanasius explains why God chose to approach his fallen people in human form. He states, "The death of all was consummated in the Lord's body; yet, because the Word was in it, death and corruption were in the same act utterly abolished." �We have, then, now stated in part, as far as it was possible, and as ourselves had been able to understand, the reason of His bodily appearing; that it was in the power of none other to turn the corruptible to incorruption, except the Saviour Himself, that had at the beginning also made all things out of nought and that none other could create anew the likeness of God's image for men, save the Image of the Father; and that none other could render the mortal immortal, save our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the Very Life ; and that none other could teach men of the Father, and destroy the worship of idols, save the Word, that orders all things and is alone the true Only-begotten Son of the Father. 2. But since it was necessary also that the debt owing from all should be paid again: for, as I have already said, it was owing that all should die, for which special cause, indeed, He came among us: to this intent, after the proofs of His Godhead from His works, He next offered up His sacrifice also on behalf of all, yielding His Temple to death in the stead of all, in order firstly to make men quit and free of their old trespass, and further to show Himself more powerful even than death, displaying His own body incorruptible, as first-fruits of the resurrection of all. 3. And do not be surprised if we frequently repeat the same words on the same subject. For since we are speaking of the counsel of God, therefore we expound the same sense in more than one form, lest we should seem to be leaving anything out, and incur the charge of inadequate treatment: for it is better to submit to the blame of repetition than to leave out anything that ought to be set down. 4. The body, then, as sharing the same nature with all, for it was a human body, though by an unparalleled miracle it was formed of a virgin only, yet being mortal, was to die also, conformably to its peers. But by virtue of the union of the Word with it, it was no longer subject to corruption according to its own nature, but by reason of the Word that had come to dwell in it it was placed out of the reach of corruption. 5. And so it was that two marvels came to pass at once, that the death of all was accomplished in the Lord's body, and that death and corruption were wholly done away by reason of the Word that was united with it. For there was need of death, and death must needs be suffered on behalf of all, that the debt owing from all might be paid. 6. Whence, as I said before, the Word, since it was not possible for Him to die, as He was immortal, took to Himself a body such as could die, that He might offer it as His own in the stead of all, and as suffering, through His union with it, on behalf of all, Bring to nought Him that had the power of death, that is the devil; and might deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.�

�On the Nativity of Christ� by St. Ephrem the Syrian

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:04:55 GMT

�Glory to Your coming that restored humankind to life. Glory to that One Who came to us by His First-born. Glory to that Silent One Who spoke by means of His Voice. Glory to that Sublime One Who was seen by means of His Voice. Glory to that Sublime One Who was seen by means of His Dawn. Glory to the Spiritual One Who was well-pleased that His Child should become a body so that through Him His power might be felt and the bodies of His kindred might live again. Glory to that Hidden One Whose Child was revealed. Glory to that Living One Whose Son became a mortal. Glory to that Great One Whose Son descended and became small. Glory to that Great One Who fashioned Him, the Image of His greatness and Form for His hiddenness. With the eye and the mind�with both of them we saw Him. Glory to that Hidden One Who even to the mind is utterly imperceptible to those who investigate Him. But by His grace through His humanity a nature never before fathomed is now perceived.� St. Ephrem the Syrian (4th C), �Hymns On the Nativity.� Ephrem the Syrian, Hymns, pages 83-84. Classics of Western Spirituality. Paulist Press, Mahwah, New Jersey.

Sayings of the Church on the Nativity of Christ

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:04:56 GMT

(1) Praises (Lauds) of Nativity Matins, Tone 4 (by St Andrew of Jerusalem) �Make glad, O ye righteous; greatly rejoice, O ye heavens; ye mountains, dance for joy. Christ is born, and like the cherubim the Virgin makes a throne, carrying at her bosom God the Word made flesh. Shepherds glorify the new-born Child, magi offer the Master gifts. Angels sing praises, saying: 'O Lord past understanding, glory to Thee!' It was the good pleasure of the Father: the Word became flesh, and the Virgin bore God made man. A star spreads abroad the tidings: the Magi worship, the shepherds stand amazed, and the creation is filled with mighty joy. O Mother of God, Virgin who hast borne the Saviour, thou hast overthrown the ancient curse of Eve. For thou hast become the Mother of Him in whom the Father was well pleased, and has carried at thy bosom God the incarnate Word. We cannot fathom this mystery: but by faith alone we all glorify it, crying with thee and saying: O Lord past all interpretation, glory to Thee! O come, let us sing the praises of the Mother of the Saviour, who after bearing child still remained Virgin. Rejoice, thou Living City of God the King, in which Christ has dwelt, bringing to pass our salvation. With Gabriel we sing thy praises; with the shepherds we glorify thee, crying: O Mother of God, intercede for our salvation with Him who took flesh from thee!� (2) First Canon, Ode Four, Nativity Matins �Rod of the root of Jesse, and flower that blossomed from his stem, O Christ, Thou hast sprung from the Virgin. From the Mountain overshadowed by the forest Thou hast come, made flesh from her that knew not welock, O God who art not formed from matter. Glory to Thy power, O Lord. O Christ, whom Jacob foretold in the days of old, calling Thee the Expectation of the nations, Thou hast shone forth from the tribe of Judah, and Thou hast come to plunder the strength of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria, turning their error into faith, O beautiful God. Glory to Thy power, O Lord. O Master who hast risen as a Star out of Jacob, Thou hast filled with joy the watchers of the stars, who interpreted wisely the words of Balaam, the soothsayer of old. As the first fruits of the Gentiles were they led unto Thee, and Thou has openly received them, as they brought Thee acceptable gifts. Glory to Thy power, O Lord. As dew upon the fleece hast Thou descended into the womb of the Virgin, O Christ, and as drops of rain that fall upon the earth. Ethiopia and Tarshish and the isles of Arabia, the kings of Saba, of the Medes and all the earth, fell down before Thee, O Saviour. Glory to Thy power, O Lord.� http://www.monachos.net/content/liturgics/liturgical-texts/106

Love

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 20:57:10 GMT

�By love for our neighbor we enter into love for God.� �Direct all your attention to the acquisition of love for your neighbor as the basis of your life.� �Love for our enemies is the highest degree of love for our neighbor ordained by the Gospel. He who has attained love for his enemies has attained perfection in the matter of love for his neighbor, and to him the gates of love for God have opened automatically.� [St. Ignaty Brianchaninov] http://www.monachos.net/content/patristics/random-quotations-from-the-fathers

Brief Biography on the Life of St. John Chrysostom

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 15:40:29 GMT

In my opinion, St. John Chrysostom is one of the greatest ecclesiologists and theologians of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church of God. His voluminous and well written body of literature, saturated with and founded upon the Scriptures, reflects his erudition in the fields of hermeneutics, homiletics, and moral, dogmatic and pastoral theology. From the numerous investigations into Chrysostom�s life and works, I have concluded that �the Golden Mouth� orator most probably was born around 349 in the metropolitan city of Antioch, Syria, to faithful Christian parents. His mother bore the name Anthusa and his father, Secundus, was a noble general in the Roman army. At the tender age of 18, in 367, he completed his rhetorical studies under Libanius and his philosophical education under Andragathius. A year later, at 19, he was baptized a Christian during the celebration of the Paschal Feast, by Bishop Meletius of Antioch. After his 22nd birthday, John began his lectorate in the Church of Antioch and, soon afterwards, in 372, he interrupted it to begin his strict monastic life. Retiring to the mountains, he lived the life of a hermit for several years, impregnating his mind with the teachings of his Master, Jesus Christ. The austere regimen of the monastic life, however, severely affected the functioning of his gastric organs, and the extreme cold temperature impaired the operation of his kidneys. As a result, he returned to the Church in Antioch in 378, where he resumed his duties as a lector. A few years later, around 380/381, at 31 years of age, Bishop Meletius ordained him a deacon; and when he became 36 years old, around 385/386, Bishop Flavian of Antioch (Meletius� immediate successor) ordained him a priest (or presbyter). The period of his ministry in Christ�s Vineyard at Antioch ended rather abruptly when Nectarius, the Archbishop of Constantinople, died on September 27, 397, and John was chosen to succeed him. On February 26, 398 Chrysostom, at the age of 49, was consecrated Archbishop of Constantinople by an imperial decree of the Roman Emperor Arcadius � despite the jealous and dastardly opposition of Archbishop Theophilus of Alexandria. Chrysostom immediately began to reform the imperial city and its clergy, who had succumbed to terrible corruption under the lax Nectarius. His soul was too pure, unselfish and noble to fathom the devilish intrigues of the imperial court. His fiery temperament for the reform of the clergy and laity was offensive to high ranking court officials, and his loving, faithful and uncompromising adherence to the teachings of Christ and His Church united all hostile forces against him. After the downfall in 399 of the all powerful and influential Eutropius, who served as Arcadius� chief advisor and secretary, the Empress Eudoxia gained tremendous authority and power. In 403, she and Chrysostom�s episcopal comrades � Severian of Gabala, Acacius of Beroea, Antiochus of Ptolemais, and his most dangerous enemy, Theophilus of Alexandria � summoned Chrysostom to the Synod of the Oak, a suburb of Chalcedon. There, he was deposed from his episcopal throne and exiled. Eventually he was recalled, only to be permanently exiled in 404, to Caucasus in Lesser Armenia. After three treacherous years of traveling and fighting against the elements of nature and his own people, Chrysostom finally arrived at Comana, in Pontus, where he was to enter the company of the saints in heaven. Realizing his closeness to death, he dragged his ailing body to the Church of the Martyr Basiliscus and beckoned his entourage to dress him with the white garments of death, in accordance with an ancient Roman custom. There, the priest of the Church administered the Holy Mysteries of Christ�s Body and Blood to him. On September 14, 407, Chrysostom stated, with his final breath, �Glory to God for all things. Amen,� as he made the sign of the Cross. At the age of 56, he rested peacefully in the bosom of the Church, which he courageously defended until the end of his life. Theodosius II, a son of Eudoxia, ordered the translation of Chrysostom�s relics to Constantinople on January 27, 438, where they were interred in the Church of the Holy Apostles. Despite the date of Chrysostom�s death, the Church celebrates his Feast Day on November 13, so as not to conflict with the Feast Day of the Cross, which is celebrated on September 14. [Written by Fr. Gus Christo]

Faith and Work and How to be a True Christian

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 14:06:27 GMT

�Let it be understood that those who are not found living as He [Christ] taught are not Christian, even though they profess with the lips the teaching of Christ.� [Justin Martyr, c. 160 AD] �Unless a man gives himself entirely to the Cross, in a spirit of humility and self-abasement; unless he casts himself down to be trampled underfoot by all and despised, accepting injustice, contempt and mockery; unless he undergoes all these things with joy for the sake of the Lord, not claiming any kind of human reward whatsoever � glory or honor or earthly pleasures � he cannot become a true Christian.� [St Mark the monk]

Walk in the Fear of God

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 13:28:51 GMT

�When a man walks in the fear of God he knows no fear, even if he were to be surrounded by wicked men. He has the fear of God within him and wears the invincible armor of faith. This makes him strong and able to take on anything, even things which seem difficult or impossible to most people. Such a man is like a giant surrounded by monkeys, or a roaring lion among dogs and foxes. He goes forward trusting in the Lord and the constancy of his will to strike and paralyze his foes. He wields the blazing club of the the Word in wisdom.� [St. Symeon the New Theologian, �The Practical and Theological Chapter�]

The Immediate Need for Repentance !

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 13:44:03 GMT

�Let us then, as long as we are in this world, repent of whatever evils we have done in the flesh, so that we may be saved by the Lord while we yet have time for repentance. For, after we have departed this world, we will no longer be able to confess, nor will there be any time to repent.� [St. Clement of Rome c. 101 A.D.] �Even if all spiritual fathers, patriarchs, hierarchs, and all the people forgive you, you are unforgiven if you do not repent in action.� [St. Kosmas Aitolos (18th cent.)] �He who would be reconciled to God and have peace with God must first be reconciled with his neighbor.� [St. Tikhon of Zadonsk (18th cent.)]

A Brief Biography of Longinos the Centurion (Feast Day: October 16)

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 14:33:12 GMT

This Martyr was in the service of Pontius Pilate at the time of Christ our Saviour's Passion. While standing guard at the Cross and beholding the earthquake and all that came to pass, he cried out with fear, "Truly this was the Son of God" (Matt. 27:54). After the Resurrection, he forsook the military and departed for Cappadocia, his homeland, where he preached Christ. By the agency of Pontius Pilate, Tiberius Caesar had him arrested and beheaded. Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone Thy Martyr, O Lord, in his courageous contest for Thee received the prize of the crowns of incorruption and life from Thee, our immortal God. For since he possessed Thy strength, he cast down the tyrants and wholly destroyed the demons' strengthless presumption. O Christ God, by his prayers, save our souls, since Thou art merciful. Kontakion in the Fourth Tone With great joy the Church of Christ today rejoiceth on the festive memory of blest Longinus, the all-famed and godly prizewinner. And she doth cry out: O Christ, my foundation and might art Thou. [Reading � Holy Transfiguration Monastery - Brookline, MA. Apolytikion � Holy Transfiguration Monastery - Brookline, MA. Kontakion � Holy Transfiguration Monastery - Brookline, MA.] http://goarch.org/chapel/saints_view?contentid=243

Judge Yourself and not Others

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 13:31:29 GMT

�Many people who sin frequently in the sight of others, and then confess in secret to God, have been forgiven by him and, being well-pleasing to Him, have received the Holy Spirit. Those whom we reckon to be sinners (of whose repentance we are unaware) are justified in the sight of God. This is because we see the sins which they have committed, yet we know nothing of the good deed which they have performed in secret. Hence, we should not condemn anyone, even if we perceive him sinning with our very eyes. For as soon as the sinner has taken ten steps away from us, we are not in a position to know what he has done in secret or what God has done for him. Toward the evening of Great Thursday, Judas the betrayer was with Christ and the Disciples, whereas the thief was in the company of malefactors and murderers. But when Friday came, Judas departed for the outer darkness, because he had betrayed the Lord, whereas the thief, because he repented on the Cross, went to dwell in Paradise with Christ. In view of such sudden changes, it is good not to judge a man until Christ comes, for He knows the mind of men and reveals the secrets of our hearts.� (St. Anastasius the Sinaite) http://fatherjohn.blogspot.com/2011/02/patristic-quotes-on-refraining-from.html

The Tradition of the Church

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 14:45:23 GMT

[ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1795054/posts ] St. Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia Of the beliefs and practices whether generally accepted or publicly enjoined which are preserved in the Church some we possess derived from written teaching; others we have received delivered to us "in mystery" by the tradition of the Apostles; and both of these in relation to true religion have the same force. And these no one will contradict; - no one, at all events, who is even moderately versed in the institutions of the Church. For were we to attempt to reject such customs as have no written authority, on the ground that the importance they possess is small, we should unintentionally injure the Gospel in these matters� (On the Holy Spirit 27 [A.D. 375]). St. John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople "So then brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word, or by epistle of ours" (2 Thessalonians 2:15). Hence it is manifest, that they did not deliver all things by epistle, but many things also unwritten, and in like manner both the one and the other are worthy of credit. Therefore let us think the tradition of the Church also worthy of credit. It is a tradition, seek no farther (Homilies on Second Thessalonians [circa A.D. 400]).

Definition of the Fourth Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon (451 AD) Concerning the Person of Christ

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 14:08:49 GMT

http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3811.htm �Following the holy Fathers we teach with one voice that the Son [of God] and our Lord Jesus Christ is to be confessed as one and the same [Person], that he is perfect in Godhead and perfect in manhood, very God and very man, of a reasonable soul and [human] body consisting, consubstantial with the Father as touching his Godhead, and consubstantial with us as touching his manhood; made in all things like us, sin only excepted; begotten of his Father before the worlds according to his Godhead; but in these last days for us men and for our salvation born [into the world] of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God according to his manhood. This one and the same Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son [of God] must be confessed to be in two natures, unconfusedly, immutably, indivisibly, inseparably [united], and that without the distinction of natures being taken away by such union, but rather the peculiar property of each nature being preserved and being united in one Person and subsistence, not separated or divided into two persons, but one and the same Son and only-begotten, God the Word, our Lord Jesus Christ, as the Prophets of old time have spoken concerning him, and as the Lord Jesus Christ has taught us, and as the Creed of the Fathers has delivered to us.�

St. John Maximovitch on the Exaltation of the Precious Cross of our Lord, Great God, and Savior Jesus Christ

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 14:39:21 GMT

http://www.orthodox.net/articles/exaltation.html Before the time of Christ, the cross was an instrument of punishment; it evoked fear and aversion. But after Christ's death on the Cross it became the instrument of our salvation. Through the Cross, Christ destroyed the devil; from the Cross He descended into hades and, having liberated those languishing there, led them into the Kingdom of Heaven. The sign of the Cross is terrifying to demons and, as the sign of Christ, it is honored by Christians. "O Lord, save Thy people and bless Thine inheritance. Grant victory unto Orthodox Christians over their adversaries, and by the virtue of Thy Cross, preserve Thy community." The beginning of this prayer is taken from the twenty-seventh Psalm. In the Old Testament the word "people" designated only those who confessed the true faith, people faithful to God. "Inheritance" referred to everything which properly belonged to God, God's property, which in the New Testament is the Church of Christ. In praying for the salvation of God's people (the Christians), both from eternal torments and from earthly calamities, we beseech the Lord to bless, to send down grace, His good gifts upon the whole Church as well, and inwardly strengthen her. The petition for granting "victory to kings" (Grant victory to Orthodox Christians over their adversaries) (ie: to the bearers of Supreme authority), has its basis in Psalm 143, verse 10, and recalls the victories of King David achieved by God's power, and likewise the victories granted Emperor Constantine through the Cross of the Lord. This appearance of the Cross made emperors who had formerly persecuted Christians into defenders of the Church from her external enemies, into "external bishops," to use the expression of the holy Emperor Constantine. The Church, inwardly strong by God's grace and protected outwardly, is, for Orthodox Christians, "the city of God." Heavenly Jerusalem has its beginning. Various calamities have shaken the world, entire peoples have disappeared, cities and states have perished, but the Church, in spite of persecutions and even internal conflicts, stands invincible; for the gates of hell shall not prevail against her (Matt. 16:18). Today, when world leaders try in vain to establish order on earth, the only dependable instrument of peace is that about which the Church sings: "The Cross is the guardian of the whole world; the Cross is the beauty of the Church, the Cross is the might of kings; the Cross is the confirmation of the faithful, the Cross is the glory of angels and the wounding of demons." (Exapostilarion of the Exaltation of the Cross)

Leo the Great of Rome, Homily 59: On the Passion of Christ

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 14:09:50 GMT

[ http://www.monachos.net/content/patristics/patristictexts/174 ] From Sermon 59, given on Wednesday of Great and Holy Week. St Leo the Great (Pope of Rome from 440-461, reposed in the Lord AD 461) was bishop in one of the more controversy-ridden periods of Church history. He was engaged in the Christological disputes that consumed the fifth century, and his great Tome was to be of substantial influence in the events leading to the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon in 451. In this sermon, St Leo explores the Passion of the Lord and its meaning in the Christian Life. I. Christ's Arrest Fulfils His Own Eternal Purpose Having discoursed, dearly beloved, in our last sermon, on the events which preceded the Lord's arrest, it now remains, by the help of God's grace, to discuss, as we promised, the details of the Passion itself. When the Lord had made it clear by the words of His sacred prayer that the Divine and the Human Nature was most truly and fully present in Him, showing that the unwillingness to suffer proceeded from the one, and from the other the determination to suffer by the expulsion of all frail fears and the strengthening of His lofty power, then did He return to His eternal purpose, and "in the form of a" sinless "slave" encounter the devil who was savagely attacking Him by the hands of the Jews: that He in Whom alone was all men's nature without fault, might undertake the cause of all. The sins of darkness, therefore, assailed the true Light, and, for all their torches and lanterns , could not escape the night of their own unbelief, because they did not recognize the Fount of Light. They arrest Him, and He is ready to be seized; they lead Him away, and He is willing to be led; for though, if He had willed to resist, their wicked hands could have done Him no harm, yet thereby the world's redemption would have been impeded, and He, who was to die for all men's salvation, would have saved none at all. II. How Great was Pilate's Crime in Allowing Himself to be Led Astray� Accordingly, permitting the infliction on Himself of all that the people's fury inflamed by the priests dared do, He is brought to Annas, father-in-law to Caiaphas, and thence Annas passes Him on to Caiaphas: and after the calumniators' mad accusations, after the lying falsehoods of suborned witnesses, He is transferred to Pilate's hearing by the delegation of the two high-priests, who in neglecting the Divine law, and exclaiming that they had "no king but Caesar," as if they were devoted to the Roman laws, and had left the whole judgment in the hands of the governor, really sought for an accomplisher of their cruelty rather than an umpire of the case. For they gave up Jesus, bound in hard bonds, bruised by many buffets and blows, spat upon, already condemned by their shouts: so that amidst so many signs of their own verdict Pilate might not dare to acquit One Whom all desired to perish. In fact, the very inquiry shows both that he found in the Accused no fault and that in his judgment he did not adhere to his purpose: for as judge he condemns One Whom he pronounces guiltless, invoking on the unrighteous people the blood of the Righteous Man with Whom he felt by his own conviction, and knew from his wife's dream , he must have nothing to do. That stained soul is not cleansed by the washing of hands, there is no expiation in water-besprinkled fingers for the crime abetted by that wicked mind. Pilate's fault is indeed, less than the Jews' crime; for it was they that terrified him with Caesar's name, chode him with hateful words, and drove him to perpetrate his wickedness. But he also did not escape incrimination for playing into the hands of those that made the uproar, for abandoning his own judgment, and for acquiescing in the charges of others. III. Yet the Jews' Guilt was Infinitely Greater In bowing, therefore, dearly-beloved, to the madness of the impacable people, in permitting Jesus to be dishonoured by much mocking, and harassed with excessive insults, and in displaying Him to the eyes of His persecutors lacerated with scourges, crowned with thorns, and clothed in a robe of scorn, Pilate doubtless thought to appease the enemies' minds, so that when they had glutted their cruel hate, they might cease further to persecute One Whom they beheld subjected to such a variety of afflictions. But their wrath was still in full blaze, and they cried out to him to release Barabbas and thus, Jesus bear the penalty of the cross, and thus, when with consenting murmur the crowd said "His blood be on us and on our sons ," those wicked folk gained, to their own damnation what they had persistently demanded, "whose teeth," as the prophet bore witness, "were arms and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword." For in vain did they keep their own hands from crucifying the Lord of glory when they had hurled at Him the tongue's deadly darts and the poisoned weapons of words. On you, on you, false Jews and unholy leaders of the people, falls the full weight of that crime: and although the enormity of the guilt involves the governor and the soldiers also, yet you are the primary and chief offenders. And in Christ's condemnation, whatsoever wrong was done either by Pilate's judgment or by the cohorts carrying out of his commands, makes you only the more deserving of the hatred of mankind, because the impulse of your fury would not let even those be free from guilt who were displeased at your unrighteous acts. IV. Christ Bearing His Own Cross is an Eternal Lesson to the Church And so the Lord was handed over to their savage wishes, and in mockery of His kingly state, ordered to be the bearer of His own instrument of death, that what Isaiah the prophet foresaw might be fulfilled, saying, "Behold a Child is born, and a Son is given to us whose government is upon His shoulders." When, therefore, the Lord carried the wood of the cross which should turn for Him into the sceptre of power, it was indeed in the eyes of the wicked a mighty mockery, but to the faithful a mighty mystery was set forth, seeing that He, the glorious vanquisher of the Devil, and the strong defeater of the powers that were against Him, was carrying in noble sort the trophy of His triumph, and on the shoulders of His unconquered patience bore into all realms the adorable sign of salvation: as if even then to confirm all His followers by this mere symbol of His work, and say, "He that taketh not his cross and followeth Me, is not worthy of Me." V. The Transference of the Cross from the Lord to Simon of Cyrene Signifies the Participation of the Gentiles in His Sufferings But as the multitudes went with Jesus to the place of punishment, a certain Simon of Cyrene was found on whom to lay the wood of the cross instead of the Lord; that even by this act might be pre-signified the Gentiles' faith, to whom the cross of Christ was to be not shame but glory. It was not accidental, therefore, but symbolical and mystical, that while the Jews were raging against Christ, a foreigner was found to share His sufferings, as the Apostle says, "if we suffer with Him, we shall also reign with Him"; so that no Hebrew nor Israelite, but a stranger, was substituted for the Saviour in His most holy degradation. For by this transference the propitiation of the spotless Lamb and the fulfilment of all mysteries passed from the circumcision to the uncircumcision, from the sons according to the flesh to the sons according to the spirit: since as the Apostle says, "Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us," Who offering Himself to the Father a new and true sacrifice of reconciliation, was crucified not in the temple, whose worship was now at an end, and not within the confines of the city which for its sin was doomed to be destroyed, but outside, "without the camp," that, on the cessation of the old symbolic victims, a new Victim might be placed on a new altar, and the cross of Christ might be the altar not of the temple but of the world. VI. We are to See not Only the Cross but the Meaning of It Accordingly, dearly-beloved, Christ being lifted up upon the cross, let the eyes of your mind not dwell only on that sight which those wicked sinners saw, to whom it was said by the mouth of Moses, "And thy life shall be hanging before thine eyes, and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt not be assured of thy life." For in the crucified Lord they could think of nothing but their wicked deed, having not the fear, by which true faith is justified, but that by which an evil conscience is racked. But let our understandings, illumined by the Spirit of Truth, foster with pure and free heart the glory of the cross which irradiates heaven and earth, and see with the inner sight what the Lord meant when He spoke of His coming Passion: "The hour is come that the Son of man may be glorified"; and below He says, "Now is My spirit troubled. And what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour, but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify Thy Son." And when the Father's voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again," Jesus in reply said to those that stood by, "This voice came not for Me but for you. Now is the world's judgment, now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things unto Me." VII. The Power of the Cross is Universally Attractive O wondrous power of the Cross! O in effable glory of the Passion, in which is contained the Lord's tribunal, the world's judgment, and the power of the Crucified! For thou didst draw all things unto Thee, Lord and when Thou hadst stretched out Thy hands all the day, long to an unbelieving people that gainsaid Thee, the whole world at last was brought to confess Thy majesty. Thou didst draw all things unto Thee, Lord, when all the elements combined to pronounce judgment in execration of the Jews' crime, when the lights of heaven were darkened, and the day turned into night, and the earth also was shaken with unwonted shocks, and all creation refused to serve those wicked men. Thou didst draw all things unto Thee, Lord. for the veil of the temple was rent, and the Holy of Holies existed no more for those unworthy high-priests: so that type was turned into Truth, prophecy into Revelation law into Gospel. Thou didst draw all things unto Thee, Lord, so that what before was done in the one temple of the Jews in dark signs, was now to be celebrated everywhere by the piety of all the nations in full and open rite. For now there is a nobler rank of Levites, there are elders of greater dignity and priests of holier anointing: because Thy cross is the fount of all blessings, the source of all graces, and through it the believers receive strength for weakness, glory for shame, life for death. Now, too, the variety of fleshly sacrifices has ceased, and the one offering of Thy Body and Blood fulfils all those different victims: for Thou art the true "Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world," and in Thyself so accomplishest all mysteries, that as there is but one sacrifice instead of many victims, so there is but one kingdom instead of many nations. VIII. We Must Live not for Ourselves but for Christ, Who Died for Us Let us, then, dearly-beloved, confess what the blessed teacher of the nations, the Apostle Paul, confessed, saying, "Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." For God's mercy towards us is the more wonderful that Christ died not for the righteous nor for the holy, but for the unrighteous and wicked; and though the nature of the Godhead could not sustain the sting of death, yet at His birth He took from us that which He might offer for us. For of old He threatened our death with the power of His death, saying. by the mouth of Hosea the prophet, "O death, I will be thy death, and I will be thy destruction, O hell." For by dying He underwent the laws of hell, but by rising again He broke them, and so destroyed the continuity of death as to make it temporal instead of eternal. "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." And so, dearly-beloved, let that come to pass of which S. Paul speaks, "that they that live, should henceforth not live to themselves but to Him who died for all and rose again." And because the old things have passed away and all things are become new, let none remain in his old carnal life, but let us all be renewed by daily progress and growth in piety. For however much a man be justified, yet so long as he remains in this life, he can always be more approved and better. And he that is not advancing is going back, and he that is gaining nothing is losing something. Let us run, then, with the steps of faith, by the works of mercy, in the love of righteousness, that keeping the day of our redemption spiritually, "not in the old leaven of malice and wickedness, but in the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth," we may deserve to be partakers of Christ's resurrection, Who with the Father and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth for ever and ever. Amen.

