Skip to search.

Breaking News Visit Yahoo! News for the latest.

×Close this window

OrthodoxInfo · ORTHODOX INFO
  • Members Only
  • Post
  • Photos
  • Links
  • Database
  • Polls
  • Promote

The Yahoo! Groups Product Blog

Check it out!

Group Information

  • Members: 927
  • Category: Orthodox
  • Founded: Mar 22, 1999
  • Language: English
? Already a member? Sign in to Yahoo!

Yahoo! Groups Tips

Did you know...
Real people. Real stories. See how Yahoo! Groups impacts members worldwide.

Messages
Message #
Search:
Advanced
 Messages Help
Messages
Topics
Hot Topics
Messages 886 - 915 of 998   Oldest  |  < Older  |  Newer >  |  Newest
Messages: Show Message Summaries Sort by Date ^  
#886 From: OrthodoxInfo@yahoogroups.com
Date: Sat Oct 1, 2011 12:56 pm
Subject: Toronto Orthodox Conference, 10/8/2011, 1:00 pm 		OrthodoxInfo@yahoogroups.com
Send Email Send Email
 
Reminder from:   OrthodoxInfo Yahoo! Group
 
Title:   Toronto Orthodox Conference
 
Date:   Saturday October 8, 2011
Time:   1:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Location:   St. Nektarios Church
Notes:   The Holy Metropolis of the True Orthodox Church of North America (Archbishop Kallinikos) invites you to join us in worship and instruction at the 2011 Toronto Orthodox Conference.

The Conference will be led by Archbishop Kallinikos of Athens, Metropolitan Pavlos of New York, Metropolitan Moses of Portland, Metropolitan Chrysostom of Attica, Bishop Photios of Marathon, Bishop Sergius of Loch Lomand and Bishop Christodoulos of Theoupolis, as well as many presbyters. There will be talks and question periods in Greek and English. Divine Liturgy at St. Nektarios and the Mother of God of Proussa will be in Greek and at St. Joseph of Arimathea in English.

This is an excellent opportunity to learn more about the Faith as well as to pray, be instructed and speak with our hierarchs and presbyters.
 
Copyright © 2011  Yahoo! Inc. All Rights Reserved | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy

Reply | Messages in this Topic (2)
#887 From: "Fr. Panagiotes Carras" <frpanagiotes@...>
Date: Sat Oct 15, 2011 3:55 am
Subject: 2011 Toronto Orthodox Conference 		frpanagiotes
Send Email Send Email
 
The 2011 Toronto Orthodox Conference, Enduring in the Faith, October 7 - 10, was led by Metropolitan Chrysostom of Attica, Metropolitan Pavlos of New York, Metropolitan Moses of Portland, Bishop Photios of Marathon, and Bishop Christodoulos of Theoupolis.  The joy that permeated the Conference was shared by all.  There were two sessions made up of talks and question periods in Greek and English. The Sunday Divine Liturgy was held at St. Nektarios Church during which the five hierarchs and nine presbyters served.  The audio and text files of the Conference are available at: http://orthodoxyinfo.org/OctoberConference/2011Conference.html
 
In Christ,
+Fr. Panagiotes

Go to Orthodoxyinfo.org for a wide variety of articles on the Faith

Reply | Messages in this Topic (1)
#888 From: "Fr. Panagiotes Carras" <frpanagiotes@...>
Date: Sat Oct 15, 2011 4:29 pm
Subject: Four Types of Magical Thinking in the Modern World - Fr Anastasios Hudson 		frpanagiotes
Send Email Send Email
 

Four Types of Magical Thinking in the Modern World

Fr Anastasios Hudson
October 04, 2011

Dear Friends in Christ,
October is upon us already! The Fall season has begun, and the temperature is finally starting to drop here in North Carolina. September was a busy month, with the feast days of the Nativity of the Holy Theotokos (our parish feast) and the Holy Cross, along with the secular holiday of Labor Day. But those days have passed, and now we begin to prepare for Thanksgiving, the Nativity Fast, and the “Holiday Season,” hoping to accomplish all of our resolutions by the end of the year. Nestled in October is the feast day of Saints Cyprian and Justina (October 2/15). Early martyrs, they contested sometime in the mid-third century. Their story is remarkable; Cyprian was a pagan sorcerer, while Justina was a pagan maiden who, having learned of the truth of Christ, converted and succeeded in bringing her parents to Christ as well. She endeavored to live a life of chastity and to remain unmarried, but she attracted the unwanted gaze of a local wealthy youth. He enticed Cyprian to perform magic to attract Justina to him.
Amazingly, although Cyprian was able to engage in all sorts of dark arts, he could not succeed in coercing Justina to succumb. Asking the demons why he failed, they remarked that it was because Justina signed herself with the Cross. Cyprian realized that the power of demons was nothing compared to Christ, and in a dramatic gesture, burned his magical books in front of the local bishop before being baptized. Eventually, he became a bishop, Justina a nun, and both were martyred for converting many to Christ, probably in the year AD 268.
In our present day, under the influence of science and rationalism, most people have ceased practicing outright sorcery (the rise of neopaganism notwithstanding), but magical thinking continues, often with a thin “scientific” veneer. The demons continue their work of assisting man to live autonomously and without faith in God, adjusting their methods to the times by taking a more subtle role in this age of skepticism. In this message, I will briefly cover four ways that people engage in magical thinking today.
Like Attracts Like. Made popular by books such as The Secret, New Thought is a belief system that teaches that reality is a manifestation of our thoughts. By thinking positively and visualizing what we want, we make these things a reality. Negative occurrences are a result of our negative thoughts. This New Age belief system claims to describe a scientific “Law” that can be learned and practiced. It ignores the fact that this world is fallen, and chaos reigns. We cannot always control what happens to us, but in Christ, we can face all challenges and trials with courage. We will not always know “why” bad things happen, but we will know that when we suffer, we are co-suffering with the Lord Himself, and thus suffering has meaning and purifies, and we are not alone in it.
Karma. An ancient Hindu belief, it is more commonly known in the West as the concept of “what goes around, comes around.” A system of cause and effect, it is assumed that man will have evil repaid by evil and good by good in a perfectly-balanced system. A person can thus keep track of his good and bad deeds, and create his own destiny; he can assure blessedness by being good. This is contrasted with a life of faith in Christ, where a person recognizes that he can never pay back the debt of even one sin, and must rely solely on the Grace given by Christ through the Cross. We are called to live a transfigured life, to repay curses with blessings, to pray for those who persecute us, and to be Christ to all in our lives. For instance, St. Justina saved the man who pursued her by praying for him when he was about to suffer a disastrous fall.
Modern Business Culture. Hard work is certainly a virtue, but in the modern business world, seminars and classes are routinely held (and often obligatory) which seek to produce better producers by creating a certain way of thinking and approaching things—the “can do” attitude. In this system, problems are the fault of mental and psychological blocks which can be overcome through coaching and the right attitude, by following the system taught in the seminar. Such events even contain quasi-spiritual exercises such as centering exercises, which seek to induce a relaxed and receptive state in the learner, and visualization exercises.
The Lord Told Me… Many Christians have developed a bad habit of assuming that any religious-sounding idea that enters the mind must be from God, and in a misguided desire to be obedient to God, they base their lives around these thoughts and hunches, and even off of dreams (which the Church Fathers have warned us to not pay attention to). These ideas are often an unoriginal mix of common sense solutions and self-serving purposes. God becomes an excuse and a justification for such people to do as they please. What is a simple coincidence is given meaning by ascribing it to God and His will. Instead of relying on the frequent reading of Scripture and consultation with the clergy and fellow believers, answers are found within, in a personalized way.
The root problem of all four examples of magical thinking is man-centeredness, rather than trusting in God and being obedient to His will. All of these philosophies present the solution to the problem of evil and failure as internal to the person, rather than external in Christ. Man is assumed to be in control of his own destiny, and the deception that he is an autonomous being is not challenged head-on. The solution is Christ, the God who came and suffered for our sake, in whom we must place our trust if we wish to be saved.
St. Cyprian learned that he could not alter the will of God or control his own destiny when the faith of a teenaged girl overpowered all the tricks of the many demons who assisted him. All of his effort to learn the secrets of success in this life evaporated in a most unexpected way. When people in modern times follow any of the above ways of magical thinking, they are setting themselves up for despair when things happen to them that are beyond their control. Being a member of a Church does not make one immune from these false philosophies, and indeed, especially in the last example, they use God, the Church, and religiosity as covers for their continued self-will.
Let us not follow any false philosophy that teaches the answer is within us, whether it appears religious or secular. Let us humbly approach the Lord in prayer and ask for the forgiveness of sins and the Grace necessary to have a relationship with Him. When we receive Grace, we will know we are not left alone to find the answers. We will find real transformation through Christ and through His body, the Church, where our fellow believers are there to stand with us in times of struggle.

In Christ,
Fr. Anastasios
 

Go to Orthodoxyinfo.org for a wide variety of articles on the Faith

Reply | Messages in this Topic (1)
#889 From: "Fr. Panagiotes Carras" <frpanagiotes@...>
Date: Wed Oct 19, 2011 8:14 pm
Subject: Icon of St. Xenia 		frpanagiotes
Send Email Send Email
 
Fr. Photios of the Holy Nativity of the Theotokos Parish in Portland is offering a beautiful (8x10) gilded Icon of St.Xenia of Petersberg for sale.
A photo of the icon is attached.
The cost of the icon is $400.00 plus 15$ shipping.
To purchase, please contact father at his email: phwtios@...
 
