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ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY – MULTILINGUAL ORTHODOXY – EASTERN ORTHODOX CHURCH – ΟΡΘΟΔΟΞΙΑ – SIMBAHANG ORTODOKSO NG SILANGAN – 东正教在中国 – ORTODOXIA – 日本正教会 – ORTODOSSIA – อีสเทิร์นออร์ทอดอกซ์ – ORTHODOXIE – 동방 정교회 – PRAWOSŁAWIE – ORTHODOXE KERK - නැගෙනහිර ඕර්තඩොක්ස් සභාව – СРЦЕ ПРАВОСЛАВНО – BISERICA ORTODOXĂ – GEREJA ORTODOKS – ORTODOKSI – ПРАВОСЛАВИЕ – ORTODOKSE KIRKE – CHÍNH THỐNG GIÁO ĐÔNG PHƯƠNG – EAGLAIS CHEARTCHREIDMHEACH – ՈՒՂՂԱՓԱՌ ԵԿԵՂԵՑԻՆ / Abel-Tasos Gkiouzelis - https://orthodoxsmile.blogspot.com - Email: gkiouz.abel@gmail.com - Feel free to email me...!
♫•(¯`v´¯) ¸.•*¨*
◦.(¯`:☼:´¯)
..✿.(.^.)•.¸¸.•`•.¸¸✿
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Mr. Theodore's Christmas
Christmas Eve forty years ago. Everything in the village was pure white, because since the feast of Agios Spyridon it had been very cold and snowing.
Only middle-aged parishioners could roam the streets without danger. There were only a few who were able to attend the Service of the Great Hours and Christmas Eve with the Divine Liturgy in the Holy Church.
After the dismissal, on our way back home, we were rewarded with nothing but snowflakes and a strong North.
Not a parishioner on the street. No one dared to go out of his house to sing carols. Not even a fire in the neighborhoods according to local custom.
I saw my grandfather, Papa-Dimitris, not in a good mood and attributed his melancholy emotional state to the image of frozen nature. I dared not speak to him, for fear of adding sorrow to his melancholy.
Even before we entered the house, papa-Dimitris called together his older children and the other Levento children of the neighborhood. We sat by the fireplace and Papa-Dimitris broke his silence by saying:
"You may know that Mr. Theodoris has been stranded at the top of the mountain, in his stable, for two weeks. But you cannot imagine the pain of his soul, if he spends Christmas without Christ. That is why we must not abandon him.”
No one found the courage to tell papa-Dimitris about the difficulties of the project.
Mr. Thodoris had his livestock pen at the top of the mountain, about ten uphill kilometers from the village. Even though he was young, Mr. Thodoris could have gone down to the village by himself. But he had with him his wife, his three children and his elderly mother.
However, the whole effort was becoming more difficult as Vorias carried the snow and had covered the small holes that one had to cross to reach the stable.
Papa-Dimitris knew all this. But he deeply believed that God would bless this effort and said: "You go to the task and we will help from here."
I wondered about the help promised by papa-Dimitris and I only understood it when I saw him praying, after the young men had left for Mr. Theodoris' stable.
After six hours and shortly before sunset, the young men and the family of Mr. Theodoris arrived. Entering the village they all sang carols together.
They were the best carols ever heard in our parish! All the parishioners came out of their houses. Others offered fasting treats and some clapped.
In the evening Mr. Thodoris was hosted with his family in the parishioners' homes. From dawn, as soon as the first joyful bells were heard, everyone went to church and listened to the wonderful Christmas carols.
They celebrated Christmas with Christ! At noon, on Christmas day, Mr. Thodoris and his family had lunch at our house.
Visibly moved, he kept talking about the joy he felt when he saw the smiling young people enter his stable and explain to him the reason for their visit. His wife, Mrs. Margarita, told how it was the first time that the dogs, although they saw their masters leaving the corral, barked happily and did not follow them.
But also the mother of Mr. Thodoris, the elderly lady Zoitsa, feeling deeply obliged and wanting to reciprocate her joy, asked that they skewer the lamb on Easter together on the mountain, in the barn.
At some point, Mr. Theodore's eldest son, overwhelmed with joy, sang the Kontakion.
I believe that Christmas was unforgettable. Everyone had prepared with fear and joy to meet the Creator.
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He did not learn many letters, with difficulties he finished the school of that era, walking more than two hours every day - to the nearest town, Euthymios.
"From a young age, he loved the Church, helping his reverend grandfather in chanting as a priest. This is how he learned the order of the Church and at the same time to sing.
And when the grandfather left for the other life, Euthymios was the only cantor of the Church. This is how the Bishop of the area met him on one of his tours.
Efthimios is now the eldest, a good family man with three children, and because the village priest left due to old age and illness, the villagers ask the Bishop for a priest.
"And who do you recommend for priest," the bishop asks and everyone almost with one mouth says: "our chanter".
Thus with the pressures of the villagers and the Bishop's insistence and despite the protests of Euthymius, that he considers himself unworthy and unfit for such a great ministry, he was ordained a priest of the village to the joy of the whole village.
Now, he was now performing his priestly duties. Every morning and evening, with the fear of God, he rang the bell, making Orthros and Vespers.
Meek, good-natured, beloved by all, he was generous in his small salary and in the little income he earned when cultivating his fields.
Even for daily wages, he went to feed his large family, six children now. The Bishop, appreciating his prudence and his good reputation, also made him a confessor.
A crowd of people from the village and the surrounding villages went to confess to father Euthymios. And he did not miss the sermon every Sunday by reading a short sermon from some orthodox magazine.
Others and the children, in order to gather them in the catechism, he had his own way, with songs and chants, with candies and sweets and icons.
Here is an event where the greatness of his soul was shown. He had a neighbor in his field, Mr. Giannis, who did not hesitate to move the rough fence separating the borders and take a strip of his field, he did the same the second year.
What to do now, thought Father Euthymios. If he says something to him, he will start cursing and fighting. He did not take it for granted, as he did with other neighbors. I leave it in God's hands, he said to his elder sister and his older son who were protesting.
And lo, one morning he says to his eldest son: "Let's go to our field to fix the border fence." After they reach the field, he says to his son:
"Take the wire fence and move it another meter or so, leaving the neighbor a strip of his barren field."
Surprised, his son began to protest:
"Father, you will be giving a portion of the field to the neighbor."
"Do as I told you, my child. I have my say, don't be sad."
And they returned to their home again. The next day in the morning Mr. Giannis went to the father's house.
"Good morning Papadia. Worried and agitated, he asks the elder: "Where is fatherThymios? I want to talk to him."
"Sit down, Mr. Giannis, let me make you coffee. Until Papa-Thymios comes, wait in the house for him, he will not be long in returning."
Meanwhile Papadia prepared and offered him the coffee. He took a puff, as if sitting on coals. Soon a happy father Thymios arrives and says:
"Thank God. Mrs. Eleni, who suffered in childbirth, was freed, with the wishes of the Church, and even had a baby boy."
"Welcome Mr. Giannis, good morning. The family is fine? The living too?
Mr. Giannis only answered: "What is it that you did to me papa-Thymius? Mr. Giannis asks bitterly.
"What is it my dear Giannis? Let's fix it."
"I, Giannis, have been stealing your field for two years now, and you neither protest nor shout, but you leave me a lane. Let's go now quickly to correct this injustice, I can't stand it."
"Good, Mr. Giannis. Do what you think is right for yourself. "After all, it's God's soil and everything stays here. Only, my dear, I ask you for one favor, to see you and your family more regularly in the Church."
Fr. Euthymios did not let him embrace his hand. He said to him: "Have the blessing of God."
And the good priest comforted him. And everything has changed since then. Mr. Giannis put up the fence on his old border by himself, but he is also a regular at the church with his family.
He proclaims everywhere, to acquaintances and strangers: "In our village we have a man of God, a "Saint, Fr. Euthymios!
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The Chickpeas and the Devil
Mrs. X., a married woman in Athens, had problems with her husband, who cheated on her. Some people suggested to her that she visit a “nice lady,” who supposedly could solve her family problems.
The lady in question turned out to be a medium. She read incantations over X. and gave her nine chickpeas to place in her home... so that her husband would “pull himself together”! From that time on, however, X. had constant nightmares. She would see a ghastly fiend that threatened to kill her. And so time passed....
Once, passing by the Church of Kapnikarea in Athens, she saw someone selling Icons of the Panagia Eikosiphoinissas (a copy of the wonderworking Icon treasured at the Monastery of the same name in Drama, Greece). She bought one, and prayed to the Panagia that her usual nightmare would not reoccur.
That night however, the fiend again appeared in her dream. She began to scream: “Panagia, help me and save me!” A woman then appeared in her doorway, holding a child in her arms. Terrified, X. screamed: “Go away! You are also a bad person!” In the meantime, however, when the fiend caught sight of the woman bearing the baby—none other than the Panagia—he immediately vanished. The Panagia entered X᾿s room and said to her:
“I am not a bad person. I am the Panagia. That other one comes here and frightens you because you have the nine chickpeas. Throw them out and he will not come again. When you wake up, you will see my Icon in your Icon corner."
And indeed, when she awoke, she saw the Icon of the Panagia that she had bought in her Icon corner. She threw out the chickpeas, and the nightmares came to an end.
Question: What was the matter with the chickpeas? Did they differ in some way from other chickpeas? Were they to blame for the problem?
Answer: No, of course it was not the fault of the chickpeas, but rather that X. had put them in her room in obedience to, and with full trust in, the medium, an instrument of the Devil. Her acting in compliance with Satan᾿s will gave him certain rights over her. That is what freed him to terrorize her.
All those who have recourse to the occult and its resources (mediums, fortune-tellers, astrologers, and the like), fall into the same frightful sin
Thus, they create similar, and even worse, problems for themselves and their families. They give the Devil certain rights over them, allowing him to act not only freely, but even... by invitation!
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Blessed Theodore the Fool-for-Christ from Georgia
In a certain village in Iberia (present-day Eastern Georgia), there lived a simple man by the name of Theodore, whom everyone considered to be a fool, if not insane. He never went to Church, though he did not appear to have any other failings. Once, on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Precious Cross, during which multitudes of believers assemble in Churches to venerate the All-Venerable Wood, Theodore thought to himself: “Today I will go to Church to see, at least once in my life, what they do there.” So he went. He venerated the Cross with the other faithful, attended the Divine Liturgy, and was especially moved by the words of the Gospel: “Whosoever will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.”
After the dismissal, he visited an acquaintance of his and asked him the meaning of these words. In jest, the other answered: “That means that you should go to the forest, cut down a tree, make a Cross, bear it, and walk towards the Kingdom of God.” Theodore indeed went to the forest and made a large Cross, which was so heavy that only with great difficulty could he carry it. He thus started to walk, asking every passer-by: “Is this the road that leads to the Kingdom of God?”
Such a question led everyone to believe that they were dealing with a crazy person, and they would answer: “Walk faster! This road goes straight to the Kingdom of God.” So Theodore made greater haste....
He wandered for many days, forgetting to eat and drink. Finally, he reached the border between Iberia and Turkey. At this point, he caught sight of a monastery in the distance and joyfully said to himself: “Thank God! That must be the Kingdom of God!” When he arrived at the monastery and asked his usual question, they realized his simplicity and answered: “The Kingdom of God is not yet here; but it is close, very close. Rest yourself for a while and perhaps some other travelers will come to accompany you; for the final stretch of the road to the Kingdom of God is very dangerous.”
The simple-minded Theodore accepted their offer and settled in the Narthex of the monastery Church, where he deposited his Cross, so as never to be separated from it. The Abbot, who had perceived his love and simplicity, charged him with the care of the garden. Theodore accomplished his duty with great zeal and reverence.
One day, while looking at our Crucified Lord, he asked the Abbot with great contrition of heart: “Father, who is that bearing his Cross as I do? Why is he nailed to his Cross?” The Abbot answered: “That is our Lord Jesus Christ”; and he recounted the life of our Lord to him. Henceforth, Theodore felt fraternal love for Christ on account of the similarity of their lives, and he spoke to Him with familiarity.