The Power of the Life-giving Cross of Christ

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 11:02:52 GMT

[ St. Cyril of Alexandria. http://www.rc.net/wcc/readings/easter10.htm ] "I am dying for all men", says the Lord. "I am dying to give them life through myself and to redeem the whole human race through my humanity. In my death, death itself will die and man's fallen nature will rise again with me. I wanted to be like my brothers in every respect, so I became a man like you, a descendant of Abraham". Understanding this well Saint Paul says: As the children of a family share the same flesh and blood, he too shared our human nature so that by his death he could destroy the power of the devil, the prince of death. Death itself and the prince of death could be destroyed only by Christ, who is above all, giving himself up as a ransom for all. And so, speaking as a spotless victim offering himself for us to God the Father, Christ says in one of the psalms: You desired no sacrifices or offerings, but you have prepared a body for me. You took no pleasure in holocausts or sin offerings. Then I said, "Behold, I am coming ". He was crucified for all, desiring his one for all to give all of us life in him. It was impossible for him to be conquered by death; nor could he who by his very nature is life be subject to corruption. Yet, that Christ offered his flesh for the life of the world we know from his own prayer, Holy Father, protect them, and from his words, For their sake I consecrate myself. By saying that he consecrates himself he means that he offers himself to God as a spotless and sweet-smelling sacrifice. According to the law, anything offered upon the altar was consecrated and considered holy. So Christ gave his own body for the life of all, and makes it the channel through which life flows once more into us. How he does this I will explain to the best of my ability. When the life-giving Word of God dwelt in human flesh, he changed it into that good thing which is distinctively his, namely, life; and by being wholly united to the flesh in a way beyond our comprehension, he gave it the life- giving power which he has by his very nature. Therefore, the body of Christ gives life to those who receive it. Its presence in mortal men expels death and drives away corruption because it contains within itself in his entirety the Word who totally abolishes corruption.

Glory to You, O our God, Glory to You!

Sat, 27 Aug 2011 19:48:42 GMT

Great art thou O Lord, and marvellous are thy works. And no words are sufficient to praise your wonders! (From the Sacrament of Baptism of the Orthodox Church)

The Feast of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist (August 29; strict fast day)

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:21:30 GMT

The Evangelists Matthew (Mt 14:1-12) and Mark (Mk 6:14-29) provide accounts about the martyric end of John the Baptist in the year 32 after the Birth of Christ. Following the Baptism of the Lord, St. John the Baptist was locked up in prison by Herod Antipas, the Tetrarch (ruler of one fourth of the Holy Land) and governor of Galilee. (After the death of king Herod the Great, the Romans divided the territory of Palestine into four parts, and put a governor in charge of each part. Herod Antipas received Galilee from the emperor Augustus). The prophet of God John openly denounced Herod for having left his lawful wife, the daughter of the Arabian king Aretas, and then instead cohabiting with Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip (Lk 3:19-20). On his birthday, Herod made a feast for dignitaries, the elders and a thousand chief citizens. Salome, the daughter of Herod, danced before the guests and charmed Herod. In gratitude to the girl, he swore to give her whatever she would ask, up to half his kingdom. The vile girl on the advice of her wicked mother Herodias asked, that she be given at once the head of John the Baptist on a plate. Herod became apprehensive, for he feared the wrath of God for the murder of a prophet, whom earlier he had heeded. He feared also the people, who loved the holy Forerunner. But because of the guests and his careless oath, he gave orders to cut off the head of St. John and to give it to Salome. According to Tradition, the mouth of the dead preacher of repentance once more opened and proclaimed: �Herod, you should not have the wife of your brother Philip.� Salome took the plate with the head of St. John and gave it to her mother. The frenzied Herodias repeatedly stabbed the tongue of the prophet with a needle and buried his holy head in a unclean place. But the pious Joanna, wife of Herod�s steward Chuza, buried the head of John the Baptist in an earthen vessel on the Mount of Olives, where Herod had a parcel of land. (The Uncovering of the Venerable Head is celebrated (February 24). The holy body of John the Baptist was taken that night by his disciples and buried at Sebastia, there where the wicked deed had been done. After the murder of St. John the Baptist, Herod continued to govern for a certain time. Pontius Pilate, governor of Judea, later sent Jesus Christ to him, Whom he mocked (Lk 23:7-12). The judgment of God came upon Herod, Herodias and Salome, even during their earthly life. Salome, crossing the River Sikoris in winter, fell through the ice. The ice gave way in such a way that her body was in the water, but her head was trapped above the ice. It was similar to how she once had danced with her feet upon the ground, but now she flailed helplessly in the icy water. Thus she was trapped until that time when the sharp ice cut through her neck. Her corpse was not found, but they brought the head to Herod and Herodias, as once they had brought them the head of St. John the Baptist. The Arab king Aretas, in revenge for the disrespect shown his daughter, made war against Herod. The defeated Herod suffered the wrath of the Roman emperor Caius Caligua (37-41) and was exiled with Herodias first to Gaul, and then to Spain. The Beheading of St. John the Baptist, a Feast day established by the Church, is also a strict fast day because of the grief of Christians at the violent death of the saint. In some Orthodox cultures pious people will not eat food from a flat plate, use a knife, or eat food that is round in shape on this day. [From the website of the Orthodox Church of America]

The Feast of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist, Prophet, and Forerunner of Christ (August 29)

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 21:44:34 GMT

(http://www.salvemariaregina.info/SalveMariaRegina/SMR-161/Beheading.html) At that time, Herod sent and apprehended John, and bound him in prison, because of Herodias, his brother Philip�s wife, whom he had married. For John had said to Herod: �It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother�s wife.� But Herodias laid snares for him, and would have liked to put him to death, but she could not. For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and protected him; and when he heard him talk, he did many things, and he liked to hear him. And a favorable day came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet to the officials, tribunes and chief men of Galilee. And Herodias� own daughter having come in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, �Ask of me what thou willest, and I will give it to thee.� And he swore to her, �Whatever thou dost ask, I will give thee, even though it be the half of my kingdom.� And she went out and said to her mother, �What am I to ask for?� And she said, �The head of John the Baptist.� And she came in at once with haste to the king, and asked, saying, �I want thee right away to give me on a dish the head of John the Baptist.� And grieved as he was, the king, because of his oath, and his guests, was unwilling to dis-please her. But send-ing an executioner, he commanded that his head be brought on a dish, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. And his disciples, hearing of it, came and took away his body, and laid it in a tomb (Mark 6: 17-29). Thus died the greatest of them that are born of women: without witnesses, the prisoner of a petty tyrant, the victim of the vilest passions, the wages of a dancing girl! How beautiful, as Saint John Chrysostom remarks, is this liberty of speech, when it is truly the liberty of God�s Word, when it is an echo of Heaven�s language! Then indeed it is a stumbling-block to tyranny, the safeguard of the world and of God�s rights, the bulwark of a nation�s honor as well as of its temporal and eternal interests. Death has no power over it. To the weak murderer of Saint John the Baptist, and to all who would imitate him to the end of time, a thousand tongues, instead of one, repeat in all languages and in all places: It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother�s wife. �O great and admirable mystery!� cries out Saint Augustine. �He must increase, but I must decrease, said John, said the voice which personified all the voices that had gone before announcing the Father�s Word Incarnate in His Christ. Every word, in that it signifies something, in that it is an idea, an internal word, is independent of the number of syllables, of the various letters and sounds; it remains unchangeable in the heart that conceives it, however numerous may be the words that give it outward existence, the voices that utter it, the languages, Greek, Latin and the rest, into which it may be translated. To him who knows the word, expressions and voices are useless. The prophets were voices, the Apostles were voices; voices are in the psalms, voices in the Gospel. But let the Word come, the Word Who was in the beginning, the Word Who was with God, the Word Who was God; when we shall see Him as He is, shall we hear the Gospel repeated? Shall we listen to the prophets? Shall we read the Epistles of the Apostles? The voice fails where the Word increases� Not that in Himself the Word can either diminish or increase. But He is said to grow in us, when we grow in Him. To him, then, who draws near to Christ, to him who makes progress in the contemplation of wisdom, words are of little use; of necessity they tend to fail altogether. Thus the ministry of the voice falls short in proportion as the soul progresses towards the Word; it is thus that Christ must increase and John decrease. The same is indicated by the beheading of John, and the exaltation of Christ upon the Cross; as it had already been shown by their birthdays: for, from the birth of John the days begin to shorten, and from the birth of Our Lord they begin to grow longer.� The Feast of the Beheading of Saint John may be considered as one of the landmarks of the liturgical year. With the Greeks it was a holyday of obligation. Its great antiquity in the Latin Rite is evidenced by the mention made of it in the martyrology called Saint Jerome�s, and by the place it occupies in the Gelasian and Gregorian sacramentaries. The Precursor�s blessed death took place around the feast of the Pasch; but, that it might be more freely celebrated, this day was chosen, whereon his sacred head was discovered at Emesa. The vengeance of God fell heavily upon Herod Antipas. Josephus relates how he was overcome by the Arabian Aretas, whose daughter he had repudiated in order to follow his wicked passions; and the Jews attributed the defeat to the murder of Saint John. Herod was deposed by Rome from his tetrarchate, and banished to Lyons in Gaul, where the ambitious Herodias shared his disgrace. As to her dancing daughter Salome, there is a tradition gathered from ancient authors, that, having gone out one winter day to dance upon a frozen river, she fell through into the water; the ice, immediately closing round her neck, cut off her head, which bounded upon the surface, thus continuing for some moments the dance of death. From Macherontis, beyond the Jordan, where their master had suffered martyrdom, Saint John�s disciples carried his body to Samaria, out of the territory of Antipas; it was necessary to save it from the profanations of Herodias, who had not spared his august head. The wretched woman did not think her vengeance complete, till she had pierced with a hairpin the tongue that had not feared to utter her shame. In the reign of Julian the Apostate, the pagans wished to complete the work of Herodias by opening the Saint�s tomb at Samaria, in order to burn and scatter his remains. But the empty sepulcher continued to be a terror to the demons, as Saint Paula attested with deep emotion a few years later. Moreover, some of the precious relics were saved, and dispersed throughout the East. Later on, especially at the time of the Crusades, they were brought into the West, where many churches glory in possessing them.

The Feast of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist, Prophet, and Forerunner of Christ (August 29)

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 21:44:08 GMT

On the Dormition of the Virgin Mary

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 16:13:38 GMT

http://catholicadultfaith.com/documents/Anaphoneo.pdf St. Cyril of Alexandria (c. 430 AD): For a union of two natures was made, and therefore we confess one Christ, one Son, one Lord. And it is with this notion of a union that we proclaim the Virgin to be the mother of God, because God the Word was made flesh and became man, and by the act of conception united to himself the temple that he received from her. [Commentary on Luke, Homily 1] St. John Damascus (725 AD): Moreover we proclaim the holy Virgin to be in strict truth the Mother of God. For inasmuch as He who was born of her was true God, she who bares the true God incarnate is the true Mother of God. For we hold that God was born of her, not implying that the divinity of the Word received from her the beginning of its being, but meaning that God the Word Himself, Who was begotten of the Father timelessly before the ages, and was with the Father and the Spirit without beginning and through eternity, took up His abode in these last days for the sake of our salvation in the Virgin's womb and was without change made flesh and born of her. For the holy Virgin did not bear mere man but true God: and not mere God but God incarnate, Who did not bring down His body from Heaven, not simply passed through the Virgin as channel, but received from her flesh of like essence to our own and subsisting in Himself. For if the body had come down from heaven and had not partaken of our nature, what would have been the use of His becoming man? For the purpose of God the Word becoming man was that the very same nature, which had sinned and fallen and become corrupted, should triumph over the deceiving tyrant and so be freed from corruption. [Exposition of the Orthodox Faith 3, 12] St. John Cassian (429 AD): And so you say, O heretic, whoever you may be, who deny that God was born of the Virgin, that Mary the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ ought not to be called Theotokos, Mother of God, but Christotokos, only the Mother of Christ, not of God. For no one, you say, brings forth what is anterior in time. And of this utterly foolish argument whereby you think that the birth of God can be understood by carnal minds, and fancy that the mystery of His Majesty can be accounted for human reasoning, we will, if God permits, say something later on. In the meanwhile we will now prove by Divine testimonies that Christ is God, and that Mary is the Mother of God. [Seven Books on the Incarnation of the Lord, Against Nestorius 2, 2] St. Cyril of Alexandria (c. 430 AD): Some argue that if he were brought forth in the flesh, the Virgin was corrupted. If she were not corrupted, then he was brought forth only in appearance. We reply, "the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered in and gone out, and the gate remains closed." If, moreover, the Word was made flesh without sexual intercourse, being conceived altogether without seed, then he was born without injury to her virginity. [Commentary on Luke, Homily 1] St. John Chrysostom (370 AD): And when Joseph had taken her, "he had no relations with her until she had borne a son." Matthew has here used the word until not that you should suspect that afterward Joseph did know her but to inform you that before the birth the Virgin was wholly untouched by man. But why then, it may be said, has he used the word until? Because it is common in Scripture that this expression is used without reference to specific, limited times. [The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 5, 3] St. John of Damascus (725 AD): (Quoting from the Euthymian History, Book 3 Chapter 20) �The apostles were present there when Thomas, the only one who had been absent, arrived after the third day; since he wanted to worship the body that had been the tabernacle of God, they opened the coffin. And they were unable anywhere to find her most lauded body. When they found only here grave wrappings there, and the indescribable perfume which was borne aloft from them, they sealed the coffin. Struck by the wonder of the mystery they could think that He who had been pleased to become incarnate from her in His own Person and to become Man and to be born in the flesh, God the Word, the Lord of Glory, who preserved her virginity intact after her parturition; He was pleased even after her departure from life to honor her immaculate and undefiled body with incorruption and with translation prior to the common and universal resurrection.� [Second Homily on the Dormition of Mary 10, 18]

Saint John of Damascus on the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos (Sermon 3)

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 13:53:59 GMT

http://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com/2009/08/on-dormition-of-theotokos-by-st-john-of_22.html Text taken from: http://www.balamand.edu.lb/theology/Jodorm3.htm; the original translation is from: St. John Damascene. On holy images, followed by three sermons on the Assumption. Translated by Mary H. Allies. London: Thomas Baker, 1898) "[201] LOVERS are wont to speak of what they love, and to let their fancy run on it by day and night. Let no one therefore blame me, if I add a third tribute to the Mother of God, on her triumphant departure. I am not profiting her, but myself and you who are here present, putting before you a spiritual seasoning and refreshment in keeping with this holy night. We are suffering, as you see, from scarcity of eatables. Therefore I am extemporising a repast, which, if not very costly nor worthy of the occasion, will certainly be sufficient to still hunger. She does not need our praise. It is we who need her glory. How indeed can glory be glorified, or the source of light be enlightened? We are weaving a crown for ourselves in the doing. "I live," the Lord says, "and I will glorify those who glorify Me." [202] Wine is truly pleasant to drink, and bread to eat. The one rejoices, the other strengthens the heart of man. But what is sweeter than the Mother of my God? She has taken my mind captive, and held my tongue in bondage. I think of her by day and night. She, the Mother of the Word, supplies my words. The fruit of sterility makes sterile minds fruitful. We keep to-day the feast of her blessed and divine transit from this world. Let us then climb up the mystical mountain, where beyond the reach of worldly things, passing through the obscurity of storm, we stand in the divine light and may give praise to Almighty power. How does He, who dwells in the splendour of His glory, descend into the Virgin's womb without leaving the bosom of the Father? How is He conceived in the flesh, and does He spontaneously suffer, and suffer unto death, in that material body, gaining immortality through corruptibility? And, again, ascending to the Father, He drew His Mother, according to the flesh, to His own Father, assuming into the heavenly country her who was heaven on earth. To-day the living ladder, through whom the [203] Most High descended and was seen on earth, and conversed with men, was assumed into heaven by death. To-day the heavenly table, she, who contained the bread of life, the fire of the Godhead, without knowing man, was assumed from earth to heaven, and the gates of heaven opened wide to receive the gate of God from the East. To-day the living city of God is transferred from the earthly to the heavenly Jerusalem, and she, who, conceived her first-born and only Son, the first-born of all creation, the only begotten of the Father, rests in the Church of the first-born: the true and living Ark of the Lord is taken to the peace of her Son. The gates of heaven are opened to receive the receptacle of God, who, bringing forth the tree of life, destroyed Eve's disobedience and Adam's penalty of death. And Christ, the cause of all life, receives the chosen mirror, the mountain from which the stone without hands filled the whole earth. She, who brought about the Word's divine Incarnation, rests in her glorious tomb as in a bridal-chamber, whence she goes to the heavenly bridals, to share in the kingdom of her Son and God, leaving her tomb as a place of rest [204] for those on earth. Is her tomb indeed a resting-place? Yes, more famous than any other, not shining with gold, or silver, or precious stones, nor covered with silken, golden, or purple adornments, but with the divine radiance of the Holy Spirit. The angelic state is not for lovers of this world, but the wondrous life of the blessed is for the servants of the Spirit, and passing to God is better and sweeter than any other life. This tomb is fairer than Eden. And that I may not speak of the enemy's deceit, in the one; of his, so to say, clever counsel, his envy and covetousness, of Eve's weakness and pliability, the bait, sure and tempting, which cheated her and her husband, their disobedience, exile, and death, not to speak of these things so as not to turn our feast into sorrow, this grave gave up the mortal body it contained to the heavenly country. Eve became the mother of the human family, and is not man made after the divine image, convicted by her condemnation; "earth thou art, and unto earth thou shalt return." This tomb is more precious than the tabernacle of old, receiving the real and life-giving receptacle of the Lord, the heavenly table, not [205] the loaves of proposition, but of heaven, not material fire, but her who contained the pure fire of the Godhead. This tomb is holier than the ark of Moses, blessed not with types and shadows, but the truth itself. It showed forth the pure and golden urn, containing the heavenly manna, the living tablet, receiving the Incarnate Word of God from the impress of the Holy Spirit, the golden censer of the supersubstantial word. It showed forth her who conceived the divine fire embalming all creation. Let demons take to flight, and the thrice miserable Nestorians perish as the Egyptians of old, and their ruler Pharao, the younger, a cruel devastator. They were swallowed up in the abyss of blasphemy. Let us who are saved with dry feet, crossing the bitter waters of impiety, raise our voices to the Mother of God at her departure. Let Mary, personifying the Church, lead the joyful strain. Let the maidens of the spiritual Jerusalem go out in singing choirs. Let kings and judges, with rulers, youths, and virgins, young and old, proclaim the Mother of God, and all peoples and nations in their different ways and tongues, sing a new canticle. Let the air resound with praise and [206] instrument, and the sun gladden this day of salvation. Rejoice, O heavens, and may the clouds rain justice. Be glad, O divine apostles, the chosen ones of God's flock, who seem to reach the highest visions, as lofty mountain tops. And you God's sheep, and His holy people, the flock of the Church, who look to the high mountains of perfection, be sad, for the fountain of life, God's Mother, is dead. It was necessary that what was made of earth should return to earth, and thus be assumed to heaven. It was fitting that the earthly tenement should be cast off, as gold is purified, so that the flesh in death might become pure and immortal, and rise in shining immortality from the tomb. Today she begins her second life through Him who was the cause of her first being. She gave a beginning, I mean, the life of the body, to Him who had no beginning in time, although the Father was the cause of His divine existence. Rejoice holy and divine Mount Sion, in which reposes the living divine mountain, the new Bethel, with its grace, human nature united with the Godhead. From thee her Son ascended to heaven as [207] from the olives. Let the world-embracing cloud be prepared and the winds gather the apostles to Mount Sion from the ends of the earth. Who are these who soar up as clouds and eagles to the cause of all resurrection, ministering to the Mother of God? Who is she who rises resplendent, all pure, and bright as the sun? Let the spiritual lyres sing to her, the apostolic tongues. Let grave theologians raise their voices in praise, Hierotheus, the vessel of election, in whom the Holy Spirit abides, knowing and teaching divine things by the divine indwelling. Let him be wrapt out of the body and join willingly in the joyful hymn. Let all nations clap their hands and praise the Mother of God. Let angels minister to her body. Follow your Queen, O daughters of Jerusalem, and, together with her virgins in the spirit, approach your Bridegroom in order to sit at His right hand. Make haste, Lord, to give Thy Mother the welcome which is her due. Stretch out Thy divine hands. Receive Thy Mother's soul into the Father's hands unto which Thou didst commend Thy spirit on the Cross. Speak sweet words to her: [208] "Come, my beloved, whose purity is more dazzling than the sun, thou gavest me of thy own, receive now what is mine. Come, my Mother, to thy Son, reign with Him who was poor with thee." Depart, O Queen, depart, not as Moses did who went up to die. Die rather that thou mayest ascend. Give up thy soul into the hands of thy Son. Return earth to the earth, it will be no obstacle. Lift up your eyes, O people of God. See in Sion the Ark of the Lord God of powers, and the apostles standing by it, burying the life-giving body which received our Lord. Invisible angels are all around in lowly reverence doing homage to the Mother of their Lord. The Lord Himself is there, who is present everywhere, and filling all things, the universal Being, not in place. He is the Author and Creator of all things. Behold the Virgin, the daughter of Adam and Mother of God; through Adam she gives her body to the earth, her soul to her Son above in the heavenly courts. Let the holy city be sanctified, and rejoice in eternal praise. Let angels precede the divine tabernacle on its passage, and prepare the tomb. Let the [209] radiance of the spirit adorn it. Let sweet ointment be made ready and poured over the pure and undefiled body. Let a clear stream of grace flow from grace in its source. Let the earth be sanctified by contact with that body. Let the air rejoice at the Assumption. Let gentle breezes waft grace. Let all nature keep the feast of the Mother of God's Assumption. May youthful bands applaud and eloquent tongues acclaim her, and wise hearts ponder on the wonder, priests hoary with age gather strength at the sight. Let all creation emulate heaven, even so the true measure of rejoicing would not be reached. Come, let us depart with her. Come, let us descend to that tomb with all our heart's desire. Let us draw round that most sacred bed and sing the sweet words, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Hail, predestined Mother of God. Hail, thou chosen one in the design of God from all eternity, most sacred hope of earth, resting-place of divine fire, holiest delight of the Spirit, fountain of living water, paradise of the tree of life, divine vine-branch, bringing forth soul-sustaining nectar and ambrosia. Full river of spiritual graces, fertile land of the [210] divine pastures, rose of purity, with the sweet fragrance of grace, lily of the royal robe, pure Mother of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, token of our redemption, handmaid and Mother, surpassing angelic powers." Come, let us stand round that pure tomb and draw grace to our hearts. Let us raise the ever-virginal body with spiritual arms, and go with her into the grave to die with her. Let us renounce our passions, and live with her in purity, listening to the divine canticles of angels in the heavenly courts. Let us go in adoring, and learn the wondrous mystery by which she is assumed to heaven, to be with her Son, higher than all the angelic choirs. No one stands between Son and Mother. This, O Mother of God, is my third sermon on thy departure, in lowly reverence to the Holy Trinity to whom thou didst minister, the goodness of the Father, the power of the Spirit, receiving the Uncreated Word, the Almighty Wisdom and Power of God. Accept, then, my good-will, which is greater than my capacity, and give us salvation. Heal our passions, cure our diseases, help us out of our difficulties, make our lives peaceful, send [211] us the illumination of the Spirit. Inflame us with the desire of thy son. Render us pleasing to Him, so that we may enjoy happiness with Him, seeing thee resplendent with thy Son's glory, rejoicing for ever, keeping feast in the Church with those who worthily celebrate Him who worked our salvation through thee, Christ the Son of God, and our God. To Him be glory and majesty, with the uncreated Father and the all-holy and life-giving Spirit, now and for ever, through the endless ages of eternity. Amen."

On the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos, Ever Virgin Mary, and the Mother of our God

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 21:13:59 GMT

[The Text below is taken from the Synaxarion of the Matins of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary.] http://www.monachos.net/content/liturgics/liturgical-texts/677 When Christ our God was well pleased to take to Himself his own Mother, three days prior he told her through an Angel of her translation from the earth. �It is the moment�, he said, �to take my Mother to myself. Do not then be any way troubled by this, but accept my word with joy, for thou art coming to immortal life.� And she, in her longing for her translation to her Son, went up the mount of Olives with haste to pray (for it was her custom to go up there to pray). Then there took place a marvel: for the plants on the mount bowed themselves down of their own accord and, like living slaves, accomplished fitting reverence to their Lady. After her prayer she returned home and at once the whole house was shaken. She prepared many lights and having given thanks to God she invited her relatives and neighbours. She swept the house and prepared the couch and everything needed for the burial. She explained everything which had been told her by the Angel about her translation to heaven and as confirmation of her words showed the reward that had been given her, which was a palm branch [from Paradise]. But the women who had been summoned on hearing this poured out lamentations and tears and lamented with cries of grief. When they ceased their lament they begged her not to leave them orphans. She assured them that when she had passed over she would watch over and protect not only them but the whole world. Much of their grief was assuaged by these words of consolation which she spoke to the bystanders. Then she gave instructions about her two tunics, that the two poor widows who were customarily with her and known to her and who received from her what was required for their nourishment should take one each. While she was detailing and arranging this, there suddenly came the sound of mighty thunder and the arrival of many clouds from the ends of the earth bringing Christ�s disciples together to the house of God�s Mother. Among them also were the Hierarchs, wise in God, Dionysius the Areopagite, Hierothoes and Timothy. When they learned the reason of their presence together they spoke to her as follows: �While we saw thee, Lady, remaining in the world, like our Master and Teacher Himself, we were comforted; but how shall we now bear the suffering? But since by the wish of thy Son and God thou art passing over to the regions beyond the world, we rejoice for the things that have been so disposed for thee.� As they said this they wept profusely. But she answered them: �Friends and disciples of my Son and God, do not turn my joy to sorrow, but bury my body just as I have arranged it on the bed.� When these things had been completed, Paul the inspired vessel of election arrived. He fell at the feet of God�s Mother, worshipped and opening his mouth uttered a great eulogy of her, saying: �Hail, Mother of life and subject of my preaching. For though I never saw Christ, in seeing you I seem to see Him.� Then the Virgin took leave of all. She lay down on the bed and arranged her all-pure body as she wished. She prayed for the conservation of the world and for peaceful life. She filled them too with blessings through her, and so committed her spirit into the hands of her own Son and God. At this Peter began the funeral hymns. The rest of the Apostles took up the bier and accompanied the body that had received God to the grave, some going in front with lamps and hymns, others following behind. At this the rulers of the Jews stirring up some of the crowd persuaded them to try to upset the bier on which the life-giving body had been placed and to throw it to the ground. But already punishment came upon those who dared such things, and they were all smitten with blindness. One of them, who attempting even greater folly had touched the sacred bier, was deprived of both his insolent hands. They were severed by the sword of punishment and left hanging from the bier. He remained a pitiable sight until, after he had come to belief with his whole heart and found healing, he was restored to health as before. So too part of the covering of the bier, when placed on those who had been blinded and come to belief, gave them healing. When the Apostles reached Gethsemane they laid the live-giving body in the grave and remained there for three days responding to the unceasing voices of the Angels. But when, by divine dispensation, one of the Apostles [St Thomas], who had been absent from the burial of the life-giving body, arrived on the third day, he was greatly grieved and distressed that he had not been found worthy of what they had. All his fellow Apostles, who had been found worthy, by a common vote opened the tomb for the sake of the Apostle who had been absent, so it seemed good to all, for him also to venerate that all-blameless body. When they looked they were amazed. For they found it empty of the holy body, and containing only the winding sheet, which remained as a consolation for those who were about to grieve and for all the faithful, and as a sure witness of the Translation. For even until today the tomb hewn from the rock is visible and venerated, and remains empty of a body, to the glory and honour of our most blessed Lady, Mother of God and ever-virgin Mary. At whose holy intercessions, O God, have mercy and save us, as Thou art good and love mankind.

