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.

SAINT PORPHYRIOS’ DOGMATIC TEACHINGS

Concerning the Heterodox, Other Religions, Heretical
Teachings, and the Devil.

Concerning Papism

“A certain American woman, a professor, passed along a message from the Pope to an Orthodox clergyman stating that Elder Paisios and Elder Porphyrios were invited to go to the Vatican. The answer from both was the following: No, we cannot go, because the Roman Catholic church and the Pope are not ready for us yet. They have way too much pride. Not only do they wish to subjugate us, but they also believe that we do not possess the Truth. There is no need for us to go. We will better aid the cause through our prayers.”

From the above, we clearly come to see the position of both Elders, Saints:

1. Both Saints Porphyrios and Paisios say, in clear language, that the Pope is a heretic.
He has lost Orthodoxy on account of egotism. Estrangement from the life of God, which
prevails in the West on account of the enslavement of the Western Roman Empire (the
de-christianized Orthodox Western Roman state of Byzantium) to the heretical and
barbarian Franks, led to heresy.

This is how it usually happens: life outside of the Orthodox spirit, a confused ethos, the love of power, and egotism lead to estranged dogma; in other words, to heresy. When we live a life contrary to Christ, “we fabricate” corresponding dogmas which are altered, dogmas which “house” this alienated way of life.

2. From the aforementioned response of the Elders, their
position is likewise quite clear; it is not the dialogue with
the Pope that is beneficial, but prayer. This is so, because
the Pope is not ready.
Now why isn’t the Pope ready? Well, because he has NOT REJECTED THE HERETICAL INNOVATIONS MADE TO DOGMA, INCLUDING: THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, THE FILIOQUE, PAPAL INFALLIBILITY, AND MANY OTHERS. Regarding this, the Venerable Elders are in agreement with Saint Gregory Palamas.

This holy Archbishop of Thessaloniki, Saint Gregory Palamas, one who the Papists continue to insult to this day, teaches us that in order FOR PROPER DIALOGUE TO OCCUR WITH THE LATINS (Papists), THEY MUST FIRST REMOVE THE “ADDITION” WHICH THEY MADE TO THE SYMBOL OF FAITH, THAT OF THE FILIOQUE.”

Thus, both of these two great, contemporary Elders say NO TO SUCH DIALOGUE BECAUSE THE POPE IS NOT YET PREPARED.

3. The Pope, according to these two holy Elders, DOES NOT BELIEVE THE ORTHODOX POSSESS THE TRUTH.
In fact, recently, it has been shown that the Elders have been proved right, since the current Pope ASSERTED
THAT THEY (meaning the Papists) HAVE THE TRUE CHURCH, WHILE WE (the Orthodox), HAVE AN “ECCLESIOLOGICAL DEFICIENCY!” This is what Pope Benedict declared in a text, signed by his hand, which was circulated in June of 2007. In short, he told us that we are deficient with regard to our dogmas and THAT WE MUST RETURN TO THE FULL TRUTH WHICH IS POSSESSED BY Papism!!! In reality, THE OPPOSITE MUST OCCUR. The Pope MUST RENOUNCE HIS HERETICAL DOGMAS AND RETURN TO ORTHODOXY.

Our holy Elder Porphyrios understands the devices of Papism quite well. “Do not be afraid,” he would say, “the attitude of the Pope HAS ALWAYS BEEN TO SUBJECT THE ORTHODOX CHURCH AND THE DAY WILL COME WHEN THE DIALOGUE WILL BE CALLED OFF. Nothing will happen. Furthermore, by existence of the UNIATES, THIS TROJAN HORSE, THEY SHOW PLAIN AS DAY THAT THEY ARE INTERESTED IN HAVING THE ORTHODOX RECOGNIZE THE POPE AS THEIR HEAD AND NOTHING MORE.”

ORTHODOXY IS THE LONE TRUE FAITH: THE NEW TRUTHS DO NOT
EXIST

Saint Porphyrios did not accept the New Age position that all religions simply represent “different paths” which leads to the same God. “We Greeks, here,” he said, “possess ONE RELIGION; WE ARE CHRISTIANS… However… Even from us Greek Orthodox Christians, many have become atheists… Only Christ’s religion UNITES AND WE ALL OUGHT TO PRAY THAT THEY COME BACK TO THIS FAITH AND THUS, THE UNION WILL OCCUR. This will not come about by believing THAT WE ARE ALL THE SAME THING…THAT ALL THE RELIGIONS ARE THE SAME. THEY ARE NOT THE SAME.. TRUE LOVE IS THE LOVE OF CHRIST.” Where then, are all these proponents of the New Age who claim that we all believe in the same God?

According to the Elder, True religion IS ONLY THE Orthodox Christian Faith. The very spirit of Orthodoxy is True. All the other spirits are spirits of deceit and their teachings are obscured because they fail to recognize the Majesty of the Triadic God and our own destination, which is achieving LIKENESS WITH Him…

The Truth has been revealed to us. New truths simply do not exist. “No one can say,” Saint Porphyrios emphasized, “that I am sent from God bearing a new truth, which is quite a common thing in the world today. God’s Truths, as they have been revealed from the beginning, are exactly the same; other truths do not exist… new ones, just became the world has progressed and because science and people have gone to the stars… If someone were to go to the stars and say that there are people also up there, and we see them, my thinking will not change… I will say, Christ is there also, God is there too, He has gone there as well.”

Orthodoxy is the Only Faith which Heals the Human
Soul

The human soul requires all the things which Christ bestows, including Divine Grace, enthusiasm, Divine zeal, Divine eros, and indiscriminate love. The human soul requires these things, by analogy, just as the human body requires material sustenance so that it can grow and be preserved.
If a person does not follow Christ, ONE DIES SPIRITUALLY. In contrast, IF ONE BELIEVES HIM, HIS SOUL IS VIVIFIED AND ALL OF HIS BEING FULFILLS ITS PURPOSE, THAT: THE PERSON BECOMES GOD BY GRACE AND LOVES ALL PEOPLE, HAVING BECOME ONE WITH ALL. Orthodoxy, AND SHE ALONE, makes all people into one, fulfilling the request of the Lord’s Archpriestly prayer: “THAT THEY MAY BE ONE.” [Source: Healing the Soul: Saint Porphyrios of Kafsokalyvia as a Model for Our Lives]

Please note: FILIOQUE is the heresy which teaches that the Holy Spirit proceeds “and from the Son.” “The Filioque is a theological position put forward by the Roman Catholic church. This is a NOVEL ADDITION to the Ancient Creed of the Church, which Creed was FORMULATED WITHIN THE FIRST TWO ECUMENICAL COUNCILS (Nicaea 325 A.D. & Constantinople, 381 A.D.). The Nicene Creed states that the ‘Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father’. However, centuries later, the Church in the West tampered with the Creed. Although it was first added in Toledo in the Sixth Century, it was not widely accepted in the West until the 11 Century, when the Franks took over the Papacy.

