| Statement on Homosexuality by the Holy Synod of Cyprus Source: MYSTAGOGY Natalya Mihailova 18 May 2014 As the first-ever gay pride parade in Cyprus draws near (May 31), the Holy Synod of the Church of Cyprus released an official statement at the request of many of the faithful who felt provoked due to recent publications and activities of homosexuals on the island. With concern and sorrow the Holy Synod is following what is happening and being announced in regards to the way of behavior and life of a portion of our fellowmen. These men and women, incited and carried away by similar groups abroad and the confusion of their own conscience, argue and demonstrate that the relations of people of the same sex (homosexuality) is a natural way of behavior, which is why their choice must be received as legal evidence and socially accepted. Indeed, in order to achieve their purpose, they have planned events of “pride”, as they call it. However, they are contradicted and rebuked by Holy Scripture, which teaches that God “in the beginning made people male and female” (Matt. 18:14) and blessed with the mystery of marriage lawful coupling (Eph. 5:32). At the same time, the word of God condemns homosexuality and warns its devotees of its grave consequences: “Do not be deceived: neither fornicators … nor adulterers, nor the soft (effeminate and womanish), nor homosexuals … will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:9-10). This is why homosexual relationships are also a moral aberration and constitute a dishonor of the human person (Rom. 1:24-28). The Church and Science consider homosexuality as a fall and illness of the human person, and not a natural way of life or choice. This is why they recommend proper treatment and therapy and oppose institutional and social support and acceptance. The tragic results of homosexuality at the local and global level, with the loosening of moral behavior, the increased incidence of pedophilia, the countless cases of victims of the incurable illness AIDS of homosexuals, the increase of divorce and family breakdown, the unnatural adoption of children, etc., consist of the strongest arguments of this atypical way of life. |
| Orthodox Church of Cyprus Lashes Out Against Gay Pride Cyprus, May 17, 2014 The Holy Synod, the highest decision-making body of the Christian-Orthodox Church in Cyprus, made a statement lashing out against homosexuality, after activists announced the country’s first gay pride festival set to take place May 31. The Holy Synod said it looks at people trying to give homosexuality social and legal acceptance with “concern and grief.” Here is the full statement by the Holy Synod: “With concern and sorrow the Holy Synod is following what is happening and being announced in regards to the way of behavior and life of a portion of our fellowmen. These men and women, incited and carried away by similar groups abroad and the confusion of their own conscience, argue and demonstrate that the relations of people of the same sex (homosexuality) is a natural way of behavior, which is why their choice must be received as legal evidence and socially accepted. Indeed, in order to achieve their purpose, they have planned events of “pride”, as they call it. However, they are contradicted and rebuked by Holy Scripture, which teaches that God “in the beginning made people male and female” (Matt. 18:14) and blessed with the mystery of marriage lawful coupling (Eph. 5:32). At the same time, the word of God condemns homosexuality and warns its devotees of its grave consequences: “Do not be deceived: neither fornicators … nor adulterers, nor the soft (effeminate and womanish), nor homosexuals … will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:9-10). This is why homosexual relationships are also a moral aberration and constitute a dishonor of the human person (Rom. 1:24-28). The Church and Science consider homosexuality as a fall and illness of the human person, and not a natural way of life or choice. This is why they recommend proper treatment and therapy and oppose institutional and social support and acceptance. The tragic results of homosexuality at the local and global level, with the loosening of moral behavior, the increased incidence of pedophilia, the countless cases of victims of the incurable illness AIDS of homosexuals, the increase of divorce and family breakdown, the unnatural adoption of children, etc., consist of the strongest arguments of this atypical way of life. |
