First Ecumenical Council

On the seventh Sunday of Pascha, we commemorate the holy God-bearing Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council.

The Commemoration of the First Ecumenical Council has been celebrated by the Church of Christ from ancient times. The Lord Jesus Christ left the Church a great promise, "I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Mt. 16:18). Although the Church of Christ on earth will pass through difficult struggles with the Enemy of salvation, it will emerge victorious. The holy martyrs bore witness to the truth of the Savior's words, enduring suffering and death for confessing Christ, but the persecutor's sword is shattered by the Cross of Christ.

Persecution of Christians ceased during the fourth century, but heresies arose within the Church itself. One of the most pernicious of these heresies was Arianism. Arius, a priest of Alexandria, was a man of immense pride and ambition. In denying the divine nature of Jesus Christ and His equality with God the Father, Arius falsely taught that the Savior is not consubstantial with the Father, but is only a created being.

A local Council, convened with Patriarch Alexander of Alexandria presiding, condemned the false teachings of Arius. However, Arius would not submit to the authority of the Church. He wrote to many bishops, denouncing the decrees of the local Council. He spread his false teaching throughout the East, receiving support from certain Eastern bishops.

Investigating these dissentions, the holy emperor Constantine (May 21) consulted Bishop Hosius of Cordova (Aug. 27), who assured him that the heresy of Arius was directed against the most fundamental dogma of Christ's Church, and so he decided to convene an Ecumenical Council. In 325, 318 bishops representing Christian Churches from various lands gathered together at Nicea.

Among the assembled bishops were many confessors who had suffered during the persecutions, and who bore the marks of torture upon their bodies. Also participating in the Council were several great luminaries of the Church: St Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia (December 6 and May 9), St Spyridon, Bishop of Tremithos (December 12), and others venerated by the Church as holy Fathers.

With Patriarch Alexander of Alexandria came his deacon, Athanasius (who later became Patriarch of Alexandria (May 2 and January 18). He is called "the Great," for he was a zealous champion for the purity of Orthodoxy. In the Sixth Ode of the Canon for today's Feast, he is referred to as "the thirteenth Apostle."

The emperor Constantine presided over the sessions of the Council. In his speech, responding to the welcome by Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea, he said, "God has helped me cast down the impious might of the persecutors, but more distressful for me than any blood spilled in battle is for a soldier, is the internal strife in the Church of God, for it is more ruinous."

Arius, with seventeen bishops among his supporters, remained arrogant, but his teaching was repudiated and he was excommunicated from the Church. In his speech, the holy deacon Athanasius conclusively refuted the blasphemous opinions of Arius. The heresiarch Arius is depicted in iconography sitting on Satan's knees, or in the mouth of the Beast of the Deep (Rev. 13).

The Fathers of the Council declined to accept a Symbol of Faith (Creed) proposed by the Arians. Instead, they affirmed the Orthodox Symbol of Faith. St Constantine asked the Council to insert into the text of the Symbol of Faith the word "consubstantial," which he had heard in the speeches of the bishops. The Fathers of the Council unanimously accepted this suggestion.

In the Nicean Creed, the holy Fathers set forth and confirmed the Apostolic teachings about Christ's divine nature. The heresy of Arius was exposed and repudiated as an error of haughty reason. After resolving this chief dogmatic question, the Council also issued Twelve Canons on questions of churchly administration and discipline. Also decided was the date for the celebration of Holy Pascha. By decision of the Council, Holy Pascha should not be celebrated by Christians on the same day with the Jewish Passover, but on the first Sunday after the first full moon of the vernal equinox (which occured on March 22 in 325).

(from oca.org)

St. Tikhon’s Monastery

St. Tikhon’s Monastery

The Ascension of our Lord

"AND ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN...." V. Rev. George Florovsky, D.D.

"I ascend unto My Father and your Father, and to My God, and Your God" (John 20:17).

In these words the Risen Christ described to Mary Magdalene the mystery of His Resurrection. She had to carry this mysterious message to His disciples, "as they mourned and wept" (Mark 16:10). The disciples listened to these glad tidings with fear and amazement, with doubt and mistrust. It was not Thomas alone who doubted among the Eleven. On the contrary, it appears that only one of the Eleven did not doubt - St John, the disciple "whom Jesus loved." He alone grasped the mystery of the empty tomb at once: "and he saw, and believed" (John 20:8). Even Peter left the sepulcher in amazement, "wondering at that which was come to pass" (Luke 24:12).

The disciples did not expect the Resurrection. The women did not, either. They were quite certain that Jesus was dead and rested in the grave, and they went to the place "where He was laid," with the spices they had prepared, "that they might come and anoint Him." They had but one thought: "Who shall roll away the stone from the door of the sepulcher for us?" (Mark 16:1-3; Luke 24:1). And therefore, on not finding the body, Mary Magdalene was sorrowful and complained: "They have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid Him' (John 20:13). On hearing the good news from the angel, the women fled from the sepulchre in fear and trembling: "Neither said they anything to any man, for they were afraid" (Mark 16:8). And when they spoke no one believed them, in the same way as no one 'had believed Mary, who saw the Lord, or the disciples as they walked on their way into the country, (Mark 16:13), and who recognized Him in the breaking of bread. "And afterward He appeared unto the Eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them who had seen Him after He was risen' (Mark 16:1O-14).

From whence comes this "hardness of heart" and hesitation? Why were their eyes so "holden," why were the disciples so much afraid of the news, and why did the Easter joy so slowly, and with such difficulty, enter the Apostles' hearts? Did not they, who were with Him from the beginning, "from the baptism of John," see all the signs of power which He performed before the face of the whole people? The lame walked, the blind saw, the dead were raised, and all infirmities were healed. Did they not behold, only a week earlier, how He raised by His word Lazarus from the dead, who had already been in the grave for four days? Why then was it so strange to them that the Master had arisen Himself? How was it that they came to forget that which the Lord used to tell them on many occasions, that after suffering and death He would arise on the third day?