In Christ,
+Fr. Panagiotes

Go to Orthodoxyinfo.org for a wide variety of articles on the Faith

Reply | Messages in this Topic (1)
#890 From: "Fr. Panagiotes Carras" <frpanagiotes@...>
Date: Wed Nov 30, 2011 5:21 pm
Subject: ΤΗΕ ΝΑΜΕ-WORSHIPPING HERESY 		frpanagiotes
Send Email Send Email
 
ΤΗΕ ΝΑΜΕ-WORSHIPPING HERESY

The Name-Worshipping Heresy is barely 100 years old. It was started in 1907 by a Russian monk named Illarion who wrote a book that was intended to populariz­e the Jesus prayer. Instead of inspiring piety, this book created a heresy. In his book, Illarion spoke of his spiritual experience with the Jesus Prayer and came to the conclusion that The name of God is God Himself and can produce miracles. The book became extremely popular among the Russian monks on Mount Athos. Many of them argued that, since according to the ancient Greek philosopher, Plato, the name of an object exists before the object itself does, so the name of God must pre-exist before the world was created, and that it (the Name) cannot be anything but God Himself. Among other things, this was thought to mean that knowledge of the secret name of God alone allows one to perform miracles. A similar concept exists in Jewish Kabbalah and in Buddhism.
The main proponent on Mount Athos of the Name-Worshipping Heresy was Hieromonk Anthony Bulatovich, who published a few books on the subject. The opponents of the Name-Worshipping Heresy, the other Athonite monks, considered this teaching to be pantheism and incompatible with Christianity. They argued that, before the Creation, God did not need this name so the name was created and is actually an empty sound having no mystical attributes in and of itself.
In Russia, the most vocal opponent was Archbishop Antony (Khrapovitsky) of Kiev. In 1912, by decision of the Holy Synod, Hilarion's book was forbidden in Russia. In September 1912, the Name-Worshipping Heresy was condemned by Patriarch Joachim III of Constantinople and in February 1913 it was proclaimed to be pantheism by Patriarch Germanus V of Constantinople. The heresy was also condemned by the Russian Holy Synod in 1913 and by Patriarch Gregory of Antioch. The well-known Father Cherubim was one of the most vocal opponents of this teaching on Mount Athos.
In October 1918 the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church no longer allowed Name-Worshippers to participate in church services unless they repented. The decision was signed by the Patriarch of Moscow, Saint Tikhon. In its decision the Holy Synod stated that: Hieroschemamonk Anthony was not allowed to serve as long as: he continues to disobey Church authority and spread his musings which have been condemned by the Church hierarchy to the harm of the Church.
The heresy was continued in Paris where the proponents of the heresy of Sophia, Florensky and Bulgakov also supported the Name-Worshipping heresy. Hilarion's book was reprinted in 1998 and today the leading advocate of this blasphemy is the deposed Russian Bishop Gregory Lourie, who recently was allowed to receive Holy Communion at the Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Brookline, Massachusetts. Archbishop Hilarion Alfeyev, an advocate of the Awake Sleeper Heresy, wrote in 1999: Even though the movement of the 'Name-worshippers' was crushed at the beginning of the century on the orders of the Holy Synod, discussion of the matter regained impetus in the years preceding the Moscow Council (1917–18) ... Thus the Church's final assessment of 'Name-worshipping' remains an open question to this day.
This heresy has attracted certain clergy and laity who consider themselves intellectuals. It is being resurrected in order to lead many away from the Faith of the Gospels and the Holy Church.

Bishop Photios of Marathon recently submitted an introductory study to our Holy Synod concerning  this heresy: http://www.hotca.org/orthodoxy/theological-texts/334-the-heresy-of-name-worshipping
 
In Christ,
+Fr. Panagiotes

Go to Orthodoxyinfo.org for a wide variety of articles on the Faith

Reply | Messages in this Topic (1)
#891 From: "Fr. Panagiotes Carras" <frpanagiotes@...>
Date: Sat Dec 3, 2011 10:20 pm
Subject: Metropolitan Moses' Visit to Toronto 		frpanagiotes
Send Email Send Email
 
It was a great pleasure for the clergy and the faithful of our three parishes to have Metropolitan Moses with us for approximately two weeks,  November 16 - 29, 2011.  During this time Metropolitan Moses met with the clergy and with many of the faithful. Most of Friday, November 18, was devoted with meeting with the Toronto clergy. Spiritual and administrative problems were addressed. A major concern was the education of future clergy and the instruction of the faithful of all ages.

On Saturday evening the Metropolitan served Great Vespers at the Church of St. Joseph of Arimathea. The next day his Eminence served Matins there, at which time Jeremy Burrows was made an Ecclesiarch. The Liturgy was well attended and Metropolitan Moses had an opportunity at coffee hour to meet and speak at length with the parishioners.

In the evening His Eminence went to the Church of St. Nektarios for the Vespers of the Feast of the Synaxis of the Archangels. The next day, he served the Matins and Divine Liturgy at the Church of St. Nektarios. That same evening Metropolitan Moses returned to the Church of St. Nektarios for the Vigil of the Feast. The Church was filled to capacity.  At the Liti, the Epitaphios of St. Nektarios was carried around the block and everyone followed. Many faithful kept vigil all night, waiting for Matins and Divine Liturgy to start the next morning. After Divine Liturgy, the Metropolitan and all the Toronto clergy joined the faithful for coffee hour.

On Thursday night His Eminence visited with the members of the St. Joseph of Arimathea Church Council and offered words of guidance. The next evening there was a talk at St. Nektarios Church Hall during which His Eminence spoke and led a discussion on The Nature of Man. The question and answer period dealt with many subjects and it appears that more talks on this subject will soon have to follow. The talk can be downloaded at:

Metropolitan Moses served at the Church of St. Nektarios the following Saturday and Sunday. The St. Nektarios banquet was held on Sunday night and was attended by over 240 faithful. Metropolitan Moses spoke on St. Nektarios and his struggle for the Faith. His Eminence also conveyed greetings from Metropolitan Pavlos who expressed his desire to be with us because he has a great love for St. Nektarios.

Metropolitan Moses left Toronto on Tuesday and it seemed that the two weeks that he spent with us went by too quickly. All of us, clergy and lay people were blessed by his presence and his words and we look forward to more visits from His Eminence and the other hierarchs of our Holy Synod.

In Christ,
+Fr. Panagiotes

Go to Orthodoxyinfo.org for a wide variety of articles on the Faith

Reply | Messages in this Topic (1)
#892 From: "Fr. Panagiotes Carras" <frpanagiotes@...>
Date: Mon Dec 12, 2011 5:33 pm
Subject: Fr. Steven Allen's Talk on Fifth Verse of the Creed - And Arose Again on the Third Day 		frpanagiotes
Send Email Send Email
 
You can listen to and/or download Fr. Stevens talk from: http://orthodoxyinfo.org/FrSteven/CreedV.mp3

In Christ,
+Fr. Panagiotes

Go to Orthodoxyinfo.org for a wide variety of articles on the Faith

Reply | Messages in this Topic (1)
#893 From: "Fr. Panagiotes Carras" <frpanagiotes@...>
Date: Wed Dec 14, 2011 3:16 pm
Subject: Appeal From Fr. Anastasios Hudson 		frpanagiotes
Send Email Send Email
 
I have some friends who live within an hour radius of Detroit but who are not members of the Greek Old Calendar Orthodox Church. I am reposting a portion of my friend Kat Hat's recent post asking for the community to support our parish of Sts. Nektarios and George, which has had some financial troubles: "the church has made home made ornaments to sell at the fud...ge's ice cream shop in southgate on Dix Toledo road (right under the bridge on Dix Toledo) this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday Dec 16th , 17th, and 18th from 1pm to 7 pm. Please show your love and support and buy an ornament. i know its late in the month for this but it took a lot of time to make them and to find a location and dealing with each city's permits and stuff." Please understand that this parish was doing well in the 1980s, but was burned down to the ground by arson. For several years, there was no parish, and members attended Russian parishes in the area or the other Greek Old Calendar parish in the area (St. Spyridon's). However, they always yearned to have their parish back. Eventually, they were able to build back their parish, and quite a beautiful one at that, but over the years, some families had moved away, and others lost their jobs (again, this is Detroit)....and the parish is in a bit of predicament. So please help out if you can. Thanks!
 
In Christ,
+Fr. Anastasios

Go to Orthodoxyinfo.org for a wide variety of articles on the Faith

Reply | Messages in this Topic (1)
#894 From: "Fr. Panagiotes Carras" <frpanagiotes@...>
Date: Sat Dec 17, 2011 4:16 pm
Subject: Web Page for Fr. Steven Allen's Talks 		frpanagiotes
Send Email Send Email
 
OrthodoxyInfo.org  now contains a web page that  features audio and text files of talks by Fr. Steven Allen of St. Spyridon Orthodox Church, Detroit.  This page is not complete but as time allows more audio and text files will be uploaded.
If you find any problems with this page, please let me know.
 
In Christ,
+Fr. Panagiotes

Go to Orthodoxyinfo.org for a wide variety of articles on the Faith

Reply | Messages in this Topic (1)
#895 From: "Fr. Panagiotes Carras" <frpanagiotes@...>
Date: Thu Dec 29, 2011 4:46 pm
Subject: Admonitory Encyclical of the Holy Synod of the Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece 		frpanagiotes
Send Email Send Email
 
Christ is in our midst.

