| 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 Patriarch Irinej at Mlaka: Serbs Must not Forget Their Victims, but They Must Forgive Source: Serbian Orthodox Church Natalya Mihailova 25 April 2018 His Holiness the Serbian Patriarch Irinej said at village of Mlaka, near Jasenovac, on April 22, 2018, that the Serbian people should not forget their victims, among whom more than 20.000 killed children at Mlaka and within the Ustasha system of the Jasenovac camp, but that the Christian people must forgive. – The most innocent ones were killed here – children. This is a holy land, soaked with the blood of the Holy Martyrs of Jasenovac, said Patriarch Irinej after having consecrated the restored church of the Holy Prophet Elijah at Mlaka and after having officiated the Divine hierarchal Liturgy. The Patriarch emphasized that it was important for the Serbian people to have a church at Mlaka resurrected. – For that reason, the Serbs from this region should return to this holy land, to their centuries-old homes, added Patriarch Irinej, and reminded that it was in the 20th century, during the period of science and progress, that Serbs, Jews, Roma and anti-fascists from other peoples were killed, and that children and women were killed at the most cruel way. – Some members of the Tesla family were killed as well. The Patriarch emphasized that God would judge those who had committed such atrocities. His Holiness was concelebrated by Metropolitans Amfilohije of Montenegro-Littoral and Porfirije of Zagreb-Ljubljana as well as by Bishops Jovan of Slavonia, Sergije of Bihac-Petrovac and Bishop emeritus Atanasije. The Holy hierarchal Liturgy was attended by the President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Srpska, Nedeljko ubrilovic; envoy of the President of the Republic of Srpska, Miladin Dragicevic; envoy of the Serbian member of the BiH Presidency Milenko Ristic, Minister of Education and Culture of the Republic of Srpska Dane Malesevic; Ambassador of Serbia to Croatia, Ms. Mira Nikolic as well as a large number of faithful. |
| 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 Site of Jesus’ Baptism Slated for Reopening as Landmines Cleared Source: Faithwire Pravmir.com team 14 December 2018 Image source: The HALO Trust via Facebook After nearly 50 years, the sacred site where Jesus is believed to have been baptized is set to reopen as the last of many landmines are cleared from the area. In a statement released Sunday, the Israeli government announced that its work with international anti-landmine experts is almost complete. Marcel Aviv, who heads the Defense Ministry’s National Mine Action Authority, said he hopes to have the task completed by December 2019. “Israel placed all the mines between 1967 to 1971 because there was a war, but now it’s empty because it’s a border of peace,” Aviv said, as reported by The Times of Israel . The historic site located about 10 kilometers east of Jericho is home to several Christian churches, including a Catholic chapel, Greek and Ethiopian Orthodox monasteries, and Greek, Romanian, Syrian, Coptic and Russian Orthodox churches, according to the Times. The area, where tradition holds as the site of Christ’s baptism on the Jordan River, is also believed to be the place where the Israelites crossed the Jordan during the Exodus from Egypt, as well as the place where the prophet Elijah was taken up into Heaven, Catholic News Agency reported. While visitors have been able to tour the area along the river, the 250-acre territory that houses these churches remains closed to the public due to safety concerns. Once the de-mining process is complete, the churches will be handed over to their former leaders. By Carly Hoilman , Writer Tweet Donate Share Code for blog Site of Jesus’ Baptism Slated for Reopening as Landmines Cleared Pravmir.com team After nearly 50 years, the sacred site where Jesus is believed to have been baptized is set to reopen as the last of many landmines are cleared from the area. In a statement released Sunday, the Israeli government announced that its work with international anti-landmine experts is almost complete ... |
