Orthodox Tidings

Moving on

2008-03-21T15:44:00.001-05:00

This blog is moving to:

http://horologion.wordpress.com

The contents will be expanded, but remain pretty much the same, but hopefully more regular and more interesting.

Hope to see you there.

Eric John

Christian Service in War

2007-02-15T16:21:00.000-06:00

Blessed Metropolitan Philaret of New York (+1986)

Christian Service in War
by Metropolitan Philaret (Voznesensky) of New York
Translated by Hieromonk Varlaam Novakshonoff

Avoid war, but when it must be fought it can be the sacrifice of laying down one's life for the friend.

Naturally, this Christian patriotism we have spoken of requires from each of us as great a service as possible to the nation. The value of such service is even more significant if it is rendered unselfishly - free of any material calculations and considerations. A person serves the country in one way or another when he participates in its life by, for example, expressing himself in the press or in civil elections, etc. In this, one must strive to bring benefit to the whole country, the whole people, and not to one's own personal or party interests - then one's conscience will be at peace. It may be that one will not attain great external success, but let him, nevertheless fulfil the duty of a patriot and a faithful child of the nation in an honorable and Christian manner.

There is a saying, "In misfortune, a friend is known." Love for the nation is most clearly manifested in times of national trials and troubles. We all know how it feels when someone close to us is ill. We do not want diversions or satisfactions. In our sorrow and concern, we sometimes cannot even eat or drink or sleep. One who truly loves one's nation will manifest similar feelings during times of national troubles. If our heart is filled with nothing but our own personal experiences and interests, if we moan and sigh while our deeds remain far from our words, then our love for the nation is poor indeed.

One of the clearest and most self-denying struggles of service to one's homeland is to die for the nation. A Christian soldier is a defender of the homeland, and clearly fulfils Christ's precept, "there is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's brethren."

War in itself is absolutely evil, an extremely sad phenomenon and deeply contrary to the very essence of Christianity. Words cannot express how joyous it would be if people ceased to war with one another and peace reigned on earth. Sad reality speaks quite otherwise, however. Only some dreamers far removed from reality and some narrowly one-sided sectarians can pretend that war can be omitted from real life.

It is quite correct to point out that war is a violation of the commandment, "Do not kill." No one will argue against that. Still, we see from the Holy Scripture that in that very same Old Testament time when this commandment was given, the Israelite people fought on command from God, and defeated their enemies with God's help. Consequently, the meaning of the commandment, "Do not kill," does not refer unconditionally to every act of removing a person's life. This commandment forbids killing for revenge, in anger, by personal decision or act of will. When our Savior explained the deep meaning of this commandment, He pointed out that it forbids not only actual killing, but also an un-Christian, vain anger.

Nevertheless, in a conversation with the apostles about the last days, the Lord told them, "You will hear of wars and reports of wars. See that you are not distressed: for all this must be." With these words, the Lord refutes all statements that war is avoidable.

True, we have already examined the fact that war is a negative phenomenon. Yet, it will exist, sometimes as the sole defense of truth and human rights, or against seizure, brutal invasion and violence. Only such wars of defense are recognized in Christian teaching. In fact, we hear of the following event in the life of St. Athanasios of the Holy Mountain.

Prince Tornikian of Georgia, an eminent commander of the Byzantine armies, was received into monasticism at St Athanasios' monastery. During the time of the Persian invasion, Empress Zoe recalled Tornikian to command the armies. Tornikian flatly refused on the grounds that he was a monk. But St. Athanasios said to him, "We are all children of our homeland and we are obligated to defend it. Our obligation is to guard the homeland from enemies by prayers. Nevertheless, if God deems it expedient to use both our hands and our heart for the common weal, we must submit completely ... If you do not obey the ruler, you will have to answer for the blood of your compatriots whom you did not wish to save." Tornikian submitted, defeated the enemy and rescued the homeland from danger.

In a conversation with Mohammedans, about war, St. Cyril the Enlightener of the Slavs said, "We meekly endure personal offenses; but as a society, we defend each other, laying down our lives for our neighbors..."

One can, of course, sin and sin greatly while participating in war. This happens when one participates in war with a feeling of personal hatred, vengeance, or vainglory and with proud personal aims. On the contrary, the less the soldier thinks about himself, and the more he is ready to lay down his life for others, the closer he approaches to the martyr's crown.

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Reprinted from the booklet published by the Committee on Education of "The North American Traditional Orthodox Mission" and "The Department of Education of The Canadian Orthodox Church"
Missionary Leaflet # E37b
Copyright © 2001 Holy Trinity Orthodox Mission
466 Foothill Blvd, Box 397, La Canada, Ca

Interesting Icon

2007-01-12T00:41:00.000-06:00

A Pronouncement from the Holy Mountain of Athos

2007-01-10T18:49:00.000-06:00

Karyae, 30 December 2006.

The recent visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the Ecumenical Patriarchate on the occasion of the feast-day of Saint Andrew (30th November 2006) and thereafter the visit by His Beatitude the Archbishop of Athens Christodoulos (14th December 2006) gave rise to a multitude of impressions, evaluations and reactions. We shall bypass those things that the secular Press had evaluated as positive or negative, to focus on those things that pertain to our salvation, for the sake of which we abandoned the world to live in the barrenness of the Holy Mountain.

As Monks of the Holy Mountain, we respect the Ecumenical Patriarchate, under whose jurisdiction we fall. We honour and venerate the Most Holy Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and we rejoice in all that he has achieved and so diligently laboured for, in his love of God, for the Church. We particularly commemorate the stolid and untiring defence of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, amid the many unfavourable conditions that exist, as well as the impoverished local Orthodox Churches and the care that is taken to project the message of the Orthodox Church throughout the world. Furthermore, we the Monks of the Holy Mountain honour the Most Holy Church of Greece, from which most of us originate, and we respect His Beatitude the Primate.

However, the events that took place during the recent visits of the Pope to Fanarion and of His Beatitude the Archbishop to the Vatican brought immense sorrow to our hearts.

We desire and we struggle all of our life to safeguard the trust of the Holy Fathers, which was bequeathed to us by the holy Founders of our sacred Monasteries and the blessed reposed fathers before us. We strive to the best of our ability to live the sacrament of the Church and the unblemished Orthodox Faith, according to that which we are daily taught by the Divine Services, the sacred readings, and the teachings in general of the Holy Fathers which are set out in their writings and in the decisions of the Ecumenical Councils. We guard our dogmatic awareness “like the pupil of our eye”, and we reinforce it, by applying ourselves to God-pleasing labours and the meticulous study of the achievements of the holy Confessor Fathers when they confronted the miscellaneous heresies, and especially of our father among the saints, Gregory of Palamas, the Holy Martyrs of the Holy Mountain and the Holy Martyr Kosmas the First, whose sacred relics we venerate with every honour and whose sacred memory we incessantly celebrate. We are afraid to remain silent, whenever issues arise that pertain to the trust that our Fathers left us. Our responsibility, towards the most venerable fathers and brothers of the overall brotherhood of the Holy Mountain and towards the pious faithful of the Church who regard Athonite Monasticism as their non-negotiable guardian of sacred Tradition, weighs heavily upon our conscience,

The visits of the Pope at the Fanarion and the Archbishop’s visit at the Vatican may have secured certain benefits of a secular nature, however, during those visits, various other events took place which were not according to the customs of Orthodox Ecclesiology, or commitments were made that would neither benefit the Orthodox Church, nor any other heterodox Christians.

First of all, the Pope was received as though he were a canonical (proper) bishop of Rome. During the service, the Pope wore an omophoron; he was addressed by the Ecumenical Patriarch with the greeting “blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord” as though it were Christ the Lord; he blessed the congregation and he was commemorated as “most holy” and “His Beatitude the Bishop of Rome”. Furthermore, all of the Pope’s officiating clergy wore an omophoron during the Orthodox Divine Liturgy; also, the reciting of the Lord’s Prayer, his liturgical embrace with the Patriarch, were displays of something more than common prayer. And all of this, when the papist institution has not budged at all from its heretical teachings and its policy: On the contrary, the Pope is in fact visibly promoting and trying to reinforce the Unia along with the papist dogmas on primacy and infallibility, and is going even further, with inter-faith common prayers and the pan-religious hegemony of the Pope of Rome that is discerned therein.

As for the reception of the Pope in Fanarion, we are especially grieved by the fact that all of the Media kept repeating the same, incorrect information, that the psalms that were (unduly) sung at the time had been composed by Monks of the Holy Mountain. We take this opportunity to responsibly inform all pious Christians that their composer was not, and could never be, a monk of the Holy Mountain.

Then there is the matter of the attempt by His Beatitude the Archbishop of Athens to commence relations with the Vatican on social, cultural and bio-ethical issues, as well as the objective to mutually defend the Christian roots of Europe (positions which are also found in the Common Declaration of the Pope and the Patriarch in the Fanarion), both of which may seem innocuous or even positive, given that their aim is to cultivate peaceful human relations. Nevertheless, it is important that all these do not give the impression that the West and Orthodoxy continue to have the same bases, or lead one into forgetting the distance that separates the Orthodox Tradition from that which is usually presented as the “European spirit”. (Western) Europe is burdened with a series of anti-Christian institutions and acts, such as the Crusades, the “Holy” Inquisition, slave trading and colonization. It is burdened with the tragic division which took on the form of the schism of Protestantism; the devastating world wars, and the man-centered humanism and its atheist view.

All of these are the consequence of Rome’s theological deviations from Orthodoxy. One after the other, the Papist and the Protestant heresies gradually removed the humble Christ of Orthodoxy and in His place, they enthroned haughty Man. The holy bishop Nicholas of Ochrid and Zitsa wrote the following from Dachau: "What, then, is Europe? The Pope and Luther.... This is what Europe is, at its core, ontologically and historically". The blessed Elder Justin Popovitch supplements the above: "The 2nd Vatican Synod comprises the rebirth of every kind of European humanism.... because the Synod persistently adhered to the dogma on the Pope’s infallibility" and he surmises: "Undoubtedly, the authorities and the powers of (western) European culture and civilization are Christ-expellers".

This is why it is so important to project the humble morality of Orthodoxy and to support the truly Christian roots of the united Europe; the roots that Europe had during the first Christian centuries, during the time of the catacombs and of the seven holy Ecumenical Councils. It is advisable for Orthodoxy to not tax itself with foreign sins, and furthermore, the impression should not be given to those who became de-Christianised in reaction to the sidetracking of Western-style Christianity, that Orthodoxy is related to it, thus ceasing to testify that it is the only authentic Faith in Christ, and the only hope of the peoples of Europe.

[We note] The Roman Catholics’ inability to disentangle themselves from the decisions of their pursuant (and according to them, Ecumenical) Synods, which had legitimised the Filioque, the Primacy, the Infallibility, the secular authority of the Roman Pontiff, ‘created Grace’, the immaculate conception of the Holy Mother, the Unia.

Despite all these, we Orthodox continue the so-called traditional exchanges of visits, bestowing honours befitting an Orthodox Bishop on the Pope and totally disregarding a series of Sacred Canons which forbid common prayers, while the theological dialogue repeatedly flounders, and, after being dredged from the depths, it again sinks down.

All indications lead to the conclusion that the Vatican is not orienting itself to discard its heretical teachings, but only to “re-interpret” them – in other words, to veil them.

Roman Catholic ecclesiology varies, from one circular to the other; from the so-called “open” ecclesiology of the Encyclical "Ut Unum Sint", to the ecclesiological exclusivity of the Encyclical "Dominus Jesus". It should be noted that both of the aforementioned views are contrary to Orthodox Ecclesiology. The self-awareness of the holy Orthodox Church as the only One, Holy, Catholic (overall) and Apostolic Church does not allow for the recognition of other, heterodox churches and confessions as “sister churches”. “Sister Churches” are only the local Orthodox Churches of the same faith. No homonymous reference to “sister churches” other than the Orthodox one is theologically permissible.

The “Filioque” is promoted by the Roman catholic side as yet another legal expression of the teaching regarding the procession of the Holy Spirit, and theologically equivalent to the Orthodox teaching that procession is “only from the Father” – a view that is unfortunately supported by some of our own theologians.

Besides, the Pontiff is maintaining the Primacy as an inalienable privilege, as one can tell from the recent erasure of the title “Patriarch of the West” by the current Pope Benedict XVI; also from his reference to the worldwide mission of the Apostle Peter and his successors during his homily in the Patriarchal Temple, as well as from his also recent speech, which included the following: "...within the society, with the Successors of the Apostles, whose visible unity is guaranteed by the Successor of the Apostle Peter, the Ukrainian Catholic Community managed to preserve the Sacred Tradition alive, in its integrity" (Catholic Newspaper, No.3046/18-4-2006).

The Unia is being reinforced and reassured in many and various ways, despite the proclamations by the Pope to the contrary. This dishonest stance is witnessed, apart from other instances, by the provocative intervention of the previous Pope, John-Paul II, which led the Orthodox-Roman catholic dialogue in Baltimore into a disaster, as well as by the letter sent by the current Pope to the Cardinal Ljubomir Husar, the Uniate Archbishop of Ukraine. In this letter dated 22/2/2006, the following is emphatically stressed: "It is imperative to secure the presence of the two great carriers of the only Tradition (the Latin and the Eastern).... The mission that the Greek Catholic Church has undertaken, being in full communion with the Successor of the Apostle Peter, is two-fold: on one side, it must visibly preserve the eastern Tradition inside the Catholic Church; on the other, it must favour the merging of the two traditions, testifying that they not only can coordinate between themselves, but that they also constitute a profound union amid their variety".

Seen in this light, polite exchanges such as the visits of the Pope to Fanarion and the Archbishop of Athens to the Vatican, without the prerequisite of a unity in the Faith, may on the one hand create false impressions of unity and thus turn away the heterodox who could have looked towards Orthodoxy as being the true Church, and on the other hand, blunt the dogmatic sensor of many Orthodox. Even more, they may push some of the faithful and pious Orthodox, who are deeply concerned over what is taking place inopportunely and against the Sacred Canons, to detach themselves from the corpus of The Church and create new schisms.

Thus, out of love for our Orthodoxy, but with pain as regards the unity of the Church, and with a view to preserve the Orthodox Faith free of all innovations, we proclaim in every direction that which was proclaimed by the Extraordinary, Double, Holy Assembly of our Sacred Community of the Holy Mountain on the 9th / 22nd of April 1980:

"We believe that our Holy Orthodox Church is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church of Christ, having the fullness of Grace and the Truth, and for this reason, an uninterrupted Apostolic Succession. On the contrary, the “churches” and the “confessions” of the West, having distorted the faith of the Gospel, the Apostles and the Fathers on many points, are deprived of the hallowing Grace, the true Sacraments and the Apostolic Succession...

Dialogues with the heterodox - if they are intended to inform them about the Orthodox Faith so that when they become receptive of Divine enlightenment and their eyes are opened they might return to the Orthodox Faith – are not condemned.

In no way should a theological dialogue be accompanied by common prayers, participation in liturgical assemblies and worship by either side and any other activities that might give the impression that our Orthodox Church acknowledges the Roman Catholics as a complete Church and the Pope as a canonical (proper) Bishop of Rome. Such acts mislead the Orthodox as well as the Roman Catholic faithful, who are given a false impression of what Orthodoxy thinks of them....

With the Grace of God, the Holy Mountain remains faithful - as do the Orthodox people of the Lord - to the Faith of the Holy Apostles and the Holy Fathers, and also out of love for the heterodox, who are essentially helped, when the Orthodox with their steadfast Orthodox stance, point out the extent of their spiritual ailment and the way they can be cured.

The failed attempts for union during the past teach us that for a permanent union, according to the will of God, within the Truth of The Church, the prerequisite is a different kind of preparation and course, than those which were followed in the past and appear to be followed to this day".

By all of the Representatives and Superiors of the common Assembly of the twenty Sacred Monasteries of the Holy Mountain Athos.

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Originally posted at the Ely Forum by Fr. Michael

Mohammedans take over former Christian church building--with Christian complicity

2006-12-08T00:18:00.000-06:00

Two PCUSA churches in Louisiana merged, according to the Layman, and sold one church property to a local Islamic Association, turning down two offers from Christian churches to purchase the property. Perhaps they didn't offer as much money. The church they sold was First Presbyterian Church (Bossier City, LA), and the steeple "was once topped by a cross."

According to the Layman, Rev. Beth Sentell, one of co-pastors of the merged congregation, "said two considerations influenced their decision to sell the church plant to the Islamic Society. First was the amount of money offered, second was the opportunity to engage in interfiath dialogue and friendship." She and her husband, Dr. Web Sentell, "plan to invite the Islamic congregation and its imam to a church supper where the imam will field questions. Dr. Sentell said, 'We worship the same God.'" Co-pastor J. Daniel Hignight was asked "if he would ever seek to lead a member of the Islamic Society to Jesus Christ." He replied, "I don't feel a particular need to convert them to Christianity."

Get the scoop.

He doesn't feel a particular need to convert them to Christianity. Hmm... Sounds like he's a perfect candidate for dhimmitude. He's already submitting himself to Muslim rule even before being threatened with death. And with most non-believers in a state of religious apathy, our list of allies against an Islamic global takeover is growing thin. Perhaps the Islamists won't have to resort to more violence after all. There seem to be enough people in the world who'd be more than happy joining hands with them and singing kumbaya.

Many thanks to Fr. Joseph at the Orthodixie Blog.

Thoughts on Orthodoxy's "Eastern ghetto"

2006-12-07T22:44:00.000-06:00

I think a lot of people in the Orthodox world, although they acknowledge the pre-schism Orthodoxy of the West, are content with importing specifically Eastern Christian things into modern Western Orthodoxy (meaning, in this case, Orthodoxy in the West) --Eastern Rites, the Philokalia, Byzantine chant. And, with these things, many Western converts become "Easternized." They gravitate more toward St. John Climacus rather than St. Benedict, for example. Not that this is wrong, it just seems strange to me.

I chant in a Byzantine style, I celebrate the feasts of Eastern Saints with Eastern liturgics, and yet I'm a product of Western culture, a descendant of Western Christians whose long-ago ancestors were Orthodox Christians who used Western Rites and Gregorian Chant, went on pilgrimages to Einsiedeln, Compostela, and Tours, blessed themselves with Holy Water, prayed in Latin, and fraternized with Benedictines. Their blood flows in my veins and their ideas still flow through Western culture, albeit obscured by godlessness as silt clouds a once pristine lake or river.

In sermons, I hear about the decrepitude of American/Western culture and how I should conform my life to the Church. That's all well and good because the Church is universal and its culture transcends all others. But at times it doesn't seem like my Church, while giving me, the individual, life and purity, is working very hard to heal my Western culture, to remove that which has polluted it, to cure its hurts and correct its thoughts. Sometimes it seems as if my Church would rather my Western culture be replaced entirely with something of a more singularly "Eastern" flavor.

The Orthodox Church, it seems today, wants to preserve itself as "Eastern," and so is not concerned with rediscovery of its Western past, traditions, and outlook. Sure, some books have been written about Western Orthodox Saints, and some jurisdictions have Western Rites blessed for use (albeit the users of these Rites are numerically miniscule and their practices are, wrongly, looked down upon by other Orthodox), but, as modern Orthodoxy has lived in the West for over a century, it only seems like Western converts are becoming more "Eastern" in their expression of Orthodoxy. Instead of a rediscovery of a lost Western heritage, converts mostly rush into the "Eastern" side of things, even to the point of viewing Orthodoxy as an Eastern religion, ignoring or being ignorant of Orthodoxy's Western heritage and Western incarnation. Some Orthodox even view the Western inheritance as something lost, mysterious, unknowable, or, worse, tainted by heretical trends like the Filioque or St. Augustine's theological mistakes.

This is a real shame. If the Orthodox Church in the West remains exclusively or predominately "Eastern" in its expression of Christian culture, I don't think it will outgrow its foreigness and exoticism enough to become for modern Westerners what it was for ancient Westerners--simply, the Church of Christ. True, real mission work is not about numbers, but it's also not just about the conversion of the individual. Classical Orthodox mission work has always focused on the society, the culture. Make the culture Orthodox, and it will support the people for generations. Westerners becoming Orthodox do not stop being Western culturally. Such a thing would be impossible. However, the current trend is that they are becoming Eastern in their spiritual and religious culture. Thus, what they have to offer by word and example to their non-Orthodox Western brethren, is a praxis which is foreign to Western culture because it did not develop in Western culture. Therefore, fellow Westerners will not necessarily recognize it as being something in which they can take part in a natural, familiar way. Orthodoxy does, however, have a particular Western praxis which developed in the Western cultural milieu. While it is Orthodox and Christian (and, thus, still strange to many Westerners), it is fundamentally familiar, and non-Orthodox Westerners will be able to view it as something which belongs to them.

There are a few things to keep in mind. 1). The Western Orthodox praxis is not a carbon copy of the Eastern Orthodox praxis. 2). It did not die in the East-West schism. 3). There's no manual on how to construct it. Just like with the Eastern praxis (unless someone is affecting it), it is intuitive and experiential and recognizable as piety. It's not about beards or rubrics or fasting rules--it's proper Church culture in Western form and you'll know it when you see it. How's that for an answer?

Maybe, eventually, we'll get to a point where an Eastern Rite priest can lead a Lenten retreat on St. Benedict's Holy Rule instead of St. John Climacus's Ladder of Divine Ascent without raising eyebrows. Perhaps statues of Our Lord, Our Lady, and the Saints will not be put in the same category with Hindoo idols. The shrine of St. Martin of Tours might one day recover its ancient status and receive more visitors than Disneyland. But none of this will happen unless the Orthodox of the West are willing to venerate the ancient Orthodox Saints, emulate them, learn from them, become like them in praxis of Orthodoxy. The culture and the religious and spiritual praxis of the individual should be of the same substance so as to avoid confusion and foster personal and cultural growth in the Faith. Individuals who have an inner cultural split of a kind such as this will be more likely to pass on such a split to their children and neighbors. And, if this cultural split is perpetuated amongst the Orthodox of the West, there is little hope of the Western culture becoming Orthodox again. The Western culture is sick because it has dispensed with it's appropriate spiritual and religious praxis. Grafting an Eastern spiritual and religious praxis on to the sickened Western culture runs the same risk of a mis-matched organ transplant--rejection.

Happy Feast of St. Ambrose of Milan

2006-12-07T00:47:00.000-06:00

Here's the entry from Orthodox Wiki.

And, fittingly, the entry from Vicipaedia Latina, the Latin Wiki.

And, since he is a great hymnographer of the Church, a summary of his hymns.

Orthodox Missionary Priest, 110 years old and still evangelizing

2006-12-05T21:59:00.000-06:00

Read more about Father Elias Wen and the 75th anniversary of his ordination to the Holy Priesthood here.

May God grant our good Father peace, health, salvation, and many more years. And, especially, to see the renewal of Orthodoxy in China, something which must be very dear to his heart, as he is Chinese and was a missionary in China for many years, serving under St. John Maximovitch in Shanghai and San Francisco.

New Blog Launched

2006-12-05T00:47:00.000-06:00

Check out my new blog, Real People: Indigenous Nations and Christian Missionaries.

The place of Fr. Seraphim Rose in the Orthodox Church

2006-11-29T00:13:00.000-06:00

Blessed Father Seraphim Rose, Monk (+2 September 1981)

Those who Thy glory shall attain,
How wondrously Thy grace doth train!
O God unseen, how very near
Art Thou, their vows and prayers to hear.

Far from the only home they love
They lift their hearts and hands above,
And greet their mansions in the sky,
With many a tear and longing sigh.

Since death to Thee must shew the way,
Their flesh with toils and fasts they slay,
And long for that dear hour to come
When death shall call their spirits home.

By torments swift, and sudden pain,
The Martyrs heavenly glory gain,
But these, to make their crown secure,
A daily, lingering death endure.

+ All laud to God the Father be;
All praise, Eternal Son, to Thee;
All glory, as is ever meet,
To God the Holy Paraclete. Amen.

--Tua beandos gloria, Vesperal hymn for the Common of Abbots, Hermits, and Monks, from the Breviary. The English translation may be a bit contrived in order to fit into rhyme, but the point is understood.