One day, when they had brought him food, the blessed one thought: “Did my Brother Christ eat, just as I do, while walking on earth? I will ask Him to share my meager dinner, if He wishes.” As he was thinking these things, the door suddenly opened and a radiant light filled the Church. The Icon of the Crucified Lord came to life and our Lord Jesus Christ appeared, full of glory and beauty! Christ addressed Theodore with the following words: “I drank and ate while on earth, and now have no need of food. Soon, the same will come to pass with you. I am the Son of a rich Father. I will quickly go to Him and will take you with Me. I will show you His Glory and you will be with Me there eternally!”
In the meantime, at the sudden illumination of the Church, the Abbot and the Brotherhood ran in its direction. They thought that the fool, Theodore, had set it on fire. When they reached the Church, they saw the wondrous light and heard the quiet and sweet conversation between the unknown man and Theodore. The blessed one avoided answering their questions as to what had taken place by feigning ignorance. At last, Theodore told the Abbot of the revelation. The Abbot, in great astonishment, fell at the feet of the blessed one, beseeching him: “Truly you are a brother of Christ. O man of God, intercede that He might take me with you to the House of His Father!”
That night, with his customary simplicity and boldness, Theodore prayed for the Abbot. Christ then appeared to him again and said: “The Abbot must continue to labor there.” When the Abbot learned what our Lord had said, he begged Theodore with tears: “Pray to Christ, Who was crucified for us, to have mercy on me for the sake of His Most Holy Mother, though I am unworthy of the House of His Father.” The blessed one prayed again to our Lord Jesus Christ, Who answered: “For My Mother’s sake, in forty days I will take your Abbot with you to the House of My Father.” Following this, the Abbot and Theodore spent their days in prayer. When the forty days were up, they both reposed in peace while in a position of prayer!
ANT.
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Someone had gone to St. Paisios and said to him:
"Elder, I want to go to Africa, to do a Mission and I'm getting ready...".
"And how are you getting ready?" asks the Elder.
“Well, elder,” he says: “I am learning their language well, because I have to tell them things they do not know, I am learning well their manners and customs, their lore and history, I am also learning some rudimentary knowledge of medicine. I'm also learning to swim..."
"What; Are you learning to swim? Why are you learning to swim?" St. Paisios asked in surprise.
And he answers him:
“For there in the village where I am going, in Africa, they have a sorcerer, who may stir them up against me, and I shall be forced me to run away. And just in case, if there is a river there, I need to swim...".
"No!", Saint Paisios tells him, "this is not how the Mission is done...
Listen, how it happens: You will become a Saint! You will go to Africa, you will meet that magician and you will say to him: "You see that dead man, resurrect him!". Of course, the magician will not be able to resurrect him. Then you will resurrect him! And the magician, seeing the miracle, will become a Christian! Thus, the magician who knows their language, their manners and customs, will then make all others Christians!"!!
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A pious Christian once recounted to me the following wondrous event,” writes Hieromonk Peter, the biographer of St. Niphon:
One Saturday evening, when he was praying in the narthex of the Church of St. Anastasios for the customary Resurrectional Vigil, the servant of God Niphon also arrived, as he was wont to keep vigil at the Churches of the Saints.
“I saw, then,” my interlocutor continued, “a multitude of individuals dressed in white walking together with him, some in front and others behind, and they were rejoicing that they were encircling him. Most awesome of all, however, was that a Cross was elevated before him at a height equal with his own, shining as if it were of pure gold. Similarly brilliant Crosses were to the right, left, behind, and above the Saint’s head. They were surrounding him, intermeshed. When a temptation would approach, the Lord, wishing to test him at that moment of struggle, allowed for the Crosses to separate from each other. They thus left a small opening through which the enemies could throw their darts. Throngs of Angels and demons followed the battle. The Saint raised his hands to God in the highest and ascended towards Him with his pure mind. He remained there, aloft, praying. And Satan, seeing him and fearing the wrath of God, said in a tremble to his troops:
“‘Let us go, you lot, and depart from that Niphon, because he has risen to Heaven and is praying against us to the Great One. Let us flee, then, before His wrath descends and torments
us.’
“And they vanished straightaway. After his prayer, that blessed one descended to earth, came to himself, and, faced with no battle, thanked the All-Good God for having protected him.
“Then the Angels departed in gladness, while the venerable Crosses joined together again, closing the entry and guarding the righteous one.
“Many times,” that good Christian continued to tell me, “the Devil would come with a swarm of demons in order to throw him into a passion, but they were unable to do so because, being surrounded by the power of the Cross, he would mock them and spit at them.
“Thus put to shame, the dark demons would disappear, while he would glorify God all the more for having granted him such power against the unseen enemies.”
Hieromonk Peter, An Ascetic Bishop: St. Niphon, Bishop of Constantiana
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HEALING FROM ANGER
St. Tikhon of Zadonsk had an angry nature. He often got angry with people and repented, and then got angry again. And he himself felt this weakness more than anyone else.
He prayed a lot to God that the Lord would correct him, deliver him from such an angry disposition. And indeed, according to God's Providence, something happened that forever tamed his anger and led to contrition, humility. So, after a prayer, when he asked God for an illness that would heal him from anger, the saint fell asleep, and he dreamed that he was in the temple, and the priest came out of the altar and carried out in his arms a small child covered with a transparent cloak.
He approaches the child, looks at him and asks the priest for the name of the baby. The priest answers him: "Basil", which in Greek means "king." Then Tikhon takes off the cloak from the child and kisses him on the right cheek. At this moment, the child with his right hand hits him on the left cheek so hard that he cries out in pain and wakes up. Tikhon felt that the entire left side of his body hurt. He thanked God and from then on he was no longer angry with anyone or anything.
"Miracles of God"
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A woman named Eleni Davaria from the Parikia of Paros often went to the Monastery of the Transfiguration of Christ during the days of Saint Arsenios the New ascetic on the island of Paros, and performed various tasks for the sisters of the Monastery. Because they had no money, they gave her food.
One day the Saint said to her: 'Child, where you come and work, what do the sisters give you for your labor?
Do they pay you?
No, the woman replied, they don't give me money because they don't have any, but they give me bread, coffee, sugar and other items.
The Saint says to her: Listen, my child, if you want Christ to bless you and the little food they give you, when you meet someone poor and hungry and he asks you, give it to him.
Also when you know someone who is poor and in need, or any widow or orphan who is hungry, don't expect them to ask you.
Give gladly and do not be afraid, but believe that Christ will invisibly bless your little possessions and you will not be hungry or deprived until the end of your life.
Thank you, Elder, in everything you told me, I will obey you.
After she did penance and left the Monastery, she had eight small loaves of bread with her, which the nuns gave her for the services she did.
As soon as she was about 500 meters away from the Monastery, she met the elder Dimitrios Maunis, who said to her: "My child, do you have some bread to give me?
I am hungry.
I have been fasting since yesterday."
Helen immediately took a loaf of bread from her basket and with great eagerness and pleasure gave it to him, and went on her way.
When he went another 500 meters, he saw a young lady, a fisherman's wife, near the road, gathering grass.
Eleni greeted her and then says to her: What are you doing with him?
The young woman answered: "I am gathering some herbs to cook for my husband and I and our children to eat, for we have no bread.
Owing to the bad weather, my husband has four days to work, to go fishing to bring us bread or other provisions."
Hearing this, Eleni took pity on the poor woman and, faithful to the advice of Father Arsenios, took out of her bag and gave her two loaves of bread.
When she arrived in Parikia, she saw a small child around 4 years old crying outside a poor house.
She asked it: What is the matter my child and why you are crying?
I'm hungry, aunty.
Mother doesn't give me bread, answered the child.
And why doesn't she give it to you? Eleni asks him. The child answered: Because she doesn't have any.
She also sees the child's mother standing through the door of her house with folded hands and praying with tears.She then takes a loaf of bread and gives it to the child, who stopped crying and began to rejoice.
He runs happily and shows it to his mother and says: "Mom, mom, now we have bread, aunt gave me.
Eat of this bread and do not weep."
The woman, taking the bread, raised her hands to heaven and thanked God for hearing her prayer.
Eleni, when she arrived at her home, took out of her bag the things they gave her from the Monastery and surprisingly she sees that the bread was not short.
It was exactly what they gave her from the Monastery.
It was eight, when it should have been four. She marveled at this event and immediately returned to the Monastery, moved and tearful, she fell at the feet of Saint Arsenios and narrated the Miracle, thanking God and the Saint, who praised her for her obedience, encouraged her and said to her: If, my child you continue to give alms and give to the poor what little you have, not only will you not be deprived of them, but the Lord will bless them, increase them, and for those little that you will give here in the temporary life, you will hear from His mouth saying to you: "Helen, I was hungry and you gave me and I ate."
And when you say to him, "Lord, I never saw you or gave you to eat."
Yes, he will say to you: 'You have not seen me, but you have seen my poor brothers, the hungry.
The bread you gave to them is the same as if you gave it to me.
Now I also grant you my Eternal and Heavenly Kingdom, and whatever goods I have, you will have too, and all those who fed the poor and hungry and have mercy on them!"
Saint Philotheus Zervakos (♰)
INS.
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A brother, when he became a monk, distributed all his possessions, keeping only one good estate. A prominent layman desired this estate and asked him several times to sell it or exchange it, but he would not accept anything.
So it happened that the layman was appointed governor of that province and began to press the monk to leave the estate, harassing him constantly and driving his animals through the estate.
The brother, seeing things very difficult and because he did not succeed in persuading the governor with entreaties, finally took refuge with a virtuous and famous elder. He went many times, but the elder drove him away, telling him to return to his cell.
When the brother saw the governor ready to take his estate, he again went to the elder and said to him: "For God's sake, help me, and write to him or send someone to speak to him." And because he persisted annoyingly, the elder wrote a letter to the governor saying the following: "A monk is a monk, so that he has nothing with which they can wrong him. But if he has, let him be wronged, because he is not a monk." And writing the sender and the addressee by heart, he gave the letter to the brother to take to the governor, but the brother did not know its contents.
So he went and gave the letter to the govenor. He accepted it with great honor and after kissing it opened it and read it. And he asked the brother: "Do you know what he wrote?" He tells him: "Leave the estate." And the governor, admiring the virtue of the elder, left the estate.
In this incident we admire the goodness of God and the attribute of virtue, that is, what the elder wrote, without anything insulting or threatening, and how such a letter convinced the ruler to have mercy on the one who begged him.
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Shocking "document".
Summer of the year 1974.
Turkish troops are invading our Cyprus, spreading terror and death. In Morfou, on the part of Cypriot Christians, something happened that shocked even the Turks!
Turkish soldiers captured fifteen Greek Cypriots, including a teacher. They were brought to the teacher's house, which had a vine-covered yard (which had just been sprayed with poison medicine) and shaded the yard.
They were set up against the wall, outside in the courtyard, under the vine, waiting anxiously for the Turkish officer to come and order "fire".
Indescribable moments! Wail! Weep! Wail!
The Turkish officer entered the courtyard, ready to order "fire". He lifted his head and looked upwards, towards the vine (which we recall had just been sprinkled with poison medicine) and he envied the grapes. He stretched out his hand, cut a grape, thus prolonging the agony of those on death row.
As he was about to eat the grape, (full of poison!) the teacher, the owner of the house, jumped up and let out a voice-cry, (to his executioner!)
- My brother! Don't eat it! The day before yesterday I sprayed it with medicines, which were poison! You will die!! Don't, don't eat it!
The Turkish officer was stunned! He threw away the grape, and all wonder asked him:
"Well, don't you see that in a moment I will give the order to kill you?" And you, instead of taking revenge on me, are you going to save my life? What came to you and you beg me not to eat it?