Church Fathers on the Subject of the Falling Asleep (Dormition) of the All Holy Theotokos, Ever Virgin Mary and the Mother of our God

Tue, 19 Jul 2011 13:59:48 GMT

Pseudo � Melito If therefore it might come to pass by the power of your grace, it has appeared right to us your servants that, as you, having overcome death, do reign in glory, so you should raise up the body of your Mother and take her with you, rejoicing, into heaven. Then said the Savior [Jesus]: "Be it done according to your will" (The Passing of the Virgin 16:2-17 [A.D. 300]). Timothy of Jerusalem Therefore the Virgin is immortal to this day, seeing that he who had dwelt in her transported her to the regions of her assumption (Homily on Simeon and Anna [A.D. 400]). John the Theologian The Lord said to his Mother, "Let your heart rejoice and be glad. For every favor and every gift has been given to you from my Father in heaven and from me and from the Holy Spirit. Every soul that calls upon your name shall not be ashamed, but shall find mercy and comfort and support and confidence, both in the world that now is and in that which is to come, in the presence of my Father in the heavens". . . And from that time forth all knew that the spotless and precious body had been transferred to paradise (The Dormition of Mary [A.D. 400]). Gregory of Tours [T]he Apostles took up her body on a bier and placed it in a tomb; and they guarded it, expecting the Lord to come. And behold, again the Lord stood by them; and the holy body having been received, He commanded that it be taken in a cloud into paradise: where now, rejoined to the soul, [Mary] rejoices with the Lord's chosen ones. . . (Eight Books of Miracles 1:4 [A.D. 575]). Theoteknos of Livias It was fitting ... that the most holy-body of Mary, God-bearing body, receptacle of God, divinized, incorruptible, illuminated by divine grace and full glory ... should be entrusted to the earth for a little while and raised up to heaven in glory, with her soul pleasing to God (Homily on the Assumption [ca. A.D. 600]). Modestus of Jerusalem As the most glorious Mother of Christ, our Savior and God and the giver of life and immortality, has been endowed with life by him, she has received an eternal incorruptibility of the body together with him who has raised her up from the tomb and has taken her up to himself in a way known only to him (Encomium in dormitionnem Sanctissimae Dominae nostrae Deiparae semperque Virginis Mariae [ante A.D. 634]). Germanus of Constantinople You are she who, as it is written, appears in beauty, and your virginal body is all holy, all chaste, entirely the dwelling place of God, so that it is henceforth completely exempt from dissolution into dust. Though still human, it is changed into the heavenly life of incorruptibility, truly living and glorious, undamaged and sharing in perfect life (Sermon I [A.D. 683]). John Damascene It was fitting that she, who had kept her virginity intact in childbirth, should keep her own body free from all corruption even after death. It was fitting that she, who had carried the Creator as a child at her breast, should dwell in the divine tabernacles. It was fitting that the spouse, whom the Father had taken to himself, should live in the divine mansions. It was fitting that she, who had seen her Son upon the cross and who had thereby received into her heart the sword of sorrow which she had escaped when giving birth to him, should look upon him as he sits with the Father. It was fitting that God's Mother should possess what belongs to her Son, and that she should be honored by every creature as the Mother and as the handmaid of God (Dormition of Mary [A.D. 697])

How to Approach the Sacred Mysteries of the Church

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 12:54:55 GMT

�For he who is about to approach these holy and dread mysteries must be awake and alert, must be clean from all cares of this life, full of much self-restraint, much readiness; he must banish from his mind every thought foreign to the mysteries, and on all sides cleanse and prepare his home, as if about to receive the king himself. Such is the preparation of your mind: such are your thoughts; such the purpose of your soul. Await therefore a return worthy of this most excellent decision from God, who overpowers with His recompense those who show forth obedience to Him.� [St. John Chrysostom, First Instruction to Catechumens]

Spiritual Admonitions from St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 1

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 14:09:35 GMT

�If you have anything against any man, forgive it: you come here to receive forgiveness of sins, and thou also must forgive him that has sinned against you. Else with what face will you say to the Lord, Forgive me my many sins, if you have not yourself forgiven your fellow-servant even his little sins. Attend diligently the Church assemblies ; not only now when diligent attendance is required of you by the Clergy, but also after you have received the grace. For if, before you have received it, the practice is good, is it not also good after the bestowal? If before thou be grafted in, it is a safe course to be watered and tended, is it not far better after the planting? Wrestle for your own soul, especially in such days as these. Nourish your soul with sacred readings; for the Lord has prepared for you a spiritual table; therefore say thou also after the Psalmist, The Lord is my shepherd, and I shall lack nothing: in a place of grass, there has He made me rest; He has fed me beside the waters of comfort, He has converted my soul :� that Angels also may share your joy, and Christ Himself the great High Priest, having accepted your resolve, may present you all to the Father, saying, Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me. May He keep you all well-pleasing in His sight! To whom be the glory, and the power unto the endless ages of eternity. Amen.�

The Divine and Sacred Liturgy

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 23:09:05 GMT

The Church in heaven and on earth is one and the same. This union is manifested concretely during the Divine Liturgy when Christ appears in the Mysteries of the Eucharist. Heaven is on earth! Christ is the chief celebrant, the one who offers and the offered. The heavenly liturgy is present in the local Church by the power of the Holy Spirit, and the angels are assigned by the Holy Trinity to serve the priest/bishop during the liturgy. There is an invisible and countless presence of the angels surrounding the Holy Table during every Eucharistic celebration. At this time the priest ceases to be a mere man. By wearing the vestments of Christ and clothed with His Priesthood, he is the type of Christ in the local Church and the priest carries the title the �Angel of the Lord,� which is mainly applied to Christ Himself. It is an Old Testament title. Therefore, the priest is superior to the bodiless powers as �an angel,� because he is the visible presence of Christ, the Angel of the Lord, who celebrates the eternal liturgy. The angels bow before the priest and assist him or escort him (�carried up�) to the celestial Altar in the local Church for the celebration. They are completely at his bidding. The cantors and choir join in the angelic entourage in glorification of God. There is nothing earthly during the celebration of the Divine Liturgy. Furthermore, the Divine Liturgy is the celebration of Salvation History from its eternal existence in the Community of the Trinity to the consummation of time and space at the Second and Awesome Coming of Christ. The Divine Liturgy is an eschatological act because whenever it is celebrated it ushers in the Second Coming. In this scheme of things, the Small Entrance with the Gospel Book symbolizes the Incarnation of Christ, the Lord coming into the world as perfect God and perfect Man, two Natures united yet unconfused. When Christ was born in the Manger of Bethlehem, the heavens were opened and a large number of angels descended to earth and ascended back to heaven chanting: �Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men� (Luke 2:14). �We are convinced that during this Divine Liturgy, we have once again been transferred spiritually in three directions: toward the kingdom of heaven where the angels celebrate; toward the celebration of the liturgy through the centuries; and toward the heavenly kingdom to come.�

Spiritual Jems from the Church Fathers

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 14:51:00 GMT

�Very many wish to be vouchsafed the Kingdom without labors, without struggles, without sweat; but this is impossible. If you love the glories of men, and desire to be worshipped, and seek comfort, you are going off the path. You must be crucified with the Crucified One, suffer with Him that suffered, that you may be glorified with Him that is glorified.� [St. Macarius of Egypt] �Regard yourselves as delivered out of Egypt from a harsh servitude, where iniquity ruled over you; and as having passed through the Red Sea by baptism, in which you received the seal of Christ's bloody cross. Prune yourselves therefore of past sins, those enemies of yours which pursued you from the rear. For as the Egyptians perished in the very waters traversed by the people of God, so your sins were blotted out in the waters in which you were baptized. Seek now the Heavenly Kingdom, the land of promise to which you have been called, and be vigilant in resisting temptations throughout this earthly life, which is nothing else than as desert wherein you are sojourners. By partaking of the holy Altar, you receive your manna along with the drink that flows from the rock. All this the Apostle Paul has in mind and inculcates in his preaching when he says, �I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea. And all in Moses were baptized, in the cloud and in the sea. And did all eat the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink; they drank of the spiritual rock that followed them; and the rock was Christ�� (1 Corinthians 10:1-4). [St.Augustine, Sermon To the Newly Baptized - Easter Week] �For whosoever does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, is antichrist; and whosoever does not confess the testimony of the cross, is of the devil; and whosoever perverts the oracles of the Lord to his own lusts, and says that there is neither a resurrection nor a judgment, he is the first-born of Satan. Wherefore, forsaking the vanity of many, and their false doctrines, let us return to the word which has been handed down to us from the beginning; �watching unto prayer.�� [St. Polycarp to the Philippians]

THE GREEK ORTHODOX FAITH AND HELLENISM

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 00:45:19 GMT

By The Rev. Dr. Gus G. Christo, Protopresbyter (Presented at the Greek Letters Day Program of the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church Community on Sunday, January 27, 2008) Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. The purpose of my presentation is to examine aspects of Hellenism and Orthodoxy from the patristic point of view. Hellenism and Orthodoxy are not strangers to each other. The synergy between both of them existed from time immemorial. Father Demetrios Constantelos, in his book Understanding the Greek Orthodox Church: Its Faith, History and Life, treats this subject very well. Father Constantelos explains that modern biblical and archeological scholarship substantiate with new eagerness �the theory that Jesus came from a Hellenized area and that the Hellenization of His message explained its universal appeal.� Christianity emerged within a Hellenized Judaism, a Judaism that adopted the Greek language, thought, manners, and habits. �Early Christianity as well as modern Greek Orthodox Christianity accept the Person of Jesus Christ as the point of conversion between Hebraic prophecy and Hellenic expectation.� The prayer before the sacred Prothesis (Table of Preparation of the Holy Gifts) at the dismissal of the Divine Liturgy eloquently expresses this point: Christ our God, you are the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. You have fulfilled all the dispensation of the Father. Fill our hearts with joy and gladness always, now and forever and unto the ages of ages. Amen. �The Greek Orthodox view ancient Greek (or Hellenic) philosophy and religious beliefs,� in addition to the Hebraic religious heritage, �as a preparation (propaideiva) for Christianity. The heritage of Hellenism is received both directly, from the Greek sources, and indirectly, through Hellenistic Judaism. Hebrew and Hellenic religious thought converged in Christianity.� For example, the phrase �the only God� is fully Hebrew, whereas �immortal�, �invisible�, �philanthropos� and �imperishable� are Hellenic. Furthermore, Francis Murphy, in his book The Christian Way of Life, explains: What Hellenic culture contributed to Orthodox Christian theology was, for the most part, a vocabulary and a new mode of expressing notions that had long formed part of the later Judaic tradition. What modern investigation has ascertained is the fact that the earliest exponents of the Christian religion had worked out a distinctive way of presenting the fundamental convictions of their faith in a formula which they called the proclamation or kerygma. It was the equivalent of the Hellenic�invitational discourse. Greek Orthodoxy inherited the rich Hellenistic legacy, transfigured it and placed it onto a new plane of Christ-centered existence. The earthly became divinized and a vehicle that transmitted and made accessible to the human heart and mind, as far as it is possible, the unfathomable Mystery of the Incarnation and Inhomination of the co-eternal and consubstantial Son of the Father, the Son�s glorious bodily resurrection from the dead, and the everlasting reign of the Kingdom of the Heavens and our membership to it by the power of the eternal and life-giving Spirit of God. Truly, Orthodox Christianity from its very inception �conquered and transformed Hellenism,� indeed, the very cosmos. The aspirations of the ancient world, the Messianic expectations of ancient Israel, and the philosophical and religious quests of the Greeks, Romans, Syrians, and others, converged in the Person of Christ. As the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews writes: �In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; but in these last days He has spoken to us in the Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world. He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of His nature, upholding the universe by His word of power� (Hebrews 1:1-3). The Greek Orthodox Church is the revelation of the fullness of time, who is Christ the Wisdom, Word, and Power of God. The logos doctrine of St. John�s Gospel (�In the beginning was the Word�) identifies divine reason with Christ as God, who existed before all time and revealed Himself gradually in �various ways and diverse manners.� In Christ emerges the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, ancient Hebrew expectation, the history of mankind and especially that of the ancient Mediterranean world. Methodios, the Bishop of Olympos, said in the late third century: As the Body of Christ, the Church was in existence from the creation. It had a potential though hidden form in the Old Testament and achieved actuality in the world with the birth of Christ. This perception of the Church carried through the ages and was embraced by the great church fathers such as St. John Chrysostom, the late fourth / early fifth century Archbishop of Constantinople. Chrysostom perceived Orthodox Christianity as the pre-existent religion that God implanted in the created order from its very inception. Chrysostom�s allegorical interpretation of Matthew 15:21-22, pertaining to the Canaanite woman, reveals the origin of the Church: �And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and cried, �Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David�...� The Canaanite woman is a type of the Church. Chrysostom explains, just as �the Canaanite woman came out of her own borders and cried unto� Christ, the Church came out of her own boundaries and ventured to approach Christ when He came out of Judea. David prophesied this exact event in Psalm 44:10 (LXX): �Forget your own people and your father�s house.� The Church symbolizes the nations that forsook their ancestral past and lands and approached Christ. Just as Christ emerged from Judea, the Church appeared out of paganism (the nations) and they both met at the roadside. Christ took her by the hand, cleansed her, and redeemed her in His glorified and all-blameless humanity. St. Paul said in Galatians 3:28 that in Christ Jesus there is neither Jew nor Greek and, therefore, the Church cannot be identified with Hellenism and Christ with Judaism. The Church is a new and everlasting creation in the Second Person of the Holy Trinity � His very Flesh and Blood. St. John Chrysostom teaches that the celebration of the sacred mystagogy (iJera; mustagwgiva; the sacred initiation rite into the sacrament of holy communion) concretely manifests Christ�s flesh to the ecclesial community, and those members who receive it from the very hand of the Lord are cleansed of all their sins and transgressions. The cleansing effect occurs because Christ took from a virginal womb a clean, holy and blameless flesh and a flesh pure from all sin. By His holy and blameless body now seated at the right hand of God the Father, Christ brought His creation (the human being) back to its original condition (that prior to sin) and to our life the heavenly way of life. The Christian�s soul lives the heavenly way of life and resumes its original condition before sin came into existence. It is cleansed, purified, sanctified, made blameless and placed at the Father�s right hand in heaven. The soul concretely realizes through this sacred act the unsurpassed power of the risen Christ, the enormous power of the cross, the vast nobility of the Church, the immense vigor of the faith, and the decisive defeat of the devil and his demons. Therefore, sacramental incorporation into the Incarnate God�s deified humanity and becoming God�s temple is the ultimate destiny of the ecclesial community. According to the timely instruction of St. John Chrysostom, the greatest challenge facing Orthodox Christians in the new millennium is to remain eucharistically acceptable to Christ the Lord. This is timely, basic, and yet enormously profound. Worthy communion with God via the blessed sacrament of the holy eucharist is the ultimate purpose of every member of the Church. All roads in life must lead to this in order for life to be truly life � the life of Christ. The eucharistic aspect of the Church, which is all encompassing with cosmic proportions, must be tightly embraced by every sacramental communicant. It must never be minimized by Church members because God places it first and foremost in all things pertaining to salvation and cosmic restoration. Anyone who replaces it with worldly criteria secularizes and humanizes the ecclesial community and orders it apart from the deified humanity of Christ the Son of God. That community then ceases to be God�s Church, an act tantamount to blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Therefore, all Orthodox Christians should live up to their baptismal seal by making the eucharistic aspect of the Church the source and criterion of their heavenly existence, which begins right here upon the earth. In conclusion, Orthodoxy is the ultimate philosophy. It is the supreme way of living and communing with the Almighty God. Orthodoxy is the way, the truth and the life because she is the concrete expression into time and space of the second person of the Holy Trinity, Jesus Christ the only-begotten Son of God. She poses the greatest challenge to modern man to become in the image and likeness of God, to become a saint and a martyr, to bear witness to pure Christianity, and to live in the future age right here and now through the sacraments of the Church. Orthodoxy calls its membership to remain separate from the fallen world and achieve dynamic union with God, through the flesh and blood of Christ in the eucharist, until the Second Coming. Every Greek Orthodox Christian is supremely proud of his Hellenic background and the great contributions of Hellenism to the shaping and survival of mankind. However, each Greek Orthodox soul imbued with the body and blood of Christ never allows secularism and human culture to suffocate his Orthodox faith. Rather, he proceeds steadfastly away from the profane toward godliness, as Christ Himself warrants: �No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God� (Luke 9:62). The Greek Orthodox Christian is the embodiment of transfiguration, unification, glorification, and deification in Christ the Lord. From the time he is baptized and chrismated into the Greek Orthodox Church, Christ in the oral and written tradition of the apostles and great church fathers conveyed originally in the Greek language, is his sole criteria of life, limb, communication, education, marriage and other relationships, procreation, recreation, fellowship, government and the pursuit of happiness, and the very understanding of the universe and its laws. Christ the Lord bestows a new heritage and inheritance � sonship with God the Father and sanctification by the Holy Spirit. The cross and resurrection are the sole basis for true enlightenment and nobility. The past finds new meaning in the future ages as canonized by our Church�s post-communion hymn in the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysotom: We have seen the true light; we have received the heavenly Spirit; we have found the true faith, worshipping the undivided Trinity, for the Trinity has saved us.

The Lamplighting Prayers in the Orthodox Liturgical Tradition

Mon, 13 Jun 2011 16:32:12 GMT

1st Prayer O Lord, compassionate and merciful, long-suffering and full of mercy, listen to our prayer and attend to the voice of our supplication. Make for us a sign for good. Guide us in your way, to walk in your truth. Make glad our hearts to fear your holy Name, because you are great and do wondrous things. You alone are God, and there is none like you, O Lord, among gods: powerful in mercy and loving in strength to help and to console and to save all who hope in your holy Name. For to you belongs all glory, honor and worship, to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen. 2nd Prayer Lord, do not rebuke us in your anger, nor chastise us in your wrath, but deal with us in accordance with your kindness, physician and healer of our souls. Guide us to the harbor of your will. Enlighten the eyes of our hearts to the knowledge of your truth and grant that the rest of the present day and the whole time of our life may be peaceful and without sin, at the prayers of the holy Mother of God and of all the Saints. For yours is the might, and yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen. 3rd Prayer Lord our God, remember us sinners and your unprofitable servants, as we call upon your holy Name, and do not put us to shame from the expectation of your mercy, but graciously grant us, Lord, all the requests that are for salvation, and count us worthy to love and to fear you from our whole heart, and in all things to do your will. For you, O God, are good and love mankind, and to you we give glory, to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen. 4th Prayer O Lord, who are praised by the holy Powers with never silent hymns and unceasing songs of glory, fill our mouth with your praise to give majesty to your holy Name, and give us a part and an inheritance with all who fear you in truth and who keep your commandments, at the prayers of the holy Mother of God and of all your Saints. For to you belongs all glory, honor and worship, to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen. 5th Prayer Lord, Lord, who uphold the universe by your immaculate hand, who are long-suffering towards us all and who repent of evils, remember your acts of compassion and your mercy. Visit us in your loving kindness and grant that for the rest of the present day we may escape the manifold wiles of the evil one, and, by the grace of your All-holy Spirit, keep our life free from assault. By the mercy and love for mankind of your Only-begotten Son, with whom you are blessed, together with your all-holy, good and life-giving Spirit, now and for ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen. 6th Prayer O God, great and wonderful, who order the universe with inexpressible loving-kindness and rich providence; who have granted us also the blessings of this world and brought us near to the promised Kingdom through the blessings that have been bestowed on us already; who have made us turn aside from every evil during that part of the present day which is now over, grant us also to complete what remains without blame in the presence of your holy glory, as we sing your praise, who alone are our God, good and the Lover of mankind. For you are our God, and to you we give glory, to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen. 7th Prayer Great and most high God, who alone possess immortality, who dwell in unapproachable light, who fashioned all creation with wisdom, who made the separation between the light and the darkness and who placed the sun to have authority over the day and the moon and the stars to have authority over the night, who have counted us sinners worthy even at this present hour to come into your presence with confession and thanksgiving and to offer you our evening hymn of glory; do you, O Lord who love mankind, direct our prayer like incense before you and accept it as a savor of sweet fragrance. Grant us that the present evening and the coming night may be peaceful, clothe us with weapons of light, deliver us from every night-time fear and from every deed that walks in darkness. And give us sleep, which you have bestowed on us for our rest in our weakness, freed from every fantasy of the devil. Yes, Master of all things, giver of blessings, may we also be filled with compunction on our beds and call to mind your Name in the night, and enlightened by meditation on your commandments may we rise with gladness of soul to give glory to your loving-kindness, as we bring to your compassion supplications and entreaties on behalf of our own sins and those of all your people. At the prayers of the holy Theotokos visit them with mercy. For you, O God, are good and love mankind, and to you we give glory, to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

The Event of Pentecost

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 13:53:50 GMT

The text below is taken from: "The Holy Trinity and the Parousia of the Holy Spirit According to St. John Chrysostom" by Stylianos Papadopoulos. "Today the coming of the Holy Spirit is gifted to us". Chrysostom insists on the decisive significance of Pentecost and comments first upon the event itself, as described by Luke the Evangelist in Acts 2, and then he indicates the results of the "coming" of the Holy Spirit. In fact, the evaluation of these results is better accomplished when the differences are noted regarding the activity of the Spirit in the time of the Old Testament, at Pentecost and afterward. The theologian who will understand this difference, and especially its particularity, that is, the mode, the breadth, and the depth of the activity of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church, is the one who will be able to enter into the spiritual climate of the Church. This is why Chrysostom insists, and with various means explains, that everything that is included in the Book of Acts is a part of what the Spirit has said and done in the Church. "The Gospels relate the story of what Christ said and did, and the Book of Acts relates the story of what the other Paraclete said and did". The event of Pentecost was accompanied with certain phenomena, which appeared to be natural, but were not. "Suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind" (Acts 2.2f). But it was not really an actual wind blowing, as there were no actual flames of fire that the disciples saw. ("There appeared to them tongues as of fire"). "In each case the 'as' or 'like' is properly preceded so that nothing perceptible is thought about the Spirit. He says, 'As fire' and 'As wind.' Therefore, it is not a wind blowing in the air". Something similar occurred during the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan River (Mt. 3.16), when it was necessary to make known the Spirit to John the Baptist. Then the Spirit was only made known to John the Baptist when he alighted upon the head of Christ "as a dove," and not as an actual dove. The perceptible phenomena of Pentecost serve to draw the attention and the interest, to convince the large crowd of Judaeans that something extraordinary and marvelous was happening to the Disciples of Jesus. The tongues of fire did not appear only over the Twelve, but over the one hundred and twenty who were present there, that is, over a large group of believers. This is why Peter, immediately after the appearance of the tongues of fire, speaking on behalf of the Apostles, ("who offer to him the responsibility to speak"), reminds the people of the prophecy of Joel: "I will pour out my Spirit upon everyone" (Jl. 2.28; Acts 2.17). Therefore, the coming of the Spirit was not only for the Apostles, but for all those who were at that time gathered in the name of Christ. Pentecost, which means the coming of the Holy Spirit, but also the event of speaking in tongues, occurred again on another occasion, when in fact those who received the gift of speaking in tongues were Gentiles and not Judaeans. They too were now marveling at what had happened, and needed to become fully aware together with those who were already believers that the Holy Spirit, that is, Pentecost, is something that involves the whole world. The sound which was heard surprised everyone, and the fire "rested on each one" of the one hundred and twenty. The verb "rested" (��) indicates that the Spirit remained to dwell steadily and permanently in the one hundred and twenty disciples. That is why they did not only receive merely some particular grace, but "they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts 2.4). "'And there appeared to them tongues of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them,' meaning that they remained, they rested. To rest in this sense is to dwell, to remain permanently. But what is this? Did the Spirit come to rest on the twelve only? Not on the others? Not at all. The Spirit came to dwell in all the one hundred and twenty. ...They receive no other sign than to speak in other tongues first. It is a marvelous sign and there is no need of another. ...They did not simply receive the grace of the Spirit, but they were 'all filled with the Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.' He would not have said 'All,' - since the Apostles were there - unless all of the others received the Spirit as well". The phenomenon that resembled a strong wind blowing "filled all the house where they (the disciples) were sitting," as Luke notes in Acts 2.2. Chrysostom explains that the verb "filled" (��) was used to underline fullness and to understand Pentecost as a source and a baptismal font of the Spirit. There were no such phenomena in the Old Testament. Thus, Chrysostom seeks to show in various ways that with Pentecost, that is, with the hypostatic presence, we do not simply have the grace of the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit himself in person. Consequently, the mode of his activity is different and the intensity of the action infinitely greater. But the demonstration of this fact, however, becomes very difficult, since the Spirit is not visible. Thus, using the narrative of Luke who refers to the "rush of a mighty wind" that "filled all the house" where the disciples of the Lord were gathered, and the "tongues as of fire" that rested upon their heads, Chrysostom enters into the depth of divine economy and reveals the fundamentally different mode of action of the Spirit in the Church. The disciples, therefore, did not receive grace, but were transformed into "a source of Spirit," so that they could provide grace, as a lamp that lights other lamps without diminishing its own light: "...As with a lamp, one can light as many other lamps as he likes, without diminishing its light. This is what happened with the Apostles then. For the word "fire" does not indicate merely the profuseness of grace, but also that they received the very source of the Spirit. This is why the Lord said those who believe in him will receive a 'living water' that 'will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life' (Jn. 4.14)". "With the parousia of the Holy Spirit the disciples were already transformed". The "wind" that entered into the disciples became like a baptismal font of living water, a source of spiritual power, with which the disciples carried out their ministry. In the case of the Apostles, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in their mind "to well up" as an inexhaustible source, to act without intermissions and interruptions, since it is a "living" source that is always active. "That which is always active is called 'living.' For the grace of the Spirit, once it has entered the mind to dwell there, springs up every source and is not interrupted, nor emptied, and does not stand still. Thus, by referring to springs and rivers, the Lord also indicated the inexhaustible abundance".

Practical Tips

Tue, 31 May 2011 15:36:24 GMT

The aims and purposes of an Orthodox parish are to keep, practice and proclaim the Orthodox Christian Faith pure and undefiled. [U.P.R., Greek Orthodox Archdiocese] Do not leave the Church, for there is nothing mightier than she. She will never grow old and will always bloom. Thus the Scriptures, showing her durability and stability, call her a mountain. [St. John Chrysostom] We firmly believe that the Church will never fall, will never waver, will never be destroyed. For this is what Christ taught, by Whom the heavens were established, and the earth was founded, and stand firmly as the Holy Spirit says (Ps. 32:6). The Antichrist will lure to himself �those who have a weak and feeble mind, and will seduce and tear them away from the living God.� [St. John of Damascus] My friends, you should be made aware of this fact: the bishop is in the Church, and the Church is in the bishop; and if anyone is not with the bishop, then he is not in the Church. [St. Cyprian of Carthage] And upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. [Matthew 16:18] True is the word, firm is the promise. The Church is insurmountable, even if hell itself were moved, and the rulers of darkness summoned turmoil. [St. Athanasios of Alexandria]

A Reflection on Stewardship by + Fr. Gus G. Christo, Ph.D.

Tue, 24 May 2011 14:31:45 GMT

Stewardship is derived from the ancient Greek word oikonomos (steward) that means �one who manages a household.� The Church is the House of God and God is her supreme steward. The Church is God�s because she cannot exist either in this life or in the next apart from His unlimited mercy. Likewise, Orthodox lay Christians, as direct recipients of the Lord�s heavenly mercy, are entrusted with one aspect of the Church�s stewardship � the economic. For the lay person, stewardship is a sacramental duty and means the correct economic management of the Church. It is the true measure of the believer�s faith and determines whether or not he is a real member of the Body of Christ. Stewardship is crucial to Church members because the latter cannot worthily communicate in the Flesh of the Son of God � the focal point and zenith of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church � without practicing it. Stewardship is the vital prerequisite to intimate, personal and everlasting union with God through the Mysteries and is the identifying Christian characteristic. It is best expressed in acts of almsgiving or mercy toward the Church. Stewardship is our mandatory reciprocity to God for His abundant mercy toward us. Christ in the Gospel calls for Christians to execute �the weightier matters of the law � justice, mercy and faith� (Matthew 23:23) � and not be superficial in their lives, because Christ�s mercy is on those who fear or respect Him by performing merciful deeds (Luke 1:50). It is crucial for us to be good stewards toward the Church because the Church�s prime directive according to holy scripture and to patristic tradition is to �care for the poor or less fortunate in society, the widows and widowers, the imprisoned, the hospitalized, the travelers, the maimed and those who serve at the altar.� However, with respect to food and clothing, the Church as chief steward of the poor must help all those who come to her doors every day. In order to be good stewards of the things that God has given us, we must make the poor sharers in our good fortune regardless of race, creed, color or religion. �Truly I say unto you, �Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me�� (Matthew 25:40). In reference to stewardship St. John Chrysostom said: "Disperse, therefore, so you may not lose; keep not, so you may keep; lay out so you may save; spend so you may gain. Entrust your treasures to God, for then no one can make spoil of them�Lend where there is neither envy, nor accusation, nor evil design, nor fear. Lend to Him who wants nothing yet has need for your sake; who feeds all men, yet is hungry so you may not suffer famine; who is poor so you may be rich. Lend there where your return cannot be death, but life instead of death. When we give to the Church, we receive heaven for interest and we truly become rich. By giving to the Church, Christians set a good example for non-Christians to emulate. By not giving to the Church as we should, we betray ourselves before non-believers and they will come to the conclusion that our beliefs are a lie. If we build houses and edify our treasuries at the Church�s expense, with all earnest zeal, we get possession of the earth we are about to soon depart. For a few acres and tenements we give up not only money but even our very blood, while for the purchase of heaven we do not endure to give even what is beyond our wants. Failure in our stewardship goals means to leave this world naked and poor and to suffer the utmost punishment. When non-believers see us partaking of such awesome Sacraments and, yet, putting our trust in earthly vaults, then we expose our hypocrisy." Every Orthodox Christian is a steward of his own possessions, just as those who dispense the alms of the Church are stewards of the Church�s possessions. No one has the right to squander at random and haphazardly the revenues given by other Christians to the Church for her needs and functions. We must not squander our own. Indeed, all that we have belongs to God. He entrusts material prosperity to our care so we may become virtuous by helping the Church and her ministries. According to St. John Chrysostom: �He who lives for himself only and not for the Church and overlooks all others, is not even a man. He does not belong to the human race.� According to St. John Chrysostom, private ownership is not a possession but stewardship; and stewardship is measured by an individual�s faith. Private ownership is a loan from God for use here on earth. How can anyone claim anything as a possession, if, when he dies, willingly or unwillingly, he takes nothing with him into the next life, and all his possessions are distributed among other people? Property, in fact is but a word with transient meaning. Our real possessions are those that we have sent already into the other world ahead of us. Only the virtues and deeds of the soul are properly our own, such as almsgiving or mercy or charity or stewardship. Money (chrimata) is named from use (kechristhai), not from ownership and it is not our own; and possessions are not a property but a loan. Since virtue alone can join us in the afterlife, we must practice stewardship faithfully and diligently in the Church. A �Church� may be that only in name and not in essence without good and effective stewardship. A lack of true stewardship disrupts the unity of the local congregation. A divided or clique-ish congregation ceases to be the manifestation of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church of God because disunity expels the Holy Spirit from it. Furthermore, stewardship is spiritually cathartic because it shows a change from self-centeredness to Christ-centeredness and for the common good. Once we help others, we will be helped. Now is the time to develop an attitude of giving, an attitude of stewardship. And we begin right where we are. When we are faithful with what we have, God will then trust us with more. Stewardship is a baptismal obligation and privilege. It is only through giving that we grow and multiply as a Community of God. Forget about the past and look forward, because Christ Himself said: �No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God� (Luke 9:62).

