Patriarchs of Constantinople and Russia Celebrate Slavic Letters Day

Today Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, and together with Patriarch Kirill and Mayor Yuri Louzkof of Moscow walked to St. Basil's Cathedral in Red Square followed by approximatley 40,000 youth and young adults. This marks the beginning of the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture, which is celebrated on the Feast of Sts. Cyril and Methodios.

At the opening ceremony Patriarch Bartholomew gave the following speech stressing the value of culture and literature and its relationship to the mission of Sts. Cyril and Methodios.

The speech can be read here in Greek. See more here.

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Ecumenical Patriarch Visit to Russia to Strengthen Unity

The Visit of Patriarch Bartholomew to Russia is Intended to Strengthen Intra-Orthodox Ties

May 22, 2010
Voice of Russia

The official visit to the Patriarchate of Moscow and all the Russias by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Archontonis of Constantinople, traditionally, the first in honour amongst the Orthodox episcopate, will strengthen intra-Orthodox cooperation and, perhaps, advance the cause of a long-awaited Pan-Orthodox Synod, according to our source in the Moscow Patriarchate. On Saturday, the head of the Constantinopolitan Patriarchate will arrive in Moscow at the invitation of Patriarch Kirill Gundyaev of Moscow and all the Russias, and will spend more than a week in Russia. He will visit the Holy Trinity-St Sergius Lavra, which is considered the spiritual centre of Russian Orthodoxy, Transfiguration Monastery in Valaam monastery, which is often called a “Northern Athos”, and religious sites in St Petersburg.

Cooperation and Prayer

“This is not the first visit of Patriarch Bartholomew to our Church in Russia. His first official visit as Ecumenical Patriarch occurred in 1993, it was lengthy and involved visits to Moscow, the Holy Trinity-St Sergius Lavra, and St Petersburg. However, much has changed in the life of our Church and country over the past 17 years”, said Archpriest Nikolai Balashov, the deputy chairman of the Division of External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, an expert in the field of intra-Orthodox relations, on the eve of Bartholomew’s visit. In his view, it will be interesting for the EP delegation to become familiar with the monastic life in the MP today, especially the restored monastery on Valaam. It will provide our distinguished guests with a “to have a special opportunity during his stay in Russia, to engage not only in formal meetings and negotiations, but also in quiet and focused prayer”. Fr Nikolai went on to say that Patriarch Bartholomew and Patriarch Kirill “have a long-standing friendship”. While still young bishops, they often cooperated in solving problems that confronted former First Hierarchs of Constantinople and Moscow such as Patriarchs Dimitrios Papadopoulos, Pimen Izvekov, and Aleksei Rediger. In July 2009, the newly-elected Patriarch Kirill, following established Orthodox custom, paid first official visit to Patriarch Bartholomew. This meeting, according to the parties involved, opened a new page in relations between the two Local Churches. Fr Nikolai said, “Patriarch Kirill would like to recreate and deepen the atmosphere of fraternal cooperation and mutual understanding that prevailed during his first official visit to Constantinople (Istanbul) in 2009.

Pan-Orthodox Council

Fr Nikolai continued, “The Patriarch of Constantinople is the first of honour in the Orthodox world, whilst the Patriarch of Moscow heads the world’s largest Orthodox Church. The level of mutual understanding, confidence, and cooperation between these two men largely determines the larger issue of pan-Orthodox cooperation, and, in particular, the process of preparing any Pan-Orthodox Council”. He said that many had spoken of the need to undertake such a council “since the first decades of the 20th century”. Preparations for such a conclave began in the 1960s. At that time, Metropolitan Nikodim Rotov, who was then the head of the DECR, led the MP delegation to the Pan-Orthodox meetings convened to prepare for the council. Fr Nikolai said, “In the 1990s, the process of preparation for such a council, which was difficult enough previously (given the differences in the views of the Local Churches on various issues), stalled over the problem caused by the EP’s establishment of a parallel diocesan structure in Estonia, alongside that of the MP”. He said that it was only possible to clear this problem in the last year of Patriarch Aleksei’s life, with the active participation of the current Patriarch Kirill, who then headed the DECR. During the visit of Patriarch Aleksei to Istanbul in 2008 for a summit meeting of all the First Hierarchs and representatives of the Local Orthodox Churches, it was decided that, henceforth, Pan-Orthodox Pre-Conciliar Consultations would involve only autocephalous (fully independent and self-governing) Local Churches. Fr Nikolai said, “Thus, the problem with the status of the Orthodox Church in Estonia was withdrawn from the context of the Pre-Conciliar Consultations, so that we could continue a dialogue on the important issues of our time that require a collective response from the Orthodox Church as a whole”.

From the Programme of the Visit

On the Trinity feastday, which this year falls on Sunday 23 May, Patriarch Bartholomew shall serve liturgy at the Holy Trinity-St Sergius Lavra, the most renowned monastery in Russia, which was founded by St Sergius of Radonezh in Sergiev Posad near Moscow. Patriarchs Bartholomew and Kirill will concelebrate in the Cathedral of the Assumption at the Lavra. The next day, on 24 May, the two patriarchs will concelebrate liturgy at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow. There are several festivities marked on this date, the Day the Holy Spirit, which is the day after Pentecost, the commemoration of the Enlighteners of the Slavs, the brothers Ss Kirill and Mefody, which is traditionally combined with the celebration of the Days of Slavic Written Language and Culture, and the name day of Patriarch Kirill. After completing a festal Divine Liturgy, the patriarchs will attend the opening ceremony of the Days of Slavonic Literature and Culture. In the evening, the EP delegation is scheduled to attend a concert at the State Kremlin Palace. On 25 May, Patriarch Bartholomew will venerate the relics held at the Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin. In the afternoon, Patriarch Kirill and the EP delegation shall leave for the patriarch’s residence outside Moscow in Peredelkino. The next day, 26 May, Patriarch Bartholomew will meet with Mayor Yuri Luzhkov of Moscow, and with professors and graduate students from throughout the Church, speaking on Ss Kirill and Mefody. Later on in the day, the visitors will venerate relics in Moscow churches and monasteries, and they shall visit the St Dmitri Nursing School. In the evening, the EP delegation, which mainly comprises clerics of Greek origin, will visit the Greek Ambassador to Russia, Michalis Spinellis.

On the morning of 27 May, the EP delegation will meet with the Ambassador of Turkey in Russia, Halil Akıncı. Then, Patriarch Bartholomew’s entourage will depart for Transfiguration Monastery in Valaam, where he will stay until the morning of 29 May. At Valaam, the delegation will be the guests of the abbot of the monastery, Bishop Pankraty Zherdev. Patriarch Bartholomew shall arrive in Kronshtadt on 29 May, where he shall inspect the restoration work being done on the Naval Cathedral. Then, the EP delegation will visit the Hermitage, along with churches and monasteries in St Petersburg. That evening, the Metropolia of St Petersburg will hold a reception in honour of the guests from Istanbul. On the feastday of All Saints, 30 May, Patriarchs Kirill and Bartholomew will serve Divine Liturgy together at St Isaac Cathedral, and the members of the MP Holy Synod will concelebrate with them. Following this, Patriarch Bartholomew will examine the restored Holy Synod building. That evening, a reception in the honour of the EP delegation shall be held at the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo. Patriarch Bartholomew and his delegation will leave Russia and return to Istanbul on 31 May. Accompanying Patriarch Bartholomew on this trip to Russia are Metropolitans Michael Staikos of Vienna and Austria/Hungary, Irinaios Ioannidis of Myriophyton and Peristasis, Emmanuel Adamakis of Paris and all France, Secretary General of the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, and Archimandrite Elpidofor, amongst others.

