My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

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

"UNLESS ONE IS BORN AGAIN, HE CANNOT ENTER
THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN" (Saint John 3:5).

"Nicodemus came to the Savior during the night and spoke with Him, and He said, "Unless one is born again, he cannot enter the Kingdom of heaven." Although Nicodemus was an excellent teacher of the Old Testament, he was perplexed by these words. Christ then said to him for a second time, "Unless one is born again, he cannot enter the Kingdom of heaven." Nicodemus became even more confused and said to Him: "Lord, how can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?" (St. John 3:4). He was puzzled about what kind of birth the Savior was referring to. Then Jesus repeated it clearly a third time.

Saint Cleopa of Sihastria writes: "So, you see what kind of baptism is required for all of us: baptism through WATER and the SPIRIT, which we have all received from the Holy Church of Christ through the new BATH OF REGENERATION. The Spirit is invisible, and the water is visible. All the sacraments of the Church which were established by Christ are twofold, ONE ASPECT IS VISIBLE and ANOTHER INVISIBLE. ONE IS NOETIC and the other TANGIBLE, in this case, the Spirit and water."

"…Thou did sanctify the waves of Jordan, by sending down from Heaven Thine All-Holy Spirit and smotest
the heads of the lurking dragons. Wherefore, O Merciful King, do Thou now be present through the descent of
Thy Holy Spirit, and sanctify this water (thrice), and give to it: the GRACE OF REDEMPTION, THE BLESSING
OF JORDAN. Make it A SOURCE OF INCORRUPTION, A GIFT OF SANCTIFICATION, A RANSOME FROM SINS,
A GUARD AGAINST SICKNESS, A DEFENCE AGAINST DEVILS, INACCESSIBLE TO EVERY ADVERSE POWER,
AND FILLED WITH ANGELIC STRENGTH…" (Sacrament of Baptism)

According to Saint John of Damascus and Saint Cleopa there are NINE BAPTISMS until the consummation of the world: The first baptism was that of the Great Flood, when God drowned sin with water! The second baptism was the passing of the chosen people through the Red Sea, through the sea and through the cloud, which was an image of the descent of the Holy Spirit. The third baptism was the Levitical baptism, in other words, the circumcision of the Old Testament. No Levite could perform circumcision or be considered a priest unless he had been first baptized with water, washing his clothing and body. The fourth baptism was that of Saint John the Baptist and Forerunner and was called THE BAPTISM OF REPENTANCE. The fifth baptism, which was given by Christ to the holy Apostles. Didn’t the Savior Christ say to Nicodemus: "Unless one is baptized through water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of heaven?" The sixth baptism of confession. When the Savior breathed the Holy Spirit upon the Disciples, he said, "Whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them, and whosoever since ye retain, they are retained." This baptism was instituted by the Savior immediately after the Resurrection when He gave the Apostle the power to bind and loose the sins of men. "Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" (St. Matthew18:18). The seventh baptism is the baptism of the Descent of the Holy Spirit, when He Descended in the form of tongues of fire and gave the holy Apostles the power to speak in all the languages of th earth. The eighth baptism is THE BAPTISM OF BLOOD, of MARTYRDOM. The two sons of Zebedee, at the urging of their mother, asked that they be given places at the right and left of the Lord, and Jesus replied, "You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink and be batized with the batism that I am baptized with." (St. Mark 10:38). The BAPTISM OF BLOOD, with which Christ was baptized on the Cross, is the eighth baptism. This the MOST HOLY BAPTISM UNDER HEAVEN, FOR NO MAN CAN SIN AFTER THIS BAPTISM. HE IS BAPTIZED IN HIS OWN BLOD, AS CHRIST WAS ON THE CROSS, AND THEN HE ASCENDED TO HEAVEN. The ninth baptism IS THE END OF THE WORLD, THE Baptism WITH FIRE, WHICH IS NOT UNTO SALVATION, BUT ETERNAL TORMENT. EVERYONE WILL PASS THROUGH FIRE AND BE BURNED; FOR SOME IT WILL BE FOR CLEANSING AND SALVATION, BUT FOR OTHERS IT WILL BE ETERNAL TORMENT. (These are NINE BAPTISMS according to Saint John of Damascus)

"We are buried with Him by Baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4). Baptism is called "THE WASHING OF REGENERATION" (St. Titus 3:5). The holy Apostle Peter calls Baptism the promise of a good conscience toward God (1 Peter 3:21). Through Baptism, ONE IS JOINED OR UNITED TO THE Church.

The comparison of Baptism with a washing by water, WITH THE GRAVE, and other such things indicates that this Mystery (Sacrament) IS TO BE PERFORMED THROUGH IMMERSION. The Greek word BAPTIZO itself signifies "TO IMMERSE." The immersion in water is done three times with the pronunciation of the words: "The servant of God (name) is baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit," in accordance with THE COMMANDMENT GIVE BY Christ Himself (St. Matthew 28:19). Thus was it performed in the ancient Church.

Through Baptism, A NEW EXISTENCE OF LIFE begins and the baptized becomes A CHILD OF GOD, A MEMBER OF THE Body of Christ and the Church, and an inheritor of Eternal Life. It is therefore evident that Baptism IS INDISPENSABLE FOR ALL, INCLUDING INFANTS, SO THAT GROWING IN BODY AND SPIRIT THEY MIGHT GROW IN CHRIST.

The tenth parabraph of the Creed (Symbol of Faith) states: "I confess ONE BAPTISM FOR THE REMISSION OF SINS." This signifies that the Sacrament of Baptism in the Holy Orthodox Church, AS A SPIRITUAL BIRTH, is conducted as a sacred rite correctly through TRIPLE IMMERSION in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and CANNOT BE REPEATED.

Baptism is NOT ONLY a symbol of cleansing and washing away the defilement of the soul, but in itself is the beginning and source of the Divine Gifts which cleanse and annihilate ALL THE SINFUL DEFILEMENTS AND COMMUNICATE A NEW LIFE. All sins are forgiven, both original sin and personal sins, the way is opened for a new life, and opened is the possibility to receive the Gifts of God. (Orthodox Dogmatic Theology)

One of the most troubling trends in recent years, is that there are many of Orthodox young men and women who not only live together as husbands and wives without having an Orthodox marriage, but also give birth to children outside marriage. Couples who, sadly enough, are not interested in being married in the Church and/or having their children baptized. It is important for them, and also a matter of salvation, that they correct their spiritual standing with God and the Church as soon as possible. It is also most urgent and necessary that the child or children born out-of-wedlock be baptized. Our Church NEVER REFUSES BAPTISM, no matter under what conditions the child was conceived or born.

_________________

"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"

– Saint John Chrysostomos

+ + +

With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+ Father George

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

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

THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT (Part III)
Author: Saint John Climacus

QUOTATIONS FROM THE 30
SPIRITUAL STEPS:

Step 21. On Unmanly Fears

If you pursue virtue in a monastery or in gatherings of holy men, you are unlikely to be attacked by cowardice. But if you pass your time in solitary abodes, you must strive not to be mastered by cowardice, the child of vainglory, the daughter of unbelief…

"…So as you go where fright will lay hold of you, put on the armor of prayer, and when you reach the spot, stretch out your hands and flog your enemies with the name of Jesus since there is no stronger weapon in heaven or on earth. And when you drive the fear away, give praise to the God Who has delivered you, and He will protect you for all eternity, provided you remain grateful. Just as one morsel will not fill your stomach, so you will not defeat fear in one move."

Step 22. On Vainglory

VAINGLORY induces pride in the favored and resentment in those who are slighted. Often it causes dishonor instead of honor because it brings great shame to its angry disciples. It makes the quick-tempered look mild before men. It thrives amid talent and frequently brings catastrophe on those enslaved to it…
"…" Woe to you when all men shall speak well of you" (St. Luke 6:26). You can recognize the first kind of glory when you look at it as dangerous AND RUN FROM IT IN EVERY POSSIBLE WAY, HIDING YOUR LIFESTYLE WHEREVER YOU ARE. "

Step 23. On Pride

PRIDE begins where vainglory leaves off. Its midpoints comes with the humiliation of our neighbor, the shameless parading of our achievements, complacency, and unwillingness to be found out. It ends with the spurning of God’s help, the exalting of one’s own efforts, and a devilish disposition… I have seen people who speak aloud their thanks to God but who in their hearts are glorifying themselves, something demonstrated by the Pharisee with his "O God, I thank You" (St. Luke 18:11).

