May 19th – the 13 Holy Martyrs of Kantara – Defenders of Leavened Bread In the Eucharist [† 19-5-1231]

Posted on 18/05/2012 by lucas

To the west of the Castle of Kantara in the province of Kyrenia on Cyprus,
there is the Monastery of Panagia Kantariotissa, which was built in the 12th century
and renovated by Archbishop Chrysanthos of Cyprus in 1777.

In 1783 the iconostasis of the monastery’s church was made gold and was decorated with icons.
In the early 13th century a group of thirteen monks who came from Mount Athos settled in the monastery and revived the ascetic way of life and Orthodox tradition on the island, which infuriated the Frankish rulers of Cyprus, and notably the Latin Church.

During the Frankish Period, the Latin Church [=Rome], through its representatives in Cyprus, had made great persecutions against the Orthodox.
The Orthodox Church of Cyprus has managed to survive only through constant struggle, with continued resistance and with many great Sacrifices.
The most striking Orthodox resistance against the Latins of Rome, is the suffering of
the thirteen monks of the monastery of Panagia at Kantara.
Their deaths, after horrific torture, took place on May 19, 1231 and it is on May 19th that the Orthodox Church honors their memory, because they have been declared saints.

The thirteen monks/saints [OsioMartyres]were: 1. John [Abbot] 2. Conon 3. Jeremiah 4. Mark 5. Cyril
6. Theoktistos 7. Barnabas 8. Maximus 9. Theognostus
10. Joseph 11. Gennadius 12. Gerasimos 13. Germanos

As Saints, they are unknown
to the Cypriot chronographers.
Details, however, about them and their suffering are found in a relevant text Titled “Diigisis: The thirteen Saints
and Fathers who were killed through burning by the Latins in the island of Cyprus in the year 1231“.
The text “Diigisis” survived in two manuscripts of the 14th century – one [located at the National Library in Paris] written in 1426 and the second [No. 575 at the Marciana Library in Venice] manuscript was published originally by K. Sathas [Medieval Library, Volume B, Venice, 1873, pages.20-39].

-        First I have to explain for not-orthodox believers:
A prosphoron [Greek: πρόσφορον, offering]
is a loaf of “leavened bread” used  in Orthodox Christian [Byzantine] liturgies.
The plural form is prosphora (πρόσφορα).
The term originally meant any offering made to a temple, but in Orthodox Christianity it has come to mean specifically the bread offered at the Divine Liturgy

From the manuscripts we derive the following information:
Two monks named John and Conon arrived in Cyprus in 1228 from a monastery in Pamphyla, Asia Minor.
They settled at the Monastery of Panagia Kantariotissa, but all was not peaceful for the Orthodox in Cyprus.
The first conflict with the Latin clergy of Cyprus must have happened in 1228.
It was during a time when the persecution of the Orthodox by the Latins in Cyprus was on the rise.
The Latin Church on the island was informed about the great reputation of the monks of Kantara, and had sent a representative to the monastery named Andreas to inquire about the monks who were there.

The latter was welcomed and hosted and initially the entire conversation had a friendly tone, until they started to talk about the issue of using unleavened bread in communion,
an issue which had caused much controversy between the Eastern Orthodox and Western Churches [the azymite controversy].
The monks of Kantara confessed that during their Orthodox ritual they used leavened bread in accordance with Tradition.

The dispute over the use or not of unleavened bread during the mystery
of the Eucharist had arisen because
the Latins believed that the Last Supper
had happened during the day of unleavened bread, as evidenced by the Evangelist Lucas.
The Orthodox on the other hand supported that the Jews called “the day of the unleavened bread” the period between sunset on Good Thursday until sunset on Good Friday.
And it was named so, not because during that time they ate unleavened bread, but because they prepared it. Therefore, since the Last Supper took place during the evening of Holy Thursday, Christ must have used bread made with yeast, and not bread without yeast,
because the latter had not yet been prepared since its use was on Good Friday.

The big difference then, between the Orthodox and Latins was highlighted
with an acute manner during the discussion between the Latin Andreas
and the monks of Kantara, with the former leaving very angry from the monastery.

As the “Diigisis” records,
the monks of Kantara had even suggested a process
to establish which was the correct view about the use of unleavened bread.
After both conducted the Liturgy, with them (using leavened bread)
and the Latins (using unleavened), a representative of each faith had to fall in the fire to prove
that the one of the two who advocated the truth would not burn!
This suggestion was not accepted,
and the monks were ordered to appear before
the Latin archbishop of Nicosia to answer.

After an overnight vigil in their monastery,
the thirteen monks began their journey to Nicosia the next day singing the 119th Psalm.
In the monastery of Saint George of Mangana (or Saint George Lampontos) in Nicosia,
where they arrived, Orthodox crowds flocked to see the monks of Kantara.

Then the monks came before the Latin archbishop who was called Efstorgios,
and who was surrounded by a large number of Latin clergy.
Efstorgios questioned them,
and the monks with frankness argued also before him about the Orthodox view of the use of leavened bread.
Then the Latin archbishop jailed them after earlier humiliating them through torture.

In prison, the monks remained, in accordance with the text “Diigisis”,
for three years, enduring much suffering.
From the suffering in prison, one of them, Theognostus (Theodoretus), died.
His body was burned by the Latins [April 5, 1231].

During the period of imprisonment,
the monks were interrogated and tortured again and again,
but the attempts to make them renounce their views about the use of leavened bread failed.

Finally, by order of the Pope, the monks were treated as heretics,
which for them it meant torture and execution.
Among other tortures they suffered, as it is reported in the text “Diigisis”,
they were also tied behind horses which dragged them along the river bed of the River Pidias
which then passed through Nicosia (between Paphos Gate and the Gate of Famagusta).
Finally, half dead, the monks were thrown and burned at the stake [May 19, 1231].

This terrible crime of the Latins caused great reaction both in Cyprus itself and outside it,
and the Patriarch of Constantinople Germanos sent a letter addressed to Pope Gregory IX,
and in his letter, among other things, he asked:
“Well, Your Holiness, Beatitude and Apostle Peter’s successor.
Is this what a meek and humble of heart disciple of Christ orders to happen to monks?”

Also, Germanos wrote to Pope Gregory that the suffering and death of the monks of Kantara
was the last event needed to complete the course of war between the two Churches.
The King of Cyprus Henry I was also involved in the crime
because he had been forced by the Latin priests to order the torture and killing of the monks.
This is because the Latin churchmen felt that they, themselves as priests,
could not provide such a mandate!

The monastery of Panagia Kantariotissa continued its existence after the Tragedy
of the thirteen Holy Monks,
and its final dissolution happened in
the late 19th, or early 20th century.
Today only the church of the monastery is preservedwhich is in a very advanced stage of deterioration
because of the looting it suffered
by the Turkish invaders after 1974,
and by not being maintained.

Posted in 11. Mystery [Sacrament], 14. New [Testament] Covenant, 2. Orthodox Church, 4. Saints, 5. Holy Liturgy, 9. Monasticism | Comments Off

Orthodoxy & the spirit of Divine Liturgy

Posted on 18/05/2012 by lucas

It is a sad day ever for any congregation when its own memberships begin to absent themselves from its services.
It is a sad day for any congregation when those who compose it can be counted on
to be there at the social function, there at
the place of business, but cannot be counted on when the interests of the Kingdom are a
t stake and when
the Son of God goes forth to war.
Believe me, no community ever loses respect for a congregation
till that congregation loses respect for itself.
The meeting is not sad. The meeting is not a lament for a Glory that was passed, for a glad day that had slipped behind them forever more.
It is a Service that thrilled with present Joys.
It is a meeting that made the future to glow with glorious possibilities.
It is wonderful, because Jesus comes.
He came then, and He comes still.
Wherever hungry hearts come together
who yearn for Him and make Him welcome,
there comes the blessed Christ to stand in the midst.

And therefore I would not absent myself from the meeting together of the people of God.
I would not because I want to be there when Jesus comes,
when the King comes in to see the guests.

