OUR HOLY FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS, PHOTIOS THE GREAT AND PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

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

Saint Photios, our holy and God-bearing father, of holy fame, was born in Constantinople around the year 820 to affluent, distinguished, and God-fearing parents. His father, Sergios, was attached to the Imperial Court as "Guardian of the Emperor and the Palace," that is, the Office of Spatharios. Sergios’ brother was Saint Tarasios, the Patriarch of Constantinople (784-806, commemorated by the Holy Church on the 25th of February). Patriarch Tarasios presided over the Seventh Ecumenical Synod at Nicaea in 787 A.D. IT WAS THE SYNOD THAT THE ORTHODOX VENERATION OF ICONS WAS CONFIRMED AND TEH ICONOCLASTIC (ICON-BREAKING) HERESY WAS CONDEMNED. Saint Photios’s mother, the pious and virtuous Irene, often received monks into her home, sought their holy prayers, and gave them alms. The parents, pre-eminent in virtue, nurtured all their children in faith and piety, laying the foundation with prayers and good deeds.

The family of Saint Photios belonged to the party which VENERATED THE SACRED ICONS; therefore, they were persecuted by the iconoclast Emperor Theophilos (829-842 A.D.). Saint Photios’ pious and upright family especially loved and honored the righteous monks who defended the sacred images. As targets of the raging persecution, Saint Photiois’ parents were deprived of their wealth. They were tormented and, together with their children, were exiled to wild and waterless places, that they might end their days. Not once did these confessors and martyrs of the True Faith consent to repudiate the sacred images. Therefore, even from seven years of age, Saint Photios confessed, defended, and sustained the Holy Apostolic Faith and the True Doctrines of the Holy Fathers. Anathemas and excommunications were hurled against Saint Photios’ family and his uncle Saint Tarasios by a council of heretics. Saint Photios’ father and mother died as martyrs in exile.

From his youth, Saint Photios shone forth in chastity and was inclined to the quiet, prayerful, and monastic life. Later in life, as Patriarch Photios of Constantinople, he wrote to the Easters Patriarchs: "Even as a child I longed to be free of life’s concerns and affairs and to pay attention only to that which was my concern… From childhood on, there grew in me and with me a love for the Monastic life."

After a bout with dysentery, the death of the iconoclast Emperor Theophilos came in January of 842 A.D. Christ, in His Omniscient Providence, appointed a devout and pious Empress to rule over the Byzantines until her almost three-year-old son, Michael III, should come of age. With the death of her husband, THE ICONOCLASTS FELL OUT OF FAVOR AND INFLUENCE, especially since the Empress was AN ICONOPHILE (LOVER OF ICONS). Empress Theodora, as it is recorded in her biography, removed her icons from hiding while Theophilos was on his deathbed. In her husband’s final moments, she persuaded him to confess, honor, and embrace the icons with all his soul.

The Empress Theodora’s minister, Theoktistos, had previously appointed Saint Photios as Professor of Philosophy and, Dialectics at the Patriarchal School of the Holy Apostles and the intellectual heart of the Empire. While in his position as a professor, it is said, the notable and celebrated Photios became the central force in the intellectual and literary movement of the second half of the 9th century. He exerted great influence over his young pupils. In educating others, Photios always aimed to guide their minds toward religious reverence. Thus, he mixed civic and ascetic virtue.

On the 13th day of March in the year 856, Michael, having attained an age of discretion, turned the government over to his uncle Bardas and elevated him to the supreme rank of Caesar. Over the years Bardas had become the main regulator of political affairs; and through his machinations, he eventually would eliminate his sister from the regency. However, rumor of Bardas illicit relations with his daughter-in-law echoed all over the city and came to Patriarch Ignatios’ ears. Thus, on the Feast of Theophany, in 858, the Patriarch REFUSED, in the presence of all the dignitaries of Hagia Sofia, to administer Holy Communion to Bardas. Bardas was deeply offended.

Another situation arose when a certain Gideon, posing as the Empress’ son, instigated a plot against Caesar Bardas. Patriarch Ignatios protested the execution of Gideon. Bardas retaliated by having Patriarch Ignatios accused of high treason. Many considered this fabricated charge of Bardas as just another scheme of his to be rid of his saintly sister and the Patriarch. On imperial orders, in October of 858, Patriarch Ignatius was arrested.
Bardas ordered him exiled to the island of Terebinthos, where he submitted his voluntary resignation.

During all these intrigues, Saint Photios maintained kept silent while studying, teaching, and writing on a multitude of subjects.

For more than a year, the Patriarchal throne remained vacant. Caesar Bardas did a great wrong by deposing Patriarch Ignatius uncanonically, that is, not by a synod. Yet the cunning Bardas found a solution–or rather Providence intervened with the bishops in the election of Professor Photios as Patriarch. The meek Photios, however, resolutely declined to accept the complex and demanding office of the Patriarchal throne. He never even considered leaving his books and studies to enter the clergy. He knew that once raised to the Episcopal chair, he would be compelled to give up that peaceful life in which he enjoyed the truest delights of learning. He thus entreated Bardas to give to another that "uncomfortable" chair.

However, pressed by the urgent need of the situation, the government and the bishops, Photios finally and reluctantly obeyed and accepted the ordination. To persist would have been unduly proud. Much as had his uncle, the Sainted Tarasios, Photios had to be rushed through the stages of ordination. This was not without ample precedent.

In accordance with ancient Ecclesiastical custom, when Photios took hold of the rudder of the Church as its Archpastor, having been elevated to the Apostolic Ecumenical, and Patriarchal throne of Constantinople, he sent Systatic Letters concerning his installation to the Eastern Patriarchs in 859 A.D. Due to conflicts in the capital, his letter to Pope Nicholas (858-867 A.D.) did not reach Rome until early 860. [Source: The Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church]

[Next: Part II]

___________

"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


THE RIGHTEOUS SYMEON THE GOD-RECEIVER AND ANNA PROPHETESS

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

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

THE RIGHTEOUS SYMEON THE GOD-RECEIVER AND
ANNA PROPHETESS.

Symeon, the Righteous one, known as the God-receiver, lived for many years. His life prior to the time that the Virgin Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the Temple, showed the elder to be a priest and translator. In the 3rd century B.C., during the reign of the Macedonian Ptolemy II (286-246 B.C.) called Philadelphos, SEVENTY Hebrew Scholars gathered to prepare a translation of the Old Testament for Greek-speaking Jews who no longer understood Hebrew. The translation came to be known as the SEPTUAGINT. One of the teachers and TRANSLATORS WAS OUR SYMEON.

Alexandria had been the home of a major colony of the Jewish Dispersion, where they occupied the eastern part of this great port. Their strength grew in the city, and in both a spiritual and mental context, the Hellenic (Greek) Jew became a phenomenon of culture. He found himself in a challenging confrontation with the literature and philosophy of the Greeks (Hellenes). The Alexandrian Jew spoke Greek (Hellenica), for such was a condition of citizenship. Indeed, a knowledge of Greek WAS A PREREQUISITE OF TRADE, BUSINESS, AND SOCIAL INTERCOURSE. The Jew of Alexandria, like any Jew of Tarsus (e.g. the Apostle Paul, was truly the citizen of two world cultures; hence the urge to translate the Hebrew Scriptures into their "other" language. Actually, Hebrew was becoming a less familiar, medium of communication to the Jews of Alexandria, almost an archaism of the synagogue.

The holy elder Eleazar became one of the SEVENTY TRANSLATORS. Eleazor went with SIXTY-NINE ELDERS who were thoroughly skilled in the Scriptures and in both languages. As Symeon and the others called for this work were traveling from Jerusalem. As Symeon and the others called for this work were traveling from Jerusalem, they discussed among themselves certain key verses in the books of the Prophets. Symeon then turned and said to them: "When I commenced to interpret the Prophet Isaiah, I saw a verse that read: ‘Behold the Virgin shall conceive in the womb, and shall bring forth a Son, and thou shall call His name Emmanuel’ [Isaiah 7:14]. This verse, my beloved fellows, causes me to marvel exceedingly! How is it possible for a virgin to give birth? Or how is it possible that God should be born? I shall not believe that this could ever happen."

Upon uttering these words of unbelief, suddenly, AN UNSEEN HAND SMOTE SYMEON and he heard a voice say: "THOU WILL BEHOLD CHRIST AND WILL ALSO HOLD HIM IN THY HANDS! THOU SHALL NOT DIE TILL THIS SHOULD COME TO PASS."

Coming to himself, Symeon proceeded and, little by little, he and the other teachers in his party reached a certain river. "If the verse of Isaiah is true, then I shall receive my ring again!" The group then traveled on. Upon arriving in a city nearby this rive they purchased fish so that they might prepare it for the approaching evening. Then, by God’s good will, the same fish that Symeon purchased and began to prepare by slicing it open CONTAINED HIS VERY OWN RING WITHIN THE ENTRAILS. At that moment, he believed the words of the prophecy.

