Greek Or th odox Patriar chate of A le xandria & All Afr ica

A L L G L OR Y , H ONOUR A N D W OR S H IP T O TH E F A TH ER , A ND T O T H E S ON , A N D T O T HE H OL Y S P IR IT , NOW A N D FOR E VE R , A ND U NT O T H E A GE S OF A GE S . A ME N . R E ME MB ER ING A L S O OUR M OS T H OL Y , M OS T P U RE , M OS T B LE S SE D A ND G L OR IOU S L A D Y , M A R IA , T HE OT OKOS , YE T E V ER V IR GIN , T OGE T H E R WIT H AL L T HE S A INT S . A ND LE T U S C OMMIT OU R S E LV ES A N D ONE A NOTH E R A ND OU R WH OL E L IFE T O C H R IST OU R G OD . A ME N .

32nd Sunday After Pentecost

To n e (7) Va r ys / G r a ve

2 F e b r ua r y 2 01 4

The Meeting/Presentation of Christ 1st Sunday of Triodion the Publican & the Pharisee
ALSO THE FE AST OF ST GAB RIE L THE NE W M ARTYR OF CONSTA NTINOPLE ST JORD AN T HE NE W MARTYR ST AG ATH ADOR OS OF CAPPAD OC IA

RESURRECTION APOLYTIKION TONE(7) VARYS/GRAVE

Katelisas to Stavro Sou ton Thanaton.

Ineoxas to listi ton Paradison. Ton Myroforon ton thrinon metevales ke tis sis Apostolis kirittin epetaxas, oti Anestis, Hriste O Theos, parehon to kosmo to Mega Eleos.

By

Thy Cross Thou destroyed Death; Thou opened Paradise to the Thief; Thou changed the funeral lament of the Myrrh-Bearers, and Commanded them to announce to Thine Apostles that Thou had Risen from the dead, O Christ our God, Who bestows on the world Great Mercy!

RESURRECTION KONTAKION

TONE (7) VARYS/GRAVE

Ouketo

to kratos tou thanatou, ishise katehin tous vrotous: Hristos gar katilthe sintrivon, ke lion tas dinamis aftou: desmite O Adis, Profite simfonos agallonte, epesti legontes, Sotir tis en pisti: exerhesthe i pisti is tin Anastasin

No longer does the might of Death have power to keep

mortals captive: for Christ came down, breaking in pieces and destroying its power. Now Hades is bound, the Prophets with Joy in unison declare: The Saviour has appeared to those with Faith. Come out you Faithful to the Resurrection!

FESTAL APOLYTIKION MEETING OF CHRIST

>Here,

Keharitomeni Theotoke Parthene. Ek Sou gar anetilen O Ilios tis Dikeosinis, Hristos O Theos imon, Fotizon tous en skoti. Evfrenou ke Si, Presvita Dikee, dexamenos en agkales ton eleftherotin ton psihon imon harizomenon imin ke tin Anastasin.

>Hail,

O Lady Full of Grace, O Virgin Theotokos, for Christ our God, the Sun of Righteousness has risen from Thee and He Illumined those in darkness. And Thou, O Righteous Elder, be glad in heart, receiving in Thine Embrace the One Who Liberates our soul and bestows on us Resurrection.
TONE 1

FESTAL KONTAKION - THE PRESENTATION OF CHRIST

Mitran Parthenikin Agiasas to Toko Sou, ke hiras tou Symeon Evlogisas os eprepe, profthasas ke nin esosas imas Hriste O Theos. All irinefson en polemis to politevma, ke krateoson Vasilis ous igapisas, O Monos Filanthropos

Thy

Birth Sanctified a Virgins Womb and properly Blessed the hands of Symeon. Having now come and Saved us O Christ, our God, grant Peace to Thy Commonwealth in troubled times and strengthen those in authority, whom Thou Love, as the Only Lover of mankind.

Resurrection Matins Gospel 10:

OUR RESURRECTED LORD JESUS

John 21: 1 - 14
HIS ELEVE N A POSTLES

SERVES BREAKFAST TO

My

Prokeimenon:
s oul do th magni fy t he L ord , a nd my s pirit has rejo iced i n God my Sai our! For He has regard ed the lo w estat e o f His Ha ndmai de n

CONCERNING T ITH ES Brethren: without all contradiction, the less is Blessed of the better. And here men who die receive tithes; but there He receives them, of Whom it is witnessed that He Lives. And as I may so say, Levi also, who receives tithes, paid tithes in Abraham. For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchezedek met him. If, therefore Perfection were by the Levitical Priesthood, (for under it the people received the Law,) what further need was there that another Priest should rise after the Order of Melchezedek, and not be called after the Order of Aaron? For the Priesthood, being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the Law. For He of Whom these things are spoken, pertains to another Tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the Altar. For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which Tribe Moses said nothing concerning Priesthood. And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchezedek there arises another Priest, Who is not after the Law of a carnal commandments, but after the Power of an Endless Life. For He testifies that Thou art a Pries forever, after the Order of Melchezedek. Throughout the Old Testament, we read how the Israelites Persecuted Christians were encouraged not to apostasise showed their continuing desire for Gods Priesthood by to Judaism because THE F OUNDING FATHER OF CHRISTS continuing to give a tenth of all they received. HOLY PRIESTHOOD, M ELCHIZEDEK ( A P RIEST AND A KING OF SALEM WHO BLESSED ABRAHAM) WAS SUPERIOR TO THE OLD ] However, because CHRIST HAS PAID THE ULTIMATE PRICE COVENANT P RIESTHOOD OF LEVI. RANSOM - FOR OUR R EDEMPTION, OUR MOST LOVING GOD The payment of tithes expressed the desire to enter into OFFERS US HIS INFINITE DIVINE BLESSINGS FREELY. the ministrations of a religious priesthood, which was ] OUR UNRESTRICTED, WILLING AND VOLUNTARY OFFERINGS TO only fulfilled once such an offering was made. GOD ARE CONSTANT TIME SPENT IN THANKSGIVING, PRAISING, HONOURING AND WORSHIPPING - AS WELL AS This applied to all religions, both pagan Gentile and Hebrew Jewish. OUR SPIRITUAL STRUGGLES IN R EPENTANCE, FASTING AND PRAYER. 32 N D S UNDAY A FTER P ENTECOS T M E E T I N G / P R E S E N T A T I O N O F C H R I S T 2 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4

The Epistle of St Paul to the Hebrews 7 : 7 - 17

AS FAITHFUL DISCIPLES OF CHRIST WE SHOULD GENEROUSLY OFFER OUR CONTINUOUS SUPPORT TO THE HOLY CHURCH ESPECIALLY TO THE HOLY PRIESTHOOD - SO THAT AS THE CHURCH OF CHRIST WE MAY ALL FULFIL OUR SACRED DUTIES TO GOD during this preparatory period before

Eternity. Our voluntary offerings and fundraising are vital for the growth, nurturing and maintenance of our Parish churches and Archdiocese. ] NOT ONLY IS THE FOUNDER OF OUR NEW COVENANT WITH GOD OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST SUPERIOR TO THAT OF THE OLD COVENANT, THE RULES OF THE NEW COVENANTS PRIESTLY ORDER ARE ALSO SUPERIOR. Any Priesthood is so intertwined with a Covenant that if the Priesthood is changed, so is the Covenant. Thus our Holy and Eternal Priesthood is intertwined with OUR NEW PERFECT AND ETERNAL COVENANT WITH GOD. ] BEING ETERNAL AND ABSOLUTELY PERFECT, LIKE GOD, THE NEW COVENANT IS UNCHANGEABLE FOR EVEN THE SLIGHTEST
CHANGE WOULD DISTORT IT AND MAKE IT IMPERFECT AND NO LONGER ACCORDING TO HIS DIVINE TRUTH!

Thus BY MODERNISING OR CHANGING ANYTHING OF THE NEW COVENANT TO SUIT OURSELVES IS APOSTASY! Such a religion even if we pick and choose from Holy Scripture to suit our flawed concepts - becomes an ungodly, man-made concept that misguides and misdirects us away from Eternal Life in Christ ] LIFE IN CHRIST IS A TOTAL ACCEPTANCE OF ALL HOLY THINGS THAT
HAVE BEEN TAUGHT AND INSTITUTED BY OUR ONE AND ONLY ETERNAL HIGH PRIEST OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST Who

] BY THE DIVINE GUIDANCE AND INSPIRATION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT GODS TRUTH IS PRESERVED AND PASSED DOWN TO US UNALTERED AND CORRECT - ACCORDING TO THE WORD AND WILL OF ALMIGHTY GOD BY THE AUTHORITY AND MEANS OF THE APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION. THIS MEANS THAT WE CAN TRACE OUR ORTHODOXY OR TRUE TEACHINGS ALL THE WAY BACK TO CHRIST THROUGH THE APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION an unbroken lineage through our Holy Church Fathers to the Holy Apostles of Christ and to Christ our Lord Himself!

verbally instructed His Holy Apostles.

The Holy Gospel Acco rding to St Luke 2 : 22 40

THE MEETI
NG

/PRESENTA

TION OF

CHRIS

T AT

THE

TEMPLE

At that time, when the days of her Purification according to the Law of Moses were completed, they took Jesus to Jerusalem to Present Him to the Lord, (as it is written in the Law of the Lord; Every male who opens the womb shall be called Holy to the Lord), and to offer a sacrifice according to what is written in the Law of the Lord: A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Symeon, and this man was Just and Devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon Him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lords Christ. So he went, by the Spirit, into the Temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the Custom of the Law, he took Him up in his arms and Blessed God and said: O Lord, now Thou art letting Thy servant depart in Peace, according to Thy Word; for my eyes have seen Thy Salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples, a Light to bring Revelation to the Gentiles, and the Glory of Thy People, Israel. And Joseph and the Mother of Jesus marvelled at those thing that were spoken of Him. Then Symeon Blessed them, and said to Mary, His Mother: Behold! This Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a Sign, which will be spoken against, (yes, a sword will pierce through Thine own soul also!), so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. Now there was one, Anna, a Prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the Tribe of Asher, who was of a great age, and who had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the Temple, but served God with Fastings and Prayers night and day. And entering in that instant, she gave Thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for Redemption in Jerusalem. So when they had performed all things according to the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth. And the Child grew and became Strong in Spirit, filled with Wisdom; and the Grace of God was upon Him. On 2 February the Orthodox Church celebrates the infant was unable to afford such an offering, a pair of Presentation of Christ - also known as The Meeting of the turtledoves or two young pigeons was accepted. Lord- when - according to ancient Holy Tradition that is ] NOT ONLY DID THE EVER BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OFFER GOD A PAIR OF TURTLEDOVES, BUT ALSO CHRIST WHO IS THE MOST P ERFECT AND practised to this very day The Blessing of a Child on UNBLEMISHED LAMB OF GOD THEREBY FULFILLING COMPLETELY THE the Fortieth Day After Birth is done at the Holy Temple PRECEPTS OF THE LAW. of God. This also fulfilled the Prophecy at the time the ancient OUR MOST PURE AND HOLY LADY THEOTOKOS FAITHFULLY AND Patriarch, St Abraham, was ready to offer his beloved CORRECTLY FULFILLED ALL REQUIREMENTS OF THE OLD C OVENANT LAW BY TAKING THE FORTY DAY OLD CHRIST CHILD TO THE T EMPLE IN son, Isaac, as an ultimate sacrifice to Almighty God: JERUSALEM TO PRESENT HIM AND TO DEDICATE HIM TO THE HOLY G E N E S I S 2 2 : 8 : (Abraham told Isaac) My son, God will SERVICE OF THE LORD OUR GOD. provide for Himself the Lamb for a Whole Burnt In the Orthodox Christian Church this is known as The 40th Offering. Day Churching of the Mother and Child. The very old St Symeon symbolises humanity who waited for The Old Covenant Law required a sacrificial blood offering of so long for the coming of The Consolation of Israel. an unblemished lamb or if the mother of the newborn

St Theophan the Recluse On the Meeting of Christ at the Temple

What a tender and Most Wonderful scene the Meeting of the Lord must have been! The Venerable Elder, St Symeon overjoyed beyond description - held the Infant God in his arms, while on either side of him stood the Righteous, Elderly Guardian, St Joseph the Betrothed, and the young Virgin Mary who is now the Most Holy Mother of God. Another joyous witness was the Prophetess, St Hannah, who was an eighty-year-old devoted Ascetic. Their attention was directed towards our Saviour as they took in His Spiritual Sweetness that feeds our soul. How Blessed indeed was the state of these witnessing souls! However, Brethren, we are Called - not only to think about this joyful Blessedness at the Meeting of Christ - but also to personally taste it in all Its Reality - for we are all Called to receive to 2 welcome - and to carry the Lord in ourselves - to disappear in Him with all the powers of our spirit. When we have reached that state, then our Blessedness and Joy will be no less than that of those who participated in the first Meeting of our Lord no less than those who were so profoundly Blessed to experience that Great Moment! Even us Faithful Christian who did not personally witness that first Meeting of Christ shall be just as Blessed when we also Meet our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Pay attention! And I will explain to you briefly how to achieve this Most Joyful Meeting: 1. First of all, REPENT! Remember that N OTHING M UST BE DONE IN S PI RITUAL L IFE WITHO UT R EPEN TANCE . No matter what anyone endeavors to seek, let the beginning of it be Repentance. Just as a house cannot be built without a foundation, nor a field be sown or planted without first being cleared, so also WITHOUT

32 N D S UNDAY A FTER P ENTECOS T M E E T I N G / P R E S E N T A T I O N O F C H R I S T 2 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4

R EPENTAN CE WE CANNOT BEGIN O UR S PIRITUAL S EARCH - because ANY THI NG BEGUN WITHOUT R EPENTAN CE IS BEG UN IN VAI N . Thus, first of all, REPENTthat is, weep over everything bad that you have done, and
RESOLVE TO DO ONLY WHAT IS PLEASING TO G OD .

ACCORD ONLY WITH THE H IS .

L ORD AND WHAT IS

This will be like turning your gaze and your whole body towards the Path of Meeting the Lord, and taking the initial step upon that Path. KEEP THIS STATE OF 2. Next, REPENTANCE CONSTANT. Establish for yourself a manner of life and conduct that makes every step or movement something that directs your focus on our Lord and Saviour. Such an Order of Life will establish itself naturally, if: a) EVE RY THING THAT Y OU DO I S FOR THE G LORY OF OUR L ORD AND S AVI OUR FOR THE L OVE OF G OD - not only our great deeds, but all our deeds. For - seeing and hearing, silence and speaking, food and drink, sitting and walking, work and rest - ALL CAN BE DEDI CATED TO THE L ORD AND S ANCTIFIED BY H IS A LL -H OLY N AM E . There is not a minute when we are not doing something; so, BY TH US DEDICATI NG YOUR AC TI VI TY , Y OU WI LL BE M EETI NG THE L ORD M INUTE BY M INUTE , DI RE CTI NG ALL OF YOUR ACTIVITIES TO H IS G LORY . You can even more conveniently do this and reap Fruits from it if you also: b) insert into the order of your daily activities the practice of Prayerboth in Church and at home. And, in general, MAKE IT YOUR R ULE TO STRICTLY OBEY AND FULFIL ALL THE R ULES AND O RDER OF THE H OLY CHURCH TO THE LAST IOTA , without vain elaboration and distorted commentary, and with simplicity of heart. As the Content of all Prayer is the Lord and our turning to Him, by doing it and participating in it you will be meeting the Lord through your heart's sympathy and delight. If after this you: c) fill all your interim time with READI NG H OLY S CRIPT URE AND O RTHODOX W RITINGS CONCERNI NG O UR L ORD J ESUS C HRIST , LISTENING TO TALKS ABO UT H IM , OR WI TH YOUR OWN CO NTEM PLATION OF H IM AND THE G REAT W ORK OF S ALVATION THAT H E WROUGHT ON EARTH , then you will see for yourself that NO THING WI LL REMAIN
WITHIN US OR O UTSIDE OF US THAT DOES NOT B RI NG R EM EM BRANCE OF TH E L ORD , BRING H IM TO OUR ATTENTI ON , OR CARRY OUR SPI RIT TO M EET H IM . the same, you should not forget that A L L O F THESE LABOURS AND OCCUPATIONS ARE ONLY PREPARATION.

Underlying our reading and hearing the Holy Scripture about our Lord Jesus Christ should only be THE EAGER DIREC TING OF O UR M IND ' S ATTEN TION TOWARD G OD ALONE . These Labours are that very working of the field, and THES E STRIVING S ARE THE GROWTH OF WHAT HAS BEE N SOW N . The first are the stem and branches, the latter are the flower and fruit. When these inclinations come up in us, it will mean that O UR SPI RIT HAS GONE OUT WITH
ALL ITS CONSCIOUSNES S AND DI SPOSI TI ON TO M EET O UR L ORD . Since G OD IS EVERY WHER E , and H E H IMSELF SEEKS TO M EET WITH OUR SPIRI T , our mutual Meeting

will then come about by itself. From that moment on, O UR SPI RIT WI LL BEG IN TO TASTE THE B L ESSEDNESS OF R IG HTEOUS S T S YM EON - it will begin to bear in the embrace of its powers A STRI VI NG FOR THE L ORD , W HO IS O UR COM PLETE SATIETY AND SATISFACTI ON . This is what is called ...tasting the Lord... ... resting in Him... ...mentally standing before the Lord. .. ... walking in the Presence of the Lord... and ...ceaseless Prayer... - all of which are the object of all God's Saints' Labour, Desire, and Seeking. I wish that all of you who celebrate the Meeting of our Lord Jesus Christ will be vouchsafed this Blessing. If anyone complains that he would like the Fruit although the Labour the effort - it takes to get it is too hard - the answer is: Good! There is an easier method - a method simpler than the one laid out. Here it is: REPENT!! And then, with zeal for KEEPI NG ALL OF G OD ' S C OMM ANDMENTS , WALK UNFAILINGLY I N THE L ORD ' S P RES ENC E , S TRIVING FOR H IM WITH ALL YOUR M I ND ' S ATTEN TION , ALL YOUR HEART ' S FEELING S , AND ALL Y OUR WILL ' S DESIR ES . If you thus dispose yourself, you will soon meet the Lord Who will come down to you and abide in you, as in the embrace of Righteous St Symeon. There is no other way to lighten the Labour needed to seek a Meeting with the Lord. The Jesus Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have Mercy on me , is powerful and strong to help in this Work. Again, however, not by itself but under the condition that all the strength of our spirit be directed toward the Lord! Be sober, be vigilant... (1 PETER 5:8) Seek those things which are Above and your life is hid with Christ in God...
(COLOSSIANS 3:1, 3)

3. Just

We should not stop at them, but rather strive onward. Just as food taken in rough form later imbues refined elements needed for life, SO M UST THESE OCC UPATI ON S performed visibly and tangibly TURN I NTO A SPI RIT OF A VERY
REFINED I NCLINATION O R ST RI VI NG TOWARD THE L ORD .

Then, having become one in spirit with the Lord (CF. 1 CORINTHIANS 6:17), you will behold and embrace the Lord, ...and your heart shall rejoice, and your Joy no man takes from you... neither in this age, nor in the age to come. (JOHN 16:22) Amen. St. Theophan the Recluse translated by Nun Cornelia (Rees) http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/44773.htm

Namely, the Labour of Consecrating all our activities to the Lord should have the quality of REACHI NG WI TH OUR WHOLE SO UL ' S DESI RE ONLY FOR THE L O RD . When we do all our Prayers or attend the Divine Services, a feeling should form in our heart of

itself, nor is it in mankind, but in God. By granting mankind Free Will, God has yielded to us a piece of His Divine Authority, but with the intention that we ourselves would voluntarily bring it as a Sacrifice to God, as a Most Perfect Offering."

Saint Theophan the Recluse "The Goal of human Freedom is not in Freedom

32 N D S UNDAY A FTER P ENTECOS T M E E T I N G / P R E S E N T A T I O N O F C H R I S T 2 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4

3.

Elder Justin (Parvu) of Romania Man is Half Love Half Struggle

If we would be willing to descend into ourselves to correct a bit this avalanche of wrongdoings, then our Prayer will be heard, the world would be more at Peace and our Life would be more suitable to our Lords Will. We have become increasingly hostile towards each other by our own selfishness we see no one else but ourselves and WHEN WE REACH THIS FATAL STATE OF NO LONGER CARING FOR OTHERS , WE ENCO UNTER O UR GREATEST F ALL FROM D IVINE G RACE ! Freedom becomes precious only when it is lost. Or, at least, this is how we think. All our life we seek to be free, but WE DO NOT APPRECIATE THE DIVINE G IFT OF F REEDOM UNTIL IT IS TOO LATE . Freedom is in our body, in our heart, in our actions and also in our mind and our intellect. W E ARE FREE TO THE DEGREE WE L OVE AND ARE ATTACHED TO THE V ALUES OF OUR O RTHODOX F AITH . W E ARE SET FREE WHEN WE ACCEPT G OD S P LAN FOR OUR L IFE, AND WHEN WE STRI VE TO ACHIEVE IT . Being truly free does not mean being in a state of lethargy and bliss, but instead it means THE FULFILMENT OF OUR HUMAN CONDITION. Freedom does not mean doing whatever we wish because, usually, DOING WHATEVER WE FEEL LIKE
DOING WE ARE IN FACT DOING THE WILL OF THE EVIL ONE . F REEDOM IS AT THE MEASURE OF OUR DISCERNMENT, AND OUR CAPACITY TO CHOOSE BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL . We must realise that ONLY IN T RUTH CAN WE LIVE FREELY and WITH SO MUCH CONFUSION IN THIS WORLD , WE SHOULD ALWAYS AVOID DECEPTION.

