A Homily On the Righteousness of Noah

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

"Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God" (Genesis 6:9).

To be righteous among the righteous is a great and praiseworthy deed, but how far greater and more praiseworthy a deed it is to be righteous among the unrighteous.

Noah lived among men who were filled with unrighteousness and evil; he lived among them for five hundred years and remained righteous before God: "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord" (Genesis 6:8).

The Most-high Judge, who looks at all the works of mankind and evaluates them without prejudice and without error, valued the labors of Noah because, in the midst of a corrupt and perverse generation, he remained in the righteousness of God; and God rewarded him with His grace.

Assuredly, Noah endured much misery and bitterness from his evil neighbors. Assuredly, he was unable to have a friend among them. The greatest satisfaction for a sinner is to drag a righteous man down into his own mire and to share his sin with him. But Noah did not allow himself to be dragged down or misled.

Noah favored God's friendship over that of unrighteous men. It was dearer to him to walk with God without men, than to walk with men without God. Fear of God, the Creator and Judge, preserved him from the worldwide corruption; and he was not only righteous but also perfect in his generations. That is, he did not allow himself, even in the least, to be contaminated by the common evil, but rather he cleaved to God's righteousness. The allurement of sin and the ridicule of the sinners: everything merely served to separate him all the more from them.

When the universal flood befell the human race, God did not abandon his faithful Noah to perish with the others. Instead, He saved him and glorified him, making him the progenitor of a new generation of men.

Brethren, this shining example of Noah teaches that each one of us can please God even in the midst of sinners, if only we want to.

O Righteous and Long-suffering God, uphold us on the path of Thy righteousness. To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.

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The Vice of Pleonexia

Pleonexia, sometimes called pleonexy, originates from the Greek language πλεονεξια and is a philosophical and ethical concept employed both in the New Testament and in writings by Plato and Aristotle. It roughly corresponds to greed, covetousness, or avarice, and is strictly defined as "the insatiable desire to have what rightfully belongs to others", suggesting what Ritenbaugh describes as "ruthless self-seeking and an arrogant assumption that others and things exist for one's own benefit".[1]

Christian concepts of pleonexia

Pleonexia, being mentioned in the New Testament in Colossians 3 verses 1–11 and Luke 12 verses 13–21, has been the subject of commentary by Christian theologians.

William Barclay[2] describes pleonexia as an "accursed love of having", which "will pursue its own interests with complete disregard for the rights of others, and even for the considerations of common humanity". He labels it an aggressive vice that operates in three spheres of life. In the material sphere involves "grasping at money and goods, regardless of honour and honesty". In the ethical sphere it is "the ambition which tramples on others to gain something which is not properly meant for it". In the moral sphere, it is "the unbridled lust which takes its pleasure where it has no right to take".

Christian belief equates pleonexia with idolatry, because it replaces God with self-interest and material interest in things.[1]

Classical Greek concepts of pleonexia

Classical Greek philosophers such as Plato related pleonexia to justice.

Thrasymachus, in Book I of The Republic, presents pleonexia as a natural state, upon which justice is an unnatural restraint.[3]

In discussing the philosophy of Aristotle, who insisted in his Nicomachean Ethics that all specifically unjust actions are motivated by pleonexia, Kraut[4] discusses pleonexia and equates it to epichairekakia, the Greek version of schadenfreude, stating that inherent in pleonexia is the appeal of acting unjustly at the expense of others. Young[5], however argues that the simple involvement of unfairness in the desire for gaining ever more is what defines pleonexia, rather than that the desire itself be for gaining ever more in a manner that is specifically unfair.

See also: The Role of Pleonexia in Polybius

References

1. John W. Ritenbaugh (January 1998). "Forerunner". The Tenth Commandment.

2. William Barclay. The Daily study Bible series, Rev. ed.. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press.

3. "Important terms: pleonexia". SparkNotes: The Republic. Barnes & Noble.

4. Richard Kraut (2002). Aristotle: Political Philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press. xiv, 520.

5. Charles Young (1989). "Aristotle on Justice". The Southern Journal of Philosophy 27 (Supp.): 233–249.

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"Christmas Oratorio" by Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev

This is the beginning of the "Christmas Oratorio" by Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev. Это начало "Рождественской оратории" епископа Илариона (Алфеева). The words are: "Come let us worship God our King". The Tchaykovsky Great Symphony Orchestra and the Tretyakov Gallery Choir are conducted by Alexei Puzakov.

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A Cunning Demon in the Church

By Elder Daniel Katounakiotis

I grieve very much recalling today's generation, how for our sins God has allowed the cunning demon to find a handle on two sides.

On the one side, the Hierarchs ruling our Church, instead of defending the pious traditions, introduce innovations and novelties; while on the other side, the pious and faithful, instead of writing with great discernment and in a spirit of peace, in presenting their opinions hurl abuse against the Hierarchs and heap up all the anathemas of the Holy Fathers, in order, if possible, to depose the sinful Hierarchs; and in this they flatter all the people, and thus instead of profit, harm will occur from both sides.

(Letter to Nicholas Rengos, 11/3/1926)

From Contemporary Ascetics of Mout Athos (vol. 1) by Archimandrite Cherubim, p. 318.

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John Lennon and the Cult of Celebrity: 'They're Gonna Crucify Me'

By John W. Whitehead
December 7, 2010
Christian Post

"I have to cut through the mask even if it's self-created." - John Lennon

It should come as no surprise that when the appeal of traditional religion began to fade, mass entertainment rushed into the vacuum. In fact, pop culture and the temporal values of entertainment effectively compete with those of religion to such an extent that celebrity has increasingly become the religion of our consumer society. "And fans are the mystical adepts of this religion," write Judy and Fred Vemorel in their book Starlust, "who dramatize moods, fantasies and expectations we all share."

Despite his own cult status, John Lennon, who was gunned down 30 years ago, spent the latter part of his short life attempting to undermine the cult of celebrity.

As a Beatle, Lennon experienced firsthand the weird allure of celebrity. People literally saw the Beatles as saviors with religious powers. For instance, at the height of Beatlemania in 1964, a woman in Australia threw her disabled six-year-old at Paul McCartney, who was riding in an open truck. When Paul handed the child back, the woman wept. "He's better. Oh, he's better!" she exclaimed. And Lennon spoke of his personal unease in having to deal with disabled people during that time. "They would push them at you like you were Christ or something, as if there were some aura about you which will rub off on them. It seemed like we were surrounded by cripples and blind people all the time, and when we would go through corridors they would be touching us."

Although attracted to it in the beginning, Lennon came to see celebrity more in terms of its burdens than its rewards. No matter how much time and effort Lennon put into writing and performing, it never seemed enough for the public. Somebody always wanted more. "The bigger we got, the more unreality we had to face," he said of Beatlemania.

Thus, the more successful Lennon became, instead of basking in fame, he worked against it--especially the media conception of it. This is particularly evident in one of his last Beatles singles, "The Ballad of John and Yoko." The song documents the trials and tribulations that celebrity imposed on his relationship with Yoko Ono. The song is a biting critique of the media's double standards, as well as of their flagrant disregard for their victims. As he sang about the media hounding him and his wife: "Christ, you know it ain't easy, you know how hard it can be. The way things are going, they're gonna crucify me." Lennon made no secret of his distaste for the media's malicious treatment of himself and Yoko. He was also openly critical of what he viewed as the media's hypocritical dependence on the celebrities they promote and then chastise, castigate and demolish:

Caught the early plane back to London
Fifty acorns tied in a sack
The men from the press said, "We wish you success
It's good to have the both of you back."

As Anthony Elliott documents in his insightful book The Mourning of John Lennon, Lennon saw early on that being a celebrity not only distorted who he was, it also erased his identity. Shortly before his death, he expressed some of the more personal difficulties that encircled him as an ex-Beatle: "I was stuck in the feeling that one did not--was not justified in being alive unless one was fulfilling other people's dreams or fulfilling my own dreams and illusions about what I thought I was supposed to be which, in retrospect, turned out to not be what I am."

By 1980, Lennon had dispensed with being Beatle John. He had thrown off the trappings of his celebrity image. As he said in a radio interview that year, "I'm not putting out an image of this person who knows all." And in his last Rolling Stone interview in 1980: "I cannot live up to other people's expectations of me because they are illusionary."

It was the illusion created by celebrity that ultimately killed John Lennon by way of one of his biggest fans, Mark David Chapman. Chapman claimed that he had been drawn to Lennon ever since he was ten years old. He loved the Beatles and grew his hair long, just as his hero Lennon did. Chapman imitated Lennon to the degree that he married an older Japanese woman. He identified so closely with the famous man that he began taping "John Lennon" over his own name at work. What matters is that Chapman withdrew further from the so-called real world and retreated into fanaticism, an idealization of celebrity to the nth degree--a world sustained by imitation of his hero.