According to Saint Irenaeus ( 130-200), Ptolemy, "wishing to test them individually, and fearing lest they should perchance, by taking counsel together, conceal the truth in the Scriptures by their interpretation, separated them from each other, and commanded them all to make their own translation. He did this with respect to all the books. However, when they came together in the same place before Ptolemy, and they compared their translations among themselves, God was indeed glorified. The SCRIPTURES WERE ACKNOWLEDGED AS TRULY DIVINE, BECAUSE ALL OF THEM READ OUT THE SAME TRANSLATION, IN THE VERY SAME WORDS AND THE VERY SAME NAMES, FROM BEGINNING TO END, SO THAT EVEN TEH GENTILES PRESENT PERCEIVED THAT THE SCRIPTURES HAD BEEN TRANSLATED BY THE INSPIRATION OF GOD…THUS, THE SCRIPTURES HAD BEEN INTERPRETED WITH FIDELITY.

Thereafter, decades passed, and Symeon waited and waited for the "CONSOLATION OF ISRAEL." In a festal hymn, we hear Jesus say: "It is not the old man who holds Me, but I uphold him: for he begs Me to let him depart."

Prophetess Anna

The Prophetess Anna, according to Saint Luke, was "a daughter of Phamuel, of the Tribe of Aser. She was advanced in many days, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity. And she was a widow about eighty-four years, who departed not from the Temple, and worshipped God with fastings and entreaties night and day. And she, having stood by, at the same hour, was giving thanks to the Lord and kept on speaking about Him to all those waiting for redemption in Jerusalem" [Luke 2:36-38]. Saint Kosmas says that she was chaste and venerable. She prophesied in a sacred manner, openly confessing that the Lord HAD COME INTO HIS TEMPLE. She also magnified the Theotokos, proclaiming her to all present. One account of her virtuous life and God-pleasing deeds, the blessed Anna, the namesake of grace, was counted worthy TO BEHOLD OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, WHEN HE WAS BROUGHT INTO THE TEMPLE, A FORTY-DAY OLD Babe, by His Most Holy Mother and the Righteous Joseph. The account of her praise and prophecy is given herein on the day of the feast, the 2nd of February, when she announces in the Temple precincts: "BEHOLD, O MEN, WHAT IS TO BE FOUND THIS DAY? This small Child established firmly here firmly Heaven and the earth. This small Child IS THE CREATOR OF ALL THE WORLD."

Thus this day, we have two irreproachable witnesses, Symeon and Anna, who testify and proclaim the awesome and ineffable condescension of God. [Source: The Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church]

Please note: The Holy Orthodox Church’s official Old Testament is the TRANSLATION OF THE SEVENTY known as the SEPTUAGINT. Western Christians, Roman Catholics, and Protestants use a Latin version of the Bible known as the VULGATE.

__________

"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

THE HOLY FATHERS OF THE CHURCH SPEAK ON THE MEETING OF THE LORD IN THE TEMPLE

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

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

THE HOLY FATHERS OF THE CHURCH SPEAK ON
THE MEETING OF THE LORD IN THE TEMPLE.

APOLYTIKION OF THE FEAST, Mode 1.

Lady full of grace, rejoice, O Virgin Theotokos, for Christ God,
the Sun of Righteousness has risen from you and He
illumined those in darkness. And You, righteous Elder, be glad
in heart, receiving in your embrace the One Who liberates our
souls and bestows on us the Resurrection.

Idiomelon. Mode pl. 2.

Let the gate of heaven open today. For the Father’s beginningless Logos/Word, having
taken a beginning in time and not separated from His Divinity, is willingly offered as a
forty-day-old Infant, in the Temple of the Law, by His virgin Mother. And the Elder
receives Him in his arms. "Let me depart," cries the servant to the Master. For my eyes
have seen Your salvation." O Lord, Who came to the world to save thy human race,
glory to Thee!

+



The Venerable Bede (673-735 A.D.) writes: "Now the law commanded that a woman who had conceived and brought forth a male child shall be unclean for seven days, and on the eighth day the infant was to be circumcised [Leviticus 12:2-3]. And for another thirty-three days she was to abstain from entry into the temple [Leviticus 12:4] and marital relations, until, on the fourteenth day after the birth, she was to bring her son with sacrificial offerings to the temple of the Lord [Leviticus 12:6]. The firstborn of all the male sex was to be called holy to the Lord. The Virgin did not receive seed, but even as our Lord willed to be under the law so that He might redeem us [Galatians 4:4-5], so too did the Blessed Mother, who by a singular privilege was above the law; nevertheless, she did not shun being made subject to the principles of the law for the sake of showing us an example of humility."

Why was it written in the law of God that there should be a presentation of "a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons" [Luke 2:24; cf. Leviticus 5:11, 12:8]? Saint Ambrose informs us that "this is the true sacrifice of Christ: CHASTITY OF BODY AND GRACE OF THE SPIRIT. Chastity belongs to the turtledove; grace, to the pigeon. It is related that the turtledove when widowed by the loss of its consort, does not seek another, but is utterly weary of the bridal bed and even of the world itself."

Saint Kyril of Alexandria (444 A.D.) writes: "What does the turtledove signify? And what, too, the other, the pigeon? The one is the most noisy of the birds of the field, but the other is a mild gentle creature. And such did the Savior of all become toward us, showing the most perfect gentleness, and like a turtledove, moreover, soothing the world, and filling His own vineyard, even us tho believe in Him, with the sweet sound of His voice. For it is written in the Song of Songs, ‘The voice of the turtledove hath been heard in our land’ [Song 2:12]. For Christ has spoken to us the Divine message of the Gospel, which is for the salvation of the whole world."

Thus we chant in the Canon to the Akathist: "Rejoice, O Ever-virgin, the Dove
that gave birth to the compassionate One." Saint Kosmas (7th-8th Century)
characterizes Mary as a dove and says, "The pure Dove, the Ewe without
blemish, brings the Lamb and Shepherd into the temple."

Saint John of Damascus (676-750 A.D.) writes that "He Who is
without beginning, the Logos/Word of the Father has made a
beginning in time without forsaking His Divinity; and as a Babe
forty days old He is, of His own will, brought by the Virgin, His
Mother, as an Offering in the Temple of the law."

Saint Andrew of Crete speaks of the symbolic meaning of the pair of
doves offered on this day. "He Who is borne on high by the cherubim
and praised in hymns by the seraphim, is brought today, according to
the law, into the holy Temple and rests in the arms of the elder as on a
throne. From Joseph he receives gifts fitting for God: a pair of doves,
symbol of the spotless Church and of the newly-chosen people of the
nations", whereas, the two young pigeons show Him as the Originator
of the two Covenants, both Old and New.

Bishop Nikolai Velimirovic [1956] writes that the elderly Symeon beheld
both the Child and His Mother bathed in Light that shone around their heads
like a halo. The Virgin, carrying Jesus in her arms, was rejoicing over Him.
Apocryphal sources write that Symeon was filled with the greatest pleasure
at the sight of Angels praising Him, standing in a circle, like bodyguards
standing by the King.

Saint Romanos also makes mention of this, chanting, "While the Angels
sang hymns to the Lover of man, Mary advanced, holding Him in her arms.
The righteous man was then "constrained by joy and fear; for, with the eyes
of the spirit, he beheld the ranks of Archangels and of Angels standing erect
with reverence and glorifying Christ. He then prayed earnestly within
himself and cried, ‘Guard me and do not let the fire of Thy Divinity harm me,
Thou, the Only Friend of man."

Saint Ephraim points out in his Homily on Our Lord that the Infant Christ
was actually presenting the priest to His Father and not the priest
presenting Him. "Symeon the priest, when he took Him up in his arms to
present Him before God, understood as he saw Him that he was not
presenting Hi, but as being himself presented. For the Son was not
presented by the servant to His Father, but the servant was presented
by the Son to his Lord. For it is not possible that He, by Whom every
offering is presented, should be presented by another; so that He Who
receives offerings gave Himself to be offered by another, that those who
presented Hi, might themselves be presented by Him."

Saint Gregory of Nyssa comments that "He is called the ‘salvation that is
prepared before the face of all peoples’; but likewise ‘the fall and the
resurrection of many.’ The Divine wish is the salvation and the sanctification
of each person. Their fall or resurrection is within the will of each person,
both of them thus believe and them that disbelieve."

Saint John Chrysostom speaks saying, "For whose fall? Without doubt
those who believe not, and those that placed the Innocent upon the Cross.
For whose resurrection? Those who give thanks; those who turnt to Him
with a grateful heart."

Saint Basil adds that ‘the Cross in Scripture is called A SIGN OF CONTRADICTION.
For Moses, it says [Numbers 21:9], made s brazen serpent an set it up for a sign. For
it is a sign of a wondrous, yet hidden thing–seen by the simple, but understood only
by those whose minds are prepared."