A Brief Biography of the Ecumenical Patriarch

The glory of Constantinople, which has existed since the first centuries of Christianity, is connected with the names of Ss Gregory the Theologian, John Chrysostom, and other great teachers of the Church. After the separation (отделения) of the Western church in 1054, the Patriarch of Constantinople was considered “the first in honour” in the Orthodox Church. His actual jurisdiction extends over the Orthodox population in Turkey, northern Greece, and some Aegean islands, as well as the Greek diaspora in various countries.

According to the press service of the MP, His Holiness Bartholomew Archontonis, Archbishop of Constantinople New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch, was born in 1940 on the island of Imvros in Turkey. He became the First Hierarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in 1991. Earlier visits of Patriarch Bartholomew to the canonical territory of the MP were in 1993, when he went to Moscow and St Petersburg, in 1997, when he visited Odessa, in 2003, when he travelled to Baku, and he came twice in 2008, first, he went to Kiev, and then, he came to Moscow for the funeral of Patriarch Aleksei Rediger. Shortly before his death in 2008, Patriarch Aleksei went to Istanbul, where he participated in a meeting bringing together delegates from the autocephalous Local Orthodox Churches around the world. The official visit to the Ecumenical Patriarchate by the newly-elected Patriarch Kirill in July 2009, according to expert analysts, strengthened the fraternal relations between the two Local Churches. The upcoming visit of Patriarch Bartholomew to Russia, obviously, will serve to develop the unity of world Orthodoxy, experts think.

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Turkish Actor Confesses Killing of Ten Greek Cypriots in 1974

A Turkish actor by the name Attila Olgac admits publicly on Turkish TV having commited a crime of war. More specifically, he narrates how he was ordered to kill 10 unarmed prisoners of war during the Turkish invasion in Cyprus in 1974. Among the victims was a 19 year old youth, the first to be shot, who spat on his face a moment before dying.

The actor later claimed that his speaking in the first person about commiting a crime of war was a scenario of his on a movie he is working on.

Read more here.

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Every Mystery and Every Virtue Is A Small Pentecost

by Saint Justin Popovich

What is Christ the God-Man? What in Him is God and what man? How is God known in the God-Man, and how is man? What has God given to us men in and with the God-Man? The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, tells us all the truth there is about Him, about God in Him and man in Him and all that is given us through Him. All this immeasurably transcends everything that the human eye has ever seen, the ear has ever heard, or has ever entered into the heart of man (I Cor. 2:9; cf. Jn 15:26; 16:13; I Cor. 2:4; Eph. 3:5).

Through His life in the flesh on earth, the God-Man founded His theanthropic Body, the Church, and in this way prepared the earthly world for the Holy Spirit’s coming into the world, and His life and activity in the Body of the Church as the Soul of that Body. On the holy Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended from heaven into the theanthropic Body of the Church and remains eternally in it as its life-giving Soul (Acts 2:1-47). This visible theanthropic Body of the Church was constituted by the holy apostles with their holy faith in the Theanthropos, the Lord Jesus, as the Savior of the world, as perfect God and perfect Man. The descent and activity of the Holy Spirit in the theanthropic Body of the Church is because of, and for the sake of, the Theanthropos (cf. Jn 16:7-13; 15:26; 14:26). “For His sake the Holy Spirit entered into the world.” Everything in the dispensation of salvation is brought about by the theanthropic Person of the Lord Christ, and everything comes about in the framework of theanthropy. This is also the case with the activity of the Holy Spirit. All His activity is of one essence with the theanthropic ascesis of the salvation of the world by the Lord Christ. Pentecost is, with all the immortal gifts of the Triune Godhead, of the Holy Spirit Himself, intended for the holy apostles; the holy apostolic Faith and Tradition, the hierarchy and everything that is apostolic and theanthropic.

The Day of the Holy Spirit, which began on the Day of Pentecost, is ever present in the Church in the inexpressible fullness of all the divine gifts and the life-giving powers (Acts 10:44-48; 11:15-16; 15:8-9; 19:6). Everything in the Church comes about through the Holy Spirit, from the least to the greatest. When the priest blesses the censer before censing, he prays to the Lord Christ to “send down the grace of the Holy Spirit.” The clearest testimony that the entire life of the Church comes from the Holy Spirit is at the consecration of a bishop, when God’s indescribable miracle, holy Pentecost, is repeated and the fullness of grace is given. There is no doubt that the Lord Christ is in the Church through the Holy Spirit, and that the Church is in the Lord Christ through the Holy Spirit. The Lord Christ is the Head and Body of the Church; the Holy Spirit is its Soul (cf. I Cor. 12:1-28). From the very beginning of the theanthropic dispensation of salvation, the Holy Spirit has made Himself a part of the foundation of the Church, the foundation of the Body of Christ, by “bringing about the incarnation of the Logos in the Virgin.”

In fact, every holy mystery and holy virtue is a little Pentecost; in them, the Holy Spirit descends upon us, into us. He descends in His energies, He, “the richness of the Godhead,” “the grace of the open seas,” “from Him come grace and life for every creature.”

The Lord dwells in us by the Holy Spirit, and we in Him. This is testified to us by the presence of the Holy Spirit in us. We live by the Holy Spirit in Christ, and He in us. We know this “by the Spirit which He hath given us” (I Jn. 3:24). Through the Holy Spirit, our human spirit is brought to a true and a right knowledge of Christ. That which is in God, and in the God-Man, we know by the Holy Spirit that “He hath given us” (cf. I Jan 4:13; I Cor. 2:4-16).

To come to the knowledge of Christ the Theanthropos, one of the Holy and Divine Trinity, we need the help of the other Holy Two: God the Father and God the Holy Spirit (cf. Matt. 11:27, I Cor. 2:12). The Holy Spirit is “the Spirit of wisdom” (Eph. 1:17); if we receive Him, we are filled with the wisdom of God. The Holy Spirit is also “the Spirit of revelation” (Eph. 1:17). By God’s wisdom, He reveals and proclaims the mystery of Jesus the Theanthropos in the heart of the believer, and thus the spirit-bearer acquires real knowledge of Christ. No human spirit can, by any imaginable effort, comprehend the mystery of Christ in its divine and saving perfection and completeness. This is revealed to the human spirit only by the Holy Spirit, and this is why He is referred to as “the Spirit of revelation” (Eph. 1:17; 3:6; I Cor. 2:10). The Apostle, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, therefore proclaims: “No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Spirit” (I Cor. 12:3). The Holy Spirit, “the spirit of truth” and “the Spirit of revelation,” leads us into all the truth of Christ’s Person and His theanthropic dispensation of salvation, and teaches us all that is Christ’s (Jn. 16:13 14:26; I Cor 2:6-16). This is the reason why the entire Gospel of Christ, with all its theanthropic realities, is called the Revelation. This is the reason why every office, labor, service, sacrament and act in church in performed with the invocation of the power and grace of the Holy Spirit.

The entire life of the Church, in its innumerable theanthropic realities and aspects, is led and guided by the Holy Spirit, who is ever the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the Theanthropos. This is why it is said in Holy Scripture: “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His” (Rom. 8:9). Saint Basil, angelically immersed in the theanthropic mystery of the Church as the loveliest and greatest of God’s mysteries, proclaims the truest good tidings: “The Holy Spirit builds up the Church of God.”