The burden of the famous is that sense of hero worship that exists outside their control. In their zeal to idealize or crucify, worshippers like Chapman forget that their idol is a human being just like themselves. "They over-analyze facts as quickly as they conveniently omit them," writes Larry Kane in his book, Lennon Revealed. "They define and compartmentalize. All the while their fantasy expectations blind them from seeing--or even seeking--the real ideal." But when and if the real deal comes into view, it can have devastating consequences.

Couple that with a celebrity such as John Lennon who, on innumerable occasions, felt compelled to mingle with his fans. Indeed, he would push past police and bodyguards to engage the ordinary Beatlefan--even to the point of signing an autograph for Mark David Chapman only hours before he was shot. "I have to be honest--let them know what I'm made of," Lennon said. "I'm not all that perfect or anything and they have to know that."

In a depressed, paranoid state of mind, Chapman read an October 1980 article in Esquire magazine for which Lennon had refused to be interviewed. The article portrayed Lennon as someone who had sold out the dreams of the 1960s and was now a wealthy recluse. For Chapman, the message was clear: Lennon was a fraud, a fraud that the world would be better off without.

Chapman the fan discovered that Lennon the celebrity was human like he was and unable to transcend the trials and tribulations of everyday life. Not surprisingly, Chapman reacted with disbelief and disillusionment. The fan felt cheated and swindled.

The idea of Lennon severing himself from the illusion of celebrity proved to be too much for Mark David Chapman to bear. On December 8, 1980, Chapman waited outside Lennon's apartment building and assassinated John Lennon as he returned from a late-night recording session.

Yet in death Lennon became larger than life. Perhaps no human being in contemporary culture has been written about more than John Lennon. The analysis of his life and times matches the sort of detailed scrutiny usually reserved for the careers of world leaders. Thus, the ghost of John Lennon, the celebrity, haunts us still.


Marilyn Manson - Lamb of God (A tribute he wrote about John Lennon and the cult of celebrity following the Columbine massacre.)

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Saint Patapios of Thebes

St. Patapios of Thebes (Feast Day - December 8)

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

Patapios was born and brought up in the Faith and in the fear of God by pious parents in the Egyptian city of Thebes. At an early age he perceived and abhorred the vanity of this world and withdrew into the wilderness of Egypt. There he devoted himself to a life of asceticism, cleansing his heart of all earthly desires and thoughts, for the sake of God's love. However, when his virtues became known among the people, they began to come to him and to seek solace from him in their sufferings.

Fearing the praise of men, which darkens the minds of men and separates them from God, Patapios fled this wilderness to Constantinople, for this wonderful saint thought that he could hide himself more easily from people in the city than in the wilderness. Patapios built a hut for himself in the proximity of the Church of Blachernae in Constantinople. There, immured and unknown, he continued his interrupted life of eremetic asceticism.

However, a light cannot be hidden. A child, blind from birth, was led by God's providence to St. Patapios. He besought the saint to pray to God that he be given his sight and be able to look upon God's creation-thus allowing him to praise God all the more. Patapius having compassion on the suffering child, prayed to God, and the child's sight was restored. This miracle revealed God's chosen one throughout the entire city, and people rushed to him for healing, comfort and instruction.

Patapios healed an eminent man of dropsy by tracing the sign of the Cross over him and anointing him with oil. By making the sign of the Cross in the air with his hand, he freed a youth from an unclean spirit that had cruelly tormented him. The evil spirit, with a loud shriek, came out from God's creature like smoke. He made the sign of the Cross over a woman who had a sore on her breast all filled with worms, and made her healthy. Many other miracles did St. Patapios perform, all through prayer in the name of Christ and by the sign of the Cross.

He entered into rest peacefully in great old age and took up his habitation in the Heavenly Kingdom in the seventh century.


HYMN OF PRAISE: The Venerable Patapios

Patapius, like a mariner,
Fixes his gaze into the tempest,
Where he will see the light of the harbor
Beyond this vain and glorious world,
Agitated by the winds of passions,
Darkened by the gloom of vanity.
He casts a glance to the heavens -
Patapius, like a mariner.
The spirit is the eye for seeing heaven
And the wondrous heavenly world -
A true spirit in a pure heart.
Patapios, his soul directed to God,
Bathed his heart in tender tears.
Concentrated, he awaits the light,
The light of heaven, the calm harbor -
Patapios, like a mariner.

Whosoever seeks shall find;
Whosoever knocks, to him it shall be opened.
The Merciful God loves the saints,
The thirsty seekers of the Kingdom of God.
He captured Patapios's glance,
And revealed the heavenly light to him.
Patapios saw and he wept -
God's light inflamed by tears -
Until he sailed to the calm harbor.
His life has remained a wondrous sign
To voyagers on the open seas of the world.

Read also: Saint Patapios of Thebes and His Monastery in Loutraki

A Miracle of St. Patapios: "We want the Apolytikion of St. Patapios"

By Fr. Cosmas of Grigoriou

One evening a pious Zairian couple arrived at our Mission Center. I knew them very well because they are assiduous followers of our liturgical services and catechetical teaching. They said to me: 'Father, will you give us the Apolytikion and the Kontakion of St. Patapios?'

'Why is that? And how do you know about St. Patapios?' I asked.

The husband replied as follows: 'Recently we have been through a lot of difficulties in our house. We prayed hard at night for God's help. One night I had this vision in a dream. I could see that I was holding tightly onto a rope and walking towards one of our churches without touching the ground, and my wife was walking behind me in exactly the same way. At that moment, a monk came out of the church and said to us: "Do not be downcast about your problems. Take this Gospel and this prayer-rope, read, pray and call upon my name and I will help you. I am St. Patapios."'

They felt they received these gifts from his hands, and that the Bible was open to the Gospel of St. John. To be sure, with the help of a Zairian, I translated the chants in honour of St. Patapios into Swahili and gave them to the couple, with an icon of the Saint.

From the book Apostle to Zaire: The Life and Legacy of Blessed Cosmas of Grigoriou.

Read of another miracle of St. Patapios here.


Apolytikion of St. Patapios in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone
The image of God, was faithfully preserved in you, O Father. For you took up the Cross and followed Christ. By Your actions you taught us to look beyond the flesh for it passes, rather to be concerned about the soul which is immortal. Wherefore, O Holy Patapius, your soul rejoices with the angels.

Kontakion of the Saint in the Third Tone
Having found thy Church to be a place of spiritual healing, all the people flock with haste thereto, O Saint, and they ask thee to bestow the ready healing of their diseases and forgiveness of the sins they wrought in their lifetime; O Patapius most righteous, in every need, thou art the protector of all.

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American Family Moves To Russia To Be In A More Orthodox Environment

December 8, 2010
Interfax

Pavel and Betsy Pritup emigrated from the USA to Russia to bring up their children in the Orthodox faith. They have lived in the Karelian village Vedlozero for almost a year.

"We want to bring up our children in national Russian traditions, in Orthodoxy. We had prepared for moving and got acquainted with young families from Karelia on the Internet," the housefather was quoted as saying by the Rossiyskay Gazeta on Wednesday.

Pavel was born in a small Siberian village not far from Irkutsk, finished school in Ukraine and received higher education in the States. He got acquainted with his future wife Betsy in the University; she specialized in History, including Russian.

The two elder sons, five-year-old Nikita and tree-year-old Ilya were born in the USA, and the youngest Mikhail was born in Petrozavodsk.

"We learn with our mum every day. Here is our schedule, in English. We start the day with prayer, then math, writing and reading," Nikita says about his day, and adds that he loves Russia, but wishes "towns were cleaner."

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3 Billion & Counting: The Cost of Banning DDT

By Dennis T. Avery

3 Billion and Counting is a new documentary film on the awful human cost of banning DDT. The film’s producer, medical doctor Rutledge Taylor, circled the tropical world, finding that malaria has claimed some three billion human lives throughout history—and the toll of needless deaths is continuing to mount by perhaps 1.5 million per year. Moreover, it permanently debilitates millions more. Taylor says malaria treatment is a “tangle of red tape, misguided prevention policies and treatment that is ineffective in the face of continual re-infection.” Above all, he found “willful deafness to the pleas of local populations to help them eradicate the mosquitoes that deliver the deadly cargo.”

Steve Milloy at Junkscience.com has called DDT “a weapon of mass survival.”

Rachel Carson ignited the environmental movement when her book Silent Spring warned the world in 1962 that “DDT would be proven to be a [human] carcinogen.” In fact, no peer-reviewed evidence ever indicted DDT as a carcinogen—or a human health risk of any sort.

What about DDT thinning the eggshells of raptor birds? Audubon counted virtually no eagles in its annual “lower-48 states” Christmas bird counts from 1900 until after 1940. The birds were shot and poisoned for “stealing” fish, lambs, and poultry. The public thought eagles were just big, aggressive predators. Finally, in 1940, Congress passed the Bald Eagle Protection Act. The eagles began a long, initially-slow comeback. Today, Audubon typically records more than 15,000 eagles every Christmas—and the DDT ban had no role in their comeback.