As we know, at that time, the Jews were awaiting, in the person of the Messiah, an awesome king and conqueror, who could subdue all rulers and all thrones to the throne of David, and found a great messianic kingdom, in which the Jews, as the direct descendants of Abraham, would occupy the first place and rule over all. As far as the pagans were concerned, the Jews thought tha such persons were not to have any right to this kingdom of the glorious Messiah. When Christ had appeared on the earth, these false messianic hopes of the Jewish people had reached their highest degree of intencity, despise the fact tha the traits and cource of the true Messiah are depicted completely different in the Old Testament [cf. Isaiah 53:3-4]. The death of Christ the Savior on the Cross would be a stumbling block [1 Corinthians 1:23], which caused all those Jews to stumble who were infected by false messianic expectations and narrow nationalistic exclusiveness and aims.

Saint Theophylactos adds that "as He showed forth the wisdom of the Logos/Word of God. He did not become wise by the process of time–away with the thought! Little by little He showed forth the implanted wisdom. In conformity with His bodily stature it is said He was growing and showing Himseff strong in the spirit. If He showed forth all His wisdom while small in age, He would have been thought a prodigy… Thus,little by little, He laid bare His wisdom."

In the Holy Orthodox Church this Festival appears to have been observed in Jerusalem since the 4th century, and the iconography associated with the Feast developed from the 5th century onwards. This Feast of the Theotokos was brought to Constantinople by Emperor Justinian in 542 A.D. It has sisnce been numbered among the Master’s Feasts, though it is treated in liturgical offices as a Feast of teh Theotokos.

Should the Feast fall on the Lord’s Day, that is, Sunday, still the service of the Resurrection would be conducted with it. Should it falln a fast day, a dispensation to patake of fish is given. [Source: The Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church]

__________

"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"

– Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +



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

+ Father George



On the 2nd of February Our Holy Orthodox Church Commemorates the Meeting of Our Lord, God, and Savior JESUS CHRIST in the Temple

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

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

On the 2nd of February Our Holy Orthodox Church Commemorates
the Meeting of Our Lord, God, and Savior JESUS CHRIST
in the Temple.

Apolytikion (Dismissal) Hymn. First Tone

REJOICE, thou who art full of grace, O Virgin Theotokos, for from
thee hath risen the Sun of Righteousness, Christ Our God, enlight-
ening those in darkness. Rejoice, thou also, O righteous Elder,
as thou receivest in thine arms the Redeemer of our souls, Who
also granteth unto us the Resurrection.

Kontakion Hymn. First Tone

THOU Who didst sanctify the Virgin’s womb by Thy birth, and didst
bless Symeon’s hands as was meet, by anticipation, has even now
saved us, O Christ God. But grant peace in the midst of wars unto
Thy commonwealth and strengthen the hierarchs whom Thou hast
loved, O only Friend of man.

+



The Meeting of Our Lord in the Temple is celebrated today, FORTY DAYS AFTER His incarnation in the flesh. “Sanctify to Me every firstborn, first produced, opening every womb among the children of Israel both of man and beast: It is Mine” [Exodos 13:2]. At first appearance, this verse seems to imply that all firstborn are holy and dedicated to God, yet it was only truly fulfilled in the Person of Christ. For many firstborn sons of women were neither holy nor dedicated to God. We need only to remember Cain who murdered his younger brother [Genesis 4:8], or Esau who sold his birthright for a platter of lentils, and who was called “Edom” for his unbridled passion [Genesis 25:30-34], or Reuben who defiled his father Jacob’s bed [Genesis 49:4).

 
   According to the law of Moses, it is written:  “The firstborn of your sons ye shall give unto Me.  If a woman has conceived seed, and born a man child, in the 8th day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised…And when the days of her purifying are fulfilled, for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon, or a turtledove, for a sin offering, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest…”.
 
   “And when the days of THEIR PURIFICATION according to the law of 
Moses were fulfilled, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to
the Lord” [Luke 2:22].

The King James Version of the Holy Bible erroneously translated the verse to read “THE DAYS OF HER PURIFICATION.” The Patristic texts of the Holy Gospel writes thus: “THE DAYS FOR THEIR PURIFICATION” or (του καθαρισμού αυτών), that is, of the Jews; BECAUSE THE THEOTOKOS HAD NO NEED OF PURIFICATION.

Our Holy Church appointed this great feast of the Lord and the Mother of God to be celebrated on the 2nd of February because it is the 40th day after the 25th of December when the Nativity of Christ in the flesh is celebrated. In this way, the year is divided by the turning points in the Divine Economy and blesses them. At the same time, it makes it possible for man to be initiated into the Great Mystery of the Incarnation of the Son and Logos/Word of God.

God Himself, that is, to say the UNINCARNATE LOGOS/WORD OF GOD, gave the Commandment of purification on the 40th day to Moses and it had been established for all the Israelites. This Commandment was given to Moses even before the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt before they crossed the Red Sea.

The offering was A SIGN OF RECOGNITION OF GOD’S BENEFICENCE and showed that they belong to Him. It is well known that the commandment to dedicate the first-born male child was given to the people of Israel, through Moses, directly after the killing of the first-born children of the Egyptians, when Pharoah at once gave permission for the exodus before they crossed the Red Sea. The explanation of this act is characteristic: “for with a strong hand, the Lord has brought you out of Egypt” (Exodus 13:9).

Since the Logos/Word of God Himself gave the law to Moses, when He assumed human flesh He had to keep the law, so as not to be a law-breaker. Saint Cyril of Alexandria says that when anyone sees Christ keeping the law, he should not be shocked, nor should he regard as a servant Him, Who is free, but he should have a better understanding of “the depth of the economy”. This keeping of the law of the offering in the Temple is part of they mystery of the Divine KENOSIS of the Son and Logos/Word of God.

Likewise, according to Saint Gregory Palamas, Christ HAD NO NEED OF PURIFICATION, but since ritual purification was legislated in the Old Testament for both the parents and the children, He did it IN ORDER TO OBEY THE LAW WHICH HE HIMSELF HAD GIVEN. Christ had no need for purification, BECAUSE HE WAS CONCEIVED WITHOUT SEED AND GIVEN BIRTH WITHOUT LOSS OF VIRGINITY. “There was certainly no need for purification, but it was AN ACT OF OBEDIENCE.” This obedience had the meaning of OBEDIENCE TO THE LAW OF GOD, BUT ALSO OF OBEDIENCE OF THE NEW ADAM, IN CONTRAST TO THE DISOBEDIENCE OF OLD ADAM. And if the disobedience of the first Adam resulted in the Fall and corruption, THE OBEDIENCE OF THE NEW ADAM, CHRIST, BROUGHT DISOBEDIENT HUMAN NATURE BACK TO GOD AND CURED MAN OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE DISOBEDIENCE.

One of the most important and central points in the Meeting, apart, of course, from Christ and the Panagia (All-Holy Mother of God), was Symeon, “the righteous and devout”, who was granted to welcome Christ, to take Him in his arms and TO RECOGNIZE Him by THE POWER AND ENERGY OF THE Holy Spirit. In fact, he is a great personality both in that he saw Christ and in what he said at that moment.

The name SYMEON corresponds to his life and expectation, but also to God’s REVELATION TO HIM because in the Hebrew language, the word Symeon is interpreted AS OBEDIENCE (Saint Niceta) or as “WHOM THE LORD HEARD” (Saint John Chrysostomos). The Evangelist Luke characterizes him as a man who lived in Jerusalem and was just and devout, “waiting for the consolation of Israel.” At the same time, he says that he had the Holy Spirit and that he had been informed that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ (Luke 2:25-26). All these signs are characteristic of an inspired man. This is why Holy Scripture is not interested in man’s origin and the elements of his human make-up because he had another life, a life of the spirit.

When the Righteous Symeon had come to the Sanctuary, he RECOGNIZED THE Son and Logos/Word of God by the power of the Holy Spirit. At aht time he was granted to see THE INCARNATION OF THE Logos/Word of God which all the Prophets had seen prophetically. As Saint Basil the Great says, Symeon and Anna saw the Divine power which was in Christ “LIKE A LIGHT THROUGH GLASSY MEMBRANES THROUGH THE HUMAN BODY.” Just as we see through the window the light that is in the house, or just as we see through glass lamps the light that is there, so also THE PURE IN HEART SEE THROUGH THE Body of Christ the Light of Divinity which IS UNKNOWN AND INVISIBLE TO OTHERS.

The Godman Christ IS THE FALL OF THOSE WHO DO NOT BELIEVE IN HIM AND THE RISING OF THOSE WHO DO. Golgotha is an example, one thief believes AND IS SAVED, and the other doubts AND IS CONDEMNED. This happens also IN OUR INNER LIFE. Christ falls when we, the baptized, fall through prostitution, and He is raised through our prudence. Likewise, it can be understood that Christ will suffer and fall in death, but also many will be raised through His own fall and His own death (Saint Theophylaktos).