PRIDE takes up residence wherever we have lapsed, for a lapse is in fact an indication of pride. An admirable man said once to me: "Think of a dozen shameful passions. Love one of them, I mean pride, and it will take up the space of all the other eleven. The proud man wants to be in charge. He would feel lost otherwise… Pride makes us forget our sins, for the remembrance of them leads to humility…Darkness is alien to light. PRIDE IS ALIEN TO EVERY VIRTUE…"

Step 24. On Meekness, Simplicity, Guilelessness, and Wickedness24:9)

The light of dawn comes before the sun and MEEKNESS IS THE PRECURSOR OF ALL HUMILITY. So let us listen to the order in which Christ, our Light, places these virtues. He says, "LEARN FROM ME BECAUSE I AM MEEK AND HUMBLE OF HEART" (St. Matthew 11:29). Therefore, before going at the sun of humility, we must let the light of meekness flow over us. If we do, we will then be able to look steadily at the sun…

"…MEEKNESS is a mind consistent amid honor or dishonor. Meekness prays quietly and sincerely for a neighbor, however troublesome he may be…Meekness is the bulwark of patience, the door, indeed the mother of love, and the foundation of DISCERNMENT. For it is said: "The Lord will teach His ways to the meek" (Psalm 24:9). It is meekness that earns pardon for our sins, gives confidence to our prayers, and makes a place for the Holy Spirit. "To whom shall I look if not the meek and the peaceful (Isaiah 66:2)…

SIMPLICITY is an enduring habit within a soul that has grown impervious to evil thoughts… GUILELESSNESS is the joyful condition of an uncalculating soul…Malice is honesty PERVERTED, a deluded thought, a lying disposition, perjury, deceit that has become habitual, pride that is second nature. It is the foe of humility, fake penitence, a refusal to confess, an insistence on getting one’s own way…"

Step 25. On Humility

Do you imagine that plain words precisely or truly describe the love of the Lord, humility, blessed purity, divine enlightenment, fear of God, and assurance of the heart? "…Humility is constant forgetfulness of ONE’S ACHIEVEMENTS," someone says. "It is the admission that in all the world one is the least important and it also the greatest sinner," another says. "It is the mind’s awareness that one is weak and helpless," a third says. "It is to forestall one’s neighbor at a contentious moment and to be the first to end a quarrel." "It is the acknowledgment of Divine grace and Divine mercy." "It is the disposition of a contrite soul and the abdication of one’s own will."

Step 26. On Discernment

"…To put the matter generally, DISCERNMENT is and is recognized to be–A SOLID UNDERSTANDING OF THE WILL OF GOD IN ALL TIMES, IN ALL PLACES, IN ALL THINGS, AND IT IS FOUND ONLY AMONG THOSE WHO ARE PURE IN HEART, IN BODY, AND IN SPEECH… DISCERNMENT IS AN UNCORRUPTED CONSCIENCE. IT IS PURE PERCEPTION…
"…Everyone with a healthy sense of smell can detect hidden perfumes, and a pure soul can quickly recognize in others the sheer fragrance of goodness that he himself has received from God. Indeed he can also recognize, as others cannot, THE FOUL ODOR FROM WHICH HE HIMSELF HAS BEEN LIBERATED…"

Step 27. On Stillness

Stillness of the body is the accurate knowledge and management, of one’s feelings and perceptions. Stillness of soul is the accurate knowledge of one’s thoughts and is an unassailable mind…The start of stillness is the rejection of all noisiness as something that will trouble the depths of the soul…

"…The following are the signs, the stages, and the proofs of practicing in the right way: a calm mind, a purified disposition, rapture in the Lord, the remembrance of everlasting torments, the imminence of death, an insatiable urge for prayer, constant watchfulness, the death of lust, no sense of attachment, death of worldliness, an end to gluttony, a foundation for theology, a well of discernment, a truce accompanied by tears, an end of talkativeness, and many other such things alien to most men.."

Step 28. On Prayer

PRAYER is by nature A DIALOGUE AND A UNION OF MAN WITH GOD. Its effect is to hold the world together. It achieves A RECONCILIATION WITH GOD. PRAYER is THE MOTHER AND DAUGHTER OF TEARS. It is AN EXPIATION OF SIN, A BRIDGE ACROSS TEMPTATION, A BULWARK AGAINST AFFLICTION. IT WIPES OUR CONFLICT, IS THE WORK OF ANGELS, AND IS THE NOURISHMENT OF ALL BODILESS BEINGS. Prayer is future gladness, action without end, wellspring of virtues, source of grace, hidden progress, food of the soul, enlightenment for the mind, an axe against despair, hope demonstrated, sorrow done away with…For the man who really prays it is the court, the judgment hall, the tribunal of the Lord prior to the judgment that is to come…"

"…But heartfelt thanksgiving should have first place in our book of prayer. Next should be confession and genuine contrition of soul. After that should come our request to the Universal King. This method of prayer is best, as one of the brothers was told by an Angel of the Lord…In your prayers there is no need for high-flown words, for it is the simple and unsophisticated babblings of children that have more often won the heart of the Father of heaven… Faith gives wings to prayer, and without it no one can fly upward to heaven. Those of us who are swept by passion must ceaselessly pray to the Lord, for all the passionate have advanced from passion to dispassion…

"…After a long spell of prayer, do not say that nothing has been gained, for you have already achieved something. For, after all, what higher good is there than to cling to the Lord and TO PERSEVERE IN UNCEASING UNION WITH Him? … Do not stop praying as long as, by God’s Grace, the fire and the water have not been exhausted, for it may happen that never again in your whole life will you have such a chance to ask for the forgiveness for your sins…Prayer has its own special teacher in God, Who "TEACHES MAN KNOWLEDGE" (Psalm 93:10). He grants the prayer of him who prays. And He blesses the years of the just."

Step 29. ON Dispassion

Stars adorn the skies and DISPASSION HAS THE VRITUES TO MAKE IT BEAUTIFUL. By dispassion I mean A HEAVEN OF THE MIND WITHIN THE HEART, WHICH REGARDS THE ARTIFICE OF DEMONS AS A CONTEMPTIBLE JOKE. A MAN IS TRULY DISPASSIONATE–AND IS KNOW TO BE SUCH–WHEN HE HAS CLEANSED HIS FLESH OF ALL CORRUPTION, WHEN HE HAS LIFTED HIS MIND ABOVE EVERYTHING CREATED, AND HAS MADE IT MASTER OF AL THE SENSES, WHEN HE KEEPS HIS SOULD CONTINUALLY IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD …

"… THINK OF DISPASSION AS A KIND OF CELESTIAL PALACE, a palace of the King of heaven. Think of the numerous mansions (cf. John 14:2) as so many dwelling places within this city. Think of the forgiveness of sins as being the fortifying wall of this Jerusalem…"

"…Blessed DISPASSION raises the poor mind from earth to heaven, raises the beggar from the dunghill of passion. And love, all praise to it, makes him sit with princes, that is with Holy Angels, and with the princes of God’s people" (cf. Psalm 112:7-8).

Step 30. On Faith, Hope, and Love (Agape)

And now at last, after all that has been said, there remain that TRIAD: FAITH, HOPE, AND LOVE, BINDING AND SECURING THE UNION OF ALL. "BUT THE GREATEST OF THESE IS AGAPE (LOVE)" (1 Corinthians 13:13), since that is the very name of God Himself (cf. 1 John 4:8). To me they appear, one as a ray, one as light, and one as a disk, and ALL AS A SINGLE RADIANCE AND A SINGLE SPLENDOR…The man who wants to talk about love is undertaking to speak about God…God is love" (1 John 4:16). But someone eager to define this is blindly striving to measure the sand in the ocean…Love is the banishment of every sort of contrariness, FOR LOVE THINKS NO EVIL…

"…For when the heart is cheerful, the face beams (cf. Proverbs 15:13) and a man FLOODED WITH THE LOVE OF GOD REVEALS IN HIS BODY, AS IF IN A MIRROR, THE SPLENDOR OF HIS SOUL, A GLORY LIKE THAT OF MOSES, WHEN HE CAME FACE TO FACE WITH GOD" (cf. Exodus 14:29-35).