Only on the Cross do we gain True Freedom and all cruel methods of TORTURE AND PSY CHOLOGICAL PRESSURE TO RE - EDUCATE US , HAVE MADE MORE S AINTS THAT SLAVES WHO HAVE S ANCTIFIED OUR WORLD BY THEI R H OLY M ARTYRS BLOOD . Freedom is very difficult to properly understand when we have not lived in times of great persecution and suffering... T HE T HIRST FOR G OD DIRECTS US TOWARDS THE L OVE OF OUR NEIGHBOUR AND VICE VERSA . So great is the Power of Love that those who reach a genuine Love for all others by self-denial, receive the Divine Gift of Healing. These are the True Disciples of Christ! Such people Love with the Love of Christ all those who are fallen and thereby they participate in Christs Divine Mission on earth and Save themselves. THE FOLLOWING IS AN EXCERPT FROM AN INTERVIEW WITH ELDER JUSTIN: Q: Father Justin, from your experience of CLEAN UP THE INSIDE OF OUR BEING , FOR NO ONE KNOWS WHEN THE END COMES burying yourself in mankinds suffering, what Q: Someone said that in an empty mind, the devil do you think we all need - to be understood or finds shelter to be Loved? ELDER JUSTIN: - He is speaking of those who do not ELDER JUSTIN: We all need to be Loved. But to Love care for the wheat that is needed to be milled. others, we must first understand them. Whenever And this Wheat is our constant cry to God: Lord we see them falling down, then we must help Jesus Christ, Son of God, save us. I F THE ENEMY them up again. FINDS OUR MIND WANDERING IN USELESS THINGS , T HE L OVE OF NEIGHBOUR IS THE MEASURE OF OUR HE WILL ENTER AND FIND SHELTER DIRECTING IT AT L OVE FOR G OD . If we cannot Love those who are HIS PLEASURE . close to us - if we do not help others - we cannot Q: Is there a question to which we will never find claim to Love God. the answer in this life? T HE L OVE OF NEIGHBOUR IS THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS ELDER JUSTIN: - It depends on what someone wants to OUR E TERNAL S ALVATION and in order to take know. We have all the answers within ourselves this first step we must Labour and Struggle until about our birth, our life and the meaning of our we reach the greatest Love for God. Q: During the Communist regime, we constantly Salvation. But if we seek answers to meaningless heard the term new man. Do you think we questions, then we will be constantly miserable. ended up with this new man? I F WE SEEK ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS RELATED TO ELDER JUSTIN: You mean, in a materialistic sense? OUR F AITH , OUR P URPOSE IN L IFE, WE WILL FIND HAPPINESS . Maybe that was how the Communists had Q:- Is doubting a sin for the Christian? imagined a man freed from the bondage of ELDER JUSTIN: - Yes, but there are permitted doubts. Faith and of the Holy Spirit! But a New Man A doubt that youre still alive after a Fervent who is Purified and Renewed not so! Prayer, when your whole being had burned in However, I want to speak more of the New Man who Prayer This kind of doubt is allowed. is Reborn in Christ - someone who is quite rare Q: Father, what is Humility? in our present times. T HE R ENEWAL OF M ANKIND ELDER JUSTIN: - Humility is a fair self-assessment of AND OF THE WO RLD CAN HAPPEN O NLY THRO UGH THE R ES URRECTI ON OF C HRIST , IN I TS P ROFO UND our human dimensions in relation to the M EANING . [universe] infinite. H UMILITY ACCOMPANIED BY This is the New Man, whom all mothers who are P ATIENCE MOVE MOUNTAINS - THAT S HOW preparing to bring babies into the world, must POWERFUL IT CAN BECOME FOR ANY CHRISTIAN dream of modelling and nurturing!. Q: What is Golgotha for todays Christian? Q: Einstein once said that the progress made by ELDER JUSTIN: M AN S UNBELIEF MAKES EVERY DAY A man, compared with the development of his G OLGOTHA . character, is enough to terrify Q: Are we more sceptical than fifty years ago? ELDER JUSTIN: - Yes for A SOUL WHO IS AT P EACE How can you encourage us to go forward - to cope with the trials of life? WITH ITSELF CAN FIT THE WHOLE WORLD WITHIN ; while in the soul who is bitter, soured and ELDER JUSTIN: We put too much heart into trifles and distressed, nothing can enter details and are assaulted by a lot of false things Q: How do you think mankind should be? and we do not know how or what to choose. If we ELDER JUSTIN: - M AN IS OR SHOULD BE! H ALF L OVE choose wisely, things will become easy and life AND HALF SACRIFICE, STRUGGLING TO KEEP L OVE beautiful. If we choose wrongly, we struggle. If we UNDEFILED . doubt our choices, our heart is troubled. We have Q: Carl Gustav Jung said: For a young man it is become too materialistic - subject to the new almost a sin or at least a risk to be too much tyrant: money. Money is the master of this world. preoccupied with himself, while for the elder Those who make wealth their master, enslaves man, it is a duty and a necessity to commit to a themselves to the devil. more serious self study. How do you see this? Most troubles are caused by the greed for money and ELDER JUSTIN: - At the end of such a search WE MUST material wealth. T HOSE ENSLAVED BY IT LOSE FIND G OD . God made us in His own Image, and He THEIR F AITH AND MORAL VALUES AND THEIR L IKENESS TO G OD ... dwells in everyone. YOUNG OR OLD , WE MUST

32 N D S UNDAY A FTER P ENT EC OST M E E T I N G / P R E S E N T A T I O N O F C H R I S T 2 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4

Greek Or th odox Patriar chate of A le xandria & All Afr ica

A L L G L OR Y , H ONOUR A N D W OR S H IP T O TH E F A T HE R , A ND T O T HE S ON , A ND T O T H E H OL Y S P IR IT , NOW A N D FOR E VE R , A ND U NT O T H E A GES OF A GE S . A ME N . R E ME MB ER ING A LS O OU R M OS T H OL Y , M OST P UR E , M OS T B L E SS E D A N D G L OR IOU S L ADY , M A R IA , T H E OT OKOS , YE T E V ER V IR GIN , T OGE T H E R WITH A LL T H E S A INTS . A ND L E T US C OMMIT OU R S E L VE S A ND ONE A N OT H ER A ND OU R WH OLE L IFE T O C H R IST OUR G OD . A ME N .

3 F e b r ua r y 2 01 4 Synaxarion St Symeon the God-Receiver & St Hannah the Prophetess

ALSO THE FE AST OF ST JO HN, ST N IC HO LAS & ST STA MAT IOS OF CHI OS ST ROM AN O F UG LICH ST A ZAR IA H T HE H OLY PROP HET OF G OD S T PAPIAS, ST D IOD OROS & ST CLA UDI ANOS OF PE RGE, PAMP HYL IA S T ADRIAN , ST EUB OUL OS, & ST BLA ISE OF B ANEAS , CA ESARE A, CAPPADOC IA - ST S YME ON O F POLOTS K & TVE R ST JAC OB OF SE RBIA

FESTA

APOL

YTIKION

TONE1

>Here,

Keharitomeni Theotoke Parthene. Ek Sou gar anetilen O Ilios tis Dikeosinis, Hristos O Theos imon, Fotizon tous en skoti. Evfrenou ke Si, Presvita Dikee, dexamenos en agkales ton eleftherotin ton psihon imon harizomenon imin ke tin Anastasin.
L

>Hail,

O Lady Full of Grace, O Virgin Theotokos, for Christ our God, the Sun of Righteousness has risen from Thee and He Illumined those in darkness. And Thou, O Righteous Elder, be glad in heart, receiving in Thine Embrace the One Who Liberates our soul and bestows on us Resurrection.
1

FESTA

KONTAK

ION

- T

HE

PR

ESENTATION

HRIST

TO

NE

Mitran Parthenikin Agiasas to Toko Sou, ke hiras tou Symeon Evlogisas os eprepe, profthasas ke nin esosas imas Hriste O Theos. All irinefson en polemis to politevma, ke krateoson Vasilis ous igapisas, O Monos Filanthropos

Thy

Festal Prokeimenon: Tone (7) Varys/Grave

Birth Sanctified a Virgins Womb and properly Blessed the hands of Symeon. Having now come and Saved us O Christ, our God, grant Peace to Thy Commonwealth in troubled times and strengthen those in authority, whom Thou Love, as the Only Lover of mankind.

The

OUR LORD J ESUS CH RIST IS OUR ONLY HIGH P RIEST Brethren: Christ came as High Priest of the Good Things to come, with the Greater and More Perfect Tabernacle no made by hands that is: not of this Creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own Blood He entered the Most High Place once for all, having obtained Eternal Redemption. For, if the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean Sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the Blood of Christ, Who through the Eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, Cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the Living God? In contrast to the Old Covenant High Priest of the Hebrews, draws us close to God through our proper Worship of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, is the exclusive High and Obedience to Him. Priest of the New Covenant. Dead works are all activities in and of this age that He entered the Heavenly Sanctuary once, for all i.e. His participate in mortality and corruption and especially in ultimate Blood Sacrifice was for the sake of all humanity sin that alienates us from Almighty God. for all ages and being the Most Perfect Blood Offering Furthermore dead works pertain to the Old Covenant to Almighty God no other Blood Offerings are ever worship (which was only for the Purpose of Preparing us again required from us for the Forgiveness of sin. for the Messianic Age.) Christs Most Precious and Perfect Blood Offering upon the The term Eternal Spirit refers to the Third Person of the Holy Cross Heals all corrupted humanity, Restores us Pure Trinity God the Eternal Holy Spirit. and Holy - to our proper Relationship with God and

The Epistle of St Paul to the Hebrews 9 : 11 - 14

Rig ht eo us s hall be g lad i n t he Lord . Hear my voice , O God .

The Holy Gospel According to St Luke 2 : 25 - 38

OUR LOR D JES US CHRIS TS PRESE NTA TI ON
AT THE

TEMPLE

At that time, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Symeon, and this man was Just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see Death before he had seen the Lords Christ. And he went by the Holy Spirit into the Temple, and when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the Law, he took Him up in his arms and Blessed God and said: Lord, now let Thou Thy servant depart in Peace, according to Thy Word; for mine eyes have seen Thy Salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people a Light to bring Revelation to the Gentiles, and the Glory of Thy People, Israel! And Joseph and His Mother marvelled at those things that were spoken of Him. And Symeon Blessed them, and said to Mary, His Mother: Behold! This Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a Sign that will be spoken against. (Yes! A Sword will pierce through Thine own soul also), so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. And there was one, Hannah, a Prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the Tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; and this woman was a widow of about 84 years, who did not leave the Temple, and served God with Fastings and Prayers, night and day. And, entering in that instant, she gave Thanks to our Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for Redemption in Jerusalem.

SYNAXARION S T S YM EON THE GOD R ECEIVER & ST H ANNAH, P ROPH ETESS 3 F EB RUARY 2014

St Symeon had lived for approximately 325 years when he finally met our long awaited Saviour, Jesus Christ. Many years before, in Alexandria, Egypt, the Hebrew leaders realised that their people no longer could read or speak Hebrew as the worlds language at that time was Greek. So they called together 70 of the most erudite Scholars and Priests to carefully translate the ancient Hebrew Scriptures into Greek. (This is the Septuagint Bible that we Orthodox Christians use with all its Holy Books intact, from which our Lord Jesus Christ read and quoted.) St Symeon received the Book of Isaiah which prophesied that a VIRGIN would bear the Messiah the Saviour of the world. Obviously he thought it must be a mistake and was about to translate the word VIRGIN as young woman. However, God immediately intervened by sending His Archangel Gabriel the Bearer of Good Tidings to explain to St Symeon that it certainly was to be a VIRGIN who would bear the Christ Child and, in fact, God would keep him alive until he personally witnessed the Divine Truth for himself. St Symeon and St Hannah both resided at the Temple of Jerusalem and they had watched the young Virgin Theotokos as She grew from an extraordinary three year old girl to a pubescent teenager being a perfect role model for all the other young maidens (and boys) who Beloved in the Lord, Our Lord does not want slaves in His Kingdom. We are living at a time in which most people stress their total independence of all things or they prefer to come under the shelter and obedience of a charismatic leader. Few are they who FOLLOW THE CHRISTIAN P RINCIPLE OF ADOPTION AS G OD 'S CHILDREN . N OWHERE IN THE ORAL AND WRITTEN T ESTIMONY OF THE H OLY CHURCH OF CHRIST DO WE READ THAT WE SHOULD BE TOTALLY INDEPENDENT OF ALL INFLUENCE , WHICH IS AN IMPOSSIBILITY , NOR DO WE FIND THAT WE Our Lord tells us: "Whoever wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me." (MATTHEW 16:24 & MARK 8:34) H AVING BEEN CREATED IN G OD 'S IMAGE, WE HAVE INTELLECT, COG NITION , FREEDOM OF CHOI CE, AND UNDERSTANDING . When our Lord invites us to deny ourselves, He does so in order for us to realize that we must first make the decision that WE ARE NOT WHO WE THINK WE ARE , but that WE ARE TO SEEK AND FI ND CHRIST WITHI N US AS OUR REAL SELVES . O NCE WE FIND CHRIST WITHIN US AND WE UNDERSTAND AND ACCEPT THAT WE ARE CREATED IN H IS I MAGE, H E THEN ADOPTS US , NOT AS SLAVES , BUT AS FREE AND LOVING S ONS AND D AUGHTERS . (CF. GALATIANS 4:1-7) For one to have a BLIND OBEDIENCE to another - whether a lover, or a master, or a religious guru - MEANS ]
THAT SUCH A PERSON NO LONGER HAS A FREE WILL BUT HAS TURNED I T OVER TO ANOTHER CREATURE. W HEN CHRISTIANS TURN THEIR FREE WILL OVER TO CHRIST, OUR L ORD P URIFIES IT AND RETURNS IT TO US SO THAT OUR O BEDIENCE THEREAFTER IS BASED ONLY ON L OVE EXERCISED THROUGH OUR FREE WILL . SHOULD PRACTI CE BLIND OBEDIENCE TO ANY OTHER PERSON .

had been dedicated to Holy Service at the Temple by their parents. They watched in amazement throughout the years as the young Virgin, having taken an unbreakable Sacred Vow of Chastity, guided and led her fellow virgins in a Life of Humility, Obedience, Prayer and Worship, while fulfilling their various tasks of spinning, weaving, embroidering and whatever else was required of them to help refurbish the Great Temple of Jerusalem. They also knew about how St Joseph her aged widowed uncle who had been married to her mothers sister, Salome - was chosen by Divine Will to be Her legal Guardian and Protector. So when St Joseph the Betrothed and his All Pure and Holy Niece, Mary, went to present the Christ Child at the Temple, St Symeon and St Hannah were overjoyed to acknowledge the Truth of the long-awaited Messiah. Those who have a close Relationship with God, recognise and accept the innumerable Divine Mysteries that occur for the benefit of the Faithful without any hesitation, doubt or cynicism. They KNOW Divine Truth - offering much Thanksgiving and Glorification to God for His Great Mercy because they fully understand the profound significance and impact of such Things. At every Vespers, the words of St Symeon are repeated, to remind us that God never disappoints or fails us. in common. But they did realize that the first Christians lived this way because THEY BELIEVED THAT THE L ORD WAS TO RETURN DURING THEIR LIFETIME. 8 Consequently, these new converts exercised a blind Obedience to their religious leaders,
RELINQUISHING THEIR FREE WILLS AND THEIR RESPONSIBILITY for making their own decisions

The Lord our God does not want slaves in His Kingdom of Love

regarding their families, their livelihood, and their welfare. This spirit of Blind Obedience with the deadening of the free will is unfortunately still being practised among some people and even by some Clergy, who will not do anything without first receiving a Blessing from their Spiritual Father. And if they have been convinced that the Spiritual Father is a walking Saint, they will even eat his unfinished food after the common meal and consume other things, which may have touched the Spiritual Father in some particular way. 8 T HIS IS NOTHING MORE THAN IDOLATRY BECAUSE IT PUTS G OD ASIDE AND CONSTITUTES THE WORSHIP OF H IS CREATURE . It may be that some of our people - by following the Monastic Rule in the outside world, feel convinced that they are becoming more Spiritual. However, they are sadly mistaken; for THE M ONASTIC AS A N OVICE - IS WILLINGLY O BEDIENT IN ORDER TO DETERMINE I F H E W I S HE S TO LIVE THE L IFE OF A M ONASTIC . Once he is accepted AS A M ONK, HE MUST RESUME THE USE OF HIS FREE WILL IN CONFORMING TO THE W AY OF L IFE W H I C H H E HA S C H OS E N . The laity, on the other hand, cannot use the Monastery or the Spiritual Elder as a type of horoscope by not functioning unless they receive permission from someone else. Actually, such an attitude betrays the fact that THESE
PEOPLE DO NOT WISH TO ACCEPT THE RESPONSIBILITY OF DIRECTING THEIR OWN LIVES , AND PREFER TO PASS THIS RESPONSIBILITY ON TO OTHERS .

When our Lord expressed His Obedience to the Father BY EMPTYING H IMSELF OF H IS M AGNIFICENT D IVINE G LORY IN ORDER TO BECOME one of us, He did so by exercising His Free Will. Otherwise He could never have said on the Cross: "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing." It was H IS F REE W ILL IN O BEDIENT L OVE TO G OD THE F ATHER that EFFECTED THE S UPREME S ACRIFICE . Today it seems that some people will not make a move unless they check with their Spiritual Father concerning virtually everything. This phenomenon happened many years ago with certain converts who were told where to live and where to work and how much money to contribute to the Church. They thought that they were imitating the first Christians in the Book of Acts who held everything 6.

If there are any members of our Holy Church who have fallen into the error of negating their free will and being totally dependent on what their Spiritual Mentors instruct them to do, let them know that: ] G OD DOES NOT WANT SLAVES IN H IS K INGDOM , BUT O BEDIENT C HILDREN WHO CONS TANTLY EXER CI SE THEIR F RE E WILL AS S ONS AND D AUGHTERS OF O UR F ATHER I N H EAVEN . With Paternal Blessings, M ETROPOLI TAN I SAI AH P RESI DING H IER AR CH OF TH E D IOC ESE OF D ENVE R 21 January 1999
HTTP://WWW.JOHNSANIDOPOULOS.COM/2013_02_01_ARC HIVE.HTML

SYNAX ARION ST SYM EON TH E G OD RECEIVER & S T HANNAH, PROPH ETESS 3 F EB RUARY 2014

Greek Or th odox Patriar chate of A le xandria & All Afr ica

A L L G L OR Y , H ONOUR A ND W OR S H IP T O T H E F A T HE R , A ND T O T HE S ON , A ND T O T HE H OL Y S PIR IT , NOW A ND FOR E VE R , A ND U NT O TH E A GES OF A GE S . A ME N . R E ME MB ER ING AL S O OU R M OS T H OL Y , M OS T P U RE , M OST B L E SS E D A ND G L OR IOU S L A D Y , M A R IA , T H E OT OKOS , YE T E V E R V IR GIN , T OGE T HE R WIT H A LL T H E S A INT S . A ND L ET U S C OMMIT OU R S E LV E S A ND ONE A NOT HE R A ND OU R WH OLE L IFE T O C H R IST OUR G OD . A MEN .

33rd Sunday After Pentecost

T on e (8 ) P l a ga l 4

9 F e b r ua r y 2 01 4

The Beginning of the Lenten Triodion Apodosis of the Meeting of Christ 16th Sunday of St Luke: The Publican & the Pharisee
ALSO THE FE AST OF ST NI CE PHOR OS O F ANT IOC H, SYRI A ST INNOCENT OF IR KUTS K, UNCOVE R ING OF HO LY RE LI CS ST P ANCR ATI OS O F K IE V CAVE S M ONASTE RY ST NICE PHOROS & ST GE NNAD IOS OF VA ZHE L AKE MO NASTERY S T MA RKE LL OS O F SI CI LY, ST PHI LAGR IOS OF CYPRS AND ST PAN KRAT IOS OF TO ARM INA , DI SCIPLES OF ST PE TER THE APOSTLE OF CHR IST ST S HI O MG VI ME OF GE O RG IA & C APPADOC IA , DISC IPLE OF ST JOHN ZE DA ZE NI & ONE OF THE FO UNDERS OF GE OR GI AN MO NA STICIS M ST APOLLO NIA , VIR GI N MARTY R & DE AC ONE SS OF ALEXAND RIA ST RO MAN OS OF CIL IC IA RESURRECTION APOLYTIKION TONE (8) PLAGAL 4

Ex

ipsous katilthes O Efsplaghnos, tafin katedexo triimeron, ina imas elevtherosis ton Pathon. I Zoi ke i Anastasis imon, Kyrie, Doxa Si!

Thou

descended from on High, O Tender-hearted One; Thou endured the three-days burial, so that Thou might free us from our passions, O our Life and Resurrection: Glory to Thee!
Birth Sanctified a Virgins Womb and properly Blessed the hands of Symeon. Having now come and Saved us O Christ, our God, grant Peace to Thy Commonwealth in troubled times and strengthen those in authority, whom Thou Love, as the Only Lover of mankind.

SEASONAL KONTAKION - THE MEETING OF CHRIST

TON E 1

Mitran Parthenikin Agiasas to Toko Sou, ke hiras tou Symeon Evlogisas os eprepe, profthasas ke nin esosas imas Hriste O Theos. All irinefson en polemis to politevma, ke krateoson Vasilis ous igapisas, O Monos Filanthropos

Thy

Resurrection Matins Gospel

11 John 21 : 14 - 25

OUR L ORD JESUS RESTORES A ND COMMISSIONS ST PETER

a nd p ray un to th e Lo rd yo ur Go d In J uda h is God k no wn His Nam e is G reat i n I sr ael LOYALTY TO T RADITION D EFENCE AGAINST APOSTASY Timothy, my Son: you have carefully followed my Doctrine, manner of Life, Purpose, Faith, Longsuffering, Love, Perseverance, Persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra what persecutions I endured! And out of them all, the Lord Delivered me. Yes, and all who desire to live Godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. And evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the Things that you have learnt and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learnt them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you Wise for Salvation through Faith, which is in Christ Jesus. We cannot profess to understand the Teachings of Christ The Life of St Paul exhibited everything that our Lord Jesus based solely on the New Testament, without knowing and Christ had taught, especially that in this temporary, practising the Oral Tradition of His Holy Church. earthly world of ours Godliness elicits persecution. The Old Testament prophesied and attested to the Divine ] J O H N 1 5 : 2 0 : Our Lord Jesus Christ said to His Faithful Truth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, but without Disciples and Apostles: ...Remember the Word proper instruction and understanding, we will not fully that I said to you: A servant is not greater than appreciate nor comprehend the Divine Truth that Christ his Master. If they persecuted Me, they will also Himself taught us. persecute you. If they kept My Word, they will Furthermore, it is important to study the writings and lives of all keep yours also. Having exhorted St Timothy with the example of his own our Holy Church Fathers (and Mothers) who are Inspired Spiritual Teachers and Guides whom we can trust and Steadfastness, St Paul then reminded him of the depth of his training, which combined both Oral and Written Holy strive to imitate. Tradition. As Orthodox Christians, we are truly Blessed to have so much To this day, Faithful Disciples of Christ are properly taught by beneficial material at our disposal, which our Christian word of mouth the Oral Tradition of Christs Holy Church, forebears did not have, yet their Faith was unwavering which teaches a vast amount of Sacred Knowledge and they were utterly committed to God. pertaining to our Life in Christ such as all the Holy Mysteries and the proper manner of worship as well as the Written Holy Tradition, which consists of both Old and New Testaments.

