THE PARAGON April 2/15 ns 2026 † BRIGHT WEDNESDAY • St. Titus the Wonder-Worker ~ No Fasting ~ Acts 2:22-38; St. John 1:35-52 ~ Saint Nikolai of Zica "It is better to be a simpleton ~ Elder Sampson: The drunkard, the fornicator, the proud ─ he will receive God’s mercy. . .

Christ is Risen!

Christos Anesti

Al Maseeh Kam

Bright Wednesday

April 2/15 ns 2026

• St. Titus the Wonder-Worker

From his youth, Titus loved Christ the Lord and detested the vanities of the world. Because of this, he retreated from the world, entered a monastery and received the Great Angelic Habit [The Great Schema-The Angelic Face]. Not feeling any remorse, he dedicated himself to the somber and narrow path of monasticism. Through great patience, he attained two basic virtues: that of humility and obedience. In these virtues, he surpassed "not only the brethren, but also all men." From his youth he preserved the purity of his soul and body. At the time of the Iconoclastic heresy he proved himself to be an unwavering pillar of the Church of God. Because of his great humility and purity, God bestowed upon him the gift of performing miracles, both during his life-time and after his death. When he was translated to the Lord he left behind a countless number of disciples. He died peacefully in the ninth century.

Acts 2:22-38 KJV

22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:

23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:

24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.

25 For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:

26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:

27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

28 Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.

29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.

30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;

31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.

32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.

33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.

34 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,

35 Until I make thy foes thy footstool.

36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?

38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.


Saint John 1:35-51 KJV

35 Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples;

36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!

37 And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.

38 Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?

39 He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.

40 One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.

41 He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.

42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.

43 The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me.

44 Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.

45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.

47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!

48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.

49 Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.

50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.

51 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.

Saint Nikolai of Zica

"It is better to be a simpleton

and to approach God with love than to be a know-it-all and, at the same time, be an enemy of God." These are the words of the priest-martyr, St. Irenaeus of Lyon. 

The truth of these words have been confirmed at all times and is also confirmed in our time. One thing must be added to this, namely, that the lovers of God are not simpletons because they know God well enough that they are able to love Him. Of all human knowledge, this knowledge is more important and greater. To this must be added that the enemies of God cannot be more knowledgeable, even though they consider themselves as such, because their knowledge is unavoidably chaotic, for it does not have a source and does not have order. For the source and order of all knowledge is God. Some of the saints, such as Paul the Simple, did not know how to read or write yet with the strength of their spirit and divine love surpassed the entire world. 

Whosoever approaches God with love, that person is not capable of crime. Knowledge without love toward God is motivated by the spirit of criminality and war. St. Evthymios the Great taught: "Have love; for what salt is to food, love is to every virtue." Every virtue is tasteless and cold if it is not seasoned and warmed by divine love.

About the Living God and about His living children

"So then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's" 

(Romans 14:8).

Whose are we while we live? We are the Lord's. Whose are we after we die? We are the Lord's. Whose are the righteous? They are the Lord's. Whose are the sinners? They are the Lord's. The Lord embraces all, both the living and the dead, those of the past, those of the present and those of the future. 

No one is so all-embracing as is the Lord Jesus. Who, of those so-called philanthropists of mankind, teachers, leaders or enlighteners ever attempted to perform any good for the dead? This can be decisively answered: never and no one! This thought alone would be ridiculous even in the eyes of the world - to do something good for the dead? This is amusing to all those who think that death is mightier than God and that which death swallows up is destroyed for ever. To be concerned about the dead, to do good for the dead ceased to be amusing since the revelation of the Lord Jesus, Who revealed that He is God, the God of the living; Who revealed in His works, by descending into Hades to redeem and to save the souls of the righteous from the time of Adam to the time of His death on the cross.

All-embracing is our All-glorious Lord, Who, by His discerning thoughts, reflects about everyone and sees everyone born of women; those who are above the graves and those who are in the graves. So it is with His love, for He embraces all the souls of the righteous regardless of the time and place which conceals them. Finally, even by His labors, for He labors for all of them, to redeem all of them, to save them, and to lead them into the kingdom and to glorify them before the face of His Heavenly Father, the Life-giving Spirit and the myriads of holy angels.

