The Appearance of Five Holy Martyrs To A Girl Who Wanted to Have a Certainty of Eternity

Apart from the appearance of Saints Eustratios, Auxentios, Eugenios, Mardarios and Orestes in the metochion of the Nea Moni of Chios, they can be here and there both then and now and even always and everywhere.

These five Saints also gave witness to a girl from our company here in Argostoli. A young boy with a fine character had passed away in an accident and through dreams and some messages found in his books he was talking about the beauty of eternal life. That girl, when she heard about all this, was moved and that night, before going to sleep, she too asked to see that young man in her sleep and to feel the desired certainty of eternity. The dream came: five Saints appeared and said their names were Eustratios, Auxentios, Eugenios, Mardarios and Orestes. She had a feeling that she did not know them, but in their brightness and those heavenly melodies, she saw just as brightly that dear youth singing with the Saints.

What Vasiliki Rallis Revealed About the Soul of Her Departed Husband

 By Alexios the Reader

Vasiliki Rallis told us what took place as soon as the soul of her husband Angelos left his body. Angelos Rallis was the vessel of the Lord's election who took the lead in the holy cause on behalf of the Newly-Revealed Neomartyrs Raphael, Nicholas and Irene, in Karyes of Thermi on the island of Lesvos.

So she told us that her late husband fell asleep on the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos, after chanting and taking communion of the Immaculate Mysteries, and in the following hours in his sleep, his blessed soul flew silently to the Heavenly Father!

What the Spirit of His Dead Aunt Told Saint Iakovos of Evia

Saint Iakovos Tsalikes said:

"Since I was a child, I go to the cemetery every day and think about death. All my relatives have died. Anyway, I commemorate an aunt of mine. I saw the aunt also and she told me:

'Ah, my nephew Iakovos, thank you for what you are sending me. You send me a lot, but you know there are other people who are unfortunate and hungry and have no one in the world to think of them, to care for them.'

The Vision of the Departed Soul of Saint Theodore the Studite by Saint Hilarion of Dalmatoi Monastery

At the time Venerable Hilarion of Dalmatoi Monastery (comm. June 6) returned from captivity, which he suffered on behalf of his veneration of the Holy Icons, Venerable Theodore the Studite went to the Lord (comm. Nov. 11), who also suffered many evils from heretics for his Orthodoxy. His holy soul, ascended to heaven by the Angels, was seen by Venerable Hilarion, as it is said in the Life of Saint Theodore. On the day when Saint Theodore the Studite presented himself, Venerable Hilarion, working in his garden and chanting psalms, heard some wondrous voices and smelled an unspeakably wonderful scent. Astonished, he began to look around where it came from, and looking up, he saw a multitude of angels in white robes, whose bright faces shone, who came down from heaven to meet someone with songs. Seeing all this, Venerable Hilarion fell to the ground in great fear, and heard someone say to him: "This is the soul of Theodore, abbot of the Studite Monastery, who suffered with his blood for the holy icons and heroically endured hardships to the end, and now with his lips rejoicing he ascends to heaven, met by the Heavenly Powers." Worthy of such a wondrous vision, Venerable Hilarion was filled with great consolation and spiritual sweetness; and for many days he rejoiced in his soul, and his face shone with joy like the face of an angel.

 

 

Venerable Stephen the Chorebite, Whose Incorrupt Relics Rest in the Ossuary of Saint Katherine's Monastery of Mount Sinai

The Ossuary of the Monastery of Saint Katherine, at the foot of Mount Sinai, occupies the ground floor beneath the Chapel of Saint Tryphon. When bones have been disinterred from the cemetery, they are placed in the Ossuary in an orderly manner. Memorial services are regularly held in the ossuary, commemorating those who have gone before to their rest. It is edifying to recall that our life here has its appointed end. It is also important to remember that these are the bones of those who have fallen asleep, and who lie here awaiting the Resurrection and the Second Coming of Christ.

Homily Two on the Dormition of the Mother of God (Archpriest Rodion Putyatin)

 

 By Archpriest Rodion Putyatin

When the Mother of God revealed to her relatives and friends that she would soon die, and when they began to cry, she told them in order to comfort them: "Do not cry, but you should rejoice when I die, for after death I will be closer to the Throne of God and, conversing face to face with God, my Son, it is more convenient to pray to Him for you and to ask His mercy for you."

