Apostle Onesimus of the Seventy

The Disciple from the 70 Onysimos in his youth was a servant of Philemon, a Christian of distinguished lineage, living in the city of Phrygian Colossa. Guilty of an offense against his master and fearing punishment, Saint Onysimos fled to Rome, but as a runaway slave he wound up in prison there. In prison he encountered the Apostle Paul held in chains, was enlightened by him and accepted holy Baptism. In prison Saint Onysimos served the Apostle Paul like a son. The Apostle Paul was personally acquainted with Philemon, and wrote him a letter filled with love, asking him to forgive the runaway slave and to accept him like a brother; he dispatched Saint Onysimos with this letter to his master, depriving himself of help, in which he was very much in need.

Saint Philemon, having received the letter, not only forgave Onysimos, but also dispatched him to sail back to Rome to the first-rank apostle. Saint Philemon was afterwards ordained bishop of the city of Gaza (Comm. 4 January, 19 February and 22 November).

After the death of the Apostle Paul, Saint Onysimos served the apostles until their end, and he was ordained bishop by them. After the death of the holy apostles he preached the Gospel in many lands and cities: in Spain, Carpetania, Colossa, Patras. In his old age, Saint Onysimos occupied the bishop's throne at Ephesus, in succession after the Disciple Timothy. When they took Ignatios the God-Bearer to Rome for execution, Bishop Onysimos came to meet with him with certain Christians, about which Saint Ignatios makes mention in his Epistle to the Ephesians.

During the reign of the emperor Trajan, Saint Onysimos was arrested and brought to trial before the eparch Tertillus. He held the saint for 18 days in prison, and then sent him for imprisonment to the city of Putiola. After a certain while, the eparch sent for the prisoner and, convincing himself that Saint Onysimos quite firmly confessed his faith in Christ, had him subjected to a fierce beating with stones, after which they beheaded the saint with a sword. A certain illustrious woman took the body of the martyr and placed it in a silver coffin. This was in about the year 109.

From Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church, Baltimore, Maryland

New Orthodox Church in America head faces need for change

From Ekklesia (emphasis added):

The new head of the Orthodox Church in America, which is trying to shake off years of internal problems and financial scandals, says he "laughs off" any comparison made between himself and US President Barack Obama as a reformer and agent of change.

"I don't see myself as anything so radical," Metropolitan Jonah said in a recent interview with Ecumenical News International, following his 28 December installation as prelate of the Syosset, New York-based church.

"Very honestly, I put little time in thinking about myself," Jonah said. "I see my ultimate task as not discerning my vision, but discerning what is God's will for the church."

...goals include making the OCA a far more visible presence within the United States, though [sic] more vigorous missionary work. Jonah notes that already 60 percent of some one million OCA laity, 70 percent of its clergy and 90 percent of its bishops are, like Jonah, converts from other denominational traditions.

Buddhipiscopal?

Okay, it honestly never was (and is not now) my intention to tout Orthodoxy through use of the My-Religion-Is-Best-Because-The-Others-Are-So-Goofy approach. But this story is really too much to resist:

An Episcopal priest who has received a Buddhist lay ordination has been elected bishop in the Diocese of Northern Michigan. The Rev. Kevin Thew Forrester, who has served in the diocese since 2001, was elected on the first ballot and received 88 percent of the delegate votes.

Forrester, who has been identified by his former bishop Jim Kelsey as ‘walking the path of Christianity and Zen Buddhism together, is not the first Episcopal clergyman to practice dual faiths. In 2004, Pennsylvania priest Bill Melnyk was revealed to be a druid; while in 2007 Seattle priest Ann Holmes Redding declared that she was simultaneously an Episcopalian and a Muslim.

Read the rest here

St. Modomnoc, bishop of Ossory

Modomnoc (d. 550), descended of the Irish royal line of O'Neil, had to leave Ireland to train for the priesthood, since he was a student before the creation of the great Irish monasteries. His name is most likely to have been Dom or Donogh but the Celtic saints were so tenderly loved that "my", "little" and "dear" were very often added to the names, which completely altered their appearance.

He crossed the English Channel to be educated under the great Saint David at Mynyw (Menevia, now Saint David's) Monastery in Wales. All those who resided in the community were expected to share in the manual work as well as the study and worship. Modomnoc was given charge of the bees and he loved it. And so did everyone else--they all loved honey, but few like taking charge of the hives. Modomnoc liked the bees almost more than he liked their honey. He cared for them tenderly, keeping them in straw skeps in a special sheltered corner of the garden, where he planted the kinds of flowers best loved by the bees.

At the end of summer, they gave him much honey, so much that Modomnoc needed help carrying it all inside. The monks never ran out of honey for their meals or making mead to drink. The good Modomnoc thanked God for this, and he also thanked the bees. He would walk among the skeps in the evening and talk to them, and the bees, for their part, would crowd out to meet him. All the other monks carefully avoided that corner of the monastery garden because they were afraid of being stung. As well as thanking the bees, Modomnoc did everything he could to care for them in cold and storm.

Soon his years of study ended, and Modomnoc had to return to Ireland to begin his priestly ministry. While he was glad to be returning home, he knew he would be lonely for his bees. On the day of his departure, he said good-bye to the Abbot, the monks, and his fellow students. Then he went down to the garden to bid farewell to his bees. They came out in the hundreds of thousands in answer to his voice and never was there such a buzzing and excitement among the rows and rows of hives. The monks stood at a distance watching the commotion in wonder, "You'd think the bees knew," they said. "You'd think they knew that Modomnoc was going away."