To Thee glory and thanks always. Amen.

Elder Sampson: The drunkard, the fornicator, the proud ─ he will receive God’s mercy. . . 

The drunkard, the fornicator, the proud—he will receive God’s mercy. But he who does not want to forgive, to excuse, to justify consciously, intentionally … that person closes himself to eternal life before God, and even more so in the present life. He is turned away and not heard [by God].

ANECDOTE: Repeat from Bright Tuesday 2026

O DEATH, WHERE IS THY STING?

O GRAVE, WHERE IS THE VICTORY?

Is not this life one of ups and downs, and to what end? Does that sound like a description of what God is? Are we not made in His image? Christians KNOW for a fact that we ARE! Then why are our lives unlike Him? {I did not say like "His" because He doesn't "have" life, HE IS LIFE!

Simple, sin brings us down, even at times without knowing how it happened, but God has NO SIN.

Pascha means Passover. Passover, means that we can pass over sin and death but there is only one way to do it.

So, in sin, we thirst each time we stop experiencing God, Who is eternal, NON STOP, love and joy.

Sin takes it away because it is not "of God". It isn't so much that sin has any power at all but we have the freedom and the power to stray from being with God and when we do, we make a non-entity our God. We cannot love both.

In the recent email from the priest we are encouraged to passover (PASCHA) from moment to moment, not ONCE A YEAR! But how, you may ask? It is sooo simple! Simply match remembering Christ in your heart with your breath. Impossible? Yes! Yes! but not impossible with God! Once He sees you have given up everytghing in your heart for Him alone, He makes it happen and He is not only "within", "The Kingdome of Heaven is within" but you are IN HIM.


Its even simpler. What did St. Photini need to do to be in a perpetual state of love and joy without ever thirsting for it again?

IF YOU NEED TO THINK ABOUT IT - NO NEED. Simply read the Gospel from the St John the Divine 4 KJV.

THE PARAGON April 1/14 ns 2026 †BRIGHT TUESDAY † PORTAITISSA ICON OF THE THEOTOKOS ~ Sts. Raphael, Nicholas, and Irene of Lésbos • St. Mary of Egypt; St. Melíton, Bishop of Sardis ~ No Fasting ~ Acts 2:14-21; St. Luke 24:12-35 ~ Saint Cyril of Jerusalem On the Resurrection

Christ is Risen!

Christos Anesti

Al Maseeh Kam

Bright Tuesday

April 1/14 ns 2026

† Portaitissa Icon 

• Sts. Raphael, Nicholas,

and Irene of Lésbos

• St. Mary of Egypt

• St. Melíton, Bishop of Sardis

• No Fasting

The Appearance of the Iveron Portaitissa Icon

Photo taken in 1927 or 1928

The icon was the property of a pious widow who lived in the area of Nicaea in Asia Minor during the time of the iconoclastic emperor Theóphilos (829-842). When the emperor's men arrived there to find and destroy every holy icon, this faithful widow threw the wonderworking icon of the Theotokos into the sea. Then she beheld a strange wonder. The icon stood upright on the water and traveled westward across the waves in this position.

After a time the icon arrived in front of the Iveron Monastery on Mount Athos. A certain holy hermit named Gabriel received it in his arms from the water, and he gave it to the monks. They built a little church for the icon near the gate of the monastery, and they placed the icon there. From that time it was called the Portaitissa "Gate-keeper".

Since then the Most Holy Theotokos has worked many miracles through her holy icon. She has cured those who were possessed by demons, healed those who were lame, and given sight to the blind. At the same time, she has protected the monastery from every danger and saved it from invasions of foreigners. Among those who received benefit from the Portaitissa was a Russian princess, the daughter of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (1651).

The icon arrived at the Holy Mountain on Bright Tuesday 1004. Therefore, the Iveron Monastery on the Holy Mountain Athos celebrates this bright festival even to the present day. The Divine Liturgy takes place in the church by the sea, where holy water gushed up when the monk Gabriel took the icon.