Saint Symeon’s second prophecy, which referred to the Panagia, is as follows: “Yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” (Luke 2:35). Apparently, this prophecy refers TO THE PAIN AND SORROW OF THE THEOTOKOS ABOUT THE Cross, when she saw her Son, Who is the Son of God at the same time, suffering and enduring. Though the Panagia did not endure or suffer pain during the birth of Christ, precisely because SHE CONCEIVED Him WITHOUT SEED AND GAVE BIRTH WITHOUT CORRUPTION, SHE HAD TO SUFFER VERY MUCH AT THE TIME OF His departure.

This was the very sword that would pierce the soul of the Theotokos at Christ’s death on the Cross and would reveal the thoughts of many men which were hidden in their hearts. From the pain which she felt they understood that this was His natural mother.

This reminds us of the case of the two women in the Old Testament who claimed a baby and appeared before Solomon to resolve their difference. Solomon asked for a sword to divide it and give a part to each woman. Then one of them begged him not to kill it, but to give it whole to the other. And the other asked him to kill it so that neither of them should take it. The king gave the child to the one who preferred that the child should live even if the other woman took it. This was proof that she was the natural mother. (1 Kings 3:16-28).

In the same way the Panagia’s sorrow at the Cross showed that she was THE REAL MOTHER, THAT IT WAS FROM HER THAT THE LORD TOOK FLESH. For since the Panagia is the real mother, it means that Christ also HAS A REAL BODY AND IS NOT A FANTASY.

The feast of the Meeting of Christ is not simply a feast referring only to Christ the Lord and pointing to one of the stages of the Divine Economy, but IT IS ALSO A FEAST OF THE PERSON WHO LIVES IN CHRIST.

The Church made the feast of Christ’s Fortieth Day also a ceremony, a service for the fortieth day after everyone’s birth. On the 40th day after birth, the infant is offered to the Temple by its mother. This offering has a double meaning. First, the mother IS BLESSED FOR THE END OF HER PURIFICATION AFTER THE BLEEDING OF HER CONFINEMENT. Just as the Church prays for every illness, so also it prays FOR THE WOMAN WHO HAS GIVEN BIRTH AND NATURALLY FEELS TIRED AND PHYSICALLY WEAK. IT PRAYS FOR HER PURIFICATION AND BECAUSE, AS WE KNOW TODAY, THE MANNER OF THANKSGIVING FOR THE BIRTH OF A CHILD. Since the conception and birth OF A HUMAN BEING is not a work of nature alone, but of God’s energy, we feel that it belongs to God. So we offer it to God and He, through the priest, GIVES IT OVER TO US AGAIN TO BRING IT UP. BUT IN REALITY, IT BELONGS TO GOD. [Personal comment.  Think about how evil abortion is in the eyes of God.  Think also about His Divine Judgment on those who are involved in the murder of an infant, i.e., the mother, the father, the doctor, church officials, and the local and national authorities who approve and advocate the abortion (the killing) of this human being.)  ALL CHILDREN BELONG TO GOD and He has not given anyone the right to kill one of His beloved children.  Divine Justice is final and those who commit this horrific crime are accountable directly to the DIVINE JUDGE.

[Source: The Feasts of the Lord.  An introduction to the Twelve Feasts and Orthodox Christology by Metropolitan of Nafpaktos HIEROTHEOS]

(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




OUR HUMAN IDENTITY IS GOD-GIVEN AND SACRED

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

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

OUR HUMAN IDENTITY IS GOD-GIVEN AND
SACRED.

"Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image,
according to Our likeness" [Genesis 1:26].

Man is not one in nature with the Holy Trinity. But he was made in the image and likeness of the Holy Trinity; and he was made male and female. Therefore, THE DIGNITY OF EACH MAN AND EACH WOMAN IS THIS IMAGE AND LIKENESS.

God formed Adam’s body out of "dust from the ground" (2:7) The "breath of life" (2:7) is the grace of the Holy Spirit, the Giver of Life {the Creed), God breathed the breath of life into man’s body, and he became "A LIVING SOUL" (2:7). Therefore, Adam was a living soul because he possessed a body, a soul, and the grace of the Holy Spirit.

This is the true identity of man. It is very clear how he came to be and that God created him, and God made him a living soul. For the authentic Christian, there is no confusion, and there is no identity crisis at all. This is who man is. There is no other identity for him and no power on earth can alter this very fact. And "as many as received Him, to them the gave the right to become children of God" [John 1:12]. Man realizes his true identity in the Christ. There is no identity for man apart from Him. It is no wonder, therefor, that the world struggles with Jesus’ identity. Who is He? Is He God? Is He man? Both?

However, an atheistic society is not simply seeking answers to these questions, instead is waging war against the dignity, msn’s identity, and his very nature. Not only does it wage a ruthless war but it is determined to erace God from man’s existence. The evil one has the audecity to wage war on God Himself and His creature, man. He is fully aware that he cannot destroy God and therefore he is using man’s own weaknesses, lack of faith, passions, defective reasoning, pride, disobedience, greed, hunger for power and control, to separate him from his Creator. He has deceived man to believe that he is not what he believes he is. In other words to doubt his very nature, dignity, origin, and Creator. It is a deliberate assault on man’s humanity. The result of this attack on man is to create confusion and terror.

What we are currently witnessing is that the evil one has declared open season on mankind by slandering and blaspheming God, by the killing of the innocents, the destruction of the family, by destroying trust among people, by depriving children of their innocence, by lying of one’s gender, by creating doubt of what is natura and questioning of what is true, by destroying man’s ability to discern between good and evil, by clouding man’s mind with evil thoughts, by taking away man’s freedom to act, by undermining man’s need of faith in God and in himself, by removing virtue, values, precepts and priciples from society, by destroying education, by discouraging man to be good and do good, and by wanting to turn God’s world of love, of peace, and holiness and light, to a place of darkness, suffering, hopelessness, misery, and finally hell itself.

But according to our Our Orthodox Christian Faith God the Holy Trinity made man in His image and likeness. "Then the Lord planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man He formed. Besides this, God caused every tree beautiful to the sight and good for food to grow from teh ground…Then the Lord God took the man He formed and put him in the garden to tend and keep it… And the Lord God said, ‘it is not good for man to be alone. I will make him a helper comparable to him…Then the Lord God built the rib He took from Adam into a woman, and brought her to him. So Adam said ‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called Woman, because she was take out of Man." (Genesis 2:8-23). Why is there a concerted effort to erace man’s memory, his true origin, his very beginning of life, created by the Almighty God?

Our Lord Christ, by His Death and Resurrection, conquered the devil and death, freeing mankind from the fear of death (Hebrews 2:14-15) and making possible a more complete communion between God and man than ws ever possible before. This communion allows people to become "patakers of the divine nature" ( 2 Peter 1:4), to transcend death, and ultimately, all the consequences of the Fall. The grace of Christ heals the will of those who return to Him through repentance, so they might freely pursue God do His will.

Man’s goal is deification (theosis). Theosis is our becoming more like God through His grace. Concerning the motive for the creation in the mind of God, the Orthodox Confession and the Larger Catechism express it thus: The world was created by God "so that other beings, glorifying Him, might be "participants of His goodness." In Orthodox doctrine, this participation ultimately means deification (theosis), which is man’s UNION WITH GOD and PARTICIPATION IN GOD’S LIFE THROUGH THE Divine Uncreated Energies. Man was created to be THE LINK BETWEEN THE VISIBLE CREATION AND GOD THROUGH HIS OWN DEIFICATION (THEOSIS). That is man’s only goal.

Today man is encouraged not to strive for theosis (deification) and union with God but to run away from His Creator. The suffering of the human race began with the appearance of moral evil and are the consequences of sin, which entered into our life a that time. "The essence of evil consists in the violation of God’s will, the commandments of God, and the moral law which is written in the human conscience. This violation is called sin.

Saint Gregory Palamas writes: "The Lord patiently endured for our sake a death. He was not obliged to undergo, to redeem us, who were obliged to suffer death, from servitude to teh devil and death, by which I mean death of the soul and body, temporay and eternal. Since He gave His Blood, which was sinless and therefore guiltless, as a ransom for uw who were liable to punishment because of our sins, He redeemed us from our guilt. He forgave our sins, tore up the record of them on the Cross and delivered us from the devil’s tyrrany (cf. Col. 2:14-15). The devil was caught by the bait. It was as if he opened his mouth and hastened to pour out for himself our ransom, the Master’s Blood, which was not only guiltless but full of Divine power. Then instead of being enriched by it he was strongly bound and made an example in the Cross of Christ {Homilies, vol. 1, pp. 200-201).

______________

"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

“…FIRST REMOVE THE PLANK FROM YOUR OWN EYE…” (Luke 6:42)

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

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

"Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the
speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the
the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First, remove the plank
from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the
speck that is in your brother’s eye" [Luke 6:42].

