| 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 The Despair of Elijah Source: No Other Foundation Archpriest Lawrence Farley 02 August 2022 The prophet Elijah (whose feast day is July 20/August 2) is perhaps best known for his final ascent to heaven in a chariot of fire. He is also famous for being fed by a raven, and also for the dramatic contest on Mount Carmel. This last event was arguably the pinnacle of his prophetic career. Elijah served God in very dark days. Israel had always carried on a foolish and fatal dalliance with pagan gods such as Baal (the Canaanite god of storm, rain, and fertility) ever since first arriving in the Promised Land, and the prophets had always rebuked this idolatry and called the people back to pure fidelity to Yahweh alone. But in the days of Elijah, this idolatrous attachment to Baal was not simply a widespread popular sin; it became established government policy. King Ahab, aided (and perhaps driven) by his queen Jezebel, a Sidonian who of course worshipped gods other than Yahweh, was determined to pursue of a policy of religious syncretism. Part of his motivation for this was political, for by enshrining Baal as the national god of Israel, he was thereby bringing his country into the international religious mainstream, which had economic benefits for all concerned. Ahab did not want to outlaw the worship of Yahweh. Yahweh could still be worshipped along with the other gods, though He would no longer be the dominant deity. What Ahab did outlaw was the pure Yahwism and the exclusive worship of Yahweh espoused and promoted by men such as Elijah, for Elijah was telling everyone that the King’s policy of syncretism and Baal worship was evil and should be resisted. Elijah roundly declared that worshipping any god other than Yahweh was sinful idolatry, a sin which would bring divine wrath upon the people—wrath promised by Yahweh in the Law should the people break His covenant and worship idols. One part of this wrath consisted of drought (Deuteronomy 28:23-24), and it was just this judgment that Elijah brought upon Israel in God’s name: “As Yahweh God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word” (1 Kings 17:1). And so the drought began, and the people began to suffer and die. As far as King Ahab was concerned, Elijah was a traitor and a criminal, a troubler of Israel who afflicted the people and who deserved death (1 Kings 18:17). |
| The third great spiritual figure of Old-Testament mankind is holy prophet Elijah . Unusual power and love for God penetrate all the activity of this greatest of righteous men. In the days of the unrighteous King Ahab and his wife Jezebel, who became the symbol of everything vicious and wicked, a powerful prophet arises, burning with great zeal for the Lord. By Divine will, he seals the heavens with a single word, as a result of which not a single drop of rain falls onto the whole land of Israel for more than 3 years- as a punishment for idolatry. In his zeal for God, Elijah calls fire down from heaven on a sacrifice to God, so that Israel would cease «floundering,» so that the nation would admit who is the true God: the wicked Baal or the righteous Lord. In the unrestrained, but righteous rage against the tempters and corruptors of the people of God, St. Elijah with the own hand slew the prophets of Baal and Astarte – 450 people! (3 Kings, chap.18). Righteous Elijah cannot be reproached for anything. His devotion to God is not less than the devotion of Abraham, his forefather. In addition, he had no slip ups, similar to those of Abraham. He is able to communicate with God no less than Moses: the Lord appears to him, as he did to Moses, on the Mount of Horeb, and in the New Testament only these two – Moses and Elijah-from all of Old Testament mankind, were found to be called to see the Tabor light, emanated by the Incarnated Son of God on the day of Transfiguration. Possibly, one can reproach the Prophet Elijah for the fear of death, when he runs from Jezebel, pursuing him: «And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life» (3 Kings. 19:3). But this fear – is an absolutely natural feeling, typical of every man, and the Lord does not reproach His prophet for this fear, because Elijah does nothing unrighteous, opposing the Divine will, under the influence of his fear, even on the scale of the self-initiated blows of Moses upon the rock by the water of Meribah. He only runs from the pursuing Jezebel after he fully completes God’s mission. |
| Archive A hierarch of Serbian Orthodox Church takes part in patronal feast at the Moscow church of Elijah the Prophet in Kitai-Gorod 4 August 2022 year 10:49 On August 2, 2022, a hierarchal divine service was celebrated in the Moscow church of Elijah the Prophet at the former Novgorod Metochion in Kitai-Gorod. Officiating at the Divine Liturgy on the patronal feast day was Metropolitan Feognost of Kashira, chairman of the Synodal Department for Monasteries and Monasticism and father superior of the Donskoy stavropegic monastery. Bishop Jovan of Slavonia, who is on a visit to Moscow with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije of the Serbian Orthodox Church, concelebrated. Assisting the hierarchs were Archimandrite Dorofey (Vechkanov), rector of the Holy Trinity and St. Sergius Lavra Metochion in Gorki-8 township; Archpriest Andrei Rechitsky, rector the church of Elijah the Prophet in Kitai-Gorod; Archpriest Vyacheslav Shestakov, rector of the Patriarchal Metochion in Zaryadye; Hegumen Vasily (Burkov), abbot of the Holy Dormition Svyatogorsky monastery in the Pushkin Hills; and clerics of the church of Elijah the Prophet. The divine service celebrated on the patronal feast day was attended by many worshippers. The church of Elijah the Prophet at the former Novgorod metochion is one of the oldest Moscow churches. Ilyinka street in Kitai-Gorod was named after it in the 16th century. The church changed its external architectural character several times and in the 19th century has become a part of the ensemble of the Trading Rows that were called ‘warm rows’ because they were heated. DECR Communication Service /Patriarchia.ru Календарь ← 7 April 2024 year |