THE UNIA. “Since the time of the Protestant Reformation, there has been a painful separation of Orthodox brothers to parallel the separation introduced into Western Christianity by this great religious upheaval. This separation among Orthodox came about through the so-called UNIA, in which Eastern Orthodox Christians were joined with Rome… These poor brothers find themselves today neither wholly Orthodox nor fully Roman, having no real recognition by the Orthodox and being separated from Rome by their Liturgical customs, which, to varying degrees despite the erosion of such under under the effects of Latinization (and in some practices, these poor people have succumbed to tall abandonment of Orthodox customs), they preserve from their Orthodox past. These UNIATES are organized under various exarchates (as they would be properly termed in Orthodoxy) with their surviving Byzantine organizational structures… Some of these Unitates have been nothing short of ‘JESUITICAL’ BETRAYERS OF THE EAST, DECEPTIVELY TAKING SIMPLE ORTHODOX FAITHFUL AWAY FROM THEIR PAST… To this number of Uniates (or Greek [Byzantine] Catholics, as they sometimes call themselves). something must be said about the effects of the contemporary irresponsibility among Orthodox Prelates who are playing with souls by embracing un-Orthodox standards.” [Hieromonk Auxentios].

____________
“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.

THE MOTHER OF GOD – THE THEOTOKOS
By Anthony Bloom

THERE ARE two types of icons of the Mother of God. The usual type is that which you find in East and West – the Virgin holding the child. This is an image of several things and not only the Mother of God as a person. It is an image of the INCARNATION, an assertion of the Incarnation and its reality. It’s an assertion of the True and real motherhood of the Virgin. And, if you look attentively at the icon, you will see that the Mother of God HOLDING THE Child NEVER LOOKS AT THE Child. She always looks neither at you nor into the distance but her open eyes LOOK DEEP INSIDE HER. She is in CONTEMPLATION. She is NOT looking at things. And her tenderness is expressed by the shyness of her hands. She holds the Child without hugging him. She holds the Child AS ONE WOULD HOLD SOMETHING SACRED THAT ONE IS BRINGING AS AN OFFERING, AND ALL THE TENDERNESS, ALL THE HUMAN LOVE, IS EXPRESSED BY THE Child, NOT the Mother. She remains the Mother of God and she treats the child, not as a baby Jesus, BUT AS THE INCARNATE Son of God Who has become the son of the Virgin and He, being True Man and True God, expresses to her all the love and tenderness of man and God both to His mother and to His creature. This is one image.

Another image, which you find very seldom, is the image of the Mother of God alone, without the obvious presence of Christ. I will describe just one of them. It is a Russian icon of the 17th century. You see a Russian peasant girl who has lost her veil, whose hair, parted in the middle, just falls down on a rather square face. Her eyes are big and she is looking into infinity or into the depths. Certainly not a view of anything which is in front of her. If you look more you see two hands. Two hands that couldn’t be where they are simply because anatomy wouldn’t allow it. They are not there to be part of a realistic picture, they are there to express what neither the face nor the hands nor the eyes could express without ceasing to express something more important. They ARE HANDS OF ANGUISH. And then, in the corner of the icon, almost invisible, pale yellow on pale yellow background, a little mount and an empty cross. This IS THE MOTHER CONTEMPLATING THE CRUCIFIXION AND DEATH OF HER ONLY BEGOTTEN SON.

When we turn to the Mother of God in prayer, we should realise more often than we do that any prayer we offer to the Mother of God means this: ‘Mother, I have killed thy son. If you forgive me, I can be forgiven. If you withhold forgiveness, NOTHING can save me from damnation.’ And it is amazing that the Mother of God, in all which is revealed in the Gospel, has made us understand, and made us bold to come to her with this very prayer, because THERE IS NOTHING ELSE WE CAN SAY. To us she is the Mother of God. She is THE ONE WHO BROUGHT GOD Himself into our earthly situation. In that sense we insist on this term ‘Mother of God.’ Through her God became Man. He was born into the human situation through her. And she IS NOT to us simply an instrument of hte Incarnation. She IS THE ONE WHOSE PERSONAL SURRENDER TO GOD, HER LOVE OF GOD, HER READINESS TO BE WHATEVER GOD WILLS, HER HUMILITY IN THE SENSE IN WHICH I HAVE SPOKEN ABOUT IN TO YOU ALREADY, IS SUCH THAT GOD COULD BE BORN OF HER. There is, in one of our great Saints and theologians of the 14th Century, a passage on the Mother of God in which he says, ‘The Incarnation WOULD HAVE BEEN AS IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT THE "Here am I, the handmaid of God" of the Virgin, just as it would have been impossible WITHOUT THE WILL OF THE Father.’ Here there IS A TOTAL CO-OPERATION BETWEEN HER AND GOD. Speaking of the Incarnation and the attitude of the Blessed Virgin, I think an English writer has put it in a remarkable way – Charles Williams in his novel All Hallows Eve. He says of the Incarnation that what makes its uniqueness is that ‘one day a virgin of Israel was capable of pronouncing the sacred name WITH ALL HER HEART, ALL HER MIND, ALL HER BEING, ALL HER BODY, IN SUCH A WAY THAT IN HER WORD BECAME FLESH.’ I think this is a very good theological statement that signifies the place which she has in the Incarnation.

We LOVE HER, WE FEEL PERHAPS IN HER IN A PECULIAR WAY WE SEE THE Word/Logos of God spoken by Saint Paul who says "My power is made manifest in weakness." We can see this frail virgin of Israel, this frail girl, DEFEATING SIN IN HER, DEFEATING HELL, DEFEATING EVERYTHING BY THE POWER OF GOD WHICH IS IN HER. And this is why at moments like persecutions, when indeed the power of God is made manifest in nothing but weakness, the Blessed Virgin stands out so miraculously, so powerfully in our eyes. If she could defeat earth and hell then we have in her a tower of strength and one WHO CAN INTERCEDE AND SAVE, AND WE MARK THE FACT THAT IN HER THERE IS NO DISCREPANCY WITH THE WILL OF GOD, THAT SHE IS IN PERFECT HARMONY WITH Him, by using a formula of prayer which we use only for God and for her, ‘SAVE US.’ (Source: Beginning to Pray)

____________
"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.

"Whoever prays carelessly, prays sinfully" [+Elder Efstratios of Glinsk]

THE ABSENCE OF GOD
By Anthony Bloom

AS WE START learning to pray, I would like to make it clear that what I mean by ‘LEARNING TO PRAY’ is not an attempt to justify or explain this in a speculative way. Rather, I would like to point out what one should be aware of, and what one can do if one wishes to pray. As I am a beginner myself, I will assume that you are also beginners, and we will try to begin together. I am not speaking to anyone who aims at mystical prayer or higher states of perfection, because these things will teach themselves. When God breaks through to us o when we break through to God, in certain exceptional circumstances, either because things suddenly disclose themselves with a depth we have never before perceived or when we suddenly discover in ourselves a depth where prayer abides and out of which it can gush forth, there is no problem of prayer. When we are AWARE OF GOD, we stand before Him, speak to Him.

At the outset there is one very important problem: the situation of one for whom God seems TO BE ABSENT. This is what I would like to speak about now. Obviously I am not speaking of a real absence — God IS NEVER REALLY ABSENT — BUT OF THE SENSE OF ABSENCE WHICH WE HAVE. We stand before God and we shout into an empty sky, out of which there is no reply. We turn in all directions and He is not to be found. What ought we to think of this situation?