Brief Biography of St. Constantine the Great Roman Emperor -Feast Day in the Orthodox Church on May 21

Thu, 19 May 2011 23:09:19 GMT

CONSTANTINE THE GREAT Birth name: Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantius Born February 27, 275 in Naissus (modern Serbia). Studied under the Roman Emperor Diocletian as a military commander. Fluent in Greek and enjoyed philosophy. Died May 22, 337 near Nicomedia in Bithynia of a heart attack. Constantine succeeded his father Constantius Chlorus as emperor of the western part of the Roman Empire when his father died in 306 at York, Britain. Proclaimed emperor by his troops. I stood on the spot where he was proclaimed. �Trachilos� was his nick name. Feared by all. 324 he became sole ruler of the Roman Empire. Saw vision of Cross in the sky �in this sign conquer.� Put Chi-Rho on all the Roman standards and shields. Christ became the protector of the empire. Credited with social and economic reforms that significantly influenced medieval society. 313 the Edict of Milan ended legally persecution of Christianity. Gave lands and special privileges to the Christian Church. Sent his mother St. Helen to Jerusalem to restore the holy land sites and she found the precious Cross. Built the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and Old St. Peter�s Basilica in Rome. He made his mother St. Helen Augusta (empress) in honor of who she was. 325 used imperial power to summon the 1st Ecumenical Synod of Nicaea to solve doctrinal problems within the Christian Church. Was called the 13th among the Apostles and Equal to the Apostles. Did not decide doctrine (up to the bishops). He enforced doctrine, rooted out heresy and upheld ecclesiastical unity. He insured that God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were properly worshipped in the empire. Built the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople where at one time housed the True Cross, the Rod of Moses, and other holy relics. There he was buried beside the relics of the holy Apostles of Christ. He moved the See of power of the Roman Empire from Rome to Byzantium and renamed it Constantinople in 330 AD � New Rome. He was baptized on his death bed. He is frequently called the �Great� because of his tremendous successes as a general, administrator, and legislator, and because of his support of the Christian Church and efforts to keep Christian unity. He is a Saint in the Orthodox Church together with St. Helen his pious mother. Only St. Helen is considered a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. He was the first Christian Emperor. [by Fr. Gus G. Christo]

Salvation through Christ the Lord by Fr. Gus G. Christo, Ph.D.

Wed, 18 May 2011 02:53:12 GMT

Through Christ�s impeccable tropos (His mode of existence, characterized by obedience, love, righteousness, holiness, justice, and purity), the ancient curse of the devil upon mankind (spiritual and physical death) was decisively annihilated. The heavenly Church, the new Eve, escapes the devil�s judgment, eternal damnation, inasmuch as she is formed sacramentally out of the new Adam�s immaculate and impeccable side which was pierced while suspended on the Cross. Therefore, when the Church�s membership participate directly in the new humanity through the Sacraments of Repentance, Baptism, and, ultimately, the Eucharist, they, too, share in Christ�s glorified state of existence and then transmit that glory to all things by virtue of their communication with Him in the Spirit.

Reviewing the Conscience

Wed, 11 May 2011 02:07:15 GMT

by St. Hesychius the Priest (8th/9th century) �St Basil the Great, mouthpiece of Christ and pillar of the Church, says that a great help towards not sinning and not committing daily the same faults is for us to review in our conscience at the end of each day what we have done wrong and what we have done right. Job did this with regard both to himself and to his children (cf. Job 1.5). These daily reckonings illumine a man's hour-by-hour behaviour.� (On Watchfulness and Holiness, 65; in the Philokalia, vol. i, p. 174.)

Repentance and Forgiveness

Tue, 03 May 2011 13:41:01 GMT

�Even if all spiritual fathers, patriarchs, hierarchs, and all the people forgive you, you are unforgiven if you don�t repent in action.� [St. Kosmas the Aitolos (18th century)] �Do we forgive our neighbors their trespasses? God also forgives us in His mercy. Do we refuse to forgive? God, too, will refuse to forgive us. As we treat our neighbors, so also does God treat us. The forgiveness, then, of your sins or unforgiveness, and hence also your salvation or destruction, depend on you yourself, man. For without forgiveness of sins there is no salvation. You can see for yourself how terrible it is.� [St. Philotheos of Sinai]

St. John Chrysostom on the Holy Eucharist

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 23:47:39 GMT

Since the symbols of Baptism and the Eucharist flowed from His side, it was from His side that Christ fashioned the Church, as He had fashioned Eve from the side of Adam. Moses gives a hint of this when he tells the story of the first man and makes him exclaim: �Bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh!� As God then took a rib from Adam�s side to fashion a woman, so Christ has given us blood and water from His side to fashion the Church. God took the rib when Adam was in a deep sleep, and in the same way Christ gave us the blood and the water after His own death. (Baptismal Catechesis 3) If we wish to understand the power of Christ�s blood, we should go back to the ancient account of its prefiguring in Egypt. �Sacrifice a lamb without blemish,� commanded Moses, �and sprinkle its blood on your doors.� If we were to ask him what he meant, and how the blood of an irrational beast could possibly save men endowed with reason, his answer would be that the saving power lies not in the blood itself, but in the fact that it is a sign of the Lord�s blood. In those days, when the destroying angel saw the blood on the doors, he did not dare to enter, so how much less will the devil approach now when he sees, not that figurative blood on the doors, but the true blood on the lips of believers, the doors of the temple of Christ. (Baptismal Catechesis 3) �Truly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For, my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread which came down from heaven � not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever (John 6: 53-58).

Great Lent

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 16:25:46 GMT

1. THE GREAT FAST Great Lent in its present form is a result of over a thousand years of development. The Fast falls into the liturgical cycle called the Triodion. The Triodion is the period between the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee and the Sunday of Pascha. It literally means "three odes." Three odes, instead of the usual nine, are used during the Orthros (Matins) to celebrate the theme of a particular liturgical feast. The Triodion is divided into three periods. a) The Pre-Lenten Period. The pre-lenten period took its final shape by the tenth or eleventh century. It includes the Sundays of the Publican and the Pharisee, the Prodigal Son, the Last Judgment (Meat-fare Sunday), and a preliminary week of partial fasting (Cheese-fare Week) that ends with the Sunday of Forgiveness (Cheese-fare Sunday). b) The Forty Days of the Great Fast. Canon 5 of the Ecumenical Council of Nicea in 325 treats this period of fasting as an established practice in the living consciousness and tradition of the Church and not as an innovation of the Council. No written references to such a fast can be found in the pre-Nicene era. The forty days begin at Sunday Vespers on the evening before the first day of the week or Clean Monday. It ends with the ninth hour (3:00pm) on Friday in the sixth week. c) Holy and Great Week. The observance of a fast surrounding Holy Week is the most ancient of these three periods. Proof of its existence and practice can be found even as early as the second and third centuries. This unsurpassed week in the life of the Church is preceded by the Saturday of Lazarus and Palm Sunday. 2. THE CONCEPT OF FASTING Fasting plays a crucial role in establishing within the human being a true spirit of repentance and forgiveness. It gives him the proper state of body and soul for the reception of the Mysteries of Christ's Body and Blood. Fasting is a spiritual exercise that trains the soul and enhances its senses to be Christ-centered and virtuous. It untangles the Christian soul from earthly cares and allows it to clearly discern between good and evil, and to be merciful to human beings. Christ states: "When you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. They disfigure their faces so they appear to men to be fasting. Truly I say unto you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly" (Mt 6:16-18). For the true Christian, fasting is a means to an end, not an end in itself. The true Christian does not lose the crown of fasting as does the hypocrite. When people are not concerned about human glory, they are freed from its grievous bondage and become true workers of virtue. They, like Christ, can confront the evil one, as he tempts them to betray fasting, and say to him, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word which proceeds from the mouth of God." Orthodox Christians must not be actors doing their best performance when they fast; but they must be sincere. Through fasting, "The natural needs of the individual being, such as nourishment, self-perpetuation and self-preservation do not become ends in themselves. They do not dominate the person and end up as 'passions,' causes of anguish and the utmost pain, and, ultimately, death." (Christos Yannaras) "The value of fasting does not consist in the abstinence from food only, but in a relinquishment of sinful practices; since the individual who limits his fasting only to an abstinence from meat is the one who especially misuses and hates it. Proof of fasting is seen in works. If we encounter the poor, we must take pity on them. If we see our friends enjoying honor, we must not envy them. We must train all the members of our body to fast properly: the mouth, the eye, the ear, the feet, the hands, etc. The hands fast by abstaining from greediness. The feet fast by ceasing from running to forbidden spectacles. The eyes fast by not glaring at sinful things. For looking is the food of the eyes. If it is unlawful or forbidden by God, it mars the fast and ruins the safety of the soul. If it is lawful and safe, it adorns fasting. The ear must fast by not listening to evil talk and gossip. The mouth must fast from foul words and unjust criticism. What does it profit us if we abstain from meat, birds and fish and their by-products, yet we bite and devour our brethren?" (St. John Chrysostom) Therefore, "The fast of Lent is of no advantage to us unless it brings about our spiritual renewal. It is necessary to change our whole life while fasting, and to practice virtue. Turning away from all wickedness means keeping our tongue in check, restraining our anger, and, avoiding all gossip, lying, and swearing. The true value of the fast is to abstain from these things." (St. John Chrysostom) Fasting is the link between the physical and the spiritual. It achieves a perfect balance, peace and tranquility between the two. Fasting is the vehicle of achieving everlasting life and incorruptibility of soul and body. It assists the human being's will to be one with God's. It is the foundation of his eternal relationship with the Holy Trinity and helps to restore God's image and likeness within him. Our Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, underwent fasting for forty days and nights (Mt 4:2; Lk 4:2) and, thus prepared, He entered His contest with the devil, giving His members an example that through fasting they should arm themselves, and by acquiring strength from that exercise, they should come to grips with that formidable enemy and completely defeat him. Great Lent is an Orthodox Christian's battle with the evil one. The believer must defeat him in Christ, using Christ's weaponry -- fasting and forgiveness. Without these weapons, the evil one gets the best of him and devours him like the ravenous beast that he is. If a communicant is uncertain about how to fast, he must seek the advice of his spiritual father with humility and without shame. "At all times it is essential to bear in mind that 'you are not under the law but under grace' (Rom 6:14), and that 'the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life' (2 Cor 3:6). The rules of fasting, while they need to be taken seriously, are not to be interpreted with dour and pedantic legalism. 'For the Kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit'" (Rom 14:17; Bishop Kallistos Ware). A follower of Christ must put on the mind of Christ by keeping the rigorous fasting regimen prescribed by the Church, unless he has a blessing from his spiritual father or confessor to mitigate the fast on account of the difficulty of his occupation, or medical problems, or any unique and difficult circumstance that may confront him. Above all, he must never judge his brothers and sisters in Christ who may not be fasting as he is. Only God, who is omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent, can make such a call. The physical and the spiritual fast go hand-in-hand for an Orthodox Christian's salvation and redemption in Jesus Christ the Lord. If he is truly Orthodox -- Orthodox in essence and not merely in name -- then he must fast according to the best of his capabilities. For without fasting, he is only fooling himself. On that Awesome Last Day, he will hear the righteous Judge's gavel and receive His just sentance. Then there will be no plea bargaining. During every Great Lent, all Orthodox must take their faith seriously so God will take them seriously when it really counts. Truly, an individual's faith stands firm, his devotion remains constant and his virtue endures by three key heavenly means. They are prayer, fasting, and mercy. By prayer he knocks at heaven's door; by fasting he opens it and obtains the eternal good things from God; and by mercy he receives God's grace (Peter Chrysologos, Bishop of Ravenna). 3. THE FASTING REGIMEN FOR THE PERIOD OF THE TRIODION AND THE GREAT FAST a. The week following the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee: All foods are permitted throughout this week (fast free). b. Meat-fare Week (the week following the Sunday of the Prodigal Son): On Wednesday and Friday of this week, shellfish, vegetables, vegetable products and fruits are allowed but not olive oil and wine. All foods are permitted on all the other days of this week. c. Cheese-fare Week (the week following Meat-fare Sunday): Abstain from meat and meat products. Do not abstain from dairy products, fish, shellfish, vegetables, vegetable products, fruit, wine and olive oil. d. Sundown on Cheese-fare Sunday to Pascha: Abstain from meat, meat products, dairy products, fish, olive oil and wine. Do not abstain from shellfish, fruit, vegetables and vegetable products. No food should be eaten between meals and at meal time only a small portion of food should be eaten. e. Saturdays (except Holy and Great Saturday, which is a strict fast day) and Sundays throughout the Great Fast: Abstain from meat, meat products, dairy products and fish. Do not abstain from shellfish, vegetables, vegetable products, fruit, olive oil and wine. There is no restriction on the quantity and the number of times food may be consumed. f. The Feast of the Annunciation on March 25 and Palm Sunday: Abstain from meat, meat products and dairy products. Do not abstain from shellfish, fish, olive oil, wine, vegetables, vegetable products and fruit. g. A clarification: Dairy products designate butter, eggs, milk, cheese, etc. Fish represents sardines, tuna, trout, bass, pike, etc. Wine is extended to include whiskey, beer, etc. All information has been taken from THE RUDDER, which sets forth fully and in detail all the sacred and divine canons and interpretations thereof of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church of God -- The Orthodox Christian Church. 4. THE LITURGY OF THE PRESANCTIFIED GIFTS The celebration of the Divine Liturgy is forbidden during weekdays of Great Lent, according to Canons 49 and 51 of the Synod of Laodicea in 365, because it is incompatible with fasting. The first synodical enactment that attests to the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts as an Apostolically instituted substitute for the Eucharistic Celebration is Canon 52 of the Trullan (Quinisext) Ecumenical Council in 692. The sole exception provided by this Council is the Feast of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary and Mother of God. The Church instituted the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts in order not to deprive the faithful of the Mysteries of Christ's Body and Blood, which are the constitutive fabric of the Church and of everlasting life in the Kingdom of God. The festal nature of the Eucharistic Celebration is reserved for Saturdays and Sundays in Lent. On all Wednesdays and Fridays which are days of strict fasting, the faithful commune in the Holy Gifts that were consecrated on the previous Sunday. The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is also offered during Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy and Great Week. Although this service is celebrated during the mornings (9:00am) of the first three days of Holy Week, it may be celebrated at either 9:00am or 6:30pm on Wednesdays and Fridays of the Great Fast. A specific tie with the very early Christian Church is found during certain sets of petitions and mystical prayers in the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. Via these the faithful pray for the Catechumens. The Catechumens were a large class of candidates who customarily participated in the Sacrament of Baptism during the Liturgy of Pascha. The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts reveals that the initial character and intent of the Great Fast was to prepare people for Baptism at Pascha. The structure of the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is drawn from the Vespers service and from the first part of the Divine Liturgy beginning with "Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit," and concluding just prior to the beginning of the Cherubic Hymn. As previously noted, this Liturgy does not contain a Consecration. The Sanctified Lamb, saturated with Its Own Precious Blood from the previous Sunday's Divine Liturgy, is used and distributed to the Church's membership. There is no one single composer of the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. Its basic elements stem from the hands of the Twelve Apostles. Parts were added to that ancient core by different holy figures of various dates in the life of the Church, in order to arrive at the currently used service. The celebrants (usually priests / presbyters) wear purple vestments revealing the penitential nature of the Great Fast. If a bishop is present and simply wishes to sit on the episcopal throne without liturgizing, he neither wears the Mandyas nor carries the pastoral staff. If the bishop wishes to liturgize, he wears the purple vestments of a priest and the small omophorion (pallium) to distinguish his high apostolic office. At all times the penitential theme of Lent is maintained. Memorials may be celebrated at the end of the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, after the distribution of Holy Communion to the faithful. Memorials are the only para-liturgical services allowed during this Liturgy. 5. THE AKATHIST HYMN (THE SALUTATIONS TO THE THEOTOKOS) The Virgin Mary, from the moment of the Incarnation of the Son of God, will be identified forever as a central figure in the Body of Christ. Mary's vital importance to the Church is especially recognized in the Prayer Service to the Theotokos between the fifth and eighth centuries. "The Akathist Hymn," which Christians chant during the first five Fridays of Great Lent, existed even before 626 when the Kontakion, "To the Invincible Champion," was officially added to it. This addition formally sanctioned this Prayer Service to the Mother of God as the Akathist Hymn. The heavenly Kontakion ascribed to the Most Holy Virgin takes on an important significance in the life of the Church, because of a certain miracle that occurred during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Heracleios and the spiritual leadership of the Venerable Patriarch Sergius of Constantinople in the year 626. The chronicler documents that Heracleios took the majority of his troops to Persian soil to fight and decisively extinguish the Persian aggression against Byzantium. During this military mission, barbaric hordes, comprised mostly of Avars, surrounded the fortress-type walls of the City of Constantinople and seized the City for a few months. Undoubtedly, the Christian armed forces present were minimal and the clear threat of the City falling into enemy hands almost became a reality. However, the faith of the Christians in Constantinople worked the impossible, thus proving the Apostolic dictum: what is impossible with men is, indeed, possible with Almighty God. Patriarch Sergius, his clergy and the High Official of Byzantium Vonos, ceaselessly marched within the confines of the City's great walls carrying above their heads the icon of the Theotokos, thus strengthening the faith of the City's membership. During this fervent veneration of God's Mother, a great storm ensued and tremendous tidal waves destroyed the majority of the enemy fleet and full retreat took place. Consequently, the Christians packed the Church of the Theotokos at Vlachernae on the Golden Horn of the City. Patriarch Sergius celebrated the all-night vigil dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Since none of the Christians sat in honor of Our Lady, the title of the Hymn, "Akathistos" (not seated), was born. 6. THE FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION The Feast of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary is grounded in the Gospel of St. Luke 1:26-38. The iconography and hymnology pertaining to this Feast is rooted in the Apocryphal Gospel of St. James, chapter 6. Evidence of the Church's celebration of the Annunciation appears in the seventh century. A Paschal Chronicle in 624 mentions that the Feast of the Annunciation is celebrated on March 25. This date is not an innovation in 624; rather, as it is usually the case with the Church, it existed prior to this year in the living tradition and consciousness of the Church and was celebrated accordingly. When the Feast of the Nativity was separated from the Feast of Epiphany (January 6) and moved to December 25, the Feast of the Annunciation was fixed to the March 25 date, nine months before the Birth of the Son of God in the Flesh. 7. THE SATURDAY OF SOULS AND KOLLYVA The Church remembers those of its members who have fallen asleep in Christ in the hope of the Great and Second Coming of the Lord, especially during three Saturdays associated with the Great Fast. Meat-fare and Cheese-Fare Saturdays precede Lent while the third observance occurs on the first Saturday of Great Lent. Kollyva (boiled wheat) are absolutely essential in the celebration of memorial services. Wheat, by Christ's explicit command, expresses the belief in eternal life. "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit" (Jn 12:24). The new life that rises from the buried wheat kernel represents the belief that the one buried will rise one day to a new life with God. The sugar, raisins, herbs and pomegranate seeds that cover the prepared wheat express the untold blessedness of eternal life with God in His Kingdom. Concerning this the Apostle Paul said: "So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body" (1 Cor 15:42-44). The ultimate focus of the memorial celebration is on Jesus Christ the Great God and Savior in whom the departed rest (Heb 12:1). "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die" (Jn 11:25). "For whether we live, we live to the Lord; and whether we die, we die to the Lord. Whether we live therefore or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ both died and rose and revived, that He might be Lord of the dead and the living" (Rom 14:8-9). Here are some Patristic thoughts on the commemoration of the dead: (1) "How do the faithful fall asleep in Jesus? It means having Christ within themselves" (St. John Chrysostom). (2) "The Father tells us that the souls of the dead remember everything that happened here -- thoughts, words, desires -- and nothing can be forgotten...In fact the soul loses nothing that it did in this world but remembers everything at its exit from this body more clearly and distinctly once freed from the earthliness of the body...Whatever is in a man here is going to leave the earth with him, and is going to be with him there" (St. Dorotheos of Gaza). (3) "Life in this world is like writing on tablets. Whenever a man wishes to do so, he can add to them or subtract from them, or make changes in the letters. But the future life is like writings on clean rolls sealed by the royal seal, where no adding or subtracting is allowed. Therefore, while we are still in the midst of change, let us pay attention to ourselves; and while we have power over the record of our life, which we write with our own hands, let us strive to add to it with right living and erase from it the defects of a former life. While we are in this world, God does not affix His seal either to what is good or what is evil, up to the very moment of our exit from this life" (St. Isaac of Syria). (4) "In God and in His Church there is no division between the living and the departed, but all are one in the love of the Father. Whether we are alive or whether we are dead, as members of the Church we still belong to the same family, and still have a duty to bear one another's burdens. Therefore, just as Orthodox Christians here on earth pray for one another and ask for one another's prayers, so they pray also for the faithful departed and ask the faithful departed to pray for them. Death cannot sever the bond of mutual love which links the members of the Church together" (Bishop Kallistos Ware of Diokleia). Furthermore, the memorial services of the Saturday of Souls are different than those usually celebrated throughout the yearly liturgical calendar. Not only do they focus on the specific names submitted to the priest for commemoration, but also on all Orthodox Christians throughout time who fell asleep in the Lord. For example, one of the service's prayers bears witness to this, saying, "We also pray for the blessed memory and eternal repose of the souls of your departed servants: Kings, patriarchs, bishops, priests, hieromonks, deacons, monks and nuns, and all departed pious Orthodox Christians, from one end of the world to the other, our fathers, forefathers, grandparents, great grandparents, parents, brothers, sisters and relatives, and the servants of God (specific names submitted), and for the forgiveness of all their transgressions both voluntary and involuntary." It is also important to note the origin of the usage of kollyva in the memorial services of the Church. The origin of kollyva stems back to the reign of the Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate in 362. After denouncing Christ and his baptismal seal, Julian made it his crusade to destroy Christianity. He withdrew from the marketplace of Constantinople all foods prescribed for Clean Monday, the first day of Great Lent. Julian ordered that they be substituted with polluted sacrificial foods to the pagan gods of the Roman State. However, one person in Constantinople, St. Theodore of Tyre, suggested to Patriarch Eudoxios that he allow kollyva as a substitute for the Lenten materials seized by Emperor Julian. The Patriarch agreed. Then St. Theodore miraculously supplied Constantinople's markets with kollyva, and the faithful preserved their fast. The Church uses kollyva on all three Saturday of Souls; but it invokes a special blessing upon the kollyva offered on St. Theodore's day (the third Saturday of Souls) in remembrance of this great miracle. 8. SUNDAYS IN GREAT LENT The five Sundays in Great Lent, with the exception of Palm Sunday, are honored with the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great. St Basil's Liturgy is normally celebrated ten times a year. It exists in two forms: either in its entirety like St. John Chrysostom's, or as a Vesperal Liturgy. The Liturgy in its entirety means the inclusion of the Liturgy of the Word, or of the Catechumens. As such it is celebrated on January 1, the five Sundays in Lent, and on the Feasts of the Nativity and Epiphany when these happen on a Sunday. In its vesperal form, it is celebrated on the Eve of Christmas, the Eve of Epiphany, Great and Holy Thursday, and Great and Holy Saturday. Two of the five Sundays, during the Great Fast when St. Basil's Liturgy is used by the Church, deserve special mention because of the extra solemn processions that are associated with them. The first Sunday of Lent, known as the Sunday of Orthodoxy, has a special procession of the Holy Icons. The solemn procession around the four interior walls of the Church usually occurs in parishes after the distribution of the Eucharist to the faithful. Between 725 and 842 the Iconoclastic Controversy plagued the Church of the Byzantine Roman Empire. The controversy divided people into two classes: the iconodules (icon-lovers) and iconoclasts (icon-breakers). Precursors to the outbreak of Iconoclasm were the Monophysite heresy that minimized the Human Nature of the Incarnate God, the Policians who considered all visible matter to be evil, and Islam. The official outbreak occured under Emperor Leo III the Isaurian who reigned between 717 and 740. He was personally responsible for beginning the Iconoclastic heresy. Emperor Leo III's motives were strictly political. He wanted to decrease the rising influence of the Church and increase that of the state government. His motives originated from the Policians who influenced him that icons were the main obstacle to the conversion of Jews and Moslems because of their excessive usage in worship. Leo issued an edict in 726 declaring all icons as pagan idols and ordering their immediate destruction. This caused massive insurrection throughout the Empire. Patriarch Germanos of Constantinople appealed to the Pope of Rome for support against the iconoclasts. A systematic persecution and execution took place against all monastics who zealously defended the icons. St. John of Damascus wrote his Apology against the iconoclasts and Pope Gregory III of Rome in 731 held two councils in his city that condemned Leo and his agents. Emperor Constantine V, Leo's son, continued his father's iconoclasm by convening the Synod of Hieria in 753 which alleged that icon venerators confounded the two Natures of Christ as did the Monophysites, and that icons of the Theotokos and of the Saints were themselves idols. Constantine V ordered their destruction. The Synod of Hieria was not attended by the Patriarchs of Antioch, Jerusalem, Alexandria and by the Pope of Rome. When Leo IV reigned as Roman Emperor (775-780) the persecution decreased. After his death, the Empress Irene, who was regent of her young son, courageously reversed the iconoclastic policies despite the heretical tendencies in the Roman Army. When Patriarch Tarasios assumed the Patriarchal Throne of Constantinople, he and Empress Irene negotiated with Pope Hadrian I who sent legates to the Seventh Ecumenical Council of Nicea in 787. This Council reversed the erroneous decisions of the Synod of Hieria, defined the degree and nature of veneration to be directed toward icons and commanded their restoration throughout the Empire. The Council declared further: "Together with the Venerable and Life-giving Cross, icons of our Lord, His Mother, the Angels and Saints might be set up, whether in murals or mosaics or any other material; that they might be depicted on sacred vessels or vestments; on walls and on the books of Churches; in houses and by the wayside; the more they were looked upon, the more people would be stirred in remembrance of the prototypes; that greeting and honorable reverence be paid them, but not actual worship which belongs exclusively to God. Incense and lights were to be burned in their honor as had been with the ancients. Whoever does reverence to an image (icon) does reverence to the person it depicts." However, Iconoclasm continued for another fifty-five years until Theodora, the widow of Emperor Theophilos (829-842), ascended the throne as Empress and guardian of her four-year-old son Michael III in 842. Empress Theodora convened a synod in Vlachernae of Constantinople on the first Sunday of Great Lent, March 11, 843; and in a special ceremony upheld the decision of the Seventh Ecumenical Council regarding icon veneration, and the icons were restored in the Churches. Orthodoxy triumphed and this celebration the Orthodox Church remembers with a solemn icon procession on the first Sunday of Great Lent, the Sunday of Orthodoxy. Furthermore, the third Sunday of Lent is distinguished by a sacred procession of the Holy Cross. The special service is called the Veneration of the Holy Cross. The Cross is raised up for people to behold and venerate as a sign of hope in the Resurrection and as a respite in the arduous course of the Holy Fast. This service during the third Sunday of Lent commemorates the finding of the True Cross of Christ by St. Helen, the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great. Originally, the liturgical feast of the finding of the True Cross was set to be on March 6. Since March 6 falls within Great Lent and no Eucharistic Celebration can be celebrated unless it falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the anniversary of this brilliant event was fixed by the Holy Fathers of the Church on the third Sunday of Lent.

