My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

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

On the 22nd of July, Our Holy Orthodox Church Commemorates
the holy Myrrh-bearer and Equal-to-the-Apostles
MARY MAGDALENE.

Apolytikion (Dismissal) Hymn. First Tone

WHEN Christ God had been born for our sakes from the Virgin,
thou faithfully didst follow Him, keeping His statues and
heeding His sacred laws, O august Mary Magdalene. Hence,
as we today observe thy holy remembrance, we receive the
loosing of our sins and transgressions through thy holy
prayers for us.

Kontakion Hymn. Fourth Tone

WHEN God, the Mighty, the Transcendent in essence, came in the
flesh into the world, He received thee, O Mary, as His true disciple
as was meet. For thou hadst thy whole desire and thy love set upon
Him; wherefore, thou didst bring to pass many cures for the ailing;
and now translated to the Heavens’ heights, thou ever fervently
prayers for all the world.

Mary, the glorious Equal-to-the-Apostles, was A LIVING EXAMPLE OF FAITH, HOPE, AND LOVE, which she bore toward The Christ. She is one of our Savior’s most famous disciples, not to be confused with either the mystical Mary of Bethany, the sister of Lazarus and Martha, who anointed Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair, or the penitent woman whose sins Jesus pardoned for anointing Him with perfumed ointment in the house of the Pharisee. There is a widespread mistaken notion that has prevailed in Western countries, saying that Mary Magdalene was a woman of bad character. Now Mary, who had come to be known as the Magdalene, was named after the city from which she hailed. She was also given this appellation to identify her among the several women named Mary in the Gospels.

Magdala of the Galilee was situated on the Lake of Gennesaret. This body of water is also known as the Sea of Galilee or the Sea of Tiberias. The place of Saint Mary’s nativity, Magdala, is mentioned only once by the Evangelist Matthew. In the parallel passage of the Evangelist Mark, this place is called Dalmanutha. Magdala was on the West shore of the Lake of Tiberias. Presently, it is probably the obscure village of el-Mejdel, about three miles northwest of Tiberias. Our Lord not only stood on the shore of this lake but also walked and sailed upon it, stilling its tempest. From among the many fishermen who plied their calling on its waters abounding in fish. Jesus chose two sets of brothers–Peter, and Andrew, and Iakovos (James) and John–to be His Disciples. He sent them forth to be "fishers of men."

With regard to the lake, we find that "subterranean fires of nature prepared a lake basin, through which a river afterward ran, keeping its waters always fresh. In this basin, a vast quantity of shellfish swarmed and multiplied to such an extent that they formed the food of an extraordinary profusion of fish. The great variety and abundance of the fish in the lake attracted to its shores a larger and more varied population than existed elsewhere in Palestine, whereby this secluded district was brought into contact with all parts of the world. This large and varied population, with access to all nations and countries, was where the Lord had His Public Ministry and where Mary of Magdala grew up.

During the time that Mary lived, Magdala, on the borders with Syria, was exceedingly wealthy with beautiful views. Mary’s father’s name was Syros. Her mother was Efharistia. They were respected and liberal with their wealth. The maiden Mary of Magdala was raised and thoroughly educated in the law and Prophets by her parents, especially her father. Though such studies were not the custom for daughters, yet, her enlightened father wished his only child, and exceptional little girl, to know her letters and her heritage. While the lass was orphaned of her parents at ten years of age, yet, she continues, and like a bee collecting the honey of virtues. During her adolescence, she could be found either at home or in the synagogue. She NEVER SPOKE TO MEN. She did, however, have female companions of like mind, who would visit and minister to the infirm and sick. Her manner of life was ascetical. She never laughed in a disorderly manner, but would just smile modestly when the occasion demanded it.

"Was she the virgin that Esaias spoke of?" wondered Satan. Believing her to be, she was ASSAILED BY SEVEN EVIL SPIRITS that they might cause her or fall into grievous sin and destroy her virginity. Therefore, her early life was one of fierce struggle and spiritual warfare. Seven demons assailed her: PRIDE, FORNICATION, JUDGING OTHERS, LYING, STEALING, MURDER, AND UNBELIEF. But she valiantly withstood them and never opened the door to any of them, that they might take her captive. She persevered IN SPIRITUAL WARFARE until Christ came and expelled those wicked spirits.

Saint John Chrysostomos (354-407 A.D.) praises the women who followed Jesus in His Public Ministry and who showed their quality, especially by fidelity in His Passion. Mary Magdalene ministered to Christ in His Ministry and did not abandon Him when He died. "These things the women see done, they who were most inclined to feel for Him, who were most of all bewailing Him. And mark how great their assiduity. They had followed ministering to Him and were present even unto the time of danger. Therefore they saw all: HOW HE CRIED OUT; HOW HE GAVE UP THE SPIRIT; HOW THE ROCKS WERE RENT; AND ALL THE REST." But who were they? His Mother, for she is called "Mother" of Iakovos (James) (actually stepmother), and the rest.

THE THEOTOKOS AND
THE MYRRH-BEARERS

Before the first day of the week, the women disciples determined to meet at the sepulcher. Coming from various points in the city, they proceeded in two or more groups. This explains why in holy icons of this scene the number of myrrh-bearers varies from one to six or more. It happened that there was an earthquake when an Angel of the Lord descended and rolled back the stone [Matthew 28:21]. Saint Gregory Palamas [1359], in his homily, entitled "On the Sunday of the Myrrh-bearing Women," believes that Mary Theotokos, together with Mary Magdalene, were first to arrive and witnessed the descent of the Angel who rolled back the stone at the time of the earthquake. At that time it was still dark, but beginning to dawn [Matthew 28:1; John 20:11]. The Myrrh-bearers Mary Magdalene, seeing the stone taken away from the sepulcher [John 20:1] and the soldiers [Matthew 28:4], ran immediately to notify Simon Peter and John [John 20:2], leaving the Virgin at the sepulcher that her Son appeared to her first.

While the women departed to disclose what they had seen and heard, Mary Magdalene, who earlier had hastened from the sight of the rolled away stone [John 20:3], told Simon Peter and John, "They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulcher, and we do not know where they laid Him" [John 20:2]. She said this because she had not heard the words of the Angels, nor had she seen the Lord yet. Saint Gregory Palamas also brings this observation about Mary Magdelene.

Now after Mary Magdalene notified Simon Peter and John, she went along but at a slower pace. After Peter and John departed, she was still weeping. She stooped to look into the sepulcher. She beheld two Angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. They said to her, "Woman, why weepest thou?" She answered, "Because they took away my Lord, and I know not where they laid Him" [John 20:13]. Having spoken thus, she then turned herself back. She beheld Jesus standing, though knew not that it was Jesus. He said to her, "Woman, why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou?" She, supposing it was the gardener, said, "Sir, if Thou didst bear Him away, tell me where Thou didst lay Him, and I will take Him away" [John 20:15]. Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned herself, and saith to Him, "Rabbouni," that to say, "Teacher, Jesus said to her, "Cease touching Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father, but go to My brethren and say to them, "I ascend to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God" [John 16:17]. Mary then hastened to report to the other Disciples those things she had seen and heard from the Lord.

The majority of sources recorded that she reposed in peace. Since she was mortal, the time came to fulfill the common law of nature. Mary succumbed to a short illness and peacefully commended her holy soul into the hands of God. Upon her repose, certain Christ-lovers interred her most precious body fittingly and honorably by the entrance of the cave where the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus had come to rest. [The Seven Sleepers are commemorated by the Holy Church on the 4th of August.  The seven youths fell asleep for almost two centuries at Mount Ochlon, where their bodies nor their raiment decayed.]. From the moment that her holy relics were laid to rest, they were shown to be a wellspring of miracles. She still performs miracles to this day in many places. Let us now make mention of the recovery of her honorable relic, together with that of Saint Lazarus (the friend of the Christ), which event is commemorated by the Holy Orthodox Church on the 4th of May.

With Saint Theophanes, we chant: "Succeeding to God-given divinization, thou delightest in the torrent of grace, receiving the rewards of thy pangs at God’s command, being among the ranks of the Apostles, O Magdalene, disciple of the Logos. Do thou, by thine entreaties, preserve those who with longing honor thee." [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 servant of God

+F

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

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

The nature of the Chuch

In his early instructions to his clergy, Bishop (Saint) Tikhon speaks of the earthly strivings, struggles, and even failures of the visible Church. In his later writings, he begins to elucidate the nature of the Church.

"The Church is one, (because she resembles) God
in the Trinity. She is one because she stands on one
sole foundation, Christ; on unity of teaching–the
word of God; on belief in the Holy Trinity. She is one
in the unity of the Spirit Who leads her; in the hope
of the Resurrection. Thus, both militant and
triumphant, she is one."