First of all, it is very important to remember THAT PRAYER IS AN ENCOUNTER and a RELATIONSHIP, A RELATIONSHIP WHICH IS DEEP, AND THIS RELATIONSHIP CANNOT BE FORCED EITHER ON US OR ON GOD. The fact that God can make Himself present or can leave us with the sense of His absence is part of this live and real relationship. If we could mechanically draw Him into an encounter, force Him to meet us, simply because we have chosen this moment to meet Him, there would be no relationship and no encounter. We can do that with an image, with the imagination, or with the various idols we can put in front of us instead of God; we can do nothing of the sort with the Living God, any more than we can do it with a living person. A RELATIONSHIP MUST BEGIN AND DEVELOP IN MUTUAL FREEDOM. If you look at the relationship in terms of MUTUAL relationship, you will see that God could complain about us a great deal more than we about Him. We complain that He does not make Himself present to us for the few minutes we reserve for Him, but what about the twenty-three and a half hours during which God may be knocking at our door and we answer at all because we do not even hear the knocks at the door of our heart, of our minds, of our conscience, of our life. So there is a situation in which we have no right to complain of the absence of God, because WE ARE A GREAT DEAL MORE ABSENT THAN HE EVER IS.

The second very important thing is that A MEETING FACE TO FACE WITH GOD IS ALWAYS A MOMENT OF JUDGMENT FOR US. We cannot meet God in prayer or in meditation or in contemplation and NOT BE EITHER SAVED OR CONDEMNED. I do not mean this in major terms of eternal damnation or eternal salvation already given and received, but IT IS ALWAYS A CRITICAL MOMENT, A CRISIS. ‘Crisis’ comes from the Greek and means ‘JUDGMENT.’ To meet God face to face in prayer IS A CRITICAL MOMENT IN OUR LIVES, and thanks be to Him that HE does not always present Himself to us when we wish to meet Him, because WE MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO ENDURE SUCH A MEETING. Remember the many passages in Holy Scripture in which we are told how bad it is to find oneself face to face with God, because GOD IS POWER, GOD IS TRUTH, GOD IS PURITY. Therefore, the first thought we ought to have when we do not tangibly perceive the Divine Presence, is a thought of gratitude. God IS MERCIFUL. HE DOES NOT COME IN AN UNTIMELY WAY. HE GIVES US A CHANCE TO JUDGE OURSELVES, TO UNDERSTAND, AND NOT TO COME INTO HIS PRESENCE AT A MOMENT WHEN IT WOULD MEAN CONDEMNATION.

I would like to give you an example of this. Many years ago a man came to see me. He asked me to show him God. I told him I could not but I added that even If I could, he would not be able to see Him, because I thought — and I do think — that to meet God one must have something in common with Him, something that gives you eyes to see, perceptiveness to perceive. He asked me then why I thought as I did, and I suggested that the should think a few moments and tell me whether there was any passage in the Gospel that moved him particularly, to see what the connection between him and God was. He said, ‘Yes, in the eighth chapter of the Gospel of Saint John, the passage concerning the woman taken in adultery.’ I said, ‘Good, this is one of the most beautiful and moving passages. Now, sit back and ask yourself, who are you in the scene which is described? Are you the Lord, or at least on His side, full of mercy, of understanding and full of faith in this woman who can repent and become a new creature? Are you the woman taken in adultery? Are you one of the older men who walk out at once because they are aware of their own sins, or one of the young ones who wait?’ He thought for a few minutes then said ‘No, I feel I am the only Jew who would not have walked out but who would have stoned the woman.’ I said, ‘Thank God that He does not allow you to meet Him face to face.’

This may be an extreme example, but how often could we recognize similar situations in ourselves? Not that we flatly refuse God’s word or God’s example, but that in a less violent way we do what the soldiers did during the Passion. We would love to cover Christ’s eyes, to be able to deal him blows freely without being seen. Do we not do this, to a certain extent, when we IGNORE THE DIVINE PRESENCE AND ACT ACCORDING TO OUR OWN DESIRES, OUR MOODS, CONTRARY TO EVERYTHING WHICH IS GOD’S WILL? We try to blind Him, but in fact WE BLIND OURSELVES. At such moments, HOW CAN WE COME INTO HIS PRESENCE? We can indeed, IN REPENTANCE, BROKEN HEARTED; BUT WE CANNOT COME IN THE WAY IN WHICH WE IMMEDIATELY WISH TO BE RECEIVED — WITH LOVE, WITH FRIENDSHIP. (Source: Beginning to Pray)

________
"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.

ON THE IMPORTANCE OF SPIRITUAL OBEDIENCE
By Saint Porphyrios of Kafsokalyvia

“As flower comes before every fruit, so exile of body or will precedes
all obedience. On these two virtues, as on two golden wings, the holy
soul rises serenely to heaven. Perhaps it was of this the Prophet sang
when, filled with the Holy Spirit, he said, ‘Who will give me the wings of
a dove?’ and, ‘The active life will give me flight and I will be at rest in
contemplation and lowliness” (Psalm 54:7).

“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 movement, 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.
A corpse does not contradict or debate the good or whatever seems bad,
and the spiritual father who has devoutly put the disciple’s soul to death
will answer for everything. Indeed, to obey is, with all deliberateness, to
PUT ASIDE THE CAPACITY TO MAKE ONE’S OWN JUDGEMENT.”
[ Saint John Climacus]

ON OBEDIENCE TO CONSCIENCE

“Do not do what conscience forbids you to do, for an unerring conscience
forbids what the Law of God also forbids. For a good conscience is in
agreement with the Law of God. The Law of God says, ‘Thou shall not kill,
thou shall not steal’ (Exodus 20:13-15), and so on. You also hear the same
within your conscience, and it tells you the same thing. Avoid, then, doing
what conscience forbids, lest having wounded your conscience you wound
your soul.” [Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk]

Saint Porphyrios retained a deep sense of humility and a feeling of extreme, personal sinfulness throughout the course of his entire life. This is made manifest, principally, in his “swan song,” his “letter addressed to his spiritual children.” Whatever he did, he did through the prayers of his holy Geronda [Elder], whom “he loved a great deal.” His great love led him to “extreme obedience,” that is, extreme humility, which is IMITATION OF CHRIST. This extreme humility made him receptive to the Divine gifts of the Holy Spirit.

“This (meaning extreme obedience) helped me a great deal,” he writes. “I felt an immense amount of love towards God and thus, I spent my days very well.” He is speaking with much humility, “concealing himself.” He was granted the gift of clairvoyance at the age of seventeen.

In an article entitled “The Spiritual Father in Orthodox Christianity,” Metropolitan Kallistos Ware of Diokleia and of blessed memory, makes several lucid points regarding the relationship between a Gerondas [Elder] and his spiritual child and the subject of obedience. Metropolitan Kallistos writes: “Three points must here be made. In the first place, THE OBEDIENCE OFFERED BY THE SPIRITUAL SON TO HIS ABBA (FATHER) IS NOT FORCED, BUT WILLING AND VOLUNTARY. It is the task of the starets to take up our will into his will, but he can only do this b our own FREE CHOICE WE PLACE IT IN HIS HANDS. He does NOT break the will, but ACCEPTS IT FROM US AS A GIFT. A submission that is forced and involuntary is obviously devoid of moral value; the starets asks of each one that he offer to God his heart, not his external actions.

