“You fought for the teaching of the Fathers”

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Saint Mark Eugenikos, Archbishop of Ephesus, was a stalwart defender of Orthodoxy at the Council of Florence. He would not agree to a union with Rome which was based on theological compromise and political expediency (the Byzantine Emperor was seeking military assistance from the West against the Moslems who were drawing ever closer to Constantinople). Saint Mark countered the arguments of his opponents, drawing from the well of pure theology, and the teachings of the holy Fathers. When the members of his own delegation tried to pressure him into accepting the Union he replied, “There can be no compromise in matters of the Orthodox Faith.”

Although the members of the Orthodox delegation signed the Tomos of Union, Saint Mark was the only one who refused to do so. When he returned from Florence, Saint Mark urged the inhabitants of Constantinople to repudiate the dishonorable document of union. He died in 1457 at the age of fifty-two, admired and honored by all.

Troparion — Tone 4
By your profession of faith, O all-praised Mark / the Church has found you to be a zealot for truth. / You fought for the teaching of the Fathers; / you cast down the darkness of boastful pride. / Intercede with Christ God to grant forgiveness to those who honor you!

Kontakion — Tone 3
Clothed with invincible armor, O blessed one, / you cast down rebellious pride, / you served as the instrument of the Comforter, / and shone forth as the champion of Orthodoxy. / Therefore we cry to you: “Rejoice, Mark, the boast of the Orthodox!”

Saint Sava, Archbishop of the Serbs

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Sava was born in 1169 A.D. He was the son of Stephen [Stefan] Nemanja the Grand Zupan of the Serbs. As a young man, Sava yearned for the spiritual life for which he fled to the Holy Mountain [Mt. Athos] where he was tonsured a monk and with rare zeal lived according to the ascetical rule. Stefan Nemanja followed the example of his son and came to the Holy Mountain where he was tonsured a monk and died as Simeon, the monk. Continue reading →

About Holy Water

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On Theophany, that is, the Day of the Lord’s Baptism, every year a great miracle is performed. The Holy Spirit, coming down upon the water, changes its natural properties. It becomes incorrupt, that is it does not spoil, remains transparent and fresh for many years, receives the grace to heal illnesses, to drive away demons and every evil power, to preserve people and their dwellings from every danger, to sanctify various objects whether for church or home use. Therefore Orthodox Christians with reverence drink Holy Water – a great Agiasma (holy thing), as the Greeks call it.

One should always have at home enough Theophany water so that it will last the whole year, and make use of it at every need; in cases of illness, leaving on a journey, whenever one is upset, students when going to examinations. They do well who daily, before eating any kind of food, drink a little Holy Water. It strengthens the powers of our soul – if it is done, of course, with prayer and reverence, and one does not merely expect from it a mechanical result.

Every priest should take care to bless a sufficient quantity of water for his church, so that it will be on hand for the course of the whole year for every need and to be given out to those who ask for it; and parishioners should provide for themselves at Theophany with Holy Water for the whole year and even so that it can be kept for future years.

St. John of Shanghai

Photos: Miracle on Theophany, Holy Land, 2022

Patriarch of Jerusalem Irenaios has passed away

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The Patriarch of Jerusalem Irenaios, who had been facing serious health problems for years, passed away. He was unjustly deposed from the throne of Jerusalem Patriarchate in 2005.

Father Timotheus Iliakis says on his Facebook:

“The Patriarch Irenaios of Jerusalem, the long-suffering, benevolent, sanctified by the great Cross he lifted and flew to Heaven. He endured with Joveian patience and bravery the wickedness of people and indeed those whom he benefited, he blessed everyone and did not take offense,” he said.

“As a genuine Agiotaphite, he should have been in Jerusalem to be buried next to the Patriarchs of Jerusalem, but even here pettiness, malice and envy, but it doesn’t matter, he is honored by God and the People who loved him and stood by him.”