The Church is "the dwelling of God cleansed and sanctified by the blood of Christ." Saint Tikhon often repeats the metaphor–and it was for him more than a metaphor–of the Body; he uses numerous Scriptural images to describe the Church: SHE IS THE HOUSE OF GOD, THE BRIDE OF CHRIST, THE MOTHER FEEDING HER CHILDREN BY THE WORD OF GOD AND THE HOLY MYSTERIES, THE FOLD OF THE SHEEP, THE VINE, THE SHIP, THE SION OF THE HOLY TRINITY. It was a consoling thought to him that WE ARE ALL MEMBERS OF THIS CHURCH. He begs Christians to cherish the purity of this sacred boy and to show her a truly FILIAL LOVE (AGAPE). "Who is a true son? One who truly and heartily BELIEVES IN GOD AND IN CHRIST, IS BAPTIZED, LIVES IN PIETY AND, IF HE FAILS, REPENTS." The Church here on earth IS NOT PERFECT, for she includes sinners as well as Saints, but she gives to both opportunity FOR AMENDMENT, GROWTH, PERFECTION, AND SANCTIFICATION: "THIS SHIP, WHICH IS THE CHURCH, MAKES US PEACEABLE AND MEEK THROUGH BAPTISM–SO THE FIERCE BEASTS BECOME MEEK IN THE ARK."

Saint Tikhon held the orthodox view of the nature of man, as created in the Divine Image and Likeness, and called to relationship with God. He did not go into the question of ancestral (original) sin but, as far as one can see, he thought of its consequences as an inheritance of evil inclinations: "We always carry evil in our hearts as a thing born with us." "SIN IS EVERYTHING THAT VIOLATES THE LAW OF GOD. IT IS DISOBEDIENCE TO HIS WILL AS WELL AS A DETERRENT TO GOOD WORKS. IT IS SEPARATION FROM GOD AND AN ACT OF INGRATITUDE TO THE CREATOR AND TO THE SAVIOR WHO HAS SUFFERED FOR US." ALL THE EVIL OF THE WORLD–SICKNESS, WAR, DEATH–COME FROM SIN.

Yet in spite of the "ferocious character of the old mand," the incarnation and atonement have given us back THE HOPE OF DIVINE ADOPTION. The features of the Father have become recognizable in the children. New CONFIDENCE HAS COME WITH Christ…In his social teaching, Saint Tikhon stresses man’s DIGNITY, the EQUALITY OF "THE SONS OF GOD AND BRETHREN OF CHRIST." In his moral teaching, he emphasizes the heroic virtues of which man is capable and to which he is called both by his nature–which is IN THE IMAGE and LIKENESS of God–and by adoption as a Christian. One can see in his doctrinal pronouncements how deeply he values this conception of the nature and destiny of man: "All creatures are witnesses to the wisdom and power of God and by his special counsel. Let us learn, brother, our initial nobility and prerogative." He also lays stress on the Incarnation as a pledge of God’s boundless promises to man: "Jesus assumed to Himself a flesh equal to ours."

In a letter in which he allows his thought and feeling to run freely, he expresses almost ecstatically his views on the nature and destiny of man:

"Man is more beautiful than any creature since he is in the image of God. Through the incarnation, he is justified and is no more under wrath. He has become a member of the body of which the heavenly Head is Jesus Christ. He mysteriously partakes of the Life-Giving Body and Divine Blood. He is made worthy to become the habitation of God and the temple of the Holy Spirit. He is in communion with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. Through faith in Jesus, he becomes a son and heir, a co-heir with Christ. Read the Acts of the Apostles and you will see that all these titles are ascribed to man by the Holy Spirit…And what will it be in the future life, according to the UNFAILING PROMISE OF GOD! What goodness, bliss, honor, and glory! The UNINTERRUPTED FLOW OF ETERNAL BLESSEDNESS WILL BE LIKE A RIVER, INCOMPREHENSIBLE TO THE PRESENT MIND AND INEXPRESSIBLE BY THE TONGUE, THE BLESSEDNESS WHICH "EYE HATH NOT SEEN" spoken of in 1 Corinthians 2:9. The children of God will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of the Heavenly Father, they will be as Angels, like other gods. Glory be to the Trinity for having so honored and magnified our kind."

"The soul CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT GRACE." GRACE and FAITH are the necessary conditions for the soul which strives to restore its INNATE NOBILITY. "Our own strivings are powerless–read Psalm 118."

GRACE IS THE FOOD AND CLOTHING OF THE SAINTS. It wakens grief in a man’s heart, making him dissatisfied and moving him to seek the reason of this dissatisfaction. GRACE GIVES SORROW AND GRACE COMFORTS; showing us the poverty of all things, it engenders in us A REPENTANT SORROW FOR HAVING FALLEN SHORT OF THE LOVE OF GOD…One who is possessed by such sorrow will always grieve, for he thinks of God’s offended love and not of the fear of hell. IT IS A GRIEF OF LOVE." (Source: Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk. Inspirer of Dostoevsky)

__________________

"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"

– Saint John Chrysostomos

+ + +

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

+ Father George

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

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

ON THE 20th OF JULY, THE HOLY ORTHODOX CHURCH
COMMEMORATES THE HOLY AND GLORIOUS PROPHET
ELIAS THE THESBITE, AND HIS FIRST-BEARING ASCENT
INTO HEAVEN.

ELIAS, (Elijah), the glorious Prophet, hailed from the town of Thesbe of Galaad (Gilead) by the Jordan. He was a scion of Aaron, the Priestly Tribe. When Elias was born, his father, named Sovak (Sobacha), beheld a vision. Men clad in white named the holy child Elias, that is, a name that bespoke "God" or "Divine" -as Eli signifies in the Hebrew language "God." Those with shining appearance not only wrapped the infant in swaddling clothes of fire but also fed him flames of fire. He was in no wise seared. Sovak repaired to Jerusalem in order to take counsel with the priests on what was revealed to him. Filled with the Prophetic Spirit, they disclosed the following revelation to him: "Cease fearing, O man, the dwelling place of thy child is light. His is the word of decision. His life is according to the Lord. His zeal shall appear pleasing to God. He shall judge Israel by fire and dagger (sword)." Thus, it came to pass, Elias prophesied for twenty-five years. His life is recorded in the Books of Third and Fourth Kings (Kingdoms) of the Septuagint (Old Testament translation of the 70 and the Orthodox Old Testament).

His great mission was to return his apostate people back to God. While the other Prophets give a detailed genealogy, Elias’ name appears boldly in the Old Testament, like Melchisedek, without any mention of father or mother. Our account opens during the reign of Achaab (847-853 B.C.).

Achaab (Ahab), son of Ambri, reigned over Israel in Samaria for twenty-two years. Achaab did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord. In fact, he did more wickedly than all that were before him. It was not enough for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, but Achaah took to wife, Jezebel (Jazabel) the daughter of Jethebaal (Ethbaal) king of the Sidonians. Achaab, consequently, went and served Baal, and even worshipped him. Achaab set up an altar to Baal, in the house of abomination, which he built in Samaria. Achaab also made a grove. He did yet more abominably, to provoke the Lord God of Israel, and to sin against his own life so that he should be destroyed. Indeed, as it is written: "He did evil above all the kings of Israel that were before him. Saint Andrew of Crete cites this king as a standard of evil in his Great Canon, remarking: "Alas, my soul! Thou hast rivaled Achaab in guilt. Thou hast become a dwelling place of fleshly defilements and a shameful vessel of the passions. But groan from the depths of thy heart, and confess thy sins to God."

3 Kings, Chapter 17
Prophet Elias at the
Brook of Chorrath

Holy Elias the Prophet, the Thesbite of Thesbae of Galaad, said to Achaab, "As the Lord God of Hosts, the God of Israel, lives, before Whom I stand, there shall not be these years dew nor rain, except by the word of my mouth." And the word of the Lord came to Elias, saying, "Depart hence eastward, and hide thee by the brook of Chorrath (Cherith), that is before Jordan. And it shall be that thou shalt drink water of the brook, and I will charge the ravens to feed thee there." Elias did according to the word of the Lord: he sat by the brook. The ravens, indeed, brought him loaves in the morning, and flesh in the evening: and he drank water of the brook. It came to pass after some time that the brook was dried up because there had been no rain upon the earth.

Prophet Elias at Sarepta

The word of the Lord came to Elias, saying, "Arise and go to Sarepta" of the Sidonian land. Behold, I have there commanded a widow-woman to maintain thee." Elias arose and went to Sarepta. He came to the city gate. He observed a widow who was there gathering sticks. Elias cried after her, saying, "Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink." She hearkened and fetched it. Elias cried after her, saying, "Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of the bread that is in thy hand." The women answered, "As the Lord thy God lives, I have not a cake, but only a handful of meal in the pitcher, and a little oil in a cruse. Behold, I am going to gather two sticks. I shall go in and dress it for myself and my children. Then we shall eat it and die."