A Concise Biography of Father G. Christo

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 16:21:23 GMT

The Reverend Dr. Gus George Christo, Protopresbyter, or as he is most commonly known as �Father Costa,� is a Greek Orthodox Priest under the spiritual jurisdiction of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. He currently serves as Pastor and Dean of the St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Fr. Christo earned a B.A. in Religious Studies and a Minor in Biology from the University of Virginia and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Theology (Patristics with a specialty on St. John Chrysostom) from the University of Durham in England. He has published several articles, sermons, and the following scholarly texts: Authority in the Church According to Saint John Chrysostom, The Church�s Identity Established through Images According to Saint John Chrysostom, The Consecration of a Greek Orthodox Church According to Eastern Orthodox Tradition: A Detailed Account and Explanation of the Ritual, St. John Chrysostom on Repentance and Almsgiving, and Martyrdom According to St. John Chrysostom: To Live is Christ, To Die is Gain. The highlight of his ministry was his reception of a sacred relic of St. John Chrysostom from Pope John Paul II during a personal audience in Rome in 1998. He has followed this milestone with the publication of the video The Saints: St. John Chrysostom, �They Called Him Golden Mouth� in which he served as text consultant, contributor, and participant. Fr. Christo resides in North Wilmington with his Presbytera, Georgia, and his daughters, Myrophora and Chrysanthe.

Paschal Thoughts

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 21:04:37 GMT

Paschal Greeting in Various Languages English: Christ is Risen! Indeed He is risen! Albanian: Khrishti unjal! Vertet unjal! Aleut: Khristus anahgrecum! Alhecum anahgrecum! Alutuq: Khris-tusaq ung-uixtuq! Pijii-nuq ung-uixtuq! Amharic: Kristos tenestwal! Bergit tenestwal! Anglo-Saxon: Crist aras! Crist sodhlice aras! Arabic: El Messieh kahm! Hakken kahm! Armenian: Kristos haryav ee merelotz! Orhnial eh harootyunuh kristosee! Aroman: Hristolu unghia! Daleehira unghia! Athabascan: Xristosi banuytashtch'ey! Gheli banuytashtch'ey! Bulgarian: Hristos voskrese! Vo istina voskrese! Byelorussian: Khrystos uvaskros! Sapraudy uvaskros! Chinese: Helisituosi fuhuole! Queshi fuhuole! Coptic: Christos anesti! Alithos anesti! Czech: Kristus vstal a mrtvych! Opravdi vstoupil! Danish: Kristus er opstanden! I sandhed Han er Opstanden! (or Sandelig Han er Opstanden!) Dutch: Christus is opgestaan! Ja, hij is waarlijk opgestaan! Eritrean-Tigre: Christos tensiou! Bahake tensiou! Esperanto: Kristo levigis! Vere levigis! Estonian: Kristus on oolestoosunt! Toayestee on oolestoosunt! Ethiopian: Christos t'ensah em' muhtan! Exai' ab-her eokala! Finnish: Kristus nousi kuolleista! Totisesti nousi! French: Le Christ est ressuscite! En verite il est ressuscite! Gaelic: Kriost eirgim! Eirgim! Georgian: Kriste ahzdkhah! Chezdmaridet! German: Christus ist erstanden! Er ist wahrhaftig erstanden! Greek: Christos anesti! Alithos anesti! Hawaiian: Ua ala hou `o Kristo! Ua ala `I `o no `oia! Hebrew: Ha Masheeha houh kam! A ken kam! (or Be emet quam!) Icelandic: Kristur er upprisinn! Hann er vissulega upprisinn! Indonesian: Kristus telah bangkit! Benar dia telah bangkit! Italian: Cristo e' risorto! Veramente e' risorto! Japanese: Harisutosu Fukkatsu! Jitsu ni Fukkatsu! Javanese: Kristus sampun wungu! Saesto panjene ganipun sampun wungu! Korean: Kristo gesso! Buhar ha sho nay! Latin: Christus resurrexit! Vere resurrexit! Latvian: Kristus ir augsham sales! Teyasham ir augsham sales vinsch! Lugandan: Kristo ajukkide! Amajim ajukkide! Malayalam (Indian): Christu uyirthezhunnettu! Theerchayayum uyirthezhunnettu! Nigerian: Jesu Kristi ebiliwo! Ezia o' biliwo! Norwegian: Kristus er oppstanden! Han er sannelig oppstanden! Polish: Khristus zmartvikstau! Zaiste zmartvikstau! Portugese: Cristo ressuscitou! Em verdade ressuscitou! Romanian: Cristos a inviat! Adevarat a inviat! Russian: Khristos voskrese! Voistinu voskrese! Sanskrit: Kristo'pastitaha! Satvam upastitaha! Serbian: Cristos vaskres! Vaistinu vaskres! Slovak: Kristus vstal zmr'tvych! Skutoc ne vstal! Spanish: Cristo ha resucitado! En verdad ha resucitado! Swahili: Kristo amefufukka! Kweli Amefufukka! Swedish: Christus ar uppstanden! Han ar verkligen uppstanden! Syriac: M'shee ho dkom! Ha koo qam! Tlingit: Xristos Kuxwoo-digoot! Xegaa-kux Kuxwoo-digoot! Turkish: Hristos diril-di! Hakikaten diril-di! Ugandan: Kristo ajukkide! Kweli ajukkide! Ukranian: Khristos voskres! Voistinu voskres! Welsh: Atgyfododd Crist! Atgyfododd yn wir! Yupik: Xris-tusaq Ung-uixtuq! Iluumun Ung-uixtuq! Zulu: Ukristu uvukile! Uvukile kuphela! The Paschal Homily of Our Father Among the Saints John Chrysostom Archbishop of Constantinople The Paschal sermon of St John Chrysostom is read aloud in every Orthodox parish on the morning of the Great and Holy Pascha. According to the tradition of the Church, no one sits during the reading of St John's sermon, but all stand and listen with attentiveness. If any man be devout and loveth God, Let him enjoy this fair and radiant triumphal feast! If any man be a wise servant, Let him rejoicing enter into the joy of his Lord. If any have laboured long in fasting, Let him how receive his recompense. If any have wrought from the first hour, Let him today receive his just reward. If any have come at the third hour, Let him with thankfulness keep the feast. If any have arrived at the sixth hour, Let him have no misgivings; Because he shall in nowise be deprived therefore. If any have delayed until the ninth hour, Let him draw near, fearing nothing. And if any have tarried even until the eleventh hour, Let him, also, be not alarmed at his tardiness. For the Lord, who is jealous of his honour, Will accept the last even as the first. He giveth rest unto him who cometh at the eleventh hour, Even as unto him who hath wrought from the first hour. And He showeth mercy upon the last, And careth for the first; And to the one He giveth, And upon the other He bestoweth gifts. And He both accepteth the deeds, And welcometh the intention, And honoureth the acts and praises the offering. Wherefore, enter ye all into the joy of your Lord; Receive your reward, Both the first, and likewise the second. You rich and poor together, hold high festival! You sober and you heedless, honour the day! Rejoice today, both you who have fasted And you who have disregarded the fast. The table is full-laden; feast ye all sumptuously. The calf is fatted; let no one go hungry away. Enjoy ye all the feast of faith: Receive ye all the riches of loving-kindness. Let no one bewail his poverty, For the universal Kingdom has been revealed. Let no one weep for his iniquities, For pardon has shown forth from the grave. Let no one fear death, For the Saviour's death has set us free. He that was held prisoner of it has annihilated it. By descending into Hell, He made Hell captive. He embittered it when it tasted of His flesh. And Isaiah, foretelling this, did cry: Hell, said he, was embittered When it encountered Thee in the lower regions. It was embittered, for it was abolished. It was embittered, for it was mocked. It was embittered, for it was slain. It was embittered, for it was overthrown. It was embittered, for it was fettered in chains. It took a body, and met God face to face. It took earth, and encountered Heaven. It took that which was seen, and fell upon the unseen. O Death, where is thy sting? O Hell, where is thy victory? Christ is risen, and thou art overthrown! Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen! Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice! Christ is risen, and life reigns! Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in the grave. For Christ, being risen from the dead, Is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep. To Him be glory and dominion Unto ages of ages. Amen. A Reflection by St. John Chrysostom for Daily Living in the Glorious Resurrection of our Lord, Great God, and Savior Jesus Christ �To this alone should we train ourselves: to bear all trials with courage, and not inquire as to the how or why of them. It is God�s affair alone to know when our sufferings will come to an end. It is our duty to bear with gratitude the affliction which God ordains for us...So let us put all discouragement aside, and give glory in all things to God, who directs all things for our best good.�

Repentance According to St. John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople

Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:52:37 GMT

Would you like me to list also the paths of repentance? They are numerous and quite varied, and all lead to heaven. A first path of repentance is the condemnation of your own sins: Be the first to admit your sins and you will be justified. For this reason, too, the prophet wrote: I said: I will accuse myself of my sins to the Lord, and you forgave the wickedness of my heart. Therefore, you too should condemn your own sins; that will be enough reason for the Lord to forgive you, for a man who condemns his own sins is slower to commit them again. Rouse your conscience to accuse you within your own house, lest it become your accuser before the judgment seat of the Lord. That, then, is one very good path of repentance. Another and no less valuable one is to put out of our minds the harm done us by our enemies, in order to master our anger, and to forgive our fellow servants' sins against us. Then our own sins against the Lord will be forgiven us. Thus you have another way to atone for sin: For if you forgive your debtors, your heavenly Father will forgive you. Do you want to know of a third path? It consists of prayer that is fervent, careful and comes from the heart. If you want to hear of a fourth, I will mention almsgiving, whose power is great and far-reaching. If, moreover, a man lives a modest, humble life, that, no less than the other things I have mentioned, takes sin away. Proof of this is the tax-collector who had no good deeds to mention, but offered his humility instead and was relieved of a heavy burden of sins. Thus I have shown you five paths of repentance; condemnation of your own sins, forgiveness of our neighbor's sins against us, prayer, almsgiving and humility. Do not be idle, then, but walk daily in all these paths; they are easy, and you cannot plead your poverty. For, though you live out your life amid great need, you can always set aside your wrath, be humble, pray diligently and condemn your own sins; poverty is no hindrance. Poverty is not an obstacle to our carrying out the Lord's bidding, even when it comes to that path of repentance which involves giving money (almsgiving, I mean). The widow proved that when she put her two mites into the box! Now that we have learned how to heal these wounds of ours, let us apply the cures. Then, when we have regained genuine health, we can approach the holy table with confidence, go gloriously to meet Christ, the king of glory, and attain the eternal blessings through the grace, mercy and kindness of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

The Relics of Saints

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 16:12:11 GMT

[An excerpt taken from Fr. Gus G. Christo�s book: "Martyrdom According to John Chrysostom: To Live is Christ, To Die is Gain" (ISBN10: 0-7734-2290-0 ISBN13: 978-0-7734-2290-2)] The relics of saints belong to the very fabric of the divine beliefs, tradition, liturgical practice and scripture of the early Church -- the One, Holy, Catholic (Universal) and Apostolic Church of Christ, God. The term "relics" refers to the physical remains of a saint (martyr) after his/her death ("first class relics"), as well as to the sacred objects that have been in contact with his body ("second class relics"). For our purposes here, relics shall mean bone fragments from a saint's body. Since God takes the martyrs' souls and gives mankind their relics until the final Resurrection of the Dead, relics are treasures that contain innumerable goods for human beings to harvest. They are symbols of Christ's bodily and perfect Resurrection, of the future age and of the unwaning day of the Kingdom. They serve as means of transforming corrupt human nature into the image and likeness of Christ. How does God sanctify saints' relics? The grace and holiness of the Spirit of God moves from the martyrs' souls to their bodies and then to their clothing. From their clothing it spreads to their shoes and, finally, it moves into the very shadows they cast. For example, the shadow of St. Peter the Apostle, once it passed over a human corpse, raised the deceased back to life. The veneration of relics by the faithful stemmed from the martyrs' imitation of Christ's baptism in death, suffering and sacrifice, and their subsequent emigration into heaven, call to a better and more spiritual life, change from corruptibility to incorruptibility, and spiritual wedding to Christ the Master. Resulting from a martyrdom by death, or a baptism in blood, a martyr became a channel for the power of God and an intercessor between God and human beings. The martyr's holy relics served as the visible and concrete manifestation of all this to the early Church. Holy relics, adorned with the stigmata of Christ, become vehicles revealing God's power and love toward mankind in several ways. First, they thwart the devil's attack upon Christians and endlessly wound him, as they remind him of Christ's saving death and resurrection that the holy martyrs imitated. Hence, Chrysostom states in the Homily on St. Julian the Martyr: �Take someone who is possessed by a demon and by madness, and bring him to this holy tomb (St. Julian�s tomb), there where the bones of the martyr are resting, and you will see him (the demon) jump and leave (out of the one possessed).� Second, the relics impart great benefits to the Christians who honor them at special shrines and seek the assistance of the martyrs to whom they belong. The benefits given include: God's compassion and forgiveness of any sin committed, restoration of physical and mental health to the ill and preservation of the healthy, great boldness before God, instruction about Christ's Gospel, leadership towards virtue (or excellence), and, cleansing from the unclean spirits that are exorcised. Even the dead may be brought back to life. Third, martyrs' relics function as Altars for the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, and thus grant great benefits to the faithful throughout Salvation History. For, they are imbued with invisible power, dominion and the grace of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, the power of the relics of the glorified saints in heaven is the nobility of the Christians and the crown of the Church. Therefore, unlike material treasures, relics are neither diminished nor dangerous when divided. Since they are spiritual things, they increase in value when they are partitioned and multiply when they are divided. Furthermore, someone who has venerated a saint's relics is readily recognized by his countenance, form, gait, feeling of piety and devotion, and by the collection of his thoughts. He feels all-fiery, shy, humble, sober and lively. The movements of his body and the proclamation of his philosophy distinguish him as someone who paid such homage. Scripture proves this point when it remarks: "A man's attire, grinning laughter and gait show what he is" (Wisdom of Solomon 19:30). The locations where the relics of God's saints have been deposited are according solely to God's providence. God selects the location for the deposition of a saint's relics with the specific purpose of edifying the people with the truth and power of the Gospel, which is clearly revealed by the saint's triumph over his executioners. At these locations or shrines He guides the pilgrim to exhibit the same zeal for the faith as the martyr who presently resides in heaven. The pilgrim's acceptance of this guidance gives God the opportunity to prepare a safe harbor for him and provide comfort for his misfortunes. The shrines become sites of refreshment and renewal as the pilgrim's consciousness is unburdened and his perspective relating to his salvation is recaptured and secured. The pilgrim then leaves the shrine as an "ensouled" and "spiritual shrine" because the saint and his achievements dwell within his thoughts and heart. [This entry is in honor of the one year anniversary of the placement at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church of Wilmington, Delaware, by Fr. Gus G. Christo, of the Holy Relics of the Apostles Among the Twelve James the son of Zebedee, Simon the Zealot, and Matthias; the Apostle Among the Seventy Timothy; and of St. George the Great Martyr.]

The Holy Eucharist

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 22:11:23 GMT

�Our bodies, when united to Christ's Body, gain a beginning of immortality, because they are united to Immortality.� [St. Gregory of Nyssa] http://www.theworkofgod.org/Devotns/Euchrist/Topics/teachings.asp?key=592

The Holy and Life-giving Cross of Christ

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 18:52:49 GMT

The manger and the cross are not far removed. We tend to picture the Nativity as a pastorally-pleasing, sweet scene with admiring parents and grateful shepherds. We tend to view Golgotha as a horrid, ugly hill surrounded by hate-filled rejectors of the glorious majesty of God. Of course, truth exists in both these images, but often we fail to recognize that the Cross was planted in Bethlehem. A Savior was born that day to die for our sins�the shadow of the Cross falls over the baby Jesus as he rests in the manger. Our kinsman redeemer, our sin-bearer, our ransom, our sacrificial Lamb was born that day in Bethlehem. The Cross and the manger meet in Bethlehem � Jesus is born to die for your sins and mine. God�s compassion for us is all the more wonderful because Christ died not for the righteous or the holy but for the wicked and the sinful, and, though the divine nature could not be touched by the sting of death, he took to himself, through his birth as one of us, something he could offer on our behalf. http://www.canonglenn.com/tag/early-church-father/

The Precious and Life-giving Cross of Christ

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 21:52:29 GMT

How precious the gift of the cross, how splendid to contemplate! In the cross there is no mingling of good and evil, as in the tree of paradise: it is wholly beautiful to behold and good to taste. The fruit of this tree is not death but life, not darkness but light. This tree does not cast us out of paradise, but opens the way for our return. This was the tree on which Christ, like a king on a chariot, destroyed the devil, the lord of death, and freed the human race from his tyranny. This was the tree upon which the Lord like a brave warrior wounded in hands, feet and side, healed the wounds of sin that the evil serpent had inflicted on our nature. A tree once caused our death, but now a tree brings life. Once deceived by a tree, we have now repelled the cunning serpent by a tree. What an astonishing transformation! That death should become life, that decay should become immortality, that shame should become glory! Well might the holy Apostle exclaim: Far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world! The supreme wisdom that flowered on the cross has shown the folly of worldly wisdom's pride. The knowledge of all good, which is the fruit of the cross, has cut away the shoots of wickedness. The wonders accomplished through this tree were foreshadowed clearly even by the mere types and figures that existed in the past. Meditate on these, if you are eager to learn. Was it not the wood of a tree that enabled Noah, at God's command, to escape the destruction of the flood together with his sons, his wife, his sons' wives and every kind of animal? And surely the rod of Moses prefigured the cross when it changed water into blood, swallowed up the false serpents of Pharaoh's magicians, divided the sea at one stroke and then restored the waters to their normal course, drowning the enemy and saving God's own people? Aaron's rod, which blossomed in one day in proof of his true priesthood, was another figure of the cross, and did not Abraham foreshadow the cross when he bound his son Isaac and placed him on the pile of wood? By the cross death was slain and Adam was restored to life. The cross is the glory of all the apostles, the crown of the martyrs, the sanctification of the saints. By the cross we put on Christ and cast aside our former self. By the cross we, the sheep of Christ, have been gathered into one flock, destined for the sheepfold of heaven. From a sermon by Theodore the Studite, 9th century http://www.rc.net/wcc/cross12.htm

Gregory Palamas, On the Holy Icons

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 16:51:32 GMT

The following extracts are taken from St Gregory Palamas' longer work, The New Testament Decalogue: 'You shall not make an image of anything in the heavens above, or in the earth below, or in the sea' (cf. Exodus 20.4), in such a way that you worship these things and glorify them as gods. For all are the creations of the one God, created by Him in the Holy Spirit through His Son and Logos, who as Logos of God in these latter times took flesh from a virgin's womb, appeared on earth and associated with men, and who for the salvation of men suffered, died and rose again, ascended with His body into the heavens, and 'sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on High' (Hebrews 1.3), and who will come again with His body to judge the living and the dead. Out of love for Him you should make, therefore, an icon of Him who became man for our sakes, and through His icon you should bring Him to mind and worship Him, elevating your intellect through it to the venerable body of the Saviour, that is set on the right hand of the Father in heaven. In like manner you should also make icons of the saints and venerate them, not as gods --for this is forbidden-- but because of the attachment, inner affection and sense of surpassing honour that you feel for the saints when by means of their icons the intellect is raised up to them. It was in this spirit that Moses made icons of the Cherubim within the Holy of Holies (cf. Exodus 25.18). The Holy of Holies itself was an image of things supercelestial (cf. Exodus 25.40; Hebrews 8.5), while the Holy Place was an image of the entire world. Moses called these things holy, not glorifying what is created, but through it glorifying God the Creator of the world. You must not, then, deify the icons of Christ and of the saints, but through them you should venerate Him who originally created us in His own image, and who subsequently consented in His ineffable compassion to assume the human image and to be circumscribed by it. You should venerate not only the icon of Christ, but also the similitude of His cross. For the cross is Christ's great sign and trophy of victory over the devil and all his hostile hosts; for this reason they tremble and flee when they see the figuration of the cross. This figure, even prior to the crucifixion, was greatly glorified by the prophets and wrought great wonders; and when He who was hung upon it, our Lord Jesus Christ, comes again to judge the living and the dead, this His great and terrible sign will precede Him, full of power and glory (cf. Matthew 24.30). So glorify the cross now, so that you may boldly look upon it then and be glorified with it. And you should venerate icons of the saints, for the saints have been crucified with the Lord; and you should make the sign of the cross upon your person before doing so, bringing to mind their communion in the sufferings of Christ. In the same way you should venerate their holy shrines and any relic of their bones; for God's grace is not sundered from these things, even as the divinity was not sundered from Christ's venerable body at the time of His life-quickening death. By doing this and by glorifying those who glorified God --for through their actions they showed themselves to be perfect in their love for God-- you too will be glorified together with them by God, and with David you will chant: 'I have held Thy friends in high honour, O Lord' (Psalm 139.17 LXX). http://monachos.net/content/patristics/patristictexts/160-palamas-on-icons

Cheesefare Sunday

Tue, 01 Mar 2011 17:14:29 GMT

�On this day we commemorate the fall of Adam the first-created from partaking of the fruit of Paradise, which our holy and divine Fathers have appointed for the Sunday before Great Lent in order to demonstrate the great healing effect of the fast upon human nature and the great harm of intemperance and disobedience. Setting aside the countless instances of these vices in the world, the Fathers have put forth a vivid example in first-created Adam, who suffered great harm in his total failure to fast and brought this harm upon our nature. He did not keep the first commandment of a beneficial fast which God had required of mankind, but yielding to the desires of his belly and of the serpent through Eve, he not only did not become godlike, but he gave rise to death, bringing perdition upon all our race. For the sake of Adam's intemperance the Lord fasted for forty days and was obedient. It was for this reason that the holy Apostles conceived this present forty-day fast, so that as Adam forfeited incorruption through his intemperance, we may regain it through abstinence. Also, as was stated earlier, it was the intent of the Holy Fathers through the Triodion to relate in a condensed form all of God's acts from the beginning to the end of the world. Since Adam's transgression and fall through the eating of the fruit of the tree is the principal cause of the state of mankind, the Fathers exhort us who are observing this commemoration to avoid Adam's sin and to shun intemperance in all things. Now it was on the sixth day that Adam was created by the hand of God after His own image and through His life-giving breath. Receiving God's commandment, he lived in Paradise up until the sixth hour, when he disobeyed God's command and was driven out. And as he stretched out his hand at the sixth hour to touch the fruit, so the new Adam, Christ, at the sixth day and hour stretched out his hands upon the Cross, annulling the sentence of perdition brought about by the former Adam. For he was created in the midst of corruption and incorruption through providence with the freedom of choice. God could have made Adam sinless, yet His providence was to provide for reparation. For this cause He gave His commandment that Adam might partake of all in the garden, save the one tree. Does this not mean that Adam was meant to understand the essence of all created by the divine power, but was not to attempt to understand the essence of the Godhead; That is to say God commanded Adam to concern himself will all other elements and qualities, reasoning with his mind to the glory of God; for this is true nourishment. But he was not to search for the divine essence: God, who He is, where He is and how He brought all things into being out of nothingness. Yet to his own harm Adam, having no care for the other things, sought to examine God and to determine His essence; and since he was not perfect but still a simple child, he failed in his undertaking, when through Eve Satan planted in him the desire of becoming Godlike. Some say that the tree of disobedience was a fig tree, and becoming aware of their nakedness, Adam and Eve used its leaves to cover themselves. For this reason Christ cursed the fig tree as the cause of that disobedience, attributing to it a sort of resemblance to sin. For having transgressed becoming clothed in mortal flesh and receiving the curse, Adam was driven from Paradise. And at God's command a flaming sword guarded its gates. Adam sat before the gates of Paradise and lamented the many blessings he had lost in his failure to observe a timely fast. And through him the entire race shared in that sentence, until our Creator, taking pity on our nature which because of Satan was perishing, was born of the Holy Virgin and lived an exceptional life, showing us the path away from the devil, that is abstinence and humility, and valiantly gaining the victory over the deceiver, returned us to our former state. In their desire to lay all these events before us, the God-bearing fathers have begun with the Old Testament: the creation of the world, the fall of Adam through the eating of the fruit, which we commemorate today, and later on the words of Moses and the prophets and the poetry of David, which impart grace. Afterwards in order the events of the New Testament, of which the first is the Annunciation, which always occurs during Lent through God's ineffable providence, the raising of Lazarus, Palm Sunday, the reading of the sacred Gospels during Holy Week, and the profound texts of the holy and saving Passion of Christ. After this the Resurrection and the rest up to the descent of the Holy Spirit read in the book of Acts, how this event became a proclamation that assembled all the saints together, for in the book of Aces the Resurrection is confirmed through signs and wonders. Since we have so suffered from Adam's failure to keep the fast, this event is commemorated today at the beginning of Great Lent, so that keeping in mind the enormous evil brought about by Adam's intemperance, we may make joyful haste to accept and keep the fast. And as Adam sinned in his desire to become godlike, we may thereby receive godliness through fasting, tears and humility until God visits us; for without these it is impossible to regain that which we have lost. It should be also noted that the holy forty-day fast is the tenth part of the entire year. Since out of indolence we are not willing to fast constantly or to rid ourselves of evil habits, the Apostles and divine Fathers have passed down the Fast to us as a sort of first offering of the harvest of our lives. And as we have acted inappropriately for the entire year, we may now cleanse our souls through fasting, contrition and humility. We should keep the Great Fast with the utmost care. For as there are four seasons in the year, so there are four fasts. Yet the divine Apostles have entrusted Lent to us as the greatest of the fasts, since it honors the Holy Passion of Christ, His fast and His glorification. Moses also fasted forty days before he received the Law, also Elijah, Daniel and all who found favor in God's sight. Adam illustrates for us the benefit of the fast as opposed to intemperance. For this reason Adam's banishment from Paradise was appointed by the Holy Fathers to be commemorated on this day." Translated from Triodion, siest' Tripesnets: Triod' Postnaya, Moscow, 1904, by Robert Parent. http://www.holy-trinity.org/liturgics/synaxarion/4-cheesefaresunday.html

St. John Chrysostom on the Art of Fasting

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 16:18:37 GMT

�Fasting is a medicine. But medicine, as beneficial as it is, becomes useless because of the inexperience of the user. He has to know the appropriate time that the medicine should be taken and the right amount of medicine and the condition of the body which is to take it, the weather conditions and the season of the year and the appropriate diet of the sick and many other things. If any of these things are overlooked, the medicine will do more harm than good. So, if one who is going to heal the body needs so much accuracy, when we care for the soul and are concerned about healing it from bad thoughts, it is necessary to examine and observe everything with every possible detail. Fasting is the change of every part of our life, because the sacrifice of the fast is not the abstinence but the distancing from sins. Therefore, whoever limits the fast to the deprivation of food, he is the one who, in reality, abhors and ridicules the fast. Are you fasting? Show me your fast with your works. Which works? If you see someone who is poor, show him mercy. If you see an enemy, reconcile with him. If you see a friend who is becoming successful, do not be jealous of him! If you see a beautiful woman on the street, pass her by. In other words, not only should the mouth fast, but the eyes and the legs and the arms and all the other parts of the body should fast as well. Let the hands fast, remaining clean from stealing and greediness. Let the legs fast, avoiding roads which lead to sinful sights. Let the eyes fast by not fixing themselves on beautiful faces and by not observing the beauty of others. You are not eating meat, are you? You should not eat debauchery with your eyes as well. Let your hearing also fast. The fast of hearing is not to accept bad talk against others and sly defamations. Let the mouth fast from disgraceful and abusive words, because, what gain is there when, on the one hand we avoid eating chicken and fish and, on the other, we chew-up and consume our brothers? He who condemns and blasphemes is as if he has eaten brotherly meat, as if he has bitten into the flesh of his fellow man. It is because of this that Paul frightened us, saying: "If you chew up and consume one another be careful that you do not annihilate yourselves." You did not thrust your teeth into the flesh (of your neighbor) but you thrusted bad talk in his soul; you wounded it by spreading disfame, causing unestimatable damage both to yourself, to him, and to many others. If you cannot go without eating all day because of an ailment of the body, beloved one, no logical man will be able to criticize you for that. Besides, we have a Lord who is meek and loving (philanthropic) and who does not ask for anything beyond our power. Because he neither requires the abstinence from foods, neither that the fast take place for the simple sake of fasting, neither is its aim that we remain with empty stomachs, but that we fast to offer our entire selves to the dedication of spiritual things, having distanced ourselves from secular things. If we regulated our life with a sober mind and directed all of our interest toward spiritual things, and if we ate as much as we needed to satisfy our necessary needs and offered our entire lives to good works, we would not have any need of the help rendered by the fast. But because human nature is indifferent and gives itself over mostly to comforts and gratifications, for this reason the philanthropic Lord, like a loving and caring father, devised the therapy of the fast for us, so that our gratifications would be completely stopped and that our worldly cares be transferred to spiritual works. So, if there are some who have gathered here and who are hindered by somatic ailments and cannot remain without food, I advise them to nullify the somatic ailment and not to deprive themselves from this spiritual teaching, but to care for it even more. For there exist, there really exist, ways which are even more important than abstinence from food which can open the gates which lead to God with boldness. He, therefore, who eats and cannot fast, let him display richer almsgiving, let him pray more, let him have a more intense desire to hear divine words. In this, our somatic illness is not a hindrance. Let him become reconciled with his enemies, let him distance from his soul every resentment. If he wants to accomplish these things, then he has done the true fast, which is what the Lord asks of us more than anything else. It is for this reason that he asks us to abstain from food, in order to place the flesh in subjection to the fulfillment of his commandments, whereby curbing its impetuousness. But if we are not about to offer to ourselves the help rendered by the fast because of bodily illness and at the same time display greater indifference, we will see ourselves in an unusual exaggerated way. For if the fast does not help us when all the aforementioned accomplishments are missing so much is the case when we display greater indifference because we cannot even use the medicine of fasting. Since you have learned these things from us, I pardon you, those who can, fast and you yourselves increase your acuteness and praiseworthy desire as much as possible. To the brothers, though, who cannot fast because of bodily illness, encourage them not to abandon this spiritual word, teaching them and passing on to them all the things we say here, showing them that he who eats and drinks with moderation is not unworthy to hear these things but he who is indifferent and slack. You should tell them the bold and daring saying that "he who eats for the glory of the Lord eats and he who does not eat for the glory of the Lord does not eat and pleases God." For he who fasts pleases God because he has the strength to endure the fatigue of the fast and he that eats also pleases God because nothing of this sort can harm the salvation of his soul, as long as he does not want it to. Because our philanthropic God showed us so many ways by which we can, if we desire, take part in God's power that it is impossible to mention them all. We have said enough about those who are missing, being that we want to eliminate them from the excuse of shame. For they should not be ashamed because food does not bring on shame but the act of some wrongdoing. Sin is a great shame. If we commit it not only should we feel ashamed but we should cover ourselves exactly the same way those who are wounded do. Even then we should not forsake ourselves but rush to confession and thanksgiving. We have such a Lord who asks nothing of us but to confess our sins, after the commitment of a sin which was due to our indifference, and to stop at that point and not to fall into the same one again. If we eat with moderation we should never be ashamed, because the Creator gave us such a body which cannot be supported in any other way except by receiving food. Let us only stop excessive food because that attributes a great deal to the health and well-being of the body. Let us therefore in every way cast off every destructive madness so that we may gain the goods which have been promised to us in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen.� [http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles4/ChrysostomFasting.php]