| Материал из Православной Энциклопедии под редакцией Патриарха Московского и всея Руси Кирилла ВЕРНЫЕ [греч. Πιστο; лат. fideles], те из христиан, кто уже принял Крещение (в противоположность оглашаемым) и регулярно участвует в таинстве Евхаристии. В НЗ В. называются все уверовавшие во Христа (Деян 10. 45; Еф 1. 1; Кол 1. 1; 1 Тим 4. 3, 6. 2; 1 Петр 1. 21; ср.: Ин 20. 27). Во время земной жизни Господа Его последователи именовались учениками (ο μαθητα); этот термин встречается во всех Евангелиях и Деяниях св. апостолов. В Посланиях к последователям Христа прилагаются различные наименования («братья», «святые» (1 Кор 6. 2; 2 Кор 13. 12; Флп 4. 22; Евр 3. 1), «подражатели» (1 Кор 11. 1; 1 Фес 1. 6; 2. 14), «избранные» (1 Петр 1. 1; Кол 3. 12), «(при)званные» (Рим 1. 6-7; 8. 28; 1 Кор 1. 2, 24)); в этот синонимический ряд входят и В. Они должны открыто исповедать свою веру прежде всего в принятии таинства Крещения. К неверным относятся язычники (1 Кор 6. 6; 7. 12; 14. 22; 2 Кор 6. 14; 1 Тим 5. 8). Термин В. в раннехрист. период встречается в надписях (напр., рядом с известной карикатурой на Распятие (Алексамен поклоняется своему Богу) (III в.) найдена надпись, в к-рой упоминается то же лицо как «Alexamenos fidelis» (DACL. 1914. T. 3. Col. 3051. Fig. 3359)). Если у мужей апостольских В. называются еще все члены Церкви ( Ign . Eph. 21. 2; Ep. ad Magn. 5. 2; Martyr. Polyc. 12. 3), то, начиная с III в., с развитием института оглашения, так начинают называть только одну из категорий членов Церкви - крещеных в противоположность оглашаемым, к-рые, уже считаясь христианами, еще не имели права участвовать в таинствах ( Tertull. De praescript. haer. 41//PL. 2. Col. 56; Orig. In Ier. hom. 18. 8//PG. 13. Col. 480c; Лаодик. 7; Cyr. Hieros. Catech. 1. 4; Hist. mon. Aeg. 5. 4). Именно полноценное участие в таинствах являлось для св. отцов основным критерием отличия В. ( Cyr. Hieros. Procatech. 2; Theodoret. Quaest. in Deut. 28). Строгая покаянная дисциплина исключала из их числа всех кающихся (Григ. Неок. 11; Васил. 3). Нек-рые из них должны были уходить вместе с «оглашенными», др. именовались «купно стоящими», т. к. могли участвовать вместе с верными в молитвах, но не приобщаться Св. Таин (Григ. Неок. 12; Феоф. 14; Васил. 3, 34, 56-64, 66, 75, 77, 81, 83; Трул. 87). Однако св. отцы подчеркивали, что В. не избавлены от действия страстей и могут впадать в прегрешения разной степени тяжести ( Cyr. Hieros. Catech. 2. 3; Ioan. Chrysost. In Matth. IV 8). Считалось, что у еретиков, к-рые, конечно, не относились к числу В., тоже были свои В. (Лаодик. 7). |
| Forgiving Others Source: Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA C. E. Macartney, a Christian writer, has pointed out that when Leonardo da Vinci was about to paint his “Last Supper,” he had a quarrel with a fellow artist. He became so enraged that he decided to take his revenge by painting the face of his enemy into the face of Judas. He had determined to make the man go down in infamy. But when he came to paint the face of Christ, da Vinci could make no progress. Something was holding him back – his vengeful spirit. When he realized it, he painted out the face of Judas and began anew on the face of Christ which he finished with the success which the ages have acclaimed. Macartney comments: “You cannot at one and the same time be painting the features of Christ into your own life, and painting another face with the colors of enmity and hatred.” One of the most distinctive teachings of the Christian faith is freely to forgive others. Based on the experience of God’s forgiveness in Christ, Christians are to forgive others from the heart. The New Testament contains many inspiring passages on the theme of forgiveness. Here are some which easily come to mind: “If you are about to offer your gift to God at the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar, go at once and make peace with your brother, and then come back and offer your gift to God” (Mt. 5:23-24). “When you stand and pray, forgive anything you have against anyone, so that your Father in heaven will forgive the wrongs you have done” (Mk. 11:25). In the Lord’s Prayer Jesus taught His followers to pray: “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us” (Mt. 6:12, RSV). “Get rid of all bitterness, passion, and anger. No more shouting or insults, no more hateful feelings of any kind. Instead, be kind and tender hearted to one another, and forgive one another, as God has forgiven you through Christ” (Eph. 4:31-32). Jesus illustrated the importance of forgiving others with the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant (Mt. 18:23-35). The context of this parable provides an interesting contrast between the teachings of the Old and New Testament on forgiveness. Peter asked Christ, “Lord, if my brother keeps on sinning against me, how many times do I have to forgive him? Seven times?” And Jesus answered, “No, not seven times, but seventy times seven” (Mt. 18:21-22). |