The mystery of the Apostles' "unbelief" is partly disclosed in the narrative of the Gospel: "But we trusted that it had been He which should have redeemed Israel," with disillusionment and complaint said the two disciples to their mysterious Companion on the way to Emmaus(Luke 24:21). They meant: He was betrayed, condemned to death and crucified. The news of the Resurrection brought by the women only "astonished" them. They still wait for an earthly triumph, for an exernal victory. The same temptation possesses their hearts, which first prevented them from accepting "the preaching of the Cross" and made them argue every time the Saviour tried to reveal His mystery to them. "Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?" (Luke 24:26). It was still difficult to understand this.

He had the power to arise, why did He allow what that had happened to take place at all? Why did He take upon Himself disgrace, blasphemy and wounds? In the eyes of all Jerusalem, amidst the vast crowds assembled for the Great Feast, He was condemned and suffered a shameful death. And now He enters not into the Holy City, neither to the people which beheld His shame and death, nor to the High Priests and elders, nor to Pilate - so that He might make their crime obvious and smite their pride. Instead, He sends His disciples away to remote Galilee and appears to them there. Even much earlier the disciples wondered, "How is it that Thou wilt manifest Thyself unto us, and not unto the world?" (John 14:22). Their wonder continues, and even on the day of His glorious Ascension the Apostles question the Lord, "Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6). They still did not comprehend the meaning of His Resurrection, they did not understand what it meant that He was "ascending" to the Father. Their eyes were opened but later, when "the promise of the Father" had been fulfilled.

In the Ascension resides the meaning and the fullness of Christ's Resurrection.

The Lord did not rise in order to return again to the fleshly order of life, so as to live again and commune with the disciples and the multitudes by means of preaching and miracles. Now he does not even stay with them, but only "appears" to them during the forty days, from time to time, and always in a miraculous and mysterious manner. "He was not always with them now, as He was before the Resurrection," comments St John Chrysostom. "He came and again disappeared, thus leading them on to higher conceptions. He no longer permitted them to continue in their former relationship toward Him, but took effectual measures to secure these two objects: That the fact of His Resurrection should be believed, and that He Himself should be ever after apprehended to be greater than man." There was something new and unusual in His person (cf. John 21:1-14). As St John Chrysostom says, "It was not an open presence, but a certain testimony of the fact that He was present." That is why the disciples were confused and frightened. Christ arose not in the same way as those who were restored to life before Him. Theirs was a resurrection for a time, and they returned to life in the same body, which was subject to death and corruption - returned to the previous mode of life. But Christ arose for ever, unto eternity. He arose in a body of glory, immortal and incorruptible. He arose, never to die, for "He clothed the mortal in the splendor of incorruption." His glorified Body was already exempt from the fleshly order of existence. "It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body" (I Cor. 15:42-44). This mysterious transformation of human bodies, of which St Paul was speaking in the case of our Lord, had been accomplished in three days. Christ's work on earth was accomplished. He had suffered, was dead and buried, and now rose to a higher mode of existence. By His Resurrection He abolished and destroyed death, abolished the law of corruption, "and raised with Himself the whole race of Adam." Christ has risen, and now "no dead are left in the grave" (cf. The Easter Sermon of St John Chrysostom). And now He ascends to the Father, yet He does not "go away," but abides with the faithful for ever (cf. The Kontakion of Ascension). For He raises the very earth with Him to heaven, and even higher than any heaven. God's power, in the phrase of St John Chrysostom, "manifests itself not only in the Resurrection, but in something much stronger." For "He was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God" (Mark 16:19).

And with Christ, man's nature ascends also.

"We who seemed unworthy of the earth, are now raised to heaven," says St John Chrysostom. "We who were unworthy of earthly dominion have been raised to the Kingdom on high, have ascended higher than heaven, have came to occupy the King's throne, and the same nature from which the angels guarded Paradise, stopped not until it ascended to the throne of the Lord." By His Ascension the Lord not only opened to man the entrance to heaven, not only appeared before the face of God on our behalf and for our sake, but likewise "transferred man" to the high places. "He honored them He loved by putting them close to the Father." God quickened and raised us together with Christ, as St Paul says, "and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Ephes. 2:6). Heaven received the inhabitants of the earth. "The First fruits of them that slept" sits now on high, and in Him all creation is summed up and bound together. "The earth rejoices in mystery, and the heavens are filled with joy."

"The terrible ascent...." Terror-stricken and trembling stand the angelic hosts, contemplating the Ascension of Christ. And trembling they ask each other, "What is this vision? One who is man in appearance ascends in His body higher than the heavens, as God."

Thus the Office for the Feast of the Ascension depicts the mystery in a poetical language. As on the day of Christ's Nativity the earth was astonished on beholding God in the flesh, so now the Heavens do tremble and cry out. "The Lord of Hosts, Who reigns over all, Who is Himself the head 'Of all, Who is preeminent in all things, Who has reinstated creation in its former order - He is the King of Glory." And the heavenly doors are opened: "Open, Oh heavenly gates, and receive God in the flesh." It is an open allusion to Psalms 24:7-10, now prophetically interpreted. "Lift up your heads, Oh ye gates, and be lifted up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of Glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty...." St Chrysostom says, "Now the angels have received that for which they have long waited, the archangels see that for which they have long thirsted. They have seen our nature shining on the King's throne, glistening with glory and eternal beauty.... Therefore they descend in order to see the unusual and marvelous vision: Man appearing in heaven."

The Ascension is the token of Pentecost, the sign of its coming, "The Lord has ascended to heaven and will send the Comforter to the world'

For the Holy Spirit was not yet in the world, until Jesus was glorified. And the Lord Himself told the disciples, "If I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you" (John 16:7). The gifts of the Spirit are "gifts of reconciliation," a seal of an accomplished salvation and of the ultimate reunion of the world with God. And this was accomplished only in the Ascension. "And one saw miracles follow miracles," says St John Chrysostom, "ten days prior to this our nature ascended to the King's throne, while today the Holy Ghost has descended on to our nature." The joy of the Ascension lies in the promise of the Spirit.' "Thou didst give joy to Thy disciples by a promise of the Holy Spirit." The victory of Christ is wrought in us by the power of the Holy Spirit.

