| St Photini, The Samaritan Woman Commemorated February 26 The New Testament describes the familiar account of the " woman at the well " (John 4:5-42), who was a Samaritan. Up to that point she had led a sinful life, one which resulted in a rebuke from Jesus Christ. However, she responded to Christ's stern admonition with genuine repentance, was forgiven her sinful ways, and became a convert to the Christian Faith - taking the name 'Photini' at Baptism, which literally means " the enlightened one " . A significant figure in the Johannine community, the Samaritan Woman, like many other women, contributed to the spread of Christianity. She therefore occupies a place of honour among the apostles. In Greek sermons from the fourth to the fourteenth centuries she is called " apostle " and " evangelist. " In these sermons the Samaritan Woman is often compared to the male disciples and apostles and found to surpass them. Later, Byzantine hagiographers developed the story of the Samaritan Woman, beginning where Saint John left off. At Pentecost Saint Photini received baptism, along with her five sisters, Anatole, Photo, Photis, Paraskeve, Kyriake, and her two sons, Photeinos and Joseph. She then began a missionary career, traveling far and wide, preaching the good news of the Messiah's coming, His death and resurrection. When Nero, the emperor of Rome, began to persecute Christians, Photini and her son Joseph were in Carthage, in Africa, where she was preaching the Christian gospel. After Jesus appeared to Photini in a dream, she sailed to Rome. Her son and many Christians from Africa accompanied her. Photini's arrival and activity aroused curiosity in the capital city. Everyone talked about her, " Who is this woman? " they asked. " She came here with a crowd of followers and she preaches Christ with great boldness. " Soldiers were ordered to bring her to the emperor, but Photini anticipated them. Before they could arrest her, Photini, with her son Joseph and her Christian friends, went to Nero. |
| Introduction As world population rapidly heads towards seven billion and technology becomes ever more sophisticated, it seems as if the future world will be run as a Digitocracy. In such a system, perhaps not so distant now, authorities will be able to register and number every human-being born on earth electronically in a universal and obligatory DNA Facebook. Such a Western end-game of Digitocracy would enable complete control and manipulation of every individual on the planet by a single world ruler and his centralised and computerised bureaucracy. After all, the beast of the end time will have a number, and not a name. For the last hundred years in particular, the world has seemed to be intent on speeding towards this self-inflicted end in a series of suicidal acts of hatred of God, man and self. However, we know that this rush to embrace spiritual and physical death is not inevitable. It can be slowed, stopped and even reversed. However, in order to do any of this, all who are willing must first be baptised into the Orthodox Church in the Name of the Holy Trinity and strive to live by Her. And if this is to happen, a number of very basic missionary principles must be followed. These principles are inherent in the very definition and nature of the Church as One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic. Oneness The Orthodox Church is One. Therefore, we must oppose the spirit of divisiveness and every movement of fragmentation which enters Church life. Unfortunately, this spirit came to the fore in the Orthodox world at the beginning of the last century, among intellectuals and their pseudo-intellectual imitators in Russia. Protestantised, and so lacking the collective or ‘catholic’ sense of the Church, they and their descendants later formed egotistical personality cults in the Russian emigration, especially in France and the USA. In turn, in the emigration they recruited converts, mainly from Protestantism, for like attracts like. Their general reflex is even more to divide the Church, whenever there is a disagreement even with a single individual in the Church, they leave and found a ‘new Church’ or ‘jurisdiction’. The level of intolerance may be such that some refuse even to speak to others because they do not agree with them about some tiny detail. Only the renewed consciousness that the Church is One, and so greater than any number of personalities, can overcome such a spirit of division. |
| Tweet Нравится Church of England refuses to recognize same-sex marriage Moscow, January 31, 2017 Following a two-year discussion on the matter, bishops of the Church of England have announced that they will not accept gay marriage, defending instead that marriage is the union of one man and one woman, reports The Guardian . The bishops’ report comes after two years of intense internal debate and reflection involving clergy and laity and decades of factional feuding within the church. “Gay rights” crusaders within the Church of England are infuriated, condemning the bishops’ report. Bishop Graham James of Norwich stated that the church should not “adapt its doctrine to the fashions of any particular time,” presenting the bishops’ report at a press conference. However, church law should give “maximum freedom” to gay couples, giving clergy some leeway in certain cases, the report also states. The bishops have stressed that this report is to be accepted as part of an on-going process, rather than an attempt at a final answer on the matter. The Church of England is a widely-varying mix of liberal and conservative Christians, with a wide range of views on a wide range of matters. The church’s gay campaigners have termed the report “cruel” and a “utter failure,” predicting it will lead to increased clerical disobedience on the matter, which the hierarchy admits is already happening to some degree. 