| The Ascension. Giotto, c.1305, Scrovegni (Arena) Chapel, Padua, Italy Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession (Heb. 4:14). Let us follow along now mentally, brethren, with the sacred writers, depicting the path of our Lord Jesus Christ’s Ascension into Heaven, in the glory of His Father. This path, ending with His Ascension to the Father (Jn. 20:17) and His receiving of the Heavenly glory which He had in His Divinity before the world was (Jn. 17:5), commenced with His sufferings. Ascending up far above all heavens, our Lord had to descend first into the lower parts of the earth (Eph. 4:9-10) to disappear into the bowels of the earth, into the depths of the abyss, and be cut off from the land of the living that, having made Himself an offering of propitiation (Is. 53:8-10) for the sins of man, He could present Himself as our High Priest, able to be touched with the feeling of our infirmities (Heb. 4:15). And we see how this bearer of man’s sin, forsaken among the dead and reduced into the dust of earth (Ps. 88:5, 21:15), is the Victor over hell and death , and binds the strong man, that is, the devil (Mt. 12:29). He Who cometh from Edom … glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of His strength (Is. 63:1), and ascended on high , receives rather the spoils of human souls saved by Him (Ps. 68:18), as the King of glory, entering through the gates of Heaven itself, to appear there as the Forerunner and Intercessor for us (Ps. 23:7-10; Heb. 6:20, 12:23-24). If, brethren, such is the path of the Ascension of Christ Himself into His glory (Lk. 24:26)—that is, a path of suffering and death—then can our path be otherwise? If He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (Jn. 14:6), then how can we come to God the Father, if not by imitating our Lord Jesus Christ (Jn. 13:15)? If our Lord Jesus Christ sits on the right hand of God, then set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth , for if we have died with Him, then, according to the apostle, our lives must now be hid with Christ in God (Col. 3:1-3). Let us mortify our earthly passions and thoughts (Col. 3:5) in order to have our citizenship in Heaven (Phil. 3:20), and with our purified minds to follow Christ, the Lord of our lives, Who has ascended into Heaven and is drawing us there where He is. Let us prepare our minds with contemplation and prayer for that spiritual joy with which the apostles were filled as they stood watching Christ as He ascended from Earth to Heaven, and afterwards returned to Jerusalem with great joy (Lk. 24:52; Acts 1:10-12). |
| Accept The site uses cookies to help show you the most up-to-date information. By continuing to use the site, you consent to the use of your Metadata and cookies. Cookie policy Metropolitan Eugene of Tallinn is forced to leave Estonia DECR Communication Service, 06/02/2024 On February 5, 2024, the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board formally notified Metropolitan Eugene of Tallinn and All Estonia that his request to renew his temporary residence permit had been denied, patriarchia.ru reports citing website of the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate . The official notification was handed over to Metropolitan Eugene on the Church Administration premises: Tallinn, Pikk Street 64/1-4. His Eminence will leave Estonia on February 6. Prior to his departure, the Primate of the Estonian Orthodox Church addressed his flock. The text of his message is given below. “Right Reverend archpastors, all-honourable fathers, dear brothers and sisters, “Christ is Risen! “Saint Paul teaches us Christians to react good-naturedly to everything that happens to us. He writes, Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thess 5:16-18). The source of our joy and placidity is not worldly success or our achievements, but our faith. Through the Cross joy has come into all the world. And, as Christ says, no one will take your joy from you (Jn 16:22). So, I would like to call upon you to be good-natured and joyful in spirit and thank God for everything, as this is what our Lord expects of us. “Indeed, plentiful are things we ought to thank God for! Much has happened over the past few days. For the first time in 34 years, an episcopal consecration took place in the Estonian land in our Church; the Synod held its meeting this week; the Council was convened. Over the past six months, two deacons were ordained. Youth, cultural and educational meetings are held. And, above all, divine services and sacraments are celebrated in our churches! It is very important for us to remember that and give thanks to our Lord God for everything! I urge all of you to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph 4:3). “It is our hope that with God’s help the church life will keep following its course. There are two auxiliary bishops in Estonia who with my blessing may fully exercise the powers of the Primate of our Church. As for me, I stay in contact and, though remotely, continue to take care of the Church entrusted to me. “May our All-Merciful Lord help us follow the path of Christ’s commandments and draw nearer to His Heavenly Kingdom! “Christ is in our midst! “May the blessing of God be always with you!” Print publication Share: Page is available in the following languages Feedback |