The voluntary nature of obedience is vividly emphasized in the ceremony of the tonsure at the Orthodox rite of Monastic profession. The scissors are place upon the Book of the Gospels, and the NOVICE MUST HIMSELF PICK THEM UP AND GIVE THEM TO THE ABBOT. The Abbot (Egoumenos) immediately replace them on the Book of the Gospels. Again the novice take the scissors, and again they are replaced. Only when the novice gives him the scissors for the THIRD TIME does the Abbot (Egoumenos) proceed to cut hair. Never thereafter will the monk have the right to say to the Abbot or the brethren: ‘My personality is constricted and suppressed here in the monastery; you have deprived me of my freedom.’ No one has take away his freedom, FOR IT WAS HE HIMSELF WHO TOOK UP THE SCISSORS AND PLACED THEM THREE TIMES IN THE ABBOT’S HAND.

But this voluntary offering of our freedom is obviously something that cannot be made once and for all, by a single gesture. There must be a continual offering, extending over our whole life; our growth is A CONTINUAL OFFERING, EXTENDING OVER OUR WHOLE LIFE; OUR GROWTH IN CHRIST IS, MEASURED PRECISELY BY THE INCREASING DEGREE OF OUR SELF-GIVING. Our freedom must be offered anew each day and each hour, in constantly varying ways; and this means that the relation between starets and disciple is not static but dynamic, not unchanging, but infinitely diverse. Each day and each hour, under the guidance of his Abba (Father), the disciple will face new situations, calling for a different response, a new kind of self-giving.”

JOYFUL OBEDIENCE: THE SOURCE OF THE GIFTS OF THE
HOLY SPIRIT

The undeniable authenticity of the Elder’s Orthodox way of life shines forth in his “joyful necrosis of volition and freethinking,” which he lived at every moment. His ethos, both ascetical and humble, reveals his co-suffering on the cross with Christ, Who “BECAME OBEDIENT TO THE POINT OF DEATH, EVEN THE DEATH ON THE CROSS” (Philippians 2:5-9). This illumined imitation of the First and Great Disciple Christ used to say characteristically, that absolute obedience saved him. He lived as if what his Elders said was according to Divine Dispensation, relinquishing every personal “right,” desire and high-mindedness.

The great love which Elder Porphyrios possessed for his own Elders brings for mind the commensurable love which Saint Symeon the Theologian possessed for his own Geronda (Elder), the holy one Symeon the Pius (also) known as the Studite or Eulaves). As often as Saint Symeon desire to get a blessing, he would venerate the very footprints of his spiritual father.

Saint Symeon the New Theologian comprised this prayer for those in search of a spiritual father:

“O Lord who desirest not the death of a sinner but that he should turn and live, Thou who didst come
down to earth in order to restore life to those lying dead through sin and in order to make them worthy
of seeing Thee the True Light as far as is possible to man, send me a man who knows Thee, so that in
serving him and subjecting myself to him with all my strength, as to Thee, and in doing Thy will in his,
I may please Thee the Only True God, and so that even I, a sinner, may be worthy of Thy Kingdom.
Amen.”

“… This blessed obedience benefited me a great deal,” Saint Porphyrios of blessed memory said, “because it changed me. I became alert, swift, and stronger both in body and soul… I bowed down before obedience and poured over it. All the rest, which God brought about into my life, came on its own. The gift of foresight, additionally, was given to me by God on account of my obedience.”

Here, the Elder certifies with his own life, what Saint John Climacus writes in the Ladder of Divine Ascent: “From obedience comes humility, as we have already said earlier. From humility comes discernment, as the great Cassian has said with beautiful and sublime philosophy in his chapter on discernment. From discernment comes insight, and from insight comes foresight.”

“Obedience,” Saint Porphyrios said, “illustrates one’s love for Christ. And Christ particularly loves those who are obedient. This is why He says: ‘I love those who love Me, and those who seek Me diligently will find Me.” (Proverbs 8:17). Everything is written within the Holy Bible, but such things are concealed.”

Obedience to the Church

The Elder’s obedience was universal, meaning that it was unconditional and it applied to everything and to all with the exception of obedience to sin. His obedience pertains to the Church at large, and not just to his spiritual rebirth. Such obedience means absolute faith and agreement with the Holy Bible, Orthodox dogmas, and Bishops.

“Despite the importance of ecclesiastical obedience as a religious good, Orthodox history also teaches us that resistance to religious authorities, be they Patriarchs, Bishops, or Councils, may be necessary to protect the Faith. This is especially the case when ecclesiastical authorities HAVE BEEN CO-OPTED BY THE STATE OR WHEN THEY CLEARLY TEACH CONTRARY TO THE ANCIENT FAITH OF THE CHURCH. “OBEDIENCE TO THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL IS THE FIRST REQUIREMENT OF THE CHRISTIAN.” When, either by their teachings or their actions, Church authorities BETRAY THAT TRUTH FOR PERSONAL GAIN OR POLITICAL EXPEDIENCY, ‘HOLY DISOBEDIENCE’ IS ENTIRELY APPROPRIATE.”

The Elder viewed every discordant or separatist tendency within the Church AS A KIND OF DISMEMBERMENT AND PARTITION OF THE COHESIVE BODY OF CHRIST, AND HE REACTED AGAINST SUCH TRENDS. He did not even wish to think in a manner contrary to what our Orthodox Tradition teaches us.

Once, he had a wonderful experience with the nightingales of the Holy Mountain. He suddenly thought that they appeared like Angels who sang praises to the Creator. However, he quickly corrected himself and inhibited this thought, saying that, we must not think contrary to what God has revealed to us, through the Holy Bible. (Source: Healing the Soul: Saint Porphyrios of Kafsokalyvia as a Model for Our Lives.”

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

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

+Father George

Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only Lord, God, and Savior,

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

On the 9th of October, Our Holy Orthodox Church Commemorates
the holy Apostle IAKOVOS [JAMES], the son of Alphaeus.

Apolytikion (Dismissal) Hymn. Third Tone

O Holy Apostle James, intercede with the Merciful God that He
grant unto our souls forgiveness of offences.

Kontakion Hymn of the Apostle. Fourth Tone

The wondrous fisherman that caught in the nations, James, the
most Venerable of Jesus’ Disciples, and the companion of the Apotolic
choir, doth dispense unto the world the great wealth of his healings,
freeing from adversities that rightly acclaim him. Wherefore,
we cry to him with one accord: O blest Apostle, save all of us by thy
prayers.

IAKOVOS [JAMES], the Holy Apostle of the Lord, was the son of Alphaeus and brother of the Apostle and Evangelist Matthew, who was formerly a tax collector. When our Lord Jesus Christ, abiding on earth in the flesh, chose simple and pious men for the dignity of the Apostolate, to send them forth to preach the Gospel throughout the whole world, He also chose this Iakovos (James) and numbered him among the choir of the Apostles as one worthy. Iakovos {James) became one of the Twelve Apostles, an eyewitness and minister of Christ, the preacher of His Mysteries and His follower.

Having received, with the other Apostles, the Holy Spirit, Who Descended upon them in the likeness of tongues of fire, he went to the Gentiles to preach Christ and guide the erring to the path of salvation A flame of fire of divine zeal, he healed diverse illnesses, drove evil spirits out of people, and brought a great multitude of people to Christ, for which deeds he acquire for himself a new name–the "divine seed." For he sowed the seed of the Logos/Word of God in men’s hearts, planted faith, and increased piety, for which cause he was called the "divine seed."