| During the earthquake, the Church of St. Photinia in Roussochoria, closer to the center of the island, received significant damage. You can f ollow Pravmir.com on Twitter , Facebook , Instagram , or Telegram . Tweet Donate Share Code for blog Crete Earthquake Crushes the Church of the Holy Prophet Elijah Pravmir.com team Greek authorities set up tents for the homeless residents of the village of Arkalohori in southern Crete on Monday evening, after an earthquake registering 5.8 on the Richter scale killed one person and injured 20. The majority of the old buildings in Arkalohori sustained heavy damage and were ... 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. Donate Also by this author " “Le monde entier reste silencieux au sujet de l’Artsakh” : 120 000 personnes sont bloquées, dont des enfants en bas âge. pravmir_com_team Depuis le 12 décembre 2022, la région de l " Artsakh, où vivent 120 000 Arméniens, est bloquée par l " Azerbaïdjan.… " His Holiness Patriarch Kirill Contracted the Coronavirus pravmir_com_team The condition of the Primate of the Russian Church is satisfactory. |
| It is not impossible that the crowds in Mark followed Jesus because he was a wonderworker, and that Mark opposes reducing Jesus» ministry to such terms, insisting that the suffering aspect of his ministry must also be taken into account. While Mark is himself charismatic rather than anti-charismatic, 2338 it is possible that he opposes a Christology, or more likely, a pneumatology, that emphasizes Jesus» miracles above his passion. The term θεος νρ, however, is too broad to designate such a category helpfully. 2339 4B. A Charismatic Wonder-Worker A consensus seems to be emerging that Jesus was a charismatic wonder-worker, despite the lack of consensus on precisely what this means. E. P. Sanders summarizes the most significant recent positions: Jesus was «either (with Vermes) a charismatic healer like Hanina ben Dosa and Honi the Circle-Drawer or (with Hengel, Theissen and others) a charismatic prophet.» Sanders himself inclines toward the latter position, and concludes that, on either model, «a charismatic does not set out to take a stance on a series of legal questions, though he may bump up against them now and then.» 2340 In my opinion, given the fluidity of the ancient categories, 2341 a rigid distinction among healers, prophets, and legal teachers need not have applied in every case; in view of the Gospel tradition, I doubt that it applied in Jesus» case, and observers probably approached him in terms of whichever role they needed him to fil1. Having noted this caveat, however, the most popular perception of him was probably that of a charismatic signs-prophet. Some biblical prophets like Elijah and Elisha were particularly healers; 2342 some others, like Isaiah, healed occasionally (Isa 38:21); 2343 Judaism continued to link miracles with many of the biblical prophets. 2344 Judaism also sometimes continued to link signs with its expectation for contemporary prophets. 2345 Although oracular prophets like those in the OT continued in new forms, the most widely popular prophets in first-century Jewish Palestine were the prophets of deliverance, leading messianic movements and modeling their ministries after Moses and Joshua. These were signs-prophets like Theudas, who tried to part the Jordan, and the Egyptian false prophet who expected Jerusalem " s walls to collapse before him, both seeking to anticipate eschatological deliverance by working Moses- or Joshua-like miracles. 2346 That they envisioned themselves as possible messiahs is a potential though not essential corollary. Josephus, who tells us of them, had good reasons to play down messianic claims, although he does fail to brand them «brigands» like other rebels. 2347 But some of their followers undoubtedly understood them in such terms, and they could not help but recognize that their followers did so. 2348 |
| 3. The Purpose of John " s Baptism (1:25–26, 31) The Baptist is significant not only in directly introducing Jesus, but also in functioning as the first foil against Jesus in a water symbolism employed throughout the Gospel narrative; he introduces a baptismal (3:22, 23, 26; 4:1, 2; 10:40) and more general water motif (2:7,9; 3:5,23; 4:7,10,11,13,14,46; 5:2; 7:38; 13:5; 19:34). 3891 John " s questioners ask why he would baptize if he is not the Messiah, Elijah, or the prophet (1:25), which might presuppose broader knowledge of a messianic baptism. It is possible that they had already heard of John " s message of a coming Spirit-baptizer. Though the Gospel " s audience has not yet heard this promise in the course of the Gospel " s narration, 1may suggest that John already had this revelation, and it is likely that the Gospel " s audience had heard of it (cf. Acts 1:5; 11:16; 19:2; 1Cor 12:13 ). 