"…HOPE is the power behind love. HOPE is what causes us to look forward to the reward of love. HOPE IS AN ABUNDANCE OF HIDDEN TREASURE. It is the abundant assurance of the riches in store for us. It is a a rest from labor, a doorway of love. It LIFTS DESPAIR AND IS THE IMAGE OF WHAT IS NOT YET PRESENT. When hope fails, so does love. Struggles are bound by it, labors depend on it, and mercy lies all around it. The hopeful person slays despondency, kills it with his sword. Hope COMES FROM THE EXPERIENCE OF THE LORD’S GIFTS, AND SOMEONE WITH NO SUCH EXPERIENCE MUST BE EVER IN DOUBT. Hope is DESTROYED BY ANGER, FOR HOPE DOES NOT DISAPPOINT AND THE ANGRY MAN HAS NO GRACE…

"…The empress, as if coming from heaven, spoke thus in my soul’s hearing: ‘My love, you will never be able to know how beautiful I am unless you get away from the grossness of the flesh. So let this ladder teach you THE SPIRITUAL UNION OF THE VIRTUES. And I am there on the summit, for as the great man said, a man who knew me well: ‘REMAINING NOW ARE FAITH, HOPE, AND LOVE, THESE THREE. BUT AGAPE (LOVE) IS THE GREATEST OF THEM ALL" (1 Corinthians 13:13).

GLORY BE TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST!

___________________

"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"

– Saint John Chrysostomos

+ + +

With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+ Father George

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

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

THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT (Part II)
Author: Saint John Climacus

QUOTATIONS FROM THE 30
SPIRITUAL STEPS:

Step 11. On Talkativeness and Silence

TALKATIVENESS is the throne of vainglory on which it loves to preen itself and show off. Talkativeness is A SIGN OF IGNORANCE, a doorway to slander, a leader of jesting, a servant of lies, the ruin of compunction, a summoner of despondency, a messenger of deep, a dissipation of recollection, the end of vigilance, the cooling of zeal, the darkening of prayer.

INTELLIGENT SILENCE IS the MOTHER OF PRAYER, FREEDOM FROM BONDAGE, CUSTODIAN OF ZEAL, A GUARD ON OUR THOUGHTS, A WATCH ON OUR ENEMIES, A PRISON OF MOURNING, A FRIEND OF TEARS, A SURE RECOLLECTION OF ANGUISH…a growth of knowledge, a hand to shape contemplation, hidden progress, the secret journey upward…

Step 12. On Falsehood

HYPOCRISY is the mother of lying and frequently its cause. Some would argue that hypocrisy is nothing other than a meditation on falsehood, that is the inventor of falsehood laced with lies…Only when we are completely free of THE URGE TO LIE may we resort to it, and then only in fear and out of necessity. A baby does not know how to lie, and NEITHER DOES A SOUL CLEANSED OF EVIL.

Step 13. On Despondency

Despondency or TEDIUM of the spirit. Tedium is a paralysis of the soul, a slackness of the mind, a neglect of religious exercises, a hostility to vows taken…Tedium is one of THE EIGHT DEADLY VICES.

Step 14. On Gluttony

Gluttony IS HYPOCRISY OF THE STOMACH…Gluttony thinks up seasonings, creates sweet recipes. A stuffed belly produces fornication, while a mortified stomach leads to purity. The man who pets a lion may tame it but the man who coddles the body makes it ravenous…
Control your appetites before they control you, and shame will greatly help you to maintain such mastery…
FASTING makes for purity of prayer, an enlightened soul, a watchful mind, a deliverance from blindness. Fasting is the door of compunction, humble sighing, joyful contrition, and end to chatter, an occasion for silence, a custodian of obedience, a lightening of sleep, the health of the body, an agent of dispassion, a remission of sins, the gate, indeed, the delight of Paradise…"

Step 15. On Chastity

To be CHASTE is to put on the nature of an incorporeal being. CHASTITY is a supernatural denial of what one is by nature so that a mortal and corruptible body is competing in a truly marvelous way with incorporeal spirits. A chaste man is SOMEONE WHO HAS DRIVEN OUT BODILY LOVE BY MEANS OF DIVINE LOVE, WHO HAS USED HEAVENLY FIRE TO QUENCH THE FIRES OF THE FLESH…"

Step 16. On Avarice

AVARICE is a worship of idols and is the offspring of unbelief. It makes excuses for infirmity and is the mouthpiece of old age. It is the prophet of hunger and the herald of drought…The MISER sneers at the Gospel and is a deliberate transgressor. The MAN OF CHARITY spreads his money about him, but THE MAN WHO CLAIMS TO POSSESS BOTH CHARITY AND MONEY IS A SELF-DECEIVED FOOL.

Step 17. On Poverty

A man who has EMBRACED POVERTY offers up a prayer that is pure, while a man who loves possessions prays to material images…Avarice is said to be THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL (1 Timothy 6:10) and it is so because it causes hatred, theft, envy, separations, hostility, stormy blasts, remembrance of past wrongs, inhuman acts, and even murder. "

Step 18. On Insensitivity

INSENSITIVITY IS DEADENING FEELING IN BODY AND SPIRIT and comes from long sickness and carelessness…The insensitive man is a foolish philosopher, an exegete condemned by his own words, a scholar, He talks about healing a wound and does not stop making it worse…He prays against it but carries on as before…He talks profoundly about death and acts as if he will never die. He groans over the separation of soul and body, and yet lives in a state of somnolence as if he were eternal…"

Step 19. On Sleep, Prayer, and the Singing in Church of Psalms

SLEEP is a natural state. It is also AN IMAGE OF DEATH and a respite of the senses…However, the man who considers with a sensitivity of heart that he is standing before God will be an immovable pillar in prayer, and more of the demons mentioned above will delude him…When chanting hymns with others it may be impossible to pray with the wordless prayer of the spirit…"

Step 20. On Alertness

ALERTNESS keeps the mind clean. Somnolence binds the soul. The ALERT PERSON does battle with fornication, but the sleepy one goes to live with it. ALERTNESS is a quenching of lust, deliverance from fantasies in dreams, a tearful eye, a heart made soft and gentle, thoughts restrained, food digested, passions tamed, spirits subdued, tongue controlled, idle imaginings banished.

Such then is the twentieth step. He who has climbed it has received light in his heart. (Source: John Climacus. The Ladder of Divine Ascent)

(To be continued)

____________________

"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"

Saint John Chrysostomos

+ + +

With sinicere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+ Father George

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

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

THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT BY
SAINT JOHN CLIMACUS

The Ladder of Divine Ascent grew out of its author’s living experience and it requires from each reader a living, personal response. Read hastily, in a spirit of detached curiosity, the book is likely to prove a disappointment. Saint John expects to be pondered slowly, in a spirit of COMPUNCTION, and with a sincere intention on the reader’s part TO CHANGE HIS WAY OF LIFE.

A BRIEF SUMMARY AND
EXHORTATION

ASCEND, my brothers and sisters, ascend eagerly. Let your hearts’ resolve be to climb. Listen to the voice of the one who says: "COME, LET US GO UP TO THE MOUNTAIN OF THE LORD, TO THE HOUSE OF OUR GOD" (Isaiah 2:3), Who makes our feet to be like the feet of the deer, "WHO SETS US ON THE HIGH PLACES, THAT WE MAY BE TRIUMPHANT ON HIS ROAD" (Habakkuk 3:9).

Run, I beg you, run with him who said, "Let us hurry until we all arrive AT THE UNITY OF THE FAITH, and of the KNOWLEDGE OF GOD, at mature manhood, at THE MEASURE OF THE STATURE OF CHRIST’S FULLNESS" (Ephesians 4:13). Baptized in the thirtieth year of His Earthly age, Christ attained the 30th step on the Spiritual Ladder, for God indeed IS LOVE (AGAPE), and in Him be praise, dominion, and power. In Him is the cause, past, present, and future, of all that is good forever and ever. Amen.

