| About Pages Проекты «Правмира» Raising Orthodox Children to Orthodox Adulthood The Daily Website on How to be an Orthodox Christian Today Twitter Telegram Parler RSS Donate Navigation Running After Righteousness Source: No Other Foundation Archpriest Lawrence Farley 27 April 2021 A favourite phrase from the American Declaration of Independence tells us that one of our inalienable human rights is the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This legitimate political goal has morphed into a personal philosophy, and now the notion is so ingrained in western culture that it is common to both liberals and conservatives, to both those in the right wing and in the left wing. This philosophy says that the ultimate goal of life is to have the freedom to do what we want and to have enough money to buy the lifestyle we desire. How much the State should be involved in the attaining of this goal is debated among those of the right wing and the left wing, but the legitimacy of the goal is presupposed by all. (Or, as one wag pointed out, the right wing and the left wing are both found on the same bird.) True Christianity will have none of this. Our goal is found not in the American Declaration of Independence, but in the Gospel of Matthew, for there Jesus told us to “seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). Christians therefore seek not happiness, but God’s Kingdom. Happiness and blessedness and the possession of what we truly need (which rarely coincides with what we think we need) come as a by-product of this continual striving for righteousness. Striving for righteousness and against sin is an uphill battle, as anyone can tell you who has attempted it. Within each of us lies a silent traitor, a kind of fifth columnist, ever waiting to wreck our good intentions and drag us back to the filth and mess from which we emerged when we became disciples of Jesus. St. Paul gave us the classic formulation of this interior self-betrayal: “I do not understand my own actions, for I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate” (Romans 7:15). Paul calls this inner compulsion “the old man” or the old self, contrasting it with the new man and new self we receive through the new birth at holy baptism. The old self always exerts a tug upon us whenever we decide to strive for righteousness and pursue new virtue. |
| About Pages Проекты «Правмира» Raising Orthodox Children to Orthodox Adulthood The Daily Website on How to be an Orthodox Christian Today Twitter Telegram Parler RSS Donate Navigation Please Don’t Take The Girl Source: Faith Encouraged Fr. Barnabas Powell 28 May 2018 Photo: www.videoblocks.com There’s a great country song about a dad taking his son fishing and the dad decides to take the little girl next door along on their fishing trip. The boy is horrified that he’s going to be in the company of “a girl” during this dad and son outing so he begs his dad “take Jimmy Johnson, take Tommy Thompson, take my best friend Bo. Take anybody that you want as long as she don’t go. Take any boy in the world! Daddy please, don’t take the girl!” Of course by the end of the song the boy and girl have grown up and fallen in love and gotten married! Perspectives change when you grow up! And that’s true of the spiritual life as well. When we commit to a spiritually mature life, our perspectives change and grow up! That makes such a difference and is so necessary if we are to avoid the mistakes and the slavery of an immature Christian faith. In our Gospel Lesson today, the Lord confronts the common challenge of a faith that has gotten stuck in place. Of course His remedy is not going to be very popular, but it is necessary. He uses a story about wine and wine-skins to effectively communicate His meaning. Look at Luke 5:33-39. The Lord begins by dealing with their question about fasting and then He says: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it upon an old garment; if he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine desires new; for he says, ‘The old is better.’” Luke 5:36-39 While the question from those who seem to be stuck in their “old” ways was about fasting, if you look at the beginning of the chapter you’ll see Jesus do something that really bothers the “establishment;” He chooses a “publican” (a Jewish collaborator and tax-collector with the occupying Roman authorities) as one of His disciples! Talk about letting the “undesirables” in! |
| St. Hilda (Hild) is one of the most venerated female saints in England and is also known as “The Abbess of the English People.” She was born in 614 in the north of what is now England, where her parents lived in exile in the small British kingdom of Elmet in the north of Yorkshire. When Hilda was still an infant, her mother once had a dream in which she found a most precious necklace under her clothes that filled the whole England with the glory of its brilliance. This dream was indeed fulfilled in her daughter Hilda, who gained great holiness and became a true light and living example for many pious people. Hilda was baptized by the holy Bishop Paulinus of York when she was very young. Her family was related to the holy King Edwin of Northumbria, and she was most probably brought up at the royal court of Northumbria during his reign. Beyond a doubt, she spent the first half of