Vow

Prokeimenon:

The 2nd Epistle of St Paul to St Timothy 3 : 10 - 15

The Holy Gospel According to St Luke 18 : 10 - 14

THE ARR OGA NT,
SE LF-RIG HTE OUS

PHARISEE &

THE

REPENTA NT,

H UMB LE

PUB LICA N

At that time, our Lord Jesus Christ said: Two men went up to the Temple to pray one was a Pharisee and the other a Tax Collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself: God, I thank Thee that I am not like other men extortionists, unjust, adulterers, or even like this Tax Collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess. And the Tax Collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to Heaven, but beat his breast, saying: O God, be Merciful to me, a sinner!

33AP -1 T RIO DI ON 1 6TH SUNDAY OF ST LUK E T H E P U B L I C A N & T H E P H A R I S E E 9 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4

I tell you this man went down to his house Justified rather than the other: for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. ] T O BE J UST I FIED MEANS TO BE F ORGIVEN AND SET RIGHT BY T HE P HARISEE WAS HIGHLY RESPECTED AND A CAREFUL OBSERVER OF THE O LD C OVENANT L AW , WHEREAS THE T AX C OLLECTOR G OD, FOR INWARD H UMILITY IS TRULY B LESSED WHILE (P UBLICAN) WAS DESPISED AS A TREACHEROUS SINNER who ARROGANCE AND PRIDE IN OUTWARD DEEDS IS collaborated with the occupying Roman forces, CONDEMNED. betraying and cheating his own Hebrew people. Our Lord Jesus Christ is our Creator and our Judge so The practises of the Pharisee were worthy examples to follow. whatever He teaches us or cautions us against, we must pay very careful attention and strive to apply His Divine H IS GOOD DEEDS (F ASTING AND GIVING T ITHES ) ARE INDEED THE PRIMARY W EAPONS AGAINST THE PASSIONS OF LUST AND Principles to our own words, thoughts and deeds, for GREED ( ADULTERY AND EXTORTION ). these will Judge us consequently, they will either However, WITHOUT A HUMBLE AND REPENTANT HEART, THESE Condemn us or Bless us. OUTWARD PRACTISES ARE WORTHLESS AND LEAD ONLY TO PRIDE Our Saviour has given us all the Spiritual Tools necessary AND JUDGEMENT OF OTHERS . indeed, vital for our Eternal Salvation. It is noteworthy that the Pharisee ... prayed thus with However, it is entirely up to our own choice our own free will himself... for G OD IS ABSENT WHERE THERE IS PRIDE, whether we will receive Eternal Life in Gods Heavenly BOASTING AND ARROGANCE . Kingdom, or be Eternally alienated and exiled from God On the contrary: THE P UBLICAN OR T AX C OLLECTOR SHOWS BY HIS and all His Wonderful Goodness. ENTIRE POSTURE A SINCERE AWARENESS OF THE SINFUL STATE OF Because of Gods infinite Love for us, while we are still in this HIS SOUL . Preparatory Period before Eternity, our errors are able to He stands ... afar off... with eyes downcast not daring to be corrected through Humility and Obedience, which look Heavenwards. leads us to sincere Repentance and Eternal Life. His heartfelt Prayer of Contrition O God, be Merciful to me, May we all root out our sins and through constant a sinner is the foundation of the Orthodox Jesus Prayer: Watchfulness and Prayer grow ever closer to the Loving O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God: have M ERCY ON ME, A Embrace and Presence of our Lord God. SINNER! F URTHERMORE, THE REFRAIN L ORD, HAVE M ERCY KYRIE ELEISON PERMEATES O RTHODOX C HRISTIAN W ORSHIP AND P RAYER.

First Sunday of Triodion The Publican and the Pharisee Because of the great benefit that brief, attentive, In todays Sacred Lesson, the Prayer of the Repentant
Publican (Tax Collector) is shown to draw the Great Mercy of our Loving, Benevolent God, as Christ Himself explained. He simply, humbly and with heartfelt Prayer Confessed to being a sinner, begging God for His Mercy: O God, be merciful to me, a sinner! God heard such a short but sincere Prayer, that was pronounced in the Temple of Jerusalem, during the common Worship Services - during the reading and chanting of Psalms and other Prayers. This Prayer is commended in the Holy Gospels AND IT IS SET FORTH AS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF P RAYER, WHICH WE SHOULD PIOUSLY CONTEMPLATE AND PRACTISE . The Publican did not choose a majestic and moving Psalm whereby to pour out his contrition before the Lord our God, and instead he offered A BRIEF , BUT SINCERE P RAYER , which he repeated continuously during the entire Service. According to OUR HOLY CHURCH FATHERS WHEN T RUE R EPENTANCE BEGINS IN OUR SOUL , WHEN H UMILITY AND CONTRITION OF SPIRIT ARISES because our eyes have opened to the sinful state of our soul, then LOQUACITY BECOMES UNBEARABLE AND EVEN IMPOSSIBLE . Concentrating within ourselves, turning all our attention upon our disastrous condition, OUR SOUL BEGINS TO CALL OUT TO G OD THROUGH SHORT, CONCISE P RAYERS . When an encompassing view of our own sinfulness is granted to us by God, IT CANNOT BE DESCRIBED BY ELOQUENT SPEECH OR AN ABUNDANCE OF WORDS . More precisely WE EXPRESS THIS AWARENESS BY MEANS OF DEEP SIGHS AND A GROANING OF SOUL , CLOTHED IN VERY BRIEF AND SIMPLE WORDS . Those who wish to unfold a profound feeling of Repentance within themselves USE SHORT P RAYERS TO REACH THAT STATE, PRONOUNCED WITH AS MUCH ATTENTION AND REVERENCE AS POSSIBLE . Abandoning excessive words, even though they are Sacred Words, allows our mind to completely free itself of distractions and to STRIVE FOR INTROSPECTION WITH ALL OUR STRENGTH . ST JOHN KLIMAKOS advised : When you pray, do not permit yourself to use many words, so that your mind might not be distracted from considering the words. One word of the Publican granted him Gods Mercy, and one faithful utterance Saved the Thief. Much speaking in Prayer often brings the mind to distraction and dreaminess, while sparse words usually gather the thoughts. 8.

concentrated Prayer brings, the Holy Church encourages us to LEARN SOME FORM OF BRIEF P RAYER BECAUSE THOSE WHO HAVE LEARNT SUCH P RAYERS POSSESS A READY ABILITY TO PRAY IN ANY PLACE, AT ANY TIME - while travelling, in the Refectory, doing handiwork, or even in the company of others, we can continue to pray to God. W HEN IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO PRAY WITH THE LIPS, IT IS ALWAYS POSSIBLE TO PRAY WITH THE MIND . The convenience of brief Prayer is obvious since it is quite easy to lose the meaning and order of lengthy Prayers when we are occupied with something else, while SHORT P RAYERS ALWAYS PRESERVE THEIR INTEG RITY . If it is left off for a time, we can return to it with little difficulty. Even during Church Services, it is beneficial to repeat a short Prayer in the Cell of our soul not only does it not sway our attention from the Prayers being read or chanted in Gods Temple, but IT EVEN
FACILITATES PARTICULARLY CAREFUL ATTENTION TO THEM , PREVENTI NG THE MIND FROM BECOMING DISTRACTED .

If our mind is not restrained in introspection through a short Prayer that fills our soul with a feeling of Repentance, WE BECOME EASILY DISTRACTED by empty musings and daydreams and we lose concentration on the Sacred Lessons of the Church Readings, chanting and Prayers. This is what happened to the self-righteous Pharisee, who paid only superficial attention to the Holy Services, while being distracted by and drawn into sinful thoughts, which not only deprived his already weak Prayers of any worth, but also allowed him to judge the Publican and others who sincerely prayed and participated in the Holy Services. Christ revealed the Fact that G OD REJECTED THE P RAYER OF THE P HARISEE WHO LEFT THE T EMPLE MARKED WITH THE S EAL OF D IVINE W RATH without understanding or perceiving the calamitous state of his soul, because HIS HEART, WHICH WAS DEAD TO ANY SENSE OF R EPENTANCE, WAS FILLED WITH SMUG SELF -SATISFACTION AND SELF -DECEPTION. When short Prayer becomes a habit through our frequent and constant use, it becomes our natural Prayer. When something catches our attention, we might utter various exclamations, which not only do not obstruct our attention, but even sharpen it. It is the same when we acquire the habit of brief Prayer through which WE EXPRESS OUR CONCORDANCE WITH

33A P - 1 TRI OD ION 16TH SUN DA Y OF S T LUKE T H E P U B L I C A N & T H E P H A R I S E E 9 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4

AND ATTENTION TO THE HEAR .

P RAYERS AND P SALMS WE

Throughout the Forty Day Lenten Fast, at all the Church Services, the Prayer: O God: have Mercy on me, a sinner! is repeated aloud by all who are present. T HIS P RAYER OF R EPENTANCE IS REPEATED SO OFTEN IN The shortened form of this Prayer: Lord, have Mercy!Kyrie Eleison! is frequently repeated for the same reason. Christ our Saviour commended the Publicans simple Prayer, and He allowed us to also use His All Holy Name in Prayer, which is known as The Jesus Prayer, because it is a Prayer of Repentance that is addressed to Him, which He instituted. During the Old Covenant era, mankind turned in Prayer to God Whom he knew only imperfectly. When the New Covenant era began, an expansive completion to the old Prayer was presented to us A NEW MANNER OF P RAYER ADDRESSED TO THE G OD M AN OUR L ORD AND S AVIOUR, J ESUS CHRIST W HO IS OUR D IVINE I NTERCESSOR BETWEEN G OD AND MANKIND . It was a new way of PRAYING TO THE I NTERCESSOR THROUGH W HOM THE D IVINE G ODHEAD IS UNITED WITH HUMANITY . It is Prayer that is addressed to the Intercessor Whom God had declared, Who described God to us with as much precision and fullness as is possible for human comprehension. The Old Covenant Prayer: God, have mercy on me, a sinner! sounds like the New Covenant Prayer: O Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner! The Old Covenant Faithful used the first Prayer while the New Covenant Faithful - although also using the original Prayer - use the second Prayer more often because IT PLEASED CHRIST TO UNITE AN ESPECIALLY MIRACULOUS S PIRITUAL P OWER WI TH H IS HUMAN N AM E. Also used for ceaseless Prayer is Lord, have mercy Kyrie eleison - which is an abbreviated form of the Jesus Prayer, and which replaces it in instances when it is difficult to pronounce the entire Jesus Prayer when we are terrified, when we are overjoyed, when we are seriously ill or during Spiritual Visions. During the latter instance, our spontaneous exclamation Lord have mercy! is our minds response to the Grace-filled Knowledge that comes to us once we have been Purified A K NOWLEDGE THAT EXCEEDS OUR MIND S COMPREHENSION, WHICH CANNOT BE EXPRESSED I N WORDS . The meaning of the phrases, ...have Mercy... or ...be Merciful... are due to our awareness that WE ARE PERISHING . It is our perception of THE M ERCY AND COMPASSION THAT OUR L ORD COMMANDED US TO HAVE FOR EACH OTHER , but which very few actually do. It is THE REJECTION OF OUR OWN SELF - OPINION and A REQUEST FOR D IVINE M ERCY , WITHOUT WHICH THERE IS NO HOPE OF S ALVATION FOR US WHO ARE PERISHING . DIVINE M ERCY IS THE G RACE OF G OD THE ALL -H OLY S PIRIT, and being habitually sinful, we should ceaselessly and unrelentingly beseech it of God. Have Mercy, my Lord, upon the disastrous state into which I have fallen, having been deprived of Thy Grace, and again, make Thy Grace to dwell in me. Strengthen me with Thy Governing Spirit (PSALM 50:12), a Spirit of Thy Power, so that I might withstand the temptation brought against me by the devil, and the temptation that comes from my fallen nature. Send me a Spirit of Chastity, so that I might come out of this state of delirium, and correct my moral steps. Grant me the Spirit of Thy Fear, so that I might have [Godly] Fear of Thee, as it is proper for a weak creature to fear his great God and Creator, so that by my awe before Thee I might hold Thy Commandments Sacred. Root Love for Thee within my heart, so that I may never again be separated from Thee, nor be distracted by an irresistible attraction to loathsome sin.
ORDER FOR US TO LEARN TO CONTINUE REPEATING IT AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE THROUGHOUT OUR LIFESPAN .

Grant me Thy Peace, that it might preserve my soul in unperturbed calm, not allowing my thoughts to wander over the entire Universe without need and to my own injury, to my own confusion; that it might concentrate them in introspection, and bear them upwards thence to Thy Throne. Grant me a Spirit of Meekness, so that I might refrain from anger and malice, that I might be continually filled with Goodness toward my Brethren. Grant me a Spirit of Humility of mind, so that I would not be high-minded, nor dream about myself, nor seek praise and human glory; but that I might rather remember that I am earth and ashes, a fallen being, cast down to the earth for my unworthiness. I must be taken from this body and world by Death, and appear before Thy dread and impartial Judgement. God, be Merciful to me a sinner! Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have Mercy on me! Lord, have Mercy! Many pronounce these brief Prayers with great haste, caring only to say the required number of them. By this manner of praying, they do not ALLOW THE P RAYERS TO PENETRATE THE HEART AND PRODUCE THEIR INHERENT EFFECT, WHICH IS TENDER FEELING . Our Holy Church Fathers justly note that whoever prays thus prays to the wind, and not to God. Why do we get bored in Church? Because WE HAVE NOT FELT THE EFFECT OF P RAYER. Why do we rush to a lavish table? Because we know the meaning of material food from experience. Why do we not rush to Church, but try to come a little later, when a significant portion of the Divine Services are already over? Because WE DO NOT KNOW FROM EXPERIENCE THE MEANING OF P RAYER, WHICH IS FOOD FOR THE SOUL , AND WHICH IMPARTS S PIRITUAL S TRENGTH TO THE SOUL . We do not know from experience the meaning of prayer BECAUSE WE PRAY HASTILY , SUPERFICIALLY , AND WITHOUT ATTENTION . The effect on the soul of long but INATTENTIVE P RAYER
IS LIKE THE EFFECT OF COPIOUS RAIN UPON A METAL ROOF , from which all the water runs off, no matter how much it pours, WITHOUT HAVING ANY EFFECT AT ALL upon the roof. contrast, ATTENTIVE PRAYER CAN BE LIKENED TO A BENEFICIAL RAIN THAT WATERS A PLANTED FIELD , GIVING NOURISHMENT TO THE GROWTH THERE, AND PREPARING A RICH HARVEST.

In

The Disciples of Prayer who lean upon its Breast our Holy Church Fathers CORRECT A MAJOR MISTAKE THAT DEPRIVES THE PRAYING ASCETIC OF ALL THE F RUITS OF HIS ASCETI C L ABOUR. They instruct us to PRONOUNCE THE WORDS OF SHORT P RAYERS AND OF ALL KINDS OF P RAYER WITHOUT HASTE, OBSERVING SCRUPULOUS ATTENTION TO THE WORDS OF THE P RAYERS . Stand silent, until all the senses have become quiet. Then begin without haste, without laziness, but with tender feeling, with contrition of heart, to say: Blessed is the man... (PSALM 1:1) and the rest, quietly and rationally, with attention, and not hurriedly: that the mind might also understand what is being said. (FROM THE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE READING THE PSALTER.) When the Prayers are read unhurriedly, it is possible to have such attention, while HURRIED READING LEAVES NO PLACE FOR ATTENTION. P RAYER WITHOUT ATTENTION IS LIKE A BODY WITHOUT THE SOUL - IT HAS NO F RAGRANCE OF H UMILITY , IT DOES NOT A SCEND TO G OD . Stricken and deadened by dispersed thoughts, it crawls along the earth of corruption and foul smell, imparting this corruption to those who pray carelessly and coldly. M ENTAL ATTENTION AT P RAYER IS REFLECTED IN THE HEART BY B LESSED G RIEF OVER SINS , WHICH IS THAT VERY R EPENTANCE THAT G OD COMMANDS US TO HAVE . When our heart is filled with A FEELING OF R EPENTANCE , it in turn DRAWS THE MIND TO I NCREASED ATTENTION . Once there is attention and tender feeling, ALL THE G IFTS OF THE H OLY S PIRIT ENTER INTO OUR SOUL , MAKING IT A T EMPLE OF G OD .

3 3 A P - 1 T R I O D I O N 1 6 T H S U N D A Y O F S T L U K E T H E P U B L I C A N & T H E P H A R I S E E 9 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4 9.

Let us provide our Prayer with two qualities: ATTENTION AND R EPENTANCE so that OUR P RAYERS CAN ASCEND TO H EAVEN WITH TWO WI NGS , TO APPEAR BEFORE THE F ACE OF G OD , AND I NTERCEDE FOR US TO GAIN H IS G REAT M ERCY . The Blessed Publicans Prayer had these two Qualities. Overwhelmed by the awareness of his sinfulness, he had no hope in his own deeds to receive Salvation. H IS ONLY H OPE WAS IN G OD S G REAT M ERCY , WHICH CALLS ALL SINNERS TO R EPENTANCE, AND THEREBY ALONE, GRANTS US S ALVATION . As a sinner who acknowledged his unworthiness, the Publican stood at a distance from the other worshippers in the Temple. As a sinner who is unworthy of Heaven, HE DID NOT
DARE TO LIFT HIS EYES UPWARDS AND TURNED HIS SIGHT TOWARDS THE GROUND , WHILE BEATING HIS CHEST WITH A PROFOUND AND MOST SORROWFUL CONFESSING AND DESIRE FOR T RUE R EPENTANCE, BESEECHING G OD WITH HIS ENTIRE HEART AND SOUL : G OD BE M ERCIFUL TO ME , A SINNER.

His Prayer was so effective and strong, that THE REPENTANT, HUMBLE PUBLICAN DEPARTED FROM THE TEMPLE OF G OD FULLY J USTIFIED.

O UR L ORD J ESUS CHRIST W HO KNOWS OUR HEARTS AND SOULS EVEN BETTER THAN WE DO , W HO IS OUR S AVIOUR AND OUR J UDGE, TESTIFIED TO THIS T RUE F ACT. And the ancient Prophecy was fulfilled with regard to this Repentant sinner: ...the Lord shall build up Zion... for the human soul that has been destroyed by the Fall, ...and He shall be seen in His Glory. He has regarded the Prayer of the humble, and has not despised their Supplication. Let this be written for another generation... Let it be written that all mankind will know it - let it be written that all Tribes and future generations of Christians Faithful Disciples of Christ - might know it! And ...the people who are being created... through Repentance and Attentive Prayer - having felt their Spiritual Renewal through Divine Grace ... shall praise the Lord... Who has been well pleased to take on humanity, and to Save u througsh His Wondrous Care, and His Wondrous Teachings. (PSALM 101: 1618), Amen.
ADAPTED & EDITED BY MP : A H OMILY ON S UNDAY OF T HE P UBLICAN AND THE P HARISEE BY S T IGNATIOS (B RIANCHANINOV ) - T RANSLATED FROM RUSSIAN INTO ENGLISH BY N UN C ORN ELIA (REES ) - 04 / 02 / 2012 HTTP :// WWW .PRAVOSLAVIE .RU / ENGLISH/44704. HTM

Elder Paisios of Mount Athos On the Letter of the Law

I once asked someone: "What type of Warrior do you consider yourself to be? Christ's Warrior or temptation's warrior? Are you aware that the evil of temptation also has its own warriors?" Christians must not be fanatics - they must have (unconditional) Love for and be sensitive towards all people. Those who inconsiderately and thoughtlessly toss out comments - even if they are true - cause harm. I once met a Theologian who was extremely Pious, but who had the habit of speaking to the (secular) people around him in a very blunt manner and his method penetrated so deeply that it severely affected them. He told me: "During a gathering, I said such and such a thing to a lady." B UT THE WAY THAT HE HAD SAID IT, HAD CRUSHED HER. So I said to him: "Look: you may be tossing Golden Crowns studded with diamonds to other people, but the way that you throw them can smash hearts not only the sensitive ones, but the sound ones also!" Let's not stone our fellow-man in a so-called Christian manner. Those who - in the presence of others - corrects someone for having sinned (or speaks in an impassioned manner about a certain person), is not moved by the Holy Spirit - he is moved by another (evil) spirit! T HE W AY OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST IS LOVE , which differs from the way of the legalists. The Holy Church observes everything with tolerance and seeks to help each person no matter what sin has been committed or how sinful he or she may be! I have observed a peculiar kind of logic in certain Pious people, whose Piety is a good thing, and their predisposition for good is also a good thing. However, a certain Spiritual Discernment and amplitude is required so that their Piety is not accompanied by narrow-mindedness or strong-headedness. God wants us to attend chiefly to two things: To Eternity itself, and to that point of time, which is called the Present for it is the point at which time touches Eternity. Of the present moment, and of it only, we have an experience that [God] has of Reality as a whole- and in it alone freedom and actuality are offered to us. [C.S. LEWIS - THE SCREWTAPE
LETTERS]

T HOSE WHO ARE TRULY IN A SPIRITUAL S TATE MUST POSSESS AND EXEMPLIFY S PIRITUAL D ISCERNMENT ; otherwise they will forever remain attached to the "Letter of the Law", and the Letter of the Law can be quite deadly! Truly humble people never behave like Teachers. They will listen, and, whenever their opinion is requested, they respond humbly. In other words, they reply like a student (or Disciple). Those who believe that they are capable of correcting others are filled with egotism. Those who begin to do something with a good intention and eventually reach an extreme point, lack True Discernment. Their actions exemplify a latent type of egotism that is hidden beneath this behaviour of which they are unaware because they do not know themselves that well, which is why they go to extremes. Quite often, people begin with good intentions, but look where they may find themselves! This was the case with the Iconodules - Iconworshippers - and the Iconoclasts - Icon Breakers of the past - both cases were extremes! The fanatical, superstitious Iconodules had reached the point of scraping Icons of Christ and placing the scrapings into the Holy Chalice in order to improve Holy Communion!! On the other hand, the obsessive, ignorant Iconoclasts tried to destroy, burn and remove all signs of Holy Icons from churches and everywhere else. Consequently, the Church was obliged to place the Icons in higher places, out of reach, and, only when the controversial dispute finally ended, lowered them so that Faithful Christians can venerate them and thus confer the appropriate honour to the Prototypes who are depicted.
ADAPTED & EDITED BY MP: HTTP://ORTHODOXWAYOFLIFE.BLOGSP
OT

.CO

Glory to God for All Things WAKE UP!!