Modomnoc resolutely turned and went down to the shore and embarked the ship. When they were about three miles from the shore, Modomnoc saw what looked like a little black cloud in the sky in the direction of the Welsh coast. He watched it curiously and as it approached nearer, he saw to his amazement that it was a swarm of bees that came nearer and nearer until finally it settled on the edge of the boat near him. It was a gigantic swarm--all the bees from all the hives, in fact. The bees had followed him!

Modomnoc coaxed his faithful friends into a sheltered corner of the boat, where they remained quietly throughout the journey, much to the sailors' relief. When he landed in Ireland, he set up a church at a place called Bremore, near Balbriggan, in County Dublin, and here he established the bees in a happy garden just like the one they had in Wales. The place is known to this day as "the Church of the Beekeeper."

He became a hermit at Tibberaghny in County Kilkenny and was later consecrated Bishop of Ossory.



From St Modomnoc O'Neil and the bees

Christians in Jerusalem want Jews to stop spitting on them

From Haaretz.com

A few weeks ago, a senior Greek Orthodox clergyman in Israel attended a meeting at a government office in Jerusalem's Givat Shaul quarter. When he returned to his car, an elderly man wearing a skullcap came and knocked on the window. When the clergyman let the window down, the passerby spat in his face.

The clergyman prefered not to lodge a complaint with the police and told an acquaintance that he was used to being spat at by Jews. Many Jerusalem clergy have been subjected to abuse of this kind. For the most part, they ignore it but sometimes they cannot.

On Sunday, a fracas developed when a yeshiva student spat at the cross being carried by the Armenian Archbishop during a procession near the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City. The archbishop's 17th-century cross was broken during the brawl and he slapped the yeshiva student.

Both were questioned by police and the yeshiva student will be brought to trial. The Jerusalem District Court has meanwhile banned the student from approaching the Old City for 75 days.

But the Armenians are far from satisfied by the police action and say this sort of thing has been going on for years. Archbishop Nourhan Manougian says he expects the education minister to say something.

"When there is an attack against Jews anywhere in the world, the Israeli government is incensed, so why when our religion and pride are hurt, don't they take harsher measures?" he asks.

Read the rest here

St. Ethilwald of Lindisfarne

St. Aethelwold was, for some time, a monk at Ripon, "where having received the priestly office," says Bede, "he sanctified it by a life worthy of that degree. After the death of that man of God, Cuthbert, this venerable priest succeeded him in the exercise of a solitary life, in the cell which the saint had inhabited in the Islet of Farne, before he was made bishop." He found Cuthbert's little oratory so rudely put together, that the sea-wind shrieked in through the joints of the planks. Though patched up with clay and stubble, the chapel was so full of draughts that Aethelwold felt obliged to obtained a calf's skin, which he nailed against the wall where he was wont to pray, in order to keep the wind from blowing in his ear.

Bede says, "I will relate one miracle of Ethelwold, which was told me by one of the brothers who was concerned and for whose sake it was wrought, Guthfred, the venerable servant and priest of Christ, who afterwards presided in quality of abbot over the church of Lindisfarne, in which he was educated. I came, said he, to the Islet of Farne, with two other brothers, desiring to speak with the most reverent father, Aethelwold, and, when we had been comforted by his discourses, and having asked his blessing, were returning home when, on a sudden, as we were in the sea, the fair weather that was wafting us over changed and so great and furious a storm fell on us that neither sail nor oars availed, and we despaired of life."

"Having a good while struggled in vain with the wind and waves, we looked back at last to see if by any means we might return to the island, but found that we were equally beset with the tempest on all sides; but we could perceive Aethelwold at the mouth of his cavern, contemplating our danger. For, hearing the howl of the wind and the roar of the sea, he came forth to see how we fared. And, when he saw our desperate condition, he bent his knees to the Father of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, to pray for our life and safety. As he finished his prayer, the swelling sea immediately abated its violence and the rage of the winds ceased, and a fair gale, springing up, bore us over the smooth waters to the shore. But no sooner had we arrived and drawn our boat out of the water, than the same storm began to rage again and ceased not all that day; to the end that it might plainly appear that this small intermission had been granted from heaven, at the prayer of the man of God, that we might escape."

Aethelwold spent twelve years on Farne and died there on 23rd March (or 21st April) AD 699. He was buried on Lindisfarne, in the Priory Church of St. Peter, near the bodies of SS. Cuthbert and Edbert. His bones were afterwards taken up, in the time of the Danish ravages of AD 875, and, after numerous wanderings around northern England, were translated to Durham in AD 995 and more honourably enshrined in 1160.


Courtesy of Early British Kingdoms
Further reading here

"Ten Deadly Trappings of Evangelism"

The following is taken from a blog called Kuo & Joe. Although it was written by a Baptist, it sums up that which is most offputting about modern Christian Evangelicalism, demonstrating—yet again—why all Christians should be Orthodox:

#1 The Sinner’s Prayer — The gates of hell have a special entrance reserved for people who thought that they had a ticket into heaven because someone told them all they needed to do was recite the "sinner’s prayer." I’ve searched through the entire New Testament and can’t find an example of anyone who was "saved" after reciting such a prayer. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that such prayer is worthless or that it can’t be used by the Holy Spirit. But salvation is not obtained by reciting a magical incantation as many, many, "Christians" will discover after it’s far, far, too late.