But Rachel Carson struck a public nerve. DDT and window screens had eradicated malaria in America and Europe. Well and good. But then DDT started radically reducing the death rates of the brown, black, and yellow people in the tropics. Paul Ehrlich wrote his incendiary screed The Population Bomb in 1968, and the American public recoiled in horror at “overpopulation.”

Rutledge Taylor traces the horrific DDT mistake back to one man: William Ruckelshaus, the Nixon-appointed lawyer who headed the EPA in 1972. An EPA judge heard more than 100 expert witnesses, and ruled that DDT was not a carcinogen, nor did it pose a threat to mammals, fish or birds. Ruckelshaus overruled his own judge, and banned DDT. He had attended none of the hearing, and admitted later he’d never read any of the transcript. Dr. Taylor concludes he did it to please his friends in the Environmental Defense Fund.

The American DDT ban triggered similar bans across the First World—and with it, their refusal to fund its use in poor countries. Malaria re-surged all over the tropics. Rachel Carson, and Ruckelshaus were the indirect cause of more deaths than Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Genghis Khan combined. You can even throw in the Black Plague and still not match the numbers.

DDT is not only the most cost-effective mosquito killer, it is also a powerful mosquito repellent. If tropic homes get a mild interior DDT whitewash, the insects don’t come in, bite somebody, and then die two hours later. They just don’t come in! DDT is, by itself, capable of reducing a malaria outbreak by 80 percent—quickly.

Global population is now rapidly stabilizing, and will trend slowly down after 2050. Is it time to renounce the “overpopulation” panic and use the best chemistry to suppress the awful malaria scourge? Remember, each case of malaria causes not only the victim’s near-constant suffering, but the need for much nursing care from his family. Malaria may be enough, by destroying the vigorous health of its citizens, to explain the poverty of so many tropical countries

Meanwhile, Ohio’s governor is trying for an EPA waiver for malathion, another persistent pesticide, to control the bedbugs that were once eradicated by DDT and are making a vigorous comeback. We wish him good luck.

Conflict of interest note: I was proud to be interviewed in this film, and received no remuneration. My deepest thanks go to Dr. Taylor for his constructive dedication to correcting our society’s massive, tragic malaria mistake.

Dennis T. Avery is a senior fellow for the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C. and an environmental economist. He was formerly a senior analyst for the Department of State. He is co-author, with S. Fred Singer of "Unstoppable Global Warming Every 1500 Years". Readers may write to him at PO Box 202 Churchville, VA 24421 or email to cgfi@hughes.net.



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A Poem On the Spirit Holy Meekness and Angerlessness

While Elder Athanasios of Grigoriou (+ 1953) was abbot of Grigoriou Monastery on Mount Athos, he took special care in teaching his spiritual children meekness and angerlessness. To do this he even became a poet to give them verses to read on the subject. One monk received from the Elder the following poem:

On Holy Meekness

By Elder Athanasios of Grigoriou

Sweet it is, most sweet of all,
To be meek and gentle.

When a man abuses me,
Why should I insult him?
Will his fury ever cease
If I return his curses?

His anger carries him away,
and I respond in kind.
Till through his harsh ferocity,
I am brought low.

In the hour of passionate rage,
I shall hold my peace.
The madness will cool and pass away
If I let it end with me.

Afterwards, by peace and sweetness
Do I strike the unjust one,
And I am better heard by him
Than if I had struck back in wrath.

From Contemporary Ascetics of Mount Athos (vol. 1) by Archimandrite Cherubim, p. 160.

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The Delusions of Catholic Mystics

Tell Me Who Your Saints Are, And I Will Tell You What Your Church IS

By Alexei Ilyich Osipov

In order to understand what one or another Christian Church is, it is enough, without even touching its doctrine, to look at its saints. The tree is known by its fruits, and any Church declares those people saints who embodied its ideal in their lives. A saint's canonization therefore reflects that Church's testimony not only about the Christian it is holding up as an example to follow, but it is also primarily the given Church's testimony about its own self. You can more accurately judge the authenticity, or false sanctity, of the Church itself by its saints.

Now, first of all, I will pause at the comparison between the saints of the largest Christian Churches—the [Roman] Catholic and the Orthodox Churches.

One of the major pillars of Catholic sanctity is St. Francis of Assisi (thirteenth century). His spiritual self-awareness is sufficiently clearly revealed from the following facts. One day, St. Francis prayed very long (the subject of his prayer is extraordinarily telling) "about two mercies." "The first is that I … could … experience all the sufferings that You, Sweetest Jesus, experienced in Your torturous passion. The second mercy … is that … I might feel … that boundless love with which You, the Son of God, burned." As we see, St. Francis was not troubled by a feeling of his own sinfulness, as all saints are; clearly seen here is his open pretension to equality with Christ in His sufferings and His love! During this prayer, St. Francis "felt himself completely become Jesus," and something happened to him that had never before happened in the history of the Church: painful, bleeding wounds (stigmata) appeared on him—the marks of "Jesus' sufferings."[1]

Here we must note that the nature of these stigmata is well known in psychiatry. Unceasing concentration of the attention on Christ's sufferings on the cross extremely arouse a person's nerves and psyche, and if practiced long enough, can evoke this phenomenon. There is nothing supernatural or miraculous here. In this "compassion" for Christ, there is not the true love about which the Lord spoke plainly: "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me" (Jn. 14:21). To the contrary, the substitution of dreamy experiences of "compassion" for the struggle with one's own sinful passions is one of the most serious mistakes in spiritual life, which has lead, and still leads, ascetics to self-conceit and pride — obvious prelest, often connected with outright psychological disturbance (see the "sermon" of St. Francis to the birds, the wolf, the turtle-doves, the snakes, the flowers, etc.; his reverence before the fire, the stones, the worms). It is no wonder therefore that St. Francis claimed to redeem the sins of other people through his imitation of Christ.

Also telling is the life's goal that St. Francis set for himself: "I labored and want to labor … because this brings honor."[2] Isn't this why he said openly at the end of his life, "I am not aware of any sin on my part that I have not redeemed through confession and repentance"?[3] All this testifies to his ignorance of his own sins, his unworthiness before God—that is, to total spiritual catastrophe.

By contrast, we cite the moment before death from the life of St. Sisoes the Great (fifth century). "Surrounded at the moment of his death by the brothers, at that minute when he was as if conversing with unseen beings, the brothers' asked him, 'Father, tell us, with whom are you conversing?' Sisoes answered, 'They are angels who have come to take me, but I am praying them to leave me for a short time, in order to repent.' At this the brothers, knowing that Sisoes was perfect in the virtues, protested, 'You have no need to repent, father.' Sisoes replied, 'Truly, I do not know if I have even begun to repent.'"[4] This deep knowledge of one's own imperfection is the main distinguishing characteristic of all true saints.

Here are passages from the notes of Blessed Angela (thirteenth–fourteenth centuries).[5]

"The Holy Spirit," she writes, says to her, "My daughter, My sweetness … I love you very much." "I was with the apostles, and they saw Me with their physical eyes, but they did not feel Me as you do." Then, Angela reveals about herself, "I see in the darkness the Holy Trinity, and it seems to me that I am standing and abiding in the center of the Trinity, which I see in the darkness." She expressed her relationship to Jesus Christ, for example, in such words: "I could bring myself entirely into Jesus Christ." Or, "From His sweetness, and from the sorrow of His departure, I shouted and wanted to die." At this, she began to beat herself so badly that the nuns had to carry her out of the church.

One of the greatest Russian religious thinkers of the twentieth century, A. F. Losev, made a biting yet true assessment of Angela's "revelations." He writes, "The seductiveness and delusion of the flesh leads to the point where the Holy Spirit appears to Blessed Angela and whispers these amorous words: 'My daughter, My sweetness, My daughter, My temple, My daughter, my delight, love Me, for I love you greatly, much more than you love Me." The saint is in a sweet languor, and can't contain herself from this love. Her beloved keeps appearing, enflaming her body, heart, and blood. The cross of Christ appears to her as a marriage bed… What could be more contrary to the Byzantine-Muscovite austere and chaste asceticism as these continual blasphemous statements: 'My soul was received into the uncreated light and carried up,' these passionate gazes at the Cross of Christ, at the wounds of Christ, and at different parts of His Body, this forced evoking of bloody spots on her own body, and so on, and so forth? Finally, Christ embraces Angela with His arm which was nailed to the Cross, and she, outside herself with languor, torment, and happiness, says, "Sometimes, from this close embrace, it seems to my soul that it goes into the side of Christ. And the joy that it obtains there, and the light, cannot be retold. They are so great that sometimes I could not stand on my feet, but lay there, unable to speak... and my limbs would go numb."[6]

Another outstanding feature of Catholic sanctity is Catherine of Sienna (fourteenth century), raised by Pope Paul VI to the highest rank of saint—"Doctor of the Church." I will read a few notes about her taken from the Catholic book by Antonio Sicari, Portraits of Saints,[7] published in Russian. These citations (emphasized by me) require no comment.