Attached to this email you will find an Encyclical from Archbishop Kallinikos and the Holy Synod in Greece. The encyclical is an eloquent admonition to the faithful to seek a solution to the civil unrest in Greece through repentance and prayer. These are our brothers and sisters in the Faith and I exhort you all to also pray to God that He deliver the faithful not only in Greece but also here in North America from misfortune and calamity. 

Included in the encyclical is a prayer against disaster composed by the Most Holy Patriarch Kallistos. I read this prayer at the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Thetokos privately after having said matins there this morning and also publicly tonight at the end of the Supplicatory Canon to the Theotokos. 

Let us all humble ourselves before our God and ask Him to have mercy on us all, but especially our brothers and sisters in Greece during the ever increasing civil unrest in that country.
Your fervent suppliant unto our Lord,

+Metropolitan Moses

Go to Orthodoxyinfo.org for a wide variety of articles on the Faith

Reply | Messages in this Topic (1)
#896 From: "Fr. Panagiotes Carras" <frpanagiotes@...>
Date: Sat Dec 31, 2011 9:55 pm
Subject: 2011 Nativity Message of our Holy Synod 		frpanagiotes
Send Email Send Email
 
Protocol no. γ - 1540
2011 NATIVITY MESSAGE
To the entire Church
“Be glad, O ye righteous; ye heavens, rejoice exceedingly; ye mountains, skip for joy, as Christ is born.”
Beloved children in the Lord,
In the midst of a dark night, when the frost of spiritual coldness and the palpable darkness of pessimism prevail in our daily life, we find ourselves in a situation similar to that of the Prophet-King David. In the Psalms he describes being chased by his enemies: ”Flight hath failed me, and there is none that watcheth out for my soul.” (Psalm 141) There is no way of escape, we feel that we are at an impasse and no one is concerned with saving us. But even if confusion surrounds us, if we find no recourse from men, there is always recourse from God, as the Prophet David continues “I cried unto thee, O Lord, and said, Thou art my hope, my portion in the land of the living.” (ibid) Hence, let us also turn to our God and Saviour Who alone is able to aid us in our difficulty.
The Lord became incarnate in order to aid us. On this wise we chant today: “From the heights our Saviour is come to visit us”, for truly the Sun of Righteousness shone forth in the cave, and we “who once were in the shadow and the dark, have now found the truth”, the path of salvation. In another place we chant: “When the Lord Jesus was born of the holy Virgin, all things were enlightened (…) For God hath appeared in the flesh, the Saviour of our souls.” The message of Christ’s Nativity is joyous and luminous and it fills our souls with hope, something which we especially need today.
Let us therefore glorify the King of the universe born today and let us learn from His example of humility which He teaches us. Let us see where He is born, according to the hymn: “Come, ye faithful, let us see where Christ the Saviour hath been born; let us follow with the kings, even the Magi from the East, unto the place where the star doth direct their journey. For there, the Angels’ hosts sing praises ceaselessly; shepherds in the fields offer a fitting song, while saying, Glory in the highest to Him this day born within the cave from the pure Virgin and Theotokos in Bethlehem of Judaea.” Seeing the humility of the creator and fashioner of all things, let us temper our ambitions. Let us set aside every passion born of selfishness and let us humble our hearts so that we also may also receive His infinite grace, because the aim of our existence is to reach divinization and to become like God: “God becomes man in order to make Adam God”. This is also the goodwill of God as the angelic hymn proclaims:
“Glory to God in the Highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men. “
Goodwill is understood as the eternal will of God, His good, perfect and acceptable will which God truly wills without the interference of intermediate factors. On the contrary, in our will, the interference of intermediate factors causes God to allow us to act as we choose even if it goes against His designs for us. For example, God desires that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, this is His eternal will, His goodwill. However, since He has created man free, if some people make ill use of their freedom, and they do not desire to be saved, then God permits them to act according to their own will and against their own best interests. God wills that we all be saved, but in order to be saved we also must will it. The Lord’s incarnation is the goodwill about which the angelic hymn speaks.
Let us unite our will with God’s goodwill and let us cooperate with the Saviour so that we obtain our aim. Therefore, bestowing on you all the prayers and blessings of our Holy Synod, we pray that He who was born in a cave and laid in a manger, the King of Glory, Christ our God grant you all His saving grace and a peaceful new year according to His goodwill. Amen. So be it.
On December 13/26 the year of our Lord 2011
THE HOLY SYNOD
The Archbishop
+ KALLINIKOS of Athens and all Greece
MEMBERS
+ Metropolitan AKAKIOS of Attica and Diauleia
+ Metropolitan MAXIMOS of Thessalonica and Demetrias
+ Metropolitan ATHANASIOS of Larisa and Platamon
+ Metropolitan JUSTIN of Euripus and Euboea
+ Metropolitan PAVLOS of America
+ Metropolitan GERONTIOS of Piraeus and Salamina
+ Metropolitan CHRYSOSTOMOS of Attica and Boeotia
+ Metropolitan MOSES of Portland and the western United States
+ Bishop GREGORY of Christianoupolis
+ Bishop PHOTIOS of Marathon
+ Bishop THEODOSIOS of Bresthena
+ Bishop CHRISTODOULOS of Theoupolis
+ Bishop SERGIOS of Loch Lomond
 

Go to Orthodoxyinfo.org for a wide variety of articles on the Faith

Reply | Messages in this Topic (1)
#897 From: "Fr. Panagiotes" <frpanagiotes@...>
Date: Fri Jan 6, 2012 5:17 pm
Subject: Blessed Nativity 		frpanagiotes
Send Email Send Email
 
He Who gives riches becomes poor, for He assumes the poverty of my flesh, that I may assume the richness of His Godhead.
He that is full empties Himself, for He empties Himself of His glory for a short while, that I may have a share in His Fulness.
(St. Gregory the Theologian - On the Nativity)

Nativity

May the Grace that our Lord's Nativity has brought, make us all His children.


Reply | Messages in this Topic (1)
#898 From: "Fr. Panagiotes Carras" <frpanagiotes@...>
Date: Mon Jan 9, 2012 5:36 pm
Subject: Nativity Homily of His Eminence Metropolitan Moses 		frpanagiotes
Send Email Send Email
 
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
On this feast we celebrate the singular and most important act in the history of all creation. The Timeless One has entered time. He Who made all things from nothing has put on our material nature.
We cannot understand anything regarding the nature of God, and for that reason the Holy Fathers describe God in terms of what is called negative theology. Throughout creation there are living beings, but our God is Beyond Being. God created all things from nothing and there is no direct analogy between the uncreated God and His creation.
Our God is uncircumscribable, that is, He cannot be contained. He is Ineffable, that is, we cannot put into words an adequate description of God. He is Incomprehensible, that is, the nature of God is beyond human knowledge. We cannot attain unto the unattainable God. We are partakers of life, He is the Ultimate and original Source of life. And so, what we celebrate today is beyond words. Pre-eternal God the Word has put on flesh for our sake.
In the Vespers of the Eve of the Feast of the Nativity we hear the hymn:
Thou wast born secretly in the cave, but Heaven spake through a star and proclaimed Thee unto all, O Saviour. And it brought to Thee the Magi, who worshipped Thee with faith. Have mercy on them and on us.
We encounter during these days the great mystery of our Savior's Incarnation, the mystery hidden from before the ages that now has been made manifest in these latter times. We celebrate the birth of Emmanuel, God with us, our God Who became Man in order to unite mankind unto Himself.
As it is written in the Gospel of Saint John, "He came unto His own, but they received Him not."
That is, our Savior, the Way, the Truth and the Life, came to instruct us in true doctrine that would show us the way that leads to life. He is the Incarnation of God knowledge. Without our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ, we cannot come to God knowledge. He came unto His own people, the Jews, and for the most part they receive Him not. Because of His Incarnation, He is present in every generation, through the Church, and for the most part, people receive him not.
These mysteries and the relationship of Christ and His Church to the world bring to mind the term "an open secret." Our Savior was born and the world changed. Today many dispute Christian doctrine, but anyone with an open mind and any honesty whatsoever must admit that our Lord Jesus Christ was a historical person.
There are those who claim that He was simply a philosopher, but His words in the Gospel, "Before Abraham was, I Am," and also, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life," testify to the fact that He is much more. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the source of life and these words refute the arguments and claims of those who desire to reduce the person of our Savior to a mere man.
We worship the God-Man made manifest to the world. The Gospel of the God of co-suffering love is what has been made manifest today. And ultimately the mystery of our Savior's appearance and His self-sacrificing love astonished those who could comprehend its message. Yet, Saint Paul declared that this message of salvation was
". . . unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (1Cor 1:24-25)
"The Mighty One has become small for us, as Saint John Chrysostom said, "Hearing these things, arise, and surmise nothing low: but even because of this very thing most of all you should marvel, that being Son of the Unoriginate God, and His true Son, He suffered Himself to be called also Son of David, that He might make you the Son of God."
This is the reason for our Savior's incarnation. As Saint Athanasios the Great stated, "God became man, that man might become god" and this is according to grace.
We come to spiritual knowledge from the teachings of our Savior, but our knowledge is not limited to doctrine because our knowledge also consists of communion with Christ. I think that one can say that this is one of the many reasons that today at the liturgy for the feast of the Nativity we chant "All ye that in Christ have been baptized, Christ have ye put on, Alleluia" where we normally chant the Thrice Holy Hymn. This is how we come to know Christ, by putting Him on in Holy Baptism and through our partaking of the Eucharist.
Our knowledge of the things of God and communion with God begins with the birth of our Savior and for this reason we hear the angelic song of "Glory to God in the Highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men."
This young Child, the God-Man, Whose Nativity we celebrate today came to change the world and to free us of the influence of the evil one and He does this by changing our hearts and minds. The feast of the Nativity becomes significant only if we strive to put on Christ, if we strive to make Him present in our daily lives. We make Him present by our efforts to prayerfully seek His will. Salvation comes on His terms, not ours. Freedom from the slavery of sin comes when one submits to the will of God.
The greatest manifestation of the Incarnation of God the Word is the Church itself and the saints who have shone forth in the Church. Christ is made manifest in every generation in those who strive to imitate Him, in those who take up their cross and followed Him in a life of co-suffering love.
The Christians of old converted the world because they loved God and their fellow men and were able to forgive their enemies. It is written concerning the Christians in Alexandria that there were zealots who were persecuted by the pagans, yet when the plague infected many, and the former persecutors took sick and were abandoned by their relatives, these same Christians tended their former persecutors in their sickness.
It was the mercy of the Christians that converted the Mediterranean world.
God the Word became the God-Man in order to change our mode of existence. Make this your meditation on this day and may your families be filled with the love of God and may His incarnation be made manifest in the life of each and every one of you.
Amen.