3A. The Function of Baptism in This Gospel Given Josephus " s testimony, scholars scarcely ever doubt that John baptized in water; 3892 the significance of this record for the Fourth Gospel, however, is more open to question. As an indispensable substance, appreciation for which was heightened in ancient agrarian societies by the effects of drought, 3893 water had lent itself to frequent figurative usages, for example, as a symbol for life, 3894 or perhaps as an image for oracular speech. 3895 Philo read the four rivers in Genesis as the four virtues flowing from του θβου λγου, 3896 and both he 3897 and Ben Sira 3898 depict divine Wisdom as water. Later rabbis likewise spoke of Wisdom, 3899 Torah, and teaching as water 3900 or a well, 3901 and heresy as bad water 3902 (although they also compared Torah with honey and other sustaining materials). 3903 Rabbinic texts occasionally also compare the Spirit with water, 3904 as does John (7:37–39; see comments on 3:5). Some have taken water to represent baptism in John and have read it as indicating a sacramental element in Johannine theology; 3905 others read the Gospel in an antisacramental light. 3906 Kysar thinks that sacramental interpreters presuppose a more widespread emphasis on sacraments in the late-first-century church than has been substantiated. 3907 Commentators who support an antisacramental view vary in their proposed object of antisacramental polemic: MacGregor feels that John is polemicizing against the sacramentalism of the Mysteries, which he feels retained a strong hold on early Christian converts. 3908 It should be noted, however, that the allegedly « " sacramental» cults» could involve ecstasy, 3909 and thus that an opposition of sacrament and πνεμα (if the Johannine Christians could associate the latter with ecstatic inspiration) might not be as useful in opposing such sacramentalism as MacGregor hopes. Bultmann suggests a polemic against John " s baptism, due to continuing rivalry with the Baptist sect. 3910 |
| A «sign» (σημεον) signified something beyond itself, and functioned as a proof or attestation; thus the term appears in rhetoric as well as in the context in which we employ it. 2165 Events could thus be «signs» in the sense of portents, 2166 but miracles themselves were signs authenticating God " s power. 2167 Although John prefers the term «sign» because his narratives and discourses develop the significance of Jesus» miraculous works, the following discussion encompasses miraculous works in general, which were often called «powers» (δυνμεις, usually translated «miracles» in the NT). 2168 1. The Johannine Signs Source Much has been written concerning a putative «signs source» in John, providing arguments for it 2169 or noting weaknesses with the thesis. 2170 Some have drawn parallels between John " s and Mark " s signs sources, but they are not particularly persuasive. 2171 Scholars have even proposed original contexts for the assembling of such a source, 2172 such as a group similar to Paul " s Jewish-Christian opponents in 2Cor 10–13 , 2173 the Johannine community " s conflict with disciples of John the Baptist, 2174 or a Galilean community using the Elijah-Elisha cycles to portray Jesus as a northern prophet. 2175 The biggest weakness of the theory is that, despite arguments to the contrary, the text betrays no evidence for it; the Fourth Gospel is a stylistic unity. 2176 The single best argument for supposing the existence of a Johannine signs source is the claim that such documents existed elsewhere in antiquity, for example, as aretalogies. But an aretalogy as broadly defined could include a simple list of praises or boasts by a divinity, 2177 aretalogies were diverse in form, 2178 the proposed connections between aretalogies and «divine men» have been found wanting, 2179 and collections of miracle-workers» deeds appear in the OT as well (e.g., 2 Kgs 5; 20:1–11). 2180 Thus while a collection of miracle stories behind the Fourth Gospel remains reasonable, the Hellenistic divine man concept frequently associated with such a collection is without foundation. 2181 Still, John " s recounting of signs, whether representing a particular pre-Johannine source or not, functions as aretalogies generally functioned: to authenticate and publicize the power of Jesus to do mighty works, the very works people were seeking. 2182 The question of a specific signs source for the Fourth Gospel therefore should not detain us as we examine literary and milieu questions more available for our investigation. 2. Ancient Miracles and Miracle Accounts |