And the good-hearted teacher explained to him with a peace admirable for the moments:
- Christ, who we believe, tells us to love our enemies and to benefit them. If I did not do this, I would be defying His command. And I do not want, now that I am leaving this world and will appear before Him, to carry such a heavy sin in my soul.
The officer is shocked again! He turns to the soldiers, who were waiting for the "fire" and says to them in shock:
- If I found such a Turk, I would even give my life! Gather your weapons and set them free! Everyone!
And they were all saved from certain death!
The helpless Lord, seeing the helplessness of this Cypriot teacher, performed his miracle!
Arch. Vassiliou Bakoyannis
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This story was told by the rector of one of the village churches of the Samara diocese. He asked only to change his surname and the name of the village where he serves.
One morning Father Sergius found a letter on the porch of his house. The short letter consisted of threats. Unknown persons accused Fr. Sergius of calling people to church, denouncing drunkards and drug addicts, and preaching a healthy lifestyle. Father Sergius was not intimidated by the threats. He continued to serve as before. But soon a second letter was planted on him, then a third... And then the bathhouse burned to the ground.
"Long bearded, did you think we were kidding?" - they asked him in another letter.
The priest reported the incident to Archbishop Sergius of Samara and Syzran. Vladyka cheered him up and said: "If you are not afraid, serve as you served before. The Lord will not forsake you.
A month later, his garage burned down.
And the letter again: "Watch it, long bearded, you'll get it. The last warning..."
Some more time passed, and one evening an expensive American jeep pulled up to the priest's house. Two stout men knocked on the door.
"Father Sergius," one of them addressed the priest who came out. - A grandmother is dying in the village of Kozlovka, asking for communion. We'll drop you off at her place." A few minutes later, Father Sergius was already settling in the back seat. The two men sat down beside him. In all there were four sturdy men in the car. From their appearance and the short remarks of the priest guessed: the city.
Kozlovka, meanwhile, had been left behind, and the car turned onto a field road and rushed toward the woods. At that time, one of the men sitting with the priest pulled out a gun, and the other pulled out a knife.
"Now you've played your game, longshanks," the one with the gun turned to him sharply. - How many times have we warned you about that? You didn't listen. It's your own fault. We'll finish you off."
"If it is God's will to kill me, you will, and if it is not God's will, you will not!" - Father Sergius replied firmly.
Such a statement from the "condemned man" literally cheered the bandits up. They turned and stared at him with interest. Then the head man, raising his pistol, asked again with a laugh:
"So what are you saying there about God's will?"
Let me pray," Father Sergius suddenly asked.
- Well, pray one last time," the ringleader allowed after thinking, and put the gun down.
"I read the requiem to myself for almost half an hour," Father Sergius later told me. - I read slowly, loudly. All that time the bandits sat in silence, looking bored. They were waiting for me to finish.
After my closing words: "Lord, forgive them, they do not know what they are doing," the chief sat still for some time, then turned to one of the accomplices and said:
"Let's get out." Ten minutes later they were back in the car.
- Take the priest home," the ringleader briefly ordered.
- Six months passed since then," Father Sergius continued his story.
- One morning I found an envelope on the porch. There was a short letter and 50,000 rubles in it. The note read: "Father, it seems we were wrong..."
The money came in handy: I paid for the repair of the church, bought building materials ... Another eight months passed. And then one day one of the four, the youngest by age, literally ran into the church. He was pale, kind of frightened.
"Father, I want to tell you everything, I want to repent."
Here's what he said. After the failed massacre of the priest (as it turned out, the bandits were hired), their brigade continued to engage in their usual craft - robbery, and violence against people. But for some reason, all of them recalled that decisive statement of Father Sergius: “If it is the will of God, you will kill; if it is not the will of God, you will not kill.”
But in the end, everything turned out that way - not by their will ... “This is an accident. We must forget,” demanded the leader. But it didn't work out.
Once the car in which the leader was traveling suddenly stalled at a railway crossing. No matter how hard the driver tried to start the car, it would not start. Yuri got nervous, tried to get out of the car - the door did not open. He reached for the right front door, and it didn't open.
Frightened even more, he jumped into the back seat, pulled both rear doors in turn - neither opened. Feeling himself in a mousetrap, he screamed wildly. This terrible, inhuman cry was heard by the drivers, but they did not have time to help - the flowing train smashed the expensive foreign car and the driver to shreds. He was buried. At the wake, they drank a lot, were silent. They thought about the same words of the priest.
A month has passed. On that fateful day for himself, the new senior of the brigade was on the balcony of his Samara apartment. Leaning against the railing, he smoked one cigarette after another. At the same time, a balcony was being glazed on the eighth floor. Suddenly, a sheet of glass escaped from the hands of the master and flew down.
A blow to the neck of the elder, as if with a sword, cut off his head. And he was buried. We drank again at the wake. But I didn't take vodka. Those two who remembered Father Sergius were scared. They decided to stop their criminal business. There were even thoughts about a righteous life, about repentance. But they did not dare to cross the threshold of the church.
A little more time passed, and now death knocked on the third of them. When he felt a slight malaise, he began self-treatment - he rushed to the pharmacy, bought various expensive medicines. But they didn't help. The district doctor after examination sent him to an oncologist. Then, already in the oncology center, it was established that his entire body was riddled with metastases.
But here's what surprised the doctors. No matter how much they searched for the cancerous tumor itself, they could not find the focus of the malignant disease. Meanwhile, the disease progressed rapidly. When he declared that he foresaw the near end, he was offered to confess to an Orthodox priest. He immediately remembered Father Sergius, thought for a long time and ... refused. A few days later he was gone.
Then the youngest of the former brigade already firmly knew what to do. After the funeral, he rushed to Father Sergius. “You did the right thing,” the priest told him. There is no such sin that the Lord would not forgive. Try not to sin anymore. And remember: God will not leave you without His help and support.
He broke with the underworld, and is now a parishioner of one of the temples in Samara. Works in production, started a family. Helps young people who are confused in life's problems.
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The priest and the demon!
The following happened to a newly ordained priest:
After his ordination was over, he went to his home. There he lay down on his bed to rest. In the afternoon when his relatives went to wake him up, they found that the priest did not want to get up. He even wrapped his head in the bedclothes and did not uncover himself with anything, despite the entreaties of his relatives.
This lasted that day and the next and the day after. No one could understand what was happening to their father.
The weekend was approaching and the priest did not leave his bed. His family kept everything that happened to the priest a secret from the village. However, the priest had to officiate on Sunday, and then what would they say to the world? Not even in the metropolis did they want the problem to be known.
They then thought of notifying Fr. Vissarion, who arrived the fastest and went directly to the priest's room.
"Get up my child, I am Fr. Vissarion. You have to get up, eat something, get stronger and talk," he told him.
The priest uncovered his head a little, greeted the elder and covered himself again.
It was Saturday. In the afternoon, the Elder begged him to get up, but to no avail. Then, he ordered the men of the house to pick him up by force, put him in the car and take him to the church. It was evening time.
There in front of the holy altar, the elder forced him to wear a petrachili and said to him in his hoarse voice: "Father say: "Blessed is our God...". He refused and the elder insisted more urgently.
At some point the priest, with a trembling voice, said "Blessed" and immediately a loud shout was heard throughout the church. The priest burst out and the priest was freed, came to his senses and celebrated vespers normally. The Elder stood beside him and advised him.
Everyone with tears in their eyes saw their priest officiating and their joy was very great. Father Vissarion stayed that night at their house. He confessed to the priest and his relatives and the next day, Sunday, they performed the divine service together, they shared the holy mysteries and everything went well and blessed.
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A lady, Joanna, about 50 years old, came to our Church.She was accompanied by several family members. Through tears she confessed to me that she has cancer and 6 metastases in her liver, lungs, chest and stomach.
It tore me. I swallowed my tears. I wanted to scream there in the Church, in pain.
I read the prayers for health with such despair and hatred of evil that I cannot tell you. And an acute sense of helplessness in the face of the grinning sneer of death that shears souls at will. I called on Saint John the Russian for help. But it was very difficult. Six metastases.
I hid at the altar to hide my tears. The woman left being carried by her relatives. I was not well at all that Sunday.
After a month I saw her again among the faithful. I was afraid to look at her. I was afraid she would blame me for not praying enough.
The woman said: "Father I came from Romania. The six tumors... and burst into tears. There are only three. I have nothing else in my liver and stomach." I wanted to scream with joy. I told her: "We continue the prayer and the surgeon John will remove all the evil."
The woman prayed a lot. Ate only raw green vegetables. Made as many prostrations as she can.
Sunday has come again. She was crying again. She told me: "Father, no more cancer. Not even the marks from the tumors."
I say: "The most inexpensive doctor in the world, Saint John the Russian, prayed and was crucified a lot." The poor thing, on her knees, kept trying to grab my legs.
Today I confessed it and shared it with Christ. I have never seen anyone happier, trembling all over when she received God.Thank you Lord and Saint John, God's surgeon.
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A faithful father writes to me. His child has some very serious disorders. Not eating anything (anorexia), terrible outbursts, self-mutilation, unexplained violence. He threatens his parents with suicide.
The parents are devastated. The child grew up with care and love, with moral values and faith.
Every evening I give them the Prayer Rule of the Theotokos and the Akathist of St. John the Russian. I also mention the little girl to all services. I also urge them to get specialized treatment. Doctors say that the first signs of improvement will appear in 4-5 months from the start of treatment. I encouraged them. I said: Saint John the Russian has power as a doctor of mind and soul. It won't be 4-5 months, but 4-5 days until he recovers.
After about 10 days, the grieving father writes to me. Crying, but from joy. In a week, the seizures, the pains, the manifestations of violence disappeared. The child is normal. Doctors made th sign of the cross.
So yes, I say, that St. John the Russian stands with his hand on her soul and secretly comforts her.
Thank you Saint John for bearing with us and loving us and healing us.
Father Ioannis Istrati
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It is not known how many children St. Spyridon had, but legends have brought us the name of one of his daughters - Irina. An unusual story is also connected with her.
⠀Brought up by her father in faith and piety, the girl decided to devote herself completely to God and people. She did not marry and gave herself completely to the ministry. There was enough work to do - to feed the hungry, to cover the poor, to sit with the sick, and to comfort the sad. And at night, when she had a free moment, Irina prayed or read the Holy Scriptures. But one day the news spread through the village - the girl died. Apparently, her soul was so pure that the Lord decided to grant her Eternity at a young age.
⠀One of Irina's duties was to keep the belongings of those Christians who were traveling. On the day of the girl's death it was discovered that she had not had time to add to the lists a gold object that a townswoman had given her for safekeeping. It was the only value of the woman, and the woman, having learned about Irina's death, decided to take it away. But since the thing was not listed anywhere, it was impossible to find it. The owner fell into despondency. However, SSt. piridon, seeing the sadness of the woman, solved the problem in an unusual way.
After praying, he came to the bedside of the deceased and said:
"Irina, my dear, tell me, where did you put the thing about which this woman is so sad?"
The girl who had just been lying dead opened her eyes, looked at her father with a meaningful look, and said:
"I hid the jewelry in our house. " And after telling him where to look for the missing jewelry, she closed her eyes again and gave up her soul.
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I'll just tell you a little story. I don't know if it's online or if I've told you about it. A grandmother went to the doctor and was told that she has cancer and will die in two months.
She went home sad and meets a neighbor.She tells her that she went to the doctor and he told her that she has cancer.
The neighbor advises her to go to a hermit who lived in the forest, maybe he can help her.
What the Elder says is verified and he can know whether you will get well or not.
Shee goes to the hermit and tells him everything and asks if there is a cure.
"What should I do," she asks the hermit.
"Three days of goodness," he tells her.
"So how does this happen?"
"Three days to have only good thoughts. Do only good. Don't even think about anything bad. But it has to be three days in a row. If you happen to do something wrong in between you will have to start over. With three days of kindness every disease is cured.
Grandma went home thinking that it is something very easy. But after two hours she thought something bad about her neighbo and had to start all over.
