My beloved brothers and sisters in Our Risen Lord, God, and Savior JESUS CHRIST.

CHRIST IS RISEN! TRULY HE IS RISEN! ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! ΑΛΗΘΩΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ!

Saint Efthymios of the Holy Mountain, our holy Father, was born A.D. 960 in the Iberian (Georgian) city of Tao. He was the son of devout, notable, and affluent parents. At one point, Efthymios’ father, a valiant soldier, moved to Contantinople. Within a short while, his father renounced the temporal and perishing splendor an glory of the world. The father resolved to follow Christ in that poverty that yields heavenly wealth. Upon taking the Angelic Schema of the monastics, he was renamed John. The former soldier, robust and handsome, now amazed all by his spiritual struggles and charitable soul. His son, Efthymios, who was still quite young, abided with his grandfather, a man who was conspicuous for his good repure and virtue. He raised and nourished the lad in the instruction and admonition of the Lord.

With the passage of a little time, the grandfather, taking Efthymios, went to Constantinople and sought his son John. Finding him, he urged him, with many laments and tears, to return to their homeland. Not only did John refuse to return to his homeland but by the grace of God he was able to keep his son with him. After he clothed him in the monastic Schema, they went to Mount Olympos of Bithynia. At length, Father John sent the lad to Constantinople where instructors might teach him suitable lessons.

The goodly Efthymios, having a sharp mind, genuine zeal, and diligence, learned, in but a short time, after his schooling and knowledge of things divine. He appeared as a river of teachings of the Holy Spirit, Efthymios received a full education in the Georgian language and in literature and later he studied Greek. After his schooling he returned to Mount Olympos where he succumbed to a grave illness. His father implored the Theotokos for his son’s deliverance. Father John besought the priest to bring the Mysteries to his son’s cell. As they entered the chamber, they perceived an ineffable fragrance. Efthymios, meanwhile, restored to health, was sitting upon his bed. When asked how he recovered, the young man answered that the Queen (the Theotokos) stood before him. She had asked him, in the Georgian language, "What ails thee?" He said that he told her that "I am dying." He then described how she approached him and, taking him by the hand, uttered, "Fear not, no longer shalt thou suffer illness." Afterward, she vanished and, "as you can see, " he said, "I am completely well." Learning of his restoration, Father John prostrated himself and offered up thanks before the holy icon of the Queen of all, the Virgin and Mother of God, whose lot on the day of Pentecost was their Iberian homeland.

From the sublime visitation, with the help of the most Holy Theotokos, Efthymios was not only delivered from his illness but also endowed with proficiency in the Georgian language and surfeit of every virtue. His father suggested to him to translate the Greek sacred texts into Georgian. Obedient to his father’s will in everything, undertook the task. Efthymios also purged the errors that crept into the service books.

With what words can we narrate worthily the nobleness and goodness that he rediated upon all who associated with him? Moreover, how can we adequately characterize his incomparable humility when, for fourteen years, he served not only the great Athanasios but also his ailing father? The holy Efthymios, with unfeigned humility while celebrating the Divine Liturgy, the moment came when the celebrant says aloud, "Singing the triumphal hymn, shouting, crying, and saying…" When the chanters responded, singing, "Holy, Holy, Holy Lord of Sabaoth…" Suddenly immeasurable light enveloped all and the earth quaked. Everyone fell prone to the floor, save the blessed Efthymios. He appeared as a pillar of fire standing motionless before the holy altar. This miraculous phenomenon spread the good fame of the Saint everywhere.

In A.D. 998 Father John advanced in years he fell sick when his legs began to swell. Bedridden, he suffered greatly, though he thanked God for everything. Since he was disabled, he turned over the supervision to Saint Efthymios. After having communicated the Holy Mysteries, delivered his soul into the hands of his Lord on the 14th of June. His august relics were interred in the monastery where many received healing, including those troubled by unclean spirits, when they were anointed with oil from the oil lamp over his tomb.

The Elder Efthymios served as Egoumenos (Abbot) for about twenty years. He would remain in his cell on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. He would not partake of bread and water until sunset. Unless he had some need, he never partook of wine: The Saint was solicitous for those entrusted to his care. He was strict about the correct and pious carrying out of obedience. Twice monthly, the Saint gave sermons at the coenobium when he would encourage his spiritual children to struggle lest they pass their lives unprofitably.

In the latter years of the Saint’s life, scandals and offenses abounded on the earth. Troubles also overtook the Holy Mountain, especially at the Great Lavra of Saint Athanasius where Saint Efthymios exercised supervision. As a result, all the fathers besought the Saint to travel to Constantinople. They hoped, by imperial decree, that the scandals could be dispersed and that complete peace would be brought back to Athos. The holy man, listen to the words of the fathers, journeyed to the Capital. Upon arriving, Emperor Constantine VIII (1025-1028 A.D.) convened the Senate and assembled the nobles. They rendered extreme reverence to the Athonite elder, whom they not only received with great kindness but also fulfilled his requests quickly.

Then one day, while on an errand with another monk, the holy man rode a mule through Constantinople. On the road, they encountered a beggar who was sitting and begging for alms. The Saint had compassion on him and was moved to help him. As the elder prepared to offer him alms, the mule, as it caught sight of the beggar, became frightened and went wild. It ran kicking its legs, as it carried off the Saint violently. It only came to a stop when it threw the Saint to the ground, thereby shattering his bones. Christians that witnessed his multiple injuries hastened to assist him. Within a few days, Saint Efthymios, after receiving the holy Mysteries, delivered his holy soul peacefully into the hands of God. It was the 13th of May, in the year 1028. Saint Efthymios was in his sixties when he reposed. His precious relics, to the Glory of God, proved to be a source of cures and miracles.

Therefore, we, too, entreat his holy intercession, to the glory of Father, Son and Holy Spirit–ONE DIVINITY AND KINGDOM–to Whom is the glory, honor and worship, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen. [Source:  The Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church]

____________
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +

With sincere agape in Our Lord, God and Savior JESUS CHRIST,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George

My beloved brothers and sisters in Our Risen Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ,

CHRIST IS RISEN! TRULY HE IS RISEN! ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! ΑΛΗΘΩΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ!

PASCHAL KATAVASIAI (Hymns]

"It is the Day of the Resurrection, O people, let us be
glorious in splendour. Pascha! Pascha of the Lord! For
Christ, our God, hath passed us, who sing the triumphal
hymn from death unto life and from earth unto Heaven."

"Come, let us drink a new draught, not one marvelously
brought forth from a barren rock, but the Source of
incorruption, which springs forth from the grave of
Christ, in Whom we are firmly established."