Going about to many lands, he sowed the seed of heaven, gathered in the harvest of men’s salvation, and ended his earthly course in the steps of Christ: being emulator of the suffering of Christ, he surrendered his spirit into the hands of God while nailed to a cross in Egypt. Then this "divine seed," the great Apostle of the inhabited world, the herald and lover of Christ, Iakovos (James), was gathered into the heavenly granary with the fruits he bore a hundredfold. And there, delighting in the vision of the countenance of God, he intercedes for us by his supplications, that we too may win such delight. Amen. [Source: The Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church]

____________
"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.

Apolytikion (Dismissal) Hymn. Plagal of Fourth Tone

In thee the image was preserved with exactness, O Mother; for tasking
up thy cross, thou didst follow Christ, and by thy deeds thou didst teach
us to overlook the flesh, for it passeth away, but to attend to the soul
since it is immortal. Wherefore, O righteous Pelagia, thy spirit rejoiceth
with the Angels.

Kontakion Hymn. Second Tone

With fasting didst thou consume thy body utterly; with vigilant prayer
didst thou entreat thy Fashioner that complete forgiveness of thy
deeds be granted thee, which, O Mother, thou didst receive. The path
of repentance hast thou shown to us.

Early Life

Our holy Mother Pelagia lived in Antioch during the reign of the Roman Emperor Numerianus (283-284 A.D.). She was famous, wealthy, and extremely beautiful. Her soul, however, was sordid and defiled, and submerged in the morass of sensuality. She had no concerns other than to adorn her body and enhance her physical beauty with various cosmetics and expensive jewelry. Her goal was to attract lovers, thus plunging them into destruction. Many consumed their wealth and imperiled their lives and souls for her love. She owned many men and women servants. She boldly walked the streets with an incomparable appearance. The air about her was filled with scents of musk and perfumes which she heaped upon herself.

However, the All-compassionate and very Merciful Lord, not despising such an immodest and profane harlot, but as the Soreknower of the future, knew how much repentance she would later accomplish. Hence, in the following manner. He enlightened the eyes of her soul that she might know the truth.

In those days, at the See of Antioch, the Church hierarchs assembled to discuss a certain issue. Numbered among the bishops was the very virtuous Nonnos (commemorated on the 10th of November). A marvelous man, he led a life equal to that of the Angels. He was learned and skillful in the knowledge of the Divine Scripture. Instructing the Orthodox in what was beneficial to their souls, he gave a wonderful sermon outside the Church of Saint Julian. The wisdom of his words sermon outside the Church of Saint Julian. The wisdom of his words astonished all, because it was manifest that the Holy Spirit enlightened him. By the sweetness of his words, he attracted many sinners to repentance.

Now it happened that, at the very hour while he was preaching, Pelagia rode by in her carriage. Bedecked with her usual adornments, she also permeated the air with the odors of her perfumes. Beholding such a shameless display, the other hierarchs turned their eyes away at the sight of her. However, the blessed Nonnos knew that oftimes what a contrary can bring benefit and fruit. Gazing upon the harlot, he signed deeply and wept sufficiently that he soaked his garments. He thought himself most unhappy, because he deemed the harlot’s adornments as evidence of his own condemnation.

When the bishop went to recline, he beheld a vision. He was celebrating the Divine Liturgy, according to tradition, in the sacred temple. An ill-smelling and muddy-looking dove flew about him, emitting a stench which greatly annoyed him. When he said, "All ye that are catechumens depart," that same dove also went and perched without, until the dismissal of the Divine Liturgy. When that righteous man exited the holy vema, again he observed, as before, the dove flying near him. Thereupon, he extended his hand, took the dove, and immersed it in the font where they baptize catechumens. The dove was instantly cleansed and emerged so high that it no longer was visible. All that pertains to this vision was an image and preview of something of singular importance that would take place the following day.

In the morning, the bishop revealed his vision to his subordinate Hierodeacon Iakovos. Nonnos then went with his deacon into the church along with the other bishops. The Patriarch then delivered into the hands of Nonnos the holy Gospel so that, by the grace of the Holy Spirit which he possessed, he might teach the people.

The Repentance of Pelagia

In the crowd of listeners was Pelagia. Now she was not there for the sake of piety, for she never went to church previous to this day. Her presence was solely the divine behest and economy of the compassionate God Who wills that all "be saved and come to a full knowledge of the truth" (2 Timothy 2:4). The harlot listened to the bishop’s sermon on the soul, the righteous judgment of God, and His tribunal. Then–O the wonder! she, who was previously immodest, came to contrition. She bitterly wept and despised her loathsome deeds, and desired only the true Lover and Bridegroom, Christ.

Pelagia then sent two of her menservants to follow Nonnos and learn where he dwelt. After they had done so, she sent him a letter which stated: "To the holy bishop and disciple of Christ: from the disciple of the devil, Pelagia, and open sea of iniquities, renders abject homage. I have heard, o saint of God, from a certain Christian, that the Master came not ‘to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Matthew 9:13); and that He does not despise even loathsome harlots, thieves, and tax collectors. Much rather, He, Whom the cherubim dare not gaze upon, associated and conversed with them. If therefore, thou art also the servant and athlete of such a Teacher, show forth unto me this work. Do not loathe me the harlot who is, as the, of the same race and a fellow slave. Instead, vouchsafe me, I entreat thee, to confess my sins to thee that I may save my souls through thee."

After reading the letter, the holy Nonnos hesitated. He did not wish to speak alone with her. Therefore, he ordered that she go to the church, when the other bishops were present, and say all that she desired. Pelagia obeyed and seized the moment and, went to the church. She then bowed to the ground and soaked the feet of the bishop with her tears, as the harlot of Christ’s times (Luke 7:38). With the flow of her tears, she said in a great voice, "Take compassion on the sinner, O holy father, and imitate thy Master. Baptize me and guide me unto repentance, because I am a sea of iniquity, an abyss of destruction, and the devil’s snare and spoil; for by reason of me, many have gone to damnation. Now, by the grace of God, I regret my harlotry and seek repentance, so I might not be condemned eternally."

This divine change, brought about by the Right hand of the Most High, was witnessed by the hierarchs. The sacred Nonnos then said to her, "The rules of the Church order that a harlot may not be baptized if she cannot produce certain ones to vouch for her that she will no longer return to her former sins." However she pleaded with him saying, "If I delay receiving Baptism, the supplanter (the devil) shall ensnare me again and cast me into my former wanton behavior." When Nonnos heard her firm resolve, he glorified God at such repentance. Therefore, after she made her confession, he asked her for her name. She answered, "From the beginning I was called Pelagia. The bishop then baptized her in the name of the Holy Trinity, naming her "Pelagia." Her sponsor, or godmother, was a certain virtuous deaconess, the Nun Romana. At the completion of the Divine Liturgy, Pelagia communicated the immaculate Mysteries (Sacraments). All the people celebrated the occasion of the salvation of her soul, each deeming this happiness his own, since the supplanter (the devil) was vanquished.

A few days after her holy Baptism, Pelagia summoned her trustworthy slave. She ordered him to make a record of all she possessed, that is, gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, vessels, garments, and everything else. Pelagia then took the record and placed it in the hands of the good bishop, saying, "Receive, holy master, whatever is listed on this record. Distribute the goods as thou deem fit, because for me the ultimate wealth is my Bridegroom, the Master Christ." Nonnos then called the warden and distributor of charity for the Church and entrusted into his hands the entire treasure, saying, "I adjure thee, before God, not to withhold any of these items for the Church. Thou art to distribute the wealth among the poor, widows, and orphans, so what was evilly gathered may be dispersed to do good.