31 января 2017 г. Подпишитесь на рассылку Православие.Ru Рассылка выходит два раза в неделю: Предыдущий Следующий Смотри также Christians Reportedly Now a Minority in U.K. Christians Reportedly Now a Minority in U.K. Cardinal Nichols went so far as to compare the present situation of Catholics in Britain to times of severe persecution in centuries past. A Perspective on Marriage from the Canonical Tradition Archpriest Alexander Rentel A Perspective on Marriage from the Canonical Tradition Archpriest Alexander Rentel Underneath everything we teach is the person of Jesus Christ, who gave his life and was willingly put to death on the Cross for the salvation of all. |
| Tweet Нравится Holy Hieromartyr Kozman (†1630) Memory 18 (31) July Over the centuries the monastic complex founded by St. Davit of Gareji became a spiritual and cultural center for all of Georgia.Many of the faithful flocked there with a desire to serve Christ. Among them was the hieromonk Kozman, who would end his earthly life as a martyr. Few details of the life of Holy Martyr Kozman have been preserved. According to the Georgian catholicos Anton, St. Kozman was a learned and righteous ascetic, well-versed in the canons of the Orthodox Church. St. Kozman composed a set of “Hymns to the Great-Martyr Queen Ketevan” but his work has not been preserved. According to the 19th-century historian Platon Ioseliani, Hieromonk Kozman was taken captive and tortured to death in the year 1630, when the Dagestanis were carrying out a raid on the Davit-Gareji Wilderness. Thou didst give thyself up to many tribulations, O Holy Father Kozman, and didst appear as a holy hieromartyr before Christ our God. Intercede on behalf of all those who honor thy holy name! Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze For further information on the book THE LIVES OF THE GEORGIAN SAINTS by Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze contact St. Herman Press : St. Herman Press, P.O. Box 70, Platina, CA 96076 3 августа 2007 г. Venerable Fathers Ioane and Gabriel of Mt. Athos (10th century) Commemorated on July 8/21 Venerable Fathers Ioane and Gabriel of Mt. Athos (10th century) Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze Saint Ioane was born the son of a nobleman during the reign of King Davit Kuropalates.For his love of Christ he left his family and the world to be tonsured a monk. After informing the royal court of his decision, St. Ioane received a blessing from his spiritual father to travel to Greece, where he settled at a monastery on Mt. Olympus. The Lives of the Georgian Saints Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze The Lives of the Georgian Saints Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze Since the time of the ancient Greek historians, Georgia has been viewed as an enigma hidden behind impenetrable mountains and a complex language. |
| Tweet Нравится Holy Royal Martyr Mirdat, King of Kartli (†410) Memory 8 (21) July King Mirdat (408–410), the son of Varaz-Bakur, was the first martyred king of Georgia. He was raised by his maternal grandfather, King Trdat. The faithful grandfather taught the future king to love God and his nation, and the young prince mindfully preserved his grandfather’s wisdom throughout his life. Mirdat was endowed with the greatest of a nobleman’s virtues: wisdom, discretion, physical prowess, fearlessness, valor, and courage. He liberated Klarjeti from the Byzantines, abolished the tribute system (by which Georgia was required to pay taxes to Persia, and prepared for war against the Persians. The Persian king gathered an enormous army to punish the Georgian nation, and King Mirdat courageously marched toward Gardabani (in eastern Georgia with his much smaller army. But the selflessness and bravery of the Georgian soldiers were no match for the multitude of Persian warriors. The Georgians suffered defeat, and the Persian conquerors captured the young king. The Persian king demanded that Mirdat renounce the Christian Faith, but he was firmly rebuffed. Neither intimidation nor fear of persecution would break the will of the king. After torturing him for his love of Christ, the Persians bound him in chains, tormented him almost to death, and cast him into prison, where he gave up his soul to the Lord. The martyrdom of King Mirdat took place at the beginning of the 5th century, in the year 410. O Holy Martyr Mirdat, entreat Christ God to save our souls! Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze For further information on the book THE LIVES OF THE GEORGIAN SAINTS by Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze contact St. Herman Press : St. Herman Press, P.O. Box 70, Platina, CA 96076 3 августа 2007 г. Venerable Giorgi the God-bearer (†1068) Commemorated July 3/16 Venerable Giorgi the God-bearer (†1068) Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze Saint Giorgi the God-bearer and Recluse labored in the Black Mountains near Antioch during a time when the churches and monasteries there flourished. |