From the book, “The Orthodox Church and Ecumenism”

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Monastery of St. Symeon the Stylite the Younger

St. Symeon the Stylite the Younger (Feast Day - May 24)

The Monastery of Saint Symeon Stylite the Younger is located near Antakya, Hatay, Turkey. Antakya is a city in southern Turkey. The ancient name for Antakya was Antioch ad Orontes, founded in 300 B.C. by Seleucus I Nicator.

Saint Symeon the Younger (521-595) spent his life on a 12-metres-high column in a cloister exactly between Antakya and Samandag on Wonderful Mountain. The monastery was built on a hill and a few kilometres before the mouth of the Orontes, and was initiated in 541 A.D. Till the 13th century it was a place of pilgrimage. The monastery site is preserved, but in ruins. A great view compensates for the ruins.

Saint Symeon, the "New Stylite," was born in Antioch; John his father was from Edessa, and Martha his mother was from Antioch. From his childhood he was under the special guidance of Saint John the Baptist and adopted an extremely ascetical way of life. He became a monk as a young man, and after living in the monastery for a while he ascended upon a pillar, and abode upon it for eighteen years. Then he came to Wondrous Mountain, and lived in a dry and rocky place, where after ten years he mounted another pillar, upon which he lived in great hardship for forty-five years, working many miracles and being counted worthy of divine revelations. He reposed in 595, at the age of eighty-five years, seventy-nine of which he had passed in asceticism.

Apolytikion in the First Tone
Thou becamest a pillar of patience and didst emulate the Forefathers, O righteous one: Job in his sufferings, Joseph in temptations, and the life of the bodiless while in the body, O Symeon, our righteous Father, intercede with Christ God that our souls be saved.

Kontakion in the Second Tone
Desiring the heights, thou wast translated from the earth; thy pillar was made a second Heaven by thy toils; by it, thou didst shine with the splendour of great wonders, O righteous one. And thou ever prayest to Christ the God of all in behalf of all of us.

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Monday of the Holy Spirit

On the day after every Great Feast, the Orthodox Church honors the one through whom the Feast is made possible. On the day following the Nativity of the Lord, for example, we celebrate the Synaxis of the Most Holy Theotokos (December 26). On the day after Theophany, we commemorate St John the Baptist (January 7), and so on.

Today we honor the all-Holy, good, and life-creating Spirit, Who descended upon the Apostles at Pentecost in the form of fiery tongues in fulfillment of the Lord's promise to send the Comforter to His disciples (JN 14:16). That same Holy Spirit remains within the Church throughout the ages, guiding it "into all truth" (JN 16:13).

One of the hymns at Vespers on Saturday evening tells us that the Holy Spirit "provides all things. He gushes forth prophecy, He perfects the priesthood, ... He holds together the whole institution of the Church."

At Vespers on the day of Pentecost, we hear that the Holy Spirit is "the Fountain of goodness, through Whom the Father is known, and the Son is glorified." He is "the living Fountain of spiritual gifts" Who "purifies us from our sins." It is by the Holy Spirit that "the prophets, divine Apostles, and martyrs are crowned." He is the source of life and of sanctification.

In the services of this day, we sing the same hymns as on Pentecost, except the Canon of the Holy Spirit, which is sung at Compline. The Vigil is not prescribed for the eve of today's feast. We sing the Great Doxology at Matins, but not the Polyeleos. The Irmos of the Ninth Ode ("Hail, O Queen, glory of mothers and virgins…") is sung in place of the Song of the Theotokos ("My soul magnifies the Lord...").

At the Liturgy, the priest or deacon chants the Entrance Verse ("Be exalted in Thy strength, O Lord. We will sing and praise Thy power.") as on the day of Pentecost. "Holy God" replaces "As many as have been baptized…." The dismissal of Pentecost is also used.

This whole week is fast-free, and the Leave-taking of Pentecost occurs on Saturday.

Apolytikion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone
Blessed are You, O Christ our God, who made fishermen all-wise, sending upon them the Holy Spirit and, through them, netting the world. O Loving One, glory to You.

Kontakion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone
When the Most High came down and confounded tongues of men, He divided the Nations. When He dispensed the Tongues of Fire, He called all to unity, and with one voice we glorify the Most Holy Spirit.

Source

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Russian Explorer Becomes Orthodox Priest

Russian World Traveler, Record-Holder Stops Exploring, Becomes Priest

May 22, 2010
RIA Novosti

Famous Russian traveler Fyodor Konyukhov has given up exploration and world records to become an Orthodox priest, Ukraine's UNIAN reported on Saturday.

An extensive traveler, Konyukhov has reached the North Pole three times, the South Pole, the Pole of Inaccessibility, and climbed to the top of Mt. Everest. He has set world records by crossing the Atlantic Ocean in a rowboat in 46 days, as well as crossing Greenland on a dogsled in 22 hours. He has also made several round the world trips alone on yachts.

"Something probably serious happened since I made such a decision: I thought, enough of temptation, I want to pray more," Konyukhov said.

He said he had made the decision during his last trip to the Antarctic and will now undertake praying for those who travel. He did not name the reason why he made such a drastic change in his life.

"I have worked a lot for people and for people's fame as well as my own fame, and now I want to work for God and the Church," Konyukhov said.

Konyukhov, 59, had earlier sent an official letter to the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, requesting to become a priest. Kirill told Konyukhov in April that he may choose which eparchy he would like to begin his priesthood.

Konyukhov decided on Zaporizhia, Ukraine, where he was born in 1951.

He made his first "expedition" when he was 15 by crossing the Sea of Azov on a rowboat. By the time he reached 50 years old, Konyukhov made more than 40 unique expeditions and climbs. He has written numerous books and painted many pictures of his travels.

See also: Fyodor Konyukhov: The Russian Dead-End of Rationalism

See photos of the ordination here.

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The Confusion of Babel and the Unity of Pentecost

Kontakion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone
When the Most High came down and confounded tongues of men [Babel], He divided the Nations. When He dispensed the Tongues of Fire [Pentecost], He called all to unity, and with one voice we glorify the Most Holy Spirit.


Proverbs 14:12 says: "There is a way that seems right to men, but in the end it leads to death." Whenever human beings forget how limited we are and try to take the initiative in our dealings with God, what inevitably follows is disaster. An example is the story of the Tower of Babel that we are told in Gen 11 where human beings decided to build a tower that would reach to heaven. In this way they would have access to God whenever they wanted, in this way they could manipulate God. But in the process of building the human bridge to heaven God came and confused their languages. They began to speak different languages, there was no more communication, no more understanding among them, and they could no longer work together. The result was the proliferation of languages and human misunderstanding.

Does the story of Babel remind you of the story we read today from the Acts of the Apostles, where the disciples of Jesus are speaking in other languages? Actually the two stories are related. But Pentecost is not a repeat of Babel, Pentecost is a reversal of Babel, and this for three reasons:

1. At Babel human beings decided to build a tower to God by their own effort with their own methods; at Pentecost it is now God who sends His Holy Spirit and shows the way by which mankind is to be united once more with God and among themselves through the Church. As the Apostle Peter proclaimed: "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call" (Acts 2:38-39).

2. The people of Babel tried to make a name for themselves. They were not trying to do God's will or glorify His name. The consequence of this was that God cursed them by confusing their language and thwarting their efforts. They were scattered and divided in anticipation of Pentecost.

3. Babel divided humanity through the confusion of tongues even though initially they came unified with one goal and purpose, while Pentecost united humanity by the common language of the Holy Spirit who alone can bring unity and mutual understanding even though the people came from many lands and of various tongues. Ideologically if people from all different types of languages, ethnicities and religions came together of their own initiative and bonded over a common goal, it would be hailed as mankind's greatest achievement. But God does not think as we think nor judge as we judge. Pentecost shows us that such ideologies should be absent from the Church, which is called to bring all people throughout the world in the one Body of Christ.