Saint Theophylact writes: "Why He asks, do you look at the speck, that is, the small sin of your brother, while not perceiving the timber, that is, your own great sin? The Lord here directs His words to all, but especially to teachers and rulers who punish the smallest sins of those who are under them, while their own much larger sins go unpunished. Therefore, the Lord also calls them hypocrites, because they appear in one light, righteous punishers of the sins of others, when in fact they are something quite different, even greater sinners themselves. Then the Lord confirms His words with an example. Just as it is impossible, He says, for a good tree to produce bad fruit, or for a bad tree to produce good fruit, neither could a man be evil who tries to recall others to their senses, to correct them, and to lead them to the good. If he were evil, he would not labor to make others better. The heart of each man is a treasury; if it contains good things, then the man himself is good, and he speaks good things. But if the heart is full of evil, then a man is evil, and he speaks evil things."

Saint John Chrysostom states, "Brothers, let us not be bitter judges and accusers of others that we may not be found seriously responsible against God. Let us not forget that we too have committed serious sins which need greater forgiveness. Let us, therefore, be lenient towards the others no matter how badly they have sinned so that we may be assured of the mercy and leniency of God." Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ is very clear when He says, "Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. JUDGE NOT, and you shall not be judged. Condemn NOT, and you shall not be condemned. FORGIVE, AND YOU WILL BE FORGIVEN" [Luke 6:36-37].

The Kingdom of God calls us to a way of life in which mercy abounds. We must: [a) Refrain from judging.  By definition, human judgment precludes mercy.  (b) Do not condemn.  Condemnation causes us to depart from mercy.  (c) Forgive.  Forgiveness can only come out of a heart of mercy.  (d) Give.  When we give abundantly we receive from God in the same measure.  It is up to every believer to heed the Divine words of our Savior Christ.   No Orthodox Christian cannot be disobedient to Him Who gave His life to save us from evil and death.  When one judges another he or she does it out of pride.  Saint Gregory the Theologian states, "Nothing is more pleasant to many than to judge the actions of others."  A person who is weak in faith is misled to believe that he or she is better than others.  There is absolutely no humility and no compassion for others but only contempt and places himself or herself above them.  


   The Saints of our Holy Church always considered themselves as the worst sinner on earth.  Instead, whenever they witnessed someone committing a sin they would immediately pray to God to forgive them and show mercy upon them.  We too must have the humility to admit before God and man that we ourselves are sinners.   We, too, should say along with the psalmist, "…Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.  For I ACKNOWLEDGE MY TRANSGRESSIONS, AND MY SIN IS ALWAYS BEFORE ME.  Against You, You only, have I sinned and done this evil in Your sight…Create in me a clean heart, O God.  And renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit.." (Psalm 50[51]. This is a psalm of repentance and God’s mercy.

The harsher we are in our judgments of our fellow man, the harsher God will judge us at His Second Coming. How can any one of us believe that we can ever be united with our Lord not having any love for those who need our charity and compassion? He, Who, forgave those who crucified Him on the Cross when He said: "Father, FORGIVE THEM. FOR THEY DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY DO" [Luke 23:34], showing His boundless mercy. The Christian follower is one who learns from our Lord’s teaching, actions, and example. Humility is the foundation of virtue, and it is learned through submission and obedience to Him Who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Be just and righteous. Don’t be arrogant and conceited. Man’s inclination is to believe that he is better than all those around him. That he is superior in intellect and much more knowledgeable than others. They are deceived by the evil one to think that they belong to the elite class and deserve all the honors bestowed upon them. The Almighty and Life-Giving God has given all persons a measue of "common sense" to use wisely to help those who have not found the God of love, and lead them to Him. With the presence of Christ comes the presence of love and, with love, inexpressible good things. Then a person, with tears of joy, communes with our Savior Jesus Christ in his heart with prayer: ‘LORD JESUS CHRIST, HAVE MERCY ON ME A SINNER’, AND THE HEART IS INPERCEPTIBLY FILLED WITH DIVINE LIGHT AND ARDEN LOVE.

Judging others brings a more severe judgment to us. Be forgiving and let us leave the judgment to the Heavenly and Righteous Creator of all. "Whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also" [Matthew 5:39], commanded the Lord. This is the briefest and clearest teaching on genuine humility. Do not be proud; do not be angry; do not be despondent; for that is all unworthy of a Christian’s calling. Submit yourselves to the will of God, and do not pry too closely into His judgments, for that is foolish. May God preserve us from pride, the greatest illness of the human race. Our Savior Jesus Christ exhorts us: "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I AM GENTLE AND LOWLY IN HEART, AND YOUR WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS" (Matthew 11:29). Christ’s "yoke" is submission to the Kingdom of God. Ayoke may be the symbol of hardship, burdens and responsibilities. Although it may feel heavy due to our sins, Christ’s yoke is light. In Him the soul is refreshed and sees that the Lord is gracious and kind.

"Let not your heart be troubled; YOU BELIEVE IN GOD, BELIEVE ALSO IN ME" (John 14:1) says the Lord.

__________

"Glory Be To GOD
For
Alll Things!"

– Saint John Chrysostomos

+ + +



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

+ Father George

THE SCHISM OF THE ROMAN CHURCH (Part II)

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

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

THE SCHISM OF THE ROMAN CHURCH (Part II)
By John N. Karmiris, Professor of Theology in
the University of Athens.

Peter of Antioch, writing to the Cerularius, characterized it as "AN EVIL AND OF ALL EVILS THE WORST". Because, it meant THE FORGERY OF THE SACRED SYMBOL OF THE CHURCH and A CHANGE IN THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL CHRISTIAN DOGMA ABOUT THE HOLY TRINITY, WHICH THE FIRST ECUMENICAL SYOND HAD FORMULATED, WHICH THE Great Fathers of the Church had theologically and philosophically examined and fortified and which THE FIVE SUCCEEDING ECUMENICAL AND OTHER ECCLESIASTICAL SYNODS HAD RECOGNIZED AND VALIDATED. On this point, the Third Ecumenical Synod DECREED THAT "IT IS NOT PERMITTED TO ANYONE TO PRONOUNCE ANOTHER FAITH, BY WRITING AGAINST THAT WHICH WAS DEFINED BY THE HOLY FATHERS, WHO CONVENED AT NICAEA UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT." Its president, Saint Cyril of Alexandria, added that TO NO ONE IS IT PERMITTED TO "CHANGE ONE WORD OF THE TEXT, NOT EVEN ONE SYLLABLE." This was accepted by earlier Popes, of whom Leo III in 810 in order TO PROTECT THE CREED FROM ALTERATION ORDERED IT TO BE WRITTEN ON TWO SILVER PLATES IN GREEK AND IN LATIN WITHOUT THE ILLEGITIMATE ADDITION AND SET IT UP IN THE CHURCH OF THE APOSTLE PETER IN ROME. Consequently, this NEW LATIN BELIEF of the PROCESSION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT FROM THE SON ALSO, which by the Orthodox was considered ANTI-CANONICAL AND ARBITRARY AS WELL AS SCRIPTURALLY, HISTORICO-DOGMATICALLY, ECCLESIASTICALLY, AND LOGICALLY UNACCEPTABLE, naturally contributed a great deal TO THE DIVISION BETWEEN THE Eastern Church adhering steadfastly to the teaching of the Ecumenical Synods and the Western Church with its INCLINATION TO INNOVATE IN MATTERS OF FAITH.

"…The first disagreement between the East and West occurred with THE DECISIONS OF THE SECOND (381) AND PARTICULARLY THE FOURTH (451) ECUMENICAL SYNODS WHICH BESTOWED EQUAL PRIVILEGES TO THE PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE WITH "THE BISHOP OF ROME, FOR CONSTANTINOPLE BECOMING THE NEW ROME… (the Fathers) rightly deciding that the city which was honored for royalty and senate, should enjoy EQUAL RIGHTS WITH THE OLDER ROYAL ROME, and be magnified in church affairs like Rome, being the second after her…and to the older Rome did the Fathers reasonably give privileges because she was the ruling city."

"…Furthermore, deeper and more official became the antithesis and dissension between the Eastern and Western Church on account of the Canons 36, 13, 55, and 56 of the Quini-sextum Council (Trullanum) in 691 by which the primary rights of the Patriarch of Constantinople were again recognized and THE GENERAL OBLIGATORY CELIBACY OF THE CLERGY and the FAST OF THE LATINS DURING THE SATURDAY OF LENT WERE CONDEMNED. Contributing also to the antithesis was the decision of the Lateran Council of 769 against the synod of 754 called by Constantine V during THE ICON (image) CONTROVERSY. This antithesis continued until the end of the Icon controversy.