Elias said to her, "Be of good courage, go in and do according to thy word. But make me thereof a little cake. And thou shalt bring it out to me first. And thou shalt make some for thyself and thy children last. For thus saith the Lord, "The pitcher of meal shall not fail, and the cruse of oil shall not diminish, until the day that the Lord gives rain upon the earth." The woman went and did according to his word. Verily, the pitcher of meal failed not, and the cruse of oil was not diminished, according to the word of the Lord."

Prophet Elias Raises the Widow’s Son

It came to pass afterward, that the son of the woman–the mistress of the house–was sick. His sickness was very severe until there was no breath left in him. She then said to Elias, "What have I to do with thee, O man of God? Hast thou come in to me to bring my sins to remembrance, and to slay my son?" Elias said to the woman, "Give me thy son." Taking him out of her bosom, Elias took him up to the chamber om which he himself lodged and set him down on the bed. Elias cried aloud, and said, "Alas, O Lord, the witness of the widow with whom I sojourn, Thou hast wrought evil for her in slaying her son." And Elias breathed on the child thrice, and called on the Lord, and said, "O Lord my God, let, I pray Thee, the soul of this child return to him." And it was so and the child cried out. Elias then brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and gave him to his mother. Elias said to her, "See, thy son lives." The woman said to Elias, "Behold, I know that thou art a man of God, and the word of the Lord in thy mouth is true."

Prophet Elias on Mount Carmel

Achaab dispatched word to all Israel, and he gathered all the idolatrous prophets to Mount Carmel. Elias addressed all, saying, "How long will ye halt on both feet? If the Lord be God, follow Him, but if Baal, follow him." And the people answered not a word. Elias said to the people, "I am left, the only one Prophet of the Lord, and the prophets of Baal are four hundred and fifty (450) men, and the prophets of the groves four hundred (400). Let them give us two oxen, and let them choose one for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire on the wood. And I will dress the other bullock, and put on no fire. And do ye all loudly on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord my God. And it shall come to pass that the One Who shall answer by fire, He is God." And the people answered and said, "The word which thou hast spoken is good."

Elias said to the prophets of shame, "Choose to yourselves one calf, and dress it first, for ye are many, and call ye on the name of your god, but apply no fire." They took the calf and dressed it. They called on the name of Baal from morning till noon, and said, "Hear us, O Baal, hear us!" There was neither voice nor hearing. The abominable prophets ran up and down on the altar which they had fashioned. Now it was noon when Elias mocked them, saying, "Call with a loud voice, for he is a god; for he is meditating, or else perhaps he is engaged in business, or perhaps he is asleep and is to be awakened." They, indeed, cried louder. They cut themselves according to their custom with knives and lancets until the blood gushed out upon them. And they uttered prophecies until the evening came. Then it came to pass, as it was the time of the offering of the sacrifice, that Elias spoke to the prophets of the abominations, saying, "Stand by for the present, and I will offer my sacrifice." And they stood aside and departed.

Elias said to the people, "Come near to me." And all the people came near to him. Elias took twelve stones, according to the number of the Tribes of Israel, as the Lord spoke to him, saying: "Israel shall be Thy name." Elias then bult up the stones in the name of the Lord. He repaired the altar that had been borken down. He made a trench that would hold two measures of seed round about the altar. He next piled the cleft wood on the altar, which he had made, and divided the whole-burnt-offering. Following this, he laid the offering, in order, on the wood. He then said, "Fetch me four pitchers of water, and pour it on the whole-burnt-offering, and on the wood." The people compiled. Elias then said, "Do it teh second time." And he said, "Do it the third time." The people did it the third time. And the water ran round about the altar, and they filled the trench with water."

Elias cried aloud to heaven, and said, "Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, answer me, O Lord, answer me this day by fire, and let all this people know that Thou art the Lord, the God of Israel, and I am Thy servant, and for Thy sake I have wrought these works. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, and let this people know that Thou art the Lord God, and Thou hast turned back the hear ot this people." Then fire fell from the Lord out of heaven, and devoured the whole-burnt-offerings, and the wood and the water that was in the trench, and the fire licked up the stones and the earth.

All the people fell upon their faces, and said, "Truly the Lord is God; He is God." Elias said to the people, "Take the prophets of Baal, let not one of them escape." And they took them. Elias brought them down to the brook Kisson (Kishon), and he slew them there."

Saint Gregory of Nyssa writes: "Now herein, by that wondrous sacrifice, Elias clearly proclaimed to us the Sacramental rite of Baptism that should afterward be instituted. For the fire was kindled by water thrice poured upon it, so that it is clearly shown that where the mystic water is, there is the kindling, warm, and fiery Spirit, that burns up the ungodly, and illuminates the faithful."

Prophet Elias is Taken up in a Whirlwind

As Elias and Elissaios were going and talking–lo!–a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, separated both of them. Elias was taken up in a whirlwind as it were into heaven. Elissaios was accounted worthy to behold this. He cried out, "Father, father, the chariot of Israel, and the horseman thereof! After that, Elissaios saw Elias no more. Elissaios then took hold of his garments, and rent them into two pieces. Next, Elissaios took up the mantle of Elias, which fell from off Elias and upon himself.

The great Elias shows by his actions a mystery. Saint Maximos explains: "During his taking up, Elias gives Elissaios his mantle (that is, mortification of the flesh, in which the magnificence of the good moral order is firmly grounded). The mantle is an ally of the spirit in the struggle against any enemy force. Itis a a blow against the unstable and flowing nature figured by the Jordan, so that the disciple should not be held back from crossing oer to the holy land either by being swamped in the mud or by being prone to the slipperiness of the craving for matter.

"As for Elias he advances toward God, free and uncoutrolled by any attachment to beings at all. He is simple in his desire and uncomplicated in his intention… He knows that it is necessary for Christ’s disciple to keep away from unequal dispositions whose differences prove an estrangement…When he reaches the point of having life and movement and being in Christ, he has put far from him the monstrous origin in inequalities. He, therefore, no longe carries within himself the contrary dispositions of these passions…" (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 servant of God

+ Father George

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

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

SAINT SERAPHIM OF SAROV AND
TEACHINGS

Although it can be stated that Saint Seraphim was certainly literate, he did not write any theological treatises or spiritual works. The teachings of the Saint have been principally recorded by the monks of Sarov and in particular Hieromonk Gury, a friend of Motovilov. In 1837, the first biography of Saint Seraphim was compiled by Hieromonk Sergios in Zagorsk (presumably under the direction of Archimandrite Anthony). As a supplement to this Life, Father Sergios included thirty-three counsels or instructions of Saint Seraphim. These were eventually edited by Metropolitan Philaret and published in an appendix to Father Sergios’ Short Sketch of the Life of Starets, Monk, and Hermit of the Monastery of Sarov.

In 1904, an expanded collection of forty-three instructions was published. Selections and digests of these instructions can be found in most biographies of the Saint. The complete set is available in English in Volume One of the Little Russian Philokalia. These instructions give indisputable evidence of Saint Seraphim’s knowledge of the Philokalia, compiled by Saints Nikodemos and Makarios and the whole hesychastic tradition, as well as a deeply personal life with Christ in the Holy Spirit.

But perhaps the most important episode we have from the Saint’s life is known under various titles such as "A conversation with the Saint" and "On the acquisition of the Holy Spirit." This conversation took place between Starets Seraphim and Nicholas Morovilov in November of 1831. The discourse appears along with the INSTRUCTIONS in most biographies of the Saint. Father Seraphim was saying to Nicholas, "When thou was a child…they instructed thee to go to church, to pray, to do good works, telling thee that there lay the goal of the Christian life… Prayer, fasting, works of mercy–all this is very good, but it represents only the means, not the end of the Christian life. The True end IS THE ACQUISITION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT… Thou knowest, dost thou not, what a means to earn money? Well, it is the same with the Holy Spirit. The aim of some men is to grow rich, to receive honors and distinctions. The Holy Spirit Himself is also capital, but ETERNAL CAPITAL. Our Lord compares our life to trading and the works of this life to buying: ‘Buy from Me gold…that thou mightiest become rich’ (Revelation 3:18). The only valuables on earth are good works done for Christ: THESE WIN US THE GRACE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. No good works can bring us the fruits of the Holy Spirit unless they are done for love of Christ. That is why the Lord Himself said, "The one who gathereth not with Me scattereth’ (Matthew 12:30).