Meat Fare Sunday in the Orthodox Church

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 16:16:54 GMT

�The Sunday of the Last Judgment or Meat Fare Sunday is the third Sunday using the Lenten Triodion, the liturgical book used in the services of Great Lent. It is the Sunday after the Sunday of the Prodigal Son and Sunday before Forgiveness Sunday. This is the third week of the pre-Lenten start of the Paschal cycle of worship in the Orthodox Church. This Sunday is called Meat Fare Sunday since it is traditionally the last day before Pascha for eating meat. Orthodox Christians observe a fast from meat all week, but still eat dairy products and eggs till the start of Great Lent. The Gospel reading this Sunday remembers Christ's parable of the Last Judgment (Matthew 25:31-46). This adds to the previous pre-Lenten Sundays and teaches that it is not enough to see Jesus, to see ourselves as we are, and to come home to God as his prodigal sons. The Church teaches that, in addition, one must also be God�s sons by following Christ, his only-begotten divine Son, and by seeing Christ in everyone and by serving Christ through them. Salvation and final judgment will depend upon deeds, not merely on intentions or even on the mercies of God apart from personal cooperation and obedience. All piety and prayer is ultimately directed towards the goal of serving Christ through his people. From the reading, the faithful hear: �� for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you took me in, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and in prison and you visited me. �. For truly I say to you, if you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me� (Matthew 25 ).� [http://orthodoxwiki.org/Sunday_of_the_Last_Judgment]

The Art of Fasting According to the Fathers of the Church

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 15:58:49 GMT

Saint Clement of Alexandria (c.150-c.215) �Fasting is abstention from foods according to the meaning of the word, but the food does not make us either more just or more unjust. Yet, in its mystical meaning it declares that as the life of each one depends upon food, total abstention is the sign of death. Thus we ought to abstain from worldly things, for we would die as far as worldly matters are concerned, and after that, when we partake of food of divine nature, we will live in God. Above all, total abstention empties the soul of matter, and presents the soul pure and nimble to the body according to the divine words. Then, on the one hand, worldly nourishment consists of temporal life and iniquities, while divine nourishment is faith, hope, love, patience, knowledge, peace, prudence as our Lord said in Matthew: �Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled� (5:6), where truly He attributes this longing to the soul and not to the body.� Saint Isidore (360 AD) �Fasting in respect of food is of no benefit for those who fail to fast with all their senses; for whosoever is successfully waging his battle must be temperate in all things.� Saint John Chrysostom (345-407) St. John Chrysostom (345-407) said that the purpose of fasting is to prepare for partaking of the Holy Eucharist and for the Christian solemn celebrations. Chrysostom taught many times that fasting is not merely the abstention from certain foods, but mainly an abstention from evil doings. Chrysostom also warns against hypocritical fasting: �It is possible for one who fasts not to be rewarded for his fasting. How? when indeed we abstain from foods, but do not abstain from iniquities - when we do not eat meat, but gnaw to pieces the homes of the poor - when we do not become drunkards with wine, but we become drunkards with evil pleasures; when we abstain all the day, but all the night we spend in unchastened shows. Then what is the benefit of abstention from foods, when on the one hand you deprive your body of a selected food, but on the other offer yourself unlawful food?�

The Publican and the Pharisee

Fri, 04 Feb 2011 15:14:04 GMT

This parable adds to the two previous parables about God's grace, showing that a man's humble recognition of his own depravity is more important to God than the mock virtues of the proud. "Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in a week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted" (Lk. 18:9-14). It is quite likely that the Pharisee depicted in this parable was not a bad man; he did no harm to anyone. The parable does not say, however, that he has done any real good works; rather, he strictly follows the various, minute, secondary religious rites, even those of them which were not required by the Old Testament laws. Following these rites, he had no mean opinion of himself. He fits this expression of St. John Chrysostom, "He judged the whole world but justified himself!" People of this disposition are unable to evaluate themselves critically, repent and start a good life. Their moral self is dead. More than once, the Lord Jesus Christ publicly castigated the hypocrisy of Judaic scribes and Pharisees, but in this parable Christ only remarks that it was the tax collector who �went down to his house justified rather than the other�; in other words, it was the tax collector's sincere repentance that was accepted by God. This parable lets us understand that a human being is fallen and sinful. A human has nothing to boast of before God. But with sincere repentance he must come back to his Heavenly Father and expose his life to the leadership of God�s grace, like the lost sheep who passed the work of its salvation to the good shepherd! http://www.orthodoxphotos.com/readings/parables/publican.shtml

From the Mystagogy of the Holy Spirit by St. Photios the Great, Patriarch of Constantinople: In Defense of the Orthodox / Biblical Doctrine of the Procession of the Holy Spirit

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 14:27:40 GMT

1. If the Spirit is indeed simple, but proceeds from the Father and the Son, these two would certainly be considered one hypostasis, and there would be introduced here a Sabellian fusion, or better to say, a semi-Sabellian fusion. 2. If indeed the Holy Spirit does proceed from the Father and the Son, He would be altogether double and composite. If the Holy Spirit is ascribed to two principles, where will the much-hymned monarchy be? 3. If the Father and the Son both originate the Spirit, the Father will be both the direct and indirect originator of the Spirit on account of His proceeding also from the Son. 4. Certainly, if the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father is perfect, then that from the Son is superfluous. 5. If the Son has the property of originating the Spirit like the Father, the property of origination will be common to both. But how will the property be shared in common? If by opposition, will not one destroy the other? For contraries are destructive of one another. If by divergence, then part of the Spirit will proceed in one way and part in another, and He will be composed of unequal parts. 6. If, indeed, both the Son and the Spirit have come forth from one cause, namely the Father, and the Son again originates the Spirit, then the Spirit should also originate the Son. For the Father and Originator brought forth both with equal honour. 7. If, indeed, the Son does share with the Father in originating the Holy Spirit, then the Holy Spirit will also share in it, for all that the Father has in common with the Son, He also has in common with the Holy Spirit. Hence He will be at the same time cause and caused, which thing is more monstrous than the fables of the [pagan] Greeks. 8. If the Son has the power of origination, but the Spirit is denied it, He is inferior in power to the Son, which was the insanity of Macedonius. 9. They allege as an excuse, however, that Ambrose wrote thus in his treatises concerning the subject, as did also Augustine and Jerome. One must say in defence of these men that perhaps the Pneumatomachians corrupted their writings, or perhaps they spoke according to the tactics used by the great Basil, who for a time refrained from preaching the divinity of the All-Holy Spirit, or perhaps they, since they were only human, had been led astray from sound theology; for many great men, like Dionysius of Alexandria, Methodius of Patara and Pierios, Pamphilius, Theognostus, and Irenaeus of Lyons with his disciple Hippolytus, have suffered so in certain things. For we do not accept some of their statements though we greatly admire the rest. 10. So Ambrose, Augustine, and Jerome, said what the Latins claim; but the hierarchs of the Seven Synods did not. All the synods in succession confirmed the definition of our faith. The leaders and lights of the Church of Old Rome agreed with them without any contradiction and decreed that it was not permitted to add or subtract anything from the aforesaid definition of the faith, and that he who dared to do so should absolutely be cast out of the Church. 11. Divine Gregory the Dialogist, who flourished not long after the Sixth Synod, preached and wrote in Latin that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father alone. Zacharias, 165 years later, translated the Dialogues into Greek and said, the Paraclete Spirit, proceeds from the Father and abides in the Son; for he had been taught this by the Forerunner, who saw the Spirit descending like a dove and abiding upon Him. 12. Leo and Benedict, great hierarchs of Old Rome in later times, decreed that the Symbol of Faith be recited in Greek at the mystical rites in Old Rome and in the other churches subject to her, lest the inadequacy of Latin furnish an occasion for blasphemy. This Leo, when he had opened the treasury of the Apostolic Church of Old Rome, brought forth two shields which had been preserved among the other sacred heirlooms and which were engraved with the pious exposition of the Faith in Greek letters and words [St Photius was mistaken; the words were engraved in Greek and Latin], and which he ordered to be read before all the people of Old Rome. Up to the time of the pious patriarch of New Rome Sergius, the hierarchs of Old Rome sent confirmatory letters of their belief at the beginning of their high priesthood to all the patriarchal sees, and in these letters they inscribed the Symbol of Faith without any variation. 13. But what need is there to say much? The Son and Master reveals that the Spirit proceeds from the Father; and likewise the great Paul declares, saying, But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other Gospel unto you other than that which we have preached unto you, let him be anathema. And who will ask for another teacher unless he be plainly insane? From another portion of the same work from a different manuscript: 9. When David said, By the Spirit of His mouth, he taught also that the Spirit proceeds from the Father alone, since he applies the phrase of His mouth to the Father, not to the Son, in order that he might destroy by anticipation the blasphemy of those who hold the Spirit proceeds also from the Son. 10. In all other cases, procession denotes simple egress, as when it is said in the Psalms, He went forth and spoke in a like manner. [Psalm 40:6] But the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father does not signify simply egress, which is accidental, coming to pass and then ceasing, but it is an essential and natural procession, signifying the mode of being and declaring the subsistence of the Holy Spirit, Who is not by generation, as is the Son, but by procession, in His own proper manner. For the characteristic property of the Son is to be begotten by nature from the Father, but the characteristic property of the Holy Spirit is to proceed by nature from the Father. They differ from each other only thus, namely, in the characteristic property of subsistence, while in other respects they are one in essence, in nature, in dignity, in power, and, to put it simply, one in everything else, both with the Father and with each other. How then do you say the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and from the Son? If as cause, then there are two causes and two principles (Father and Son), and you are advocating a dyarchy rather than a monarchy; but it is not our task to speak about the many absurdities following from this belief. However, if the Spirit proceeds in another way, as if from the mutual linking by reason of their reciprocal indwelling and interchange of the other properties, and, to speak simply, proceeds as if being sent, then you are sound in your understanding. For just as the Father sends the Son, so does the Son send the Spirit. The Son says, But when the Paraclete is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, the Spirit of truth which proceeds from the Father, He shall witness of Me. Nevertheless, you err in another respect: first, in changing and falsifying through this addition the exposition of faith confirmed by the Seven Synods -- and no one but you has done it! -- and secondly, that which you interpolate between the two phrases and which we are accustomed to call a conjunction, implies the meaning of equal procession from both the Father and the Son, even though you might understand the procession from the Son in another way, just as we said above. One ought, however, not only to think correctly, but also not to scandalise others. For if he who gives scandal to one person has been judged worthy of a fearful punishment, according to the Gospels, what punishment will they deserve who have scandalised almost the entire world? 11. When God the Son was speaking concerning the Holy Spirit, He said not once, but twice in the course of the same speech that the Holy Spirit is from the Father. Why did He not say, and from Me? Our opponents reply that he was speaking humbly as a man; but we, answering quickly, convict them at once of a lie. The words, Whom I will send unto you, were not spoken as man, but rather as God; for a man does not send God, if the Holy Spirit is indeed God. Therefore, twice He said from the Father in order to confirm such a sublime utterance and to stop the mouths of those who in the future would say that the Spirit proceeds from the Son. This argument was propounded by the acumen of the very wise emperor, for he used it when he disputed with the bishop of Milan. [A note in the Latin text indicates the emperor was Alexius Comnenos and the bishop of Milan was Peter, the year 1116.] Feast Day of Patriarch Photios: Sunday, February 6 http://www.unexpectedjoy.org/Confessions/06Filioque/0867-EncylicalPhotius.html

Synaxis of The Three Hierarchs: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom (January 30)

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 15:13:42 GMT

�This common feast of these three teachers was instituted a little before the year 1100, during the reign of the Emperor Alexis I Comnenus, because of a dispute and strife that arose among the notable and virtuous men of that time. Some of them preferred Basil, while others preferred Gregory, and yet others preferred John Chrysostom, quarreling among themselves over which of the three was the greatest. Furthermore, each party, in order to distinguish itself from the others, assumed the name of its preferred Saint; hence, they called themselves Basilians, Gregorians, or Johannites. Desiring to bring an end to the contention, the three Saints appeared together to the saintly John Mavropous, a monk who had been ordained Bishop of Euchaita, a city of Asia Minor, they revealed to him that the glory they have at the throne of God is equal, and told him to compose a common service for the three of them, which he did with great skill and beauty. Saint John of Euchaita (celebrated Oct. 5) is also the composer of the Canon to the Guardian Angel, the Protector of a Man's Life. In his old age, he retired from his episcopal see and again took up the monastic life in a monastery in Constantinople. He reposed during the reign of the aforementioned Emperor Alexis Comnenus (1081-1118).� Taken with gratitude from the website of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America http://goarch.org/chapel/saints_view?contentid=408

On Repentance and Great Lent 2011

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 02:36:02 GMT

�The Lenten worship is...a school of repentance. It teaches us what is repentance and how to acquire the spirit of repentance. It prepares us for and leads us to the spiritual regeneration without which �absolution� remains meaningless. It is, in short, both teaching about repentance and the way of repentance. And since there can be no real Christian life without repentance, without this constant �re-evaluation� of life, the Lenten worship is an essential part of the liturgical tradition of the Church.� [Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann]

The Ecclesiastical Rank of Bishop

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 01:07:10 GMT

An office of the major orders of the clergy. A bishop (from the Greek episkopos, 'overseer') is the highest order of clergy in the Church, successor to the apostles in the charism of governing the Christian faithful. In present practice, bishops are always drawn from the ranks of the monastics, and thus are never married. All bishops in the Church are canonically equal, but there are distinctions of administrative rank among them. These are: 1. Ruling bishops (i.e. those who govern a diocese or territory). a. Diocesan Bishop: The normal rank of bishop, in charge of a diocese. b. Archbishop & Metropolitan: A title granted to a bishop in charge of a large or senior see; or at times as an honorific for long-serving bishops. In the older practice, preserved in the Slavic and Antiochian traditions, the rank of Metropolitan is higher than that of Archbishop; in the Greek practice this order is reversed. c. Patriarch: A title reserved for the primates of certain autocephalous churches. 2. Non-ruling bishops (i.e. a bishop who does not rule his own diocese): a. Patriarchal vicar: A bishop appointed by a patriarch for a specific task. b. Auxuliary bishop: A bishop serving in a diocese or territory as assistant to the diocesan bishop. 3. Titular bishops / two types: a. A bishop named for an ancient but no-longer-extant see, in order to serve in a territory where it is not possible to consecrate a bishop of locale title (e.g. the ruling diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Sourozh, Great Britain, is normally title 'Bishop of Sourozh', rather than 'Bishop of London'). b. A bishop given a titular rank in order to serve in a specific auxiliary capacity. [Taken from ]http://monachos.net/content/liturgics/liturgical-studies/481-orthodox-dictionary-glossary]

Discourse On the Day of the Baptism of Christ by St John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople

Wed, 05 Jan 2011 03:09:36 GMT

We shall now say something about the present feast. Many celebrate the feast days and know their designations, but the cause for which they were established they know not. Thus concerning this, that the present feast is called Theophany -- everyone knows; but what this is -- Theophany, and whether it be one thing or another, they know not. And this is shameful -- every year to celebrate the feast day and not know its reason. First of all therefore, it is necessary to say that there is not one Theophany, but two: the one actual, which already has occurred, and the second in future, which will happen with glory at the end of the world. About this one and about the other you will hear today from Paul, who in conversing with Titus, speaks thus about the present: "The grace of God hath revealed itself, having saved all mankind, decreeing, that we reject iniquity and worldly desires, and dwell in the present age in prudence and in righteousness and piety" -- and about the future: "awaiting the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ" (Tit 2:11-13). And a prophet speaks thus about this latter: "the sun shalt turn to darkness, and the moon to blood at first, then shalt come the great and illuminating Day of the Lord" (Joel 2:31). Why is not that day, on which the Lord was born, considered Theophany -- but rather this day on which He was baptized? This present day it is, on which He was baptized and sanctified the nature of water. Because on this day all, having obtained the waters, do carry it home and keep it all year, since today the waters are sanctified; and an obvious phenomenon occurs: these waters in their essence do not spoil with the passage of time, but obtained today, for one whole year and often for two or three years, they remain unharmed and fresh, and afterwards for a long time do not stop being water, just as that obtained from the fountains. Why then is this day called Theophany? Because Christ made Himself known to all -- not then when He was born -- but then when He was baptized. Until this time He was not known to the people. And that the people did not know Him, Who He was, listen about this to John the Baptist, who says: "Amidst you standeth, Him Whom ye know not of" (Jn.1:26). And is it surprising that others did not know Him, when even the Baptist did not know Him until that day? "And I -- said he -- knew Him not: but He that did send me to baptize with water, about This One did tell unto me: over Him that shalt see the Spirit descending and abiding upon Him, This One it is Who baptizeth in the Holy Spirit" (Jn. 1:33). Thus from this it is evident, that -- there are two Theophanies, and why Christ comes at baptism and on whichever baptism He comes, about this it is necessary to say: it is therefore necessary to know both the one and equally the other. And first it is necessary to speak your love about the latter, so that we might learn about the former. There was a Jewish baptism, which cleansed from bodily impurities, but not to remove sins. Thus, whoever committed adultery, or decided on thievery, or who did some other kind of misdeed, it did not free him from guilt. But whoever touched the bones of the dead, whoever tasted food forbidden by the law, whoever approached from contamination, whoever consorted with lepers -- that one washed, and until evening was impure, and then cleansed. "Let one wash his body in pure water -- it says in the Scriptures, -- and he will be unclean until evening, and then he will be clean" (Lev 15:5, 22:4). This was not truly of sins or impurities, but since the Jews lacked perfection, then God, accomplishing it by means of this greater piety, prepared them by their beginnings for a precise observance of important things. Thus, Jewish cleansings did not free from sins, but only from bodily impurities. Not so with ours: it is far more sublime and it manifests a great grace, whereby it sets free from sin, it cleanses the spirit and bestows the gifts of the Spirit. And the baptism of John was far more sublime than the Jewish, but less so than ours: it was like a bridge between both baptisms, leading across itself from the first to the last. Wherefore John did not give guidance for observance of bodily purifications, but together with them he exhorted and advised to be converted from vice to good deeds and to trust in the hope of salvation and the accomplishing of good deeds, rather than in different washings and purifications by water. John did not say: wash your clothes, wash your body, and ye will be pure, but what? -- "bear ye fruits worthy of repentance" (Mt 3:8). Since it was more than of the Jews, but less than ours: the baptism of John did not impart the Holy Spirit and it did not grant forgiveness by grace: it gave the commandment to repent, but it was powerless to absolve sins. Wherefore John did also say: "I baptize you with water...That One however will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire" (Mt 3:11). Obviously, he did not baptize with the Spirit. But what does this mean: "with the Holy Spirit and with fire?" Call to mind that day, on which for the Apostles "there appeared disparate tongues like fire, and sat over each one of them" (Acts 2:3). And that the baptism of John did not impart the Spirit and remission of sins is evident from the following: Paul "found certain disciples, and said to them: received ye the Holy Spirit since ye have believed? They said to him: but furthermore whether it be of the Holy Spirit, we shall hear. He said to them: into what were ye baptized? They answered: into the baptism of John. Paul then said: John indeed baptized with the baptism of repentance," -- repentance, but not remission of sins; for whom did he baptize? "Having proclaimed to the people, that they should believe in the One coming after him, namely, Christ Jesus. Having heard this, they were baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus: and Paul laying his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them" (Acts 19:1-6). Do you see, how incomplete was the baptism of John? If the one were not incomplete, would then Paul have baptized them again, and placed his hands on them; having performed also the second, he shew the superiority of the apostolic Baptism and that the baptism of John was far less than his. Thus, from this we recognize the difference of the baptisms. Now it is necessary to say, for whom was Christ baptized and by which baptism? Neither the former the Jewish, nor the last -- ours. Whence hath He need for remission of sins, how is this possible for Him, Who hath not any sins? "Of sin, -- it says in the Scriptures, -- worked He not, nor was there deceit found in His mouth" (1 Pet 2:22); and further, "who of you convicted Me of Sin?" (Jn 8:46). And His flesh was privy to the Holy Spirit; how might this be possible, when it in the beginning was fashioned by the Holy Spirit? And so, if His flesh was privy to the Holy Spirit, and He was not subject to sins, then for whom was He baptized? But first of all it is necessary for us to recognize, by which baptism He was baptized, and then it will be clear for us. By which baptism indeed was He baptized? -- Not the Jewish, nor ours, nor John's. For whom, since thou from thine own aspect of baptism dost perceive, that He was baptized not by reason of sin and not having need of the gift of the Spirit; therefore, as we have demonstrated, this baptism was alien to the one and to the other. Hence it is evident, that He came to Jordan not for the forgiveness of sins and not for receiving the gifts of the Spirit. But so that some from those present then should not think, that He came for repentance like others, listen to how John precluded this. What he then spoke to the others then was: "Bear ye fruits worthy of repentance"; but listen what he said to Him: "I have need to be baptized of Thee, and Thou art come to me?" (Mt 3:8, 14). With these words he demonstrated, that Christ came to him not through that need with which people came, and that He was so far from the need to be baptized for this reason -- so much more sublime and perfectly purer than Baptism itself. For whom was He baptized, if this was done not for repentance, nor for the remission of sins, nor for receiving the gifts of the Spirit? Through the other two reasons, of which about the one the disciple speaks, and about the other He Himself spoke to John. Which reason of this baptism did John declare? Namely, that Christ should become known to the people, as Paul also mentions: "John therefore baptized with the baptism of repentance, so that through him they should believe on Him that cometh" (Acts 19:4); this was the consequence of the baptism. If John had gone to the home of each and, standing at the door, had spoken out for Christ and said: "He is the Son of God," such a testimony would have been suspicious, and this deed would have been extremely perplexing. So too, if he in advocating Christ had gone into the synagogues and witnessed to Him, this testimony of his might be suspiciously fabricated. But when all the people thronged out from all the cities to Jordan and remained on the banks of the river, and when He Himself came to be baptized and received the testimony of the Father by a voice from above and by the coming-upon of the Spirit in the form of a dove, then the testimony of John about Him was made beyond all questioning. And since he said: "and I knew Him not" (Jn 1:31), his testimony put forth is trustworthy. They were kindred after the flesh between themselves "wherefore Elizabeth, thy kinswoman, hath also conceived a son" -- said the Angel to Mary about the mother of John (Lk. 1: 36); if however the mothers were relatives, then obviously so also were the children. Thus, since they were kinsmen -- in order that it should not seem that John would testify concerning Christ because of kinship, the grace of the Spirit organized it such, that John spent all his early years in the wilderness, so that it should not seem that John had declared his testimony out of friendship or some similar reason. But John, as he was instructed of God, thus also announced about Him, wherein also he did say: "and I knew Him not." From whence didst thou find out? "He having sent me that sayeth to baptize with water, That One did tell me" What did He tell thee? "Over Him thou shalt see the Spirit descending, like to a dove, and abiding over Him, That One is baptized by the Holy Spirit" (Jn 1:32-33). Dost thou see, that the Holy Spirit did not descend as in a first time then coming down upon Him, but in order to point out that preached by His inspiration -- as though by a finger, it pointed Him out to all. For this reason He came to baptism. And there is a second reason, about which He Himself spoke -- what exactly is it? When John said: "I have need to be baptized of Thee, and Thou art come to me?" -- He answered thus: "stay now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill every righteousness" (Mt 3:14-15). Dost thou see the meekness of the servant? Dost thou see the humility of the Master? What does He mean: "to fulfill every righteousness?" By righteousness is meant the fulfillment of all the commandments, as is said: "both were righteous, walking faultlessly in the commandments of the Lord" (Lk 1:6). Since fulfilling this righteousness was necessary for all people -- but no one of them kept it or fulfilled it -- Christ came then and fulfilled this righteousness. And what righteousness is there, someone will say, in being baptized? Obedience for a prophet was righteous. As Christ was circumcised, offered sacrifice, kept the Sabbath and observed the Jewish feasts, so also He added this remaining thing, that He was obedient to having been baptized by a prophet. It was the will of God then, that all should be baptized -- about which listen, as John speaks: "He having sent me to baptize with water" (Jn 1:33); so also Christ: "the publicans and the people do justify God, having been baptized with the baptism of John; the Pharisees and the lawyers reject the counsel of God concerning themselves, not having been baptized by him" (Lk 7:29-30). Thus, if obedience to God constitutes righteousness, and God sent John to baptize the nation, then Christ has also fulfilled this along with all the other commandments. Consider, that the commandments of the law is the main point of the two denarii: this -- debt, which our race has needed to pay; but we did not pay it, and we, falling under such an accusation, are embraced by death. Christ came, and finding us afflicted by it -- He paid the debt, fulfilled the necessary and seized from it those, who were not able to pay. Wherefore He does not say: "it is necessary for us to do this or that," but rather "to fulfill every righteousness." "It is for Me, being the Master, -- says He, -- proper to make payment for the needy." Such was the reason for His baptism -- wherefore they should see, that He had fulfilled all the law -- both this reason and also that, about which was spoken of before. Wherefore also the Spirit did descend as a dove: because where there is reconciliation with God -- there also is the dove. So also in the ark of Noah the dove did bring the branch of olive -- a sign of God's love of mankind and of the cessation of the flood. And now in the form of a dove, and not in a body -- this particularly deserves to be noted -- the Spirit descended, announcing the universal mercy of God and showing with it, that the spiritual man needs to be gentle, simple and innocent, as Christ also says: "Except ye be converted and become as children, ye shalt not enter into the Heavenly Kingdom" (Mt 18:3). But that ark, after the cessation of the flood, remained upon the earth; this ark, after the cessation of wrath, is taken to heaven, and now this Immaculate and Imperishable Body is situated at the right hand of the Father. Having made mention about the Body of the Lord, I shall also say a little about this, and then the conclusion of the talk. Many now will approach the Holy Table on the occasion of the feast. But some approach not with trembling, but shoving, hitting others, blazing with anger, shouting, cursing, roughing it up with their fellows with great confusion. What, tell me, art thou troubled by, my fellow? What disturbed thee? Do urgent affairs, for certain, summon thee? At this hour art thou particularly aware, that these affairs of thine that thou particularly remembers, that thou art situated upon the earth, and dost thou think to mix about with people? But is it not with a soul of stone naturally to think, that in such a time thou stand upon the earth, and not exult with the Angels with whom to raise up victorious song to God? For this Christ also did describe us with eagles, saying: "where the corpse is, there are the eagles gathered" (Mt 24:28) -- so that we might have risen to heaven and soared to the heights, having ascended on the wings of the spirit; but we, like snakes, crawl upon the earth and eat dirt. Having been invited to supper, thou, although satiated before others, would not dare to leave before others while others are still reclining. But here, when the sacred doings are going on, thou at the very middle would pass by everything and leave? Is it for a worthy excuse? What excuse might it be? Judas, having communed that last evening on that final night, left hastily then as all the others were still reclining. Here these also are in imitation of him, who leave before the final blessing! If he had not gone, then he would not have made the betrayal; if he did not leave his co-disciples, then he would not have perished; if he had not removed himself from the flock, then the wolf would not have seized and devoured him alone; if he had separated himself from the Pastor, then he would not have made himself the prey of wild beasts. Wherefore he (Judas) was with the Jews, and those (the apostles) went out with the Lord. Dost thou see, by what manner the final prayer after the offering of the sacrifice is accomplished? We should, beloved, stand forth for this, we should ponder this, fearful of the coming judgment for this. We should approach the Holy Sacrifice with great decorum, with proper piety, so as to merit us more of God's benevolence, to cleanse one's soul and to receive eternal blessings, of which may we all be worthy by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, to with Whom the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, power, and worship now and ever and unto ages of ages. + Amen.