| Abortion businesses have been failing across the United States for years: In 2014 alone 73 facilities closed, leaving a total of about 739, a dramatic drop from the 2,176 listed in 1991. In 2015, no matter the total, one closure will have special significance for pro-lifers in Chicago. Protests, prayer vigils and other events took place for 27 years before the closure of the Albany Medical-Surgical Center Family Planning Associates. At least four women died after abortion procedures there, according to the Pro-Life Action League, and a number of lawsuits have named its operators. “This is a victory for all who value human life,” Eric Scheidler, executive director of the league, said in a statement. “This abortion provider operated for years without any safety inspections, and multiple women have died following abortions performed ther. Now that its doors have closed, this neighborhood is safer for women and their unborn children.” The doors to the facility closed Oct. 17, the league reported, following safety inspections by the Illinois Department of Public Health. The league said the shutdown “follows 27 years of community objection to the center, led by the Pro-Life Action League, and the group’s pressure on state officials to hold the clinic accountable for safety violations.” Among the casualties was 13-year-old Deanna Bell, who died during an abortion in 1992. Also dead following clinic treatment were 22-year-old Maria Rodriguez in 2000, Maria Leho in 1999 and Nakia Jorden, 16, in 1998. The league’s report on problems at the business explained that after Rodriguez died, her mother sued, charging E. Steve Lichtenberg with perforating Maria’s uterus during her abortion, which caused her to bleed to death. After Jorden’s death, her father sued Lichtenberg, “charging that he failed to monitor Nakia after the abortion and that she died of a heart attack because of carelessly and unskillfully administered anesthesia.” After Leho died, a lawsuit charged that she “died of massive heart and lung failure caused by anesthesia-related complications.” |
| Sudanese Christian woman Mariam Ibrahim, who was sentenced to death for apostasy from Islam, still refuses to abandon her Christian Faith – despite ongoing calls for her to convert. CNN video screenshot Exactly a month after she was sentenced to death, the Archdiocese of Khartoum, north Sudan, issued a statement describing her current predicament. “There are many people trying to persuade Mariam to renounce Christianity in order to be freed but she is refusing. Some people are pleading with her husband to convince her to abandon [her] Christian faith in order to save her life but to not avail.” The statement issued yesterday (11 June) from Fr Mussa Kacho, Episcopal vicar of Khartoum region, aimed to correct media inaccuracies and “pleaded” with authorities to resolve the case. Describing the present situation, Fr Kacho said: “Mrs Mariam is still in Omdurman prison, practically on death row, breast feeding her child in chains. Her case is currently in the court of appeal. No one knows when the appeal court will decide on it. “According to the concerned authorities, Mrs Mariam can only be released on the condition that she renounces Christianity and gets divorced from her husband ‘Daniel’ to embrace Islam and gets divorced from the husband. “The only way to save their marriage, supposing that Mariam abandons her Christian faith, is for the husband ‘Daniel’ to embrace Islam and be remarried according to Islamic religion.” The couple were married in the Catholic Church on 19 December 2011. Her husband, Daniel Bicensio Wani, is a life-long Catholic and Ms Ibrahim converted from Ethiopian Orthodox to Catholic shortly before her marriage. Although her father was a Muslim, she was baptised and raised in her mother’s Orthodox Faith. The statement from the Archdiocese of Khartoum stressed: “Never in her life did she embrace the Islamic religion nor renounce it. She has never been a Muslim in her life.” It also drew attention to the fact that the 2005 interim constitution of Sudan guarantees freedom of religion: “no person shall be coerced to adopt such faith, that he/she does not believe in nor to practice rites or services to which he/she does not voluntarily consent”. |
| St. Athanasius of Lubensk the Patriarch of Constantinople Commemorated on May 2 Saint Athanasius III Patelarios, Patriarch of Constantinople, Wonderworker of Lubensk, in the world Alexis, was born in 1560 on the island of Crete, into the pious Greek family Patelarios. Despite his education and position in society, Alexis was attracted by the life of Christian ascetics. After his father’s death, he became a novice in one of the monasteries of Thessalonica with the name Ananias. From there, he he later went to the monastery of Esphimenou on Mt. Athos, where he fulfilled his obedience in the trapeza (dining area). From Athos he journeyed to the Palestinian monasteries, and he was tonsured with the name Athanasius. Upon his return to Thessalonica he was ordained presbyter and spread the Gospel of Christ among the Vlachs and the Moldovians, for whom he translated the PSALTER from the Greek. Sometimes, the saint went to Mt. Athos for solitude, and to ask God’s blessing on his pastoral work. The holiness of his life attracted many Christians who wished to see a true preacher of the Orthodox Faith. By his remarkable abilities and spiritual gifts he attracted the attention of the Patriarch of Constantinople, Cyril I (Lukaris) (1621-1623). Summoning the ascetic, Patriarch Cyril appointed him a preacher of the Patriarchal throne. Soon Saint Athanasius was consecrated bishop and became Metropolitan of Thessalonica. At this time Patriarch Cyril was slandered before the sultan and imprisoned on the