"In the Parable of the virgins, it was said to the foolish virgins when they had no oil, ‘Go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves’ [Matthew 25:9] …What…could be termed lacking when…they had preserved their virginity…one of the greatest virtues? …I dare to think that what they were lacking WAS THE GRACE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. For the ESSENTIAL THING IS NOT JUST TO DO GOOD BUT TO ACQUIRE THE HOLY SPIRIT AS THE ONE ETERNAL TREASURE WHICH WILL NEVER PASS AWAY…Among works done for the love of Christ, prayer is the one that most readily obtains THE GRACE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, BECAUSE…IT IS WITHIN REACH OF ALL MEN
Toward the middle of this conversation, both Father Seraphim and Nicholas Motovilov became illumined, much as Moses of the Old Testament after he came down from Mount Sinai. Motovilov related: "Then I looked at the Starets and was panic-stricken. Picture, in the sun’s orb, in the most dazzling brightness of its noonday shining, the face of a man who is talking to thee. Thou seest his lips moving and the expression in his eyes. Thou hearest his voice. Thou feelest his arms round thy shoulders. And yet, thou seest neither his arms, nor his body, nor his face. Thou dost lose all sense of thyself. Thou canst see only the blinding light, which spreads everywhere. It lights up the layer of snow covering the glade. It ignites the flakes that are falling on us both like white powder…This ineffable light went on shining all the time he was talking."

The Repose and Burial of Saint Seraphim

A week before the repose of Father Seraphim, on the Feast of the Nativity of Christ, in the year 1832, the elder, as he was wont, attended the Divine Liturgy. Abbot Niphon was serving. Father Seraphim received the Mysteries and after the Divine Liturgy struck up a conversation with the Abbot. Sant Seraphim asked Niphon About many of the brothers, especially the younger ones. Saint Seraphim did not forget to remind him for the last time to lay him in his coffin when he died. Saint Seraphim, asking forgiveness of both the Abbot and the brethren, then returned to his cell.

Saint Seraphim had prophesied earlier to the brethren concerning the circumstances surrounding his death. He foretold that a fire would alert the monks about it. As the time of his earthly sojourn drew near, he grew weaker and weaker in the flesh. His cypress coffin, fashioned by his own hands, was awaiting him in his cell. He pondered upon death and wept. "My life is shortening! In spirit, I feel as if I had just been born, and to everything bodily I am dead." He bade farewell to Bishop Arsenios, supplying him with candles for his funeral service.

Now it was a Sunday, on the 1st day of the Month of January, in the year 1833, that Starets came to church and partook of the Holy Mysteries. He, thereupon, bade farewell to his fellow monks and the novices. He said to them, "Be not dejected. Be alert. The present day prepares a crown." Three times that day he was observed to leave his cell and meditate over the location where he had requested to be buried. He was also heard to be intoning pascal odes–not the expected Nativity-Theophany hymns.

On the 2nd of January in the year 1833, Saint Seraphim fell asleep in the Lord. On entering the cell, Priest-monk Paul of the Sarov Monastery and the Novice Aniketos entered the door to his cell and found the coarse linen was smoldering–probably as a result of a fallen candle. Saint Seraphim was found kneeling before the Umileniye holy icon, wearing his usual white smock and his mother’s copper cross which was still suspended from his neck. The awestruck fathers prepared the Elder Seraphim for burial, following monastic regulations.

On the day of his burial, there were gathered from the surrounding provinces. On the day of his burial, there was such a throng of people in the Cathedral that the candles melted from the heat–even during a Russian January. Their beloved Father Seraphim was buried on the south side of the Cathedral’s sanctuary, besides the grave of the recluse Mark who died fifteen years earlier. [Source: The Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church)

______________

"Glory Be T GOD
For
All Things!"

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

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

On the 19th of July, the Holy Orthodox Church commemorates that he was for
the Recovery of the holy Relics of our Venerable
Father SERAPHIM Wonder-worker of Sarov.

Saint Sarov was born to Isidore Ivanovitch and Agatha (Agathia) Photievna Moshnin on the night of the 19/20 of July, in the year 1759, at Kursk in Russia. The name given to him at Baptism was Prokhor (Prochoros), after the disciple of the Seventy and the companion and co-worker of Saint John the Evangelist. Prokhor was raised devoutly Orthodox by his mother, his burly father having died in 1760 from a long-standing kidney complaint. Like many Saints, various signs in his life as a child pointed out foreordained to bring glory to our Lord’s name in some special way. At the age of nineteen, Prokhor joined the Sarov Monastery. For the next sixteen years, he lived a communal life. In his novitiate, he served in various obediences until the time of his tonsure. He received the name Seraphim. He, thereafter, was ordained to the Diaconate and the Priesthood. Beginning in 1794, Father Seraphim departed the community to live for the next 31 years as a hermit. This solitary conduct of life and its various ascetic practices, however, prepared him for a future ministry in service to others. He would become a brilliant light set on a hill that no one could eclipse. In 1825, Father Seraphim emerged from seclusion. He commenced serving as a true starets, that is, A SPIRITUAL TEACHER OR ELDER, WHO WAS BLESSED BY GOD’S GRACE. He WAS ACCOUNTED WORTHY OF GIFTS OF SUPERNATURAL HEALING, KNOWLEDGE, AND FORESIGHT. This grace enabled him to be of the most extraordinary service to a great number of people from all walks of life, as well as his fellow monastics–especially the sisters of the Diveyevo (Diveevo) Women’s Monastery. His labors of love for God and neighbor continued until the 2nd day of the month of January, in the year 1833, when the Venerable Seraphim reposed at the age of 73, having served as a Starets for just over seven years. He departed this earthly sphere while at prayer. On the 19th day of July, in the year 1903, that is, seventy years later, the Church canonized Saint Seraphim. In attendance at his canonization were Tsar Nicholas II, Tsaritsa Alexandra, the grand dukes, many bishops, and tens of thousands of the faithful who has flocked from all across Russia to Sarov for the occasion. Saint Seraphim remains one of the best-loved Saints of the Russian Orthodox faithful. At the time of this writing, the Saint’s holy relics are preserved in the Diveyevo Women’s Monastery.

Prayer on a Rock

After twelve years of living as an anchorite, Father Seraphim found it difficult again into the requirements and demands and distractions entailed it community living. While Abbot Esaias preferred to have the holy elder at hand, he gave him his blessing to take up his life of solitude in his hut. Father Seraphim, therefore, returned to his hut and his animal friends of the forest. In apparent response to the physical attack, however, at some point during the year after his return to the hermitage (March of 1804-1805). Father Seraphim undertook what was to become his most challenging podvig. This ascetical contest only became known at the end of his life. He contended as the stylites of old. Crippled as he was, he did not ascend a pillar but spent ONE THOUSAND AND NIGHTS (SOME SAY ONE THOUSAND AND ONE) IN PRAYER ON A GRANITE ROCK. He only interrupted his exercise for the necessary care of the body, that is, rest and food. The estimated contestant gave up tending his garden. He no longer went to the monastery to take part in common worship or to bring back food. He subsisted solely on a soup he made of water and wild aeropodium, which he collected in summer and dried for winter use.

By night he took up vigil upon a flat-topped boulder, located in the forest. It was situated about halfway between his cell and monastery. By day, he prayed upon another stone which he had dragged into his cell lest human eyes should see him. When this feat was revealed at the end of the Saint’s life one of the brethren said in astonishment: "This is above human strength." Father Seraphim replied, "Saint Symeon the Stylite stood for 47 years upon a pillar. Are my labors compatible to this? The brother responded that he must have been helped by grace. Saint Seraphim agreed and affirmed, "Yes, otherwise human strength would not have been sufficient. When there is contrition in the heart, then God is also with us." The unearthly Seraphim completed his work as a "stylite."

Saint Seraphim, Prophet

By the very nature of his role as a Starets, the Holy Spirit worked through Saint Seraphim to guide the faithful, and this often took the form of prophetic utterances. Many are found recorded in the various biographies of the Saint. A few reflections follow.

On one occasion there came to him a Father Anthony. He visited Father Seraphim and other fathers, bidding them farewell, as he believed his death was imminent. But Father Seraphim prophesied: "Thou wilt indeed be leaving the monastery, but thou art not yet going to die. Instead, thou will be appointed to lead a large and famous monastery elsewhere." Sometimes later, verily, Anthony was appointed by Metropolitan Philaret to serve as acting head of the Monastery of the Holy Trinity-Saint Sergios in Zagorsk.

Regarding apostasy in Russia, he said: "At that time Russian bishops will become so ungodly that their impiety will exceed that of the Greek bishops who lived in the reign of Theodosios the Younger (408-450 A.D.) . They will not even believe in the most important dogma of the Christian Faith–the Resurrection of Christ and the General resurrection.