The neighbor who knew the grandmother's story took her daughter abroad and returned after a year. She sees grandma fine, walking in the yard with the chickens.
"What happened grandma, did you manage three days of kindness?"
"Not only two days I managed. I'm still fighting it."
"But how is your health?"
"I don't know if I was cured, but my life changed."
Struggling to do good, she forgot about her illness.
Let's see, I fell again. I have to take it from the beginning, complete the three days.
And so much was She turned towards it, that She came to do only good, to live good. She always prayed, her face shone and her life changed completely. She didn't care at all about her illness.
Anyone who wants, with three days of kindness all problems will be solved.
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A nurse tells the following story:
One night, many years ago, I entered a ward of a young man suffering from cancer in order to give him a painkiller.
He would have been around 25.
We listened to the same music.
His mother was across the chair hunched over, almost curled up and sniffed up.
It was summer.
Outside people were having fun and enjoying life.
Inside we were fighting to save the young man.
His oncology was clear.
"It's not just up to us, child. Now it's up to you and your faith. We will fight it together, but I don't know what will happen."
The young man was in pain and suffered every night.
And we tried to calm him down either with painkillers or with a word of comfort.
So that night when it came I was on shift.
I was talking to him about music, about concerts. We spent some time together (we had other patients and there were only two of us on shift) and that seemed to relieve him a bit.
In fact, that night we had our first disagreement.
I insisted that my favorite band was the best, he said his. What do you want?
Childish stuff. But of the things that make you forget the blackness inside you. In the end we both laughed and agreed that we were both right.
Not to mention, I let him stare at the ceiling and reminisce about his own moments and went to the next room.
It must have been 10 minutes when I heard a voice coming from the young man's room. I turn around and see his mother coming towards me with teary eyes.
She pulls me by the hand and puts me in her son's room.
I found him as I left him. Nailing the ceiling with his gaze, but soaked in sweat.
The mother thought her son had died since he was motionless.
"Tomorrow the CT scan will be clear," he tells me, staring intently at the ceiling.
After two days, the young man had a CT scan.
Everything was clear.
No signs of cancer or metastasis anymore.
Rationalists will say that it was an illusion of the young man and his thirst for life. He was saved by healing, not by divine intervention.
Cynics will say that it shook him.
Religious believers will say "Victim."
I will say this:
Each of us carries his own cross. And in that dark hour of his martyrdom he has the right to believe in a miracle.
He has the right to believe in general.
Because it's better to believe somewhere than nowhere.
So the young man's mother, after what happened, went uphill to Tinos on her knees because she believed that she owed this "humiliation" that others say to Panagia.
And can I tell you something? Who am I to judge this act?
Who am I to trivialize this faith?
Who am I to tamper with this energy?
Who am I to say what is right and wrong for everyone?
And can I tell you something? Who am I to judge this act?
Who am I to trivialize this faith?
Who am I to tamper with this energy?
Who am I to say what is right and wrong for everyone?
Who knows why everyone makes such moves?
What black does he carry inside him and what is the meaning of such a move for the one who makes it?
I only have respect for such people because they dare to declare their faith in something.
Oh, I forgot to tell you that the young man lives among us, healthy and I even think I saw him at the Iron Maiden concert recently.
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The Shadow of Fear
Once in a village there lived a man overwhelmed by fear. He was afraid of his own shadow and ran from it. While the sun was shining, this man could not stop, because the faster he ran, the faster the shadow ran behind him. Only at night, when the shadow disappeared and he thought that no one else was chasing him, did he allow himself to stop. But with the first glimpses of the day, he began to run again. The time has come when this man fell to the ground and died.
The villagers decided to bury him in the shade of a tree and asked Elder Nestorius to come to the funeral to pray. The eler came and before the burial said to the living: "This man was overcome by the spirit of fear. He spent his entire adult life running from his own shadow and therefore squandered it. Our fears are like shadows. As we keep running from them, we can never stop to find out what's really chasing us. If this man had stopped and looked closely, perhaps he would have laughed and said, "What kind of person am I running from my shadow?" No one can escape it either.
This does not mean, however, that the shadow is stronger and we will never achieve victory. It simply means that there is no shadow, which means that there is no question of winning. You can't beat something that doesn't exist. Why does fear have power over people? Because they forget that fear is just a shadow we cast as we move forward in life." When this person was buried, a headstone was placed on his grave. Then Elder Nestorius added: "Look, the tombstone is in the shade of a tree and does not produce its own shadow. Similarly, when we are in the shadow of the Lord's wings, we can always be free from the shadows of fear.
ANT.
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Be the reason for someone to smile around you". Smile!
It was a message written by someone on a wall. It immediately caught my eye. I was stuck on this message until the road opened and the bus moved on.
I tried to do what this stranger said...to smile, but automatically, in a flash, the sorrows, the trials, the failures, the mourning, the illnesses of this life came to my mind.
No. I can't smile.
Why should I smile and how? Should I do it like the English who ask you "Are you happy with your lessons?" Are you happy with your activities?
To smile because I liked the lessons or the activities of my life? Do they understand what true joy, fulfilled and permanent joy will mean?
The bus moves on and I get off at the church of Saint Theodosius.
I go in... as if a faint smile appeared on my lips. It came out spontaneously in me. I could in there. Why;
I venerated the icons. The faces on the icons were so sweet, so peaceful. They made me smile. It was as if I had found a refuge, a harbor, an almost family comfort.
I needed it at that moment. It relieved my pain, it worked like a painkiller. A few minutes inside the temple and I felt that I can smile, because I have so many reasons. I am not alone in front of my "insurmountable" problems.
Inside the small temple, I found so many faces who heard my pain and my struggles. Their forms, their cheerful look supports me.
I feel that they do not listen to me indifferently... and let them remain unscathed. They raise my problem as their own agony and bring it in prayer to the throne of God.
Yes, I don't walk alone and defenseless in this harsh life... That's why I have reason to smile. That's why I will often remind myself, somewhat modified, of the prompt of the... wall:
"SMILE! THERE IS A REASON!".
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In 1916-17, Elder Gabriel the Dionysian writes that he was in the Orphanage of Pangaios, responsible of a share of his Monastery. An army division was stationed in that area. A group of officers, initiated into spiritualism, used to assemble in the evenings around a table, and through the medium of a soldier-medium they called up the spirits of King George, Trikoupis, and other famous dead. When the little table was shaking (a sign that communication with the "spirit" had begun), they would ask various questions and the soldier-medium would answer on behalf of the "spirit".
It happened one night at such a gathering that Elder Gabriel was also present. He immediately understood that the whole effort was a summoning of demons. When they were all gone, he took the opportunity to stick two candles in the shape of a Cross under the table. When they went back and tried to repeat the invocation of the "spirits", they experienced a painful surprise. While they were calling for a long time, the little table did not move from its place and the "spirit" did not appear. They began to investigate, wondering if someone had nailed the table to the floor. And while investigating they discovered the wax cross under the table.
Then Elder Gabriel said to them:
"I did it so that you would be convinced that demonic energy is hidden in your act."
But they did not admit it. And they began to put forward various spiritualist theories, that the candle as a substance is a "good receiver" and that's why it gathers the current of communication, etc.
"Good," Elder Gabriel told them. "If the candle is to blame, remove it. But allow me to do something else…”.
And after lighting one candle, he formed with the smoke a Cross under the table. Then he told them to make their invocations. They started calling again, but the table again remained motionless and nothing happened...
They were then forced, from the facts, to admit that they were not dealing with the communication of spirits of dead people, but with the devil, who "like a roaring lion prowls about and devours" (1 Peter 5:8 -10), which, however, his power and his traps, literally crumble before the power of the Holy Cross!!
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A certain villager had a cow, which he took great care of. He was taking her to graze, where there was plenty of grass. And for water, he took her to a nearby spring with very cool and clean water. Nevertheless, he noticed that, day by day, the cow was getting thinner and thinner. He ate more, but every day he lost weight...
The man left wondering:
"How does my cow get so thin, with so much care?", he said over and over again.
And the answer did not take long to come. One day, completely coincidentally, he also wanted to drink water from the spring. But when he bent down to drink, he noticed with horror that the trough of the spring was full of leeches. So the cow, every time she drank water, also swallowed leeches, which of course, living in her guts, sucked her blood, resulting , getting weaker and weaker.
Something similar happens with the spiritual searches of contemporary man. He quenches his thirst at the wrong springs, drinking water full of sinful "leeches", which enter him and rob him of all spiritual dignity.
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A certain monk told me that when he was very sick, his mother said to his father, “How our little boy is suffering. I would gladly give myself to be cut up into pieces if that would ease his suffering.” Such is the love of God for people. He pitied people so much that he wanted to suffer for them, like their own mother, and even more. But no one can understand this great love without the grace of the Holy Spirit.
+ St. Silouan the Athonite
https://orthodoxchurchquotes.wordpress.com/2015/10/23/st-silouan-a-certain-monk-told-me-that-when-he-was-very-sick/
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“If [the disease of sin] is natural, then it cannot be cured. Thus it would remain always, no matter how hard you worked to rid yourself of it. If you accept this thought, you will lose heart, and say to yourself: this is how it is. For this is that woeful despair, which, once it has been introduced into people, they have given themselves over to lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness (Ephesians 4: 19).
“I shall repeat again: Maintain the conviction that our disorderliness is not natural to us, and do not listen to those who say, ‘It is no use talking about it, because that is just how we are made, and you cannot do anything about it.’ That is not how we are made, and if we undertake to cure ourselves, then we will be able to do something about it.”
+ St. Theophan the Recluse
https://orthodoxchurchquotes.wordpress.com/2015/10/14/st-theophan-the-recluse-if-we-undertake-to-cure-ourselves-then-we-will-be-able-to-do-something-about-it/
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Twenty Practical Suggestions for Humility
by Fr. Stephanos Anagnostopoulos
Did they forget you? They don’t even pick up the phone? It doesn’t matter.
Were they unjust to you? Forget about it.
Do they despise you? Rejoice.
Do they condemn you? Don’t fight back.
Do they ridicule you? Don’t respond.
Do they curse you? Be silent and pray.
Do they not let you speak? Do they cut you off? Don’t be sad.
Do they speak evil of you? Don’t fight back.
Do your children, your relatives and your own people take away your rights? Don’t complain.
Do they get angry with you? Remain peaceful.
Do they rob you openly? Be blind to it.
Do they mock you? Forbear it.
Do they not listen to your advice, especially your children? Fall to your knees and pray.
Are you upset with your spouse? You are to blame, not the other.
Were you to blame? Ask forgiveness.
You weren’t to blame? Again ask forgiveness.
Do you have health? Glorify God.
Do you have sickness? Do you have cancer, depression? Are you suffering, tortured, in pain? Glorify God.
Complaining, unemployment, poverty in the house? Fasting. Vigil. Prayer.
For everyone and for everything, prayer. Much prayer. Much prayer. Fasting and prayer, for “these kinds of passions and demons do not come out but with fasting and prayer.”
May we all, my brethren, and first of all myself, follow these humble suggestions, that we may be sure that we will be saved.
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Fr. Stephanos Anagnostopoulos:
Once, there lived a neokoros [keeper of the church, i.e. layperson who helps clean the church], who had very much reverence, much piety, and much fear of God. He was from those that we want to be keepers and helpers in Church. The Church was built in honor of the Precious Forerunner. The neokoros would ring the Church bells—there were three or four bells—and he would ring them with his two hands. However, he had suffered some trauma to his left hand and he couldn’t ring the bells with just one hand. Because of these he was very distressed. The great feast day came and he couldn’t ring them sweetly, rhythmically, as normally, but first the one, then the other, [never together or in patterns as on Mount Athos].
Therefore, what else could he do? So he went to the Precious Forerunner and said to him:
-“Listen to me, O Saint! This is your Church, you saw my hand, I can’t with just one hand. Well come here.”
He took him by the hand—and the Precious Forerunner descended from his icon!—and took him outside to the bell tower.
“Well now show me how I should ring the bells!”