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The Orthodox world, being what it is, has conflicting opinions of Fr. Seraphim. Besides what may be the majority of Orthodox with views in the middle of the road, there are, of course, the extremists. On one hand, you have the malicious revilers, those who call him a gnostic or even, very bizaarely, a Nestorian. On the other hand, you have the eager beaver cleavers who hang onto every word he wrote and don't seem to get any farther than that. Obviously, Father Seraphim means many things to many people--perhaps too many things to too many people. For this reason, along with the imminent end of the world (which we've been expecting for 2,000 years, by the way--not to disparage those who believe the end is near, the world is certainly not rushing toward a blessed utopia), I think that Fr. Seraphim will not be glorified on earth before the meek inherit it.

If, however, Fr Seraphim is glorified, I wonder what the Eastern Rite service texts will look like. (The Western Rite texts will probably be the same as for a Confessor or Monk with perhaps a proper Collect.) I must say, though, that not all liturgical texts for saints really do justice to the saint, if that's a way to put it.

For example, the ROCOR akathist to St. John of Kronstadt reads more like an apologia for right-wing Russian politics than a witness to St. John's holiness, his love of the poor, his dedication to priestly service. I would love to see a translation of the Moscow Patriarchate version for comparison purposes. St. John Maximovitch's akathist, which, if I'm not mistaken, was written by Fr. Seraphim Rose, is also not very--I don't know--appealing, something I could read over and over again. (It's sort of fit into a mold, if you will.) This could be a problem with Byzantine Rite liturgics in the first place--there are just too many things one has to put into a service--unlike the Western Rite where one can't put in as much as one would like. Byzantine liturgics vary widely in their content and quality and Western liturgics vary only ever so slightly.

I could imagine Fr. Seraphim being venerated as some kind of visionary or teacher. Of course, one of his main attractions is that he is a white-bread American convert to Orthodoxy, like so many of us, and, indeed, I think a case could be made that he displayed what I would consider the most worthy attributes of American culture, together with the true Orthodox monastic spirit.

It's interesting that, as much as his own writings get promoted so often (like "Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future"), he was more of a translater than a writer--and a very skilled translator at that, being able to read a Russian text and record the English translation on a cassette tape. And, even as a writer, he was more of a relayer or redacter of patristic teaching, especially 18-19th century Russian patristic teaching which is NOT different essentially from ancient patristic teaching, it's just for a different age with different issues.

More than these things, however, I think of Fr. Seraphim as an example of repentance. Personal repentance is too often swept under the rug in the lives of and liturgical services for saints, in my opinion, which is too bad because we are living in an age in need of repentance (what age wasn't?). More investigation should, of course, be done into the circumstances and fruits of his repentance, if this is possible. However, I'm not sure how much real academic research can be done at this point, since Fr. Seraphim already has a kind of mythic aura around him. The historical record is obscured by the legend of Father Seraphim and also by the debacle between Fr. Herman and the Church Abroad after Fr. Seraphim died.

Thus, investigatory committees that look at eye-witness testimonies and writings will probably never be able to reveal his sanctity to everyone's satisfaction. That's why I think that, if Fr. Seraphim is to be venerated more widely and glorified, God will reveal his holiness in some way.

Even though Orthodoxy does not require miracles of its saints, miracles serve as a means of dispelling doubts, as well as increasing love for the saint. A miracle worked through a saint's prayers builds a very strong and special relationship between the saint and the person or persons for whom the saint worked the miracle.

I'm not sure, but right now at 1 a.m., I can only think of 2 American saints--St. Herman of Alaska and St. John of San Francisco, both Wonderworkers in their earthly lives--who have worked miracles after death. The others were glorified for their holy lives, their martyrdom, their selflessness and zeal for spreading the Word of God, which is, of course, good enough reason for venerating them.

So, even if Fr. Seraphim works no miracles, one cannot deny him his zeal, his selflessness, the sacrifices he made and the pains he endured for the sake of Christ. Not to mention what appears to be a victory over many, many temptations and sins. Perhaps this will come to light, or perhaps God is saving it for the real, heavenly life, I don't know. I do know, however, that Fr. Seraphim's books--those he wrote and those he translated, are making a big impact on Orthodox Christians throughout the world, especially in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. This is very good because his writings are Orthodox and traditional. Also, his veneration is spreading in America. Many have visited his grave and several different Orthodox clergymen have concelebrated at the anniveraries of his repose. I hope that knowledge of his work and sanctity will grow even more so that it will be possible for people to get to know and love Fr. Seraphim. In my view, he appeals to a lot of people for various reasons. It's just hard to see through the clouds of denunciation, hyper-enthusiasm, and the way Fr. Seraphim's life and works have been used to justify so many agendas of lesser folk. All those things hide his real qualities, in my opinion.

A Good Rumor

2006-11-26T21:23:00.000-06:00

In honor of a good rumor I heard recently, I'm posting this icon as a commemoration. As you may know, if you've been reading this blog from it's beginning, "Einsiedeln" or "Orthodox Tidings," as it was first called and still named on the Web address, is dedicated to my patron saint, St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco. I heard from a fellow parishioner yesterday that a friend of mine who makes candles for our church and several others, is building a chapel dedicated to St. John on her property. I've helped here work on another chapel in the past. When this is done, the count will be at four, not including the plans for a chapel to St. Nectarius, God-willing. I haven't called her yet to ask if this rumor was true, but, true or no, even the idea of building a church for St. John deserves a little commemoration.

Ethiopian Orthodox Liturgical Snippit

2006-11-26T20:58:00.000-06:00

This is a excerpt from a liturgy which was held in the Ethiopian Orthodox (Oriental) Monastery Church in Jerusalem. I'm not sure, off the top of my head, if the Ethiopians have only 1 site in the Holy City. I think they have at least two. I'm classifying their monastery on the "roof" of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre with the succession of chpaels and small rooms which appear to be in a narrow stairway. (I mean, the area is small, one room per level, with stairs in between and some beautiful iconography on the walls.) If any of you dear readers have had the blessing of going on pilgrimage to Jerusalem, you might remember the entrance to the Holy Sepulchre. To the right of that are the crosses people carry in processions on the Via Dolorosa and further to the right is a doorway leading into the Ethiopian church. I was able to visit it once (sometimes it's closed) and was greeted by a monk (can't recognize him as one of the clergy here, but I think I remember seeing him on TV), but it's an amazing place, as you can see. I have yet to make it to an Ethiopian liturgy, but it's high on my list.

Unfortunately, this video is too short. Being a liturgical maximalist, I would much prefer to see the four-hour long Sunday morning service, but until then this little bit will have to suffice.

What constitutes traditional Catholicism?

2006-11-24T02:07:00.000-06:00

Altar of St. Columba Antiochian Orthodox Church in Lafeyette, Colorado. A Western Rite parish.

I hope that ye few, but hopefully faithful, readers of this humble blog will take a moment to view the film of the Traditional Roman Catholic Latin Mass featured in the last post. It is a good liturgical specimen of a bygone era. It displays some things sorely lacking in modern church liturgies (Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox). These things are:

1. Reverence. Above all for God, then for the Altar and the Sacrament, and also for the priest and the work that he does, as well as reverence for the mass itself.

2. Divine splendor. This is seen in the vestments of the priest which are festal and shine even in a black and white film. Such is also shone in the ecclesiastical chant (read Gregorian in this case) and in the skillfulness and attention of the choir and the clergy in chanting and carrying out their duties, including processing, censing, etc. Also, this is reflected in the dress of the congregation and in their attentive and prayerful demeanor.

3. Piety. Love for God. Love for neighbor. Keeping the commandments of Christ. Liturgically, piety is shown in prayer and devotion, and in the orderliness and grace of the clerical and congregational actions and chanting.

These are three of the most important things which modern liturgical celebrations lack. And I don't think I would be wrong in saying that such reverence, divine splendor, and piety were perpetuated at church, in seminary, and at home through a culture concerned with these things. Now this culture has been destroyed. And, as the Psalmist says, "if the foundations are destroyed, what shall the righteous do?" It is a sad phenomenon that an understanding once held by all church-goers in common is now only held by a few individuals. And, as we also see with other issues, when a common understanding is lost or discarded, it is next to impossible to regain.

I once recently visited a Web site of a traditionalist Roman Catholic (possibly SSPX) Benedictine monastery. I saw pictures of their church inside and was a bit shocked by how un-Benedictine it was. It was down-right gaudy--replete with hideous angelic statuary and an excess of candles. I'm not sure what that community used for music, whether it was straight Gregorian chant or a mix with more operatic settings such as those in the mass film below. Anyway, I was left to question what this group thought most worth preserving in their tradition. Perhaps they had reverence, piety, and divine splendor in their worship, but do they know that all these things can be affected, to the point that they become fake? And after that, what are they left with but their gaudy decorations and Zippadee doo-da liturgical settings? Wouldn't it be better to have architecture, decoration, and musical forms which reflect piety, reverence, and divine splendor more than just what happens to be fashionable or look and sound "nice"?

Liturgical abuses of our modern era should be a warning to us all. We need to take more seriously what we put into our liturgical celebrations not only for what we hope to get out of them, but so that good liturgical celebrations--done in reverence, piety and divine splendor--may be there for our children and all those who will seek God in the future. If we do not take heed and do our part, no matter what our station, liturgy as it should be, as worship of God, will vanish from the earth, and we will be left with what passes for liturgy in many circles--an action for the worship of man. This is the prevailing trend. Let no one think that he or his church is safe. The enemy has already declared war and the first victims have been slain.

2006-11-18T22:15:00.000-06:00

Traditional Latin Roman Catholic Mass

It's a lengthy video, but, as it is a Paschal Mass and narrated by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, it's well worth watching and, since it has Gregorian Chant, it's worth listening to, too.

With special thanks to Gillibrand at Catholic Church Conservation, who had posted it earlier. Thanks!

Orthodox Divine Office Forum

2006-11-18T17:12:00.000-06:00

Click to join orthodoxdivineoffice

The Coolest Pontifical Pic Ever

2006-11-14T23:34:00.000-06:00

The Catholicoi (plural of Catholicos) of Malankara (Syrian) Orthodox Church of South India, founded by the Apostle Thomas. Catholicos Basileos Marthoma Didymus I sits at left on the throne and Catholicos-designate Paulos Mar Militheos is seated next to him.

from Ben's Western Orthodoxy blog. Thanks Ben!

Among the First Orthodox Christians Martyred by Roman Catholics

2006-10-14T20:42:00.000-05:00

Blessed King Harold II

Today we commemorate those martyred at Hastings in England, namely Blessed King Harold II and his army, who gave their lives in defence of not only their country, but their faith, that of Holy Orthodoxy.

Before the battle, as the two armies were lined up for the fight, William, Duke of Normandy, commanded that an edict from Pope Alexander II be read aloud for all to hear. This order excommunicated King Harold and all who would fight with him, thus severing them completely from the heretical Papist Church, but not from the Eastern Orthodox Churches, for the excommunication was unjust and founded on the Pope's claim to be supreme over all the Churches and all rulers of nations as well.

From 1054 up to this time, the schism of West from East was just beginning to solidify. Indeed, the drifting away of the Western Church from the Eastern had its roots in earlier centuries. It is important to note, however, that the departure of the Roman Church into heresy happened over many centuries. (And, in as much as the Roman Church continues to add even new heresies to old ones, this movement away from the Truth continues to this very day.) The beliefs, teachings, practices and principles of the Roman Church were indeed changing by 1066. Pope Alexander II's excommunication of innocent and pious Christians was evidence of this. At Hastings, the Papacy was now taking sides in worldly affairs, turning temporal matters into issues of eternal salvation. The Battle of Hastings, the Battle for England, was but a warm up for what was to come. For in this battle, the mind of the New Papacy was revealed and the Roman Church took a significant step of departure into heresy.

Pope Alexander had received much support from the Normans, and so, when William, Duke of Normandy, approached him with the matter of conquering England, the pope blessed him to go on what was, in essence, a Crusade to bring England and the English Church into subjection, regardless of the fact that the English Church and people had, for centuries, been pious Orthodox Christians, even receiving approval for their chief hierarchs from the Orthodox Roman Popes since the days of St. Augustine of Canterbury (late 6th, early 7th cent). The English Church and people, however, had yet to be made supporters and subjects of the New Papacy. Being far away from deveolpments in Rome, the Orthodox English were not aware that anything sinister was going on in Rome. Only when the order of excommunication was read before King Harold and his troops, did the Orthodox English finally realize that something had gone horribly wrong. The independence of both their Church and nation were forfeit. By the whim of a wordly pope, both were taken away from the English, and given to foreigners. What would follow the Norman Conquest would be nothing less than cultural and ecclesiastical destruction for England and the English Church and genocide for the English people who dared to resist the onslaught of invasion.

The mastermind of this and other ignoble deeds was the man who would become the successor to Alexander II, Cardinal Hildebrand, the future Pope Gregory VII, architect of the Papal Reformation. In the work of this Hildebrand, we see the culmination of previous Papal errors. Although the Papocaesarism of Pope Nicholas I, the contender against St. Photius of Constantinople, and the unprecedented action of Pope Leo IX in actually leading troops into battle were departures from Orthodox faith and praxis, the work of Gregory VII to subjugate the Western and, though unsuccessfully, the Eastern Churches and secular rulers to papal overlordship served as a sign to the world that the Roman Church had turned her back on Holy Tradition and sought after her own ends.

On this day in 1066 at Hastings, the God-loving King Harold, together with his loyal troops, commended themselves to God, for those whom they had honored as brethren and leaders in the Faith had foresaken them. Shouting the Orthodox English battle cry, which invoked the aid of the Holy Cross, King Harold and his faithful soldiers faced down their foes and would have had the victory in a closely matched battle had not the heretical invaders resorted to cunning through feigned retreats. Indeed, both the king and his army were weary from battle, having defeated a Norwegian invasion in the north of England and straightway come to Hastings to drive out yet more invaders.

But victory was not to be had a second time. The blessed King Harold was shot in the eye with an arrow. He plucked it out and continued to fight bravely. In the end, however, he was cut down by Norman knights and hacked to pieces. His body was desecrated, and many Norman Crusaders abused the remains of the fallen king, a thing to which not even pagans and Turks had been wont to do with the remains of their foes.

Plaque Marking Place Where King Harold Fell

The fallen English, those thousands of unsung heroes of Orthodoxy and England, were laid to rest, most likely on the battlefield itself, this being the custom in those days. The remains of King Harold were taken quietly and without fanfare to his family church in Bosham village by the sea. There they remain to this day, awaiting the recognition and honor of the True Church on earth, even as the souls of these martyrs must surely receive from God and His angels in Heaven.

Holy Trinity Church in Bosham, now Anglican

Let us, therefore, who love Orthodoxy, beseech the Lord to grant rest to His faithful servants who were slain by the enemies of piety. And let us ask of them, "O blessed martyrs, if ye have received grace from God, intercede for us sinners, that our souls may be saved and that we may be delivered from the assaults of our visible and invisible enemies. Amen."

Statue of King Harold from the Battle Abbey at Hastings

For more information about Blessed King Harold II and the Battle of Hastings, visit the following Web sites:

The Fall of Orthodox England
Entry from Orthodox Wiki
Entry from Wikipedia
King Harold's Battle Force
About Bosham and the Battle
BBC article about grave of King Harold II
Royal Mystery on Brink of Solution

St. Edward the Confessor, pray for us sinners!

2006-10-13T17:22:00.000-05:00

Statue of St. Edward the Confessor

Today is the feast of one of England's greatest Orthdoox Saints, and the second-to-the-last Orthodox King of England, St. Edward the Confessor (+1066). Specifically, it is the feast of the translation of his holy relics. The date of his holy repose, January 5, but since the early 12th century, his principle feast day has been the his translation. As January 5 is also the Vigil of Epiphany, celebrating the feast today allows for more to be done, liturgically, to honor the Saint.

These days, October 13-15 are, in a way, high holy days for Orthodox England. On October 14, the memory of Blessed King Harold II, the last Orthodox King of England and those with him at Hastings are commemorated (+1066), who died defending their Orthodox homeland and people and Church from a Papal Crusade which sought to bring the English Church and people into subjection. Then, on October 15, we commemorate the last Orthodox English Bishop, Blessed Ethelric of Durham (+1072), who died in a Norman Roman Catholic prison, a martyr for Holy Orthodoxy.

To learn more about the fall of Orthodox England, click here to read a short book or long article written by Vladimir Moss. While some of Mr. Moss's conclusions about this and other Orthodox topics tend to the extreme and the topic he writes on has yet to be thoroughly researched by trained academics, the article itself is at least a starting point for such research and a source of information for Orthodox Christians with inquiring minds.

The link above also has a lot of good information on the Life of St. Edward and his miracles which God worked through him even while he lived on this earth.

Westminster Abbey, built by St. Edward the Confessor
The original Abbey would not have had Gothic architecture. Most likely, it was kin to other Anglo-Saxon ecclesiastical structures, few of which survive today, with Romanesque influences which would have come from the Normanization of England, which was taking place even before the invasion of 1066. St. Edward, having been raised in Normandy amongst his Norman relatives, brought with him many Norman ideas and counsellors to England.

Collect for St. Edward the Confessor
O God, Who didst bestow upon thy Blessed King Edward the crown of everlasting glory : grant us, we pray Thee ; so to venerate him on earth, that we may be found worthy to reign with him in heaven. (+) Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our God, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.

Brief Life of St. Edward
Edward, surnamed the Confessor, was the nephew of the holy King Edward the Martyr, and himself the second-to-last Anglo-Saxon King. That he should succeed to the Kingdom was shewn by the Lord in a trance to a most holy man named Brithwald. When he was ten years old the Danes, who were ravaging England, sought him, to put him to death, and he was driven into exile to dwell with his mother's brother, Richard II, Duke of Normandy, at whose Court he lived among all the allurements of vice a life of such uprightness and innocency as made all men to marvel. He was a burning and shining light for love of God and the things of God, very gentle-hearted, and quite free from any lust for power. Of him the saying is preserved, That he would rather not be a King if he had to win a kingdom through slaughter and blood.

When the Danish tyrants, who had robbed his brothers Edmund and Alfred of life and kingdom, were passed away, Edward was called back into his own country and with the hearty good-will and rejoicing of all, took the kingdom. He set himself to repair the breaches which wars had made, and began with the things of God. Of the Churches of the Saints, he built some altogether, and renewed others and gifted them with incomes and privileges, being chiefly fain that religion should rise from the low estate whereinto it had fallen. He was brought by the nobles of his Court to marry, but it is constantly said by all writers that in matrimony he remained a virgin with a virgin bride. So great was his love toward Christ, and so strong his faith, that somewhiles when the Mass was in saying, he won to see Christ, with countenance full of grace, and glory of God's light. By reason of the abundance of his charity he was styled everywhere the father of orphans and of the poor, and he was never happier than when he had spent upon the needy the whole of his kingly treasure.

He was famous for the gift of prophecy, and foretold by inspiration from heaven many things that were to befall England. Of this gift the following is a remarkable instance. Sweyn, King of the Danes, was embarking on ship-board with the mind to invade England, when he fell into the sea and was drowned, and God made known his death to Edward at the very same moment that it happened. He had a wonderful love toward John the Evangelist, so that he was used never to refuse anything for the which he was asked in his name. The Evangelist appeared to him one while in tattered raiment, and, in his own name, asked him for an alms. It befell that the King had no money, wherefore he took a ring from off his finger and gifted him therewith. Not long afterward, the Evangelist sent the same ring back to him by a pilgrim, with a message concerning his death, which was then at hand. The King therefore commanded that prayers should be made for him, and then fell blessedly asleep in the Lord, upon the very day which had been foretold to him by the Evangelist, that is to say, 5th day of January, in the year of salvation 1066. He was famous for miracles both during his life and after his repose. His memory soon came to be venerated throughout Christendom. On the 13th day of October, in the year 1102, his body was lifted from the earth and found uncorrupt and sweet-savoured.

The Tomb of St. Edward the Confessor

I'm not certain if his holy relics are located here or not. The Destruction of the Monasteries (Westminster Abbey was a large monastery) and the Deformation under Henry VIII caused the destruction of St. Edward's tomb and shrine, while his holy relics were buried in an obscure place. I couldn't tell from the on-line histories if Queen Mary was able to find the holy relics and put them back where they belonged.

The Crown of St. Edward the Confessor

It's not the actual crown he wore. The gold in this crown, however, is believed to have come from St. Edward's own crown. It isn't improbable, given that St. Edward was venerated as much by the Norman invaders after his death as by the Anglo-Saxon English while he was alive.

2006-10-06T17:55:00.000-05:00

Deo gratias! The blog is now back up and running the way it should be. At least, I haven't found any egregious errors like mislinking links. Thanks to the discovery of a "cache" whilst looking for the remnants of the sidebar, I was able to reconstruct much of what was before, albeit with some improvements. Links for blogs I read should be up soon, but first I need to find the right picture for the sidebar. Yes, I can see it's crowded. At least it's not boring. If anyone has any suggestions about widening the gap in the middle between the posts and the sidebar, please let me know.

The days of the Orthodox Tidings Web Page, however, are numbered. I'm thinking of transfering its contents to the blog and then, if need be, getting a free Web page.

Random Orthodox Saint

2006-10-06T17:48:00.000-05:00

And today's Random Orthodox Saint is:

Louis the Pious, Holy Roman Emperor (20 June 840)
Here are some articles on him:

Wikipedia Article

Patron Saints Index Entry

Biography from Bookrag

Unfortunately, I was not able to find any liturgical propers for him or a vita or something further detailing his sanctity on the Internet. Not that I'm surprised. Most Western Orthodox Saints (and Eastern ones, for that matter) don't get more than a few lines of mention anywhere--in print or on the Web. It's too bad.

Glorification of St. Innocent Veniaminov

2006-10-06T02:35:00.000-05:00

To celebrate this feast, I offer a set of Western propers for St. Innocent, meant for the recitation of Vespers and Lauds (and perhaps a II Vespers is called for, since he is a national patron). They're by no means the last word and I'm by no means an expert. I compiled them because St. Innocent is a rather special saint, as a bishop, missionary, and patron of Orthodoxy in America. May we have his blessing and prayers today and always.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Antiphons (skipping the 4th at Vespers)

1. A man doth plan his ways, but the Lord directeth his steps. May the prayers of the Holy Bishop Innocent, the enlightener of our land, direct us into the Kingdom of
Heaven.

2. By his word he brought heathen worship to an end in the distant reaches of Alaska and Siberia. Then, bound in chains of obedience to the will of God, he brought comfort to believers in the ancient capital. Through his prayers, may we receive mercy from Christ our God.

3. The blessed John Smirennikov, instructed by the Angels, cried out to the people of Akun, "Go ye out to meet the priest of the Most High God. Listen to him who
will show you the way to the Kingdom of Heaven."

4.O ye priests of God, bless ye the Lord: O ye servants of the Lord, sing a hymn unto God, alleluia. (and the Benedicite follows here at Lauds)

5. Thy life, O holy father Innocent, Apostle to our land, proclaimeth the dispensation and grace of God. Thou didst labor in dangers and hardships for the Gospel of Christ, but God preserved thee unharmed since thou wast exalted in humility. Pray that He may guide our steps into the way wherein we should go.

Chapter at Vespers and Lauds
(Ecclus 44:17)
Behold a great priest who in his days pleased God and was found righteous: * and in the time of wrath he was made a reconciliation. Thanks be to God.

Short Responsories
At Vespers:
R. Holy Father Innocent, * Intercede for us. (repeat)
V. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Glory...
Intercede for us.
Holy Father Innocent, * Intercede for us.

At Lauds:
R. Their sound is gone out * Into all lands. (repeat)
V. And their words into the ends of the world. Etc.
Glory...
Into all lands.
Their sound is gone out * Into all lands.

Hymns at Vespers and Lauds as for a Bishop Confessor

Vespers Post-Hymn Verse:
V.The Lord guided the righteous in right paths
R. And shewed him the Kingdom of Heaven

Lauds Post-Hymn Verse:
V. They declared the work of God
R. And wisely considered of His doing

Antiphon on Magnificat:
Thou didst evangelize the northern peoples of America and Asia, proclaiming the Gospel of Christ to the Natives in their own tongues. O Holy Hierarch, Father
Innocent, enlightener of Alaska and all America, whose ways were ordered by the Lord, pray to Him for the salvation of our souls, in His heavenly Kingdom.