"May the inspired Prophet Habbakuk keep with us
the divine watch, and show forth the radiant Angel,
who with vibrant voice declared; TODAY SALVATION
COMES TO THE WORLD, FOR CHRIST HAS RISEN
AS ALMIGHTY."

"Let us in the deep dawn arise, and, instead of myrrh, a
offer a hymn to the Master, and we shall see Christ, the
Sun of Righteousness, Who causes life to dawn for all."

"Thou didst descend, O Christ, into the deepest parts
of the earth and didst shatter the everlasting bars, which
held fast those who were fettered; and on the third day,
like Jonas from the whale, didst arise from the tomb."

KONTAKION HYMN

Reader:
O Christ our God, though Thou didst descend into the
grave, yet didst Thou overthrow the power of Hades,
and rise as in Immortal Conqueror. Thou didst greet
the Myrrh-bearing women, and to Thine Apostles give
peace, and to the fallen grant Resurrection.

OIKOS

The myrrh-bearing maidens anticipated the dawn and sought,
as those who seek the day, their Sun, Who was before the sun,
and Who had once submitted to the Grave. And they cried to
each other: O friends, come, let us anoint with spices His
quickening and buried Body; the Flesh which raised up the fallen
Adam, and which now lies in the tomb. Let us go, like the Magi;
let us hasten and let us worship; and let us bring myrrh gift to Him,
Who is wrapped, not now in swaddling bands, but in a winding-
sheet. Let us weep and cry: O Master, raise Thyself up, and to the
fallen grant Resurrection. [Pascha Sunday]
+

ABOUT THE DISPENSATION ACCORDING TO THE FLESH OF OUR
LORD JESUS CHRIST AND THE GIFTS OR GRACE GRANTED TO
THOSE WHO TRULY BELIEVE IN HIM.
By Saint Gregory Palamas’ sermon on Holy
Saturday.

THE PRE-ETERNAL, uncircumscribed and Almighty Logos [Word] and Omnipotent Son of God could clearly have saved man from mortality and servitude to the devil without Himself becoming man. He upholds all things by the word of His power and everything is subject to His Divine Authority (cf. Hebrews 1:3). According to Job, He can do everything and nothing is impossible for Him (cf. Job 42:2). The strength of a created being cannot withstand the power of the Creator, and nothing is more powerful than the Almighty. But the incarnation of the Logos (Word) of God was the method of deliverance most in keeping with our nature and weakness, and most appropriate for Him who carried without justice…

"…So Christ was declared the New Adam. According to Prophet Isaiah, He did NO SIN in deed or thought, and certainly not in word, neither was any deceit in His mouth (cf. 1 Peter 2:22, Isaiah 53:9). He does not say "from his mouth" but "in his mouth", to indicate that His thoughts too were blameless. As He says elsewhere, before He knew evil He chose the good (cf. Isaiah 7:16). In this way God was justified, as we have said, and was manifested as truly good and the Maker of good works, since He became A SINLESS MAN, and showed forth in Christ the purity which He had inaugurated in human nature…

Saint Gregory traces the history of man’s relationship with God in order to establish the significance of the Resurrection as the Great Event that perfected and restored MAN’S COMMUNION WITH GOD. Saint Gregory explains that man chose to obey the devil in Eden, and in his act of defiance and disobedience he was exiled from the garden: "man was justly abandoned by God in the beginning, as he had first abandoned God. Man brought death upon himself: both PHYSICAL AND ETERNAL. However, Christ’s death and Resurrection defeated ETERNAL DEATH BY ENSURING ETERNAL LIFE.

CHRIST RESURRECTION made immortal the human race in order to invite it to participate IN THE TRUE LIFE which He preached. This gift enables us to IMITATE HIM if we so choose. In addition to this gift, Christ set a pattern of life which provides the means to accept the gift of Eternal Life. This was of course HIS WAY OF LIFE, WHICH WE FIND RECOUNTED IN THE HOLY GOSPELS.

Saint Gregory Palamas tells us that if Christ "had not become incarnate, suffered in the flesh, risen and ascended for our sake, we should not have known God’s surpassing love for us." This same love softened the hearts of so many Saints and Martyrs who sought to imitate Christ: "Now that we have been exalted without contributing anything, we stay humble, and as we regard with understanding the greatness of God’s promise and benevolence we grow in humility, from which comes salvation."

May we also come to an understanding of God’s promise of life so that we may live the salvation which has been set for us. Amen. [Source The Homilies]

________
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +

With sincere agape in His All-Holy Resurrection,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+ Father George

My beloved brothers and sisters in Our Risen Lord Jesus Christ,

CHRIST IS RISEN! TRULY HE IS RISEN! ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! ΑΛΗΘΩΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ!

Christ is risen from the dead by death trampling
upon Death, and has bestowed life to those in
the tombs.

APOSTICHA. Second Tone

Thy Resurrection, O Christ our Savior, enlightened
the whole world, and recalled Thine own creation.
Almighty Lord, glory to Thee.

A sacred Pascha has been today shown forth to us. A
new and Holy Pascha; a mystic Pascha. An All-Venerable
Pascha; A Pascha which is Christ the Redeemer. A spotless
Pascha, a Great Pascha, a Pascha of the faithful. A Pascha
which has opened to us the gates of Paradise. A Pascha
which hallows all the faithful.

Come from that scene, O women, bearers of good tidings,
and say to Zion: Receive from us the tidings of joy, of the
Resurrection of Christ. Exalt, rejoice, and be glad, O
Jerusalem, for thou dost see Christ the King as a Bridegroom
come forth from the tomb.
+

THE RESURRECTION OF THE LORD IS THE RENEWAL OF HUMAN NATURE, AND THE RENEWAL, RE-CREATION AND RETURN TO IMMORTALITY OF THE FIRST ADAM who was swallowed up by death because of sin, and through death went back to the earth from which he was formed. In the beginning nobody saw Adam being made and brought to life, for no one existed yet at that time. However, once he had received the breath of life into him by God (Genesis 2:7), a woman was the first to see him, for Eve was the first human being after him. In the same way, no one saw the Second Adam, that is the Lord, rising from the dead, since none of His Disciples were present and the soldiers keeping the tomb had been shaken with fear and became like dead men. But after the Resurrection it was a woman who saw Him first of all, as we heard in Saint Mark’s Gospel. “Now when Jesus”, it says, “was risen early the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene” [Mark 16:9].