| Others have opted for a position between sacramentalism and anti-sacramentalism. Käsemann thinks that sacramentalism was not prominent in John (against Cullmann, Wilckens, and Barrett), but also not all redactional (against Bultmann). 3911 Matsunaga thinks that the author was merely warning, in view of a substantial number of apostates ( John 6 ), that baptism and the eucharist alone could not suffice to bring life apart from true discipleship. 3912 This commentary contends that the Fourth Gospel does indeed include polemic against the efficacy of water rituals, but that this polemic functions as part of his argument with the synagogue about the nature of true purification (although Jewish immersions, too, normally required sincerity for repentance 3913 or baptism 3914 to be efficacious). 3B. Proposed Parallels with Other Ancient Baptisms Not only the pervasiveness of the water motif in the Fourth Gospel but also the internal logic of the present narrative compel us to ask how the first Jewish witnesses would have understood both the Baptists baptism and the subsequent Johannine interpretation of it. No extant Jewish traditions indicate that the Messiah, Elijah, or the prophet would baptize (1:25), 3915 except in Johns own teaching (1:33), but Johns baptism was significantly different enough from contemporary lustrations to warrant the texts interlocutors questioning this baptism " s eschatological meaning. First of all, some have compared it to regular Jewish lustrations. The Hebrew Bible, rooted in the religious consciousness of ancient Near Eastern society (one may compare ancient Egyptian, 3916 Mesopotamian, 3917 and Hittite rituals), 3918 commanded ritual washings. 3919 Later Mediterranean models probably also contributed to the development of Jewish purification ideas. Although some philosophers, such as the Cynics, detested the thought behind bodily purifications, 3920 other schools, such as the Pythagoreans 3921 and Stoics, 3922 valued them as important. Various temples had their own rules mandating ritual purity, 3923 and the Eleusinian 3924 and Isis 3925 cults used lustrations as preliminary purifications in their initiatory rites; some initiatory baths were also used to secure pardon from the gods (Apuleius Metam. 11.23). But in contrast to some earlier scholarship, 3926 most contemporary scholars have rightly observed that such acts were simply preliminary washings, and not initiatory of themselves. 3927 It is moreover noteworthy that most terms for purification in the Greco-Roman world (καθαρμς, καθρσια, κθαρσις) are missing in the NT. 3928 |
| 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 New Finnish Bishop to deliver SVOTS Commencement address Source: OCA Natalya Mihailova 06 February 2015 His Eminence, Metropolitan Elia, newly consecrated Bishop of the Diocese of Oulu of the Orthodox Church of Finland, will be the main speaker at the Saint Vladimir’s Seminary Commencement on Saturday, May 30, 2015. Metropolitan Elia, formerly known as Priest Matti Veli Juhani Wallgren, is an alumnus of the seminary, having graduated with a Master of Divinity degree in 2003. “Being the 2015 Commencement speaker at my alma mater Saint Vladimir’s will be a great honor for me and for the Finnish Church,” remarked Metropolitan Elia upon his acceptance of the invitation by Archpriest Chad Hatfield, seminary Chancellor/CEO and Archpriest John Behr, seminary Dean, to deliver the main Commencement address. Father Matti was ordained to the priesthood on September 1, 2003, in Jyvaskyla, Finland. He served as second priest for two and a half years in central Finland, and for eight and a half years as Dean of the Cathedral in Vaasa, western Finland. Father Matti was tonsured and elevated to the rank of archimandrite on December 16–17, 2014, in the Valamo Monastery of the Transfiguration and given his new monastic name “Elia” in honor of the Prophet Elijah. Archimandrite Elia was recently consecrated to the episcopacy on January 11, 2015, at the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Oulu, by the hands of His Eminence, Archbishop Leo of Karelia and All Finland and the entire Synod of Bishops of the Finnish Church. Father Chad Hatfield, representing the seminary, attended Metropolitan Elia’s consecration and installation. Metropolitan Elia noted that his “best years and most challenging years” were when he studied at Saint Vladimir’s. He credited the influence of three seminary Deans—Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann, Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko, and Archpriest John Behr—as being key in his formation as an Orthodox priest. |