Pentecost is the final feast of the great mystery and dispensation of God's incarnation. On this great and saving day of Pentecost, the Apostles of the Savior, who were unlearned fishermen, were now made wise all of a sudden by the Holy Spirit, clearly and with divine authority speaking the heavenly doctrines. They became heralds of the truth and teachers of the whole world. On this day they were ordained and began their apostleship, of which the salvation of those three thousand souls in one day was the marvellous first fruit.


Apolytikion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone
Blessed are You, O Christ our God, who made fishermen all-wise, sending upon them the Holy Spirit and, through them, netting the world. O Loving One, glory to You.

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On Pentecost by St. Gregory Palamas

On How the Holy Spirit Was Manifested and Shared Out at Pentecost; Also About Repentance

1. A SHORT while ago, with the strong eyes of faith, we beheld Christ ascending, no less clearly than those accounted worthy to be eye-witnesses, nor are we less favoured than they. "Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed", says the Lord (John 20:29), referring to those who have found assurance through hearing, and see by faith. Recently we saw Christ lifted up from the ground bodily (Acts 1:9). Now, through the Holy Spirit sent by Him to His disciples, we see how far Christ ascended and to what dignity He carried up the nature He assumed from us. Clearly He went up as high as the place from which the Spirit sent by Him descended. He Who spoke through the Prophet Joel showed us whence the Spirit comes, saying, "I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh" (Joel 2:28), and to Him David addressed the words, "Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth" (Ps. 104:30). It follows that at His Ascension Christ went up to the Father on high, as far as His Fatherly bosom, from which comes the Spirit. Having been shown, even in His human form, to share the Father's glory, Christ now sent forth the Spirit Who comes from the Father and is sent by Him from heaven. But when we hear that the Spirit was sent by the Father and the Son, this does not mean that the Spirit has no part in their greatness, for He is not just sent, but also Himself sends and consents to be sent.

2. This is clearly shown by Christ's words spoken through the Prophet, "Mine hand hath laid the foundation of the earth and stretched out the heavens, and now the Lord God, and His Spirit, hath sent me" (cf. Isa. 48:13-16). Again, speaking through the same Prophet He says, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek" (Isa. 61:1). The Holy Spirit is not just sent, but Himself sends the Son, Who is sent by the Father. He is therefore shown to be the same as the Father and the Son in nature, power, operation and honour. By the good pleasure of the Father and the cooperation of the Holy Spirit, the only begotten Son of God, on account of the boundless ocean of divine love for mankind, bowed down the heavens and came down (Ps. 18:9). He appeared on earth after our fashion, lived among us, and did and taught great, wonderful and sublime things truly worthy of God, which led those who obeyed Him towards deification and salvation.

3. After willingly suffering for our salvation, being buried, and rising on the third day, He ascended into heaven and sat down on the right hand of the Father, whence He co-operated in the descent of the divine Spirit upon His disciples by sending down together with the Father the power from on high, as Both had promised (cf. Luke 24:49). Having sat down in the heavens, He seems to call to us from there, "If anyone wants to approach this glory, become a partaker of the kingdom of heaven, be called a son of God and find eternal life, inexpressible honour, pure joy and never-ending riches, let him heed My commandments and imitate as far as he can My own way of life. Let him follow My actions and teachings when I came to the world in the flesh to establish saving laws and offer Myself as a pattern." Truly the Saviour confirmed the Gospel teaching by His deeds and miracles, and fulfilled it through His Sufferings. He proved how beneficial it was for salvation by His Resurrection from the dead, His Ascension into heaven, and now by the descent of the divine Spirit upon His disciples, the event we celebrate today. After rising from the dead and appearing to His disciples, He said as He was taken up into heaven, "Behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high" (Luke 24:49). "For ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and unto the uttermost part of the earth" (cf. Acts 1:8).

4. When the fiftieth day after the Resurrection had come, the day we now commemorate, all the disciples were gathered with one accord in the upper room, each having also gathered together his thoughts (for they were devoting themselves intently to prayer and hymns to God). "And suddenly", says Luke the Evangelist, "there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the house where they were sitting" (Acts 2:1-11). This is the sound which the Prophetess Hannah foretold when she received the promise concerning Samuel: "The Lord went up to heaven and thundered; and he shall give strength and exalt the horn of his anointed" (cf. 1 Sam. 2:10 Lxx). Elias’ vision also forewarned of this sound: "Behold the voice of a light breeze, and in it was the Lord" (cf. 1 Kgs.19:12 Lxx). This "voice of a light breeze" is the sound of breath. You might also find a reference to it in Christ's Gospel. According to John the Theologian and Evangelist, "In the last day, that great day of the feast", that is to say Pentecost, "Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink... This spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive" (John 7:37-39). Again, after His Resurrection He breathed on His disciples and said, "Receive ye the Holy Spirit" (John 20:22).

5. That cry of Christ prefigured this sound, and His breathing upon the disciples foretold the breath, which is now poured down abundantly from above and resounds with a great voice heard far and wide, summoning everything under heaven, pouring grace over all who approach with faith and filling them with it. It is forceful in that it is all-conquering, storms the ramparts of evil, and destroys all the enemy's cities and strongholds. It brings low the proud and lifts up the humble in heart, binds what should not have been loosed, breaks the bonds of sins and undoes what is held fast. It filled the house where they were sitting, making it a spiritual font, and accomplishing the promise which the Saviour made them when He ascended, saying, "For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence" (Acts 1:5). Even the name which He gave them proved to be true, for through this noise from heaven the Apostles actually became sons of Thunder (cf. Mark 3:17). "And there appeared unto them", it says, "cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts 2:3-4).

6. Those miracles accomplished by the Lord in the flesh, which bore witness that He was God's only-begotten Son in His own Person, united with us in the last days, came to an end. On the other hand, those wonders began which proclaimed the Holy Spirit as a divine Person in His own right, that we might come to know and contemplate the great and venerable mystery of the Holy Trinity. The Holy Spirit had been active before: it was He Who spoke through the prophets and proclaimed things to come. Later He worked through the disciples to drive out demons and heal diseases. But now He was manifested to all in His own Person through the tongues of fire, and by sitting enthroned as Lord upon each of Christ's disciples, He made them instruments of His power.


7. Why did He appear in the form of tongues? It was to demonstrate that He shared the same nature as the Word of God, for there is no relationship closer than that between word and tongue. It was also because of teaching, since teaching Christ's Gospel needs a tongue full of grace. But why fiery tongues? Not just because the Spirit is consubstantial with the Father and the Son - and our God is fire (cf. Heb. 12:29), a fire consuming wickedness - but also because of the twofold energy of the Apostles' preaching, which can bring both benefit and punishment. As it is the property of fire to illuminate and burn, so Christ's teaching enlightens those who obey but finally hands over the disobedient to eternal fire and punishment. The text says, "tongues like fire" not "tongues of fire", that no one might imagine it was ordinary physical fire, but that we might understand the manifestation of the Spirit using fire as an example. Why did the tongues appear to be divided among them? Because the Spirit is given by measure by the Father to all except Christ (John 3:34), Who Himself came from above. He, even in the flesh, possessed the fullness of divine power and energy, whereas the grace of the Holy Spirit was only partially, not fully, contained within anyone else. Each one obtained different gifts, lest anyone should suppose the grace given to the saints by the Holy Spirit was theirs by nature.