QUOTATIONS FROM THE 30 SPIRITUAL STEPS:

Step 1. On Renunciation of Life

"God is the life of All free beings. He is the salvation of all, of believers or unbelievers, of the just or the unjust, of the pious or the impious, of those freed from the passions or caught up in them, of monks or those LIVING IN THE WORLD, of the educated or the illiterate, of the healthy or the sick, of the young or the very old…
"… A Christian IS AN IMITATOR OF CHRIST IN THOUGHT, WORD, AND DEED, as far as this is humanly possible, and he believes rightly and blamelessly in the Holy Trinity. A FRIEND OF GOD is THE ONE WHO LIVES IN COMMUNION WITH ALL THAT IS NATURAL AND FREE FROM SIN AND WHO DOES NEGLECT TO DO WHAT GOOD HE CAN…"
"…Withdrawl from the world is a willing hatred of all that is materially prized, a denial of nature for the sake of what is above nature. All this is done by those who willingly turn from the things of this life, either for the sake of the coming Kingdom, or because of the number of their sins, or ON ACCOUNT OF THEIR LOVE OF GOD…"

Step 2. On Detachment

"…No one can enter crowned into heavenly bridechamber WITHOUT FIRST MAKING THE THREE RENUNCIATIONS. He has to turn away from worldly concerns, from men, from family; he must cut selfishness away; and thirdly, he must rebuff the vanity that follows obedience. "Go out from among them," says the Lord. "Go apart from them. Do not touch the uncleanness of the age" (2 Corinthians 6:17).
"…For those sailing the tides of spirituality know only too well that THE RELIGIOUS LIFE CAN BE A HARBOR OF SALVATION OR A HAVEN OF DESTRUCTION, AND A PITIABLE SIGHT INDEED IS THE SHIPWRECK IN PORT OF SOMEONE WHO HAD SAFELY MASTERED THE OCEAN."

Step 3. On Exile

EXILE is a disciplined heart, unheralded wisdom, an unpublicized understanding, a hidden life, masked ideals. It is unseen meditation, the striving to be humble, a wish for poverty, the longing for what is Divine. It is an outpouring of love, a denial of vainglory, a death of silence… Exile is a separation from everything, in order that one may hold on totally to God. It is a chosen route of great grief. An exile is a fugitive, running from all relationships with his own relatives and with strangers…".

Step 4. On Obedience

"…Obedience IS A TOTAL RENUNCIATION OF OUR OWN LIFE, and it shows up clearly in the way we act. Or, again, OBEDIENCE is the MORTIFICATION OF THE MEMBERS WHILE THE MIND REMAINS ALIVE. Obedience is UNQUESTIONED MOVEMENTS, DEATH FREELY ACCEPTED, A SIMPLE LIFE, DANGER FACED WITHOUT WORRY, AN UNPREPARED DEFENSE BEFORE GOD, FEARLESSNESS BEFORE DEATH, A SAFE VOYAGE, A SLEEPER’S JOURNEY. Obedience is THE BURIAL PLACE OF THE WILL AND THE RESURRECTION OF LOWLINESS…INDEED TO OBEY IS, WITH ALL DELIBERATENNESS, TO PUT ASIDE THE CAPACITY TO MAKE ONE’S OWN JUDGMENT…"

Step 5. On Penitence

REPENTANCE is THE RENEWAL OF BAPTISM and is a CONTRACT WITH God for A FRESH START IN LIFE. REPENTANCE goes shopping for HUMILITY and is ever distrustful of bodily comfort. Repentance is THE DAUGHTER OF HOPE and the refusal to despair. The PENITENT stands guilty–but undisgraced. REPENTANCE is RECONCILIATION WITH THE Lord by the performance of good deeds which are the opposites of the sins. It is THE PURIFICATION OF CONSCIENCE and THE VOLUNTARY ENDURANCE OF AFFLICTION. The penitent deals out his own punishment, for repentance, is THE FIERCE PERSECUTION OF THE STOMACH AND THE FLOGGING OF THE SOUL INTO INTENSE AWARENESS…"

Step 6. On Remembrance of Death

"…To be reminded of death each day IS TO DIE EACH DAY; to remember one’s departure from life is TO PROVOKE TEARS by the hour. For death is a property of nature due TO DISOBEDIENCE, but TERROR OF DEATH IS A SIGN OF UNREPENTED SINS…
"If your remembrance of death is clear and specific, you will cut down on your eating; in your humility, you reduce the amount you eat, your passions will be correspondingly reduced…"

Step 7. On Mourning

"Mourning, which according to God is a melancholy of the soul, a disposition of an anguished heart that passionately seeks what it thirsts for, and when it fails to attain it, PURSUES IT DILIGENTLY AND FOLLOWS BEHIND IT LAMENTING BITTERLY…"

Step. 8. On Placidity and Meekness

"…Freedom from ANGER is an endless wish for dishonor, whereas among the vainglorious there is a limitless thirst for praise. Freedom from anger is a triumph over one’s nature. It is the ability to be impervious to insults and comes from hard work and the sweat of one’s brow. Meekness is a permanent condition of that soul which remains unaffected by whether or not it is spoken well of, whether or not it is honored or praised.
"…Just as darkness retreats before light, so ALL ANGER AND BITTERNESS DISAPPEARS BEFORE THE FRAGRANCE OF HUMILITY…"

Step 9. On Malice

"REMEMBERANCE OF WRONGS comes as the final point of anger. It is a keeper of sins…The man who has put a stop to anger has also wiped out the remembrance of wrongs since offspring can come only from a living parent. A LOVING MAN banishes revenge, but a man brooding on his hatreds stores up troublesome labors for himself… A malicious man is like A LURKING SNAKE CARRYING ABOUT ITS OWN DEADLY POISON…"

Step 10. On Slander

"…Slander IS THE OFFSPRING OF HATRED, A SUBTLE AND YET CRASS DISEASE, A LEECH IN HIDING AND ESCAPING NOTICE, wasting and draining away THE LIFEBLOOD OF LOVE. It puts on the appearance of love and is the ambassador OF AN UNHOLY AND UNCLEAN HEART. AND IS THE RUINING OF CHASTITY…
"…A good grape picker chooses to eat ripe grapes and does not pluck what is unripe. A charitable and sensible mind takes careful note of the virtues it observes in another, while THE FOOL GOES LOOKING FOR FAULTS AND DEFECTS. It is of such a one that it was said, "They have searched out iniquity and died in the search" (Psalm 63:7)…
"…Do NOT CONDEMN. Not even if your very eyes are seeing something, for they may be deceived.
This is the Tenth Step, and he who succeeds on it has practiced love or mourning. (Source: John Climacus. The Ladder of Divine Ascent)

(To be continued)

______________________

"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"

– Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +

With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+ Father George

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

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

ORTHODOX OFFICE OF THE EPISKOPOS ("OVERSEER")

Qualifications for Bishops (1 Timothy 3:1-7)

This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop,
he desires a good work.
A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate,
sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach, not given to
wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not
covetous; one who rules his own house well, having his children in
submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his
own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); not a novice, lest
being puffed up with pride he falls into the same condemnation as the devil.
Moreover, he must have a good testimony among those who are outside,
lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil."

[see Titus 1:6-9 Ordination of Sound Elders)

"A Bishop must be ordained ("consecrated") by two or three other Bishops."

All Orthodox Christians comprise a single flock of God and all are equal before the judgment of God. However, just as parts of the body have different functions in the life of the organism, so also in the Church there exist different ministries. "For as we have many members in one body, but ALL THE MEMBERS DO NOT HAVE THE SAME FUNCTION" (Romans 12:4).

The hierarchy was established by Our Lord Jesus Christ, "He gave some, apostles and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the Body of Christ; till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:11-13).

The Holy Apostles by a special rite that the Apostle Matthias was joined to the ranks of the Twelve in place of Judas who had betrayed the Lord. This rite was the choosing of worthy persons, followed by prayer and THE DRAWING OF LOTS. The Greek word, "κλήρωσις," means drawing lots and therefore the word for clergy comes from the Greek word κλήρος (cleros). The Holy Apostles themselves chose SUCCESSORS ("Apostolic Succession") for themselves through ORDINATION. These successors were the bishops.

The Holy Apostle Paul says, "Neglect not the gift that is in you, which was given by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery" (1 Timothy 4:15). And in 2 Timothy 1:6, he writes, "Therefore I remind you, to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands." To the Holy Apostles Timothy and Titus, Bishops of Ephesus and Crete is given the right to ordaine presbyters, "For this reason, I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking and appoint elders (presbyters) in every city as I commanded you" (Titus 1:5).

The bishop is primarily the guardian of the faith and, as such, the center of the Mysteriaki Zoe (Sacramental life) of the community. Our Holy Orthodox Church remains steadfast in the doctrine of Apostolic succession. In other words, the diakonia of the bishop must be direct continuity with the Holy Apostles. A bishop cannot be consecrated or exercise his ministry without being in unity with his brothrers in Christ, i.e., being a member of an episcopal council or synod.