Catherine was about twenty years old. "She felt that a decisive turnaround should happen in her life, and she continued piously praying to her Lord Jesus, repeating that beautiful, tender formula, which became customary to her: 'Unite with me by marriage in faith!'"

"One day Catherine had a vision: her divine Bridegroom, embracing her, drew her to Himself, but then took her heart out of her chest in order to give her another heart, more resembling His own."

One day, they said that she died. "She herself later said that her heart was torn by the force of divine love, that she had gone through death, and 'had seen the heavenly gates. But "Return, My child," said the Lord to me, "You need to return… I will bring you to the princes and rulers of the Church." "And the humble girl began to send her epistles throughout the whole world—long letters, which she dictated with amazing speed, often three or four at a time, and for various reasons, so that the secretaries could not keep up."

"In Catherine's letters the repeated and insistent use of the phrase, 'I want' particularly stands out." "Some say that in an ecstatic state, she even addressed the insistent words 'I want' to Christ."

From her correspondence with Pope Gregory XI, who she had convinced to return from Avignon to Rome: "I tell you from the name of Christ … I tell you, father, in Jesus Christ… Answer the call of the Holy Spirit which has addressed you."

She writes to the ruler of Milan, "About the Pope, to whom she is entrusted ('even if he were the devil in the flesh, I should not lift my head against him.')"

"To the King of France she writes: 'Do God's will, and my will.'"

No less telling are the "revelations" given to the "Doctor of the Church," Teresa of Avila (sixteenth century) also made known by Pope Paul VI. Before her death, she exclaims, "O my God, my Spouse, finally I shall see You!" This exceedingly strange exclamation is not accidental. It is the logical result of Teresa's whole "spiritual" exercise, the essence of which is revealed in the following fact.

She was so caught up in her "revelations," that she did not see the devil's delusion even in such an outrageous vision as the one cited below. (The Valaam elder, Schema-Abbot John, assessed her spiritual state as follows: "Instead of deification [theosis], a passionate person will become a dreamer, like the Catholic Teresa."[8])

After his many appearances, "Christ" says to Teresa, "From this day forward, you shall be My spouse… From now on, I am not only your Creator and God, but also your Spouse"[9] "Lord, that I either suffer with You, or die for You!" prayed Teresa and fell down, writes D. Merezhovsky, "in exhaustion from these caresses…" (I cannot cite any more.) It is no wonder, therefore, when Teresa admits, "My Beloved calls my soul with such a penetrating whistle, that I cannot but hear it. This call acts upon the soul so that it is exhausted from desire." It is no accident that the famous American psychologist William James assesses her mystical experience as follows: "The main idea of her religion seems to be an amatory flirtation—if one may say so without irreverence—between the devotee and the deity."[10]

Yet another illustration of sanctity in Catholicism is Therese of Lisieux ("The Little Flower," or "Of the Child Jesus"), who, in 1997, the centennial of her repose, was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by the "infallible" decision of Pope John Paul II. Here are several quotes from the spiritual biography of Therese, who only lived to the age of twenty-two, which eloquently witness to her spiritual state (The Story of a Soul [Paris, 1996]).

"During a conversation before my tonsure, I gave a report of the activities I intend to undertake in Carmel. ‘I came to save souls, and first of all, to pray for priests.'” Not having saved herself yet, she came to save others!

She seemingly writes about her unworthiness, but then adds, '"I always harbor the bold hope that I will become a great saint.… I thought that I was born for glory, and sought a path to its accomplishment. And the Lord God … revealed to me that my glory would not be visible to the mortal gaze, and the essence of it consisted in the fact that I would become a great saint!” (See St. Macarius the Great, who was called by his co-ascetics "an earthly god," who only prayed, "God cleanse me a sinner, for I have never done anything good in Thy sight.") Later Theresa writes something even more frank: "In the heart of my Mother the Church I will be Love … then I will be everything … and through this my dream will come true!”

This teaching of Therese's about spiritual love is telling in the extreme. "This was the kiss of love. I felt beloved and said, ‘I love You and entrust myself to You forever.' There was neither forgiveness, nor struggle, nor sacrifice; already, long ago, Jesus and little, poor Theresa looked at each other and understood everything.… This day brought not an exchange of views, but a mingling, when there are no longer two; and Theresa disappeared like a drop of water lost in the depths of the ocean." There is no need to comment on this dreamy romance of a poor girl, who the Catholic Church has—alas! called its "Doctor."

The methodical development of imagination is based in the experience of one of the pillars of Catholic mysticism, the founder of the order of Jesuits and great Catholic saint Ignatius of Loyola (sixteenth century).

His book Spiritual Exercises is a mainstay in Catholic monasteries, and insistently calls upon the Christian to imagine the Holy Trinity and the conversation of the Three Persons, Christ, the Mother of God, the Angels, and so on. This is all categorically forbidden by the saints of the Universal Church. They testify that when an ascetic begins to live in his fantasies, to look at himself in his own "films," and believe them, instead of fulfilling Christ's commandments and struggling with his passions, he comes to complete spiritual and emotional disturbance.

The authoritative collection of ascetical writings of the ancient Church, The Philokalia, decisively forbids such "spiritual exercises." Here are few quotes from that book.

St. Neilos of Sinai (fifth century) warns, "Do not desire to physically see the Angels or Powers, or Christ, that you may not lose your mind from accepting a wolf instead of a shepherd, and worshipping our adversaries, the demons."[11]

St. Symeon the New Theologian (ninth century), discusses those who while praying, "imagine heavenly blessings, the ranks of angels, or habitations of the saints," stating plainly that "this is a sign of prelest (delusion)." "They are deluded who are on that path, who see light with their physical eyes, smell fragrances with their sense of smell, hear voices with their ears, and suchlike."[12]

How right was that nobleman (St. Ignatius Brianchaninov wrote about him), who, when seeing the Catholic book The Imitation of Christ by Thomas Kempis (fifteenth century) in his daughter's hands, tore it away from her, saying, "Stop playing romance with God." The examples cited above leave no doubt as to the reasonableness of these words. It is a great misfortune that in Catholicism, as we can see, people have ceased to differentiate between the spiritual and the emotional, sanctity and fantasy. This is the greatest calamity that can befall any Christian Church.

Notes:

1. M.V. Lodyzhensky, Unseen Light (St. Petersburg, 1915) 109.

2. St. Francis of Assisi. Works (Moscow, Franciscan publishers: 1995) 20; 145.

3. Lodyzhensky, 129.

4. Ibid., 133.

5. The Revelations of Blessed Angela (Moscow, 1918).

6. A. F. Losev, Sketch of Ancient Symbolism and Mythology (Moscow, 1930) 1:867–868.

7. Antonio Siccari, Portraits of Saints, (Milan, 1991).

8. Valaam Elder Schema-Abbot John (Alexeyev), Letters on the Spiritual Life (Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra, 2007), 268.

9. D. C. Merezhkovsky, Spanish Mystics (Brussels, 1988), 88.

10. William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience (New York: Barnes and Noble Classics, 2004), 304.

11. St. Neilos of Sinai, "153 Chapters On Prayer,"chap. 115, The Philokalia, 5:2 (Moscow, 1884), 237.

12. St. Symeon the New Theologian, "On Three Kinds of Prayer," The Philokalia (Moscow, 1900), 463–464.


Source: An excerpt from the article "Why Are We Orthodox?".

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The Child-Martyr Philothea of Romania

Virgin Martyr Philothea of Romania (Feast Day - December 7)

Saint Philothea (Philofthea or Philothei) of Argesh was born in Trnovo, the old capital of Bulgaria, around 1206. Her father was a farmer, and her mother was from Wallachia. She died when Philothea was still a child, and her father remarried.

The child was often punished by her stepmother, who accused her of being disobedient, and of giving their possesions away to the poor. Her father chastised her for this, but Philothea continued to attend church services and to do good to others, just as her mother had taught her. As she grew older, she was adorned with the virtues of prayer, virginity, and almsgiving.

St Philothea used to bring food to her father, who was out working in the fields. Not all of the food reached him, however, because the girl would give some of it to the poor children begging in the street. When he complained to his wife that she did not prepare enough food for him, she replied, "I send you plenty of food. Ask your daughter what she does with it."

Becoming angry with Philothea, her father decided to spy on her to see what happened to the food. From a place of concealment, he saw her giving food to the poor children who came to her. In a violent rage, he took the axe from his belt and threw it at the twelve-year-old girl, hitting her in the leg. The wound was mortal, and she soon gave her pure soul into God's hands.