St. Gregory Nazianzus Oration 39: On the Feast of Lights (Epiphany or Theophany)

Mon, 27 Dec 2010 15:42:48 GMT

I. Again My Jesus, and again a mystery; not deceitful nor disorderly, nor belonging to Greek error or drunkenness (for so I call their solemnities, and so I think will every man of sound sense); but a mystery lofty and divine, and allied to the Glory above. For the Holy Day of the Lights, to which we have come, and which we are celebrating today, has for its origin the Baptism of my Christ, the True Light That lightens every man that comes into the world, John 1:9 and effects my purification, and assists that light which we received from the beginning from Him from above, but which we darkened and confused by sin. II. Therefore listen to the Voice of God, which sounds so exceeding clearly to me, who am both disciple and master of these mysteries, as would to God it may sound to you; I Am The Light Of The World. John 8:12 Therefore approach ye to Him and be enlightened, and let not your faces be ashamed, being signed with the true Light. It is a season of new birth, John 3:3 let us be born again. It is a time of reformation, let us receive again the first Adam. Let us not remain what we are, but let us become what we once were. The Light Shines In Darkness, in this life and in the flesh, and is chased by the darkness, but is not overtaken by it:� I mean the adverse power leaping up in its shamelessness against the visible Adam, but encountering God and being defeated�in order that we, putting away the darkness, may draw near to the Light, and may then become perfect Light, the children of perfect Light. See the grace of this Day; see the power of this mystery. Are you not lifted up from the earth? Are you not clearly placed on high, being exalted by our voice and meditation? And you will be placed much higher when the Word shall have prospered the course of my words. III. Is there any such among the shadowy purifications of the Law, aiding as it did with temporary sprinklings, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean; or do the gentiles celebrate any such thing in their mysteries, every ceremony and mystery of which to me is nonsense, and a dark invention of demons, and a figment of an unhappy mind, aided by time, and hidden by fable? For what they worship as true, they veil as mythical. But if these things are true, they ought not to be called myths, but to be proved not to be shameful; Hebrews 7:13 and if they are false, they ought not to be objects of wonder; nor ought people so inconsiderately to hold the most contrary opinions about the same thing, as if they were playing in the market-place with boys or really ill-disposed men, not engaged in discussion with men of sense, and worshippers of the Word, though despisers of this artificial plausibility. IV. We are not concerned in these mysteries with birth of Zeus and thefts of the Cretan Tyrant (though the Greeks may be displeased at such a title for him), nor with the name of Curetes, and the armed dances, which were to hide the wailings of a weeping god, that he might escape from his father's hate. For indeed it would be a strange thing that he who was swallowed as a stone should be made to weep as a child. Nor are we concerned with Phrygian mutilations and flutes and Corybantes, and all the ravings of men concerning Rhea, consecrating people to the mother of the gods, and being initiated into such ceremonies as befit the mother of such gods as these. Nor have we any carrying away of the Maiden, nor wandering of Demeter, nor her intimacy with Celei and Triptolemi and Dragons; nor her doings and sufferings...for I am ashamed to bring into daylight that ceremony of the night, and to make a sacred mystery of obscenity. Eleusis knows these things, and so do those who are eyewitnesses of what is there guarded by silence, and well worthy of it. Nor is our commemoration one of Dionysus, and the thigh that travailed with an incomplete birth, as before a head had travailed with another; nor of the hermaphrodite god, nor a chorus of the drunken and enervated host; nor of the folly of the Thebans which honours him; nor the thunderbolt of Semele which they adore. Nor is it the harlot mysteries of Aphrodite, who, as they themselves admit, was basely born and basely honoured; nor have we here Phalli and Ithyphalli, shameful both in form and action; nor Taurian massacres of strangers; nor blood of Laconian youths shed upon the altars, as they scourged themselves with the whips; and in this case alone use their courage badly, who honour a goddess, and her a virgin. For these same people both honour effeminacy, and worship boldness. V. And where will you place the butchery of Pelops, which feasted hungry gods, that bitter and inhuman hospitality? Where the horrible and dark spectres of Hecate, and the underground puerilities and sorceries of Trophonius, or the babblings of the Dodon�an Oak, or the trickeries of the Delphian tripod, or the prophetic draught of Castalia, which could prophesy anything, except their own being brought to silence? Nor is it the sacrificial art of Magi, and their entrail forebodings, nor the Chald�an astronomy and horoscopes, comparing our lives with the movements of the heavenly bodies, which cannot know even what they are themselves, or shall be. Nor are these Thracian orgies, from which the word Worship (θρησκεία) is said to be derived; nor rites and mysteries of Orpheus, whom the Greeks admired so much for his wisdom that they devised for him a lyre which draws all things by its music. Nor the tortures of Mithras which it is just that those who can endure to be initiated into such things should suffer; nor the manglings of Osiris, another calamity honoured by the Egyptians; nor the ill-fortunes of Isis and the goats more venerable than the Mendesians, and the stall of Apis, the calf that luxuriated in the folly of the Memphites, nor all those honours with which they outrage the Nile, while themselves proclaiming it in song to be the Giver of fruits and grain, and the measurer of happiness by its cubits. VI. I pass over the honours they pay to reptiles, and their worship of vile things, each of which has its peculiar cultus and festival, and all share in a common devilishness; so that, if they were absolutely bound to be ungodly, and to fall away from honouring God, and to be led astray to idols and works of art and things made with hands, men of sense could not imprecate anything worse upon themselves than that they might worship just such things, and honour them in just such a way; that, as Paul says, they might receive in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet, Romans 1:27 in the very objects of their worship; not so much honouring them as suffering dishonour by them; abominable because of their error, and yet more abominable from the vileness of the objects of their adoration and worship; so that they should be even more without understanding than the objects of their worship; being as excessively foolish as the latter are vile. VII. Well, let these things be the amusement of the children of the Greeks and of the demons to whom their folly is due, who turn aside the honour of God to themselves, and divide men in various ways in pursuit of shameful thoughts and fancies, ever since they drove us away from the Tree of Life, by means of the Tree of Knowledge unseasonably and improperly imparted to us, and then assailed us as now weaker than before; carrying clean away the mind, which is the ruling power in us, and opening a door to the passions. For, being of a nature envious and man-hating, or rather having become so by their own wickedness, they could neither endure that we who were below should attain to that which is above, having themselves fallen from above upon the earth; nor that such a change in their glory and their first natures should have taken place. This is the meaning of their persecution of the creature. For this God's Image was outraged; and as we did not like to keep the Commandments, we were given over to the independence of our error. And as we erred we were disgraced by the objects of our worship. For there was not only this calamity, that we who were made for good works to the glory and praise of our Maker, and to imitate God as far as might be, were turned into a den of all sorts of passions, which cruelly devour and consume the inner man; but there was this further evil, that man actually made gods the advocates of his passions, so that sin might be reckoned not only irresponsible, but even divine, taking refuge in the objects of his worship as his apology. VIII. But since to us grace has been given to flee from superstitious error and to be joined to the truth and to serve the living and true God, and to rise above creation, passing by all that is subject to time and to first motion; let us look at and reason upon God and things divine in a manner corresponding to this Grace given us. But let us begin our discussion of them from the most fitting point. And the most fitting is, as Solomon laid down for us; us; The beginning of wisdom, he says, is to get wisdom. Proverbs 4:7 And what this is he tells us; the beginning of wisdom is fear. For we must not begin with contemplation and leave off with fear (for an unbridled contemplation would perhaps push us over a precipice), but we must be grounded and purified and so to say made light by fear, and thus be raised to the height. For where fear is there is keeping of commandments; and where there is keeping of commandments there is purifying of the flesh, that cloud which covers the soul and suffers it not to see the Divine Ray. And where there is purifying there is Illumination; and Illumination is the satisfying of desire to those who long for the greatest things, or the Greatest Thing, or That Which surpasses all greatness. IX. Wherefore we must purify ourselves first, and then approach this converse with the Pure; unless we would have the same experience as Israel, Exodus 34:30 who could not endure the glory of the face of Moses, and therefore asked for a veil; 2 Corinthians 3:7 or else would feel and say with Manoah We are undone O wife, we have seen God, Judges 13:23 although it was God only in his fancy; or like Peter would send Jesus out of the boat, Luke 5:8 as being ourselves unworthy of such a visit; and when I say Peter, I am speaking of the man who walked upon the waves; Matthew 14:29 or like Paul would be stricken in eyes, Acts 9:3-8 as he was before he was cleansed from the guilt of his persecution, when he conversed with Him Whom he was persecuting� or rather with a short flash of That great Light; or like the Centurion Matthew 8:8 would seek for healing, but would not, through a praiseworthy fear, receive the Healer into his house. Let each one of us also speak so, as long as he is still uncleansed, and is a Centurion still, commanding many in wickedness, and serving in the army of C�sar, the World-ruler of those who are being dragged down; I am not worthy that you should come under my roof. But when he shall have looked upon Jesus, though he be little of stature like Zaccheus Luke 19:3 of old, and climb up on the top of the sycamore tree by mortifying his members which are upon the earth, Colossians 3:5 and having risen above the body of humiliation, then he shall receive the Word, and it shall be said to him, This day is salvation come to this house. Luke 19:9 Then let him lay hold on the salvation, and bring forth fruit more perfectly, scattering and pouring forth rightly that which as a publican he wrongly gathered. X. For the same Word is on the one hand terrible through its nature to those who are unworthy, and on the other through its loving kindness can be received by those who are thus prepared, who have driven out the unclean and worldly spirit from their souls, and have swept and adorned their own souls by self-examination, and have not left them idle or without employment, so as again to be occupied with greater armament by the seven spirits of wickedness...the same number as are reckoned of virtue (for that which is hardest to fight against calls for the sternest efforts)...but besides fleeing from evil, practise virtue, making Christ entirely, or at any rate to the greatest extent possible, to dwell within them, so that the power of evil cannot meet with any empty place to fill it again with himself, and make the last state of that man worse than the first, by the greater energy of his assault, and the greater strength and impregnability of the fortress. But when, having guarded our soul with every care, and having appointed goings up in our heart, and broken up our fallow ground, Jeremiah 4:3 and sown unto righteousness, Proverbs 11:18 as David and Solomon and Jeremiah bid us, let us enlighten ourselves with the light of knowledge, and then let us speak of the Wisdom of God that has been hid in a mystery, 2 Corinthians 2:6 and enlighten others. Meanwhile let us purify ourselves, and receive the elementary initiation of the Word, that we may do ourselves the utmost good, making ourselves godlike, and receiving the Word at His coming; and not only so, but holding Him fast and showing Him to others. XI. And now, having purified the theatre by what has been said, let us discourse a little about the Festival, and join in celebrating this Feast with festal and pious souls. And, since the chief point of the Festival is the remembrance of God, let us call God to mind. For I think that the sound of those who keep Festival There, where is the dwelling of all the Blissful, is nothing else than this, the hymns and praises of God, sung by all who are counted worthy of that City. Let none be astonished if what I have to say contains some things that I have said before; for not only will I utter the same words, but I shall speak of the same subjects, trembling both in tongue and mind and thought when I speak of God for you too, that you may share this laudable and blessed feeling. And when I speak of God you must be illumined at once by one flash of light and by three. Three in Individualities or Hypostases, if any prefer so to call them, or persons, for we will not quarrel about names so long as the syllables amount to the same meaning; but One in respect of the Substance� that is, the Godhead. For they are divided without division, if I may so say; and they are united in division. For the Godhead is one in three, and the three are one, in whom the Godhead is, or to speak more accurately, Who are the Godhead. Excesses and defects we will omit, neither making the Unity a confusion, nor the division a separation. We would keep equally far from the confusion of Sabellius and from the division of Arius, which are evils diametrically opposed, yet equal in their wickedness. For what need is there heretically to fuse God together, or to cut Him up into inequality? XII. For to us there is but One God, the Father, of Whom are all things, and One Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom are all things; and One Holy Ghost, in Whom are all things; 2 Corinthians 8:6 yet these words, of, by, in, whom, do not denote a difference of nature (for if this were the case, the three prepositions, or the order of the three names would never be altered), but they characterize the personalities of a nature which is one and unconfused. And this is proved by the fact that They are again collected into one, if you will read� not carelessly� this other passage of the same Apostle, Of Him and through Him and to Him are all things; to Him be glory forever, Amen. Romans 11:36 The Father is Father, and is Unoriginate, for He is of no one; the Son is Son, and is not unoriginate, for He is of the Father. But if you take the word Origin in a temporal sense, He too is Unoriginate, for He is the Maker of Time, and is not subject to Time. The Holy Ghost is truly Spirit, coming forth from the Father indeed, but not after the manner of the Son, for it is not by Generation but by Procession (since I must coin a word for the sake of clearness ); for neither did the Father cease to be Unbegotten because of His begetting something, nor the Son to be begotten because He is of the Unbegotten (how could that be?), nor is the Spirit changed into Father or Son because He proceeds, or because He is God� though the ungodly do not believe it. For Personality is unchangeable; else how could Personality remain, if it were changeable, and could be removed from one to another? But they who make Unbegotten and Begotten natures of equivocal gods would perhaps make Adam and Seth differ in nature, since the former was not born of flesh (for he was created), but the latter was born of Adam and Eve. There is then One God in Three, and These Three are One, as we have said. XIII. Since then these things are so, or rather since This is so; and His Adoration ought not to be rendered only by Beings above, but there ought to be also worshippers on earth, that all things may be filled with the glory of God (forasmuch as they are filled with God Himself); therefore man was created and honored with the hand and Image of God. But to despise man, when by the envy of the Devil and the bitter taste of sin he was pitiably severed from God his Maker� this was not in the Nature of God. What then was done, and what is the great Mystery that concerns us? An innovation is made upon nature, and God is made Man. He that rides upon the Heaven of Heavens in the East of His own glory and Majesty, is glorified in the West of our meanness and lowliness. And the Son of God deigns to become and to be called Son of Man; not changing what He was (for It is unchangeable); but assuming what He was not (for He is full of love to man), that the Incomprehensible might be comprehended, conversing with us through the mediation of the Flesh as through a veil; since it was not possible for that nature which is subject to birth and decay to endure His unveiled Godhead. Therefore the Unmingled is mingled; and not only is God mingled with birth and Spirit with flesh, and the Eternal with time, and the Uncircumscribed with measure; but also Generation with Virginity, and dishonour with Him who is higher than all honour; He who is impassible with Suffering, and the Immortal with the corruptible. For since that Deceiver thought that he was unconquerable in his malice, after he had cheated us with the hope of becoming gods, he was himself cheated by God's assumption of our nature; so that in attacking Adam as he thought, he should really meet with God, and thus the new Adam should save the old, and the condemnation of the flesh should be abolished, death being slain by flesh. XIV. At His birth we duly kept Festival, both I, the leader of the Feast, and you, and all that is in the world and above the world. With the Star we ran, and with the Magi we worshipped, and with the Shepherds we were illuminated, and with the Angels we glorified Him, and with Simeon we took Him up in our arms, and with Anna the aged and chaste we made our responsive confession. And thanks be to Him who came to His own in the guise of a stranger, because He glorified the stranger. Now, we come to another action of Christ, and another mystery. I cannot restrain my pleasure; I am rapt into God. Almost like John I proclaim good tidings; for though I be not a Forerunner, yet am I from the desert. Christ is illumined, let us shine forth with Him. Christ is baptized, let us descend with Him that we may also ascend with Him. Jesus is baptized; but we must attentively consider not only this but also some other points. Who is He, and by whom is He baptized, and at what time? He is the All-pure; and He is baptized by John; and the time is the beginning of His miracles. What are we to learn and to be taught by this? To purify ourselves first; to be lowly minded; and to preach only in maturity both of spiritual and bodily stature. The first has a word especially for those who rush to Baptism off hand, and without due preparation, or providing for the stability of the Baptismal Grace by the disposition of their minds to good. For since Grace contains remission of the past (for it is a grace), it is on that account more worthy of reverence, that we return not to the same vomit again. The second speaks to those who rebel against the Stewards of this Mystery, if they are their superiors in rank. The third is for those who are confident in their youth, and think that any time is the right one to teach or to preside. Jesus is purified, and do you despise purification?...and by John, and do you rise up against your herald?...and at thirty years of age, and do you before your beard has grown presume to teach the aged, or believe that you teach them, though thou be not reverend on account of your age, or even perhaps for your character? But here it may be said, Daniel, and this or that other, were judges in their youth, and examples are on your tongues; for every wrongdoer is prepared to defend himself. But I reply that that which is rare is not the law of the Church. For one swallow does not make a summer, nor one line a geometrician, nor one voyage a sailor. XV. But John baptizes, Jesus comes to Him Matthew 3:14 ...perhaps to sanctify the Baptist himself, but certainly to bury the whole of the old Adam in the water; and before this and for the sake of this, to sanctify Jordan; for as He is Spirit and Flesh, so He consecrates us by Spirit and water. John 5:35 John will not receive Him; Jesus contends. I have need to be baptized by You Matthew 3:17 says the Voice to the Word, the Friend to the Bridegroom; John 3:39 he that is above all among them that are born of women, Matthew 11:11 to Him Who is the Firstborn of every creature; Colossians 1:5 he that leaped in the womb, Luke 1:41 to Him Who was adored in the womb; he who was and is to be the Forerunner to Him Who was and is to be manifested. I have need to be baptized by You; add to this and for You; for he knew that he would be baptized by Martyrdom, or, like Peter, that he would be cleansed not only as to his feet. John 13:9 And You come to me? This also was prophetic; for he knew that after Herod would come the madness of Pilate, and so that when he had gone before Christ would follow him. But what says Jesus? Allow it to be so now, for this is the time of His Incarnation; for He knew that yet a little while and He should baptize the Baptist. And what is the Fan? The Purification. And what is the Fire? The consuming of the chaff, and the heat of the Spirit. And what the Axe? The excision of the soul which is incurable even after the dung. Luke 13:8 And what the Sword? The cutting of the Word, which separates the worse from the better, Hebrews 4:12 and makes a division between the faithful and the unbeliever; Matthew 10:35 and stirs up the son and the daughter and the bride against the father and the mother and the mother in law, Micah 7:6 the young and fresh against the old and shadowy. And what is the Latchet of the shoe, which thou John who baptizest Jesus may not loose? John 1:27 thou who art of the desert, and hast no food, the new Elias, Luke 7:26 the more than Prophet, inasmuch as you saw Him of Whom you prophesied, thou Mediator of the Old and New Testaments. What is this? Perhaps the Message of the Advent, and the Incarnation, of which not the least point may be loosed, I say not by those who are yet carnal and babes in Christ, but not even by those who are like John in spirit. XVI. But further� Jesus goes up out of the water...for with Himself He carries up the world...and sees the heaven opened which Adam had shut against himself and all his posterity, Genesis 3:24 as the gates of Paradise by the flaming sword. And the Spirit bears witness to His Godhead, for he descends upon One that is like Him, as does the Voice from Heaven (for He to Whom the witness is borne came from thence), and like a Dove, for He honours the Body (for this also was God, through its union with God) by being seen in a bodily form; and moreover, the Dove has from distant ages been wont to proclaim the end of the Deluge. But if you are to judge of Godhead by bulk and weight, and the Spirit seems to you a small thing because He came in the form of a Dove, O man of contemptible littleness of thought concerning the greatest of things, you must also to be consistent despise the Kingdom of Heaven, because it is compared to a grain of mustard seed; Matthew 13:31 and you must exalt the adversary above the Majesty of Jesus, because he is called a great Mountain, Zechariah 4:7 and Leviathan and King of that which lives in the water, whereas Christ is called the Lamb, Isaiah 53:7 and the Pearl, Matthew 13:46 and the Drop and similar names. XVII. Now, since our Festival is of Baptism, and we must endure a little hardness with Him Who for our sake took form, and was baptized, and was crucified; let us speak about the different kinds of Baptism, that we may come out thence purified. Moses baptized Leviticus xi but it was in water, and before that in the cloud and in the sea. 1 Corinthians 10:2 This was typical as Paul says; the Sea of the water, and the Cloud of the Spirit; the Manna, of the Bread of Life; the Drink, of the Divine Drink. John also baptized; but this was not like the baptism of the Jews, for it was not only in water, but also unto repentance. Still it was not wholly spiritual, for he does not add And in the Spirit. Jesus also baptized, but in the Spirit. This is the perfect Baptism. And how is He not God, if I may digress a little, by whom you too are made God? I know also a Fourth Baptism� that by Martyrdom and blood, which also Christ himself underwent:� and this one is far more august than all the others, inasmuch as it cannot be defiled by after-stains. Yes, and I know of a Fifth also, which is that of tears, and is much more laborious, received by him who washes his bed every night and his couch with tears; whose bruises stink through his wickedness; and who goes mourning and of a sad countenance; who imitates the repentance of Manasseh Ninevites Jonah 3:7-10 upon which God had mercy; who utters the words of the Publican in the Temple, and is justified rather than the stiff-necked Pharisee; Luke 18:13 who like the Canaanite woman bends down and asks for mercy and crumbs, the food of a dog that is very hungry. Matthew 15:27 XVIII. I, however, for I confess myself to be a man�that is to say, an animal shifty and of a changeable nature,� both eagerly receive this Baptism, and worship Him Who has given it me, and impart it to others; and by showing mercy make provision for mercy. For I know that I too am compassed with infirmity, Hebrews 5:2 and that with what measure I mete it shall be measured to me again. Matthew 7:2 But what do you say, O new Pharisee pure in title but not in intention, who dischargest upon us the sentiments of Novatus, though you share the same infirmities? Will you not give any place to weeping? Will you shed no tear? May you not meet with a Judge like yourself? Are you not ashamed by the mercy of Jesus, Who took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses; Matthew 8:17 Who came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance; Who will have mercy rather than sacrifice; who forgives sins till seventy times seven. How blessed would your exaltation be if it really were purity, not pride, making laws above the reach of men, and destroying improvement by despair. For both are alike evil, indulgence not regulated by prudence, and condemnation that will never forgive; the one because it relaxes all reins, the other because it strangles by its severity. Show me your purity, and I will approve your boldness. But as it is, I fear that being full of sores you will render them incurable. Will you not admit even David's repentance, to whom his penitence preserved even the gift of prophecy? Nor the great Peter himself, who fell into human weakness at the Passion of our Saviour? Yet Jesus received him, and by the threefold question and confession healed the threefold denial. Or will you even refuse to admit that he was made perfect by blood (for your folly goes even as far as that)? Or the transgressor at Corinth? But Paul confirmed love towards him when he saw his amendment, and gives the reason, that such an one be not swallowed up by overmuch sorrow, 2 Corinthians 2:7 being overwhelmed by the excess of the punishment. And will you refuse to grant liberty of marriage to young widows on account of the liability of their age to fall? Paul ventured to do so; but of course you can teach him; for you have been caught up to the Fourth heaven, and to another Paradise, and have heard words more unspeakable, and comprehend a larger circle in your Gospel. XIX. But these sins were not after Baptism, you will say. Where is your proof? Either prove it� or refrain from condemning; and if there be any doubt, let charity prevail. But Novatus, you say, would not receive those who lapsed in the persecution. What do you mean by this? If they were unrepentant he was right; I too would refuse to receive those who either would not stoop at all or not sufficiently, and who would refuse to make their amendment counterbalance their sin; and when I do receive them, I will assign them their proper place; but if he refused those who wore themselves away with weeping, I will not imitate him. And why should Novatus's want of charity be a rule for me? He never punished covetousness, which is a second idolatry; but he condemned fornication as though he himself were not flesh and body. What say you? Are we convincing you by these words? Come and stand here on our side, that is, on the side of humanity. Let us magnify the Lord together. Let none of you, even though he has much confidence in himself, dare to say, Touch me not for I am pure, and who is so pure as I? Give us too a share in your brightness. But perhaps we are not convincing you? Then we will weep for you. Let these men then if they will, follow our way, which is Christ's way; but if they will not, let them go their own. Perhaps in it they will be baptized with Fire, in that last Baptism which is more painful and longer, which devours wood like grass, 1 Corinthians 3:12-19 and consumes the stubble of every evil. XX. But let us venerate today the Baptism of Christ; and let us keep the feast well, not in pampering the belly, but rejoicing in spirit. And how shall we luxuriate? Wash you, make you clean. Isaiah 1:17-18 If you be scarlet with sin and less bloody, be made white as snow; if you be red, and men bathed in blood, yet be ye brought to the whiteness of wool. Anyhow be purified, and you shall be clean (for God rejoices in nothing so much as in the amendment and salvation of man, on whose behalf is every discourse and every Sacrament), that you may be like lights in the world, a quickening force to all other men; that you may stand as perfect lights beside That great Light, and may learn the mystery of the illumination of Heaven, enlightened by the Trinity more purely and clearly, of Which even now you are receiving in a measure the One Ray from the One Godhead in Christ Jesus our Lord; to Whom be the glory and the might for ever and ever. Amen.

Homily on the Nativity of the Lord

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 15:58:18 GMT

I behold a new and wondrous mystery! My ears resound to the Shepherd's song, piping no soft melody, but chanting full forth a heavenly hymn. The Angels sing! The Archangels blend their voices in harmony! The Cherubim hymn their joyful praise! The Seraphim exalt His glory! All join to praise this holy feast, beholding the Godhead here on earth, and man in heaven. He who is above, now for our redemption dwells here below; and he that was lowly is by divine mercy raised. Bethlehem this day resembles heaven; hearing from the stars the singing of angelic voices; and in place of the sun, enfolds within itself on every side the Sun of Justice. And ask not how: for where God wills, the order of nature yields. For He willed, he had the power, He descended, He redeemed; all things move in obedience to God. This day He Who Is, is Born; and He Who Is becomes what He was not. For when He was God, He became man; yet not departing from the Godhead that is His. Nor yet by any loss of divinity became He man, nor through increase became he God from man; but being the Word He became flesh, His nature, because of impassibility, remaining unchanged. And so the kings have come, and they have seen the heavenly King that has come upon the earth, not bringing with Him Angels, nor Archangels, nor Thrones, nor Dominations, nor Powers, nor Principalities, but, treading a new and solitary path, He has come forth from a spotless womb. Yet He has not forsaken His angels, nor left them deprived of His care, nor because of His Incarnation has he departed from the Godhead. And behold, Kings have come, that they might adore the heavenly King of glory; Soldiers, that they might serve the Leader of the Hosts of Heaven; Women, that they might adore Him Who was born of a woman so that He might change the pains of child-birth into joy; Virgins, to the Son of the Virgin, beholding with joy, that He Who is the Giver of milk, Who has decreed that the fountains of the breast pour forth in ready streams, receives from a Virgin Mother the food of infancy; Infants, that they may adore Him Who became a little child, so that out of the mouth of infants and sucklings, He might perfect praise; Children, to the Child Who raised up martyrs through the rage of Herod; Men, to Him Who became man, that He might heal the miseries of His servants; Shepherds, to the Good Shepherd Who has laid down His life for His sheep; Priests, to Him Who has become a High Priest according to the order of Melchisedech; Servants, to Him Who took upon Himself the form of a servant that He might bless our servitude with the reward of freedom; Fishermen, to Him Who from amongst fishermen chose catchers of men; Publicans, to Him Who from amongst them named a chosen Evangelist; Sinful women, to Him Who exposed His feet to the tears of the repentant; And that I may embrace them all together, all sinners have come, that they may look upon the Lamb of God Who taketh away the sins of the world. Since therefore all rejoice, I too desire to rejoice. I too wish to share the choral dance, to celebrate the festival. But I take my part, not plucking the harp, not shaking the Thyrsian staff, not with the music of pipes, nor holding a torch, but holding in my arms the cradle of Christ. For this is all my hope, this my life, this my salvation, this my pipe, my harp. And bearing it I come, and having from its power received the gift of speech, I too, with the angels, sing: Glory to God in the Highest; and with the shepherds: and on earth peace to men of good will. [St John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople]

The Incarnation was needed because man became absorbed in material things.