Father Seraphim also maintained Orthodoxy AS THE ONE AND TRUE Church when speaking of Roman Catholicism. In the Diveyevo Chronicles, it is written therein: "He urged us to stand firmly for the Truth of the dogmas of the Orthodox Church, giving as an example Saint Mark of Ephesus who showed unshakable zeal in defense of the universal Eastern Faith at the Council of Florence. He gave various instructions on Orthodoxy, explaining its essence and stressing THAT IT ALONE CONTAINED THE TRUTH OF CHRIST’S FAITH INITS INTEGRITY AND PURITY. He also gave instructions as to how to defend the Faith… Father Seraphim had a special love and reverence for these Saints who zealously defended the Orthodox Faith, such as Saint Clement the Pope of Rome, Saint John Chrysostom, Saint Basil the Great, Sant Gregory the Theologian, Saint Athanasios of Alexandria, Saint Kyril of Jerusalem, Saint Epiphanios of Cyprus, Saint Ambrose of Milan, and those like them. He called them the pillars of the Church. He often referred to their lives and labors as examples of firm and resolute faith. He also loved to speak of the Saints of our own Church–Peter, Alexis, Jonas, Philip, Dimitri of Rostov, Stephen of Perm, Sergios of Radononezg, and other Russian Saints. He held their lives AS MODELS OF THE WAY TO SALVATION. With regard to the lives of the Saints as related to the Menology and in the works of many of the Fathers of the Church, Father Seraphim knew them so well that he could quote whole passages by heart.

Saint Seraphim, Healer

Saint Seraphim is known as a Wonder-worker (Miracle-worker), through whom God wrought manifold miracles. The miracles associated with Saint Seraphim are so numerous that they are far beyond recording. God alone knows of all those left unrecorded.

In 1822, before the angelic Seraphim had completely ended his reclusion, a soldier, named Michael Vasileevich Manturov, came to see him. The ailing military man, who had served in Lithuania for many years, contracted some form of wasting disease in his legs. He was forced to resign his commission and return home. He lived approximately 25 miles from Sarov. However, the best medical help was unable to diagnose the disease, let alone provide a cure. When the disease progressed to the point that pieces of bone were dropping from his legs, he eas resolved to see Starets Seraphim. He hoped that God would help where the physicians could not. Manturov was carried by his serfs to the cell of the then reclusive Saint. Afer Manturov uttered the customary prayer, Father Seraphim came out and kindly asked, "What brings thee to see poor Seraphim?" Manturov fell at the elder’s feet, imploring him to be healed. The elder asked him thrice, "Dost thou believe in God?" Menturov responded each time with a strong positive affirmative. Saint Seraphim said to him "My joy, if thou so believest, then believe also that to the faithful everything is possible to God; and so believe that God will also heal thee, and I, poor Seraphim, shall pray. The Saint then took some oil from the lamp burning in front of the Virgin in his cell. He anointed Manturov’s legs and proceeded to wrap them in pieces of canvas. He told the old soldier, "By the grace given me by the Lord, thou art the first whom I heal." Father Seraphim then stuffed handfuls of blessed bread into Manturov’s pockets and told him to return to the monastery guesthouse. The invalid, who normally could hardly stand, began to carry out this order. Then, upon realizing that he was walking without help, he returned to the Saint and fell at his feet in thanksgiving. Father Seraphim raised him to his feet and asked, "Is this healing Seraphim’s doing? Nay, nay, by joy, only God wrought this. Thou owest thy cure to the Lord and His Holy Mother." Later, in thanksgiving, Manturov sold his lands and freed his serfs. He moved to Diveyevo. He served Father Seraphim until 1831 as an intermediary with the sisters of the Women’s Monastery. (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

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

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

Pambo (or Panbis), the great and venerable Egyptian Desert Father, was born in 303 A.D. He was one of the first to join Abba (Father) Ammoun in Nitria.

The Abba (Father) once said, “By the grace of God, since I left the world, I have not uttered one word for which I afterward repented.”

When Archbishop Theophilos of Alexandria (385-412 A.D.) was visiting Sketis on one of his pastoral rounds, the brethren spoke to Abba Pambo with some urgency and said, “Speak a word to the pope that we may be set up and supported in this place.” Pambo remarked, “If by my silence we are not aided, neither shall my word avail anything.”

The Value of Obedience

On one occasion, four brethren clad in skins came from Sketis to visit the venerable Pambo. Each of the four had a private interview with the Abba. Each recounted to Pambo his manner of living. The first brethren declared that he exercised frequent abstinence. The second claimed to live a life of poverty. The third stated he possessed great love and charity. The fourth brother recounted that “I have been in subjection to the old men for twenty-two years. When the four of them were together before Father Pambo, the latter remarked while indicating the fourth brother, “The spiritual excellence of this man is great.” then directing his gaze at the first three monks, he said, “Each of you has chosen the ascetic virtue according to his own desire. But this brother has cut off his own will and desire. HE RESTRAINS HIS OWN WILL AND PERFORMS THE WILL OF OTHERS. Those who are thus, IF THEY SHOULD PRESERVE OBEDIENCE TO THE END, WILL BECOME CONFESSORS; THAT IS TO SAY, IT IS OF SUCH MEN THAT THE MARTYRS ARE MADE, IF THEY PERSEVERE TO THE END.

On Value of Sobriety

It was said that Abba (Father) Pambo was never seen to smile or laugh. One day the devils wished to provoke him to laughter. What did they contrive? They suspended a feather on a piece of wood. With rapid movements, as they disported and danced, they carried it about hither and thither. With much uproar, they kept shouting, “Go, go!” Father Pambo seeing such a ridiculous display, chuckled. At that moment, the devils ran about, jumping in malignant glee and exclaiming, “Ha! ha! Abba Pambo has given way to laughter!” The Abba responded, “I did not chuckle to myself but at your infirmity, for I saw how weak you are insofar that it took so many of you to carry one little feather!”

Our Saint was once assailed by the demon of blasphemy. Abba Pambo begged God to deliver him. The Abba then heard a voice from n high, saying, “Pambo, Pambo, despond not because of the iniquity of others, BUT MINDFUL ONLY OF THINE OWN DEEDS. Let the blasphemous thoughts, for they are satanic and alien to us; and by this method, we shall hold them in contempt; once and for all, BY THE GRACE OF GOD.

The Value of the Love of Poverty

Father Pambo was not held in thrall to lucre. This was amply shown upon the visit of the blessed woman Melanie (the Elder). She was of Spanish descent but few up in Rome. She had been a widow from the age of twenty-two. She went to Mount Nitria that she might make a pilgrimage and see the fathers. This included our Pambo, as well as Arsenios, Serapion the Great, Paphnoutios of Sketis, Isidore the confessor and Bishop of Hermopolis, and Dioskoros. She had sold all her property and converted it into gold, which she used for charitable ends. Melanie arrived in Alexandria. The blessed Isidore Xenodochos related to her the life and deeds of Abba Pambo. She, thereupon, was resolved to visit the Abba and make a handsome donation. She hired guides and took a basket which was filled with silver coins, about three hundred pounds in weight. When she came into his presence, he was occupied at his handiwork. He was sitting and plaiting the leaves of palm trees. He gave her his blessing, and said, “May God give thee thy reward!” Abba Pambo then directed the steward, named Origen, to dispense the money among all the brethren who are in the island in Libya. Father Pambo had them in mind since they were extremely poor. He gave express orders to Origen not to distribute the donation among any who dwelt in Egypt; for he said, “We, thank God, have abundant means here to keep ourselves.”

Melanie later recounted the interview. She admitted that she thought within herself, “As I stood before him, I really expected to be treated with honor or at least to be praised for the munificence of the donation. But he said nothing. So I said to him. ‘Milord, dost thou wish to know the amount within the basket? It is three hundred pounds of silver.’ The Abba (Father) continued to keep his eyes fixed on his handiwork. He then spoke to her without directing his gaze toward her and said, “My daughter, the Lord to Whom thou hast offered thy money does not require an accounting of the weight. For He Who weighed the mountains in a balance knows how much silver is inside that basket. If the money were for me, thou wouldest have done well to give me a tally of the weight. But since thou has consigned the money to God, Who did not despise the widow’s two mites, there is no need to mention the amount to Him. It is better to be silent about it.” Melanie, therefore, was very much edified. The year was 393 A.D.

Repose

Palladios, Bishop of Helenopolis of Bithynia, in his Lausiac History, records: “Our Lord had so dispensed that on the very day in which I entered the mountain, that the blessed Pambo would be called home by the Lord. He had neither fever nor illness. In fact, he reposed in the midst of sewing together palm leaves for mats. The man of God was seventy years old. As he was coming to the end of the mat upon which he was laboring, he called me. When he put the finishing touches on the mat, he said to me, “Take this mat from me. May it be a reminder to thee of me, for I have naught to leave thee!’ the moment that he relinquished it into my hands, he immediately fell asleep in the Lord. I wrapped his precious body in linen and buried him, I then left the desert. I shall treasure that mat as a sacred relic to the end of my life.”