Antiphon on Benedictus:
O Holy Father Innocent, in obedience to the will of God, thou didst accept dangers and tribulations, bringing many peoples to the knowledge of the truth. Thou hast showed us the way; now by thy prayers to God, help us into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Collect:
O Lord, we beseech Thee, hear the prayers which we offer Thee on the solemnity of blessed Innocent, Thy Bishop and Confessor, and the Apostle to our land: and by the interceding merits of him who worthily attained to serve Thee so faithfully, absolve us from all our sins and bring us into Thy Heavenly Kingdom. Through our Lord Jesus Christ Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++

As you can see, if you have access to and experience using either the Monastic, Roman, or Anglican Breviaries and have seen or heard the Eastern Rite propers for the saint, these Western Rite proposed propers are a mix of elements from the Common of the Apostles, the Common of Bishop-Confessors, stichera, troparia, and the kontakion from the Eastern Rite service, as well as a few new creations.

Perhaps my liturgical experiments will incite the purists to wrath, but I do think there is a need for a proper Western Rite service to our American saints. Maybe someone will write proper hymns or improve on this humble offering. I'm always open to suggestions.

Into cyber-oblivion

2006-10-02T23:48:00.000-05:00

I changed templates and lost EVERYTHING. I didn't remember this happening before, but the last time I changed templates was a while ago and I've made many more additions. I also (after the fact, of course) remember saving my sidebar links and pics and such. Now I have to try to put all of it back together again. What a pain! I feel sick right now, after all that work. If anyone knows an easy way to recover it, let me know.

Marriage and Possible Alternatives: The Pursuit of Wholeness and Holiness

2006-10-02T15:26:00.000-05:00

by Father John H. Erickson, Dean of St. Vladimir's Seminary

An Address given at the SVS Summer Institute – June 2004

No apology is needed for the theme of this year's Institute: "Does
Christian Marriage Have a Future?" Practically daily we hear in the
media how "traditional" concepts and definitions of marriage are
being challenged. In the first few months of 2004 the focus has been
on same-sex marriage – now legal in Massachusetts, among other
places, and gaining vocal support in many quarters, Christian
churches included. But the challenge to "traditional" concepts and
definitions of marriage is not limited to this latest headline
getter. A few decades ago the term "open marriage" entered our
vocabulary. We also learned about "prenups," i.e., marriage qualified
in various ways by formal prenuptial agreements. These days we barely
blink when we hear about couples living together or when we encounter
marital breakdown ending divorce – divorce often followed by
remarriage and (then even more frequently) by another divorce. (A
frightening statistic: At this point the average length of a marriage
in the United States is five years.) If TV ratings and star salaries
offer any indication, we as a society see nothing amiss in sex and
marriage as these are presented on Friends, where sex has become a
recreational activity and marriage a running joke.
How are we Orthodox Christians to respond? It's easy to speak of the
need to maintain or restore "traditional" values of marriage and
family. All around us we find people doing so – including not a few
televangelists and politicians. It's easy simply to jump on the
bandwagon, to repeat what so many other folks are saying. It's harder
– but much more necessary – to examine more closely our own
understanding of Christian marriage. Do we have a distinctive and
compelling vision to offer today's society, rather than just
denunciations? What challenge can we pose to the world of Friends?

I believe that we do have a compelling vision to offer. But I also
believe that this vision will be at odds not only with the world of
Friends but also with some of the "traditional" understandings of
marriage that we encounter in our society and that we also may repeat
without appropriate critical reflection.

I'd like to begin with some aspects of the historical record – and
not just because I am a historian. It is important to examine our
preconceptions, what we take for granted, what we in turn often
believe to be common to human beings of every culture, of every
historical epoch, and therefore normal and normative for all human
beings. We often lapse into thinking that the past was very much like
the present, though maybe a little less spoiled. We look back with
nostalgia to the "good old days" – of the Eisenhower administration.
We look back at the way that marriage and family were understood and
practiced when Ozzie and Harriet and Leave It to Beaver were our TV
favorites. That's where we find our "traditional" family values and
the "traditional" understanding of marriage. It is important,
methodologically, to question this short-sighted understanding of
what is "traditional." Before we as Orthodox Christians can recover
our own distinctive vision and voice, before we can present that
vision as a credible challenge to the world of Friends, we have to be
aware of how different the past was. In particular, we have to be
aware of the enormous differences between pre-modern traditional
societies and modern society as it emerged especially in the last
century. The realities that impinge on people today who marry or
don't marry, who have children or don't have children, are not
necessarily the same as those of a thousand or two thousand years ago
or even a hundred years ago. A couple factors may easily be overlooked.

First of all, the place of marriage in life and society itself is
different. We today have a lot of choices thrust upon us - e.g., to
marry or not to marry. In most pre-modern societies, there were far
fewer options, far fewer choices when it came to life and lifestyle.
In the relative absence of social and even physical mobility, a great
deal more was taken for granted. Your life would be very much like
that of your parents. If your father was a farmer, you would be a
farmer – or farmer's wife. Barring some calamity, you would remain in
the same village; you would remain in the same social class. You
would marry, and marry relatively young, especially in the case of
women; and within marriage you would have very clearly delineated
roles, prescribed by custom and tradition right down to acceptable
positions for sex. You would have children if you could, because you
needed them for economic reasons, to help in the fields or in your
trade. And in the absence of a civil society offering some measure of
protection to individuals, your very survival depended on having a
close network of family and clan, an extended family often domiciled
together, people who could help you in times of adversity or take
revenge on someone who had wronged you.

Certainly in the Roman world, where Christianity first spread,
"family values" were very important. Roman law offered many powerful
incentives to marry and have a family, and it imposed penalties for
not doing so. But this was mainly for utilitarian reasons, to
maintain social structures and assure the economic wellbeing of the
empire. Men and women were expected to place their bodies at the
service of society, as it were, men by governing a household – and
here keep in mind that this was very definitely a patriarchal,
androcentric society - and women by bearing children. So too in
ancient Judaism, "family values" were important. Men had to have
children as a means for survival in life - and beyond. Offspring
provided your only immortality. Hence the levirate, which provided
that if a man died without issue, his brother should take his wife
and raise up children for him. In general, then, whether in Roman
society or ancient Judaism, you could not expect to find divine favor
or human respect if you didn't marry and have children. No place for
singles here, or for the barren! Those who were unmarried generally
were subordinate elements within the extended household – slaves,
unmarriageable daughters, widowed grandmothers, and others who helped
provide necessary services for the household, from child-care to
elder-care.

One more thing to note: In the Graeco-Roman world, as in many other
traditional societies, you did not look to marriage and family to
fulfill all your needs in life - at least if you were a free man.
Marriage was important for your economic wellbeing and material
support – certainly you valued your wife and children just as you did
your other possessions. But for emotional support you looked to
friendship, which by definition was possible only with peers, with
other respected male members of society, and certainly not with women
or slaves or other inferiors. And often you did not look to marriage
even for major sexual satisfaction. A very revealing ancient saying
goes something like this: The gods have given us our wives for
legitimate children, men for friendship, and courtesans for pleasure.

Could someone – for whatever reason - opt out of the social demands
of marriage and family? This would have been very difficult in
antiquity, whether Jewish or Greco-Roman, and indeed in most pre-
modern societies. But Christianity offered the ancient world a very
different message, a very different view of marriage and family – one
that was truly revolutionary and truly liberating. Christianity told
men and women that you do not have to marry and procreate to be saved
- to have a sense of self-worth accompanied by a sense of divine
acceptance and acceptance by those other human beings who mean the
most to you. Christianity accepted and honored marriage, but it also
accepted and honored celibacy. It valued children, but it also saw
the barren – Joachim and Anna, Zacharias and Elizabeth – as blessed
by God. In short, Christianity relativized the importance of both
marriage and family. It did so by placing marriage and family - and
indeed all human relations - in a new perspective, a perspective made
possible by Christ's self-giving love. The ancient world valued
marriage and family very highly, but for the wrong reasons. It valued
them because they were thought to be a hedge against death – one's
own death, the death of society. But Christ showed that love is
stronger than death.

We will be returning to the new perspective offered by Christianity
at many points during the coming days. For the moment, however, I
would like to return to the subject I raised earlier: the difference
between the world of antiquity, the traditional world of pre-modern
society that we have just surveyed, and the modern world, the world
in which "traditional" notions of marriage and family are being
challenged in so many ways.

Certainly in the modern world, we have greater economic and social
mobility. No longer is it taken for granted that your life will
differ little if any from that of your parents. Quite the opposite!
Here in America we like to believe that the son or daughter of a poor
immigrant coal-miner can become a doctor, a lawyer, a successful
businessman. We also emphasize the dignity and the rights of the
individual, giving less importance to the group, the clan, the wider
society. And we place enormous importance on personal fulfillment,
making this the goal of life. We are encouraged to discover what is
really important to me, what really makes me happy, what really
satisfies me. And given modern affluence, we can usually figure out
some way to finance our self-gratification.

In this modern world, there is no longer a self-evident relationship
between marriage and maintenance of subsistent daily life or even
mundane happiness and satisfaction. In economically developed
countries, marriage is no longer an economic and practical necessity.
You don't have to marry and stay together (even though you may really
hate each other) and have children in order to scratch a living from
a meager plot of land. You don't have to be married to enjoy a
comfortable life. You can find many avenues for fulfilling, enriching
personal experience in careers outside the home. In this modern
world, to marry or not to marry, to have children or not to have
children, requires more self-conscious decisions than was the case in
traditional societies. But here is the irony. In this modern world,
very much as in traditional societies, marriage and family (now
reduced to the nuclear family) very often is held up as the norm for
the normal, well-adjusted human being. Certainly through the 1950s
and even beyond, it was generally expected that anyone worthy of
respect would get married, have kids, buy a nice suburban house,
acquire a car and a dog, join the PTA, and be an active church member
in the bargain. (Of course, not everyone fit this pattern, but these
were viewed with some suspicion and distrust.) Often, from our
present perspective, we look back on this as "traditional" marriage,
normal and normative - the way things always have been, the way they
should be now. But the element of necessity attendant on marriage in
past ages and other societies was absent: the goal had become
personal fulfillment, with marriage presented as the place where
personal fulfillment can be found. The ideal marriage, as presented
in popular literature from the 1920s-30s onward, comes to be
"companionate marriage": the bliss of husband and wife together, as
helpmeets, lovers, best friends, soul-mates. In contrast to earlier
times, marriage comes to be seen as the place where the normal, well-
adjusted human being, male or female, can expect to find virtually
every satisfaction - sexual, emotional, spiritual. This is asking a
lot of marriage!

Christians have bought into this understanding of marriage in a big
way. This has been especially true in evangelical Protestantism,
where marriage very often is presented as THE appropriate state for
the good Christian, as God's highest calling for all men and women.
But we Orthodox have done so also. Quite rightly, no doubt, we have
spoken about the goodness of God's creation of the human being as
male and female. Perhaps in reaction to an earlier and possibly
unhealthy preoccupation with celibate life, we have ransacked
patristic literature for remarks favorable to marriage and sexual
activity and have complained, on the other hand, about those many
patristic texts that do not seem quite so enthusiastic. In much of
our popular literature on marriage, an unmarried life - celibacy in
whatever expression, monasticism included - is not really presented
as an option. Here are a few remarks culled from student mini-essays
in the course that Prof. Rossi and I give on marriage: "For their
spiritual health, people need to be channeled into an accountable way
of life" – the context here suggesting that unmarried people are
shirking responsibility. "For the never married, the Church and
priests should work to help people find mates." The Church should
"give confidence to the unmarried and dispel fear of marriage through
sermons, talks, retreats and seminars." These remarks may not be
altogether representative. Some mini-essays over the years have noted
that "marriage is not for everyone" and that we should not regard the
single state as only an interim before marriage, something temporary,
an abnormality in need of correction. But the overwhelming tendency
is to present marriage as the norm for Christian life.

This of course places enormous pressure on the unmarried. Consider
the comments that one often hears: "I can't understand why an
attractive young girl like you has not found herself a husband." Or:
"How many children do you have? None, I'm not married. Oh, I'm
sorry..." But this also places a lot of pressure on the married. Very
few real life marriages reach the levels of bliss and personal
fulfillment that we have come to expect – yea, to demand – from
marriage. This can become a source of frustration. We think:
Something must be wrong with my marriage. It doesn't measure up.
Contrary to what society has promised, contrary even to what the
Church has promised, it's not making me happy right now, and maybe it
never will. We want our marriage and family to be as warm and fuzzy
as what we found while watching Ozzie and Harriet and Leave It to
Beaver. What we get is Married with Children.

We do a disservice to the world – to the world of Friends, to the
world in which we ourselves must work out our salvation – if we put
forward a glossy, idealized, unrealistic and unattainable picture of
marriage as the ultimate end of human life. If we really want to
challenge the world of Friends, we cannot simply rely on what those
around us may regard as "traditional marriage." We need to offer a
different perspective – the perspective that we find, first of all,
in the New Testament. There, as I suggested earlier, we find the
importance of both marriage and family relativized. Marriage was
good, but so was celibacy – and neither was an end in itself. Both
marriage and celibacy were ordered to a higher good. Both therefore
could be considered as being instrumental in nature – as leading to
this higher good, as means of bringing us closer to God, who is good
in Himself and the source of all goodness. The goodness of marriage –
or of celibacy – in a given case depended on how well it served a
higher purpose, the purpose of salvation.

We find this perspective set forth most clearly in the epistles of
St. Paul, and particularly in I Corinthians chapter 7, where marriage
is treated at length. Other presentations will examine this important
text more closely. Right now I would simply like to review some
points in it that are particularly important for our theme. The
chapter begins by considering whether it is better to marry or not to
marry. Here Paul gives counsel but no command. He wishes that all
were as he himself is, i.e., in a single state, but he recognizes
that "each has his own special gift from God, one of one kind and one
of another." Ultimately it doesn't matter if you are married or
unmarried, as long as you don't fall into immorality. The text goes
on to consider divorce and the special case of believers who are
married to unbelievers – sections that we have no time to discuss at
this point. Paul then comes to what I would regard as his "bottom
line": "Only, let every one lead the life which the Lord has assigned
to him, and in which God has called him." Are you Jew or Gentile,
circumcised or uncircumcised? It doesn't matter, "for neither
circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the
commandments of God." Paul then repeats: "Everyone should remain in
the state in which he was called." He continues immediately "Were you
a slave when called? Never mind. But if you can gain your freedom,
avail yourself of the opportunity. For he who was called in the Lord
as a slave is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when
called is a slave of Christ." Note here how both slave and free are
encouraged to view their status from a new perspective. And then Paul
repeats yet again: "So, brethren, in whatever state each was called,
there let him remain with God."

Why is it so important to remain in the state in which you were
called, to lead the life which the Lord has assigned to you? Paul
isn't arguing for maintenance of the status quo. He certainly isn't
defending the abusive domination that characterized social patterns
in his day. Rather, he is urging his readers to view all their
relationships – marriage, family, ethnic background, social status -
in an eschatological perspective – that is, in light of the ultimate
destiny or purpose of mankind and the world. We see this in the
verses that immediately follow:

Now concerning the unmarried, I have no command of the Lord, but I
give my opinion as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy. I
think that in view of the impending distress (i.e., the End Time that
is coming upon us), it is well for a person to remain as he is. Are
you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a
wife? Do not seek marriage. But if you marry, you do not sin, and if
a girl marries she does not sin. Yet those who marry will have
worldly troubles, and I would spare you that. I mean, brethren, the
appointed time has grown very short; from now on, let those who have
wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though
they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not
rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those
who deal with the world as though they had no dealing with it. For
the form of this world is passing away."

The form of this world – with all its empires and self-serving power
structures and abusive relationships – is passing away. What is
important in this penultimate chapter in human history, is – as Paul
says a few verses later – "your undivided devotion to the Lord." So
"lead the life which the Lord has assigned you" – as Jew or Greek,
slave or free, married or unmarried – but always keep your eyes on
the prize, look to the coming End. Orient your life - and all its
relationships - to this End. Live out your life in anticipation, hope
and expectation of an Ultimate beyond the institutions of the present
age, marriage included. Let all aspects of your life, all your
relationships, serve this End and lead to this End - the complete
fulfillment of God's plan for His creation.

This eschatological perspective was important for the Corinthian
Church to keep in mind. It also is important for us to keep in mind
today. We are called as we are - conflicted, weak and sinful human
beings, with an incredible range of gifts and an even more incredible
range of hang-ups. But we are called to a life of wholeness and
holiness. We are called to participate in God's holiness, to become
holy ones, even as God is THE Holy One. We are called to love in ways
beyond our own limited human capacities, to freely accept the self-
sacrificing love that God has revealed in Jesus Christ and to express
this love throughout our own lives, in whatever state the Lord has
assigned to us.

This eschatological perspective may also be helpful as we try to
address concrete issues related to marriage and family today.

First of all, marriage itself in real life is not a static
phenomenon, contrary to the idealized picture so often presented to
us (e.g. in those advertisements that promise great sex till you're
70). Ideally marriage involves growth. Inevitably it involves change;
it goes through stages, just as human beings themselves go through
stages in life. Certainly a major change comes with the birth of a
first child, when wife becomes Mommy and her attention is largely
diverted from her husband to the baby that he has fathered. Another
major change comes when Mommy and Daddy finally become empty-nesters,
their attention no longer on carpooling for the kids' soccer matches.
Will they rediscover each other in a new way at this new stage in
their married life? And for more and more married couples these days,
another change occurs when one or both eventually becomes
incapacitated, by Alzheimer's or Parkinson's, for example. What are
billed as the "golden years" can be very difficult indeed for even
the happiest married couple. The basic question at each of these
stages is whether they will be seen in instrumental terms, as
pointing to an End beyond this or that immediate situation, beyond
this or that relationship – whether each stage will be greeted as a
fresh opportunity for growth in holiness. Or will each new stage
become a source of frustration because right now this particular
relationship doesn't measure up to our idealized picture of what
married bliss should be. (Ironically this was often less an issue in
past times. Not only was life expectancy shorter. There was a sharper
delineation of the stages of life: infancy, childhood, youth,
adulthood, old age. After social obligations of adulthood had been
met, after children had been begotten and reared and sent off on
their own, husband and wife had reached old age, when they were free
to retire to a monastery or lead comparable life at home. They were
not expected to behave like newly-weds.)

Let's consider children and family life. What does an eschatological
perspective have to offer here? We often idolize our children, do
everything for our children. In fact this may simply reflect our own
egotism. Children are a great source of pride! We should keep in mind
that childbearing and nurture is not an end in itself. A fortiori, it
is not for our own gratification. We often worry excessively about
how our children will "turn out," to the point that this can become
our sole preoccupation. This shouldn't be the case. Raising children,
like other aspects of married life, should be viewed in instrumental
terms: It should point us to an End beyond how the children
themselves turn out. Don't put your children first. Put God first.
Your love of God, your trust in Him, your orientation of the whole of
life toward Him, will not diminish your love for your children.
Rather, this will purify your love for them, turning it from self-
gratification into an expression of Christ's own self-sacrificing love.

And children are not the only possible instrument in our pursuit of
holiness in marriage. St. John Chrysostom addresses the subject of
childlessness with great sensitivity. Within childless marriage,
other instruments of virtue can be cultivated: hospitality, service
to others, common creation. In any case, we must resist the
temptation to live simply for each other, without concern for growth
in holiness, without concern for God and for our fellow human beings.

What about alternatives to marriage? In the developed and developing
world generally, unmarried persons are a growing percentage of the
population. In the United States approximately 50% of adults are
unmarried. The profiles and concerns of these unmarried persons are,
of course, diverse. Some are deferring marriage until certain
personal goals - educational, professional, economic, emotional - are
met. Some will never marry. Some are divorced or separated - and not
always in anticipation of divorce - e.g., they may be separated
because of imprisonment. Some are widowed. The problems that
unmarried people face are also diverse. The problems of an elderly
widow or widower - health care, for example - will not be the same as
the problems of a younger divorced woman trying to get into - or back
into - the labor market while at the same time managing children and
other responsibilities. And these will not be the same as the
problems and concerns of a never-married person of whatever age. But
there are some common concerns. In surveys and interviews, loneliness
is often mentioned – the loneliness of the prepackaged meals for one
that now are so common in our supermarkets. And singles of whatever
profile and category often suffer other anxieties, many of them
culture-induced. There are a lot of pressures for "singles" to fit
into the expectations and values of a culture that continues to
idealize and idolize the family model of husband, wife, two kids,
three cars and a dog. (This may be one of the reasons behind the
current push for same-sex marriage. Gay and lesbian couples want to
"fit in.")

The unmarried are, as I said, a very diverse group. But often we take
"unmarried" as synonymous with the swinging single presented in so
much advertising. Certainly there are many people who might be
described as "pre-married" – people who expect to get married (or
remarried) someday, but who are now deferring marriage for a variety
of reasons: fear of commitment, waiting for the "right" person to
come along (a delusion, of course!), concern for a career, possibly
even a very noble career. We shouldn't assume that these people are
real-life versions of the cast of Friends. But single life in America
today is spiritually treacherous. With young and not so young
singles, we find a kind of protracted adolescence. They have to make
many more decisions than was the case in pre-modern societies –
decisions about education, career, employment, location, living
arrangements, life-style. In the past most people had no choice
whatsoever in such matters! But young people often lack a sense of
responsibility for their decisions, a sense of their ultimate
significance. Sex, for example, can easily become a recreational
activity, alongside dining out or going to the movies, altogether
unrelated to self-giving love. This makes it very difficult for young
people ever to settle down, in marriage or in any other state.

How can the Church minister to unmarried people? How in particular
can it minister to young singles? For much of Church's history, this
has not been an issue. Today it is. We no longer live in the
traditional societies of the past. We live in the world of Friends.
In certain respects the answer is simple. Whether ministering to
married people or unmarried people, the Church must present the
eschatological challenge that St. Paul posed to the Corinthians. "In
whatever state each was called, there let him remain with God…. For
the form of the world is passing away." In this perspective, each of
us is called to ascetical struggle, whatever our state in life may be
– struggle against self-gratification, for example, which can be as
much a temptation for the married as for the unmarried, struggle to
find ways to grow in God's love in all the diverse situations and
relationships in which we find ourselves. At any rate, we cannot
assume that being single is an impossible obstacle to growth in
wholeness and holiness any more than we can assume that being married
is a guarantee of wholeness and holiness.

All of us are weak and broken human beings, damaged in one way or
another by sin. This is the state in which we are called, to be saved
by God's grace. But we sense a need for healing and wholeness. The
message of the Church on this point is simple and direct: We will
find this healing and wholeness in God and only in God. This is not a
message that we hear very often. More often we are encouraged to
believe that we will find healing and wholeness in other ways – and,
high among these, by getting married. "The single state is
treacherous," we tell young people. But we then imply or even come
out at say: "Marriage will solve your problems." Is this true? Many
people believe it. Consider the following statement, typical of what
those who are involved in premarital counseling hear all too often:
"Yeah, I get jealous and lose my temper, and maybe I get a little
physical if I think she has been looking at other men, but when we
get married that won't be happening." Hearing something like this,
you know that this guy's violent behavior is not going to improve.
Likely it will get worse. Or consider this: "There are things that
bother me about Brad's behavior, but I know that when we get married
my love will change him." You know that isn't going to happen! We
have reached the final TV season of Friends. They've paired up,
married off. But you know that this isn't going to insure fidelity
and endless married bliss. Marriage is not going to cure everything
that‘s wrong with these people - or with any of us. Marriage may be
the context in which most of us will find healing and wholeness. But
marriage itself is not the source of healing and wholeness. Marriage,
just like the single state, can be spiritually treacherous –
particularly when it becomes a false god. As we consider the
challenges currently being posed to Christian marriage – challenges
that we hear about in the media practically every day – , let us keep
in mind that even "traditional" marriage can pose a challenge to our
Orthodox understanding of salvation – by offering a false sense of
security, by making false promises, by suggesting that marriage
itself, and not God, is what can give us wholeness in a broken world.
Some may find wholeness in marriage. Some may find wholeness in the
single state. But they will not find this unless they turn first to
the source of all healing, the source of wholeness, to the Holy One.

-------------------------------------------
Prof. Erickson is Professor of Church History at Saint Vladimir's Theological Seminary

Edited by Fr. Michael of St. Petroc's Monastery (ROCOR) in Tasmania.

Heavenly Friends

2006-08-13T23:19:00.000-05:00

St. James the Brother of God, first Bishop of Jerusalem, and patron of the first Orthodox Church I visited regularly

St. John the Baptist and Forerunner of Christ. I helped build a little chapel dedicated to the Feast of his Beheading, commemorated August 29.