#2 Making Converts — I’ve always felt uneasy about the idea that Christians should be seeking to make converts. Am I wrong in thinking that the making of converts is a task associated with Islam, rather than Christianity? Perhaps I have a flawed understanding of the Gospel, but I always thought the purpose of evangelism is not to make converts but to make, as Christ commanded, disciples. Indeed, my primary complaint against each of the other nine methods on this list is that they are usually ineffective in instigating true conversion, much less helping make true disciples.

#3 "Do you know Jesus as…" — This is one question that needs never be asked for it shows (a) you do not know the person well enough, (b) the answer is yes and the person is a lousy Christian, or (c) the answer is no in which case you just activated their Fundie-alert system and caused them to switch their brains into ignore mode. Instead of asking about a "personal savior" you might want to simply try to get to know the person.

#4 Tribulationism — Ask a non-believer to give a rudimentary explanation of "the Rapture" and chances are they can provide a fairly accurate description of that concept. Ask the same person to give a basic explanation of the Gospel message, though, and they are likely to be stumped. The reason for this curious state of affairs is that evangelicals have promoted what I refer to as "Tribulationism" — an overemphasis on pre-millenial [sic] eschatology that overshadows the Gospel. I’m sure that somewhere in the three dozen novels that comprise the Left Behind series the Gospel message is presented. But there is something horribly wrong when the greatest story ever told is buried beneath a third-rate tale of the apocalypse.

#5 Testimonies — Several years ago, during a job interview for a Christian organization, my prospective employer asked me to tell him my "testimony." The fact that I was a Christian apparently wasn’t enough. I had to have a good conversion story to go along with my faith. Now you may have a great story about how the hound of Heaven" chased you down and gnawed on your leg until you surrendered. No doubt your story would make for a gripping movie of the week on Lifetime and lead to the making of numerous converts (see #1). But the harsh truth is that your story doesn’t much matter. You are only a bit player in the narrative thread; the main part goes to the Divine Protagonist. In fact, He already has a pretty good story so why not just tell that one instead?

#6 The Altar Call — If he tells men they are under obligation to receive Christ on the spot, and demands in God’s name that they decide at once, some who are spiritually unprepared will try to do so; they will come forward and accept directions and "go through the motions" and go away thinking they have received Christ, when all the time they have not done so because they were not yet able to do so. Man takes it on himself to try to bring that work to a precipitate conclusion, to pick the fruit before it is ripe; and the result is "false conversions," hypocrisy and hardening.

#7 Witnessing — Evangelism ain’t Amway. It is not a form of Multi-Level Marketing in which you get extra credit for the number of people in your network and you don’t get a great commission for the Great Commission. If you want to sell something door-to-door make it Amway products not the Good News.

If you want to be a more effective "witness for Christ" then start by doing what Christ did and love other people. Start by loving the "unlovable" — the smelly, unbathed men down at the mission, the annoying kids at church, the bonehead who cuts you off in traffic. Yes, you need to tell people about the Gospel. But that is evangelism, not "witnessing." In the context of the Christian life, "witness" should be a noun more often than a verb.

#8 Protestant Prayers — Last week one of my fellow coworkers, a young Catholic man, was asked to open our meeting with a prayer. Without hesitation he began reciting the "Lord’s prayer." Afterward I joked that, having come up with such a fine prayer, he might want to write it down for future use. What I didn’t say what how his recitation of the prayer made me uncomfortable.

First, I’m not used to hearing prayers that don’t contain the word "just" (as in "We just want to thank you Lord…") so it had an odd ring to it. Second, it seemed to violate the accepted standards for public prayer. I had always assumed that praying in public required being able to interlace some just-want-to’s in with some Lord-thank-you-for’s and be- with-us-as-we’s in a coherent fashion before toppping [sic] it all with an Amen. Third, I thought that prayers are supposed to be spontaneous–from the heart, off the top of the head–emanations, rather than prepackaged recitations. If it ain’t original, it ain’t prayer, right? Can I get an amen?

But where did this idea come from? We have entire books to teach us how to pray yet Jesus managed to wrap up the lesson in less than forty words. Why isn’t that prayer good enough for evangelicals to use? Why do our prayers sound nothing like His example? (And if you are wondering what prayer is doing on a list of evangelistic fixtures then we are really in trouble.)

#9 The Church Growth Movement — Sadly, this has moved from fad to fixture. Think I’m wrong? Ask the next person you see to define that phrase. In fact, ask the next 100 people you see. Let me know if you find anyone that tells you they think the church growth movement is a movement in the church to grow disciples.

#10 Chick Tracts — Chick Tracts are a tool of the devil. That fact — and yes it is a fact — is not changed just because you know a guy who knows a guy who heard testimony about a guy who said the Sinner’ Prayer after finding "The Long Trip" on the floor of a truck stop restroom.


Recommended reading:
Evangelical Fads Don't Always Reach Others

Some Pics

Click on the photos to enlarge



More to come...

BLESSED ART THOU, O Lord God Almighty, Source of all good things, Sun of Righteousness, who shinest forth upon them that were in darkness the light of salvation, through the manifestation of Thine Only-begotten Son and our God; and who hast given unto us, unworthy though we be, blessed purification through hallowed water, and divine sanctification through life-giving Chrismation; who now also hast been graciously pleased to regenerate Thy servant who hast newly received Illumination by water and the Spirit, grant unto him forgiveness of sins, whether voluntary or involuntary. Do Thou, the same Master, compassionate King of all, grant also unto him the seal of the gift of Thy holy, and almighty, and adorable Spirit, and participation in the holy Body and the precious Blood of Thy Christ. Keep him in Thy sanctification; confirm him in the Orthodox faith; deliver him from the evil one, and from his snares. And preserve his soul in purity and uprightness, through the saving fear of Thee; that he may please Thee in every deed and word, and may be a child and heir of Thy heavenly kingdom.