The man was filled with fear and remorse, and tried to lift his daughter's body from the ground, but it became as heavy as a rock. Then the wretch ran to the Archbishop of Trnovo to confess his sin and explain what had happened. The Archbishop and his clergy went with candles and incense to take up the martyr's body and bring it to the cathedral, but even they were unable to lift it.

The Archbishop realized that St Philothea did not wish to remain in her native land, so he began to name various monasteries, churches, and cathedrals to see where she wished to go. Not until he named the Monastery of Curtea de Arges in Romania were they able to lift her holy relics and place them in a coffin. The Archbishop wrote to the Romanian Voievode Radu Negru, asking him to accept the saint's relics.

The Archbishop and his clergy carried the holy relics in procession as far as the Danube, where they were met by Romanian clergy, monastics, and the faithful. Then they were carried to the Curtea de Arges Monastery.

Many people have been healed at the tomb of St Philothea in a small chapel in the belltower behind the monastery church, and those who entreat her intercession receive help from her. Each year on December 7 there is a festal pilgrimage to the Monastery, and people come from all over Romania. The relics of St Philothea are carried around the courtyard in procession, and there are prayers for the sick.

The Holy Virgin Martyr Philothea is venerated in Romania, Bulgaria, and throughout the Orthodox world.

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Reflections On The Nativity Fast

Make ready, O Bethlehem; let the manger be prepared, let the cave show its welcome. The Truth is come, the shadow is passed away...(From the First Royal Hour of the Nativity).

It is the Eve of the Nativity when these words are sung. The transformation of the world, the birth of God, is but hours away, and it is through such words that the faithful are called to attentiveness and anticipation. 'Make ready, O Bethlehem.' We can see the radiant lights of the feast just beyond the horizon, we can taste the sweetness of the miracle that took place beneath a star; and through the words chanted in the Church, the coming of the birth of God is made a reality to us. We make ready, and we wait.

Why the Fast?

But this is not the first moment of preparation for the Feast. For forty days the Church has been setting herself in readiness, drawing her attention to the mystery to come, waiting in expectation. In anticipation of the great joy that is to come on Christmas day, she has taken up the task considered by so many as the opposite of joy: fasting, with all its rigor, its harshness, its discomfort. For Orthodox Christians everywhere, the fast is that which leads to the radiant wonder of the Nativity of Christ.

Why do we often feel, that this fast 'stands in the way,' so to speak, of our arrival at Christmas rejoicing? The fast seems awkward because so often we see Christmas as joy alone and do not appreciate fully the deep and profound mystery that is at the heart of our rejoicing. 'Hark, the herald angels sing!' we are eager to remember, but we forget the universal significance of the event that is the cause of the angels’ singing. It is not just that a Babe is born, but He Who is without birth is born. He Who created all things is made a created Child. He Who holds the universe in the palm of His hand, is held in the hands of a tender mother.

Before Thy birth, O Lord, as the noetic hosts looked with trembling on the mystery, they were struck with awe: for Thou Who hast adorned the vault of heaven with stars, wast well pleased to be born as a little babe; and Thou wast laid in a manger of dumb beasts, Who holdest all the uttermost parts of the earth in Thy hand. For by such a dispensation hath Thy compassion been made known, O Christ, our great mercy, glory be to Thee (from the Third Royal Hour).

We do not tremble when we think of Christmas; we are not struck with the wonder of the Nativity. Instead, we buy gifts and plan parties, catching a glimpse of the joy of the Feast, but without a heart immersed in its wonder. Thus the fast becomes something we must 'get through' in order to reach that joyful day. When we arrive there, however, if this has been our attitude, we are spiritually bewildered by the hymns with which the Church fills our hearts. We find ourselves joined to a celebration of triumphal release from bondage, but we little understand what that bondage means. We sing songs of joy for deliverance, but we do not truly comprehend how we are enslaved. We find ourselves suddenly transported to the mountaintop, but unless we have climbed there from the valley far below, the scene we see is only another beautiful picture casually set before our eyes, and not the vision for which we have worked and struggled and longed with all our being. We may feel joy, perhaps even Christmas joy; but we will know, deep inside, that our joy is not like that which is exalted in the hymn:

Be glad, O ye righteous; ye heavens rejoice exceedingly; ye mountains, skip for joy, as Christ is born. Imitating the Cherubim, the Virgin becometh a throne, carrying in her bosom God the Word incarnate. Shepherds glorify Him that is born. Magi offer gifts unto the Master; and Angels sing praises, saying: 'O incomprehensible Lord, glory be to Thee’ (first sticheron of the Praises, Nativity Matins).

An Ascetic Journey

The fast of the Nativity is the Church's wise solace and aid to human infirmity. We are a spiritually forgetful people, but God knows our forgetfulness. We who run afar off from Him are called to return. We who fall far from God through the magnitude of our sins are called nonetheless to be close to Him. Through the fast that precedes the great Feast of the Incarnation, the Church helps draw us into the full mystery of what that call entails.

Like Great Lent, the fast of the Nativity is a journey—a journey toward that salvation first promised to Adam in God's curse laid upon the serpent (Gen 3.14-15). The One who will crush the head of the serpent, of sin and the devil is He to Whom the star leads us. Come, ye faithful, let us see where Christ the Saviour hath been born; let us follow with the kings, even the Magi from the East, unto the place where the star doth direct their journey. (sessional hymn, Nativity Matins). Let us 'join the Magi', let us 'follow' and 'behold.’ The fast of the Nativity is our journey into a new and marvelous life in the Holy Trinity.

A journey is, by its nature, naturally ascetic. Unless my life is already humble, I cannot take all my possessions on a journey. I can never be too reliant on the plans I have made for my journey. In this case, a control lying beyond the self, i.e., God’s grace, must be admitted and accepted. This is the spirit to which the fast calls us.

A journey is, by its nature, also, an act of movement, of growth. What is old is left behind; newness is perceived and embraced; growth of understanding takes place. And even if the journey comes to a close in the same physical location from which it began, that place is no longer quite the same. This is the importance of the fast. The Nativity is a life-changing miracle for each one of us.

Make ready, O Bethlehem: let the manger be prepared, let the cave show its welcome. The Truth is come, the shadow is passed away; God hath appeared from a Virgin unto men formed as we are, and deifying that which He hath assumed. Wherefore, Adam is renewed with Eve, as they cry out: 'Thy good will hath appeared on earth to save our race’ (sticheron from the First Royal Hour).

We are renewed

Adam and Eve, all of humankind, are renewed and made alive in the Incarnation of God in Christ, who 'appeared on earth to save our kind.’ Fallen flesh, so long bound to death, so long yearning for growth and maturation into the fullness of life, is sewn into the garment of Christ and at last made fully alive. There is a pleasing old saying, with perhaps more than a touch of truth to it, that humankind drew its first full breath at the infant Christ's first cry.

We are called, then, to approach this great mystery as God's condescension into our own lives, personally and collectively. The Second Canon for the Nativity explains it clearly: He layeth a path for us unto Heaven. The Nativity is not only about God's coming down to us, but about our rising up to Him, just as sinful humanity was lifted up into the person of Christ in the Incarnation itself.

We are called to arise, then, during the fast that is the journey to this Feast. O Blessed One, that lookest down and seest all; keep us above sin, who ever sing Thy praises, steadfast and unmoved on the foundation of faith (from the Second Canon of the Nativity.) The faithful take up this call by abandoning those things which bind, rather than free, in order that a focus on God might become ever more real and central to our daily life. Meals are lessened and regimented, that a constant, lingering hunger may remind us of the great need we each have for spiritual food that goes beyond our daily bread. The number of Church services is gradually increased, that we might know whence comes that true food. Sweets and drink are set aside, that we might never feel content with the trivial and temporal joys of this world. Social engagements are reduced, that we might realize that all is not so well with us as we often take it to be. Anything which holds the slightest power over us, whether television or travel or recreation, is minimized or, better, cast wholly aside, that we might bring ourselves to be possessed and governed only by God.

Through this time of asceticism, the Church strips away common stumbling blocks into sin, in order to provide us with the self-perception that we lack in our typical indulgence, and to help us begin to grow the seeds of virtue. We must take up the task of our own purification, achieved only through God’s grace, that we might approach Him on Christmas Day as did the Magi and the shepherds in Bethlehem:

Come, O ye faithful, let us be lifted up with divine inspiration, and let us behold the divine condescension from on high that is made manifest to us in Bethlehem. And being cleansed in mind, by our way of life let us offer virtues in the stead of myrrh, faithfully preparing our entry into the Feast of the Nativity, storing up treasure in our souls and crying: Glory in the highest to God in Trinity, through Whom His good will is revealed to men, that as the Friend of man He may deliver Adam from the ancestral curse (from the Sixth Royal Hour).