The Evangelist Mark seems to be telling us clearly that it was early morning when the Lord rose, that He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, and that He appeared at the very time of the Resurrection. However, this is not what he says, as will become clear if we look more carefully. A little earlier Mark, together with the other Evangelists, says that Mary had also come earlier to the tomb with the other myrrhbearers, and finding it empty, they went away [Mark 16:1-8]. So the Lord had risen long before that hour of the morning when she saw Him. When the Evangelist Mark indicates the time of the earlier visit, he does not say simply “early”, as he does here, but “very early in the morning”. There they called the first hint of pale light on the horizon sunrise, as John shows by saying that Mary Magdalene came “early when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre” [John 20:1].

There is something which the Evangelists tell us in a veiled way, but which I shall reveal to your charity. As was right and just, the Mother of God was the first person to receive from the Lord the Good News of the Resurrection, and she saw Him risen and had the joy of His Divine words before anyone else. She not only beheld Him with her eyes and heard Him with her ears, but was the first and only person TO TOUCH WITH HER HANDS HIS MOST PURE FEET. If the Evangelists do not say all this openly, it is because they do not want to put forward His Mother as a witness, lest they give unbelievers grounds for suspicion.

The Myrrhbearers are those women who followed the Lord in company with His Mother, who stayed with her at the time of the saving passion, and were intent upon anointing the Lord’s body with myrrh…The Virgin Mother of God, returned in the company of other women to the place whence she had come. And behold, as Matthew says, “Jesus met them saying, All rejoice.” Notice that the Mother of God saw Him Who for our salvation suffered in the flesh, was buried and rose again, even before Mary Magdalene. “And they came”, it says, “and held him by the feet and worshipped Him” (Matthew 28:9). When the Theotokos with Mary Magdalene, heard the Good News of the Resurrection from the Angel, only she understood the meaning of the words. In the same way now when, in the company of the other women, she met her Son and God, she was the first of them all to see and recognize the risen Lord, and falling down before Him she grasped His feet and became His apostle to the Apostles.

It is pointless for someone to say that he has faith in God if he does not have the works which go with faith. What benefit were their lamps to the foolish virgins who had no oil (Matthew 25:1-13), namely, deeds of love and compassion? What good did calling Abraham his father do to that rich man frying in the unquenchable flame for his pitilessness toward Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31)? What use was his apparent obedience to the invitation that man who had failed to acquire through good works a garment fitting for the divine wedding and the bridechamber of immortality? He was invited and approached because he clearly believed, and he sat down alongside those holy guests, but when he was convicted and put to shame for being clothed in depraved habits and deeds, he was mercilessly bound hand and foot, and cast into hellfire, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 22:11-14).

May no one called by Christ have this experience, but may we all display a way of life which goes with our faith, that we may enter the bridechamber of unfading joy and spend eternity with the Saints in the dwelling place of all those who rejoice. Amen. [Source: Saint Gregory Palamas. The Homilies)

CHRIST IS RISEN! TRULY HE IS RISEN!

___________
“Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!”
– Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +

With sincere agape in Our Risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George

 

My beloved brothers and sisters in our Risen Christ,

Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen

Glory to His Third Day Resurrection.

We bow down to His Third Day Resurrection.

Christ is risen from the dead,by death trampling
upon Death, and has bestowed Life to those in the
tombs.

Thy Resurrection, O Christ, our Savior enlightened,
the whole world, and recalled Thine own creation.
Almighty Lord, Glory to Thee.

Though Thou, O deathless One, didst descend into
grave, Thou didst destroy the power of Hades and
as Victor, Thou didst rise again, O Christ our God. Thou
didst greet the Myrrh-bearing women, saying: Rejoice!
Thou didst bestow peace upon Thy Disciples, and
resurrection upon those that are fallen.

SERMON OF SAINT JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
ARCHBISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE

Priest:

Whosoever is a devout lover of God, let him enjoy this beautiful bright Festival. And whosoever is a grateful
servant, let him rejoice and enter into the joy of his Lord. And if any be weary with fasting, let him now enjoy
his penny. If any have toiled from the first hour, let him receive his due reward. If any have come after the third
hour, le thim with gratitude join the Feast. And he that arrived after the sixth hour, let him not doubt; for he too
shall sustain no loss. And if any have delayed to the ninth hour, let him not hesitate, but let him come too. And
he that hath arrived only at the eleventh hour, let him not be afraid by reason of his dalay; for the Lord is gracious
and receiveth the last even as the first. He giveth rest to him that cometh at the eleventh hour as well as to him
that hath toiled from the first. Yea, to this one, he giveth and upon that one, he bestoweth. He accepteth works,
as he greeteth the endeavour. The deed he honoreth and the intention he commendeth.

Let all then enter into the joy of our Lord. Ye first and last receiving alike your reward, ye rich and poor, rejoice
together. Ye sober and ye slothful, celebrate the day. Ye that have kept the fast, and ye that have not, rejoice today;
for the Table is richly laden. Fare ye royally on it. The calf is a fatted one. Let no one go away hungry. Partake ye
all of the cup of faith. Enjoy ye all the riches of His goodness. Let no one grieve at his poverty, for the Universal
Kingdom hath been revealed.

Let one mourn that he hath fallen again and again; for FORGIVENESS HATH RISEN FROM THE GRAVE. LET NO
ONE FEARETH DEATH; FOR THE DEATH OF OUR SAVIOR HATH SET US FREE. HE HATH DESTROYED IT BY
ENDURING IT. HE SPOILED HADES WHEN HE DESCENDED THERETO. HE VEXED IT EVEN AS IT TASTED OF HIS
FLESH. Isaiah foretold this when he cried, Thou O Hades, hast been vexed by encountering Him below. It is vexed;
for it is even done away with. It is vexed; for it is made a mockery. It is vexed; for it is destroyed. It is vexed; for it
is annihilated. It is vexed;for it is now made captive. It took a body, and, lo! it discovered God. It took what it saw,
and was overcome by what it did not see. O death, where is thy sting? O Hades, where is thy victory? CHRIST IS
RISEN, AND THOU ART ANNIHILATED. CHRIST IS RISEN, AND THE ANGELS REJOICE. CHRIST IS RISEN, AND
LIFE IS LIBERATED. CHRIST IS RISEN, AND THE TOMB IS EMPTIED OF THE DEAD; FOR CHRIST, HAVING RISEN
FROM THE DEAD, IS BECOME THE FIRSTFRUITS OF THOSE THAT HAVE FALLEN ASLEEP. TO HIM BE GLORY AND
POWER FOREVER AND EVER. AMEN.

SAINT PAUL SPEAKS ON THE RESURRECTION
1 CORINTHIANS 15:1-22.

"Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you
received in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I
preached to you–unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first all of all that which
I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried,
and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred
brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.
After that He was seen by James, then by all the Apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also,
as by one born out of due time. For I am the least of the Apostles, who am not worthy to be called
an Apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and
His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than by all, yet not I, but the
grace of God which was with me. Therefore, whether it was I or they so we preach and so you
believed. Now If Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among
you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But IF THERE IS NO RESURRECTION OF THE
DEAD, THEN CHRIST IS NOT RISEN. AND IF CHRIST IS NOT RISEN, THEN OUR PREACHING IS
EMPTY. YES, AND WE ARE FOUND FALSE WITNESSES OF GOD, BECAUSE WE HAVE TESTIFIED
OF GOD THAT HE RAISED UP CHRIST, WHOM HE DID NOT RAISE UP–IF IN FACT THE DEAD
DO NOT RISE, THEN CHRIST IS NOT RISEN. AND IF CHRIST IS NOT RISEN, YOUR FAITH IS FUTILE;
YOU ARE STILL IN YOUR SINS! THEN ALSO THOSE WHO HAVE FALLEN ASLEEP IN CHRIST HAVE
PERISHED. IF IN THIS LIFE ONLY WE HAVE HOPE IN CHRIST, WE ARE OF ALL MEN THE MOST
PITIABLE. BUT NOW CHRIST IS RISEN FROM THE DEAD, AND HAS BECOME THE FIRSTFRUITS
OF THOSE WHO HAVE FALLEN ASLEEP. FOR SINCE BY MAN CAME DEATH, BY MAN ALSO CAME
THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD. FOR AS IN ADAM ALL DIE, EVEN SO IN CHRIST ALL SHALL
BE MADE ALIVE."

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
now and ever, and in the Ages of Ages. Amen.

It is the Day of the Resurrection; let us be glorious in
splendour for the Festival, and let us embrace one another.
Let us speak also, O brethren, to those that hates us, and
in the Resurrection, Let us forgive all things, and so let us
cry: CHRIST HAS RISEN FROM THE DEAD, BY DEATH
TRAMPLING UPON DEATH, AND HAS BESTOWED LIFE
TO THOSE IN THE TOMBS.

Christ has risen from the dead, by death trampling
upon Death, and has bestowed Life to those in the
tombs.

____________
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +

With sincere agape in Our Risen Lord, God and Savior,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+ Father George

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.

The Sacred and Solemn Hymns of our Church reveal
the Essence of Holy and Great Week [Part II].

HOLY AND GREAT FRIDAY

Antiphon Ten. Tone Six

He who clothes Himself in Light as in a garment, stood naked at the
judgment; on His cheek He received blows from the hands which He
had formed. The lawless people nailed to the Cross the Lord of Glory.
Then the veil of the temple was rent in twain and the sun was darkened,
for it could not bear to see such outrage done to God, before Whom all
things tremble. Let us worship Him.

Antiphon Twelve. Tone Eight

Thus says the Lord to the Jews: ‘O my people, what have I done unto thee?
Or wherein have I wearied thee? I gave light to they blind and cleansed thy
lepers, I raised up the man who lay upon his bed. O My people, what have I
done unto thee, and how hast thou repaid Me? Instead of manna thou hast
given Me gall, instead of water vinegar; instead of loving Me, thou hast nailed
Me to the Cross. I can endure no more. I shall call My Gentiles and they shall
glorify Me with the Father and the Spirit; and I shall bestow on them eternal
life.

Antiphon Fifteen. Tone Six

Today He who hung the earth upon the waters is hung upon
the Cross (three times).
He Who is King of the Angels is arrayed in a crown of thorns.
He Who wraps the heaven in clouds is wrapped in the purple
of mockery.
He Who in Jordan set Adam free receives blows upon His face.
The Bridegroom of the Church is transfixed with nails.
The Son of the Virgin is pierced with a spear.
We venerate Thy Passion, O Christ (three times).
Show us also Thy Glorious Resurrection.

Let us not keep festival as the Jews: for Christ our God and Passover
is sacrificed for us. But let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement,
and with sincerity entreat Him: Arise, O Lord, and saveus in Thy love
for mankind.

HOLY AND GREAT SATURDAY

Troparia. Tone Two

Noble Joseph, taking down Thy Most Pure Body from the Tree,
wrapped it in clean linen with sweet spices, and he laid it in a new
tomb.

Going down to death, O Life immortal, Thou hast slain hell with
the dazzling Light of Thy Divinity. And when Thou hast raised up
the dead from their dwelling place beneath the earth, all the powers
of heaven cried aloud: ‘Giver of Life, O Christ our God, glory to
Thee.

The Angel stood by the tomb, and to the women bearing spices
he cried aloud: ‘Myrrh is fitting for the dead, but CHRIST HAS
SHOWN HIMSELF A STRANGER TO CORRUPTION.

Sessional Hymn. Tone One

The soldiers keeping watch over Thy tomb, O Savior became as
dead men in the presence of the shining Angel, who proclaimed
the Resurrection to the women. We glorify Thee, for Thou hast
destroyed corruption. We fall down before Thee, risen from the
tomb, our only God.

THE MEANING OF THE GREAT FAST

PALM SUNDAY. ‘Blessed is He that comes…’: this is the feast of Christ the King — welcomed by the children at His Entry into Jerusalem, and to welcome likewise by each one of us into our own heart. ‘Blessed is He that comes…’ –that comes not so much out of the past as out of the future: for on Palm Sunday we welcome not only the Lord Who entered Jerusalem long ago, riding on a donkey, but the Lord Who comes again in power and Great Glory, as King of the Future Age. Palms and branches are blessed after the Gospel at Orthros (Matins), and held with lighted candles during the rest of the divine service.

Holy Week. MONDAY, TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. On the days following His Entry to Jerusalem, Christ spoke to His Disciples in particular about the signs that will precede the Last Day (Matthew 24 and 25); and so this forms the theme of the first part of Holy and Great Week. Each of the three days has its own particular theme:

On Holy and Great Monday we commemorate the Patriarch Joseph, whose innocent sufferings (Genesis, chapters 37 and 39-40) PREFIGURE the Passion of Christ. Also we commemorate the BARREN FIG TREE cursed by our Lord (Matthew 21:18-20)–A SYMBOL OF THE JUDGMENT THAT WILL BEFALL THOSE WHO SHOW NO FRUITS OF REPENTANCE; a symbol, more specifically, of the unbelieving Jewish synagogue.

On Holy and Great Tuesday the liturgical texts refer chiefly to the Parable of the Ten Virgins, which forms the general theme of these three days. They refer also to the Parable of the Talents that comes immediately after it (Matthew 25:14-30). Both these are interpreted as Parables of JUDGMENT.