From the day that she received holy Baptism, the blessed woman would not partake of her bread which had been bought by her ill-gotten means. Pelagia removed her feminine garb and dressed in a hair shirt and in a tattered tunic. She left for Jerusalem without revealing her plan to her spiritual godmother Ramana. Romana was alarmed but Nonnos consoled her and told her not to worry, for Pelagia had chosen the good portion, as it is written of Mary in the holy Gospel (Luke 10:42).

The blessed Pelagia went to the Mount of Olives where she remained immured for three years in a cell. She was deemed worthy to repose in an odour of sanctity, in the middle of the 5th century. She was unknown to all, since she took on a man’s appearance. She struggled and accomplished so many virtues against the devil and feats of wrestling that only God, Who sees the secret things, knows them.

The Repose of the Saint

Saint Pelagia became known as Father Pelagios for they all thought that he was a pious monk. All thought well of him and praised him for his severe asceticism, lauding him as a most holy man replete with virtues. After a short time, it was heard by all at the skete (a small monastic community) that Pelagios had gone to the Lord. Therefore, many assembled not only from Jerusalem but als from Jordan, Jericho, and surrounding parts to bury with great reverence the holy relics. Her tomb on the Mount of Olives has been a place of pilgrimage ever since.

According to custom, the relics were to be anointed with holy myrrh. When this was about to be done, it was discovered that Father Pelagios was a woman. Astonished, all glorified the Lord Who empowered her to battle against the enemy and decisively defeat him. People converged and contended one with the other to honor and embrace the holy relics. Holy men then devoutly took up the holy relics, followed by a crowd bearing candles and censers. Thus, she was honorably buried as was fitting.

Let us meditate upon death every hour, that we might defeat the pleasures of the flesh and rejoice with Christ Jesus the Lord, to Whom is due all glory, honor, and worship unto the ages of ages. Amen. [Source: The Great Synxaristes of the Orthodox Church)

__________
"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.

"As for man, his days are like grass,
As a flower of the field, so he
flourishes;
For the wind passes through it, and it
shall not remain;
And it shall no longer know its place…" [Psalm 102[103]:15-16]

This Psalm is the fifth of the Orthros (Matins) psalms read [3; 37; 62; 87; 102; 142]. If is often used in the First Antiphone of the Divine Liturgy, Verses 20, 21, are also used on days when Angels are honored in the Church.

Mankind has become once again arrogant and questions the existence of the Almighty God and Creator. Once again we witness a segment of humanity rebelling against God and turning to idolatry. man ordaining himself, "god." The new idols are wealth/power and pleasure/hedonism. Pride has taken charge of his faculties and acts as though there is no God. However, the psalm reminds him that he is not. The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind passes over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear Him, and His Righteousness with their children–with those who keep His Covenant and remember to obey His precepts. Men and women don’t live very long, like wildflowers they spring up and blossom, but a storm snuffs them out just as quickly, leaving nothing to show they were here. The psalmist uses clear language to describe man’s weakness and frailty. He expresses that his life seems short and fleeting and that outside of God’s Grace he will soon pass away.

Knowing how frail he is, and the brevity of earthly life, man must humble himself, and with a repentant and humble heart, turn to His Creator for help and guidance. God is the Source of all life and without Him there is no life. "The fool said in his heart, "There is no God." (Psalm 52 [53]:1. Those who willingly REJECT Christ as God are fools. What the true message here of the psalm is that the fools are not the "incompetent" people who do not believe in God." Rather, it is "sinful people do not believe in God." In other words, it is an evil thing to deny the existence of God and a denial of God is often accompanied by their evil conduct: "They are corrupt, their deeds are vile, there is no one that does good". Psalm 14 [15] teaches the Church the transfigured life the faithful are to live (v.1), as they "look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come." (Orthodox Creed) They are (1) to be holy inwardly and outwardly (v, 2) and (2) to love their neighbor (vv. 3-5). And those who live this way shall never be shaken (v. 6), either in this world or in the world to come.

Sacred Scripture is a complete collection of books very much concentrating on the true God. Almighty God is presented as the Creator of the cosmos, the Great Architect of the world–humanity’s home. in the Sacred Scripture has revealed His Person, His Law, [Commandments], His Wisdom, His Grace, and His Solvivic plans. Through His Prophets God has spoken to the human race in a variety of circumstances and on great many themes. God has rebuked humanity, for the corrupt and sinful activities. Chief among these is humanity’s tendency to indulge in idolatry, either in worshipping various deities or in making idols that represent these pagan gods. There are passages in the Sacred Scripture where humanity is rebuked for ignoring God but today, there are those who are entertaining ATHEISM , the conviction that there is no God.

Currently the wicked one’s live and behave as though God takes no notice of human behavior. The evil man believes that he "is not accountable to God for his evil behavior", and he will get away with theft and murder. According to Psalm 52 [53] the man who says there is no God is corrupt, is a liar, and never does good. Saint Paul writes, "For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar" Romans 3:3). This means God remains faithful to His word and to His creation, while man is continually unfaithful to God. The ultimate purpose of man’s existence is to attain the glory of God. The glory of God is both eternal righteousness and eternal life. Jesus Christ alone lived in complete righteousness, and He alone was Resurrected from the dead. Therefore, He alone is the FULLNESS OF THE GLORY OF GOD, AND WE RECEIVE THAT GLORY IN HIM (see John 14:6).

We see today that the atheist politicians, and others in governments throughout the world, that the wicked person, may do as he pleases. He need not fear that God will observe or take action against him or her. The fool’s assertion that "There is no God" is not an expression of philosophical atheism but rather a reckless assumption that God takes no interest in human affairs. Much of the atheism today comes out of the top universities in our country where our children are, and where there is systematic indoctrination by their professors. Christianity again is the principal target of academia and academia which makes every effort to undermine the Christian Faith and ridicule the Holy Scripture and the teachings of Jesus Christ. By turning our children against God they, their professors, offer them a so-called freedom to live, as though there is no God and free to live as they please without any responsibility or consequences for their actions.

We live in an evil and corrupt era. Evil is no longer hidden and insidious but open and blatant. Many Countries are governed by leaders who are drunk with power. There are numerous billionaires and atheists all over the world that seek world domination, to control humanity completely and to enslave it. They believe themselves to be "gods", and some have said so boldly and openly. Their next posible demand may be, to be worshipped by all, as gods and those who do not, to be charged with "atheism" as Saint Polycar was charged by the pagan Emperor of Rome. The Saint was tortured and killed for not acknowledging his divinity as the emperor and offering worship to him, rather than to his Christian God. In ancient times Christians denied both the gods and the divinity of Caesar, which provoked the state and led to severe persecution of Christians and martyrdom. Perhaps the same provocation from Christians and the same kind of persecution will take place once more in the near future. These evil men leave a path of destruction wherever they go and fear no one including the Almighty God and Creator of the universe. These wicked people introduce perverse lifestyles, unnatural behavior, uncontrollable greed, and see themselves as the elite, as the princes of the world, as all powerful, and who will determine the destiny and the future of humanity. They are terrorizing not only the average citizen but Christian leaders as well who remain silent out of fear, over all evil that is happening around the world. Some of them tragically, have joined their forces, and serve them and their wicked agenda. No, there is no fear of God by them. They have adopted Plato’s philosophy who speaks of contemporaries who believe that the world is governed by chance, not gods, and that morality is man-made, not divine.