St. Gerasimos of Kephalonia, whose relics I venerated and whose church I happened upon while in Athens

St. Elijah the Prophet, patron of my little godson Elias

St. Joseph the Old Testament Patriarch, patron of my godson Joseph

St. Demetrius of Thessaloniki, whom I venerated on pilgrimage to Greece in March

Thoughts on Conversion

2006-05-26T22:17:00.000-05:00

When people start talking about "converting" to Orthodoxy, I begin to wonder: "What does that really mean?" Most so-called "converts" to Orthodoxy are Christians, former Roman Catholics and Protestants. As such, they are merely returning to the true Church. Quite unlike pagans, Hindoos, Mohammedans, etc., who are embracing the revelation of Christ. Roman Catholics and Protestants already know Christ, even if nominally. I don't like it when all the non-Orthodox are thrown into one category: either Orthodox or not. There are degrees of Orthodoxy because the Roman Catholics and Protestants have their roots in Orthodoxy. These Christians have forgotten their roots, but the others had no Christian roots in the first place. Thus, I don't see that other Christians being received into the Orthodox Church have to undergo a process whereby they are converted to Christ (one can argue whether or not conversion in Orthodoxy is to Christ or to an idol of Orthodoxy), rather they simply come into the fullness of the Christian faith. I'm not sure that such a thing really calls for the inner change that conversion to Christ does.

Converting our hearts to Christ is, however, something which we all should be doing every moment of our lives. It is a process we go through as we recall God's love for us--all the things which He has done for us and given us because of the free gift of His love. God is the Lover of Mankind! What joy that simple thought should give us at even the darkest moments of our lives. How much sin and the fear of death cause us to forget God's love.

Joy at the rememberance of God is a choice we make. Yes, we choose to be joyful. Joy is not happiness. Happiness, as Mother Angelica says, is a happening--it comes and goes. But joy can stay with us at all times. Our joy at the rememberance of God is heaven itself, while having a lack of joy because we forget God or become bogged down in "problems"--which, like happiness, are here today and gone tomorrow--this lack of joy is an experience of hell.

So, how can you know if your heart is really "converted?" Well, do you experience joy when you call to remembrance God's existence, His creation, His work for your redemption, His promise that He would be with you always unto the end of the ages, His merciful love for you which will never end? Or have you set up idols to replace God? (Your insubstantial "problems," your passions, your "identity," or some kind of narrow relgiosity which neither saves nor brings joy to the heart?)

Any thing, material or immaterial, whether it be a burden or a blessing, an aid or a source of agony, can become an idol, something which preoccupies all our thoughts, actions, and worship instead of the living God. Idols enslave us, whereas God gives us true freedom. So, throw away the idols which keep you from choosing joy, and run to God Whose arms are open to embrace you and Whose love is freedom and everlasting life.

Error

2006-05-09T15:06:00.000-05:00

Wow, my numerical dyslexia has caught up with me. It turns out I had the date wrong for the Benedictine Feast of the Holy Relics. It's really May 13, not May 3. May 3 is the Finding of the Holy Cross. To rectify matters, I'll post on the Holy Cross on May 13, and hopefully my picture-posting ability will be restored. Sorry for the error.

The Sublime Carthusians and Their Equally Sublime Chant

2006-05-06T23:46:00.000-05:00

Here is a link to the English Carthusian (Roman Catholic) monastery of Parkminster. Turn up the volume on your computer and listen for a while to the wonderful chant of the monks--so peaceful, so poignant, so heavenly like all good ecclesiastical chant.

The Carthusian Order was founded by the monk Bruno in 1098. Their way of life is like that of the Desert Fathers in a medieval cloister. They cherish silence and anonymity as they seek communion with God.

Feast of the Holy Relics

2006-05-03T15:21:00.000-05:00

St. John Maximovitch of Shanghai and San Francisco reposing in his coffin at his funeral.

Today on the Benedictine Calendar is the Feast of All the Holy Relics of the Saints which are preserved and venerated in the local church and, perhaps, one's home. As the Feast is placed in Paschaltide, it is a beautiful reminder of the General Resurrection, of which the Saints, in their incorrupt and wonderworking Holy Relics, serve as heralds. In honor of this feast, unique to the Orthodox West, we offer two Hymns, an Antiphon, a Collect, and several versicles.

V: Let the people tell of the wisdom of the Saints.
R: And let the Church show forth their praises, alleluia.

The incorrupt hand of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine of Alexandria and Sinai, the Patron Saint of the UW-Madison Orthodox Christian Fellowship.

V: The Lord forsaketh not His Saints, alleluia.
R: They are preserved forever, alleluia.

Hymn at Vespers
"Adeste, Sancti, plurimo"

Come, witness, O ye Saints on high
The incense-clouds of holy rite,
That circle round your relics nigh
And favor for our prayers excite.

The power of God doth not forsake
The bones reduced to helpless dust.
The while a mournful rest they take
God's might divine holds fast the trust.

For lo! a germ of life abides,
A hallowed presence in the tomb;
When passed these earthly times and tides
This dust will glory's robe assume.

These ashes buried, hidden here
Beneath our altars have the might
To heal the sick and crush with fear
The fiend and put his hordes to flight.

To Thee Who, dead, again dost live,
All glory, Lord Thy people give;
All glory, as is ever meet,
To Father and to Paraclete. Amen.

V: I will comfort you, and your heart shall rejoice, alleluia.
R: And your bones shall flourish like an herb, alleluia.

Holy Relics of the Great Martyr St. Demetrios of Thessaloniki

V: God is glorious in His Saints, alleluia.
R: Grlorious in majesty, doing wonders, alleluia.

Antiphon on Benedictus Canticle

Let us present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God; always bearing about in our body the dying of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our body, alleluia.

Hymn at Lauds
"O vos unanimes"

United Christian choirs, extol
With joyful song ancestral shrines
And ashes, spoils in aureole
Of Sainthood, heavenly glory's signs.

The joys the blessed souls possess
In heaven is equal to their deeds;
Due praise and honor is no less
For bones that shared life's toils and needs.

Though scattered wide, God gathers each,
To promise true, that all these bones,
Preserved by Providence will reach
Their places midst His chosen stones.

Yea, relics true and sacred shrines
As altars God the Victim rates;
Himself as Head to limbs He joins;
Himself with them He immolates.

O ye, whose ashes men revere
For their defense, with pious kiss,
Be urged by your clients' prayer
And aid us to eternal bliss.

That, when our mortal flesh will rise
In glorious frame to join the choir
Of spirits blest, God One and Thrice
May be our one and last desire. Amen.

Collect

O God, Who hast deigned to adorn this [Thy] most holy Church with the relics of so many Saints: do Thou increase our faith in the Resurrection, and make us partakers of that immortal glory, a pledge of which we venerate in their remains. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, unto ages of ages. Amen.

Repose of Archimandrite Denis, First Orthodox Benedictine of Modern Times

2006-05-03T15:10:00.000-05:00

Please visit this link at Ben Johnson's "Western Orthodoxy Blog" to learn more and pray for the eternal repose of this faithful and holy servant of God.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. Amen.

Among the Saints, give rest O Lord, to the soul of Thy departed servant where there is neither sickness nor sorrow nor sighing, but life everlasting.

May his memory be eternal!

Ecumenism, Modernism, Heresy, Schism, and Zeal Not According to Knowledge

2006-05-02T00:24:00.000-05:00

Around the Internet, one often runs into comments, Web sites, and whole religious groups which warn of the "pan-heresy of Ecumenism." These anti-ecumenism pundits will often tout slogans such as "Orthodoxy or Death" and urge true believers to beware of "False Union" with other Christian but Non-Orthodox bodies.

The heresy of ecumenism, specifically defined, is the belief that either the Orthodox faith is not wholly sufficient for salvation or that all Christian communions believe basically the same things and should reunite sacramentally and in the fellowship of common prayer. The ecumenist heretic may not believe that the Orthodox Church is the true Church founded by Christ and His Apostles and preserving their teachings uncorrupted to the present day. The ecumenist heretic may also believe that every other expression of Christianity (or even Non-Christian religious faith) is equally valid and wholesome.

All these ideas have, obviously, been around for a long time outside and inside of the Orthodox communion. However, it is important to make some significant distinctions which those who most often claim to be the most hard-line anti-ecumenists many times fail to make.

1. Involvement in the Ecumenical Movement does not mean that one holds the beliefs of an ecumenist heretic. Simply belonging to and holding discussions with an inter-faith body is not strong enough evidence for one to be convicted of heresy. As far as I know, even in Orthodox ecclesiastical courts and synods, there is no guilt by association. A conviction for heresy requires an examination into the actual beliefs of the accused. Therefore, those who cry "ecumenist heretic" at a member of the Patriarchate of Moscow, Antioch, Jerusalem, or Constantinople, for example, are spreading gossip and bearing false witness. The accused must speak for himself and be examined by those who have the right to examine him. Hearsay, off-hand remarks, rumors, and the like are not solid, admissable evidence, especially when brought up by unqualified persons (for example, random laymen accusing a bishop).

2. Just because a particular hierarch is involved in the Ecumenical Movement or even happens to be an ecumenist heretic, God forbid, does not mean that all the faithful under him are heretics, too. This goes for bishops and priests as well. Therefore, those groups who claim to be True or Genuine Orthodox and keep the faith "pure" while separating from most or all of the Orthodox communion, are at best schismatics with zeal not according to knowledge and at worst rogues and ecclesiastical rebels pretending to be Orthodox and following after charlatans and quacks.

The purity of the Orthodox Faith does not, thank God, depend solely on her hierarchs. One, or even a series of mis-statements or even theological blunders does not mean that the people under that bishop are no longer Orthodox. It does not even mean that the bishop is no longer Orthodox.

Those who have separated themselves in little pockets of theological purity have followed after those who think more of their own opinions than of the Orthodox tradition. If a bishop errs in making a decision, he will have to answer to God. Those who are under him must still be obedient because, until a synod depose him, he is still the ruling bishop.

The ancient Orthodox Churches of Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople, Jerusalem, Serbia, Russia, Romania, etc. continue to flourish despite oppression from Communists, Mohammedans, and secularists. Meanwhile, the groups which have broken off, each to their own, like the so-called Holy Orthodox Church of North America (HOCNA), the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church (ROAC--now apparently split between an administration in Russia and one in America), the Russian Orthodox Church In Exile (ROCiE--a splinter from the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, which is in communion with the other ancient Churches of the Orthodox world), and the many Greek, Romanian, and Bulgarian Old Calendrists groups continue to fragment and develop narrower and narrower visions of Orthodox truth, without deference to tradition and history, let alone the rest of the Orthodox world.

The thought that only me or my group has the right faith and all the other Orthodox are in delusion or not genuinely Orthodox is very dangerous. In this way, demonic pride is hidden behind a mask of fidelity to the truth.

It is time for these separated churches, their faithful and bishops to reevaluate their positions and their beliefs, to stop making excuses for their schisms, to stop pointing fingers at other bishops.

It should not be taken lightly that the Church on earth is also in communion with the saints and angels in heaven. If those following the New Calendar, for example, have been noted for sanctity, is following the New Calendar something justifying schism? If merely being a member of an ecumenical body is so damning, why, after so many decades of envolvement, haven't these Churches adopted the beliefs of the ecumenist heresy as outlined above? It is the Communion of Saints, I think, which has held Orthodoxy together even through difficult and confusing times.

The bishops have been put where they are by the will of God. If that is so, they have God to judge them, and synods of their peers to chastise them. It is not, therefore, mine or any other layman's or singular bishop's place, to sit in judgement. It is something reserved for learned men having the appropriate authority. For everyone else, it's a waste of time.

So, enough of rumors like "I heard so and so is a Mason," or "Bishop N. said that Christians, Mohammedans, Hindoos, and Buddhists serve the same God." These things are, in the first place, unsubstantiated rumors. Even if they were proven to be true, they do not have consequences affecting anyone but the individual who is a Mason or ecumenist heretic.

Rumors of heresy and gossip about personal conduct often have a convenient way of drawing attention away from the person starting the rumor or the gossip. Perhaps that person is guilty of the same or worse sins, besides just gossiping. Also, when other people listen to and accept these rumors and this gossip, and spread them to still more people, they endanger their own souls and the souls of those to whom they spread this filth. Being against ecumenist heresy is one thing, and commendable. But being totally consumed by zealotry to the point where one spreads slander and leaves the Orthodox Church for a puritanical sect is quite another, and totally condemnable. Already, this zeal not according knowledge has ruined many souls--the Orthodox who have been drawn into reactionary sects, the leaders and perpetuators of these sects, and the many innocent victims of this whole brainless campaign--the seekers of ancient Christianity confused, seduced, or turned aside by the words and actions of zealots without knowledge or love.

Temptations come from the right and from the left, that is, from what appears to be good and what is manifestly evil. Our job is to stick to the royal path and not to wander off in search of another one, no matter how "good" it might seem. Only by having moderation as our ascetic way will we reach our heavenly destination unharmed by the assaults of the enemy.

On Thoughts

2006-04-29T23:59:00.000-05:00

"When under the pressure of stupid thoughts, we will find relief and joy by rebuking ourselves truthfully and unemotionally, or by confessing everything to the Lord as to a human being. In both these ways we will always find tranquility, whatever troubles us." --St. Hesychius from the Philokalia, Volume One. Quoted from "Christ the Eternal Tao."

All Saints of Cluny Monastery

2006-04-29T23:25:00.000-05:00

Today, on April 29, we commemorate all the Benedictine Saints of the Monastery of Cluny in the Burgundy region of France, among whom are the three great Abbots, Sts. Odo, Majolus, and Odilo.

To honor them, the Vespers hymn proper to their feast:
The joyous festival again
Returns, of those renowned men,
Our Fathers, who with honest heart
The world rejected, for their part.

We celebrate their yearly feast
With bright solemnity: and least
Among their followers, we pray
Their help to purge our stains away.

By earnest supplication now,
And subject to our solemn vow,
O may their intercession win
A tender pardon for our sin.

All laud to God the Father be;
All praise eternal Son to Thee;
All glory as is ever meet,
To God the Holy Paraclete. Amen.

Collect:
Let us pray. O God, Who dost gladden us by the festival of all Thy Saints of Cluny and dost urge us to advance by imitating them, grant that as we venerate them with our homage we may also follow in the example of their holy life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, unto ages of ages. Amen.

[Liturgical texts from the Farnborough Monastic Diurnal with some edits.]

Salve festa dies

2006-04-28T21:25:00.000-05:00

I found an mp3 recording of St. Venantius Fortunatus' "Salve Festa Dies" in Gregorian Chant. Here it is.

According to the Web site home page, it's sung by the Benedictine Monks of the Abbey Saint-Maurice and Saint-Maur at Clervaux [Clairvaux?], recorded in Luxemburg in 1960.
Enjoy.

2006-04-28T00:26:00.000-05:00

"Rejoice, O little and suffering Orthodoxy, hated by all..." (Doxastikon of the Litiya for St. John Maximovitch)

You can get your very own sweatshirt here.

Our Lady of Einsiedeln

2006-04-27T12:53:00.000-05:00

Photo from The Lady Chapel at the Benedictine Abbey of Einsiedeln in Switzerland.

Healing the Soul

2006-04-27T11:21:00.000-05:00

Much of this past Lent, I had been agonizing over someone who was dealing with difficult temptations. I had been praying for this person frequently, asking the intercessions of many Saints. I was in a lot of doubt over whether my prayers were being heard. I knew that God listens attentively to every prayer and that His Saints, in immitation of Him, are also quick to hear. But I was still troubled and depressed.

So, on Good Friday, one of my favorite days of the liturgical year, I asked my spiritual father about how to pray for this person. My problem, in general, was that I was needlessly weighing myself down. My spiritual father told me that, when we pray for someone, we should simply commend them to God, Who knows everything and loves each person infinitely. Prayer for specific things can lead us to pride. It is far better (and easier on our souls) to commend one another and ask that God's will be done.

Having quieted my soul upon receiving this bit of instruction, my burden left me. Last night, I read this little passage from a very good book by Hieromonk Damascene of St. Herman of Alaska Monastery in California (Serbian Patriarchate) called "Christ the Eternal Tao." Here is what I read, a section called "Healing Through Non-Action," on pgs. 324-325.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Lao Tzu [the ancient Chinese philosopher who wrote about the Tao, or the Way] understood that the true healing of our spirits comes not as a result of outside pressures, that is, of being constantly told to be kind, good, generous, etc. Rather, it comes from within--from returning to our true nature by ever returning to our Creator. Therefore he wrote:
When the great Tao [Christ, the Way] is forgotten,
Kindness and morality arise...
When there is no peace withing the family,
Filial piety and devotion arise...
These are outward forms alone; they are not sufficient in themselves.
It is more important
To see simplicity,
To realize one's true nature,
To cast off selfishness
And temper desire.

In practicing non-action, we do not try to heal ourselves; rather, we allow ourselves to be healed by the Way. We do not ambitiously strive to get rid of our problems, for when we return to our original nature by connecting with the Way, we find that our problems find their own solution, spontaneously.

In this way we can also lead others to their original nature--to where they have fallen from. And we will do so without having to apply pressure; we will allow them to find on their own the true Source of the spirits's healing. As Lao Tzu stated:
The sage brings people back to what they have lost.
He helps the ten thousand things find their own nature,
But does not venture to lead them by the nose."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To order "Christ the Eternal Tao" (Valaam Books, Second ed.--2002) from St. Herman of Alaska Press, and to see a brief book description, click here.

New Name, New Mission, Same Address, Same Blogger

2006-04-27T00:43:00.000-05:00

(Madison--April 27) The blog formerly known as "Orthodox Tidings" has a new name and a new focus. Now called "Einsiedeln," it is part of a new blogging trend whereby mysterious, obscurantist names or phrases substitute for the usual fare of "My Own Ramblings," "Daily Diversions," and "Objectively Onerous Opinions." Many even in the Orthodox Christian blogging community, as well-known for its loathing of fad-laden modernity as for its utter doctrinal and liturgical pomposity, have put one foot on-board the new e-trend bandwagon while keeping another foot firmly planted in the Dark Ages. Some Orthodox bloggers, however, do not see things in the same light.

One such blogger, known only by the weird pseudonym of "Eric John," claims to have changed the name of his blog for a completely different reason.

"Well, I did it because I have another blog on Xanga and I really just wanted to work on one blog and use it to write about all the things I'm interested in. My Blogger blog was called 'Orthodox Tidings,' but I thought the title and the scope of it were too narrow for what I wanted to talk about and there was also the notion that people who didn't know better could mistake my personal blog for something official, like I was speaking for the Orthodox Church. So I wanted to avoid that on one hand and expand my blogging topics on the other....," Eric John said. (Actually, he continued talking after this, but this intrepid reporter had had enough.)

So, there you have it. New blogging trends threaten to drag the Orthodox blogger kicking and screaming into the heretical future. What will this mean for the rest of the world? Does the rest of the world even care? Will the rest of the world even read this article? These are weighty questions indeed.

St. Venantius Fortunatus

2006-04-25T12:20:00.000-05:00

Here are some links to learn more about St. Venantius Fortunatus:

Link I

Link II

Link III

Hear and read some of his hymns at the Cyber Hymnal

Sing to the Lord a new song!

2006-04-24T23:23:00.000-05:00

CHRIST IS RISEN! INDEED, HE IS RISEN!

I wish you all a joyous Easter!

In order to more splendidly celebrate the glorious and life-giving Resurrection of Christ our God, I'll be posting some favorite Paschal hymns. Enjoy!

---------------------------------------------------------

Hail thee, Festival Day!
Blest day to be hallowed forever;
God, Who hath conquered hell,
Riseth again from the dead.

Lo, the fair beauty of earth,
From the death of the winter arising,
Every good gift of the year
Now with its Master returns.

Hail thee, Festival Day!
Blest day to be hallowed forever;
God, Who hath conquered hell,
Riseth again from the dead.

He Who was nailed to the Cross
Is God and the Ruler of all things;
All things created on earth
Worship the Maker of all.

Hail thee, Festival Day!
Blest day to be hallowed forever;
God, Who hath conquered hell,
Riseth again from the dead.

God of all pity and power,
Let Thy word be assured to the doubting;
Light on the third day returns;
Rise, Son of God, from the tomb!

Hail thee, Festival Day!
Blest day to be hallowed forever;
God, Who hath conquered hell,
Riseth again from the dead.

Rise now, O Lord, from the grave
And cast off the shroud that enwrapped Thee;
Thou art sufficient for us:
Nothing without Thee exists.

Hail thee, Festival Day!
Blest day to be hallowed forever;
God, Who hath conquered hell,
Riseth again from the dead.

Mourning they laid Thee to rest,
Who art Author of life and creation;
Treading the pathway of death,
Life Thou bestowest on man.

Hail thee, Festival Day!
Blest day to be hallowed forever;
God, Who hath conquered hell,
Riseth again from the dead.

Show us Thy face once more,
That the ages may joy in Thy brightness;
Give us the light of day,
Darkened on earth at Thy death.

Hail thee, Festival Day!
Blest day to be hallowed forever;
God, Who hath conquered hell,
Riseth again from the dead.

Out of the prison of death
Thou art rescuing numberless captives;
Freely they tread in the way
Whither their Maker has gone.

Hail thee, Festival Day!
Blest day to be hallowed forever;
God, Who hath conquered hell,
Riseth again from the dead.

Jesus has harrowed hell;
He has led captivity captive:
Darkness and chaos and death
Flee from the face of the Light.

Hail thee, Festival Day!
Blest day to be hallowed forever;
God, Who hath conquered hell,
Riseth again from the dead.

Text: "Salve festa dies," by St. Venantius Fortunatus (circa 540-600), translated by M.F. Bell (1862-1947), altered.

Meter: Irregular.

Source: St. Ambrose Hymnal, published by St. Gregory the Great Antiochian Church--Western Rite Vicariate, 2001.

Note: I would very much like to know if there's a Western ecclesiastical chant melody (Gregorian, Sarum, Mozarabic, Ambrosian, etc.) which works well with this text.

My Desert Island Hermitage Library

2006-03-02T22:47:00.000-06:00

I've been tagged! Ben Johnson from the Western Orthodoxy blog has tagged me for the "What ten books would you want with you if you were shipwrecked on a desert island?" meme. So, thank you Ben.

Whittling it down to only ten items will be difficult for this bibliomaniac. But, as we know, 10 is a Biblical number representing completeness, as are 7, 12, 40, and seventy-seven times seven. Given that, I've come up with a list representing what I consider, at present, my complete bibliography for desert island survival. Granted, the conditions on my particular desert island are not well known. But, let's say that, hypothetically, I have everything I need for material survival. That just leaves spiritual and intelectual survival. For that I'll need the following books, which I've broken down into categories. (Even though I'm Eastern Rite Orthodox, I give free reign to my Latin mind and my Germanic obsession with good order.

All right, so, first and foremost, someone stranded alone on a desert island must take thought to prayer. The question is, what prayers would a bi-ritualist like myself say on a desert island? The answer--any ones he wants to. I would miss the Eastern Rite prayers, but I have many of those memorized and some of them I'll include in the list. Anyway, it would be next to impossible to pray the Eastern Divine Office--you need too many books for all the different saints commemorated every day of the year. (The Eastern Rite has no "ferial" or ordinary days and not a broad complement of Commons, although they definitely do exist.) Thus for purposes of brevity and also because I like the order and structure and simplicity of the Western Rite Divine Office, I'm taking the following with me to my island paradise:

For the Divine Office (prayer books)

The Monastic Diurnal or The Day Hours of the Monastic Breviary in Latin and English, published by Saint Michael's Abbey Press, 2004. This is the book I try to use every day for my prayers. It is the traditional Benedictine Office, edited in 1963, so it's not completely perfect, but it works.

Psautier Latin-Francais du Breviaire Monastique (Latin-French Psalter from the Monastic Breviary), published by the Society of St. John the Evangelist, 1938. This volume has the traditional Benedictine Office. More importantly, it has Matins, which the Diurnal does not.

The Anglican Breviary, published by the Frank Gavin Ligurgical Foundation, 1940. This Breviary is a 1911 reworking of the Secular Roman Breviary, so the Psalter is distributed quite differently, but otherwise its collects, readings, and Preces serve to supplement the Benedictine Office.