Christian listeners! Can we, when we die, also console our relatives and friends with the same, with what the Mother of God did? Can any of us say before death: "Do not cry, do not grieve, when I die, you will be well without me; I will pray for you there, it will be more convenient for me to pray for you there."

The Beloved "Daughter" of Eldress Galaktia: An Interview With Ririka Chronakis (Part 2 of 2)

...continued from part one.

 

Did she personally do something for you with a therapeutic effect?

Continuously! Let me tell you two incidents. When she became bedridden, I had an acute problem in my right shoulder. A bone spur appeared, which hurt the flesh all around and I had unbearable pains and internal bleeding.

I was punctured twice to get the blood out, my arm was immobilized; I was taking medication but nothing. I was disappointed. She could no longer hear and understand. But she understood in another way.

One morning she called for me and said: "Here, take the wooden cross I am wearing and put it on you. Do not wear it until the evil is out of your hand. Then you will give it to me again."

I was in awe that she understood my problem and put the cross on. I was immediately relieved. In a week I had nothing.

What the Holy Father John Kalaides Taught His Spiritual Children About Commemorating the Dead

By Miltiades Tsesmetzis, teacher

Great was the importance that the Holy Father John Kalaides (1925-2009) gave to the struggle we must wage on behalf of the reposed.

He told us that we must give their names to the priests to be read by them, and by doing this we help their souls.

He would say that offering kolyva on their behalf was the best thing we could do and that souls find rest by these, especially on the Saturday of Souls.

He would say that even Saint Raphael asked certain people to make kolyva on his behalf for his feast.

When Funerals Are Not Beneficial and It Is More Compassionate to the Dead to Not Conduct Them (From the Life of Saint Pachomios the Great)

Life of Saint Pachomios the Great

Chapter Three

And it came to pass once that Abba Pachomios went to another monastery to visit the brethren who were there, and as he was on his journey he met the funeral of a certain brother of the monastery who was dead, and the monks were going to the funeral and were singing as they went; and there were also among them the parents of the man who had died.

Now the brethren saw from a distance the holy man coming towards them, and they set down the bier upon the ground so that he might come and pray over him. And when the blessed man had come, and had said a prayer, he commanded the brethren not to sing any more psalms and hymns over him; and he also commanded them to bring the garments of him that had died, and they brought them, and in the presence of them all he ordered the men to burn them; then, when they had been burned he commanded that the dead body should be taken and buried without any further singing.

On the Commemoration of the Dead in the Divine Liturgy (St. Cyril of Jerusalem)

By St. Cyril of Jerusalem

(Catechetical Lectures 23)

Then having sanctified ourselves by these spiritual Hymns, we beseech the merciful God to send forth His Holy Spirit upon the gifts lying before Him; that He may make the Bread the Body of Christ, and the Wine the Blood of Christ ; for whatsoever the Holy Spirit has touched, is surely sanctified and changed.

On the Commemoration of the Departed (St. Epiphanios of Salamis)

Aerius of Pontus in the fourth century rejected praying for the dead since he believed it promoted moral laxity in this life: "If the prayer of the people here has benefited the people there, no one would practice piety or perform good works." His objection was refuted by Epiphanios of Salamis.

On Praying for the Dead (St. Augustine of Hippo)

Aerius of Pontus in the fourth century rejected praying for the dead since he believed it promoted moral laxity in this life: "If the prayer of the people here has benefited the people there, no one would practice piety or perform good works." His objection was refuted by Augustine of Hippo.

By St. Augustine of Hippo

The prayer either of the Church herself or of pious individuals is heard on behalf of certain of the dead; but it is heard for those who, having been regenerated in Christ, did not for the rest of their life in the body do such wickedness that they might be judged unworthy of such mercy, nor who yet lived so well that it might be supposed they have no need of such mercy. (The City of God Bk. 21.24)

On the Benefits of Memorials for the Dead (St. John Chrysostom)

By St. John Chrysostom

(Excerpt from Homily 3 on Philippians)

Not in vain did the Apostles order that remembrance should be made of the dead in the dreadful Mysteries. They know that great gain results to them, great benefit; for when all the people stand with uplifted hands, a priestly assembly, and that awesome Sacrifice lies displayed, how shall we not prevail with God by our entreaties for them? And this we do for those who have departed in faith, while the catechumens are not thought worthy even of this consolation, but are deprived of all means of help save one. And what is this? We may give to the poor on their behalf. This deed in a certain way refreshes them. 