There are many today who have separated themselves from the services of the church,
from the fellowship of the saints, because of a deadening indifference.
They have become absorbed in a thousand other matters
till they have become doubly uninterested in the things of the church
and in the affairs of the Kingdom.

There are many today who find it hard to believe always. They find it impossible.
Now, there are some folks who are sweetened by sorrow and made better.
There are others that are made bitter and morose and despairful.
I heard a man cry one day, an awful cry
“Oh, I could curse God“,
he said, “if I knew there was a God, for letting my dear Sweetie die!”
For him everything had collapsed.
There was not a star in his sky.
There was not a horizon in his life in which
he might hope for a dawn.
So he, the neediest man of all,
is not there when Jesus comes.

He misses the privilege of seeing Jesus.
He misses the privilege of seeing Him
who has throttled Death and hell and the grave
and has brought life and immortality to light through the Good Message [Gospel].
He misses seeing Him, one vision of whose face would have changed his sobbing
into singing and his night into marvelous day.
He misses seeing Jesus, and is failing to see Him, he misses the glorious certainty of the after life.
It is Christ, my friends, that makes Heaven and the eternal life sure for us.
It is He Who enables men to go down into the great silence of death
without a doubt and without a fear.
It is He who makes us absolutely confident that there is a Home of the Soul,
that — “There is a land of pure delight Where saints immortal reign”.
Having seen Him once dead and alive forever more, we have no slightest doubt of
the truth of His promise that, because He lives we shall live also.
By staying away he misses the thrill of a great Joy. Had he been there he might have seen the Lord.
This is not a possibility in every service, possibly, but it ought to be.
It is a possibility in every successful service.

I heard of a preacher once who thought that
what his congregation wanted was beautiful sayings.
He thought that they were more hungry
for bejeweled verbiage than for the Bread of Life.
He thought they were thirsting more
for a stream of eloquence than for the Water of Life.
But he was mistaken.
And once he came into the pulpit to find a card lying before him on which was written this word:
“Sir, we would know Jesus“.
At first it angered him a bit
and then it made him think.
And then it sent him to his knees. And then it sent him into the pulpit with a new message.
And one day he came again into his pulpit to find a second card before him.
Picking it up, he read these words:
“Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord“.
Of course they were. Their gladness was the gladness of the ten
that met in the Upper Room.
Their gladness was the gladness
that might have been experienced by all Disciples.

That crying man missed also the gift [Grace] of Peace.
Jesus said to those present disciples,
“Peace be unto you“; he still says it now,
you only have to listen.
And how this crying man needs that gift!
He is in a fever of restlessness and wretchedness.
He is whipped by a veritable tempest of doubt
and utter unbelief.
And all the while he might have had the Peace
that passes understanding.
He might have had the vision of Him who stood then,
and still stands, the central figure of the ages, saying,
“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest“[Matth.11: 28].
All those present in Divine Service are blessed with the gift [Grace] of Peace.
They have “fervor without fever“.
They have motion without friction.
But this man missed it because “he is not with us when Jesus comes along”.

The believers who are there are re-commissioned during service.
Jesus says to them, “As the Father hath sent me, even so send I you“[John 20:21].
With His death everything seemed at an end.
The great program that He had given them seemed to have lapsed forever.
That man said a few years ago, “Life doesn’t seem worth living since I found that Christianity is not true“.
It is so with these men. They became men without a goal.
But Jesus comes and recommissions them, lays upon them again the high task of conquering the world.
And this missed that great blessing because he does not join the community.
Last of all, Jesus breathes upon them and says, “Receive you the Holy Spirit”.
These men are not only recommissioned. They receive the Holy Spirit. “He breathes on them”.
How close they come to Him during service! How their hearts are warmed! How their hopes are revived!
“He breathes on them and says, Receive ye the Holy Spirit”[John 20: 22].
And that poor man missed also this benediction because he was not with them when Jesus comes.

It may be that you were once active in the church.
It may be that you were once a live
and enthusiastic Christian.
But little by little you have slipped back.
You have moved to strange places.
Your life has been thrown in great cities.
And you have missed
the fellowships of yesterday out of your life.
It may be that to-day you are no longer found regularly among the worshipers in God’s House.
You are missing something. Don’t deceive yourself.
As the Saints of God [the believers] meet together Jesus still manifests Himself.
And seeing Him, there comes to us a New Joy and Peace, a New Sense of the purpose and worthfulness of life.
Seeing Him there comes to us a New Power for battle and for conquest.
But if we have missed Him, whatever else we have won, we have missed about all that is worth while.
Oh, there is one thing of which I am absolutely sure, and that is that if I have Jesus,
if His presence is a gladsome reality to my heart, nothing else matters much.
But if I miss Him everything goes wrong
and everything is disappointing.
Darius is in the palace
and Daniël in the den of lions [Daniël Chapter 6],
but there is restlessness and wretchedness in
Darius’ palace
and peace and joy in the lions’ den.
It is the presence of God that makes the difference.
The man, because he misses receiving, also misses the privilege of giving.
When the other believers come from that meeting, how radiant became their faces!
What a spring they have in their step! What joy bringers they are!
What a marvelously thrilling story they have to tell!
“Freely have they received and freely do they give” [Matth.10: 8].
But this man. He has received nothing, therefore he has nothing to give.
He is a disappointment to his Master. For his whole life he is doubting Him, mistrusting Him, when it is his privilege to walk into His fellowship and to be as sure of His reality
and of His nearness as he is of his own existence.

In the second place, he misses the privilege of helping his fellow citizens.
What an encouragement he might have been to them!
How it would have strengthened the faith of those fellows who had not yet seen the vision of their risen Lord
to have seen the light even upon other believers!
But this man misses the privilege of giving.
I cannot rob myself without robbing you.
I cannot starve myself spiritually without helping to starve you.
I cannot sin alone.
If I do that which lowers my spiritual vitality,
by that very act I help to lower yours also.
“That man called Didymus [Δίδυμος, in greek means twin]
was not with them when Jesus came“[John 20:24]
and he missed a double blessing,
the privilege of receiving and the privilege of giving.

Tradition tells us that Didymus
died a Martyr
for his love and devotion to his Lord.
How was he saved?
How was he brought to the Joy and Usefulness that are born of certainty?
Didymus, you know, was a doubter.
A very thoroughgoing doubter he was.
How then, in spite of his doubts, did he find his way into the fulness of the Light?

First, Didymus was not proud of his doubts. He did not look upon them as blessings or as treasures.   There is a type of doubter to-day who does.
I have heard men speak of “my doubts” as if they were very priceless things.
But no man is of necessity the richer for his doubts.
I know that doubt may become a doorway to a larger faith.
Still, I repeat, no man is of necessity the richer for them.
For instance, no man is the richer because of his Social doubts.
The man who does not believe in his fellow man is poor indeed.
The man who has doubts about the inmates of his home
suffers something of the pangs of hell.
And the man who doubts God can hardly consider himself
the possessor of a prize to be coveted.
Didymus doubted, but he was not proud of his doubts.
Didymus wasn’t only not proud of his doubts,
but was thoroughly wretched on account of them.
And being thoroughly wretched because of them, he was willing to be set right.

He wanted to believe.
It seems to me that any man would.
Didymus was eager to be made sure that
the Christ he loved was really alive.
He yearned for certainty.
Didymus was not only willing, but Didymus was reasonable.
When he sought to be sure of Jesus he put himself in
the best possible position to learn the Truth.
When he wanted to be made sure of Christ he did not seek knowledge at the hands of the enemies of Christ.
He did not ask information of those who were confessed strangers to Christ. So often we do.
We get in the grip of doubt and straightway we turn from the fellowship of those who know the Lord to the fellowship of those
who confessedly do not know Him.
We read those books that strengthen our doubts
rather than those that strengthen our faith.
But Didymus was wiser.
“We have seen the Lord“.
That is what believers say to the man after the wonderful Service that Didymus missed. And what is the answer of this doubter? Does his face light up as he says,
“I am glad to hear it“?
Not a bit of it. He said,
“Except I see
in His hand the print of the nails
and put my finger into the print of the nails
and thrust my hand into His side I will not believe“.
And what Didymus meant by this answer was simply this:
“There is nothing that you can say or do that will make me believe at all.
I simply cannot believe and cannot be made to believe that Christ is risen“.
Now I do not think that his fellow disciples argued with him.
Really it would have done no good.
They simply left him to his own thoughts.
And I fancy that those thoughts ran something after this fashion:
“What they say is not true. They are mistaken. Of course they are. They must be.
And yet they certainly believe in the truth of what they say.
God grant that they are right. There is nothing that I would not give to know“.