The bishop presides in all the divine services, especially in the Divine Liturgy. The omophorion-the episcopal stole that represents THE LOST SHEEP carried: "Rejoice with Me, for I have found My sheep which was lost" (St. Luke 15:6). The crown, a late accretion but a reference of the Kingship of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The saccos, a vestment of the Byzantine Emperors, share first with the Ecumenical Patriarch and then with all bishops to honor their office. The staff, that of a shepherd and the brass serpent that of Moses the Prophet raised in the desert as mentione in the Old Testament Book Numbers 21: 8-9-symbols of healing. "Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a serpent for yourself and put it on a signal pole; and it shall be, if a serpent should bite someone, when the one bitten looks at it, he shall live.’ So Moses made a copper serpent and put it on a signal pole; and it happened when a serpent bit anyone and he looked at the copper serpent, he lived." The dikerotrikera-the set of candles in two candle holders which he blesses the faithful symbolize the Holy Trinity and the Two Natures of Jesus Christ, the Divine and human.

The hierarchs of the Church, a living symbol of the High Priest our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, "binds together" the People of God to the Divine, that they may participate fully in "the greatest possible assimilation and union with God..to become like Him."

The Episkopos ("overseer"), who leads the flock of Christ as a shepherd, is in holy imitation of the Good Shepherd Himself Who sacrificed His life for all of our sakes. In imitation of Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church, the bishop leads the faithful "that they may be partakers of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4) in the Holy Communion of the Precious and Sacred Body and Blood of Our Savior.

The authentic nature of the hierarchy is described clearly in the Epistles of Saint Paul to Timothy and Titus and therefore there is nothing more to add. One can easily see that the hierarch is meant to be a man filled with love, with dignity, with humility, with deep affection for his spiritual children and fellow clergy, who a "his hands." It is not so much about governance, rule, or authority. All the faithful look up to him always to be their inspiration by his commitment to the Lord God and by his sincere concern and compassion for the many souls entrusted to him by the Savior.

All faithful Orthodox Christians pray for the welfare of their bishop and for a long life. At every Divine Liturgy we pray, "Among the first be mindful, O Lord, of our Archbishop whom do Thou grant to Thy Holy Churches in peace, safety, honor, health and length of days, and rightly preaching of the word of Thy Truth."

___________________

"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"

– Saint John Chrysostomos

+ + +

With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+ Father Geoge

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

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

FOURTH SUNDAY OF HOLY AND GREAT LENT: SAINT JOHN
CLIMACUS

“Holy Father John, most glorious, you shed
a well-spring of tears and your soul thus was
purified; you propitiated God by your standing
in prayer all night, Thus given wings, you
ascended to His love and to His beauty, all
blessed as you are; which now you worthily
are enjoying endlessly as you rejoice with your
fellow athlete-monks, O godly-minded Saint.”

On this Sunday our Holy Church commemorates Saint John Climacus, Egoumenos of Sinai, who is assigned a special Sunday in Lent because of his writings and his own life, he forms a pattern of the true Christian ascetic. Saint John is the author of The Ladder of Paradise, one of the spiritual texts appointed to be read in church during Holy Lent.

Saint John lived in the second half of the sixth century, survived into the seventh, passed forty years of solitude at a place called Tholas; that he became Egoumenos (Abbot) of the great Monastery of Mount Sinai and he composed there The Ladder of Divine Ascent. The Ladder was written for a particular group, the Egoumenos, and the community of a monastic settlement at Raithu on the Gulf of Suez. It was put together for a restricted audience and to satisfy an urgent request for a detailed analysis of the special problems, needs, and requirements of the monastic life. Saint John Climacus was not immediately concerned to reach out to the general mass of believers. The Ladder became a classic, spreading it effects throughout all Eastern Christendom, the principal reason lay in the continuing impact on those who had committed themselves to a disciplined observance of an ascetic way as far removed as possible from daily concerns.

According to Saint John once inside the walls of the monastery, the monk, has to live under the scrutiny of a God Who is undoubtedly loving, merciful, and omnipotent, but Who is also just, stern, and conscious of protocol. For Saint John Climacus is concerned not so much with the outward trappings of monasticism as with its vital content. For him the monk is a believer who has undertaken to enter prayerfully INTO UNCEASING COMMUNION WITH GOD, and this in the form OF A COMMITMENT NOT ONLY TO TURN THE SELF AND WORLD BUT TO BRING INTO BEING IN THE CONTEXT OF HIS OWN PERSON AS MANY OF THE VIRTUES AS POSSIBLE. He does not act in conformity with virtues of one kind or another. Somehow, FROM WITHIN the boundaries of his own presence, HE EMERGES TO BE HUMILITY, TO BE GENTLENESS, TO BE SIN ABHORRED, TO BE FAITH AND HOPE AND, ABOVE ALL ELSE, TO BE LOVE (AGAPE).

Every Lent in Orthodox Monasteries it is appointed that The Ladder of Divinie Ascent be read aloud in church or IN THE REFECTORY (TRAPEZA OR DINING AREA), so that some monks will have listened to it as much as fifty or sixty times in the course of their life.

The author, Saint John Climacus, of The Ladder lived in the desert of Sinai, at the foot of Moses’ Mount, that rises rocky and precipitous to a height of nearly 7,500 feet. The surroundings would often have called to his mind the scene in Exodus: the lightning and thunder, the mountain shrouded in thick cloud, and Moses climbing up alone into the darkness to speak with God face to face (Exodus 20:18-21). But Saint John Climacus was also reminded constantly of another mountaintop, belonging to the New Testament–Tabor, “the high mountain apart” (St. Matthew 17:1), where our Lord was TRANSFIGURED (METAMORPHOSIS) before the three disciples. For when he prayed in the church built for the monks of Sinai by the Emperor Justinian in 556-557 A.D., each time he looked up Saint John would have seen in the apse at the East-end the great mosaic that still survives to this day, depicting Christ’s Transfiguration.

Visually and spiritually, then, Saint John’s imagination was dominated by these two mountains, Sinai and Tabor, and both alike are reflecting in the book that he wrote. In its severity, its refusal of compromise, and its demand for TOTAL DEDICATION. “The Ladder” calls to mind the arid desert, and the rocks and darkness of Sinai. But those prepared to look deeper will discover that the book speaks not only OF PENETENCE BUT OF JOY, NOT ONLY OF SELF-DENIAL BUT OF MAN’S ENTRY INTO DIVINE GLORY. Together with the gloom of Sinai there is also the fire of the Burning Bush and the Light of Tabor.

Little is known, beyond the bare outlines, about the life of Saint John Climacus. In Greek he is called Ioannis tis Klimakos, “John of the Ladder,” He was born shortly before 579 A.D., and he died around 649 A.D. Saint John was 16 years old when he came to Sinai. Here he would have found a monastic center already well etablished, containing in close proximity all the three forms of the monastic life that he describes in Step 1 of The Ladder. After three years, when Saint John was 19 years or 20 years old, Martyrius took him to the chapel at the top of Moses’ Mount and there, following the tradition of the time, HE TONSURED John AS A MONK. Martyrius, so it seems, died soon after Saint John’s profession. Saint John retired into solitude, settling as a hermit (erimitis) at Tholas. According to Saint John’s biographer Daniel of Raithu, during his years of retreat at Tholas he RECEIVED THE GIFT OF TEARS AND THE GRACE OF CONTINUAL PRAYER. He reduced sleep to a minimum but displayed a prudent moderation in his fasting, for it was his custom to eat everything allowed by the Monastic Rule but in extremely small quantities. Saint John kept TOTAL SILENCE FOR A YEAR only agreeing to speak once more with his visitors when entreated to do so by the very monks who had been his critics.

After 40 years of hermits life at Tholas, against his will Saint John WAS ELECTED EGOUMENOS (ABBOT) of the central monastery at Sinai. On the day of his INSTALLATION AS EGOUMENOS, a party of 600 pilgrims chanced to arrive at the monastery. While they weree all being given a meal, Saint John saw “A MAN WITH SHORT HAIR, DRESSED LIKE A JEW IN A WHITE TUNIC, GOING ROUND WITH AN AIR OF AUTHORITY AND GIVING ORDERS TO THE COOKS, CELLARERS, STEWARDS AN OTHER SERVANTS.” Once the meal had finished, the man was nowhere to be found. “It was our lord Moses,” said Saint John. “He had done nothing strange in serving here in the plae that is his own.” To the monks the sign was significant, for the were soon to feel that, in the person of their new Egoumenos (Abbot) John, they had indeed found another Moses.

How long Saint John continued in office is unknown. It was during this last period of his life, while Egoumenos, that he composed The Ladder of Divine Asent, at the request of another John, the Superior of a nearby monastery at Raithu. “Tell us in our ignorance,” asked John of Raithu, “what like Moses of old you have seen in divine vision upon the mountain; write it down in a book and send it to us as if it were the Tablets of the Law, written by God.” Constrained by the virtue of obedience he has complied with the request. Thre is nothing to indicate that Saint John Climacus was ever ordained a priest.