Our Holy Church Fathers who describe the Awareness of the present as Watchfulness. (Nepsis), exhort us to constantly be watchful and awake. Arise, O Sleeper, and wake from the dead! And Christ shall give thee Light! The great Struggles of our day are fought and won only on the battlefield of the present moment for we cannot Repent in either the past or the future. The Desert Fathers teach: There is a voice that cries to us until our last breath: Be converted today! The Inner Life can be exceedingly creative in its efforts to avoid God - despite being in an Orthodox Arena! So our Struggle continues unabated until our dying breath! [HTTP://GLORY2GODFORALLTHINGS.COM/2013/02/15

Despite the fact that we only live in the present, we find that moment to be the most difficult to hold in our awareness. We dwell in our distorted memories of the past or dash about a future whose existence is imaginary. In either case, we avoid the only point at which anything is real. 10.

33A P - 1 TRI ODI ON 16TH SUN DA Y OF S T LUKE T H E P U B L I C A N & T H E P H A R I S E E 9 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4

Greek Or th odox Patriar chate of A le xandria & All Afr ica

A L L G L OR Y , H ONOUR A ND W OR S H IP T O T H E F A T HE R , A ND T O T H E S ON , A ND T O T H E H OL Y S P IR IT , NOW A ND FOR E V ER , A ND U NT O T H E A GE S OF A GE S . A ME N . R E ME MB ER ING AL S O OU R M OS T H OL Y , M OS T P U RE , M OS T B L ES S E D A ND G L OR IOU S L A D Y , M A R IA , T H E OT OKOS , YE T E V ER V IR GIN , T OGE T H E R WITH A LL T H E S A INT S . A ND LE T US COMMIT OU R S E LV E S A ND ONE A NOT HE R A ND OU R WH OL E L IFE T O C H R IS T OU R G OD . A ME N .

10 February 2014 St Charalambos, Great Hieromartyr of Magnesia, Thessaly

ALSO THE FE AST O F ST P ORPHYR IOS , ST VAPT OS & 3 FE MA LE H OLY M ARTYRS OF THE SSALY SYNA XIS OF T HE HOLY H IE RAR CHS OF NOV GOR OD: ST JO ACH IM , FIRST BIS HOP OF NOVG OROD , ST L UKE, ST T HE ODO RE, ST HE RMAN , ST AR CAD IO S, ST JO HN, ST GABR IE L , BISHOPS OF NOV GOR OD - ST M ARTYR IOS , ST ANT HONY , ST BASI L, ST MOSES, ST SY ME ON , ST EUTHY MI OS, ST APHT HON IOS & S T ANNA O F NOV GOR OD ST PROC HO ROS OF K IE V NE AR CAVE S MONASTE RY ST LOG INOS OF KO RYZ HEMSK, V OL OGDA ST ENNAT HA , ST VALENT INA & ST PAUL A, V IRG IN MARTY RS OF P ALESTINE S T JOHN C HI MC IMEL I T HE PHIL OSOPHER O F GE ORG IA
FESTA
L

APOL

YTIKION

ST CHA

RALAMBOS

TONE4

Os stilos aklonitos, tis Ekklisias Hristou, ke lihnos aifotos Thou

tis ikoumenis sofe, edihthis Haralambes; elampsas en to kosmo, dia tou Martiriou, elisas ton idolon, tin skotomenan makar. Dio en parrisia Hristo, presveve sothine imas
FESTA
L

became a firm Pillar in the Church of Christ, O Wise Haralambos; a Lamp of Everlasting Light to the world: Well known to the world through Thy Holy Martyrdom, thou dispelled the dark night of idolatry. Boldly intercede with Christ God so that He may Save our souls. rose from the East like a star, O Hieromartyr Haralambos, and Enlightened the Faithful with the brightness of thy Miracles. Therefore we honour thy Holy Contest.

KONTAK

ION

ST C

HARALAMBOS

ONE

Thisavron

politimon i Ekklisia, tin sin haran kektite, iromartis athlita, tropeofore Haralambes. Dio ke heri ton Ktistin doxazousa.
L

Thou

FESTA

KONTAK

ION

HE

EVER BL

ESSED

THEOT

OKOS

Prostasia

ton Hristianon akateskhinte, mesitia pros ton Piitin ametathete, mi Paridis, amartolon deiseon fonas, alla profthason os agathi, is tin voithian imon, ton pistos kravgazonton Si: Tahinon is presvian, ke spefson is ikesian, i prostatevousa ai, Theotoke, ton timonton se.

O Protection of the Christians unashamable, Mediation

to the Creator Immovable, despise not, the pleading voices of those in sin, but hasten O Good One, to the Aid of all of us, who in Faith cry out to Thee: hurry Thine Intercession, and present Thy Supplication, O Theotokos who always protects all those who honour Thee!
GODLY

Matins Gospel According to St Luke 21 : 12 19

THE P
ERSECUTION OF T HE

UN

, FAL

LEN

WO

RLD

At that time our Lord said to His Disciples: Beware of men, for they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you to the Synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before Kings and Governors for My Names sake. This will be a time for you to bear testimony. Settle it therefore in your mind, not to meditate beforehand how to answer; for I will give you a mouth and Wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and kinsmen and friends, and some of you they will put to death; you will be hated by all for My Names sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your Endurance you will gain your lives.

St Pauls Second Epistle to St Timothy 2 : 1 10

TRANS
MITTING T HE

FAIT

, STR

ENGTHENING

OT

HERS

, DI

SCIPLIN E

& SU

FFERIN G

Timothy my Son: be strong in the Grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. You therefore must endure hardship as a Good Soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, so that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the Rules. The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops. Consider what I say, and may the Lord grant you Understanding in all things. Remember that Jesus Christ, of the Seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my Gospel, for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the Word of God is not chained.

The Holy Gospel According to St John 15 : 17 - 16: 2

OUR LO
RD

ESUS

HRIST

EACHES

US ABOUT

UNION & CO

MMUNION

WITH

HI

At that time our Lord Jesus said: ... These Things I Command you, so that you Love one another. If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet - because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world the world hates you. Remember the Word that I said to you: A servant is not greater than his Master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My Word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My Names sake, because they do not know Him Who sent Me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates Me, hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the Works that no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated Me and My Father. But this happened that the Word might be fulfilled, which is written in their Law: They hated Me without cause. And when the Helper comes, Whom I shall send you FROM THE FATHER the Spirit of Truth Who PROCEEDS FROM THE FATHER, He will Testify of Me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning. These Things I have spoken to you so that you should not be made to stumble. They will put you out of the Synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God Service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. ST CHARALAMBOS THE GREAT HIEROMARTYR 10 FEBRUARY 2014 11.

St Charalambos the Hieromartyr of Magnesia Holy Hieromartyr, and they shouted: "We beg St Charalambos was the Bishop of Magnesia, Asia Thee, O Servant of God, do not torment us before Minor, who successfully spread the Christian our time! Rather command us and we will depart Faith amongst the people, by teaching and and - if Thou so wishes, we will tell Thee how it guiding them along the Path to Salvation. came about that we entered into this man!" At the time Lucian was the pagan Governor and his The Saint then commanded the demons to relate the military commander was Lucius, both of whom story, and they said: "This man wanted to steal brutally and mercilessly carried out a terrible from his neighbour and thought to himself: `If I persecution of all Christians. don't kill the man first, I will not be able to seize So when St Charalambos came to their attention, he his goods.' He proceeded to kill his neighbour. was immediately arrested and tried but fearlessly And, having caught him in the act, we entered confessing his Faith in our Lord and Saviour, him, and behold, for thirty-four years we dwelt in Jesus Christ, he and his fellow Martyrs, him!" adamantly refused to renounce the One True, Then St Charalambos commanded the demons to Living God and make sacrificial offerings to the depart from the man immediately and to leave pagan idols. him in Peace forever. Despite St Charalambos advanced age (113 years The demons departed and the demented man was old!) he was subjected to monstrous tortures that restored to full health and became tranquil and included laceration of his naked body with iron lived in Peace for the rest of his life.] hooks and his skin being scraped from his body. The daughter of the Emperor, (St Galina) believed in Throughout these indescrible torments, St Christ, and twice smashed the idols in a pagan Charalambos managed to address the temple. executioners: I thank you, Brethren, for you have The Emperor ordered the torturers to smash St restored my spirit, which longs to pass over to a Charalambos about the mouth with stones, to New and Everlasting Life! prevent him from speaking and when they tried to Having witnessed St Charalambos endurance and his set his beard on fire, the flames burnt them. complete lack of malice towards his persecutors, Filled with unbridled wickedness, Septimus Severus two of the soldiers, (St Porphyrios and St Baptos) and an official named Crispus hurled blasphemy openly confessed their Faith in Christ for which and mockery at the Lord our God and even dared they were immediately beheaded by sword. to challenge Him to come down to the earth, Three women who were in the watching crowd, also boasting of their own power and might! began to Glorify Christ and were quickly Suddenly a frightening earthquake shook the ground Martyred. and intense fear struck the heart of all the pagans Then the outraged Commander seized the especially when the impious Emperor and his instruments of torture and began to injure the Official were both suspended in mid-air by Holy Hieromartyr but suddenly his forearms were invisible bonds, until by the Prayer of St cut off as if by sword, and when the Governor Charalambos were they put down again. spat at St Charalambos, his head turned around The shocked and dazed Emperor was certainly and he was forced to look backwards. shaken but again he ordered further torture of Lucius, the terrified Commander, begged the Holy Gods Faithful Bishop, after which he was to be Hieromatyr for Mercy and both of the cruel beheaded by sword. pagans were subsequently healed through the During the final Prayers of St Charalambos, the Intercessory Prayers of St Charalambos. Heavens opened and he beheld our Saviour Having witnessed these amazing events, many of the accompanied by a great multitude of the people accepted Christ as Lord and Saviour - and Heavenly Hosts. Lucius was among them. He fell at the feet of the St Charalambos requested Christ to grant that the martyred Bishop and asked to be Baptised into place where his Relics would repose would never the powerful Christian Faith. suffer famine nor disease. The Governor reported all these things to the He also besought our Saviour for Peace, prosperity, Emperor Septimus Severus (193 211) who was and an abundance of fruit, grain, and wine in that then at Pisidian, Antioch in Western Asia Minor place, and for the Salvation of the souls of the who responded by ordering St Charalambos to be people. taken to him in Antioch. Our Lord promised to fulfil his requests before He The cruel pagan soldiers twisted the Holy Fathers again ascended into Heaven, with the soul of the beard into a rope and wound it around his neck St Charalambos following Him. and dragged him along. By the Great Mercy of God, St Charalambos Reposed They also drove iron nails into his body and when before he could be executed and St Galina buried the godless Emperor ordered them to torture the his Holy Relics with great honour. Bishop more intensely, they burnt him with fire. In Greek Hagiography and Iconography St Nevertheless, our Lord God protected His Holy Saint Charalambos is regarded as a Priest, while who remained unharmed and undefeated. Russian sources seem to regard him as a Bishop. Many Divine Miracles occurred through the St Charalambos continues to be greatly loved and Intercessory Prayers of St Charalambos such as respected, and he constantly works many when a dead youth was brought back to life, and Wonders throughout the whole Christian world. when a man who had been tormented by demons He is especially held in great honour in parts of for thirty-five excruciating, frightening years was Greece, as he was not only from Thessaly, but finally exorcised... many of his Holy Relics are preserved there (e.g. a Consequently, innumerable people began to believe large portion of his Sacred Skull is treasured by in Christ our Saviour and the One True, Living, Almighty God. the Monastery of St Stephen, Meteora) and he has [While St Charalambos was being tortured, the Healed and defended the Orthodox so many Emperor, having heard about his Miracle Working times. Powers, ordered an insane man to be presented May the memory of St Charalambos be Eternal and to the Bishop so that he could either prove or may he always Intercede for us and help us! disprove his Wonderworking abilities. ADAPTED & EDITED BY MP: HTTP://FULL-OF- GRAC E-ANDThis wretched man had suffered demon-possession TRUTH.BLOGSP OT.CO M/2010/02 /ST-CHARALA MBOSfor thirty-five long years but as soon as he HIERO MARTYR-O F-MAGNE SIA. HTML approached St Charalambos, the demons sensed a sweet-smelling Fragrance emanating from the

12.

ST CHARALAMBOS THE GREAT HIEROMARTYR

10 FEBRUARY 2014

Greek Or th odox Patriar chate of A le xandria & All Afr ica

A L L G L OR Y , H ONOUR A ND W OR S H IP T O T H E F A T HE R , A ND T O T HE S ON , A ND T O T HE H OL Y S PIR IT , NOW A ND FOR E VE R , A ND U NT O TH E A GES OF A GE S . A ME N . R E ME MB ER ING AL S O OU R M OS T H OL Y , M OS T P U RE , M OST B L E SS E D A ND G L OR IOU S L A D Y , M A R IA , T H E OT OKOS , YE T E V E R V IR GIN , T OGE T HE R WIT H A LL T H E S A INT S . A ND L ET U S C OMMIT OU R S E LV E S A ND ONE A NOT HE R A ND OU R WH OLE L IFE T O C H R IST OUR G OD . A MEN .

17th

1 6 F e b r ua r y 2 01 4 Tone 1 34th Sunday After Pentecost 2nd Sunday of Triodion Sunday of St Luke: The Prodigal Son

ALSO THE FE AST OF ST PA MPH ILI OS THE PRE SBYTER, ST VALENS T H E DE ACON , ST PAUL , ST PORP HYRI OS , ST SE LE UC IOS , ST T HE ODO ULOS , ST JULI AN, ST SAM UE L, ST ELI AS, ST D AN IEL, ST JE RE M IA H, AND ST ISAIA H OF CAE SARE A, PALESTINE ST MAR UTH AS THE H IE RO MARTYR OF MAR TYROPOL IS, ME SOPOTAM IA & HIS FE LLOW H OLY MARTYRS ST FLA VIA N O F ANTIO CH ST NICH OLAS , EQUA L TO THE APOSTLES & ENLIGHTENER OF JAPA N RESURRECTION APOLYTIKION TONE 1

Tou

lithou sfragisthentos ipo ton Ioudeon ke stratioton filassonton to ahranton Sou Soma, Anestis trimeros, Sotir, Doroumenos to kosmo tin Zoin. Dia touto e Dinamis ton Ouranon evoon si Zoodota. Doxa ti Anastasi Sou, Hriste! Doxa ti Vasilia Sou! Doxa ti Ikonomia Sou, mone Filanthrope!

While the stone was sealed by the Judeans, and soldiers

stood on guard over Thine Undefiled Body, Thou rose on the Third Day, O Saviour Who gives Life to the world. For which cause the Heavenly Powers cried aloud to Thee: O Giver of Life: Glory to Thy Resurrection, O Christ! Glory to Thy Kingdom! Glory to Thy Providence, O Thou Who alone Loves mankind!

RESURRECTION KONTAKION

TONE 1

Exanestis

os Theos, ek tou tafou en Doxi, ke kosmon sinanestisas, ke i fisis ton vroton os Theon Se animnise, ke thanatos ifaniste; ke O Adam horevi Despota, ke i Eva nin ek ton desmon litroumeni, heri krazousa:. Si i O pasi parehon, Hriste tin Anastasin!
-

Thou rose from the grave in Glory as God and raised the
world up with Thee. Mortal nature sang Thy praise as God, and Death disappeared. Adam danced, O Master, and now Eve, freed from her chains, rejoices as she cries: It is Thee, O Christ, Who grants Resurrection to all!

FESTAL KONTAKION - THE PRODIGAL SON

TONE 1

Tis

Patroas doxis Sou aposkirtisas afronos, en kakis eskorpisa, on mi paredokas plouton. Othen Si tin tou Asotou fonin hravgazo. Imarton enopion Sou, Pater iktirmon. Dexe me metanoounta ke piison me os ena ton Misthion Sou.

Foolishly

I ran away, from Thy Glory, O Father, and wasted in sin, all the wealth that Thou granted me. Therefore, the Prodigals cry I repeat to Thee: I have sinned, before Thy Compassionate Father. Do accept me in repentance, AND MAKE ME AGAIN, ONE OF THY HIRED HANDS .

Resurrection Gospel 1 Matthew 28 : 16 - 20

THE GREAT COMMISSION OF CHRIST

The First Epistle of St Paul to the Corinthians 6 : 12 20

OUR B ODY IS TH E S ANCTIFIED T EMPLE OF GOD Brethren: all things are Lawful for me, but all things are not expedient; all things are Lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body. And God has both raise up the Lord, and will also raise up us by His own Power. Do you not know that your bodies are the members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them members of a harlot? God forbid! Do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body? For the two, He says, ... shall be one flesh. But he who is Joined to the Lord is one Spirit. Flee fornication! Every sin that a man commits is outside the body, but he who commits fornication sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit, Who is in you, Whom you have from God, and that you are not your own, for you were bought at a price. Therefore, Glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are Gods. All things are lawful for me... may be a statement St Paul Therefore, DEALING WITH SIN AVOIDING TEMPTATION AND REPENTING OUR SINS MEANS WE CONTROL OUR BODIES made in Corinth sometime earlier perhaps regarding THROUGH SELF-DISCIPLINE AND SELF-DENIAL OF THE FLESH. the Mosaic Cleanliness Law which the Libertines took By controlling the desires of the flesh i.e. all our physical out of context as their slogan. desires and demands - WE TEACH OUR SOULS TO BE IN Consequently, St Paul set the record straight by explaining CONTROL OF OUR BODIES rather than the other way around. that WITHOUT DISCIPLINE AND DISCERNMENT THROUGH OUR In such a manner, WE LEARN TO BECOME MORE SPIRITUAL OBEDIENCE TO CHRIST, FREEDOM FROM LAW IS SLAVERY TO SIN! BEINGS WORTHY CITIZENS OF GODS HEAVENLY, ETERNAL The Libertines in Corinth as some do today argued that KINGDOM. illicit sex adultery and fornication is as necessary for For that reason the Orthodox Church encourages us to the body as eating, and that both are irrelevant to our abstain from foods, which is the first discipline of the Fast, Spiritual Life. as well as all the other physical pleasures of life, through However, as St Paul points out very clearly: OUR BODIES BELONG self-denial by FOCUSSING OUR ATTENTION ON REPENTANCE,
TO GOD AND EVERYTHING WE SAY, THINK OR DO IN THIS PREPARATORY PERIOD BEFORE ETERNITY IS MOST CERTAINLY RELEVANT TO OUR SPIRITUAL WELFARE! CONFESSION, PRAYERS AND ALMSGIVING OCCUPYING OURSELVES WITH VIRTUOUS THOUGHTS, WORDS AND DEEDS.

Let T hy Mer cy, O Lo rd, be Rejoi ce i n t he L ord , O yo u

Prokeimenon:

upo n us . Righteo us

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13

Everything to do with our physical existence is merely temporary and will not last, while EVERYTHING CONCERNING When St Paul refers to our bodies as members of Christ, he reminds us of OUR HOLY UNION WITH CHRIST OUR LORD R O M A N S 6 : 3 1 0 : ... our Old Man was crucified with Him, so that the body of sin might be done away with, so that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died as been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also Live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him, for the Death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the Life that He lives, He Lives to God. To have died to sin does not mean our human nature has died. Rather, it means that WE ARE NO LONGER HELD Our freedom from sin is grounded in the Holy Mystery of Baptism yet ignorance of what happens when we are Baptised is a great enemy since through such ignorance, many are defeated in their battle against wickedness.
CAPTIVE BY SIN AND WE ARE NOW IMMOVABLE TOWARDS SIN JUST LIKE SOMETHING THAT WAS DEAD WOULD BE. DURING OUR HOLY BAPTISM . OUR IMMORTAL SOULS LASTS FOREVER AND RESULTS IN THE TYPE OF ETERNITY WE WILL HAVE.

] Being united with Christ refers to

Fornication and adultery is therefore a sin to be fled from in horror, for it joins, through our own immorality, Christ to harlots!

GROWING TOGETHER IN CHRIST WHICH IMPLIES THE EXPECTATION OF A GOOD SPIRITUAL HARVEST BEARING OF GOOD FRUIT THE FINAL RESULTS OF OUR SPIRITUAL LABOURS IN CHRIST JESUS.

] ]

when we are cleansed from our sins in a state of Repentance, Prayer and Worship of God. The Holy Spirit dwells within us as His Holy Temple in order to Guide, Teach, Inspire and Watch over us, etc.

WE HAVE MANY IMPROPER DESIRES, BUT WE MUST REPRESS THEM, BECAUSE WE CAN! (ST JOHN CHRYSOSTOM) WE ARE SANCTIFIED, HOLY TEMPLES OF GOD because OUR BODIES BELONG TO GOD AND THE HOLY TRINITY DWELLS WITHIN US

ANY FORM OF BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT IS AN UNFORGIVABLE SIN.

Therefore, if we knowingly commit sins against ourselves, thus harming or desecrating our Holy Temples our Godowned bodies it is a sin against God and especially the Holy Spirit for IN A STATE OF UNREPENTANT SIN, WE EXPEL OR We would certainly be extremely offended if someone were to paint graffiti all over our Parish churches, or commit other outrages inside or outside the walls of such hallowed ground, yet we continuously commit similar outrageous offences to our Sanctified bodies! St Paul always encourages the Faithful to P R A C T I S E C E L I B A C Y wherever possible ESPECIALLY IF NOT MARRIED IN THE SIGHT OF GOD for he knew that CELIBACY IS A DIVINE GIFT
GRANTED TO THOSE CONCERNED ALTHOUGH VERY FEW ARE GRANTED IT. CAUSE GOD TO LEAVE US AS HE CANNOT BE WHERE THERE IS SPIRITUAL DARKNESS OR DEATH.