Saint Pambo crucified himself to life utterly. He now stands before the crucified Savior. So having brought the account to this termination, we, in return, ask for the gift of his blessing and beg his powerful intercession. [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 servant of God

+ Father George

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

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

On the 14th of July, the Holy Orthodox Church commemorates
the holy Martyr PETER THE NEW, whose feet were cut off. Also,
the God-bearing Father NIKODEMOS the Hagiorite.

Nikodemos, a most wise teacher of the Church and proponent of virtue, is celebrated on the 14 July. Virtue, verily, is great and a heavenly practice having its source and beginning in God. It is an activity that honors and glorifies her friends and workers. By means of virtue the holy Prophets have been esteemed; the holy Apostles, who conversed with God, have been magnified; the gloriously triumphant Martyrs have performed heroic deeds, the godlike hierarchs have been made vigorous and illustrious, and the God-bearing Fathers have been made intimates with God. It is through virtue that the Saints in their love for God have wrought strange and extraordinary Wonders (Miracles) in the world. The righteous have been shown to be many-lighted luminaries emitting the "word of life." Their words and deeds have illuminated tose sitting in "the region and shadow of death," from the "rising of the sun and unto the setting of souls. Virtue renders a man happy and blessed. It makes an angel on earth, full of divine light whether one is silent or speaking or just being seen. Such a one is A LIVING TABLED, whereon is inscribed everything good and advantageous, as one who is a child of God–on the one hand an heir of God, on the other hand, a joint-heir of Christ who suffered with Him that he might also be glorified with Him.

A genuine friend of virtue, a true laborer, a teacher initiating others into mysteries, and an interpreter and expounder–in both "deed and word" –was the God-bearer Nikodemos. This great and learned teacher of the Church, who was the wonder among the monastics of Athos and the radiant morning star of heavenly wisdom and of the life in Christ, shone forth in these latter days. His godly-wise writings have enlightened people to the uttermost ends of the inhabitant earth. He has proven to be a sonorous trumpet of the Holy Spirit. His mellifluous and most wise tongue explained, clearly and concisely, the words of life eternal and the meaning of the Fathers. His speech and preaching were in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, not in persuasive words of human wisdom. While he exhibited himself to be a practical interpreter of the Ascetical life, he also was a godly writer of sacred mysteries of spiritual ascents and revealer of sacred illuminations. He became a "pillar and stay" of the Orthodox Church and her special boast. For he was shown to be a most mighty demolisher of every heresy and dissonant teaching. This, herein, is the account of a man who by many means and in various ways glorified God, for which he has been accounted worthy to be glorified by God, even as it is written: "I will glorify them that glorify Me."

The blessed man, Father Nikodemos, was engaged in desirable stillness. He gave himself over entirely to great spiritual struggles according to the sacred philosophy of Christ, that is, he meditated upon the law of God day and night, and he studied the books of the God-inspired Holy Scriptures and the godly wise Fathers of the Church. This occupation filled him with divine gladness. He came to know the mysteries of God, as one living on high, beyond what is seen with the material eyes. Who can relate the sacred struggles and wearisome toils of the blessed Father from this time? He denied himself completely. He deprived himself of every material necessity. He mortified entirely the carnal mind by means of vehement fasting. He abided watchful prayer without ceasing. He participated in the rest of the hardships associated with the laborious life of asceticism. Nevertheless, these exercises rendered him wholly radiant and sanctified.

From this point onward, as another God-seer like unto Moses, Nikodemos ascended the mountain of the virtues. He entered into the super radiant darkness of contemplation in the Spirit. He beheld, as far as it is possible for man to see, the invisible God. He heard ineffable words. He was vouchsafed the enhypostatic illumination of grace. He received the immaterial illumination and inspirations of the Paraclete. He was an angel with a body. He was a God-inspired mystic of heavenly knowledge. He was a precise revealer of the life in the Spirit. He acted as a transmitter, making clear to us "the word of His grace," as well as its fruits, and its blessing, of which Nikodemos was full.

In consequence of having been filled with "grace and wisdom," he received from on high gift of teaching. He, at length, was shown to be most radiant lamp of the universsal Orthodox Chuch, a great teacher of Christendom, and the most excellent champion against all heresy and heterodox teaching. His teachings were as water springing forth into Everlasting life and delight, een as David once wrote: "The torrent of Thy delight shalt Thou make them to drink." Torrents of words of grace flowed from his mouth. Revers of Nikodemos’ teachings have refreshed and irrigated so many–not only the monks of the Holy Mountain but also the rest of Christ’s Holy Orthodox Chuch. Nikodemos’ sacred hand penned a multitude of sacred writings and holy books, as well as an abundance of spiritual and sweet hymns and odes for the services honoring a divsersity of Saints. Indeed, he compiled a whole library of sacret texts on variegated themes: theological, dogmas, expository, and moral. Within his collection there is manifest the sublimity and the depth of every kind of Divine and human wisdom, but largely heavenly wisdom. The God-bearing Nikodemos took a mystical of pangs, in the sweat of his brow, recording day and night the sacred teachings, for the benefit of his neighbor and the enrichment of Our Holy Orthodox Church which he so illumined and adorned in these latter times. [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 servant of God

+ Father George

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

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

ON the 11th of July, the Holy Orthodox Church commemorates
and far-famed Great-Martyr EPHEMIA (EUPHEMIA) at the Holy
and Fourth Ecumenical Synod attended by 630 God-bearing
Fathers.

Apolytikion (Dismissal) Hymn of Saint Ephemia. Third Tone

O EPHEMIA, Christ’s comely virgin, thou didst fill the Orthodox
with gladness and didst cover with shame all the heretics;
for at the holy Fourth Council in Chalcedon, thou didst confirm what
the Fathers decreed aright. O All-glorious Great Martyr, do thou
entreat Christ God that His great mercy may be granted unto us.

Kontakion Hymn of Saint Ephemia. Second Tone

FOR the sake of Christ thy Bridegroom thou didst ardently cast thyself
into struggles in thy contest, and into struggles for the Faith. Yet,
even now intercede, through the Theotokos, that the heresies and
insolence of enemies be put under the feet of the Orthodox Christians,
O all-famed Ephemia, who didst receive and guard the definition of the
six hundred and thirty God-bearing Fathers.

EPHEMIA, the gloriously triumphant Martyr of Christ, lived during the reign of Emperor Diocletian (284-305 A.D.) when Priscus was Proconsul at Rome. In 288 A.D. Ephemia was born to Philophronos and Theodosiane at Chalcedon. The authorities were set at variance against her when she confessed Christ. Thus, she was harshly punished by a wheel of torture, fire, and many other gruesome torments. Afterward, they cast her to wild beasts to be rent asunder. Then, in accordance with her desire, a bear hit her. She then surrendered her soul into the hands of God on the 16th day of the month of September, in the year 303 A.D. Her august holy relics were taken up and placed inside a chest and interred in a certain place nearby Chalcedon. At length, the site of her tomb was an abundant wellspring of healing for every infirmity. Of the thousands of pilgrims and visitors that came to her resting place, many were cured. Thereupon, the spreading of Saint Ephemia’s fame went throughout the Byzantine world. Then, with the passage of about 150 years, a miracle of worldwide import took place.

In 420 A.D. during the reign of Emperor Theodosios II the Younger (408-450 A.D.), the Priest-monk Eftyches was benighted by the darkness of heresy. He was an Archimandrite of a large Monastery at Constantinople. He possessed great influence at court through the eunuch Chrysanthos, who was Theodosios II’s grand chamberlain. Eftyches (Eutyches), more like a madman, confounded the two natures of Christ. He contended that our Lord Jesus possessed ONLY ONE NATURE: THE DIVINE. Together with the Imperial Court, Eftyches also had the support of Dioscoros, the powerful Patriarch of Alexandria. By the year 447 A.D., Eftyches’ views created a controversy in Constantinople. Insisting ON ONE NATURE OF THE INCARNATE Logos (Word), together with his view that even Christ’s suffering were that of the Logos (Word), Eftyches DENIED THE HUMANITY OF CHRIST.

In the summer of 450 A.D., the tide turned, Emperor Theodosios died as a result of a fall off his horse while hunting. Grand Chamberlain Chrysanthos was deposed from his office and executed. The Emperor’s closest relative was his sister, the unmarried Pulcheria. By God’s permission, the future course of the Empire and the Church were in her pious and reliable hands. The energetic and devout maiden Pulcheria was then fifty-one years old. She selected as her consort the retired Senator, General Marchian, and even personally conducted his coronation ceremony. Their marriage was only in name, for Pulcheria remained true to her girlhood vow of virginity to the end of her life. Marcian shared Pulcheria’s view in matters of both state policy and theology.