Sts. Raphael, Nicholas, and Irene of Lésbos were martyred by the Turks on Bright Tuesday (April 9, 1463) ten years after the Fall of Constantinople. For nearly 500 years, they were forgotten by the people of Lesbos, but "the righteous Judge... opened the things that were hid" (2 Macc. 12:41).

For centuries the people of Lesbos would go on Bright Tuesday to the ruins of a monastery near Thermae, a village northwest of the capital, Mytilene. As time passed, however, no one could remember the reason for the annual pilgrimage. There was a vague recollection that once there had been a monastery on that spot, and that the monks had been killed by the Turks.

In 1959, a pious man named Angelos Rallis decided to build a chapel near the ruins of the monastery. On July 3 of that year, workmen discovered the relics of St Raphael while clearing the ground.

[After the discovery of the grave, amazing phenomena started to occur. The bones were put in a sack by a Mr. Doukas Tsolakis. He was in charge of the excavations. He could not lift the sack up due to the excessive weight. Noises were heard from the bones. They were also producing a fragrant incense. One of the workers, a Mr. Leonidas Sideras kicked the sack and his leg went numb. Tsolakis' hand remained motionless. He could not lift the sack. The priest was asked to do a Trisagion-a prayer for the departed. The night before he was due to conduct the service, he was wondering what name he should use. During the night Saint Raphael appeared to the Priest. He told him who he was, and that he was born on the island of Ithaka.

Soon, the saints began appearing to various inhabitants of Lesbos and revealed the details of their lives and martyrdom. These accounts form the basis of Photios Kontoglou's 1962 book A GREAT SIGN (in Greek).

ANECDOTE: 

Is not this life one of ups and downs, and to what end? Does that sound like a description of what God is? Are we not made in His image? Christians KNOW for a fact that we ARE! Then why are our lives unlike Him? {I did not say like "His" because He doesn't "have" life, HE IS LIFE!  

Simple, sin brings us down, even at times without knowing how it happened, but God has NO SIN.  

Pascha means Passover. Passover, means that we can pass over sin and death but there is only one way to do it.

So, in sin, we thirst each time we stop experiencing God, Who is eternal, NON STOP, love and joy.

Sin takes it away because it is not "of God". It isn't so much that sin has any power at all but we have the freedom and the power to stray from being with God and when we do, we make a non-entity our God. We cannot love both.

In the email from the priest we are encouraged to passover (PASCHA) from moment to moment, not ONCE A YEAR! But how, you may ask? It is sooo simple! Simply match remembering Christ in your heart with your breath. Impossible? Yes! Yes! but not impossible with God! Once He sees you have given up everytghing in your heart for Him alone, He makes it happen and He is not only "within", "The Kingdome of Heaven is within" but you are IN HIM. 

Its even simpler. What did St. Photini need to do to be in a perpetual state of love and joy without ever thirsting for it again?

  IF YOU NEED TO THINK ABOUT IT - NO NEED. Simply read the Gospel from the St John the Divine 4 KJV.   

Acts 2:14-21 KJV

14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:

15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.

16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:

19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:

20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come:

21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Saint Luke 24:12-35 KJV

12 Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.

13 And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.

14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened.

15 And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.

16 But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.

17 And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?

18 And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?

19 And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:

20 And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.

21 But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.

22 Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre;

23 And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive.

24 And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.

25 Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:

26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?

27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

28 And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further.

29 But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.

30 And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.

31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.

32 And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?

33 And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them,

34 Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.

35 And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.

Saint Cyril of Jerusalem On the Resurrection

"But He who descended into the regions beneath the earth came up again; and Jesus, who was buried, truly rose again the third day. And if the Jews ever worry thee, meet them at once by asking thus: Did Jonah come forth from the whale on the third day, and hath not Christ then risen from the earth on the third day? Is a dead man raised to life on touching the bones of Elisha, and is it not much easier for the Maker of mankind to be raised by the power of the Father? Well then, He truly rose, and after He had risen was seen again of the disciples; and twelve disciples were witnesses of His Resurrection, who bare witness not in pleasing words, but contended even unto torture and death for the truth of the Resurrection. What then, shall every word be established at the mouth of two of three witnesses, according to the Scripture, and, though twelve bear witness to the Resurrection of Christ, art thou still incredulous in regard to His Resurrection?"