The Precious Forerunner therefore made slip knots with the cords and placed one on one foot, one on the other, and one on his hand, and the other one on his elbow. And he showed him how to ring the bells in a fervent manner.
“Thank you very much” the neokoros said to the Saint!
And he rang the bells as he was shown by the Precious Forerunner!
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The Chinese Martyrs of the Boxer Rebellion (+1900)
Contributed by Father Geoffrey Korz
Orthodox Christianity has often been described as the faith of the martyrs. Without doubt, the centuries have shown among the Orthodox an unparalleled degree of suffering for the sake of Christ's name. Yet despite the dramatic increase in Orthodox martyrdom in the last century, Orthodox believers living in the comforts of North America remain largely isolated from the suffering of the saints.
Ironically, the Western world has become a more potent—and indeed, more subtle—enemy of Christian Orthodoxy than any regime of the past. Cut off from the struggles of our Christian forebears, we have too readily accepted materialism and hedonism. To be a Christian, especially an Orthodox Christian, has become a fundamentally countercultural calling.
The arrival of the year 2000 marks the centennial of the first martyrs of the last century, and the first known group of Orthodox martyrs from China—a group who knew well the meaning of standing against the social tide of their day. Some of the 222 Orthodox martyrs of June 10/23, 1900, were direct descendants of the Russian mission set up at the end of the seventeenth century, after Russia lost its Albazin outpost to Chinese forces.
Orthodoxy's Beginnings in China
With the Chinese recapture of Albazin, the Chinese Imperial Court looked with curiosity and tolerance upon the Russians in their territories, allowing them a surprising level of religious freedom. A former Buddhist temple near Beijing was converted into a church dedicated to Saint Nicholas, and church vestments and holy objects were sent from the Imperial Court in Russia. The Chinese and Russian governments proceeded to establish diplomatic relations, a move facilitated by the presence and work of the Albazin Chinese Orthodox. Since the Russian soldiers were viewed as a loose equivalent of the warrior class of Chinese society, they moved easily among the Chinese aristocracy, with many marrying Chinese noblewomen. Just as many of the first converts at Rome were noble patrons of the Church, Orthodox Christianity in China was to see a similar beginning.
In the years following, Orthodoxy made significant inroads among the Albazin Chinese population, becoming a kind of ethnic religion of the people. Emperor Kangxi was favorable toward these Christians, and for a time it was hoped the emperor might become a kind of Saint Constantine of the Orient. When the Chinese court later discovered that local Roman Catholic missionaries followed orders from Western masters, however, Emperor Kangxi and his successors began persecutions against Christians. Because of their position at court and their foothold among the Albazin Chinese faithful, the Orthodox were spared much of this persecution for a time.
Orthodox missions in China were cautious from the beginning. Emperor Peter the Great observed: "This is a very important enterprise. But, for God's sake, let us be cautious and circumspect, not to provoke either the Chinese authorities or the Jesuits whose den is there since long ago. To this end, the clergymen are needed not so much as scholarly, but rather reasonable and amicable, lest this holy effort suffers a painful defeat because of a certain kind of arrogance."
While the growth of the Orthodox Chinese mission was modest, its faithful were solid witnesses for their faith in Christ. Just as pagan Rome saw Christian devotion to Christ as a rival to imperial loyalty, so too did the Imperial Chinese of the late nineteenth century see Christians as enemies of the Emperor. While some in China were embracing Western modernist ideas, others including the Dowager Empress, nationalists, and those who practiced martial arts'sought to eliminate any challenges to tradition, including foreign influences. This conservative movement was dubbed by foreigners the "Boxer movement."
A Courageous Witness
By June 1900, placards calling for the death of foreigners and Christians covered the walls around Beijing. Armed bands combed the streets of the city, setting fire to homes and "with imperial blessing" killing Chinese Christians and foreigners. Faced with torture or death, some of the Chinese Christians did deny Christ, while others, emboldened by the faith of the martyrs and the prayers of the saints, declared boldly the Name of the Lord. Among these were Priest Mitrophan Tsi-Chung, his Matushka Tatiana, and their children, Isaiah, Serge, and John.
Baptized by Saint Nicholas of Japan, Saint Mitrophan was a shy and retiring priest, who avoided honors and labored continually for the building of new churches, for the translation of spiritual books, and for the care of his flock. Yet in Christ, who gives more than we can ask or imagine, Saint Mitrophan and his flock became lions in the face of marauding wolves.
It was with this reassurance that Saint Mitrophan met his martyrdom on June 10, 1900. About seventy faithful had gathered in his home for consolation when the Boxers surrounded the house. While some of the faithful managed to escape, most—including Saint Mitrophan—were stabbed or burned to death. Like the priests of old slaughtered in the sight of Elijah, Saint Mitrophan's holy body fell beneath the date tree in the yard of his home, his family witnesses to his suffering.
His youngest son, Saint John, an eight-year-old child, was disfigured by the Boxers the same day. Although the mob cut off his ears, nose, and toes, Saint John did not seem to feel any pain, and walked steadily. Crowds mocked the young confessor, as they mocked his Lord before him, calling him a demon for his unwillingness to bend to make sacrifice to the idols. To the amazement of onlookers, although he was mutilated, mocked, and alone, young Saint John declared that it did not hurt to suffer for Christ.
Saint Isaiah, 23, the elder brother of Saint John, had been martyred several days earlier. Despite repeated urging, his nineteen-year-old bride, Saint Mary, refused to leave and hide, declaring that she had been born near the church of the Mother of God, and would die there as well.
Saint Ia (Wang), a mission school teacher also among the martyrs, was slashed repeatedly by the Boxers and buried, half-dead. In an attempt to save her, a sympathetic non-Christian bystander unearthed her, carrying her to his home in the hope of safety. There, however, the Boxers seized her again, torturing her at length until she died, a bold confession of Christ on her lips. Thereby did Saint Ia the teacher gain the crown of martyrdom not once, but twice.
Among those who died for Christ were Albazinians whose ancestors had first carried the light of Holy Orthodoxy to Beijing in 1685. The faith of these pioneers has now been crowned with the glory of martyrdom conferred upon their descendants. Albazinians Clement Kui Lin, Matthew Chai Tsuang, his brother Witt, Anna Chui, and many more, fearless of those who kill the body but cannot harm the soul (Matthew 10:28), met agony and death with courage, praying to the Savior for their tormentors.
Honoring the Martyrs
When the feast of the Holy Chinese Martyrs was first commemorated in 1903, the bodies of Saint Mitrophan and others were placed under the altar of the Church of the All Holy Orthodox Martyrs (built in 1901—1916). A cross was later erected on the site of their martyrdom, standing as a testimony of the first sufferings of Orthodox faithful in a century of such great suffering. The church, along with others, was destroyed by the communists in 1954; the condition and whereabouts of the relics are not known.
In 1996, the first Greek Metropolitan of Hong Kong was consecrated, just prior to the reunification of the city-state with mainland China. There began the first attempt in decades to reach the remnant Orthodox community on the mainland. Many of the Orthodox faithful had fled the country years before. Knowledge of the only remaining Orthodox church in China—the Protection of the Mother of God, located in Harbin—is sketchy, and attempts by Greek authorities in Hong Kong to contact the parish have seen little success. The Church of the Annunciation was converted into a circus; it was closed only when an acrobat fell to his death there. The Shanghai Cathedral of Saint John Maximovich (+1966)—a great champion and shepherd of Orthodox Christians of non-Orthodox ancestry—was turned into a stock exchange.
In the late 1990s—a century after the martyrdoms at Harbin and elsewhere—a new flowering of zeal for Orthodox Christian missions to the people of China began. A Chinese prayerbook and catechesis was published by Holy Trinity Monastery of Jordanville, New York. Several short histories of the martyrs have been written, and an akathist in their memory was recently composed. In the pattern of Saint Paul, who used the great highways of pagan Rome to spread the gospel, a network of Orthodox Christians dedicated to the spread of the Orthodox faith among the peoples of the Far East has taken to the Internet to make available prayers and church materials in Chinese.
On the occasion of the centenary of the Holy Chinese Martyrs of the Boxer Rebellion, let us as Orthodox faithful ask their prayers that we may have the courage of their witness in our own time and place, and like them live out the call of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ to go and make disciples of all nations.
Father Geoffrey Korz is priest of All Saints of North America Orthodox Church in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Information for this article was taken from a web site on the Chinese Orthodox martyrs and from the Synaxarion of the Chinese Orthodox Martyrs, produced by Apostoliki Diakonia of Athens, Greece. An edition of this article was previously printed in the Orthodox Messenger, a publication of the Archdiocese of Canada (OCA).
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St. Porphyrios on the Work of Elder Ephraim of Arizona:
"From an early age, the two nuns met with Elder Ephraim and Saint Porphyrios. "Oftentimes, Elder Ephraim asked us to ask St. Porphyrios for his opinion. She remembers the words of St. Porphyrios: "The charisma of the Great Elder is such that the missionary work for which God called upon him in America will receive the grace of Early Christianity..."
"St. Porphyrios once called a spiritual child of Elder Ephraim and told her: "I'm very envious of Elder Ephraim, because he has surpassed in his humility the entire calendar of the saints of our Church. I'm stuck here in a bed, and they make me out to be a saint. But Elder Ephraim is very smart. He has made an agreement with God, that no one will understand who he is until he dies. And after his repose, then you will be overcome by fear at what you had next to you, and didn't know it."
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St. Porphyrios: "Unquestionably the higher state is love."
"Which is better? To be meek, humble, peaceful and to be filled with love, or to be irritable, depressed, and to quarrel with everyone? Unquestionably the higher state is love."
-St. Porphyrios of Kavsokalyvia
http://apantaortodoxias.blogspot.com/2020/11/which-is-better-to-be-meek-humble.html
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A vision of Elder Ephraim, and a picture of his purported to be weeping
"I just communicated with Gerontissa Thekla from Montreal, and she told me that our holy Elder appeared to someone living in Crete. He lives ascetically, and would go to visit the Elder at St. Anthony's [in Arizona].
He has this picture of our holy Elder with a constant vigil lamp before it. The Elder told him that God is greatly saddened by the Greeks***, because they are not praying.
On November 3rd, the picture began to weep, not just tears, but it became soaked.
The Elder is praying for all of us."
-Maria
***Note: By no means are the Greeks the only people that might not be praying as they should, but all people throughout the world, young and old, clergy, laity and monastics, should be repenting and praying as we should, entreating the Lord to save the world.
“Elder Ephraim of Philotheou, who lived as an ascetic in Arizona, appeared to a woman in Northern Greece, a long-time spiritual daughter of the elder. At the time of the appearance she was with her daughter-in-law; she was not asleep but actually in a state of alertness. At one point the woman was unresponsive, as if in ecstasy,* and this lasted for about 10 minutes, according to her daughter-in-law who was watching her. She did not realize or comprehend the time duration — i.e., for how long the vision lasted. It was something new for her (the content of the conversation) because she has seen the Elder before, after his repose, both in her sleep as well while she was awake. Due to all this (her shock), she contacted her spiritual father and asked whether this experience was real or a deception by the evil one.
She saw Elder Ephraim and he was very sad and was imploring Christ that the ongoing [direction of] events be averted (all this, of course, is in agreement with what the elder said to many while he was alive).
And he told her:
‘Repentance repentance repentance. Christ is very angry...
We people today should not be in this spiritual state we are in...
Huge tribulations are coming, you can not imagine how bad these will be...
Alas to all of you for what awaits you; you must repent as long as there is time...
You need to kneel and cry, to shed tears of repentance, that Christ soften...
This has to do with what is happening in America as well.
Many people will depart through all that is to come, many people will depart (they will die).
You have no mercy among you. You show no mercy to each other.
You are tough towards each other, you stand ready to eat (consume-destroy) each other ....
Tell all of this to your spiritual father and to others ....’
The woman who saw this was a spiritual daughter of Elder Ephraim and was in communication with him often up until his repose.
- f. I.