We have witnessed atheism in the Soviet Union and for 74 years the citizens of Eastern Europe had lost their freedom and especially their religious freedom to worship the One True God. Millions of Christians and non-Christian people of other religious communities lived in total fear and countless were sent to concentration camps in Siberia and countless more were tortured and murdered. This is what happens when the prevailing belief says, "There is no God!". The Evil One sees it as an opportunity to seek control of humanity. However, the Almighty God and Creator will never relinquish His Divine Creation or Authority to anyone or anything. He is the only one who controls all of His creation, even the very hair on your head. The Lord Jesus Christ said: "But the very hairs of your head are all numbered" (Matthew 10:30). If God takes care of "sparrows" and the "hairs of your head are numbered", then He has the power of creating, sustaining and providing for everything–even to the smallest details.

Since our time here on earth is brief and precarious it would be wise to use our life here with greater care and diligence. Our spiritual life, if it is sound, ought to be connected to Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is only then that it would have any worth. We are reminded by our Lord Christ who said, "For without Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). Nothing which is properly motivated and gives glory to God.

__________
"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.

On the 6th of October, the Holy Orthodox Church
Commemorates the Holy Apostle THOMAS.

O holy Apostle Thomas, make intercession
to our Merciful God, that He grant our souls
forgiveness of offenses.

Kontakion Hymn. Mode 4

Thomas, the faithful servant and disciples of Christ,
filled with Divine grace, cried out from the depth of
his love: You are my Lord and my God!

Oikos.

Peter called out to the divinely eloquent Thomas, the
disciple of the Lord and great initiate of the mysteries:
We have seen the Lord! His friend said to him, crying
out: Unless I see the wounds of His hands, I will not
believe! Then the Master of All, in His desire to save
all came as a servant and said to Thomas: Touch My
hands and my side and do not be unbelieving, for I
am Your Lord and God. In repentance he cried out:
You are my Lord and my God!

Exaposteilarion. Mode 2

O wise Apostle, you were sent to India by Christ the
Great and Divine Sun, like a brilliant ray of sunlight, O
Saint Thomas; You went and mightily drove out the
darkness of idolatry enlightening all to worship the
Trinity in one Godhead, by which we are all protected.

THOMAS, the holy Apostle, surnamed Didymos (which means "twin"), the child of poor parents. In his youth, he cherished the law of Moses greatly an diligently studied the Sacred Scripture of the Jews. He led a godly life, occupying himself constantly with physical labor or the activity of the soul. By trade he was a fisherman, and his life was a struggle for subsistence; yet he was accustomed to poverty and hardship. When our Lord Jesus Christ, during His sojourn on earth with men, passed through the cities and villages, teaching the people and healing all manner of diseases, Thomas, on hearing His preaching and seeing His miracles, cleaved unto Him with all his heart. Thomas followed Him and was accounted worthy by the Lord of a place in the choir of the Twelve Apostles, with whom he followed Christ until the very time of His Saving Passion. When the holy Lazarus reposed (he who to remain dead for four days in the tomb), it was Thomas who, as a good and faithful servant , said in the midst of His disciples, "Let us go, that we might die with Him" [John 11:16].

After the Resurrection of the Lord, Saint Thomas, by his disbelief when the other Apostles told him that the Savior was risen, strengthened the Faith of the Church of Christ; for when the other disciples of Christ said, "We have seen the Lord," he would not believe them unless he himself beheld Christ and touched His wounds. Eight days after the Resurrection, when all of the disciples, including Thomas, had gathered together, the Lord appeared to them and said to Thomas, "Bring thy finger here, and behold My hands; and bring thy hand, and put it into My side. And cease being unbelieving, but believing." And when he saw Christ and touched His Life-bearing side, Thomas cried out, "MY LORD AND MY GOD!" [John 20:24-29].

This incident involving Saint Thomas convinces everyone of the Truth of the Resurrection of the Lord in the most graphic manner, because Christ appeared to His Disciples not as a phantom, and not in some other body, but IN THE VERY ONE IN WHICH HE HAD SUFFERED FOR OUR SALVATION.

After the Ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven and the Descent of the Holy Spirit, the holy Apostles cast lots amongst themselves to determine where each of them should go to preach the Logos/Word of God. To Thomas feel the lot to go to India, to the Brahmans and the other divers and obscure peoples of those parts, to enlighten lands benighted by paganism and to teach the True Faith to the Parthians, Medes, Persians, Hyrcanians, and Bactrians.

Thomas was dismayed to be sent to such savage people; but the Lord appeared to him in a vision, strengthening him and commanding him to be valiant and not to be afraid; and He promised to abide with him Himself. And soon He showed him a way to enter those lands. According to Heracleon, the Apostle died a natural death; according to other accounts, he was martyred at Meliapur. His tomb was known by Saint John Chrysostom to be at Edessa in Syria, to which city his holy relics may have been translated from India in the 4th century. [Source: The Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church)

_____
"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.

Facing Rejection As A Christian

“But first He must suffer many things
and BE REJECTED by this generation” [Luke 17:25].

“For God did NOT call us to uncleanness, but in
holiness. Therefore HE WHO REJECTS THIS
DOES NOT REJECT MAN, BUT GOD, Who has
also given us His Holy Spirit” [1 Thessalonians 4:7-8).

“He who hears you hears Me, he WHO REJECTS YOU
REJECTS ME, and he who REJECTS Me REJECTS Him
Who sent Me” [Luke 10:16).

What is persecution if not rejection? Jesus was welcomed and accepted by many but rejected by others. Christianity knows fully well about rejection and isolation throughout its history. A stark example of rejection and of organized persecution is our Lord Himself Who not only was rejected by His own people but was crucified and killed by them. “And he said to the Jews, ‘Behold your King!’ But they cried out, ‘Away with Him! away with Him! Crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, ‘Shall I crucify your King?’ The chief priests answered, ‘We have no king but Caesar!’ Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus and led Him away” (John 19:14-16). The same actions were taken against His Holy Apostles and His followers.

Being a Christian and living a Christian life is not easy at any age. However, the Cross teaches us that the life of the Christian is one of sacrifice, of faith, of suffering, of humility, of love, and of eternal salvation. Jesus said to His disciples, “For I gave you an example, that ye be doing even as I did to you” (John 13:15). “And whosoever taketh not his cross and followeth after Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:38). Therefore, whoever wishes to follow Christ into Eternal Life, and whoever wishes to come into Christ’s Eternal Kingdom must go by way of Christ–there is no other way there.

Rejection and persecution although painful and humiliating is also a humbling experience. It serves as a litmus test of our faith. If our faith in Christ is genuine and true then we pass the test with flying colors. If not we must make our own revaluation and introspection, see what the problem is, and to correct it. Therefore both rejection and persecution is not always something negative. We learn how our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ dealt with it and after Him the Holy Apostles and Martyrs of our Church. None were crushed, discouraged, or deterred by threats from continuing their struggle and remaining true and faithful to Christ.