The Ladder relates to THE CONTEMPLATIVE as well as to the ASCETIC LIFE, while the final step ON LOVE IS CONCERNED WITH BOTH THE ACTIVE AND CONTEMPLATIVE LIFE AT ONCE; in the context of Divine Love there can be no sharp differentiation between the two.

The basic pattern of THE THIRTY STEPS of The Ladder can be presented thus:

I. The Break with the World

II. The Practice of the Virtues (“Active Life”)

III. The Strength Against the Passions

_________________________

“Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!”

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

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

A WOLF, DRESSED IN A SHEEP’S CLOTHING

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves" (St. Matthew 7:15). Then the Lord suggests that their true nature will be revealed by their actions "by their fruits shall ye know them. vs. 16. Many Christians are familiar with this biblical passage and still, others quote it frequently in various circumstances.

A variant fable by Aesop. This concerns a wolf that regularly comes to view the flock, but never attempts any harm. Eventually, the shepherd comes to trust it and on one occasion leaves the wolf on guard. He returns to find his flock decimated and blames himself for being taken in.

In his commentary, Saint Theophylact says, "The heretics are cunning and deceitful, which is why He says, "Beware." They produce sweet words and feign a decent life but within lies the hook. "Sheep’s clothing" is meekness, which some pretend to employ, in order to flatter and to deceive. But they are recognized by their "fruit" that is by their deeds and by their life. For though they can dissemble for a time, they are unmasked by those who are heedful."

One does not have to be a fanatic or paranoid to see suspicious and cunning movements within the Church from people entrusted to guide it and to protect it. We only need to review who were the heretics of the past. One of the most dangerous heresies that threaten the unity of the Church was Arianism which created conflict in the Church for a long time was introduced by the Alexandrian presbyter (priest) Arius. Arius was a student in the theological school of Antioch. He began to teach falsely of the inequality of the Son of God with the Father, and of the created nature of the Son. His heresy seized the Eastern half of the Empire, and despite its condemnation at the First Ecumenical Synod, it survived almost to the end of the 4th century.

Apollinarianism

Apolllinarios the Younger was a educated man who had been bishop of Laodicea (from 362 A.D.). He taught that in the God-manhood of Christ the human nature was ilncomplete.

Macedonius, bishop of Constatinople(about 342 A.D) taught falsely of the Holy Spirit in an Arian sense, namely, that the Holy Spirit is a ministering creature.

Nestorianism

This heresy takes its name from Nestorius, who had been Archbishop of Constantinople. Predecessors of Nestorius in this false teaching were Diodorus, teacher of the theological school of Antioch, and Theodore, bishop of Mopsuestia (died in 429 A.D.) whose disciple was Nestorius. Thus, this heresy came from the school of Antioch. Theodore of Mopsuestia taught the "contigruity" of the two natures of Christ, but not their union from the time of the conception of the Logos/Word. Those heretics called the Most Holy Virgin Mary "Christotokos," but NOT "Theotokos" (as having given birth to Christ BUT NOT TO GOD). The heresy was condemned at the Third Ecumenical Synod.

Monothelitism

Monothelitism was a softened form of Monophysitism (of one nature). While acknowledging two Natures of Christ, Monothelitism taught that in Christ there was only ONE WILL–namely, the Divine will. Adherents of this heresy included SEVERAL PATRIARCHS OF CONSTANTINOPLE WHO WERE EXCOMMUNICATED (Pyrrhus, Paul, Theodore). It was supported by Honorius, Pope of Rome. This heresy was rejected as false by the Sixth Ecumenical Synod.

Thee were of course other heresies that were introduced within the Church by prominent theologians, Arcbbishops, Bishops and even Patriarch and Popes. The Holy Chuch has been persecuted and injured not only by non-Christians but also from Christian educated hierarchy and theologians. In the first three centuries of Christianity the heresies spread their influence over a comparatively small territory; but from teh fourth century certain heresies seized about half the Roman Empire and caused immense conflict and took much strengthe to do battle with them.

Other heresies were: The Ebionites, the Nazarites, Gnosticism, Docetists, Nicolaitans, Marcionites, Carpocrates, Manichaeism, Montanism and of course Iconoclasm that aflicted the Church for more than 100 years.

I dont’ believe it would be an exegeration to call these heretics as wolves in sheep’s clothing. They were all excommunicated by the Seven Ecumenical Councils over the centuries. It is true that the enemies of the Church can be found both without as well as within the Church. There is no question, however, that the most sinister ones are those who hide among the true believers and present themselves as theologians, as bishops, as all kinds of religious leaders.

The Orthodox Christians of today must be vigilant and knowledgeble so that they will be able to know who are the heretics and who are not. Even today we must be watchful and not to take anything or anyone for granted. We must not be gullible and naive but to be discerning. As our Lord Jesus Christ tells, "YOU WILL KNOW THEM BY THEIR FRUITS" (St. Matthew 7:16). All of us need to pay attention to decision made that change our Holy Tradition, our sacred worship, the mandates and religious disciplines, unorthodox innovations and the introduction of foreign religious practices, of ignoring the dogmas, canons and moral principles of our Faith, of the secularization and moderization of the our Church, of allowing the so called ‘cancel culture’ to enter our Church and to begin cancelling Orthodox spiritual practices and values, etc.

Jesus warns us, "BEWARE OF FALSE PROPHETS who come to you in sheep’s clothing,
but are INWARDLY ARE RAVENOUS WOLVES." (St. Matthew 7:15).

________________

Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"

– Saint John Chrysostomos

+ + +

With sincere agape ib His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+ Father George

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

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

THE SACRED TRADITION OF THE
ORTHODOX CHURCH

"Therefore, brethren, STAND FAST AND
HOLD THE TRADITIONS WHICH YOU
WERE TAUGHT, WHETHER BY WORD
OR OUR EPISTLE" (2 Thessalonians 2:15).

In the New Testament, there are two types of traditions. "The tradition of men" (St. Matthew 15:1-9; Col. 2:8) is condemned. Our Lord quotes Isaiah 29:13, "So the Lord said, ‘These people draw near to Me and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me, and they worship Me in vain, teaching the commandments and doctrines of men." In the second to the fourth centuries, this was called "The Apostolic Tradition," or ‘Sacred Tradition," preserved by the Church, for God is its source. Sacred Tradition is that which our Lord taught to the holy Apostles, and which they, in turn, taught the Chuch under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit our God.

The early Christian Church carefully guarded her inward life against the non-Christians. Who Mysteries (Sacraments) were performed in secret from those outside the Church who were not present to witness them. The divine services were not written down but were only transmitted orally. Saint Basil the Great gives us a clear understanding of the Sacred Apostolic Tradition: "Of the dogmas and sermons preserved in the Church, certain ones we have from written instructions, and certainly one we have received from the Apostolic Tradition handed dow in secret. Both the one and the other have one and the same authority for piety, and no one who is even the least informed in the decrees of the Church will contradict this. For if we dare to overthrow the unwritten customs as if they did not have great importance, we shall thereby imperceptibly do harm to the Gospel in its most important points. And even more, we shall be left with the empty name of the Apostolic preaching without content. For example, let us especially make note of the first and commonest thing that those who hope in the Name of our Lord Jesus Chris should sign themselves with the Sign of the Cross. Who taught this in the Scripture? Which Scripture instructed us that we should turn to the East in prayer? Which of the Saints left us in the written form the words of invocation during the transformation of the bread of the Eucharist and the Chalice of blessing? For we are not satisfied with the words which are mentioned in the Epistles or the Gospels, but before them and after them we pronounce others also as having great authority for the Mystery, having received them from the UNWRITTEN TEACHING. By what Scripture, likewise, do we bless the water of Baptism and the Oil of anointing and, indeed, the one being baptized himself? Is this not THE SILENT AND SECRET TRADITION? And what more? What written word has taught us this anointing with oil itself? Where is the triple immersion and all the rest that has to do with Baptism, the renunciation of Satan and his angels to be found? What Scripture are these taken from? It is not from this UNPUBLISHED AND UNSPOKEN TEACHING WHICH OUR Fathers have preserved in silence inaccessible to curiosity and scrutiny, because they were thoroughly instructed TO PRESERVE IN SILENCE THE SANCTITY OF THE MYSTERIES? For what propriety would there be no proclaim in writing teaching concerning that which it is not allowed for the unbaptized even to behold? (On the Holy Spirit, Ch. 27).