| Still, Abraham, Moses and Elijah were not left without participation in this matter. The Holy Virgin – was the descendant of Abraham in soul and body. For the sake of Her appearance, he left the flourishing culture and conveniences of his native Ur of the Chaldees. From him, Her forefather, She inherited Her highest flight of sacrificial love for God, shown by Abraham on the mount of Moria in sacrificing his son. This flight of sacrificial love is revealed by Her in an even more elevated way, through Her participation in the salutary sufferings of the Lord on the Mount of Golgotha. The Virgin Mary grew and was brought up in the Law, given by God through Moses on the holy Mount Sinai, brought up in the temple, built by Divine will through Moses, and She corrected his imperfectness, which caused God’s rage by the Bush that Never Burns ( Ex.3:2 , where the burning bush was a prototype of Virgin Mary), for She did not doubt at all, did not oppose God, Who had chosen Her, but with the humble answer: ««Behold the handmaid of the Lord» she effaced the inappropriate lethargy of Moses, who said to God: «Send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send» ( Ex. 4:13 ). By the stirring of a quiet wind, with a still small voice, She rights the scorching storm of Elias’s zeal, and Her relative, coming after Her, takes part in this exploit of Hers, the great prophet, who appeared in the spirit and strength of Elijah, i.e. in no way inferior to Elijah in Divine zeal. The Prophet John the Baptist, this new Elijah, was not frightened by his contemporary Jezebel, but accepted a martyr’s death from her on the border of the Old and New Testaments, in order to become the Forerunner of Jesus Christ even in hell. The Prophet Elijah was taken to heaven alive, but the church teaching tells us that when, in the last days, the violations of the law will increase and the love of many will fade so, that the manifestation of people’s zeal for God will be depleted, then two witnesses will appear, two olives, two candlesticks (Rev. 11:3–4), which will testify to the Divine Truth among the grown-fainthearted mankind, putting fresh heart into the small flock of those who stayed faithful up to the end, embarrassing and exposing the multitudinal, impudently celebrating enemies of God. By Divine permission they – these two candlesticks – will be killed by the Antichrist and will be resurrected on the third day. The church teaching says that these two candlesticks-witnesses will be the saints Enoch and Elijah, those righteous men of the Old Testament who did not taste death, precisely in order to fulfill the act of God at the end of ages, when human forces will be exhausted. |
| But Elijah also cannot become the vessel of the Divine incarnation due to the spontaneous unrestrained character of his anger, his all-embracing fiery zeal for the Lord God. This rage, this zeal, differ in spirit in comparison with the Spirit of the One, Who is meek and subdued in His heart. That is why, when the Disciples of Christ, James and John, want to «command fire to come down from heaven, even as Elias did,» Christ prohibits them, saying: «Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men " s lives, but to save them» (Luke 9:55,56). The Lord speaks of this with love and delicacy to the Prophet Elijah as well, when He appears to him on the Mount Horeb: «What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant, thrown down Thine altars, and slain Thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice» (3 Kings 19:9–12). Elijah was «a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD,» but not a still small voice. The Lord waited for this still small voice, which was not in Elijah, or in mankind, for many more centuries. The Lord, carrying out the salvation of those created by Him in His image, after His likeness, and, consequently, spiritually autocratic creatures, could not come down to men without this still small voice, without their participation, for He is not in the wind or fire, but in the breath of a calm breeze. This breath of quiet wind appeared in mankind, when «in the sixth month the Angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth… To a Virgin… and the Virgin " s name was Mary» (Luke 1:26–27), and when in answer to the Annunciation, which was more amazing than the one to Abraham, more crucial than the one to Moses, and infinitely much more blissful than the one to Elijah, a quiet voice sounded: «Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to Thy word» (Luke 1:38). This was the moment when the Son of God’s descent to man could occur, and it occurred at that same moment, for the Omnipotent Lord, long-sufferingly awaiting many centuries for this moment, did not wait an iota longer, but immediately joined with the human nature created by Him, torn away from Him by sin, but not forgotten by His love, recreating it in the womb of the Ever-Virgin. |