WHAT CHRIST ACCOMPLISHED ON THE CROSS AN ACTUAL DEATH TO SIN HOLY BAPTISM ACCOMPLISHES IN US: AN ACTUAL DEATH TO SIN AND OUR LIBERATION FROM ITS ENSLAVING POWER SINCE OUR BAPTISM INTO CHRIST GIVES US HIS POWER OVER TEMPTATION AND SIN AN EXACT LIKENESS TO CHRISTS DEATH ON THE CROSS. Consequently, OUR HOLY BAPTISM does not merely stand for this Divine Truth but IS ITSELF OUR DEATH TO SIN.

The Holy Gospel According to St Luke

THE PR ODIGAL SON REP ENTANCE & FORGIV ENESS

15 : 11 32

At that time, our Lord Jesus said: A certain Man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his Father: Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me. So He divided between them His Livelihood. And not many days later, the younger son gathered all his possessions together and journeyed to a far country where he wasted his possessions with prodigal living. And when he had spent everything, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in need. So he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country who sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, yet no one gave him anything. And when he came to himself, he said: How many of my Fathers hired servants have enough bread to eat and to spare, yet I perish from hunger! I will arise and go to my Father, and I will say to Him: Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before Thee, and I am no longer worthy to be called Thy son. Make me like one of Thy hired servants. And he arose and went to his Father. And when he was still a great way off, his Father saw him and had Compassion, and ran, and fell upon his neck and kissed him. And the son said to Him: Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before Thee, and I am no longer worthy to be called Thy son. But the Father said to his servants: Bring out the best Robe and put it on him, and put a Ring on his hand, and sandals on his feet. And fetch the Fatted Calf and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this, My son was Dead and is Alive again; he was Lost and is Found! and they began to be merry. Now His older son was in the field. And as he went and drew near to the House he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him: Your Brother has returned, and because He received him safe and sound, your Father has killed the Fatted Calf. And he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his Father went out and pleaded with him. So he answered and said to his Father: Behold, these many years I have been serving Thee; I never transgressed Thy Commandment at any time; and yet Thou never gave me a young goat, so that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of Thine returned having devoured Thy Livelihood with harlots Thou killed the Fatted Calf for him. And He said to him: Son, you are always with Me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your Brother was Dead and is Alive again; and was Lost and is Found. THE YOUNGER, IMMATURE SONs request for his portion of goods However, the evil one cannot destroy us himself - and (ousia = essence) from his Father, SIGNIFIES US HUMAN like the Prodigal Son, BY GODS GRACE, WE WILL
BEINGS RECEIVING OUR FREE WILL (TO PICK AND CHOOSE WHICH PATH TO FOLLOW) AND OUR RATIONAL MIND FROM OUR GRACIOUS LORD GOD. Just as Adam did in Paradise, THE YOUNGER SON USED THESE WONDERFUL POSSESSIONS DIVINE GIFTS TO REBEL AGAINST HIS (HEAVENLY) FATHER. ] T H E F A R C O U N T R Y to which the Prodigal Son journeyed represents A LIFE IN EXILE FROM THE GOODNESS AND BLESSINGS OF GOD. WHENEVER WE ARE IN A STATE OF SIN, WE ARE ALIENATED AND EXILED FROM DIVINE GOODNESS we are a great EVENTUALLY AWAKEN FROM OUR GODLESS STUPOR AND REALISE OUR PREDICAMENT, AND YEARN FOR HIS BLESSINGS AND GOODNESS. BEING IMMERSED IN THE DARKNESS OF SIN, IS EXISTING OUTSIDE OUR NATURAL HUMAN STATE. F E E D I N G S W I N E could rightly be called Jewish Skid Row, because IN SUCH A STATE OF DEBAUCHERY AND SELFINDULGENCE, WHICH RESULTED IN COMPLETE DESTITUTION BOTH PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL - THE PRODIGAL SON COULD NOT POSSIBLY SINK MUCH LOWER. . . . W H E N H E C A M E T O H I M S E L F . . . As soon as we come to ourselves when our sanity is restored - WE RETURN TO THE DIVINE LIGHT AND REGAIN OUR SPIRITUAL LIFE IN CHRIST. THE PRODIGAL SON ACKNOWLEDGED HIS HOPELESS CONDITION

distance from God.

HAVI NG UNI TE D HIMS ELF T O ... A CI TIZE N OF THA T C O U N T R Y . . . is an oblique reference to THE EVIL ONE WHO IS OBSESSED WITH OUR DESTRUCTION AND ALIENATION FROM GOD AND ALL HIS GOODNESS. SATAN FIRST TEMPTS US INTO A SPIRITUAL DEATH AND THEN TRIES TO KEEP US THERE AND AWAY FROM GODS BLESSINGS IN A STATE OF SLAVERY AND IMPRISONMENT.

Spiritual Death and alienation from God and all His Blessings AND IMMEDIATELY PREPARED HIS

CONFESSION AND REPENTANCE. T H E B R E A D to which the Prodigal Son refers SYMBOLISES OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST Who is known to us throughout

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Holy Scripture and especially in the Holy Eucharist the Divine Liturgy.
...HIS F ATH ER S AW HIM A ND ... RA N...

Although it was considered undignified and unfitting behaviour for a mature man or elderly person to run, THE
FATHER EXPRESSED HIS LOVE AND EAGERNESS TO WELCOME THE RETURN OF HIS LOST CHILD BY RUNNING TO HIM AND EMBRACING HIM WARMLY. THIS SELF-HUMILIATION FOR THE SAKE OF HIS LOST SON INDICATES THE MANNER WHEREBY OUR HEAVENLY FATHER, THROUGH HIS SON AND OUR LORD JESUS CHRISTS SACRIFICE, ACTIVELY AND PATIENTLY AWAITS AND JOYOUSLY WELCOMES ALL THOSE WHO RETURN SAFELY TO HIS LOVING EMBRACE. T H E R O B E signifies RIGHTEOUSNESS GRANTED TO US BY OUR HOLY BAPTISM.

E P H E S I A N S 6 : 1 4 - 1 5 ... Stand therefore, having Girded yourself with Truth, having put on the Breastplate of Righteousness, and having shod your feet with the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace... CHRISTIANS FIGHT AGAINST ALL EVIL ARMED WITH DIVINE

AND ACTIVATED, INSPIRED AND ENABLED BY GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT.

ARMOUR, WHICH IS GODS UNCREATED DIVINE ENERGY, GIVEN TO US AT HOLY BAPTISM AND USED BY US THROUGHOUT OUR LIVES AS WE BATTLE IN SPIRITUAL WARFARE EVERY MOMENT OF THE DAY. AS FAITHFUL DISCIPLES OF CHRIST WE HAVE PUT ON all the qualities bestowed upon us AS SPIRITUAL ARMOUR: TRUTH, RIGHTEOUSNESS, PEACE AND FAITH, which are

I S A I A H 6 1 : 1 0 ... they shall have exceeding Gladness in the Lord. Let my soul rejoice exceedingly in the Lord, for He clothed me with the Garment of Salvation and the Tunic of Gladness. He put a Mitre around me like a Bridegroom and adorned me with Ornaments like a Bride. As the earth causes its flower to grow, and a s a garden its seeds, so shall the Lord cause Righteousness to rise up, and exceeding Joy before all the Gentiles. St John Chrysostom and all our Holy Church Fathers have taught us that THE GARMENT OF SALVATION IS CHRIST HIMSELF. This explains why St Paul taught us that in Holy Baptism we PUT ON CHRIST. G A L A T I A N S 3 : 2 7 For as many of you as were Baptised into Christ have put on Christ. St Paul directly relates our SAVING FAITH AND BEING BAPTISED by connecting them as OUR MOST PRECIOUS This particular verse is the ancient Hymn CHANTED AT ALL
AND INTIMATE BLESSINGS FROM GOD. CHRISTIAN BAPTISMS DURING THE PROCESSION OF THE NEWLY REGENERATED INTO THE ASSEMBLY. T H E S I G N E T R I N G signifies FAMILY IDENTITY OUR ADOPTION AT HOLY BAPTISM AS A CHILD OF GOD AND CO-HEIR WITH CHRIST TO OUR HEAVENLY FATHERS KINGDOM.

constantly to be used in the conflict we face as we proceed ever closer to God and His Heavenly Kingdom. WITHOUT ST RUGGLE THER E CA N B E N O DEIFIC ATI ON

as the wheat-fed bull-calf or Bull-calf formed from wheat, which is a male calf that has been raised on wheat in preparation FOR USE AS A SACRIFICIAL OFFERING. As the Reconciliation of the Prodigal Son was not complete without the sacrifice of the calf, so too
THE OUR RECONCILIATION WITH GOD IS ACCOMPLISHED AND PERFECTED - NOT BY OUR REPENTANCE ALONE BUT BY CHRIST HAVING OFFERED HIMSELF AS THE ULTIMATE, FINAL AND MOST PUREST OFFERING OF ALL.

THEOSIS OR SPIR ITUAL PERFE CTI ON. F A T T E D C A L F is more closely translated

The festive dining on an animal offering formed from wheat is a clear reference to our Partaking of the Holy Eucharist

H A G G A I 2 : 2 3 ... In that day, says the Lord Almighty, I

THUS OUR RECONCILIATION WITH GOD IS THROUGH REP ENTA NCE CONF ESSIO N A ND HOL Y EUCH ARIS T FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS AND ETERNAL LIFE. Consequently, BOTH THE OLD AND THE NEW COVENANTS ARE FULFILLED AT THE MARRIAGE OF CHRIST THE HEAVENLY BRIDEGROOM AND HIS BRIDE, THE HOLY CHURCH. ] T H E R E S E N T F U L O L D E R B R O T H E R signifies THE HARDHEARTEDNESS OF THE PHARISEES AND ALL SELF-RIGHTEOUS, STUBBORN AND UNREPENTANT SINNERS to whom Christ

shall take you, Zerubbabel, My servant, son of Shealtiel... and shall make you like a Signet Ring; for I have chosen you. OFFICIAL ROYAL ACTS IN THE ANCIENT WORLD WERE
AUTHENTICATED BY THE USE OF A MONARCHS SIGNET RING

related this Parable. GOD REQUIRES HIS FAITHFUL PEOPLE TO REJOICE WHENEVER EVEN The
THE MOST GUILTY PERSON RETURNS TO GOD THROUGH SINCERE REPENTANCE-CONFESSION. (ST CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA) eldest sons FAILURE TO RECOGNISE HIS OWN SINS LEADS TO HIS SELF-RIGHTEOUS AND MERCILESS ATTITUDE.

so by designating Zerubbabel as His Signet, the Lord was, in effect, stating that HE WOULD BE ACTING
AS GODS VICE-REGENT, CHARGED WITH CARRYING OUT HIS SUPREME RULE AND DIVINE WILL.

On a deeper level: this is a strong Messianic Prophecy. When our soul becomes peaceful... then she (our soul) will receive Christ like a Signet Ring upon her, for she is the Image of God. Then she will be according to that Image, because Heavenly is the Heavenly Man. And we need to bear the Image of the Heavenly One, that is, Peace ... I wish the Lord Jesus may say to you: Put Me as a Seal upon your arm. May Peace glow in your heart, Christ in your Works, and may there be formed in you Wisdom and Justice and Redemption.

Contrast this with the contrition of the Prodigal Son: The one who seems to himself to be Righteous, who does not see the beam in his own eye, becomes angry when Forgiveness is granted to one who Confesses his sins and begs for Mercy. (ST AMBROSE OF MILAN) The older sons INGRATITUDE IS ALSO APPARENT IN HIS ACCUSATION: ... Thou never gave me a young goat... Meanwhile HIS LOVING FATHER HAS GRANTED HIM EVERYTHING
HE HAS! WE ALWAYS COMPLAIN

about and desire what we think we are lacking in material possessions and wealth WHEN WE
SHOULD BE CONSTANTLY EXPRESSING OUR DEEPEST GRATITUDE TO GOD FOR ALL HIS ABUNDANT BLESSINGS.

T H E S A N D A L S signify how WE ARE EQUIPPED TO WALK THE PATH OF RIGHTEOUS. WE ARE ABLE to follow in the Footsteps of our Saviour, according to His Holy Gospel BY THE WILL OF GOD THE FATHER, THROUGH THE TEACHINGS OF GOD THE SON,

(ST AMBROSE OF MILAN)

WHEN WE LEARN TO ACKNOWLEDGE OUR BOUNDLESS BLESSINGS AND EXPRESS THANKSGIVING TO GOD FOR HIS GREAT MERCY IN ALL THINGS, WE WILL NEVER BE DISSATISFIED WITH ANYTHING IN THIS LIFE. Instead WE WILL BE OVERJOYED BY HOW MUCH GOD HAS GRANTED US EACH AND EVERY MOMENT OF THE DAY no matter how others

may try to tempt us into a state of discontentment and ingratitude! COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS AND THANK GOD CONSTANTLY! Repentance: ...Likewise, I say unto you: there is Joy in the Presence of the Angels of God over one sinner who Repents... (LUKE 15:10). In order for His Words to be even more strongly impressed in our heart, He narrated the Parable of the Prodigal Son, which we must contemplate: According to our Holy Church Fathers, the younger son is an image of ALL FALLEN HUMANITY AND OF EVERY SINNER. The Inheritance is G OD S G IFTS, WITH WHICH EVERY ESPECIALLY F AITHFUL PERSON IS ENDOWED , CHRISTIANS . The Most Supreme Gifts of God are OUR MIND AND HEART, AND ESPECIALLY THE G RACE OF THE H OLY S PIRIT, THAT IS GRANTED TO EVERY BAPTISED CHRISTIAN . 16 FEBRUARY 2014 15.

Beloved Brethren: The Holy Church, the Loving Mother of all Her children, who gave us Birth unto Salvation, and takes upon Herself all care to ensure that we do not lose our Sacred Inheritance Heaven - by preparing us for the successful completion of the forthcoming Podvig (Spiritual Struggle) of the Forty Days Fast, has ordained that we contemplate the Parable of our Lord Jesus Christ concerning The Prodigal Son . Our Spiritual Struggle of the Great Lenten Fast consists of Repentance... and we chant the Triodion Hymn that is filled with contrition: Open unto me the Doors of Repentance, O Giver of Life! Our Saviour revealed the unfathomable, infinite Mercy of our Heavenly Father for all us sinners who Repent, and He Calls us again and again to

Sunday of the Prodigal Son Concerning Repentance

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The young, irresponsible sons demand that the Father give him his portion of the Inheritance to use according his own will is OUR ATTEMPT TO CAST OFF OUR SUBMISSION TO G OD , AND FOLLOW OUR OWN THOUGHTS AND DESIRES . T HE GRANTING OF THE I NHERITANCE to His son, is a portrayal of THE SELF -GOVERNANCE FREE WILL WITH WHICH G OD HONOURS US FOR THE USE OF H IS DIVINE G IFTS. The Far Country is THE SINFUL LIFE THAT DISTANCES US AND ALIENATES US FROM G OD AND H IS G OODNESS . T HE SQUANDERING OF THE I NHERITANCE IS THE EXHAUSTION OF THE POWERS OF OUR MIND , HEART AND BODY - IN PARTICULAR, THE OUTRAGE AGAINST THE H OLY S PIRIT AND H IS REJECTION THROUGH OUR SINFUL DEEDS . The younger sons poverty and destitution is THE EMPTINESS OF SOUL , DUE TO A SI NFUL LIFESTYLE . The permanent inhabitants of the Far Country are THE PRINCES OF THE DARKNESS OF THIS AGE, THE FALLEN SPIRITS , WHO ARE PERMANENTLY FALLEN AND ALIENATED FROM G OD and to whom unrepentant sinners submit themselves! The herds of swine unclean animals - are THE
SINFUL THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS THAT GRAZE UPON THE SOUL OF SINNERS , which are THE INEVITABLE CONSEQUENCE OF OUR WILFUL , SINFUL ACTS . I N VAIN DO WE THINK WE CAN SILENCE SUCH EVIL THOUGHTS AND EMOTIONS BY FULFILLI NG THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE IMPOSSIBLE TO SATISFY OR DISPEL !

We can fulfil these obsessive thoughts and fantasies, but that does not eradicate them and we only cause them to intensify their potency. W E ARE CREATED FOR H EAVEN SO ONLY T RUE G OODNESS CAN BE SATISFYING AND LIFE-GIVING NOURISHM ENT FOR OUR SOUL . Evil, which attracts and seduces our senses that are damaged by the Fall, is only capable of despoiling our created good nature. How horrible is the emptiness of soul brought on by a sinful life! Unbearable is the torment from passionate, sinful thoughts and emotions, when they roil like worms in the soul - when they rip and tear at the soul that has submitted to them - the soul that has been violated by them! Often sinners who are tormented by fierce thoughts, immoral fantasies, and unfulfilled desires fall into deep despair utter hopelessness - causing them to either commit or think about suicide - both temporal and Eternal. Blessed are sinners who come to their senses and who recall the Boundless Love of the Heavenly Father, and the immeasurable Spiritual Riches overflowing in the House of our Heavenly Father - His Holy Church. Blessed is sinners who - being horrified by their own sinfulness want only to be free of its oppressive weight and shackles, through heartfelt Repentance. Todays Sacred Lesson teaches us that FOR OUR SUCCESSFUL AND F RUITFUL R EPENTANCE, WE NEED TO CLEARLY SEE, RECOGNISE, CONFESS AND R EPENT OUR MANY SINS I . E. WE MUST MAKE EVERY EFFORT
TO AVOID TEMPTATIONS THAT CAUSE US TO COMMIT SIN ESPECIALLY OUR OLD HABITUAL SI NS . T HE L ORD OUR G OD SEES THE HEART AND SOUL OF THOSE WHO HAVE MADE A S ACRED P LEDGE TO R EPENT even while we are ... yet a long way

Renewed Union with the Gods Holy Church - both on earth and in Heaven - and to place sandals upon our feet, so that our Spiritual Struggle will be once again protected from harmful Spiritual Thorns by Steadfast Ordinances - for that is the meaning of the sandals, which signify our Lord Jesus Christs Divine Commandments, which we must eagerly and freely obey and maintain. T HE COMPLETION OF OUR H EAVENLY F ATHER S WELCOMING L OVE IS H IS G REAT B ANQUET TO WHICH ALL R EPENTANT SINNERS ARE INVITED HAVING MADE OUR P EACE WI TH G OD . Having Repented our sins WE MUST BE NOURISHED AND REFRESHED WITH THE S PIRITUAL , I NCORRUPTIBLE F OOD AND D RINK OF CHRIST which was Promised to us so long ago - prepared through the indescribable Mercy of God for fallen humanity from the very moment of our Ancestral Fall. Christs Parable is a Divine Teaching A T EACHING DIRECTLY FROM G OD H IMSELF ! It is profound and exalted - regardless of the extraordinary simplicity of the human words whereby Gods Word deigned to be clothed! His Holy Church most wisely ordained that this Divine Parable be read to all before the beginning of the Great Forty Day Lenten Fast. What greater Consolation could there be for a wretched sinner who stands trembling before the Doors of Repentance than this amazing Revelation of our Heavenly Fathers infinite and inexpressible Mercy? The phenomenon of the Great Mercy of Almighty God even astounded His Heavenly Hosts - the firstborn intellectual creatures of our Heavenly Father - who had never transgressed a single Divine Commandment. E VEN THEI R BRIGHT, LOFTY MINDS COULD NOT FATHOM THE U NFATHOMABLE M ERCY OF G OD FOR FALLEN MANKIND . T HE H EAVENLY ANG ELS NEEDED THIS DIVINE R EVELATION before they learnt that it is rightful for them to ...make merry, and be glad, for... (their lesser) Brother... (the human race) ...was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found... through our Redeemer. There is Joy in the presence of the Angels of God even over one sinner who Repents! Beloved Brethren: Let us make use of the time appointed by the Holy Church to prepare ourselves for the Ascetic Labours of the Holy Forty Day Lenten Fast, in accordance with its Purpose. Let us use it to CONTEMPLATE THE G REAT M ERCY OF G OD FOR US ALL AND FOR THOSE WHO WISH TO MAKE P EACE AND TO BE R ECONCILED AND R E U NITED WITH G OD through sincere and determined Repentance. O UR TIME IN THIS EARTHLY LIFE IS PRICELESS - FOR DURING THIS SHORT TIME ONLY , WE DECIDE OUR E TERNAL DESTINY . May we be vouchsafed to choose our Salvation correctly may we all choose Eternal Life and may our rejoicing be endless and combined with the rejoicing of the Holy Angels of God! May the Joy of Angels and mankind be fulfilled and Perfected through our eager fulfilment of the Divine Will of our Heavenly Father! For, as our Saviour so clearly emphasised: ... it is not the Will of your Father Who is in Heaven, that one of these little ones ... (human beings who are depreciated and humiliated by sin) should perish.
(MATTHEW 18:14).

off... O UR L OVING L ORD AND S AVIOUR SEES US HAVING

WAITED SO INFINITELY PATIENTLY FOR OUR RETURN - AND RUNS TO MEET AND EMBRACE US IN THE WARMTH AND COMFORT OF H IS D IVINE G RACE.

Amen. EDIT ED & A DAP TED BY MP: A HOMIL Y O N SUNDAY O F THE P RO DI GAL SO N, WHICH W AS D ELI VE R ED B Y ST. IGNA TIUS (B RIA NCH ANI NO V) TRA NSLA TE D BY NUN CO RN ELIA (R E ES) 03 / 03 / 2013 HTTP: //WWW.PR AVO SLAV IE. RU /E NGLI SH/4 48 48.HTM

As soon as we penitents pronounce our Confession of our sin, our Most Merciful Lord commands His ordained Servants of the Holy Altar and His Holy Angelsto vest us in Bright Garments of Purity, to place a Ring upon our finger as a Testimony of our

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16 FEBRUARY 2014

Greek Or th odox Patriar chate of A le xandria & All Afr ica

A L L G L OR Y , H ONOUR A N D W OR S H IP T O T HE F A TH E R , A ND T O T HE S ON , A N D T O T H E H OL Y S P IR IT , NOW A ND FOR EV ER , A N D U NT O T H E A GE S OF A GE S . A MEN . R E ME MB ER ING A L S O OU R M OS T H OL Y , M OS T P U R E , M OS T B L E SS E D A ND G L OR IOU S L A D Y , M A R IA , T H E OT OKOS , Y E T E V ER V IR GIN , T OGE T H E R WITH AL L TH E S A INTS . A ND LE T U S C OMMIT OUR SE L VE S A N D ONE A NOT H E R A N D OUR WH OL E L IFE T O C H R IS T OU R G OD . A ME N .