*Translator’s note: The Greek term here is χάθηκε. It was not immediately clear to us if this meant literally or spiritually. We received clarification that it was the latter and have made the change. We have also made other minor changes to improve the English translation and correct typos in the Greek version.
https://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com/2020/11/picture-of-elder-ephraim-of-arizona.html
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Saint Porphyrios and the Visit of Divine Grace Before Christmas: A True Testimony Similar to "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens
It was the days leading up to the Christmas of 1993. I was in a very difficult situation: physical sicknesses and horrible pains, revolts of the passions, warfare with the devil and through men.
I said: "My Christ, what kind of Christmas am I going to have this year?" Then I called upon the Elder [Porphyrios].
(Just before he reposed he said to me: "Call on me.")
On the night of December 22, as soon as I was able to fall asleep, he came.
At first I thought he was still alive, and he said to me:
"Come and take me for a ride."
I grab him and instead of taking him, he took me. We were together, I think, all night.
We traveled to many places, we also came to the Monastery, we also visited the children.
The next day in the morning everything went away: sorrows, melancholy, worries, intrusive thoughts, everything went away and there came serenity, peace, joy, good thoughts, humble and forgiving thoughts for everyone and for everything, and above all a preparation for my deeper lonely state.
It was a visit of Divine Grace through Elder Porphyrios. That's what my discerning spiritual father told me.
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St. Paisios: Be the Bee and not the Fly
Be the BeeSome people tell me that they are scandalized because they see many things wrong in the Church. I tell them that if you ask a fly, “Are there any flowers in this area?” it will say, “I don’t know about flowers, but over there in that heap of rubbish you can find all the filth you want.” And it will go on to list all the unclean things it has been to.
Now, if you ask a honeybee, “Have you seen any unclean things in this area?” it will reply, “Unclean things? No, I have not seen any; the place here is full of the most fragrant flowers.” And it will go on to name all the flowers of the garden or the meadow.
You see, the fly only knows where the unclean things are, while the honeybee knows where the beautiful iris or hyacinth is.
As I have come to understand, some people resemble the honeybee and some resemble the fly. Those who resemble the fly seek to find evil in every circumstance and are preoccupied with it; they see no good anywhere. But those who resemble the honeybee only see the good in everything they see. The stupid person thinks stupidly and takes everything in the wrong way, whereas the person who has good thoughts, no matter what he sees, no matter what you tell him, maintains a positive and good thought.
+ St. Paisios of Mt. Athos
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Homily on the Meaning of the Holy Cross, by Metropolitan Augoustinos Kantiotes
My beloved, what does the Cross teach us? Take a chalk and write, like children do in school, 2+2=4. Thus, the Cross is the "equal sign", but what is it? Do you think that it is simply a piece of wood that we venerate and are saved? You are mistaken, because this is not how it is in reality.
The Cross equals forgiveness.
Because upon the Cross, Christ forgave His murderers. Are there today some here in church who are at odds with each other? Are there women who hate their mothers-in-law? Are there houses where people don't speak with each other? Are there neighbors that don't greet each other? Is there hatred? Well then, the Cross tells us today: "Forgive!" If you don't forgive, then don't approach the Cross, don't venerate it. When, within your heart, you have bitterness, you have this serpent of hatred, you can't approach the Cross. Because the Cross means forgiveness. You must forgive even your greatest enemy.
The Cross equals truth.
Even if they put a knife to your throat, and slaughter you, you should speak the truth. Not in the sense that you go to court and raise your wretched hand upon the Gospel and take a false oath. Not like this. Christ was crucified for the truth. Whoever says lies, whoever goes to court and takes false oaths, he is not worthy to venerate the Cross. The Cross, therefore, equals forgiveness, the Cross equals truth.
The Cross equals humility.
No--even though you might have a very large home, or more money or lands or animals, or if you have children studying in school or if you have a beautiful wife, or whatever else you might do--you should not boast or feel proud. You are not a Christian! Humility! Humble yourself to say: I am nothing, I am a worm, I am nothing in this world. However, when you have pride and you boast and you show off your body and your job and your money, then you are not a Christian.
The Cross equals love.
Is your neighbor hungry? Give him a piece of bread. Is he thirsty? Give him a glass of water. Is he naked? Give him a shirt to wear. Go and console him and wipe away his tears. This is Christianity. Not when you have everything and your neighbor has nothing.
The Cross equals sacrifice.
As Christ sacrificed Himself, thus we must sacrifice ourselves. This is what the Cross means. If you do these things, then you are worthy to be called Christians. But you who dip your hands in blood, you who take false oaths, you who are unjust to the orphan, you cannot approach the Cross. The Cross casts you out.
Read the life of St. Mary of Egypt. On this day, she went to Jerusalem and saw the crowd going into the church and everyone--old, young, women, men--were going to venerate. She herself tried to approach the entrance. But some power pushed her back. She tried and second and a third time, but she was unable. Why? Because she was a sinful woman, and she worked in sin in Alexandria. Only after she repented, then she was able to enter the church and she became a Christian in reality.
The Cross, my beloved, creates presuppositions. We must live corresponding to the teaching of the Cross.
And something else: You should make your Cross properly. Because unfortunately, in our faithless years that we are living through, everything has become fashionable. Fashionable hair, fashionable clothing, fashionable shoes, fashion everywhere. Unfortunately many in Church do it out of fashion. Unfortunately you see scientists, congressmen, ministers, prime ministers, and none are doing their Cross correctly. That which they are doing is not the Cross. It joking and mocking. It is playing with God. Do not play with God. How will they understand that you are a Christian? By your Cross. When you make the sign of the Cross properly, you are doing a whole prayer. Therefore, do your Cross properly.
And when should you do your Cross? When you awake in the morning, do your Cross. Are you going to work? Do your Cross. Are you going to your field? Do your Cross. Are you sowing, returning from your field, entering your home? Do your Cross. Are you sitting at your dinner table? Do your Cross. Are you going to sleep? Do your Cross.
"Though I fall, I make my Cross
And have an Angel by my side."
O woman, are you baking? Make the sign of the Cross in the dough. Wherever you go and whatever you do, make your Cross. The Cross is the "protector of the whole world."
(+) Bishop Augoustinos
https://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com/2020/09/homily-on-meaning-of-holy-cross-by.html
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They asked an Abbess:
"What are you doing here, locked up in the Monastery for so many years?"
She replied: "I am praying to God to place you in Paradise."
https://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com/2020/09/i-am-praying-to-god-to-place-you-in.html
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"Once, when St. Iakovos of Evia, Greece, was casting out demons from a wretched demoniac, his ears heard: 'Hey Iakovos, you should know! The knees of Mary have withered from praying for all of you.' What are we doing? Are we worthy of these prayers or do we fall and get carried away from our passions and fall into sin? And if we fall, do we go afterwards to kneel under the stole of a spiritual father, that our sins might be washed away? Because, we will have to give an account for our deeds, our desires, our thoughts...so while there is still time, let us repent! Let us change our way of thinking and our way of life, to enter into the space of our Church. She is the ark of our salvation, that we might partake of the Spotless Mysteries, in Confession and Divine Communion, and when we commune, we become even more closely related to our Panagia, because our Panagia hosted within her womb the Son of God and her Son, and when we commune, we host, we give a dwelling-place within us, within our body, to God, like our Panagia."
-Quote from a sermon of Elder Gabriel of St. David's Monastery in Evia on the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos
https://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com/2020/08/the-knees-of-mary-have-withered-from.html
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They asked Abba Sisoes, ‘If a brother sins, surely he must do penance for a year?’ He replied, ‘That is a hard saying.’ The visitors said, ‘For six months?’ He replied, ‘That is a great deal.’ They said, ‘For forty days? ‘He said, ‘That is a great deal, too. ‘They said to him, ‘What then? If a brother falls, and the agape is about to be offered, should he simply come to the agape, too? ‘The old man said to them, ‘No, he needs to do penance for a few days. But I trust in God that if such a man does penance with his whole heart, God will receive him, even in three days.’
https://orthodoxchurchquotes.wordpress.com/2015/10/20/st-sisoes-if-such-a-man-does-penance-with-his-whole-heart-god-will-receive-him/
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Elder Ephraim of St. Andrew's Skete on the Repose of St. Paisios
"Gerontissa (Eldress) Philothei, from the Monastery of Souroti, told me that, as soon as St. Paisios reposed, his face shown, and his whole body began to pour forth fragrance and lightning!!! And he went from being very pale from his afflictions, to becoming totally white!
"A sign of his great humility and the many signs from God that he had in his life.
"St. Paisios had very many revelations, some of which he revealed to people, but he asked them to not make them known until he had died!
"His life was a martyrical one, and his battle with the devil and with the demons was not insignificant!
"To live one's whole life as a monk, this shows that he had a leonine soul, for otherwise he could not have withstood the attacks of the enemy, being totally alone."
-Elder Ephraim of St. Andrew's Skete, Mount Athos
https://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com/2020/07/elder-ephraim-of-st-andrews-skete-on.html
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WHAT is the Orthodox Church? The Orthodox Church is a body or community of people, who, 1—correctly believe in divine revelation; and 2—who obey a lawful hierarchy instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ himself, through the holy apostles. In order to belong to the Orthodox Church two principal conditions are required: First—to accurately accept, rightly understand and truthfully confess the divine teaching of faith; and secondly— to acknowledge the lawful hierarchy or priesthood, to receive from it the holy mysteries or sacraments, and generally to follow its precepts in matters concerning salvation.Book St Sebastion Preaching in the Orthodox Church
+ St. Sebastian Dabovich
https://orthodoxchurchquotes.wordpress.com/2015/10/13/st-sebastian-dabovich-what-is-the-orthodox-church/
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Homily on the Day of the Theophany Before the Blessing of the Waters (St. John Maximovitch)
By St. John Maximovitch
(Delivered in Shanghai in 1947)
“The heavens were opened and the Holy Spirit descended physically like a dove” on the Son of God standing in the Jordan. The voice from heaven of God the Father is heard: “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased” (Luke 3:21-22; Mark 1:11; Matt. 3:17).
The sky is open now, again the Holy Spirit descends on the waters, and God testifies of His Son.
Oh, that our spiritual eyes would be opened! Oh, that our ears could perceive celestial expressions! We would see the heavens open above us. We would have seen the Son of God standing among us and the Holy Spirit hovering over us, and we would have heard the voice of God proclaiming the divinity of the Savior of the world.
We would feel how the Holy Spirit descended on the waters, returned to them the kindness that they had at the creation of the world, and made them a life-giving force that revives fallen nature. We ourselves would be illumined with light, our lips would be filled with the spirit and joyfully sing of Him who established us on the rock of faith.
But only the pure in heart see the divine. Those darkened by sin do not see and do not hear.
People saw the heavens at the baptism of the Lord, but only John the Baptist saw that it was open.
Many looked at the Lord Jesus Christ when He came to the Jordan, but only John felt that He was the incarnate Son of God, while others looked at Him as an ordinary person, a carpenter and a carpenter's son.
Perhaps not only John saw the Holy Spirit descending on Him in the form of a dove, but only he understood that it was the Holy Spirit, while others mistook it for the flight of an ordinary dove.
Perhaps many heard the voice of God the Father at the Jordan, but only John clearly heard the testimony of God about His Son. Others heard it like thunder thundering over the waters, just as later people mistook for thunder the answer of heaven, God the Father, to the prayer offered by the Son (John 12:30).
So now, we see the clouds that have covered the sky, but we do not see that it is open, we breathe in the air, but we do not feel the Holy Spirit descending on us and the water, we hear the words of church hymns and do not understand their Divine power.
But in truth the Lord stands between us “where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matt. 18:20), truly the heavens are now open and their Creator bears witness to the Eternal Word, now the Holy Spirit will descend on the waters and sanctify us. Water by the grace of God will become a source of health of soul and body, sanctification for us and our dwellings and all nature, and will be kept incorruptible for many years, will become like the voice of God, broadcasting that our Savior Jesus Christ is the Son of God, descended to earth and resurrecting us to incorruption and will raise you up to the heavenly temple.