The Mystery Brings Joy

Resurrection unto life is the ultimate gift of the Incarnation. Those in the Church journey toward the birth of Christ God during the Nativity fast by struggling up the mountain that is too steep to climb without God’s grace, that they might learn that unless a man understands that he is dead, he will never know the meaning of resurrection.

The fast is a holy and blessed tool that brings us closer to such selfawareness. It reveals to us who we are, perhaps more importantly, who we are not, and makes us more consciously aware of what we desperately need. Then and only then, with eyes opened, even if only partially, by the ascetic endeavor, we will truly know the life-giving light of the Nativity of Christ. We will hear with awe the proclamation of the hymn at Vespers, perceiving the mystery presented therein as having become truly an inward part of us.

Come, let us rejoice in the Lord as we declare this present mystery. The middle wall of partition is broken asunder; the flaming sword is turned back, the Cherubim withdraw from the Tree of Life, and I partake of the Paradise of Delight, whence I was cast out before through disobedience. For the Identical Likeness of the Father, the Express Image of His eternity, taketh the form of a servant, and without undergoing change He cometh forth from a Mother that knew not wedlock. For that which He was, He hath remained, even true God; and that which He was not, He hath taken upon Himself, becoming man out of love for man. Unto Him let us cry: O God, Who art born of a Virgin, have mercy on us (first sticheron from Vespers of the Nativity).

We will never fully comprehend this ineffable mystery of God become man; some knowledge is properly God's alone. But by His grace, through the ascetic effort, we will come at least to some understanding of the salvation of Christmas Day, of our own salvation. And with this realization comes joy— joy far greater than a mere entrance into the temple on Christmas Day could ever bring us. And having come through the forty days of the fast, with this joy in our hearts, we shall embrace the hymnographer’s words as our own.

On this day the Virgin cometh to the cave to give birth to God the Word ineffably, Who was before all the ages. Dance for joy O earth, on hearing the gladsome tidings; the angels and the shepherds now glorify Him Who is willing to be gazed on as a young Child Who before the ages is God (kontakion of the Forefeast).

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Video: The Theology of the Body

These videos (in Greek) are a portion of a lecture on the Theology of the Body by Fr. Nikolaos Loudovikos, Professor of Systematic Theology at the University Ecclesiastical Academy of Thessaloniki.

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The Unfortunate Effects Apocalyptic Beliefs Can Have On Morality

Jonathan D. Fitzgerald
December 5, 2010
The Huffington Post

When I was a kid I knew The World was going to Hell in a hand basket. I didn't know what that phrase meant, still don't really, but I knew that it was one of the only times I could get away with saying hell, because it wasn't swearing. The World was actually going there.

Perhaps a couple definitions are necessary here at the outset. In my conservative, evangelical-before-we-knew-what-evangelical-was upbringing, Hell meant that very literal -- perhaps underground -- place where real flames burn real, bad people forever. And The World meant non-Christians, as in "be in the world, but not of it." Evangelicals often refer to any not-usses, any thems, as The World.

So, The World was on a steady decline to the pits of Hell, which began, well, when it all began, when the literal Adam and Eve ate the literal apple, handed them by the literal snake who literally was Satan in disguise and sin entered into the previously pristine world. The thing about this decline though, is that we were all okay with it. It's not that we wanted to live in a world that was getting worse; it was just that we didn't want to live in The World at all. And though there are many variations of this belief, typical evangelical eschatology says that in order for Jesus to come back the world has to get so bad that the only solution is to scoop up his followers, burn the whole place down and start again.

This being the case, we knew that what we were seeing around us, the fact that more and more swear words slipped through the FCC's slackening grip and made their way into our homes via our televisions, that more magazine covers revealed more skin, that PG movies were more like PG-13 movies, that a Democrat got elected, and then had a public affair, and then stayed in office; these were all signs that things were going according to plan.

The only problem, as far as my 8-year-old self was concerned, was that things weren't moving along quickly enough. My parents used to tell me stories about how in the 1970s they were certain that it was all coming to an end. But then Reagan became president and, I guess, things started looking up again for the good guys. I had to do something to help speed up the process.

My solution came in the form of one of the greatest evils of the 80s: MTV. I wasn't allowed to watch music videos, not even the harmless VH1 variety. Clearly, I concluded, the more viewers MTV had, the sooner Armageddon would happen. Therefore I resolved to make any and all of my non-Christian friends tune in often, and sometimes, even, when I was sitting on the couch beside them. I would hand a friend the remote to my family's old JC Penney television set, tell him to type in 3 and 6 and when MTV blinked on the screen and Axl Rose screamed "Take me down to Paradise City..." my friend would turn to me with a horrified look on his face and say something like, "But we're not allowed to watch this." To which I would respond, "I'm not, because I'm a Christian, but I think it's okay for you."

Diabolical, wasn't I? In the end, all this accomplished for me was a few spankings and an uncompromising love of popular culture.

Certainly this is religion as seen through a child's eyes, but it is also emblematic of the kind of Christianity I grew up in -- one so concerned with individual salvation that its very standards of morality are a means toward that end. This is the same morality that cares nothing for the earth because it will eventually be destroyed, or for those who are not receptive to evangelism as their fates are sealed.

This morality really is amorality, a void where actual care and concern for what is right should be -- rules and regulations in place of grace and virtue. If there is a list of activities that one must do or not do in order to achieve personal salvation, this list must necessarily trump everything else. I must do whatever is necessary to secure paradise for myself. My morality matters most; yours, very little.

As much as the people in my church hated the idea of relativism -- which they saw as a kind of ultimate evil that, if ever it were to take hold, would assure that there would be no ultimate evil - the relative nature of the preferred evangelical morality seems to have gone completely unnoticed.

But, Christianity is not really about personal salvation. As a Christian, my life should matter less to me than the lives of others. In this way, too, my sense of morality must reflect this understanding: it is not what I can do for myself that is of value, but how I can make life better for those around me. Or, as Hegel prescribes in his Lectures on the Philosophy of History, striving toward spiritual perfection in one's own life is not enough, rather the Christian believer must actively transform the physical world into a place more habitable for "free, spiritual beings."

This shift fortunately corresponds to a larger shift that is taking place among evangelicals, or post-evangelicals as many of us who have walked away from the warehouses and former department stores that served as the evangelical churches we were raised in are often identified as now. If evangelicalism was concerned, first and foremost, with personal salvation, we must make a conscious effort to shift our attentions outward; not to police the morality of others but to mind how our own actions help or hurt them, to ensure our motivations are right.

Granted, this outlook isn't going to speed up the onslaught of the Apocalypse, but it might make the time between now and Armageddon that much more pleasant for everyone.

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Why Few Disillusioned Anglicans Will Join the Orthodox Church

By Archpriest Andrew Phillips

Introduction

Currently the Church of England is racked by division concerning the ordination of homosexual clergy and female bishops. There are now Anglicans who have already left or who are planning to leave the Church of England because they cannot square such ‘modernisation’ with their consciences. Some speak of ‘the end of the Church of England’. Most who leave seem to join other Protestant groups or else go to Roman Catholicism. A third option is to start a new, or else join an old, ‘Continuing Anglican Church’, of which there are several. A fourth option, the least likely, is to join one of the Orthodox Churches. Why is this fourth option by far the least popular? There are several reasons:

1. Motivation

We must wonder about the motivations of those who object to ‘woman bishops’. The doctrine of the Church of England was largely moulded by a woman, Queen Elizabeth I, and the current head of the Church of England is her namesake, Queen Elizabeth II. The wider Anglican Communion has had ‘woman-bishops’ for years. And what logic is there in the concept that you can have ‘woman-priests’, but not woman-bishops? This is like saying that you can have woman-teachers, but not woman-headteachers. You cannot help suspecting a certain misogyny and clericalism in the opposition to ‘woman-priests’ in what is, after all, a Protestant, that is, non-sacramental, denomination. The reason why female clergy are unthinkable in the Orthodox Church is not because of misogyny, but because Christ-God did not appoint women as apostles. If Anglicans were going to leave the Church of England about female clergy, they should have left when female clergy were first introduced. However, if they wished to join the Orthodox Church because of this issue, then they needed a positive reason to join it, not a negative reason to leave somewhere else.

Again, there is much lack of logic with the question of homosexual clergy. They have existed for generations in the Church of England and relatively openly. A small section of senior clergy of the C of E long ago gained notoriety for sodomy and pedophilia in public schools. As one member of the C of E said to me a few years ago: ‘I can’t see anything wrong with it, as long as they are discreet’. In other words, everything is fine as long as you are hypocritical. Orthodox look for honesty, logic and consistency in the motivation of those who say that they wish to join the Orthodox Church. How otherwise will former Anglicans reach the next stage, when, having formally joined the Church, they actually have to become Orthodox, which can be a very different story.