The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, Revised Standard Version. I'd take the Douay-Rheims Version, but it does not have 3 and 4 Maccabbees, Psalm 151, the Prayer of Manasseh, and possibly not 2 Esdras, and I don't know how I'd be able survive without them.

A good Martyrology/Synaxarion/Calendar.

For the Divine Office (music books)

Saint Dunstan's Plainsong Psalter, published by Lancelot Andrewes Press, 2002. For singing the Psalms.

The Monastic Diurnal Noted, published by Lancelot Andrewes Press, 2005. For singing the other parts of the Divine Office.

The Saint Ambrose Hymnal, published by St. Gregory the Great Orthodox Church, 2001. For singing (most) of the hymns of the Divine Office.

Laudes Vespertinae seu Melodiae ad Laudes Vespertinas cum Cantu Gregoriano, published by the Society of St. John the Evangelist, 1927. It's Gregorian Chant in Latin. What more could one ask for except for a larger, more complete volume containing Everything?

Other Prayer Books

St. Andrew Western Rite Service Book, Third Edition, 2005. I would use this book particularly for its Stations of the Cross, which I find superior to all others. (If I were a priest, I'd also need The Orthodox Missal, of course.)

Traditional St. Augustine's Prayer Book, published by the Anglican Parishes Association, 2005. While there is much which I could throw out of this book such as its Stations of the Cross and its rather sappy devotions to the Blessed Sacrament (the Holy Hours), I am beloved of its litanies, prayers for the dead, and pre/post Communion prayers.

Prayer Book, published by Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY, the "new" edition, 1996. It's pretty much the "standard" Eastern Rite prayer book, in my opinion, however it lacks two things which are important to me:

Akathist for the Departed. This is the general akathist for all the departed.

Akathist for a departed loved one. This akathist is for a specific person for whom one is praying.

I think that the two above Akathists help to supplement the Western Rite Office for the Dead.

Next, we have everyone's favorite (or at least I think it should be) Orthodox Prayers from Old England, edited by Fr. Aidan Keller. This book is especially helpful as a book of needs, since it has many prayers for particular circumstances in it. It also has good pre/post Communion prayers.

Voices in the Wilderness: An Anthology of Patristic Prayers, edited by Nikolaos S. Hatzinikolaou, published by Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 1998. It's a good horologion with many, many (all, actually) good prayers by Eastern Church Fathers. (St. Augustine of Hippo has one prayer in it. I wish there were more prayers from Western Fathers. Oh, well, then it would be too perfect and we can't have that in this world.)

The Private Prayers of Lancelot Andrewes, translated by John Henry Newman and John Mason Neale. (You can't get better than that.) Lancelot Andrewes was a Greek scholar and wrote his private prayers in Greek. Basically, they read like the Psalter and the Greek Fathers.

Monastic Rules
Being alone on a desert island makes one a defacto monastic, so one might as well get with the program.
The Rule of St. Benedict
The Rule of St. Augustine

Now we come to a very important category:

What to Read if You Want to Beat Boredom, Despair, and Insanity, Obtain Consolation, or Grow in the Faith if the Above Didn't Help or Sink in (in two sub categories and an honorable mention)

Orthodox Books

A Spiritual Psalter or Reflections on God, Excerpted by Bishop (St.) Theophan the Recluse from the works of our Holy Father Ephraim the Syrian, published by St. John of Kronstadt Press. It's St. Ephraim, need I say more?

Salt of the Earth: An Encounter with a Holy Russian Elder, Isidore of Gethsemane Hermitage, by St. Paul Florensky, published by St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood. It's my favorite book.

An Early Soviet Saint: The Life of Elder Zachariah, published by Templegate Publishers. It's my second favorite book. It contains the Eastern Rite method for reciting the Holy Rosary to the Mother of God.

Christ is in Our Midst: Letters from a Russian Monk, by Father John of Valaam, published by St. Vladimir's Seminary Press.

Father Arseny, 1893-1973: Priest, Prisoner, Spiritual Father, translated by Vera Bouteneff, published by St. Vladimir's Seminary Press. Good reading for any time.

Father Arseny: A Clound of Witnesses, translated by Vera Bouteneff, published by St. Vladimir's Seminary Press.

Spiritual Counsels: Select Passages from My Life in Christ, by St. John of Kronstadt, edited by W. Jardine Grisbrooke, published by St. Vladimir's Seminary Press.

The Sayings of the Desert Fathers: The Alphabetical Collection, translated by Sister Benedicta Ward, published by Cistercian Publications. The first Orthodox book I ever read. It's been reread several times since then.

Letters to Spiritual Children, by Abbot Nikon, published by Nikodemos Orthodox Publishing Society, 1997. Excellent, to the point. Worth rereading several times.

Athonite Fathers and Athonite Matters, by Elder Paisios of Mount Athos, published by The Holy Convent of the Evangelist St. John the Theologion in Greece, 1993. It's full of little biographies of wonderful Athonite monks. My favorites are Elder Petrakis (Little Pete) and Elder Augustine. It brings a lot of consolation to read about such love-filled people.

The Roots of Christian Mysticism: Texts from the Patristic Era with Commentary, by Olivier Clement, published by New City Press.

Honorable Mention
Life of Christ, by the ever-memorable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, published by Image Books, 1977. I haven't finished it yet, but I really like it so far. I hope that I will live to see his canonization by the Roman Church. Maybe someone will make a nice icon of him for me.

History Books

Well, here we have a bottomless pit of options, but if I absolutely have to narrow it down, I'd pick:

Imperial Unity and Christian Divisions, by Fr. John Meyendorff, published by St. Vladimir's Seminary Press. It's a good East/West overview from 450-680 A.D.

Any/every book by Sir Steven Runciman, especially The Eastern Schism , his book on the Byzantine city of Mystras, and his series on the Crusades.

Henry Chadwick's book The Early Church (I think that's the title. I've misplaced my copy, so I can't give any more information.)

Edifying Fiction

The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Chronicles of Naria, by C.S. Lewis
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkein
The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, my favorite American author
Some Shakespeare and Chekhov plays to act out for some levity.
Also, the complete P.G. Woodehouse Collection. Everyone needs a good laugh now and again.

Well, there it is. I'm sure that those of you who really know me are not surprised that this post was lacking in brevity. I may have Latin logic and German order, but I've also inherited English verbosity.

People I'm tagging:
Ian, Joe, the Ashlands, and whoever else wants in.

Some thoughts on a new prayer book

2006-02-23T13:03:00.000-06:00

For illustrative purposes, a quote from "Monty Python and the Holy Grail."

God: Arthur! Arthur, King of the Britons! Oh, don't grovel! One thing I can't stand, it's people groveling.

ARTHUR: Sorry.

GOD: And don't apologize. Every time I try to talk to someone it's 'sorry this' and 'forgive me that' and 'I'm not worthy.' What are you doing now?!

ARTHUR: I'm averting my eyes, O Lord.

GOD: Well, don't. It's like those miserable Psalms -- they're so depressing. Now, knock it off!

Perhaps God would like the Psalms better if they sounded something like this:

Psalm 23
The Lord is all that, I need for nothing.
He allows me to chill.
He keeps me from being heated
and allows me to breathe easy.
He guides my life so that
I can represent and give
shouts out in his Name.
And even though I walk through
the Hood of death,
I don't back down
for you have my back.
The fact that you have me covered
allows me to chill.
He provides me with back-up
in front of my player-haters
and I know that I am a baller
and life will be phat.
I fall back in the Lord's crib
for the rest of my life.

This Psalm was adapted by Ryan Kearse for use in the impending
Hip Hop Prayer Book, edited by Timothy Holder, a priest of the Episcopal Church.

The publisher's description is as follows:

A powerful evangelism tool, developed at Trinity Church of Morrisania in the birthplace of Hip Hop, the South Bronx, The Hip Hop Prayer Book offers a means to worship that will draw in the young and speak to those not generally spoken to by the Church. Containing daily prayers, psalms, a variety of services (including a Eucharist), and a selection of bible stories all designed with the enlivening power of Hip Hop in mind, and prefaces by two bishops of the Episcopal Church and a wealth of contextualizing materials, The Hip Hop Prayer Book is designed for personal worship by church leaders looking for ways in which to broaden the reach of their congregation.

Here is the quote which precedes the description, made by the Catherine Roskam, a female bishop in the ECUSA:

"If Jesus were alive today, he would have been a rapper."

Someone should perhaps remind Her Grace that Jesus IS alive today, and He is the Son of God, not some rapper.

Anyway, if I get some money, I might pick up a copy of this prayer book. I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt, but I am skeptical that it will be an effective missionary tool. Being a hip (or Hip Hop) priest carries with it a certain worldly glamor. It attracts a lot of attention to the self. The priest should never be the center of attention. Neither should the style of worship or the latest fad get in the way of the worship of God. People who want to be Christian missionaries today should learn as much as they can from the examples of their predecessors who were selfless and humble, dedicated to spreading the Gospel in a way which would make it culturally understandable, but also keep it authentic.

I don't see the Hip Hop Prayer Book as being faithful to the Christian tradition. Hip Hop is not a language or even a real culture. Hip Hoppers belong to a subculture and exist in many cultures throughout the world. In regard to liturgical texts, I think conservatism is best because the spiritual life which those sacred texts form, is complex and delicate--it does not react well to experimentation.

Listen to Gregorian Chant 24/7 on-line

2006-02-15T22:22:00.000-06:00

Yes, it's true! The bright and shining day hath finally arriv-ed when all who have speedy connec-ti-ons may hearken unto the graceful airs of Latin melody.

By going to this site and clicking the button marked "TUNE IN," you, too can be a partaker of this fabulous new phenomena, the best thing since illuminated manuscripts.

All right, as an honest disclaimer, it's not the BEST chant (it might cause some people, like my father, to have horrible flashbacks to the hacked chant of the Vatican Christmas Midnight mass of yore), and it IS randomly interspersed with very nicely sung snippets of what appears to be some celebrated collegiate chorus chirping an American folk song, beautifully arranged with whispy harmonies, etc. But it's worth a visit. Perhaps those more technologically advanced than I could use it as a prototype for a Western Orthodox version of AncientFaithRadio. Eh?

In other news, OrthodoxTidings now has an online shop. We're offering an array of products featuring original designs. As always, let me know what you think and if you have any ideas. Also, if you have a shop featuring Orthodox Christian goods, let me know and I'll link it. Also, contact me if you would like to advertise. Proceeds from the online shop sales, if there are any customers besides myself, will go to support the Orthodox Tidings websites. So far, it costs about $10 a month for a basic package. God-willing, in the distant future we might be able to expand the operation to put up more articles and pages and perhaps do a publication of the ever-expanding St. Severin Prayer Book.

2006-02-06T12:33:00.000-06:00

Morning and Evening Prayers for the St. Severin Prayer Book are now complete and uploaded on the Orthodox Tidings Web site. A new link has been added for the St. Severin Prayer Book direct from the main site so no digging is necessary.

Orthodox Tidings Yahoo! Discussion Group Created

2006-02-06T00:46:00.000-06:00

If you look to the right at the list of links, you will find the Orthodox Tidings Yahoo! Discussion Group.

Here is a very basic description of this brand new forum:

"Exploring traditional, Orthodox Christianity in the past, present and future, the Orthodox Tidings Yahoo Group welcomes everyone who wishes to learn more about traditional Christianity in general and Orthodoxy in specific. We believe that the catholic heritage of the Orthodox Church is a precious treasure which must be guarded, cared for, studied, and lived. To this end, we will endeavor to use this group list for our mutual edification."

Here's part of an e-mail invitation I wrote for the group:

"You are invited to join my Yahoo! Group 'Orthodox Tidings' for discussion about all aspects of Orthodox tradition--whether in the past, present, or future. Each Orthodox Christian has experience, education, and expertise in an area which relates to the Orthodox tradtion whether you know it or not. I was hoping that we could use this group as a way to learn more about the Orthodox tradition from one another and whoever else might join the group.

I know we're all amateurs, but as amateurs we do a lot of reading or have experience or informed opinions on certain things which could be helpful and edifying. This group gives us a chance to share something meaningful and interesting with a larger audience."

Membership in the group is not limited to Orthodox Christians. Everyone who loves the Orthodox tradition and traditional Christianity is welcome.

Orthodox Tidings Page UPDATED!

2006-02-06T00:43:00.000-06:00

Every page of the Orthodox Tidings Web site has been updated in some way. Some pages are still under construction.

The St. Severin Prayer Book has been updated. The full order for Morning Prayers with complete rubrics is now available. The full order of Evening Prayers is also up, but the rubrics need to be updated.

Let me know what you think.

Update on the St. Severin Prayer Book

2006-02-03T14:24:00.000-06:00

Full Evening and Morning Prayers are just about ready to be uploaded onto the Orthodox Tidings website for the St. Severin Prayer Book. The Evening Prayers posted now is a much shorter version of what will be posted. After that is finished, work will begin on orders for preparation and thanksgiving for Holy Communion. Look for updates sometime next week. As always, suggestions and comments are welcome.

The Conversion of St. Paul

2006-01-25T22:22:00.000-06:00

Today is the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. In honor of this day, here is a hymn from Vespers of the feast.

O thou great Doctor, Paul, we here beseech of thee
Lead thou our spirits up to heavenly mystery,
Till ends the partial knowledge that to us is given
While here below, and we receive the fuller light in heaven.

May everlasting honor, power and glory be
And jubilation, to the Holy Trinity,
The One God, ever ruling all things mightily,
Throughout all endless ages of eternity. Amen.

Christ is born! Glorify Him!

2005-12-27T16:33:00.000-06:00

A CHRISTMAS SERMON OF POPE ST. LEO THE GREAT

Dearly beloved : Unto us is born this day a Saviour. Therefore let us rejoice. Sadness should find no place amongst those who keep the Birthday of Life. For as of this day Life came unto us dying creatures, to take away the sting of death, and to bring the bright promise of joy eternal. And no one is excluded from sharing in this our gladness. For all mankind hath one and the same cause thereof, to wit, that our Lord, the Destroyer of sin and death, because he findeth no one free from condemnation, is come to set everyone free. Rejoice, O saint, for thou drawest nearer thy crown! Rejoice, O sinner, for thy Saviour offereth thee pardon! Rejoice, O Jew, for Messias is come. Rejoice, O Gentile, for God calleth thee to life! Now is come the fulness of time, fixed by the unsearchable counsel of God, when the Son of God took upon him the nature of man, that he might reconcile it to its Maker. Now is come the time when the devil, the inventor of death, is met and beaten in that very flesh which hath been the field of his victory.

When the Almighty Lord entered this field of battle against the devil, he did so in great and wondrous fairness. For against our cruel enemy he opposed not the armament of his uncreate Majesty, but the lowliness of our flesh. He brought against him the very shape and the very nature of our mortality, with this difference only, that he was without sin. For his birth is not like that of the ordinary run of men, of whom there is the saying : No one is clean from stain, not even the day-old babe. In this birth alone no desires of the flesh had place. In this birth alone no consequence of sin had part. A Virgin of the kingly lineage of David was chosen to be the Mother who grew heavy with the sacred Child. She was chosen to conceive this divine and human offspring in her body because already she had conceived him in her soul. And that the unwonted events ordained by the counsel of God might cause her no alarm, she was taught them beforehand when the Angel announced that what was to be wrought in her was of the Holy Ghost, and that to become the Mother of God was not to forego her virgin modesty.

Wherefore, dearly beloved, let us give thanks to God the Father, through his Son, in the Holy Ghost : who for his great love, wherewith he loved us, hath had mercy on us ; and even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, that in him we might be a new creature, and a new workmanship. Let us then put off the old man with his deeds. And, having obtained a share in the Sonship of Christ, let us renounce the deeds of the flesh. Acknowledge, O Christian, thine own dignity, who hast been made partaker of the divine nature, and change not back my misdoing into thy former baseness. Bethink thee whose Body it is whereof thou art made a member, and who is its Head. Be mindful that he hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and translated us into God's light and God's kingdom.

To him be the glory, the honor, and the worship, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.

St. Severin Prayer Book

2005-12-09T14:28:00.000-06:00

The St. Severin Prayer book should be working by now. It might take my server a little while, but hopefully by tomorrow, everything will be all right. If you go to the Orthodox Tidings site and scroll down to the Orthodox Prayers link, the page you come to should have a green background. Scroll down to the Western Orthodox Prayers link. This page will be blue. Scroll down and you'll find the St. Severin Prayer Book link. Below the icon of St. Severin of Noricum, Enlightener of Austria, you should see a link for "Evening Prayers."

Now, about the St. Severin Prayer Book. It is not an acutal, published prayer book, but rather a compilation of texts--not all of which have received official approval from an Orthodox bishop. It's my own project, to put together a prayerbook which could serve as a resource for Western Rite Orthodox and other Christians. I am always open to suggestions and comments. (But, please pray for a while before you make a denunciation.)

The order for Evening Prayers is not Compline. I hope to include the canonical hours (Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, and Compline) on the Western Orthodox Prayers site later. St. Severin Evening Prayers and the forthcoming Morning Prayers will draw from the hours, but also include other apporpriate prayers compiled in an orderly way.

If you should have a moment, look over my first offering, "Evening Prayers," and see if you would feel comfortable praying them. If so, pray them once or a few times and let me know how it feels.

When St. John Maximovitch's French Orthodox Western Rite flock brought to him a restored Gallican Rite liturgy for approval, he decided to try it out before making a definitive decision.

Orthodoxtidings.com UPDATED

2005-12-09T01:00:00.000-06:00

This is to let everyone know that my web site Orthodox Tidings has been recently updated. Among the added features is the St. Severin Prayer Book. It's a work in progress, but I hope to continue adding more and more texts. You can access it through the Orthodox Prayers link on the main page. My computer is weird, so I wasn't able to access it myself to give a direct address, but you should have no problem. If you can't get to it, let me know. Enjoy.

Requiem Hymn

2005-10-20T18:17:00.000-05:00

Christ enthroned in highest heaven,
Hear us crying from the deep,
For the faithful ones departed,
For the souls of all that sleep,
As Thy kneeling Church entreateth,
Hearken, Shepherd of the sheep.

Let Thy plenteous loving-kindness
On them, as we pray, be poured;
Let them through Thy boundless mercy,
From all evil be restored;
Hearken to the gentle pleading
Of Thy Mother, gracious Lord.

When, O kind and radiant Jesus,
Kneels the Queen, Thy throne before,
Let the court of Saints attending
Mercy for the dead implore;
Hearken, loving Friend of sinners,
Whom the cross exhalted bore.

Hear and answer prayers devoutest;
Break, O Lord, each binding chain;
Dash the Gates od Death assunder,
Quell the Devil and his train;
Bring the souls which Thou hast ransomed,
Evermore in joy to reign. Amen.

--from the "Traditional St. Augustine's Prayer Book,"
published by the Anglican Parishes Association

[Singing Note: The above hymn fits nicely to the tune "Pange Lingua" in the Sarum melody. Meter: 87.87.87]

[Rubrical Note: "Christ Enthroned in Highest Heaven" is, apparently, sung after the Requiem Mass, but I don't see why it can't be sung at other times in private prayers for the departed.]

[Textual Note: Kneeling and praying for a restoration from evil for the departed reminds me of the Eastern Rite Kneeling Prayers at Pentecost Vespers, when the Church prays for all those in hell. The Kneeling Prayers have such gravity to them, being the prayers of the Church on her greatest feast for the greatest petition--that God have mercy on those suffering in hell. There are seven Kneeling Prayers, one for each day of the week. A priest I know recommended that we pray one each day. I'll post them later.]

A Morning Prayer

2005-10-16T16:46:00.000-05:00

Glory bo to Thee, O Lord,
Glory to Thee.
Glory to Thee
Who hast given me sleep
To recruit my weakness,
And to remit the toils of this fretful flesh.

To this day and all days,
A perfect,
Holy,
Peaceful,
Healthy,
Sinless course,
Vouchsafe, O Lord.

The angel of peace,
A faithful guide,
Guardian of souls and bodies,
To encamp round about me,
And ever to prompt what is salutary,
Vouchsafe, O Lord.

Pardon and remission
Of all sins and of all offences,
Vouchsafe, O Lord.

To our souls
What is good and convenient,
And peace to the world,
Vouchsafe, O Lord.

Repentance and strictness
For the residue of our life,
And health
And peace to the end,
Vouchsafe, O Lord.

Whatsoever things are true,
Whatsoever things are honest,
Whatsoever things are lovely,
Whatsoever things are of good report,
If there be any virtue,
If there be any praise,
That I may think on these things and do them,
Vouchsafe, O Lord.

A Christian close,
Without sin,
Without shame,
And, should it please Thee,
Without pain,
And a good answer
At the dreadful judgement seat of Jesus Christ our Lord,
Vouchsafe, O Lord.
Amen.

--by Lancelot Andrewes
from "The Private Prayers of Lancelot Andrewes"
translated by John Henry Newman
put into verse by EJ
(Andrewes wrote his private devotions in Greek.)

Evidence of Warm Faith in the Alaskan Winter

2005-10-14T21:45:00.000-05:00

"On January 23 of 1860, an extraordinary event happened. Before Sunday, I was performing the vigil service during which I read an akathist in honor of the Mother of God. After the service ended I put out all the candles, which I always do myself. After this I, along with the songleader, left the church. As soon as we reached the door of my house, the songleader by chance turned his head back and saw light inside the church. Returning to the church, the reader noticed that right in front of the icon depicting the Mother of God a candle was again aflame. The songleader was scared. With great fear he approached the candle and put out the flame. Then he came back and told me what he had seen. I was so confused I could not find any explanation except telling him that probably somebody might have prayed zealously and that the Mother of God shows us that the pious prayer, as the undying candle, is aflame before Our Lord God."

--Hegumen Nikolai Militov, first clergy missionary to the Kenai Peninsula, quoted from "Through Orthodox Eyes: Russian Missionary Narratives of Travels to the Dena'ina and Ahtna, 1850s-1930s," translated by Andrei Znamenski.

Father Nikolai is one of the few Russian Orthodox missionaries who served in Alaska to his last breath, leaving his bones amongst the Natives. He is buried on the Kenai Peninsula, where he served. He was a man full of Christian charity and love and as a missionary, he was lenient. He did not insist on his own way, but was instead an example of Orthodox piety, rather than an enforcer. --EJ

Prayers to the Holy Spirit

2005-10-13T23:27:00.000-05:00

Almighty, beneficent, lover of man, God of all, maker of the visible and the invisible, savior and restorer, provider and pacifyer, O mighty Spirit of the Father, we entreat thee with open arms and pray with sighs and cries standing before thine awful presence.

We draw near with great trembling and utmost fear to offer first this reasonable sacrifice to thine unsearchable power, as to the sharer of the unalienable honor of the Father in throne, in glory and in creation; to thee, the searcher of the hidden depth of the mysteries of the all-perfect will of the Father of Emmanuel, who sendeth thee and who is the savior, the life-giver and the creator of all.

Through thee was made known to us the triune personality of the one Godhead, whereof thou also art known to be one, O thou who art incomprehensible! By thee and through thee did the ancient scions of the patriarchal family, named seers, declare in plain language the things past and the things to come, the things that have come to be and the things that have not yet come to be.

O Spirit of God, Moses proclaimed thee as the one who, moving on the surface of the waters -- uncircumscribed power as thou art -- and brooding with tremendous envelopment and covering and defending the newly born under thy wings in tenderly love, hast made known the mystery of the font.

On the example of the same pattern, before setting up the fluid element of the last screen, thou didst form in lordly manner, O mighty one, the complete natures of all beings and of all things out of nothing.

Through thee all these thy creatures are created for the renewing of the resurrection, which will be in that time which is the last day of this life and the first day of the land of the living. The first-born Son, being of the same generation as thou art and of the same essence of the Father, obeyed thee also with oneness of will, as he did his Father. He, being in our likeness, announced thee as very God, equal and consubstantial with his mighty Father. He declared blasphemy against thee to be unforgiable and he stopped the impious mouths of them that rebel against thee, as of such that fight against God, while he forgave blasphemy against himself, the righteous and the spotless one, finder of all, who was betrayed for our sins and rose again for our justification. Unto him be glory through thee, and unto thee be praise with the Father almighty, unto the ages of ages. Amen.

(I shall again repeat the same order of speech, until confidence in the upward contemplation of light be wonderfully revealed, announcing and bringing the good news of peace once more from on high.)