Let us open our hearts by faith and open our mouths to praise, from the depths of our souls we will cry out: “Great art thou, O Lord, and marvelous are Thy works, and not a single word will be sufficient for the singing of Thy wonders!”
https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2023/01/homily-on-day-of-theophany-before.html
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Christ Is Born, Glorify Him! (St. John Maximovitch)
By St. John Maximovitch
Christ is born, glorify Him!
“You were secretly born in a cave, but the heavens proclaimed You to all, O Savior, using the star as its mouth.”
Quietly, silently, the Son of God descended to earth and incarnated. Like a drop of dew falls on the ground, so the Power of the Most High overshadowed the Most Pure Virgin, and the Savior of the world was born from Her.
But the world did not notice the great work done by God. People were each busy with their own concerns, their attention was directed to the affairs of life and to high-profile worldly events.
Rome strengthened its power over the peoples and its state power. Greece developed the arts and indulged in the refined service of the flesh. The Eastern peoples tried to find answers to all the inquiries of the spirit in the phenomena of nature.
The Jews ardently longed for liberation from foreign power and waited for a deliverer in the person of the Messiah - the earthly king.
However, the affairs of life did not give satisfaction to people, even when they were successful. The “longing of the spirit” for truth was felt more and more strongly, and it was felt that the world, mired in vanity and vices, was about to perish.
Not only the Jews were waiting for a deliverer; but the best of the Gentiles were waiting for someone who would save mankind from destruction.
But each in his own way imagined His coming, and, being carnal themselves, could not think of the spiritual. “The Jews ask for a sign, and the Greeks seek wisdom” (1 Corinthians 1:22).
No one was waiting for the Savior, meek and humble in heart, clothed not with earthly, but with heavenly glory.
And this was exactly why He “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
It was not by external force or arrogant wisdom that He came to reign over the nations, not as “a frightening ghost” (Prayer for Blessing of W.ater), but in the form of a slave the Savior came to take upon Himself the sin of Adam, to bear the burden of man, being accessible to everyone.
“The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45; Matt. 20:28).
Accordingly, He is born in a cave, in a small city, where, at the time of the census, the family of the poor carpenter righteous Joseph, rich only in virtues, arrived.
None of those living on earth imagined that in such squalor the Redeemer would appear and that the Reigning over all creatures would come to people.
And even the prince of this world of that time, the proud opponent of God - the devil, turned out to be deceived and did not recognize in the Newborn the One Whom he envied when he was still an angel. The eternal secret about the salvation of the human race, hidden from his power, could be known only by those who heed the voice from heaven and fix their eyes there.
The shepherds heard the angels singing about the coming in the flesh of Christ, those poor shepherds of Bethlehem, whose only source of wisdom was the open book of the wisdom of God, revealed in the beauty of His creations, untouched by the sinful hand of man.
And to the rest of mankind, who did not hear the angelic singing, the sky, with the bright light of the star that shone in it, as if by mouth announced that He was “the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world” (John 1:9-11).
Heaven spoke to all, proclaiming the glory of God. But only the magi kings, who sought in it revelations of God's judgments and were ready to go anyywhere to find the truth, "understood the voice of heaven." Having collected their treasures in order to present them as a gift to the newborn King, they left their thrones, left their native land and went, not knowing where, following only the course of the star, which announced to them the path to the Eternal Kingdom.
The path was hard, but the light of the star of Bethlehem illuminated it. And the "wise men-magi", overcoming all obstacles, traveled along the paths indicated by the sky, "having renounced their will". The star led them to Jerusalem, where they heard the written word of God, and then to Bethlehem, where they saw the Word incarnate, God in the flesh, and worshiped the Sun of Truth.
The world continued to rage with its passions.
Herod, learning about the birth of the eternal King, sought to kill Him; not finding Him, he killed many babies, but he could not kill the one Secretly Born in the Cave.
This mystery for those who live according to the elements of this world remained a mystery. “He lived among the people, but they did not know Him” (John 1:31).
Only gradually did He reveal Himself to a pure heart, seeking the truth, ready to stand for the truth, revealing Himself to those who desired purification of the heart, who were ready to submit their will to the will of Heaven.
And the time has come - the light of Bethlehem lit up all the ends of the universe.
Now the world is raging again! Some would be ready to kill the Baby and try to erase His Name, others seem not to notice Him. But He stands in the midst of us, revealing Himself to those who "keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart." “Tongues stagger in vain and people are taught in vain! With an iron rod, like the vessels of the poor, He will crush those who anger Him."
And the star of Bethlehem again shines invisibly over the world, calling on all peoples and every person to direct their gaze to heaven, to have a heart, to fall down to the Newborn and rejoice with great joy, for God is with us! “God is with us, understand this Gentiles, and submit: for God is with us!”
Christ is born!
https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2023/01/christ-is-born-glorify-him-st-john.html
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Abbot Tryphon, Vashon Island, WA, USA: "We must recognize infanticide and abortion for the evil that it is..."
“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” Isaiah 5:20
Washington, Oregon, New York, and California, allow for the killing of newborn infants. Calling it late term abortion, it is in reality, the murder of newly born children. That the United States has lowered the moral and spiritual level to allow the holocaust of our own children, is beyond belief.
I see absolutely no difference between the Nazi slaughter of innocent men, women, and children, and the taking of a child’s life through abortion. Aborting children in the early stages of development was heinous. The fact that millions were being aborted simply for the convenience of the mother was even worse. And now, we’re being told that it is not only acceptable, but a celebrated choice to end a child’s life at full term. This is pure, unadulterated evil.
As a young man growing up in a German Lutheran Church in Spokane, WA. I prayed God would have granted me the courage to speak up and denounce the slaughter of innocents at the hands of the Nazis had I been alive during World War II. How can anyone who says he loves God, ignore the plight of millions of children who are murdered each year? Are we to remain silent, as did so many Germans under the Nazis, or are we to be bold in our refusal to remain silent concerning this new holocaust?
There is absolutely no difference between allowing a newly born child to die alone on a hospital table, and the holocaust done by the Nazis. Abortion and infanticide have no place in a nation that places so much emphasis on the importance of human rights, gay rights, women’s rights, and the rights of immigrants. We must wake up to the evil that has taken our country, and we must speak out against this evil.
With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
https://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com/2019/02/abbott-tryphon-we-must-recognize.html
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St. Paisios of Holy Mount Athos: "Abortions are a terrible sin"
-Elder, one forty year-old woman, who has grown children, is three months pregnant. Her husband threatened that, if she does not have an abortion, he would leave her.
If she has an abortion, her other children would pay with sicknesses and accidents. Today, parents kill their children with abortions and do not have the blessing from God. In olden times, if a small child was born sick, they would baptize him, and he would die like an angel, and was more secured.
Parents had other older children, but they also had the blessing of God. Today, they kill their older children through abortions, as they strive to keep them alive while they are sick. Parents run to England, to America to heal them. And they continue to bear children even more sick, because they, if they sought to make a family, they could again give birth to sick children, at which point, what would happen? If they bore a few children, they would not run so much for the one who is sick. He would die and go forth as a little angel.
-Elder, I read once that every year, in total there are 50 million abortions and 200,000 women die from complications.
They kill the children because they say that, if the population would increase, there would not be enough to eat, in order for humanity to be preserved. There are so many uncultivated areas, so many woods, so that, with today's tools, for example, they could plant olive groves to give to the poor. It's not that they would cut the trees and there would be no Oxygen, because there would be trees to replace them.
In America, the wheat burns, and here in Greece, the fruit falls into the rubbish heap, etc. while in Africa, the people are dying from hunger. When people were dying from hunger in Abyssinia, because they had a great drought, I told a well-known ship-owner friend to help in these circumstances, to go to the rubbish dump and to load up a boat to take [the surplus foodstuffs] there for free. They didn't allow him to do this under any circumstance.
-How many thousands of embryos are killed every day!
Abortion is a terrible sin. It is murder, and of course a very great murder, to kill unbaptized children. Parents must understand that life begins from the instant of conception.
One night, God allowed me to see a terrible vision, to inform me regarding this matter! It was the evening of the Tuesday of Bright Week 1984. I had lit two candles in two tin cans, as I always do even while asleep, for all those who suffer spiritually or bodily. To those I include the living and the reposed. At midnight, as I was saying the [Jesus] Prayer, I saw a great field surrounded by a fence, studded by wheat that had just begun to grow. I stood outside the field, and I lit candles for the reposed and placed them on the wall of the fence.
To the left there was a dry place, full of rocks and cliffs, which was shaking continuously from a very strong cry from thousands of voices that break your heart and make you shudder. And even the toughest man, if he would hear it, would be unable to remain unmoved. As I was experiencing these heartbreaking cries, I asked within where these voiced were coming from, and what was happening with all that I saw, and I heard a voice tell me: “The field studded with wheat that has just sprouted, is the Cemetery with the souls of the dead that would be raised. At the place which was shaking from the heartbreaking cries are found the souls of children who were killed through abortions!”
Following this vision, I was unable to rest from the great pain that I experienced for the souls of the children. I could neither lie down to rest, though I had been busy that whole day.
-Elder, can something be done to remove the law regarding abortions?
Yes, but the Nation, the Church, etc. must be moved to inform the people about the consequences of declining birth rates. The Priest should explain to the world that the law regarding abortions is against the commandments of the Gospel. Doctors, from their own positions, should speak of the risks that follow the woman who has an abortion. See, the Europeans had royalty, and left this as an inheritance for their children. We had the fear of God, but we lost it and did not leave an inheritance for the next generation, and for this we legalize abortions, political marriage, [etc.]...When a man disobeys one commandment of the Gospel, he alone is responsible. When, however, something that clashes with the commandments of the Gospel becomes the law of the land, then the wrath of God falls upon the whole nation, that it may be chastened.
https://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com/2013/01/elder-paisios-abortions-are-terrible-sin.html
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The Wondrous Appearance of Saint Stephen the Protomartyr on Mount Athos
Saint Stephen, the first martyr and archdeacon, is celebrated on December 27th and is especially honored on Mount Athos at the Sacred Monastery of Konstamonitou, whose katholikon is dedicated to the Saint.
He is also celebrated in Karyes by the representatives of Dionysiou Monastery, where there is a beautifully renovated chapel dedicated to Saint Stephen.
The academic, professor emeritus of the Theological School of Athens, Mr. Antonios Tachiaos, once spoke of the appearance of Saint Stephen to a Russian deacon, when he was called to liturgize in the chapel. This incident took place in the 20th century and was told to the Professor by monks from Mount Athos, during his first visit to the Holy Mountain in the 1950's.
The Professor narrates:
We arrived at the capital of the Holy Mountain, Karyes and, as we had to, we headed to the Holy Community. Here we had recommendations for the representative of the Dionysiou Monastery, Fr. Gregory, who took care of our accommodations and took us into the residence to host us. In the picturesque residence we worshiped in the solemn church of the holy Protomartyr Stephen. Here we heard about some miracle of the Saint. One year, on the feast of Saint Stephen, because they did not have a deacon, Fr. Gregory asked the representative of the Russian Monastery in Karyes, Fr. Nikostratos, who was an elderly, modest deacon, to come for the Liturgy.
Indeed, the good Fr. Nikostratos came on time, but as soon as he entered the church, where the fathers were gathered, he looked towards the sanctuary and said to them: "Why did you call me, since you have a deacon, who has already worn the sticharion?"
They all looked at him with surprise and asked him: "Where do you see the deacon, Fr. Nikostratos?"
Fr. Nikostratos was speechless for a while and then, with tears in his eyes, he told them: "That was him, I saw him fully alive, bright with his vestments and the censer in his hand," and he showed them the icon of the Protomartyr Stephen. The fathers marveled at the miracle, glorified the Lord and with great enthusiasm began the Divine Liturgy.