2. The Tradition, the Liturgy and the Sense of the Sacred

Few Anglicans will join the Orthodox Church because our liturgical heritage is so radically different – the Orthodox Church is nearly 2,000 years old, the Church of England not yet 500 years old. Therefore, in the latter, standing up and singing Victorian or modern songs together and sitting down and listening to long speeches about current events (sermons) is very important. In the Orthodox Church we come to church to pray, following rites which have scarcely changed since apostolic times, as for example is witnessed to by baptism by immersion, confirmation given with baptism, communion in both kinds, communion given to babies, confession, our frequent use of the sign of the cross (and in its original form), the use of candles, incense, a screen, a veil over the altar doors and a seven-branched candlestick. For the same reason of apostolicity, we stand for worship, both our creed and calendar, confirmed in the fourth century, are zealously adhered to and we do not use the novelty of organs or other musical instruments.

Orthodox worship therefore comes as a culture shock to those who come from forms of worship which date back only few generations or at best, a few centuries. Moreover, Anglican worship, when not wholly moulded by modern secularism, is defined by its revolt against Roman Catholicism. And the latter, despite many abuses and deformations, is actually older than that of the Church of England and still has some liturgical sense - though at present its sense of the sacred, of holiness, is often utterly deficient. To be honest, it is clear that Anglicans have simply lost the sense of the Tradition (the inspirations of the Holy Spirit over nearly 2,000 years) and therefore they only have recent human conventions and customs to mould their worship. And in losing the Tradition, Anglicans have also lost the sacraments and sacramental sense. This can be the only explanation for their introduction of female clergy, who, in their case, are social workers – and some of them surely very good social workers - but not priests.

3. The Ascetic Sense

The Orthodox Church is the only original Church, therefore it is an ascetic Church, as it was in the times of St John the Baptist, of the apostles in Jerusalem, as it was in the catacombs, as it was in the deserts of Egypt, as it still is today. Our guardians are in monasticism, which has nothing to do with the secular criteria of the Church of England. The fact that we stand for worship is for example an almost impossible barrier for most Anglicans. The fact that we are called on to fast for half the year is another impossible barrier for most. For example, our whole ethos of preparation for communion, fasting, reading of prayers and confession, is alien to a group in which people are used to having a fried breakfast and then an hour or so later taking communion. It is clear to Orthodox (as also to many Anglicans) that our understanding of communion is totally different. For them it is a mere memorial with bread and wine, for us it is the burning presence of the Body and Blood of Christ.

Prayer, fasting, standing, confession – all these practices are alien to the Church of England and yet essential to the Gospel and therefore to Orthodoxy. Lifelong Orthodox actually believe in the Holy Trinity, the Incarnation and Divinity of Christ, the Resurrection, the Ever-Virginity of the Mother of God, the Cross, Providence, holiness (the Holy Spirit acting in the material world), the saints, the angels, relics, icons and miracles. Anglicans have produced no saints over nearly 500 years (though a very few do speak of St Charles I) and most of them tell me that they are proud of this and that they do not believe in saints. True, we Orthodox are not always very devout in our Orthodoxy and not very punctual at our services, but we would not think of abolishing any of the beliefs of the Church or the practices of prayer, fasting, standing and confession. The Church is the Church, regardless of our human weaknesses. We do not adapt the Church to the world (secularism), as Henry VIII did and as Archbishop Rowan Williams is in fact allowing through weakness. In Orthodoxy, the world adapts to the Church, not the other way round.

4. Becoming Orthodox

Some former Anglicans have in the past joined the Orthodox Church. Many have integrated the Faith and, after joining, have actually become Orthodox. Others, sad to say, having joined the Orthodox Church for negative reasons (disillusionment with the C of E) or for purely academic reasons and not for positive reasons (the realisation that without Orthodoxy their souls will die), and so not become Orthodox. As a result they have tended to split off from the mainstream, closing themselves off in little groups, where they practise what is in fact an approximate if very confused Orthodox rite with Anglican practices, a ‘make it up as you go along’ attitude. This means intercommunion, no confession, no fasting, sitting down during the services (indeed, virtually no services beyond the eucharistic liturgy), the use of Anglican hymns, the use of the Anglican calendar, no iconostasis, parish politics, and ‘protesting’ (= Protestant) attitudes towards Orthodox bishops and resulting divisions and boycotts of their respective cathedrals and bishops.

Another problem here is the refusal by many ex-Anglicans to accept that Orthodoxy is international. Unfortunately, Anglicans who are used to ‘uninational’ parishes find it very difficult to accept the multinational parishes, which are the reality of real Orthodoxy. Without the presence of other Orthodox nationalities, they will not learn Orthodoxy, they will not actually become Orthodox. The presence of ‘foreigners’ among them should be greeted by them and they should accommodate them, accepting parts of the service in ‘foreign’ languages (xenophobes must realise that every ‘foreign’ language is someone else’s native language). The nationalist exclusivity of many ex-Anglicans, to be frank, their phyletism or nationalism, and refusal to come to terms with the sometimes very, very dark national history of England/Britain (1), is not acceptable in the multinational Orthodox world. In our parish we have eighteen nationalities, from Russian to Greek, Romanian to Syrian, Australian to Latvian, French to Bulgarian – this is reality. History shows us that tiny ex-Anglican groups, unintegrated into the mainstream of the Orthodox Church, are basically just more ‘Continuing Anglican Churches’ and are not taken seriously by the rest of the Orthodox Church.

Conclusion

The chances are that most Anglicans will remain in the Church of England, though some will leave for Roman Catholicism and some for various sub-Anglican groups, perhaps headed by ‘African Anglicans’. It is not to be expected that many will wish to join the Orthodox Church – for the four reasons expressed above. Of course, all are welcome to come and see, as is everyone, whatever their background in this country, whether they belong to the 2% who are practising Anglicans or the 98% who are not. Some, as we know, not only do join our Church, but also find their spiritual home with us and in due course become Orthodox. If you can accept us, as we are, welcome! But please do not come with your own agenda or else you will also be disillusioned.

St Edith of Wilton
16/29 September 2010

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Miracles of Saint Nicholas in Andros

The Monastery of St. Nicholas in Andros was, according to tradition, built in the 8th century though it is not mentioned in any historical books until the 14th century. This monastery has an elaborate architectural structure, including a bell tower and complex arches completed during the recent restoration of the monastery in 1760.

The monastery houses wonderful frescoes and an architecturally superb wooden screen. The Byzantine icon of Panagia Blachernae, donated in the 15th-century by the monastery in Constantinople of the same name, is still kept in here, known in Greece as the Panagia of Andros, a miraculous myrrh-bearing and scented icon of the Virgin of the Root of Jesse.

The Panagia of Andros (the "Root of Jesse") is an ancient and myrrh-streaming icon, always surrounded with a powerful sweet-spicy fragrance. Great wonders occur from this holy icon and myrrh streams from it endlessly. There are even reports that people have been resurrected from the dead through the miracle-working icon.

There is also an ancient icon of the Virgin Mary that has significantly changed its facial expression over the last few years. The authorship has turned exceedingly sorrowful and tears have been flowing from her eyes. In 1999, this icon cried unceasingly coinciding with the bombardment of Serbia at that time.

The monastery also houses the icon of St. Nicholas, and some of his relics; the icon was authored by a nun named Leondia who wove her own hair into the icon. According to the locals of this metropolis, this icon is the most active in the entire of Andros.

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The Holy Oil

Every year on St. Nicholas’ feast-day, Abbot Dorotheos gives out little packets of blessed wheat from the lity in honor of the saint. A few years ago, just as he had given out the last packet, a local fisherman came in and hurried to the altar to receive his wheat. Instead, the abbot gave him a small bottle of oil from the kandili hanging over the saint’s icon. The fisherman put it in his coat pocket and left. A few weeks later he was at sea when a sudden storm arose. Although he was a skilled sailor, the storm became violent and, unable to get to shore, he feared that his boat would capsize. He began to pray to St. Nicholas, and remembering the holy oil, took the bottle from his pocket and poured it into the sea. Immediately the wind ceased, and in a short time the water around the boat was as smooth as glass. The fisherman sailed back to Andros, giving thanks for the saint’s intercession.