For Thou art our God, the God who shows mercy and saves; and unto Thee do we ascribe glory, to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

(Rite of Chrismation)

GREAT ART THOU, O Lord, and marvelous are Thy works, and there is no word which is sufficient to hymn Thy wonders.

For Thou, of Thine own good will, hast brought into being all things which before were not, and by Thy might, Thou upholdsest creation, and by Thy providence Thou orderest the world. When Thou didst join together the universe out of four elements, Thou didst crown the circle of the year with four seasons. Before Thee tremble all the Powers endowed with intelligence. The sun sings unto Thee. The moon glorifies Thee. The stars meet together before Thy presence. The light obeys Thee. The deeps tremble before Thee. The springs of water are subject unto Thee. Thou hast spread out the heavens like a curtain. Thou hast established the earth upon the waters. Thou hast set round about the sea barriers of sand. Thou hast poured forth the air for breathing. The Angelic Powers serve Thee. The choirs of the Archangels fall down in adoration before Thee. The many-eyed Cherubim and the six-winged Seraphim as they stand around and fly, veil their faces in awe before Thine ineffable glory.

For Thou, who art God inexpressible and everlasting, hast descended upon earth, and hast taken on the semblance of a servant, and wast made in the likeness of man. For, because of the tender compassion of Thy mercy, O Master, Thou couldest not endure to behold mankind oppressed by the Devil; but Thou hast come, and hast saved us. We confess Thy grace. We proclaim Thy mercy. We conceal not Thy gracious acts. Thou hast delivered the generations of our mortal nature. By Thy birth Thou hast sanctified the Virgin’s womb. All creation magnifies Thee, who hast manifested Thyself. For Thou, O our God, hast revealed Thyself upon earth, and dwelt among men. Thou hast hallowed the streams of Jordan, sending down upon them from heaven Thy Holy Spirit, and hast crushed the heads of the dragons who lurked there.

Wherefore, O King who lovest mankind, come Thou now and sanctify this water, by the coming of Thy Holy Spirit.

And grant unto it the grace of redemption, the blessing of the Jordan. Make it the fountain of incorruption, the gift of sanctification, the forgiveness of sins, the remedy of infirmities, the final destruction of demons, unassailable by hostile powers, filled with angelic might. Let those who would ensnare Thy creature flee far from it. For we have called upon Thy Name, O Lord, and it is wonderful, and glorious, and terrible unto adversaries.

Let all adverse powers be crushed beneath the sign of the image of Thy Cross.

We pray Thee, O God, that every aerial and unseen phantom may withdraw itself from us; and that no demon of darkness may conceal himself in this water; and that no evil spirit which instills darkening of intentions and rebelliousness of thought may descend into it with him who is about to be baptized.

But do Thou, Master of all, show this water to be the water of redemption, the water of sanctification, the purification of flesh and spirit, the loosing of bonds, the remission of sins, the illumination of the soul, the laver of regeneration, the renewal of the spirit, the gift of adoption to sonship, the garment of incorruption, the fountain of life. For Thou hast said, O Lord: "Wash, be clean, and put away evil things from your souls." Thou hast bestowed upon us from on high a new birth through water and the Spirit. Wherefore, O Lord, manifest Thyself in this water, and grant that he who is baptized therein may be transformed; that he may put away from him the old man, which is corrupt through the lusts of the flesh, and that he may put on the new man, and be renewed after the image of Him who created him; that being buried, after the pattern of Thy death, in baptism, he may, in like manner, be a partaker of Thy Resurrection; and having preserved the gift of Thy Holy Spirit, and increased the measure of grace committed unto him, he may receive the prize of his high calling, and be numbered with the firstborn whose names are written in heaven, in Thee, our God and Lord, Jesus Christ. For unto Thee are due all glory, dominion, honor, and worship, together with Thy Father, who is from everlasting, and Thine all-holy, and good, and life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

(From the Rite of Baptism)

O LORD AND MASTER; who hast created man in Thine own likeness, and bestowed upon him the power of life eternal; who also despisest not those who have fallen away through sin, but hast provided salvation for the world through the Incarnation of Thy Christ: Do Thou, the same Lord, delivering also this Thy creature from the bondage of the enemy, receive him into Thy heavenly kingdom. Open the eyes of his understanding, that the illumination of Thy Gospel may shine brightly in him. Assign unto him an angel of light, who shall deliver him from every snare of the adversary, from encounter with evil, from the demon of the noonday, and from evil thoughts.

Expel from him every evil and unclean spirit which hides and makes its lair in his heart, the spirit of deceit, the spirit of evil, the spirit of idolatry and of every covetousness; the spirit of falsehood and of every uncleanness which operates through the prompting of the Devil. And make him a reason-endowed sheep in the holy flock of Thy Christ, an honorable member of Thy Church, a child of the light, and an heir of Thy Kingdom; that having lived in accordance with Thy commandments, and preserved inviolate the Seal, and kept his garment undefiled, he may receive the blessedness of the Saints in Thy Kingdom.

Through the grace and bounties, and love towards mankind of Thine Only-begotten Son, with whom Thou art blessed, together with Thine all-holy and good and life-giving Spirit: now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

(From the Rite of Baptism)

IN THY NAME, O Lord God of truth, and in the Name of Thine Only-begotten Son, and of Thy Holy Spirit, I lay my hand upon Thy servant, who has been found worthy to flee unto Thy holy Name, and to take refuge under the shelter of Thy wings. Remove far from him his former delusion and fill him with the faith, hope and love which are in Thee; that he may know that Thou art the only true God with Thine Only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and Thy Holy Spirit. Enable him to walk in all Thy commandments, and to fulfill those things which are well pleasing unto Thee; for if a man do those things, he shall find life in them.