Source: From Antonios Tachiaos, "Saints, Citizens of Paradise", periodical Panchalkidikos Logos, issue 29, October-December 2016, p. 33).
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The Death-Bed Wager Between Saint Basil the Great and a Jewish Physician
A Jew named Joseph lived in Caesarea. He was such an experienced doctor that he knew for three or five days by the veins that someone was going to die, and told the patient the hour of their death. And our God-bearing father Basil, foreseeing by the Spirit that Joseph would turn to Christ, loved him very much. He often invited him to his place to talk, and advised him to leave the Jewish law and receive holy baptism. But Joseph refused, saying: "In what faith I was born, in that I will also die." And the Saint said to him: "Believe me, neither I nor you will die, until you are born of water and the Spirit. Because without this grace it is impossible to enter the kingdom of God. Were not your fathers also baptized in the cloud and the sea, and it is written drank from the rock that was the prototype of the spiritual rock, Christ (1 Cor. 10:2-4), who was born of the Virgin for our salvation, whom your fathers crucified, and who, being buried, rose again on the third day and, ascending into heaven, sat down at the right hand of the Father, whence shall He come to judge the living and the dead?" And many other useful words were spoken to him by the Saint, but the Jew remained in his unbelief.
And when the time of Basil's departure to God approached, the Saint fell ill and called the Jew, ostensibly to ask him for medical help, and said to him: "What do you think of me, Joseph?" And he, after feeling the Saint's veins, said to the family: "Prepare everything necessary for the burial, because he will die immediately." Basil said to him: "Hey, you don't know what you're talking about." And the Jew answered: "Trust me, Bishop, the sun will not set today before you will die." Basil said to him: "And if I stay alive until tomorrow at noon, what will you do then?" Joseph answered: "I will die." The Saint said: "Yes, you will die to sin, in order to live to God." The Jew answered him: "I know what you are saying, bishop. But here, I swear to you, if you live until tomorrow, then I will fulfill your will."
And the divine father Basil prayed to God to prolong his life until tomorrow for the sake of the Jew's salvation. And the next morning they went to call the Jew. And Joseph did not believe the servant, who called him, that Basil was alive, but went to see the dead man himself. And when he saw him alive, he was astounded. And he fell at the Saint's feet, and said with a sincere heart: "The Christian God is great, and there is no other God but Him. Therefore, I renounce God-hating Judaism, and approach the true Christian faith. Order therefore, holy father, that they immediately give me holy baptism, and my whole household." Saint Basil said to him: "I will baptize you myself with my own hands." And the Jew approached, felt the Saint's right hand, and said: "Your strength has dried up, Bishop, and your nature has completely weakened, so you cannot baptize me." Basil answered: "We have a Creator who strengthens us."
And he got up, went to the church, and baptized the Jew and his whole household in front of everyone. And they named him John. And Saint Basil himself served the divine liturgy on that day, and gave him communion with the Holy Mysteries, and taught him as much as he needed about eternal life, and he also spoke an instructive word to his flock. And he lived until three o'clock in the afternoon. Then he gave everyone a final kiss and farewell; he gave thanks to God for all the unspeakable mercy He had shown him. And while gratitude was still in his lips, he committed his soul into the hands of God. And the archbishop joined the archbishops, and the preachers - the great thunderers of words, on the first day of the month of January in the year 379.
Saint Basil the Great shepherded the Church of God for eight years, six months and sixteen days. He lived on earth for forty-nine years.
When the newly baptized Jew saw the Saint where he stood, he fell on his face and with tears said: "Servant of God Basil, you would not have died even now if you had not wanted to." And many other archbishops gathered and sang funeral psalms. And in the church of the holy martyr Eupsichios, they buried the holy relics of the great comforter of God Basil, praising the One God in Trinity, to whom be glory forever, Amen.
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Quotes of Saint Gabriela of Leros Island, Greece, Missionary in England, Africa, India, Holy Land etc. (+1992)
Two things are very important… “Love one another,” and “Fear not, only believe.”
We become a reflection of Heaven by saying: ‘Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven’.
If you have love for all the world, the whole world is beautiful.
If you do not get rid of “No” and “Tomorrow” from your life, you will never get to where the Lord wants you, Who grants you everything. He will give you the bodily strength when you answer “Yes” and “Now”. The prophets, the angels and the saints all said, “Behold here I am… Let it be according to Your word.”
Truth and light are synonymous.When you follow the truth you are in the light, you are with Christ.
True prayer always reaches heaven. The angels carry it to the right place and the answer comes. Its basis is Truth, and “Not My will, but that of the Father Who sent me.”
Say prayer-ropes also just with “Thank you”.
The angels always come. You should have continual conversation with your guardian angel. About everything. Especially in difficulties and when you cannot get across to someone. He always helps.
When it is in God’s programme for you to go somewhere, you will go. That is why I am generally quiet in life. I have observed that even if a person does not want to, God moves him.
Never expect anybody to understand you. Only God.
When one is alone with God, the time passes unimaginably quickly. More quickly than when you have companionship… And yet even within the world one can remain united with God. How? When whatever he is doing he directs his thoughts to Him… when whatever good comes his way he gives Him glory… and whatever testing he meets, he gives Him thanks.
Love means to respect the freedom of the other.
You must not talk about persons who are absent.
Love is always on the cross. Because Christ is on the cross.
If coal is not “beaten”, can it become diamond?
The Lord allows those who love Him to be tested, first, so that their faith in Him may grow stronger, and second, to set an example for those around.
Some people want to go to the Resurrection without passing by way of Gologatha.
The sermon on the mount and the epistle of Saint James. Every day! What a pity that we do not hear them more often…
My wishes: may the grace of our Christ, the love of the omnipotent Father and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit be with you! May your example be the life of the Mother of God, who will lead you at every step with her archangels and angels as your heavenly mother; that you love your mother who brought you into life and brought you up, and may you give love and joy first to her, and then to all who come near you.
https://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com/2023/10/mother-gabriela-ascetic-of-love-is.html
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Elder Symeon Kragiopoulos on the Nativity of the Theotokos: "The heavier the burdens we’ve got to lift in this world, the greater God’s blessing will be..."
The heavier the burdens we’ve got to lift in this world, the greater God’s blessing will be, as was the case of saint Anna who, though infertile, brought the Virgin Mary into the world.
Something similar will happen to each one of us, if we don’t despair and if we take this difficult and unbearable burden as special grace from God. Indeed, that’s the way things are. So great will the blessing from God be that man will remain in wonder.
To get to this point, man shouldn’t grumble. On the contrary, let us allow this unbearable cross, this unbearable shame we have to carry be the reason we refuse to grumble. Let it be the reason why we learn to feel gratitude to God. Let it be the reason we cry out to God with all our might, the reason we entrust ourselves to God and indeed expect for His blessing, His grace, His love to come.
Archimandrite Symeon Kragiopoulos (†)
From the book: Archimandrite Symeon Kragiopoulos, “SPIRITUAL MESSAGES” Panorama Thessaloniki, 2017
https://www.orthodoxpath.org/saints-and-elders-counsels/the-nativity-of-theotokos/
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St. Peter of Damascus: . . . if someone wants to be saved, no person and no time, place or occupation can prevent him. He must not, however . . .
Icon of St. Peter of DamascusBriefly, we may say that in the nature of things, if someone wants to be saved, no person and no time, place or occupation can prevent him. He must not, however, act contrary to the objective that he has in view, but must with discrimination refer every thought to the divine purpose. Things do not happen out of necessity: they depend upon the person through whom they happen. We do not sin against our will, but we first assent to an evil thought and so fall into captivity. Then the thought itself carries the captive forcibly and against his wishes into sin.
The same is true of sins that occur through ignorance: they arise from sins consciously committed. For unless a man is drunk with either wine or desire, he is not unaware of what he is doing; but such drunkenness obscures the intellect and so it falls, and dies as a result. Yet that death has not come about inexplicably: it has been unwittingly induced by the drunkenness to which we consciously assented. We will find many instances, especially in our thoughts, where we fall from what is within our control to what is outside it, and from what we are consciously aware of to what is unwitting. But because the first appears unimportant and attractive, we slip unintentionally and unawares into the second. Yet if from the start we had wanted to keep the commandments and to remain as we were when baptized, we would not have fallen into so many sins or have needed the trials and tribulations of repentance.
+ St. Peter of Damascus, Book I: A Treasury of Divine Knowledge, The Philokalia: The Complete Text (Vol. 3)
https://orthodoxchurchquotes.wordpress.com/2015/11/11/st-peter-of-damascus-if-someone-wants-to-be-saved-no-person-and-no-time-place-or-occupation-can-prevent-him-he-must-not-however/
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Homily on Theophany by St. Luke of Simferopol
The Gospel reading of Theophany provides a word of Christ of great importance. And on this I wish now to turn your attention for a bit.
This great event of the Theophany of the Lord was preceded by the preaching on the banks of the Jordan River by John, the Forerunner of the Lord, the greatest among those born of women. His fiery preaching of repentance, for which he prepared beforehand for twenty years in the desert of Judea, attracted to him a great multitude of people. The fiery word of his preaching set ablaze the hearts of men, whom he baptized in the waters of the Jordan to purify their sins.
But on that great day, to his great astonishment, among the others who were coming to be baptized was Him Who he had never seen, but was Him Whom he revealed would come to baptize him with the Holy Spirit. And having fallen at His feet, he told Him with reverence: "I have need to be baptized by You, and You come to me?" (Matthew 3:14)
We, hope are truly baptized by the Holy Spirit and fire, could not understand why the sinless Son of God went to His servant John and asked to be baptized by him with the baptism of repentance, in order for Him to be loosened from sins that He did not possess, if Christ had not responded to the question of the Forerunner in this way: "Let it be so, for thus we will fulfill all righteousness." (Matthew 3:15)
O, our Lord! We venerate You and Your Forerunner, and we thank You from the depths of our hearts for teaching us to respect and honor "all righteousness", and to hate any type of injustice, for this comes from the devil. Every righteousness, even the most insignificant righteous act, is blessed by God. You received baptism from John in the Jordan River for the remission of sins, because You wished to fulfill whatever was seen beforehand in the plan of God. The descent into the waters of the Jordan served as a seal of repentance for those who were coming to be baptized. For repentance from one's whole heart in those who received the baptism of John, received from God remission of their sins...
Therefore, the baptism of John was righteous. Our Savior was not speaking only about this righteousness to John, however, in order to silence him and to answer his question, but He was speaking about every righteousness, in other words, regarding the plan of God. With His Divine Word, He sanctified and blessed every truth and simultaneously condemned every injustice.
Think, my beloved, people of the spirit as myself, communicants of the little flock of Christ, how much injustice exists in the word! What a great sin is war, when the faithful, and especially Christian people kill each other! If the murder even of one person is punished by death in many peoples, then, how much will our Lord punish those who have led the murder of tens of millions of people?! Any sin is injustice, and war is the greatest injustice, which we all must despise...
The Baptism of our Lord has for us an exalted meaning as well, for we have the revelation of the Holy Trinity. At the instant when the Lord stood up from the water, from Heaven was heard the voice of God the Father, Which bore witness to the Son, saying: "This is my beloved Son, in Whom I am well-pleased." (Matthew 3:17) And the Holy Spirit "in the form of a dove", descended from Heaven upon the head of the Pre-eternal Son of God. This Theophany has great importance, as it is also called besides the Baptism of the Lord. He Himself, the tri-hypostatic God, revealed the divinity of His Second Person, of the incarnate Word of God. God--Father and Holy Spirit as well--were revealed as well to mankind together with the Savior of the race of men...
O, Son of God! O, our Savior, Lord Jesus Christ! To Your works of love, to Your countless wonders, please do another wonder: draw close with Your right hand to my stony heart and turn it to a "heart of flesh". Amen.
-From the Words and Homilies of St. Luke of Simferopol, Vol. II., Published by Orthodox Kypseli
https://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com/2021/01/homily-on-theophany-by-st-luke-of.html
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