Fish for the Feast

In the 1980’s, Father Dorotheos was acquainted with the abbot of a small skete on Mount Athos near Karelia where there is a church dedicated to St. Nicholas. On one of the saint’s feast-days, however, there was no fish, and the monks were left with only beans and bread for the celebration. Fr. Damaskenos, the abbot, was unhappy about keeping such a poor feast, and prayed to the saint, “I’m sorry, but we have no fish to honor you with.” A few hours later a fi sherman walked into the skete carrying a large bag of fish. Setting the bag down, he said to the abbot, “These are for you.” The abbot asked where he had come from and the man replied that he was from the middle peninsula8, but had been blown off-course while fishing and landed miles away on the Athonite coast. Knowing that he was too far from any settlement to get his fi sh to market before they spoiled, the fisherman was surprised to see an old man suddenly emerge from the woods, who asked him where he was from. The fisherman told his story and the old man replied that he would buy the fish. He paid him, and told the fi sherman to take the fish to the skete “for my feast.” The simple fi sherman didn’t think about the strange words until the abbot asked him what the old man had looked like. Pointing to an icon of St. Nicholas, he replied, “Like that.” The monks celebrated the feast with great joy, and the abbot, in relating the story to Father Dorotheos, told him that to his great regret, he had not thought to ask the fisherman to trade him the money given to him by the saint.

The “Old Grandfather”

One woman from Thessalonica came to the monastery a few years ago and told Abbot Dorotheos and the monks that one day, while walking to church with her four year-old son, the child was attracted by something in the road and letting go of her hand, darted into the busy street. A huge truck was approaching, and just before it hit him she screamed out for St. Nicholas. After the truck passed over her son’s body, she ran terror-stricken into the road, expecting to find him dead. Instead, he stood up seemingly unscathed, and when she asked him if he was hurt he said matter-of-factly, “Oh no, the old grandfather laid on top of me in the road.”

The Guardian at the Gate

About twenty years ago, when Father Dorotheos was living alone in the monastery, two of the monastery’s tenant farmers became dissatisfied and irrationally demanded that they be granted clear title to their farms. If this didn’t happen, they threatened, they would make trouble for the monastery. They were as good as their word and one night showed up intending to break in. As they approached the big front gate (now fitted with a heavy wooden door and iron bars, but then only an open archway) they were met by an old man, slightly balding, with gray hair and beard, wearing a long brown cloak. He stopped them and said, “Go away, I’m here.” The men rudely replied, “What’s that to us? Out of the way, old man!” and started to push past him. He answered with the compelling command, “Look at me!” Surprised, they turned, and as they looked at him, rays of light shot from his eyes. Terrifi ed, they ran to Apikia, the nearest village, where they told everyone they had seen the saint.

On the next St. Nicholas Day, not long after, one of the men brought a huge artos for the feast, and the abbot, smiling, asked him, “Are you still planning to make trouble for me?” Embarrassed, the man replied softly, “No,” and gave the abbot his offering for the saint.

Read more about this monastery in the article: St. Nicholas Monastery and the Island of the Winds

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Nicholas of Myra: The Motion Picture

Synopsis of the Film Currently In Production:

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. In New York, December 1822, Dr. Clement Moore -- a professor of world literature -- is inspired to pen a whimsical Christmas poem for his young children. Influenced by the folklore of Old World culture, Moore crafts his poem into a magical tale about a kind and generous gift-bearer that secretly visits homes on Christmas Eve. It is while musing about this mythical character that Moore first learns of the ancient legend of a gift-bearer from the Greco-Roman Era -- one that he comes to believe may be the origin of all the similar myths throughout the world. What Moore finds is a story that ironically would one day be lost to the lore he was about to create. He soon discovers the surprising tale of a mighty empire at the crossroads of history, an enigmatic emperor who would forever leave his mark on the world, and an orphan boy named Nicholas, who one day -- in the face of boundless greed and persecution -- would prove that not every hero swings a sword.

It is the story of Christmas origins, the story of selflessness and sacrifice, yet ultimately, it is about the power of storytelling and the hope it can bring. It is the now forgotten tale of a legendary saint named Nicholas... Nicholas of Myra.

See more at the official site for the film here and see the trailer below, as well as an interview with lead actor of Nicholas of Myra -- Matthew Mesler -- on playing the role of St. Nicholas.

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Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia

St. Nicholas of Myra (Feast Day - December 6)

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

This glorious saint, celebrated even today throughout the entire world, was the only son of his eminent and wealthy parents, Theophanes and Nona, citizens of the city of Patara in Lycia. Since he was the only son bestowed on them by God, the parents returned the gift to God by dedicating their son to Him.

St. Nicholas learned of the spiritual life from his uncle Nicholas, Bishop of Patara, and was tonsured a monk in the Monastery of New Zion founded by his uncle. Following the death of his parents, Nicholas distributed all his inherited goods to the poor, not keeping anything for himself.

As a priest in Patara, he was known for his charity, even though he carefully concealed his charitable works, fulfilling the words of the Lord: "Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth" (Matthew 6:3).

When he gave himself over to solitude and silence, thinking to live that way until his death, a voice from on high came to him: "Nicholas, for your ascetic labor, work among the people, if thou desirest to be crowned by Me." Immediately after that, by God's wondrous providence, he was chosen archbishop of the city of Myra in Lycia.

Merciful, wise and fearless, Nicholas was a true shepherd to his flock. During the persecution of Christians under Diocletian and Maximian, he was cast into prison, but even there he instructed the people in the Law of God. He was present at the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea [325] and, out of great zeal for the truth, struck the heretic Arius with his hand. For this act he was removed from the Council and from his archiepiscopal duties, until the Lord Christ Himself and the Most-holy Theotokos appeared to several of the chief hierarchs and revealed their approval of Nicholas.

A defender of God's truth, this wonderful saint was ever bold as a defender of justice among the people. On two occasions, he saved three men from an undeserved sentence of death. Merciful, truthful, and a lover of justice, he walked among the people as an angel of God. Even during his lifetime, the people considered him a saint and invoked his aid in difficulties and in distress. He appeared both in dreams and in person to those who called upon him, and he helped them easily and speedily, whether close at hand or far away. A light shone from his face as it did from the face of Moses, and he, by his presence alone, brought comfort, peace and good will among men.

In old age he became ill for a short time and entered into the rest of the Lord, after a life full of labor and very fruitful toil, to rejoice eternally in the Kingdom of Heaven, continuing to help the faithful on earth by his miracles and to glorify his God. He entered into rest on December 6, 343.

A Reflection From His Life

In icons of St. Nicholas, the Lord Savior is usually depicted on one side with a Gospel in His hands, and the Most-holy Virgin Theotokos is depicted on the other side with an episcopal omophorion in her hands. This has a twofold historical significance: first, it signifies the calling of Nicholas to the hierarchical office, and second, it signifies his exoneration from the condemnation that followed his confrontation with Arius.

St. Methodius, Patriarch of Constantinople, writes: "One night St. Nicholas saw our Savior in glory, standing by him and extending to him the Gospel, adorned with gold and pearls. On his other side, he saw the Theotokos, who was placing the episcopal pallium on his shoulders." Shortly after this vision, John the Archbishop of Myra died and St. Nicholas was appointed archbishop of that city. That was the first incident.

The second incident occurred at the time of the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea. Unable to stop Arius through reason from espousing the irrational blasphemy against the Son of God and His Most-holy Mother, St. Nicholas struck Arius on the face with his hand. The Holy Fathers at the Council, protesting such an action, banned Nicholas from the Council and deprived him of all emblems of the episcopal rank. That same night, several of the Holy Fathers saw an identical vision: how the Lord Savior and the Most-holy Theotokos were standing around St. Nicholas - on one side the Lord Savior with the Gospel, and on the other side the Most-holy Theotokos with a pallium, presenting the saint with the episcopal emblems that had been removed from him. Seeing this, the fathers were awestruck and quickly returned to Nicholas that which had been removed. They began to respect him as a great chosen one of God, and they interpreted his actions against Arius not as an act of unreasonable anger, but rather an expression of great zeal for God's truth.

HYMN OF PRAISE: Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia

Holy Father Nicholas,
The four corners of the world glorify you
As a knight of the powerful Faith,
The Faith of God, the true Faith.

From the cradle he was devoted to God,
From the cradle until the end;
And God glorified him-
His faithful Nicholas.

Famous was he throughout his life,
And even more renowned after death;
Mighty on earth was he,
And even more mighty is he in heaven.

Glowing spirit, pure heart,
He was a temple of the Living God;
For this the people glorify him
As a wondrous saint.

Nicholas, rich in glory,
Loves those who honor him as their "Krsna Slava'';
Before the throne of the eternal God,
He prays for their good.

O Nicholas, bless us,
Bless your people
Who, before God and before you,
Humbly stand in prayer.

For a more complete life of St. Nicholas, see this version by St. Dimitri of Rostov.

Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
The truth of things hath revealed thee to thy flock as a rule of faith, an icon of meekness, and a teacher of temperance; for this cause, thou hast achieved the heights by humility, riches by poverty. O Father and Hierarch Nicholas, intercede with Christ God that our souls be saved.

Kontakion in the Third Tone
Saintly One, in Myra you proved yourself a priest; for in fulfilling the Gospel of Christ, venerable One, you laid down your life for your people and saved the innocent from death. For this you were sanctified as One learned in divine grace.

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