We beseech and implore thee with tearful sighs from the depth of our souls, O glorified creator, uncorruptible, uncreate, timeless, merciful Spirit, who makest intercession for us to the Father with unutterable groanings, who keepest the saints and cleansest the sinners and makest them temples of the living and life-giving will of the Father most high.

And now, deliver us from all unclean deeds that are not agreeable to thy dwelling, and may the shining light of thy grace be not quenched within us, in the perceiving eyes of our understanding; for we have learnt that thou dost unite with us by means of prayers and of approved behavior that are sweet like incense.

And inasmuch as one of the Trinity is offered and another accepteth the same, being well pleased in us through the reconciling blood of his first-born, do thou accept our supplications and prepare us to be habitations of honor in all readiness to be worthy to taste the heavenly Lamb and to receive, without the punishments of damnation, this immortalizing manna of life of the new deliverance.

And let our offence be consumed by this fire, as was that of the Prophet by the live burning coal held to him with the tongs, that in all things thy compassion be proclaimed, as the loving-kindness of God the Father was proclaimed through the Son, who brought the prodigal son into the paternal inheritance and advanced the harlots into the heavenly kingdom of the blessed righteous.

Yea, yea, I also am one of them. Receive me also with them as one who is in need of great loving-kindness and who has been freed by thy grace and has been purchased by the blood of Christ; that in all this thy Godhead may be made known to be in all, being glorified with the Father, in equal honor, in one will and in one praised authority. For thine is the compassion, the power, the loving-kindness, the strength and the glory unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Gregory of Narek
from the Armenian Divine Liturgy of St. Gregory the Illuminator,
translated by Archbishop Tiran Nersoyan, 1958

St. Edward the Confessor

2005-10-13T22:45:00.000-05:00

Today is the feast of St. Edward the Confessor, who was known for his charity and the miracles God worked through him even during his lifetime. He died in January of 1066, on the eve of the Norman Invasion of England, and is counted among the patron saints of that country.

Be merciful and pray for the dead

2005-09-01T22:59:00.000-05:00

"Be merciful; pray for the departed."

--St. John of San Francisco

Among the saints give rest, O Lord, to the souls of Your departed servants, where there is neither sickness, nor sorrow, nor sighing, but life everlasting.

You only are immortal, Who has created and fashioned us, for out of the earth were we mortals made, and to the same shall be returned again, as You did command when you made me saying unto me, "For you are dust and unto dust shall you return," whither we mortals all shall go, making our lamentation the song, "Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!"

--Eastern Orthodox prayers for the dead, Troparion and Ikos of the Funeral Service, Tone 8.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them.

I believe that my Redeemer liveth, and that in the last day I shall rise from the earth, and in my flesh I shall see my Savior. Whom I myself shall see, and not another, and my eyes shall behold.

Thou Who didst raise Lazarus fetid from the grave, Thou, O Lord, give them rest, and a place of pardon. Who art to come to judge the living and the dead, and the world by fire. Thou, O Lord, give them rest, and a place of pardon.

O Lord, when Thou shalt come to judge the earth, where shall I hide myself from the face of Thy wrath? For I have sinned exceedingly in my life. I dread my misdeeds, and blush before Thee: do not condemn me, when Thou shalt come to judge. For I have sinned exceedingly in my life.

--Western Orthodox prayers for the dead, Matins Antiphons of the First Nocturn from the Benedictine Office of the Dead

The Mystery of Suffering in the Wake of Tragedy

2005-08-31T21:17:00.000-05:00

I cannot remember who it was, but an Orthodox elder once said, "Those who suffer because of their sins receive healing and forgiveness, while those who suffer unjustly become partakers in Christ's sufferings."

Many so-called Christians want to label every disaster as a divine punishment. This simplistic way of thinking, however, has ended up distorting the true teaching about God and His relationship with humanity. Death and suffering of any kind are merely consequences of sins. When Scripture speaks of God's punishment, it means that God allows us to taste the consequences of our actions. This punishment, it is important to note, is given in hope that we will recognize our weakness and inability to live without God and return to Him in repentance. God's chief desire, expressed most poignantly in the Incarnation, is a relationship of love and communion with each human being. Everything that Jesus Christ the God-man endured and accomplished--His Incarnation, His childhood, His teaching, the miracles and healings, His forgiving the sins of the woman caught in adultery and the paralytic, the fasting in the wilderness and His temptation, His Baptism, the hatred of the Jewish elders, the little faith of His disciples, His betrayal by a friend, His rejection by His own people, the Crucifixion on Golgotha, His forgiveness of those who crucified Him, etc.--was meant for each one of us, to draw us to Himself. Likewise, as the saints are immitators of Christ, they seek by their words, miracles, and hardships endured to draw individuals to God.

Thus all suffering, even the most senseless, is blessed because through it we can draw nearer to God. This happens because pain removes the barriers we have placed between ourselves and God. It humbles us so that we can turn to God and realize how near He is, how much love He has for us. No one who endures pain and agony in this life patiently and with hope in God will be without consolation. Christ our God Himself, after all, became a human being in order to suffer with us, in order know suffering and death and thereby take away our sins. This is a mystery, a sacrament, for now each pain we endure, we endure with Christ.

So, let the tongues of unbelievers who question God's goodness each time a tragedy happens be silent. And let those who love Christ and hope in Him take courage. Because of the Cross, suffering is no longer tragic, but redemptive. The brilliant Resurrection of Christ already shines upon us from the dawn of eternity. Let us, then, forget grief and despair and remember God Who has prepared glorious and indescribable things for those who love Him. And let us endure, putting hope in God and waiting on Him, for all those who endure to the end will be saved. Amen.

Mozarabic Hymn for St. Augustine

2005-08-28T00:16:00.000-05:00

Lux Deus Christe, pietas redundans,
Qui tuum vatem haerese reductum
Rite Augustinum amans alumnum
Efficis aptum;

Hujus obtentu dolum hinc remove,
Patriam serva, populos guberna;
Omnis lis absit, affluat redemptis
Gratia pacis.

Charitas efflet copulam recisis:
Sit procul ira, abeat ruina:
Clades abscedant, fames, atque languor,
Noxia quaeque.

Clerus doctrina rutilet corusca:
Pontifex celsum apicem retentet
Labe abstersa, operibusque almis
Post placitura.

Laus tibi insultet jubilo perenni,
Trinitas simplex, Deitasque una,
Cuncta qui condens, opifex in aethere,
Crederis auctor.
Amen.

If anyone can translate this into English or knows of an English translation, let me know. Hopefully something in the same meter. The Latin text goes very well to the tune of the Sarum festal melody for "Nocte Surgentes" (11.11.11.5), but in Mozarabic chant it would be completely different. I would guess that, like all other liturgical rites of the Church (Coptic and possibly Ethiopian excepted) the Mozarabic rite has eight tones/modes. I don't know what those sound like specifically or what tone this hymn would be in. If anyone has any information on this, I'd love to read it.

Blessed Feast of Blessed Augustine!

2005-08-27T22:57:00.000-05:00

St. Augustine, Bishop, Confessor, and Doctor of the Church, was born at Tagaste in North Africa (modern Tunisia) in A.D. 354. He was the son of St. Monica (August 27) and a pagan father, Patricius, who later was converted through the good counsel and example of his wife. As a young man, St. Augustine was very bright. The temptations of the world, however, led him away from the Christian upbringing of his boyhood. He traded the Orthodox faith for the teaching of heretics and corrupted his soul and body through debauchery and impurity. St. Monica's love and concern for her son led her to spend hours in tearful, whole-hearted prayer to God that he might repent. The grace of God, the love of his mother, and the teaching of St. Ambrose of Milan (December 7) brought Blessed Augustine to a life of repentance, purity, and Orthodox faith. He was baptized by St. Ambrose and then consecrated Bishop of Hippo, going on to become a Universal Teacher and Father of the Church. He was a bishop for 36 years and wrote many books, becoming perhaps the most prolific of the Fathers. He is especially known and loved for his "Confessions," an autobiography of his early years and conversion. He also was a defender of the Orthodox Faith, most notably against the heresy of Pelagianism which denied the active role of God's grace in human salvation. This most blessed teacher and friend of God died in A.D. 430. May his blessing be with us all and may he pray that all of us enter the kingdom of God. Amen.

Collect for Blessed Augustine of Hippo
"O almighty God, hearken to our supplications, and by the intercession of blessed Augustine, Thy Confessor and Bishop, graciously grant the effect of Thy wonted mercy to those who hope in Thy lovingkindness. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who with Thee liveth and reigneth in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God unto the ages of ages. Amen" [from "The Monastic Diurnal."]

A Prayer to St. Augustine of Africa
"O noblest of the teachers of the Church of God, and mightiest pillar of faith, and reverend light of the world, and wondrous pattern of virtue, Augustine, commend to Christ God in my behalf the supplications which I now offer to thee, and commending them, defend me at all times with Thy fatherly tenderness. By thy holy intercession, confirm me in good deeds; protect me from every enemy; make me steadfast in faith; strengthen me in hope, edify me in holy charity. By thine intercession, drive far from me all which is evil, and add to me that which is expedient for me. And after my flesh's passing, commend my spirit unto God, that through thee, O holiest Confessor, I may attain to eternal life. Amen."
[from "Orthodox Prayers of Old England."]

For those wishing to read more about Blessed Augustine, I suggest the book "Augustine and His World," by Andrew Knowles and Pachomios Penkett. It is short and full of color illustrations and photoraphs, explaining not only St. Augustine's life, but also the context of his life--Roman North Africa, Pelagianism, curch history, local economy, etc.

St. Augustine on Spiritual Struggle
"Sometimes You cause me to enter into an extraordinary depth of feeling marked by a strange sweetness. If it were brought to perfection in me, it would be an experience quite beyond anything in this life. But I fall back into my usual ways under my miserable burdens. I am reabsorbed by my habitual practices. I am held in their grip. I weep profusely, but still I am held. Such is the strength of the burden of habit. Here I have the power to be, but do not wish it. There I wish to be, but lack the power. On both grounds I am in misery." [Confessions 10.40.65]

St. Augustine on Christ's Incarnation
"Man's maker was made man that He, Ruler of the stars, might nurse at His mother's breast; that the Bread might hunger, the Fountain thirst, the Light sleep, the Way be tired on its journey; that Truth might be accused of false witness, the Teacher be beaten with whips, the Foundation be suspended on wood; that Strength might grow weak; that the Healer might be wounded; that Life might die." [Sermons 191.1]

St. Augustine on Charity
"Those who have need of others must not be abandoned by those whom they need." [Letters 228.2]

A very blessed feast to all!

August 27: Western Orthodox Saints

2005-08-27T12:59:00.000-05:00

Agilo
+ 957. Monk of St Aper in Toul in France. He was invited to restore monastic discipline at Sithin (Saint Bertin).
Caesarius of Arles
470-543. Born in Châlon-sur-Saône in France, he became a monk at Lérins when young and then Bishop of Arles. He presided at several Councils and founded a convent afterwards called after him at Arles, where his sister St Caesaria became abbess. He was zealous for decorum in liturgy and excelled as a preacher. His homilies still exist. During the distress caused by the siege of Arles in 508, he sold the treasures of his church to help the poor.
Decuman (Dagan)
+ 706. Born in Wales, he lived as a hermit at what is now St Decumans in Somerset in England, where he was martyred.
Ebbo
+ 740. Born in Tonnerre, he was a monk at Saint-Pierre-le-Vif in Sens in France. He became Bishop of Sens which he saved in 725 when it was besieged by the Saracens.
Etherius (Alermius)
+ 602. Bishop of Lyons in France.
Euthalia
A virgin-martyr in Leontini in Sicily.
Gebhard
+ 995. Bishop of Constance in Germany (979-995). In 983 he founded the monastery of Petershausen near Constance where he was buried.
John
+ 813. Bishop of Pavia in Lombardy in the north of Italy 801-813.
Licerius (Lizier)
+ c 548. Born in Spain, probably in Lérida (Ilerda), he went to France and in 506 became Bishop of Couserans.
Malrubius
+ c 1040. An hermit in Merns in Kincardineshire in Scotland, martyred by Norwegian invaders.
Monica
332-387. Born in Carthage in North Africa of Christian parents, she married a pagan and had three children. Through her patience and gentleness she converted her husband and through her prayers and tears her wayward son, who became Blessed Augustine of Hippo. She reposed in Ostia near Rome and her relics are preserved in Rome.
Narnus
First Bishop of Bergamo in Italy.
Rufus and Carpophorus (Carpone)
+ 295. Martyrs in Capua under Diocletian. Rufus was a deacon.
Rufus of Capua
Bishop of Capua and disciple of St Apollinaris of Ravenna.
Syagrius (Siacre)
+ 600. Bishop of Autun in France c 560-600.

It is time to repent, make haste. Help me, O my Savior!

2005-08-27T01:46:00.000-05:00

A CANON OF REPENTANCE
Composed by Elder Hieroschemamonk Sampson (An English convert in Russia) in 1965

It is time to repent, make haste. Help me, O my Saviour!

Ode I
Wretched, I have been wounded by my sins and passions, and seeing me prostrate, the enemy maketh glad. O Thou Who givest life and raisest the dead, save me!

See my infirmity, see the grievous deformity of my soul and hear my voice, O Most Merciful Christ, and change my formlessness into beauty.

I have wasted the riches that Christ gave me in evil living, and become naked, clothed in the deeds of dishonour, therefore I cry unto Thee: Adorn me in my first, Divine raiment, touching me with grace and tender mercy.

I have been filled with many bitter falls into sin, O compassionate and longsuffering Lord: Have compassion for me who standeth condemned and turn me not away from Thy face.

O Christ, Thou didst justify the publican who sighed in repentance, and I have become like unto him, I beat my breast and call unto Thee: Cleanse me, O Thou Who alone art Compassionate and Most Merciful.

I have fallen into an abyss of grievous sins and a tempest of passions, I call out unto Thee, O my Saviour Christ, raise me up by Thy mighty arm and save me.

I am vanquished by bodily passions and, though granted words to speak, am become wordless: O Word of God, Who by a word saved the harlot, save me a wretch, that I may bless and sing of Thy goodness.

As Thou, O Righteous Judge, makest ready to come to judge mankind, in which dread hour I shall be condemned, send me not into the fire of gehenna, but spare me, spare me and save me!

Behold, it is time to repent, behold the day: Make my deeds to be deeds of light, flee from the darkness of the passions, drive away the sleep of evil despondency, that thou (Name) mayest be a partaker of the Divine Light.

Ode III
A thousand times, O Saviour, I have promised to repent, but my soul hath no feeling and I fall into transgessions: O Saviour, have compassion for my infirmity.

O Jesus my Saviour, in the dread day appear not unto me who am in despair: But before the end turn me unto Thee, and deliver me from bitter torment.

I have befouled my hands and my feet, my lips and my eyes, and made myself to do evil, and though depending on Thy longsuffering, I have turned Thy compassion into wrath: But looking upon me, have compassion, O my Saviour.

In folly I join sin unto sin, and I have no fear of my death: Woe is me, how will I appear unto Thee, O my Saviour!

Like unto the Canaanite woman of old, I call unto Thee, O Saviour: O Son of God, have mercy on me and show compassion. My soul suffereth in grievous sins and is not ready to come to its senses.

I have cast off Thy Laws and yielded to lusts without reason, doing that which is unbecoming, for I have busied myself in my folly, like no other man on earth: Leave me not to perish, O Saviour, for the sake of Thy love for mankind.

I was conceived in iniquity like David, and I weep like the harlot, and like a greatly troublesome servant, I have troubled Thee, O God Who alone art Good: Leave me not to perish, O Saviour, for the sake of Thy love for mankind.

Thou, O good Shepherd, O Word, convert and save my wretched soul that wandereth on the hills of transgression: That the cunning enemy may not consume me unto the end.

O how dread is Thy judgement-seat, where I await to be judged, O Christ, and I feel no fear at all, passing all my time in ways unbecoming! But convert me who hath sinned, O Only Creator, as Thou didst convert Mannaseh.

Stop the streams of my countless evil deeds, give unto me streams of tears to wash away the foulness, and save me by Thy mercy, O Thou Who didst save the harlot who repented from her soul.

Ode IV
Of old Mannaseh repented with all his soul, and he was saved bound from amidst his bonds, for he cried out to the Only Lord: For Him, O (Name), be zealous and thou wilt be saved.

Senselessly I have cast off the Law of God and stand to be condemned, and I know not what I do, O Most Righteous Judge. Have compassion and save me by Thy mercy.

O Physician of the sick, heal the passions of my heart by Thy mercy, covering it with the plaster of repentance, Divine healing, that I may truly glorify Thee, O my Saviour.

Sprinkling me with my repentance, cleanse me from the foulness of my passions, that I may appear clean unto Thee, when Thou comest to judge all by Thy righteous judgement.

The wounds of my thrice-wretched soul have become putrid, O Saviour. Having healed me, O Healer of the sick and Giver of good things, save me, for Thy great mercy's sake.

I groan and abide in evil. I weep, but tremble not before the Judge, for I have lost all feeling. O Word of God, have compassion for me and save me by Thy gracious judgements.

I have soiled myself with my lustful eyes and befouled myself with the touch of intemperance, and I have become abominable before Thee, O Jesus. But like the prodigal, accept me.

O Thou of many mercies, vouchsafe that I may cross over to the holy land, where dwell the meek, with repentance throughly wash my earthly self and my sins, O Thou Who wast born of the Virgin without sin.

Behold, now is the acceptable time, behold, now is the time of cleansing. Turn and desire other things, O (Name), bring forth the fruit of repentance, that the dread axe of death may not find thee barren, and cutting thee down as the fig-tree of old, may not send thee into the everlasting fire.

Ode V
O Lord, I ever join sins unto sins, a prodigal, I feel no fear of Thee, O Lord: Therefore save me before the end and have compassion for me.

Behold, it is time, O my soul, arise from the evils that thou hast done, and with fear cry out to the Lord and Deliverer: Open unto me the doors of repentance, O my Saviour!

I was bared of virtues and clothed in evil, and behold, I am filled with shame, O Jesus Who lovest mankind, make me bright with raiment divine.

All the days I have been darkened with illusions and the despondency of this passing and perishable life, O Jesus, show compassion and direct my life towards the light of repentance.

Wretched, I have weighed down my soul with the slumber of carelessness, and am cast down in the sleep of sin, raise me up to the light of repentance, O Lord, and by Thy mercy save me.

O merciful Christ, have compassion for me, vouchsafe that I may groan like the publican of old and like the harlot who cried out with ardour; that I too may wash away the darkness of my many transgressions.

Like repentant Manasseh of old, save me, and have compassion for me like the harlot who wept, and the thief who was justified by a word; O my Saviour, wash me from the darkness of my passions, I have sinned many times and grievously, accept me, O Saviour, as I cry out: Blessed is the God of our fathers.

Like the harlot, in thought I cling unto Thy feet and wash them with my tears, O Word: O my Saviour, wash me from the darkness of my passions, and now proclaim even unto me, Thy faith hath saved thee, that I may sing of Thy mercy beyond measure.

Ode VI
When thy deeds, O (Name), are revealed unto the angelic hosts standing before the Judge, what answer wilt thou find for thy shame, if thou dost not cry out before the end and weep: I have sinned, O Gracious Lord, have mercy on me!

I am always promising to repent unto Thee, O God; sinning again, what will become of me, how will I appear, when Thou judgest the earth!

I have not cared for Thy words of enlightenment, O Lord, I have done dark deeds, and I fear Thy Dread Judgement-Seat there.

Because of my deeds there is no salvation for me, wretched, in much I have sinned on earth, and I shall tremble at Thy Dread Judgement-Seat, when Thou, O God, comest to condemn the transgressor of Thy commandments.

How foolish I have been, how dark I am become, doing evil deeds! How I have not understood the fear of Thee, O Christ, I have gone down to the earth and become like the dumb beasts of the field. But convert me, O God of all!

Forgive my iniquities and unrighteousness, my countless transgressions, O Christ, and deliver me from the torments to come, for the sake of the multitude of Thy compassions, O God.

Filled with evils and every lie and lust, the serpent stole me away with cunning and craft. But sighing, I call: O Word, cast me not away who am condemned and foolish in my life.

May I magnify Thy longsuffering, O Jesus my Saviour: Show me Thy longsuffering again and cut me not down like the barren fig-tree, that I may bring unto Thee the fruits of repentance.

Ode VII
O my Deliverer, O Jesus, as Thou didst deliver the harlot who of old truly repented of many transgressions, I pray unto Thee: Deliver me also from my countless sins, for Thou art Most Merciful.

Look upon me with Thy Merciful eye, when I come before Thee and am judged, O Lord, Who Alone art easily entreated.

Give unto me streams of tears to dry up the wellsprings of my passions and wash away the darkness of every sin, extinguishing the everlasting and inextinguishable fire of gehenna, O Thou Compassionate and Most Merciful.

Behold, I am Thy slothful servant who hid Thy talent and wasted himself in the evil deeds of the passions: But send me not into the fire.

I was Thy son by grace, O Compassionate Christ, I was enslaved to the enemy and took myself afar off from Thee, living as a prodigal: Therefore convert me and save me.

Show me not the rejoicing of the demons in the day of dread, O Christ Jesus, that then I may not hear the voice sending me into the fire of gehenna.

O Compassionate One, heal the unhealable passions of my heart, grant me to cut off my transgressions, make light my heavy burden, that with tenderness of heart I may ever glorify Thee, the Eternal God of our fathers.

Goodness is to end for me: I pray Thee, make an end to my evil deeds, though I have no zeal, for my heart is hardened. Show compassion and have mercy on me, O Word of God!

O Jesus my Saviour, Who lovest mankind, Who alone knowest my infirmity in which I am clothed, for Thy mercy's sake, come and cleanse me thereof: And so cleanse the foul and wicked impurity and putrid wounds of my evils and save me.

Ode VIII
I constantly sin and have no fear of Thee, O Christ, Who awaitest my repentance in longsuffering: Give unto me the thought of turning to Thee and disdain me not, for Thou art Good.

Thou Who overlookest the sins of men for the sake of Thy great love for mankind, O Christ, overlook my many evils, my Only Saviour, that I may glorify Thy great Goodness.

Send down unto me streams of tears, O Lord and Word of God: That I may wash away the darkness of my many transgressions.

O Word, deliver me from Thy righteous wrath, when Thou judgest the earth, and when cleansed from my many transgressions through repentance, show me the temple of Thy Grace, O Only Maker of all.

I have been shown to be a prodigal, living in foulness on earth and bowing down before the pursuit of the passions: Turn me unto Thee, O Christ my God, and save me, for Thou lovest mankind.

I have fallen into the passion of dishonour, I have become like the beasts of the field, I have been darkened, I do not see Thy longsuffering waiting, O my Saviour. Grant me the time to turn unto Thee and save me.

I have ended my life in sloth, doing that which it is not fitting to do, and behold, now I have drawn closer to the gates of hell, I come not to my senses, I have no fear: Disdain me not, O Christ, Who Alone art Good.

Now the Bridegroom is at the doors, make bright with light, pouring on the oil of mercy and every good deed. Before the door closeth, with Christ make haste to enter into unspeakable joy.

Like the Canaanite woman I call unto Thee: Have mercy on me, as of old on her who had nothing, correct me, O Jesus my Saviour, while I have time to repent and pray.

Ode IX
Fill my heart with tender mercy, O Christ, that in repentance I may enter into Thy habitations and in confession pray unto Thee, Who dost absolve me from my transgressions.

Washing away the wicked foulness of my heart, vouchsafe that on the day of dread I may appear spotless before Thee, O Christ my Saviour, for Thou art Most Good.

O Lord, Thou Thyself knowest my hidden and unrevealed secrets, for I have transgressed before Thee mightily: Have compassion for me through Thy great compassion, O Word of God, for Thou art Merciful, and give unto me the cleansing time of repentance.

Thou Who at a command didst cleanse the harlot and the lepers, O Maker of all, cleanse my humble soul of foul sin, and I pray Thee, O Lord, make me fair with shining raiment.

Absolving me from the bonds of many transgressions, O Christ God, direct me to walk without hindrance in Thy path, that renouncing the flesh, and setting me in the resting-places of the saints, I may glorify Thee.

Like the publican I sigh, like the harlot I weep, like Peter I call out, I am sunk in transgressions, O Christ, give me a hand of help and save me.