"On high is His body, here below with us is His Spirit. And so we have His token on high, that is His body, which He received from us, and here below we have His Spirit with us. Heaven received the Holy Body, and the earth accepted the Holy Spirit. Christ came and sent the Spirit. He ascended, and with Him our body ascended also" St John Chrysostom). The revelation of the Holy Trinity was completed. Now the Spirit Comforter is poured forth on all flesh. "Hence comes foreknowledge of the future, understanding of mysteries, apprehension of what is hidden, distribution of good gifts, the heavenly citizenship, a place in the chorus of angels, joy without end, abiding in God, the being made like to God, and, highest of all, ,the being made God!" (St Basil, On the Holy Spirit, IX). Beginning with the Apostles, and through communion with them - by an unbroken succession - Grace is spread to all believers. Through renewal and glorification in the Ascended Christ, man's nature became receptive of the spirit. "And unto the world He gives quickening forces through His human body," says Bishop Theophanes. "He holds it completely in Himself and penetrates it with His strength, out of Himself; and He likewise draws the angels to Himself through the spirit of man, giving them space for action and thus making them blessed." All this is done through the Church, which is "the Body of Christ;" that is, His "fullness" (Ephesians 1:23). "The Church is the fulfillment of Christ," continues Bishop Theophanes, "perhaps in the same way as the tree is the fulfillment of the seed. That which is contained in the seed in a contracted form receives its development in the tree."

The very existence of the Church is the fruit of the Ascension. It is in the Church that man's nature is truly ascended to the Divine heights. "And gave Him to be Head over all things" (Ephesians 1:22). St John Chrysostom comments: "Amazing! Look again, whither He has raised the Church. As though He were lifting it up by some engine, He has raised it up to a vast height, and set it on yonder throne; for where the Head is, there is the body also. There is no interval of separation between the Head and the body; for were there a separation, then would the one no longer be a body, nor would the other any longer be a Head." The whole race of men is to follow Christ, even in His ultimate exaltation, "to follow in His train." Within the Church, through an acquisition of the Spirit in the fellowship of Sacraments, the Ascension continues still, and will continue until the measure is full. "Only then shall the Head be filled up, when the body is rendered perfect, when we are knit together and united," concludes St John Chrysostom.

The Ascension is a sign and token of the Second Coming. "This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11).

The mystery of God's Providence will be accomplished in the Return of the Risen Lord. In the fulfillment of time, Christ's kingly power will be revealed and spread over the whole of faithful mankind. Christ bequeathes the Kingdom to the whole of the faithful. "And I appoint unto you a Kingdom as My Father has appointed unto me. That ye may eat and drink at My table in My Kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (Luke 22:29-30). Those who followed Him faithfully will sit with Him on their thrones on the day of His coming. "To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne" (Rev. 3:21). Salvation will be consummated in the Glory. "Conceive to yourself the throne, the royal throne, conceive the immensity of the privilege. This, at least if we chose, might more avail to startle us, yea, even than hell itself" (St John Chrysostom).

We should tremble more at the thought of that abundant Glory which is appointed unto the redeemed, than at the thought of the eternal darkness. "Think near Whom Thy Head is seated...." Or rather, Who is the Head. In very truth, "wondrous and terrible is Thy divine ascension from the mountain, 0 Giver of Life." A terrible and wondrous height is the King's throne. In face of this height all flesh stands silent, in awe and trembling. "He has Himself descended to the lowest depths of humiliation, and raised up man to the height of exaltation."

What then should we do? "If thou art the body of Christ, bear the Cross, for He bore it' (St John Chrysostom).

"With the power of Thy Cross, Oh Christ, establish my thoughts, so that I may sing and glorify Thy saving Ascension."

Originally published in St Vladimir's Seminary Quarterly, Vol. 2 # 3, 1954. Used with permission.

(from oca.org)

Venerable Pachomius the Great, Founder of Coenobitic Monasticism

St Pachomius the Great was both a model of desert dwelling, and with Sts Anthony the Great (January 17), Macarius the Great (January 19), and Euthymius the Great (January 20), a founder of the cenobitic monastic life in Egypt.

St Pachomius was born in the third century in the Thebaid (Upper Egypt). His parents were pagans who gave him an excellent secular education. From his youth he had a good character, and he was prudent and sensible.

When Pachomius reached the age of twenty, he was called up to serve in the army of the emperor Constantine (apparently, in the year 315). They put the new conscripts in a city prison guarded by soldiers. The local Christians fed the soldiers and took care of them.

When the young man learned that these people acted this way because of their love for God, fulfilling His commandment to love their neighbor, this made a deep impression upon his pure soul. Pachomius vowed to become a Christian. Pachomius returned from the army after the victory, received holy Baptism, moved to the lonely settlement of Shenesit, and began to lead a strict ascetic life. Realizing the need for spiritual guidance, he turned to the desert-dweller Palamon. He was accepted by the Elder, and he began to follow the example of his instructor in monastic struggles.

Once, after ten years of asceticism, St Pachomius made his way through the desert, and halted at the ruins of the former village of Tabennisi. Here he heard a Voice ordering him to start a monastery at this place. Pachomius told the Elder Palamon of this, and they both regarded the words as a command from God.

They went to Tabennisi and built a small monastic cell. The holy Elder Palamon blessed the foundations of the monastery and predicted its future glory. But soon Palamon departed to the Lord. An angel of God then appeared to St Pachomius in the form of a schemamonk and gave him a Rule of monastic life. Soon his older brother John came and settled there with him.

St Pachomius endured many temptations and assaults from the Enemy of the race of man, but he resisted all temptations by his prayer and endurance.

Gradually, followers began to gather around St Pachomius. Their teacher impressed everyone by his love for work, which enabled him to accomplish all kinds of monastic tasks. He cultivated a garden, he conversed with those seeking guidance, and he tended to the sick.

St Pachomius introduced a monastic Rule of cenobitic life, giving everyone the same food and attire. The monks of the monastery fulfilled the obediences assigned them for the common good of the monastery. Among the various obediences was copying books. The monks were not allowed to possess their own money nor to accept anything from their relatives. St Pachomius considered that an obedience fulfilled with zeal was greater than fasting or prayer. He also demanded from the monks an exact observance of the monastic Rule, and he chastized slackers.