In addition to the intellectual, theological, and ecclesiastical differences, it is also necessary, to add the racial national and political antithesis and antipathies which existed before Christ between the Greeks and Romans and later between the Christian Emperors of Byzantium and the Popes of Rome. And, between the ancient Greeks and Romans, because of their mutual tyrannical conquests and subjections and the conflict of their great national and economic interests, it was natural for a permanent enmity to develop. This was intensified by the significant differences with respect to CULTURE, SPIRIT, LANGUAGE, NATIONAL, RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL CHARACTER, LIFE, MANNER, CUSTOMS, etc. But, this dissension continued after Christ when the Capital WAS TRANSFERRED TO BYZANTIUM. Since then, the bishops of Rome maintained an unfriendly disposition toward Byzantium which was dawning AS AN ECCLESIASTICAL AS WELL AS POLITICAL CENTER, and on the other hand, they began to try to invest themselves with and consolidate THE DOUBLE AUTHORITY OF THEIR PREDECESSORS, PONTIFICES MAMI, AS WELL AS THAT OF THE EMPERORS OF PAGAN ROME IN ORDER TO EXERCISE BOTH ECCLESIASTICAL AND POLITICAL AUTHORITY. They hoped to continue under the new cloak of PAPO-CAESARISM the old caesarean imperialism and totalitarianism. To this end, they contrived the theory of the so-called PAPA SUPREMACY.

This theory, however, inevitably caused conflict not only with the Patriarchs of the East but also with the Emperors of Byzantium. And in fact, the Byzantine Emperors bore heavily the loss of their sovereignty over central Italy, which was subjected during the 8th century by the Papal state established by the Franks. They resented, as well, the political manoeuvres of the Popes, conditioned each time by the advent of powerful rulers in the West. Similarly, the Popes also resented both the political and ecclesiasical subjection of Southern Italy, Sicily and Eastern Illyricum by Byzantium. Besides, the Popes souight to emancipate themselves fully from the Byzantine Court in order to effect more easily their ecclesiastico-political projects; towards this end, already from the middle of the 8th century they had placed themselves under the protection of the Franks who had recently appeared adn whose ruler Pepin and Charlemagne had crowned Emperors. In this way, they contributed to the establishment of the Westernn Empire, imitating the authority of the Byzantine Emerors to the East, which later was even threatened by the Christian West. Through such political manoevres the Popes sough chiefly to put an end to their dependence and relations with the lawful Roman Emperor in Byzantium and to invest themselves with political power by provoking and accepting the so-called Papal State in Italy as a gift of the Frankish rulers. So, already for one century, before Patriarch and Saint Photios, the Popes for the sake of their own ecclesiastiaco-political ambitions and pursuits had created first the political schism of the West from the East. The ecclesiasical schism followed as a necessary and inevitable consequence with the Popes taking the lead.

(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

THE SCHISM OF THE ROMAN CHURCH

My Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

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

THE SCHISM OF THE ROMAN CHURCH
By John N. Karmiris, Professor of Theology in the
The University of Athens.

Among the opponents and adversaries of the Orthodox Catholic Church of the East, the Papacy very early took its place. By the word Papacy we meant the tendency of the bishops of Rome, which is foreign to the genuine spirit of Christianity, towards ABSOLUTE CONCENTRATION OF ALL THE POWERS AND PROPERTIES OF THE CHURCH–even up to the point OF INFALLIBILITY–IN ONE RULER AND THE EXERCISE BY HIM OF TYRANNICAL GOVERNMENT AND SOVEREIGNTY OVER THE WHOLE CHURCH OF CHRIST. In addition, the term implies all the accompanying innovations of the bishops of Rome IN ADMINISTRATION, WORSHIP AND FAITH OF THE CHURCH, moreover, it means the appropriation by the Papacy OF POLITICAL, NAMELY WORLDLY POWER. This tendency appeared early in the ancient Church. but because she was entangled in hard struggles AGAINST HERETICS AND OTHER ENEMIES, INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL, she did not hasten to suppress it in its genesis. The fact that it was expressed in the West, on the other hand, offered suitable ground for its growth for various reasons, but above all because of its distance from the Greek East, which WAS THE CENTER OF ALL ECCLESIASTICA, POLITICAL, AND INTELLECTUAL MOVEMENTS, and because AT THAT TIME THE PEOPLES OF THE WEST WERE UNCIVILIZED. In addition, the fact that there existed only one apostolic throne in the West, that of Rome, gave this tendency ground for development. It as natural for Rome to become a great ecclesiastical center, as it already had become a political one. The Eastern Church, in which THE GREAT DOGMATICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL STRUGGLES WERE TAKING PLACE AT THIS TIME AS A RESULT GAVE TO CHRISTIANITY ITS DEFINITE AND PERMANENT FORM, WAS NOT TOUCHED IMMEDIATELY BY THE ABSOLUTE PAPAL AMBITIONS. For this reason, she did not react, effectively in time against the pursuits of the bishops of Rome, which in the beginning were put forward in the East in the form of a simple claim TO HONORARY PRIMACY. In this way, the Papacy found the opportunity TO IMPOSE ITSELF ON THE ENTIRE WESTERN CHURCH AND TO STRENGTHEN ITS POSITION DURING THE FIRST EIGHT CENTURIES. When it thought itself SUFFICIENTLY STRONG, IT ATTEMPTED TO EXTEND ITS SOVEREIGNTY EVEN OVER THE Eastern Church during THE LATTER HALF OF THE 9th CENTURY, TAKING ADVANTAGE ON THE ONE HAND OF THE WEAKNESS DUE TO HER SUBJUGATION BY MOHAMMEDANISM (TURKISH ENSLAVEMENT FOR FOUR AND OTHERS FIVE CENTURIES), and of the DECLINE OF THE THREE ANCIENT PATRIARCHATES OF THE East–ALEXANDRIA, ANTIOCH, AND JERUSALEM, on the other hand, of its POLITICAL EMANCIPATION FROM THE BYZANTINE EMPERORS AND ITS ALLIANCE WITH THE FRANKISH RULERS OF THE West, through the aid of whom the Papacy had already obtained political power. The theory of the two swords and the papal primacy was thus shaped.

In this manner, there was somehow created in the Church A NEW DEGREE IN THE PRIESTHOOD, THAT OF THE POPE, WHO BEING CONSIDERED AS "EPISCOPUS EPISCOPORUM", and "EPISCOPUS UNIVERSALIS" and source of the Priesthood, CENTRALIZES THE HIGHEST ECCLESIASTICAL AND WORLDLY POWER AND STANDS ABOVE ALL THE HIERARCHS AND PATRIARCHS AND EVEN OVER THE ECUMENICAL SYNODS; THE POPE IS THE VISIBLE HEAD AND RULER OF THE WHOLE CHURCH ON EARTH, HAVING THE "PLENAM ET SUPREMAM POTESTATEM JURISDICTIONIS IN UNIVERSAM ECCLESIAM" WHEN HE SPEAKS "EX CATHEDRA" AND DEFINES THE TEACHING WHICH OUGHT TO BE OBSERVED BY THE WHOLE CHURCH IN FAITH AND MORALS "EA INFALLIBILITATE POLLERE QUA DEVINUS Redemptor Ecclesiam suam in definienda dotrina de fied vel moribus istructam esse voluit", as the Vatican Synod dogmatized in the past century, So in this way, the ancient simple honorary primacy of the bishop of Rome WAS PERVERTED AND CHANGED INTO A PRIMACY OF JURISDICTION THAT WAS EEN COMPLETED AND CROWNED WITH INFALLIBILITY. Of course, these FABRICATIONS OF THE LATINS, which are CONTRARY TO THE LETTER AND TO THE SPIRIT OF THE Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition, were able to find reception ONLY IN THE WEST and NOT IN THE GREEK ORTHODOX EAST which was the FIRST TEACHER OF CHRISTIANITY AND CIVILIZATION. For this reason, it is obvious that as soon as the MONARCHY AND ABSOLUTISM OF THE Pope, thus developed and enforced in the Western Church (Roman Catholic), would attempt to spread out OVER THE INDEPENDENT AND FREE Eastern Church, it would INEVITABLY LEAD TO CONFLICT AND SCHISM OF THE TWO CHURCHES, THE RESPONSIBILITY RESTING WITH THE Roman (Latin) Church.

Moreover, the Papacy was not content with changing the organizations of the Church alone, but ventured also to introduce DOGMATICAL AND LITURGICAL INNOVATIONS THAT WERE UNKNOWN IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. Thus, she innovated in the celebration of the Sacraments of BAPTISM, CHRISM, AND HOLY EUCHARIST EVEN UP TO THE POINT OF TOUCHING THE DOGMATICAL TEACHINGS OF THE ANCIENT CHURCH. But that which clashed more against the dogmatical conscience of the Orthodox was the addition OF THE "FILIOQUE" CLAUSE TO THE CREED, which IN FORM WAS ANTI-CANONICAL AND IN SUBSTANCE ERRONEOUS. This clause contains the new Latin teaching OF THE PROCESSION OF THE Holy Spirit "AND FROM THE SON," WHICH WAS CHARACTERIZED BY Saint Photios, Patriarch of Constantinople, AS AN "HERETICAL BELIEF", "ATHEISTIC OPINION" and "BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT, OR RATHER AGAINST THE HOLY TRINITY" and the "APEX OF EVILS."