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 13:47:41 GMT

�Thus then, as we have said, the Creator fashioned the race of men, and thus meant it to remain. But men, making light of better things, and holding back from apprehending them, began to seek in preference things nearer to themselves. But nearer to themselves were the body and its senses; so that while removing their mind from the things perceived by thought, they began to regard themselves; and so doing, and holding to the body and the other things of sense, and deceived as it were in their own surroundings, they fell into lust of themselves, preferring what was their own to the contemplation of what belonged to God. Having then made themselves at home in these things, and not being willing to leave what was so near to them, they entangled their soul with bodily pleasures, vexed and turbid with all kind of lusts, while they wholly forgot the power they originally had from God. But the truth of this one may see from the man who was first made, according to what the holy Scriptures tell us of him. For he also, as long as he kept his mind to God, and the contemplation of God, turned away from the contemplation of the body. But when, by counsel of the serpent, he departed from the consideration of God, and began to regard himself, then they not only fell to bodily lust, but knew that they were naked, and knowing, were ashamed. But they knew that they were naked, not so much of clothing as that they had become stripped of the contemplation of divine things, and had transferred their understanding to the contraries. For having departed from the consideration of the one and the true, namely, God, and from desire of Him, they had thenceforward embarked in various lusts and in those of the several bodily senses. Next, as is apt to happen, having formed a desire for each and sundry, they began to be habituated to these desires, so that they were even afraid to leave them: whence the soul became subject to cowardice and alarms, and pleasures and thoughts of mortality. For not being willing to leave her lusts, she fears death and her separation from the body. But again, from lusting, and not meeting with gratification, she learned to commit murder and wrong. We are then led naturally to show, as best we can, how she does this.� [St. Athanasius of Alexandria, Against the Heathen]

Patristic Statement of Faith on the Feast of Christ�s Nativity or Christmas

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 14:19:20 GMT

�God, Father Almighty, maker of all things both visible and invisible, that has His being from Himself. And in one Only-begotten Word, Wisdom, Son, begotten of the Father without beginning and eternally; word not pronounced nor mental, nor an effluence of the Perfect, nor a dividing of the impassible Essence, nor an issue; but absolutely perfect Son, living and powerful (Hebrews 4:12), the true Image of the Father, equal in honor and glory. For this, he says, �is the will of the Father, that as they honor the Father, so they may honor the Son also� (John 5:23): very God of very God, as John says in his general Epistles, �And we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ: this is the true God and everlasting life� (1 John 5:20): Almighty of Almighty. For all things which the Father rules and sways, the Son rules and sways likewise: wholly from the Whole, being like the Father as the Lord says, �he that has seen Me has seen the Father� (John 14:9). But He was begotten ineffably and incomprehensibly, for �who shall declare his generation?� (Isaiah 53:8), in other words, no one can. Who, when at the consummation of the ages (Hebrews 9:26), He had descended from the bosom of the Father, took from the undefiled Virgin Mary our humanity (ἄ��), Christ Jesus, whom He delivered of His own will to suffer for us, as the Lord said: �No man takes My life from Me. I have power to lay it down, and have power to take it again� (John 10:18). In which humanity He was crucified and died for us, and rose from the dead, and was taken up into the heavens, having been created as the beginning of ways for us (Proverbs 8:22), when on earth He showed us light from out of darkness, salvation from error, life from the dead, an entrance to paradise, from which Adam was cast out, and into which he again entered by means of the thief, as the Lord said, �This day shall you be with Me in paradise� (Luke 23:43), into which Paul also once entered. [He showed us] also a way up to the heavens, whither the humanity of the Lord, in which He will judge the quick and the dead, entered as precursor for us. We believe, likewise, also in the Holy Spirit that searches all things, even the deep things of God (1 Corinthians 2:10), and we anathematize doctrines contrary to this.� [St. Athanasius of Alexandria, The Statement of Faith]

The Incarnation of Christ Makes Man Immortal

Wed, 01 Dec 2010 00:23:14 GMT

�You are wondering, perhaps, for what possible reason, having proposed to speak of the Incarnation of the Word, we are at present treating of the origin of mankind. But this, too, properly belongs to the aim of our treatise. For in speaking of the appearance of the Savior among us, we must needs speak also of the origin of men, that you may know that the reason of His coming down was because of us, and that our transgression called forth the loving-kindness of the Word, that the Lord should both make haste to help us and appear among men. For of His becoming Incarnate we were the object, and for our salvation He dealt so lovingly as to appear and be born even in a human body. Thus, then, God has made man, and willed that he should abide in incorruption; but men, having despised and rejected the contemplation of God, and devised and contrived evil for themselves (as was said in the former treatise), received the condemnation of death with which they had been threatened; and from thenceforth no longer remained as they were made, but were being corrupted according to their devices; and death had the mastery over them as king (Romans 5:14). For transgression of the commandment was turning them back to their natural state, so that just as they have had their being out of nothing, so also, as might be expected, they might look for corruption into nothing in the course of time. For if, out of a former normal state of non-existence, they were called into being by the Presence and loving-kindness of the Word, it followed naturally that when men were bereft of the knowledge of God and were turned back to what was not (for what is evil is not, but what is good is), they should, since they derive their being from God who IS, be everlastingly bereft even of being; in other words, that they should be disintegrated and abide in death and corruption. For man is by nature mortal, inasmuch as he is made out of what is not; but by reason of his likeness to Him that is (and if he still preserved this likeness by keeping Him in his knowledge) he would stay his natural corruption, and remain incorrupt; as Wisdom 6:18 says: �The taking heed to His laws is the assurance of immortality�; but being incorrupt, he would live henceforth as God, to which I suppose the divine Scripture refers, when it says: �I have said you are gods, and you are all sons of the most Highest; but you die like men, and fall as one of the princes.�� [St. Athanasius of Alexandria, On the Incarnation of the Word]

A True Understanding of the Holy Scriptures about Christmas Comes by First Cleansing the Soul from all Impurities

Tue, 23 Nov 2010 13:41:18 GMT

�But for the searching of the Scriptures and true knowledge of them, an honorable life is needed, and a pure soul, and that virtue which is according to Christ; so that the intellect guiding its path by it, may be able to attain what it desires, and to comprehend it, in so far as it is accessible to human nature to learn concerning the Word of God. For without a pure mind and a modeling of the life after the saints, a man could not possibly comprehend the words of the saints. For just as, if a man wished to see the light of the sun, he would at any rate wipe and brighten his eye, purifying himself in some sort like what he desires, so that the eye, thus becoming light, may see the light of the sun; or as, if a man would see a city or country, he at any rate comes to the place to see it�thus he that would comprehend the mind of those who speak of God must needs begin by washing and cleansing his soul, by his manner of living, and approach the saints themselves by imitating their works; so that, associated with them in the conduct of a common life, he may understand also what has been revealed to them by God, and thenceforth, as closely knit to them, may escape the peril of the sinners and their fire at the day of judgment, and receive what is laid up for the saints in the kingdom of heaven, which eye has not seen (1 Corinthians 2:9), nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, whatsoever things are prepared for them that live a virtuous life, and love the God and Father, in Christ Jesus our Lord: through Whom and with Whom be to the Father Himself, with the Son Himself, in the Holy Spirit, honor and might and glory for ever and ever. Amen.� [St. Athanasius of Alexandria, On the Incarnation of the Word]

Feast of the Entrance into The Temple of Our Most Holy Lady The Theotokos (November 21)

Tue, 16 Nov 2010 17:35:52 GMT

[From the website of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America: goarch.org] The Feast of the Entrance into the Temple of Our Most Holy Lady the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary is celebrated on November 21 each year. The Feast commemorates when as a young child, the Virgin Mary entered the Temple in Jerusalem. The birth and early life of the Virgin Mary is not recorded in the Gospels or other books of the New Testament, however this information can be found in a work dating from the second century known as the Book of James or Protevangelion. When Mary was three years old, Joachim and Anna decided that the time had come to fulfill their promise and to offer her to the Lord. Joachim gathered the young girls of the neighborhood to form an escort, and he made them go in front of Mary, carrying torches. Captivated by the torches, the young child followed joyfully to the Temple, not once looking back at her parents nor weeping as she was parted from them. The holy Virgin ran toward the Temple, overtaking her attendant maidens and threw herself into the arms of the High Priest Zacharias, who was waiting for her at the gate of the Temple with the elders. Zacharias blessed her saying, "It is in you that He has glorified your name in every generation. It is in you that He will reveal the Redemption that He has prepared for His people in the last days." Then, Zacharias brought the child into the Holy of Holies�a place where only the High Priest was permitted to enter once a year on the Day of Atonement. He placed her on the steps of the altar, and the grace of the Lord descended upon her. She arose and expressed her joy in a dance as wonder seized all who saw this happen. The Virgin Mary dwelt in the Temple for nine years until, reaching an age for marriage, she was taken from the Temple by the priests and elders and entrusted to Joseph as the guardian of her virginity. The Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple signifies her total dedication to God and her readiness for her future vocation as the Mother of the Incarnate Lord. This is a feast of anticipation. As honor is shown to Mary, the faithful are called to look forward to the Incarnation of Christ, celebrated in a little more than a month by the Feast of the Nativity on December 25.

The New Humanity in Christ

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 11:20:39 GMT

�He [Christ] assumed a body capable of death, in order that it, through belonging to the Word Who is above all, might become in dying a sufficient exchange for all, and, itself remaining incorruptible through His indwelling, might thereafter put an end to corruption for others as well, by the grace of the resurrection.� (St. Athanasius of Alexandria, On the Incarnation, 9)

Charity

Tue, 02 Nov 2010 23:43:16 GMT

�Charity is the scope of all God's commands.� [St. John Chrysostom]

Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann: Ecclesiological Notes

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 21:00:31 GMT

1. One of the greatest "ecumenical" difficulties the Orthodox Church has is that her thought forms and "terms of reference" are different from those of the West. And, since the ecumenical movement was shaped primarily by Western theological presuppositions and antecedents, its Orthodox participants were, from the very beginning, forced to express their positions and points of view within a theological framework alien to, or at least different from, the Orthodox tradition. This is especially true of ecclesiology. The Orthodox East has not been challenged either by the politico-ecclesiological controversies typical of the Western Middle Ages or by the Reformation. It remained free, therefore, from the "polemical" and "definitional" ecclesiology which underlies the Western De Ecclesia, whether in its Roman Catholic or Protestant form, and which conditions to a great degree the ecumenical debate on the Church. In our own "sources"� the Fathers, the Councils, the Liturgy � we do not find any formal definition of the Church. This is not because of any lack of ecclesiological interest and consciousness, but because the Church (in the Orthodox approach to her) does not exist, and therefore cannot be defined, apart from the very content of her life. The Church, in other terms, is not an "essence" or "being" distinct, as such, from God, man, and the world, but is the very reality of Christ in us and us in Christ, a new mode of God's presence and action in His creation, of creation's life in God. She is God's gift and man's response and appropriation of this gift. She is union and unity, knowledge, communion and transfiguration. And, since apart from the "content" the "form" has no meaning (cf. the reluctance of Orthodox theologians to discuss problems of "validity"), Orthodox ecclesiology rather than precise definitions or forms, conditions and modalities, is an attempt to present an icon of the Church as life in Christ � an icon which to be adequate and true must draw on all aspects and not only on the institutional ones of the Church. For the Church is an institution, but she is also a mystery, and it is mystery that gives meaning and life to institution and is, therefore, the object of ecclesiology. 2. Such an attempt must probably begin with the Church as new creation. Orthodox ecclesiology traditionally sees the beginning of the Church in paradise and her life as the manifestation of the Kingdom of God. "The history of the Church begins with the history of the world. The very creation of the world can be seen as preparation for the creation of the Church because the end for which the kingdom of nature was established is in the Kingdom of Grace" (Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow). Thus the basic dimensions of Orthodox ecclesiology are cosmic and eschatological. On the one hand, in Christ, the Incarnate Son of God, the new Adam, creation finds not only redemption and reconciliation with God, but also its fulfillment. Christ is the Logos, the Life of all life, and this life, which was lost because of sin, is restored and communicated in Christ, in His incarnation, death, resurrection, and glorification, to man and through him to the whole creation. Pentecost, the descent of the Holy Spirit, the giver of life, is not a mere establishment of an institution endowed with specific powers and authorities. It is the inauguration of the new age, the beginning of life eternal, the revelation of the kingdom which is "joy and peace in the Holy Spirit." The Church is the continuing presence of Pentecost as power of sanctification and transfiguration of all life, as grace which is knowledge of God, communion with Him and, in Him, with all that exists. The Church is creation as renewed by Christ and sanctified by the Holy Spirit. But, on the other hand, the kingdom which Christ inaugurates and the Holy Spirit fulfills is not of this world. "This world," by rejecting and condemning Christ, has condemned itself; no one, therefore, can enter the Kingdom without in a real sense dying to the world, i.e. rejecting it in its self-sufficiency, without putting all faith, hope, and love in the "age to come," in the "day without evening" which will dawn at the end of time. "You are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God." (Col. 3:3) This means that although the Church abides in the world, her real life is a constant expectation and anticipation of the world to come, a preparation for it, a passage into reality which in this world can be experienced only as future, as promise and token of things yet to come. The fruits of the Spirit (joy, peace, holiness, vision, knowledge) are real, but their reality is that of the joy which a traveler has when at the end of a long journey he finally sees the beautiful city where he is going � into which, however, he must yet enter. The Church reveals and truly bestows now the Kingdom which is to come, and creation becomes new when it dies to itself as "this world" and becomes thirst and hunger for the consummation for all things in God. 3. It is the mystery of the Church as new creation in its two dimensions � the cosmic and eschatological � that reveals to us the meaning and structure of the Church as institution. The nature of the institution can be termed sacramental, and this means not only a given or static inter-dependence between the visible and the invisible, nature and grace, the material and the spiritual, but also, and primarily, the dynamic essence of the Church as passage from the old into the new, from this world into the world to come, from the kingdom of nature into the Kingdom of Grace. The Church, as visible society and organization, belongs to this world; it is truly a part of it. And she must belong to it because she is "instituted" to represent and to stand for the world, to assume the whole creation. It belongs thus to the very "institution" of the Church to be a people, a community, a family, an organization, a nation, a hierarchy; to assume, in other words, all the natural forms of human existence in the world, in time and space. She is an organic continuity with the whole of human life, with the totality of human history. She is the pars pro toto of the whole creation. Yet she is all this in order to reveal and manifest the true meaning of creation as fulfillment in Christ, to announce to the world its end and the inauguration of the Kingdom. The "institution" is thus the sacrament of the Kingdom, the means by which the Church always becomes what she is, always fulfills herself as the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, as the Body of Christ and the Temple of the Holy Spirit, as the new life of the new creation. The basic act of this fulfillment, and therefore the true "form" of the Church, is the Eucharist: the sacrament in which the Church performs the passage, the passover, from this world into the Kingdom, offers in Christ the whole creation to God, seeing it as "heaven and earth full of His glory," and partakes of Christ's immortal life at His table in His Kingdom. 4. This sacramental nature of the Church reveals the real meaning of the universally-accepted notae by which we confess the Church to be One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic. Each of them applies to both the institution and its fulfillment, the form and the content, the promise and its realization. The Church is One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic, and she must constantly fulfill herself as oneness, holiness, catholicity, and apostolicity. Her visible oneness is to be realized as the very content of the new life ("that they may be one as we are one") and as the unity of all in God and with God. The objective holiness of her life (the gifts of grace and sanctification which pour from all her acts) is to be fulfilled and realized in the personal holiness of her members. The catholicity (the absolute fullness of the gospel she announces and the life she communicates) is to grow into the "wholeness" of the faith and life of each community, of each Christian, and of the whole Church. Her apostolicity (her identity in time and space with the pleroma of the Church manifested at Pentecost) is to be preserved whole and undistorted by every generation, always and everywhere. 5. In this world the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church manifests itself as a plurality of churches, each one of which is both a part and a whole. It is a part because only in unity with all churches and in obedience to the universal truth can it be the Church; yet it is also a whole because in each church, by virtue of her unity with the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, the whole Christ is present, the fullness of grace is given, the catholicity of new life is revealed. The visible unity of all churches as the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church is expressed and preserved in the unity of faith, the unity of sacramental structure, and the unity of life. The unity of faith has its norm and content in the universal tradition. The unity of sacramental structure is preserved through the apostolic succession, which is the visible and objective continuity of the Church's life and order in time and space. The unity of life manifests itself in the active concern of all churches for each other and of all them together for the Church's mission in the world. 6. The organ of unity in the Church is the episcopate. "The Church is in the Bishop." This means that in each church the personal ministry of the bishop is to preserve the fullness of the Church, i.e., her identity and continuity with the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church; to be the teacher of the universal traditions; the offerer of the Eucharist which is the sacrament of unity; and the pastor of the people of God on its pilgrimage to the Kingdom. By virtue of his consecration by other bishops and of his belonging to the universal episcopate, he represents, he makes present and unites his church to all churches and represents all other churches, and therefore the whole Church, to his own church. In him each church is thus truly a part of the whole Church and the whole Church is truly present in each church. In the Orthodox tradition, the unity of the episcopate, and especially the organ of this unity, a synod or council of bishops, is the supreme expression of the Church's teaching and pastoral function � the inspired mouth of the whole Church. But, "The Bishop is in the Church," and this means that neither one bishop nor the episcopate as a whole are above the Church, or (to quote here a famous formula) act and teach ex sese et non ex consensu Ecclesiae. It is rather the bishop's complete identification with and his total obedience to the consensus Ecclesiae, to her teaching, life, and holiness, as well as his organic unity with the people of God, that makes the bishop the teacher and the guardian of the truth. For in the Church no one is without the Holy Spirit, and according to the Encyclical of Eastern Patriarchs, the preservation of the truth is entrusted to the whole people of the Church. Thus the Church is both hierarchical and conciliary, and the two principles are not only not opposed to each other but are in their interdependence essential for the full expression of the mystery of the Church. 7. The One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church must necessarily exist in the world as an orderly and visibly-united Church Universal, and it is the function and charism of the primacies to serve as centers of communion, unity, and coordination. There exist local and regional primacies (metropolitans, patriarchs) and a universal primacy. Orthodox ecclesiology has never denied that traditionally the latter belonged to the Church of Rome. It is, however, the interpretation of this primacy in terms of a personal infallibility of the Roman pontiff and of his universal jurisdiction power that led to its rejection by the Orthodox East. 8. The Orthodox Church claims to have preserved unaltered and full the faith and the traditions "once delivered unto the saints." In face of the tragic divisions among Christians, she affirms that the only way to reunion is the restoration of that unity of faith which alone enables each church to see all other churches as the same and One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. 9. The Church is both in statu patriae and in statu viae. As "Christ in us," as the manifestation of the Kingdom and the sacrament of the age to come, her life is already filled with the "joy and peace of the Holy Spirit," and it is this paschal joy that she expresses and receives in worship, in the holiness of her members, and in the communion of the saints. As "we in Christ," she is in pilgrimage and expectation, in repentance and struggle. And above everything else, she is mission, for her belonging to the world to come, the joy that in Christ has entered the world, and the vision of the transfigured world are given to her so that she may in this world witness to Christ and may save and redeem in Him the whole creation. Paper read at the Institute for Contemporary Theology, Montreal, July 1965. St. Vladimir's Seminary Quarterly, Vol. 11, No. 1, 1967, pp. 35-39.

Food for Thought

Tue, 19 Oct 2010 13:52:47 GMT

St. John Chrysostom refers to the Church as the Theater where Christians live up to their full potential and identity granted to them by God unlike the worldly theater comprised of actors with masks, makeup and costumes, who mar their God-given beauty. Chrysostom states: "Both men, (Lazarus and the Rich Man) departed to that place where everything is true. The stage sets were removed and the masks were taken off. In a theater of this world at mid-day the stage is set and many actors enter, playing parts, wearing masks on their faces, retelling some old story, narrating the events. One becomes a philosopher, though he is not a philosopher. Another becomes a king, though he is not a king, but has the appearance of a king for the story. Another becomes a physician without knowing how to handle even a piece of wood, but wearing the garments of a physician. Another becomes a slave, though he is free; another a teacher, though he does not even know his letters. They appear something other than what they are, and they do not appear what they really are. One appears to be a physician, another appears to be a philosopher by wearing a hairy mask, and another appears to be a soldier by bearing the equipment of a soldier. The appearance of the mask deceives us, but it does not falsify the nature, for it truly changes the character which is represented. As long as the audience remains in their seats, the masks are valid; but when evening overtakes them, and the play is ended, and everyone goes out, the masks are cast aside. He who is a king inside the theater is found to be a coppersmith outside. The masks are removed, the deceit departs, the truth is revealed. He who is a free man inside the theater is found to be a slave outside; for, as I said, the deceit is inside, but truth is outside. Evening overtakes them, the play is ended, the truth appears. So it is also in life and its end. The present world is a theater, the conditions of men are roles: wealth and poverty, ruler and ruled, and so forth. When this day is cast aside, and that terrible night comes, or rather day, night indeed for sinners, but day for the righteous, when the play is ended, when the masks are removed, when each person is judged with his works-not each person with his wealth, not each person with his office, not each person with his authority, not each person with his power, but each person with his works, whether he is a ruler or a king, a woman or a man, when He requires an account of our life and our good deeds, not the weight of our reputation, not the slightness of our poverty, not the tyranny of our disdain-give me your deeds if you are a slave but nobler than a free person, if you are a woman but braver than a man. When the masks are removed, then the truly rich and the truly poor are revealed. When the play ends, one of us looking out an upper window sees the man who is a philosopher inside the theater but a coppersmith outside, and says, �Hey! Wasn�t this man a philosopher inside? Outside I see that he is a coppersmith. Wasn�t this other man a king inside? Outside I see that he is some humble person. Wasn�t that man rich inside? Outside I see that he is poor.� The same thing happens when this life ends."

Prayer: Our Personal Leitourgia (Liturgy)

Tue, 12 Oct 2010 13:50:34 GMT

�Prayer is the act from which all other good comes.� (The Orthodox Church) �When tomorrow comes, it will supply what you need, if you seek above all else the kingdom of heaven and the righteousness of God; for the Lord says: �Seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things as well will be given unto you.�� (The Holy Scriptures) �By its action it is the reconciliation of man with God, the mother and daughter of tears, a bridge for crossing temptations, a wall of protection from afflictions, a crushing of conflicts, boundless activity, the spring of virtues, the source of spiritual gifts, invisible progress, food of the soul, the enlightening of the mind, an axe for despair, a demonstration of hope, the release from sorrow.� (Abba Agathon)

Never Lose Hope in God�s Abounding Mercy

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 14:56:37 GMT

For such is the loving-kindness of God; He never turns his face away from a sincere repentance, but if any one has pushed on to the very extremity of wickedness, and chooses to return thence towards the path of virtue, God accepts and welcomes, and does everything so as to restore him to his former position. And He does what is yet more merciful; for even should any one not manifest complete repentance, he does not pass by one which is small and insignificant, but assigns a great reward even to this; which is evident from what Esaias the prophet says concerning the people of the Jews, speaking on this wise: "On account of his sin I put him to pain for a little while, and smote him, and turned my face away from him, and he was pained, and walked sorrowfully, and then I healed him, and comforted him." And we might cite as another witness that most ungodly king, who was given over to sin by the influence of his wife: yet when he only sorrowed, and put on sackcloth, and condemned his offences, he so won for himself the mercy of God, as to be released from all the evils which were impending over him. For God said to Elias "Seest thou how Ahab is pricked in the heart before my face? I will not bring the evil upon him in his own days, because he hath wept before me." And after this again, Manasses, having exceeded all in fury and tyranny, and having subverted the legal form of worship, and shut up the temple, and caused the deceit of idolatry to flourish, and having become more ungodly than all who were before him, when he afterwards repented, was ranked amongst the friends of God. Now if, looking to the magnitude of his own iniquities, he had despaired of restoration and repentance, he would have missed all which he afterwards obtained: but as it was, looking to the boundlessness of God's tender mercy instead of the enormity of his transgressions, and having broken in sunder the bonds of the devil, he rose up and contended with him, and finished the good course. And not only by what was done to these men, but also by the words of the prophet does God destroy the counsels of despair, speaking. on this wise: "To-day, if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation." Now that expression "to-day," may be uttered at every time of life, even on the verge of old age, if you desire it: for repentance is judged not by quantity of time, but by disposition of the soul. For the Ninevites did not need many days to blot out their sin, but the short space of one day availed to efface all their iniquity: and the robber also did not take a long time to effect his entrance into Paradise, but in such a brief moment as one might occupy in uttering a single word, did he wash off all the sins which he had committed in his whole life, and received the prize bestowed by the divine approval even before the Apostles. And we also see the martyrs obtain glorious crowns for themselves in the course, not of many years, but of a few days, and often in a single day only. Wherefore we have need of zeal in every direction, and much preparation of mind: and if we so order our conscience as to hate our former wickedness, and choose the contrary path with as much energy as God desires and commands, we shall not have anything less on account of the short space of time: many at least who were last have far outstripped those who were first. For to have fallen is not a grievous thing, but to remain prostrate after talling, and not to get up again; and, playing the coward and the sluggard, to conceal feebleness of moral purpose under the reasoning of despair. To whom also the prophet spoke in perplexity saying "Doth he who falleth not rise up, or he who turneth away not turn back?" But if you inquire of me for instances of persons who have fallen away after having believed, all these things have been said with reference to such persons, for he who has fallen belonged formerly to those who were standing, not to those who were prostrate; for how should one in that condition fall? But other things also shall be said, partly by means of parables, partly by plainer deeds and words. Now that sheep which had got separated from the ninety and nine, and then was brought back again, represents to us nothing else than the fall and return of the faithful; for it was a sheep not of some alien flock, but belonging to the same number as the rest, and was for merly pastured by the same shepherd, and it strayed on no common straying, but wandered away to the mountains and in valleys, that is to say some long journey, far distant from the right path. [John Chrysostom, Two Exhortations to Theodore after his Fall, Epistle 1]

Combating Despair and Despondency

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 18:33:22 GMT

1) St Gregory Palamas (1296-1359) 'This is why no one should give way to despair, even though the devil finds various means by which to insinuate it not only into those who live carelessly but also into those who practise the ascetic life. If, then, the time of this life is time for repentance, the very fact that a sinner still lives is a pledge that God will accept whoever desires to return to Him. Free will is always part and parcel of this present life. And it lies within the power of free will to choose or to reject the road of life or the road of death ... for it can pursue whichever it wishes. Where, then, are the grounds for despair, since all of us can at all times lay hold of eternal life whenever we want to?' (To the Most Reverend Nun Xenia, 17; in the Philokalia, vol. iv, p. 299.) 2) St Hesychios the Priest (8th/9th cent.) 'Let us learn humility from Christ, humiliation from David, and from Peter to shed shed tears over what has happened; but let us also learn to avoid the despair of Samson, Judas, and that wisest of men, Solomon.' (On Watchfulness and Holiness, 38; in the Philokalia, vol. i, p. 169.) 3) St Symeon the New Theologian (949-1022) 'Bodily listlessness and torpor, which affect the soul as a result of our laziness and negligence, not only make us abandon our normal rule of prayer, but also darken the mind and fill it with despondency. Then blasphemous and cowardly thoughts arise in the heart. Indeed, the person tempted by the demon of listlessness cannot even enter his usual place of prayer; he grows sluggish, and absurd thoughts directed against the Creator of all things arise in his mind. Aware of the cause of all this and why it has happened to you, resolutely enter your normal place of prayer and, falling down before the God of love, ask with a compunctive and aching heart, full of tears, to be freed from the weight of listlessness and from your pernicious thoughts. If you knock hard and insistently, this release will soon be given to you.' (One Hundred and Fifty-Three Practical and Theological Texts, 49; in the Philokalia, vol. iv, p. 34.)

Counsels from a Holy Father

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 15:24:57 GMT

�Do not be surprised if you fall back into your old ways every day. Do not be disheartened, but resolve to do something positive about it; and, without question, the angel who stands guard over you will honor your perseverance.� (The Ladder to Paradise) �Do not be surprised that you fall every day; do not give up, but stand your ground courageously. And assuredly, the angel who guards you will honor your patience.� (The Ladder to Paradise) [St John of the Ladder (6th/7th century)]

Psalm 50: The Liturgical Psalm of Repentance

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 23:13:21 GMT

+ In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Have mercy on me, O God; according to the multitude of Thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity and cleanse me from my sin, for I acknowledge my transgression, and my sin is ever before me. Against Thee, Thee only have I sinned and done this evil in Thy sight, that Thou mightest be justified when Thou speakest and prevail when Thou art judged. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquities and in sin did my mother bear me. But behold, Thou desirest truth in my innermost parts, and in my hidden parts Thou shalt make me to understand wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than the snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness, that the bones which Thou hast broken may rejoice. Turn Thy face from my sin and put out all mine iniquities far from me. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence, and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation, and uphold me with Thy steadfast Spirit. Then shall I teach transgressors Thy ways, and sinners shall be converted unto Thee. Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing aloud of Thy righteousness. Open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Thy praise. For shouldest Thou desire sacrifice, I would give it Thee; but Thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifice of God is a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart -- these, O God, shalt Thou not despise. Do good in Thy good pleasure to Sion; buildest Thou up the walls of Jerusalem. Then shalt Thou be pleased with the sacrifice of righteousness, with oblation and whole-burnt offerings. Then shall they offer young bullocks upon Thine altar. Amen.