| Plate 55 Icon of the myrrh-bearing women at the tomb. By Eileen McGuckin. The Icon Studio: www.sgtt.org the New Testament the accounts of Jesus’ resurrection, based on apostolic memories and oral traditions, vary widely in detail. However, the fact and centrality of the resurrection constitute the bedrock of the Christian faith, attested by more than five hundred eyewitnesses ( 1Cor. 15.5–8 ). The gospels indicate that Jesus anticipated his death as blood covenant renewal and viewed his resurrection as God’s vindication of his ministry (e.g., Mk. 8.27–31; 14.22–5, 36, 61–2 ; cf. Acts 3.13–15). Matthew, Luke, and John link Jesus’ resurrection with the gift of the Spirit and the inauguration of the early Christian mission ( Mt. 28.16–20 ; Lk. 24.44–9 ; Jn. 20.19–23 ; cf. Acts 2.32–3). The Gospel ofJohn magnificently integrates the life, death, resurrection, and enthronement of the Son of God as the mutual glorification between the Father and the Son, marking the decisive victory over the power of death and the gift of abundant life through the Spirit, available to believers in the present as well as the future ( Jn. 1.14 ; 5 .24–9; 7.37–9; 12.30–1; 14.15–24; 17.1–5). In this similar rich vein, the Apostle Paul provides the most detailed theological explication of the death and resurrection of the incarnate Son ( Gal. 4.4–6 ; Rom. 1.1–4 ) and Lord of glory ( 1Cor. 2.8; 15.1–4 ). For Paul, the death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ mark the cosmic shift from the old age of sin, corruption, and death to the new era of grace, life, incorruption, and transformed bodily immortality ( Rom. 3.21–6; 5.12–21; 8.18–39 ; 1Cor. 15.50–7 ). In Paul, as in John, God’s powers of salvation are at work both now and in the future in those who are united with Christ through faith and baptism, and who enact the pattern of Jesus’ death and resurrection by crucifying their sinful passions and offering themselves as living sacrifice to God ( Rom. 6.1–23; 8.9–13; 10.9–13; 12.1–2 ; 2Cor. 4.7–18 ; Gal. 3.16–24 ). |
| This man uses his head, or should I say, he uses his heart. He was ordered to go to the priest, and then he was cleansed on the way. He knew that the Great High Priest had healed him, so he obeyed the command. He went to Great High Priest and worshipped Him. This man understood. He had eyes to see, and ears to hear. He saw what a great miracle had been worked, and he knew that only God would be able to do such a thing. This man was a thoughtful man. He considered things. These other nine, even upon seeing the example of one of their kindred, were not thoughtful. It did not occur to them why they were cleansed, and Who they had just encountered. They had just seen the God-man, and been healed by His mercy, and yet they did not really understand. The law is about love and thankfulness. The law is about becoming like God. The Jewish law is very intricate, and you would be amazed how many things in the Jewish law we still follow to this day, but its essence is the Christian law. That essence is to become like God, to be enlightened; and, being enlightened by Him, to become like Him—not in His essence, but in His actions. To be full of love for every man; to be fire. This leper understood that he had just encountered fire, and he went back to it. These nine men, who had also been healed, did not understand, because they were not thinking with their hearts. They were not being enlightened. The other Gospel says something that relates very much to what we are considering here. It says: Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have (Lk. 8:18) . Be careful how you hear. Everyone is hearing the same thing, but we are hearing it differently, because we are hearing it through the prism of our consciousness, our passions, our sins, and our agendas. To the pure, all things are pure (Tit. 1:15). The pure in heart will see God. 3 The impure will see Him, and yet not see Him, and hear Him, and yet not understand him. They may be healed by Him, and yet they will not really be completely healed by Him. The real healing of the leper is what we are about to see. His healing from leprosy was only the beginning, just like the man who was born blind. 4 When he went to the pool of Siloam and came back, having been given eyes to see, he was enlightened to see the God-man, and to know Him, and REALLY be healed at that point. 5 We can see this over and over again. Christ heals the man inside and out. We have seen only a partial healing so far today. The leper still has a bit more medication to be given, and his healing will be completed. |