A fool, I have exalted myself like the pharisee of old, and have fallen a grievous fall, and seeing me, the devil maketh glad. O Word of God, disdain me not!

I have befouled my hands in all manner of evil deeds, how wilt thou raise them aloft when thou speakest unto God? I have made my footsteps unbecoming by walking in shameful deeds. But make haste to walk in the paths of salvation with repentance.

As Thou didst deliver from the torments of hell the good thief who cried out, as Thou didst have compassion for the harlot who wept, like Peter the great disciple and David the Prophet, even on me have mercy, O Saviour, for I am in despair.

Minor Prophets, Major Wisdom

2005-08-27T01:24:00.000-05:00

Although the fig-tree does not burgeon,
the vine bears no fruit,
the olive-crop fails,
the orchards yield no food,
the fold is bereft of its flock
and there are no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will exult in the Lord
and rejoice in the God of my deliverance.
The Lord God is my strength,
who makes my feet nimble as a hind's
and sets me to range the heights.

--Habakkuk 3:17-19, New English Bible

Prayer for Protection during the Night--Western Rite

2005-08-27T00:57:00.000-05:00

O Angel of God, to whose holy care I am committed by the divine Mercy, enlighten, defend and protect me this night from all sin and danger. Amen.

Visit, we beseech Thee, O Lord, this habitation, and drive from it all the snares of the enemy. Let Thy holy Angels dwell herein to preserve us in peace; and may Thy blessing be upon us forever, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

God the Father, bless us; Jesus Christ, defend and keep us; the virtue of the Holy Ghost enlighten and sanctify us this night and forever; and may the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.

Bless, O Lord, the repose I am going to take in order to renew my strength, that I may be better able to serve Thee. O all ye Saints and Angels, but chiefly thou, O Mother of God, intercede for me this night and during the rest of my life, but particularly at the hour of my death.

May the divine assistance remain always with us. Amen.

[from The Roman Missal, 1962]

I'm not sure about the antiquity of the whole set of prayers. "Visit, we beseech Thee" comes from the Benedictine Office, the collect for Compline. "May the divine assistance" is said at the end of each Office and is followed by the response: "And with our absent brethren" in the Benedictine Office. "God the Father, bless us" bears a resemblance to the first section of the Western Litany. I don't know about "Bless, O Lord" and "O Angel of God." Since they are a compilation and come from a later Roman Catholic missal, they could be of quite recent composition. Anyone who knows more is welcome to post comment, of course.

Vespers Hymn for Transfiguration

2005-08-05T15:26:00.000-05:00

All ye who seek for Jesus, raise
your eyes above, and upward gaze:
there may ye see the wondrous sign
of never ending glory shine.

Behold Him in celestial rays
Who never knoweth end of days;
exalted, infinite, sublime;
older than heaven or hell or time.

This is the Gentiles' King and Lord;
the Prince by Judah's race adored,
promised to Abraham of yore
and to his seed forever more.

To him the prophets testify;
and that same witness, from on high,
the Father seals by his decree:
hear and believe my Son, saith He.

All glory, Lord, to Thee we pay,
transfigured on the Mount today;
Whom with the Father we adore,
and Holy Spirit evermore. Amen.

Quicunque Christum quaeritis
by Aurelius Prudentius (348-413)
tr. W.C. Dix
LM

(The Liber Usualis has a rather unmelodic tune for the hymn. If anyone has any ideas on making Gregorian chant more singable, let me know.)

A Real Thanksgiving Prayer

2005-08-05T15:01:00.000-05:00

Worthy of praise from every mouth and thanksgiving from every tongue is the adorable and glorious name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Who created the world in His grace and its inhabitants in His loving-kindness, and redeemed the sons of men in his mercy, and dealt very graciously with mortals.

Thy majesty, O my Lord, a thousand thousand heavenly beings and myriad myriads of angels adore and the hosts of spiritual beings, the ministers of fire and of spirit, glorifying Thy name with the cherubim and the holy seraphim, ceaselessly crying out and glorifying and calling to one another saying: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty: the heavens and the earth are full of His glory. Hosanna in the highest! Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!

And with these heavenly hosts we give Thee thanks, O my Lord, we also Thy unworthy, frail, and miserable servants, because Thou hast dealt very graciously with us in a way which cannot be repaid, in that Thou didst assume our humanity that Thou mightest restore us to life by Thy divinity, and didst exalt our low estate, and raise up our fallen state, and resurrect our mortality, and forgive our sins, and aquit our sinfulness, and enlighten our understanding, and, our Lord and God, overcome our adversaries, and give victory to the unworthiness of our frail nature in the overflowing mercies of Thy grace. And for all Thy benefits and graces towards us we offer Thee glory and honor and thanksgiving and adoration now and at all times and for ever and ever. Amen.

(From the Eucharistic prayer of the Eastern Syrian Liturgy of the Holy Apostles Addai and Mari.)

August 5: Western Orthodox Saints

2005-08-05T14:57:00.000-05:00

Abel
+ c 751 Probably born in Ireland, he became Archbishop of Rheims in France. As his Cathedral was occupied by an intruder, he went to live at the monastery of Lobbes in Belgium.
Afra
+ c 304. A martyr who suffered in Augsburg in Germany, probably under Diocletian. She was venerated there from early times and the monastery of that city was dedicated to her.
Antherus
+ 236. A Greek who was Pope of Rome for only a few weeks. He may have been martyred and was buried in the catacomb of St Callistus, the first Pope to be so.
Cassian of Autun
+ c 350. Bishop of Autun in France, 314-350, he succeeded St Reticius and was famous for his miracles.
Emygdius (Emidius)
+ c 303. A saint whose relics were venerated in Ascoli in Italy.
Fabian
+ 250. Fabian succeeded St Antherus as Pope of Rome in 236 and was martyred in 250 under Decius. St Cyprian described him as an 'incomparable man' and added that the glory of his death matched the purity and goodness of his life.
Gormcal
+ 1016. Abbot of Ardoilen in Galway in Ireland.
Memmius (Menge, Meinge)
+ c 300. Founder and first Bishop of Châlons-sur-Marne in France and Apostle of the region.
Oswald
604-642. The successor of St Edwin on the throne of Northumbria in England, he was baptized in exile on Iona. In 635 he defeated the Welsh King Cadwalla and so his real reign began. One of his main aims was to enlighten his country and so he called on St Aidan to help him. In 642 he fell in battle at Maserfield fighting against the champion of paganism, Penda of Mercia. He has always been venerated as a martyr and his head is still in St Cuthbert's coffin in Durham.
Paris
+ 346. Bishop of Teano near Naples in Italy.
23 Holy Martyrs of Rome
+ 303. Twenty-three martyrs on the Salarian Way in Rome under Diocletian.
Theodoric
+ 863. Bishop of Cambrai-Arras in the north of France c 830-863.
Venantius
+ 544. The most famous of the ancient bishops of Viviers in France.

August 4: Western Orthodox Saints

2005-08-04T01:23:00.000-05:00

Agabius
c 250. An early Bishop of Verona in Italy.
Epiphanes and Isidore
Two early martyrs, venerated at the Cathedral of Besançon in France until the French Revolution.
Euphronius
530-573. Bishop of Tours in France. He worked hard to rebuild Tours after it had been burnt down.
Lua (Lugid, Molua)
c 554-609. Originally from Limerick in Ireland, he became a disciple of St Comgall and founded many monasteries. A great ascetic, he was of great tenderness to both man and beast.
Peregrinus, Maceratus and Viventius
6th cent. By tradition they were two Christian brothers who came from Spain and died in France, seeking to rescue their enslaved sister.
Perpetua
+ c 80. A matron from Rome baptized by the Apostle Peter who converted her husband and her son, St Nazarius. Her relics are enshrined in Milan and Cremona in Italy.
Protasius
A martyr honored in Cologne in Germany.
Sezni
+ c 529. Born in Britain, he went to Guic-Sezni in Brittany, where he founded a monastery and where his relics were venerated. He is the patron saint of Sithney in Cornwall.
Tertullinus
+ 257. A priest, martyred in Rome under Valerian two days after his ordination.

Prayer Rule to the Most Holy Mother of God with the Angelic Salutation

2005-08-04T00:49:00.000-05:00

The following rule of prayer to the Mother of God comes from the book, "An Early Soviet Saint: The Life of Father Zachariah," translated from the Russian samizdat (unpublished, typewritten) manuscript by Jane Ellis, with some editing and adaptation on my part. Soon, Orthodoxtidings.com will have an integrated rule available, combining all three of the below forms, on the Orthodox Prayers page.

This rule is a very ancient form of prayer, not well known in the Orthodox world until St. Seraphim of Sarov's time, but practiced in the Orthodox and Roman Catholic West in various forms for centuries up until the present day.

Basically, it centers on saying the Angelic Salutation:
"Rejoice, O Virgin Mother of God, Mary full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the Fruit of your womb, Jesus, for you have given birth to the Savior of our souls. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen."
The above is a combining of the Eastern and Western forms of the prayer.

The Salutation is said in decades, groups of ten. Usually 15 decades are prayed, but if time does not allow, the prayer can be prayed as many times as possible. A prayer rope makes a convenient companion for this rule. I have seen 150-knot prayer ropes in Russia, possibly used for this rule, but other lengths will work, too. It's most handy to have a rope divided into decades, because after each decade, various prayers are recited.

There's no one way, according to the book mentioned above, to pray after each decade. Here are some ways suggested in the book.

I. After each decade, say the Lord's Prayer ("Our Father...") and "Open unto us the door of your loving-kindness, O blessed Mother of God; so that hoping in you, we may not perish; but through you may be delivered from adversities, for you are the salvation of all Christian people."

II. The Rule can also be accompanied with various meditations on the life of the Mother of God, combined with prayers for people in various circumstances of life.
First decade: Let us remember the birth of the Mother of God–let us pray for mothers, fathers and children.
Second decade: Let us remember the feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin and Mother of God–let us pray for those who have lost their way and fallen away from the church.
Third decade: Let us remember the Annunciation of the Blessed Mother of God–let us pray for the soothing of sorrows and the consolation of those who grieve.
Fourth decade: Let us remember the meeting of the Blessed Virgin with the righteous Elizabeth–let us pray for the reunion of the separated, for those whose dear ones or children are living away from them or missing.
Fifth decade: Let us remember the Birth of Christ–let us pray for the rebirth of souls, for new life in Christ.
Sixth decade: Let us remember the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple, and the words uttered by St. Simeon: "Yea, a sword shall pierce through your own soul also." Let us pray that the Mother of God will meet our souls at the hour of our death, and will contrive that we receive the Holy Mystery of Communion with our last breath, and will deliver our souls from the terrible torments.
Seventh decade: Let us remember the flight of the Mother of God with the God-child into Egypt. Let us pray that the Mother of God will help us avoid temptation in this life and deliver us from misfortunes.
Eighth decade: Let us remember the disappearance of the twelve-year-old boy Jesus in Jerusalem and the sorrow of the Mother of God on His account. Let us pray, begging the Mother of God for the constant repetition of the Jesus Prayer: Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
Ninth decade: Let us remember the miracle performed in Cana of Galilee, when the Lord turned water into wine at the words of the Mother of God, "They have no wine." Let us ask the Mother of God for help in our affairs and deliverance from need.
Tenth decade: Let us remember the Mother of God standing at the cross of the Lord, when grief pierced through her heart like a sword. Let us pray to the Mother of God for the strengthening of our souls and the banishment of despondency.
Eleventh decade: Let us remember the Resurrection of Christ and ask the Mother of God in prayer to resurrect our souls and give us a new courage for spiritual feats.
Twelfth decade: Let us remember the Ascension of Christ, at which the Mother of God was present. Let us pray and ask the Queen of Heaven to raise up our souls from earthly and worldly amusements and direct them to striving for higher things.
Thirteenth decade: Let us remember the Upper Room and the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and the Mother of God. Let us pray: "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me."
Fourteenth decade: Let us remember the Falling Asleep (Repose, Dormition) of the Mother of God, and ask for a peaceful and serene end.
Fifteenth decade: Let us remember the glory of the Mother of God, with which the Lord crowned her after her removal from earth to heaven, and let us pray to the Queen of Heaven not to abandon the faithful who are on earth but to defend them from every evil, covering them with her honorable protecting veil.

III. With these remembrances, one can make the following prayers after each respective decade.
First decade: "Our Lady, Blessed Mother of God, save and preserve your servants (names of parents, relatives and acquaintances), increase their faith and repentance, and when they die give them rest with the saints in your eternal glory."
Second decade: "Our Lady, Blessed Mother of God, save and preserve and unite or re-unite to the Holy Orthodox Church your servants who have lost their path and fallen away, especially (names)."
Third decade: "Our Lady, Blessed Mother of God, soothe our sorrows and send consolation to your servants who are grieving and ill, especially (names)."
Fourth decade: "Our Lady, Blessed Mother of God, unite your servants who are separated, especially (names)."
Fifth decade: "Our Lady, Blessed Mother of God, grant to us who have been baptized in Christ, to be clothed in Christ."
Sixth decade: "Our Lady, Blessed Mother of God, grant that I may receive the Holy Mystery of Communion with my last breath, and do you yourself deliver me from the terrible torments."
Seventh decade: "Our Lady, Blessed Mother of God, deliver me from all temptations in this life and from misfortunes."
Eighth decade: "Our Lady, Blessed Mother of God, grant to me the unceasing Jesus Prayer."
Ninth decade: "Our Lady, Blessed Mother of God, help me in all my affairs and deliver me from every need and sorrow."
Tenth decade: "Our Lady, Blessed Mother of God, strengthen our souls and banish from us all despondency."
Eleventh decade: "Our Lady, Blessed Mother of God, resurrect our souls and give us a new courage for spiritual feats."
Twelfth decade: "Our Lady, Blessed Mother of God, deliver me from worldly thoughts and give me a mind and heart striving towards the salvation of my soul."
Thirteenth decade: "Our Lady, Blessed Mother of God, through your intercessions, create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me. Grant that your Son may not cast me away from His presence, nor take His Holy Spirit from me."
Fourteenth decade: "Our Lady, Blessed Mother of God, grant me a peaceful and serene end.
Fifteenth decade: "Our Lady, Blessed Mother of God, do not abandon the faithful who are yet on earth, but defend them from every evil, covering them with your honorable and protecting veil. Amen."

Matins Hymn for Feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary

2005-08-03T13:37:00.000-05:00

Quem terra, pontus, aethera
by St. Venantius Fortunatus (530-609)
tr. John Mason Neale
LM
(This hymn is also sung on Saturdays on which the Mother of God is commemorated.)

The Lord Whom earth and sea and sky
adore and praise and magnify,
who o'er their three-fold fabric reigns,
the Virgin's spotless womb contains.

And He Whose will is ever done
by moon and seas, by stars and sun,
is borne upon a maiden's breast,
whom God's foreseeing grace possessed.

How blest that Mother, in whose shrine
the very Word of God divine,
the maker of the earth and sky,
was pleased in fleshly form to lie.

Blest in the message Gabriel brought,
blest in the work the Spirit wrought,
blest evermore, who brought to birth
the long Desired of all the earth.

O Jesus, Virgin-born, to Thee
eternal praise and glory be,
Whom with the Father we adore
and Holy Spirit, evermore.
Amen.

New Addition to Website

2005-08-03T13:27:00.000-05:00

Orthodoxtidings.com has just been updated. Check out the link for "Orthodox Saints" and go to the September Synaxarion. New saints have been added and the format has been edited so that it looks better and should be suitable for printing for your devotional needs. God willing, we will have the October Synaxarion up before the start of the month, but don't hold your breath. It's going to be a busy fall semester.

August 3: Western Orthodox Saints

2005-08-03T00:27:00.000-05:00

You can find a complete listing of Orthodox Saints of the Latin West on the website, "Orthodox England."

Aspren (Aspronas)
1st cent. The tradition concerning this saint, dating from time immemorial, was recorded as follows: 'In Naples in Campania, the repose of St Aspren the bishop, who was healed of infirmity by St Peter the Apostle and was then baptized and consecrated bishop there'.

Benno
+ 940. Born in Swabia in Germany, he became a hermit on Mt Etzel in Switzerland, St Meinrad's former hermitage. He lived there with a few disciples, so founding the monastery of Einsiedeln. In 927 he became Bishop of Metz in France. Striving to overcome abuses, he was attacked and blinded by enemies of Christ. He resigned and returned to Einsiedeln.

Euphronius
+ c 475. Bishop of Autun in France and a friend of St Lupus of Troyes.

Faustus
5th cent. Faustus, the son of St Dalmatius of Pavia in Italy, lived the life of a holy monk.

Gregory of Nonantula
+ 933. Abbot of Nonantula near Modena in Italy.

Senach (Snach)
6th cent. A disciple of St Finian and his successor in Clonard in Ireland.

Trea
5th cent. Converted to Orthodoxy by St Patrick, she spent the rest of her life as an anchoress in Ardtree in Derry in Ireland.

Preparing for the Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God

2005-08-02T22:32:00.000-05:00

Soon, we will be in our third day of the fast which lasts for the two weeks before the feast of the Dormition (Falling Asleep) of the Most Holy Mother of God, the Blessed Virgin Mary, on August 15.

This feast is one of my favorites. It is like Easter in summer--a time to celebrate, once again, the victory of life over death. It is a feast rich in meaning. On this the principle feast of the Mother of God, we recall her other appearances in sacred history. We remember the Annunciation, through which the Word became flesh in the womb of the Virgin and through which God came to dwell with us. We remember the Nativity of our Savior, the birthgiving of the Virgin, through which we were able to see God in the flesh, even with our own sin-blinded eyes. We remember the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple and the Wedding at Cana and how our Lord Jesus, even as a child, taught the elders in the Temple. We remember that Jesus' mother was with Him all during His life on this earth--from His birth in a manger to His suffering and death on the cross and His rising from the dead and ascension into heaven.

And even after this, the Mother of God did not disappear into obscurity, but was with the disciples when the Holy Spirit came down in tongues of fire. That she should take part in receiving the Spirit at Pentecost was only fitting, for the Holy Spirit came upon her and the power of the Most High overshadowed her at the Annunciation to make her the Mother of God the Word. And even after Pentecost, her presence continued in the Church as she lovingly ministered to the Apostles and even traveled as a missionary.

It would seem totally ridiculous for someone so important in the life of the Church and in the history of our salvation to become of no consequence after her departure from this world. If we believe that others, whose works were of less importance in the overall scheme of things, are worthy of honor by faithful Christians on earth and of receiving a reward from God in heaven, it would be hypocritical of us not to honor zealously the Blessed Virgin Mary while we continue our earthly sojourn and not to believe that God has given His mother a fitting reward for all her labors.
Indeed, Christ's mother remains with her Son now in eternity just as she was with Him from His conception.

Therefore, since Christ our God has consistently (as befits God) honored His mother and His friends the saints, let us also honor them. Singing psalms is good, says the Prophet David, let us sing hymns to the Mother of God and all the saints and together with them let us glorify the Holy Trinity Who has given us such examples as friends and helpers on our path to heaven. Amen.

August 2: Western Orthodox Saints

2005-08-02T22:08:00.000-05:00

Auspicius
At some time before the 4th century he became the first Bishop of Apt in France.

Betharius
+ c 623. Bishop of Chartres in France from 595. He was present at the Council of Sens.

Boetharius
+7th cent. Bishop of Chartres in France.

Etheldritha (Alfreda)
+ c 835. Daughter of King Offa of Mercia. She lived as an anchoress at Crowland in Lincolnshire in England after the murder of her betrothed, St Ethelbert.

Eusebius of Vercelli
c 283-371. Born in Sardinia, in 340, he became Bishop of Vercelli in Piedmont in Italy. He fought Arianism and was exiled to the East. Before returning to Italy he visited St Athanasius in Alexandria. He reposed in peace in Vercelli in 371, although he has been called a martyr on account of his sufferings.

Maximus of Padua
2nd cent. Successor of St Prosdocimus as Bishop of Padua in Italy.

Plegmund
+ 923. The tutor of King Alfred and twentieth Archbishop of Canterbury. Born in Cheshire (his hermitage at Plemstall, Plegmundstow, was named after him). He restored the Church in England after the Danish attacks and was a notable scholar.

Rutilius
+ 250. Born in North Africa. During the persecution of Decius he fled from place to place, but he was finally arrested, bravely confessed Christ and was martyred.

Sidwell (Sativola)
A Briton from the West of England near Exeter. She was beheaded as a martyr, probably by a scythe.

Stephen I
+ 257. He became Bishop of Rome in 254. Tradition says that he was beheaded during the celebration of the Eucharist in the catacombs, but the earliest liturgical documents present him as a bishop and confessor.

August 1: Western Orthodox Saints

2005-08-01T13:28:00.000-05:00

Almedha (Eled, Elevetha)
6th cent. Tradition says that she suffered martyrdom on a hill near Brecon in Wales.
Arcadius
+ c 549. Bishop of Bourges in France, he took part in the Council of Orleans in 538.
Bonus, Faustus, Maurus and Companions
Bonus, a priest, with Faustus, Maurus and nine companions, was martyred in Rome under Valerian.
Ethelwold
912-984. Born in Winchester in England and already a monk and priest, in 955 he became Abbot of Abingdon and in 963 Bishop of Winchester. Together with St Dunstan and St Oswald of York he led the monastic revival of the age, restoring the monasteries of Newminster, Milton Abbas, Chertsey, Peterborough, Thorney and Ely to monastic life after occupation by married clergy. For this reason, he was called 'The Father of Monks'. The Winchester School of Illumination flourished under him, as did developments in music and liturgy.
Exuperius (Soupire, Spire)
c 4th cent. Bishop of Bayeux in France, he is honored in Corbeil.
Faith, Hope and Charity
c 137. The three girls, aged respectively twelve, ten and nine years, daughters of St Sophia who were martyred in Rome under Hadrian.
Friard and Secundel
+ c 577. Hermits on the Isle of Vindomitte near Nantes in France.
Jonatus
+ c 690. A monk at Elnone in Belgium. He was Abbot of Marchiennes (c 643-652) and then of Elnone (c 652-659).
Justin
+ c 290. A child-martyr venerated in Louvre near Paris in France.
Kenneth (Kined)
6th cent. A hermit who made his cell among the rocks in the Gower peninsula in Wales at a place later called Llangenydd after him.
Leus (Leo)
4th cent. A priest whose relics were honoured in Viguenza in Italy.
Mary the Consoler
8th cent. The sister of St Anno, Bishop of Verona in Italy.
Nemesius
A saint venerated near Lisieux in France.
Peregrinus
+ 643. A pilgrim from Ireland who returning from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land settled as a hermit near Modena in Italy.
Rioch
+ c 480. A nephew of St Patrick and Abbot of Innisboffin in Ireland.
Secundel
6th cent. A hermit who lived near St Friard near Nantes in France.
Severus
+ c 500. A priest of noble family, famous for his charity, he has been honoured from time immemorial in the village that bears his name, St Sever de Rustan in Bigorre in south-west France.
Verus
+ c 314. Bishop of Vienne in France. He attended the Council of Arles in 314.

The Daily Prayer of Hieroschemamonk St. Parthenius

2005-05-13T01:35:00.000-05:00

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, do not permit vanity, self-love, sensuality, carelessness or anger to rule over me and steal me from Your love.

O my Lord, my Creator, all my hope! Do not leave me without a portion in the blessed eternity. Grant that I may follow Your holy example, that I may submit to the authorities placed over me. Grant me the clean soul and the simplicity of heart which make us worthy of Your love.

To You, my God, I lift up my soul and my heart; do not allow Your creature to perish, but free me from the single and greatest evil – sin.

Grant, Lord, that I may endure anxiety and sorrows of the soul with the same patience as the joy with which I receive satisfaction of the heart.

If You desire, Lord, You can cleanse me and sanctify me. Here, I commit myself to Your mercy, begging You to destroy in me all that is offensive to You, and to unite me to the assembly of Your chosen.

Lord, take from me idleness of spirit, which destroys time; vanity of thoughts, which hinders Your presence and distracts my attention in prayer. If, while in prayer, I turn away from You in my thoughts, help me, so that this distraction may not be willful, and that averting my mind, I may not avert my heart from You.

I confess to You my Lord God all the sins of my wickedness, committed before You, now and in the past; forgive me for them, for the sake of Your holy name, and save my soul, which You have redeemed with Your precious blood.