For more of Metropolitan Moses' Homilies go to: http://www.orthodoxmetropolisportland.org/met_nativity_2011.html
 
Go to Orthodoxyinfo.org for a wide variety of articles on the Faith

Reply | Messages in this Topic (1)
#899 From: "Fr. Panagiotes Carras" <frpanagiotes@...>
Date: Wed Jan 11, 2012 10:04 pm
Subject: HAGIA SOPHIA AT HOLY ASCENSION MONASTERY 		frpanagiotes
Send Email Send Email
 
HAGIA SOPHIA
AT HOLY ASCENSION MONASTERY
After many years of speculating and planning, Holy Ascension Monastery is finally actualizing this magnificent dream. This year on the Feast of the Ascension of Christ (June 2, 2011), five Bishops and four priests blessed the foundations for the new church on a picturesque hill at the monastery. God willing, the building will become the catholicon or main church of our monastery. It will also be a beacon of Orthodoxy in the region and a unique building for America.
Hagia Sophia at Holy Ascension Monastery will be a 1/5th scale replica of the original Hagia Sophia in Constantinople built by the devout Emperor Justinian the Great. In accordance with the express wish of Metropolitan Paul, the replica will copy the original as closely as possible, incorporating only a few simplifications due to its smaller size.

These Photos will be updated as construction proceeds.

Please send donations to:
 HOLY ASCENSION MONASTERY, 521 Cold Brook Road, Bearsville, NY, 12409
 
In Christ,
+Fr. Panagiotes

Go to Orthodoxyinfo.org for a wide variety of articles on the Faith

Reply | Messages in this Topic (1)
#900 From: "Fr. Panagiotes Carras" <frpanagiotes@...>
Date: Tue Jan 17, 2012 9:41 pm
Subject: “It’s a girl!”— could be a death sentence 		frpanagiotes
Send Email Send Email
 
The Toronto Star reports that a controversial article http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1116291--delay-disclosure-of-fetal-sex-until-30-weeks-pregnancy-canadian-journal-urges?bn=1 , “It’s a girl!”— could be a death sentence  http://www.cmaj.ca/content/early/2012/01/16/cmaj.120021, and an editorial in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, Sex selection migrates to Canada  http://www.cmaj.ca/site/earlyreleases/16jan12_sex-selection-migrates-to-canada.xhtml , sparked swift reaction from all corners after its release on Monday, January 16.

Among the information found in these articles, we learn that a recent study in the US involving 65 immigrant Indian women documents the pressure they face to have sons, the process of deciding to use sex selection technologies, and the physical and emotional health implications of both son preference and sex selection.  Of these women, 40% had terminated pregnancies with female fetuses and 89% of the women carrying female fetuses in their current pregnancy pursued an abortion.

Abortion is murder.  Those who commit or assist in abortions do not believe that God is the Creator of every individual and that to take a life is to oppose God.

Many letters have been sent to the Toronto newspapers and many opinions have been posted online concerning these articles.  Below is something posted by one of our parishioners.

"A lot of the argument about a woman's right to choose centers around the idea that a fetus is not a human being. It's like a mole, wart or hangnail. The woman is free to choose what to do with it, without any moral repercussions.
Here we see that the fetus does have value as a human with two conditions: 1) It is female; and, 2) It is being aborted for that reason.
We can't have our cake and eat it too. Either the fetus is human and should be considered as such for abortion, or it isn't.
In the first case, the abortion of any fetus is tragic, regardless of gender. The decision to abort a fetus would be murder.
In the latter case, the abortion of any fetus is justified by a woman's right to choose, whatever it might be - health reasons, rape, convenience, birth control, birth defect, gender selection, etc., without moral consideration for the fetus.
The pendulum may swing the other way. Today men and boys are having a lot of problems performing in society - a female child may become the recognized better choice.
Have the courage to say that a fetus is a human being, OR, the courage to say that a woman has a right to choose regardless of what the reason might be. Complaining when a fetus is aborted, just because it is female and not human, is hypocritical, and morally bankrupt."
 
In Christ,
+Fr. Panagiotes

Go to Orthodoxyinfo.org for a wide variety of articles on the Faith

Reply | Messages in this Topic (1)
#901 From: "Fr. Panagiotes Carras" <frpanagiotes@...>
Date: Fri Jan 20, 2012 4:40 am
Subject: St. Nektarios Feast Day Photos 		frpanagiotes
Send Email Send Email
 
A slide show along with a brief account of the celebration of the Feast of St. Nektarios in Toronto is now available on
the HOTCA web site:
http://www.hotca.org/news/parishes/345-metropolitan-moses-visit-to-toronto-for-the-feast-of-st-nektarios
 
In Christ,
+Fr. Panagiotes

Go to Orthodoxyinfo.org for a wide variety of articles on the Faith

Reply | Messages in this Topic (3)
#902 From: "Fr. Panagiotes" <frpanagiotes@...>
Date: Fri Jan 20, 2012 7:50 pm
Subject: From Athens on Holy Theophany 		frpanagiotes
Send Email Send Email
 

From Athens on Holy Theophany

Posted on Jan 6/19, 2012: A Letter from His Eminence Metropolitan Moses

Beloved Christians,

I greet you from Greece on the Feast of Lights, Holy Theophany.

On this feast the light of God-knowledge flashed forth and, as we hear in the hymns of the Church, "The worship of the Trinity was made manifest." God became Man and was found at the River Jordan in order to be baptized by Saint John at the beginning of His public ministry. Through this feast, we, the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, are shown our inheritance; that is, each and every man, woman, and child is called, through Holy Baptism, to partake of the light of God-knowledge.

As our Savior said, "And this is life everlasting, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent." (John 17:3) This knowledge is not limited to agreement with correct doctrine – it is a knowledge that includes participation and communion. Without Baptism in this life, we do not come to knowledge of God unto salvation. Our Savior commanded His Apostles and their successors saying, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of time." (Matt 28:19-20)

Sons and daughters of the Church, you should ever rejoice that you have been called, and through Baptism you have been sanctified. We are immersed in Baptism and we die unto sin so that we may live with Christ. If we live with Christ, we are guaranteed eternal life. The things of this age pass away; but if we live well, we will remain together with Christ for eternity. Let this be the subject of your conversations at home.

I made the long journey from Portland, Oregon, to Athens, that renowned city of great history, and I was prepared from aforetime to participate in the celebration of the Great Feast of Theophany by recollecting some important aspects of the history of our Mother Church.

During the days of turmoil, after the lawless change of the Calendar was imposed on the Church in Greece in 1924 by the revolutionary government of Eleftherios Venizelos and Archbisop Chrysostomos Papadopoulos (a secret member of the Masonic Lodge), many of the pious faithful perceived that a profound change, a veritable paradigm shift, was being forced on the Church of Christ, and they rejected it.

We can see very clearly now that this change in the Calendar was the tip of an iceberg that threatens the ship of the Church of Christ. The Calendar was implemented in order to unite with the heretical assemblies in the west for political purposes. It was the first step in a series of steps to deceive even the very elect into joining the World Council of Churches, which is the precursor of the one world church of the antichrist.

At the time of the change of the Church Calendar, certain bishops of the State Church of Greece understood that things were very wrong and were against the change; but they remained within the Synod of the Church of Greece, hoping that they would be able to correct things from within. Alas, through promises and threats, the evil forces that had infiltrated the State Church of Greece prevailed to keep the changes.

Yet despite this, many of the pious faithful remained steadfast in their struggles to keep the faith and remain faithful to the Tradition of the Church Calendar. Certain of the hierarchs of the state Church persecuted them. Others, about eleven in number, allowed them to exist and even secretly encouraged them.

Years passed, and then, on the feast of Theophany according to the Traditional Calendar, Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Florina was present at the procession of 20,000 of the Traditionalist Orthodox Christians – laity, monastics, and priests – that made its way to the Port in Piraeus for the Blessing of the Waters. It is said that on seeing the huge multitude of Christians, he was greatly moved and said within himself, "Behold, the flock of Christ as sheep without a shepherd." It was from this time that he resolved to work with other bishops who were willing to hazard their lives for the faith of Christ and form a Holy Synod that would struggle for the faith.