island of Tenedos. Saint Athanasius assumed the Patriarchal throne on March 25, 1634, on the day of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos. Patriarch Athanasius led an incessant struggle against heretics, Jesuits, and Moslems. After only forty days on the Patriarchal throne, he was deposed through the intrigues of the enemies of Orthodoxy, and Cyril I was returned. The saint went to Athos, where for a certain time he pursued asceticism in solitude. Then he became Patriarch again, but was deposed after a year. After this, he returned to Thessalonica and renewed his connections with the Holy Mountain. In view of the intolerable persecution of Christians by the Moslems, Saint Athanasius was repeatedly (from 1633 to 1643) obliged to send petitions to the Russian tsar Michael (1613-1645) seeking alms for the hapless Church of Constantinople. |
| Venerable Barsanuphius the Great Commemorated on February 6 Saints Barsanuphius the Great and John the Prophet lived during the sixth century during the reign of the emperor Justinian I (483-565). They lived in asceticism at the monastery of Abba Seridus in Palestine, near the city of Gaza. Saint Barsanuphius was born in Egypt (the year of his birth is unknown). From his youth, he began to lead an ascetic life. Arriving at the cenobitic monastery of Abba Seridus, he built a small cell outside the monastery. Here he lived in solitude. Later, Saint John, disciple of Saint Barsanuphius, lived in this cell for eighteen years until his death. Saint John imitated his teacher in silence, ascetic deeds and in virtue. Because of his gift of clairvoyance, he was known as “the Prophet.” After a certain time, Saint Barsanuphius built another cell near the monastery. At the beginning of his solitude, the monastery sent him only three loaves of bread per week. He dwelt for fifty years in work and ascetic deeds. When Patriarch Eustochios of Jerusalem heard about the ascetical life of Saint Barsanuphius, it seemed unbelievable to him. He wanted to see Barsanuphius for himself, so he and his companions tried to dig under the wall, and to enter the monk’s cell from beneath. Those attempting to enter were almost burned by flames suddenly bursting forth from the cell. In his hermitage Saint Barsanuphius devoted himeself entirely to prayer, and he attained a high degree of spiritual perfection. We have manuscript accounts about the life, the deeds and talents of Saints Barsanuphius and John. During the lifetime of Saint Paisius Velichkovsky (November 15), they were translated into the Moldavian and Slavonic languages. The publication of these manuscripts, and also their translation into the Russian language, was done in the nineteenth century by the Elders of Optina’s Entry of the Theotokos Monastery. The precepts of Saints Barsanuphius and John clearly show the degree of their moral perfection, and their love for people, but contain scant facts about their lives. We do not know exactly when Saint Barsanuphius died. Some sources say the year of his death was 563, others say more cautiously before the year 600. |
| Venerable Joasaph of Snetogorsk, Pskov Commemorated on March 4 The Holy Hieromartyrs Joasaph of Snetogorsk and Basil of Mirozh suffered under the Germans at two of the most ancient of the Pskov monasteries during the thirteenth century. Saint Basil directed the Savior-Transfiguration Mirozh monastery, founded in the year 1156 by Saint Niphon, Bishop of Novgorod (April 8), and by Saint Abraham of Mirozh (September 24). Saint Joasaph was igumen (and according also to some Pskov Saints’ Lives, the founder) of the monastery of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos on Mount Snatna. The ascetics devoted much labor and concern to both the outer and inner welfare of the monasteries. In accord with the strict rule of cenobitic monastic life, introduced into his monastery by Saint Joasaph, the life of the monks was filled with prayer, abstinence and work. (Almost ninety years after the death of Saint Joasaph, his monastic Rule was reintroduced in the new monastic Rule of the Snetogorsk monastery by Archbishop Dionysius of Suzdal). The Snetogorsk monastery traced its origins from the efforts of Saint Euphrosynus of Pskov (May 15) and Saint Sava of Krypetsk (August 28). Both these monasteries were outside the city walls and did not have any defenses. On March 4, 1299, the Germans fell upon Pskov and burned the Mirozh and Snetogorsk monasteries. During the burning of the churches, Saints Basil and Joasaph and the other monks endured an agonizing death. There was at that time much suffering in the city, and for the monks of other monasteries, and also for the women and children, but “through the prayers of the holy monk martyrs, the Lord preserved the fighting men.” Under the lead of the Pskov prince, Saint Dovmont-Timothy (May 20), they came out against the enemy and near the church of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, they defeated the invaders at the banks of the Pskova River. Saints Basil and Joasaph were buried with their fellow ascetics beneath crypts at the churches of their monasteries. The venerable head and part of the relics of Saint Joasaph were preserved in the open in a special reliquary in the church of the Snetogorsk monastery. Holy Prince Dovmont “out of his rightful inheritance” built a stone church at the Snetogorsk monastery in place of the one that had burned, and he facilitated the restoration of monastic life at the ruined monasteries. |
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