My beloved brothers and sisters in Our Incarnate Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ,
CHRIST IS BORN! GLORIFY HIM!
On 30th of December Our Holy Orthodox Church
Commemorates the Holy Martyr ANYSIA.
Apolytikion (Dismissal) Hymn of Saint Anysia. Fourth Tone
O LORD Jesus, unto Thee Thy lamb cry with a great voice: O my
Bridegroom, Thee I love; and seeking Thee, I now contest, and
with Thy baptism and crucified and buried. I suffer For Thy sake,
that I may reign with Thee; for Thy sake I die, that I may live in
Thee: accept me offered out of longing to Thee as a spotless
sacrifice. Lord, save our souls through her intercessions, since
Thou art great in mercy.
Born in Thessaloniki, Greece of wealthy and eminent parents, she was brought up in the Christian faith. She was orphaned young, and gave herself over to pondering on God and prayer in her own home. Fired with the love of Christ, she often said: ‘Oh, how false is the life of youth, for you either create scandal or are scandalized. Better is age, but oh, I am seized with sorrow at the length of time that separates us from heaven!’ She sold her goods and gave away the proceeds to the poor, and herself lived from the labor of her own hands. She keep strict fasts, slept very little and always wept in prayer. When sleep overtook her, she said to herself: ‘It is dangerous to sleep while the enemy keeps vigil. ‘ At that time, the wicked pagan Roman Emperor Maximian issued a decree that any man was free to kill Christians when and where he came across them, without trial or sentence. This holy maiden once went out into the street to go to church. It was the day of a pagan festival of the sun. A soldier saw her fairness of face and went up to her with impure lust, asking her name. She made the sign of the Cross and said to him: ‘I am Christ’s handmaid, and I’m going to church.’ When the impudent soldier came closer and began to speak as one deranged, she pushed him away and spat in his face. The soldier aimed a blow at her with his sword, and ran her through under the rib. This holy maiden suffered in 298 A.D. and was buried by Christians, and was crowned with a wreath of glory by God in the heavenly Kingdom. A church built over her grave. [Resources: The Prologue from Ochrid]
On Faith
By Saint Gregory Palamas
BELIEVING IN GOD IS DIFFERENT from believing God, To believe God is to regard His promises to us as sure and true, but to believe in Him IS TO HAVE A RIGHT UNDERSTANDING OF HIM. Both are necessary for us and we must speak correctly in both respects, in such a way THAT PEOPLE WITH CORRECT UNDERSTANDING CAN BE CONFIDENT THAT WE ARE FAITHFUL BEFORE THE GOD TO WHOM OUR FAITH IS DIRECTD AND THAT, BEING FAITHFUL BEFORE THE GOD TO WHOM OUR FAITH IS DIRECTED AND THAT, BEING FAITHFUL, WE SHALL BE JUSTIFIED BY HIM. "Abraham believed God," it says, "and it was counted unto Him for righteousness" [Romans 4:3; Genesis 15:6; Galatians 3:6; James 2:23]. Why was Abraham counted as righteous because he believed? He had received a promise from God that in his seed, that is, in Isaac, all the Tribes of Israel would be blessed [Genesis 17:6; cf. 26:3-5, 24]. Then he was commanded by God to sacrifice Isaac [Genesis 22:1], while he was still a child. Without contradicting he, the father, was hastening on his way to become his son’s murderer while at the same time regarding the promise concerning his son as infallibly sure [Genesis 22:1-18].
Do you see what sort of faith brings justification? But Christ also promised us that we would inherit Eternal Life, pleasure, glory and the Kingdom, while then He commanded us to be poor, to fast, to live in lowliness and affliction, to be ready to die and to crucify ourselves together with our passions and desires [cf. Galatians 5:24]. If therefore we eagerly do these things while at the same time believing God’s promise to us, then we shall have really believed God in the way Abraham did, and it will be counted to us as righteousness…
"The fact that we believe God, that we understand that His promises and warnings to us are true and susre, even though they have not happened yet, is shown by our good works and by our keeping of His commandments. But what proof is there that we have A RIGHT BELIEF IN GOD, THAT WE HAVE TRUSTWORTHY AND DEBOUT UNDERSTANDING OF HIM? It is that we confess the same faith as our God-bearing Fathers. Sincerely believing God provokes opposition not only from the physical passions and the evil one’s snares, but also fromm people in the grip of passions who lure others and drag them down with themselves into wicked pleasures. In the same way, having a right belief in the ONE TRUE GOD PROVOKES OPPOSITION NOT ONLY FROM IGNORANCE AND THE ENEMY’S PROMPTINGS, BUT ALSO FROM GODLESS MEN WHO TREACHEROUSLY PULL BELIEVERS DOWN INTO THE DEPTHS OF THEIR OWN DESTRUCTION. I BOTH ASPECTS OF FAITH OUR GREATEST HELP COMES NOT JUST FROM GOD HIMSELF AND OUR GOD-GIVEN FACULTY OF KNOWLEDGE, BUT FROM THE GOOD ANGELS AND FROM GOD=FERING PEOPLE WHO LIVE ACCORDING TO HIS WILL.
This is why the Church of Christ, THE SPIRITUAL MOTHER AND NURSE OF US ALL, CLEARLY AND PUBLICLY CELEBRATES THOSE WHO WERE ILLUSTRIOUS IN THEIR PIETY AND VIRTUE, THEIR HOLY COUNCILS AND THE THE GODLY DOCTRINES THESE COUNCILS PROCLAIMED…
FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD AND CHAOTIC, AND WORKS WITHOUT FAITH ARE EMPTY AND USELESS. This is why we, eagerly pursuing BOTH FAITH AND WORKS TOGETHER, may show our faith by our works and carry off the prize for our labors through faith." [Homilies]
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"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
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With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Incarnate Logos,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George
The Eastern Orthodox Christian Ethos 