| His Holiness Patriarch Kirill on the Identification of the So-Called “Ekaterinburg Remains” On November 6, 2012, during a meeting with His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, the Head of the Russian Imperial Family, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, raised the question of the position that the Russian Orthodox Church takes on the evidence discovered in Brussels. It was originally found in 1918 by the investigator Nikolai Soloviev at Ganina Pit near Ekaterinburg, the site connected to the tragedy of the Royal Family. Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna and Patriarch Kirill. Photo: http://www.patriarchia.ru In the opinion of several scholars and public figures, the physical materials discovered in Brussels should spur further research with the aim of establishing the truth of the matter of identifying the so-called “Ekaterinburg remains.” At the present time, the Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church is not prepared to assume as a fact the results of the genetic testing of the Ekaterinburg remains, since their representatives were not granted access to the information on exactly which genetic materials were used for comparing data. During the meeting, His Holiness declared that the Church is prepared to participate in continuing research of the identification of the remains of the Royal Family with the consideration of the newly-found materials, on the basis of transparency in the expertise and access to all genetic materials connected to the Romanov Dynasty. His Holiness expressed the hope that such research will help establish the truth, which many Orthodox faithful hope for. Source: The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia Code for blog Since you are here… …we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong. Having said that, Pravmir provides daily articles from an autonomous news service, weekly wall newspaper for churches, lectorium, photos, videos, hosting and servers. Editors and translators work together towards one goal: to make our four websites possible - Pravmir.ru, Neinvalid.ru, Matrony.ru and Pravmir.com. Therefore our request for help is understandable. For example, 5 euros a month is it a lot or little? A cup of coffee? It is not that much for a family budget, but it is a significant amount for Pravmir. If everyone reading Pravmir could donate 5 euros a month, they would contribute greatly to our ability to spread the word of Christ, Orthodoxy, life " s purpose, family and society. Also by this author Today " s Articles Most viewed articles Functionality is temporarily unavailable. Most popular authors Functionality is temporarily unavailable. © 2008-2024 Pravmir.com |
| The sacred books of the New Testament were first written in Greek, which at that time was in common usage. Only the Gospel of Matthew and the Epistle of St. Paul to the Hebrews were first written in Hebrew. The Gospel of Matthew, however, was translated into Greek in the first century, most likely by the Apostle Matthew himself. The books of both the New Testament and the Old Testament appeared by God’s revelation, were written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and are therefore called divinely inspired. Apostle Paul says, All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness ( II Tim. 3:16 ). The loftiness and purity of Christian teaching in these writings, prophecies, and miracles convince one of the divine origin of Holy Scripture. With special signs, the divine inspiration of sacred books is revealed in the mighty acts of the word of God toward mankind. Wherever the Apostles preached, the hearts of people submitted to the teaching of Christ. The Jews and pagans of the world armed themselves with every evil power known to man against the Christians. Christian martyrs died by the thousands, yet the word of God grew and became firmly established. There are examples in which people started to study the Bible with the hope of disproving the teachings contained therein, and in the end became sincerely reverent and deeply believing people. Each one of us, attentively reading Holy Scripture, can experience in himself the Lord’s almighty power, and be convinced that it is the revelation of God Himself. All Divine revelation is preserved in the Holy Church. The books of Holy Scripture, and Holy Tradition – that is, that which was not originally written down in these books, but handed down by word of mouth and only afterwards written down by saints in the early centuries of Christianity (4th and 5th centuries) and consequently have profound antiquity and authenticity – all this is preserved in the Holy Church. The Church was founded by the Saviour Himself, our Lord Jesus Christ, and established as the custodian of His Divine revelation. God the Holy Spirit invisibly guards Her. |