St. Ephraim of Katounakia on the Humble Simplicity of the Cave of Bethlehem

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“I remember,” said St. Ephraim of Katounakia, “that I was astonished by everywhere in the Holy Lands, but when I went to the Cave of Bethlehem, there, my heart was broken! It was torn into a thousand pieces! And I said, ‘how was God born in this place, in this cave, without any consolation, like one thrown out of the city? This God Who could make anything for Himself, but, without complaint, far from every worldly comfort, during the night (and the coldest night of the year), the longest night of the year, in a totally abandoned place, He Who created everything–Heaven and Earth–He was born in this place!

“And when I returned [to his cell on Mount Athos], I entered in and saw my blankets (what blankets did He have?), and I saw what I had, and I was ashamed, and said: ‘If God was born in that cave, how could I need all of these things?’ I saw pots and pans…”

Metropolitan Athanasios of Lemesou, who was relating the story, comments that: “If I were to describe his pots…not even our dogs would eat from them! And if I could describe his bed…not even our pigs would we put in them!

“But, he perceived his place to be a luxury, over the top. And from then on, when they would tell him: “Elder, your cell is small.” He would reply: “God was born in a cave. If I thought of God’s cave, well then, what could I say regarding my own?”

Source: www.full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com

St. Paisios on spiritually celebrating the Feasts

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Our Lord Jesus Christ, with His great love and joy which fill the souls of the faithful during His holy feast days, exalts us spiritually and truly resurrects us. All we need to do is participate in these feasts and celebrate them with a spiritual appetite; for once we taste the heavenly wine to which the Saints will treat us, we will become drunk in spirit.

— Geronda, what must we do to live a spiritual life during these feasts?

— To live through Christ’s feasts in a spiritual way, we must keep our minds focused on the holy days themselves and not on the work that we have to do to prepare for them. We should think about the events of each holy day (Christmas, Theophany, Pascha and so on) and say the Jesus Prayer glorifying God in our heart. This way we will celebrate with reverence every feast day of the Church. For most people, who live in the world, Christmas is the time to eat pork, Pascha to eat lamb and the Carnival at the beginning of Lent, the time to throw confetti. But for the true monks, every week is Holy Week. Every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday they experience Holy and Great Wednesday, Holy and Great Thursday, and Holy and Great Friday, that is, the days of the Passion of Christ, and every Sunday is for them Pascha, the Day of the Resurrection. Why must we wait until Holy Week to remember the Passion of Christ? Why should we be like people who live in the world? Can’t we realize what Christ is risen means, without eating lamb? You see, Christ said, Therefore be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh. (Mt. 24:44) He did not say, “Get ready right now!” From the moment Christ said, “Be ready!” we must all, but especially monks and nuns, be constantly vigilant and ready.

Continue reading →

Why are so many people depressed today?

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Why are so many people depressed today? Because they see nothing other than their misfortunes; because they are indifferent to the truth, to the humiliations and suffering of others. Because there is no generosity and no sacrifice in us. So then what do we expect from today’s feast of a saint who loves to please everyone? He wants to give us all joy today.

As the Lord said, there are two joys: the joy of receiving and the joy of giving. We all know the Savior’s words: It is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). The Holy Fathers call the joy of receiving a human joy, and the joy of giving, a Divine joy. One joy is linked to the other. Generally speaking, we have nothing to give until we receive earthly and Heavenly things from the Lord; but if we only receive and do not give to others, we will be deprived of Divine joy. And when our earthly life ends, instead of eternal joy we will have eternal torment. The Lord and His saints, including St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, rejoice when we share what we have with others. And this joy is transmitted to us, so even now we can feel Divine joy and the grace of Christ in our hearts. According to St. Paisios the Hagiorite, sublime joy comes from sacrifice. Only by sacrifice does a person enter into kinship with Christ, for Christ is the Sacrifice. This is the Christian labor of total self-giving, and it is manifested primarily by martyrs. It is no coincidence that today we also commemorate the holy Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II and the whole host of New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia. And St. Nicholas reveals it in the ever-increasing joy of mercy, so the Bethlehem manger, the Cross and the Lord’s Pascha, which the saint wants us to participate in with his love, become visible in it.

Continue reading →

Metropolitan Longin urges Local Churches to stand up for UOC

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The UOC hierarch said the believers of the UOC in Ukraine, who form the majority, are being persecuted.