| John Anthony McGuckin Cross JOHN A. MCGUCKIN Orthodox theology approaches the cross of Christ most characteristically as a trophy of divine glory. It is the cipher above all others that sums up and encapsulates the love and mercy of the Lord for his adopted race. It is the “sign of salvation,” the icon of hope. In many Orthodox painted crosses the title bar does not read “Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews” (INRI in Latin, INBI in Greek, IHЦI in Slavonic), but is made to read “The Lord of Glory,” and often on Orthodox devotional crosses one reads marked there the generic superscription Philanthropos Theos: “The God Who Loves Mankind.” At first, early Christian theology demonstrated mainly a horrified sense of awe that the powers of wickedness could treat the Lord in such a violent way (Acts 2.22–35). But the tone was decidedly that God’s glorification of his servant Jesus far outweighed the dishonor that the dark spiritual powers tried to inflict. The Apostle Peter, in his speech to the people of Jerusalem, sums it up in the words: “God has made this Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2.36). There is a regular contrasted pairing of the ideas of humiliation (in the cross) and exalted glorification of Jesus by God (because of the faithfulness to the point of crucifixion) such as can be seen in the ancient hymn which the Apostle Paul quotes ( Phil. 2.6–11 ), as well as in the schemes of Ascent (Anabasis) and Descent (Katabasis) that structure St. John’s theology of crucifixion and glorification in his profound gospel (cf. Jn. 3.13–15 ). St. Paul took a decisive step when he made the cross not merely a scandal to be explained away but a mystery of faith and God’s love that ought to be celebrated as pivotal ( Gal. 6.14 ). The cross in Christian use was already, and rapidly, shifting away from a thing of shame to being the great sign of the new covenant of reconciliation ( Eph. 2.16 ; Col. 1.20; Heb. 12.2). In the early apologists and apostolic fathers the cross is rarely mentioned (though see Ignatius of Antioch, Letters to the Ephesians 9.1; 18.1; To the Trallians 11.2; To the Philadelphians 8.2). But popular devotion to it as a confident symbol of Christian victory over the powers of this world was steadily growing, as can be seen in the appearance in art and inscription from the 2nd century onwards of the cross-shaped monogram Fos – Zoe (“Light and Life in the Cross”: one must imagine the words written at right angles to one another, Fos down vertically, Zoe horizontally, making a cross, with the middle letter of both being shared in common). |
| Paschal Message of His Holiness KIRILL Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia admin 14 April 2012 Paschal Message of His Holiness KIRILL Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia to the Archpastors, Pastors, Deacons, Monastics and All the Faithful Children of the Russian Orthodox Church Beloved in the Lord Your Graces the archpastors, all-honourable presbyters and deacons, God-loving monks and nuns, dear brothers and sisters! In spiritually rejoicing on this great and glorious feast of the Resurrection from the dead of the Saviour of the world, in contemplating in my thoughts his emergence from the tomb, I address to you all the life-affirming exclamation which is replete with inner strength, unvanquished truth and joy: CHRIST IS RISEN! The radiant Paschal night reveals to humanity the fullness of the Divine love by which the pre-eternal Son of the heavenly Father has taken upon himself human nature, healed it from the sickness of sin and, in descending into the depths of Hades, has destroyed the bonds of death, granting to us the precious opportunity of uniting with our Creator and Provider. In uniting with this all-protecting love of the Lord, we acquire an unconquerable weapon ‘against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places’ (Eph 6:12). We overcome the fear caused by the limits of our human nature and acquire the ability to confront fearlessly all of today’s challenges. For ‘there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear’ (1 Jn 4:18). It is not fortuitous that the Gospel repeatedly conveys to us the words of the Lord which he spoke for the encouragement and strengthening of the spirit of his followers: ‘Do not fear!’ Fear for the future, the fear of dangers unknown, of imaginary or real threats, is a feeling familiar to many. Yet the Lord abides with us if only we do not turn away from him. And in these days of glorifying his victory over death the Saviour addresses each one of us: ‘Do not fear, only believe’ (Mt 5: 36). |