| Archive Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk and Archbishop Antony of Vienna and Budapest consecrate the Church of Archangel Michael in Laa an der Thaya in Austria 1 October 2018 year 10:06 On 30 September 2018, 18 th Sunday after Pentecost, afterfeast of the Elevation of the Cross, commemoration day of the Holy Martyrs Faith, Hope, Love and their Mother Sophia, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, while in Austria upon the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, and Archbishop Antony of Vienna and Budapest, head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Administration for Institutions Abroad, consecrated the Church of Archangel Michael in the town of Laa an der Thaya in Austria. The church was built at the burial place of the Soviet soldiers who had died there during World War II. The hierarchs celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the newly consecrated church. Concelebrating with them were Archimandrite Agafor (Markevich) from the Lavra of the Holy Trinity and St. Sergius; Archpriest Vladimir Tyschiuk, rector of the Cathedral of St. Nicholas in Vienna; Hieromonk Ioann (Kopeykin), pro-rector for advancement of Ss. Cyril and Methodius Theological Institute of Postgraduate Studies; and Archdeacon Viktor Shilovsky, a cleric of the Cathedral of St. Nicholas in Vienna. After the Liturgy Archbishop Antony of Vienna and Budapest cordially greeted Metropolitan Hilarion who had laid the foundation of the Church of Archangel Michael while serving as the ruling hierarch of the diocese of Vienna and Austria. Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk expressed his joy over an opportunity to visit Austria and take part in the consecration of the church, saying in particular: “Today we have prayed for all those buried here, for our soldiers buried in this land. There are over 200 military graves in the Austrian land, and over 4 thousand in the neighbouring Germany. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers laid down their lives here so that we could have the peaceful skies above our heads. We believe that through their heroic deeds they gained the everlasting life, and pray for them as for heroes who laid down their lives for the sake of others, thus fulfilling the commandment of our Lord Jesus Christ. |
| Forgiving Our Way into Salvation Gabe Martini If we see the Church year as a recapitulation or commemoration of the life of Christ, then the season of Lent, Holy Week, and the festival of Pascha is analogous to the temptation (and fasting) of the Lord in the wilderness, his suffering and defeat of death on the Cross, and his triumphal resurrection from the dead. By pondering our participation in Christ’s life throughout the year—and especially through the season of Great Lent—we can better understand its purpose. We enter into the Lenten season as people estranged from God, striving forward in hope of the resurrection. We are faced with a number of temptations, but the ability to overcome is given to us through Christ himself. This is supported by our increased partaking of the Eucharist during Lent with the Presanctified Liturgy. The icon of the resurrection shows the full glory of this reality, as we see Adam and Eve—the very personifications of sinful mankind—being pulled from the depths of hades by the hands of Christ, who has triumphed over both death and its author, the devil. As we seek to image Christ more fully in our lives through the Lenten season, our focus is turned not inwardly towards ourselves, but rather outwardly towards others. Our fasting, almsgiving, and prayer is all purposed away from ourselves and our own concerns, and towards that of our neighbors, friends, and family. All true asceticism is self-less. It is self-death for the sake and life of the world. The heart of our journey towards both salvation and resurrection in Jesus Christ is found not in an intellectual fixation on our standing before God in eternity, an obsession over whether we can know “for certain” that we are “saved,” a right understanding of particulars of doctrine, or even a perfect explanation of the holy scriptures. The gateway to a resurrection unto life and a triumph over corruption is found chiefly in the mystery of forgiveness. The Gospel for the appropriately named Forgiveness Sunday (the last Sunday before the beginning of Great Lent) explains: |
| Archive Пн Appeal of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to the Archpastors, Pastors, Monastics and Faithful, as of December 17, 2018 17 December 2018 year 16:39 On December 17, 2018, the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has held an extraordinary session at the Kiev-Pechersky Laura of the Dormition. The Synod has adopted the following message to the archpastors, pastors, monastics and faithful: Your Eminences and Graces, Beloved in the Lord Fathers, Brothers and Sisters, On December 15, 2018, at the Sophia of Kiev National Preserve, the so-called uniting council was held to declare the establishment of a new church organization called ‘The Orthodox Church’. Its emergence resulted from the unification of the two uncanonical structures: ‘The Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church’ and ‘The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate’. Thus, this gathering represents a union of schismatics and has nothing to do with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. For our Church, nothing has changed as the schismatics have remained in schism while the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has remained the true Church of Christ in Ukraine. Nobody in the world questions the validity of the episcopal and priestly ordinations of the clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the gracefulness of the Sacraments celebrated in our Church – the fact that cannot be said of the newly created structure. We inform you with grief that the Holy Synod has had to relieve the Most Rev. Metropolitan Simeon of Vinnitsa and Bar of the administration over the diocese and to suspend the Most. Rev. Metropolitan Alexander of Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky and Vishnev from his ministry. We call upon all of you, dear Eminences and Graces, Fathers, Brothers and Sisters, to pray for the above-mentioned persons and those who have diverted to the schism that they may come to reason and return to the bosom of the Church. Our Church, like a loving Mother, with hope awaits their return. Pitifully, among the initiators of today’s trials of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which argues for its right to interfere in our church affairs by asserting that our Church was once in its jurisdiction. |
| ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CELEBRATION OF THE FEAST OF THE DORMITION The commemoration of the Dormition of the Theotokos and the preparation for the Feast begin on August 1 with a period of fasting. A strict fast is followed on most of the days (no meat, dairy, oil, or wine), with the exceptions of fish on the Feast of the Transfiguration (August 6) and the day of the Dormition. Oil and Wine are allowed on Saturdays and Sundays. On the weekdays before the Feast, Paraklesis services are held in most parishes. These consist of the Great Paraklesis and the Small Paraklesis, both services of supplication and prayer for the intercessions of the Theotokos. The Feast of the Dormition is celebrated with the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom which is conducted on the morning of the Feast and preceded by a Matins (Orthros) service. A Great Vespers is conducted on the evening before the day of the Feast. Scripture readings for the Feast of the Dormition are the following: At Vespers: Genesis 28:10-17 ; Ezekiel 43:27-44:4 ; Proverbs 9:1-11 . At the Matins: Luke 1:39-49, 56 . At the Divine Liturgy: Philippians 2:5-11 ; Luke 10:38-42 ; 11:27-28 . HYMNS OF THE FEAST Apolytikion (First Tone) In birth, you preserved your virginity; in death, you did not abandon the world, O Theotokos. As mother of life, you departed to the source of life, delivering our souls from death by your intercessions. Kontakion (Second Tone) Neither the grave nor death could contain the Theotokos, the unshakable hope, ever vigilant in intercession and protection. As Mother of life, He who dwelt in the ever-virginal womb transposed her to life. RESOURCES Festival Icons for the Christian Year by John Baggley (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir " s Seminary Press, 2000), pp. 160-166. The Festal Menaion. Translated by Mother Mary (South Canaan, PA: St. Tikhon’s Seminary Press, 1969) pp. 63-65. The Incarnate God: The Feasts of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary, Catherine Aslanoff, editor and Paul Meyendorff, translator (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1995). |
| Metropolitan Hilarion: Hagia Sophia is Heritage of the Entire Humankind Metropolitan Hilarion, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, expressed his concern over the possibility of turning Hagia Sophia in Istanbul into a mosque. “We are closely following with serious concerns the events surrounding the Hagia Sophia Cathedral. We are waiting for the official publication of the decision of the Supreme Court of Turkey, which, judging by the press reports, found that the status of Hagia Sophia, which is currently a museum, can be changed by a decree issued by the country’s president. We hope that the decision to turn the cathedral into a mosque will not be made,” the metropolitan told Interfax . The metropolitan said Hagia Sophia “is the heritage of the entire humankind.” It was an Orthodox church for 1,000 years and then was made a mosque, but it received the status of a museum in 1934 according to a decision made by Turkey’s first President Kemal Ataturk. Fragments of priceless mosaics with images of Christ, Our Lady, John the Baptist, Byzantine emperors and empresses have been preserved in the cathedral, he said. “What will happen to these mosaics if the church is turned into a mosque? Images are banned in Islam. Will they be knocked down, like most of the mosaics were knocked down after Constantinople was taken over in 1453? Or will they be covered with plaster again?” he said. Metropolitan Hilarion said he is convinced that “any change in the current balances and long-term status quo can inflict heavy damage on the mutual understanding in the world, dialogue of civilizations and culture, inter-religious dialogue.” The building is not only a priceless world heritage site protected by UNESCO, which plays a unique role in world history, but also a place of sacral significance, he said. The metropolitan does not agree with the Turkish officials who say that the future of the cathedral is an internal affairs of Turkey. “It’s hard to agree with that. Hagia Sophia is a world heritage site. It is not without reason that the talks about changing its status have shaken the whole world, and especially the Christian world. The church is devoted to Christ, Sophia the Wisdom of God is one of the names of Christ,” he said. |
| In an array of breathtaking images, Ephrem delights in outlining the paradox of how Mary suckled the Word while he, the incarnate God, nourished the world with the restoring power of his life. Similarly, in his kontakia on the nativity and death of Christ, Romanos turns to Mary as a narrator and imagines her son’s Passion through her eyes. The most impressive assembly of Marian praises is found in the Akathist, a (processional) hymn written after the Council of Ephesus and sung today on Fridays during Great Lent. The Akathist praises Mary redeemer of the ancient curse of Eve, as well as the “womb of the divine Incarnation.” Particularly noteworthy is the insistence on presenting the Virgin as a “container of the uncontainable God.” Mary is emphatically depicted as the God’s indwelling and the new locus of salvation: she is an “ark gilded by the Spirit,” an “immovable tower” of the Church, an “impregnable wall,” a pillar, a tabernacle, a