Then what did this honest and earnest doubter do?   Listen!
“And after eight days again the disciples were within and Didymus with them“.
John 20: 26
[- The historic Christian Church has traditionally associated the Number 8 with the entrance into the Covenant of God. This understanding comes from God Himself who commanded Circumcision - the Sign of the Covenant - to be performed on the Eighth Day. God used the same language - (Sign of the Covenant) - when He gave the Rainbow in Genesis 9: 13]
Yes, Didymus is a doubter. But he is an honest and hungry-hearted doubter.
He is willing to give himself every opportunity to know the truth.
He says, “I will turn my face toward the east. Then if there is a dawn I will see it“[cf. Ezekiel 47: 1-23].
And what happened?
The dawning came. The sun rose,
“even the Son of righteousness with healing in His wings“[Malachi 4:1,2].

–> “Then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst,
and said, Peace be unto you“[John 20:26].
Because it is only our Redeemer [the Saviour of humanity],
Who will solve this problem.
“My Lord and my God”
that man says on seeing Jesus.
John 20: 28
“Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage,
and He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord!“
Psalm 27: 14 

                                                                                         

Posted in 1. God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, 10. Prayer, 11. Mystery [Sacrament], 12. Old [Testament] Covenant, 14. New [Testament] Covenant, 2. Orthodox Church, 4. Saints, 5. Holy Liturgy, 7. The Vintage of Beauty | Comments Off

May 22th – Saint Basiliscus, Bishop of Comana in Pontius, Martyr

Posted on 16/05/2012 by lucas

The Holy Martyr Basiliscus was a nephew of the Great Martyr Theodore the Recruit [Febr. 17th],
and he suffered together with his brothers Eutropius and Kleonikos during the persecution of the emperor Maximian Galerius [305-311].
The holy martyrs Kleonikos and Eutropius [March 3rd] were crucified,
but the martyr Basiliscus was sent to Comana where he was detained in prison.

The governor Agrippa arrived in the city of Amasea, and started a persecution against Christians.
Saint Basiliscus in prison prepared himself for his impending ordeal.
The Lord appeared to him in a dream, promising the Martyr His help,
and foretold his Martyric death at Comana.
Saint Basiliscus asked the prison guards to let him go
to his native village to bid his relatives farewell.
They let him go, since they respected him for his holy life and working of miracles.
Arriving home, Saint Basiliscus saw his family one last time,
and urged them to stand firmly in the Faith.

When Agrippa learned that Saint Basiliscus had gone to see his relatives, he went into a rage.
He disciplined the prison guards, and he sent a detachment of soldiers after the martyr,
headed by a cruel magistrianum [adjutant of the governor].
Meeting Saint Basiliscus, who was actually on his way back,
the magistrianum placed heavy chains on him,
and shod him with metal sandals with nails driven into the soles,
and set off to Comana.

Arriving at a certain village during the hot afternoon,
the travelers stayed at the house of a woman named Troana.
The soldiers went into the house to relax and refresh themselves with food,
and they tied the martyr Basiliscus to a dry tree.
Standing in the heavy chains beneath the scorching sun,
the saint prayed to God.
Suddenly a Voice was heard from above,
“Fear not, for I am with you”.

The earth shook, and a spring of water came forth from the fissure.
The magistrianum, the soldiers and Troana, rushed out of the house, frightened by the earthquake.
Shaken by the miracle which had taken place, they set the Martyr free.
Sick people from the village came to the holy Martyr and received healing through his prayers.

When the saint finally stood before Agrippa, he was commanded to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods.
He replied, “I offer to God a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving every hour”.
They led him into a pagan temple.
In a instant fire came down from Heaven, which burned the temple,
and reduced the idols to dust.
Then in a blind rage Agrippa gave orders to behead Saint Basiliscus
and throw his body into the river.
The death of the martyr occurred in the year 308.

Christians quickly gathered the remains of the Holy Martyr,
and buried them by night in a ploughed field.
Upon this spot a church was built in honor of Saint Basiliscus,
into which they transferred his relics.
Through the prayers of the holy martyr healings began to occur.
The saint appeared in a dream to Saint John Chrysostom [November 13th]
before his death at Comana and said to him, “Tomorrow we shall be together“.
Saint Eusignius [August 5th] was an eyewitness to his sufferings
and told the world about the struggles of Saint Basiliscus.

Troparion           Tn 4
Your holy martyr Basiliscus, O Lord,
through his suffering has received an incorruptible crown from You, our God.
For having Your strength, he laid low low his adversaries,
and shattered the powerless boldness of demons.
Through his intercessions, save our souls!

Kondakion          Tn 8
You were shown to be strong and courageous in suffering;
you were revealed to be a wonder-worker in miracles!
You openly bore the name of Christ, putting the tyrant to shame!
Therefore we honor you, most honored Basiliscus, ever crying:
“Rejoice, splendid adornment of the martyrs!”

“Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God!”
Matth.4: 4

How was Moses able to fast for forty days?
How were the many Christian ascetics able
to live a long life in extreme abstinence from food and drink?

For the physical man who does not know about the spiritual life,
it is impossible to believe.
It is impossible even to prove it to him for the understanding of this is achieved only by experience.
When the torturers of Saint Basiliscus detained him for three days without food and water
and when they offered him food to eat, he refused saying that he was not hungry.
“I am“, says he, “filled with immortal food and do not want to receive mortal food.
– You are fed by earthly bread, but the heavenly word of God feeds me;
– wine makes you happy, and the Grace of the Holy Spirit makes me happy;
– meat satisfies you and fasting satisfies me;
– physical power strengthens you and the Cross of Christ strengthens me;
– gold makes you rich and the love of Christ enriches me;
– clothing adorns you, and good works adorn me;
– you are made happy with laughter
and I am comforted by the Spirit through prayer”.

The Death of Saint John Chrysostom
by Palladius of Galatia
They approached Comana, but passed through the town as men cross a river by a bridge, and lodged outside the wall
in the shrine of a martyr, five or six miles from the town.
The name of the Martyr of the place was Basiliscus,
who was Bishop of Comana,
martyred under Maximian at Nicomedia,
at the same time as Lucianus, priest of the Church of Antioch in Bithynia.
That night the Martyr stood by him and said,
“Be of good cheer, brother; to-morrow we shall be together”.
It is said that he had first called to the priest who shared his abode,
“Get ready the place for our brother John; he is coming”.
John took this as a sure warning, and next day begged them
to stay where they were till eleven o’clock.
They refused, and pushed on; but when they had covered about thirty furlongs,
he had such a sharp attack of illness, that they had to return to the shrine from which they had started.
On his arrival, he asked for white clothes – clothes befitting his life – and taking off those he was wearing, he put these on, deliberately changing everything down to his shoes.
All but these he distributed among those present.
Then he partook of the symbols of the Lord’s appointment,
and offered his last prayer, in the presence of those who stood by,
using his customary formula, “Glory to God for all things”;
and signing himself at the last “Amen”,
he raised his feet, which were so beautiful as they sped for the Salvation
of those who chose repentance, and the reproof of those who persistently cultivate
the fields of sin.
If reproof did not benefit the wicked, it was not from the carelessness of him
who had spoken out so fearlessly,
but from the recklessness of those who would not accept them.