His sister Maria came to see St Pachomius, but the strict ascetic refused to see her. Through the gate keeper, he blessed her to enter upon the path of monastic life, promising his help with this. Maria wept, but did as her brother had ordered. The Tabennisi monks built her a hut on the opposite side of the River Nile. Nuns also began to gather around Maria. Soon a women's monastery was formed with a strict monastic Rule provided by St Pachomius.

The number of monks at the monastery grew quickly, and it became necessary to build seven more monasteries in the vicinity. The number of monks reached 7,000, all under the guidance of St Pachomius, who visited all the monasteries and administered them. At the same time St Pachomius remained a deeply humble monk, who was always ready to comply with and accept the words of each brother.

Severe and strict towards himself, St Pachomius had great kindness and condescension toward the deficiencies of spiritually immature monks. One of the monks was eager for martyrdom, but St Pachomius turned him from this desire and instructed him to fulfill his monastic obedience, taming his pride, and training him in humility.

Once, a monk did not heed his advice and left the monastery. He was set upon by brigands, who threatened him with death and forced him to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods. Filled with despair, the monk returned to the monastery. St Pachomius ordered him to pray intensely night and day, keep a strict fast and live in complete solitude. The monk followed his advice, and this saved his soul from despair.

The saint taught his spiritual children to avoid judging others, and he himself feared to judge anyone even in thought.

St Pachomius cared for the sick monks with special love. He visited them, he cheered the disheartened, he urged them to be thankful to God, and put their hope in His holy will. He relaxed the fasting rule for the sick, if this would help them recover their health. Once, in the saint's absence, the cook did not prepare any cooked food for the monks, assuming that the brethren loved to fast. Instead of fulfilling his obedience, the cook plaited 500 mats, something which St Pachomius had not told him to do. In punishment for his disobedience, all the mats prepared by the cook were burned.

St Pachomius always taught the monks to rely only upon God's help and mercy. It happened that there was a shortage of grain at the monastery. The saint spent the whole night in prayer, and in the morning a large quantity of bread was sent to the monastery from the city, at no charge. The Lord granted St Pachomius the gift of wonderworking and healing the sick.

The Lord revealed to him the future of monasticism. The saint learned that future monks would not have such zeal in their struggles as the first generation had, and they would not have experienced guides. Prostrating himself upon the ground, St Pachomius wept bitterly, calling out to the Lord and imploring mercy for them. He heard a Voice answer, "Pachomius, be mindful of the mercy of God. The monks of the future shall receive a reward, since they too shall have occasion to suffer the life burdensome for the monk."

Toward the end of his life St Pachomius fell ill from a pestilence that afflicted the region. His closest disciple, St Theodore (May 17), tended to him with filial love. St Pachomius died around the year 348 at the age of fifty-three, and was buried on a hill near the monastery.

(from oca.org)