8. The fact that the divine Spirit sat upon them is proof not just of His lordly dignity, but of His unity. He sat, it says, "upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:3-4). For although divided in His various powers and energies, in each of His works the Holy Spirit is wholly present and active, undividedly divided, partaken of while remaining complete, like the sun's ray. They spoke with other tongues, other languages, to people from every nation, as the Spirit gave them utterance. They became instruments of the divine Spirit, inspired and motivated according to His will and power. Anything taken hold of by somebody outside itself, sharing in the energy but not the essence of the one acting through it, is his instrument. As David declared through the Holy Spirit, "My tongue is the pen of a ready writer" (Ps. 45:1). The pen is the writer's instrument, sharing in the energy, though obviously not the essence, of the writer, and inscribing whatever he wishes and is able to write.

9. In what sense is the Holy Spirit the promise of the Father? He foretold Him through His prophets, saying through Ezekiel, "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will put my spirit within you" (cf. Ezek. 36:26-27). Through Joel He proclaims, "And it shall come to pass in the last days, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh" (cf. Joel 2:28). Longing for the Holy Spirit, Moses cried out in anticipation, "Would God that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them" (Num. 11:29). As the gracious will of the Father and His promise are one and the same as the Son's, Christ told those Who believed in Him, "Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, it shall be to him a well of water springing up into everlasting life" (cf. John 4:14), and, "He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water" (John 7:38). By way of explanation, the Evangelist says, "This spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive" (John 7:39). As He approached His saving Passion He told His disciples, "If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth" (John 14:15-17). And again, "These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things" (John 14:25-26). And yet again, "When the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me" (John 15:26), and "he will guide you into all the truth" (John 16:13).

10. The promise was now fulfilled and the Holy Spirit, given and sent by both the Father and the Son, descended. He shone round about the holy disciples and with divine power kindled them all like lamps or, rather, He revealed them as heavenly lights set above the whole world, who had the word of eternal life, and through them He illuminated all the earth. If from one burning lamp someone lights another, then another from that one, and so on in succession, he has light continuously. In the same way, through the Apostles ordaining their successors, and these successors ordaining others, and so on, the grace of the Holy Spirit, is handed down through all generations and enlightens all who obey their spiritual shepherds and teachers.

11. Each hierarch in his turn comes to give the city this grace and gift of God and the enlightenment of the divine Spirit through the Gospel. Those who reject any of them, as can happen, interrupt God's grace, break the divine succession, separate themselves from God and deliver themselves up to sinful rebellions and all kinds of disasters, as you are obviously aware from recent experience. If however, now that you have returned to the shepherd of your souls appointed by God, you obey my counsels for salvation, you will really and truly celebrate this annual commemoration of the Coming of the divine Spirit, Who of His unimaginable love descended for our salvation, just as the only-begotten Son of God, because of this same love and for the same purpose, bowed the heavens, came down and assumed our flesh.

12. Christ had ascended bodily into heaven, so if He had not sent His Holy Spirit to accompany and strengthen His disciples and their successors in following generations who taught the Gospel of grace, He would not have been preached to all nations, nor would the proclamation have been passed down to us. That is why the Lord, in His all-surpassing love for mankind, showed at Pentecost that His disciples were partakers, fathers and ministers of everlasting light and life, who bring us to new birth for eternal life and make those who are worthy children of the Light and fathers of enlightenment. Thus, He Himself is with us unto the end of the world, as was promised through the Spirit (Matt. 28:20). For He is One with the Father and the Spirit, not according to hypostasis, but in His divinity, and God is One in Three, in one tri-hypostatic and almighty divinity. The Holy Spirit always existed and was with the Son in the Father. How could the Father and divine Mind be without beginning if the Son and Word were not also without beginning? How could there be a pre-eternal Word without there also being a pre-eternal Spirit? Thus the Holy Spirit ever was and is and will be, co-Creator with the Father and the Son, together with them renewing that which has suffered corruption, and sustaining the things that endure. He is everywhere present and fills, directs and oversees everything. "Whither shall I go from thy spirit", says the Psalmist to God, "Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?" (Ps. 139:7).

13. He is 'not just everywhere, but also above all, not just in every age and time, but before them all. And, according to the promise, the Holy Spirit will not just be with us until the end of the age, but rather will stay with those who are worthy in the age to come, making them immortal and filling their bodies as well with eternal glory, as the Lord indicated by telling His disciples, "I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever" (John 14:16). "It is sown", says the Apostle (meaning buried and committed to the earth), "a dead natural body", that is to, say, an ordinary created body with a created soul, stable and capable of movement. "It is raised" (that is, comes back to life), "a spiritual body" (cf. 1Cor. 15:44), which means a supernatural body, framed and ordered by the Holy Spirit, and clothed in immortality, glory and incorruption by the Spirit's power (cf. 1Cor. 15:53). "The first man, Adam", he says, "was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly" (cf. 1Cor. 15:45,47-48).

14. Who are these heavenly people? Those who are steadfast and immovable in their faith, who always abound in the Lord's work and bear the image of the heavenly Adam through their obedience to Him. "He that obeyeth not the Son", says John, the Lord's Forerunner, through John the Evangelist, "shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him" (John 3:36). Who can endure God's wrath? "It is a fearful thing", brethren, "to fall into the hands of the living God" (Heb. 10:31). If we fear the hands of our enemies, even though the Lord says, "fear not them which kill the body" (Matt. 10:28), who in his right mind will not fear God's hands raised in anger against the disobedient? For the wrath of God will be revealed against everyone who lives impurely and unjustly without repenting and holds the truth in unrighteousness (Rom. 1:18).


15. Let us flee from wrath and hasten through repentance to obtain the kindness and compassion of the divine Spirit. If anyone feels hatred towards another, let him be reconciled with him and restore love, lest his hatred and conflict with his brother should bear witness against him that he does not love God. "For if you do not love your brother whom you have seen, how can you love God whom you have not seen?" (cf. 1John 4:20). When we love one another, let our love be unfeigned, and let us show it in deeds, by neither saying nor doing, nor even enduring to hear, anything insulting or harmful to our brethren. As Christ's beloved Theologian taught us, "Brethren, do not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth" (cf. 1John 3:18).

16. Anyone who has fallen into fornication, adultery or any other such bodily impurity, should desist from this revolting filth and cleanse himself through confession, tears, fasting and the like. For God judges unrepentant fornicators and adulterers. He condemns them, dismisses them and consigns them to hell, unquenchable fire and other never-ending punishments, saying, "Let the impure and accursed be taken away, lest they see and enjoy the glory of the Lord" (cf. Isa. 26:10 Lxx). Let thieves and all who are openly grasping and greedy stop stealing, defrauding and seizing what belongs to others, but also share their own possessions with those in need. In a word, if you desire life, to see good days, to be rescued from enemies both visible and invisible, the barbarians currently threatening us, and those punishments reserved for the prince of evil and his angels, depart from all evil and do good (Ps. 34:12,14). "Be not deceived", the Apostle tells the Corinthians, "neither fornicators, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with men, nor covetous, neither drunkards nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God" (cf. 1Cor. 6:9-10). If someone has no inheritance with God he neither belongs to God nor has God as his Father.

17. But let us, brethren, I beseech you, abstain from deeds and words hateful to God, that we may boldly call God our Father. Let us truly return to Him, that He too may turn back to us, cleanse us from all sin and make us worthy of His divine grace. Then shall we keep festival both now and forever, and celebrate in a godly and spiritual way the accomplishments of God's promise, the Coming of the All-holy Spirit among men and His resting upon them; the fulfillment and perfection of the blessed hope in Christ Himself Our Lord.