Inscribe him in Thy Book of Life, and unite him to the flock of Thine inheritance. And may Thy holy Name be glorified in him, together with that of Thy beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and of Thy life-giving Spirit. Let Thine eyes ever regard him with mercy, and let Thine ears attend unto the voice of his supplication. Make him to rejoice in the works of his hands, and in all his generation; that he may render praise unto Thee, that he may sing, worship and glorify Thy great and exalted Name always, all the days of his life.

For all the Powers of Heaven sing praises unto Thee, and Thine is the Glory, of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.

(From the Rite of Baptism)

Baptism and Chrismation

The following is taken from the article "Baptism and Chrismation," by Bishop Alexander Mileant.

Jesus Christ, the Only-begotten Son of God, came to Earth to destroy sin and grant mankind an opportunity to obtain eternal and joyful life in the Kingdom of Heaven. Spiritual rebirth begins with a man's faith in Jesus Christ, a true desire to be liberated from the tyranny of sin, and a drive to lead a life in accordance with God’s will. Our Lord Jesus Christ likened this spiritual rebirth to the resurrection of the dead when He said: "Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live" (John 5:25). However, faith and desire by themselves are not sufficient. What is needed is the power of grace, which realizes the spiritual rebirth of an individual. This power of grace permeates the soul of the person submerged in water during baptism.

One who is purified from sin is emancipated from its tyranny and freed to follow a spiritual life. The Holy Scripture calls this spiritual birth the "first resurrection," as opposed to the second, physical resurrection, which will occur before the end of the world (Rev. 20:5). The baptized person becomes a beloved child of God, His adopted son or daughter, by the grace of Christ.

This does not mean that, because of baptism, a person is freed from all temptations or from the spiritual fight. Spiritual struggles are unavoidable for every person who exists in this world of temptation. But a person who is not baptized lacks the power to fight the bondage of sin, and is enslaved to it, whereas someone who is baptized is liberated from sin and receives assistance to fight against temptations.

Just as the death and resurrection of Christ culminated in Pentecost--the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles--so the baptism of a Christian attains its fulfillment in Chrismation. In Baptism, one puts on the death of Christ, and also his resurrection; in Chrismation, one is given the grace of the Holy Spirit. Thus one can see how the miracle of Pentecost is continually renewed in the Church through these mysteries.

The meaning of Chrismation lies in the most important and fundamental words of the mystery, which make up the concluding utterance: "The seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit." They stand as (a) the concluding act confirming the entry of the baptized person into the Church, and (b) the source of grace-filled strength granted to grow stronger and ripen to perfection in the spiritual life.

St. Cyprian writes, "People baptized in church are imprinted with the Lord’s seal just as the christened Samaritans once received the Holy Spirit from the Apostles Peter and John, through the laying on of hands and prayer…What they were lacking, (namely the Holy Spirit, as they were baptized in the name of Christ only), the Apostles Peter and John fulfilled ... That also happens with us ... we become complete with the Lord’s seal" (Acts 8:14-17). St. Cyprian confirms that the ancients, in speaking of birth through water and the Spirit, understood birth through water to refer to physical baptism, while Chrismation was the birth through the Spirit.

During Apostolic times, the gifts of the Holy Spirit were bestowed through the laying on of hands. We read about this in Acts (8:14-17 and 19:2-6): the Apostle Paul met some disciples in Ephesus who had received only the baptism of John. When he learned of this they "were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them."

How was the blessed laying on of hands replaced by anointing with chrism? Most probably, because the Apostles could not physically visit every newly baptized convert and lay hands on him, they replaced this practice by the anointing with chrism, which was blessed by them and distributed to the representatives of many churches. As we are reminded by the Apostle Paul: "Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee" (2 Cor. 1:21-22). The integral words of the Mystery, "the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit," thus also have a basis in these words of the Apostle.

Further on, St. Paul writes: "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption" (Ephesians 4:30). In the Holy Scripture, the "day of redemption" refers to baptism, while "being sealed" by the Holy Spirit means the seal of the Holy Spirit that follows immediately after baptism.

The oil of the Chrism and no other substance is used in the Mystery of Chrismation, because even in the Old Testament oil was used to endow people with particular spiritual gifts (Exodus 28:41; 1 Samuel 16:13; 1 Kings 1:39). The renowned third-century writer Tertullian had this to say: "After emerging from the baptismal font, we are anointed with a blessed oil just like the ancients were anointed for priesthood with the oil from the horn."

The narratives from the Acts of the Apostles confirm that, apart from receiving spiritual gifts from the Holy Spirit, the laying on of hands or the Chrismation after baptism served both as a confirmation of the bestowal of Baptism and a seal of the union of those baptized with the Church. That is why these acts were performed by the Apostles themselves, and subsequently, by their successors, i.e., bishops. While a person is born through baptism for a spiritual life, Chrismation makes him a participant in the Church's life of grace.


For further reading:
What is Holy Chrismation?
The Sanctification of the Holy Chrism
Chrismation (OCA)
Chrismation (OrthodoxWiki)
The Sacrament of Chrismation

Sunday of the Prodigal Son

What great blessings have I forsaken, wretch that I am?
From what kingdom have I miserably fallen?
I have squandered the riches that were given me;
I have transgressed the commandments!
Woe to me when I shall be condemned to eternal fire!
Cry out to Christ, O my soul, before the end draws near:
Receive me as the Prodigal, O God, and have mercy on me!