"From these words of Saint Basil the Great we may conclude first, that the Sacred Tradition of the teaching of the faith is that which may be traced back to the earliest period of the Church, and, second, that it was carefully preserved and unanimously acknowledged among the holy Fathers and Teachers of the Church during the epoch of the Great Fathers and the beginning of the Ecumenical Synods." (Source: Orthodox Dogmatic Theology)

To the Orthodox Christian believer, Holy Tradition means the Holy Scripture; it means the Nicean Creed; it means the Decrees of the Ecumenical Synods and the sacred writings of the Holy Fathers of the Church; it means the Holy Canons, the Service Books, the sacred icons and so on. Fundamentally it means the entire system of Doctrine, Ecclesiastical government, worship, and sacred art which Orthodox Christianity articulated over the ages. (Kallistos Ware, the Orthodox Church)

Our faithfulness to the Sacred Tradition of the Church is not something superficial or without purpose. Sac is red Tradition or Apostolic Tradition is a personal conviction and relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Sacred Tradition is the life of the Holy Spirit within the Church. Sacred Tradition is a living experience of God the Holy Spirit in the present. Our Lord tells us when the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all the earth (St. John 16:13). Father Georges Florovsky expresses this idea: "Tradition is the witness of the Spirit; the Spirit’s unceasing revelation and preaching of good things…To accept and understand Tradition we must live within the Church, we must be conscious of the grace-giving presence of the Lord in it; we must feel the breath of the Holy Spirit in it…Tradition is not only a protective, conservative principle; IT IS PRIMARILY, THE PRINCIPLE OF GROWTH AND REGENERATION…TRADITION IS THE CONSTANT ABIDING OF THE SPIRIT AND NOT ONLY THE MEMORY OF WORDS."

Teaching is to be considered worthy of Holy Tradition when it stems from the Savior and/or the Holy Apostles and is directly under the influence of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Tradition is that which has been safeguarded from the Apostolic Church and has an UNINTERRUPTED CONTINUITY UNTIL TODAY. The Holy Tradition is that which IS CONFESSED AND PRACTICED BY THE ENTIRE UNIVERSAL AND ORTHODOX CHURCH. The Holy Tradition is that which IS IN HARMONY WITH THE GREATEST PORTION OF THE FATHERS AND ECCLESIASTICAL WRITERS.

"When a tradition DOES NOT FULFILL THESE QUALIFICATIONS, IT CANNOT BE CONSIDERED TRUE AND HOLY, AND CONSEQUENTLY CANNOT BE CONSIDERED ADMISSIBLE OR FIT TO BE OBSERVED."

Saint Paul in First Corinthians 11:2, says, "Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things AND KEEP THE TRADITIONS JUST AS I DELIVERED THEM TO YOU". In other words to be obedient to what has been DELIVERED–God-given ORAL TRADITION, from which Saint Paul taught. Saint Paul DOES NOT MAKE A DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE AUTHORITY OF THE WRITTEN AND ORAL TEACHINGS.

It is absolutely necessary that we must uphold with great respect and godliness Holy Tradition since all that is needful to effect our salvation is not found within Holy Scripture. Holy Scripture instructs us to do many things; however, it does not make manifest to us the light. Saint John says: "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen." (John 21:35).

I must emphasize and point out that for the Orthodox Christians, the Holy Scripture forms a part of Apostolic Tradition, but does not lie outside of it. We would be wrong to assume that Holy Scripture and the Apostolic Tradition are two separate and distinct sources of our Christian Faith, There IS ONLY ONE SOURCE; and the Holy Scripture exists, interpreted, and found its formulation within the Apostolic Tradition.

The Ecumenical Synods over the centuries remained faithful to and safeguarded and maintained the integrity of the Apostolic Tradition. Anyone tampering with the Apostolic Tradition is considered a heretic and is immediately excommunicated from the Orthodox Church. No one is above the Faith and therefore no one person or persons has any authority to change it or so call ‘reform it’ as though we are Protestant.

We, Orthodox Christians, must remain vigilant and on guard to make sure that the Authentic Church of Christ, remains Authentic and true to her Founder, Jesus Christ. The Orthodox Church had to face all kinds of heretics and enemies of Christ and the Church over the many centuries and she always triumphed. We must not be taken for fools and ignorant people by sinister elements within the Church but they must know that our Lord, the Bridegroom of the Bride, the Church, will not permit anyone to assault her. Jesus Himself said: "…the gates of Hades SHALL NOT PREVAIL AGAINST IT" (St. Matthew 16:18). In other words, the powers of evil and death, are powerless against her as shown over thousands of years. The Holy Church is the body of Christ, the Divine-human organism, and to her comes the call of Christ God for the whole of mankind to abide with Him and in Him. "And He put all things under His feet and gave Him to be Head over all things to the Church, which is His body, the FULLNESS OF Him, Who FILLS ALL IN ALL" (Ephesians 1:22-23). Because He is intimately UNITED WITH THE CHURCH, the Church has the greatest glory of all creation. The Church is God’s MASTERPIECE. Since Christ God is INFINITE; THE CHURCH NEVER CEASES BECOME "FULL".

_______________________

"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

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

"Let no one deceive you by any means;
for that Day will not come unless THE
FALLING AWAY COMES FIRST, and the
man of sin is revealed, the son of
perdition" (2 Thessalonias 2:3).

The Thessalonian Christians had been speculating about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ our Savior. Saint Paul informs them "For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night" (1 Thessalonians 5:2). Furthermore, "Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition" (2 Thessalonians 2:3).

Christians have for centuries speculated and some went as far as to predict the Second Coming of Christ but of course to no avail. The holy Apostle informs these early Christians that they will be certain signs which will take place before that day comes. Such signs: a general " falling away" (apostasy) of the believers and the "revealing "the man of sin, "son of perdition" who is the Antichrist of 1 and 2 John; Revelation 13). This "man of sin" is also referred to as "the lawless one" described in the Old Testament (Daniel 7:25; 8:25; 11:36). Mentioned by Jesus Christ Matthew 24:15). In his first visit to Thessaloniki, Saint Paul discusses this issue with the Christian community. The devil incites divisions among the people so they WILL READILY RECEIVE THE ANTICHRIST WHEN HE COMES. "The man of sin" is a counterfeit messiah with a counterfeit kingdom. He (1) exalts himself above God (v, 4) and (2) performs deceptive miracles and wonders through satanic power (v.9), and (3) will deceive the righteous into following him (vv. 10-12); (4) WILL BE REMOVED FROM POWER FROM CHRIST HIMSELF AT HIS SECOND COMING (v. 8).

We, of course, will not speculate when the Second Coming of Christ will come. What is important is to be spiritually and morally prepared for the arrival of that dreadful day. Each one of us will be held responsible before God for all of our actions during our lifetime here on earth, to truly repent and by the grace of God to be ready to give a "good account" to our Great and Just Judge, the Pantokrator.

Since none of us knows when he will die we must be prepared spiritually for that fearfrul day of judgment. As you know there is NO repentance after death and therefore we need to repent of our sins here and now. Our Lord says, "Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the Angels of God, over one sinner who repents" (St. Luke 15:10). Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica says, "We need repentance. You see, repentance is not only going to a priest and confessing. We fall many times during our life, and it is absolutely necessary to reveal everything [in Confession] before a priest who is a witness to our repentance."

"Repentance is the RENEWAL OF LIFE. This means we must free ourselves of all our nagative traits and turn toward absolute good. No sin is unforgivable except the sin of UNREPENTANCE."

An apostate is he who renounces his Christian faith and who defects, revolts, rebells against God. It is also he who refuses to repent for his many transgressions. When one willingly severs communion with God he brings condemnation unto himself. That is apostasy! The only remaining cure is his genuine repentance.