100 Reasons why You should be an Orthodox Christian

1. Because the Orthodox Church is the original Church; the very same one described in the New Testament.
2. Because the Orthodox Church does not approach the Almighty God in a casual and relaxed way.
3. Because the Orthodox Church is the only church whose teachings can be shown not to have changed since the first century.
4. Because the Orthodox Church is not interested in entertaining you.
5. Because only with the Orthodox Church do you have any reason to believe that your children, your grandchildren, and your great-grandchildren will worship and believe the way you do.
6. Because the Orthodox Church prays to and worships the entire Holy Trinity, not just one or two members to the exclusion of the rest.
7. Because only the Orthodox Church believes and practices the Christian Faith in its entirety.
8. Because the Orthodox Church takes the Christian Faith very seriously.
9. Because only the Orthodox Church uses the entire Bible rather than a carefully chosen selection of "proof text" verses.
10. Because the Orthodox Church does not take a minimalist approach to faith and worship.
11. Because only with the Orthodox Church can you be sure that the teachings and worship style will not change with successive pastors.
12. Because the Orthodox Church prays the Lord's Prayer at every single service.
13. Because no other church has so vibrant and robust a prayer life.
14. Because the Orthodox Church expects you to be a participant, not just a spectator.
15. Because only the Orthodox Church still worships Christ with gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
16. Because you are not the Pillar and Foundation of Truth (1 Tim 3.15).
17. Because the Orthodox Church had no part in the Crusades, the Inquisition, or the Salem Witch Trials.
18. Because Orthodox worship is intended to imitate heavenly worship.
19. Because no other church so steadfastly refuses to model itself in any way after modern culture.
20. Because the Orthodox Church believes we have much to learn from those who finished the race ahead of us.
21. Because only the Orthodox Church baptizes with triple immersion.
22. Because the Orthodox Church believes that becoming a disciple involves more than just showing up.
23. Because only the Orthodox Church confesses the original Nicene Creed.
24. Because the Orthodox Church believes in the priesthood of all believers (1Pt 2.9-10), and yes, that includes you.
25. Because the Orthodox Church has never needed a Reformation, or a Counter-Reformation, a "restoration," or a "revival."
26. Orthodox Christians know that they worship among a "great cloud of witnesses" (Heb 12.1).
27. Because the Orthodox Church never takes Bible verses out of context.
28. Only the Orthodox Church worships the way the Apostles did.
29. The theologians and spiritual leaders of the Orthodox Church far outshine those of other Christian traditions.
30. Because you should be an Orthodox Christian.
31. Only in Orthodoxy do you get to hear words like phronema, logismos and troparion.
32. The Orthodox Church uses the same Old Testament canon used by Christ and His disciples, rather than one based on a medieval Jewish manuscript (i.e. the Masoretic Text).
33. Because doctrine matters.
34. No other church gives more appropriate respect and honor to "the mother of my Lord" (Lk 1.43).
35. The Orthodox Church is the only church in which you will hear basso profundo.
36. No other church worships in a manner more consistent with Biblical worship.
37. The Orthodox Church not only survived persecution by two of the most blood-thirsty anti-Christian regimes of all time--the Romans and the Soviets--but thrived as a result.
38. No other church can make a better case to being the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.
39. Because the Orthodox Church does not ask "What is the least I have to do to be saved?"
40. The Orthodox Church has no interest in being "cool," "relevant," "sexy," "mainstream," or "politically correct."
41. The Orthodox Church is profoundly, unswervingly, and consistently pro-life (all life).
42. Only within the Orthodox Church will you really begin to see that the entire Old Testament--not just the Prophets--points directly to our salvation in Christ.
43. The Orthodox Church doesn't sacrifice faith for reason...or vice versa.
44. Because St Patrick was an Orthodox Christian.
45. The Orthodox Church recognizes only Christ as the Head of the Church, and does not believe that He needs a "vicar."
46. Because you really should be an Orthodox Christian.
47. Only the Orthodox Church will expect you to take up your cross daily...and will actually show you how.
48. You will, without a doubt, hear more Scripture read in an Orthodox church than anywhere else.
49. The Orthodox Church will never force you to lean on your own understanding (Prov 3.5).
50. You will never see a "clown Mass," a "polka Mass," or a "mariachi Mass" at an Orthodox church.
51. The Orthodox Church does not believe in "works righteousness."
52. Only the Orthodox Church will allow you to worship God with all five of your senses.
53. The Orthodox Church does not believe that you are predestined to Heaven or Hell, but that you are given the freedom to choose one or the other.
54. Because you will never confuse Orthodox worship with a rock concert a variety show or a self-help session.
55. Because Orthodox Christians eat really well!
56. The Orthodox Church includes and embraces all those Bible verses you never underlined.
57. Despite not having an "infallible" pope and Magisterium, the Orthodox Church has somehow managed to maintain the "Faith which was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3) better than anyone.
58. As an Orthodox Christian you get to celebrate Christmas twice every year!
59. The Orthodox Church does not try to explain the unexplainable God.
60. Because St Nicholas was an Orthodox Christian.
61. Only the Orthodox Church uses the Psalms as they were intended: as prayers to be sung rather than as essays to be studied.
62. Honestly, you really and truly should be an Orthodox Christian.
63. The Orthodox Church doesn't limit the Revelation of the Holy Spirit to the pages of Scripture.
64. No other church celebrates the Resurrection of Christ with such profound joy and energy and enthusiasm and awe.
65. The Orthodox Church doesn't care how much you know, only what you believe, and then what you do about it.
66. Only in the Orthodox Church will you find people worshiping God with their faces to the ground.
67. The Orthodox Church is episcopal, presbyterian, and congregational.
68. Because Orthodox Christians have never been known to set other Christians on fire.
69. Because the Orthodox Church wants you to become holy, not just seem holy, but actually become holy.
70. Because the Orthodox Church knows nothing of purgatory, indulgences, the "rapture," or other theological innovations.
71. Because Sts Peter and Paul and all the Apostles were Orthodox Christians.
72. When you step into an Orthodox house of worship, you know you're in church.
73. As an Orthodox Christian, you have two-thousand years worth of saints and martyrs on your side praying for you.
74. Because Orthodox worship never degrades to touchy-feely, ooey-gooey emotional manipulation.
75. Only the Orthodox Church allows infants and young children to be full members of the Body of Christ.
76. No one comes into the Orthodox Church expecting to change it.
77. Only in the Orthodox Church do you really begin to get a sense of what sin has done to you...
78. ...and, therefore, what a wonderful gift Salvation is.
79. The Orthodox Church is the original pentecostal Church.
80. Because it was the Orthodox Church that first articulated the things you believe about the Trinity and the Incarnation of Christ.
81. Many of the conflicts that divide Catholics and Protestants are simply not issues in the Orthodox Church.
82. Every single Orthodox priest can trace his clerical ancestry all the way back to the Twelve Apostles.
83. Because Orthodox worship is not just mental or emotional, but is physical and substantial as well.
84. Because the problems in the Orthodox Church--and there are a few--are political, not theological or dogmatic.
85. Because only an Orthodox patriarch is given the Holy Fire.
86. Because no one is born an Orthodox Christian...everyone is a convert.
87. No other church actually expects you to fast and tells you how.
88. Because Orthodox worship often includes speaking in tongues: Greek, Serbian, Slavonic, English, Arabic, and Romanian to name a few.
89. Because the Orthodox Church teaches that is it possible not only to sin with our bodies, but also to honor God with them.
90. Because Orthodox Christianity is a lifestyle, not simply something you do on Sunday mornings.
91. Because "a good understanding have all they that do His commandments" (Ps 111.10).
92. No other church worships with such reverence, holiness, joy, and with such complete surrender to God.
93. You will be hard-pressed to find another church with such beautiful hymns and prayers.
94. The Orthodox Church wrote, compiled, and approved the New Testament.
95. You will never hear a secular song in an Orthodox temple.
96. The Orthodox Church is a hospital, not a courthouse.
97. The Orthodox Church is a temple, not a funhouse.
98. The Orthodox Church was preaching the Gospel long before the profusion of unaffiliated organizations trying to pass themselves off as the Church came into existence...
99. ...and will be preaching the Gospel long after they are all but a paragraph in the history books.
100. Because every day you resist joining the Holy Orthodox Church is another day lost.

Russian Orthodox Church Seeks Control Of Kaliningrad's Protestant Cathedral

If I were Protestant, I might be annoyed by this. But I'm not, so.... I'm not.

KALININGRAD, Russia -- A centuries-old Protestant cathedral in Russia's Kaliningrad might be taken over by the Russian Orthodox Church, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports.

The church was built in the 14th century by Catholics, though it later became a Protestant church.

The philosopher Immanuel Kant was buried near it in the early 1800s.

The church was destroyed by Britain's Air Force during World War II, but in 1992 activists began restoring the building and founded the Kant Institute, a research center. Europe's largest pipe organ is housed there.

But the Russian Orthodox Church has announced it will take the cathedral under it control.

Read the rest here.