1 7 F e b r ua r y 2 01 4 St Theodore the Tyro (the Recruit)

ALSO THE FEAST OF ST HERM OGENES OF MOSCOW, W ONDERW O RKER OF AL L R USSIA ST THE ODORE THE SILE NT OF KIE V CA VE S MONASTE RY ST MAR IA MNE, R IG HTEO US SISTE R OF ST P HI LIP THE APOSTLE OF CH RIST ST ME NAS KALLI KE LAD OS (WE LL SPEAK ING) O F ATHE NS & ALEXAN DRI A, UN COVE R ING O F HO LY R E LICS ST JOSEPH OF DIONYS IO U MON ASTERY, M OUNT AT HOS ST AU X IBI OS OF SOL I, CYPRUS ST THE OD ORE THE NE W MARTYR OF CONSTA NTIN OPLE ST T HE OD O SIOS THE BUL GAR IAN & ST R OMA NOS, H IS DISC IPLE ST N IC HO LAS KAND AVRO N ST F I NAN OF L IND ISFARNE ST THE O DORE OF AT CH ARA , GE ORG IA

FESTA

APOL

YTIKION

ST THEODOR

E THE

TYR

ONE

Megala ta tis Pisteos katorthomata!

En ti pigi tis flogos, os epi idatos anapafseos, O Agios Martis Theodoros igalleto. Piri gar olokavtothis, os artos idis, ti Triadi prosinekte. Tes aftou ikesies Hriste O Theos, Soson tas psihas imon.
L

Magnificent

art Faiths accomplishments! The Holy Martyr Theodore greatly rejoiced as he stood in the fountain of fire as if beside the Still Waters. He was consumed by fire and offered like sweet bread to the Trinity. At his Entreaties, O Christ God, Save our souls. I ran away, from Thy Glory, O Father, and wasted in sin, all the wealth that Thou granted me. Therefore, the Prodigals cry I repeat to Thee: I have sinned, before Thy Compassionate Father. Do accept me in repentance, AND MAKE ME AGAIN, ONE OF THY HIRED HANDS . received the Faith of Christ in Thy heart as a Breastplate, Thou trampled upon the enemy hosts, O Much-suffering Champion; and Thou hast been Crowned Eternally with a Heavenly Crown, since Thou art invincible.

FESTA

KONTAK

ION

PR

ODIGAL

SON

Tis

Patroas doxis Sou aposkirtisas afronos, en kakis eskorpisa, on mi paredokas plouton. Othen Si tin tou Asotou fonin hravgazo. Imarton enopion Sou, Pater iktirmon. Dexe me metanoounta ke piison me os ena ton Misthion Sou.

Foolishly

KONTAKION OF ST THEODORE T HE TYRO TONE (8 ) PL AGAL 4

Pistin Hristou osi thoraka, endon lavon en kardia Sou, as Having

enantias dinamis katepatisas, Poliathle, Ournio estefthis, eonios os aittitos. ke Stefi

Prokeimenon:

The
TRANS
MITTING T HE

Rig hte ou s s hall be g lad i n the Lo rd.

St Pauls Second Epistle to St Timothy 2 : 1 10

FAIT
H

Hear

my v oice , O G od
OT
HERS

, STR

ENGTHENING

, DI

SCIPLIN E

& SU

FFERIN G

Timothy my Son: be strong in the Grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. You therefore must endure hardship as a Good Soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, so that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the Rules. The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops. Consider what I say, and may the Lord grant you Understanding in all things. Remember that Jesus Christ, of the Seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my Gospel, for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the Word of God is not chained.

The Holy Gospel According to St Luke 20 : 45 21: 4

BEWARE
OF THE

HYPOCRISY

OF THE

SCRIBES

AND

T HE POO R WI DOW S GREA T SA CRIFI CE

At that time, our Lord Jesus said to His Disciples: Beware of the Scribes, who desire to walk in long robes, and who love greetings in the marketplaces, and the highest seats in the Synagogues, and the chief rooms at Feasts; who devour widows houses, and for show make long Prayers. These will receive even greater Condemnation! And He looked up, and beheld the rich casting their Gifts into the Treasury. And He also saw a certain poor widow putting in thither two mites. And He said: Truly, I say unto you: this poor widow has put in more than them all! For all these have of their abundance put in offerings of God, but she in her poverty has put in everything she had. And when He had said these things, He cried: He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

St Theodore the Tyro the Recruit

St Theodore the Tyro or Recruit was a Roman soldier in the city of Alasium of the Pontine district (Northeast Province of Asia Minor, stretching along the coast of the Euxine, i.e. the Black Sea), under the command of a certain Brincus who ordered all the soldiers to offer sacrifice to the pagan idols. However, St Theodore adamantly refused to do so and confessed his Faith in Christ our Saviour in a loud voice.
ST T
HEODORE T HE

The Commander gave him several days to reconsider, during which time St Theodore prayed fervently. Then his enemies charged him with setting a pagan temple on fire, and he was cast into a dungeon to starve to death. Our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to St Theodore, comforting and encouraging him in his unwavering Faith.
) & H MART 17 F 2014

YRO

(T

HE

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OLY

YR

EBRUARY

17

Having been brought to trial before the Governor, St Theodore boldly and fearlessly confessed his Faith yet again, which resulted in being condemned to indescribable, brutal torture before being burnt alive. After suffering the executioners merciless brutality, St Theodore climbed onto the pyre without any hesitation, and with Prayer he surrendered his soul to God. St Theodores Sanctified body remained unharmed by the blazing fire and his Holy Relics were collected by Faithful Christians and reverently buried in the city of Euchaita, not far from Amasium. Later his Holy Relics were transferred to Constantinople, to rest in a church dedicated to his memory. (His head went to Gaeto, Italy.) Fifty years after St Theodores Martyrdom, during the first week of Great Lent, Emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363), wanting to commit an outrage against the Christians, ordered the Roman Commander of Constantinople to contaminate all the food in the marketplaces by sprinkling them with the blood of pagan sacrifices. However, St Theodore appeared in a Vision to Archbishop Eudoxios, telling him to inform all the Christians that no one should buy anything at the

marketplaces, but rather to eat boiled wheat with honey (kolyva). In memory of this occurrence, the Orthodox Church annually celebrates the Great Holy Martyr, St Theodore the Recruit on the first Saturday of Great Lent. On Friday evening, at the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts following the Prayer behind the Ambo, the Canon to St Theodore the Tyro, which is composed by St John of Damascus, is chanted. Afterwards, kolyva is Blessed and distributed amongst the Faithful. The Commemoration of St Theodores Miracle on the first Saturday of Great Lent was set by the Patriarch Nektarios of Constantinople (381-397). The Festal Troparion to St Theodore is similar to the Festal Troparion for St Daniel, the Holy Prophet of God, and the Three Holy Youths. The Festal Kontakion to St Theodore, who was Perfected by fire, reminds us that he wore his Faith as a protective breastplate. (REFER I THESSALONIANS 5:8). Incidently: we pray to St Theodore for the recovery of stolen articles.
HTTP://OCA.ORG/SAINTS/LIVES/2014/02/17/100547-GREATMARTYRTHEODORE-THE-TYRO-LDQUOTHE-RECRUITRDQUO

When we pray that our sins may be Forgiven, WE MUST S TRENG THEN OURSELVES ALWAYS BY F AITH , AND TRUST IN G OD 'S M ERCY , Who is ever ready to Forgive our sins after sincere Prayer and we should fear lest despair falls upon our heart that despair which declares itself by deep despondency and forced tears. W HAT ARE OUR SI NS IN COMPARISON TO G OD 'S M ERCY - WHATEVER THEY ARE - IF ONLY WE TRULY R EPENT OF THEM ? Yet it often happens that when we pray, WE DO NOT IN OUR HEART - INWARDLY HOPE THAT OUR SINS

A Miracle of St. Theodore Tyron Realising the error of his actions, the terrified "You teach soldiers to abandon pillaging..." soldier immediately Repented, made his These words are included in the way back to the reliquary, and besought Commemorative Service of St Theodore, the forgiveness of St Theodore, whereupon and relate to the following Miracle: he recovered his sight. A certain soldier, who had great reverence for But, once again, seeing the great beauty of the St Theodore the Tyro, was compelled to go sword, and convincing himself that his to war but before he departed, he went to blindness had happened by chance, rather venerate him at the church that housed the than due to St Theodore, he grabbed the reliquary with his Holy Relics. sword and tried to leave the church. After the war, and following a great and However, as before, the soldier was struck by radiant victory, when he returned, he went complete blindness. and again venerated the Saint at his The Parish Priest entered and noticing the Church. blind, fumbling soldier, he asked him what He left his sword, which was adorned with had happened to him. gold and precious stones, in gratitude to St The soldier confessed his sin, and entreated Theodore. the Priest to serve a Paraklesis to St A short time afterwards, another soldier, went Theodore the Tyro in order to forgive him, to pay his respects to St Theodore and and donated 100 gold coins to the Church. seeing the beautifully adorned sword, was The Priest took oil from the Vigil Lamp that tempted to steal it. hung before the Holy Icon of St Theodore He thought to himself trying to justify his and the reliquary and anointed the action: "St Theodore certainly has no need Repentant soldiers eyes, which for it. It is better that I have it, as I am a immediately restored his sight once more. soldier - and I can make good use of it with Overwhelmed with gratitude and great Joy the the Blessing and help of the Holy Martyr." soldier departed, glorifying Gods Great He therefore took the sword from the Mercy and the Intercessory Prayers of St reliquary, put it on, paid his respects to St Theodore the Tyro. Theodore, and joyfully departed. As he exited the church, he suddenly lost his HTTP://FULL-OF-GRACE-AND-tRUTH.BLOGSPOT.COM sight and could not proceed any further. St John of Kronstadt: On Repentance
WILL BE FORGIVEN, COUNTING THEM AS THOUGH THEY WERE ABOVE G OD ' S M ERCY . Therefore, WE CERTAINLY WILL NOT OBTAIN F ORGIVENESS - even should we shed fountains of

involuntary tears - and with a sorrowful, straitened heart we will depart from our Gracious God - which is only what we then deserve! "Believe that you receive them," says our Lord, "and you shall have them." N OT TO BEING SURE OF RECEIVING WHAT WE ASK G OD FOR, IS A BLASPHEMY AGAINST G OD !

18.

ST THEOD

ORE THE

YRO

(THE RECR

UIT

) & HOL

MART

YR

17 F

EBRUARY

2014

Greek Or th odox Patriar chate of A le xandria & All Afr ica

A L L G L OR Y , H ONOUR A N D W OR S H IP T O T HE F A T HE R , A N D T O T HE S ON , A ND T O TH E H OL Y S P IR IT , NOW A N D FOR E VE R , A ND U NT O T H E A GES OF A GE S . A ME N . R E ME MB ER ING A L S O OU R M OS T H OL Y , M OS T P UR E , M OS T B L ES S ED A ND G L OR IOU S L A D Y , M A R IA , T H E OT OKOS , Y E T E V ER V IR GIN , T OGE T H E R WIT H AL L TH E S A INT S . A ND L ET U S COMMIT OU R S EL V ES A ND ONE A N OT H ER A ND OU R WH OLE L IFE T O C H R IST OUR G OD . A ME N .

2 2 F e b r ua r y 2 01 4 Saturday of the Souls

ALSO THE FEAST OF THE HOLY MARTYRS AT THE GATE OF EVGENIOS , CONSTANT INOPLE, UNC OVE RI NG OF H OLY RE L ICS ST M AU RICE , ST PHOT INOS, ST T HE ODO RE, ST P HI LIP & 700 S OLD IERS OF APAME A, SY RI A ST TH ALASSI OS, ST LI MNAE US & ST BARAD ATES , HE RM ITS OF SY RIA - ST ATHANAS IOS T HE C ONFESSOR O F C ONSTANTINOPLE 9 MARTYRED BROTHERS O F KOL A : ST G URA M, ST ARD ARNASE, ST BA QAR , ST VAC HE , ST BARD ZIM, ST DA CHI, ST JUANS HER, ST RA MA Z & ST P HARSM AN

FESTA

APOL

YTIKION

ATURDAY

OF THE S

OULS

vathi Sofias Filanthropos panta ikonomon, ke to simferon pasin aponemon, Mone Dimiourge, anapafson Kyrie, tas psihas ton doulon Sou; en Si gar tin Elpida anethento, to Piiti ke Plasti ke Theo imon.
L

Thou Who with profound Wisdom and Love for mankind, order all things, and grant to all what is to their Profit, Only Creator: grant rest, O Lord, to the souls of Thy servants; for they set their every Hope in Thee, the Maker and Creator and God of us all. Christ, among the Saints to the souls of Thy servants, where there is no pain, no sorrow, no grieving, but Life Everlasting. Lord, my God! in prosperity.
HRIST

FESTA

KONTAK

ION

SATU

RDAY

OF THE

OULS

TON

(8) PLAGAL 4

Meta

ton Agion Anapafson, Hriste, tas psihas ton doulon Sou, entha ouk esti ponos, ou lipi, ou stenagmos, alla Zoi Atelevtitos.

Grant Rest, O

St Pauls First Epistle to the Thessalonians 4 : 13 17

THO
SE

Unto Thee will I cry, O Their souls shall dwell

WHO WI
LL

Festal Prokeimenon

PA

RTICIPATE

IN C

S RETURN

Brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no Hope, for, if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the Word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the Coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a shout, with the Voice of an Archangel and the Trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words. 1. The Sign spread out IN THE H EAVENS OUR L ORD J ESUS T HIS IS ONE OF THE CLEAREST PASSAGES OF N EW C OVENANT S CRIPTURE CONCERNING THE S ECOND C OMING OR C HRIST AND H IS H EAVENLY H OSTS R EAPPEARANCE OF C HRIST OUR LORD AND S AVIOUR. 2. The Sign of THE T RUMPET OF G OD F AITHFUL D ISCIPLES OF C HRIST NEVER DIE BUT REPOSE IN PEACE 3. T HE R ESURRECTION OF THE DEAD. FOR those of us who constantly and faithfully Struggle THE IN CHRIST. O RTHODOX C HRISTIANS REFER TO DEPARTED SOULS AS HAVING R IGHTEOUS D ISCIPLES OF C HRIST H IS G LORIOUS S ECOND FALLEN ASLEEP - for at our Resurrection, we will once C OMING IS OUR GREATEST J OY AND C OMFORT . again be awakened ready for our Final Judgement F OR THE UNGODLY AND THE DISOBEDIENT those who are and (hopefully) Eternal Life in Gods Heavenly Kingdom of stubbornly unrepentant IT IS A GREAT THREAT FOR THEY FEAR H IS D IVINE J UDGEMENT, which - although they might Love. choose to vehemently deny it - IS A REALITY FOR ALL The first century document, written by Christs Holy Apostles The Didache - lists THREE S IGNS THAT WILL MARK THE R ETURN C REATION WHETHER ONE BELIEVES IT OR NOT ! OF OUR LORD J ESUS C HRIST:

The Holy Gospel According to St Luke 21: 8 9 ; 25 27 & 33 36

OUR LORD JESU S CHRIST WA RNS US ABOUT FORTHCO MING E VENTS PRE CEDING HIS GLORIO US RETURN

At that time, our Lord Jesus said: Take heed that you are not deceived, for many will come in My Name, saying: I am He... and ...the time has drawn near. Therefore do not go after them. But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately.... ... and there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; mens hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those thing that are coming on the earth, for the Powers of the Heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a Cloud with Power and Great Glory... ...Heaven and earth will pass away, but My Words will by no means pass away. And take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come upon you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch, therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man. or who will try to mislead us by claiming to be sent to O UR L ORD J ESUS C HRIST WARNS US AGAINST THE MANY FALSE guide us by the Lord our God. PROPHETS AND FAKE SAVIOURS who will pretend to be Him
SATURDA
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SO

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22 F

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19.

All self-appointed, false prophets of doom and gloom will bring us to despair a hopeless state of Spiritual Death alienation from God and all His Blessings. T HE LAST OF THE H OLY P ROPHETS OF G OD WAS S T J OHN THE B APTIST W HO PREPARED THE H EBREW NATION FOR THE C OMING OF THE G REAT M ESSIAH OUR L ORD J ESUS C HRIST. Throughout the centuries, PEOPLE HAVE ANTICIPATED C HRIST S S ECOND C OMING I . E. H IS VISIBLE R EAPPEARANCE - ALMOST W ILL OF G OD. Although C HRIST has prepared us for a difficult life as Christians, He IS OUR SOLID R OCK OF H OPE AND WE MUST LEARN TO TRUST G OD IMPLICITLY WITHOUT ANY QUESTION OR DOUBT. W E MUST CONTINUE TO PRAY, TO R EPENT AND TO WORSHIP G OD CEASELESSLY THEREBY ENJOYING A FULFILLED L IFE IN C HRIST and we must not waste any precious time on ridiculous distractions or deceptions of the self proclaimed DOOMSDAY PROPHETS who can only CONFUSE US AND DRAW US RAPIDLY INTO S PIRITUAL D ARKNESS AND EXILE. In other words: WE MUST STEADFASTLY CONCENTRATE ON OUR LIFE IN C HRIST BY S TRUGGLING DAILY FOR S PIRITUAL P ERFECTION IN IMITATION OF OUR L ORD AND S AVIOUR so that no matter what happens to us, WE WILL BE AS PREPARED AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE TO FACE H IS A WESOME J UDGEMENT S EAT in due time, because O NLY GOD THE F ATHER KNOWS WHEN THAT WILL BE ! We must MAKE EVERY EFFORT AND USE EVERY MOMENT OF EACH DAY TO IMPROVE OURSELVES AND OUR R ELATIONSHIP WITH G OD. We must BE ALERT AND WATCHFUL because the evil one takes every opportunity to manipulate and misdirect our attention by tempting and diverting us with his evil tricks.
TO THE POINT OF NOT LIVING THEIR LIVES ACCORDING TO THE

Every little step closer to Theosis is worth every drop of sweat or tears. Our heartfelt Love for God and all His beautiful Creation motivates us to greater Spiritual Heights and the closer we get to God the more confident and assured we become since WE BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND THAT WITH G OD S G RACIOUS P ROVIDENCE AND P ROTECTION, NOTHING NEED BE FEARED. In fact THE ONLY FEAR WE SHOULD HAVE IS ONE OF FAILURE TO GROW AND TO PROGRESS AND THE FEAR OF DISAPPOINTING OUR M OST B ENEVOLENT AND L OVING H EAVENLY F ATHER Who grants us everything we could possible require. We should ALSO FEAR FAILING OUR FELLOW SINNERS IN OUR MUTUAL QUEST FOR S ANCTIFICATION AND E TERNAL LIFE in Gods Heavenly Kingdom. So MANY NATURAL DISASTERS ARE CAUSED BY HUMAN GREED AND ERROR , certainly not due to Divine Wrath. And even when catastrophe strikes that is beyond any human influence, WE MAY REST ASSURED IN THE G REAT M ERCY AND I NFINITE LOVE OF G OD. Why worry? G OD IS IN CONTROL OF EVERYTHING! ] W ORRY ABOUT THE THINGS THAT WE CAN AND SHOULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT ALL THOSE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO DO WHICH WILL AFFECT OUR E TERNITY ALL THE T HINGS THAT C HRIST HAS TAUGHT US . Finally: WHEN C HRIST DOES RETURN IN ALL H IS G LORY, THERE WILL So, we must not waste our time with nonsense and dangerous deceptions but CONTINUE OUR S PIRITUAL J OURNEY UNINTERRUPTED - FOCUSED UPON OUR O NE T RUE AND LIVING G OD A LMIGHTY.
MOST CERTAINLY BE NO MISTAKING IT FOR ANYTHING ELSE AND THE WHOLE OF C REATION WILL FULLY EXPERIENCE IT.

His Eminence, Metropolitan Panteleimon of Antinoes On Saturday of the Souls After an Eastern Orthodox Christian Reposes, there are A Memorial Service is a Liturgical observance in honour special Prayers fo the Departure of the Soul that of the departed souls, which is served in the Eastern are recited by the Priest, after which the family or Orthodox Church. The various Prayers for the friends will wash and dress the body before placing departed souls have as their Purpose to pray for it in the casket. their Peaceful Repose, to comfort the living and to A special expanded Memorial Service is then celebrated, remind us all of our own mortality and the brevity after which the reading of the Psalter is begun and of this earthly life. continues uninterrupted until the Funeral. For this reason, M EMORIAL SERVICES HAVE A SENSE OF Traditionally, in addition to the Service on the day of PENITENCE about them, and tend to be served more death, the Memorial Service is performed at the frequently during the four Fasting Seasons of Great request of relatives after the Repose of their loved Lent, the Nativity Fast, the Apostles Fast and the ones: on the 3rd day, on the 9th day, on the 40th day, Dormition Fast. on the 3rd month, on the 6th month, on the 9th month If the Memorial Service is for an individual, it will often and on the 1st anniversary and every year take place at their gravesite and if it is a General thereafter. Commemoration of all the departed souls, or if the According to St Makarios the Great, from the 3rd day to individuals grave is not close by, the Service will be the 9th day after death, the departed soul is shown held in a Church, before a Memorial Table, which the Mansions of Paradise. (Funerals should be held is a small, free standing table upon which is an on the 3rd day), from the 9th 40th day the soul upright Cross, and a Holy Icon of our Ever Blessed stands before the Throne of God to undergo the Lady Theotokos and/or St John the Theologian and Particular Judgement and is assigned the place Beloved Apostle of Christ. It also has a place for the where it will await Christs Second Coming. Faithful to put their lit candles. Consequently, the 40th day is considered to be the most The Deacon/Priest will swing the Censer throughout important and in some Traditions, the semimost of the Memorial Service and the congregation anniversary (6 months) is also Commemorated. stands, holding lit candles. At the end of the The Memorial Service is also served on various Service, during the final Troparia, all will either Saturdays of the Soul throughout the year when extinguish their candles or place them upon the there are also special Prayers recited during Memorial Table for each candle symbolises our Vespers, Matins and Divine Liturgy. individual soul and by extinguishing our candle, General Memorials Saturdays of the Soul are held on we symbolise how we will finally have to surrender our soul at the end of our lifespan. Meatfare Saturday (two Saturdays before Great Lent The Memorial Service is composed of Psalms, Ektenias begins), the second Saturday of Great Lent, the third Saturday of Great Lent, the second Tuesday after (Litanies), Hymns and Prayers and follows the general procedure of Matins, but is in effect a Holy Pascha Sunday and on Saturday before truncated Funeral Service. Notable are the Pentecost. BECAUSE OF THE GREAT SOLEMNITY OF THE DAYS , Kontakion of the Departed and the final, slow and M EMORIAL S ERVICES ARE FORBIDDEN FROM H OLY solemn singing of Memory Eternal! T HURSDAY , THROUGHOUT BRIGHT W EEK ( THE WEEK The Memorial Service is most frequently served after AFTER P ASCHA ) AND ON ALL S UNDAYS THROUGHOUT the Divine Liturgy, but it may also be served after THE YEAR. Vespers, Matins, or as a separate Holy Service by Saturday is the day dedicated to Prayers for the itself. Departed since Christ lay in His Tomb on a Saturday If held separately, the Readings from the Pauline and in certain Monasteries and churches, it is Epistles and the Holy Gospel are assigned by day. customary to serve a Memorial Service every No Readings are assigned to Sunday, which emphasise Saturday, unless a major Feast occurs on that day. the Resurrection of Christ rather than the departed. A very abbreviated form of the Memorial Service, the Koliva boiled wheat for the Memorial Service is Lity, consisting only of the concluding portion of placed in front of the Memorial Table or before the the regular Memorial Service is held in the Narthex Icon of Christ, and is Blessed by the Priest who of the church on ordinary weekdays (when there is sprinkles it with Holy Water. no higher ranking Feast Day) especially during Great The Koliva is then taken to the Trapeza or Refectory Lent. and served to all who attended the Service.