I hid my face in shame, a wretched man!
I have squandered the riches my father gave to me;
I went to live with senseless beasts:
I sought their food and hungered, for I had not enough to eat.
I will arise, I will return to my compassionate father:
He will accept my tears as I kneel before Him crying:
In Your tender love for all men reveive me as one of Your servants
And save me!

Jesus my God, accept me also now in repentance as You did the Prodigal Son:
I have lived all my life in carelessness and provoked You to anger.
I have sinfully wasted the divine wealth that once You gave me;
I have departed far from You and lived as the Prodigal.
Compassionate Father, accept me now also as I return.
Open Your arms to embrace me as a Father now,
accepting me also as the Prodigal Son,
That I may glorify You with thanksgiving most merciful Lord!

(The four Sundays prior to Great Lent are geared toward putting Christians into a mindset of penitence and humility. The themes of each of these days are: Zacchaeus (Lk 19.1-10), the Publican and the Pharisee (Lk 18.9-14), the Prodigal Son (Lk 15.11-32), and the Last Judgement (Rev 20.12–15). Today, in addition to being the Feast of the Entry of our Lord in the Temple, is also the Sunday of the Prodigal Son. The above text is taken from the Vespers service for today.)

The Feast of the Meeting of the Lord in the Temple

On the Feast of the Meeting of the Lord, the Church commemorates an important event in the earthly life of our Lord Jesus Christ (Lk 2: 22-40). On the 40th day after birth the God-Infant was taken to the Jerusalem Temple – the centre of religious life of the God-chosen nation. By the Law of Moses (Lev 12) a woman, having given birth to a child of the male gender, was forbidden for 40 days to enter into the Temple of God. After this interval the mother came to the Temple with the child, so as to offer to the Lord thanksgiving and a purification sacrifice.

At this time there lived at Jerusalem the righteous elder Simeon. It had been revealed to him that he would not die until he should behold Christ the Saviour. By inspiration from above, the pious elder went to the Temple at that very moment when the Most Holy Mother of God and Righteous Joseph had brought there the Infant Jesus, so as to fulfill the ritual ceremony of the Law. The God-Bearer Simeon took the God-Infant in his arms, and having given thanks to God, he uttered a prophecy about the Saviour of the world: "Now lettest Thou Thy servant depart, O Lord, with peace according to Thy word, wherefore hath mine eyes beheld Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to the enlightening of gentiles and the glory of Thy people Israel" (Lk 2: 29-32). Righteous Simeon said to the MostHoly Virgin: "Behold, This One is set for the fall and rising up of many in Israel and for the sign spoken against, and for Thee Thyself a sword shalt pierce the soul, so that the thoughts of many hearts might be revealed" (Lk 2: 35).

At the Temple also the 84 year old widow Anna the Prophetess, daughter of Phanuel (Comm. 3 February), "who did not leave the temple, serving God both day and night in fasting and prayer. And she also at that time, having drawn near, glorified the Lord and spake about Him (the God-Infant) to all awaiting deliverance at Jerusalem" (Lk 2: 37-38).

Before the Birth of Christ, all righteous men and women lived by faith in the Future Messiah the Saviour of the world, and they awaited His coming. The final righteous ones of the closing Old Testament – Righteous Simeon and the Prophetess Anna – were deemed worthy to meet at the Temple the Bearer of the New Testament, in the Person of Whom both Divinity and humanity do meet.

The Feast of the Meeting of the Lord is among the most ancient feasts of the Christian Church. It is known, that on the day of this solemnity were proclaimed sermons by Sainted Bishops Methodios of Patara (+ 312), Cyril of Jerusalem (+ 360), Gregory the Theologian (+ 389), Amphylokios of Iconium (+ 394), Gregory of Nyssa (+ 400), and John Chrysostom (+ 407). But in spite of its early origin, this feast was not so solemnly celebrated until the VI Century. During the reign of Justinian in the year 528, a catastrophe befell Antioch – an earthquake, in which many people perished. And upon this misfortune there followed others. In the year 544 there appeared a pestilential plague, daily carrying off several thousand people. During these days of widespread travail, it was revealed to a certain pious christian that the celebration of the Meeting of the Lord should be done more solemnly.

When at the day of the Meeting of the Lord the all-night vigil was finally made with church procession, the disasters at Byzantium ceased. In thanksgiving to God, the Church established in 544 that the Meeting of the Lord should be done more solemnly.

Church melodists adorned this feast with many a church work of song: in the VII Century – Sainted Andrew ArchBishop of Crete; in the VIII Century – Sainted Cosma Bishop of Maium, Monk John Damascene, Sainted Germanos Patriarch of Constantinople; and in the IX Century – Sainted Joseph the Studite, ArchBishop of Thessalonika.


Courtesy of Holy Trinity Orthodox Church

Happy St Valentine's Day!

Actually, Orthodox Christians remember the martyrdom of St Valentinus on June 6th. The following is from OCA.org:

Martyr Valentinus the Presbyter and those with him at Rome

The Holy Martyrs Valentinus the Presbyter, Martha, Marinus, Audifax, Habakkuk, Cyrenus, Asterius and many others with them at Rome.