A Synod, the Fourth Ecumenical Synod, was to be conducted under Imperial sponsorship…On account of the Hunnish invasions, Emperor Marcian found he could not leave the Capital. He ordered the Ecumenical Synod to reconvene in the Basilica at Chalcedon. In October of 451 A.D., the number of Fathers in attendance at Chalcedon was 630… The shrine of Saint Ephemia was situated in the center of the Basilica.

"…The Creeds of Nicaea and Constantinople were read openly…the bishops shouted, "This is the Faith of the Fathers and of the Apostles… On 17th of October, at the Fourth Session, there met 350 bishops… a commission, thereupon, consisting of three Papal legates, six Orientals, and three from Asia, as well as Pontos, Illyricum, and Thrace met at the Shrine of Saint Ephemia and worked out the Definition of the Synod of Chalcedon.

The Definition reads: "Therefore, following the Holy Fathers, we all WITH ONE VOICE CONFESS OUR Lord Jesus Christ one and same Son, the same perfect in Divinity, the same perfect in manhood, truly God and truly man, the same consisting of a reasonable soul and a body, of one essence with the Father as touching the Divinity, the same of one essence with us as touching the mahnood, like us in all things APART FROM SIN; begotten of the Father before the ages as touching the Divinity; …for us and for our salvation in these last days, born from the Virgin Mary, the Theotokos, as touching the manhood, one and same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way abolished because of the union, but rather the characteristic property of each nature being preserved, and concurring into one Person and one subsistence, not as if Christ were parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same Son and only-begotten God, Logos/Word, Lord, Jesus Christ; even as the Prophets the beginning spoke concerning him, and our Lord Jesus Christ instructed us, and the Creed of the Fathers has handed down to us."

The heretics refused to accept the dogma formulated at this Holy Synod. Therefore, at the suggestion of Patriarch Anatolios, the Orthodox and Monophysites would each write down their beliefs and teachings in separate volumes. Both sides would then invoke Almighty God TO REVEAL A SIGN WHICH EXPRESSED THE TRUE FAITH. Now since Saint Ephemia was considered the Patroness of Chalcedon, the coffer containing her precious and incorrupt relics, located at the Saint’s church outside the walls, was opened. The imposing sight of the Saint’s holy relics, lying in state, was a mystical experience in itself. Both volumes were placed carefully upon the Saint’s chest. The reliquary was then closed with the Imperial Seal. A watch was also set over her holy relics, All, thereafter, retired to pray for Divine intervention.

On the fourth day, after the reliquary was opened, all were astonished at the following sight. The book of the heretics, the Monophysites, WAS FOUND TOSSED UNDER THE MARTYR’S FEET. THE BOOK OF THE DEFINITION OF THE ORTHODOX FAITH WAS HELD IN HER EMBRACE. The phenomenon caused wonder in all. Thus, the Monophysites were brought TO SHAME, SEEING THEIR HERETICAL TOME TRAMPLED UNDERFOOT, BUT THE ORTHODOX WERE STRENGTHENED IN THE Faith and glorified God. Saint Ephemia CONFIRMED WHAT THE FATHERS DECREED ARIGHT. This event PROVED AN INSPIRATION TO MANY WHO WERE FOUNDERING IN the Faith, and thus they corrected their erroneous beliefs. The recording of this account was made by one of the eyewitnesses, Bishop Constantine of Tios (or Teos of Eastern Asia Minor is northwest of Ephesus), a Synod member. {Source: The Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church)

_______________

"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"

– Saint John Chrysosomos

+ + +

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

+ Father George

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

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

On
the 7th of July, the Holy Orthodox Church commemorates
the Great-Martyr KYRIAKE.

Apolytikion (Dismissal) Hymn. Fourth Tone

O LORD Jesus, unto Thee Thy lamb doth cry with a great voice:
O my Bridegroom, Thee I love, and seeking Thee, I now contest,
and with Thy baptism am crucified and buried. I suffer for Thy
sake, that I may reign with Thee; for Thy sake, I die, that I may
live in Thee: accept me offered out of longing to Thee as a spotless
sacrifice. Lord, save our souls through her intercessions, since
Thou art great in mercy.

Kontakion Hymn of the Martyr. Second Tone

THE Martyr of Christ hath called us all together now to praise and
acclaim her wrestlings and her godly feats; for possessed of manliness of mind, she hath proved worthy of her name, being lady and
mistress of her mind and the passions of unseemliness.

Kyriake, the prizewinning Martyr, fled from polytheism and razed the temples of the idols. Out of love for God and her neighbor, she proclaimed Christ in the middle of the stadium. Now there are a number of reasons why one is good and does good to his neighbor. From the Wisdom of Seirach, we read that “EVERY BEAST LOVETH HIS LIKE, AND EVERY MAN LOVETH HIS NEIGHBOR. All flesh consorteth according to his kind, and a man will cleave to his like [Ecclesiastes 13:15-16]. We ought to be kindly disposed to our fellow creatures, even as our Savior bade us keep on loving OUR ENEMIES, BLESSING THOSE WHO CURSE US, DOING GOOD TO THOSE WHO HATE US, AND PRAYING FOR THOSE WHO DESPITEFULLY USE US AND ARE PERSECUTING US. In this manner, we might become sons of Our Father Who is in the heavens…”

Let us now commence our narrative about a tender young maiden, who kept these commandments and who became a dwelling place of the Almighty Who empowered her. For we are mindful of how the Archangel Raphael once said to Tobit and Tobias: “IT IS GOOD TO KEEP CLOSE THE SECRET OF A KING, BUT IT IS HONORABLE TO REVEAL THE WORKS OF GOD” [Tob. 12:7]. Therefore, let us open our account of the life of Saint Kyriake, who lived during the 4th century in Eastern parts, that is, Anatolia. In the year 300 A.D., the joint Emperors in power and rule, Diocletian (284-305 A.D.) and Maximian (286-305 A.D.), were the veritable pain of the devil in works of impiety and fighting Christ. Dioclesian ruled throughout the East. Maximian, who was married to Diocletian’s daughter, governed the Western half of the Empire. Their reign of terror was based on their desire to extinguish the name of Christ from their domains. This state policy included the extermination of the Christian race from the face of the earth. The latter year of Diocletian’s reign marked the beginning of the most organized and extensive PERSECUTION OF THE CHRISTIANS: It came to be called THE GRET PERSECUTION (303-311 A.D.),

From a small age, this modest maiden demonstrated what stand she would later take in life. She did not participate in the disorderly playing of other little girls, nor did she occupy herself with unbecoming games nor with gossiping. She remained in her parents’ house where she greatly reverted and attended to their exhortations. When Kyriake arrived at an age of understanding, more so was the wisdom and prudence of her soul manifest. As she increased in bodily stature, more so had her knowledge and beauty heightened. No one ever heard babbling, criticizing, or lying. She was not interested in costly raiment, singing secular songs, or dancing. She preferred to listen to Church hymns and the lives of the Saints.

Though Kyriake was attractive, yet she did not parade her beauty before young men, that is, she did not adorn herself or make up her face to entice them. Nor did Kyriake peep out windows to waylay the souls of men. As her indispensable labor, she arrayed her soul with fasting, discipline, silence, prayer, guarding her eyes, and restraining her tongue. At that time, many chief men desired to betroth her to their sons. However, Kyriake cherished her virginity and, in emulation of the Most Holy Theotokos, she did not want to hear a word regarding marriage.

In those days, there was a very wealthy man, an idolater, who lived in the same city as Kyriake and her parents. According to his office, he was a Magistrate. When he heard that Kyriake was young and beautiful, and that no other maiden surpassed her loveliness and culture, he decided to betroth her to his son. On the one hand, he chose Kyriake for her beauty and learning; on the other hand, she was the only daughter of wealthy parents, and, indeed, he desired that her wealth should come into his control. With this hidden motive in mind, he notified the parents of the holy maiden to come to an agreement that their children might be brought together. However, the righteous Kyriake, since she was CONSECRATED TO GOD IN BOTH SOUL AND BODY, in no wise listened to his words. She only replied, “I AM A PURE BRIDE OF MY CHRIST, AND I DESIRE TO DIE A VIRGIN.” Hearing her response, the Magistrate was incensed. Straightway, he went to Emperor Diocletian and said, “O Emperor: live into eternity! All the world is subject to thy dominion and venerates the great gods. There is, however, one maiden, who contradicts thy commands. She mocks the idols and says that Christ is God. She not only has disdained the decrees of thy realm but even has collaborated with her parents as Christians. They, consequently, neither sacrifice to the idols nor submit to thy rule.”