20.

SAT

URDAY

OF

T HE

SOUL

22 FEB

RUA RY

2014

Greek Or th odox Patriar chate of A le xandria & All Afr ica

A L L G L OR Y , H ONOUR A ND W OR S H IP T O T H E F A T HE R , A ND T O T HE S ON , A ND T O T H E H OL Y S P IR IT , NOW A ND FOR E V ER , A ND UNT O T HE A GE S OF A GE S . A ME N . R E ME MB ER ING A LS O OU R M OS T H OL Y , M OS T P U R E , M OS T B L ES S E D A ND G L OR IOU S L A D Y , M A R IA , T HE OT OKOS , YE T E V ER V IR GIN , T OGE T HE R WITH AL L T H E S A INT S . A ND L ET US C OMMIT OUR S EL V ES A ND ONE A NOT HE R A ND OUR WH OL E L IFE T O C HR IS T OUR G OD . A ME N .

3rd

Tone 2 23 February 2014 35th Sunday After Pentecost Sunday of Triodion - Meatfare/Final Judgement

ALSO THE FEAST OF ST POLY CARP O F S MYRNA ST POLY CARP OF BRIANSK ST JOHN, ST M OSES, ST ZEBIN AS, ST P OLYC HR ONIOS, S T D AMIANOS , ST ANTIO CH OS & ST ANTON INOS THE ASCE TI CS OF THE SYR IAN DE SERTS ST ALEXANDER , FOUN DER OF THE MON ASTERY OF THE UNSLE EPING ONE S ST DAM IAN OS OF ESPHI GMENO US MON ASTERY, MO UNT AT HOS S T DA MIA NOS , MON K-M ARTYR O F PH IL OTHE O U MONASTE RY , M OUNT AT HOS ST N IC HOL AS (DMITR OV) THE NE W H IE ROM ARTYR OF T VE R ST G ORG ONI A, SISTER OF ST GRE GORY T HE THE OL OG IAN

RESURRECTION APOLYTIKION TONE 2

Ote katilthes pros ton Thanaton, i Zoi i Athanatos, When

tote ton Adin enekrosas ti astrapi tis Theotitos. Ote de ke tous tethneotas ek ton katahthonion anestisas, pase e Dinamis ton Epouranion ekravgazon. Zoodota Hriste, O Theos imon, Doxa Si!
RESURRECTION KONTAKION TONE 2

Thou condescended to Death, O Life Immortal, Thou slayed Hades with the lightning flash of Thy Divinity. When also Thou raised up the dead from the subterranean abodes, all the Powers of Heaven cried aloud: O Life-giver, Christ our God, Glory to Thee!

Anesti

Sotir, ek Tafou Pantodiname, ke Adis idon, to Thavma exeplitteto, ke nekri anistanto, ke i ktisis idousa sighere Si, Ke O Adam sinagallete, KE KOSMOS SOTIR MOU ANIMNI SE AI.

Thou rose from the Tomb, O Saviour All Powerful, and

Hades beheld the Marvel and was struck by fear, and the dead rose up and Creation beheld and rejoiced with Thee, and Adam is also exultant. AND THE WORLD, O M Y SAVIOUR, EVER SINGS THY PRAISE.

FESTAL KONTAKION - MEATFARE/JUDGEMENT

Otan elthis O

Theos, epi gis mea doxis, ke tremosi ta simpanta. Potamos de tou piros pro tou Vimatos elki, ke vivli anigonte, k eta kripta dimosievonte. Tote rise me, ek tou piros tou asvestou, ke axioson, ek dexion sou me stine, KRITA DIKEOTATE.

Thou come down to the earth, O God, in Thy Glory, all things will cower tremulously and a River of Fire will flow before Thy Judgement Seat; the Books shall be opened and hidden things will be public knowledge. Rescue me, then, I pray, from Unquenchable Fire, and count me worthy to stand at Thy Right Hand, O THOU MOST RIGHTEOUS JUDGE! Resurrection/ Festal Matins Gospel 2: Mark 16:1 - 8

When

THE H OL Y MY RRHB EA R ERS W IT NES S THE EMP TY T OMB OF OU R RI SEN LO R D JE SU S CHRIS T Lo rd is my S tre ngt h a nd my Glo ry! The Lor d has P unis hed m e s ev er ely b ut He h as not d eliv ered me to Dea th!

The

Prokeimenon:

The First Epistle of St Paul to the Corinthians 8: 13 9 : 2

LOVE (AGAPE) REI
GNS

OV

ER

KNOW

LEDGE

Brethren: Food does not commend us to God; for neither if we eat are we better nor if we do not eat are we worse. But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours becomes a Stumbling Block to those who are weak! For is anyone sees you who have Knowledge eating in an idols temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things that are offered to the idols? And because of your Knowledge shall the weak Brethren perish for whom Christ Died? But when you thus sin against the Brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ! Therefore, if food makes my Brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my Brother stumble! Am I not an Apostle? Am I not Free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? If I am not an Apostle to others, yet doubtless I am to you, for you are the Seal of my Apostleship in the Lord. Whether we Fast from certain foods or not makes no F AITHFUL D ISCIPLE OF C HRIST TO ENCOURAGE, TO SUPPORT AND TO CORRECTLY GUIDE AND TEACH ONE ANOTHER, difference to our Spiritual Welfare, since G OD DOES NOT A little knowledge is a dangerous thing because ALL TOO J UDGE US ON THE FOOD WE EAT, BUT H E DOES J UDGE US ON OFTEN PEOPLE ASSUME THEY FULLY UNDERSTAND SOMETHING WHETHER WE LIVE OUR LIVES WITH S ELF - DISCIPLE AND L OVE AND ESPECIALLY HOW TREAT OUR FELLOW SINNERS OR WHEN THEY ARE IN FACT MISINFORMED OR FAR LESS KNOWLEDGEABLE THAT THEY REALISE. WHETHER WE SIMPLY INDULGE OURSELVES AND WASTE THIS Therefore, IN ORDER TO LIVE IN C HRIST, WE MUST CONSTANTLY PRECIOUS TIME ! LOOK TO H IM FOR D IVINE G UIDANCE, OR THOSE WHOM H E HAS Therefore, St Paul reminds us that WE MUST ALWAYS BE VERY CAREFUL TO NEITHER OFFEND ONE ANOTHER NOR LEAD EACH CALLED TO G UIDE, T EACH AND A DVISE especially our Holy OTHER ASTRAY BY OUR PERSONAL HABITS , IDEAS OR Church Fathers whose Spiritual Experience is priceless. PREFERENCES . T HAT IS WHY THE INTERTWINED V IRTUES OF H UMILITY AND O BEDIENCE Throughout this life, WE ARE ALL STRUGGLING TO MAKE GOOD ARE SO VITAL TO OUR S PIRITUAL D EVELOPMENT AND P ROGRESS . S PIRITUAL P ROGRESS AND IT IS THE S ACRED D UTY OF EVERY
SATURDA
Y OF T HE

SO

ULS

22 F

EBRUA RY

2014

21.

Christ our Saviour died for all human beings He paid the ultimate Ransom for the Salvation of all mankind not for just a select few. S O IF WE LEAD ANYONE ASTRAY THROUGH OUR OWN MISGUIDED OR ERRONEOUS KNOWLEDGE, WE CAUSE THEM TO SUFFER S PIRITUAL D EATH i.e. fall into sin, which separates us from Gods Divine Grace and Presence THE CONSEQUENCES OF WHICH ARE DIRE INDEED ! Consequently, WHENEVER WE SIN AGAINST EACH OTHER, WE SIN AGAINST CHRIST i.e. Almighty God the Holy Trinity for They always operate in Perfect Unity and Harmony. (ALWAYS ACCORDING TO THE WILL OF THE FATHER, THROUGH THE SON AND BY MEANS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.) St Paul teaches us that IF WE DO SOMETHING THAT CAUSES THE S PIRITUAL D EATH OF ANYONE ELSE, WE MUST ENSURE THAT WE
NEVER DO SO AGAIN IN CASE IT CAUSES MORE PEOPLE TO FALL INTO WICKEDNESS OR HARM THEM IN SOME OTHER MANNER A S A RESULT, THE BURDEN OF THAT SIN WILL BE UPON US WHO HAVE CAUSED THEIR FALL AND WE WILL BE ETERNALLY CONDEMNED FOR IT, UNLESS WE QUICKLY REPENT AND CORRECT OUR ERROR.

F AITHFUL DISCIPLES OF C HRIST WHO LIVE IN C HRIST, ARE ALWAYS MOTIVATED BY A SELFLESS REGARD FOR THE BENEFIT OF MANY NEVER FOR THEMSELVES AND WITHOUT FAIL , FOR THE G LORY , H ONOUR AND W ORSHIP OF G OD! The authenticity of St Pauls Apostleship was often attacked by the Hebrews, so he often had to defend it: Am I not an Apostle...? Similar to the Divine Calling of St Paul by our Lord Jesus Christ, OTHERS HAVE ALSO BEEN C ALLED BY G OD TO SERVE H IM , BEING FILLED WITH THE W ISDOM AND K NOWLEDGE AND EVERYTHING NECESSARY BY THE H OLY S PIRIT W HO MAKES SUCH W ONDERFUL , G OD-I NSPIRED W ORK POSSIBLE to be achieved by mere human beings. T HE A UTHENTICITY OF D IVINE C ALLING IS IN THE S PIRITUAL F RUIT THAT IS BROUGHT FORTH FOR THE EXCLUSIVE G LORY , H ONOUR AND W ORSHIP OF A LMIGHTY G OD. T HE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE C LERGY of the Holy Church of Christ our Spiritual Shepherds or Holy Fathers - IS CERTIFIED BY THE S PIRITUAL C ONDITION OF THE F AITHFU l the Spiritual Flock of God - the Faithful Congregation or Laity (people of the Parish).
SECOND COMING
OF

The Holy Gospel According to Matthew 25 : 31 46

DIVINE JUDG EM ENT
OF

WORKS

AT THE

CHRI ST

At that time, our Lord Jesus said: When the Son of Man comes in His Glory, and all the Holy Angels with Him, then He will sit on the Throne of His Glory. All the Nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a Shepherd divides His Sheep from the goats. And He will set the Sheep on His right hand side, but the goats on His left. And the King will say to those at His right hand: Come, you Blessed of My Father: inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the Foundation of the world; 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 you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me. And the Righteous shall answer Him, saying: Lord, when did we see Thee hungry and feed Thee, or thirsty and give Thee drink? When did we see Thee, a Stranger, and take Thee in, or naked and clothed Thee? Or when did we see Thee sick, or in prison, and come to Thee? And the King will answer and say to them: Truly, I say to you: inasmuch as you did so to one of the least of these My Brethren, you did it to Me. And He will also say to those at His left: Depart from Me, you cursed, into the Everlasting Fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a Stranger and you did not take Me in; naked and you did not clothe Me; sick and in prison and you did not visit Me. And they will answer Him, saying: Lord, when did we see Thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to Thee? And He will answer them, saying: Truly, I say to you: inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me. And those will go away into Everlasting Punishment, but the Righteous will go into Eternal Life. ...the least of these... Is a reference to all the poor, the This is the majestic climax of Christs Discourse concerning His needy and the destitute of the world in a spiritual and a Second Coming, which is NOT SIMPLY A P ARABLE BUT A D IVINE R EVELATION OF THE U NIVERSAL J UDGEMENT THAT WILL physical sense. MOST CERTAINLY BE FACED BY ALL C REATION. Having been created in the Image and Likeness of God, WE Since His Passion was soon to be fulfilled, OUR LORD J ESUS SHOULD SEE ALL HUMANITY AS A REFLECTED D IVINE I MAGE OF RAISED H IS D ISCIPLES TO THE S IGHT OF THE G LORY OF THE S ON G OD and, as Christ so clearly reminds us : when we TREAT OF M AN ON H IS AWESOME J UDGEMENT S EAT WITH THE ENTIRE OTHERS WITH AS MUCH LOVE AS WE PROFESS TO HAVE FOR C REATION BEFORE HIM . G OD, we prove our integrity. T HE STANDARD OF D IVINE J UDGEMENT IS UNCALCULATED MERCY On the contrary, WHEN WE SHOW NEITHER COMPASSION, KINDNESS TOWARDS ONE ANOTHER. NOR ANY DEGREE OF LOVE FOR OTHERS , WE EXPOSE THE WICKEDNESS THAT LURKS WITHIN OUR HEARTS AND SOULS ! T HE W ORKS OR G OOD D EEDS THAT ARE PRODUCED BY T RUE F AITH ARE EMPHASISED BY C HRIST because SUCH S AVING F AITH As much as God Blesses us and as much as we expect to ALWAYS PRODUCES R IGHTEOUS W ORKS G OOD D EEDS receive from Him, WE MUST RECIPROCATE BY TREATING EACH COMPELLED BY D IVINE, UNCONDITIONAL , ALL ENCOMPASSING OTHER WITH THE SAME CONSIDERATION with all our love, LOVE TRUE A GAPE. mercy, respect, etc. do unto others as you wish others W HATEVER WE DO REFLECTS OUR TRUE I NNER S TATE. to do unto you! No matter what lip-service and empty gestures we use to Furthermore, although we should never do anything in the convince others including ourselves of how wellexpectation of Reward, WHATEVER WITH WE DO FOR ANYONE intentioned we are, OUR DEEDS ULTIMATELY EXPOSE THE TRUE ELSE WITH THE RIGHT ATTITUDE OF A GAPE, G OD RETURNS TO US CONDITION OF OUR SOULS . A HUNDREDFOLD He grants us a hundred times more Consequently, it is essential to our proper Spiritual Blessings! Development to LEARN TO BE ABSOLUTELY HONEST WITH So whether we do good things or evil things, EVERYTHING OURSELVES , WITH GOD AND WITH EVERYONE ELSE. COMES BACK A HUNDRED TIMES MORE TO US ! S PIRITUAL W ATCHFULNESS AND CONTINUOUS ( CONSTRUCTIVE) SELF T HOSE WHO HUNGER AND THIRST are not only those who suffer EXAMINATION, WHICH LEADS TO R EPENTANCE -C ONFESSION, physical hunger and thirst, but who YEARN FOR THE ETERNAL TEACHES US TO METICULOUSLY SCRUTINISE OUR OWN PERSONAL H OPE OF THE H OLY G OSPEL OF C HRIST J ESUS . WEAKNESSES especially those hidden away in the Our Lord used THE ANALOGY OF S HEEP AND G OATS TO darkened crevasses of our soul, so that, BY THE G RACE OF DIFFERENTIATE THE R IGHTEOUS AND J USTIFIED FROM THE G OD, WE CAN EXPOSE SUCH DEFECTS TO THE D IVINE L IGHT OF UNGODLY AND THE UNREPENTANT. G OD S T RUTH AND H EAL OURSELVES . A S C HRIST IS OUR G OOD S HEPHERD, WE ARE THE REASON T HIS IS THE D A I L Y S P I R I T U A L A C C O U N T I N G that is ENDOWED F LOCK OR S HEEP OF GOD WHO EAGERLY FOLLOW recommended FOR ALL STRUGGLING D ISCIPLES OF C HRIST THE SOUND OF HIS VOICE, AND WHO ARE S PIRITUALLY WHO GENUINELY WISH TO IMPROVE THEMSELVES and their P RODUCTIVE AND GENTLE CREATURES OF THE LORD. Relationship with God as well as with their fellow human The goats are those who remain Spiritually Stubborn and beings. unrighteous for they ignore or refuse to follow the voice of W E WILL KNOW IF WE ARE MAKING ANY PROGRESS WHEN INSTEAD our Good Shepherd, choosing to risk their lives by walking OF POINTING ACCUSATORY FINGERS ELSEWHERE WE along the treacherous and dangerous precipices of IMMEDIATELY TURN THEM INWARDS AND CORRECT OUR OWN temptation and sin. GLARING ERRORS . Inheritance suggests family members such as sons and Thereby we LEARN H UMILITY AND O BEDIENCE to God, which is daughters rather than strangers or servants, for the the very first big step closer to Spiritual Perfection and R IGHTEOUS ARE THOSE WHO HAVE BECOME C HILDREN OF G OD Eternal Life. BY A DOPTION .

22.

35AP 3RD TRIODION MEATFARE/JUDGEMENT SUNDAY

23 FEBRUARY 2014

 G A L A T I A N S 4 : 4 7 : ... When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, Born of a Woman; Born under the Law, to Redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive Adoption as sons. Son refers to Christ as God by Nature. God, then is Born of a Woman, and so THE E VER B LESSED, A LL P URE, AND E VER V IRGIN M ARY IS RIGHTLY ENTITLED T HEOTOKOS , WHICH MEANS THE M OTHER OF G OD OR THE B EARER OF G OD. I. E. G OD I NCARNATE - IN THE FLESH - ( WITHOUT HUMAN SEED, WITHOUT HUMAN F ATHER) - AND IN H IS HUMAN N ATURE FOR IN H IS D IVINE N ATURE H IS IS E TERNAL , BEGOTTEN OF GOD THE FATHER, WITHOUT MOTHER Since Christ was Born under the Law, He can Redeem those under the Law. (INITIALLY THE HEBREWS, AND THEN, LATER, THE GENTILES T HE ONGOING GROWTH INTO DIVINE ADOPTION BEING AN HEIR OF GOD IS D EIFICATION OR T HEOSIS S PIRITUAL P ERFECTION. This means that WE ARE BECOMING, BY D IVINE G RACE, WHAT G OD IS BY D IVINE NATURE AND EACH OF THE T HREE P ERSONS OF THE H OLY T RINITY : F ATHER, S ON AND H OLY S PIRIT IS INVOLVED IN THIS PROCESS OF S PIRITUAL T RANSFORMATION OF HUMANITY. Therefore TO BECOME S ONS OF G OD BY G RACE, WE MUST BELIEVE IN AND GET TO KNOW THE F ATHER, AND THE S ON, AND THE H OLY S PIRIT. Finally: THIS IS THE D IVINE T RUTH CONCERNING E TERNITY! Our Holy Church Fathers, Guided by the Holy Spirit, Consecrated the Triodion as a time of Spiritual Preparation for Great Lenten Fast, which in turn is a time of Preparation for the Feast of our Lords Glorious Resurrection Holy Pascha. With this in mind, our Holy Church teaches us on the First Sunday of Triodion Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee that, if we are humbled, God welcomes us into His Presence, whereas, if we are proud and arrogant, He turns His Sight away from us. On the Second Sunday of Triodion Sunday of the Prodigal Son we are reminded that we are responsible for all our words, thoughts and deeds and that one day we will judged by God accordingly. Furthermore we are reminded how True Repentance reunites us so joyously with God Who waits ever patiently for our return to His Loving Embrace. Today is the Third Sunday of Triodion Meatfare Sunday or Sunday of the Final Judgement/Christs Second Coming or Reappearance. We are reminded of three important Truths: that our Lord Jesus Christ will be seen by all Creation in all His Divine Glory, there will be a General Resurrection of the Dead, and the Final Judgement will occur for all humanity whether they are believers or not! When our Lord Jesus Christ lived amongst us on earth, He chose a position of great lowliness, subjected to hardship and poverty. Many people despised and even hated Him to such an extent that they eventually brought about His Death on the Cross. However, although our Saviour truly died, Hades was unable to hold Him captive and on the Third Day, He was Resurrected overcoming Death by His own Death, and granting New Life to the world. At His Second Coming everything will be quite different. Surrounded by His Great Multitude of Heavenly Hosts, Christ will appear before all Creation in His full Divine Glory, seated on His Awesome Judgement Throne. All humanity of all Nations will be gathered before Him and no one on that Final Day will be able to hide from or avoid God Who ... will separate them one from another, as a Shepherd separates the Sheep from the Goats, and He will place the Sheep at His right Hand, but the Goats, on His left... (MATTHEW 25 :
32 33) I.E. ALL HUMANITY)

These are not words of speculation, imagination - or worse, untruth! T HIS IS D IVINE R EVELATION! This is what our human existence is all about! This is why we have been granted a temporary, complicated life-time for our Spiritual Preparation! There is no need for discussion or debate because Christ our Lord explicitly tells us about Eternity the Ages of ages: T HOSE WHO CHOOSE TO REJECT G OD S D IVINE T RUTH WHO THROUGH THEIR WILFUL REBELLION REJECT H IS D IVINE C OMMANDMENTS THAT BRING US CLOSE TO H IM ... WILL GO AWAY INTO EVERLASTING P UNISHMENT... which is also referred to by Christ as Outer Darkness because it is UTTER S PIRITUAL EXILE OR A LIENATION FROM G OD AND ALL H IS G OODNESS A PERPETUAL , UNCHANGEABLE STATE OF S PIRITUAL D EATH AND ETERNAL S UFFERING THE ABSOLUTE ABSENCE OF ANYTHING PEACEFUL , PLEASANT, JOYOUS OR GOOD ! However, THOSE WHO TAKE EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO FIGHT THE G OOD F IGHT, BY CEASELESSLY STRIVING FOR S PIRITUAL P ERFECTION AND A C LOSE R ELATIONSHIP WITH OUR M OST B ELOVED L ORD G OD WILL BECOME WORTHY C ITIZENS AND C O HEIRS WITH C HRIST IN G OD S H EAVENLY K INGDOM OF L OVE, P EACE AND J OY ... THE R IGHTEOUS WILL GO INTO ETERNAL LIFE. We only have this short life-span to correct ourselves and to reach out to God with all Humility and Obedience, in the confident Hope of Eternal Life and all its indescribable Goodness and Wonders! God wanted us to be little gods , just as He said: ... it is written that I said: You are gods... (JOHN 10:34) However, due to disobedience to God, we destroyed Gods Divine Plan for us and we found ourselves exiled and alienated from God and all His Goodness and, in our sinful state, we gradually moved further and further away from Divine Grace. We are responsible for all our actions every one of them no matter whether good or bad, while the animals are not responsible for theirs. We are responsible for the devastating consequences of our sinful words, thoughts and deeds because we were created perfectly in the Image and Likeness of God, but have chosen to rebel against Divine Goodness and Wisdom! (GENESIS 1:26) The fact that we are created with free will to choose our words, thoughts and deeds, makes us totally responsible for the consequences caused by our irresponsible, thoughtless, selfish, greedy and dangerous decisions. It is precisely this freedom of will and the responsibility for our choices that distinguishes us human beings from the other creatures. Concerning His Second Coming, Lord Jesus Christ teaches us that it will be such an overwhelmingly awesome and terrifying Event that even the Heavenly Hosts of Gods Angels will tremble in terror. Before Gods Universal Court, all mankinds conscience will be exposed to the Divine Light and Truth like the pages of an open book. (DANIEL 1: 9 11) Each soul will be examined and Judged according to every one of our good and bad words, thoughts and deeds and their consequences!! Good deeds are those that give Glory, Honour and Worship to Almighty God, which are motivated and compelled by profound Love for Him and for our fellow mankind. Bad deeds are those that are motivated by pride and self-love, which lead us away from God and estrange us from our fellow mankind. If we pay careful attention to todays Sacred Gospel Lesson, we will notice that, in describing the examination and Judgement of those brought before Him, our Lord does not mention obvious mortal sins such as murder, theft or fornication, but rather concentrates on the lack of Compassion and Mercy for our fellow mankind. This is because we may lead an apparently Virtuous Life not murdering, not stealing, nor worshipping false gods, etc, but if we lack Charity Agape (UNCONDITIONAL, PURE LOVE) we are unworthy in the Sight of God. Let us remember what St Paul teaches us in his First Epistle to the Corinthians: ... if I speak in the tongues of men and of Angels, but have not Love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I 23 FEBRUARY 2014 23.