It is, of course, natural for people to want acceptance and be included by others but for the Christian what should count only is to be accepted in God’s Eternal Kingdom. The prejudicial attitude of some people should not be allowed to either influence what we believe in or how we feel about ourselves. There are many variables of why people act as they do. Some do it to coerce one of doing what they want them to do. Others may do it out of envy. And yet others may do it because they are mean-spirited, cruel and out of hatred for what one stands for. The reality though, is that these individuals will never be satisfied by anything that you may be willing to do for them.

Stand firm in your convictions and beliefs. The Almighty God will never force anyone to do His will. He has given us free will. Why, then, should we submit to someone, perhaps a stranger, to deprive us of our integrity and freedom of choice? We serve God alone and we willingly submit to His Divine will alone. No one else must be permitted to interfere with our life, our faith, our person, and our Christian way of life. It is NOT what others think of us that counts but what God thinks of us. He is the only one that truly knows who we are. Why? “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you” (Jeremiah 1:5).

True happiness comes from knowing that we are children of God and His love for us is pure and is unlimited. We only need to look at the Cross and His Great Sacrifice upon it to save all of mankind. to truly understand how much He loves us. Our Lord and Heavenly Father seeks always to do what is best for us and to save us from sin, death, and evil. It is because of Him that we are able to inherit His Eternal Kingdom. There is no greater sin than for one to reject Christ. The Christian must always be faithful to Him. To be faithful means to be courageous in spite the dangers and rejection by others. Faithfulness means trusting in God’s will and wisdom. Faithfulness is the teaching of Christ’s Parable of the Talents, “His Lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord” (Matthew 25:23).

A godly person regards himself as the greatest of all sinners. He carries this thought ever with him as a part of his very existence. And the more he progresses in knowledge of God, the simpler and more uneducated spiritually considers himself. And the more he studies and learns, the less he feels he knows.

___________
“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.

DIVINE INSPIRATION

"All Scripture is given by INSPIRATION OF GOD, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be
complete, thoroughly equipped for every work" [2 Timothy 3:16].

"For the time will come when they will not endure sound
doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they
have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;
and they WILL TURN THEIR EARS AWAY FROM THE TRUTH,
AND BE TURNED ASIDE TO FABLES. BUT YOU BE WATCHFUL
IN ALL THINGS, ENDURE AFFLICTIONS DO THE WORK OF
AN EVANGELIST, FULFILL YOUR MINISTRY" [2 Timothy 4:3-5].

Our Holy Orthodox Church has preserved the integrity of the Divine Scripture and preserved the truth as it has been handed down to us today without any modifications and alterations and false interpretations. Our Lord Jesus Christ said that "the Scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35), meaning that it is "profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness…" (2 Timothy 3:16). In other words it is dependable and cannot be in error in what it instructs.

The holy Apostle Paul writes, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God." The words here "given by inspiration" is the Greek word "θεόπνευστος" ("theopneustos") "inspired by God" or literally translated ‘God-breathed.’ The image given here is of God breathing out the divine words of Scripture from His own mouth. The holy Apostle Peter also writes, "for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were MOVED BY THE Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21). The testimony of the Holy Apostles confirms that Kist as the "Scripture" was not written by the mere volition of men but by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, so Holy Scripture is to be interpreted by holy men guided by the Holy Spirit. Heretics and unstable Christians interpret incorrectly as we have witnessed over and over again. While the Holy Apostles are guided by the Holy Spirit, trusting in the promise of true interpretation. The Holy Church, founded by the Holy Apostles, likewise receives the Holy Spirit. "For the Apostles, like a rich man in a bank, deposited with her [the Church] most copiously everything which pertains to the truth. And everyone who wishes, draws from her the drink of life. For she is the entrance of life, while all the rest are thieves and robbers. That is why it is surely necessary to avoid them, while cherishing with the utmost diligence the things pertaining in the Church, and to lay hold of the tradition of truth" (Saint Irenaeus of Lyons)

"The Orthodox Church of Christ, is the Body of Christ, a spiritual organism whose Head is Christ. It is a single spirit, a single common faith, a single and common catholic CONSCIOUSNESS, guide by the Holy Spirit; and its reasonings are based on the concrete, definite foundations of Sacred Scripture and Sacred Apostolic Tradition. This catholic consciousness is always with the Church, but, in a more definite fashion, this consciousness is expressed in the Ecumenical Councils (Synods) of the Church. From profound Christian antiquity, local councils of separate Orthodox Churches gathered twice a year, in accordance with the 37th Canon of the Holy Apostles. This Apostolic Canon begins: "Let there be a meeting of the bishops twice a year, and let them examine amongst themselves the decrees concerning religion and settle the ecclesiastical controversies which may have occurred…". Likewise, often in the history of the Church there were councils of regional bishops representing a wider area than individual Churches and, finally, councils of bishops OF THE WHOLE CHURCH, of both East and West. Such Ecumenical Councils the Church recognizes as seven in number. The Ecumenical Councils FORMULATED PRECISELY AND CONFIRMED A NUMBER OF THE FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS OF THE ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN FAITH, DEFENDING THE ANCIENT TEACHINGS OF THE CHURCH AGAINST THE DISTORTIONS OF HERETICS. The Ecumenical Councils likewise FORMULATED NUMEROUS LAWS AND RULES GOVERNING PUBLIC AND PRIVATE CHRISTIAN CHURCH LIFE, WHICH ARE CALLED THE CHURCH CANONS, AND REQUIRED THE UNIVERSAL AND UNIFORM OBSERVANCE OF THEM. Finally, the Ecumenical Councils CONFIRMED THE DOGMATIC DECREES OF A NUMBER OF LOCAL COUNCILS, AND ALSO THE DOGMATIC STATEMENTS COMPOSED BY CERTAIN FATHERS OF THE CHURCH…"

"The Councils–those which express Orthodox Truth–are accepted by the Church’s catholic (whole or full) consciousness; false councils–those which teach heresy or reject some aspect of the Christian Tradition–ARE REJECTED BY THE SAME CATHOLIC CONSCIOUSNESS. The Orthodox Church is the Church not of "Councils" as such, but ONLY OF THE TRUE COUNCILS, INSPIRED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHICH CONFORM TO THE CHURCH CATHOLIC CONSCIOUSNESS."

"The Holy Fathers stood for the Truth, fearing neither threats nor persecutions nor death itself. They were holy men who were inspired by the Holy Spirit and were the teachers of the Church on questions which have not been precisely defined and accepted by the WHOLE Church. The Orthodox teaching of the Holy Fathers is not something of one age, whether "ancient" or "modern." It has been transmitted in UNBROKEN SUCCESSION FROM THE TIME OF CHRIST AND HIS APOSTLES TO THE PRESENT DAY, and there has never been a time when it was necessary to discover a "lost" Patristic teaching. Even when many Orthodox Christians may have neglected this teaching (as is the case, for example, in our own day), its true representatives were still handing it down to those who hungered to receive it. There have been great Patristic ages, such as the dazzling epoch of the 4th century, and there have been periods of decline in Patristic awareness among Orthodox Christians; but there has been no period since the very foundation of Christ’s Church on earth when the Patristic tradition was not guiding the Church; there has been no century without Holy Fathers of its own. Saint Nicetas Stethatos, disciple and biographer of Saint Simeon the New Theologian, has written; "It has been granted by God that from generation to generation there should not cease the preparation by the Holy Spirit of His Prophets and friends for the order of His Church." [Source: Orthodox Dogmatic Theology]

____________
"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