Thus was he gathered to his fathers, shaking off the dust from his feet,
and passing over to Christ, as it is written,
“Thou shalt come to thy grave, as ripe corn gathered in its season;
but the souls of the transgressors shall die before their time”.
Such a concourse of virgins and ascetics
and men renowned for their devout lives came together from Syria, and Cilicia, and Pontus, and Armenia,
that many supposed that they had been summoned by signal.
The rites of internment and the funeral gathering  took place;
and so his poor body, like a victorious athlete’s,
was buried in the same shrine as Basiliscus.
Dialogue of Palladius concerning the Life of Saint John Chrysostom

Posted in 10. Prayer, 14. New [Testament] Covenant, 2. Orthodox Church, 4. Saints, 8. Church-fathers | Comments Off

Orthodoxy & knowledge of eternal life

Posted on 16/05/2012 by lucas

Moses once said,
” See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;
In that I command thee this day to love the Lord your God,
to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments
and His statutes and His judgments,
that you may live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land
whether you goes to possess it.
But if your heart turn away, so that you wil not hear,
but shall be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;
I denounce unto you this day, that you shall surely perish,
and that you shall not prolong your days upon the land,
whether you passes over Jordan to go to possess it.
I call Heaven and earth to record this day against you,
that I have set before your life and death, blessing and cursing:
therefore choose life, that both you and your seed may live:
That you may love the Lord your God, and that you may obey His Voice,
and that you may cleave unto him: for he is your life, and the length of your days:
that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore unto your fathers,
to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them“.
Deut. 30:15-20

When a man begins
to follow the path of faith,
he must lay aside once and for all
his old methods of knowing,
for faith has its own methods.
Then natural knowledge ceases and
spiritual knowledge takes its place.
Natural knowledge is contrary to faith,
for faith, and all that comes from faith,
is “the destruction of the laws of knowledge”
–>
though not of spiritual, but of natural knowledge.

The chief characteristic of natural knowledge
is its approach by examination and experimentation.
This is in itself “a sign of uncertainty about the truth”.
Faith, on the contrary,
follows a pure and simple way of thought
that is far removed from all guile and methodical examination.
These two paths lead in opposite directions.
The house of faith is
“childlike thoughts and simplicity of heart”,
for it is said,
“Glorify God in simplicity of heart” [cf .Col.3: 22],
and: “Except ye be converted and become as little children,
ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven” [Matth.18: 3].
Natural knowledge stands opposed both
to simplicity of heart and simplicity of thought.
This knowledge only works within the limits of nature,
“but Faith has its own path beyond nature”.

The more a man devotes himself to the ways of natural knowledge,
the more he is seized on by fear and the less can he free himself from it.
But if he follows faith, he is immediately freed
and “as a son of God, has the power to make free use of all things“.

“If we would concentrate on Divine Truth as seen in Christ,
all need for a stream of words disappears,
until finally the mind enters the realm of profound silence“.
Archimandrite Sophrony

“The man who loves this faith acts like God in the use of all created things“,
for to faith is given the power “to be like God in making a New creation“,
Thus it is written:
“You desired, and all things are presented before you” [cf. Job 23: 13].
Faith can often “bring forth all things out of nothing“,
while knowledge can do nothing “without the help of matter“.
Knowledge has no power over nature, but faith has such power.
Armed with faith, men have entered into
the fire and quenched the flames, being untouched by them.
Others have walked on the waters as on dry land.
All these things are “beyond nature“;
they go against the modes of natural knowledge
and reveal the vanity of such modes.
Faith “moves about above nature“.

The ways of natural knowledge ruled the world for more than 5,000 years,
and man was unable to “lift his gaze from the earth and understand the might of his Creator”
until “our faith arose and delivered us from the shadows of the works of this world”
and from a fragmented mind.
He who has faith “will lack nothing“,
and, when he has nothing, “he possesses all things by faith“,
as it is written:
All things whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive [Matth.21: 22];
and also; The Lord is near; be anxious for nothing [Phil.4: 6].

From where do we know that there is life after death?
We know from Christ the Lord:
- on the basis of His words, His Resurrection
- and by His many Appearances after death.
Philosophers, who recognize life after death, recognize it on the basis of their thinking
but we Christians recognize it on the basis of experience,
especially the experience of holy men
who were not capable of falsehoods nor could they proclaim falsehoods.

When Abba Sisoes the Great
lay on his deathbed,
his face was very radiant.
The monks, his disciples, stood around him.
Then Saint Sisoes gazed around and said:
“Behold, here came Abba Anthony! ”
he remained silent for a while and then, again said:
“Behold, here came the Prophets! ”
In that moment, his face glowed even more and he said:
“Behold, here came the Apostles! ”
Following that he said:
“Behold, here came the Angels to take away my soul! ”
Finally, his face shown as the sun and all were overcome by great fear and the elder said:
“Behold, here comes the Lord, look at Him all of you“.
Behold, He speaks:
“Bring to me the chosen vessel from the wilderness“.
After that, this Saint gave up his soul.
How many more similar visions were there
and that from the most reliable witnesses!
The Prolog of Ohrid

Posted in 1. God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, 10. Prayer, 11. Mystery [Sacrament], 12. Old [Testament] Covenant, 14. New [Testament] Covenant, 2. Orthodox Church, 4. Saints, 8. Church-fathers | Comments Off

Orthodoxy & Ascension of the Lord and being suitable

Posted on 16/05/2012 by lucas

“When once the master of the House is risen up,
and hath shut to the door,
and you begin to stand without,
and to knock at the door,
saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us“.
Luc.13: 25

“A door was opened in Heaven”
Revelation 4: 1

When Dante had written his immortal poems on Hell and Purgatory,
the people of Italy used to shrink back from him with awe, and whisper,
“see that man who has looked upon Hell“.

These days we can in fancy look on the face of the beloved Apostle,
who saw Heaven opened, and the things which shall be hereafter.
We have summed up the Great story of the Good Message [the Gospel],
and have trampled the path of Salvation from Bethlehem to Calvary.
We have seen Jesus, the only Son of God, dying for our sins,
and rising again for our Justification,
and ascending into Heaven to plead for us as our eternal great High Priest.
We have heard of the promise of the coming of God the Holy Spirit,
the Gift [Grace] of the Father, sent in the name of the Son.
We are permitted to gaze for a moment
through the open door,
to have an indication of the three Persons,
yet one God, on the Home of God, yes,
and the Home of God’s people,
who are redeemed with the Precious Blood of Christ.

Nowadays, there are many people
who never think of Heaven at all,
and even so many who think of it in a wrong way.
When we were baptized, the door was opened for us in Heaven, and Jesus said to us,
” I know your works: behold , I have set
before thee an open door,
and no man can shut it: for you have a little strength,
and have kept my word, and have not denied My Name“.
                                                         Revelation 3: 8
From that day we were permitted to look with the eye of faith
upon those good things which pass man’s understanding.

But some of us would not look up.
We were like travelers going along a muddy road on a starlight night,
and who look down on the foul, dirty path,
and never upwards to the bright sky above.
Brothers, turn your eyes from this world’s dirty ways,
look away from your selfish work, and your selfish pleasure,
look up from the things which are seen and are temporal,
from the fashion of this world which passes away,
and gaze through the open door of Revelation
at the things which shall be hereafter.

I said that many people never think of Heaven at all.
These are they who love this world too well to think of the world to come,
they are of the earth, earthy.
“As is the earthy, such are they that are earthy,
and as is the Heavenly, such also are they that are Heavenly“[1Cor.15: 48].
I said, too, that many think of Heaven in a wrong way,
as did the lady of fashion,
who fancied Heaven would be like the London season [the London Olympics],
only better, as there would be no disagreeable people.

Now, if we are to think rightly of Heaven,
we must do as Saint John did.
He heard a voice saying,
“Come up hither, and I will show the things which shall be hereafter.
And immediately he was in the Spirit“.
Revelation 4: 1
- We must ask for the Holy Spirit to lift our hearts and minds to Heaven;
- we must try to go up higher in our thoughts, words, and works;
- we must try to get above the world, above ourselves,
so shall we be able to look,
though with bowed head and shaded eyes, through the open door.
Let us reverently do so now, and see what we can learn of the things
which shall be hereafter.