By May of 1935, Metropolitans Germanos of Demetrias, Chrysostom of Florina, and Chrysostom of Zakynthos formed the Holy Synod of the True Orthodox Christians of Greece in order to provide pastoral care to the right-believing Christians.

Thus, at that time and even until today, the celebration of the Feast of Theophany according to the Traditional Orthodox Calendar and the public procession on the way to the Port of Pireaeus is a witness to the true faith.

As we began the procession from the Church of the Apostle Philip, these thoughts filled my mind. And as we progressed in the procession and I saw many thousands of the pious faithful shouting out "Many years for the feast!" and "Your blessings!", I contemplated them as the beautiful flock of Christ. Here I am speaking of a spiritual beauty, a beauty that attracts the eye of God Who spoke by the Prophet, "But to this man will I look: even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembles at My word." (Esaias 66:2)

These are our brothers and sisters, the very members of the Body of Christ. And as I looked upon them, I brought you all to mind, our small flock in North America, our Metropolitan Pavlos, Bishop Christodoulos, and Bishop Sergios, and all of our priests, deacons, monastics, and laity, our families in Christ.

As I thought on these things, I was greatly moved in heart and considered the great responsibility we, the bishops and clergy, have in pasturing the rational flock of Christ.

Beloved, these are the days when many seek to offer the rational flock of Christ the strange herbage of subtle words and vain speculations. Remain steadfast, brothers and sisters in Christ! Restrict your spiritual food to the pastures of Christ and His Apostles and the Holy Fathers, and be strong in the faith "once delivered to the saints." (Jude 1:3)

In closing, I encourage you to remember that we are not alone in our struggle and to rejoice that we are united with our Mother Church in Greece. Yea, there is a great cloud of witnesses among those who have gone on before us in the hope of the resurrection, and those even today who witness for the truth each year in raising the banner for Christ in the port city of Piraeus, on the proper day for the celebration of the Feast of Theophany, according to God-knowledge.

May God bless you and your families and grant you every good thing.

Your fervent suppliant unto the Lord,

+Moses, of Portland

1 Attached files| 118KB

Reply | Messages in this Topic (1)
#903 From: "Fr. Panagiotes Carras" <frpanagiotes@...>
Date: Fri Jan 27, 2012 4:15 pm
Subject: Fr. Steven Allen - Talks on the Creed 		frpanagiotes
Send Email Send Email
 
OrthodoxyInfo.org  now contains a web page that  features audio and text files of talks by Fr. Steven Allen of St. Spyridon Orthodox Church, Detroit.  His talks on the Creed, Articles 3 - 8 are now online. 
If you find any problems with this page, please let me know.
 
In Christ,
+Fr. Panagiotes

Go to Orthodoxyinfo.org for a wide variety of articles on the Faith

Reply | Messages in this Topic (1)
#904 From: "Fr. Panagiotes Carras" <frpanagiotes@...>
Date: Sat Feb 4, 2012 3:58 pm
Subject: THEOPHANY 2012 		frpanagiotes
Send Email Send Email
 
Thousands of faithful  members of the Church of the Genuine Christians of Greece gathered in Piraeus, Greece on January 6/19, 2012, for the procession to the harbour and the Service of the Blessings of the Waters.
   
His Beatitude Archbishop KALLINIKOS of Athens and all Greece, officiated and was assisted by:
His Eminence Metropolitan GERONTIOS of Piraeus and Salamina,
His Eminence Metropolitan CHRYSOSTOMOS of Attica and Boeotia,
His Eminence Metropolitan MOSES of Portland and the western United States,
His Grace Bishop GREGORY of Christianoupolis
His Grace Bishop THEODOSIOS of Bresthena

You can view/download a video of this event at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1sr1Hk7_9Y
 
In Christ,
+Fr. Panagiotes

Go to Orthodoxyinfo.org for a wide variety of articles on the Faith

Reply | Messages in this Topic (1)
#905 From: "Fr. Panagiotes Carras" <frpanagiotes@...>
Date: Sat Feb 11, 2012 8:19 pm
Subject: Ecumenism includes Paganism. 		frpanagiotes
Send Email Send Email
 
Paganism is growing and many so-called "christian" leaders are adopting the current humanistic belief that there are many roads that lead to God. . The link below takes you to a documentary that shows the systematic destruction of the belief that our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, is the only road that leads to the Kingdom of Heaven. The destruction of the faith in the Incarnate Son of God has increased dramatically in the thirteen years since this documentary was produced. http://www.youtube.com/user/kollyvades?feature=watch#p/u/1/RxZTXigUHBo
The only solution for us is separation from those who seek to destroy our Faith.  Those who believe that they can remain Orthodox and at the same time be in communion with the "hierarchs" and the "churches" that have come together, are as deluded as those passengers on a ship who believe that it is safe to stay on the ship even though it has a big hole in its side.
 In Christ,
+Fr. Panagiotes

Go to Orthodoxyinfo.org for a wide variety of articles on the Faith

Reply | Messages in this Topic (1)
#906 From: "Fr. Panagiotes Carras" <frpanagiotes@...>
Date: Sat Feb 18, 2012 11:12 pm
Subject: Fr. John Sommers - Available Podcasts 		frpanagiotes
Send Email Send Email
 
Fr. John Sommers is posting many great podcasts in downloadable MP3 format.  There are 20 podcasts available as of today and many more will be added.  To see what is available go to: http://www.podomatic.com/profile/fatherjohnsomers
 
In Christ,
+Fr. Panagiotes

Go to Orthodoxyinfo.org for a wide variety of articles on the Faith

Reply | Messages in this Topic (1)
#907 From: "Fr. Panagiotes Carras" <frpanagiotes@...>
Date: Thu Mar 1, 2012 3:02 pm
Subject: A Response to certain Name-Worshippers by Bishop Photios of Marathon 		frpanagiotes
Send Email Send Email
 
A Response to certain Name-Worshippers
by Bishop Photios of Marathon


A short while ago two responses to a certain article which was published in «Φωνή τῆς Ὀρθοδοξίας»
in 2005 appeared on a Russian website. This article had recently been translated into English and has
gotten the attention of Name-Worshippers in Russia, who are unknown to me and they consider
themselves affected by this article. They have reached the point of characterizing themselves as
followers of the teaching of St Gregory Palamas (misinterpreting the things written by him) and
whosoever opposes the delusion of Name-Worshipping, they consider as Barlaamites. They resemble
the Monophysites who on the one hand, called themselves followers of the teaching of St. Cyril of
Alexandria and on the other hand called the Orthodox, Nestorians. We synoptically answer the main
points of the Name-Worshippers in question as follows:
1. Our article is based on Greek sources and not Russian ones. We only know the details of the Russian
Synod’s condemnation of Name-Worshipping from indirect literary sources, and I do not endeavor to
comment on the documents of the Russian condemnation of this heresy. Personally, I doubt the
accuracy of the excerpts brought forward by the two authors. But, I consider the condemnation of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate (based on the advice of the Theological School of Halki) to be more
important, because Athonian monks first proclaimed the heresy of Name-Worshipping. In addition, it
was an Athonian monk who first censured this heresy, and it was first on Mount Athos that conflicts
first broke out until the Name-Worshippers were transferred to Russian territory. Therefore, the Synod
of the Ecumenical Patriarchate was responsible to make a decision concerning this issue. We are not
going to investigate whether the decision of the Russian Synod was dictated by the Tsar or if the Tsar
later changed his mind concerning the treatment of Name-Worshippers. We do not consider this
important. Perhaps, the Name-Worshippers were accepted into communion under certain conditions,
after declaring their Orthodoxy. However, the medal which Tsar Nicholas awarded to the Elder
Kallinikos the Hesychast, who harshly criticized the heresy, is preserved on Mount Athos to this day. It
is also an historical fact that the Tsar sent a ship to Mount Athos to remove all the Name-Worshipping
monks. Therefore, we have grounds to doubt the accuracy of the Name-Worshipper’s claims
concerning the stance of the Martyr-Tsar Nicholas.
2. Certainly, the concept of Divinity refers both to God’s essence and energy. This is not related to the
heresy of Name-Worshipping. St. Gregory Palamas did not express Name-Worshipping beliefs. These
are novel ideas and arbitrary assertions. St. Gregory Palamas, in his epistle to John Gabras (not John
“of Gabras” as those Name-Worshipping writers say, who don’t know what they are reading and are
ignorant of Greek) said that we cannot separate the agent from the energy and that the energy is not
self-subsistent, but whenever we mention the energy, we include the agent. God is the agent in the
Divine energies. But, we do not expect those who cannot even read correctly the title of a particular
work to understand its contents.
3. We reverence icons because of the persons depicted, and not because of the inscriptions. The
inscriptions are necessary in order to specify the persons depicted. However, the reverence is offered to
the persons depicted.
4. If the Name-Worshippers’ claim were true that “the Divine grace and energy is encrypted in the
sounds of the Divine name,” then we could perform sacraments by playing back pre-recorded prayers
recited by the priest! The sacraments are not performed by the sounds of divine invocations, but by the
Persons to Whom the prayers are offered: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit Who have a common energy
and essence.
5. We mention in the article in question that the heresy of Name-Worshipping has been revived chiefly
among the Slavic Orthodox. This is in no way pejorative towards the Slavic Orthodox (as implied by
the authors), but it is a description of the reality that it is chiefly among them that such debates and
theological conflicts take place. Greek-speaking Orthodoxy has remained (until now) largely
indifferent on the subject. After the heresy’s condemnation by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1913, the
issue was considered resolved, and, it is now only academicians, scholars and Church historians who
are interested in this topic. For this reason very few articles and books about Name-Worshipping are to
be found in the Greek language. Therefore, we do not consider it to be an open case.
6. The authors characterize the issue as a “foreign theological issue”. In a way they are right, Name-
Worshipping is foreign to Orthodoxy, so let those who are outside the body of the Church rage. The
point of our article was historical and informative, written on the occasion of the “ordination” at that
time (circa 2005) of a certain Name-Worshipper from Russia by deposed, former clergymen of our
Church.
7. The authors, being uninvolved in Greek education and obviously having a distaste for the
hesychastic tradition, consider that they share understand the teaching of St. Gregory Palamas better
than the Righteous Elder Kallinikos the Hesychast who harshly criticized the heresy and provoked the
synodal condemnation of the Name-Worshippers. Elder Kallinikos the Hesychast lived an eremetic life
remaining closed in his cell for 40 years, struggling in strict fasting and prayer. He was deemed worthy
to behold the uncreated light, (and those monks in obedience to him often saw his face shine. He
reposed on August 6th 1930 as a zealot monk (from the beginning condemning the calendar
innovation). We repeat his accurate axiom concerning the Name-Worshippers:
“they left the head and worship the hat”
If the Name-Worshipping apologists smugly think that their voices have more validity than Kallinikos
the Hesychast of Blessed memory. We do not believe that they do, rather, we align ourselves with the
opinion of this Holy Elder. Finally therefore, let us consider the words of St. Gregory of Nyssa:
“Let us cease desiring to be teachers of teachers. Let us loath the war of words which destroys its
hearers. Let us believe as our Fathers bequeathed [to us], for we are not more precise than the
teachers.” (PG 46, 1112A)