Кѷриллъ и Меѳодїи

Today is the sixth Sunday of Pascha, which is known as Blind Man Sunday. On this day we remember Christ's healing of a man blind since birth, as recorded in the Gospel of John. When the Pharisees were interrogating the man afterwards, trying to accuse Jesus of sinning by healing on the Sabbath, the formerly blind man delivered one of the best lines in the entire Bible:
"Whether he is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see."

Those of us whose churches are on the Old Calendar also today celebrate the life and work of two ninth-century Greek monks, Cyril and Methodius [pictured left], who are honored as the Apostles to the Slavs. They are responsible not only for bringing the Gospel of Christ to the people of Eastern Europe, but also for devising a new alphabet for the purpose of transcribing the Scriptures and liturgical texts into the local languages. That alphabet has since become known as the Cyrillic alphabet (after St Cyril), and is currently in use within the Russian, Bulgarian, Belarusian, Serbian, Macedonian, Ukranian, Moldovan, Kazakh, Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Tovan, and Mongolian languages. Because of the later work of Russian missionaries in North Amercia, some communities of the Yupik, Tlingit, Athabascan, and Aleut cultures also use the Cyrillic alphabet.

"The Russians Are Coming... To Harper Woods"

From MetroMode:

Tucked away into this otherwise run-of-the-mill, slightly-down-at-the-heel neighborhood is an authentic, working monastery celebrating and keeping alive the milleniums-old traditions of Christianity's most ancient lineage. The compound sprawls over seven acres of property, including two main lots, where the monks have converted former homes into the church itself, a library, living quarters for the monks, and, perhaps most notably, a gourmet-quality restaurant called the Royal Eagle. But it also encompasses a temporary woodshop across the street and a parcel of land set aside for future use...

Read the rest here.

Happy Mother's Day

The Prayer of an Expectant Mother by Dmitri Petrov, 2005 (click to enlarge)

The Holy Disciple and Evangelist Mark

The Holy Disciple and Evangelist Mark, named also John-Mark (Acts 12: 12), was a Disciple from among the Seventy, and was also a nephew of the Disciple Barnabas (Comm. 11 June). He was born at Jerusalem. The house of his mother Mary adjoined the Garden of Gethsemane. As Church Tradition relates, on the night of the Sufferings of Christ on the Cross he followed after Him, wrapped in a linen winding-cloth, and he fled from the soldiers catching hold of him (Mk. 14: 51-52). After the Ascension of the Lord, the house of his mother Saint Mary became a place of prayerful gatherings of Christians and a lodging for certain of the Apostles (Acts 12:12).

Saint Mark was a very close companion of the Apostles Peter and Paul (Comm. 29 June) and of the Disciple Barnabas. Saint Mark was at Seleucia together with Paul and Barnabas, and from there he set off to the island of Cyprus, and he crossed over the whole of it from East to West. In the city of Paphos Saint Mark was an eye-witness, of how the Apostle Paul had struck blind the sorcerer Elymas (Acts 13: 6-12).

After working with the Apostle Paul, Saint Mark returned to Jerusalem, and then with the Apostle Peter he arrived in Rome, from whence at the latter's bidding he set out for Egypt, where he became founder of the Church.

During the time of the second evangelic journey of the Apostle Paul, Saint Mark met up with him at Antioch. From there he set out preaching with the Disciple Barnabas to Cyprus, and then he went off again to Egypt, where together with the Apostle Peter he founded many churches, and then also at Babylon. From this city the Apostle Peter directed an Epistle to the Christians of Asia Minor, in which he points to Saint Mark as his spiritual son (1 Pet. 5: 13).

When the Apostle Paul came in chains to Rome, the Disciple Mark was at Ephesus, where the cathedra-seat was occupied by Saint Timothy (Comm. 4 January). The Disciple Mark arrived together with him in Rome. There also he wrote his holy Gospel (c. 62-63).

From Rome Saint Mark again set off to Egypt. At Alexandria he made the beginnings of a Christian school, from which later on emerged such famous fathers and teachers of the Church, as Clement of Alexandria, Sainted Dionysios (5 October), Sainted Gregory Thaumatourgos ("Wonderworker", Comm. 5 November), and others. Zealous with the arranging of Church Divine-services, the holy Disciple Mark compiled the order of Liturgy for the Alexandrian Christians.

Later on in preaching the Gospel, Saint Mark also visited the inner regions of Africa, and he was in Libya at Nektopolis.

During the time of these journeys, Saint Mark received inspiration of the Holy Spirit to go again to Alexandria and confront the pagans. There he visited at the home of the dignitary Ananias, for whom he healed a crippled hand. The dignitary happily took him in, hearkened with faith to his narratives, and received Baptism. And following the example of Ananias, many of the inhabitants of that part of the city where he lived were baptised after him. This roused the enmity of the pagans, and they gathered to kill Saint Mark. Having learned of this, the holy Disciple Mark made Ananias bishop, and the three Christians: Malchos, Sabinos and Kerdinos – presbyters.

The pagans pounced upon Saint Mark when he was making Divine-services. They beat him, dragged him through the streets and threw him in prison. There Saint Mark was granted a vision of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who strengthened him before his sufferings. On the following day the angry crowd again dragged the holy disciple through the streets towards the court-room, but along the way Saint Mark died with the words: "Into Thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit".

The pagans wanted to burn the body of the holy disciple. But when they lit up the bon-fire, everything grew dim, thunder crashed and an earthquake occurred. The pagans fled in terror, and Christians took up the body of the holy disciple and buried it in a stone crypt. This was on 4 April in the year 63. The Church celebrates his memory on 25 April.

In the year 310, a church was built over the relics of the holy Disciple Mark. In the year 820, when the Mahometan Arabs had established their rule in Egypt and those of this different faith oppressed the Christian Church, the relics of Saint Mark were transferred to Venice and placed in the church of his name.