Bearing these accusations, Diocletian was filled with wrath and, immediately, he dispatched soldiers to bring the maiden and her parents before him. When they were presented to the Emperor, he said, “Why do you not honor the great gods which my realm honors? Dorotheos answered, “We, O Emperor, did not learn from our ancestors to adore falsely-named gods. We were instructed in the worship of the ONE TRUE GOD, THE CHRIST….HE IS WHOM WE CONFESS AS THE TRUE GOD…” Angered, Diocletian charged his soldiers to spread Dorotheos on the ground and to give him a thrashing, until he either sacrificed to the gods or died from the beating… Indeed, in no wise ws he able to turn that pious couple from the Faith of Christ. Thereupon, he struck off their heads with swords and, thus, they ended their earthly sojourn.

Saint Kyriake was escorted to Maximian by Diocletian’s servants. When he first beheld the fair maiden, he marveled at her beauty. Afterward, when she was made to stand before the judgment seat, Maximian said to the Christian maiden, “…Emperor Diocletian did not wish to punish her as a Christian because he pitied thy comeliness.” “…but venerate the gods so thou might preserve your life…”. Kyriake replied thus: “Do not think, O Emperor, by fleeting flateries or by frightening punishments that I shall deny my sweetest Jesus Christ, for there is no torment, no chastisement, and no torture which can separate me from His love…It is not possible for me to renounce the piety of my fathers. Moreover, I consent to marry; for I prefer none other to my Christ, to Whom I have given myself, so I may live and die a virgin.”

Hearing these declarations, Maximian was filled with wrath. He immediately ordered that the hands and feet of the holy maiden be tied and that she be lashed with bullwhips. He shouted that she should be punished until she either renounce Christ or died under torture…that night in her cell, Christ appeared to the Saint, saying, “Feat not, O Kyriake, the tortures, of My grace shall be with thee, and shall deliver thee from every temptation.” As Christ uttered this, He healed her wounds and then ascended into the heavens…

The Prayer of St Kyriake

“…O Thou Who has dominion over heaven and earth, and has authority over life and death, Who are the Fashioner of souls and bodies, receive also my soul and place it with the wise virgins. I did not quench the grace of the Holy Spirit as the foolish virgins, nor did my soul slumber from carelessness on the path of this life. I hastened to follow Thee, treading on the road of Thy martyrdom. I pray for my fellow Christians who are suffering adversity for Thy name’s sake. I also pray for my adversaries and for the people of this great city that cannot discern between their right hadn and their left hand. Therefore, receive my soul into Thy hands and grant with them that dwell with Thee…”

Upon uttering this prayer, light-bearing Angels took her soul. Both the executioners and bystanders heard how she voluntarily surrendered her soul. Astonished, they remarked, Great is the God of the Christians Who has authority over life and death! If she did not wish to die, she would have also overcome the sword, as she formerly did the fire and the lions.” The executioners and people returned to Prefect Apollonios to report the entire matter. A bodiless voice was then heard, saying, “Proceed, brothers, and tell of all the great things of God.” [ 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 servant of God

+ Father George

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

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

ON
July 6th our Holy Orthodox Church commemorates
our Venerable Father SISOES the Great.

Sisoes, the Venerable and Great Abba (Father) among ascetics, was born in Egypt at the beginning of the 14th century. They used to say that there was an occasion when certain of the old men (gerondes) were sitting with Abba (Father) Poemen and discussing some of the Fathers, they were asking one another, "Who remembers Abba Sisoes?" Abba Poemen said, "Cease talking about Abba Sisoes, for he has surpassed the measure of all histories."

Abba Sisoes flourished in Egypt during the time of prominent ascetics: the divine Antony the Great, the Wondrous and Venerable Father Or the Nitriote, and a multitude of other great and holy anchorites. The godly Sisoes, who loved the Lord from his earliest years, heard of these fathers’ virtues and God-inspired achievements. Although he was yet a child, he took up the cross of Christ upon his shoulders and followed Him. He quit the world and sought to embrace the eremitical life in the harsh desert, watchfulness, guarding of thoughts, and prayer of the heart.

Saint Sisoes at Nitria of Sketis

From the start, the blessed Sisoes desired to be in obedience to a God-fearing elder. He, therefore. He, therefore, repaired to that unearthly Nitrian precinct of Sketis. At that time there were approximately one thousand monks struggling at Nitria under the experienced guidance of our Venerable Father Or, who was known never to tell a lie or to swear or to curse anyone, and to speak only if it were absolutely necessary. It was here that God led the youth Sisoes to commence his monastic life. Happily situated, Sisoes, in but a short time, had so advanced in virtue and in the many toils and hardships of asceticism that he surpassed his fellow strugglers. He became a model and example for all to follow. One time he said to his elder, "Give me a word of excellence." Abba Or answered, "Dos thou have faith in me?" Sisoes replied "Yes." The elder continued, "Go thy way, and whatever thou hast seen me doing, do also thyself/" Sisoes asked, "What do I see in thee, father?" The elder answered, "My thoughts are the most deprecative of all men. I abase myself, putting myself below all men." Thus, Sisoes disciplined himself to attain humble-mindedness. He undertook to perform every humble labor and counted himself as nought when doing it, as he was taught by his elder Abba Or. Verily, to the marvel of all, Sisoes made progress in virtue well beyond his years.

As the right-minded Sisoes allotted his time struggling ascetically at Sketis of Nitria, he heard of the achievements of the Great Antony. He conceived within his heart the desire to abide near him so that he might emulate firsthand his struggles. Although Sisoes was a great favorite of Abba Or, yet it was God’s will that he leave Nitria. There were two reasons: Nitria had become thickly populated with monastics and many of the brethren were visiting the holy Sisoes. The desire for a more unfrequented retreat to practice perfection and hesychasm was aflame in his heart. Thus, the heavenly-minded Sisoes departed to take counsel with Saint Anthony, but he was not in time to meet the holy man Anthony who in the interim was translated to the Lord. When Sisoes arrived, he conceived an even greater yearning to partake of the recently reposed elder’s ascetical toils. He, therefore, sought refuge in the undisturbed silence of the Interior Mountain of Saint Anthony, where it was the most quiet. It was here that he would devise new tests of endurance.

Saint Sisoes at the Mountain of Saint Anthony

At the Mountain of Saint Anthony, where he found good anchorage, Sisoes spent many years adding toil to toil through the abundance of divine power supplied to him. He passed through every ascetic hardship and unceasing warfare against the invisible demons, prevailing over them in the end and raising up trophies. He maintained an attitude of attention, kept watch over his inward thoughts, and guarded his heart and intellect. By extreme abstinence and prayer, he caused the passions of his body to wither. On account of his virtues, the name of this beacon was made illustrious not only in all of Egypt but even in faraway lands. Clergy, famed monastics, and lay people came to him in order to savor his teachings and beneficial spiritual counsels. Despite all this attention, however, the blessed Sisoes preserved extreme humility, considering himself QUITE WORTHLESS. On account of his humility, he received grace from the Lord to raise the dead.

Now the blessed hour arrived for his translation from this passing temporal life to that which is everlasting and deathless. As he was about to repose, the fathers in that area gathered together before his sickbed. Abba (Father) Sisoes’ countenance shine as the sun, and he said, "Behold, Abba Antony is coming!" And after a little time, he said again, "Behold, the choir of the Prophets is coming!" And again his face shone with superabundant radiance, and he said, "Behold, the choir of the Apostles is coming!" Then the light of his face was magnified twofold, and it appeared as though he were speaking with certain ones. All those in his cell were beside themselves with wonder.

The elders then besought the Venerable man to tell them with whom he was conversing. The Saint said to them, "Behold! The Angels came to take my soul, and I implored them that they leave me A LITTLE TIME IN ORDER TO REPENT." The fathers marveled at such humility, and they understood that he IN REALITY ARRIVED AT PERFECTION. His countenance then suddenly shone again as the sun, and all of them were seized with fear. The Saint said to them, "Look, the Lord is coming and saying, ‘Bring to Me the vessel of the desert." Immediately with that utterance, the blessed Sisoes surrendered his soul into the hands of God… Having received the radiance of the Spirit, his beaming face revealed his luminous and pure soul. At the same time, there was a flash of lightning and the whole hermitage was filled with a sweet odor. It was the 6th day of the month of July, in the year 429 A.D.

Thorugh such a wondrous and unearthly sign the All-Good God glorified His servant, the humble-minded Sisoes. Thus the Lord of Glory took the Abba’s blessed soul into His immaculate hands, and placed him in the heavenly tabernacles where there are the tents of the Saints and eternal radiance wherein now he intercedes entreating Christ without ceasing for us. Through his intercessions, O Christ God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen. [Source:  The Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church]

___________

"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"