The head of the Chernivtsi-Bukovyna diocese, rector of the Ascension Bancheny Monastery, Metropolitan Longin (Zhar) called on the Local Churches to stand up for the UOC.

The hierarch of the UOC said this in a sermon published on the YouTube channel of the Bancheny Monastery.

“I want to appeal to all the Orthodox Churches of the earth. Say that there are a lot of us in our state; that we are in the canonical Church. The one that was created 2-3 years ago (OCU – Ed.) is not a church. The Church of Christ has existed for 2,000 years, and no one has the right to go against our Church,” said Metropolitan Longin.

According to him, instead of uniting, people arrange inter-religious hostility and go against God.

Metropolitan Longin called to repentance all those who voted for the ban on the UOC.

“It sounds bizarre – ban the Church, ban God… Those who voted against our Church, repent, confess this terrible sin, and those who force you to vote like that, remember: the Lord will not forgive, this is a sin against the Holy Spirit, come to your senses. Atheists and communists brought so much evil to our Church and people, do you want to repeat it? It will be hard to fight with God, and it will be necessary to answer before God,” he added.

Source: www.spzh.news

The kingdom of heaven belongs to those who force themselves

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Let us not lose our time in vain. The kingdom of heaven belongs to those who force themselves1. Think of the departure of our souls, the final hour and moment of that difficult separation. Keep in mind how the demons seek to snatch the poor soul at this final hour and lead it to hades. Oh, what a grief! What pain of the soul! How the soul will sigh then! Regrettably, what a sorrowful situation it is in at that moment! How many promises a person will make to God that he will change his life, that he will walk the path of repentance and hardship, as long as he does not die!

All of us shall reach this hour and encounter the above and much more, and we shall then promise much more earnestly that we shall take the path of repentance and spiritual warfare. Let us imagine that this has already happened and that God has heard our request. Now what is left for us to do? To fulfill our promises by showing true repentance and to struggle to correct our soul. Behold the appropriate time for repentance and spiritual warfare! Little by little the time of our life is cut short, and without even realizing it, we are led to the end and to the grave!

A tribunal and a Judge await us, as well as entire books in which the deeds of each one of us are written. Who is able to escape these things? Noone. We shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ “naked”2 for each of us to give an account of his deeds, words, and thoughts. Let us bear in mind these and many more such things night and day, so that we may bring our souls to mourning and tears!
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1 cf. Mt. 11:12
2 Heb. 4:13

From the book “Councels from the Holy mountain”, selected from the letters and homilies of Elder Efraim of Arizona

When He thinks of us without ceasing, why do we not think of Him without ceasing

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Does the Lord’s command about ceaseless prayer, that men ought always to pray (Luke 18:1), apply only to monks or to all Christians in general? If it applied only to monks, the Apostle Paul would not have written to the Christians in Thessalonica to pray without ceasing (I Thessalonians 5:17). The Apostle repeats the Lord’s command, word for word, and issues it to all Christians without distinction, whether monks or laymen.

St. Gregory Palamas lived a life of asceticism for some time as a young hieromonk in a monastery in Beroea. The elder Job, a well-known ascetic whom everyone respected, lived in that monastery. It happened that, in elder Job’s presence, St. Gregory quoted the Apostle’s words, asserting that ceaseless prayer is the obligation of every Christian and not just for monks. However, elder Job replied that ceaseless prayer is the obligation of the monk only, and not for every Christian. Gregory, as the younger of the two, yielded and withdrew in silence. When Job returned to his cell and stood at prayer, an angel in great heavenly glory appeared to him and said: “O Elder, do not doubt the truthfulness of Gregory’s words; he spoke correctly and you should think likewise and pass it on to others.”

Thus, both the Apostle and the angel confirmed the commandment that all Christians must pray to God without ceasing. Not only without ceasing in church, but also without ceasing in every place and at all times, and especially in your heart. For if God does not for a moment tire of giving us good things, how can we tire of thanking Him for these good things? When He thinks of us without ceasing, why do we not think of Him without ceasing?

The Prologue of Ohrid, November 16