her life among her close relatives. At the age of 33 she became a nun and in 647 she entered the convent of Hartlepool (its name means “a stag by the sea”) on the River Tees near the city of Durham (now in County Durham). Her spiritual father for a long time was the holy Bishop Aidan of Lindisfarne. Hilda visited the kingdom of East Anglia and was about to leave for Gaul to live there in the convent of Chelles, but St. Aidan called his spiritual daughter back to Northumbria where he allotted her a small parcel of land on the north bank of the River Wear. Here the future saint, together with several other devout nuns, was taught the traditions of the Irish monasticism that had been brought to England by St. Aidan. Soon after that, Hilda was appointed the second abbess of the double monastery of Hartlepool after St. Hieu 1 . The new abbess organized the life in this community after the pattern of Irish monasteries. In 655, before the battle with the huge army of the pagan King Penda of Mercia, King Oswiu prayed fervently to God and vowed that if he were victorious he would bestow lands throughout the whole kingdom for the foundation of monasteries. A miracle happened; Penda was killed in battle and his army suffered a crushing defeat. Fulfilling his promise, Oswiu bestowed twelve estates for the establishment of monastic houses. Hilda obtained about 1200 acres in the town of Whitby (its original name was Streneshalc; the modern name “Whitby”, which means “white town”, came about in the twelfth century) in the east of the present-day county of North Yorkshire. Here the abbess in 657 founded a double monastery (with separate communities for monks and nuns, but all praying together in the common church) and began to care for it. The Lord granted a great future to this foundation. |
| Archive Primate of Greek Orthodox Church attends reception given by Russian embassy in Greece on the Triumph of Orthodoxy 22 March 2019 year 15:33 On March 18, 2019, the traditional annual reception was given by the Russian embassy in Greece on the occasion of the feast of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, which was celebrated the day before. Present at the reception were His Beatitude Ieronymos, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece; Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs M. Bolaris; members of the Holy Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church, and Greek clergy. In his speech of greeting, Russian Ambassador to Greece Andrey Maslov pointed out the joint contribution made by the Russian and Greek Orthodox Churches to the development of Greek-Russian relations and expressed the conviction that new possibilities for strengthening inter-church dialogue will open up during the Year of the Russian and Greek Languages and Literature to be held in 2019-2020. His Beatitude Ieronymos thanked for the warm reception and noted that the Greek and Russian peoples and the Greek and Russian sister Orthodox Churches are bound by the feelings of love and mutual understanding based on the solid foundation of the common faith and historical journey. DECR Communication Service /Patriarchia.ru With reference to the site of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Календарь ← 7 April 2024 year |
| Israeli Archaeologists Discover 3,000-Year-Old Jar With Inscription of Name From the Bible July 27, 2015 A 3,000-year-old large ceramic jar with the inscription of the name “Eshbaal Ben Beda.” Archaeologists in Israel have found a rare inscription of the name of an apparently influential person from the time of King David, a name that is also mentioned in the Bible, according to Israel Antiquities Authority. Archaeologists have discovered a 3,000-year-old large ceramic jar with the inscription of the name " Eshbaal Ben Beda, " The Associated Press reported Sunday. The Old Testament book of 1 Chronicles in 8:33 and 9:39 identifies the fourth son of Saul as Eshbaal, also written as as Ish-bosheth. " Ner was the father of Kish, Kish the father of Saul, and Saul the father of Jonathan, Malki-Shua, Abinadab and Esh-Baal, " the verses read. However, archaeologists Yosef Garfinkel and Saar Ganor were quoted as saying that the jar belonged to a different Eshbaal, who was possibly the owner of an agricultural estate. This is the first time the name was found in an ancient inscription, they said. It is one of only four inscriptions discovered from the biblical 10th century B.C. Kingdom of Judah under the reign of King David. The discovery is significant, as it disproves claims that biblical accounts from the time of David and Saul are not verifiable and could just be myths. The announcement about the discovery was made after archaeologists put together the inscription discovered on shards found in a 2012 excavation in central Israel. The examination was done at Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. " We have found hundreds of jars in big cities across what was the Kingdom of Judah, " Daily Mail quoted Ganor, the director of excavation at Khirbet Qeiyafa for the Israel Antiquities Authority, as saying. " This is the only one to have an inscription. For the jar to bear this man " s name, it suggests he was someone very special and important. Writing from this period is extremely rare, " " This is the first time that the name Eshba " al has appeared on an ancient inscription in the country, " Garfinkel was quoted as saying. " It is interesting to note that the name Eshba " al appears in the Bible, and now also in the archaeological record, only during the reign of King David, in the first half of the tenth century BCE. " He added: " This name was not used later in the First Temple period. The correlation between the biblical tradition and the archaeological finds indicates this was a common name only during that period. The name Beda " is unique and does not occur in ancient inscriptions or in the biblical tradition. " 27 июля 2015 г. Смотри также Комментарии Мы в соцсетях Подпишитесь на нашу рассылку |
