| 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 Last Man Standing Archpriest Geoffrey Korz 02 August 2021 The Bible has in its pages only four evangelists. It has only five authors of the holy epistles. Yet the Bible – in the Old Testament – has many, many more prophets, which God sends time and time again, over many centuries, to send the same message. God sent His prophets again and again – many of them – for one simple reason: most people do not listen to their message, and the few that do need reminding. Great among these prophets is the holy man Elijah. At his prayer, God dried up the rains for three and a half years. At his prayer, God sent down fire from heaven to burn up an animal sacrifice, plus the drenched wood and water around it. At his prayer, God sustained the food supply of a widow, and then raised her dead son to life. Then, at the end of his life, he was carried off in a fiery chariot: he didn’t ever die. And yet, for all this – for all the power God manifested in him – every single other prophet of God at that time turned away to the worship of the pagan god Baal. Imagine it: that’s like every Orthodox priest in this country denying Christ, after having seen scores of miracles! That is a pitiful example of lukewarm faith! But that is exactly the situation that existed at the time of the Prophet Elijah. The Prophet Elijah was the only man left standing for the true God on Mount Carmel. Four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal stood against him. Let’s put that in context: The worship of Baal practised the killing of newborn babies. The worship of Baal practised public fertility rites – sexual acts in public. The worship of Baal practised violence – in word and in deed – against those who worshipped the True God. To be a righteous and holy man of prayer in such a situation is truly exceptional. But it always is. We too live in a time where our governments finance the killing of children in the womb. Some religious leaders even support this. Some so-called Orthodox people do as well. |
| We clearly and painfully feel this terrible depletion of human moral forces now as never before. Does it mean that the hour of the coming of the prophet Elijah and righteous Enoch, as the forerunners of the Second Coming of Christ, is close – we cannot say, and without a doubt believe that sooner or later this will happen, and the earth will still hear the formidable voice, saying: «As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand… How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow Him: but if Baal, then follow him» (3 Kings 18:15–21). And many, many of the signs of modern days testify that there is little time left until the days when this voice will be heard, and maybe our generation will meet face to face on this earth, in the modern concrete surroundings, with the formidable, fire-breathing Divine prophet, who is called in the church chants «the second Forerunner of the coming of Christ, glorious Elijah.» The Footnote: The Antichrist, coming out of the dark and infernal places of the earth, to where the devil was banished by the permission of God, will kill them and leave their bodies unburied in the same Jerusalem, ancient and destroyed, where the Lord had suffered. In this city he will establish his kingdom and royal throne, like David, the Son of whom by His flesh was Christ, our true God, and in that way wanting to prove that he is Christ, fulfilling the prophetic word: «In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen» (Amos 9:11), which the wayward Jews accept and relate to His Coming. Deluded by the false miracles of the Antichrist and having ineffaceably written him in their hearts, the Jews and pagans will not allow the holy bodies to be buried, and will rejoice over the freedom from the punishments, which they tolerated for their own admonishment. Lying dead for the same number of days as the number of years their prophetic activity lasted, Enoch and Elijah again, to the fear and horror of those who see it, will ascend to heaven in a fiery chariot – cloud (The Interpretation of the Revelation of St. Andrew, the Archbishop of Caesarea). Manasseh King of Judea |
| His Holiness Patriarch Kirill visits Scete of Prophet Elijah founded by St. Paisius Velichkovsky on Mount Athos June 6, 2013 On 5 June 2013, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia proceeded to the Scete of the Prophet Elijah after visiting the Monastery of Pantocrator together with those accompanying him. His Holiness celebrated a prayer service in the scete. In his address to the worshippers he shared his joy of visiting the scete, which he called a pearl of the Holy Mount. “The scete was founded by a great ascetic – the elder Paisius Velichkovsky, who late became the founder of the tradition of eldership in many countries, including Russia. During one hundred and fifty years many Russian people, simple and well-known, came here to follow their monastic calling,” His Holiness said and continued: “One of the chapels here is dedicated to St. Metrophanes of Voronezh. Love and faith of our people are seen in its magnificent decoration. This church beauty has come into being donations. Sadly, there have been