| 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 Trust God or Ourselves? Source: Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America We often are afraid to help or to give for fear we won " t have enough. We hoard our resources and treasure because we don " t trust God will provide for us if we offer some back to God. Priest Demetrios Makoul 16 December 2014 In the Old Testament, in the book of Kings, the prophet Elijah was serving God by fighting against the priests of Baal (Canaanite god). Elijah at some point withdrew to the wilderness and God made sure he was fed by ravens who brought him food and there was even a small brook that provided him with water. Eventually however the brook dried up and God sent Elijah to a widow in Zarephath. The widow lived with her only son. When Elijah arrived there he asked the widow for help. At this time there was a famine and the widow responded that she could not for fear that she would not have enough food for her and her son. Elijah told her that God would not allow her supply of flour or oil to run out, saying, “Don’t be afraid, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land.” The widow trusted Elijah and God, she offered what she had and sure enough her jar of oil and flour miraculously never ran out. She had more than enough for her, her son, and Elijah. The message here is clear. There are times in our life when we are asked to give to God, to give a portion of what we have. However we struggle as the widow did. We worry if I give of what I have, will there be enough for me and my family? We find ourselves confronted with a trust issue. If I do what is right, will God do what is right? If I obey, will God come through and provide for me? We often are afraid to help or to give for fear we won’t have enough. We hoard our resources and treasure because we don’t trust God will provide for us if we offer some back to God. |
| From the words of the Archangel it becomes perfectly obvious that the new prophet, who is yet to be born, will have the same spiritual power as the Prophet Elias had, and acquire the same Divine Spirit. But besides this text we should take into consideration also the prophecy that was spoken long before the Birth of Christ by the Prophet Malachi concerning the future service of the Prophet Elias, who had been taken up by God from the material world into the spiritual world long before Malachi’s time. From Malachi’s prophecy it becomes clear that Elias the prophet will again appear on the earth directly before the end of the world and the onset of the Last Judgment. The Creator speaks precisely about this through the lips of the prophet: Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse (Mal. 4:5-6). This prophecy, as we have already said, is completely consistent with the Revelation of St. John the Theologian, and that is just how the entire fullness of God’s Church understands it. Thus we see, firstly, that Elias the prophet is preserved by God till the day of the Second Coming of Christ in his former, albeit changed body; secondly, that throughout the entire age up to that moment his soul did not transmigrate anywhere, and in fact it cannot transmigrate; and thirdly, that he will come in that same body. Well then, tell me any of you “reincarnationists” standing here: Into whom did the soul of Elias the Prophet transmigrate if he is now here on Mount Tabor, standing next to Christ and talking about His coming pain and suffering on the cross?... But here is yet another proof of the falsehood of your theory of reincarnation, which you are trying to justify with the help of the Gospels. Next to Christ, the apostles see on Mount Tabor one other prophet of God—Moses. It would follow that throughout the entire fifteen centuries that passed from the day he died to the Birth of Christ, Moses did not reincarnate into a single other person?! Otherwise, it would not have been Moses standing there next to Christ but an entirely different person! Only it would be interesting to know which one, beginning from Moses. After all, during these fifteen centuries his soul should have gone through a multitude of bodily casings, each time not knowing anything at all about its previous incarnation. Just the same, Moses on Mount Tabor saw himself as Moses! And the apostles also knew that this was Moses. How did they know? Through the Spirit of God, of course. Thus, the appearance of the Prophets Elias and Moses during the Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ show us plainly that no reincarnations ever existed and do not exist. This is an absolutely false theory. But who needs it? |
| Saint Elias Who? Who " s this " St. Elias " guy after whom our Church is named anyways? " Elias " is the Greek form of the Biblical name " Elijah " . Hence, " St. Elias " is how we refer to the Holy Prophet, Elijah [the Tishbite]. (Fyi, " St. Eliseus " is the Greek form for the Holy Prophet, Elisha.) The name " Elias " (in Hebrew: " Eliyahu " ) means: My God is Yhwh (the LORD). The Elijah cycle can be found in the Bible at I Kings 17:1 - 22:54 & II Kings 1:1 - 2:18. Elijah is a particularly significant figure in Orthodox spirituality - hence many Churches and children are given his name: " ILYA " (the Slavonic form of " Elijah " ). St. Elias is honoured and exemplary for: - his mysticism, e.g. holding intimate conversation with God, hearing God " s voice in the gentle breeze; - his asceticism, e.g.. being taken by God to live in the desert, eating only food brought by ravens; - his prophesy, e.g. being commanded