| There “they take counsel how they might entangle Him in His talk” (Mt 22:15); here “they lead Him unto the brow of a hill, that they may cast Him down headlong (Lk 9:29); at another place “they take up stones to cast at Him” (Jn 8:5); nowhere do they give Him “where to lay His head” (Mt 8:20); He raised up the dead, and His jealous enemies take counsel how to kill Him (Jn 9:43, 44, 46, 53). At the gates of Jerusalem the people salute Him as a King, and all the earthly authorities rise up to condemn Him as a malefactor. In the chosen circle of His friends He discovers an ungrateful traitor, and the first instrument of His death; the best of them are an “offence” unto Him, for at the very time He goes forth on the work of God, “they savour not the things that be of God, but those that be of men” (Mt 26:23). Wilt Thou not rest, Thou divine Cross-bearer, even for one moment from the yoke, ever pressing more heavily on Thy shoulders? Wilt Thou not rest, if not to renew Thy strength for new labours, at least in condescension to the infirmities of Thy followers? Yea, on coming nigh unto Golgotha, Thou wilt rest on Mount Tabor. Go up then unto the mountain of glory; let Thy face be lighted up by heavenly light—let Thy raiment become white and glistening—let the law and the prophets come to acknowledge in Thee their fulfilment—let the voice of Thy Father’s goodwill be heard! But do not you perceive, my hearers, how the Cross follows Jesus even to Mount Tabor, and how the preaching of the Cross is inseparable from the preaching of the glorification? Even there, amidst such great glory, of what do Moses and Elias speak unto Jesus? They speak of His Cross and Death: “And they spake of His decease” (Lk 9:31). Perhaps, to some of us, the mortal agony of Jesus appears to be unworthy of the Holy One. Be it known to such, that this agony was not the result of human impatience, but of divine justice. Could “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev 13:8) fly from His altar of sacrifice? He, “Whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world” (Jn 10:36)—He, Who had from eternity taken upon Himself the office of Mediator between man and God, could He be shaken in His work, by the thought only of suffering? If He could feel any impatience it was but the impatience to accomplish our salvation and to bless us. |
| Intercession for Russian cities by the MostHoly Queen of Heaven always involved Her appearances with the Heavenly Hosts, under the leadership of the Archistategos. Grateful Rus' acclaimed the Most Pure Mother of God and the Archangel Michael in church singing. To the Archistrategos Michael are dedicated many a monastery, cathedrals, court and merchant churches. In old Kiev at the time of the accepting of Christianity, there was erected a cathedral of the Archangel, and a monastery also was built in his name. Archangel cathedrals stand at Smolensk, Nizhni Novgorod, Staritsa, a monastery at Great Ustiug (beginning XIII Century), and a cathedral at Sviyazhsk. In Rus' there was not a city, wherein was not a church or chapel, dedicated to the Archangel Michael. One of the chief temples of the city of Moscow -- the burial church in the Kremlin -- is dedicated to him. Numerous and beautiful icons of the Chief-in-Rank of the Highest Powers are also in his Cathedral. One of these -- the Icon " Blest Soldiery " --written in the Uspenie [Dormition] Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, where the saintly soldiers -- Russian princes -- are depicted under the leadership of the Archistrategos Michael. From Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition are likewise known the Archangels: Gabriel -- strength (power) of God, herald and servitor of Divine almightiness (Dan 8:16, Lk 1:26) Raphael -- the healing of God, the curer of human infirmities (Tobit 3:16, 12:15) Uriel -- the fire or light of God, enlightener (3 Ezdras 5:20) Selaphiel -- the prayer of God, impelling to prayer (3 Ezdras 5:16) Jehudiel -- the glorifying of God, encouraging exertion for the glory of the Lord and interceding about the reward of efforts Barachiel -- distributor of the blessing of God for good deeds, entreating the mercy of God for people Jeremiel -- the raising up to God (3 Ezdras 4:36) On icons the Archangels are depicted in accord with the trait of their service: Michael -- tramples the devil underfoot, and in his left hand holds a green date-tree branch, and in his right hand a spear with a white banner (or sometimes a fiery sword), on which is outlined a scarlet cross. |
| The New Testament presupposes the stream of Jewish worship and prayer. The Gospel of Luke records exquisite prayers by the Virgin Mary ( Lk. 1.46–55 ), the priest Zechariah ( Lk. 1.68–79 ), and the elder Simeon ( Lk. 2.29–32 ). Jesus himself, circumcised on the eighth day and presented at the Temple on the fortieth, grew up in the tradition of Jewish prayer and piety with frequent appearances at the Temple and the synagogue. He not only gave instructions on prayer but also practiced heartfelt prayer, seeking solitude in the hills where he could pray all night, not least before making important decisions ( Mk. 1.35 ; Lk. 6.12 ). The personal depth of Jesus’ prayers to God the Father breaks forth in dramatic moments of joyful confession ( Mt. 11.25 ), the giving of the Lord’s Prayer ( Mt. 6.5–13 ), the high priestly prayer to the Father ( Jn. 17 ), and the agony at Gethsemane ( Mk. 14.33–5 ), all of which exemplify the intimate relationship with God as a personal and loving Father which Jesus lived and taught. While the early church inherited much of the Jewish tradition of prayer, it