My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
On the 20th of July, Our Holy Orthodox Church Commemorates the Feast-Day
of the Holy and Glorious Prophet the Thesbite (Elijah the Tishbite).
Apolytikion (Dismissal) Hymn. Fourth Tone
THE incarnate Angel, and the Prophets’ summit and boast, the
second forerunner of the coming of Christ our God, Elias, the
glorious, from above sent down his grace upon Elisseus; he doth
cast out sickness and doth also cleanse lepers; and unto all that
honor him, he poureth forth streams of cures.
Kontakion Hymn. Second Tone
O RENOWNED Elias, Prophet and seer of the might works of God,
who by thy word dist check the rain clouds: Intercede in our behalf
with the only Friend of man.
ELIAS of great fame was from Thisbe or Thesbe, a town of Galaad (Gilead), beyond the Jordan. He was of Priestly lineage, a man of a solitary and ascetical character, clothed in a mantle of sheep skin, and girded about his loins with a leather belt. His name is interpreted as "Yah is my God." His zeal for the glory of God was compared to fire, and his speech for teaching and rebuke was likened unto a burning lamp. From this too he received the name Zealot. Therefore, se aflame with such zeal, he sternly reproved the impiety and lawlessness of Ahab and his wife Jezebel. He shut up heaven by means of prayer, and it did not rain for three years and six months. Ravens brought him food for his need when, at God’s command, he was hiding by the torrent of Horrath. He multiplied the little flour and oil of hte poor widow of Sarephtha of Sidon, who had given him hospitality in her home, and when her son died, he raised him up. He brought down fire from Heaven upon Mount Carmel, and it burned up the sacrifice offered to God before all the people of Israel, so that they might know the truth. At the torrent of Kisson, he slew 450 false prophets and priests who worshipped idols and led the people astray. He received food wondrously at the hand of an Angel, and being strengthened by this food he walked for forty days and forty nights. He beheld God on Mount Horeb, as far as this is possible for human nature. He foretold the destruction of the house of Ahab, and the death of his son Ohozias; and as for the two captains of fifty that were sent by the king, he burned them for their punishment, bringing fire down from Heaven. He divided the flow of the Jordan, and he and his disciple Elisseus passed through as it were on dry land; and finally while speaking with him, Elias was suddenly snatched away by a fiery chariot in the year 895 B.C. and he ascended as though into heaven, whither God most certainly translated him alive, as He did Enoch (Genesis 5:24; IV Kings 2:11). But from thence also, after seven years, by means of an epistle he reproached Joram, the son of Josaphat, as it is written, "And there came a message in writing to him from Elias the Prophet, saying, Thus saith the Lord God of David thy father, Because thou hast not walked in the way," and so forth (2 Chronicles 21:12). According to the opinion of hte majority of the interpreters, this came to pass either through his disciple Elisseus, or through another Prophet when Elias appeared to them, evsen as he appeared on Mount Tabor to the disciples of Christ.
At that time the Jewish Kingdom was divided into two unequal parts: the Kingdom of Judah consisted non of the Tribes of Judah and Benjamin, with its capital at Jerusalem, while the Kingdom of Israel consisted of the other Ten Tribes, with its capital at Samaria. The former Kingdom was ruled by the descendants of Solomon, and the latter by the descendants of Jeroboam, a servant of Solomon’s. The Prophet Elias came into the greatest conflict with the Israelite king, Ahab, and his evil wife Jezebel, for they worshipped idols and turned people from the service of the One, Living God. On top of this, Jezebel, being a Syrian, persuaded her husband to build a temple of this false god, Baal, and appointed many priests to the service of this false god. Elias performed many miracles by the power of God, he closed the heavens, that no rain should fall for three years and six months; called down fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice to his God, while the priests of Baal were unable to do this; brought rain from the heavens at his prayers; miraculously multiplied corn and oil in the widow’s house at Zarephath, and restored her dead son to life; prophesied to Ahaz that the dogs would lick his blood, and to Jezebel that the dogs would devour her — which came to pass; and performed many other miracles and foretold many events. At the end of the world, Elias will appear again, TO BREAK THE POWER OF ANTICHRIST (Revelation 11).
Author’s note: In the Greek Lives of the Saints, the following miracle of the holy Prophet Elias is recorded: a certain Paisius, Eghoumenos (Abbot) of the Monastery of Saint Elias in Jerusalem, went to Constantinople and from Constantinople to Belgrade at the time of Patriarch Paisius was staying there. At that time, there was an Orthodox Christian living in Belgrade, married to a Latins (Roman Catholic) wife. On Saint Elias’s day, the wife planned to make bread, but her husband said to her ” ‘You must not work.’ His wife replied that the feast had been two days earlier (according to the Roman Catholic Calendar). And so a dispute arose between them. The stubborn woman kneaded the dough, but then a marvel! The dough became stone in her hands! At that, the neighbours gathered round and each of them took a piece of the stone. Paisius took a piece of it, as a witness to God’s miracle, and took it with him to Jerusalem. He laid this piece of stone in front of the holy icon of the holy Prophet Elias in his Monatery. (Source: The Great Horologion and The Prologue from Ochrid)
THE HOLY AND GLORIOUS PROPHETS
There are 16 Books in the Holy Bible called by the names of the Prophets although not necessarily written by their hands. A Prophet is one who SPEAKS BY THE DIRECT INSPIRATION OF GOD, ONLY SECONDARILY DOES THE WORD MEAN ONE WHO FORETELLS THE FUTURE. Four of the Prophetic books are those of the so-called Major Prophets: ISAIAH, JEREMIAH, EZEKIEL AND DANIEL. Most scholars believe that the Book of Isaiah is the work of more than one author.
In the Orthodox Church, Prophets are MESSENGERS of God who spoke before the birth of Christ to announce His will and to point to the COMING OF THE MESSIAH. The Hebrew word for "prophet" means "GOD’S MOUTHPIECE." The Orthodox Church believes that Prophets speak by direct inspiration from God and that their primary role is to convey God’s will to the world.
The Orthodox Church considers Jesus to be the FINAL PROPHET, and believes that He is more than just a Prophet. The Church also believes that the Prophets of the Old Testament, such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, pointed to the Coming of Christ, Who said He came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets.
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"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +
With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George
Also, the Orthodox Church considers Saint John the Baptist and Forerunner to be a Prophet, and his portrait is often painted on icon-screens in churches. The Church also calls the Holy Prophet Malachi, who lived 400 years before Christ, "the head of the Prophets" because he was the last Prophet of the Old Testament.
The Eastern Orthodox Christian Ethos 