| About Pages Проекты «Правмира» Raising Orthodox Children to Orthodox Adulthood The Daily Website on How to be an Orthodox Christian Today Twitter Telegram Parler RSS Donate Navigation On Why We Pray So Much Bishop Jonah (Cherepanov) 23 June 2017 “When people are in love, they constantly want to spend time with each other, to talk to each other. As long as they’re together they are even happy to remain silent. It is the same with God…” Bishop Iona (Cherepanov) finds surprising words in reply to the common bewilderment, why “everything in the Orthodox Church takes such a long time.” Why do we need long services and prayer rules; are there plans to shorten them because of the intensive schedule of the life of modern men; are we allowed not to pray when we are tired after work – read it all in the interview. Photo: tatarstan-mitropolia.ru The way it was done by the Apostles. – Your Grace, can you answer the question, why everything takes so long with the Orthodox? Prayers before Communion, services, Akathists, Canons… After all, the Lord never said anywhere in the Gospel, “Pray as long as possible.” On the contrary, “Our Father,” the prayer that He gives people, is extremely short and concise (Mtth. 6, 9-13). At the same time, Christ reproached the Pharisees with making long prayers for a pretence (Mtth. 23, 14) and warned the Apostles, “And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathens do . For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore, do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Mtth. 6, 7-8). So, does that mean we are like the Pharisees and the heathens? – The last words you quoted were in fact pivotal. As we see from the text, heathens prayed for mundane things, and for that reason the Lord advises that the Heavenly Father knows our needs even before we ask Him. He goes on to say, “For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Mtth. 6, 32-33). |
| Priest The third and final P is priest. This is the least important issue because if you have people and premises, a priest will appear. However, it is vital that the priest speaks the language of his parishioners – in all senses. This means not only that he speaks and understands at least some of the most common language of his parishioners – which may not be English – but that he understands them and sympathizes with them. It is ideal when a priest is one of the group of people who has made his way through all the stages of priesthood – reader – subdeacon – deacon – priest – and therefore knows what he is talking about and understands. Tweet Donate Share Code for blog Some Missionary Notes Archpriest Andrew Phillips After 33 years as an Orthodox clergyman in three different countries, I would like to make the following observations about missionary work. Before anything else, it must be said that missionary work is never done top-down. In other words, it is not a matter of people sitting in offices poring over ... 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. |
| Is that because only manifestations of the disease are treated, and its true roots are preserved in people’s souls like weed’s roots that produce harmful seedlings again and again? Psychology is a young science. It officially started only 130 years ago, when W. Wundt opened the first laboratory of experimental psychology in Leipzig in 1879. Orthodoxy has a history of 2000 years. It has its own view on the phenomenon that psychology calls “depression”. In Orthodoxy this state of mind is called “despondency”. It is a sick condition that becomes constant over time, where the dreary mood reaches into the soul. There comes a feeling of loneliness, abandonment by family, friends, all people in general, and even by God. This condition is also found among believers, and it is even more common among non-believers. Elder Paisios the Athonite said about them, “A person who does not believe in God and future life exposes their immortal soul to eternal condemnation and lives without consolation in this life. Nothing can console them. They are afraid of losing their life, they suffer, go to psychiatrists who give them pills and advise them to have fun. They take pills, become stupid, and then they go back and forth to see the sights and forget the pain”. Someone may object: does any sad condition truly mean desp ondency? No, not all of them do. Sadness and sorrow are not a disease if they are not rooted in a person. They are inevitable in the laborious mortal path as God warned us, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). How to Fight Desp ondency and its Consequences The great Russian Saint Seraphim of Sarov said, “One needs to remove despondency from themselves and try to have a joyful spirit and not the sad one. According to Sirach, « Shew not thy valiantness in wine ; for wine hath destroyed many (Ecclesiasticus 31:25)”». How exactly can one remove des pondency from themselves? Holy Hierarch Innokenty of Kherson gives a list of the main means for fighting despondency that a Christian has at their disposal: |