In the ancient iconographic tradition, which adopted symbols for the holy Evangelists borrowed from the vision of Saint John the Theologian (Rev. 4: 7), the holy Evangelist Mark is depicted by a lion – symbolising the might and royal dignity of Christ (Rev. 5: 5). Saint Mark wrote his Gospel for Christians from among the gentile-pagans, since he emphasises predominantly the words and deeds of the Saviour, in which particularly is manifest His Divine Almightiness. The many particularities of his account can be explained by his proximity to the holy Apostle Peter. All the ancient writers testify, that the Gospel of Mark represents a concise writing-down of the preaching and narratives of the first-ranked Apostle Peter. One of the central theological themes in the Gospel of Saint Mark is the theme of the power of God, doing the humanly impossible, wherein the Lord makes possible that which of man is impossible. By the efficacy of Christ (Mk. 16: 20) and the Holy Spirit (Mk. 13: 11), His disciples are to go forth into the world and preach the Gospel to all creatures (Mk. 13: 10, 16: 15).

From Holy Trinity Church

Greatmartyr, Victory-bearer and Wonderworker George

St George, who is the patron saint of Moscow, Georgia, and England, is commemorated today according to the Church [Old] Calendar. The following is from OrthodoxWiki:

According to Tradition, George was born to a Christian family during the late 3rd century. His father was from Cappadocia and served as an officer of the army. His mother was from Lydda, Palestine. She returned to her native city as a widow along with her young son after the martyrdom of George's father, where she provided him with a respectable education and raised him in piety.

The youth, it would seem, followed his father's example in joining the army soon after his coming of age. He proved to be a charismatic soldier and consequently rose quickly through the military ranks of the time. By his late twenties he had gained the titles of tribunus (tribune) and later comes (count). By that time George had been stationed in Nicomedia as a member of the personal guard attached to Roman Emperor Diocletian (reign 284–305).

In 303, Diocletian issued an edict authorising the systematic persecution of Christians across the Empire. His caesar, Galerius, was supposedly responsible for this decision and would continue the persecution during his own reign (305–311). It is believed that George was ordered to take part in the persecution but instead confessed to being a Christian himself and criticised the imperial decision. An enraged Diocletian proceeded in ordering the torture of this apparent traitor and his execution.

Then, after innumerable forms of torture, George was executed by decapitation in front of Nicomedia's defensive wall on April 23, 303. The witness of his suffering convinced Empress Alexandra and Athanasius, a pagan priest, to also become Christians, and so they also joined George in martyrdom as consequence. George's body was then returned to Lydda for burial, where Christians soon came to honour George as a martyr

St Æthelwold of Farne (d. 699)

THE venerable Ethewald succeeded the man of God, Cuthbert, in the exercise of a solitary life,
which he spent in the isle of Farne before he became a bishop. After he had received the priesthood, he consecrated his office by deeds worthy of that degree for many years in the monastery which is called Inhrypum. To the end that his merit and manner of life may be the more certainly made known, I will relate one miracle of his, which was told me by one of the brothers for and on whom the same was wrought; to wit, Guthfrid, the venerable servant and priest of Christ, who also, afterwards, as abbot, presided over the brethren of the same church of Lindisfarne, in which he was educated.

"I came," says he, "to the island of Farne, with two others of the brethren, desiring to speak with the most reverend father, Ethelwald. Having been refreshed with his discourse, and asked for his blessing, as we were returning home, behold on a sudden, when we were in the midst of the sea, the fair weather in which we were sailing, was broken, and there arose so great and terrible a tempest, that neither sails nor oars were of any use to us, nor had we anything to expect but death. After long struggling with the wind and waves to no effect, at last we looked back to see whether it was possible by any means at least to return to the island whence we came, but we found that we were on all sides alike cut off by the storm, and that there was no hope of escape by our own efforts. But looking further, we perceived, on the island of Farne, our father Ethelwald, beloved of God, come out of his retreat to watch our course; for, hearing the noise of the tempest and raging sea, he had come forth to see what would become of us. When he beheld us in distress and despair, he bowed his knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, in prayer for our life and safety; and as he finished his prayer, he calmed the swelling water, in such sort that the fierceness of the storm ceased on all sides, and fair winds attended us over a smooth sea to the very shore. When we had landed, and had pulled up our small vessel from the waves, the storm, which had ceased a short time for our sake, presently returned, and raged furiously during the whole day; so that it plainly appeared that the brief interval of calm had been granted by Heaven in answer to the prayers of the man of God, to the end that we might escape."

The man of God remained in the isle of Farne twelve years, and died there; but was buried in the church of the blessed Apostle Peter, in the isle of Lindisfarne, beside the bodies of the aforesaid bishops.’ These things happened in the days of King Aldfrid, who, after his brother Egfrid, ruled the nation of the Northumbrians for nineteen years.

Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Book V, Ch.1

St. Cædwalla, King of the West Saxons

In the third year of the reign of Aldfrid, Cædwalla , king of the West Saxons, having most vigorously governed his nation for two years, quitted his crown for the sake of the Lord and an everlasting kingdom, and went to Rome, being desirous to obtain the peculiar honour of being cleansed in the baptismal font at the threshold of the blessed Apostles, for he had learned that in Baptism alone the entrance into the heavenly life is opened to mankind; and he hoped at the same time, that being made clean by Baptism, he should soon be freed from the bonds of the flesh and pass to the eternal joys of Heaven; both which things, by the help of the Lord, came to pass according as he had conceived in his mind. For coming to Rome, at the time that Sergius was pope, he was baptized on the Holy Saturday before Easter Day, in the year of our Lord 689, and being still in his white garments, he fell sick, and was set free from the bonds of the flesh on the 20th of April, and obtained an entrance into the kingdom of the blessed in Heaven. At his baptism, the aforesaid pope had given him the name of Peter, to the end, that he might be also united in name to the most blessed chief of the Apostles, to whose most holy body his pious love had led him from the utmost bounds of the earth. He was likewise buried in his church, and by the pope’s command an epitaph was written on his tomb, wherein the memory of his devotion might be preserved for ever, and the readers or hearers thereof might be stirred up to give themselves to religion by the example of what he had done.