(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

SAINT MARK EVGENIKOS OF EPHESOS, THE DEFENDER OF ORTHODOXY (Part II)

14My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

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

SAINT MARK EVGENIKOS OF EPHESOS (Part II)

Pope Eugene sent another one of his representatives, Ambrogio Traversari (1386-1439). When he came to Saint Mark’s door, the Saint uttered, "If thou dost also SLANDER THE SEVEN ECUMENICAL SYNODS OF THE HOLY FATHERS, THOU, IN THE SAME MANNER, SHALL DIE WITHIN FORTY DAYS." Indeed, Ambrogio died in that time.

When the Greek bishops had affixed their signatures to the council’s decree, the emperor sent ten bishops to witness the signing of the Pope. When Pope Eugene took up the document, he closely studied the signatures of the Greek bishops. Then, while Pope Eugene was signing the decree, he asked whether the Ephesians had signed it. When he was told that Mark of Ephesos had not, he involuntarily exclaimed, "Then WE HAVE ACCOMPLISHED NOTHING!" He then stood up and demanded that Saint Mark be forced to sign the union or be delivered up to judgment as a stubborn opponent to the decree.

The Pope continued to threaten Saint Mark to no avail. Undaunted, the defender of Orthodoxy, Saint Mark, gave the Pope a decisive answer, saying,
"Thy Synods condemn those who will not obey the Church and maintain opinions contrary to what she teaches. I neither preach to my own glory nor have I said anything new or unknown to the Church. I keep intact the pure and unadulterated teachings which the Church has received and preserved, and continues to preserve, from unanimously with that of the Eastern Church, until the beginning of the schism. Even during the present Synod, you have lauded this exact pious worship of the past. No one can censure or condemn this pious teaching. Therefore, I I remain steadfast in this teaching and do not desire to deviate from it, how is it possible to judge me as a heretic? First, one must judge the teaching which I believe, and then judge me. However, the confession is holy and Orthodox, how can I justifiably be judged?

The Pope, perceiving Saint Mark’s inflexibility, finally understood there was no hope of dissuading THE LONE AND BRAVE GUARDIAN OF ORTHODOX TRUTHS. He told Saint Mark to leave his presence. The Emperor also had much to do with preventing Saint Mark from being further threatened by the Pope and his organization.

A False Union

"The decree of union was as a spider’s web," Saint Mark later wrote to Scholarios. This council can be called neither "holy" nor "ecumenical," for the following reasons: The document was not the fruit of brothers coming freely in Christ to discuss matters of the Faith. Forced measures were employed against the Greeks to reduce them to fear and trembling that they might sign. Bishop Abraham of Suzdal was even imprisoned. Others also were wearied from starvation and the threat of death; whereas others were pressured by the emperor and his pleas for aid to their homeland. Some shamefully accepted the bribe money, while others were actually persuaded by the Latin arguments. Saint Mark identified this synod as the "assembly of Caiaphas" (Matthew 26:3, 57), that is, there were clandestine meetings and agreements in cells and apartments, not out in the open as in proper to an ecumenical gathering. When it came to the signing, "Many did not know the exact contents of the document they were signing," declares Syropoulos.

The Greeks departed on the 19th of October, 1439, sailing on two Venetian vessels. Saint Mark traveled in the same galley with the emperor. The emperor treated Saint Mark with reverence and love, which may seem paradoxical to most. George Sholarios confirms this when he caracterized the emperor as "beholding Mark with wonder as a virtuous and wise man."

When the Greeks passed through Kerkyra (Corfu), the Orthodox Christians of these places received them. However, when they were informed about the union made by the Greek bishops, Syropoulos describes them as "exceedingly disgusted and repulsed." The zealous Orthodox of Methone reproached them… Now, however, we have nothing to say to them, You have worked a great evil for us in what you have done at Florence!"

The Russians turned their backs on apostate Byzantium since she had forfeited all claims to leadership in the Orthodox world by betraying the True Faith. On account of this, Byzantium lost an embittered Russia. In her judgment of the Florentine Union, the Church of Russia had shown herself to be a worthy daughter of Orthodoxy.

On the 1st day of February, in the year 1440, ships carrying the Greeks sailed into the Golden Horn. Through the merchants that had been in Ferrar and Florence, the fame and achievements of Saint Mark arrived before him in the Capital. After hearing of his valiant steadfastness, the people were waiting to applaud and cheer their hero.

When the delegation arrived on shore, the Constantinopolitans overwhelmed the bishops with questions, asking, "How did the synod end?" and "Have we gained the victory>" Bishop Anthony of Herakleia and others answered sorrowfully, "WE HAVE SOLD THE FAITH; WE HAVE EXCHANGED PIETY FOR IMPIETY; WE HAVE BETRAYED THE PURE RELIGION, WE HAVE EXCHANGED ORTHODOXY FOR HETERODOXY, AND BETRAYING OUR FORMER UNDEFILED SACRIFICE, WE HAE BECOME AZYMITES."

The people were justifiably angry. Horrified, the faithful avoided the bishops that had signed and even cast insults at them. The clergy that remained in Constantinople also would not concelebrate with the UNIONISTS. In due time, the Eastern Patriarchs announced that they were NOT bound by anything that their representatives had signed. One described the people’s behavior toward Saint Mark thus: "The Ephesian beheld that the crowd glorified him BECAUSE HE DID NOT SIGN. The multitudes venerated him as the Israelites of old did Moses and Aaron. All lauded him and called him "Saint." Even those that were against Saint Mark said, "HE RECEIVED NEITHER GIFTS NOR GOLD" from the Pope.

The emperor found that it was easier to sign the union than to enforce it. Influenced by his aged mother, Helena Dragases of the Serbian Dynasty in Eastern Macedonia, the emperor did not force it on his people. The Byzantines DID NOT ACCEPT THE UNION and ignored all exhortations by the partisans of the union. An almost painful silence enshrouded by the Church when, during the Great Fast of 1440, the churches were empty and there were no services. NO ONE WANTED TO SERVE WITH THE BISHOPS WHO HAD SIGNED.

SAINT MARK THE HERO

All zealous for Orthodoxy, Athonite monks, and even village priests, flocked around Saint Mark and revered him as a hero. The holy man continued to shatter the strength of the apostates and the Council of Florance with his writings and addresses directed against the union. As had been expected, Saint Mark refused the dignity of the Patriarchal throne. Anthony of Herakleia bowed with remorse, and openly rejected the union, declaring it contrary to the ancient tradition of the Holy Catholic Church. He also refused the honor of being a Patriarch, deeming himself guilty.

The Activities of the Saint

Saint Mark, the bright adornment of ascetics, now forty-nine years old and afflicted with terminal cancer, was still strong in spirit and would not remain silent. In his letters to all Christians, he encouraged them to depart from the Florentine Union, AS A UNION OFFENSIVE TO GOD. In a letter to Hieromonk Theophanes of Evia, Saint Mark wrote: "FLEE, BRETHREN! FLEE COMMUNION WITH THE INCOMMUNICABLE AND THE COMMEMORATION OF THE UNCOMMEMORATIVE. BEHOLD, I, MARK, THE SINNER, TELL YOU THAT WHOEVER COMMEMORATES THE POPE AS AN ORTHODOX PRELATE IS GUILTY. MOREOVER, ONE WHO MINDS THE DOGMAS OF THE LATINS WILL BE JUDGED WITH THE LATINS, AND WILL BE DEEMED A BETRAYER OF THE FAITH."

April 1443 marked the first official judgment against the FALSE COUNCIL OF FERRARA-FLORENCE, which was initiated by the Patriarch Joachim of Jerusalem (1435-1450). The Patriarch Philotheos of Alexandria, Patriarch Dorotheos of Antioch, and Metropolitan Arsenios of Caesarea in Cappadocia met. They all condemned the Florentine Council as "VILE" and only for "the glory of the Latins together with Pope Eugene." Also, Patriarch Metrophanes II of Constantinople was condemned as a heretic.

The Repose of Saint Mark

Long before his death, the Saint, as a father, gave instructions to those present concerning the direction of the Church and OUR CORRECT FAITH, by admonishing many to return away from every innovation. However, the time of his earthly translation approached, that he might receive the everlasting reward. In 1444, having retired to his boyhood home in Galata, a section of Constantinople, the holy man suffered terribly for fourteen days prior to his repose. On the day of his blessed repose, the last thoughts of the Saint were not for himself but FOR ORTHODOXY, TO WHICH HE HAD DEVOTED HIS WHOLE LIFE. His brother John notes that Saint Mark was fifty-two years old when he reposed on the 23rd of June 1444.

Our Holy Orthodox Church commemorates Saint Mark Evgenikos, Metropolitan of Ephesos, single-combatant, champion, and guardian of Orthodoxy on the 19th of January. [ Source:The Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church]

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"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"

– Saint John Chrysostomos

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

+ Father George

OUR HOLY FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS, MARK EVGENIKOS, THE PILLAR OF ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

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

OUR HOLY FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS, MARK EVGENIKOS,
THE PILLAR OF ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY.