Narration Concerning the Contest of a Certain Submissive Monk, Who by Falling Into Disobedience Was Not Made Worthy by God of Perfect Glory

OCTOBER 15

Narration Concerning the Contest of a Certain Submissive Monk, Who by Falling Into Disobedience Was Not Made Worthy by God of Perfect Glory

Verses

Disobedient and at the same an athlete,
He is banished, and once again received.

A monk in a certain hermitage was subservient to an elder for a period of some years. By the envy of a demon, one time he strayed from being obedient to the elder, without there being any sensible reason or hurtful pretext. Having been censured by the elder and and given a penance for his disobedience, he disregarded both the censure and the penance. Going therefore to Alexandria, he was arrested by the pagan governor there. Having been stripped of his monastic schema, he was urged to sacrifice to the idols. Because the governor was unable to persuade him, first he was ordered to be flogged with the sinews of an ox without mercy, then the order was given that he be beheaded. When this was done, they cast his body outside the city, to be eaten by the dogs. However, some God-loving Christians went by night and retrieved the body. Wrapping it in a sheet with myrrh, they placed it in a casket. This casket was placed in the Holy Altar of the church, and they honored it as a victorious relic.

How Should We Understand the Visions of Aerial Toll Houses?

By John Sanidopoulos

In modern times a teaching has arisen and become popular among Orthodox Christians regarding what is known as the Aerial or Celestial Toll Houses. It is based on numerous references to ecclesiastical fathers and writers from the early days of the Church to the present. It was especially developed after the tenth century in Slavic circles, while hardly ever mentioned in any detail by Greek writers. Taken literally, it refers to the idea that upon death the soul of an individual is escorted by angels through the celestial atmosphere, and it goes through a number of tolls or customs where demons accuse the soul of particular sins they committed in life. The escorting angel tries to defend the soul as much as possible, but if a soul is found to be guilty of a particular sin, then with the evidence mounted against the soul the demon takes it and drags it to Hades. This is a foretaste of the Final Judgment, when these condemned souls will be united with their bodies in the general resurrection and cast into the eternal lake of fire with Satan and his demons.

The Meaning of Memorial Services in the Orthodox Church (St. Symeon of Thessaloniki)

By St. Symeon of Thessaloniki

BOILED WHEAT (KOLLYVA)

The boiled wheat is offered because man is also a seed and like a fruit from the earth. Like a seed he is placed in the earth now, and he will be raised up and blossom forth again by God's power.*

THIRD DAY SERVICE

The third day service is celebrated for the reason that the reposed one received his being through the Trinity, and having been translated, he hopes to be changed back to the ancient beauty in which man was first made before the fall, or one better.

Saturday of Souls Resource Page

Praying for and Remembering the Departed

Testimonies on the Benefits of Prayers for the Dead

The Meaning of Memorial Services in the Orthodox Church

 

Prayer for the Dead

On the Commemoration of the Dead in the Divine Liturgy (St. Cyril of Jerusalem)

Concerning Those Who Are Asleep (St. Gregory of Nyssa)

On the Benefits of Memorials for the Dead (St. John Chrysostom)

On the Commemoration of the Departed (St. Epiphanios of Salamis)

On Praying for the Dead (St. Augustine of Hippo)

 

Concerning Those Who Have Fallen Asleep in Faith (St. John of Damascus) 

 

Homily on the Commemoration of the Dead (St. Luke of Simferopol)

 

Saint Paisios on Praying for the Departed and Memorials

The Best Memorial For the Deceased

What Does It Mean When We Chant "Eternal Memory" at Memorial Services?

The Mystery and the Process of Death

We and the Spirits of the Departed

 

Memorial Services for the Reposed 

Elder Thaddeus on the Souls of the Dead

The Benefits of Acts of Charity for the Dead

On Prayers and Alms for the Deceased

Prayer and Good Works Benefit The Dead

 

Which Is Better for the Dead, Prayer or Almsgiving?

 
Nun Barsanuphia and the Pouch with Thousands of Names

The Haunted Graveyard of Hopeless Souls 

 

Feast of the Synaxis of the Holy Kollyvades Fathers

Praying for the Reposed Non-Christians and Non-Orthodox

Prayer to the Holy Martyr St. Varus for Those Who Have Died Outside the Faith

Can We Say "Eternal Memory" for Departed Non-Orthodox Christians?