by God to denounce rulers for their injustice, their infidelity, and their oppression of the people; - his orthodoxy, e.g. following the one true God and opposing the worship of other gods; - his miracle working, e.g. providing food in time of famine, raising the dead, dividing the waters and crossing the Jordan dryshod; - his concern for the poor, the widow and orphan; - his being taken up, deathless, into the heavens by God in the fiery chariot; - his appearance with the Messiah at the holy Transfiguration (Matt 17:1-8). O prophet Elias, O lampstand of the Church which has no evening, having been inflamed with divine zeal, you close up the rain from heaven; you were fed by a raven; you reproved the king and put the priests to death; you commanded fire from heaven and slew two captains; you provided abundantly for the widow by means of a little oil and a small handful of meal; you resurrected her son by your prayer; you ignited the fire in water; you crossed over the currents of the Jordan on foot. Indeed, you were raised up to heaven by a fiery chariot. You gave a two-fold grace to Elisha. |
| 1. Christ appears in the center of the icon blessing with His right hand Elijah (2.) and Moses (3.) stand at the top of separate mountain peaks to the left and right of Christ. They are bowing toward Christ with their right hands raised in a gesture of intercession towards Him. Saint John Chrysostom explains the presence of these two fathers of the faith from the Old Testament in three ways. He states that they represent the Law and the Prophets (Moses received the Law from God, and Elijah was a great prophet); they both experienced visions of God (Moses on Mount Sinai and Elijah on Mount Carmel); and they represent the living and the dead (Elijah, the living, because he was taken up into heaven by a chariot of fire, and Moses, the dead, because he did experience death). 2. The Prophet Elijah, appears on Christ " s right-hand side (detail). 3. Moses, who is seen holding the Ten Commandments, appears on Christ " s left-hand side (detail). Below Christ are the three Apostles, who by their posture in the icon show their response to the transfiguration of Christ (4.). James has fallen over backwards with his hands over his eyes. John in the center has fallen prostrate. Peter is kneeling and raises his right hand toward Christ in a gesture expressing his desire to build the three booths. The garments of the Apostles are in a state of disarray as to indicate the dramatic impact the vision has had on them. 4. The three Apostles who accompanied Christ to the moutain, Peter, John, and James, react to the vision of Christ " s Transfiguration. 5. The garments of the Apostles are in state of disarray (detail). 6. The Apostle James reacts to the vision by falling to the ground and attempting to cover his eyes (detail). The icon of the feast directs our attention toward the event of the Transfiguration and specifically to the glory of God as revealed in Christ. This event came at a critical point in the ministry of our Lord, just as He was setting out on His journey to Jerusalem. He would soon experience the humiliation, suffering, and death of the Cross. However, the glorious light of the Resurrection was revealed to strengthen His disciples for the trials that they would soon experience. |
| The Appearance of the Prophet Elijah to a Soldier/Православие.Ru The Appearance of the Prophet Elijah to a Soldier SOURCE: Mystagogy by Monk Lazarus of Dionysiou ( " Διονυσιτικες Διηγσεις " ) Speaking with brother Theoktistos from Epirus on 20 July 1972, he asked me if I heard of the wondrous miracle that occurred fifteen years ago in Ioannina to a soldier who was stationed to guard the barracks. I told him I had not heard it and asked him to tell me so that I could write it down to the glory of the Prophet Elias (Elijah) who celebrates today. " Listen " , he told me. " A soldier was stationed to guard a barrack and at around midnight he heard the footsteps of a person approaching him. The soldier thought it was an officer who, as is customary, went to go check to see if he was awake or sleeping, etc. The soldier yelled: " Halt! " but again heard the steps approaching him. For a second time he yelled: " Halt! Who " s there? " Having his weapon in hand, he received no response. He was then forced to say: " Halt or I " ll shoot! " " As soon as he said " shoot " , his weapon left his hands, and landed about fifty meters away. He then saw suddenly, instead of an officer, as he thought it would be, a priest with a lightning-like brightness of light! When he saw this, he was very much afraid. The priest told him: " Do not be afraid, my child, do not be afraid, but tell me, why O blessed one do you blaspheme the divine? Christ, the Panagia and the Saints? " " Feeling remorse, he began to tear up and asked forgiveness for his sin, saying: " Forgive me, holy Father, but it is because of my evil and many years of bad habits that I do this. Forgive me. " " The Saint told him: " You are to preach to everyone to repent, and to not blaspheme. Communicate this to the Metropolis and to everybody. Even the newspapers should publish this. " " The soldier responded: " They will not believe me, O Saint. But tell me, who are you? " " " I am the Prophet Elias. And so that the people will believe you more, you will tell them at that cliff (and he pointed to the area) they are to dig and they will find an old church of mine and on top of this they are to build a church. " |
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