| The object of St. Ambrose in basing his treatise on the lines of that of Cicero would seem to have been the confutation of some of the false principles of heathenism, and to show how much higher Christian morality is than that of the Gentiles. The treatise was probably composed about a.d. 391. h9 Book I. h10 Chapter I. A Bishop’s special office is to teach; St. Ambrose himself, however, has to learn in order that he may teach; or rather has to teach what he has not learnt; at any rate learning and teaching with himself must go on together. 1 . I think I shall not seem to be taking too much on myself, if, in the midst of my children, I yield to my desire to teach, seeing that the master of humility himself has said: “Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.” 33 Wherein one may observe both the humility and the grace of his reverence for God. For in saying “the fear of the Lord,” which seems to be common to all, he has described the chief mark of reverence for God. As, however, fear itself is the beginning of wisdom and the source of blessedness–for they that fear the Lord are blessed 34 –he has plainly marked himself out as the teacher for instruction in wisdom, and the guide to the attainment of blessedness. 2 . We therefore, being anxious to imitate his reverence for God, and not without justification in dispensing grace, deliver to you as to children those things which the Spirit of Wisdom has imparted to him, and which have been made clear to us through him, and learnt by sight and by example. For we can no longer now escape from the duty of teaching which the needs of the priesthood have laid upon us, though we tried to avoid it: 35 “For God gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.” 36 3 . I do not therefore claim for myself the glory of the apostles (for who can do this save those whom the Son of God Himself has chosen?); nor the grace of the prophets, nor the virtue of the evangelists, nor the cautious care of the pastors. I only desire to attain to that care and diligence in the sacred writings, which the Apostle has placed last amongst the duties of the saints; 37 and this very thing I desire, so that, in the endeavour to teach, I may be able to learn. For one is the true Master, Who alone has not learnt, what He taught all; but men learn before they teach, and receive from Him what they may hand on to others. |
| The Procession After the Exchange of the rings the priest leads the couple in procession into the middle of the church. The priest chants Psalm 128, “Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways…” This psalm is one of the “Psalms of Ascent” sung by Jewish pilgrims on the way to the Jerusalem Temple. This point in the service most clearly reveals the “action” of the sacrament. The couple brings themselves, each other, their lives, and all that fills their lives, to the altar as an offering to God. As the couple enters into the midst of the Church, their relationship enters into the new reality of God’s Kingdom. Declaration of Intent and Lighting of Candles Having processed into the church, the couple must individually proclaim, before the assembly, that they have come freely, without constraints or prior commitment, to be joined by God as husband and wife. The bride and groom are then handed candles which are held throughout the service. The candles represent the couple’s faith and willingness to follow the Light of Truth, Jesus Christ, and that they will have their way through life lighted by the teachings of the Church. The Crowning After prayers are offered on their behalf, the groom and bride are crowned by the priest “In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”. These crowns have two meanings. First, they reveal that the man and woman, in their union with Christ, participate in His Kingship. Second, as in the ancient Church, crowns are a symbol of martyrdom. The word “martyr” means witness. The common life of the bride and groom is to bear witness to the Presence of Christ in their lives and in the world. Martyrdom is usually associated with death. So the reality of God’s Kingdom in the life of the husband and wife will necessarily take the form of dying to one’s self, to one’s will, and the giving of one’s life totally to the other, and through the other, to Christ. The Epistle The epistle is taken from St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (5:20-33). It presents the cornerstone of the Christian vision of marriage: the love of man and woman parallels the love of Christ and the Church. As Christ gives Himself totally to and for His Church, so the husband is to give himself totally to and for his wife. As the Church, in turn, is subject to Christ, so the wife subjects herself to her husband. Thus the two become one in a life of mutual love and mutual subjection to each other in Christ. |
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