First, I think we learn that Heaven and earth are not,
as some people fancy, two very different places, very far apart.
The Church of Christ is one family, bound together by one faith,
one Baptism, one hope, acknowledging one God and Father of us all.
This family has one Home; here in earth it dwells in a lower chamber,
after death it passes into a ‘higher room’ of God’s great House.

The Apostle, speaking of the Church, says,
“You are come, [not you will come],
unto Mount Sion,
and unto the city of the living God,
the Heavenly Jerusalem,
and to an innumerable Company of Angels,
to the general Assembly and Church of the firstborn which are written in Heaven,
and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
and to Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling,
that speaks better things than that of Abel“.
Hebr.12: 22-24
In a word, our Heavenly life should commence when we are Baptized,
day by day ought we to grow in Grace, and when we have grown sufficiently,
God takes us to the upper Room above.
It is this mistake of separating Heaven and earth
which makes people careless of their lives.
If you want to dwell with God through all Eternity,
you must walk humbly with God all the days of your Earthly life.
Look again through the open door, and learn that in Heaven God is the central figure.
So, if we are living here as Christ’s people, God will be the central figure in our life,
the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end of all our work, our wish, our plan.

Brothers, if you feel that with you self is the chief object in your existence,
be sure that you are not living the Heavenly life.
You have put yourself in the place of God.

“After this I looked, and behold, a door was opened in heaven;
and the first voice which I heard was,
as it were, of a trumpet talking with me, which said,
“Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter”.
And immediately I was in the Spirit;
and behold, a throne was set in Heaven,
and One sat on the Throne.
And He that sat thereon was to look upon like a jasper and a sardius stone; and
there was a rainbow round about the throne, in appearance like unto an emerald. And round about the throne were four and twenty seats; and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment, and they had on their heads crowns of gold. And out of the throne proceeded lightning’s and thundering’s and voices. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the Throne, which are the seven spirits of God; and before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four living beings full of eyes in front and behind“.
Revelation 4: 1-6

-        “David says, God shall manifestly come, even our God, and shall not keep silence;
a fire shall burn before Him, and a fierce tempest round about Him, and the rest.
The Son of Man shall come to the Father, according to the Scripture which was just now read, on the clouds of heaven, drawn by a stream of fire, which is to make trial of men.
Then if any man’s works are of gold, he shall be made brighter;
if any man’s course of life be like stubble, and unsubstantial, it shall be burnt up by the fire”.
Saint Cyril, “Catechetical Lectures”, #15

Again, as we look through the open door, we see the intense Beauty of the Heavenly life.
We see gates of pearl, and a Throne on which sits one like jasper and a sardine stone,
and the rainbow round about the throne is in sight like unto an emerald.
In all ages precious stones have been objects of the greatest value.
We are told that Julius Caesar paid a hundred and twenty-five thousand crowns for one pearl, and monarchs have boasted of possessing a diamond of priceless value.
You remember that God says of His redeemed ones,
“They shall be Mine in that day that I make up My jewels“.
Malachi 3: 17

-        and from an clarification of Psalm 49:5
“Gather His holy ones to Him, Who establish His Covenant upon Sacrifices“.
Go, ye swift winged messengers, and separate the precious from the vile.
Gather out the wheat of the Heavenly garner.
Let the long scattered, but elect people, known by my separating Grace to be my sanctified ones, be now assembled in one place.
All are not saints who seem to be so — a severance must be made;
therefore let all who profess to be Saints be gathered before my Throne of Judgment,
and let them hear the word which will search and try the whole,
that the false may be convicted and the true revealed.
Those that have made a Covenant with me by sacrifice;
this is the grand test, and yet some have dared to imitate it.
The covenant was ratified by the slaying of Victims,
the cutting and dividing of offerings;
this the righteous have done by accepting with true faith the great propitiatory sacrifice,
and this the pretenders have done in merely outward form.
Let them be gathered before the Throne for trial and testing,
and as many as have really ratified the Covenant
by faith in the Lord Jesus shall be attested
before all worlds as the objects of distinguishing Grace,
while formalists shall learn that outward sacrifices are all in vain.
Oh, solemn assize, how does my soul bow in awe at the prospect thereof.

Well, I think we hear so much of precious stones in the description of Heaven,
that we may learn that its great Glory and Beauty consists in the Holiness of those who dwell there.
They are the pure and precious pearls which build up the foundation,
and they get their brightness from God, who sits enthroned among them,
and who is to look upon as a jasper and a sardine stone.
And these precious stones are of different colours,
as they reflect the light from a different point.

So is it with the People of God, they reflect the light from the Face of God in various ways,
and so have various virtues.
One shines with fiery zeal, like the red ruby.
Another glitters with the soft beauty of a humble spirit, like the pearl,
whilst yet another sparkles with many graces, like the parti-coloured flashes of the diamond.
Some lives which here are obscure and neglected, like the precious gem at the bottom of the ocean, shall one day glitter in Heaven, and be among the jewels of the Master.
Brothers, are our lives such that we can ever hope to adore God’s jewel-house above?
Can these poor dull characters of ours ever shine as the stars for ever and ever?
Think, what makes a gem flash and sparkle? Light.
Well, then, let us walk as the Children of Light,
let us look up, and catch the radiance from the Face of Jesus,
and reflect it in our lives; then will our light shine here before men,
and one day shine yet brighter as we draw nearer to the Source of all Light.
And think again that often the brightest and fairest forms come from the least likely materials.
Of the same mould are the black coal, and the glittering diamond.
The unsightly slag which is thrown away from the iron furnace forms beautiful crystals,
and the very mud under foot can, as men of science tell us,
be turned into gleaming metal, and sparkling gem.
The fair colours which dye our clothing can be formed from defiling pitch,
and some of the most exquisite perfumes are distilled from the foulest substances.
My brother, the same God who brings beauty out of ugliness, and fair purity from corruption, can so change our vile nature, and our vile body, that they may be made like unto Him.
The work of the Blessed Trinity, of the Creator, the Saviour, the Sanctifier,
is day by day operating on the children of God, and making all things New in them.
And remember that work is gradual.
A man can make a pretended diamond
in a very short time,
a real jewel must lie for ages buried
in the earth.
So, if we are really and truly God’s people, we must grow gradually,
and bear all the cutting and polishing which God sees right,
before we are acceptable for the Royal Treasury.

Posted in 1. God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, 10. Prayer, 11. Mystery [Sacrament], 12. Old [Testament] Covenant, 14. New [Testament] Covenant, 2. Orthodox Church, 4. Saints, 5. Holy Liturgy, 6. Psalms created on Truth | Comments Off

Orthodoxy & all we can do is pray

Posted on 14/05/2012 by lucas

How many times have we heard this from others
and also said it ourselves?
It is true: All we can do is pray…
but that is not how this is usually said.

Usually, there is a sigh, a shrug of the shoulders and then,
“Well, all I can do now is pray” after we have turned
to every worldly solution which man has to offer
for whatever problem may be facing us:
troubled marriage, illness, rebellious children, trouble at work or school,
misunderstandings between friends or family, etc.

Although it is not the intention of the one who uses this expression, it comes across as,
“Well, I, in my great knowledge, vast abilities and wisdom,
have done everything possible to solve this and nothing has worked;
so, Lord, maybe, just maybe, You can do something.
I have exhausted all my resources
and now have nowhere else to turn“.

The truth is that all we can do is pray.
It is the most powerful thing that we can do for ourselves,
for our loved ones, and for the world.
If we keep God before ourselves at all times
and turn to Him immediately in all situations,
we are truly keeping the right order.
It, however, does not mean that we just sit back and do nothing.
No. We have to enter into that synergy with God
—man reaching up from earth and God leaning down from heaven.
We definitely have to do our part,
but we need to turn our “check list” of how to handle situations around:
first turn to God, then, with Him ever in our hearts and on our lips,
seek help from the means that He has given us.
The hard part is to put it all in God’s hands first
and then work with Him.