no Russian monks here since 1990s because of the well-known reasons. However, I believe and all Russian people together with our Church of many million believe that Russian monasticism will revive in this place, and the Greeks and the Russian will glorify God together. “The Russian Church and historical Rus’ – Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova – are in the process of revival, because Orthodox faith is reviving. Thousands of churches and hundred and monasteries and convents have been opened, and we can say that this revival is God’s miracle. You can see this revival even in the increasing number of pilgrims from Holy Russia to Holy Mount Athos.” His Holiness donated an icon of the Saviour to the scete, and archimandrite Joachim presented His Holiness with a copy of the icon of the Mother of God with which Russian Emperor Nicholas I did not part during war with the Ottoman Empire. The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church and his suite went to the Church of St. Nicholas the Miracleworker, sang troparia to the saint and to the Mother of God and venerated her icon called “Milkgiver.” |
| Homily for the Nativity of the Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist John in the Orthodox Church Source: Eastern Christian Insights Image: u-f.ru Today we celebrate the birthday of one of the most unusual and important people in the history of our faith: St. John the Baptist. He has the titles of prophet, forerunner, and baptist because he fulfilled all three roles, speaking the word of the Lord as he prepared the way for the coming of Christ, calling God’s people to repentance and baptism, and even baptizing the incarnate Son of God at the very moment when the Holy Trinity was revealed by the voice of the Father and the descent of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove upon the Lord in the Jordan. Even before St. John was born, he pointed to Christ, leaping in the womb of St. Elizabeth at the arrival of the pregnant Theotokos, who contained within her the Savior of the world. John’s own birth was miraculous, as his parents were an old, childless Jewish couple. We’ve heard that story before with Abraham and Sarah. But even though Zacharias was a priest actually serving in the Temple when the Archangel Gabriel brought the news that Elizabeth would bear him a son, he did not believe the message. “How shall I know this? For I am an old man and my wife advanced in years,” he said. Zacharias used the exact same phrase that Abraham did in Genesis to question how he could know that God would make him the father of a multitude in the promised land. Zacharias surely knew the story of Abraham, and he should have welcomed this wonderful news with faith and joy. Instead, he doubted and was disciplined by losing the ability to speak until John was born. There had also been silence, no prophetic word from the Lord in Israel in hundreds of years, since the time of Malachi. Now Zacharias the priest has no voice. The evil King Herod was not really Jewish and ruled in collaboration with the pagan Romans. Those holding the three offices fulfilled in Christ of prophet, priest, and king were vacant, silent, or illegitimate. Now it was time for God to prepare the way for the coming of the true Messiah by means of a prophet like Elijah who would turn the hearts of the people back to the Lord. |
| Then everyone waited to see what would happen. When it didn " t rain for a few months, people just thought that it was a bit unusual. But when it didn " t rain for three and a half years until Elijah told the King «go down before the rain stops you»; and a strong rain came, then everyone knew that Elijah was a true prophet of God who must be feared. The second test is to evaluate the teaching of the person claiming to be a prophet and consider whether his doctrine contradicts previous revelation. In the Torah, Yahweh, the Eternal One, guides Moses to say, «If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, us follow other gods» – gods you have not known – " and let us worship them», you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer... « It is the Lord your God (Yahweh Elohim) you must follow, and Him you must revere. Keep His commands and obey Him; serve Him and Hold fast to Him.» Deuteronomy 13:1–4. Miraculous signs are not enough by themselves. If the person " s words contradict previous teaching, he is not to be believed and accepted. These two points are shown quite well in the next example where two men are both claiming to be prophets of Yahweh Elohim but are giving contradictory and opposing messages. The true and the false Prophet This striking example is to be found in the life of Jeremiah. While living in Jerusalem he had to prophesy that because the people had forsaken God, the Eternal One, and worshiped false and powerless idols, God was going to destroy the city using Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon. God ordered him to wear a yoke like the yoke of an ox on his neck and then to speak to Zedekiah, King of Jerusalem, with these words, «Bow your neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and you will live. Why will you and your people die by the sword, famine and plague with which the LORD has threatened any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?» |