THE PARAGON - † BRIGHT MONDAY ~ March 31/April 13 ns 2026 • Hieromartyr Hypátios of Gángra; St. Innocent of Moscow ~ No Fasting ~ Acts 1:12-17, 21-26 (Monday of the 1st week of Acts); St. John 1:18-28 (Monday of the 1st week of St. John)

Christ is Risen!

 Bright Monday

Hieromartyr Hypátios of Gángra;

St. Innocent of Moscow

March 31/April 13 ns 2026

~ No Fasting ~

ANECDOTE: Be honest, is not this life one of ups and downs, and to what end?  Does that sound like a description of what God is?  Are we not made in His image?  Christians KNOW for a fact that we ARE!   Then why are our lives unlike Him?  {I did not say like "His" because He doesn't "have" life, HE IS LIFE!  

Simple, sin brings us down, even at times without knowing how it happened, but God has NO SIN.  

Pascha means Passover.  Passover, means that we can pass over  sin and death but there is only one way to do it.

So, in sin, we thirst each time we stop experiencing God, Who is eternal, NON STOP, love and joy.

Sin takes it away because it is not "of God".  It isn't so much that sin has any power at all but we have the freedom and the power to stray from being with God and when we do, we make a non-entity our God.  We cannot love both.

In the email from the priest we are encouraged to passover (PASCHA) from moment to moment, not ONCE A YEAR!  But how, you may ask?  It is sooo simple! Simple match remembering Christ in your heart with your breath.  Impossible?  Yes! Yes! but not impossible with God!  Once He sees you have given up everytghing in your heart for Him alone,  He makes it happen and He is not only "within", "The Kingdome of Heaven is within" but you are IN HIM. 

Its even simpler.   What did St. Photini need to do to be in a perpetual state of love and joy without ever thirsting for it again?

  IF YOU NEED TO THINK ABOUT IT - NO NEED.  Simple read the Gospel from the St John the Divine 4 KJV.   

Hypátios was born in Cilicia and was the bishop of Gángra. He was present at the First Ecumenical Council [Nicaea, 325. A.D.] and was renowned throughout because of his pious and saintly life and his miracle-working.`````````````

The Emperor Constantius ordered that a likeness of Hypátios be made during the saint's lifetime. The emperor kept this likeness in his palace as a weapon against all adverse powers.

Once upon returning from Constantinople, Hypátios was attacked in a narrow gorge by Novatian heretics and, along with others, was hurled to the ground in mud. At that moment a woman from that group struck him in the head with a stone {icon above}and thus, the saint died. Immediately that woman went insane and took that same stone and struck herself with it. When they took her to the grave of St. Hypátios, he interceded before God on her behalf. She was healed by the great compassionate soul of Hypátios and lived the remainder of her life in repentance and prayer. St. Hypátios died and took up habitation in the eternal Kingdom of Christ the God, in the year 326 A.D.

Acts 1:12-17, 21-26 KJV

12 Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey.

13 And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.

14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.

15 And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,)

16 Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.

17 For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry.

21 Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,

22 Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.

23 And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.

24 And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,

25 That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.

26 And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

Saint John 1:18-28 KJV

18 No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

19 And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?

20 And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.

21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.

22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?

23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.

24 And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.

25 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?

26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;

27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.

28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.

St. John Maximovitch: . . . God saves His fallen creature by His own love for him, but man’s love for his Creator is also necessary . . .

Now the Church consists of both her earthly and heavenly parts, for the Son of God came to earth and became man that He might lead man into heaven and make him once again a citizen of Paradise, returning to him his original state of sinlessness and wholeness and uniting him unto Himself.

This is accomplished by the action of Divine grace grated through the Church, but man’s effort is also required. God saves His fallen creature by His own love for him, but man’s love for his Creator is also necessary; without it he cannot by saved. Striving towards God and cleaving unto the Lord by its humble love, the human soul obtains power to cleanse itself from sin and to strengthen itself for the struggle to complete victory over sin.

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