On Holy and Great Wednesday we commemorate the WOMAN THAT WAS A SINNER, WHO ANOINTED CHRIST’S FEET as He sat in the house of Simon. In the hymnography of the day, the account in Matthew 26:6-13 is combined with that in Luke 7:36-50 (cf. also John 12:1-8). A second theme is the AGREEMENT MADE BY JUDAS with the Jewish authorities: the repentance of the sinful harlot is contrasted with the tragic fall of the chosen disciple.

On the Evening of Holy and Great Wednesday the Mystery (Sacrament) of Holy Oil (Holy Unction) and the ANOINTING OF THE SIC is usually celebrated in church and all are anointed, whether physically ill or spiritually sicknesses, and this Sacrament confires not only bodily healing but FORGIVENESS OF SINS, thus serving as a preparation for the reception of Holy Communion on the next day.

HOLY AND GREAT THURSDAY. On this day four events are celebrated: THE WASHING OF THE DISCIPLES’ FEET, THE INSTITUTION OF THE MYSTERY OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST AS THE MYSTICAL SUPPER, THE AGONY IN THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE AND THE BETRAYAL OF CHRIST BY JUDAS.

HOLY AND GREAT FRIDAY. On this day we celebrate the sufferings of Christ: THE MOCKERY, THE CROWN OF THORNS, THE SCOURGING, THE NAILS, THE THIRST, THE VINEGAR, AND GALL, THE CRY OF DESOLATION, AND ALL THAT THE SAVIOR ENDURED ON THE CROSS; ALSO THE CONFESSION OF THE GOOD THIEF. At the same time, THE PASSION IS NOT SEPARATED FROM THE RESURRECTION; EVEN ON THIS DAY OF OUR LORD’S DEEPEST ABASEMENT, WE LOOK FORWARD ALSO TO THE REVELATION OF HIS ETERNAL GLORY.

ON HOLY AND GREAT SATURDAY. On this day we celebrate THE BURIAL OF CHRIST AND HIS DESCENT INTO HELL. At Orthros (Matins), usually held on Friday evening, the service begins with the ‘PRAISES’ (in Greek Enkomia) sung before the Epitaphion in the center of the church. The predominant note at this divine service is not so much one of mourning as OF WATCHFUL EXPECTATION. For the time being God observes a Sabbath rest in the tomb, but we look forward to the moment when He will rise again, bringing new life and recreating the world.

On Holy and Great Saturday evening the people gradually reassemble in the darkened church while the Acts of the Apostles are read and then the Midnight Office is sung. At Twelve O’Clock approaches, the lights in the body of hte church are extinguished. All wait in silence for the moment when the priest will come out from the holy Sanctuary with the burning candle that symbolizes the Light of hte Risen Christ. So the period of the Lenten Triodion closes in a spirit of intense and eager expectation. [Source: The Lenten Triodion]

__________
"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

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.

Holy and Great Week in the Orthodox Christian
Holy Tradition.

Palm Sunday Hymns
(Stichera. Tone Six)

Today the grace of the Holy Spirit has gathered us together,
and we all take up Thy Cross and say: Blessed is He that
comes in hte Name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.

Today the Logos/Word and Coeternal Son of God the Father, whose
throne is the heaven and whose footstool is the earth, humbles
Himself and comes to Bethany, seated on a dumb beast, on a foal.
Then the children of the Hebrews, holding branches in their hands,
praise Him saying: ‘Hosanna in the highest: blessed is He that
comes, the King of Israel’.

Prefiguring for us Thy Holy Resurrection, Loving Lord, by Thy
command Thou has raised up from death Lazarus Thy friend, who
was without the breath of life; and after four days is the tomb he
had begun to stink. Then, O Savior, mounted on a foal, and as
though riding in a chariot, Thou hast given a sign unto the Gentiles.
Therefore also Israel Thy beloved offers Thee praise out of the
mouth of innocent babes and sucklings, as they behold Thee,
Christ, enter the Holy City six days before the Passover.

HOLY AND GREAT MONDAY

Troparion Hymn. Tone Eight

Behold the Bridegroom comes in the middle of the night; and
blessed is the servant whom He shall find watching, but un-
worthy is he whom He shall find in slothfulness. Beware, then,
O my soul, and be not overcome by sleep, lest thou be given over
to death and shyt out from the Kingdom. But return to soberness
and cry aloud: Holy, Holy, Holy art Thou, O God: through the
Theotokos have mercy upon us.

[Sessional hymn]. Tone One

Today the Holy Passion shines forth upon the world with the
Light of Salvation; for Christ in His love hastens to His sufferings,
He Who holds all things in the hollow of His hands consents to be
hung upon the Tree, that He may save mankind.

HOLY AND GREAT TUESDAY

Aposticha:

Come, ye faithful, and let us serve the Master eagerly, for He
gives riches to His servants. Each of us according to the measure
that we have received, let us increase the talent of grace. Le one
gain wisdom through good deeds; let another celebrate the Liturgy
with beauty; let another share his faith by preaching to the
uninstructed; let another give his wealth to the poor. So shall we
increase what is entrusted to us, and as faithful stewards of His grace
we shall be counted worthy of the Master’s joy. Bestow this joy upon
us, Christ our God, in Thy love for mankind.

When Thou shalt come, O Jesus, in glory with the Angelic Hosts
and shalt sit upon the throne of Judgment, do not send me from
Thy presence, O Good Shepherd. Thou dost accept those who stand
upon the right, but those upon the left have turned away from Thee.
Destroy me not with the goats, though I am hardened in sin, but
number me with the sheep on Thy right hand, and save me in Thy love
for mankind.

HOLY AND GREAT WEDNESDAY

Tone Eight
(by Kassiani the Nun)

The woman who had fallen into many sins, perceiving Thy
Divinity, O Lord, fulfilled the part of a myrrh-bearer, and with
lamentations she brought sweet-smelling oil of myrrh to Thee
before Thy burial. ‘Woe is me’, she said, ‘for night surrounds
me, dark and moonless, and stings my lustful passion with
the love of my sin. Accept the fountain of my tears, O Thou Who
drawest down from the clouds the waters of the sea. Incline to
the groanings of my heart, O Thou Who in Thine ineffable self-
emptying hast bowed down the heavens. I shall kiss Thy most
pure feet and wipe them with the hairs of my head, those feet
whose sound Eve heard at dust in Paradise, and hid herself for
fear. Who can search out the multitude of my sin and the abyss
of Thy judgments, O Savior of my soul? Despite me not, Thine
handmaiden, for Thou hast mercy without measure.