| If man had not sinned and replaced his love and obedience to God with his selfishness, he would not have separated himself from God; he would have been king, priest and prophet. However, Holy God Who hurts for His creature, wishes to return man back to the state where he can again become a True priest, prophet and king. To be able to again attain the experience of God and united with Him. It is for this, that in the narrations of the Old Testament we see God gradually preparing mankind’s salvation with the coming of His only Son. He thus provides the gifts like those that man had before his fall – for example, the gift of prophecy. In the Old Testament there were men, like the prophet Elijah, the prophet Isaiah, the prophet Moses, who received the prophetic gift and who sighted the glory of God. However this gift was not generally given to all, nor was it for the entire duration of their lives; it was a partial grace that God had given them for a specific purpose and for circumstantial occasions. Namely, whenever God wished these just men to proclaim the coming of Christ to the world or to declare His Will, they were given the capacity to receive experiences and revelations. However, the prophet Joel had prophesied that a time will come when God will bestow the grace of the Holy Spirit – not only to select men and for a specific purpose – but to all people. Here is what the prophesy of Joel says: “… I shall put My Spirit upon all flesh”, I shall give My Spirit to every person, “and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions” (Joel 2:28). Namely, my people will see spiritual visions; they will see the mysteries of God. This pouring forth of the Holy Spirit took place during the days of the Pentecost. On that day, the grace of the Holy Spirit was bestowed upon the entire assembled Church. This grace was not bestowed during the period of the Old Testament because Christ was not yet incarnate. The communion of man with God to first be restored, for God to give the grace of the Holy Spirit to all the people. This communion Our Savior Christ achieved through His Incarnation. |
| 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 Walking in Faith Without a Limp Source: The Word of the Day Archpriest Basil Ross Aden 16 February 2022 Photo: Freepik.com The word for today is “ double-minded .” Most of us have times when our faith wavers, periods when we are unsteady in our life in Christ, moments when we walk with a limp. In our reading of James 4:7-5:9, James offers the wisdom of how we can regain an unwavering, steady, and unhindered faith. In 1:7, the apostle writes that one who doubts is double-minded , unstable in all his ways. Therefore, in our reading, the apostle writes, “purify your hearts, you double-minded (vs. 8). To be “ double-minded ” is to be of two contending minds. Those who are double-minded have a divided opinion. Yet, they are reluctant to give up either one. So, they vacillate between the two. In the middle between them, uncertainty, hesitation, and doubt creep into our souls. This duplicity of heart and mind makes our whole lives both unsteady and unproductive. We just set out in one direction when the other interest calls us back. So we get nowhere. Limping on Two Opinions The paradigm for this wavering and the fruitless condition is found in the story of Elijah on Mt. Carmel. King Ahab of the Northern Kingdom had set up an altar to the idol Baal and planted a sacred grove for the worship of the pagan god. The holy land was now polluted with a rival to the One God who had given it to His people. To deal with this appalling idolatry, the prophet Elijah persuaded the king to gather the Israelites and the priests of Baal on Mt. Carmel. Then the prophet asked the people, “How long will you go limping on two different opinions? If the Lord is God, then follow Him but if Baal, then follow him” (1 Kings 18:21). When the people could not answer, Elijah set up a striking test of the truth and power of the One True God. You can read that story of competition between the altar of altar to God and the altar to Baal in 1 Kings 18:17-46. The result of that contest was the recommitment of Israel to the Lord God. This rededication also ended the drought that God had sent to punish the king and his people for their idolatry. |
| God is a lover of these sojourners who are fleeing persecution. God so loved Israel in bringing them out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. God, according to Deuteronomy, provides for such sojourners and expects us to treat them as He Himself treats them. God is love. In the New Testament we see how difficult it is to have sympathy for strangers and sojourners, especially when we see them as a threat or as enemies, not people. Prophet Elijah And Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his own country. But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when there came a great famine over all the land; and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and put him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw him down headlong. But passing through