bridal chamber, a bridge, and a ladder. As the woman who unites God and humanity, the Akathist proclaims, the Virgin is the one who will always protect Christians, assure victory, and heal souls and bodies. On the whole, the significance of the Virgin Mary in Eastern Christian culture and theology is clearly central. In consenting to do the will of God, Mary becomes the mother of the incarnate Word and makes salvation come true. She brings the human race back to the garden of life from which Adam and Eve were exiled and shines as the embodiment of eschatological hope. The veneration accorded to her is also an acknowledgment of the salvific power of Christ of which she is the first recipient. The church accordingly teaches that while the saints rightly receive honor (douleia), she alone of all creatures is appointed by God to receive “high honor” (hyperdouleia). As a popular hymn attributed to John Damascus aptly puts it, this is why “in you all creation rejoices, o full of grace.” SEE ALSO: Council of Chalcedon (451); Council of Ephesus (431); Eleousa (Umilenie); Iconography, Styles of; Iconostasis; Icons; Panagia; Platytera; Protecting Veil; St. |
| The first, and the highest class were the “Spirituals” (pneumatikoi), the elite which alone would achieve salvation through secret knowledge. Of cause, the Gnostics placed themselves into this category. The second category were the “Psychics” (psychikoi): these were members of the Church who, according to the Gnostics, could not achieve salvation, but they could be somewhat improved through faith and good works. And the bottom, third class, were the “Materials” (hylikoi), the total losers for whom there was no hope. Against the very pessimistic view of the Gnostics about the material world, Irenaeus stressed the redemption of the entire physical world through the Incarnation of Christ, Who unified the physical and the spiritual, the human and the divine, in His Person. Christ also gave to the whole of humankind — not excluding anyone — the very real, invisible possibility of communion with His Divine nature in the Eucharist, that is, when we partake of His Body and Blood. “For,” writes Irenaeus, “just as the bread which comes from the earth is no longer ordinary bread after God is called down upon it, but is now the Eucharist, consisting of two things, the earthly and the heavenly, so also are our bodies, when we receive the Eucharist, are no longer corruptible, possessing the hope of resurrection.” Against the religious elitism of the Gnostics, Irenaeus stressed the inclusiveness of the Church, which spread through the missionary work of the Apostles, who were taught by Christ Himself and received the grace of the Holy Spirit and then passed on this grace through missionary work throughout the Roman Empire. The bishops and presbyters instituted by the Apostles in the various local churches then carried on the work of the Apostles, passing on the Apostolic Tradition — including the Scriptures — to new generations throughout the history of the early Church of Irenaeus’s time in a visible continuity of Church life, which could be historically traced. Thus, Irenaeus appeals to history as a witness to a visible Church Tradition and structure, which was in no wise some secret society accessible to a select few. |
| Archbishop of Canterbury meets Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew The Archbishop of Canterbury met His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on Monday during a two-day visit to Istanbul. Photo: Lambeth Palace During the meeting, concerns were raised about the hardships being experienced by Christians in the Middle East. In his welcoming address, Patriarch Bartholomew spoke of his hope to see the visit “strengthen the bond of mutual love” between the Orthodox and Anglican Churches. “At this present moment, as Anglicans and Orthodox, we share in particular a joint concern for the situation of Christians in the Middle East, who are confronting increasing problems and, in many places, are undergoing a veritable persecution,” he said. Archbishop Justin Welby was in Istanbul at the invitation of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who as Archbishop of Constantinople and New Rome occupies the First Throne of the Orthodox Christian Church. In an address, the Archbishop spoke of his commitment to the reconciliation of Eastern and Western churches. He described Patriarch Bartholomew as “an example of peace and reconciliation, politically, with the natural world”, and paid tribute to his historic visit to the installation of Pope Francis I as an expression of this. “Such reconciliation [is] very dear to my heart and is one of my key priorities,” the Archbishop said. “It is the call of Christ that all may be one so that the world may see. I will therefore be taking back with me the warmth of your hospitality and also, after our discussions today and tomorrow, a renewed and refreshed focus for greater unity and closer fellowship. “We want to carry the cross of our divisions, but be filled with the hope and joy that comes from the grace and the love of Jesus.” A common statement issued by the offices of the two leaders described the meeting as taking place in an atmosphere of “friendship and warmth”. The statement expressed the shared focus on “the continuation of close relations, the importance of the ongoing theological dialogue, and the commitment of the Anglican Communion and the Orthodox Church to greater cooperation for a common witness in an increasingly secular and pluralistic world, particularly in Europe”. |
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