18. For to Him belong glory, honour and worship, with His Father without beginning and the all-holy, good and life-giving Spirit, now and forever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

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Queen Sophia of Spain Visits St. John the Russian

On Thursday 20 May 2010 Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Halkida received with much honor her majesty Queen Sophia of Spain who visited the holy shrine of St. John the Russian in Evia for the first time.

The Queen was visiting her sister Princess Irene.

After relating the life of St. John the Russian, the Metropolitan gave a silver icon of St. John to both Queen Sophia and Princess Irene. Afterwards they both venerated the incorrupt relics of the Saint.

The Queen was especially interested in the iconography of the church, and payed close attention to the hagiographer Mr. Sergio Sergiadi who was painting icons, who she requested to observe up close.





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That We Ought Not To Grieve the Spirit of God

by St. Nikolai Velimirovich

"And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, where by you are sealed unto the day of redemption" (Ephesians 4:30).

Brethren, "The Seal of the Gift of the Holy Spirit" is recited over all of us who are baptized by water and Spirit. The Spirit of God is given to us not because of our merits and, no one should ever think that, but according to the mercy of the Living God. Even in normal relations between men, happy is the one who gives the gift and happy is also he who receives the gift. Giving is joy on both sides. The greater the gift, the greater the joy. God rejoices when He gives the Grace of His Holy Spirit: why then should men not rejoice who receive it? The needy one who receives usually rejoices more than the rich man who gives; why then should not miserable men rejoice who receive this enormous gift from the rich God?

In what way do men grieve the Holy Spirit? The apostle who commanded that we not grieve the Spirit of God immediately adds, by what means is the Spirit grieved: "All bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking (swearing) and all malice. All of that to be put away from you" (Ephesians 4:31), says the apostle. In other words, the Spirit of God is grieved by our every sin. Let every sin be put away from us and the Spirit of God will be joyful and by Him we will be rejoicing. When we have an important guest in our home we endeavor to do everything that is well pleasing for that guest. Can there be a greater guest than the Holy Spirit of God? Since He is our greatest and most desired guest, we need to invest the utmost effort to please Him. We know with what we please the Spirit of God - with the same, with which we please Christ the Lord. The Lord said: "If you love me, keep my commandments" (St. John 14:15). He who, therefore, keeps the commandments of Christ has love toward the Son and toward the Holy Spirit. He who pleases the Son, keeping His commandments, also pleases the Father and the Holy Spirit. The apostle especially recommends: "be you kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another" (Ephesians 4:32). If we are kind, if we are tenderhearted [merciful], if we forgive one another, by this we please the Spirit of God Who is a guest in our hearts. The Spirit of God then rejoices in us and our entire being trembles from certain inexpressible joy.

O my brethren, let us take care that we not grieve our Most High Guest Who comes to us with the richest gifts.

O God the Holy Spirit, forgive our negligence toward Your Immortal Majesty and do not leave us empty and worthless without You.

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Babylon and the Trees of Pentecost

By Fr. Stephen Freeman
Glory to God for All Things

From the Feast of Pentecost:

The arrogance of building the tower in the days of old
led to the confusion of tongues.
Now the glory of the knowledge of God brings them wisdom.
There God condemned the impious for their transgression.
Here Christ has enlightened the fishermen by the Spirit.
There disharmony was brought about for punishment.
Now harmony is renewed for the salvation of our souls.

The first time I saw trees in an Orthodox Church was at St. Tikhon’s Monastery in Pennsylvania, just after Pentecost Sunday. I was completely caught off guard. Though I had been in a number of different Churches over the years, I had never been in a parish of Russian background for the feast of Pentecost. Thus I had missed the Slavic practice of bringing trees into Church for the feast of Pentecost. It was wonderful – like going into Church only to find a forest.

My Western background left me completely unprepared for this Eastern take on the feast of the gift of the Spirit to the Church. In Western Churches, Pentecost particularly focuses on the “fire” of the Holy Spirit lighting on the disciples in the upper room and the “empowerment” of the Church for mission. Traditionally in the West, the color of the feast is red (for the fire).

In the East, the color of the feast is green – which is also the color worn for the feast days of monastic saints. In the West, green is the “ordinary” color worn in the “in between” Sundays and weekdays of the Calendar. For the Orthodox, gold serves this function.

But I found myself in the midst of trees on a major feast that was “green.” I was simply baffled.

In Russian practice the feast is normally referred to as the feast of the Trinity (Troitsa) rather than Pentecost, or “Pentecost” is listed as an afterthought (Pentecost). It is obvious that something quite different is at work in the understanding of the feast day.

Both East and West keep the feast as the day upon which the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles. Orthodoxy does not ignore the various tongues with which the Apostles began to speak as they announced the gospel to those assembled in Jerusalem. However, as noted in the verse quoted at the beginning of this article – those tongues are seen as a spiritual counterpart to the confusion of the tower of Babel, when men in their hubris sought to build a tower into heaven. The tongues which came upon them only proclaimed darkness and confusion and brought to an end the last great ecumenical effort of humanity.

The Church is God’s vision of united mankind – a union achieved through the gift of God and not by human effort. It is a union which maintains a diversity of sorts (the languages do not become one “super” language – so much for the “unity” of Latin) but a diversity whose unity is found in true union with the one, living and true God. The gospel proclaimed by the apostles on the day of Pentecost, though preached in many languages, was one and the same gospel.

One may still wonder why the feast becomes a feast of the Trinity. Like the feast of Theophany (the Baptism of Christ), Pentecost is a feast in which the revelation of the Holy Trinity is made manifest. The Spirit is the gift of the Father – given through the Son. There were many centuries that passed before a parish was named for the Trinity.

Among the first within the Orthodox world was the Lavra (Monastery) of the Holy Trinity outside of Moscow, founded by St. Sergius in the 14th century. His vision of the common life was seen as an earthly icon of the Divine Life of the Holy Trinity in which each of the Divine Persons shared a common life. The monastery was itself a place of spiritual rebirth for the Russian land as it began to come out from under the oppression of the Tatar yoke. The spiritual life of Holy Trinity monastery was a spiritual awakening for the land when Russians remembered that they were brothers of one another and shared a common life. This common life became the strength that allowed them to assert their freedom.


Of course, all of the above is both interesting and true but has yet to explain the trees. The Jewish feast of Pentecost (fifty days after the Passover) marks the beginning of the harvest feast. The first-fruits of the harvest are brought to the temple to be blessed of God. For Christians the harvest that is sought is the harvest of a renewed humanity and the renewal of creation. Thus the trees are a representation of the created order, assembled together with the people of God, awaiting and receiving the gift of the Spirit through whom everything is made new.

It is a very rich feast – one that is filled with meaning (as is appropriate). But all of the meaning takes as its source the gift to creation of the “Lord and Giver of Life,” the Holy Spirit. Just as we are told in Genesis:

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters."

With a word, God speaks, and where the Spirit hovered, life comes forth.

So it is in the life of the Church and in creation today. Where God speaks, renewed life comes forth. All of creation groans and travails, awaiting the final great Word that will signal the renewal of all things. For now, we see that promise foreshadowed by trees in Church and green on the priests and by the joy of our hearts.

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A Christian Conscience

When a man acquires a Christian conscience, he zealously labors to correct his life and to please God. For him, all else becomes of little importance. We have examples of such men not only among the great ascetics and spiritual fathers but also among powerful rulers themselves. Emperor Theodosius the Great gives us such an example who, for a brief time, fell into heresy after which he repented. St. Ambrose, his earlier critic, spoke over his lifeless body: "I loved this man who, divesting himself of all imperial insignias, openly in church bewailing his sin and, with sighs and tears, begged forgiveness. What ordinary men are ashamed to do, the emperor was not ashamed to do. After his glorious victory over the enemies of the empire, he decided not to approach Holy Communion until the return of his sons only because his enemies were slain in battle."