gradually moved away from the Temple worship and cultic practices such as animal sacrifices, circumcision, and kosher foods, regarded as no longer compatible with the gospel. Instead, the church focused on its own rites of baptism, the Mystical Supper or Eucharist, and other rites that gradually developed into a whole tradition of worship continuously elaborated in content and structure. St. Paul, large sections of whose letters read like prayers, is a primary figure of the Christian renewal of prayer and worship in trinitarian forms based on the view that each baptized Christian is a living sacrifice to God ( Rom. 6.4, 13; 12.1 ) and the church is the body of Christ and the temple of the Holy Spirit ( 1Cor. 3.16–17; 12.12–27 ). Stirring echoes of early Christian prayers and aspects of worship, replete with Old Testament language, frequently occur in the Book of Revelation, where the eschatological drama of salvation itself is recounted from the perspective of the worship of God (Rev. 4.4–11; 5.8–14; 7.9–12; 11.15–18; 12.10–12; 15.3–4; 19.1–8). |
| Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk greets 23d International symposium on Orthodox spirituality Source: DECR Natalya Mihailova 11 September 2015 On September 9, 2015, the 23d International Symposium on Orthodox Spirituality was opened at the Bose monastic community, Italy, under the theme ‘Mercy and Forgiveness’. It is attended by representatives of Local Orthodox Churches, the Roman Catholic Church and Protestant communities as well as prominent theologians and specialists in church history. With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, a delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church led by Bishop Mitrofan of Severomonrsk and Umba takes part in the symposium. Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Department for External Church Relations (DECR), has sent the following message of greetings to the participants in the symposium. Very Reverend Father Enzo Bianchi, Dear organizers and participants of the symposium: On behalf of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, I would like to cordially greet all the participants in the 23d International Symposium of Orthodox Spirituality organized by the Bose community and held under the theme ‘Mercy and Forgiveness’. The good news of our Lord Jesus Christ has revealed to the whole creation the boundless mercy and absolute forgiveness of our God the Heavenly Father. The Creator’s love of His created world enslaved by sin was expressed in the self-denial of the Son of God Who gave Himself for the sins of the world ‘so that all people be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth’ (1 Tim. 2:4). How inscrutably profound is the forgiveness of God given to the sinful man without any condition even before he repents (cf. Rom. 5:8)! God, like the loving father from the parable of the lost son, stands in anticipation on the way of he who ‘was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found’ (Lk. 15: 20:24). ‘Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful’, says the Saviour to His disciples (Lk. 6:36). In these words there is a testimony to the highest dignity of man called to co-work with God. But is ‘the crown of the creation’ always equal to his calling? The natural environment of man, destroyed by irresponsible and consumer attitude to it, needs love and care for its salvation. According to St. Paul, ‘the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed’, for ‘the whole creation has been groaning right up to the present time, not only so, but we ourselves…’ (Rom. 8; 19:22-23). |
| NY court lets woman refuse vaccine made with aborted baby tissue/Православие.Ru NY court lets woman refuse vaccine made with aborted baby tissue New York, September 3, 2015 An Orthodox Christian woman has won the right to refuse a vaccine developed using aborted babies' tissue, based on her religious beliefs. The vaccine is for measles/mumps/rubella and is required by New York City law for all schoolchildren. It was developed from fetal tissue procured from abortions, hence the moral dilemma for practicing Christians. The woman, who remains anonymous, said her Christian beliefs against abortion compel her to have nothing to do with vaccines made using aborted fetal tissue. " Abortion is clearly a mortal sin and is [an] abhorrent act to any Christian, " the New York mom said in her petition for exemption, according to the New York Post. " The vaccine manufacturers' use of aborted fetal cells in its products and research means that I cannot associate with them or support them financially (by buying their products), for such support would make me complicit to their sin. " New York State Department of Education Commissioner Mary Ellen Elia concluded in the woman's favor, explaining, " The weight of the evidence supports petitioner's contentions that her opposition to the MMR vaccine stems from sincerely held religious beliefs. " Christianity has always opposed abortion, from the time of the New Testament. The Bible teaches that from conception, the womb holds a human person, calling pregnancy " to be with child " (Isaiah 7:14). Many biblical individuals are explicitly described as called or known from the womb, such as Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:4-5), Isaiah (Isaiah 44:2; 49:1), Job (Job 10:8-12), Paul (Gal. 1:15), and John the Baptist (Lk. 1:15). The New Testament also condemns abortifacients (Galatians 5:20; Revelation 9:21, 18:23, 21:8, 22:15). Other early Church documents condemning abortion include the Didache, the Epistle of Barnabas, the Epistle to Diognetus, the Apocalypse of Peter, St. Athenagoras's writings, the letters of St. Clement of Alexandria, the Apostolic Constitutions, Tertullian, Hippolytus's Apostolic Traditions. Additionally, every early Church council says likewise. |