 

What the Spirit of His Dead Aunt Told Saint Iakovos of Evia

St. Paisios the Athonite and the Monk Who Prayed For Stalin

 

Saint Paisios and the Soul of Old Thanasis

 

What the Holy Father John Kalaides Taught His Spiritual Children About Commemorating the Dead

 

 Prologue in Sermons: January 29 

 

Something Deeper (A Poem for the Saturday of Souls) 

 

The Saturday of Souls of Saint Demetrios: A Macedonian-Thracian Ecclesiastical Tradition

 

On Prayer For Those Who Commit Suicide and For the Departed Non-Orthodox

A LETTER OF CONSOLATION TO THE BEREAVED

Saturdays Before Meatfare and Cheesefare

Synaxarion for the Saturday Before Meatfare

Saturday of Souls Before Meatfare Sunday

 

Saturday of Souls (Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos)

 

Commemorating the Dead on Meatfare Saturday (St. Theophan the Recluse)

 

Homily for Meatfare Parental Saturday - On the Prayerful Commemoration of the Departed (Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov)

Saturday of Souls on the Island of Imvros

 

Saturday of Cheesefare Resource Page

 

First Saturday of Great Lent

First Saturday of Great Lent: Epistle and Gospel Reading

Synaxarion for the First Saturday of Great Lent

 

The Tradition of the "Kollyva-Saturday" of Saint Theodore in Oia of Santorini 

Holy Theodoroi Resource Page (Theodore the Stratelates and Theodore the Tiro)

 

 

Second, Third and Fourth Saturday of Great Lent

Homily on Ancestors Saturday in the 2nd Week of Great Lent: About Prayer for the Dead

 

Saturday Before Pentecost

The Saturday of Souls Before Pentecost

The Significance of the Saturday of Souls Before Pentecost

 

The Meaning of the Saturday of Souls Before Pentecost 

 

A Reflection on the Saturday of Souls for the Eve of Pentecost 

 

Walnut Leaves at Pentecost and the Souls of the Dead 

Homily on the Value of Patience (St. John Chrysostom)

 

 

Saint Demetrios Ancestral Saturday

 

Saint Demetrios Ancestral Saturday 

 

October: Day 26: Teaching 2: Holy Great Martyr Demetrios of Thessaloniki 

 

Homily One on Saint Demetrios Ancestral Saturday (Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov) 

 

The Saturday of Souls of Saint Demetrios: A Macedonian-Thracian Ecclesiastical Tradition

 

Saint Erasmus of the Kiev Caves Monastery (c. 1160)

Saint Simon, Bishop of Vladimir (May 10), wrote about Saint Erasmus to his friend Saint Polycarp of the Kiev Caves (July 24):

"At the Caves was Erasmus the black-robed. He acquired a legacy of fame because he used everything he possessed for the adornment of the monastery church. He donated many icons, which even now may be seen over the altar.

Saint Paisios the Athonite on the Toll Houses and Other Signs at Death

- Elder, do the things one says while expiring have anything to do with their spiritual state?

- We must not jump to conclusions. It could be that someone is feeling so much pain at the time of their death that their face becomes distorted, making others think that they are not in a good spiritual state. However, a pained expression differs from a wild and horrified one. While the poor person suffers in their pain, the others may mistakenly think that they are struggling with the demons who have come to take their soul!

Saint Athanasius "the Resurrected", Recluse of the Kiev Caves (+ 1176)

St. Athanasius the Recluse of the Kiev Caves
(Feast Days - December 2, September 28 & Second Sunday of Lent)

Saint Athanasius (Afanasy), hermit of the Near Caves of Kiev, was a contemporary of Holy Archimandrite Polycarp of the Kiev Caves (July 24). Saint Athanasius was grievously ill for a long time. When he died, the brethren prepared him for burial, and on the second day the abbot came to bury him. However, they all saw the dead man alive. He was sitting up and weeping. To all their questions he replied only: “Seek salvation, obey the abbot in everything, repent each hour and pray to our Lord Jesus Christ, to His All-Pure Mother and to Saints Anthony and Theodosius, to allow you to end your life here. Do not ask me anything else, for I must pray.”