- St. Nikolai Velimirovich

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On the Concealment of Virtues and Mortifications

To conceal your virtues and mortifications was the custom of ascetics, both female and male, not only in the earliest times of Christianity but throughout all ages to the present time. Eudocia, wife of the glorious Prince Dimitri of Don, the liberator of Russia from the Tartars, was left a comparatively young widow in the year 1389 A.D. Imbued with devoutness, this princess built many churches, distributed alms and secretly weakened her body by fasting and long vigils. She wore an iron chain around her body. Meanwhile, she always appeared happy before the public, clothed in opulence and adorned with pearls. The public said many things about her and they began to spread rumors about her immoral life. Her sons heard about this and, insulted and embittered openly informed their mother what was being rumored about her. The mother opened her luxurious robe and the children, with great horror, viewed her body which was completely withered, dried up and drawn in by the iron chains.

- St. Nikolai Velimirovich

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The Prayers of the Departed Saints

by St. Nikolai Velimirovich

"This done, in like manner there appeared a man with gray hairs and exceeding glorious, who was of a wonderful and excellent majesty. Then Onias answered, saying, 'This is a lover of the brethren, who prays much for the people and for the holy city, to wit, Jeremiah the prophet of God'" (2 Maccabees 15:13-14).

This was the vision which was seen by the courageous Judas Maccabee. The first to appear to him from the other world was Onias the high priest and after that the holy Prophet Jeremiah. Just as Moses and Elijah were seen in glory by the apostles on Mt. Tabor, thus, at one time Judas Maccabee saw the Prophet Jeremiah in glory. Not even before the resurrected Christ did God the Merciful leave men without proof of life after death. In Christian times, however, those proofs are without number and without end. Whoever, even after all of this, doubts in life after death, that one stands under the curse of his sin as under his grave stone. As inanimate things cannot see the light of day, so neither can he see who doubts life which is and to which there is no end.

But, behold with what kind of glory is the Prophet Jeremiah wedded in the other life! "Gray hairs and exceeding glorious." Around him a certain indescribable dignity, a certain bright aureole, a certain inexpressible pleasure and beauty. He who was dragged and beaten by men to whom he communicated and imparted the will of God and who was a captive in prison and a martyr in a fetid hole and who was ridiculed as folly and was tried as a traitor and finally, as a transgressor, was stoned to death. However, one is the judgment of sinners, another is the judgment of God. The most humiliated among men became wedded with angelic glory before God.

And yet behold how heaven calls one, whom the earth called false, a traitor and a transgressor! "Lover of the brethren" this is how heaven called him. "Lover of the brethren" who prays much for the people. Finally, see how the saints in heaven pray to God for us! Not sleeping, they are praying for us while we are asleep; not eating, they are praying for us while we are eating and have over-eaten; not sinning, they are praying for us while we are sinning. O brethren, let us be ashamed before so many of our sincere friends. Let us be ashamed, let us be ashamed of so many prayers for us by the saints and let us join with their prayers. O Lord All-wonderful, forgive us our sinful slothfulness and dullness.

To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.

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The Lengthy Fasts of the True and False Saints

I've been asked by some to respond to the recent report about the Indian Yogi Prahlad Jani who has gone without eating for seventy years and currently is being tested for his authenticity. Though I await the final results of the tests to be published to give my response, I will initially say that such ascetic feats are nothing new among Hindus and the so-called Breatharians, and even if this proves to be a fraud, I do not deny that such things can be done. The question should rather be whether such fasts should be done or not and what the consequences of such fasts are when done outside of an Orthodox Christian context. He claims to be sustained by the Hindu goddess Amba and fed an elixir of cosmic energy by her while in meditation. Rationally this cannot be explained or sustained, but spiritually or psychologically it may be possible through relaxation techniques. But could this be a form of demonic delusion?

Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov, a 19th century Russian Orthodox theologian, introduces his book The Arena: An Offering to Contemporary Monasticism by saying that his writing is the "legacy" and "offering" of an old man who has endured much from "spiritual directors suffering from blindness and self-delusion." He claims that because of his "hardships" he is able to assist those "who have already set out without knowing the way or with only a superficial knowledge of the way [drawn] from antiquated descriptions." He hopes to show his readers how to "use the writings of the ancients and adapt them to modern conditions, so as to avoid the sad plight of those who do not realize or notice the need for adaptation." He presents terrifying stories of ascetics destroyed by demonic delusion for failing to follow this basic order of spiritual discipline and behavior.

St Ignatius writes that "worldly people and even monks without spiritual discernment are nearly always attracted by humbugs, imposters, hypocrites and those who are in demonic delusion, and they take them for saints and genuine servants of God." He says that "in Russia bodily discipline holds the field, while the very idea of spiritual discipline has been lost." He also claims that "obedience to elders in the form in which it was practiced in ancient monasticism ... is not given to our time." He says the same thing about living the solitary life. And he emphasizes that the "voluntary giving of advice (in spiritual matters) ... is a clear sign of pride and self-deception."

St Ignatius insists that ascetical efforts and bodily disciplines are essential as means to the fulfillment of Christ's evangelical teachings. He says that those who neglect these means leave themselves victims of the crudest forms of carnal passions, gluttony, greed, lust and anger. But the holy father reserves more violent warnings for those who make ascetical discipline the very essence of their spiritual life.

Those who practice immoderate bodily discipline, use it indiscreetly, or put all their trust in it, seeing in it their merit and worth in God's sight, fall into vainglory, self-opinion, presumption, pride, hardness and obduracy, contempt of their neighbors, detraction and condemnation of others, rancor, resentment, hate, blasphemy, schism, heresy, self-deception and diabolic delusion.

Regarding fasting, he speaks of abuses of fasting which lead to the attribution of "special significance to dry bread, mushrooms, cabbage, peas or beans," abuses that "corrupt the ascetic" and reduce "sensible, holy and spiritual exercises" into "senseless, carnal and sinful farces," producing "conceit and contempt for his neighbors, which snuffs out the very conditions for progress in holiness."

The saint also criticizes those who allow the devil to dupe them into "attaching an exaggerated importance to the material side of church services, while obscuring the spiritual side of the rites; thus hiding the essence of Christianity from those unfortunate people and leaving them only a distorted material wrapper or covering...." He is especially strict in his warning against "carnal and animal (perhaps better translated psychic) zeal," which, he says, is not "divine and spiritual zeal," but rather "zeal without understanding, which leads to conceit and pride."

How did the Saints endure lengthy fasts? Saint Nikolai Velimirovich says the following:

"How was Moses able to fast for forty days? How were the many Christian ascetics able to live a long life in extreme abstinence from food and drink? For the physical man who does not know about the spiritual life, it is impossible to believe. It is impossible even to prove it to him for the understanding of this is achieved only by experience.

"When the torturers of St. Basiliscus detained him for three days without food and water and when they offered him food to eat, he refused saying that he was not hungry. 'I am,' says he, 'filled with immortal food and do not want to receive mortal food. You are fed by earthly bread, but the heavenly word of God feeds me; wine makes you happy, and the Grace of the Holy Spirit makes me happy; meat satisfies you and fasting satisfies me; physical power strengthens you and the Cross of Christ strengthens me; gold makes you rich and the love of Christ enriches me; clothing adorns you, and good works adorn me; you are made happy with laughter and I am comforted by the Spirit through prayer.'