| MKHJIAN: Depending on the Bible, depending on the pilgrims’ accounts and the archeological studies, we know this is the spot where Jesus baptized and Christianity started. LAWTON: In the Bible story, after his baptism, Jesus began his public ministry. So Christians here say this is where Christianity really began. MKHJIAN: This is one of the holiest three sites for Christians on earth—Bethlehem where Jesus was born, here where Christianity started, and Jerusalem, the end of life. So the entire circle wouldn’t be complete without these three sites. LAWTON: Father Nabil Haddad is a priest in the ancient Melkite Catholic Church and says he shares a birthplace with the Prophet Elijah. He says Christians are proud of their legacy here. HADDAD: We are the ones who inherited this birthplace of Christianity. I think we are agents to carry this as witnesses to the whole world. LAWTON: For centuries, Jordan’s Christian community has played a prominent role in society. DARYL BYLER (Center for Justice and Peacemaking): Their social influence is certainly well beyond their numbers. Very major influence in the fields of education, in the medical field, operating some of the best hospitals in the country. They also have made a significant contribution in fields of agriculture. LAWTON: Daryl Byler is executive director of the Center for Justice and Peacemaking at Eastern Mennonite University in Virginia. He spent the last 6 years in Jordan with Mennonite Central Committee, where he worked with local Christians. BYLER: Their institutions are there to serve to serve other Christians but also Muslims and others in the country, so they make their services available, and they see that as their way of giving witness to the light of Christ. LAWTON: Bishop Benedict, the Greek Orthodox bishop of Amman, says serving others is how Christians here live out their faith. BISHOP BENEDICT: (via translator): Especially in our doctrine in the Orthodox Church, the most important thing is love. And love, you see—we can’t talk about love, because love needs practice. |
| 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 Patriarch Kirill’s Appeal Concerning the Drought and Forest Fires in Russia A disaster has come to our people. In the terrible drought and large-scale fires, people have been lost and hundreds have been left without shelter and thousands without livelihood. Many victims are elderly people who all their lives have lived on land in their modest households. But there are also many children as whole villages have burnt out. 04 August 2010 Source: ROCOR United Most Reverend Archpastors, Reverend Fathers, Dear Brothers and Sisters, A disaster has come to our people. In the terrible drought and large-scale fires, people have been lost and hundreds have been left without shelter and thousands without livelihood. Many victims are elderly people who all their lives have lived on land in their modest households. But there are also many children as whole villages have burnt out. I call upon all the faithful of the Russian Orthodox Church to unite in prayer that rain may be sent on our land perishing from heat. The rectors of Orthodox churches should convene parishioners for prayer services. During the Litanies of Peace and Fervent Supplication, special petitions should be inserted from the office of the prayer for rain. Especially ardent prayers should be said tomorrow, August 2, to the Prophet Elijah to whom Russian people have traditionally prayed in such disasters. Many ask now why the Lord has allowed this disaster to fall upon the poor people who often did not have even small savings. For what is this punishment? Certainly, the cause of all the earthly misfortunes is people’s sins. But, called by God to love, we should not accuse others or try to seek in others the cause of the disaster that has befallen us because this disaster concerns all – those who are far away from the fires and those who seem to be safe, because such a terrible disaster cannot but affect the economy and people’s mental condition. |
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