HOLY AND GREAT THURSDAY

The glorious disciples were illumined at the Supper during the
washing of the feet, but ungodly Judas was darkened by the
disease of avarice, and he delivered Thee, the Righteous Judge,
to lawless judges. See, O lover of money, how for money’s sake
he hanged himself. Flee from the greed which made him dare to
do such things against his Master. O Lord, Who are good
towards all men, glory to Thee.

Aposticha. Tone Eight

Today the evil Sanhedrin has assembled against Christ and devised
vain things against Him, plotting to deliver Him, though innocent,
to Pilate to be put to death. Today Judas places his neck the noose
of money, and deprives himself of life both temporal and divine.
Today Caiaphas prophesies against his will, saying" ‘It is expedient
that one man should perish for the people.’ He came to suffer for our
sins, that He might set us free from the boandage of the enemy: for He
is good and loves mankind.

Troparion. Tone Six

At Thy Mystical Supper, Son of God, today receive me as a communicant:
for I will not speak of the mystery to Thine enemies; I will not give Thee a
kiss like Judas; but as the thief I confess Thee: Remember me, Lord, when
Thou comest in Thy Kingdom.

‘Let Jesus Christ be crucified’, cried the Hebrew people together with the
priests and Scribes. O faithless people! What evil has He done, He Who raised
up Lazarus from the tomb and wondrously has brought to pass the salvation
of all?

The lawless people cried aloud before the judgment seat of Pilate:
"Crucify Him, and set free for us Barabas the murderer who lies
bound. Scourge Christ and take, O take Him and crucify Him with the
evildoers.

THEOTOKION

Ewe that bore the Lamb, Thy Mother stood, O Master, by the Cross
and wept for Thee, O Creator of all Things, as she looked upon Thy
great longsuffering. For by Thine own will Thou was born incarnate,
and hast suffered in the flesh all Thy Passion that Thou mightiest
save the world.

[To be continued]

_________
"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

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.

COMMUNION IN PRAYER WITH THE SAINTS

Our Holy Orthodox Church has always held the teaching of the invocation of the saints, being fully convinced that they intercede for us before God in heaven. This we see from the ancient Liturgies. In the Liturgy of the Holy Apostle James it is said: "Especially we perform the memorial of the Holy and Glorious Ever-Virgin , the Blessed Theotokos. Remember her, O Lord God, and by her pure and holy prayers spare and have mercy on us." Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, explaining the Liturgy of the Church of Jerusalem, remarks: "Then we also commemorate (in offering the Bloodless Sacrifice) those who have previously departed first of all, patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, so that by their prayers and intercession God might receive our petition."

Numerous are the testimonies of the Holy Fathers and Teachers of the Church, especially from the 4th century onwards, concerning the Church VENERATION of the saints. But already from the beginning of the 2nd century there are direct indications in ancient Christian literature concerning faith in prayer of the saints in heaven for their earthly brethren. The witness of the martyric death of Saint Ignatius the God-bearer (beginning of the 2nd century say: "Having returned home with tears, we had the all-night virgil… Then, after sleeping a little, some of us suddenly saw blessed Ignatius standing and embracing us, and others likewise saw him praying for us." Similar records, mentioning the prayers and intercessions for us of the holy martyrs, are to be found in other accounts from the epoch of persecutions against Christians.

Orthodox Christians do not worship the Saints but the Almighty God alone. The saints of the Church are respected, revered and VENERATED. Such a Great Saint and Martyr is the Holy and Great Martyr George who is commemorated on April 23rd. When his feast falls during Lent than he is celebrated on the Monday following Pascha of Bright Week.

The renowned and Glorious holy Martyr was born in Cappadocia, the son of rich and God-fearing parents. His father suffered for Christ, after which his mother moved to Palestine. When George grew up, he went into the army, in which he rose, by the age of twenty, to the rank of Tribune, or CHILIARCH (that is, a commander of a thousand troops), he was illustrious in battle and highly honored for this courage, and as such was in service under the pagan Emperor Diocletian. When this Emperor began a terrible persecution of Christians, George came before him and boldy confessed that he was a Christian. The wicked Emperor threw him into prison, and commanded that his feet be put in the stocks and a heavy weight placed on his chest. After that, he commanded that he be bound on a wheel, under which was a board with great nails protruding, and thus be turned. He then had him buried in a pit with only his head above the ground, and left there for three days and nights. Then, through some magician, he gave him deadly poison, but in the face of all these tortures, George prayed unceasingly to God, and God healed him instantly and saved him from death, to the great amazement of the people. When he also raised a dead man to life by his prayers, many embraced the Christian faith. Among these was the Emperor’s wife, Alexandra, and the chief pagan priest, Athanasius, the Governor Glycerius and Valerius, Donatus, and Therinus. Finally, the Emperor commanded that George and the Empress Alexandra be beheaded. Blessed Alexandra died on the scaffold before being killed, and Saint George was beheaded. This happened in the year 303 A.D. The miracles that have been performed at his grave are without number. Also are his appearances in dreams to those who, thinking of him, have sought his help, from time up to the present day. Consumed by love for Christ, it was not difficult for holy George to leave all for this love — his status, wealth and imperial favor, his friends and the whole world. For this love, the Lord rewarded him with a wreath of unfading glory in heaven and on earth, and with eternal life in His Kingdom. The Lord further endowed him with the power to help in need and distress all who honor him and call on his name. [Souce: The Prologue from Ochrid]

His sacred remains (holy relics) were taken by his servant from Nicomedia to Palestine, to a town called Lydda, the homeland of his mother, and then were finally transferred to the church which was raised in his name. (The translation of the Saint’s holy relics to the church in Lyddas is commemorated on November 3rd; Saint Alexandra the Queen on April 21st.

Through the centuries Saint George has shown himself to be a swift and present helper to all who call on him with faith, whether on land or sea, no the uttermost ends of the earthly; ye so many miracles have been worked at his tomb in Lydda (the present-day Lod), that when Palestine was in teh hands of the Muslims, they took half of his church and turned it into a mosque, which may will be seen to this day, dedicated in his honor and terrifying to the abundant power of his intercessions.

Please note: The Orthodox Christian Tradition for the faithful is to honor their patron Saint on his feast-day. Every Orthodox when baptized is given a Christian name, in other words a name of one of the Saints or even of a major holy day, i.e., Evaggelia (Annunciation) or Anastasios (Resurrection).
On the holy day of the feast the Orthodox Christian would prepare himself/herself to attend the Divine Liturgy and receive Holy Communion as the greatest of all blessings.
The celebration of birthdays was a pagan custom.