In Athens January 26, 2012
Bishop Photios of Marathon
 

Go to Orthodoxyinfo.org for a wide variety of articles on the Faith

Reply | Messages in this Topic (1)
#908 From: "Fr. Panagiotes Carras" <frpanagiotes@...>
Date: Sun Mar 4, 2012 9:49 pm
Subject: A Sermon for the Sunday of Orthodoxy 2012 By Metropolitan Moses 		frpanagiotes
Send Email Send Email
 
A Sermon for the Sunday of Orthodoxy 2012
By Metropolitan Moses
 
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
 
On this day we celebrate the Sunday of Orthodoxy, the triumph of the Holy Icons and all true doctrine as expressed in the Holy Councils of the Church.
 
In the Gospel reading appointed for the feast of the Triumph of Orthodoxy our Savior Christ called certain of the Apostles to Himself and when He encountered Nathaniel He said of him, “Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” (John 1:47)
 
The same passage in Greek is, Ἴδε ἀληθῶς Ἰσραηλίτης ἐν ᾧ δόλος οὐκ ἔστιν.
 
The King James Bible translated the Greek word “δόλος” with the word “guile.” Some dictionaries define guile as “sly or cunning intelligence.” This could be misconstrued as mere cleverness. The Greek word “δόλος” is stronger in that it actually means “fraud” or “deceit.”
 
A clumsy, but more literal translation of this same passage is, “Behold truly (an) Israelite in whom deceit is not.”
 
Thus, in order for any of us to truly be Israelites, that is to be true disciples who behold the face of God, there must be no guile, no fraud, no deceit found within us.
 
We worship the God-Man Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth and the Life. Our Savior instructed us that, “God is Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24)
 
On this feast wherein we read the Synodicon of Orthodoxy we laud the saintly Confessors of our Church, men who were true Israelites. Like the Apostles, they are “men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Acts 15:26)
These saints were inheritors and guardians of the ancient truths set forth in Apostolic Tradition. This Tradition is not invented, but rather it is received. With Saint Paul they have exhorted every generation to “...stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.” (2 Thess 2:15) These men were ready to suffer all things in order to safeguard their ability to worship God in spirit and in truth. By their actions they set an example for us regarding how we must flee from the teachers of heresy and stand for the truth. If we desire to be called their disciples, we must study their lives so that we can imitate them in our own day.
 
Modern man has rejected the idea of revealed truth and embraced relativism. Among many denominations who call themselves Christian there is a belief that there is no real absolute dogmatic truth, that everyone has a portion of the truth and no one has the whole truth. This relativistic indifference to truth was written about by Saint Philaret:
 
Is not that indifference to the truth, which seems not to be hostile and yet, which was judged to be worse than open warfare by the Lord in His appearance to Saint John in the Apocalypse spreading wider and wider? The Lord said, I will cast thee out of My mouth. He threatens those who are neither cold nor hot, but lukewarm, that is, who are indifferent to Him and to the Truth that He proclaims. After all, only lukewarmness and indifference to the truth can explain the success and speed with which modernism, ecumenism and other spiritual rubbish spread among mankind and the religious decay of the free world.
Saint Philaret, Metropolitan of New York, Sermon for Pascha 1974
 
It was this indifference to the truth coupled with political ambitions that gave birth to the World Council of Churches in 1948. The WCC began as a body of Protestant Christians who sought unity through compromise and today it is a syncretistic mixture of pseudo-christian and non-christian religions that calls all men who are indifferent to truth unto itself. The WCC has set itself up to be a one-world religion that replaces the Church of Christ.
 
Anyone familiar with Apostolic Tradition can see that this is spiritual fraud and a deceit. How is it then that the Patriarchates of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem, Russia, Serbia, Romania, and the state church of Greece are all organic members of the WCC?
 
There is one Lord, one Faith and one Baptism. Any spiritual leader who undermines this basic teaching of the Apostolic faith and claims that there is Priesthood or Baptism or the Eucharist outside of the Orthodox Church perpetrates a fraud. This fraud is the guiding principle of the Pan-heresy of Ecumenism. Yet, there is a more subtle fraud that has caught many who would otherwise confess the faith. Many false elders lead their trusting faithful astray with guileful and deceitful words, telling them that it is appropriate to “work from within” against the heresy of Ecumenism, saying that it is only important that a person rejects that heresy on a personal level. This is not Orthodox Christian ecclesiology. This is congregationalism. Every Eucharist is served in the name of the ruling bishop. Immediately after the consecration of the Eucharist at the Divine Liturgy the name of the local ruling hierarch is commemorated by the priest with the words “whom do Thou grant unto Thy holy churches in peace, safety, honour, health, length of days, and rightly dividing the word of Thy truth.” Why is there a reference made to “rightly dividing the word of Thy truth?” If a priest commemorates a heretical bishop in the Liturgy, this has dire consequences. As the confessing saints of the Orthodox Church wrote:
 
All the teachers of the Church, all the Councils, and all the Divine Scriptures, exhort us to flee those who uphold other doctrines and to separate from communion with them.
Saint Mark of Ephesus
 
With a great voice, Saint John Chrysostom declared that not only heretics, but also they who hold communion with them are enemies of God.
Letter to the Abbot Theophilus Saint Theodore Studite
 
 
Ever rekindle this faith within yourselves and keep yourselves unblemished and undefiled, by neither having communion with the aforementioned [Nestorius], nor attending to endorse his unjust sentence; rather. We praise those who have suffered, and we say to them. “Blessed are ye if ye are reviled for the Lord’s sake; for the Spirit and the might of God rest upon you.”
A Letter of Saint Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria to the Clergy and People of Constantinople before the convocation of the Third Ecumenical Council, which condemned Nestorius (Mansi IV 1096)
 
You told me that you feared to tell your presbyter not to commemorate the heresiarch; even though I will not presume to say anything about this to you for the present, except that the communion is defiled simply by commemorating him, even if he who is commemorating is Orthodox.
Saint Theodore Studite (PG 99, 1164)
 
The Church is a mystery, it is found in the world, yet it is other-worldly. The Church is not a human organization, but as Saint Paul teaches it is the Body of Christ, a mystical unity with the God-Man. It is not an organization, but a God-human organism. Each individual Christian is united to Christ by the Priesthood of the Church through Holy Baptism and the Eucharist. Each local Church remains united to Christ only so long as it professes the faith that Christ bequeathed to the Holy Apostles. Many local churches in our day have fallen away because their bishops chose to not imitate the Apostle Nathaniel, a true Israelite in whom there was no deceit or false teaching.
 
Today is a day for self-examination. We all must ask ourselves, do we imitate the confessors of the Orthodox Church who we commemorate in the Synodicon of Orthodoxy or is the spirit of indifference making inroads in our heart? If you are tempted in this way I implore you to remember the holy Confessors, Saint Basil the Great, Saint Gregory the Theologian Saint John Chrysostom, Saint Photios the Great Saint Mark of Ephesus, Saint Gregory Palamas the other confessors and rouse yourself to zeal for the truth. May you never be deceived by anyone who falsely claims to be a disciple of these saints and yet exhorts you to not imitate their examples. Actions speak louder than words.
 
Let us pray with pain in our heart for the many who have been swept away by the countless heresies that exist today, that they might come to the knowledge of the truth.
 
May God preserve you in the faith and may He provide all good things for you and your families through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.