the midst of them he went away. (Luke 4:24-30) Jesus reminds his fellow Jews of a simple truth in history. There were times when God did not bless or favor the Jews, but rather chose a foreigner, stranger or sojourner upon whom to shower His grace. That truth so enraged the Jews listening to Jesus that they wanted to kill Him. They were the chosen people who enjoyed divine exceptionalism. They had no intention of letting Jesus point out to them how God acted with mercy and love toward a suffering Syrian. We Christians need to remember these stories from our scriptures. We Orthodox just this past weekend read the Gospel lesson found in Luke 10:25-37 of the Good Samaritan in which the hero, the moral person in the story is a foreigner and it is this stranger, even enemy, who acts like God in displaying mercy toward a fellow human being. |
| St. Elijah " s joins a growing list of more than 100 religious and historic sites looted and destroyed, including mosques, tombs, shrines and churches. Ancient monuments in the cities of Nineveh, Palmyra and Hatra are in ruins. Museums and libraries have been pillaged, books burned, artwork crushed — or trafficked. U.S. troops and advisers had worked to protect and honor the monastery, a hopeful endeavor in a violent place and time. " I would imagine that many people are feeling like, " What were the last 10 years for if these guys can go in and destroy everything? " " said U.S. Army reserve Col. Mary Prophit, who was deployed there in 2004 and again in 2009. Built in 590, tragedy struck at St. Elijah " s in 1743, when as many as 150 monks who refused to convert to Islam were massacred by a Persian general. In 2003 St. Elijah " s shuddered again — this time a wall was smashed by a tank turret blown off in battle. Iraqi troops had already moved in, dumping garbage in the cistern. The U.S. Army " s 101st Airborne Division took control, painting over ancient murals and scrawling their division " s " Screaming Eagle, " on the walls. Then a U.S. military chaplain, recognizing its significance, began a preservation initiative. Roman Catholic Army chaplain Jeffrey Whorton, who celebrated Mass on the monastery " s altar, was grief-stricken at its loss. " Why we treat each other like this is beyond me, " he said. " Elijah the prophet must be weeping. " At the Vatican, spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi, noted that since the monastery dates back to the time Christians were united, before the break with Orthodox and Catholics, the place would be a special one for many. He said it was the first news he had had of the destruction. " Unfortunately, there is this systemic destruction of precious sites, not only cultural, but also religious and spiritual. It " s very sad and dramatic, " Lombardi told the AP. FOX News 20 января 2016 г. Подпишитесь на рассылку Православие.Ru Рассылка выходит два раза в неделю: |
| After having spoken in detail about the holy Prophet Elijah, he answered to my question, among other things, the following: “ Holy Prophet Elias " > Elijah the Tishbite , in complaining to the Lord against Israel that in its entirety it had bent the knee to Baal, said in prayer that he alone, Elijah, had remained faithful to the Lord, but they were already seeking to take away his soul also... And what, Batiushka, did the Lord answer him to this? I have left seven thousand men in Israel who have not bent the knee to Baal. And so, if in the kingdom of Israel, which had fallen away from the kingdom of Judea which was faithful to God, and had become completely corrupted, there remained still seven thousand men faithful to the Lord, then what shall we say of Russia? I suppose that in the kingdom of Israel at that time there were no more than three million people. And how many, Batiushka, are there now in our Russia?” I replied: “About sixty million.” And he continued: “Twenty times more. Then judge for yourself how many we have now who are still faithful to God! So it is, Batiushka, so it is: Whom He did foreknow, He also did forechoose; and whom He did forechoose, He also did predestinate; and whom He did predestinate, He will also watch over and glorify. And so, what is there for us to be downcast about!... God is with us! (Rom. 8:29-31.) He that trusteth in the Lo r d shall be as Mount Zion, and the Lord is round about His people (Ps. 124:1-2). The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth even for evermore; the sun shall not smite thee by d ay nor the moon by night (Ps. 120:6-8). And then I asked him what this meant, and why he was saying this to me. “Because,” Batiushka Father Seraphim replied, “in this same way the Lord will preserve, as the apple of His eye, His people, that is, Orthodox Christians who love Him and serve Him with all their heart and all their mind, both in word and deed, day and night. And such are they who preserve entirely all the rules, dogmas, and traditions of our Eastern Orthodox Church, and who with their lips confess the piety which has been handed down by the Church, and who act in very deed in all circumstances of life according to the holy commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ.” |
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