During the reign of the emperor Claudius II (268-270), St Marinus together with his wife Martha and their sons Audifax and Habakkuk journeyed from Persia to Rome, to pray at the graves of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul. During this time fierce persecutions and executions befell the Roman Church. St Marinus and his wife and sons helped Christians locked up in the prisons, and also to request the bodies of executed martyrs. At one of these jails they met a prisoner named Cyrenus and they helped him, since he had endured many torments for faith in Christ.

The persecution spread, and even more Christians were arrested. During this time 260 Christians, among whom was the tribune Vlastus, had been sent under the court sentence to dig ground along the Salerian Way, and were executed by archers. When they learned about this vicious murder, Marinus, his family, and the presbyter John went by night and took the bodies of the martyrs to be buried in the catacombs. They returned later to the prison where St Cyrenus was incarcerated, but did not find him. He had been executed the day before and his body was thrown into the Tiber River. Doing their holy duty, Sts Marinus and Martha and their sons took the body of the holy martyr from the river and committed it to the earth. The holy workers were among Christians, who continued secretly to perform the divine services under the leadership of the holy Bishop Callistus, and hid them from their pursuers.

In consummation of their great charitable deeds the holy family was deemed worthy to glorify the Lord by martyrdom. The pagans beheaded the courageous confessor Valentinus the Presbyter, and the imperial gardener Asterius who had been converted by him, and the holy ascetics from Persia were arrested and given over to torture. By order of the emperor, Sts Marinus, Audifax and Habakkuk were beheaded in the year 269, and St Martha was drowned in a river. The relics of the holy saints are in Rome at the Church of St John the Hut-Dweller, and the relics of St Valentinus are in the Church of the holy Martyr Paraskeva.

Conversion

Normally, changing church affiliations is known simply as "attending another church."

When someone decides to stop attending the local non-denominational church and start attending the Lutheran church up the road, for example, he doesn't necessarily consider himself to be "converting." The word "proselyte" doesn't even occur to him.

However, making the move from Protestantism to Orthodoxy involves much more than simply altering the geography of one's Sunday worship; it is more than singing a different set of hymns, or exchanging pews for theater seating, or vice-versa. It is learning a whole new language; it's becoming the country mouse in the big city; it's Alice slipping through the looking glass; it's Dorothy, discovering that simply moving from one grayscale room to another isn't getting her anywhere, and stepping out the front door and into the lush Technicolor land of Oz; it's Butch and Sundance plunging off the cliff; it's "Alea iacta est" and "One giant leap" rolled into one.

I would say that, yes, the word "conversion" would apply here.

Since before Kathryn and I married, we attended a church at which we were both very comfortable, where the people were warm and welcoming, where we knew and loved the pastors, where were were able to assist with our time and tithes. It was the church in which we were married, so there was—and is—an emotional connection. We could easily continue for many years to attend and worship at Christ the King and be perfectly comfortable and content there.

But knowing what we know now, we can see that for us to remain at that church, or at any Protestant church, is to be part of a church whose doctrine and practice are demonstrably different from the Church of the first century; it would be to hold the Scripture over the Church, and to believe that my interpretation of the Scriptures is superior to the consistent witness of the Church through the ages; it would be to reject the written testimony of the Early Fathers in favor of Enlightenment scholars, and to believe that, until the Reformation, God reneged on His promise not to allow the gates of hell prevail against His Church.

We recognize now that, despite whatever argument we can devise to justify doing so, for us to continue for another day within any Christian body other than the Holy Orthodox Church would be to remain in willful and obstinate separation from the very same Church of the Apostles, the Church founded on Pentecost.

At approximately 4 o'clock on the afternoon of February 21st, Kathryn and I will be baptized into the Orthodox Church. Any of my readers who feel inclined to attend are invited to do so. It will take place at St. Sabbas Monastery in Harper Woods.*

If, however, between now and then someone can give me reason to believe that there is another Christian body out there that...

...can better or more clearly demonstrate continuity between its present self and the Church established at Pentecost,

…can be shown to have adhered to and taught more steadfastly the "faith which was once for all delivered to the saints,"

…more consistently and accurately reflects the teaching of the Scriptures,

…gives more appropriate respect and honor to “the mother of my Lord,”

…has a fuller and more active and robust prayer life,

...can prescribe more effective means of denying myself and taking up my cross,

...worships in a manner more consistent with Biblical worship,

…can make a better case to being the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church,

then we will immediately put the baptism on hold.

However, I don't expect that will happen. I don't believe it can happen. I believe beyond any reasonable doubt that this is the "one fold," this is the fullness of the Faith. This is Christianity as God intended, undiminished, uncorrupted, undistorted.

I invite all my readers who haven't already done so to get out of the black-and-white, and step through the front door into the color. Don't take my word for it: come and see.


*Attendees are reminded to dress appropriately, including skirts and head coverings for women.

Mary, Part 5 - The Ark

This post is adapted from a study entitled "The Ark and the Mary the Theotokos" [sic]

The liturgical readings and hymns for the feast of the Dormition of Theotokos make it clear that the Church sees the Ark of the Covenant as the type of Mary the Theotokos who is herself the type or icon of the Church. As we shall see, this typology is solidly scriptural and it was clearly understood by the holy fathers:

Athanasius of Alexandria: “O noble Virgin, truly you are greater than any other greatness. For who is your equal in greatness, O dwelling place of God the Word? To whom among all creatures shall I compare you, O Virgin? You are greater than them all O [Ark of the] Covenant, clothed with purity instead of gold! You are the ark in which is found the golden vessel containing the true manna, that is, the flesh in which divinity resides.” (Homily of the Papyrus of Turin)