Reply | Messages in this Topic (2)
#909 From: "frsavvasanastasiou" <FrSavvasAnastasiou@...>
Date: Sun Mar 4, 2012 11:03 pm
Subject: Re: A Sermon for the Sunday of Orthodoxy 2012 By Metropolitan Moses 		frsavvasanas...
Send Email Send Email
  
There is more to Orthodoxy than simply resisting the pan-heresy of Ecumenism.
The Synod in Greece actually resisted this label during its dialogue with the
Synod in Resistance stating "the term “Anti-Ecumenists” does not express us
as a whole." Read more at
http://www.ekklisiastikos.com/2010/09/interview-of-his-grace-bp-photios-of.html

I mention this because it is possible for an anti-ecumenist to subscribe to
other heresies, even ones universally condemned by the Church. When such a one
is a bishop, he does great harm to the Church because according to the words of
St Theodore the Studite quoted by Metropolitan Moses "the communion is defiled
simply by commemorating him, even if he who is commemorating is Orthodox."

Reply | Messages in this Topic (2)
#910 From: "Fr. Panagiotes Carras" <frpanagiotes@...>
Date: Mon Mar 12, 2012 4:19 pm
Subject: Fr. Steven Allen Talks Page Updated 		frpanagiotes
Send Email Send Email
 
The "Fr. Steven Allen Talks" page has been updated and now includes the following talks:
  1. The Meeting of the Lord
  2. The Sunday of Orthodoxy
 Talks on the Creed:
  1. And in the Holy Spirit
  2. In One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church
  3. I Confess One Baptism
  4. I look for the Resurrection of the Dead & The Life to Come
These audio files can be listened to/downloaded from: http://orthodoxyinfo.org/FrSteven/FrSteven.html

In Christ,
+Fr. Panagiotes

Go to Orthodoxyinfo.org for a wide variety of articles on the Faith

Reply | Messages in this Topic (1)
#911 From: "Fr. Panagiotes Carras" <frpanagiotes@...>
Date: Wed Mar 14, 2012 4:28 pm
Subject: OLD-CALENDAR ECUMENISM AND COMMUNION IN PRAYER 		frpanagiotes
Send Email Send Email
 
OLD-CALENDAR ECUMENISM AND COMMUNION IN PRAYER

The heresy of Eucharistic Hospitality is one of Ecumenism's best known doctrines. The proponents of this heresy believe that their unity will be enhanced by offering Holy Communion to those who are not members of the Church. Eucharistic Hospitality is very popular not only with Anglicans and Roman Catholics but also with those in communion with the Patriarchates of Constantinople and Moscow. These Ecumenists have devised many ways with which they can unite with their “separated brethern”. Eucharistic Hospitality is just one method. Within the heresy of Ecumenism, the most common path to unity is to join in prayer which is seen as an expression of unity. This is communion in prayer.

The Ecumenists of Constantinople and Moscow put aside the holy Canons of the Apostles that forbid joint prayer with heretics. This is why we are not in communion with them or any other Ecumenists.

Apostolic Canons 10, 11 and 45 are very clear.
If any one shall pray, even in a private house, with an excommunicated person, let him also be excommunicated. (Canon 10)
If any clergyman shall join in prayer with a deposed clergyman, as if he were a clergyman, let him also be deposed. (Canon 11)
Let a bishop, presbyter, or deacon, who has only prayed with heretics, be excommunicated: but if he has permitted them to perform any clerical office, let him be deposed. (Canon 45)
This practise is also condemned by the Anathema against Ecumenism.
To those who knowingly have communion with these aforementioned heretics or who advocate, disseminate, or defend their new heresy of ecumenism under the pretext of brotherly love or the supposed unification of separated Christians, ANATHEMA.

It is sad to say that the violation of the Holy Canons of the Apostles and the espousal of Eucharistic Hospitality is not limited to those in communion with Constantinople and Moscow. This heresy has been adopted by the current synod of HOCNA in its communication of December 2, 2011. http://news-nftu.blogspot.com/2011/12/hocna-clarifies-stance-on-gregory.html

This communication was intended to be an explanation of why a decision was made to give Holy Communion to the deposed heretic, Bishop Gregory Lourie. The HOCNA bishops state their reason as: while we realize that many matters still divide them, we want to promote unity among all these groups. It is also expressed as: a desire to foster the oneness that must exist among all Orthodox Christians in the Holy Body and Blood of our Saviour. These words are a mere repetition of the heresy of Eucharistic Hospitality.

Even though HOCNA hierarchs in the past have engaged in “Old-Calendar Ecumenism”, the December 2, 2011 communication, for the first time, stated a justification for praying together with supposed “traditionalists”. The justification for this “Old Calendar Ecumenism” is an adaptation of the heresy of Eucharistic Hospitality.

A past noteworthy event that is now illumined by this document, was the visit of Bishops and clergy of the heretical FYROM (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) Church to HOCNA's Holy Theotokos Convent a few years ago. They were warmly greeted by Bishop Demetrios and Archimandrite Panteleimon. After the initial greetings they gathered in the Convent Church and chanted with the FYROM clergy.

This ethnic church that has an infamous history, broke away from the Patriarchate of Serbia and declared itself Autocephalous in 1966. Since then it has viciously persecuted those who remain faithful to the Serbian Patriarchate. Bishop Demetrios had forged a relationship with these bishops during a visit to FYROM. To get a better understanding of what this "autocephalous church" really is, please take a look at this video: https://vimeo.com/8129549

The HOCNA statement of December 2, 2011 is one more step in that synod's departure from the Faith of the Fathers and is a clear repudiation of what the Holy Apostles teach us in their Holy Canons.

 
In Christ,
+Fr. Panagiotes

Go to Orthodoxyinfo.org for a wide variety of articles on the Faith

Reply | Messages in this Topic (1)
#912 From: "Fr. Panagiotes Carras" <frpanagiotes@...>
Date: Fri Mar 23, 2012 3:39 am
Subject: Encyclical of the Holy Eparchial Synod in America Regarding the 2012 Youth and Family Conference 		frpanagiotes
Send Email Send Email
 
ENCYCLICAL
To all the clergy and laity of the Church in North and South America
March 6/19, 2012
Forty-two martyrs of Amorios
Beloved children in the Lord,

Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is often said that the youth are the future of the Church. Yet, the other side of that statement is that the only real future that leads to eternity in Christ for the youth is the Church. This is true, and we must also bear in mind that past, present, and future are always simultaneously present within the Church. It is the responsibility of each consecutive generation to bequeath the deposit of Orthodoxy to the following generation. In the Orthodox cultures of Europe, the family unit was a given, usually with three generations all living under one roof. This naturally facilitated the process of passing on Orthodox Tradition.

Here in North America, we are faced with a unique challenge because the culture and ethos of North America is foreign to Orthodoxy. The very idea of marriage and family is being challenged. Our youth face a tremendous challenge when confronted with the allurements of popular culture because we are so few and far between. Many of us feel that we are all alone.
Bearing this in mind we began, with the Grace of God, to organize annual Youth Conferences in 2005, with the aim of establishing our youth in the Orthodox faith, to let them know that there are others just like them who share the same faith and face the same struggles. We have seen that through these Youth Conferences connections have been made among the youth from all parts of the country, and that they keep in touch with each other throughout the year.

This year the Youth and Family Conference will be hosted by the Toronto Parishes of St. Nektarios, Mother of God of Proussa, St. Joseph of Arimathea and St. Theodore of Canterbury Mission on October 5-8, 2012 not only for the young people of our Church but for their parents as well. Separate programs will run concurrently for the different age groups of the conferees.

We bless this year’s Youth and Family Conference and we encourage all the faithful of our Church, clergy and laity to support this worthy endeavor. And may the God of our fathers, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ preserve our children close to His Holy Church.

THE HOLY EPARCHIAL SYNOD
PRESIDENT
+ PAVLOS of America
MEMBERS
+ MOSES of Portland and the western United States
+ PHOTIOS of Marathon
+ CHRISTODOULOS of Theoupolis
+ SERGIOS of Loch Lomond
_______________________________
The full Conference program and registration information will be available after Pascha.


Go to Orthodoxyinfo.org for a wide variety of articles on the Faith

Reply | Messages in this Topic (1)
#913 From: "Fr. Panagiotes Carras" <frpanagiotes@...>
Date: Mon Mar 26, 2012 4:20 pm
Subject: October 2012 Conference 		frpanagiotes
Send Email Send Email
 
Preparations are being made for the October 2012 Conference and your participation is needed so that the Conference can benefit as many people as possible.  Please join  the National Metropolis Youth Association Facebook Page   http://www.facebook.com/groups/2213830711/?bookmark_t=group and submit your thoughts on Conference structure. topics, events and any other relevant subject. We can use this page as a forum for planning and information.

In Christ,
+Fr. Panagiotes

Go to Orthodoxyinfo.org for a wide variety of articles on the Faith

Reply | Messages in this Topic (1)
#914 From: "Fr. Panagiotes Carras" <frpanagiotes@...>
Date: Thu Apr 5, 2012 2:30 pm
Subject: The First Crusade, the true story 		frpanagiotes
Send Email Send Email
 
The First Crusade, the true story


Why was there a sudden need to recover the city where Jesus Christ lived and was crucified? The answer, writes Peter Frankopan, lies in the imperial capital of Constantinople.
By Peter Frankopan *

On November 27, 1095, Pope Urban II stood up at the Council of Clermont in central France to make an important announcement. Persians (by whom he meant the Turks), “a people rejected by God,” had risen up against the Christians in the East, he said. It was imperative for the knighthood of Europe to rush to defend their brethren. Take up arms, he urged, and defend the faithful who were suffering unspeakable deeds at the hands of the oppressors.
The story of the First Crusade has remained largely the same ever since. The expedition that eventually reached and captured Jerusalem in 1099 was conceived by the pope, who seized the chance to encourage men in Western Europe (above all France) to march to drive the Turks back from major Christian sites. It is a story that was commemorated in chronicles, poems and songs almost as soon as the Crusaders reached the Holy City; and it is a story that has been told for generations ever since.