Hi s Em i n e n ce , M e t r o p o l i t a n P a n t e l e im o n o f A n t i n o es O n M e a t f a r e / t h e S e c o n d C o m i n g

It is of the utmost importance to know that God created the Kingdom of Heaven before He created the world. (Matthew 25:34) When God created mankind, He did so with the intention that we should enjoy all the Fruits of Creation and participate in the Eternal Glory of the Kingdom of Heaven.

35AP 3RD TRIODION MEATFARE/JUDGEMENT SUNDAY

have prophetic powers, and understand all Mysteries and have all Knowledge, and if I have all Faith, so as to remove mounts, but have not Love, I am nothing! If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burnt, but have not Love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; Love is not jealous nor boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable nor resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. (1 CORINTHIANS 13 : 1 8) Sin, whatever form it takes or whatever quality it has, is that which goes against the Essence of God and which destroys His Likeness in mankind. For this reason, sin by its very nature is condemned. Unrepentant sinners who refuse to correct the error of their ways and to Confess their sins, ensure their Eternal Condemnation on the Day of Judgement. Our Lord Jesus Christ particularly emphasised the Eternal Condemnation of those who failed to Love their fellow sinners, yet at the same time He also emphasised the Reward of those who were Compassionate towards others. Unrepentant sinners will find themselves condemned to Eternal Punishment and Christ has revealed to us that Hell was not created nor intended for the Eternal Punishment of mankind but for Satan and his demons who have already Condemned themselves to Eternal Punishment or Hell. On the other hand, those who are Justified in the Sight of God will enjoy the Great Peace and joyful Bliss of the Kingdom of Heaven and will be Saved because of their Faith in and Love for Christ, which they made manifest in their words, thoughts and deeds of Mercy and Compassion towards others.

A good Christian Loves Christ through our fellow mankind and Christ Himself comes to us in the form of the poor, the destitute, the weak, the sick, the orphans and widows, the captives and all those who are variously needy. However, it is entirely our own choice whether we receive Him or reject Him. Today we are taught three Divine Truths: 1. After the Last Judgement there will be two real Spiritual Conditions Eternal Life and Everlasting Death. 2. God created the Kingdom of Heaven for His beloved mankind, which was prepared since the foundation of the world, while Hell was only for Satan and his demons. Sinners, of necessity and through their own choices will go to Hell because they have disobeyed and rejected God and thus become willing slaves to Satan. 3. Our Salvation depends entirely on our Faith in our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ and our unconditional Love for our fellow mankind. As long as we are alive, we have the opportunity to Repent and to work out our Salvation. The moment we die, though, our Judgement takes place, and our condition either joyful or sorrowful is set forever. St Paul teaches us ... and just as it is appointed for men to die once, and after that comes Judgement.
(HEBREWS 9 : 27)

I pray that we may all have as our aim the Love of Christ and our fellow mankind, and that with hope and trust in the Great Mercy of God, we may all come to enjoy the Kingdom of Heaven that is prepared for us since the beginning. Amen
ADAPTED & EDITED BY MP: A HOMIL Y O N SUN DAY OF M EATFARE/TH E SECON D COM ING BY HIS EMINE NCE, METR OPOL ITAN PANTELE IMON (LAMPADARIOS ) OF ANT IN OES WWW.ORTHODO X-MITR OPOL ITAN- OF -ANTIN OES -PANTE LE IMON .COM

The Final Judgement & the Second Coming of Christ our Lord & Saviour
At the moment of death, our soul leaves the body and enters our new mode of existence, without losing our memory or our ability to think or to feel, but departs to the other world loaded with the burden of our life, with memories of our past and an accountability for our sins. All our sins leave certain traces on our soul, and we will have to give an account for everything good and bad that we spoke, thought and did before that Absolute Good, with Which no evil or sin can coexist, because the Kingdom of God is incompatible with sin: '...nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practises abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life'
(REVELATION 21:27).

Every unrepented and unconfessed sin - every hidden sin, every defilement of the soul - that was not Purified and forgiven through the Holy Mystery of Repentance-Confession will be exposed at the Last Judgment, as Christ said: '...There is nothing hidden, except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret, except to come to light.' (MARK 4:22). His Parable of the Last Judgment indicates that for many people it will be a moment of insight, recognition and conversion, while for others it may turn out to be a great disappointment and frustration. (MATTHEW 25:31-46) Those who were so sure of their own Salvation will find themselves Condemned, while those who perhaps did not meet Christ in their earthly life ('when did we see Thee?') but were merciful towards their neighbours, will be Saved. In this Parable, the King does not ask people about matters of belief, doctrine and religious practice. He does not ask them whether they went to Church, kept the Fasts, or prayed: He only asks them how they treated His 'Brethren'. The main criteria of the Judgment are therefore the Acts of Mercy performed or not performed by people during their earthly lives.

The Last Judgement will be universal: all people will be Judged no matter if they were believers or nonbelievers, Christians or non-Christians. If Christians will be Judged by the Gospel's Standards, pagans will be judged by the natural law which is 'written in their hearts ' (Romans:15). Christians will take full responsibility for their deeds as those who 'knew' the Will of God, while some nonChristians will be treated less strictly for they did not know God or His Will. The Judgement will '...begin with the household of the Lord...' - with the Church and its members, and not with those who did not meet Christ nor hear the Message of the Gospel. (1 PETER 4:17) However, all people will appear with some Experience of an Encounter with Christ and His Message, including those who did not meet Him in their earthly life. In particular, St Peter spoke of Christ's Descent into Hades and His Preaching there to those sinners who were drowned in the waters of the Great Flood: '...for Christ also died for sins once for all, the Righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit; in which He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, during the building of the Ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were Saved through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now Saves you... through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ...' (1 PETER 3:18-21) Christ preached only to the Old Covenant Righteous who were waiting for Him in Hades, while for others, the Message of Christ was addressed to all people, including pagans who lived outside the True Faith. Christ preached not to the Righteous who were to be Saved, but to the sinners who were Condemned for their evil actions. The sinners confined in Hades must have met the Lord in order to appear before Him at the Last Judgement...
[HTTP://WWW.SOUROZH.ORG/ORTHODOX-FAITH-TEXTS/THE-LAST-JUDGMENT.HTML]

24

35AP 3RD TRIODION MEATFARE/JUDGEMENT SUNDAY

23 FEBRUARY 2014

Greek Or th odox Patriar chate of A le xandria & All Afr ica

A L L G L OR Y , H ONOUR A N D W OR S H IP T O T H E F A T H ER , A N D T O T H E S ON , A N D T O T H E H OL Y S P IR IT , NOW A ND FOR E VE R , AND U NT O TH E A GE S OF A GE S . A ME N . R E ME MB ER ING A LS O OU R M OS T H OL Y , M OS T P U RE , M OS T B L ES SE D A ND G L OR IOU S L A D Y , M A R IA , T H E OT OKOS , Y E T E V ER V IR GIN , T OGE T HE R WITH AL L T H E S A INT S . A ND LE T US C OMMIT OURS E LV E S A N D ONE ANOT H ER A ND OU R WH OL E L IFE T O C H R IS T OUR G OD . A ME N .

Strict Fast Today

24 February 2014

1st & 2nd Finding of St John the Baptists Head

ALSO THE FE AST OF ST ERASM OS OF KIE V NE A R CAVE S MON ASTERY ST RO MAN OS OF UGL IC H ST CU ME IN , ABBOT OF IO NA M ONAST ERY

FESTA

APOL

YTIKION

OF

THE

FINDING

OF

ST JO

HN

THE

BA

PTIST

S H

EAD

TONE 4:

Ek gis anatilasa, i tou Prodromou Kefali, aktinas aflisi, The

tis aftharsias Pistis ton laseon; Anothen sinathriszi, tin plithin ton Angelon, katothen singalite, ton anthropon ta geni, omofonon anapempse, Doxan Hristo to Theo.
KONTAKION
OF THE

Head of the Forerunner, having risen from the earth, sends out rays of Incorruption, for the Healing of the Faithful; in the Heavens it gathers the Choir of Angels, below are called together all people of all races, to send in a single voice: Glory to Christ our God!

Prostasia ton Hristianon akateskhinte, mesitia pros ton O

Piitin ametathete, mi Paridis, amartolon deiseon fonas, alla profthason os agathi, is tin voithian imon, ton pistos kravgazonton Si: Tahinon is presvian, ke spefson is ikesian, i prostatevousa ai, Theotoke, ton Timonton Se.

EV

ER

LESSED

HEOTOKOS

Protector of the Christians Unashamable, Mediator to the Creator Immovable, despise not, the pleading voices of those in sin, but hasten O Good One, to the Aid of all of us, who in Faith cry out to Thee: speed up Thine Intercession, and present Thy Supplication, O Theotokos who always protects all those who honour Thee!
T
HAT

The Second Epistle of St Paul to the Corinthians 4 : 6 - 15

LIKE ST PAUL, ST JO
HN

HE

BAPTIST FA

CED

EATH

HE MI

GHT

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Brethren, it is the God Who commanded light to shine out of darkness, Who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the Knowledge of the Glory of God in the Face of Jesus Christ. But we have this Treasure in earthen vessels, so that the excellence of the Power may be of God and not of us. We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, so that the Life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are already delivered to death for Jesus sake, that the Life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us, but Life in you. And since we have the same spirit of Faith, according to what is written, I believed and therefore I spoke, we also believe and therefore speak, knowing that He Who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that Grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the Glory of God. These T RIALS OF LIFE ... SHOW BOTH THE P OWER OF G OD AND, T HE T REASURE IS THE LIGHT OF G OD S G LORY IN C HRIST. MORE, DISCLOSE H IS G RACE [ST JOHN C HRYSOST OM ] EARTHEN VESSELS REFERS TO OUR HUMANITY OUR HUMAN NATURE our mortal, physical bodies that God first ] B OTH THE EVER B LESSED T HEOTOKOS AND S T J OHN THE B APTIST WERE THE MOST P ERFECT LIVING EXAMPLES OF D IVINE created from the soil of the earth and which, therefore, G RACE. must be returned to the earth before our Resurrection into Since very early childhood from about the age of two or Eternity. three years S T J OHN THE B APTIST AND F ORERUNNER TO As THIS D IVINE LIGHT SHINES IN AND THROUGH US , people will see C HRIST HAD LIVED IN THE W ILDERNESS - ALL ALONE BUT that THE P OWER IS OF G OD" AND NOT OF MANKIND. P ROTECTED AND NURTURED BY D IVINE P ROVIDENCE AND THE ] LIKE THE EVER B LESSED T HEOTOKOS, S T J OHN THE B APTIST WAS G RACE OF G OD. UTTERLY H UMBLE AND O BEDIENT TO G OD AND WAS A MOST SUITABLE LIVING T EMPLE FOR THE H OLY T RINITY . ] A LL HIS K NOWLEDGE WAS BESTOWED UPON HIM BY G OD W HO NOT ONLY PROTECTED HIM FROM ANY HARM , BUT ALSO Thus THE D IVINE L IGHT SHONE FORTH FROM HIM UPON THE H EBREW P EOPLE, ENCOURAGING THEM TO HEED HIS D IVINELY I NSPIRED EQUIPPED HIM WITH ALL THE ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS AS THE H OLY F ORERUNNER TO C HRIST AND THE L AST BUT WORDS AND TO SEEK R EPENTANCE in preparation for the G REATEST H OLY P ROPHET OF G OD. Coming of the long-awaited Messiah our Saviour. T HIS IS V ICTORIOUS , BUT NOT TROUBLE -FREE C HRISTIANITY.
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At that time, when John had heard in prison about the Works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples who asked Him: Art Thou the Coming One, or do we look for another? Jesus answered them: Go and tell John the things that you hear and see: the blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the Gospel preached to them. And Blessed is he who is not offended because of Me. As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings houses. But what did you go out to see? A Prophet? Yes, I say to you: and more than a Prophet! For this is he of whom it is written: Behold, I send My Messenger before Thy Face, who will prepare Thy Way before Thee. Assuredly, I say to you: among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. For all Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
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According to our Holy Church Fathers, St John the Baptist asked Art Thou the Coming One, or do we look for Another? A MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION IN ORDER TO G UIDE HIS OWN DISCIPLES TO OUR LORD J ESUS C HRIST. It is also possible, according to modern interpretations, that St John thought of the Messiah as Divine Judge only and was perplexed by His Infinite Mercy. S T I SAIAH HAD PREDICTED THAT AT THE C OMING OF THE M ESSIAH THE BLIND WOULD SEE, THE LAME WOULD WALK, LEPERS WOULD BE CLEANSED AND THE DEAF WOULD HEAR. ] O UR L ORD J ESUS FULFILLED THE P ROPHECIES OF S T I SAIAH , BEARING THE F RUIT THAT ONLY THE M ESSIAH CAN PRODUCE! I N TERMS OF THE O LD C OVENANT L AW , S T J OHN THE B APTIST IS THE G REATEST P ROPHET, BUT THE N EW C OVENANT INAUGURATED BY C HRIST IS OF SUCH INCOMPARABLE VALUE THAT EVERYONE WHO SHARES IN IT IS , AS IT WERE, GREATER THAN S T J OHN, BECAUSE BY D IVINE G RACE THROUGH F AITH UNDER THE NEW C OVENANT WE BECOME C HILDREN OF G OD AND P ARTAKERS OF THE H OLY S PIRIT. S T J OHN IS HONOURED BECAUSE H E IS R IGHTEOUS H E PREPARED THE W AY of the First Coming of our Lord and Saviour H E B APTISED C HRIST . Suffers violence may mean that THE H EAVENLY K INGDOM IS UNDER ATTACK BY OPPONENTS OF S T J OHN THE B APTIST AND OUR LORD J ESUS C HRIST, OR OTHER VIOLENT MEN

M ESSIANIC PRETENDERS TRYING TO BRING IN THE KINGDOM BY USING MILITARY FORCE AGAINST THE R OMANS . A N ANCIENT P ATRISTIC INTERPRETATION IS THAT THE KINGDOM F OR I TSELF BREAKS INTO THIS WORLD VIOLENTLY. INSTANCE, THROUGH POWERFUL M IRACLES , ALERT AND DARING PEOPLE TAKE HOLD OF IT AGGRESSIVELY. Whoever is A H EARER AND LOVER OF THE W ORD OF G OD TAKES THE KINGDOM BY FORCE, EXERTING ALL EARNESTNESS AND DESIRE TO E NTER THE R EALITY OF THE K INGDOM . For this reason H OLY M ARTYRS SHED THEIR BLOOD, MAKING THEIR C ONFESSION OF F AITH , BEING ...made a spectacle to the world, both to Angels and to men.
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T HE KINGDOM OF H EAVEN BELONGS not to the sleeping or the lazy, but instead TO ... the violent (who) take it by force. ] T HE IDENTIFICATION BETWEEN S T J OHN THE B APTIST AND S T ELIJAH IS QUITE EXPLICIT. It is not St John who ascribes to himself the role of St Elijah the Prophet, but OUR LORD J ESUS C HRIST W HO ASSIGNS HIM THIS PLACE IN THE HISTORY OF S ALVATION. ] S T J OHN THE B APTIST FULFILLED THE M ISSION OF S T ELIJAH THE P ROPHET AND HIS DESTINY WAS SIMILAR TO S T ELIJAH S . ] YET S T J OHN IS HONOURED OVER S T ELIJAH , BECAUSE OUR LORD J ESUS IN COMPARING THE P ROPHETS DECLARED : T HERE HAS NOT RISEN ONE G REATER THAN J OHN.

CORINTHIANS 4:9]

The First and Sec ond Fi nding of St John the Bapti sts Venerable Head For the sake of the precious head of St John the After St John the Baptist was beheaded, the impious Baptist, the Lord Blessed the Potters house with Herodias forbade the Holy Prophets head to be an abundance of goods, and he lived the rest of buried together with his body. his life remembering his Benefactor and Instead, she desecrated the honourable head by generously giving alms to the destitute and the throwing it into a filthy cesspool near her palace. needy. St Johns Disciples had secretly taken their Teachers Shortly before his death the Potter entrusted the body and buried it, while St Susanna, the wife of precious Holy Relic to his sister, commanding her Chuza, King Herods steward, who knew where to pass it on to other God-fearing, Virtuous Herodias had tried to hide St Johns head, Christians. recovered it from the stinking sewerage, reverently Consequently, St John the Baptists Venerable head cleaned it, wrapped it in a cloth and interred it on was passed along from one person to the next, the Mount of Olives - one of Herods estates. until it came into the hands of a certain heretical The Russian Orthodox Ascension Convent is now Hieromonk, Eustasios, who sided with the Arians. located on this Holy Site, and a church dedicated Sick people who came to him received Healing, not to St John the Forerunner of Christ stands over it. knowing that it was due to the Grace coming from When word reached the royal palace about Christs the hidden head and certainly not due to Teachings and Great Miracles, King Herod went Eustasios false piety. with his unlawful wife Herodias to check if St Nevertheless, his subterfuge was eventually exposed, John the Baptists head was still in the filthy and he was banished from Emesa, and a cesspool, but when it could not be located, they Monastery was established around the Miracleimmediately thought that our Lord Jesus Christ Working cave in which the venerable Holy Relic of was St John the Baptist resurrected. St John the Baptist was preserved. The Holy Gospels witness to this erroneous belief of After many years, the head of St John the Baptist was theirs. (CF. MATTHEW 14:2). uncovered for a second time, according to a Many centuries later, during the reign of Emperor description by Archimandrite Markellos of the Constantine the Great, St Helena, his Pious Monastery in Emesa, as well as from the Life of St mother, had restored many of the Holy Places in Matrona (492), which was written by St Symeon Jerusalem. Metraphrastes. Multitudes of Christian Pilgrims streamed into According to the first account, the Holy Relic was Jerusalem, amongst whom where two Monks from discovered on 18 February 452, and a week later, the East, who wished to venerate our Lords Bishop Uranios of Emesa established its worthy Honourable, Life-giving Cross and Holy Sepulchre. Veneration. St John the Baptist appeared to them in a Vision and On 26 February 452, the Holy Prophets Head was told them where to find his head. translated to a newly-built church dedicated to St Obediently following his instructions, the two Monks John the Baptist. did in fact find the Venerable Relic of our Greatest These Events are annually commemorated on 24 Holy Prophet of God on the Mount of Olives, February/8 March, along with the commemoration which they decided to take with them on their of the First Finding of the Precious Head in return to their native city. Jerusalem. However, Gods Will determined otherwise, for while Eventually, the Holy Relic of St John was translated to walking along the road from Jerusalem, they met a Constantinople, where it rested, until the time of poor Potter from the Syrian town of Emesa the heretical, destructive Iconoclasts. (modern-day Homs), whose poverty had forced him to seek work in a neighbouring country. http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/52051.htm Having found a co-traveller, the Monks - either out of A b ba Paul the Simple On Repentance laziness or carelessness - entrusted the Potter " Let us know the Great Goodness of God for those who with the sack that contained the Holy Relic of St sincerely take Refuge in Him and who correct their past John the Baptist. faults, by Repentance, and let us not despair of our But as they proceeded on their journey, St John the Salvation. In Truth, as it was proclaimed by the Prophet Baptist appeared to the startled Potter and told Isaiah, God washes those who are dirty with sin, whitens him to forget the careless Monks and run away them like wool and snow and bestows the Good Things of from them, taking the sack they had given him. the Heavenly Jerusalem on them. 26
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