"Here is a man, one out of many, and there are many more upon whom the word of the Lord is confirmed. 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God!' (Matthew 4:4)."

A Hindu yogi may be able to sustain himself without food for a lengthy period of time on a supernatural level, but the discipline of the Orthodox Church offers strict warning that if not done correctly and with the right purpose even within the Church, it leads to delusion. When a Hindu yogi and an Orthodox Christian ascetic is put side by side, they may appear no different on the physical level, but spiritually they offer different messages which contradict one another. The Orthodox ascetic acquires divine grace to sustain him and it serves as a means to make him a god by grace, while a Hindu yogi relies on his techniques and false gods to be absorbed into Brahman (since he believes divinity is within his nature). The latter is everything the Noetic Fathers of the Church have warned against over the centuries regarding false asceticism, and this warning stands against even the most extraordinary Hindu ascetics as well.

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The Significance of Today's Saturday of Souls

Today we remember all pious and Orthodox Christians who have fallen asleep in the Lord, and also recall the dread Day of Judgment. May Christ our God be merciful to them, and to us.

Two Epistles (Acts 28:1-31, I Thess. 4:13-17) and two Gospels (JN 21:14-25, JN 5:24-30) are appointed to be read at Liturgy. The readings from Acts and the Gospel of St John, which began on Pascha, now come to an end. The book of Acts does not end, as might be expected, with the death of Sts Peter and Paul, but remains open-ended.

In his article "With all the Saints," Fr Justin Popovich says that the Lives of the Saints are nothing less than a "continuation of the Acts of the Apostles." Just as the book of Acts describes the works of Christ which the Apostles accomplished through Christ, Who was dwelling in them and working through them, the saints also preach the same Gospel, live the same life, manifest the same righteousness, love, and power from on High. As we prepare for the Sunday of All Saints, we are reminded that each of us is called to a life of holiness.

On this seventh Saturday of Pascha, St John Chrysostom's "Homily on Patience and Gratitude" is appointed to be read in church. It is also prescribed to be read at the funeral service of an Orthodox Christian.

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The Church As Spiritual Hospital According to Chrysostom

For indeed the school of the Church is an admirable surgery — a surgery, not for bodies, but for souls. For it is spiritual, and sets right, not fleshly wounds, but errors of the mind, and of these errors and wounds the medicine is the word.

This medicine is compounded, not from the herbs growing on the earth, but from the words proceeding from heaven — this no hands of physicians, but tongues of preachers have dispensed. On this account it lasts right through; and neither is its virtue impaired by length of time, nor defeated by any strength of diseases. For certainly the medicines of physicians have both these defects; for while they are fresh they display their proper strength, but when much time has passed; just as those bodies which have grown old; they become weaker; and often too the difficult character of maladies is wont to baffle them; since they are but human.

Whereas the divine medicine is not such as this; but after much time has intervened, it still retains all its inherent virtue. Ever since at least Moses was born (for from thence dates the beginning of the Scripture) it has healed so many human beings; and not only has it not lost its proper power, but neither has any disease ever yet overcome it. This medicine it is not possible to get by payment of silver; but he who has displayed sincerity of purpose and disposition goes his way having it all.

On account of this both rich and poor alike obtain the benefit of this healing process. For where there is a necessity to pay down money the man of large means indeed shares the benefit; but the poor man often has to go away deprived of the gain, since his income does not suffice him for the making up of the medicine. But in this case, since it is not possible to pay down silver coin, but it is needful to display faith and a good purpose, he who has paid down these with forwardness of mind, this is he who most reaps the advantage; since indeed these are the price paid for the medicinal treatment.

And the rich and the poor man share the benefit alike; or rather it is not alike that they share the benefit, but often the poor man goes away in the enjoyment of more. What ever can be the reason? It is because the rich man, possessed beforehand by many thoughts, having the pride and puffed-up temper belonging to wealthiness; living with carelessness and lazy ease as companions, receives the medicine of the hearing of the Scriptures not with much attention, nor with much earnestness; but the poor man, far removed from delicate living and gluttony and indolence; spending all his time in handicraft and honest labours; and gathering hence much love of wisdom for the soul; becomes thereby more attentive and free from slackness, and is wont to give his mind with more accurate care to all that is said: whence also, inasmuch as the price he has paid is higher, the benefit which he departs having reaped is greater.

- St. John Chrysostom, "Homily Against Publishing the Errors of the Brethren"

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Bishop Amfilohije Appointed For Kosovo

Serbian Orthodox Church Appoints Hardline Bishop Amfilohije As New Church Leader In Kosovo

The Associated Press (CP)
May 21, 2010

BELGRADE, Serbia — The Serbian Orthodox Church has appointed a hardliner as the new bishop in Kosovo after a predecessor was replaced over an alleged financial fraud.

The church says that the new spiritual leader of Serbs in Kosovo will be Bishop Amfilohije Radovic, who is notorious for his nationalist and conservative beliefs.

The appointment late Thursday signals that the Serbian church remains firm in its rejection of Kosovo's Western-backed declaration of independence in 2008.

The Serbian church considers Kosovo the cradle of its foundation. Hundreds of Serbian monasteries, some dating to the medieval era, are located there.

The previous Kosovo bishop, Artemije, was replaced in February over allegations that he embezzled church and state funds.

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Patriarch of Serbia: Partition of Kosovo Unacceptable

15 May 2010
B92

KURŠUMLIJA -- Patriarch Irinej said that a partition of Kosovo is both unacceptable and unachievable.

He also said that the situation in the province is very difficult and added that he cannot imagine the Peć patriarchy not being a part of Serbia, but a part of another country, adding that this too would be unacceptable.

“Serbia is not Serbia without Kosovo. For me it is a being without a head. Our country cannot be beheaded and stripped of Kosovo. I hope that enough reason and wisdom will be found by us and the world,” he said.

Regarding dialogue with officials of the Catholic Church and the Pope, Irinej said that such talks are important, adding that the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) is not running from such talks, because discussions can help overcome divisions that exist in the Christian church.

“The Pope has great power in the world, so why not talk about our problems and the problems of others with such a person? We must try to stop the divisions and start turning towards united values,” Patriarch Irinej said.

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Cell Controlled Completely By A Synthetic Genome?

“First Cell Controlled Completely By A Synthetic Genome”

20 May 2010
William Dembski
Uncommon Descent

Big news at Craig Venter’s Synthetic Genomics:

Summary: Link 1

Press Release: Link 2

The rhetoric is interesting. What they’ve done is stuck a synthetic genome inside a nonsynthetic cell. Nonetheless, they’ve slipped into talking of a “synthetic bacterial cell.” Indeed, one headline reads “The First Self-Replicating Synthetic Bacterial Cell.” This is hype.

If something is going to be called “synthetic,” shouldn’t the whole of it be synthesized and not merely a minuscule portion of it? Also, does such a cell knowably signal design and, if so, why wouldn’t cells untouched by Synthetic Genomics do the same, i.e., implicate design?

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A Beautiful Russian Cartoon Titled "Your Cross"

A beautiful Russian cartoon titled "Your Cross". A man once had a very hard time trying to humble himslef, and the Merciful Lord sent him an angel and gave a him a choice to pick another cross to bear in life. First this man liked the cross of a Prince - which lead to a sword. Then he thought that the cross of a monk is very nice and peaceful. And then he finally picks a very simple and light cross... and it turns out that he picks his own cross.

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Hagia Sophia in Constantinople: Documentary

ΑΓΙΑ ΣΟΦΙΑ ΚΩΝΣΤΑΝΤΙΝΟΥΠΟΛΕΩΣ from Nama TVweb on Vimeo.

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