One example of this is something that is seen in Orthodox countries,
particularly in churches that have the full relics of one of the saints.
Students come into the church very early in the morning
before their classes to venerate the relics and pray before them,
especially on the day of a difficult exam.
Surely, the student has studied hard for the exam,
but he/she knows that without the Lord’s help, it is in vain.
Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it:
except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain [Psalm 128: 1].

Elder Cleopa always counseled people,
“When your mother, your child, your husband, anyone, is sick,
first call the priest, not the doctor!”
The Church has prayers for everything imaginable,
and those prayers are very effectual.
Turn to those prayers first, then proceed.
If you are building a house there is a prayer for beginning this project;
traveling — there are prayers;
studying — there are prayers…

One way in which we witness the benefit of those prayers right here at the Monastery involves our flock of free-range chickens: many of the people who live nearby ask us
why the chickens have not fallen prey to these the many predators that roam the surrounding forest.
The answer: every year, on the feast of Saint Blaise [11th of Febr], protector of domestic animals, we process to the henhouse with the priest, singing the Troparion of the hieromartyr, and the flock is blessed.

Troparion        Tn 3
Thou didst blossom as a fruitful tree in the Church,/
by the cultivation of divine grace, O Father Blaise;/
thou didst shine with the grace of the priesthood/
and bear fruit in thy martyr’s contest./
Entreat Christ our God to grant us His great mercy.

If, at some point a hen or two “disappear” [which has happened about three times in six years], we keep the rest of the flock locked in their pen for a few weeks, while we continue to pray to Saint Blaise too again protect them.

Pray first, then employ other means, but while keeping your main focus on God.

Actual prayer is one part of a “little holy Trinity”;
it is not isolated into only asking [often telling] God to fulfill our request.
The other two members of this small trinity are fasting and giving alms.
In traditionally Orthodox countries, it is very common to encounter someone
who either makes an offering to a church or to a person in need,
even someone unknown on the street, saying
“Please accept this; my husband/mother/sister/son,
is ill/in need of God’s mercy“.
Interestingly, the answer from the recipient is not “thank you“,
but rather, “May God receive“.
This is very definitely a part of prayer to God to have mercy on the loved one.
That offering is a sacrifice
and is the second part of the “All I can do is pray“.

Offering a sacrifice, both in thanksgiving, as well as in petition in prayer is most certainly Biblical. In the Old Testament, the sacrifice was always a young animal which was purely spotless. What more precious sacrifice has there ever been in all the history of man than the Lord Himself sacrificing Himself upon the Cross for our salvation? When we pray from our hearts to God, asking Him to help either ourselves or a loved one, we must also offer whatever sacrifice we can. This is a pouring out of oneself, which the Lord certainly accepts. Whatever that sacrifice of alms consists of (financial, material, labor, etc), it must be something that is truly a sacrifice, and not simply from our surplus.

The third part of that “small trinity” is fasting. When we or a loved one are in great need of God’s mercy, we pray, sacrifice, and in addition to the regularly prescribed fasting days and season, we add an additional fast. Many monastic elders counsel people who are in such need to add Mondays as a fasting day, or to fast totally each day until noon.

This fasting and almsgiving, together with prayer, also helps us to be more aware of our own sins. The holy fathers tell us that misfortune, trials, illness, etc. befall us for one of three reasons: either from the devil to lead us away from God; from God Himself to wake us up and redirect us where we belong; or from our own sins. We have lost the notion in our modem society to ever believe that something has happened to us because of our own doing or fault; it is always someone else’s fault, never our own. The truth is that not only do our sins bring trials upon ourselves, but they also can cause others to suffer. All of creation fell and suffered, and continues to suffer, because of our sins. Our sins have eternal and temporal consequences, but we also know that through true repentance and confession, these consequences are lessened and often eliminated.

So, in the midst of trials, need, tribulations, let us first pray, give alms of sacrifice, and fast, looking at our own sins, as we beseech God to grant what is good and needful for our own souls, for our loved ones, for the world. God does indeed answer these prayers… but not always the way that we want. His ways are certainly not our ways, and our understanding cannot begin to fathom or comprehend God’s judgments. When His answer to our petitions is not what we want it to be, we must still trust in His mercy and judgment, giving thanks always. If we but look back in our own lives and see those times when it seemed that God did not answer our prayer as we wanted, we can almost always see that He did indeed answer it as we needed for our salvation.

A broken and contrite heart, God will not despise. When we turn to God first and keep Him before ourselves throughout our lives, especially in times of trial, in humility acknowledging that without Him we can do nothing, then He truly does not abandon us. Indeed, let us remember that ALL we can do is pray: before, during and after a task; before, during and after a trial; all our life long, putting our full trust in God.

So let us continue in that synergy reaching up toward God, beseeching His mercy, help and guidance, as He leans down to take our outstretched hand and lead us along the path of peace.

Posted in 1. God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, 10. Prayer, 11. Mystery [Sacrament], 14. New [Testament] Covenant, 2. Orthodox Church, 4. Saints | Comments Off

6th Sunday of Pascha – Christ Healing the Blind Man

Posted on 14/05/2012 by lucas

Behold, a miracle!
“Nobody has ever heard of opening
the eyes of a man born blind“.
John 9: 32

But isn’t the stubborn blindness of those who should be able to see even more surprising?
Isn’t the Spiritual blindness of the Pharisees more amazing?
Spiritual blindness defies not only faith,
not only the miracle, but even common sense itself.
“Who is He? ”
— asks Spiritual blindness;
“A Prophet! ”
— answers faith.
John 9: 17
“How did He open your eyes? ”
— persists Spiritual blindness, not looking for an answer;
“I already told you and you did not listen“,
— responds faith.
John 9: 27
“We do not know Him or from where He is! ”
— declares Spiritual blindness rejecting Christ, turning away from Him. John 9: 29
“Indeed, it is strange that He gave sight to the one born blind, but you do not know from where He is“,
— marvels faith.
John 9: 30
“He is a sinner! ”
— yells Spiritual blindness, trying to smear all that is bright and heavenly with dirt.
John 9: 24
“God does not listen to sinners“.
John 9: 31
— Wise Faith teaches those who are spiritually blind,
“But this One performed a miracle from God“.

The Saviour met this man, born blind and hopeless after every human effort,
while leaving the Temple on the Sabbath.
Jesus spat into the dirt, made clay, rubbed it in his eyes
and told him to wash in the pool of Siloam [known from Isaiah 8: 6],
a famous water spring in Jerusalem.
The Saviour did not send him there because his eyes were covered in clay,
nor did the pool have healing power, but instead to test his faith and obedience.
The blind man proclaimed that Jesus healed him,
but this confession caused him to be cast out by the enemies of the truth.
Even his own parents would not defend him.
However, the blind man followed Jesus from that moment forward.

“Who shall declare Thy might, O Christ?
And who shall number the multitude of Thy wonders?
For as Thou hast doubly seen in Thy goodness on earth,
so didst Thou doubly grant healing to the sick;
for not only didst Thou heal the bodily eyes of the man born blind from the womb,
but the eyes of his soul also.
Wherefore, he confessed that Thou art a hidden God,
granting all the Great Mercy“.
Doxasticon of this Feast [Tn 8]

“O Bestower of light, Who art Light coming forth from Light,
Thou dost give eyes to the man who was blind from his birth, O Word.
By Thy boundless mercy, O Christ our God, Giver of light, have mercy on us“.

“Since my soul’s noetic eyes are blind and sightless,
I come unto Thee, O Christ, as did the man who was born blind.
And in repentance I cry to Thee:
of those in darkness Thou art the most radiant Light“.