| The Sunday before last the Holy Church offered for our attention the parable about the talents. A talent is that strength which God gives to us for the fulfillment of His commandments of love for God and neighbor. Last Sunday showed us the application of this talent to our life. A mother had a possessed daughter. The mother rushed to Christ: " Help me! " (Mt. 15:25). But Christ was silent. Then the Apostles started to speak to Christ, pointing out this Canaanite woman. Christ answered them: But I have come to the children. " It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs " (Mt. 15:26). The Canaanite woman cried: " Yet the dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table, " (Mt. 15:27). At this moment her consciousness was completely filled with humility; and in answer to this most profound humility, the Lord took pity on her and said: " O woman, great is thy faith: be it done unto thee even as thou wilt " (Mt. 15:28). And here, today’s Gospel about the miraculous catch of fish shows us how that same talent (according to the Gospel’s expression, used in " trade " (Mt. 25:16), which means applied to life) is manifested in absolute obedience and trust in the word of the Lord and produces the fruit of faith. But what is faith? What does the process of faith consist of? We are given the answer to this in today’s Gospel (Lk. 5:1-11). Christ was preaching on the lake of Gennesaret. Now the sermon has finished. There were two boats at the shore, and Christ had been preaching from one of them. Here He addressed the Apostle Peter and said: " Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets. " Peter answered: " Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing " (Lk. 5:4-5). And the Apostles were experienced fishermen; they knew the laws of the sea. If at night-time no fish were caught, then during the day a catch was out of the question. And Peter said this to Christ. But he added: " Nevertheless at Thy word I will let down the nets " (Lk. 5:5). And they let them down. And a miracle happened. The boats were so filled with fish that they started to sink. Then the Apostle Peter fell at the feet of the Savior and said: " Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord " (Lk. 5:8). |
| 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). |
| And no, I’m not referring to the Psalter of David, or even the later Odes of Solomon . I’m talking about the “Book of Odes” (δα), a collection of fourteen Scriptural hymns or canticles, which are still regularly sung in the liturgical tradition of the Orthodox Church. The earliest known collection of these fourteen Odes is found in the Old Testament of Codex Alexandrinus. Codex Alexandrinus is a four-volume compilation of the Scriptures in the Greek language, and includes what the Orthodox Church calls Anaginoskomena , as well as some other pseudepigraphal and apostolic-era works. For example, a summary of the Psalms written by Eusebius of Caesarea, as well as St. Athanasius’ Epistle to Marcellinus are included before the traditional Psalter, with the 151st Psalm of David and the δα immediately following. The epistle of St. Clement to the Corinthians (1 Clement), as well as a sermon attributed to him (2 Clement) are also placed after the traditional twenty seven books of the New Testament. Given the inclusion of St. Athanasius’ letter, the earliest date for this codex can be A.D. 373, and most scholars today date it between the end of the fourth and the beginning of the fifth century. The Book of Odes aptly begins with the chorus, “Sing to the Lord! For he is eminently glorified” ( Odes 1:1 ). As already mentioned, most of these hymns are found in the canon of Matins—or “Orthros,” a morning prayer service—in the Orthodox Church. Of the fourteen, nine are included in the following order (versification according to Orthodox Psalter): 1. Ode of Moses ( Exo. 15:1-19 ) 2. Ode of Moses in Deuteronomy ( Deut. 32:1-43 ; sung during Great Lent) 3. Prayer of Anna ( 1 Sam. 2:1-10 ; 1 Kings/Reigns in LXX) 4. Prayer of Habakkuk ( Hab. 3:2-19 ) 5. Prayer of Isaiah ( Isa. 26:9-20 ) 6. Prayer of Jonah ( Jon. 2:3-10 ) 7. Prayer of the Three Holy Youths ( Dan. 3:26-56 ) 8. Hymn of the Three Holy Youths ( Dan. 3:57-88 ) 9a.Hymn of the Theotokos ( Lk. 1:46-55 ) 9b.Prayer of Zacharias ( Lk. 1:68-79 ) |
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