And yet, underneath this tale of bravery, courage and devotion is the story of what really happened, a story that has been hidden in the mists: In the place of heroism is a tale of deception; in the place of honor is the breaking of some of the most sacred oaths in Christendom. At its heart lies the betrayal of the Byzantine Empire.
The speech made by the pope is so famous that it is rarely asked why he delivered it in the first place. Jerusalem, it should be remembered, fell to the Muslims many centuries before he gave his address. Why now, more than 450 years later, was there a sudden need to recover the city where Jesus Christ lived and was crucified?

The answer lies not in Rome or in Clermont, but in the imperial capital of Constantinople. In fact, it was in the heart of the Byzantine Empire that the expedition to the East was conceived; it was the emperor -- Alexios Komnenos -- who devised the campaign and took control of it; perhaps most importantly, it was specific strategic targets, set by the emperor, that the Crusade was designed to attack.
The reign of Alexios Komnenos is recorded by several texts, the most important of which is the remarkable “Alexiad,” written by his daughter Anna Komnene. It is an account written in high style, full of subtlety and hidden meanings -- many of which have remained hidden and unidentified since she wrote the text.
But her account has now finally been unraveled. What has emerged can be taken alongside other Byzantine, Arabic, Syriac and Armenian sources to present a startling and new picture of the empire on the eve of the First Crusade.

Rather than being in a healthy position, as has long been assumed, a series of disastrous events took place in and around Constantinople that led Byzantium to the brink of collapse. The emperor’s immediate family, rather than being a rock he could rely on, turned on him -- his own brothers and relatives joining a conspiracy to depose and if necessary murder him.
If that was not bad enough, major attacks in the Balkans by Serbian opportunists and by nomadic tribesmen increased pressure further still on the embattled ruler. And then in Asia Minor, the empire’s position simply collapsed.

Although the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 has long enjoyed notoriety for marking the turning point in the Turkish conquest of Anatolia, the moment when Byzantium lost control of the region, evidence from the texts and from lead seals now shows that the apparatus of government remained intact long after this military setback.
As a matter of fact, there are signs that the provincial administration was in good shape long after the supposed defining moment in the history of Asia Minor. Indeed, there were extensive -- and direct -- contacts between Alexios and the Turkish ruler of Baghdad, with much cooperation between the two until the latter’s death in 1092.

What happened next was catastrophe: Turkish warlords in Nicaea, Smyrna and elsewhere took matters into their own hands, and pushed the empire to the brink of collapse. The Aegean was devastated -- figures like St Christodoulos were forced to abandon their monasteries in Patmos because of incessant raids; suddenly Byzantium was left without even a foothold in the East; Constantinople itself was under threat.

Alexios took a bold decision. He turned to the pope, suggesting an end to the schism between the churches in return for military help. The pope did not need to be asked twice -- and headed straight for his home region, where he was confident of raising men.

To start with, Alexios’s gamble paid off. Nicaea was recovered first, followed by a series of other gains in Anatolia. But at Antioch he lost control. One of the leading figures, Bohemond, a handsome but devious fellow, realized that he could benefit personally from the Crusade and set about doing exactly that, insisting that he be given control of substantial territories, including Antioch.

This was not easy, for the knights had given solemn oaths to Alexios as they passed through Constantinople on their way east. The emperor had demanded that the senior figures swear vows to him over some of the most holy Christian relics -- the Holy Cross and the crown of thorns -- that they would hand over any gains they made to him. It was hard to see how these could be conveniently put to one side.

And yet they were. Although many did not agree, Bohemond managed to take Antioch for himself, declaring boldly that his oath was invalid. He then promptly wrote to the pope, accusing Alexios of not doing enough to help the Crusade and of actively conspiring against the best interests of the Christian knights. It was the first salvo of what quickly became a vicious -- and highly effective -- campaign to destroy the reputation of Alexios and in fact of the Byzantine Empire in Western Europe. Neither recovered.

It also resulted in the real origins of the Crusade being concealed. Rather than Alexios and Byzantium being at the heart of the story, contemporary accounts made sure that the focus remained elsewhere -- on the pope and on those brave knights who set off for Jerusalem.

History, they say, is written by the winners. In the case of the First Crusade, it has taken nearly a millennium to show just how true this is. But finally the time has come for Alexios Komnenos to step out of the shadows.

* Dr Peter Frankopan is director of the Center for Byzantine Research at Oxford University and author of “The First Crusade: The Call from the East,” published this spring by Random House and Harvard University Press.






http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite4_1_24/02/2012_429827
 Friday February 24, 2012 (21:47)  
 

Go to Orthodoxyinfo.org for a wide variety of articles on the Faith

Reply | Messages in this Topic (1)
#915 From: "Fr. Panagiotes Carras" <frpanagiotes@...>
Date: Fri Apr 13, 2012 3:06 pm
Subject: Holy Synod of the Church of Genuine Christians of Greece - Paschal Message 2012 		frpanagiotes
Send Email Send Email
 
Protocol No. γ-1583

PASCHAL MESSAGE 2012
To the entire Church

“Let us purify our senses and we shall behold Christ, radiant with the unapproachable light of the Resurrection, and we shall clearly hear Him say, Rejoice!, as we sing the hymn of victory.”

Dearly beloved children in the Lord,

The light-bearing Feast of the Resurrection is the central message of the Gospel. St. Paul says: “And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain” (1 Cor. 15:14) and later he repeats the same emphasizing “And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain”. (1 Cor. 15:17) The Jews themselves, Muslims and even atheists believe in the historicity of the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Jews, because their forefathers crucified Him, Muslims recognize Him as a Prophet, and atheists accept Him as an historical person and a rebel. But only we Christians recognize Him as the Son of God Who willingly suffered and rose from the dead. And not simply by conviction do we believe in His resurrection, but we become communicants of His burial and His resurrection.

During our entrance into the Church through Baptism, the triple immersion and emersion in the water signifies the three-day burial and resurrection of our Lord, according to the Apostle: “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection” (Romans 6:4-5).

In continuation, throughout our life in the Church and at every Divine Liturgy we live the Passion and Resurrection of our Lord. And the most important and fearful mystery is that we commune of the resurrected Body and Blood of our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Also, in each Christian’s personal life he lives the alternation of trial and liberation. He picks up his cross, according to the commandment of Christ (because the Lord promised the cross and labour to those who mount the strait and narrow way and follow Him), but he also knows the joy of grace which follows when we he faifully endures temptation. Because, just as the resurrection follows the passion, likewise comfort follows trial, as the Prophet David sings: "we went through the fire and water; but thou broughtest us out into a place of refreshment. " Psalm 65:12.

Trials and sufferings give us the possibility to progress spiritually if we confront them with endurance as Job the much-suffering did and if we pray continually to God with much thanksgiving in time of sorrows: “Blessed be the name of the Lord, from henceforth and forevermore.” If we pray for those who hate us and tempt us, and forgive them from our hearts, then we become imitators of the Lord and we store up for ourselves spiritual treasure. But the Lord knows our abilities and will not permit us to be tempted beyond our ability: “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” (Cor. 10:13)

Beloved children in the Lord, this applies also to the crisis which the nation of Greeks is going through. As a nation, the majority of people have departed from God and true Orthodoxy; this is why we are being tried so harshly. As many as are of the faithful, let them stretch forth their prayers on behalf of their brethren who have distanced themselves from the path of salvation. The trial will bring back many of them into the embrace of our mother: Orthodoxy. It is our obligation to support our brethren though prayer, a good word, and most importantly our good example. Let us convey the flame of courage and aid to those found in darkness and despair, primarily having lit our lamps through piety with the holy light of grace.

Living according to God, let us cleanse our passionate hearts and let them shine as a mirror, that we may see the radiance of the risen Christ, which shines as the sun crying, out joyfully the hymn of victory:

CHRIST IS RISEN!

On March 23rd in the year of salvation 2012
THE HOLY SYNOD
 
The Archbishop
+ KALLINIKOS of Athens and all Greece

MEMBERS
+ Metropolitan AKAKIOS of Attica and Diauleia
+ Metropolitan MAXIMOS of Thessalonica and Demetrias
+ Metropolitan ATHANASIOS of Larisa and Platamon
+ Metropolitan JUSTIN of Euripus and Euboea
+ Metropolitan PAVLOS of America
+ Metropolitan GERONTIOS of Piraeus and Salamina
+ Metropolitan CHRYSOSTOMOS of Attica and Boeotia
+ Metropolitan MOSES of Portland and the western United States
+ Bishop GREGORY of Christianoupolis
+ Bishop PHOTIOS of Marathon
+ Bishop THEODOSIOS of Bresthena
+ Bishop CHRISTODOULOS of Theoupolis
+ Bishop SERGIOS of Loch Lomond
 

Go to Orthodoxyinfo.org for a wide variety of articles on the Faith

Reply | Messages in this Topic (1)
Messages 886 - 915 of 998   Oldest  |  < Older  |  Newer >  |  Newest
Add to My Yahoo!      XML What's This?
Copyright 2010 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - Guidelines NEW - Help