“Grant me a stream of ineffable wisdom and knowledge from on high, O Christ,
Thou Light of them that are in darkness and Guide of all them that are gone astray,
that I may tell of those things that the divine book of the Gospel of peace hath taught,
to wit, the miracle that was wrought upon the blind man; for though blind from birth,
he receiveth the physical eyes as well as the eyes of the soul,
as he crieth out in faith: of those in darkness Thou art the most radiant Light“.
Kontakion and Oikos

It is not for much longer that we will hear these marvelous words from the church.
The all-Church celebration of this great solemnity, this salvific work of God is coming to an end.
Together with the angels in heaven, we sang the resurrection of Christ;
together with Apostle Thomas, we called out, “My Lord and my God!”
having met the Savior; together with the myrrh-bearers, we ran to the empty tomb,
carrying our pain, our sadness, our sorrow and received the good news; like the paralytic,
we were raised by Christ from the death of sin to pure life;
and like the Samaritan woman who left her clay pot by the ancient well
and ran to tell the people in the city about the coming of the Messiah,
Christ urges us to leave the muddy waters of the worldly and the sinful
and drink from the ever-flowing Divine source, leading us into eternal life.

But these holy days are coming to an end:
in three days we will mark the apodosis of Pascha
and on Thursday celebrate the Ascension of the Lord
—our hope in our ascension—
us healed, raised, cleansed by the blood of the Savior
in His united, undivided Body—the Holy Church.
As we watch these last Paschal days pass,
the Holy Church wants to strengthen our Paschal joy
in anticipation of the feast of the Ascension and teach us that Christ,
Whom we now do not see with our physical eyes,
is here among us, visible to the eyes of the spirit.
In the Gospel reading, the Church tells us about
the wisdom of the blind man
and warns us against the spiritual blindness of the Pharisees.

The Pool of Siloam
It was thought that the Pool of Siloam [Shiloah in Hebrew]
was fed directly by an underground spring.
In Jesus’ day, the Feast of Tabernacles, which was like a Judean Thanksgiving,
with pilgrims bringing offerings of luscious freshly harvested dates, pomegranates, grapes, figs, and olives, began at the Pool of Siloam with a joyful musical procession called
Simhat Beit HaShoevah or The Rejoicing of the Water-Drawing.

Until now, pilgrims wanting to “experience”
the Pool of Siloam have either waded through
Hezekiah’s tunnel
or walked through the Kidron Valley[Jerusalem].
At the end of the tunnel, there is a narrow pool,
less than two feet wide,with a couple of toppled pillars
from a fifth century church built
by the Empress Eudocia.

A couple of years ago, when the Turkish sewer system was being overhauled some yards southeast of the “traditional” Pool of Siloam, archeologist Eli Shukron,
who has been working at the City of David for the past decade, identified two steps in the rubble.
He immediately commanded the sanitation workers to halt,
so he and his colleague Ronny Reich could investigate.
This led to a spectacular find – the revelation of the original steps of the Pool of Siloam.
So when you are healed and you want to be tested in your faith and obedience,
go and wash yourself  in the pool of Siloam;
[as a universal command to all heretics to wash your unbelief overthere].

Posted in 10. Prayer, 11. Mystery [Sacrament], 12. Old [Testament] Covenant, 14. New [Testament] Covenant, 2. Orthodox Church, 7. The Vintage of Beauty | Comments Off

May 17th – Apostle Andronicus of the seventy and his fellow labourer Junia

Posted on 14/05/2012 by lucas

Andronicus of Pannonia [Greek: Ανδρόνικος] was a 1st century Christian highly regarded and complimented by the apostle Paul:
“Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellowprisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me” [Romans 16: 7].

According to that verse, Andronicus was a kinsman of Paul and a fellow prisoner at some time,
particularly well-known among the apostles, and had become a follower of Jesus Christ
before Paul’s Damascus road conversion.
It is generally assumed that Junia was his wife,
but they could have been brother and sister, or father and daughter,
or no close relation to each other, but to Paul as kinsmen.

Saint Andronicus was made Bishop of Pannonia,
but his preaching also took him
and Saint Junia to other lands,
far from the boundaries of their diocese.
Through the efforts of Saints Andronicus and Junia, the Church of Christ was strengthened with pagans being converted to Christianity.
Both of them had the Grace of wonder-working,
by which they drove out demons
and healed every sort of sickness and disease.
Many of the pagan temples were closed, and in their place Christian churches were built.
The service in honor of these saints states that they both suffered for Christ,
and thus received a twofold crown: of apostleship and of martyrdom.

In the fifth century, during the reigns of Emperors Arcadius and Honorius,
these saints’ holy relics were uncovered on the outskirts of Constantinople
together with the relics of other martyrs at the Gate of Eugenius.

It was revealed to the pious cleric, Nicholas Kalligraphos,
that among the relics of these martyrs were the relics of the holy Apostle Andronicus.
Afterwards, a magnificent church was built on this spot.

Posted in 10. Prayer, 11. Mystery [Sacrament], 2. Orthodox Church, 4. Saints | Comments Off

May 17th – Saint Athanasios the new, archbishop of Christianopolis

Posted on 14/05/2012 by lucas

Saint Athanasios was born in Karytaina
of the municipality of Gortynia of southern Greece
around 1640, with the secular name Anastasios Korfinos.
His parents were named Andreas and Euphrosyne
and had three other children.
We assume that his first letters were learned in his hometown and then he probably attended the famous school of Philosophou Monastery,
and later, as a clergyman, in Constantinople.

When Anastasios was of marriageable age,
his parents, despite his desire to follow the monastic life, insisted on marriage.
In fact his father, even without the consent of his son,
betrothed Anastasios to the daughter of a wealthy ruler in Patras,
and then sent him to procure in Nafplion wedding stuff.
Anastasios obeyed the paternal command and set off for Nafplio.
On the way he passed by the church of the Panagia in Vidoni,
near the village Syrna, and asked for divine enlightenment.

In Nafplio, after he bought what he needed, the great decision was made.
We are informed how the night before the scheduled departure for Karytaina,
he was tortured by his thoughts as for what to do,
and he saw in a dream the Panagia with the Honorable Forerunner,
who called him by the name he would take later as a monk.
According to his first biographer, the Panagia told him:
“A chosen vessel and servant of my Son I want you to be, Athanasios.
Send, therefore, your servants with your wedding garments to your father
and allow the daughter to be engaged to another man.
You however should go along to Constantinople,
in order to receive there what my Son and God should grant you“.
And this is what happened.
Athanasios sent back his servants and left for Constantinople,
where, after he became a monk named Athanasios, was ordained deacon and then priest.

During the first patriarchal reign of the Ecumenical Patriarch Iakovos,
Saint Athanasios was ordained Metropolitan of Christianopolis, the Exarch of Arcadia,
in succession to Metropolitan Eugenios, who on the basis of extant documents was hierarch
in this ecclesiastical province from 1645 until 1673 at least.
A time of ordination should be assumed at the latest by the end of 1680 or early 1681,
since it was discovered that in April of this year that he signed a dismissal letter
as a member of the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople
of the Metropolitan of Evripos and Melenikos.

As for the office of the Metropolis, the title “Christianopolis” refers
to the current village of Christianoi.
Essentially the center of the Metropolis must have been
within the safety of the city of Kyparissia.

The situation in the province of the Saint was
economically, religiously and morally a disaster.
Since the Peloponnese was a Turkish state,
the position of Christians on the economic side was terrible.
The religious situation, despite the beneficial effect of the monks of Lousio
and the school of Philosophou Monastery and others,
did not differ much during these difficult years from the state of the enslaved country.

Saint Athanasios immediately began the fight to tackle the various problems
and to improve the situation.
The first concern was to find suitable young people for the priesthood.
To achieve this objective the Saint founded schools for the functional training of candidates,
and also waived any financial payment which was given
to the Bishop in the maintenance of himself and the diocese.
Believing that the Holy Orthodox Church is a sacred institution
that maintains the true faith in Christ and is the connective link
which unites the enslaved Greeks and maintains the national consciousness,
and even how the churches are the center of reference
and the meeting place for the society of poor Greeks,
Saint Athanasios arranged for the repair and maintenance of these churches,
as long as it was feasible economically and within the license terms set by the Turks.
The Saint was also interested in the monasteries,
which were the light-posts of Salvation and the centers of Enlightenment and Philanthropy,
and led the fight for freedom of the enslaved race.