Apolytikion (Dismissal) Hymn. Fourth Tone

LIBERATOR of captives, defender of the poor, physician of hte sick,
and champion of kings, O trophy-bearer Great Martyr George,
intercede with Christ God that our souls be saved.

Kontakion Hymn. Fourth Tone

HAVING been cultivated well by the Lord God, as the most honored
cultivator of piety thou hast now gathered sheaves of virtues for
thyself; for, as thou didst sow with tears, thou dost reap with rejoicing;
with thy blood didst thou contest and thou now hast received Christ.
And by thine intercessions, O Saint George, thou grantest all the
forgiveness of trespasses.

________
"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

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.

HUMAN LOGIC OR REASON

“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean. Put away
the evils from your souls before My eyes. Cease from
your evils. Learn to do good. Seek judgment and
redeem the wronged. Defend the orphan and justify
the widow. COME NOW, AND LET US REASON
TOGETHER, says the Lord” [Isaiah 1:16-18].

Our All-Merciful and Loving God and Creator bestowed numerous blessings and gifts to man who He created and fashioned him with His own Divine hands. God granted reasoning to man, unlike the animals, which are without reason (‘αλογα). By giving man the power of reasoning, man was able to make prudent choices and decisions which would be advantageous to his spiritual and earthly needs. Man, therefore, acquired the ability to discern between good and evil and those things that go beyond what he sees and to ascertain in depth things which are not seen.

The Christian, however, does not rely on his flawed and imperfect human logic but on the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Human logic should also be infused with divine wisdom to have any merit. Logic can become a serious obstacle to one’s faith and may lead to estrangement from God. God transcends all human logic. The human mind cannot comprehend the mysteries and the ways and actions of God. Orthodox Christianity concurs that human logic has great limitations, for God surpasses all human understanding. Man’s attempt to understand the Divine through philosophy, has instead led him to confusion, and heresy, such as Arianism and Gnosticism. “Philosophy is rational and abstract. It proceeds not from faith, like theology, but seeks to base itself either on the indisputable fundamental axioms of reason, deducing from them further conclusions, or upon the facts of science or general human knowledge.” The source of theologizing is Divine Revelation, which is contained in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition.

God Himself reveals to mankind what He wants people to know and how to benefit from it. The holy Apostle Peter writes: “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that in the world through lust. But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For it these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” [2 Peter 1:1-8].

“Being renewed by God’s power, we become “partakers of the divine nature.” This does not mean we become divine by nature. If we participate in God’s essence , the distinction between God and man would be abolished. What this does mean is that we participate in God’s ENERGY, described by a number of terms in Holy Scripture, such as GLORY, LIFE, LOVE, VIRTUE, AND POWER. We are to become like God by His grace, and truly His adopted children, but never become God by nature. According to some Church Holy Fathers, this especially occurs through the Eucharist, for when Christ’s Body and Blood become one with ours, WE BECOME CHRIST-BEARERS AND PARTAKERS OF THE DIVINE NATURE.”

“We that are made worthy to participate in Him [the Holy Spirit] through faith in Christ are brought to perfection as participants of the divine nature, and are said to be born of God, and on that account are given the title gods, not flying up to the glory above us by grace alone, but as already having God indwelling and taking lodging in us, according to what is set forth in the Prophet, ‘I SHALL DWELL AMONG THEM AND WALK ABOUT IN THEIR MIDST’ (Lv26:12; 2 Cor 6:16).

How do we who know Christ grow in our participation in the divine nature through grace? By the cultivation of a progression of spiritual realities. As in 2 Peter 1:3, VIRTUE refers to the vigor and courage behind attaining moral excellence. AGAPE (LOVE) (v, 7) is adjoined to “brotherly kindness” (affection among Christians), for love of God cannot be perfected except THROUGH LOVE OF ONE’S NEIGHBOR [1 John 4:20]. Made in God’s image and likeness, we are fulfilled by becoming like Him, a process called sanctification or theosis (deification). Being “partakers of the divine nature” [2 Peter 1:4], we are “transformed into the same image from glory to glory” (2 Co 3:18).

The holy Apostle John says, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does NOT love does NOT know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:7-8). God is love is not a definition of who God is, but rather describes His relationship to us as our Father. “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also” [1 John 4:20-21].

Man ought to use reason to avoid disobeying God, sinning, doing harm to others, and acting irresponsibly. Instead to live a more virtuous and pious life, conforming to God’s commandments. God has given us His energy (life) and His personal presence (godliness, or piety, devotion), both of which we may grow in. Virtue (Gk. arete) is spiritual and moral excellence attained by vigorous and courageous faith. “The rewards for the toils of virtue are dispassion and spiritual knowledge. For these are the mediators of the Kingdom of Heaven, just as passions and ignorance are the mediators of eternal punishment. True faith depends completely on God and seeks ways to do good works.

___________
“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

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lod, God, and Savior,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

THE RIGHTEOUS IN THE HOLY SCRIPTURE

"He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he
who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is
righteous, let him be righteous still; he who
is holy, let him be holy still" [Revelation 22:11].

"This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was
A RIGHTEOUS MAN, WHO WAS PERFECT IN
HIS GENERATION AND WELL-PLEASING TO
GOD" [Genesis 6:9].

Noah was a righteous man because he found the grace of the Holy Spirit, through which BECAME RIGHTEOUS. He was "perfect" because through the grace of the Holy Spirit he obeyed everything God told him to do [6:22]. His RIGHTEOUS LIVING was "well-pleasing to God." "earth was corrupt…and filled with unrighteousness" because of man’s willful refusal to become righteous through the grace of the Holy Spirit. Their unrighteousness was their own fault [through them], for they had every opportunity to come to repentance. The Lord God made Noah righteous THROUGH FAITH, by which he pleased God [Hebrews 11:6-7]. Through the grace of the Holy Spirit HE OBEYED EVERYTHING GOD COMMANDED HIM TO DO. SO HE AND HIS FAMILY ENTERED THE ARK, WHICH TYPIFIED SALVATION.

Righteousness IS A HEART-CENTERED BELIEF IN AND OBEDIENCE TO GOD WITH THE BLESSING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. The holy Apostle Paul shows in Galatians 3:6-9 that Abraham’s "righteousness" does not consist in keeping the law, but in "believing" God. When God "accounted" Abraham righteous, Abraham was participating with God in the fruit of the Holy Spirit and faith [3:5]. To "justify" in 3:8] means to make righteous and to be righteous. Therefore, to be "blessed" in Abraham is to participate with him in body and soul in communion with God and His Goodness.

"BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HUNGER AND THIRST FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS" [Matthew 5:6]. Those who "hunger and thirst for righteousness" see the presence of God, and His Kingdom as the most important thing in life. They have a desperate craving FOR WHAT IS RIGHT BEFORE GOD, COMPARABLE TO A STARVING PERSON’S CRAVING FOR FOOD. "But seek first the Kingdom of God AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore to not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things" [Matthew 6:33]. The Kingdom of God is the central theme of Jesus’ teaching, and His "righteousness" is the subject of the Sermon on the Mount. Calling us to be free from anxiety about earthly things, Jesus directs us to LOOK TO HEAVEN, secure in the faith that God WILL PROVIDE NEEDED EARTHLY BLESSINGS.

"The Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND JUDGMENT: OF SIN, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged" [John 16:8-11]. Through the illumination brought by the Holy Spirit, the world will be convicted, that is, prove wrong. It will be convicted concerning its "sin", the ultimate of which is denying Jesus Christ; "righteousness", which it failed to accept from Christ with faith and thanksgiving and "judgment", FOR ALL WHO REJECT CHRIST WILL "RECEIVE THE SAME PENALTY THAT SATAN, THE RULER OF THIS WORLD, HAS ALREADY RECEIVED [see Matthew 25:41].

The process of Christian growth requires OUR FREE WILL COMMITMENT TO WALK IN "RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HOLINESS." [Ephesians 4:24]. A child of the light can no longer act as a child of darkness. A change of lifestyle is possible because of Christ, the ORIGINAL "NEW MAN." So Christ must be "LEARNED’ AND RELATIONSHIP WITH Him must be RENEWED, A PROCESS IMPLYING INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP. Further, Christ must be PUT ON [v 24], a clothing metaphor, an allusion to baptism and the baptismal robe. We chant at the Sacrament of Baptism: "As many of you have been baptized into Christ, HAVE PUT ON CHRIST. ALLELUIA." While spiritual grace MAKES MAN HEAVENLY, RIGHTEOUSNESS IS BOTH A GIFT AND A GOAL, A PRESENT REALITY AND A PROMISE TO BE STRIVEN FOR.

____________
"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

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.

SUFFERING IN THE LIGHT OF DIVINE REVELATION

The question of suffering is one of the most sensitive questions. Many ask themselves: why has God created us to suffer in this world from different diseases, sorrows, calamities, troubles, and misfortunes; from passions on the inside, from bad people on the outside, from the envy of neighbors, from the menace of enemies? For those who do not believe in God, this world is a hopeless valley of sorrows; life for them is a sad symphony of wailing and weeping. Some in their despair even say that there is no other hell beyond the grave, that hell is here, on earth. In this way earthly sorrows, not being lightened by the hopes of heavenly Revelation, lead to pessimism and despair. The worst thing in such cases is that suffering does not carry any meaning in itself that would soften it, making it doubly hard to bear.

Here we will endeavor to examine the question of suffering in the light of the Divine Revelation.

First of all, one thing must be clear to us: God has created us not for sorrow, but for joy. Where do we see man for the first time? In Paradise! According to the testimony of the Holy Bible, especially of the New Testament, man is intended for Paradise, not for hell. The fact that many are perishing does not yet mean that such were God’s intentions for man. No! "God is Agape [Love] [1 John 4:8]. He does NOT want the death of the sinner [cf. Ezekiel 33:1], but on the contrary, "will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" [1 Timothy 2:4]. The following situation is very significant: on Judgment Day, the Savior will say to the righteous: "Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." And He will say to the sinners: "Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels" [Matthew 25:34, 41]. From this, it is clearly seen that, according to God’s plan, Paradise was prepared for men, and hell–for the demons.

God placed Adam in Paradise. In that wonderful place of joy the first man was unspeakably happy because he was close to God. Happiness IS BEING WITH GOD, AND AWAY FROM HIM THERE IS NO TRUE OR LASTING JOY. In the Kingdom of God where God Himself will rule, there will be no sorrow. God will wipe away every tear from the eye (cf. Revelation 7:17). Adam was happy in Paradise as long as he had an inner connection with God through grace. But where did sorrows come from?—from sin. As soon as Adam sinned he began to suffer, even though he was still in Paradise. Sin CARRIES ITS OWN PUNISHMENT IN ITSELF. The devil destroys his friends: those who obey his will. Conscience reproaches the one who goes against the Divine principles and transgresses God’s Commandments. Even before God drove Adam out of Paradise, Adam himself had already left it inwardly by VIOLATING GOD’S LAW AND BY LOSING THE GRACE. He began to suffer from the moment he fell. It is NOT God, then, Who is to blame for Adam’s suffering, but it is Adam himself. God HAD CREATED HIM FOR JOY, BUT HE CHOSE SORROW FOR HIMSELF.

The Logos/Word of God testifies of the Savior and His wondrous gifts of grace: "But as many as received Him, to them gave He the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe in His name" [John 1:12]. To become a child of God, is this not the same as returning to the lost Paradise? Is this not something even greater? This is how kind God is toward us, thes children of Adam. He has given us the opportunity to avoid the disastrous fate of our ancestors if we want to. Adam was gifted by God WITH A FREE WILL, but he misused his freedom and transgressed God’s law. That is why he began to suffer. We too, have this great gift–FREEDOM. It we embrace God’s law, if we subject our sinful will to the holy will of God, we will not suffer like Adam but will foretaste the Paradisiacal joys even in this life, and in the age to come we will also live in bliss eternally with those who have pleaded God…

"…God is the Source of joy, and the devil–the source of suffering. That is why even the sorrows which come to us according to God’s will in this temporary life carry in themselves joy and lead to heavenly glory if they are endured with faith and trust in God’s good Providence. In contrast, the temporal sinful pleasures with which the devil tempts us carry poison in themselves, and their end is utter disappointment. Whoever follows God is happy even in suffering, as the holy Apostle Paul speaks: "sorrowful, yet always rejoicing" (2 Corinthians 6:10); but whoever follows the devil is unhappy even in his earthly joys…

"…It is true that the righteous, too, are not left without sorrows in life. The Savior Himself has prophesied to His Apostles: "In the world ye shall have tribulation" (John 16:33). The holy Apostle Paul says directly: "All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" [2 Timothy 3:12)…In this way, the first Christians considered suffering for Christ to e a great honor and rejoiced in it.  In the same spirit, the holy Apostles advised the faithful followers of Christ [to value suffering]. In all cases, the holy Apostles advised the Christians to rejoice and to lay their sorrow on God. What a deep and perfect understanding the first Christians had of suffering and its beneficial influence on the soul of the person who endures it patiently! [Source: The Meaning of Suffering and Strife and Reconciliation]

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"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George