Gregory the Wonder Worker: “Let us chant the melody that has been taught us by the inspired harp of David and say, 'Arise, O Lord, into your rest; you and the ark of your sanctuary.' For the Holy Virgin is in truth an ark, wrought with gold both within and without, that has received the whole treasury of the sanctuary.” (Homily on the Annunciation to the Holy Virgin Mary)

The Septuagint is especially significant if one considers the parallel between Exodus and Luke: At the Annunciation, Gabriel declared: “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee” (Lk 1.35). Here, the word translated “overshadow” [ἐπισκιάσει] is used nowhere else in the New Testament. It occurs only once more in the Greek Scriptures (LXX and NT), specifically in Exodus 40:34-35 (EOB): The cloud covered the tabernacle of witness and the tabernacle was filled with the glory of the Lord. Moses was not able to enter into the tabernacle of testimony, because the cloud overshadowed it and the tabernacle was filled with the glory of the Lord.

In the LXX, the word often translated as “settled down upon” (“the cloud had settled on it”) is the same as Luke's word “overshadow.” Clearly, Luke is making a correspondence between the power and glory of God overshadowing Mary just as it overshadowed the Ark of the Covenant in the tent. The rest of Luke’s account makes this typology very obvious:

The Ark of the Old Covenant	Mary: The Ark of the New Covenant
The Ark traveled to the house of Obed-Edom inthe hill country of Judea (2Sm 6.1-11)	Mary traveled to the house of Elizabeth and Zechariah in the hill country of Judea (Lk 1.39)
Dressed as a priest, David danced and leapt in front of the Ark (2Sm 6.14)	John the Baptist—of priestly lineage—leapt in his mother's womb at the approach of Mary (Lk 1.41)
David asks, “How can the Ark of the Lord come to me?” (2Sm 6.9)	Elizabeth asks, “Why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Lk 1.43)
David shouts in the presence of the Ark (2Sm 6.15)	Elizabeth “exclaimed with a loud cry” in the presence of the Mary (Lk 1.42)
The Ark remained in the house of Obed-Edom for three months (2Sm 6.11)	Mary remained in the house of Elizabeth for three months (Lk 1.56)
The house of Obed-Edom was blessed by the presence of the Ark (2Sm 6.11)	The word blessed is used three times (Lk 1.39-45)
The Ark returns home and later on goes Jerusalem to be placed in the temple (2Sm 6.12; 1Kg 8.9-11)	Mary returns home and later on goes Jerusalem, where she presents the incarnate Word of God in the temple (Lk 1.56, 2.21-22).

Other similarities between the Ark and the Theotokos are presented below:

Inside the Ark of the Old Covenant	Inside Mary, Ark of the New Covenant
The stone tablets of the law = the word of God engraved in stone	The body of Jesus Christ = the Word of God made Flesh
The jar filled with manna from the wilderness which was a miraculous bread from heaven	Jesus, the bread of life from heaven (Jn 6.41)
The rod of Aaron that budded to establish his status as true high priest	The actual and eternal Great High Priest of the God Most High
Vision of the Ark	Vision of the Woman
"And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail." (Rev 11.19)	"And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars." (Rev 12:1)

Q&A

Q: What Does, "Lead Us Not Into Temptation" in the Lord's Prayer Mean?

A: There is a commentary on the Lord's Prayer by St. Cyprian (c. 205 - 258) considered so good by the Fathers that a hundred years later, when St. Hilary of Poitiers wrote his commentary on Matthew, he omitted commentary on the Lord's Prayer because, he said, "Cyprian has said all there was to say about it."

Cyprian reads this section as saying (or at least meaning), "do not allow us to be led into temptation." His commentary runs: "Of necessity also the Lord has us ask, 'And do not allow us to be led into temptation.' In this part of the prayer he shows that the enemy is powerless against us without God's prior permission. Consequently, during temptation all our fear and devotion and attention should be focused on God, since evil has only such force as He permits (cf. 1 Cor. 10:13). Scripture demonstrates this when it says, 'Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem and besieged it; and the Lord gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hands (Dan. 1:1; 2 Kings 24:11-16). Moreover, evil is given power over us according to our sins. As Isaiah writes, 'Who gave Jacob up to the looters, and Israel to the spoilers? It was the Lord, against whom we sinned, in whose ways we would not walk, and whose law we refused to obey. So he unleashed the fury of his anger against us' (Isa. 42:24-25). And again, when Solomon sinned and strayed from the precepts and paths of the Lord, it was recorded, 'The Lord stirred up Satan against Solomon himself' (1 Kings 11:14 [as Cyprian's text reads])."


Courtesy of St Anthony's Orthodox Church

Alfeyev: St Matthew Passion. No 1

Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev of Vienna includes among his talents the composition of spectacularly beautiful orchestral/choral music.

Here is a video clip of his "St Matthew Passion" perfomed in March 2007 in Moscow.




Hear more at Bishop Alfeyev's website.

Christian monastery in Turkey fights to keep land

MIDYAT, Turkey (Reuters) – In a remote village near the Turkish-Syrian border, a land dispute with neighboring villages is threatening the future of one of the world's oldest functioning Christian monasteries.

Critics say the dispute, which has become a rallying cry for Christian church groups across Europe, is a new chapter in the long history of religious persecution of the small Christian community by the Turkish state.

Tucked amid rugged hills where minarets rise in the distance, a small group of monks chants in Aramaic, the language of Jesus Christ, inside the fifth-century Mor Gabriel monastery. It is a relic of an era when hundreds of thousands of Syriac Christians lived and worshipped in Turkey.

Read the rest here.