Most of the European countries were Christian countries for centuries, however, soon after World War II attitudes, priorities and individual goals changed dramatically. Whatever was the reason, whether it was the devastation of the continent, the shock of the great loss of life, the 62 million people who were killed. There is no doubt that the European people were traumatized psychologically, spiritually, and morally, due to that horific war. Is it possible that this was one of the causes that brought about the apostasy in Europe? In the Old Testament Book of Exodus 32:7-8 we find the Hebrew people who while Moses was on the mountain in the presence of God to receive the Ten Commmandmends, Aaron and the people rebelled against God and made "a malten calf." "Then Aaron said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel…" (v. 4). God told Moses "They turned aside quickly from the way I commanded them. They made themselves a calf and are worshipping and sacrificing to it,,," (v. 8). In some similar way the people of Europe abandoned the commandments of God and chose instead to turn toward a secular and a more permissive and depraved new world. A world that now offered a life of luxury, of unrestricted, vile pleasures, and materialism. Many Christian churches were no longer used for worship but instead some were turned into distilleries, office space, for training how play golf, museums, and even restorants. People of faith were, and still are, constantly ridiculed by former Christians and atheists for believing in God and attending Sunday services. It has been reported in recent years that only a small percentage of Europeans practice the Christiant faith. Furthermore, the secular governments in Europe today have set strict conditions on what a Christian priest or minister can preach from the pulpit, Under the existing laws there is a continued threat of imprisonment for those priests or ministers that do not adhere to them.

Are these not symptoms or signs of apoastasy? There is no need for anyone to speculate on the Second Coming of Christ. However, can we not at least agree, that these are indeed symptoms "of the falling away?" But how are we to respond to this apostasy? Elder Ephraim of Arizona, of blessed memory, would say to us, ‘THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY LEFT, PRAYER!’ So, Let us pray to the Lord. Kyrie eleison.

A PRAYER IN TIME OF TROUBLE

O God, our help and assistance, Who are just and merciful, Who hears the supplications of Your people; look down upon me, a miserable sinner, have mercy upon me and deliver me from this trouble that besets me, for which I know, I am deservently suffering. I acknowledge and believe, O Lord, that all trials of this life are given by You for our chastisement, when we drift away from You and disobey Your Commandments; deal not with me after my sins, but according to Your bountiful mercies, for I am the work of Your hands, and You know my weakness. Grant me, I beseech You, Your Divine helping grace, and endow me with patience and strength to endure my tribulations with complete submission to Your will. You know my misery and suffering and to You, my only hope and refuge, I flee for relief and comfort; trusting to Your infinite love and compassion, that in due time, when You know best, You will deliver from this trouble, and turn my distress into comfort, when I shall rejoice in Your mercy, and exalt and praise Your Holy Name, Father, Son and Holy Spirit: now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

____________________

"Glory To GOD
For
All Things!"

My beloved spiritual brothers and sisters in Christ God,

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

ORTHODOX MONASTICISM: ‘LIVING THE ANGELIC LIFE.’

"If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast,
and give it to the poor…and come follow Me" (St. Matthew 19:21).
Orthodox Christian Monasticism is a diakonia (ministry) or service to God. It is a way of life, a life of obedience to His commandments, a life of virtue, prayers night and day, a life directed towards contemplation, and denouncing the worldly life. Being a monk or a nun is a vocation not unlike being a priest.

The beginnings of monasticism go back to the very beginning of Christianity. The majority of the features were to be discovered in the more ancient Christian communities. Celibate ascetics, men and women, were thought of as a unique class. In the epistles of Saint Paul, the concept of celibacy was praised. The ascetically leaning Christians formed the core of this brotherhood. They were the glue that held the brotherhood united.

The word "μοναχός," monk, did not mean the solitary one, but "the unique one" and "the perfect one." "Within the Christian community, the monk was originally "the perfect one" who strove to fulfill the evangelical commandment: "You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (St. Matthew 5:48). The Messianic title of Christ as the Only-begotten Son (St. John 1:14) was thus carried over to the perfect Christian, THE MONK. He was the image of Jesus Christ, and being so, was exalted to the rank of an only-begotten son of God.

Monasticism became an established institution of the Christian Church during the 4th century at a time when the ascetic movements throughout the Church were gaining strength. The spread of Christianity in the 4th century was directly related to the spread of the Christian Faith. It flourished among the people of Egypt and Syria. Although the ascetics sought a greater isolation from the world, they realized they could not shut themselves entirely from other people. They were forced out of necessity to use tombs, caves, abandoned villages, and eventually the deep interior of the desert. It was here that they were perfectly situated to fulfill their principal task, the struggle with devils. The emptiness of the desert was thought of as the ideal place where they dwelt. It is also believed that the corruption and secularism within the Church at the time drove many of the faithful away from it and into the desert.

"The original form of the monastery in the East was not a common building with many cells united under one roof, but an assemblange of hermits’ huts within a fenced area: architectural expression of the bridge between the ideal of solitude and the ideal of community life." Saint Pachomius established a monastic rule which it served to regulate the physical life of the monastery. The final shaping of the monastic community life and the clearest statement of its nature and principles must be credited to Saint Basil the Great. His treatise on asceticism, originally written for the monks of Cappadocia, provided the theological foundation for cenobitism, the community life of monks. He was the creator of the monastic rule that later became the standard one for Orthodox Monasticism.

The life of the ascetic was austere and at times reached an extreme physical penance, fasts, prostrations, sleep deprivation and other extraordinary practices. Orthodox monks dedicated themselves entirely to liturgy, mysticism, and contemplation. Their fundamental attitude of withdrawl from "the world" led to their turning thier backs on all forms of secular knowledge. The highest form of asceticism was supposed to be complete liberation from the world and solitude, in which the pious monk’s entire moral and intellectual energies were directed toward God. The conditions of the monastery were intended to further the prayer and contemplation that were the monk’s principal challenge.

Orthodox Christians living in the world have been inspired and have learned much from the monastics of our Church. The faithful have been encouraged to have a spiritual life, a life of prayer, fasting, vigils and combating the passions. Orthodox Monasticism has been the protector of the Faith throughout the centuries when the Church was threaten by heresies, secularism, and a life of comfort. There is no difference in what is required and expeced spiritually from a monk, nun, or, clergy and laity living in the world. There is only on standard within the Orthodox Church and it is encouraged that everyone will remain streadfast and follow it faithfully and obediently.

I believe that all of us realize that we must wage war against the powers of evil and darkness. We believe that constant and unceasing prayer is as natural to us as breathing. Just as oxygen is necessary to live, prayer is necessary to maintain communion with the Life-Giving Savior, Who is the only Source of Life. The heart of the ascetic is filled with love of God and love for his fellow man, and so it should be with our heart as well. The purity of mind, heart and soul is one of the major challenges for all the faithful to attain. To become lithargic spiritually is dangerous and it leads to the crippling of the soul and finally to its spiritual death. We must acquire "APATHEIA," the fruit of love and chastity. It is the state of a soul in which love towards God and people is so ruling and burning as to leave no room for self-centered passions.

An Orthodox Christian believer can hardly conceive of salvation wihtout a certain severance from the secular world without a complete SELF-DENIAL. Our first duty is to achieve the Kingdom of God in our own soul. The best way to attain such an end, is to stand face to face with the Almighty God in silence. The great Saints, holy Fathers, holy Mothers, Confessors, Martyrs, Ascetics, Monks and Nuns, serve as our par excellence examples of what it means to be a true follower of Jesus Christ, our God and Savior. If we are looking for inspiration, we look to them and not to anyone outside our Holy Orthodox Church. There is nothing out there that is not polluted and corrupted. The world is an abyss of evil and sin.

Turn to our Holy Church for refuge, for inspiration and healing. The Church is led and guided by God the Holy Spirit. He is our True Physician and He provides the spiritual medicine that we all need to be restored and renewed. It is in the Church liturgical life that we seek and find the successive stages of the normal development of the Christian soul. Saint Cabasilas recommends meditation and mental prayer as the safest way to bind us to Christ. He says in penetrating accents: "The one pattern is Jesus… The Savior is more intimate to us than our own soul…We are concorporeal with Him, living His life, and have become His members." The person of Jesus Christ, according to him, is the heart of the Mystical Body of Christ."

It is through the Sacrament of Baptism that we are reborn through water and the Spirit and become members of the body of Christ. We then immediately follow it with the sealing of the grace of the Holy Spirit. "Do Thou, O Compassionate Master, King of all, grant to him also the SEAL of the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the participation of the Holy Body and of the Precious Blood of Thy Christ…". As new creatures now we are able to receive the Precious Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ as full members.

When we are in communion with Our Lord Jesus Christ, we feel that inner warmth and we may even sense His Divinie Light within us. We no longer have doubts of His presence and of His perfect love. All fear and uncertainty is destroyed and replaced with Divine strength and hope. There is confidence and we come to understand that there is nothing that we cannot achieve and accomplish in life. There is certainity. There is surety that comes from trusting in God’s wisdom and power. Christ and you have become one and you no longer act apart from Him. "For in Him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28).

__________________

"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"