Before his sheepfold Saint Athanasius stood as a true Shepherd and imitator of Christ,
who was interested not only in places of worship, but also in the ministry to his people,
to alleviate the sufferings of their daily life and work.
His love for orphans, widows, the needy, the elderly,
the persecuted and the aggrieved was unique.

The Triune God gave the Saint his “wages”
and made him worthy within this life and after his death
to perform signs and wonders.
We are informed how, when the Saint was liturgizing, at the time he came out of the Royal Gate to say “Lord, Lord, look down from heaven and see …“,
the faithful saw in front of his mouth a glittering star.

Thus, after shepherding with God’s love of his sheepfold
and having ministered to the Church of Christ,
Saint Athanasios died after a few days illness in 1707 or 1708.
A few years later, between 1710 – 1713,
was the exhumation and the sacred relic was found incorrupt and fragrant.

Posted in 10. Prayer, 14. New [Testament] Covenant, 2. Orthodox Church, 4. Saints, 9. Monasticism | Comments Off

May 15th – Venerable Pachomius the Great, Founder of Coenobitic Monasticism

Posted on 14/05/2012 by lucas

In today’s world, people who seek
spiritual life are often alone in their quest
with no spiritual guides except books
or other writings they may have been blessed to collect.
We often wonder how we can find Salvation where we are.
Saint Pachomius addressed this issue and assures us that, indeed, one’s “place” does not regulate one’s Salvation.

Saint Pachomius the Great was both a model of desert dwelling,
and with Saints Anthony the Great [January 17th], Macarius the Great [January 19th],
and Euthymius the Great [January 20th], a founder of the cenobitic monastic life in Egypt.

Saint Pachomius was born in the third century in the Thebaid (Upper Egypt).
His parents were pagans who gave him an excellent secular education.
From his youth he had a good character, and he was prudent and sensible.
When Pachomius reached the age of twenty,
he was called up to serve in the army of the emperor Constantine [apparently, in the year 315].
They put the new conscripts in a city prison guarded by soldiers.
The local Christians fed the soldiers and took care of them.

When the young man learned that these people acted this way
because of their love for God, fulfilling His commandment to love their neighbor,
this made a deep impression upon his pure soul.
Pachomius vowed to become a Christian.
Pachomius returned from the army after the victory,
received holy Baptism, moved to the lonely settlement of Shenesit,
and began to lead a strict ascetic life.
Realizing the need for spiritual guidance, he turned to the desert-dweller Palamon.
He was accepted by the Elder, and he began to follow the example of his instructor in monastic struggles.

Once, after ten years of asceticism,
Saint Pachomius made his way through the desert,
and halted at the ruins of the former village of Tabennisi.
Here he heard a Voice ordering him to start a monastery at this place.
Pachomius told the Elder Palamon of this,
and they both regarded the words as a command from God.

They went to Tabennisi and built a small monastic cell.
The holy Elder Palamon blessed the foundations of the monastery and predicted its future glory.
But soon Palamon departed to the Lord.
An angel of God then appeared to Saint Pachomius in the form of a schemamonk
and gave him a Rule of monastic life.
Soon his older brother John came and settled there with him.

Saint Pachomius endured many temptations and assaults from the Enemy of the race of man,
but he resisted all temptations by his prayer and endurance.

Gradually, followers began to gather around Saint Pachomius.
Their teacher impressed everyone by his love for work,
which enabled him to accomplish all kinds of monastic tasks.
He cultivated a garden, he conversed with those seeking guidance,
and he tended to the sick.

Saint Pachomius introduced a monastic Rule of cenobitic life,
giving everyone the same food and attire.
The monks of the monastery fulfilled the obediences
assigned them for the common good of the monastery.
Among the various obediences was copying books.
The monks were not allowed to possess their own money
nor to accept anything from their relatives.
Saint Pachomius considered that an obedience fulfilled with zeal was greater than fasting or prayer.
He also demanded from the monks an exact observance of the monastic Rule,
and he chastized slackers.

His sister Maria came to see Saint Pachomius,
but the strict ascetic refused to see her.
Through the gate keeper, he blessed her
to enter upon the path of monastic life, promising his help with this.
Maria wept, but did as her brother had ordered.
The Tabennisi monks built her a hut on the opposite side of the River Nile.
Nuns also began to gather around Maria.
Soon a women’s monastery was formed
with a strict monastic Rule provided by Saint Pachomius.

The number of monks at the monastery grew quickly,
and it became necessary to build seven more monasteries in the vicinity.
The number of monks reached 7,000, all under the guidance of Saint Pachomius,
who visited all the monasteries and administered them.
At the same time Saint Pachomius remained a deeply humble monk,
who was always ready to comply with and accept the words of each brother.

Severe and strict towards himself,
Saint Pachomius had great kindness
and condescension
toward the deficiencies of spiritually immature monks.
One of the monks was eager for martyrdom,
but Saint Pachomius turned him from this desire
and instructed him to fulfill his monastic obedience,
taming his pride, and training him in humility.

Once, a monk did not heed his advice and left the monastery.
He was set upon by brigands,
who threatened him with death
and forced him to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods.
Filled with despair, the monk returned to the monastery.
Saint Pachomius ordered him to pray intensely night and day,
keep a strict fast and live in complete solitude.
The monk followed his advice, and this saved his soul from despair.

The saint taught his spiritual children to avoid judging others,
and he himself feared to judge anyone even in thought.

Saint Pachomius cared for the sick monks with special love.
He visited them, he cheered the disheartened, he urged them to be thankful to God,
and put their hope in His holy will.
He relaxed the fasting rule for the sick, if this would help them recover their health.
Once, in the saint’s absence, the cook did not prepare any cooked food for the monks,
assuming that the brethren loved to fast.
Instead of fulfilling his obedience, the cook plaited 500 mats,
something which Saint Pachomius had not told him to do.
In punishment for his disobedience, all the mats prepared by the cook were burned.

Saint Pachomius always taught the monks to rely only upon God’s help and mercy.
It happened that there was a shortage of grain at the monastery.
The saint spent the whole night in prayer,
and in the morning a large quantity of bread was sent to the monastery from the city,
at no charge.
The Lord granted Saint Pachomius the gift of wonderworking and healing the sick.

The Lord revealed to him the future of monasticism.
The saint learned that future monks would not have such zeal in their struggles
as the first generation had, and they would not have experienced guides.
Prostrating himself upon the ground, Saint Pachomius wept bitterly,
calling out to the Lord and imploring mercy for them.
He heard a Voice answer,
“Pachomius, be mindful of the mercy of God.
The monks of the future shall receive a reward,
since they too shall have occasion
to suffer the life burdensome for the monk“.

Toward the end of his life Saint Pachomius fell ill from a pestilence that afflicted the region.
His closest disciple, Saint Theodore [May 17th], tended to him with filial love.
Saint Pachomius died around the year 348 at the age of fifty-three,
and was buried on a hill near the monastery.

Troparion                          Tn 8
By a flood of tears you made the desert fertile,
and your longing for God brought forth fruits in abundance.
By the radiance of miracles you illumined the whole universe!
Our Father Pachomius
pray to Christ God to save our souls!

Kondakion                         Tn 2
After living the life of the angels in the body,
you were granted their glory, God-bearing Pachomius.
Now standing with them before the throne of God,
you pray that we all may be forgiven.

Humility is the tree of life
One of the brethren once asked me,
“Tell us about one of the scenes you have sighted so that we can profit from it“.
In response I said,
“Anyone who is a sinner like me does not have scenes to recount.
But if you want to see a glorious scene that can truly benefit you,
I can tell you where to find it.
It is that of a man humble of heart and pure.
This is a scene more splendid than any
because through it you can see God who cannot be seen!
Do not ask about a scene greater than this“.
Saint Pachomius the Great

Posted in 10. Prayer, 14. New [Testament] Covenant, 2. Orthodox Church, 4. Saints, 9. Monasticism | Comments Off