| “Pray Without Ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17) “Father, at last I have started to pray the way you taught me, absolutely unselfishly! " “Can you tell me how?”, the priest asked. Like this: “God, I am not asking for anything for myself. But please give my mom a good son-in-law in two years or so " How can we understand prayer, and how can we pray for a contemporary person (according to the ascetic tradition of the Church) It is difficult to talk about prayer, it is anything but a simple topic, sometimes one even does not know what to begin with although there is much literature on prayer. Unwittingly one feels how right was an unknown elder who once said a joke: “No one can talk about prayer if he does not pray. If he prays, then, he has no slightest desire to talk about Nevertheless, we need to talk about that because the issue of prayer is extremely topical. People look for alternatives to prayer books with their vast codes of obscure prayers which a contemporary person just has no time to read, thus often we have to hear the following questions: 1) What is prayer and are there any analogies to behold its action easier? 2) What is its purpose and is it possible to achieve it in a shorter and simpler way than in the way that a prayer book offers? 3) How to behave if a prayer remained unheard? In my report I would like to answer these questions by a selection of protreptics of Holy Fathers-hermits of different epochs and these fathers have not lost their significance until now, moreover, they are still remaining in demand. 1. The Holy Scripture mentions prayer or imploration more than 240 times. An appeal to God in any situation of life was an ordinary thing, thus Apostle Paul’s reminders are deeply saturated with a deep Bible spirit: “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thes. 5, 17), “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit” (Eph. 6, 18), “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving” (Col. 4, 2). In an etymologicon I looked up the source of the word молить, молиться (to implore, to pray) and I was amazed at the wisdom of our ancestors. It appeared that a Common Slavic verb modliti (from molditi) is close to a Greek adjective malthakos (mild, tender) and to an Ancient-Saxonic adjective mildi (mild, kind, merciful) and it had the central meaning: to make somebody mild, |
| 16). Патристическая и средневековая интерпретация Христологическое толкование подразумевает, что сцена поклонения В. Младенцу Христу символизирует конец языческой магии и мудрость мира, т. о., получает совершенно новую оценку ( Ign. Eph. 19. 3; Iust. Martyr. Dial. 78. 9; Tertull. De idolatr. 9. 7; Clem. . Exc. Theod. 74; Riedinger. S. 142-146). Нек-рые авторы считали В. гадателями, одержимыми бесами, к-рые, однако, были приведены Богом в Вифлеем, чтобы осознать грехи и признать власть Сына Божия ( Iust. Dial. 78; Orig. Contr. Cels. I 60; Hieron. In Is. 19. 1; Aug. Serm. 20. 3, 4). Мн. отцы и учители Церкви осмысляют этот рассказ в контексте вопроса о христ. миссии и понимают приход В. как призыв язычников к спасению: В.- «первые из язычников» ( Aug. Serm. 200. 1, 202. 1); часто такое толкование имеет антииудейскую направленность - следствием поклонения язычников Младенцу Иисусу становится «проклятие иудеев», к-рых в этом эпизоде представляют царь Ирод, его книжники и народ, ибо В. шли за звездой, а иудеи не верили своим пророкам ( Beda. In Matth.//PL. 92. Col. 13; Ioan. Chrysost. In Matth. 6. 3; 7. 5; Petr. Chrys. Serm. 158). Назидательное толкование подчеркивает важность благочестивого поведения В., в первую очередь их поклонение, принесение даров, к-рые часто воспринимались как символы ( Tertul. De idolatr. 9. 5; Ioan. Chrysost. In Matth. 7. 5). Наиболее распространенным у ранних авторов является мнение о происхождении В. из Персии ( Clem. Alex. Strom. I 15; Cyr. Alex. In Is. 49. 12; Ioan. Chrysost. Hom. 6. 14; 7. 1, 15; 8. 1; Leclercq. P. 992). Согласно св. Иустину мученику (Dial. 77. 4; 78. 1; 88. 1) и Тертуллиану (Adv. Marcion. III 13. 8; Adv. Iud. 9), они прибыли из Аравии, реже встречается утверждение об их происхождении из Месопотамии или Эфиопии ( Knabenbauer. Bd. 1. S. 128) (напр., Maxim. Torin. Hom. 18-28 de Epiph). Реликварий «Трех царей». 1180–1220 гг. (Кёльнский кафедральный собор) Реликварий «Трех царей». 1180–1220 гг. (Кёльнский кафедральный собор) В XIII-XIV вв. |
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