I entrust myself to Your mercy. I submit to Your will. Do with me according to Your mercy, and not according to my evil and wickedness. Teach me, Lord, to dispose my deeds so that they will serve in glorifying Your holy name.

Take pity, Lord, on all Christians. Hear the wants of all who cry to You. Deliver from all evil. Save Your servants (Names). Send them comfort, consolation in sorrows, and Your holy mercy.

Lord, I pray to You especially for those who have in any way insulted, abused, and grieved me. Do not punish them for the sake of me, a sinner, but pour out Your mercy upon them.

Lord, I pray to You for all those whom I, a sinner, have insulted or tempted in word, deed, or thought, knowingly and unknowingly.

Lord God, forgive us our sins and mutual offenses. Dispel, Lord, from our hearts all indignation, suspicion, anger, remembrance of evil, quarrels, and all that might hinder and lessen brotherly love.

Be merciful, Lord, to those who have entrusted me, an unworthy sinner, to pray for them. Be merciful, Lord, to all who ask Your help.

Lord, make this day a day of Your mercy. Give to each according to his or her petition. Be the shepherd for the lost, the guide and light of unbelievers, the teacher of the unwise, the father of orphans, the helper of the oppressed, the healer of the sick, the comforter of the dying, and lead us all to the desired end, to You, our refuge and blessed repose. Amen.

2005-01-29T22:21:00.000-06:00

"God has clothed himself in humanity,
For me a sufferer he has suffered;
For one condemned he has been judged;
For one buried he has been buried;
But he is risen from the dead
And he cries:
Who will plead against me? I have delivered the one who was condemned,
I have given back life to him who was dead,
I have raised up one who was buried.
Who will dispute my cause? I have abolished death,
I have crushed hell,
I have raised humanity to the highest heavens,
Yes I, the Christ...

I am your forgiveness,
I am the Passover of salvation,
I am your light,
I am your resurrection."

--From the Easter Homily of Melito of Sardis (+2nd century)

A New Year and a New Web Site

2005-01-28T23:39:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year!

In case any of my readers (I'm never sure if I should be making that plural)were wondering, I am still blogging, I've just been on a kind of sabbatical from this site. While away, I started an actual Web site, www.orthodoxtidings.com. It will have lengthier articles on Orthodox subjects, especially prayer, missions, and saints. You are most welcome if you should choose to visit my new Web site.

Originally, I was going to have this blog be a place where I posted interesting tidbits relating to Orthodox prayers, missionaries, and saints. This will continue, but I will be adding a little commentary here and there.

This is not, of course, a personal blog where I tell you everything I've done today. Nor is it a proper forum for me to go on about my own thoughts.

Rather, my goal with both sites is to spread Orthodox appreciation to everyone, regardless of whether or not they are Orthodox Christians. The good news of Orthodoxy is for every human being, for the Gospel speaks first to the heart, and the message that Orthodox Christianity offers the world is that God is the Lover of humanity.

By sharing prayers, lives of saints, and works of missionaries with you (whoever you are), I hope that you will take to heart a greater knowledge of and appreciation for the Orthodox Church and Her life. Wherever you happen to be spiritually, ecumenically, geographically, I hope that you will find those things offered on these sites to be edifying and helpful.

God bless you for visiting.

Missionary Journal: St. Jacob's Christmas

2004-12-25T23:07:00.000-06:00

December 25, 1847

On the Feast Day of the Nativity of Christ, I, sinful and unworthy one, performed the Divine service in my home, insofar as I was able to serve. I was hoping to celebrate the service in the field church and for this purpose the tent had been erected just in case the cold should become bearable. But this did not happen, the cold is ferocious, it was impossible to undertake the service there, especially as my state of health is so poor that even at home I am barely able to keep on my feet and I am unable to stand for any length of time at all. For this reason I joined in the Holy Mysteries those who had prepared themselves for communion, 11 persons total, by means of pre-sanctified gifts [reserved Communion--EJ]. Performed the Hours and the appropriate Te Deum. The Faithful in attendance were very numerous both at the midnight service and at the later services, so many were there that there was no room to stand and many turned away.

--St. Jacob Netsvetov of Alaska, Missionary Priest on the Yukon Delta

2004-12-18T14:07:00.000-06:00

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse,
Free Thine own from Satan's tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

(Magnificat Antiphon for December 18)

2004-12-17T14:00:00.000-06:00

O come, Adonai, Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai's height,
In ancient times didst give the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

(Magnificat Antiphon for December 17)

2004-12-16T22:48:00.000-06:00

And it came to pass that Mary
was enrolled with Joseph the old man,
in Bethlehem, since she was of the seed of David,
and was great with the Lamb, without seed.
And when the time for delivery drew near,
and they had no place in the village,
the cave did appear to the queen as a delightful palace.
Verily, Christ shall be born,
raising the likeness that fell of old.

(Another Troparion hymn for the Sunday before Christmas)

2004-12-16T22:42:00.000-06:00

Make ready, O Bethlehem;
for Eden hath been opened for all.
Prepare, O Ephratha;
for the Tree of life hath blossomed forth in the cave
from the Virgin;
for her belly did appear as a supersensual paradise
in which is planted the divine Plant,
whereof eating we shall live and not die as Adam.
Verily, Christ shall be born,
raising the likeness that fell of old.

(Troparion hymn for the Sunday before Christmas, Tone 4)

2004-12-16T22:28:00.000-06:00

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuael shall come to thee, O Israel!

(Magnificat Antiphon for December 16)

A Saying from a Desert Father

2004-12-16T22:26:00.000-06:00

"What can sin do where there is penitence? And of what use is love where there is pride?"
--Abba Elias the Priest

Lifting up our minds to Bethlehem

2004-12-15T11:38:00.000-06:00

Let us go before, O nations, and celebrate the Nativity of Christ. And lifting our minds to Bethlehem, let us ascend with our consciences, beholding with the thoughts of our hearts, the Virgin approaching, giving birth in the cave to the Lord of all, our God, Whose stupendous wonders Joseph did behold, while at the time he thought he was beholding a man wrapped in swaddling clothes, but was assured from His works that He was the true God, granting our souls the Great Mercy.

Let us go before, O nations, and celebrate the Nativity of Christ; and lifting our minds to Bethlehem, let us ascend with our consciences to behold the great Mystery that is in the cave; for Eden hath verily been opened by the coming forth of God from the spotless Virgin, perfect in Divinity and perfect in Humanity. Wherefore, let us shout forth, Holy God, Eternal Father, Holy Mighty, the Incarnate Son, Holy Immortal One, the Comforting Spirit, O Holy Trinity, glory to Thee!

Listen, O heaven, and give ear, O earth; for behold, the Son, the Word of the Father, cometh to be born of a Maiden that hath not known man. Wherefore, by the pleasure of Him Who gave Him birth without passion, and by the assistance of the Holy Spirit, O Bethlehem, make ready, and, O Eden, open thou thy gates; for He Who Is shall be that which hath not been; and the Maker of the entire creation shall become the Grantor of Great Mercy to the world.

--Idiomelons in Tone 1 for the Preparation, the Sunday before Christmas, also known as the Sunday of the Geneology (on which the Gospel reading is from the first chapter of Matthew)

St. Hilarion, Metropolitan of Suzdal and Yuriev

2004-12-14T09:56:00.000-06:00

Once, when St. Hilarion was serving Vespers together with a hierodeacon, robbers burst into the church. They killed the deacon and started to set St. Hilarion on fire, asking him where the monastery treasure was hid. They did not believe that there was no gold in the monastery. Overcome by the pain, St. Hilarion turned to the wonderworking icon and said, "O All-Pure Virgin Mary, Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ! If they injure me with the fire, I shall no longer have the ability to glorify Thy Son and Thee." Suddenly the robbers heard the shouts of people searching for them, and they fled.

Saint Hilarion was known for his unceasing concern for the poor. After his death they found only three coins in his possession. He died peacefully on December 14, 1707, and was buried in the Suzdal cathedral in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos.

A Prayer for Compline

2004-12-13T22:41:00.000-06:00

O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, Who at the hour of Compline didst rest in the sepulchre, and didst thereby sanctify the grave to be a bed of hope to Thy people: Make us so to abound in sorrow for our sins, which were the cause of Thy Passion, that when our bodies lie in the dust, our souls may live with Thee; Who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

--Domine Jesu Christe, Filii Vivi Dei.

(Note: "Saint Dunstan's Plainsong Psalter," published by Lancelot Andrewes Press put the ending "world without end. Amen." on the end of the prayer. It would be worth an investigation to find out where this ending came from. A direct translation of the Latin "et nunc et semper et in saecula saeculorum" would be rendered "now and ever and unto ages of ages.")

Advent Sequence Hymn

2004-12-13T22:31:00.000-06:00

Thou forever our salvation,
Thou the life of all creation,
Thou our hope of restoration,
Thou the never failing light;

Grieving for man's loss impending,
By the tempter's wiles pretending,
Camest down Thine aid extending,
Leaving not the starry height.

In our flesh Thy glory veiling,
All on earth, in ruin failing,
Thou didst save by might prevailing,
Bringing joy to all our race.

Grant, O Christ, Thine expiation,
Unto us Thine own creation,
Take us for an habitation,
Cleansed for Thyself to grace.

By Thy first humiliation,
Grant us, Lord, justification;
When again in exaltation
Thou shalt come, O set us free.

When in glory manifested,
Thou the secret heart has tested,
In unsullied robes invested
May we closely follow Thee!

--Text: Salus aeterna, Advent Sequence Hymn, before 1000. Translated by C. B. Pearson, 1871 and F. E. Warren, 1911.
--Tune: Jesus Christus Nostra Salus, Walter, 1524, 88.87

A word from St. Herman of Alaska

2004-12-13T11:22:00.000-06:00

"A true Christian is made by faith and love toward Christ. Our sins do not in the least hinder our Christianity, according to the word of the Savior Himself. He deigned to say: not the righteous have I come to call, but sinners to salvation; there is more joy in heaven over one who repents than over ninety righteous ones. Likewise concerning the sinful woman who touched His feet, He deigned to say to the Parisee Simon: to one who has love, a great debt is forgiven, but from one who has no love, even a small debt will be demanded. From these judgements a Christian should bring himself to hope and joy, and not in the least accept an inflicted despair. Here one needs the shield of faith.

Sin, to one who loves God, is nothing other than an arrow from the enemy in battle. The true Christian is a warrior fighting his way through the regiments of the unseen enemy to his heavenly homeland. According to the word of the Apostle, our homeland is in heaven; and about the warrior he says: our warfare is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, [against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against the spirits of wickedness under heaven (Ephesians 6:12)].

The vain desires of this world separate us from our homeland; love of them and habit clothe our soul as if in a hideous garment. This is called by the Apostles the outward man. We, travelling on the journey of this life and calling on God to help us, ought to be divesting ourselves of this hideous garment and clothing ourselves in new desires, in a new love of the age to come, and thereby to receive knowledge of how near or how far we are from our heavenly homeland. But it is not possible to do this quickly; rather one must follow the example of sick people, who, wishing the desired health, do not leave off seeking means to cure themselves. I am not speaking very clearly for I am hurrying, for time does not otherwise permit. But I hope that you, with your sharpness of intellect, and your ardent desrie of striving toward the heavenly homeland, may discover the path to Holy Truth, not only for yourself but for others also."

(From a letter to Simeon Yanovsky, 20 June 1820. Excerpted from: "Little Russian Philokalia, Vol. III: St. Herman.")

Pascha on Spruce Island

2004-12-13T11:21:00.000-06:00

"One Tuesday of the third week of holy Great Lent I returned to my beloved desert from Ouzinkie. I spent Pascha here all alone at the grave of Elder Herman. I cleaned and decorated the whole church beforehand, and everything was beautiful. Many candles and lamps were burning. I served Matins, singing in the middle of the church at the coffin of the Elder, and my soul was overjoyed. I finished serving Liturgy and returned home to my cell at 4 a.m. I also sang the Paschal hymn in my chapel. In my cell everything is so clean, cozy; the lampadas were burning, kulichi (Paschal breads) were on the table, and there were deep red eggs on the green moss. A bouquet of flowers stood on the table as well. They were live flowers, Alaskan flowers! Earlier, I had broken some branches of berry bushes and had put them into a jar of water, and they had blossomed out right in time for Pascha. The little blossoms are just like little pearls and they are covering all the branches. Beautiful!--all the more so because our nature is still fast asleep--there is absolutely no greenness around.

But as for Pascha cheese, I have not seen any for all of the last 27 years. It is impossible to obtain cottage cheese here at this time of the year. Creoles and Aleuts do not even have the sligtest idea about it. But I remember it every year. With tears did I send my Paschal greeting to my native Russian people during that wondrous Paschal night...

For me this feast day, this holy night alone clearly speaks of Christ's Resurrection and tells us that the time will come when we will all resurrect and will be eternally singing of the Pascha of Christ. Never is Christ so close to us sinners as during the Great Light-Bearing Paschal Night. But nowhere do people so joyfully, so triumphantly celebrate this feast as in our Russia.

Thus the Lord allowed me to serve Pascha at the grave of the righteous Elder Herman, which I had been wishfully thinking about all the time. Glory be to God!

On Pascha day, a skylark played
And on the airy pathways rode.
To azure heights he was conveyed;
He sang a Resurrection ode.

That pristine song was then repeated
By fields and hills--the woods did sing.
'Awake, O earth!' they thus entreated,
'Awake and greet your risen King!'

'Awake, O mountain, stream and dale,
And praise Him with the Seraph bands,
For death He's made of no avail!--
Rejoice, you verdant timberlands!'

'O silver lily, columbine
And violet, blossom out with awe
And waft your fragrances divine
To Him Who's made of love a Law!'

It's midnight now, twelve o'clock! The sea is roaring, although it is quiet, for I cannot hear any wind.

I have no news, because I live alone in the forest."

--Father Gerasim of Alaska (+1969). Written in 1943. Excerpted from "Father Gerasim of New Valaam," by Gerasim Eliel, 1989.)

Another Anecdote

2004-12-12T17:46:00.000-06:00

St. Ignatius of Antioch was martyred when he was an old man and had already been serving the Church for many years, first as a disciple of the Apostles, and later as Bishop of Antioch. After his arrest, he turned his mind to martyrdom. On the road from Antioch to Rome, where he was to be fed to the wild beasts, he wrote to the Christian Romans that they should by no means try to prevent his martyrdom. He reiterated his point, saying, "If the lions are lazy, poke them."

His letters are preserved in the collection, "The Apostolic Fathers."

The Orthodox Way of Life

2004-12-12T17:37:00.000-06:00

"Orthodoxy is not merely a ritual, or belief, or pattern of behavior, or anything else that a man may possess, thinking that he is thereby a Christian, and still be spiritually dead; it is rather an ELEMENTAL REALITY OR POWER which transforms a man and gives him the strength to live in the most difficult and tormenting condition, and prepares him to depart with peace into eternal life. The essence of the true Orthodox life is GODLINESS or piety, which is, in definition of St. Nectarius of Optina, based on the etymology of the word, "holding what is God's in honor." This is deeper than mere right doctrine; it is the entrance of God into every aspect of life, life lived in trembling and fear of God. Such an attitude produces the Orthodox WAY OF LIFE which is not merely the outward customs or behavior that characterizes Orthodox Christians, but the whole of the conscious spiritual struggle of the man for whom the Church and its laws are the center of everything he does and thinks. The shared, conscious experience of this way of life, centered on the daily Divine services, produces the genuine Orthodox community, with its feeling of lightness, joy and inward quietness." by: Archbishop Andrew of New Diveyevo, Jordanville, New York

Evening Office Hymn for Advent

2004-12-12T16:54:00.000-06:00

Creator of the stars of night,
Thy people's everlasting light,
O Jesus, Savior of us all,
Regard Thy servants when they call.

Thou, grieving at the bitter cry,
Of all creation doomed to die,
Didst come to save a ruined race
With healing gifts of heavenly grace.

Thou camest, Bridegroom of the bride,
As drew the world to eveningtide,
Proceeding from a virgin shrine,
The Son of Man, yet Lord divine.

At Thy great Name, exalted now,
All knees must bend, all hearts must bow,
And things in heaven and earth shall own
That Thou art Lord and King alone.

To Thee, O Holy One, we pray,
Our judge in that tremendous day,
Preserve us while we dwell below,
From every onslaught of the foe.

All praise, Eternal Son to Thee,
Whose advent sets Thy people free,
Whom with the Father we adore,
And Spirit blest, for evermore. Amen.

(Text: Conditor alme siderum, 9th century, translated by John Mason Neale and others. Tune: Conditor Alme, Sarum plainsong, LM.)

A Prayer to St. Spyridon

2004-12-12T13:49:00.000-06:00

Today is the feast of St. Spyridon. He was a 4th century bishop of the city of Tremithus on the island of Cyprus. He was married and had a family. Also, he was a shepherd and continued to work in flock and field just as he tended the flock of Christ and sowed the seeds of faith. In his icons, he wears his shepherd's hat, a kind of basket. His relics now rest on the island of Corfu in the northwest of Greece and are a source of constant miracles. In fact, at certain times his shoes are replaced because they keep wearing out, while his body never decays. His shoes wear out because is always visiting and helping those who pray to him.

The following prayer is usually prayed after an akathist to the saint.

"O great and all-marvellous Spyridon, holy hierarch of Christ and wonderworker, boast of Kerkyra [Corfu], most radiant beacon of the whole world, fervent intercessor before God and speedy helper for all who have recourse to you and entreat you with faith! Amid the Fathers at the Council of Nicea you expounded the Orthodox faith most gloriously; you showed the unity of the Holy Trinity with wondrous power, and utterly put the heretics to shame. Hearken, therefore, unto us sinners who entreat you, O holy hierarch of Christ, and by your mighty intercession before the Lord deliver us from every evil circumstance...To many living in dire poverty and want you rendered assistance; you abundantly sustained the poor during famine and performed many other signs through the power of the Spirit of God living within you. Werefore, forsake us not, O holy hierarch of Christ. Remember us, your children, at the throne of the Ruler of all, and beseech the Lord that He grant us remission of our manifold sins, that He bestow upon us a peaceful life unbeset by misfortunes, that He vouchsafe unto us a tranquil and unashamed end and everlasting blessedness in the age to come, that we may unceasingly send up glory and thanksgiving to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and to ages of ages. Amen."

A Reminder

2004-12-12T01:00:00.000-06:00

For all ye few, but faithful who visit this blog, please be aware that more links are added to the sidebar each day. Some of them are new and interesting, and most of them are even in English. Also, anyone is free to comment on posts; you shouldn't have to log in. If you have problems commenting, you can e-mail me. My e-mail is listed in my profile. To view my profile, go over to the icon of St. John of San Francisco and look under it for the link, "View my complete profile."

Also, if anyone knows of ways to make this blog more accessible, let me know. I'd like for people to type "Orthodox Tidings" in Google and come up with this blog as one of the top choices. Maybe this isn't possible, but maybe it can be done. Your input is most appreciated.

Thanks.

Guard the Pearl of Faith

2004-12-11T23:30:00.000-06:00

"Remember that God has given us freedom and that he will not take anyone to himself by force. You must display effort in your will in order to receive the grace of the Holy Spirit in your heart.

If God had not given us freedom, he would have destroyed the way of faith and drawn everyone to himself by way of enforced knowledge. Do not say, as some ignorant people do: 'Prove the existence of God to us and then we will believe.' There would be no faith if there was proof; there would be enforced knowledge, and then there would be no way to salvation.

However, when an act of faith is performed in a free heart, then God gives such proofs of the truth of faith as are incomparably higher than scientific proofs.

Always remember: you must make a freewill effort in life for acquiring virtue and for communion with God in prayer. The Lord will not take a soul to himself by force.

Guard the pearl of faith, which is the way to bliss for us and for the people close to your hearts."

--Elder Zachariah of St. Sergius Lavra (+1936)

Blessed Nicholas Ivansen

2004-12-11T22:58:00.000-06:00

'Elder Zosima [in schema, Zachariah] had a dear friend in the St. Sergius monastery, the blessed Nicholas. He was a wonderful person. His full name was Nicholas Alexandrovich Ivansen. His father's name was Oscar. He had changed his name and adopted Orthodoxy. His mother's name was Natalya. The blessed Nicholas was a soldier by profession, but he did not keep his health for long. He bore a heavy cross of illness; once he had fallen ill he did not rise from his bed for forty years. At first he lay in a private flat, but afterwards he was moved into the monastery almshouse. His parents had died and there was no one to look after him, he was a stranger to everyone. With courage he endured and prayed.

For his exceptional endurance and humility, the Lord endowed him with clairvoyance. Father Zosima began to go to see him often and the blessed man became very fond of him. . .

Several times in succession angels brought him Communion, coming to him in the guise of monks, with the abbot at their head, who confessed him. The monks sang wonderfully. They came to him by night. The blessed Nicholas did not realize that this was a heavenly favor shown to him, but took the angels for monks and thought: "This is how well the abbot and the brothers behave to me; they have no time during the day, so they come by night on holy days and comfort me in my great suffering."

Father Zosima did not know about this, and when he learnt from the brothers that Nicholas was lying seriously ill in the monastery almshouse and that for more than thirty years no one had administered Christ's Holy Sacrament to him, he went to give him Communion and confess him. The blessed Nicholas thanked him and said: "I am so glad that on all the great feastdays the abbot and the brothers give me Communion," and he told him everything.

Father Zosima stored up the blessed man's words in his heart, but he did not say anything to him, and only after his death did he learn of the wonderful miracle shown to this suffering soul, which had borne its cross with great endurance.'

(Edited. Excerpted from "An Early Soviet Saint: The Life of Father Zachariah," by one of his spiritual daughters. Pages 47-49)

How we should see Christ

2004-12-10T01:25:00.000-06:00

'This is the way we should see Christ. He is our friend, our brother; He is whatever is good and beautiful. He is everything. Yet, He is still a friend and He shouts it out, "You're my friends, don't you understand that? We're brothers. I'm not...I don't hold hell in my hands. I am not threatening you. I love you. I want you to enjoy life together with me."

Christ is Everything. He is joy, He is life, He is light. He is the true light who makes man joyful, makes him soar with happiness; makes him see everything, everybody; makes him feel for everyone, to want everyone with him, everyone with Christ.

Love Christ and put nothing before His Love. Christ is Everything. He is the source of life, the ultimate desire,He is everything. Everything beautiful is in Christ.

Somebody who is Christ's must love Christ, and when he loves Christ he is delivered from the Devil, from hell and from death.'
--Elder Porphyrios Bairaktaris (+2 December 1991)

Conception of the Mother of God

2004-12-09T22:45:00.000-06:00

The following is an extract from "The Orthodox Veneration of Mary, the Birthgiver of God," by St. John Maximovitch of Shanghai and San Francisco. It comes from the chapter dealing with the Roman Catholic dogma of the Immaculate Conception. In the chapter, St. John gives the history of the development of this false teaching and clearly outlines how it dishonors the Mother of God.

In the extract, St. John quotes St. Epiphanius the Wonderworker of Cyprus and contemporary of St. John Chrysostom, Patriarch of Constantinople.

'But we can say with the words of St. Epiphanius of Cyprus: "There is an equal harm in both these heresies, both when men demean the Virgin and when, on the contrary, they glorify Her beyond what is proper" (Panarion, "Against the Collyridians"). This Holy Father accuses those who give Her an almost divine worship: "Let Mary be in honor, but let worship be given to the Lord" (same source). "Although Mary is a chosen vessel, still she was a woman by nature, not to be distinguished at all from others." (same source). "One should not revere the saints above what is proper, but should revere their Master. Mary is not God, and did not receive a body from heaven, but from the joining of man and woman; and according to the promise, like Isaac, She was prepared to take part in the Divine Economy. But, on the other hand, let none dare foolishly to offend the Holy Virgin" (St. Epiphanius, "Against the Antidikomarionites").'

To read the whole text of St. John's book, click on the link to the right: "The Orthodox Veneration of Mary, the Birthgiver of God".

Missionary Notes: From Blessed Father Cosmas Grigoriatis

2004-12-09T22:24:00.000-06:00

"The missionary's beginning is significant, however it is not the sum of the matter...The outset might be blessed or might become blessed at the end. What's important is that the giving be true and total, without holding back, with a disposition to self-sacrifice and self-denial, and with the aim of leaving our bones among the natives."
--Blessed Father Cosmas Grigoriatis of Zaire (Congo)
from "Thoughts about Missionary Work from Experience"