Saint Mark Evgenikos, our holy and God-bearing Father, was born in 1392. He lived the greater part of his life in Constantinople. The father of the Saint, George, was at first a Deacon and later proto-ekdikos, proto-notarios and great chartophylax of the Patriarchate. The Saint’s mother, Maria, was the daughter of the well-known physician, Loukas. Both of Saint Mark’s parents were the scions of renowned and devout families. When the Saint first beheld the light of the sun, his home was n Galata of Constantinople.

Before he embraced the Monastic life, the young Mark was named Manuel. Up until the age of thirteen, Manuel’s teacher was his father, who maintained a lecture hall and place for meditation (φροντιστήριον). From his earliest youth, the lad distinguished himself in his studies. He was also a pupil of other acclaimed educators, under whom he advanced n his studies and knowledge. When Manuel was thirteen, his father reposed. A brilliant student, he surpassed all others with his abilities. "In a short time, Manuel acquired the greatest knowledge, owing to his utmost diligence, attention, and sharp mind. In time, the holy Manuel received a complete education. Saint Mark was not only a man of learning and letters but was also adorned with a holy manner of life that evinced his dedication to Orthodoxy. He led a monastic and ascetic life as if he were an Angel living on earth.

Thus, in the words of George Scholarios, "The holy young man, who was spiritually pure, behaved more like a desert dweller than like one who dwelt in the capital, the ‘Queen of Cities.’ His demeanor and manner of life were foreign to the world about him; indeed, he was bound to nothing earthly. Nevertheless, the world weighed heavily upon, the blessed man. Among his many qualities, he possessed humility, and, therefore, he sought neither glory which is vain, nor riches that faded, nor the favor of the imperial court. The young man desired monastic perfection in the eremitic life so that he might concentrate his soul and heart in prayer and in the remembrance of God. He believed there could be no greater good than unceasing joy in the Lord and in the illumination that comes only from the remembrance of God.

Upon the brotherhood’s constant urging and insistence, Mark, with the heaviness of heart and against his will, accepted THE DIGNITY OF ORDINATION. In 1420, at twenty-eight years old, the monk Mark was made a Deacon. Then, two years later, he was ordained to the Priesthood. His brother, John, makes this comment about Mark and how he served the Divine Offices: "When Father Mark celebrated the Divine Liturgy, he was FILLED BY DIVINE INSPIRATION TO SUCH AN EXTENT THAT ALL WHO BEHELD HIM SAID THAT HE APPEARED TO BE OUTSIDE OF HIMSELF, OUTSIDE EVEN THE EARTH, AND COMPLETELY IMMERSED IN GOD, LIKE AN ANGEL IN THE FLESH."

Emperor John looked upon Saint Mark with much love and respect. The emperor also respected the holy Mark’s thorough knowledge OF THE PRINCIPLES OF Orthodoxy. He also appreciated his clear and disciplined mind, which quickly perceived the errors of the enemies of Orthodoxy. With the death of Metropolitan Ioasaph of Ephesos, and for many other reasons, the emperor insisted that the holy Mark accept the See of Ephesos and be consecrated Metropolitan. He understood that Mark had a pure and INCORRUPTABLE LOVE FOR THE TRUTH AND COULD DEVELOP SOUND IDEAS. It was the emperor’s desire that Saint Mark attains this rank, so as to occupy a suitable place among the Greek representatives, namely, THE PLACE OF CHIEF THEOLOGIAN OF THE Orthodox.

The holy man did not wish to accept such a high rank; for when he took the Monastic tonsure, he had fled the world. He sensed that THE OFFICE OF BISHOP WAS BEYOND HIS WORTH AND POWERS. However, all pressed Mark to accept, asserting that his presence was indispensable for the imminent discussions with the West (Latins). They asserted that the title of Metropolitan would be a rank that the Latins (Roman Catholic) would esteem. Therefore, obedient to the Patriarch, the emperor, and to the genuine need of the True and Only Church of Christ, he submitted to the Synod and its decision for his elevation. Thus, it was plain that he accepted this high Ecclesiastical rank solely FOR THE DEFENSE OF ORTHODOXY, which he loved. Indeed, the power and genius of the holy man’s words were needed by the Orthodox, SO AS NOT TO BE LED ASTRAY BY THE INNOVATORS WHO WERE ALREADY PREPARING A WAYWARD PATH.

Shortly after his elevation, at forty-six years of age, the new Metropolitan prepared to depart for Rome. Saint Mark held high hopes for the possibility of union with the Latins. He profoundly believed in the potentiality of restoring the former unity between the two sides. Indeed, he believed in this warmly and fervently. He would labor inexhaustibly toward this aim. He said, "I followed the ecumenical Patriarch and the God-given Emperor John to the council in Italy. I did not consider my own infirmity, nor the difficulty and enormity of the undertaking. I placed my hope in God and in the common Saints shared between the Easter and Western Churches. Indeed, I believed all would proceed well with us and that we would achieve something great and worthy of all our labor and hopes."

Saint Mark, however, was a cautious man. Desiring to receive enlightenment and help from above for the mighty labor that lay ahead in Italy. Saint Mark made it clear to the council that the Orthodox hierarchs HAD NOT COME TO ITALY TO SIGN A CAPITULATION. The Orthodox would NOT SELL THE Faith for the benefit of their crumbling state. Their purpose in attending the council WAS FOR THE CONFIRMATION OF TRUE DOCTRINE. Mark, the star of the Church of Christ, made it clear to the West that THE PURITY OF ORTHODOXY MUST BE PRESERVED. He indicated that negotiations could end in failure if Rome DID NOT CONCEDE AND RENOUNCE HER INNOVATIONS. The Westerners had introduced dogmas and liturgical practices unknown to the ancient Church, WHICH HAD LED TO A SCHISM BETWEEN ROME AND BYZANTIUM. The fiery teacher of piety then said that if the Church of Rome desired to finish as well as she had begun–that is, FROM THE TIME OF THE APOSTLES–then SHE MUST RETRACT HER DOCTRINE ON THE PROCESSION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND NOT PERFORM THE LITURGY WITH UNLEAVENED WAFERS (azymes). Furthermore, Saint Mark pointed out to them THAT UNION WAS JUST AS NECESSARY TO THE WEST BECAUSE ALL CHRISTIANS HAD A COMMON ENEMY–the Modern Turks.

It was visibly apparent that the Pope and his committee received Saint Mark’s address with cold disdain. When emperor John and others among the Greeks, who were not present, learned of Saint Mark’s words, they, too, were indignant. They DID NOT wish THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EAST AND WEST TO BE MENTIONED. As the real head of his committee, the emperor authorized ONLY CERTAIN PERSONS TO SPEAK WITH THE Latin delegates. He bade them NOT TO REJECT THE Latin opinion, EVEN IF THEY WERE CONTRADICTORY TO ORTHODOX DOCTRINE, but merely to look, upon every question as not yet having been decided. A solution would be reached by taking the opinions of all AS FINAL AND DECISIVE. Thereupon, it was gradually revealed to the spiritual eye of the Saint THAT THE HOPES FOR A HOLY AND PROPER UNION WOULD NOT, NAY COULD NOT, BE REALIZED.

Principle points of dispute in Doctrine were as follows: (1) THE PROCESSION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT; (2) THE QUESTION OF AZYMES IN THE EUCHARIST (3) PURGATORY; AND, (4) THE PRIMACY OF THE POPE OF ROME.

THE BETRAYAL OF ORTHODOXY

At last, the end came. On the 5th of July, in the year 1439, by the signing of the ACT OF UNION, Orthodoxy WAS BETRAYED AND SOLD. The pseudo-Orthodox RENOUNCED Orthodoxy and espoused all the Latin formulas and innovations. After the emperor, all delegates, many of whom were reluctant, accepted and signed the Act of Union, whether for themselves or, in the case of some, for the Eastern Patriarchs, whom they had been entrusted to represent. None of the Greeks bothered to ask or disturb Saint Mark, all were convinced of his firmness.

Pope Eugene spoke to the emperor, provoking him to persuade the Ephesians to sign the union. The Pope sent a papal representative to Saint Mark, not to rebuke him but to pay homage to him. The representative, ordered to take a large tray with gold florins and a golden vase, was to beseech Saint Mark to accept the gifts and accept an invitation from the pope, who would receive him with honor. It should be noted that, shortly before, the pope had spoken many evil remarks against Saint Mark and threatened to cast him into the flames. The holy man not only rejected the gifts but also refused entry to any papal representative to his apartment. He said, "Tell thy lord, the pope, has he not ever heard what the Lord said to the Scribes and Pharisees? ‘Hypocrites! For ye cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, but within they are full of plunder and incontinence’ [Matthew 23:25]. In like manner hast thou, O pope, gathered unclean gold. Therefore, give it to whomever thou dost wish, ‘for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matthew 8:21). Thy council will not be a council, and all of you shall perish." [Source:  The Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church]

(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