I was recently commissioned to translate some profound and inspiring works by our Righteous Father Alexei Mechev, which I put together in a booklet. Unfortunately, after printing 500 copies, circumstances changed and the one who commissioned the work has been hospitalized and called off the purchase. Since I am at an unforeseen personal loss with this, I wanted to make these never before translated texts available to my followers for only $11.95 a copy, which includes shipping and handling in the United States (orders outside the US, please use a pay button towards the bottom of this page and include $5 for a total of $16.95). I would like to sell all of these as quick as possible, and it would be great reading material for the lenten season. As an added incentive, for the first 50 people who order, I will also offer a never before published text by Fr. John Romanides titled "The Canon and the Inspiration of the Holy Scripture" free of charge.

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October 10, 2010

St. Gregory Palamas: On the Translocation of the Prophet Elijah


By Metropoitan Hierotheos Vlachos

The words of St. Gregory Palamas can bring to mind that only the Theotokos is in heaven with Christ, and bodily, in connection with the taking up of the Prophet Elijah, since we know from the Bible that Elijah too was taken up to heaven with his body. But St. Gregory amazingly interprets this point as well. Speaking of the Ascension of Christ and especially saying that while there are many ascensions, Christ's ascension is unique, he also refers to the case of the Prophet Elijah. He writes: "But neither did he exceed the bounds of the earth's atmosphere; the ascension of each of them was a raising from the earth without being taken from the surroundings of the earth...." From this interpretation it appears that the taking up of the Prophet Elijah was in some way a translocation, we could say that it was a kind of death, and that of course in being taken up he did not go beyond the limits of the earth's atmosphere. Therefore only the Panagia was resurrected and taken up bodily into heaven, and is glorified with her Son, as His mother, in her human nature.

Source: Saint Gregory Palamas As A Hagiorite

Read also: Did the Prophet Elijah Actually Ascend 'Into' Heaven?
 

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