The epitaph was this :

"High estate, wealth, offspring, a mighty kingdom,
Triumphs, spoils, chieftains, strongholds, the camp, a home;
Whatsoever the valour of his sires, whatsoever himself had won,
Cædwal, mighty in war, left for the love of God, that, a pilgrim king, he might behold,
Peter and Peter’s seat, receive at his font pure waters of life,
And in bright draughts drink of the shining radiance
Whence a quickening glory streams through all the world.
And even as he gained with eager soul the prize of the new life,
He laid aside barbaric rage, and, changed in heart, he changed his name with joy.
Sergius the Pope bade him be called Peter, himself his father,
When he rose born anew from the font, and the grace of Christ,
Cleansing him, bore him forthwith clothed in white raiment to the heights of Heaven.
Wondrous faith of the king, but greatest of all the mercy of Christ,
Into whose counsels none may enter!
For he came in safety from the ends of the earth, even from Britain, through many a nation,
Over many a sea, by many a path, and saw the city of Romulus
And looked upon Peter’s sanctuary revered, bearing mystic gifts.
He shall walk in white among the sheep of Christ in fellowship with them;
For his body is in the tomb, but his soul on high.
Thou mightest deem he did but change an earthly for a heavenly sceptre,
Whom thou seest attain to the kingdom of Christ."

"Here was buried Cædwalla , called also Peter, king of the Saxons, on the twentieth day of April, in the second indiction, aged about thirty years, in the reign of our most pious lord, the Emperor Justinian, in the fourth year of his consulship, in the second year of the pontificate of our Apostolic lord, Pope Sergius."

When Cædwalla went to Rome, Ini succeeded to the kingdom, being of the blood royal; and having reigned thirty-seven years over that nation, he in like manner left his kingdom and committed it to younger men, and went away to the threshold of the blessed Apostles, at the time when Gregory was pope, being desirous to spend some part of his pilgrimage upon earth in the neighbourhood of the holy places, that he might obtain to be more readily received into the fellowship of the saints in heaven. This same thing, about that time, was wont to be done most zealously by many of the English nation, nobles and commons, laity and clergy, men and women alike.

Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Book V, Ch 7

Hieromartyr Alphege, Archbishop of Canterbury

St. Alphege, or more properly Ælfheah, was, traditionally, born of a noble family in Weston near Bath (Somerset), about the year AD 953. While he was still very young, he renounced the World and, notwithstanding the tears and entreaties of his widowed mother, retired into the monastery of Deerhurst, in Gloucestershire, where he served God with great devotion for many years. After a time, he moved on to Glastonbury, where he became Prior. Afterwards, wishing to lead a life of greater seclusion and austerity, he lived as an anchorite near the hot springs in Bath. Here, he was followed by many of his former disciples until St. Dunstan, who was then primate of all England, persuaded him to become Abbot of the community of secular canons living nearby. On the death of Aethelwold, Bishop of Winchester, in AD 984, the latter, further, called on St. Alphege to take up the vacant dignity.

England was, at this time, a continual prey to the marauding Vikings. King Aethelred the Unready had recourse to repeated bribes, with which he hoped to purchase relief from their attacks; but Alphege sought to win them by the power of the Gospel. In AD 994, Olaf Tryggyeson, King of Norway, and his men attacked London. The citizens bravely beat him off and he moved on to ravage the south coast, wintering at Southampton. King Aethelred the sent Alphege and the Ealdorman, Ethelward, to visit Olaf there and request him to confer with the English King; and they brought the Norwegian to Andover, where Aethelred was then residing. Olaf was a Christian, but he was unconfirmed. So Alphege persuaded him to enter into a peace whereby he would confirm Olaf and King Aethelred adopt him as his son. In return, Olaf promised that he would never invade England again; and he kept his promise faithfully.

After governing the See of Winchester for twenty-two years, Alphege was translated to that of Canterbury, on the death of Archbishop Aelfric in 1005. He was present at the Council of Enham, at which he inspired measures to be taken for the national defence. Not a moment too soon; for, only two years into his Archiepiscopate, Viking invasions began once more. A Danish fleet came to England, in two divisions. The first was commanded by Earl Thorkell, the second by his brothers Heming and Eglaf. From this time till the end of Aethelred's reign, the Danish ravages were unceasing. In 1011, the Danes took Canterbury, which was betrayed to them by Alfmar, the Abbot of St. Augustine's, whose life had once been saved by Archbishop Alphege. The Danes are said to have committed every sort of cruelty, the city was plundered and the cathedral burnt. They took many prisoners mostly to sell as slaves. Amongst them was Archbishop Alphege, who had remained at his post to reassure his people. He was kept in captivity, in the Danish base at Greenwich, for seven months in hope of a ransom.

When, in April the following year, the Witan met in London and agreed to pay the Danes £84,000 in Danegeld in order persuade them to leave. However, the Archbishop refused to burden the country further by allowing them to pay his extra £3,000 ransom. His captors got drunk one night and, angry at his defiance, they pelted the poor man with ox-bones. Their leader, Earl Thorkell, tried to save him, but his men were uncontrollable The dying Archbishop was finally put out of his misery through a blow from an axe wielded by a sympathetic Dane, named Thrum, whom he had converted whilst a prisoner.

The murder took place where the current parish church of St. Alphege now stands in Greenwich. He lay there for several days, the Viking warriors refusing him a descent burial. However, when a dead stick, which had become anointed with his blood, grew green again and began to blossom - a power attributed to the pagan goddess, Dia Feronia - they relented and carried St. Alphege's body to London. Here, Bishops Ednoth of Dorchester and Elfhun of London buried him in St. Paul's Cathedral. By his countrymen, Alphege was justly esteemed a martyr and pilgrims flocked to his side. In 1023 however, London lost its most holy of relics. King Canute the Dane was prevailed upon by his pious queen, Emma, to make amends for the cruelty and sacrilege which the followers of his father had committed in England. He removed the body of St. Alphege to Canterbury Cathedral, where it was laid in a noble tomb, near the high altar, and the cathedral was enriched by many costly gifts from the King and Queen.

His principal feast is the date of his death, 19th of April [May 2 Old Calendar]; but his translation is also celebrated on 8th June. He is represented in art as an Archbishop, sometimes with an axe cleaving his skull.

From EBK